The Conspiracy [The Legend Continues Contest]

[Distorted]

Our heroes live amongst the stars now.

 

That’s what the Protectors told us. The Toa made the ultimate sacrifice to protect us from evil and bring peace to Okoto. And now they watch over us from the heavens, ready and waiting to return when we need them most.

 

Just like a fairytale.

 

For what it’s worth, the last time I saw the Toa alive was when they left the city in search of the Mask of Control. Some of the other Okotans claim they saw them back in the city on the day the Shadow Horde attacked. They apparently engaged the monsters for a while, then all of a sudden they were gone again - along with Ekimu himself, who was clad in glowing blue armour as opposed to his usual gold. (Perhaps that explains why none of us saw the great mask maker after that day, either.)

 

There were so many conflicting rumours amongst the chaos that day, but there was no time to ponder the truth; we were all too busy defending our city from ruin. We fought off wave after wave of hideous, ferocious creatures, each one determined to lay waste to our new home.

 

But as the last few beasts crumbled to dust, and the dark stain of purple stormclouds cleared out from the skies, we dared to believe that we were triumphant. Our city was safe, once and for all.

 

We began preparing for a grand festival to celebrate. The city was adorned with banners and carvings, and masks in all colours of the rainbow. I forget who suggested it, but it was agreed we would wait until Ekimu and the Toa returned to begin the festivities - after all, they had played such a huge part in bringing peace to Okoto.

 

So we waited.

 

And waited.

 

We all took turns keeping lookout at the city gates, certain our heroes would be spotted on the horizon any minute.

 

Days passed.

 

New rumours were born. Some said that the Toa had abandoned us - or worse, they had been killed by Makuta’s dark might. A ban on leaving the city perimeter - supposedly in anticipation of another shadow horde attack - only fanned the flames of conjecture.

 

Suspicion turned to despondency, then to frustration. We all begged the Protectors for answers, certain that as the elders of the city, they must have known more than they were giving away. But they wouldn’t tell us.

 

After over a week and still no sign of our heroes, the situation in the city came to a head. A group of Okoton children got lost in the mountains after sneaking out of the city in search of the Toa.

 

Thankfully they were found safe and well, but the parents were livid. They stormed into Protector Izotor’s chambers and demanded than an official search party be sent out for the missing heroes.

 

Later that day, the Protectors called a city-wide meeting. With every citizen gathered at the city arena, they announced that they brought us great news - the Toa had defeated Ekimu’s evil brother, and it was their intervention on the day of the horde invasion that had brought everlasting peace to Okoto.

 

That night, the festival went ahead as planned. But while the people danced and sang long into the evening darkness, I was still picking apart the Protectors’ story in my mind.

 

It was just so full of holes. It didn’t explain the sudden disappearance of Ekimu - or the sudden reappearance of the elemental creatures. Moreover, it felt like a slap in the face to those of us who had fought off the monster attack all by ourselves.

 

If the Toa had truly defeated Makuta, why weren’t they here celebrating with us? Why was it necessary for them to return to the stars in order to defeat evil? Would they really leave without saying goodbye?

 

Why didn’t the Protectors tell us sooner of the Toa’s fates? Izotor claims they wanted to be sure Makuta was gone for good before they made any announcements. “The Okotans have been through so much,” they said. “What good would it do to have their hopes for peace dashed again?”

 

The Protectors never revealed how they learned of the Toa’s victory, either. We’ve questioned them many times, but just as before, they refuse to answer. I fear they’ll probably stay silent til the new generation of Protectors take over, too.

 

I don’t know what happened to our heroes, and our great mask maker. And I probably never will. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that Makuta really is gone, and Okoto really is safe, and the Toa really do watch over us from the night sky.

 

Our heroes live amongst the stars now.

 

That’s what the Protectors told us.

 

 

-

 

Thanks for reading! G2's 'and then they all went back to heaven' ending felt like a cop-out to me, but at least we knew the IRL context - Bionicle was getting cancelled and the story team had to wrap up the plot in a rush.

 

But imagine being an Okotan in the story, and hearing the story of the Toa through the Protectors rather than seeing it first-hand - wouldn't it feel just as much of a cop-out? Wouldn't it make you question what the Protectors were telling you?

 

I think this is the first time I've ever written a short story here. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome!

[Wiriamu]

An interesting concept-kind of hearkens back to the mistrust the Toa and some Matoran had for the Turaga back in G1. I do wonder that Ekimu's return wasn't a little more obvious, but I suppose if anyone would know how to get into the city unnoticed it would be him.

[Distorted]

An interesting concept-kind of hearkens back to the mistrust the Toa and some Matoran had for the Turaga back in G1. I do wonder that Ekimu's return wasn't a little more obvious, but I suppose if anyone would know how to get into the city unnoticed it would be him.

Hey, thanks. I had actually forgotten that was a thing back in the early days of G1, but perhaps it was a subconcious influence!

 

Can I ask what you mean by Ekimu's return? As far as I was aware, no canon material actually shows Ekimu coming back to the city after the Toa's victory, which is why in this story he's missing along with the Toa.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Disty says hi

[Wiriamu]

 

An interesting concept-kind of hearkens back to the mistrust the Toa and some Matoran had for the Turaga back in G1. I do wonder that Ekimu's return wasn't a little more obvious, but I suppose if anyone would know how to get into the city unnoticed it would be him.

Hey, thanks. I had actually forgotten that was a thing back in the early days of G1, but perhaps it was a subconcious influence!

 

Can I ask what you mean by Ekimu's return? As far as I was aware, no canon material actually shows Ekimu coming back to the city after the Toa's victory, which is why in this story he's missing along with the Toa.

 

Well I kind of assumed that he's the source of the Protectors' knowledge about the fate of the Toa, unless they were informed of the full Prophecy of Heroes at some point.

[Distorted]

Well I kind of assumed that he's the source of the Protectors' knowledge about the fate of the Toa, unless they were informed of the full Prophecy of Heroes at some point.

Ah, I see! The implication is that maybe the Protectors made up the story about the Toa's fates to appease the people, which in turn implies Makuta may still be out there and the city is still in danger. Looking back over the story, I think I could have done a better job of explaining it.