Today the Bones Blog brings you Chapter Three of this Bionicle Paracosmos blog-exclusive "Adventure Mystery" short epic, which serves as a slow-reveal of the winner of the Monster Mystery Art contest.



Le-Metru, at the Destral Rock...

Hujo walked over to Surkahi. "Are these past Unseen incident records?" he asked, pointing to the bag the Unknown carried.

Surkahi nodded. "And many notes Jorthao made about various creatures that could act as Unseen if the Third Faction wanted."

Hujo took the bag. "Alright. Any particular creature stand out to you so far?"

"I didn't get a good enough view to even guess."

"Alright. I'll go over the scene before reading them."

The Ta-Matoran walked away from the others and stopped.

After looking around to make sure the surroundings were calm, Hujo closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He slipped into his dreamlike trance and reached out to detect soulsong traces.

He heard the song of Ta-Koro where Turaga Vakama was standing. Various songs from the Matoran here. A unique song from Surkahi that was heavily tinted with themes from Mata Nui Island and Metru Nui, since Surkahi had lived near those Matoran for so long.

He also sensed strong traces of the brutality, slavery, and turmoil associated with the Destral rock. Behind this there was a backdrop of Le-Metru's song.

There. Hujo sensed five other distinct soulsong traces. One was from Le-Metru, presumably Tamaru. The next was from Po-Metru -- Kuhauha.

The songs of those two continued into the cave beneath the Destral Rock.

As far as he could tell from here, they had not been killed, at least not immediately.

The three other songs were extremely varied. He detected hints of soulsongs from across the Matoran Universe.

Two of the songs were simpler than the other. One was a lot more muted than the others, and shared many common themes with the more advanced one.

The more advanced song was in a single spot in the distance. It had not circled the rock.

This must have been an intelligent being, a servant of the Third Faction, who had unleashed the monster.

The monster's song itself was unmistakably violent and dark.

It chilled Hujo to the protometal bone to listen to it -- its traces were stronger than any other, as if it possessed more of a presence than a normal being. Whether that meant it was as intelligent as the Faction servant but in a different way, or something else, Hujo wasn't sure -- he'd never heard a soulsong like it.

Its path followed the exact route Surkahi had described for the Monster, and then continued along the cave. The other two mystery songs didn't follow it, but the two Matoran victims' songs did, but faintly, as if they were being carried so they hadn't touched the ground. Also, the intelligent song was faintly detectable in the cave, from farther back in time.

The third song interested him.

It appeared to be a simple Rahi, loyal to the Third Faction servant, and not frightening enough to serve as a monster. Though, judging by the spacing of its "song footprints" -- where its legs touched the ground and left a stronger trace -- it was a fast runner.

As he sensed where this Rahi had walked, Hujo realized two very interesting things.

He pulled out of the trance.

"I have two big conclusions already," he told the others as he walked back to them. Nuhuri and the other Matoran with her were on their way up, so he waited for them.

"One," Hujo continued, "There's an Unseen monster, a Third Faction servant or associate that I've never met before, and also a less dangerous Rahi that is loyal to the servant. All three were travelers before coming here."

Vakama tilted his head. "How does this Rahi behave?"

Hujo looked at the Turaga. "Intangibly. The Rahi climbs through the ground as if swimming through water. And come here," he said, walking over to a spot in the Destral rock, and pointed.

"I don't see anything," Nuhuri said.

"I know. But I heard the servant's soulsong here distinctly, and I also hear a faint trace of it on Surkahi. A projectile, which bounced off Surkahi, and landed here. Then the Rahi's song comes up through the ground to this point, and leaves carrying the projectile intangibly through the ground."

"Oh no..." Vakama made a face that said he knew who this was.

Hujo nodded grimly. The Turaga had met a being that would fit this description back when they were Toa Metru, and had told of him during their tales after the defeat of the Rahkshi.

"Raogahk?" one of the Matoran asked.

"Yes."

"A Kanoka Arrow," Surkahi said. "That's what hit me?"

"Silent, non-fatal, activating a stun power on impact, then bouncing off," Hujo replied. "And then his Runthrough Beetle retrieved it when it landed."

He saw Vakama visibly stagger back a bit. "Raogahk had always been questionable... he's been our enemy before, our ally at other times. Never has he sided with the Third Faction."

"Who is this?" one of the other Matoran said. "I must have missed this part of your tales, elder."

"Raogahk the Trickster," Vakama replied. "He's an archer, a master of sonics, collector of powerful artifacts, a mastermind with his own goals."

"Toa of Sonics?"

"No. A different species. Tall head, big round mouth -- you can't mistake them. Goulmaruian. He was exiled from his home island. I don't know much else about his origins."

"If the Trickster has sided with the Third Faction," Surkahi said, "he's desperate. But things are never what they seem with him. Maybe all of this is a ruse. What could he be after?"

Nobody said anything for a few moments. "Nuhuri?" Hujo asked.

The female Onu-Matoran shrugged. "The Unseen is huge. Every time it stepped, it trampled the smaller bushes so I can't make out any clear tracks. It runs on all fours. I can't figure out how it got into the cave, but there's no dirt on the cave floor -- it's all been swept away recently."

"Probably by Raogahk," Hujo said. "I did detect faint hints of him down there."

"None of this makes sense," Surkahi said. "I have read Volitaos' tablets about Raogahk. He would never willingly work for the Third Faction. And as far as I know, Unseen can only be protected from our Sight by the Faction. Could they be framing Raogahk?"

"Well, it would help if I could see some artifact you know for sure belonged to him. I've never met him, so I don't know if the soulsong I heard is really his or not."

"More importantly," Vakama said, "What could the monster itself be?"

Nobody had an answer.

Just an hour later, atop the Coliseum, the Unknown named Volitaos was invisible, watching the leader of Metru Nui...

Turaga Dume was sitting on his throne, staring at a key in his hand for hours, when he heard the screams.

Dume listened to the piercing sounds for a moment. Hearing their pitch, their almost rhythmic repetition.

He looked back at the metal key in his hand. It was very hard, made of a special type of protosteel with the additional ability of being totally unable to channel electricity or magnetism.

It was carved in a beautiful pattern of rectangular prisms and cube jutting sections. Many others would think it was utilitarian, but no. No. No, Dume could see through that. He saw beauty.

The key is the key, Dume thought.

Turaga Dume threw his head back and roared in hilarity, adding his chorus to the screams in the lower levels of the Coliseum.

It was a beautiful song, the only song Dume had heard for a thousand years. Misery after mistery. False hope after false hope. He had tuned them all out. All that was left was the key.

Dume slid off the throne and curled up on the floor, staring in adoration at the key, tuning out the screams now.

He wanted to cry.

Instead, he just kept staring at the key.

Lower in the Coliseum...

Four Matoran ran from a monster they couldn't see through the hallways of the Coliseum.

There had been five -- everybody in the city was staying in groups of five or more as the Mapmaker had advised. One, a Ta-Matoran named Janoku, had gone into a kitchen to prepare a quick meal. He was a cook who had been working on setting up a new eatery here. His food had been legendary on Mata Nui Island, so none of the others had objected to his making a quick lunch before they started their next patrol.

Then there was a crashing sound in the kitchen. Janoku screamed.

Now, Janoku didn't scream. Everybody on Mata Nui was familiar with the terror of Rahi raids, Janoku especially. Infected though the Rahi had been, they were still animals, and they couldn't resist the smell of delicious foods. His old eatery had been attacked often, and Janoku could defend himself just fine.

He didn't scream then.

He wouldn't scream now unless it was the monster in the kitchen.

So when the others heard it crashing through a door after them, they didn't stop to look and see what the monster looked like. They fled, screaming.

One of them got the idea that they'd done exactly the right thing. "Don't look at it," Tiribomba said, "and it will let you go. It only eats those who see it!"

So on the others ran, hearing its crashing footsteps right behind them, getting closer and closer.

They ran towards a common gathering room where they knew many other Matoran were guarding. The Unseen would leave them alone if they reached it.

Suddenly, one of the Matoran screamed louder than the others. Then there were only three screamers.

The others didn't look as their friend was eaten, or captured, or killed... or whatever happened to him. They just ran all the harder.

Tiribomba pulled ahead of the others. He felt guilty for a moment, as if he should hold back and help them run faster too.

Then he just felt glad when first one, then the other screamed one final time.

He ran past a security camera in front of a locked door.

After a moment, he realized the monster wasn't following him.

The camera. It wouldn't cross its line of sight.

Tiribomba glanced back. There was no sign of the monster now.

But he saw the other two Matoran laying unconscious on the ground. Not eaten?

Now my account switches to Volitaos's point of view...

Volitaos walked up to the shaken Tiribomba, doing his best not to get angry. "I saw the whole thing," the Unknown said. "That was NOT an Unseen. That was Kobahko."

"Raogahk's Runthrough Beetle?!"

"The Trickster tricked you. You're all so frightened you're running from a Rahi that's never harmed anything."

"Then why'd it stop at the camera?!"

"It turned and ran intangibly through the locked door. Whatever is kept there, it got, thanks to your..." He was going to say foolishness, but stopped himself in time. He couldn't blame them for being scared. He was too.

"I just came from Le-Metru," Volitaos added, as he motioned Tiribomba to come back to the others, who laid on the ground alive but stunned by the Beetle's weak venom. "Hujo has confirmed there IS a Monster, but it wasn't here."

They carried the two Matoran to the third, and Tiribomba watched them while Volitaos got Janoku. When the cook awoke, he was embarrassed. "I've never screamed because no Rahi has ever slid out of the wall right in front of me before!"

Volitaos waited until the others were all awake, then headed back to watch Turaga Dume. As he left, he left them with advice.

"Next time, look."



Feel free to review, theorize, ask questions, etc. by adding a comment to this chapter blog entry, and stay tuned for the next chapter as a new blog entry.