Out For Revenge

[Toa Lapaka]

PrologueTakham was locked in combat with Makuta Tridax. His Toa Brethren lay motionless on the cold earth around him; their masks were shattered and their armor melted. They had been no match for Tridax. Tridax sneered, “You’re faltering Toa. With every strike you weaken. Soon you will join the rest of your rest of your team in Karzahni!” Takham blocked a slash aimed for his neck with his shield and jumped out of the way of a plasma blast. He spun and blasted the Makuta with a fire ball. Tridax wasn’t expecting this blast, so he hadn’t readied his fire resistance. Takham went to slice at Tridax, but Tridax parried his blow with his spear. “Concede, Toa!” Tridax shouted through gritted teeth. “You’re no match for me! Concede and your death shall be quick!” “Never!” Takham yelled, barely able to control his temper. “As long as you and your kind lives, I will never stop until I avenge my brethren!” “Very well, I’ll have your heart stone in three moves.” Tridax blasted Takham to the ground with shadow. “One,” he said. He blasted Takham’s weapons away, “Two,” an evil grin spread crossed his face. “Three,” Tridax held his claw up and sliced down. Takham saw the attack coming and tried desperately roll out of the way, and though he escaped death, he wasn’t fast enough. Takham grabbed at his arm, but it wasn’t there. He cried out in agony. Tridax laughed manically at the sight. “Maybe not three, but the fourth time’s the charm”. He continued laughing until he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He winced at his chest where a sword hilt was sticking from out. He ripped the sword from his ribcage and tried desperately to stop the green-black substance coming from the hole in his torso. “You’ll pay for this Takham! One Day you’ll pay!” Tridax blasted Takham one more time before teleporting away, knocking him out. ******* Zans was jovially walking back to his Koro. It was days like this that made him glad to be a Toa. He had just finished chasing away a swarm of Fireflyers from his Koro, and was now going to have a hero’s triumphant return. Everything was perfect, the trees were green, the Matoran were happy, and there was smoke coming from the direction of the Koro. Wait… that wasn’t right. Oh, the Matoran are probably getting my feast ready, Zans thought. But then more smoke started billowing. Realizing something was wrong, Zans started to race towards his Koro. He arrived to a bonfire of huts. His Koro was aflame, dead plasma Matoran strewn everywhere. Who did this, He wondered angrily. Then, as if to an answer his question, a large yellow-orange and black armored creature came flying from one hut, Makuta Bitil. Zans couldn’t control his anger; He shot several plasma blasts at the Makuta, all of which missed. “You need target practice, Toa. Let me show you how it’s done,” Bitil shot a powerful blast of shadow at Zans. Zans tried to dodge the blast, but it hit him dead on and he went flying into a tree. Bitil laughed a senseless laugh. Zans was insanely mad now. He lobbed a plasma blast straight at the Makuta’s wing, and Bitil came plummeting to earth. “What are you doing!?” Zans yelled, “You’re supposed to protect the Matoran, not decimate them!”“New leadership, new rules,” Bitil answered. “You mean Teridax ordered this!?” “I would love to stay and chit-chat, but I have strict orders,” Bitil lunged at Zans, knocking him to the ground. The two rolled around on the ground, like two infant makua, trying to pin each other, until Zans blasted Bitil in the shoulder, melting his armor. A green and black substance leaked from the hole in Bitil’s armor. “What’s that?” Zans asked. Bitil felt his strength leaving him, and knew he had to get out of here quickly. He let out a power scream to blast Zans away, then, not having enough power to teleport, he flew away; leaving Zans to curse and threaten revenge on him for what he had done. Dellar hung motionless in his dungeon on Destral, awaiting the Makuta. He had been dreading this day, hoping it would never come, hoping the Makuta would just forget about it. The doors of his cell creaked open, and the green and black armored Mutran walked in. “And how are we doing today, Dellar?” Mutran asked. “Go to Karzahni,” Dellar muttered. “Now, now Dellar, no need to be rude, you should be happy. You’re contributing to the future of our universe.” “A dark, evil future.” “I don’t see it that way. Do you think Mata-Nui cares about you? He doesn’t, he’s so ignorant he didn’t even notice that we put him asleep, until it was too late.” “Just get it over with, Mutran.” “Very well then,” Mutran snapped his fingers and the chains holding Dellar up released him. He fell to the floor with a thud. He got up, his hands still trapped in one of the Makuta’s hand cuffs. Mutran grabbed him and led him through the hallways to a large room. Weird metal instruments hung from the ceiling above a small table. Mutran took off Dellar’s hand cuffs and thrust him on to the table. Four metal straps latched over his arms and legs. “Now, Dellar, let’s get started.” The tools roared to life and came down. Dellar screamed in agony as the metal tools chopped, drilled, and warped him into a horrible creature. ***** Krallis and his team were combatting a horde of rahkshi led by Makuta Gorast. She was a fierce fighter and had already taken down several of his Toa teammates. Krallis was freezing rahkshi right and left, but for each one he beat five more took its place. He was fighting the losing side of an uphill battle, and he knew it. His only chance was to take down Gorast, but she was being guarded by five of her own personal rahkshi. He had to get her attention, so he raised his weapon and fired a freezing blast at the Makuta. One of the rahkshi jumped in the way of the blast, and Gorast paid no attention. Seeing his attack had no effect, he yelled “Gorast, come and face me if you aren’t too scared.” This got Gorast’s attention. She turned towards Krallis and gave him a spiteful grin.“Are you eager for death, Toa?” she asked, “Fine, we fight.” Krallis knew it was self-sacrifice, but he had no other choice. If he won, than the attack would be over, but if he lost (which was more likely) he and his team would die. Gorast flew at him, her weapons raised. Krallis raised his shield and shot her back with an ice blast. A fierce battle commenced between the two, but eventually Gorast won out. She pinned him to the ground and sneered. “How should I kill you?” She asked. “Maybe a slice to your heart stone, or a lightning blast. I can kill you in so many ways.” She pondered over her choices for a moment, than she came on a decision. “Ah, this will do it.” She grabbed onto his shoulders. He felt himself disappearing, fading. Then he felt an oppressive heat. His armor melted as he plummeted to the ground. His body and armor melted into non-existents. He felt his heart stone stop, and then he died. ****** Tantrix had been captured. He was stuck in a tube, like a Rahi in the archives. He waited for the Makuta to do something with him. He banged his head against the side of his tube. How could he be so dumb to get captured? “Hurting yourself won’t stop us from preforming our experiments,” Chirox said. “Makuta, why are you all doing this?” Tantrix asked angrily. “Power,” Chirox replied, “were tired of doing all the work and never getting any praise. Plus, Mata-Nui was never a good leader, under the Makuta this universe will thrive.” “And what do you want with me?” “You will help us on our way to victory. You’re going to be a lab rat.” Chirox pulled out a slug-like creature from a tube on a table. “What’s that?” Tantrix asked. “Your destiny.” Chirox thrust his hand with the creature through the wall of the tube and the slug latched on Tantrix. Tantrix freaked out and tried desperately to rip the slug off of him, but its grip was too strong. He felt his energy being drained from him. The drain overwhelmed him, and he blacked out.Review Topic Edited October 14, 2011 by Toa Lapaka

[Toa Lapaka]

1Takham It had been a month since Takham’s battle with Tridax, and he had almost learned to get around with one arm. Since he had been a Toa Hagah, he had no Koro to return to. He had spent a few weeks in a cave healing, and after that he had traveled around the island warning others about the Makuta’s betrayal. But every time he‘d arrived to a Koro, either it was completely destroyed or the Matoran thought he had gone insane. Finally he stopped at a Koro to help protect it from any oncoming Makuta attacks, though he didn’t know how much good he could do with only one arm. Then, one day while he was canvassing the Koro, a Fe-Matoran came up to him. He introduced himself as a Nynrah Ghost, and asked him if he wanted his arm back. Takham had given him a skeptical look and answered a cautious “yes”. “Good,” the Nynrah Ghost said enthusiastically. “Meet me at Nynrah workshop eleven. I do wish you can come.”Takham had never liked the Nynrah Ghost. They would work for whoever paid them, and in his eyes, they were no better than the Dark Hunters. But he went any ways, just to see what the Matoran wanted. He arrived at the Nynrah Ghost’s village. Factories, forges, and workshops made up the majority of village. He had been there a few times before while he guarded Tridax. He entered workshop eleven and was greeted by pure emptiness. He knew this was unusual. Usually, the workshops were filled with the Nynrah ghosts working on a variety of different projects. But now, the workbenches with half-finished projects were deserted, and the customary sound of metal clinging against metal was absent. “Hello,” Takham called warily “I came like you told me to.” There was no answer. “Hello!” Takham yelled again. “What’s going on here?” he asked to himself privately. “Takham, glad you could make it,” called out the Nynrah Ghost’s voice. The sudden noise made Takham nearly jump out of his armor. “I’m sorry we had to meet under these conditions, but I’m breaking the rules just having you here.” “Rules? What rules?” Takham questioned. “Oh, we Nynrah Ghost have many rules. One of which is you don’t go looking for work; you have work come to you. We are not supposed to go around and offer services.” “Why did you tell me to come here?” “I have something for you. Follow me.” The Nynrah Ghost led Takham through labyrinth like workshop. He weaved through benches, around machines, and past vats of melted metal. They kept moving until the ghost finally reached his destination, ah large workbench with a silver and crimson object on it. “That looks like an…” “An arm? Yes, it is one, well, a mechanical one. I built it for you.” The ghost picked up the arm and handed it to Takham. It was like his other arm, only a bit bulkier and longer. It had the same type of shoulder armor he had, the same coloration and everything. “Oh, and I also noticed that you are in need of some new Toa tools.” Takham looked down at his beaten up old shield and thought back to the loss of his sword. He had never really thought about it, but if he was going to have his revenge on the Makuta, then he would need some new weapons. The Matoran laid a new sword on the table in front of Takham. It was silver with a glowing red rim designed to look like fire. “I call that Scorcher, it feels like you’re on fire when you’re hit with it.” The Matoran then pulled out a large metal shield; it had sharp edges on both ends with magnetic shields fused in with the metal. “That shield will send out an opposite magnetic current with whatever comes near it. You can also shut off the pulse just by pressing a button on the handle.” Takham looked down at the tools, speechless. “I don’t know what to… wait a minute,” Takham realized something he hadn’t thought of before “how much do want for all these?” “How much?” the Matoran had a confused look on his face. “You Nynrah Ghosts never give things away for free. So, how much do you want?” “Nothing, this is my gift to you.” “Really?” Takham was very suspicious. During all his days, he had never heard of a Nynrah Ghost giving new tools for free. “You Toa do everything for us Matoran, but when we want to do something for you, you think we’re up to something. Consider this my… our apology. For helping the Makuta all those times. The other ghost won’t say this, but we made a mistake helping the Makuta. We should’ve known something was up when they had us construct their new armor. This is the least I can do.” Takham was still skeptical, but the Matoran sounded sincere. “Wow… thank you. Now, how do I get my new arm on?” The Matoran grabbed the arm and what looked like a gun his bench. “I’m going to have to put you out so I can put your arm in place,” He said. He pulled the trigger and a ray scanned over Takham’s head, which knocked him out.When Takham woke up, he found himself laying on one of the workbenches, his head throbbing. “So, how do you feel?” the Nynrah Ghost was standing to the side of the bench holding a small tool. “Like I just hit my head on the floor,” Takham said, rubbing his head. “Sorry about that, but I couldn’t have caught you any way. But I was talking about your arm.” Takham looked in amazement at his new right arm; it was attached to his body like his normal arm and didn’t fell weird at all. “Perfect.” he responded, “like it was an actual arm.” “Great! Now try moving it.” Takham tried to raise his arm, and just like a natural movement, it rose off the table. “Amazing!” Takham exclaimed. He twisted his wrist and moved his arm like it had always been part of him. “Thanks.” “Don’t thank me yet. There is one problem with the design. Don’t let it get zapped. A blast of electricity will short out its circuits. Plus it’s made out of protosteal, so it conducts electricity easily.” “Wait, can I channel my element through it?” “Of course, I even designed it so it won’t over heat.” “That is amazing. Thank you.” “It’s the least I could do.” When Takham returned to his Koro, he showed everyone his new arm and tools. The Matoran were just as impressed as he was with them. They awed over the details and power of his new tools, and were amazed at his new arm. It was a good night for Takham, until his nightmare. In his dream he was standing in the middle of his Koro, and everything was peaceful. He began to walk around, but suddenly black flames erupted from one hut. Matoran ran screaming, while Takham tried to absorb the flames. He tried but with no success. Soon the black fire spread to anther hut, than another, and another, until the whole Koro was ablaze. The flames grow higher and higher. They rose so high that when Takham looked up all he saw were flames. Then a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the flames, followed by the form of the Kanohi Kraahkan. "Go ahead and try and stop us, little Toa," Said a deep evil voice. "Even if you douse one flame, the fire will just grow!" Pillars of fire rose up around him, and out of them came the forms of his fallen Toa brethren. Their armor corrupted and their eyes replaced with black holes. “Why didn’t you save us?” they said in unison. “Why couldn’t you have stopped Tridax in time?” “I tried to but… but,” he tried desperately to explain, but he choked on the smoke created by the growing fire. “Now you will rot in Karzahni!” His Toa Brethren charged at him. Takham screamed as he was swallowed by the shadow. Takham woke with a start. He checked himself over, arms, legs, head, they were all there. He looked nervously around his dark hut. The shadows seemed to move around eerily, the voice echoing in his head. Takham summoned a small fire and examined his tent. His tools were still leaned against the side of his tent, his pack beside them. Everything was the same, but he still felt a dark presence. After several minutes of lying in his bed lost in thought, he finally drifted off to sleep.His second dream was much less frightening. He was standing in the middle of a Kini temple, statues of Mata-Nui all around him. He glanced around, trying to figure out why he was here. He had come here for some reason, but he couldn’t remember what it was. It nagged at the back of his mind, and while he tried to remember, the statues around him began to speak. “Takham, you have been chosen. You must travel to the Islands around your own. You will find five more and unite as one. Each has a grudge against your enemy. Your job will be to lead them, either to victory or their own demise.” “But how will I know who these others are?” Takham asked pleadingly. “The first two will be found on Destral. One is of fire, which is of fire no more. The other wears a cursed mask. The next will be found on the peninsula of the old ruler. They will have no natural emotion. The last will be found on island of the yellow legend. The brains and bronze.” “Do I go look for them now?” “No, you will know when to begin.” “But how will I know which ones they are?” “You will know. Now, awaken!” Takham bolted upward, wide awake. The sun was just poking over the mountains. He thought about his dreams. Were they connected? What did they mean? The second one was pretty clear, but the first? Were they visions, or just something rotten he’d ‘eaten’? He lay back down and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, contemplating. He had never had dreams of the future. In fact, he had never had dreams before now. He stared at his new tools. He didn’t know when ’the time’ was going to be, but whenever it was, he would be ready for it.Review Topic

Edited October 16, 2011 by Toa Lapaka

[Toa Lapaka]

2TantrixTantrix woke up; slumped in the same glass tube he had been knocked out in. Chirox was still in the room, and he was mad. He was yelling at his assistants and slamming tables. “I want that failed experiment out of my lab, I want that Kraata burnt, and I want you to get it right!” He bellowed. Tantrix thought this would be a good time to leave; before the Makuta figured out he was awake. Still lying on the floor of his container, he channeled his element and tried to melt his canister. But something was wrong. What was supposed to be a concentrated beam of heat came out as a tiny spark and smoke. What, He thought. Maybe if I try again. He channeled more of his power, but this time he didn’t even get a spark.“What in Mata-Nui?” Takham whispered to himself. One of lab helpers took notice of Tantrix’s consciousness“Um, sir, th-the subject is awake.” He stammered, pointing a black armored finger at Tantrix.“What did you do to my fire, Makuta?” Tantrix yelled as he stood up, infuriated.“Your… fire?” Chirox asked, looking earnestly confused.“You know what I’m talking about! That slug of yours did something to my element, and I want to know what it did!”“Strange, it wasn’t supposed to absorb element,” one of the aides noted.“Silence!” Chirox snapped. He looked over Tantrix with great curiosity. “This is a strange development. I must study it more. Take him to the main laboratory, I’ll do more there.” Chirox studied Tantrix for another moment and then walked out the door. The assistants, looking relieved to be alive, started to open Tantrix’s tube. They reached in to grab him, but he was too fast for them. He tripped one into another and quickly knocked back the other two. He ran out the door as the servants tried to get back up. He got into the hallway just as sirens began to whale. He saw two shadows coming from the end of the hallway, so he turned back and started to run the other way, but two figures emerged from that hallway. Tantrix quickly side jumped into a room. He quickly pushed the locking mechanism into place, and slid down the door panting. He looked around to find that he had locked himself in an armory. There were shelves upon shelves of weapons and mask. There were many weapons, but the tool that attracted him most was a spear in a case against the wall. It had a red shell near the blade and four spikes sticking out from near the top. At the base of the case was inscribed ‘Spear of Fusion 2.0’. Tantrix pressed the release button on the side of the box and grabbed out the spear. Two-point-o? He wondered while handling his new Toa tool, I didn’t know there was a one-point-o. Next he looked for a new mask, seeing that his had been confiscated when he had been captured. He had been a mask maker before he had become a Toa, so he recognized each mask he picked up. He shifted through many masks, none to his liking. They were all either immoral or useless. He kept looking until he came across a large rimmed, reptilian looking mask. Mask of gravity? Well if they stole my element and mask, why can’t I steal one from them? He put on the mask saw that there were two tubes and several tools under it. Getting another idea, Tantrix grabbed a sack from one of the shelves and shoved all the items into his bag. Just as he finished, he heard someone trying to open the door. “Open this door,” the voice from the other side bellowed, followed by a series of loud bangs against the door. Tantrix quickly grabbed the largest blaster he could find and aimed it at the wall opposite of the door, and prayed to Mata-Nui that it led directly out of this fortress. No such luck. Instead he had just blasted straight into a laboratory where large tools hanging from the ceiling were in the middle of mutating a Toa of sonics. Tantrix, unable to simply leave his fellow Toa, fired his weapon at the base of the instruments, destroying them. He ran over and tried to awaken the Toa, but the Toa’s energy was too drained. Tantrix ripped off the Toa’s chains and hoisted him over his shoulder (which was pretty impressive considering how massive his new mutated form was). He blasted the gun, but it had apparently out of ammo. He ran through the open laboratory door, just as the door to the armory burst open.Tantrix lugged the unconscious Toa through the hallways of the base, ducking into rooms whenever he heard footsteps. Finally, unable to move any further, Tantrix ducked into a closet. He leaned his new Toa friend against the wall as began to try to wake the Toa again. After a few minutes of trying, he awoke.“Ugh,” he groaned, “what’s going on?”“Good you’re awake,” Tantrix said, nervously glancing at the door as if it might explode. “Listen, I just saved you from the Makuta, and right now, I could really use your mask of speed.”The Toa of Sonics shook his head like he was trying to wake up. “Okay, just give me a second.”“We might not have a second.”The Toa tried to stand up, swayed and nearly fell on Tantrix. “I’m ok,” he reassured. Tantrix peaked out of the door to make sure the coast was clear. “You do know the way out of here, right?” Tantrix asked.“I know the way, just hold on to my shoulder, tight.” With that, Tantrix and the Toa went racing through the hallways. However, when they reached the outside, there were legions of rahkshi waiting for them. Tantrix, after regaining himself from being dragged for what felt like a kio, looked around for an easy escape. He laid eyes on some caves near the end of the island. He pointed at them and yelled “There!” The Toa understood and triggered his mask again. They went zooming past rahkshi, barely dodging energy bolts and staffs. They reached the mountain, where Tantrix was hoping they would stop and slowly scale the mountain. No such luck. Instead, they went leaping up rocks and around passages until they finally reached a small cave. Tantrix looked out of the opening and saw teams of rahkshi scaling the mountain after them.“We have to seal off the cave,” he said as tried to melt the rocks at the entrance, forgetting his element was gone. The sonic Toa let out a high pitched scream that caused loose rocks to come crashing down and rahkshi to fall over the edges of the mountain. After a few minutes, their cave entrance, as well as many others, was sealed off.That night Tantrix and Dellar (which was what Tantrix learned his name was) made a fire to celebrate their escape.“Do you know how many times I’ve tried to escape?” Dellar asked jovially.“No, how many?” Tantrix asked, while working on a project.“Too many," Dellar laughed. "Hey, what is that project you’ve been working on?” Dellar tried to look over Tantrix’s shoulder.“Finished! Now just got to attach this here, and this one here, there we go.” Tantrix turned around, “How do I look?” Tantrix’s Garia had two tubes sticking out of it that led to two sockets his arms.“What’s that for?” Dellar asked, eyeing Tantrix suspiciously.“Well the mask of gravity allows the user to increase or decrease gravity, however, when tapped into, it can give the user much more power. In fact, at its full potential, it can give the user a Toa of gravity’s ability.”“How do you know all this,” Dellar asked with a confused look on his face.“I did some experiments back when I was a Matoran mask maker. Anyways, since the Makuta have apparently drained my element somehow, I am using this mask to gain control over gravity. Now, there’s just my name left.”“Your name? What’s wrong with your name?”“Nothing, just it was given to me for my fire abilities, but it no longer fits me. Let’s see,” Tantrix thought for a moment. “From now on, call me Batrix.”Review Topic

[Toa Lapaka]

3ZansAfter preforming a burial service for his fallen friends, Zans burnt his Koro, so no one would pillage it and defile their grave. Zans sat against the trees, almost beginning to cry. No, Toa don’t cry, He thought, crying is a sign of weakness. He had no idea what to do next. The only thing he could think of was killing that vile, evil, disgusting Bitil. He should’ve been there to stop him, to protect his Koro. What kind of Toa was he? He had left his people to be slaughtered by that monster Bitil. He slammed his fist against a tree. How could live knowing that he was responsible for his Koro’s demise. He raised his staff to his Kanohi, preparing a plasma blast. He was about to melt his head off when he heard “I know the mask of Telekinesis is annoying, but destroying it while it’s still on your face isn’t smart.” Zans looked up to see a blue and golden armored figure leaning against a tree. “Go away, Toa of psionics, this is none of your business.” “Ah, but it is,” She chided, “See by letting you commit suicide under my knowledge, is basically killing you myself. Even the Toa code agrees with that.” “Then go away.” Zans said angrily, “then you won’t have to be a part of it”. “But it wouldn’t impede my knowledge of it.” She said matter-of-factly, “So please, unless you want to make me a murderer, put down the staff and cheer up.” Though Zans found this Toa extremely annoying, he knew what she said was true. He couldn’t make her an outcaste to the Toa. “Fine,” he said stabbing his staff in the grown. “Good, my name is Centra. What’s yours?” She asked, in what seems to be her forever cheery tone. “Zans,” he grunted. “Very well, Zans, what has put you in this depressed frame of mind?” “What has put me? Those vile Makuta! Bitil destroyed my Koro and all the Matoran in it.” For a moment, the cheery disposition that seemed ever present in Centra left, being replaced with a dark ominous look of deep thought. “So they are going for them,” She said looking off at a nonexistent object. “Going for who?” Zans asked. “Whom. They’re going after any type of Matoran or Toa that poses a threat to their new form.” “New form?” “Well, not new, they evolved into it around thirty-four thousand years ago, but I only found out about it recently. They’re now beings of pure energy, only being contained by their protosteal armor. And Toa of plasma, magnetism, and iron pose the greatest threat to their armor, so they are eliminating them.” “Eliminating them! You mean the Makuta think they can eliminate entire groups of Matoran!” “Not just think, they’re doing it, they’ve already destroyed hundreds of Fe-Koros and Ba-Koros, and now they’re after Matoran of plasma.” “They have to be stopped!” “I know that’s why I came here. I heard there was a plasma Koro here, so I came here to warn you. But apparently I was too late.” “How are we going to stop them, obviously we are no match for the Makuta,” Zans said, hungry for revenge. “Maybe not alone, but if we could find more Toa to join us, we could stand a chance.” “Then we search for more Toa.” Centra was leading Zans through the lush forest of his small Island to an unknown location. She ducked through trees and almost lost Zans three times. Finally, Centra stopped at a beach, with Zans breathless behind her. “Where are we?” Zans asked, still panting. “My boat,” She pointed at a small boat that would barely fit six Toa. “How do you think I got to your Island?” “So, we sail around each island, finding Toa and pack them into this tiny boat; leaving their Koros deserted?” “Hm, I hadn’t thought about that” Centra thought for a minute. “We’ll find villages, warn them, and possibly stay with them if they don’t have any Toa.” “And when do we find Toa?” “Well, maybe if we find more destroyed Koros, we’ll find more Toa to join us.” “It almost sounds like you want more villages destroyed.” “Never! I’m just saying that if we find more Toa, they’ll join our cause.” “Sure,” Zans said, seeing his newfound partner in a new light. “Let’s just get… wait,” Centra looked behind Zans with a searching eyes. “Get down,” She said in a low tone. “What?” Zans asked “Get down!” Centra jumped into Zans knocking him down, just as a bolt of lightning went flying over their heads. “Ah, two Toa, I thought I was only going after one.” Zans looked up to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes coming from shadows of the trees. “What? Too scared to come and face us, Zorrol?” Centra called. A Makuta came walking out of the shadows, his spear at the ready. He wore purple and black armor and a black Kanohi Volitak. “This doesn’t concern you, Centra. Step aside; I’ve only come for Zans.” “To finish what Bitil started?” Zans asked as he rose and readied his own staff. “In a way. we can’t have threats to our plan still existing.” “Leave him alone, Zorrol, your fight is with me.” Centra aimed a lightstone rifle, which seemed to come out of nowhere, at the Makuta and fired. The Makuta dodged the blast and sliced the lightstone, causing it to let out a large flare of light. The Makuta, unbalanced protecting his eyes, was easy for Zans to blast back. Zorrol went crashing into a tree. Zans held his weapon to Zorrol’s head, preparing a plasma blast. The Makuta looked at the staff at his head and pleaded, “Y-you wouldn’t kill me. I-it’s against your code.” “I could kill you,” Zans said, pushing his closer to the Makuta’s neck, “or you could leave me alone, and go back to whatever rock you slithered out from.” “Or," Zorrol said, regaining his composure, "No." Zorrol triggered his intangibility and phased through the ground. He came up behind Zans and kicked him into the tree. He raised his staff, crackling energy. He came down to slice, but instead was raised off his feet and slammed into the dirt. He got up and was shot in the face with a light stone. He went spiraling into a large boulder, and then got slammed into the rock four times, denting his armor. He got back up just to be sliced by a Griffin Gauntlet. He was encrusted in a blue crystal, and crushed by the pressure of the shrinking rock. Zans was stunned. “Y-you killed him.” “No I didn’t, he’s right there.” She pointed at a green gas floating in the wind. “As long as he finds new armor, he should be alright. Unfortunately,” she muttered. I’ll have my vengeance on you Centra, a voice echoed in their heads. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve beaten you five times already, and each time you say the same thing. Now get out of here before I have Zans disintegrate you.” The green-black gas started floating away as fast as it could. Centra laughed hysterically as Zans just stared at her. “Oh, come on Zans; don’t get all serious on me. I didn’t kill him. I’ve beaten him like that five times already, and he just comes back in a new suit of armor every time. Now, let’s get going.” She moved towards her boat, leaving Zans stunned. “Come on Zans, we got to go.” A still befuddled Zans came stalking to the boat. ******* Gehid was doing one of the most important jobs of Iconox, scavenging. He was searching for anything worth saving after ninety-thousand years, a useless job in his mind. He would much rather be in his lab making something worthwhile. But for now, he was out here in the giant unending desert of Bara Magna. He didn’t like that he had to look so far from Iconox, but seemingly they had found anything worth saving in Iconox. He was about to head back when he saw smoke coming from the top of a sand dune. It was either some very lost agori or something on fire. He climbed to the top of the dune and was stunned. There, in the midst of the sand, was what looked like the remaining armor of an ice warrior. Review Topic

Edited October 20, 2011 by Toa Lapaka

[Toa Lapaka]

4Dellar Dellar cut through the rahkshi’s staff with one slice, his new blade sharp and quick. He kicked the shocked rahkshi into two other of its brethren, letting out a sonic blast that shattered all three of their armor. Batrix was to his left, crushing four rahkshi under increased gravity strain. Of course since rahkshi were nothing more than armor beings controlled by kraata, Dellar felt no sorrow for destroying them. Dellar was emitting a sonic hum around himself that he had never done before. He started wandering if it was part of his mutated form, then he started worrying that if he strained more it would get louder and more powerful. That turned to being terrified, which made the humming louder and stronger. Dellar was rooted to the spot. What if he killed everyone around him by his uncontrolled powers? What if he caused the mountain to collapse on all of them? What if… Wait, He thought, I know what’s going on here. He turned around to see a red armored rahkshi pointing its glowing staff at him. He triggered his mask and ran at the Turahk, laying ten blows a second. He landed a final strike that bashed the rahkshi into the cave wall with a sickening crunch. He then turned his attention to the remaining three rahkshi. There was a purple one, a yellow and green one, and a blue and silver one. He prepared an attack, but right when he was going to strike, a red energy arced between the purple and yellow rahkshi. The two rahkshi began to merge into one another, creating a new monstrous combination. Dellar stared over at Batrix. Batrix dropped his spear and stepped away from it.Dellar prepared an attack on the newly made amalgamation, but he saw the strangest thing. The fusion turned on its rahkshi brethren and let out a sonic scream, blowing the rahkshi backwards. The befuddled rahkshi raised its staff and pointed it at the mixture, and then made a lowering motion. The fusion began to sink to its knees under the increased gravity. The rahkshi combo rose forcibly to its feet and began walking towards the rahkshi of gravity. The rahkshi tried desperately to increase gravity around the fusion, but that didn’t stop it. The fusion swatted at the rahkshi, smashing it against the cave wall. The rahkshi slammed with a crack landed with a thud. The fusion then turned to Batrix. Batrix grabbed up his spear and pointed it at the fusion, as if he had never held a spear before. The combo cocked its head and stared at Batrix. An understanding seemed to past between the two, because Batrix dropped his spear and looked at his creation. “Wow, um, thanks. You can go now.” Batrix stuttered. On command the rahkshi fusion walked out of the cave. Batrix shifted the spear in his hand and muttered, “2.0.” “You know there will be more,” Dellar stated. “I know, and we’ll take care of them like we took care of these. But now we have a giant brute canvassing the base of this mountain.”“Are you sure it’s smart to trust a rahkshi fusion?” “Apparently, the spear of fusion gives me a telepathic link to whatever I fuse. I can control it with a thought.” Batrix’s answer still didn’t make Dellar feel any better about the idea of trusting a rahkshi, but Dellar didn’t feel like arguing the point. Batrix summoned his powers to reconstruct the rock barricade, and the two walked further into their cave. They had been leading small raids on the Makuta fortress during the broad daylight, because at dark the Makuta were strongest. They had stolen a new blade for Dellar, a few supplies, and basically anything they thought would aggravate the Makuta. They knew it would be risky, but so was their being on Destral. The two Toa slumped down on opposite sides of a fire. Batrix grabbed two fruits from their stash and passed one to Dellar. “So,” Batrix asked while ‘eating’ his food, “Did you ever think you would end up like this when you were a Matoran?” “Like what?” Dellar asked. “Stuck in a cave with a cross wired Toa of fire, a fugitive to the Makuta, scrounging for food?” “Karzahni, no.” “Yeah,” Batrix sighed, “being Toa isn’t anything like you’d think it would be. The Toa in my Koro made it look so simple. Just swoop in and save the day with your amazing power.” “We never had Toa in my Koro,” Dellar said. “They attracted too much noise. In fact, for a De-Matoran, becoming a Toa is the worst thing possible.” “Really?” “It’s worse than being exiled. You have to leave your friends, your work, and try to find your own way, and anybody who still talks to you just insults you. The best thing that anyone did for me after I became a Toa was give me this mask.“ “You mean someone gave you that mask!” Batrix looked amazed, as if giving someone a mask was a great crime. “Please, lower your voice.” Dellar squinted his eyes as if the noise pained him. “Sorry. But someone seriously gave you that mask?” “Yes, what’s wrong with that?” “Usually Kanohi are grey until you put it on, than it turns the same color of the Toa’s armor. However, a mask maker can dye his mask any color he wants.” Batrix explained, “And giving someone a black mask of speed is worse than a death wish.” “How?” “The black Kanohi Kakama has a dark, gruesome history. Every Toa who wears one has had a terrible death. No story with a Toa wearing a black Kakama ever ends well for that Toa. It’s considered a cursed mask.” “Really?” Dellar was skeptical. He had learned that Batrix knew a lot about masks, but this just couldn’t be true. “I’ve used this mask a hundred times, and nothing bad ever happened to me.” “They all think that. That they can beat the curse, but each one of them have horrible deaths. Genocides, destruction, and plagues litter the black Kakama’s past.” There was a long awkward silence. He had never believed in curses, but Batrix knew a lot about masks. He was rarely wrong when it concerned masks and their folk lore. Dellar wondered if he would be the next victim in the ebony Kakama’s curse. They sat for a bit longer until Batrix spoke up, “I’ve always wondered…” “Wondered what?” “Toa and Matoran of sonics have extremely good hearing, right?” “Yes,” Dellar said. He was pretty sure what his friend’s question was. “Then doesn’t it hurt when you let out a sonic blast or high pitch scream.” Dellar had heard that question before, “At first it does, but then you create a reflex. As soon as I use a blast, I create a small deafening barrier around myself.” “Ah, that explains it.” They stayed in silence for the next few minutes, until both of them drifted off to sleep. The next morning Dellar woke up before Batrix. Seeing his comrade still snoozing, Dellar decided to take a walk around the cave. Though he didn’t know it then, something drew him to the caves mouth. He walked into the sunlight, not thinking about the fact that they had sealed the cave last night. He was momentarily blinded by the sudden light, but then regained his sight, but what he saw was impossible. He was back in De-Koro. The tall silver buildings lined with padding to stop any echoes, the small huts made of soft materials, everything was just as it had been. He could see Matoran walking around like little protodites; he could even hear Krakua humming. He went running down the mountain to his old home. He recognized one of his old friends doing some odd jobs and went to greet him. “Herron, I’m back.” He said, so loudly that he thought it would cause the Matoran around him to cringe, but they didn’t. In fact, Herron acted as if he hadn’t heard Dellar at all. “Herron, Herron?” Dellar waved his hand in front of the Matoran, but Herron didn’t react. Another Matoran cam e running up and after a brief conversation two ran off to some other part of the Koro. The worst part was Dellar recognized the Matoran. It was him. The armor, the mask, it looked just like him before he left. Dellar walked over to a Matoran and slapped at him. His hand went right through. “They are just memories, shadow of your past. And I should know about shadows,” said a deep booming voice. Dellar turned around to see a large creature, dragon like in looks. “Makuta,” Dellar said through gritted his teeth. He raised his sword to strike. “Swords so easily drawn beg to be used... and are rarely so easy to put away again. Trust me if I was still with the Brotherhood you would already be dead. Come, walk with me.” “Then why are you here?” “To warn you. You are part of a prophecy, a prophecy about the defeat of the leader of the Brotherhood.” “Teridax?” “Yes, Teridax, you and six others are supposed to bring an end to him after his greatest defeat.” “Which will be?” “The prophecy isn’t clear. It does speak of you however.” “What does it say?” “’One of sound who wears the cursed mask, changed by an evil plan.’” “And what does it say about the others?” “’A protector with a false limb. A Toa of fire who controls an element not his own. A member of a group disbanded. An ice warrior with no affection. One of plasma with a wounded pride. And a chronicler with a secret.’ These shall be your companions.” “One of them is definitely Batrix, but where do I find the others.” “That’s not your job. That is being taken care of; your job is to survive. Teridax is already aware that the prophecy is beginning. He won’t stop until your dead.” “So what do I do now? Sit around and stay alive?” “Exactly, Teridax will send more enemies at you. Just try and stay alive until the first Toa I mentioned comes for you.” “The protector with a false limb?” “Yes, but you can’t tell anyone I told you this.” “Batrix is part of this prophecy, why shouldn’t I tell him?” “If anyone knows I talked to you, Teridax will realize I’m not dead. Now it’s time to wake up.” The Makuta snapped his clawed fingers and Dellar woke up panting. Batrix knew something was wrong with Dellar. He had been acting strangely since he had had his nightmare. Batrix asked what the nightmare was about, but Dellar was not talking. Not seeing any reason to continue pushing, Batrix dropped it. They were going to raid a fortress, but when Batrix brought it up; Dellar said he thought they should stop their raids. He said that it was drawing to much attention to them, and they had already gotten under the Makuta’s skin. Batrix thought this was weird considering that Dellar had always been the more enthusiastic of the two about raiding the base. But he agreed all the same. That night the two were getting a fire ready, when both of them froze instantly. “I hear something,” Dellar said. “And I just got a message from my fusion. We have visitors.” They ran to the mouth of the cave and cleared the rock blockage to see the intruders. There were three Toa; each wore the honorary armor of a Toa Hagah. One had crimson and bronze armor and wore the Kanohi Suletu; a Toa of flame. The second Toa had gun-metal-grey and black armor and wore the Kanohi Tyrna; a Toa of magnetism. And the leader of the Toa wore silver and burnt metal armor with the Kanohi Huna; a Toa of iron. Are these some of the Toa of that prophecy? Dellar wondered. I thought he said there was only one protector. Dellar stared down quizzically at the three. “Should we help them up?” he asked, never taking his eyes off the trio. “No,” Batrix answered, “they could be working for the Makuta. We’ll wait and see if they make it up, and if they do, we’ll hear them out.”The threesome eventual did make it up to the mountain, and upon finding the dismantled stone blockage, entered the cave. “Hello,” the Toa of fire called out, “Hello, anybody in here?” “Hello,” Dellar stepped out of the shadows right behind the trio, scaring all three of them. “Mata-Nui! Don’t do that,” the Toa magnetism exclaimed. “What are you doing up here?” Batrix asked, coming out of his shadow. “We were going to ask you that,” the Toa of Iron said. “We heard that there were two Toa hiding in the caves in Destral, so we came to see if the rumors were true.” “And now that you see that we are here, what are you going to do,” Batrix asked. “We have a boat; we can take you from this Island back to your homes.” The Toa of fire offered. “No,” Batrix said, rather sternly. “Excuse me?” The leader asked, looking startled. “You three are Toa Hagah, the best of the best, right?” “Right…” The Toa of Iron was trying to make sense of Batrix’s question. “Then why would you, the most honorary and upright Toa, where an immoral mask such as the Tyrna?” He pointed his finger at the mask on the Toa of magnetism’s face. “Well I-I, um, you see,” The Toa of magnetism stuttered. “And also, how did rumors of us spread so quickly, we’ve only been up here for a few weeks. No rumor spreads that quickly.” Dellar, his mind slowed from his mutation, started to catch up with Batrix’s train of thought. “Good point, Batrix,” Dellar said, “And how did you three know exactly which mountain range to look in? Or, how did three Toa Hagah, traitors to the Makuta, get through here without getting incinerated?” “Now, see here!” The Toa of fire began. “Your masters should have taught you how to be more deceptive.” Batrix said, spear at the ready. “Now, are you going to go easily, or will we have to make you?” “I guess our covers are blown.” The Toa of iron drew his sword, and the other two followed his example. “The Makuta want you two dead, and they sent us here to make it that way.” He raised his hand and clenched his fist. Instantly, the two Toa felt their armor squeezing the air from their lungs. Batrix, barely able to breathe, channeled his powers around the Toa of Iron, reversing gravity’s pull. The Hagah went crashing into the cave ceiling, breaking his concentration. Dellar and Batrix dropped to their knees, gasping for air. However, the two remaining Hagah didn’t give them any time to recover. The Toa of fire came rushing at Dellar, ready to slice. His spear struck Dellar, but during the Makuta’s experiment, they had reinforced his armor with layers of protosteal. The blade bounced off Dellar’s armor harmlessly. Dellar grabbed the Toa of fire’s ankle and flipped him over with ease. He put his foot on the fire Toa’s chest, but the Toa increased the heat in his body to scorching levels. Dellar removed his foot and hopped, trying to keep his burnt foot off the ground. The Toa of Fire blasted him back with a flare. Dellar landed with a thud. Batrix wasn’t doing well either. The Toa of Magnetism had magnetized him to the wall and came rushing towards him, ax drawn. Batrix tried to roll, but he was pinned. He focused his powers around the Toa, increasing gravity so the Toa couldn’t move. Batrix fell to the floor. The Toa of magnetism used his powers to counter the strengthened gravity, putting strain on both of them. Eventually Batrix relinquished his gravity powers, unknowingly releasing the Toa of Iron. He could tell they were out matched. He used his telepathic link and summoned his fusion. It would take a few minutes for it to arrive; he just hoped he could hold them off for that long. He pointed his spear, ready to create another fusion. He was wondering what a Toa of magnetism would look like when fused to a rock. He triggered the spears energy, but his arm was suddenly pulled up. The blast hit a rock and died. He looked over to see the Toa of Iron regaining his composure. Dellar was fending off the fire Toa’s spear with his sword. He was doing a pretty good job considering that his opponent had been trained for years. He couldn’t keep it up forever though. Eventually he would be overpowered. He had to end this. He summoned his element and shot a deafening blast at the Toa. He went hurtling through the air and hit the wall with a hard crunch. I think I broke his spine, Dellar thought. The Toa of Fire stood up and brushed himself off. Apparently not. The Toa turned to Dellar, with murder in his eyes. This was good. The first thing Dellar had learned about fighting is when your opponent is angry he’s more likely to make dumb mistakes. The Toa came charging at Dellar again. He started slicing madly. Dellar dodged each attack and grabbed the shaft of the spear. Using his increased strength, he ripped the spear out of his hand and broke it over his knee. The fire bender’s element showed in his anger. He came charging at Dellar, forgetting that Dellar was two times larger than him. Dellar grabbed him and slammed him into the cave wall, this time actually breaking his spine. The Toa cried out in pain. Dellar looked over seeing his friend trying to fend off two Toa. He wasn’t doing that well until a large purple and yellow green rahkshi fusion blasted the Toa of iron back. Batrix was stilled being thrown around by altering magnetic pulls while the Toa of magnetism laughed. Dellar triggered his mask and rammed the Toa, knocking him right out of the cave. The Toa rolled off a cliff, barely able to grasp the ledge. “That wiped the smile from his face,” Batrix joked as Dellar helped him up. They looked over at the rahkshi mauling the Toa of iron. “You might want to call off your fuse before he kills him.” Batrix stared at the rahkshi and it stood up, revealing a bruised and beaten Toa of iron. “What do we do with them now?” Dellar asked. Batrix again stared at his creature. The fusion started to pick up the fallen Toa Hagah. “Oh and you might want to get the one hanging from the cliff.” He called after it. The fuse gave a thumbs up and hoisted the hanging Hagah over its shoulder. “What did you tell it to do?” Dellar asked. “To drop them off for the Makuta,” He said smugly. “But didn’t the Makuta put up a new fence that’s ten foot tall?” Dellar still didn’t get the joke “Exactly.” A wide grin spread across Dellar’s mask. The two began laughing hysterically. Review Topic

Edited October 21, 2011 by Toa Lapaka

[Toa Lapaka]

5Krallis It was finished. Gehid had been working on it for months, and now it was finally finished. But it still needed weapons. Gehid grabbed a duel slicer off his shelf and a shield thornax launcher combo. He put one in each of its hands and stepped back to look at his finished project. It stood about seven feet tall and still wore the strange helmet he had found the head in. He tried taking it off once, but the heat it had endured had melted it to its head. He had named this robot Krallis after finding an inscription in the inside of its chest. It had taken him hours trying to decipher the code it was in, but it was similar enough to his language that he could interpret it. It had read ‘Krallis 2853 T’. Gehid was pretty sure that the numbers stood for the model number, but he still didn’t know what the T stood for. He guessed that it had indicated that Krallis had a function that other designs didn’t. Now all that was left was to power it up. He grabbed two shock inducing tools and put them to Krallis’ chest. It sent a jolt of energy to the small crystal that acted as Krallis’ power source. Krallis’ eyes lit up yellow as he sat upright. Krallis looked around trying to get use to his new surroundings. “Krallis, voice recognition activate.” Gehid commanded. Krallis turned to Gehid and awaited his next instructions. “Stand,” Gehid ordered. Krallis leapt to his feet. “Follow.” Gehid walked out of his workshop with Krallis following him. Gehid led Krallis through Iconox while agori stared at him and murmured behind his back. He finally reached his destination of Arena Iconox where Glatorian were practicing. A couple looked over at him and his robot, and one even yelled out, “Hey check out shorty and his tin can”. The Glatorian burst in laughter. “Hey, what you going to do with that? Clean the arena!” another called out. Gehid ignored the jabs and led Krallis to some targets.“Krallis, attack mode one.” Krallis took a fighting stance. He ran at one of the targets and sliced through it. He aimed his thornax launcher and blew off another. He did a back flip and sliced through the third, and then did a spinning move and destroyed the last with the pointed end of his shield. The Glatorian stood in amazement of the robot’s skill. “That’s nothing,” Gehid called out, “Who wants to fight it?!” The Glatorian shifted uneasily, but none of them answered. “Oh come, someone must want to try the amazing Krallis out!”“I’ll fight it,” Strakk yelled out. Gehid was nervous, but he didn’t show it. He didn’t know how well his project would do against one of the best Glatorian. “Very well,” Gehid called back. “Krallis, battle mode five, if you would.” Krallis’ eyes lit up red and took a battle stance. Gehid motioned for everyone to back up. Strakk and Krallis began circling each other, looking for weak spots. Before Strakk hadn’t even had time to size up his opponent when Krallis ran at him, his duel slicer raised. Strakk made a horizontal leap, barely dodging the slice. He had no time to recover though, as the android hacked precisely at the weak links in his armor. Strakk blocked the blows, unable to fathom how the robot could move so quickly. Strakk eventually got enough distance from Krallis to ready a blow of his own. He swung his ax at Krallis, but Krallis deflected his blow with his shield. Glatorian awed at the two’s battle. Strakk and Krallis clashed blades time and time again, but Krallis always seemed to have the edge. Krallis knocked Strakk to the earth and put his knife to his throat. The Glatorian around them started yelling “NO”. “Krallis fight over, code five.” Gehid called out. Krallis removed his knife from Strakk’s neck. He reached out a hand to Strakk, but Strakk refused it with a scowl. Strakk got up a stomped over to Gehid. He snatched Gehid up with one hand and held him eye level. “What do you think you’re doing!? Your robot almost killed me!” He bellowed. “I-I’m sorry,” Gehid stuttered,” h-he w-was set on th-the highest level.” “You think you can get that thing in the Arena?! He’ll slaughter everyone he faces.” Strakk threw Gehid on down and raised his hand. The agori let out a yelp and tried to cover his face. Krallis came over with amazing speed to protect his master. He deflected the blow with his shield and took aim with his slicer. But he didn’t strike. Instead, Krallis shot a freezing blast at Strakk. It blew him back and froze him to the already ice covered floor. The whole arena was silent, except for Strakk. He was yelling out profanities and threats at Gehid and Krallis. Gehid stared up at his creation. He had never added any ice shooting abilities. He started wondering what other abilities Krallis had locked inside him.“Krallis, let’s go back to my workshop. I’ve still got some work to do.” The two arrived back at Gehid’s workshop. “Krallis, initiate shut down.” A sound of machinery powering down came from Krallis followed by his eyes going dim. Krallis stood motionless in the side of the room. Gehid wiped the sweat from his brow. He had a lot of work left to do on Krallis. He should’ve known better than to take him out before he was tested. He sat down on his workbench and started fiddling around with some tools. It was late, he decided, he would fix Krallis tomorrow. He turned out the lights and took one last look at Krallis. There was something about that robot. And with that thought he left his project alone in the workshop. Krallis stood motionless in the corner, his true self locked inside the robotic mind. It had been a month since the encounter with Strakk. Gehid had trained Krallis in the arena for all of this time, making minor changes after each practice. His main goal was to use more of Krallis’ ice abilities. He had improved on the weapons so they could channel them better, and even added ice like designs. Now it was time for Gehid to get him into the arena. This was what led him to Metus. “See, Krallis operates on an AI, which stands for artificial intelligence,” Gehid explained to a very bored Metus, “so the more he fights, the more he learns about his opponent.” “Uh huh,” Metus grunted, obviously paying no attention. “He also can shoot a freezing blast from his weapons that can stop a thornax.” “Uh huh, listen, uh, jihad.” “It’s Gehid, sir.” “Yeah whatever, do you know how many fighting robots people try to push off on me to fight in the arena?” “Well, none of them can be as good as…” “Too many. And each time when put to the test there destroyed like that,” Metus said as he snapped his fingers. “Well, sir, that won’t be a problem with Krallis he is built to last and…” “Listen, Jahob, you might have built a very good machine, but none is ever as good as a true Glatorian. Just leave the fighting to the true articles.” Metus started to walk away, and Gehid knew he was about to lose the deal. “He’s already defeated Strakk,” Gehid blurted out. That got Metus’ attention. He turned around and looked at Gehid. “I’ll tell you what,” he said, “If that thing can pass a couple of tests, I think I might let it in. Meet me tomorrow at the arena, and we’ll give that thing a shot.” “Oh he can, sir, trust me.” Metus gave a smirk, “We’ll see about that.” The next morning Krallis and Gehid showed up bright and early to Iconox arena. Targets and fighting dummies were already set up. In the middle of the arena stood Metus and Strakk. Strakk had a scowl on his face that showed how much he didn’t want to be here.“Ah welcome, uh, Johid and Krowless.” “Gehid and Krallis,” Gehid corrected, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, welcome, now let’s begin training. First, we need to test your shooting accuracy.” “Easy, Krallis, target practice one.” Krallis’ aimed his thornax launcher at the first target. He fired and it hit dead on, the mere force of the blast knocking the target off, leaving only a smoking post. Metus and Strakk stared in awe while Gehid stood arms crossed with a smug look on his face. “Ok… next event,” Metus stuttered. Krallis had completed dodging, blocking, attacking, and parrying. Now all that was left was sparring, and his opponent was Strakk. This time Strakk wasn’t even a match. Krallis ran at him immediately and blew him back with a blunt hit from his shield.Strakk went toppling backwards into the arena wall. Before he could get up though, his hands and feet were locked in bands of ice. Krallis’ eyes returned to yellow and he offered a hand to the ensnared Strakk.“Not very bright,” Metus muttered. “That’s just his default ‘fight over’ pose. I programmed him so he can instantly know when his opponents defeated,” Gehid explained. “Uh, Krallis, absorb ice.” Krallis extended his hand and absorbed the cold, making the ice shackles melt. “So, is he the next Glatorian,” Gehid asked.“I think you’ve got something here. Come see me tomorrow and we’ll sign the papers.” “G-e-h-i-d, there we go and here are his voice control commands,” Gehid handed the papers over to Metus who looked very pleased. “Thank you, I’ll take good care of Krallis, I promise,” Metus gave a shrewd smile. “His first fight is at Tajun; maybe you can come see it.” Metus looked down at Krallis’ controls. “Krallis, Follow.” Metus walked to the door of the hut with Krallis following. Metus turned back to Gehid one last time before leaving. “You won’t be sorry,” with those words he walked out the door, and somehow Gehid already was. Review Topic Edited October 23, 2011 by Toa Lapaka

[Toa Lapaka]

6

Takham

Takham was fending off a Muaka from his Koro. It wasn’t much of a fight. Takham had faced tons of the Makuta’s Rahi, he had even helped create some. He knew their attack patterns and weak spots, so he could take down any of them with ease.The Muaka lunged at him, only to be repulsed back by Takham’s shield. The Rahi had never felt anything like the Toa’s shield. It seemed to blow back anything that came near it. The Toa probably didn’t want to get it dirty. Foolish Toa, all they thought about was how they looked. Didn’t they know that they could just lick themselves clean? This Toa in particular was very annoying. He dodged every lunge and advance the Muaka attempted. He wouldn’t last much longer though. Then the Muaka would feast on his bones.Takham was worried. This Muaka was holding back for some reason, like he was waiting for something. It was times like now he wished he had chosen the mask of translation over the mask of truth, so he could understand what the Muaka was trying to do. The Muaka reared up on its hind tread and came slicing down at Takham. Takham parried the slice with his shield and struck the Muaka’s underbelly with his sword hilt. The Muaka roared in pain and started madly slashing. Takham dodged each one and jabbed it in the eye. The Muaka scratched its eye vigorously. It made a hairpin turn on its tread and loped into the forest. Takham didn’t know why, but he followed. Nor did he know what he would do when he found it. All he knew was he had to catch this Muaka. He followed through the forest, but as he ran through the forest it began changing around him. The trees blackened and the leaves turned a sickly shade of yellow. A thick mist formed around him blocking his vision, but somehow the Muaka stayed in vision. He followed it through the demented forest, not thinking anything of it until the Muaka reached a clearing and burst into smoke. He stared in awe as the smoke twisted around making strange shapes. First it formed two pedestals which turned solid. Next came a black throne between the pedestals. Suddenly four brick walls sprouted from the ground and grew around him, a ceiling connecting them at the top. Finally the smoke formed a figure Takham had hoped he would never see again.“Hello Takham,” Tridax said while brandishing his spear.“Tridax, what are you doing here?” Takham asked sharply as he took the defensive position.“I’m here to tell you something.” He pointed his spear at Takham and the mist turned to smoke. Takham gasped for air as the harsh smoke filled his lungs. Tridax leisurely strolled over to the choking Toa and whispered in his ear, “I’ll see you soon.”Takham shot up right in his bed. “It was just a dream,” he comfort himself. He had had several nightmares like this for weeks. All of which ended with Tridax attacking him. At first he had thought it was his nerves. But as they became more frequent, he realized they weren’t just high strung nerves, it was Tridax calling him out using his telepathy. He had kept silent about these nightmares, but now Tridax was telling him he was getting close. He had to leave, if he stayed he would only be putting his Koro in danger. He got up from his bed and stumbled around in the darkness until he found his sword. He picked it up and instantly the fire like edges gave a faint glow of energy, enough to let Takham see his surroundings. He exited his hut and walked into the village. It was the middle of the night, so no Matoran were out and the only sound was the chirping of various insect Rahi that hunted in the night. He passed through the village quietly, as not to startle any Matoran that might be still awake, until he reached the hut of Turaga Hyth. He knocked on the door silently, and to his shock, a loud, “Come in,” was its reply. He walked into the hut to find the Turaga of fire sitting cross-legged in the middle of a ring of candles with his eyes closed as if deep in meditation.“I hope I’m not disturbing you, Turaga Hyth,” Takham said as he walked into the hut, slowly closing the door behind him.“Not at all, come, join me in meditation,” The Turaga said as he motioned Takham closer. Takham took a seat next to Hyth, crossing his legs and closing his eyes like the old Turaga. “I find in my old age that meditating with my element around me gives me strength. And with my busy schedule during the day, I can only find time to meditate at night.” Takham let those words sink in. He wondered what his life would be like when he became a Turaga, assuming he didn’t die before he became a Turaga. “So, what has brought our brave protector to my hut at such a late hour? Surely it is not another dream.” Takham had told Hyth about his dream of the about the Great Spirit telling him about his destiny, purposefully leaving out the one about the Kanohi Kraahkan.“Actually, it is, it’s about several dreams I’ve been having lately.”“Oh?” the Turaga said, never facing the Toa or opening his eyes.“You remember I told you about Tridax, and what happened with him? Well, he’s been sending me messages in my sleep, telling me he’s coming for me.”“Messages, how do you know they’re messages? How do you know that it isn’t your high strung nerves mixed with the pressures of guarding the Koro that is causing your nightmares?”“I thought that was the problem too, at first. But then he kept sending me messages in my sleep, and the newest one was ‘I’ll see you soon’.”“Hm,” The Turaga thought about this for a moment and then asked, “What do you plan to do about these night visions?”“That’s what I’ve been thinking, and I’ve come to a conclusion. It would be stupid of me to stay here and put you and all the Matoran in danger. I have to leave the Koro, if only to protect it.”The Turaga’s eyes slowly opened and he looked at Takham with a questioning gaze. “You have to stop protecting to protect? Doesn’t that sound rather contradictive? What if Tridax comes when you are gone looking for you? Then we’ll be defenseless and he’ll destroy us all.”“If he comes while I’m here he’ll burn down the Koro and kill all the Matoran just to insult my abilities. I can promise he won’t come here when I’m gone. He’s tracking me through a mental link that Toa Hagah have to their Makuta so the Makuta can summon them quickly. It’s not strong enough to completely hunt me down, but it’s strong enough to give a general location. The closer he gets, the worse my nightmares get, and this last one was the worst.”“But if you stay I and the Matoran could possibly help you beat Tridax,” Hyth offered, obviously trying to get Takham to stay. “And you wouldn’t have to face him alone.”Takham shook his head abysmally. “Tridax took down my team of highly trained Toa. He would murder the Matoran with a snap of his fingers and not bat an eye. No, I couldn’t ask you or the Matoran to give your lives for me. The best choice is to leave and fight him when he comes to me.”There was a long silence between the two, the only sound coming from the oddly loud crackling fire of the candles.“So, when are you leaving?”“The sooner the better. I’ll pack my things tonight and I’ll leave in the morning, long enough to let the Matoran I’m leaving.”“Very well, I must say I don’t agree with your choice, but it does sound like the wisest option.”“Thank you, I’ll see you in the morning.”Takham gathered up his few possessions, his sword, his shield, and the few other things he owned. He picked up the small description he had written about his dream. He knew he would have to leave sometime, but he thought that it would be months, even years away. He enjoyed being a Koro Toa once again. It was so much simpler than his time as a Toa Hagah. He liked doing menial chores like patrolling the Koro. He would miss it. He sat in his bead, too nervous to go to sleep, and also afraid that if he slept Tridax would be there when he woke up.The next morning all the Matoran gathered around the stage in the middle of the Koro which was only ever set up when the Turaga had an announcement. There was nervous chatter amongst the Matoran about what was so important that Turaga Hyth had set up the stage so early in the morning. These were silenced however when the Turaga himself and Toa Hagah Takham came on stage.The Turaga cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably on stage.“I have grave news to tell you,” He began. “Toa Takham has served this Koro greatly for the time he has spent, but now he must leave.” There was an uproar among the Matoran. Takham was just leaving them? Wasn’t he supposed to protect them? “Quiet down, quiet down,” The Turaga called out trying to regain the attention of the crowd. “He and I have determined that his leaving is in the best interests of this Koro. It’s not that he’s tired of protecting; it’s that he has reached a place where his presence will put this Koro at danger. He may come back when his own personal problems are over, but until then he must stay away from this Koro. He will be missed.”Takham was at the village’s outskirts, giving one last look back before he began walking. When Turaga Hyth’s speech was over it became a mad house. Matoran started yelling at him, pleading for him to stay. To be honest he didn’t remember the Turaga’s speech at all. All he could concentrate on were the downtrodden faces of the Matoran he was leaving. He tried not to think about it, but there faces just seemed to cloud his mind. He tried to think of anything else, but they just kept coming back. He finally leaned against a tree and stood there until he could clear his head. He sat there for a minute, but then he thought he heard something. He got into a defensive stance and called out “Who’s there”! There was no reply. He kept staring off into the direction of the noise until he saw a flash of yellow armor. It was Muaka, he was sure of it, and under normal circumstances he would’ve stayed and fought. After all he had nothing to fear. It was only a Rahi, but after his dream about the Muaka, he ran.He flew through the forest, and although Muaka make very little sound while running, he could hear it coming after him. He kept running, but soon the one faint sound of a Muaka chasing its prey turned to two, and they were getting closer. Then, from some limb, jumped an unseen third Muaka that cut him off. The three jungle cats began circling around him looking for weak points in his armor. He followed their movements, shield raised. He was in trouble and he knew it, he could take one Muaka, possibly two, but three were too many. After several minutes of circling, one of Muaka’s pounced. Takham made a quick movement to block it off with his shield, and the Muaka was propelled backwards into a tree. That was the only symbol the other two needed. They pounced simultaneously. Takham blocked one, but the other one was too fast. It stabbed him in his good arm and pinned him to the ground. It was about to begin eating him, but as it brought its head down, it was pierced by an arrow. It let out a loud roar and stared off at the origins of the arrow. Standing on a tree branch was a tall brown armored Toa. He had already launched his second arrow at its hind tread. The Rahi went limping off into the forest. One of the two remaining Rahi shot out its neck at the new opponent. The Toa of Stone moved with the agility of an air Toa before the Rahi could crunch down on him, leaving it to get a mouth full of tree bark. The mysterious Toa summoned a pillar of rock to burst out of the ground into the Rahi’s neck. The Muaka quickly retracted its throat quickly and lunged angrily at the Toa, The other Muaka joining him. Takham thought for sure he was dead, but he quickly summoned a stone dome over himself. The Muaka crashed into it, smashing several of their sharp teeth. They quickly scampered off into the forest.Takham was about to thank the unknown Toa, but before he could the Toa grabbed his arm and told him “come on, there is more on the way”! The Toa dragged him behind for a few minutes, but Takham eventually got to his feet and ran with him. They kept it up, the stone elemental knocking down tree’s as they went, until they reached the foot hill of a mountain.“We’re going to climb all the way up there?” Takham asked.“No,” The Toa said. He touched a rock that had an X carved on it and summoned his powers to make a Toa sized hole appear. He pulled Takham inside and resealed the opening. “Light,” He said quickly. Takham obliged by creating a small fire in the palm of his hand. The Toa of stone moved his hand over the cave wall until he found another X. He again triggered his powers to make an opening, but this opening lead to a rock ledge overlooking a river of lava. On this ledge were what Takham believed to be a stone ‘tent’ and many supplies scattered around it.After Takham finally caught his breath, he said “Thanks for saving me, Toa…”“Arlow” he said. Arlow spoke in a deep gruff voice that told you he was not to be messed with. He wore a strange combination of rock and metal armor with a tool belt around his waist that carried multiple daggers and strangely shaped rocks with random stuff sticking out of them. He grabbed the bow from over his shoulder and began crunching it in his hand. This in combination with his elemental powers turned the bow into a small rock with a string sticking out which he stuck into an empty slot on his belt.“Okay, Arlow, thanks for saving me.” Takham said. Arlow grunted his ‘you’re welcome’. Arlow moved over to his tent, sat down and began absorbing a piece of fruit.Neither one attempted to strike up a conversation, both being rather quiet Toa, but they both learned a lot about each other through their power of observation. Takham examined Arlow with the same attention to detail that had been partly responsible for getting him on Tridax’s Hagah team.Arlow was quiet in nature and did not have company very often. He seemed to be prepared for everything with his belt of rocks, which meant he had probably been trained to be, or learned the hard way. He seemed to have the opposite attributes of most Po-Matoran, which were like a big pile of rocks: nice and cheerful, but very plain and similar to each other. Arlow seemed to have the characteristics of a rock with a diamond inside: hard to crack, which would be good in interrogations, but with many valuable secrets inside.Arlow had seemingly used a similar type of surveillance on Takham. Because as soon as Takham was done observing him, Arlow stated, “You’re running from the Makuta.”“How did you…”“You can always stay here,” Arlow said. He didn’t say it like an invitation, more like a choice. “This is probably one of the safest places on Nynrah, but if you don’t want to, you can always hide with your ghost friends,” He said as he motioned to Takham’s robotic arm. The way he spoke made it sound like he didn’t care one way or the other, but his eyes, which were usually stony and uninviting, had a sparkle of wanting, like he desired company.Takham thought over the proposition. The Nynrah ghost’s would sell him out in a heart stone pulse for the right price, and Arlow seemed trust worthy. If he wasn’t, Takham’s mask would let him know.“Deal,” Takham walked over to Arlow and shook hands. “My names Takham, by the way.”A smile spread across Arlow’s face as he said, “I guessed.”Review Topic

Edited November 4, 2011 by Toa Lapaka