Jump to content
  • entries
    275
  • comments
    3,435
  • views
    213,729

Monster Mystery: Chapter 6 Of Unseen


bonesiii

429 views

unseenbigbnr.png


Today the Bones Blog brings you Chapter Six 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.

Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Chapter 6


In a dark tunnel under Le-Wahi, I was running for my life from the Unseen Monster…

Hujo managed only one thought as he ran in terror, as sounds of stomping on broken glass shards echoed throughout the chamber… as an unimaginably deep-pitched growl made all the glass littering the floor shake.

I’m just glad my feet have armor… but will it even matter?

He fired another Blue Fire bolt backwards. He glanced forward, leaped over the sharp glass ‘teeth’ stuck to a metal chute ring. Glanced back. Saw the Blue Fire bolt fizzle, much closer this time.

The power-dampening field was almost to him.

Frantically, he gave a mental command to his energy pack. The Songsphere materialized in his left hand. A moment later and the energy pack probably wouldn’t have worked.

He tapped the Song of Ta-Metru.

Messed it up in his haste. The Songsphere did nothing.

That was probably a blessing in disguise. Once it started on its path, the Songsphere could not be stopped, so if he’d just tapped in the song of, say… the hottest furnace in the world, he could die when he arrived.

Tried the Song of Ta-Metru again.

This time the sphere hummed, shaking as if trying to activate.

But then went quiet. No bubble of blue energy. No travel.

The Monster was almost onto him. He fired a flame bolt. The Edge of the dampening field hadn’t passed him yet. So the Songsphere should have worked – but there was simply no way out.

Hujo felt his heart turn into a dark stone. He knew what was coming. The tunnel ahead was blocked.

So he just ran. He became sheer animal for a minute, as the dampening field passed him.

The three bolts of flame between the prongs of his staff dimmed. They did not go out, but he couldn’t send flames out beyond the prongs now. He clung to the one hope that he could at least burn the monster a little, maybe make it think twice…

The flames went out entirely.

Desperately, he tapped the Song of Ta-Metru again.

A hum. Then nothing.

But the Songsphere itself still worked. There was something the field didn’t dampen.

He glanced back, knowing the beast was right on top of him, hoping to at least see it in the dim light cast by his eyes and heartlight. But all he saw was a vague four-legged beast.

Later, he couldn’t explain what happened next. The sight should have terrified him into total beastlike panic, but instead, something snapped inside of him.

Now he felt no fear in his mind.

He was about to die anyways, assuming the monster killed its prey – not a chance he wanted to take, but what choice did he have?

His legs kept running – indeed, he lost control of them and they ran even faster, though pain racked through his body from his screaming, exhausted muscles.

But in his head, all he could do was think. And his thoughts became crystal clear. Maybe it was just his nature as the Jahurungi, but he didn’t dwell on it.

Why had he felt a breeze earlier if the tunnel was blocked?

Answer: The tunnel isn’t totally blocked. Just too small for him to fit. He could have fired enough blue flames through earlier to vaporize a big enough hole.

But he hadn’t been thinking. It was too late.

On Destral, Hujo had once traveled through a small space by willing the Songsphere to form mere tendrils around him instead of the full-sized bubble, and pull him along behind it, as if it was the head of a snake and he was the body.

He wanted to try that now, but he knew it wouldn’t work.

The Songsphere hadn’t truly done that on Destral because he willed it; it did that on its own because a path was open. Now, the path was simply not wide enough. It was only a coincidence that he’d thought of what the Songsphere would do before it did it. He knew that now, with his increased mental clarity.

He only had time for one desperate last move. What should it be?

He briefly considered trying his energy pack again.

If the Songsphere still worked, maybe it would. Beings could actually store themselves inside the packs. Maybe he could suddenly disappear, leaving the monster to puzzle where he went.

What if the beast was intelligent? It had lured him into this trap despite all his caution. What if it figured out he was in the backpack he would leave laying on the ground? All it would have to do is shatter the stonelike object, and Hujo – and all his stuff – would materialize in the tunnel.

He couldn’t risk it.

Rapidly his mind zoomed around ideas and objects and questions in his head.

Finally, he had an idea, in the last second. And there was no more time to debate it.

Songsphere in hand.

Song of the Unseen itself.

Gave the song a tinge of the conglomerate song of the beast’s home in the cavern, but still mixed with the living song of the monster itself.

Tapped it in.

The Songsphere hummed. It started to unfold like petals of a flower… hesitated.

He had confused it. On purpose.

Told it to take him to the very monster blocking the only exit. But the monster was right behind him – he could feel glass shards kicked up by its feet bouncing off his back. The Songsphere didn’t understand why he would want to travel to where he already was.

But the Song of the Unseen didn’t exist only right behind him – it was spread throughout the lair behind the monster itself. So was “here” really “here”?

Hujo took his final chance. Poured every ounce of energy he had left into his tortured leg muscles. Ran faster. Not right next to the monster now.

Songsphere unfolded. Became a metal flower, aimed down. Hovered higher.

Blue energy came out. Formed a bubble.

In the next second, Hujo lost his balance as the bubble yanked him forward and inside, and also flew backwards, so he rammed into the other side of the bubble wall. Fell to his feet, dazed.

The Ta-Matoran lay there at the bottom of the bubble of light. He couldn’t see what happened next because his eyes closed from sheer exhaustion and from the collision, but he understood it.

Now that the Songsphere was in motion, it had changed things because of simple physics.

The bubble filled up the whole tube of the tunnel. Hujo had dimly noticed earlier that the tunnel’s diameter was identical to that of the standard bubble the Songsphere formed; he hadn’t consciously realized it until his mind snapped into the strange state.

As it zoomed towards the Unseen, it made its own wind. Pushed all the air between the Unseen and the bubble back.

This slightly pushed back the Unseen itself.

Instantly, the Songsphere stopped humming in confusion, and set its destination. It was going to the cavern, because now it ‘realized’ it could simply push the Unseen out of the way.

So it did. It rammed into the beast, and bumped and rolled it backwards. The Unseen roared in fury, but it could do nothing.

When the sphere reached a metal ring, it simply shrunk slightly, letting out some air, passed through, and let in more air to return to standard size after passing through. But its shield remained solid to the monster, pushing it forward mercilessly.

Soon the monster itself was running. But it was angry, oh so angry, and when the Sphere reached the cavern beyond and dumped Hujo out, he knew he would have only seconds.

So he rested… but tried desperately to hold onto consciousness.

In the Coliseum, Taureko and Mohrook the Freer had just witnessed Dume and the other Turaga turn a table like a wheel, which the city leader claims bought them time.

“Where can we find Hujo?” Taureko asked. “We have to tell him the missing Matoran are alive.”

“I am not finished,” Dume said. “And now that you’re here, I need your help.”

“Help doing what?”

“I need you to collect some things for me.”

“With respect, sir,” Mohrook said, “We are here on Caroha’s orders herself, and our focus must be freeing the two captives. Is this part of that?”

Dume scowled. “There is more to this than mere captives, you fools! The Unseen is just a distraction the Trickster sent! He wants what’s in this table. We must stop him!”

Taureko narrowed his eyes. He didn’t appreciate the elitism. I was a captive once. Is this why Metru Nui never lifted a finger to help me then? The elder had a point, but…

“What’s in the table?” Surkahi asked.

The Turaga stabbed the floor loudly with his staff. “That is NOT for you to KNOW! Stop questioning me!”

Taureko understood the urgency, but his mission was urgent too. “Sir, the captives’ lives are still in danger! We cannot delay!”

He called him ‘sir’, but they all knew neither Freers answered to Dume. They were not Metru Nui citizens. Dume seemed to get that message, at least. He calmed down.

Slightly. “Both of you can fly. Mohrook, you can take the invisible bird. Taureko, we all know the Makuta’s experiments let you use your Noble Kadin. So I need you. Two vats. Bring them, and then you can go find Hujo.”

Vakama gave a small cough, and switched his mask.

The Suva teleported a Great Rikaori to his face. The mask of Telecommunication – and the elder held a Btou staff that enabled him to use it. “They don’t have to physically find him, Dume. This will only take a minute.”

But Dume just got more adamant. “Skyscraper T34, westernmost tip of Ta-Metru, Taureko. Mohrook, O17, eastern Onu-Metru.”

I can fly,” Surkahi said, shapeshifting himself a pair of wings, “And I’m not the only Unknown nearby. But what are the vats for?”

“Ingredients!” Dume spat. “And I refuse to let the Unknown in on this. Get out, Surkahi! This is not your city!”

“For what?”

“For MEDDLING!”

The shapeshifter seemed totally calm, but answered quickly. “I mean, ingredients for what?”

Dume just roared back at the shapeshifter, and pointed at Taureko and Mohrook. “GO! NOW!”

Taureko held up his hands. “Calm down! I just want to send a quick message first—”

Suddenly Dume was a blur. He raced up to Turaga Vakama, staff held high, and jumped into the air.

Taureko had no idea the elder could move so fast. And he realized what would happen. He jerked into flight. Reached out. Too late…

The staff slammed into the Kanohi Rikaori.

Shattered it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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.

Next Chapter: 7

3 Comments


Recommended Comments

Is it just me (And it probably isn't, lol), or has Dume gone completely nuts? Smashing plants, smashing plants, randomly dancing and shouting... Either 1000 years alone finally got to him, or he knows something rather odd that we don't...

 

I'm putting my money on the latter.

 

It's loking good so far, Bones. I'm looking forward to reading the next chapter. =D

Link to comment
Is it just me (And it probably isn't, lol), or has Dume gone completely nuts? Smashing plants, smashing plants, randomly dancing and shouting... Either 1000 years alone finally got to him, or he knows something rather odd that we don't...

 

I'm putting my money on the latter.

 

It's loking good so far, Bones. I'm looking forward to reading the next chapter. =D

 

I think he's nuts. :P

 

I loved the part were Hujo used the Songsphere like that, very imaginative.

 

-TLhikan

Link to comment

I see no reason why Dume shouldn't have become more nuts in the Paracosmos than in canon. There, I think he was just a bit depressed and unhappy about the changed circumstances (Matoran demanding more say in affairs, having to work with Turaga, etc.).

 

But that chase was unbelievable. Even though it was something like three pages, it didn't feel slow at all to me. Every word carried me on swiftly to the next, and when I paused and reread, it was only because I didn't want to miss any detail. The Songsphere bubble strategy was a neat solution - however, I can't help but wonder if you could have given the reader more stuff to possibly predict that. Maybe in the earlier chapter or something... but I kinda felt like I was being fed this solution instead of participating. Then again, it was an unavoidably fast-paced scene and there may have been no way to help the reader keep up with Hujo.

 

The first real glimpse of the Unseen... ;)

 

Oh, and it's starting to sound like Dume's about to launch into ritual of 'double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble.' XD

Link to comment
Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...