Tales Of Xioc Nui I:, Treachery in the Ice Options

Two: An Unwanted Destiny

Kortec spent two afternoons in the Grand Library researching this “Stone of Spirits.” He checked legends, lore, and odd phenomena. Soon after his last note, he figured out their possible plan. He rushed out of the library and to his house.

He grabbed a stack of tablets and some tools. He scribbled four letters to four Matoran of the other four inhabitable Xiocs. They were to come to the Ruins of the Temple to discuss the possibility. He received replies from all four. Some nicer than others. They all gathered to the Ruins that night.

The ruins were located in Ga-Xioc, so Kortec had to cross the Ga-Ko Connection Bridge. A fierce storm was brewing on the horizon, and the Ko-Matoran didn’t like the thought of getting stranded on an ice-and-stone bridge that had been erected long ago. The storm got closer to the bridge, gathering almost too fast. Kortec started running as he neared the half point.

Now the storm pounced on the strip of ice. Thunder cracked, the rain pounded, and it got warmer. Wait. Warmer? Kortec stopped dead, fearing what was behind him. He spun around, holding a wrench he brought by accident. Nothing. But an odd warm sensation filled the air. He returned his mind to the task on hand.

He crossed the bridge and onto solid land. Still that sensation…. Grrrrrr. Kortec cried out and spun, his wrench colliding with the side of something. He opened his eyes and saw A completely gray and silver creature. It was so thin that it swayed in the winds. It’s long tail ended in a blaster, somehow part of it’s anatomy. It was four-legged and had two arms. It’s head was almost too large for it’s body with a single blue eye. He recognized it as a Shadow Scout, used by all of the Six Lords. They come in many variations, but this was a Stealth/Hunter Rank One. They were made to spy on untrusted ones, and then pacify or demolish them.

Shenku must be onto me, thought Kortec, already running to the ruins. They were in sight, with only one chamber standing. It had been demolished by an odd quake 1,100 years ago. The quake had sent Xioc Nui into it’s several islands, split Ga-Xioc into an archipelago, and ruined many lives and structures. He looked behind to see an almost disgusting sight. The Scout was standing and staring at him. It blinked and it’s back legs folded into it’s long body. It’s tail followed. Then the back part of it’s centaur-like body folded into the front, leaving it as a biped. It zoomed after him.

Once again, Kortec ran as fast as he could. He could hear the Scout’s rapid footsteps over his pounding chest. Then, an odd thing happened. From the roof of the ruins, a red laser sped down. Kortec dove as the laser hit the Scout square in the “chest”. Kortec looked behind to see the light fade from the Scout’s eyes as it collapsed. A hole had burned through it. The Matoran examined where the laser had landed behind the beast. It was molten into lava. He looked at the roof to see a pair of red eyes on a dark, concealed figure. Before Kortec could shout a thanks, it faded away.

“Thanks a lot,” Kortec said. He walked into the ruins, looking behind him as he did so. And because of that, he ran into someone. He turned to see a taller than usual green Matoran. Behind him was a single lightstone lighting the one chamber. A dome was in the center of the ruins, surrounded by three other Matoran. If Kortec was correct, he had Ector of Onu-Xioc; Gaeluu of Ga-Xioc; Selget of Po-Xioc; and Reltu of Le-Xioc was in front of him.

“Hey,” Reltu whispered. “Are you blind?!” Kortec shook his head no. “Good. Now if I’m right, you are not only half-nutty, but you are also Kortec, the Ko-Matoran who summoned us here.”

“Kortec is just concerned about Xioc-Nui and it’s safety,” said the blue-armored Matoran, Gaeluu.

“Thank you, Gaeluu,” said Kortec. “But on a serious note, I know that the Lords are up to something. I heard Dentark and Shenku talking about this ‘Stone of Spirits’. And it my research is correct, this Stone can obviously be used for evil.”

“Come now, Kortec,” said Reltu, tired of it all. “You really think that this legend could hurt Xioc Nui? Get real!” The Le-Xiocian shoved Kortec.

“Stop this!” shouted Ector and Selget at the same time. Gaeluu tried to intervene, but failed as Kortec charged at Reltu. They grappled. Now all three Matoran were attempting to stop the brawl.

Hiding in the shadows, a hulking figure sighed. If they are to be a team, he thought, they must work together. Maybe the will of Mata Nui was wrong, and these aren’t the ones. Wait! How dare I even propose that thought! Mata Nui’s hand will take hold soon enough.

Reltu shoved Kortec once more. The Ko-Matoran’s robe was shaken, dropping the stone he had found a few days before. It landed with a thud, but only Ector noticed it. He walked around the quarrel and grabbed the stone. He ran his hands along it’s gentle carvings. Then, he stopped at one. It showed a Kanohi Kraahken, used to represent either a Makuta, or shadows. Under it was written, Xioc Nui. Another carving had a faint word, but it was undoubtedly the word “Toa”.

“Mata Nui has blessed us…,” whispered Ector. “Stop!!” The fight ended abruptly, with all staring at Ector. He held up the stone and said, “This is it! Our key to freedom, A Toa Stone!” Before any could protest, the curious Matoran ran over to the dome and jumped on top. There was a niche, perfectly oval. Ector slammed the stone in the hole and waited. And waited….

Reltu sighed. “Is everyone here besides me, you know, nuts? Face it. The Six Lords rule now, before, and well into the-”

He was cut off by a rumble. The chamber didn’t shake, though. Then it took them a split second to realize the rumble wasn’t shaking earth; it was a voice. Soon the voice was able to be comprehended. It was an ancient voice that was heard by many before. The identity was unknown, but he was probably a figure of authority considering his style of voice.

“Hello, Matoran,” said the voice. It was clear and medium-tone. “You are Xioc Nui’s only hope. The Six Lords have conquered our land, and we need heroes.” Kortec could tell where this was going. “You are those heroes. May luck shine upon you on your quest. Hope may sometimes be your only weapon in this upcoming battle. But it can guide you in ways you could never believe.”

A small quake struck the chamber as the dome glowed with energy. Small cracks ran down the dome like a spider web. Then, a huge burst of light slammed into the chamber from the heavens. The dome shattered, sending energy pouring out in tentacle form. They wrapped around the five assembled Matoran, sending spasms down their forms.

Kortec felt as if he would burst. He felt his armor twist and grow along with his body. His mask was being distorted until it cracked. Even though he couldn’t see it, his old mask was vaporized. The others were having similar things happen to them. It all happened in a few seconds. The beam dissolved, leaving only an orb. Then it shot in the air. It exploded, forming six Spirit Stars, signs of Toa. Then, with the event finished, the five crashed to the ground with a thud.


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I hope that more people will enjoy the upcoming storyline!

And please, Please! review this topic.
'Cause if you don't, deh bunneh will beh hurt...

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This post has been edited by Em-Oh-Cee-Ehr: Jul 14 2008, 11:25 AM

Three: The Test

“Wake up,” urged a female voice. “Wake up. May be your last chance, kid! WAKE UP!” Kortec was punched in the side. He awoke in a hurry and sat up. In front of him was a red and silver-armored being. On her back was a silver axe. She wore a Kanohi in the shape of a Great Huna.

Behind her were the other four, just now waking up. However, they weren’t them. They were taller, more armored, and Selget was yellow armored! They were maskless. Kortec looked up at the red-armored being again. “What did you do that for!?” Kortec asked. Then, he realized he didn’t recognize her. “Who are you?” He stood up.

“I’m the Toa Xioc of Fire, Tahara,” she said. “And, by your shocked looks, I’m betting you’re new Toa. Either that or you sleep without a mask.”

“T-Toa?” Reltu asked, nervously. Kortec had never heard him so frightened. “So we’re now Toa because Kortec suspected the Six Lords for evil.”

Tahara thought about that. She nodded and said, “Yeah. Now put on some masks. They’re over there.” she pointed where the dome was. But now it was a crater in the floor, filled with five masks and tools. They all jumped down and grabbed one of each. Kortec chose a mask similar to a Kualsi with a sword; Gaeluu grabbed one similar to a Noble Komau with a Harpoon; Reltu grabbed one in the shape of a Zatth with a Razor disc; Ector took one similar to a Great Akaku with a black, double-sided claw; and Selget took one close to a Kiril with a boomerang. Now they were armored, armed, and masked.

The Toa of Fire stepped up. “So, you’re rookies, huh?” She looked them in the eye and up and down. She shook her head. “Guess they don’t make ‘em like they used to.”

Ignoring her comment, Reltu said, “Okay, I may be terrible at math, but if five Matoran turn into Toa, there should only be five afterwards!”

“Oh, right,” said Tahara. “I am from the first Toa team in Xioc Nui. I fought in the Six Lord War 10,000 years ago.” The others gasped. She just simply nodded. “My team went to stop the invasion, but only three were left. I was one of them. Knowing that, sometime in the future, some new team would need guidance and wisdom. So Another Toa and I sealed ourselves away. I don’t know where the first one went, but I stayed here, in this dome. The other charged, on his own, after Mentsu. He was killed instantly.”

“So… you’re 10,000 years old?” asked Reltu comically.

“Anyway,” said Ector. “We need a plan to stop the Lords. If we were transformed into Toa, there is a reason.”

“This power must not go to waste,” agreed Selget.

“We must stop them, and fast,” said Kortec. “If they can find this ‘Stone of Spirits,’ they won’t hesitate to use it.”

Tahara bowed her head. "The Six Lords attempted to find that Stone during the war. They failed miserably, and ended up taking it out on the Toa Base. That's one reason some of the Toa were killed."

The other Toa now knew they had to stop the Six Lords, and fast.


With their voices echoing, it wasn’t surprising that no one heard a large, slithering sound from above. Out of the shadows came a serpentine shape. It’s insectoid head snapped shut it’s massive mandibles. Two claws extended from it’s side. For the first time in years, it’s yellow eyes opened.

Seeing the new Toa, it slid down the wall….


As the other Toa, now dubbed Toa Xioc, discussed their plan, Selget fell silent. He was always silent, even when having to talk to someone across his forge. But now he was deathly silent. What was that? He could have swore he saw a long, large shape scoot through the shadows. The only lightstone there was dimming out.

Hithhssssssssss…. Two yellow eyes flashed by. “WATCH OUT!!!” Selget shouted. Without knowing what he was doing, he slammed his foot on the ground. There was a rumble and six pillars of stone erupted out of the ground, carrying the Toa. The serpent raced by beneath them, shattering the bottom of the pillars. The Toa fell, but a sudden updraft kept them on their feet.

The others looked at Selget and Reltu. They simply shrugged and said, “Don’t know.” Now their foe was partially visible. An electric shock wrapped around the end of it's form, revealing a black, scaly tail. It’s head was dark green with silver mandibles.

“Is that...” asked Ector, baffled. “It is! It’s the Guardian!” At the mention of it’s name, the beast roared. A bolt of light-blue electricity flew from it’s tail towards Ector. He ducked, letting it hit the wall. “It’s the ‘tester’ of to-be Toa. Which means, it’s attacking us!”

Reltu dodged a bolt and replied, “You think!”

Gaeluu’s voice cut through the din. “We were granted with the elements! So let us use them!” Kortec heard her and focused through his sword. Taking more concentration than thought, he finally fired a ray of icy-cold at the beast. It hit it’s jaws, freezing them shut. Behind his mask, the Toa smiled. But not for long. The mandibles closed in, shattering it’s bonds. The Guardian’s claw came down and hit Kortec, sending him flying into the wall.

Gaeluu witnessed Kortec as he rocketed by. She looked at her harpoon. I wonder…, she thought. She pointed the staff at the beasts body, focusing. Then a small beam of blue flew from it’s point, hitting the beast. It roared, fury in it’s eyes. Ector saw that she was in trouble and focused his power through his claw. The Toa thumped his Terra Claw on the floor, unleashing the power in it. The floor opened up, sending the beast into a small chasm big enough to hold it’s body in.

Guardian, being a Rahi animal, started to panic. It thrashed this way and that, sending small chunks of rock raining down upon itself. Ector smiled. “Selget!” he shouted.

“Got it!” the Toa of Stone replied. He threw his boomerang, aimed at the beast. It hit it’s mark. Suddenly, a small, yet strong, explosion rocked the chamber. The sound echoed throughout the temple. “Bang,” he said. “I like it.”

Reltu, ears still ringing, hurled his disc at the creature. The chain attached to it lengthened on it’s own. The disc rapped around it’s head, capturing it. Now Guardian thrashed even more. It’s tail peaked above the lip of the crevasse and fired a bolt. It nearly struck Reltu, but his body stretched, unbelievably, out of the way like elastic.

“Heads up!” shouted Kortec, back on his feet. Focusing five times as more than before, he sent ice-cold energy up his sword. When the Toa finally hit the ground, he swung his sword in a circular pattern, sending a wave of ice out to hit the guardian. It’s body couldn’t handle the cold, so it took the only path out and shut down. Guardian landed with a crash.

One by one, the Toa each got up and looked at the beast. It was unconscious, but not dead. There was a long silence. “We’re going to face worse challenges than that later on our quest.” said Tahara, breaking the silence.

“Listen,” said Reltu. “I didn’t ask for this destiny!”

“I know it’s an unwanted destiny, but Mata Nui gave us this power for a reason. We can’t let it go to waste.”

“I got that the first time,” returned Reltu.

“Deal with it!” The temperature was rising in the chamber, and a burning smell was in the air. It took a while to figure out it was Tahara, element at the ready.

Imagining himself as a melted piece of slag, Reltu said, “On second thought, got nothing else to do!”


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-Em

This post has been edited by Em-Oh-Cee-Ehr: Jul 19 2008, 09:52 AM

Four: King Frostelus

The Toa’s plan was simply put, but much more difficult than you’d think. They would start in Ko-Xioc, considering it’s the closest and in most peril. Then they would go north to Le-Xioc. After clearing out the Six Lord there, they would split into two teams. Tahara, Ector, and Reltu; and Kortec, Gaeluu, and Selget. Tahara’s team would go west and help Onu-Xioc, while Kortec’s would clear out Po-Xioc. Then they would all meet in Ga-Xioc at the Ruins before stopping the “evil” there. Finally, they would all go to Met-Xioc to stomp out Mentsu.

Right now, however, it seemed it would be harder than it ever would be. They had just crossed the Ga-Ko Connection Bridge when an odd, bestial creature appeared. With a wave of it’s hand, four Frostelus emerged from the ice, ready to skewer them with their blades. Reltu’s only words were, “I hate this job already!”

The white creatures charged, Rhotuka spinners already activating. Tahara’s mask glowed as it activated. “My mask tells me those Spinners can freeze you solid. Careful, unless you‘d like to live your life as a Popsicle!”

A spinner was fired in her direction. Using a small amount of her power, she heated her body up. When the spinner struck, nothing happened. The heat disabled it’s power.

Kortec, being a Toa of Ice, just let the spinners hit him. Gaeluu was able to take the water out of the ice and hurl it back. One was downed, frozen to the ground.

Selget focused on the rock far below and sent it up and into the sky. Surrounded, the two Frostelus panicked. One leaped out of the ring of rock and slammed into Ector. It pinned him to the ground, Spinners charging. Now it was Ector who was panicking. His mask glowed translucent blue as the Frostelus was flung into the raging water. “Telekinesis,” he said.

With the last one surrounded, it fled. Selget put down the stones. “Wow. Didn’t even have to hit him,” he said.

“After that thing!” said Kortec, pointing at the beast farther ahead. They chased after him, trying to stop them as they could. Tahara fired small lasers from her Magma Axe, trying to hit it. Kortec sent icicles hurtling it’s way, but they all missed. Suddenly, it came into a village of Ko-Xiocians. Kortec stopped them. “We shouldn’t rush into town,” he said. “Now we’re Toa.”

“Then this is what we do…” whispered Tahara.


The beast ran through town. Luckily it was nighttime, so none noticed him. Lord Shenku had sent him to spy on the new Toa, but he got too careless and was spotted. Now he was just hoping not to be caught by the Toa, for what they could do to him was worse than what Shenku could do. He stopped. No, he thought. Shenku could do worse.

He continued. On the other exit out of town, the Toa Xioc were ready, without him knowing. The creature ran past the exit. “Now!!” shouted Kortec. The creature was lifted in the air by Ector’s Kanohi Matatu.

“What is the meaning of this?” it asked angrily.

The other Toa were taken aback by this, all except Ector. “This is a King Frostelus, basically the leader of a group of Frostelus. This guy’s pretty dangerous, so watch out. They can summon other Frostelus out of thin air.”

“Yes,” King said. “Now, as a king, can you put me down!”

“Don’t think so,” said Tahara. She was charging towards the immobilized beast, ax in hand. Suddenly, a bolt of electricity flew from it’s horn into Tahara.

“Did I forget to mention that?” asked Ector. Another bolt flew at Ector, barely grazing him. That was enough to cut his concentration. King fell on his feet and opened his mouth. From it came a blast of ice-cold that struck Selget, freezing him solid.

“You want to fight with cold,” said Kortec, “Then let’s go.” King charged, slashing the air with his claws. Kortec met them with his sword. Gaeluu knew she wasn’t supposed to do this job, but she did. She ran over behind a block of ice to find Kortec’s prototype launcher. He picked it up earlier. Reltu was supposed to give it to him, but he disappeared. She threw it to Kortec.

The Toa grabbed it and hefted it in his hand. He held it up and said, “Chill.” He fired a blast from it, showing a sphere shape capsule. It struck King, it’s energies washing over him. In moments, he was covered in energy that dissipated. Suddenly, he slumped over. He was unconscious. Small sparks jumped from his body.

“What was that?” asked Ector.

Kortec proudly held it up. “A Multi-Firing Kortec Launcher. I designed it for Shenku before I discovered their plan. I secretly made a real one for me before leaving. Oh, and before I forget.”

He gestured to King. He rose, his hands bound by ice. His tail was also frozen to his body, along with his fin-like wings. “Are you kidding me?” asked the King angrily. “I am-” he was cut off as his jaw was frozen shut.

“An annoyance,” said Selget, thawed out. “We noticed. Kortec, are you sure he’ll be useful?”

“Positive. Let’s take him away for town. We need to rest. And then King here can lead us to and through the Ice Lair.” They started walking to the east when King was finally calming down. The odd group reached a small cave of ice just as a snowstorm rolled in. The wind made traveling difficult for most. But Gaeluu and Kortec were used to the cold.

“Why did Mata Nui even make ice?” grumbled Reltu angrily.

“To make you mad, Reltu,” said Tahara sarcastically. “It’s not as cold here as it was 10,000 years ago.”

Reltu would have said something if Kortec hadn’t jumped in. “Anyway! The plan is simple. We rest here for tonight. As you may have noticed before the storm, the Ice Lair was visible. We can take the guards, a few Glacier Carvers, by surprise and charge in. There is a central tower from there that keeps going up through various chambers before reaching the top floor. It looks like a big hall with a spiral staircase leading to the Throne Room. From there we can knock Shenku off her throne.”

“And hopefully out the window,” commented Reltu.

King grumbled something, but couldn’t through his ‘muzzle’. When all six of the Toa were looking away, he summoned his electricity and fired it at the snow behind them. A cloud of snow blocked their view. When the snow cleared, King was gone!

“I’ll go after him,” shouted Tahara as she charged out the cave. Before Kortec could protest, she was gone. Using her mask of Scanning, she could see King even through the white-out conditions. His heat was visible.

Ahead of her, King knew Tahara’s weaknesses and strengths. So he knew the best thing to do here. Using his ice powers, he lowered his outer body temperature.

Tahara, hot on his trail, was now losing him. Suddenly, all traces of his heat disappeared. She stopped. Tahara had never thought about that possibility. Now she tried to find her friends. She couldn’t see anything. The Toa of Fire forced herself to be calm. But it was hard in this numbing cold. She could heat up her body using her element, but that would exhaust her.

So Tahara just laid there, waiting for the blizzard to end.



Standing on a higher piece of rock that jut from the ground, King Frostelus watched her with joy. It has been so long since he had something to kill. Now he had the joy of watching her freeze to death. Feeling the joy well up inside him, he let out a loud, bestial laugh.


Far away, Kortec heard the laugh. Inexperienced in his element of ice, he couldn’t stop the blizzard. There had to be a way. Farther in the cave, Ector was having fun digging at the back, Reltu and Gaeluu were sitting on some rocks, and Selget was testing out his Mask of Lightning.

The silence was broken by Reltu who said defiantly, “We have to go out there.”

“What?!” exclaimed the Toa. Selget turned, accidentally sending a lightning bolt out the cave mouth.

“I said we have to go out there,” the Toa of Air repeated. “We can’t just let Tahara die out there.”

“Wow,” said Selget. “This coming from the guy who had an argument that reached boiling point with her. Although I do agree.” The other Toa nodded.

“But how?” asked Gaeluu. “That blizzard could last hours!”

“Days knowing Ko-Xioc,” said Ector. Everyone gave him hard looks. Then he added, “Hey, just saying! I have a plan, but it could still take a while.” He turned to the Toa of Ice. “How good are you with your elemental powers?”

“Not too well,” replied Kortec. “Depends. What do you want done?”


Soon after, the Toa were holding hands, walking into the blizzard. Kortec focused more than he ever had before. The blizzard abruptly started to thin around him. Then the effect spread to the other four Toa. Soon they were in their own little bubble of clear weather. They still held hands, just in case Kortec couldn’t take the strain.

“Do you see anything?” asked Reltu, trying to be heard over the surrounding snowstorm. “Or more importantly, anyone?” Each of the Toa, in turn, shook their heads no. Reltu was getting increasingly worried about Tahara. Don’t worry, he thought to himself. We’re coming.


Farther away, the Toa were the last ones on Tahara’s mind. Right now, she was worried about herself. The Toa Xioc jumped out of the way as a claw crashed down. She looked behind her to see the claw lift up, revealing a small crater where she had been standing before.

“Over my years as a Toa I’ve been shot at, strangled, choked, and nearly buried alive in masonry,” said Tahara. “So you aren’t going to be too much of a problem. She dodged another claw.

Before, Tahara was chasing King Frostelus. But on the way, they came across a nest of Glacier Carvers. They were in the middle of hibernation before King woke them. At least ten feet tall with super-armored muscle, they were a force to be reckoned with. Now there were five, massive, clawed Rahi on her trail.

“When we catch that Piraka,” Tahara vowed, “I’ll show him the true meaning of ‘hot-headed’!” There was more, but she was half exhausted with these behemoths on her trail. Another claw. But this time, she could only hope it missed. She sent a silent wish that Xioc Nui would be freed.

BAM!! A huge flash ripped across the terrain, accompanied by an explosion that rocked the plain. But not from the Carvers. No this was from a thunderbolt from a certain Kanohi Zelzor. The Toa of Fire looked to her right to see The other five Toa Xioc there. Selget stood in front, his boulder claw still smoking.

For the first time in a while, Tahara smiled. “Took ya long enough,” she said. Recovering her Lava Axe, she joined the fray. The five Glacier Carvers stood on their hind legs, raising their wickedly curved claws. They roared and stomped forward.


From a distant cliff, King Frostelus was still watching. He growled. How could the Toa have done this? They have only been Toa for around half a day. And yet they pulled this off? Suddenly, the whistling wind slowed to a breeze, and the snow stopped blowing. The blizzard was slowing. Panicking, King ran in the opposite direction, to the Ice Lair.


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-Em

This post has been edited by Em-Oh-Cee-Ehr: Jul 19 2008, 09:51 AM

Six: A Successful Diversion


“Where’s Shenku?” Tahara asked. King growled. It wasn’t just a warning, it was a signal. The five Frostelus charged out at the Toa Xioc. Gaeluu was left without a foe, so she ran at King, her Trident outstretched. But he was expecting this. He sidestepped and lashed out with his tail.

But he missed! King looked around, panicking. But on the floor, was Gaeluu. She got up. “Woah!” she exclaimed. King was at least one hundred times as big as her. The Toa Xioc of Water looked around and saw that everyone was that tall. I…shrunk? Gaeluu thought. Oh, boy. That’ll help. Then an idea struck her. Yes it will.


But while Gaeluu had her tiny hands full, Selget and Reltu were dealing with a pair of Frostelus filled with teamwork. They were backing the Toa into a corner. Soon, they would be frozen Toa fine for supper! Selget was slightly annoyed to find Reltu to be his ‘safe’ ticket. After the ordeal with Reltu earlier, he wasn’t the best of friends with the Toa of Air.

“Reltu!” Selget said. Weather he had the Toa’s attention or not, he went on. “I understand you’re… sensitive about your stealth. But, we’ve got to work together.” He ducked to avoid a vicious thrust from a Frostelus.

A moment passed before he replied, “You’re right. Hey!” Reltu turned to Selget. In his eyes, Selget could see the gears in his head turn. “What’s ice?”

Never mind, Selget thought. “It’s frozen water. But I don’t see-” Now Selget smiled. He sent a pillar of stone jutting from the wall towards the Frostelus. They reacted as Selget thought. The duo fired Freeze Rhotuka at the pillar. It froze solid. Now it was touching the two Rahi. Using all his concentration, the Toa of Stone sent a charge of electricity through the ice. BAM!! It hit home, sending the Frostelus flying over the battles and through the wall.

Reltu winced and said, “Way to go Gear- I mean… Selget.”

The Toa of Air twirled his razor disc and flew over the battles to help. Selget smiled and ran in as well.


“Geronimo!” Reltu shouted as he plunged into a battle with Tahara’s Frostelus. He took the air surrounding him and sent it at the Rahi. It reeled backwards. It recovered and leapt forward.

“Duck, Reltu!” shouted Tahara. Reltu turned and ducked as fast as possible. The Toa of Fire was swinging her axe with the flat side. The Frostelus saw this and tried to stop, but it was in mid-leap. There was a metallic clang. Reltu got up and saw the Frostelus in a heap, it’s armor scattered about the battlefield.

“Ouch,” said Reltu. He turned to Tahara. “Nice one!”


Across the field, Selget was assisting Ector with his battle. When Selget had arrived, Ector’s Terra Claw had been frozen solid, along with the arm wielding it. Luckily, Selget had shattered it, but got his own feet frozen to the ground. Unfortunately, there is a side affect of Frostelus spinners: the ice spreads.

So now Ector was swapping between fighting the Frostelus and chipping at the ice on Selget. And so far, he was losing both battles. Ector ducked away from a vicious swing. The swing connected with Selget’s icy cage, shattering a large chunk of it.

Suddenly, Ector was racked with an unbearable pain in his side. The Toa had been hit. A second Frostelus had sneaked over and hit him in the side, digging into the armor and striking the muscle. Ector crumpled to the ground.

The Frostelus were visible as they bent over Ector. But they had left Selget unprotected; a big mistake. Selget was mostly covered in a thick coating of ice now. An explosion of ice chunks struck the Frostelus, stunning them.

Ector whirled around to see the Toa Xioc of Ice standing next to Selget, warming his hands. “Alright, how?” asked Ector.

Kortec smiled. “Well, lets just not ask that question.” The Toa of Ice’s eyes went wide. Ector knew why. He ducked as a club came mere inches from his head. Selget fired a storm of elemental stone at the Frostelus, burying it under a pile of rock.


Gaeluu dashed across her small spot of battlefield, dodging blasts of ice and lighting. King had seen her, and reacted immediately. His ice now covered much of the field, just as Gaeluu hoped. But to complete her plan, she needed to be her regular size.

By deactivating her Mask of Diminishment, she grew to normal size. “Toa!” shouted King. “Now you are to big a target to miss.” A couple more blasts of ice. Now the throne was coated in even more ice. Gaeluu was tempted to return a comment, but she was beyond out of breath. Wasting precious oxygen would be completely stupid.

More Ice bolts covered the area right to the throne. Ready! Gaeluu stopped, and so did King. “Hey King!” she shouted, panting. “Tell me: what is ice?” King was shocked at her question. He breathed deeply inward, ready to fire an ice bolt. But then he realized he had added extra ice to the floor around him. Even the floor under him was in deep freeze. His eyes opened wide.

Smiling, Gaeluu did one thing that was the hardest yet, she liquefied the ice. All that ice transformed into water, leaving him in a giant puddle. One glance from Gaeluu told Selget what to do. His Boulder Claw outstretched, he fired a bolt of lightning.

BAM!! The lightning struck the pool. Water conducts electricity, so the water was one big conductor. In a split second, the entire pool was glowing with electricity. King, being in the middle, was shocked. The impact knocked him from his feet and sent him flying across the room. He landed hard in Shenku’s throne.

When he tried to get up, he saw Kortec’s blade, pointed straight at his head. A growl escaped King’s mouth. “So, King,” said Kortec. “Either you tell me where Shenku’s hiding, or you get massive brain freeze.” Kortec met King’s eyes. They were filled with hatred. When King didn’t respond, Kortec started to charge.

Hearing that, he said, “Shenku. She told me to stall you so that she could escape to…” He hesitated. Kortec started to charge again. Fearing for his life, King blurted out, “Mt. Torent!” Then he fell unconscious, under the jot still flowing through his body. Kortec stopped and turned to his teammates.

Kortec had a very grim face. Even Reltu saw it. “Uh, frosty?” he asked. “You don’t look too good. Are you-”

“I’m fine.” Kortec said plainly. Then they started off to the East.


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-Em

This post has been edited by Em-Oh-Cee-Ehr: Jul 22 2008, 11:09 AM

Eight: The A-Maze-ing Chase!

The Toa Xioc had been traveling for maybe a couple minutes when they were ambushed. Two Frostelus and a Crystal Viper had appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Two ice spinners soared through the air to be met by Selget’s Boomerang, decimating them both. A heat laser was fired. Kortec and Reltu dove to the side.

“Arrg!” Reltu shouted. “I can’t fight in this tightspace!” Everyone stared at him. Reltu never used treespeak! “Hey, one time!” he said, tossing his razor disc at the Frostelus. It circled around the creature’s tool. Giving a strong tug, Reltu pulled the Rahi to him. A blast of wind blew him out the mountainside and to the ground.

Selget used his power of Lightning on the Viper, temporarily stunning it. With a force of elemental energy, Ector sent it up on a pillar of earth. The Viper was trapped on the ceiling. Small bits of crystal littered the floor. Ector smiled. His mask glowed blue as he activated his Kanohi Matatu, Mask of Telekinesis. The shards were suddenly sent hurtling into the second Frostelus.

“Run!” Kortec shouted. There was a roar from behind as four Frostelus appeared out of nowhere. Kortec and Selget made a barrier of stone and ice, buying them some time to run.

“Wait!” Tahara shouted later on. Her mask glowed red. “I have a Mask of Scanning. I’m using it to scan the Mountains.” After a moment, she stopped. “We go east for a while, then north.”

“But there’s no caves here.” Gaeluu said, pointing to the side of the cave. Sighing, Tahara Took her Axe and shoved it through the wall. It crumbled away, revealing a hidden cave. “I stand corrected. Well done, Tahara!”

***

They had been walking through the maze for a while, Tahara leading. She kept her mask activated, hoping to lead the Toa in the right direction. In her mask, Tahara could sense a turn up ahead. Suddenly, three Vipers fell from the ceiling. With a quick blast of ice and stone, the first was taken out.

The second lunged at Tahara, forcing her to shut off her mask. “Where do these things keep coming from?” she asked the others. Another lunge put her on defense. Tahara fired a bolt of red fire at point blank range into the Viper’s mid-section, melting enough of it to knock it unconscious. With her mask, she should have seen these guys coming.

Luckily, Reltu had given it a huge gouge along the length of it’s body. With a leap and her mask power, Gaeluu was inside the Viper. She couldn’t see through the crystal it was made of, but could hear some kind of throbbing. Organs?

Drawing herself away from the strange noise, Gaeluu gathered her powers over water. Soon, there was an odd bubble of water sitting on the creature’s head. It couldn’t breathe. And, after a while, it fell onto the ground, out cold.

Tahara high-fived Gaeluu, who had jumped out and re-grew, for a job well done. Reactivating her mask, Tahara found that the opening that was there before, was now closed. But a new opening was clear. “This makes no sense.” she whispered. Taking her axe, she shoved it into where the door was. But it hit solid stone. Tahara led the other Toa Xioc into the next passage to find the same thing happen. And again, and again. It kept going until they finally reached a gigantic cavern. A door covered in at least one foot of permafrost sat at the back.

Suddenly, a huge bundle of enemies dropped from the ceiling. There were five Frostelus, four Vipers, six Level Ones, two Level Twos, and in the back was a powerful Level Three. It was covered in heavy, black armor. It’s head was spiked and, in the front, just a single yellow orb that had an eye in the center. On it’s right arm, it had a blaster that was high tech. And on it’s left was what seemed to be a melee blade.

“Mata Nui protect us!” Gaeluu whispered.

“We’re gonna need a lot more than Mata Nui, that’s for sure!” Reltu snapped.

Holding its blade up high, the Three signaled for his small army to attack. With a roar, the army charged. Rhotuka Spinners, Heat lasers, beams of energy, and elemental powers flashed throughout the chamber. All of these creatures appeared to have more power than most, making the battle that much harder.

***

Reltu flew in the air, using his disc as helicopter blades. Then he stopped and plunged downward, gathering air as he did. All that air was released as he touched down, sending four Frostelus flying. A couple hit the wall, stunned. But others charged back at Reltu with reinforcements. “Oh, no.”

A frost Spinner missed him by an inch. Where he landed was melted by a heat ray, forcing him to use his Mask of Elastics. That gave Reltu an idea. The Toa Xioc ran over to Kortec and whispered his plan. Now Kortec smiled. Freezing his foes solid, Kortec focused his power of ice on one spot, starting to form a large snowball of sorts.

Gaeluu was across the chamber with Ector. Combining their powers, the duo sunk any nearby foes into pools of mud. But one Level Two snuck past using camouflage. Powering up its energy blade gave its position away. Ector whirled along with Gaeluu. The Terra Claw and Laser Harpoon buried themselves into it’s armor. It’s purple energy leaking out, it fell to the ground.

Now Ector made barriers of earth and sent them out, crushing foes. But they kept coming. “This won’t work forever!” Gaeluu shouted over the sound of the battles. He didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. A Crystal Viper came forward, but was slammed into the wall by one of Ector’s attacks.

“You’re right,” Ector said. “But what else can we do?” That was a good question. Gaeluu couldn’t think of anything. These things were guarding the door, an endless mob attacking them; nothing came up. Then, she remembered how Ector and her had combined their powers.

“I’ve got it!” Gaeluu shouted. “Everyone! I’ve got an idea!”

At the moment, Reltu was stretched out between two boulders with a giant snowball in the middle. Kortec shoved it at Reltu, seeming to use him as a slingshot. Releasing it, the snowball flew forward, hurtling towards the Level Three. However, a blast of electricity blew the ball to bits. Stretching back into shape, Reltu asked, “What?”

A dome of ice, earth, and stone sealed the Toa off from the battle. The army was upon the dome in minutes, pounding away at the stone. Gaeluu quickly outlined her plan about combining their elements together to make a large blast of power. When she was finished, Selget gave her an odd look. “But when the six elements are combined, they make Protodermis,” Selget explained. “We can’t risk letting forth that kind of power.”

Ector looked at the Toa of Water. “He’s right, you know. Plus, Protodermis could just mutate them.” There was a sharp cracking sound from above as the roof started to cave.

“Well,” said Reltu. “You’d better come up with something fast!”

“If we can’t work together,” Tahara said, “We should go into two groups of three. We need to divide our power equally.”

“So two groups of three?” asked Reltu.

“Yes, I’ve done so in my old team,” she explained.

“Is there anything you didn’t do in your old team?” Reltu asked. Before Tahara could reply, the dome started to crack. With a shove of elemental power, Selget sent the stone flying outward. The foes were slammed against the walls and floor.

“GO!!” Kortec shouted. The six Toa scrambled into two groups. Reltu faced Kortec and Gaeluu while Tahara, Selget, and Ector faced each other. The army was on its feet and were now advancing toward the two groups. Each Toa held out their weapons, still facing their group, and focused. At first, Kortec felt nothing. His only thought was if Tahara had been wrong.

But then, he felt a surge of energy, as did all the other Toa. Their energies merged together, starting to form a powerful combination attack. A cold, wet breeze stirred in the chamber, moving around towards the first group. The ground started to shake and grow warm. All the Frostelus ran out of the chamber, sensing the massive energy build-up. The Crystal Vipers soon followed, leaving only the undead-like Shadow Scouts behind.

In a way, the commanding Three was impatient. It uttered a single word in a mechanical, ragged voice. “Attack!” Once again, a hail of Rhotuka, heat rays, and energy bolts hurtled towards the Toa. But when the attacks reached them, they were either blown off course or melted on the spot.

Then, it happened.

With a ear-splitting roar, the powers were unleashed on the chamber. An unbearable tempest of ice and water whirled around the chamber. Enemies were pelted by chunks of flying ice and tossed about the chamber. The chamber floor split in half with a tremendous shattering sound. Magma spilled out from the crevasse, mixing with the unbearable winds.

It was a sight only a Makuta could love. Enemies were having their armor melt and freeze, along with the gaseous underneath be injured by flying icicles. The earth was lurching upward rapidly at random spots. Bits and pieces of armor were flying all over the place, banging against others. There was a creaking sound as part of the ceiling caved in on the field.

***

And, as soon as the damage was done, it stopped. The elemental forces slowly calmed to a whisper. With the cavern ravaged, the Toa collapsed. Reltu was the only one able to sit up. “Wow,” he said simply. “That… was… spectacular!” The Toa of Air was right. Controlling that kind of power had been exhilarating.

Now they were all on their feet, still panting. “Maybe,” said Kortec. He looked around at the damage. The chamber was split in half by a magma filled crevasse. The collapsed part of the roof let in a pale light, illuminating the pile of stone and earth on top of five foes. The floor was littered with parts of armor. The Level Three had been de-armed and impaled on a massive icicle. “I’m surprised we didn’t bring down the chamber.” Suddenly, a roar rocked the chamber. It was quiet for a long moment before Kortec said, “I stand corrected.”

Another earth-shattering roar and grinding stone gave the Toa Xioc a clue of what was going to happen. There was a crash as the part of the chamber the Toa had entered from fell to pieces, revealing a familiar face. The Mother Viper.

“Hey,” said Reltu, “It’s big, shiny, and ferocious!” Seeing her babies harmed, the Mother Viper went into an uncontrollable rage. Another Roar told the Toa to run. Just after they dashed for the massive door, the Mother brought her tail through the floor where they had been standing before. A couple heat rays followed.

The Toa reached the door when they found another problem. “How do we open this door?!” shouted Ector. The door was four times as tall as the average Toa. And these were average Toa.

“We knock politely and wait for Shenku to open it,” Tahara replied sarcastically. Then it hit Ector.

“Yes, we do.” he said. He and Selget went to the door and whispered their plan quickly. Holding their Terra Claw and Boulder Claw together, they slammed into the door, releasing immense shattering power, sending the door caving in. With the Mother Viper behind them, the Toa dashed into a dark chamber lined with dead lightstones.

“Well,” Kortec whispered. “Shenku sure knows how to throw a welcome party.”


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-Em