...What?

I gave you an explanation, what more do you need?

Hm.... Required length?

2,000 words, maximum.

Well, here's my story:

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

58 words.

*Applause*

Ah, the neverending wit of NP. Love it.

-Taki

Allow me to clarify: It must be between 1,000 and 2,000 words.

Oh.

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

Once apon a time, a squid, the Barraki, two Toa Mahri (with an exploding Cordak Launcher), Master Chief, a mermaid, half a banana, Defilak (or maybe it was Dekar), an air bubble, Hydraxonn, Maxilos and Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, and two Piraka all went to Atlantis through a Time Vortex. And they all lived happily-ever-after. The end.

Let's tell it again!

THE END!

That ought to do it.

Yay. Go NP! Lol.

-Taki

That doesn't count.

Aw, why do ya gotta be a poor sport?

j/k

Nah, I'll write something.

KABOOM!

Dekar fell backwards, covering his head to protect his mask from the flying shards. Liquid splashed over the edge of his laboratory table and hissed to the floor.

Gasping, he sat up and looked at the wreckage around him.

"Rahi bones!" he cursed, brushing debris off himself. "Makuta's breath! Kraata spines! Wilting bushes!" Suddenly, he jumped up and began digging through the wreckage, flinging protodermis pieces over his shoulder. "Glubble? Glubble!"

Throwing aside a large chunk, he spotted an orange squid and swept it up. He joyfully hugged the squid to his chest. "Glubble! You're safe! I knew I shouldn't have tried that experiment!" He kicked a large, heavy book sitting on the floor beside him. "So much for the manual! I'll never stuff a squid into a Cordak blaster with baking soda and vinegar again! Oh, the stupidity, the brainlessness, the dim-wittedness, the--"

Ding-dong!

Dekar stomped to the door, still holding the squid. "Happens every time. Every time! Just in the middle of a nice, long rant, and what happens? The doorbell rings!" He slammed open the door. "What do you--- ahhh?"

Dekar's jaw dropped, and he stepped back to take in the stranger on his front steps. Towering at least a bio above Dekar, the green-armored figure stared at him through an emotionless, reflective helmet.

"Ah... ah... ah..."

The stranger grew tired of waiting and shoved the awed Matoran aside. He stepped slowly into the room, holding a grey, beeping box in front of him. He turned to the right, and the beeping increased in speed.

"Uh, yuh... er..." Dekar got hold of himself. "What is that box... Oh Mighty One?"

"Time Vortex Indicator," the stranger said briefly. "I am Master Chief."

Dekar collapsed to his knees. "Oh, Master!"

Master Chief, taking no notice of Dekar's pledge of eternal servitude, kicked aside a pile of blaster wreckage. Finding nothing, he turned to another pile.

"Anything I can do to help, Mighty Chief Master?" Dekar crawled after the Spartan.

"Eat this." Master Chief flung a half-eaten banana over his shoulder to the Matoran. "It's getting in the way."

Dekar promptly fed the banana to Glubble, who found it to be extremely nutritious.

Master Chief held the Indicator up to a portrait of Hahli and Kongu Mahri wearing life preservers. The Indicator released a long, steady beep. "Aha!" He grabbed a sledgehammer out of a nearby trophy case and slammed the wall with it. It collapsed into rubble, revealing a whirlpool of golden sparkles, about the height of a Matoran.

"This vortex," Master Chief said, staring into it, "is a gateway to an endangered section of this world. The place in question is currently overrun by desperate villains, who seek an object of vast importance. They must be stopped."

"So you're going through there?" Dekar asked from the floor.

"No."

Before Dekar could summon the breath to ask who was going instead, Master Chief plucked him up and tossed him, Glubble and all, into the whirl of sparkles.

Dekar spun rapidly. The sparkles tingled his armor, and he squeezed his eyes shut as an overwhelming coldness surrounded him.

With a jolt, the tingle and chill abruptly faded. He opened his eyes to a blur of blue.

"Looks like..." He scratched his head, trying to place where he had seen scenery like this before, then clapped his hands. "Wait... I know! Glubble's aquarium! I'm underwater!"

Realized what he just said, his hands flew to his throat, and he choked and coughed. "Can't... breathe! I... I... I'm dying, Glubble," he gasped, falling backward. His voice weakened stereotypically. "Go on without me... and never forget your friend..."

Glubble nodded and obediently began to wiggle away, but bounced off an almost-invisible surface. He looked at Dekar in confusion.

"Air bubble," Dekar murmured with his final breath. "Locks the water out... and the air in..." Again realizing what he had just said, he made a miraculous recovery and his eyes popped open. "Now, what were we doing again?"

"Are you here to defeat the monsters?"

Dekar leaned against the side of the bubble and peered out. "What are you?"

Tossing her shining, blonde curls over her shoulder, the stranger outside straightened her Kaukau. "A resident." She waved her fish tail at Dekar.

"Monsters?"

The mermaid's smile faded. "They came a week ago. We heard news of ugly strangers, invading our land, stomping on seaweed, and endangering our meepers. By the time we had found our frying pans, they had reached our village..." A tear trickled down her mask, which was quite remarkable, considering she was underwater. She sniffled. "Their squid are everywhere, the horrid brutes..."

Glubble gasped at the insult and promptly hid behind Dekar to sulk.

"They dodge all our defenses! We're powerless!" She sniffled again, barely able to hold back the tears. "We threw everything we could at them, even our limited edition Disney's Atlantis playsets, but nothing stops them." She burst into wails and pounded the side of the bubble with her fists. "They're undefeatable!"

"Hey, hey! Careful with the bubble!" Dekar said, backing away. "I’m really sorry, miss. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Her eyes lit up, and her tears vanished. "Yes! You can help! You're big, muscular, courageous and strong! You can surely do what our banana cannons and papaya tanks could not!"

"Aw, shucks," said Dekar, wondering if he was capable of blushing. "So... what do these monsters look like?"

"Like you," the mermaid said, "but taller, and not yellow. I approached some as they camped near our village and saw them closely. They're hideous. Shiny teeth, glowing eyes, mismatched appendages... it was horrible. They were sitting inside an air bubble, nonchalantly roasting marshmallows. And I heard them." She leaned closer. "Their plan is to overtake our village, steal all the plants, and replace---"

BONK!

Her eyes widened, and she collapsed unconscious in front of the bubble.

Dekar looked up quickly. "Look! A squid!" He pointed after it as it dived behind a rock. "I'll bet it bounced off her head to knock her out!" He stepped closer to the mermaid. "Are you oka---"

A red, gleaming figure landed heavily between Dekar and the mermaid. He sneered down at the Matoran and waved his tentacle threateningly.

"Kalmah!"

A blue figure landed beside Kalmah.

"And Takadox! What are you doing here? Are you the ones tormenting the villagers?" Dekar demanded.

The Barraki silently leaned toward Dekar, teeth bared and eyes narrowed. As the Matoran tried to back away, he felt hot breath on his back, and whirled to see Fenrahk's gaping maw. The spider-like monster grinned hungrily.

Vezon peered over Fenrahk's head. Spotting Dekar, his grin grew almost as large as Fenrahk's, and he threw back his head to release a spine-chilling, high-pitched laugh.

Carapar snarled, leapt over a rock and landed just beside the bubble. Ehlek crept up from the opposite side, lightning sparking from spine to spine.

Dekar shuddered and clasped the trembling Glubble tightly. He looked around frantically, but the mermaid lay motionless, and the glowering Barraki were packed too closely around him to risk a cry for help.

Vezon whipped his staff from his back and flourished it daintily. "You seem to be weighed down, visitor. Now, I can't let a fellow struggle through our domain with too large a burden, can I? Surely I must help!" He prodded the bubble. "Starting with this." He thrust his staff through the bubble, popping it.

...

Dekar's eyes snapped open to see a miniature Maxilos, Spinax, Axonn, Brutaka, Mantax, and Zaktan holding hands and playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie over his head.

"La-la-la-la," they sang merrily.

With a shriek, he batted at them frantically.

"Hey!" A pair of gloved hands grasped his wrists. "Calm down."

Dekar sat up and shook his head to clear it, then looked up into Master Chief's visor.

"I'm back in my hut," he observed confusedly. "And I'm sitting in a puddle."

"I had to make an emergency callback," said Master Chief, kneeling beside the Matoran. "I only realized after I sent you that the required whirlpool was silver, and not golden." He stood up. "Apparently, my Indicator detected numerous Vortexes in the area, and it led me to the wrong one." He read the screen of his scanner. "Also, the required Matoran is not destined to become Hydraxonn."

"What!?" Completely missing this crucially important reference to his destiny, Dekar glared up at the Spartan. "Are you saying you risked my life for nothing!? I could have been safe and sound with an entirely undamaged back wall, if you hadn't--- I risked my life!"

Master Chief shook his head. "Do you know where a Matoran named Defilak lives?"

"Uh... yeah," said Dekar. "Two houses down, one block to the left." He slammed one fist against the other. "I could have been seriously injured! I know I could've! All my work, everything I live for, would have been for nothing! Me! Imagine me, returning with only one arm and no mask! How could I continue my life's work!?" He shook his fist. "You careless thing, you!"

Master Chief walked toward the door, then turned back. "You're right. I apologize. Next time, I'll be sure to warn you before I transport you into the middle of the Legoland Bionicle House of Horrors."

With that, he opened the door and left.

---

Word count: 1,558

Turakii

I give up. Turakii wins.

Did the entry period end yesterday?

Turakii

Yes, and you won one of every item in the FTM Tech division.