The Iron Toa

Well, Branar or one of the other Skrall did mention the Agori there were starving. Not exactly an agribusiness, just trying to stay alive.

Sorry, I was referring to the story Fall and Rise of the Skrall in the Papercutz book Bionicle 8: Legends of Bara Magna. In the beginning of that story, in the Black Spike Mountains, one of the Skrall in Branar's patrol suggests raiding Agori farms.

I guess the Energy Storms could be a byproduct and the real power is in the Lightstones, but that seems like an enormous waste to me, and it seems more like the kind of Main Reactor you see in things like Star Wars.

Good point. It's the biggest chunk of a huge planet. The story made it seem like the only Glatorian and Agori lived in one part of it (still a very large part considering the size of the Prototype Robot scattered across it) but there's so much more land. At least, we know that there were Agori living in or near the mountains where the Skrall used to live, according to Bionicle Legends 8.

Metru Nui was the brain and the center of consciousness was under it. The Codrex is important, considering how they started the Energy Storms from those lightstones in it. But outside the Codrex in the rest of Karda Nui is where the energy storms actually are, and all of Karda Nui is the robot's 'heart'.

Yeah, we got a handful of named Glatorian/Glatorian-species folk: Ackar, Certavus, Gelu, Gresh, Kiina, Malum, Perditus, Strakk, Surel, Tarix, Telluris, and Vastus... comes to 12. And we hear about a few unnamed ones, which gives the impression of there being about twenty Glatorian-types alive on Bara Magna, compared to the hundreds of Skrall.

But the unnamed species that's commonly hired as Glatorian and just called Glatorian (I think that's the case, or is Glatorian really the species name?) have very low numbers compared to the Skrall. Their low numbers make sense since they suffered a planetary cataclysm right after a huge war, but the Skrall went through the same thing as far as I know.

I think Karda Nui is basically a giant reactor. Well, it's probably not really the same technology as a real nuclear reactor, but that's the closest analogy I can think of.

Yeah, too bad it seems we'll never know how much of the planet's population ended up on Bota Magna.

Was it explained in the story why the Skrall outnumber the rest of the warrior race of Bara Magna (except maybe the Vorox) so much? I understand why the Vorox would be numerous, as it's their native environment and they can even survive in the wastelands. But the Skrall were also decimated by the Baterra. Do they reproduce faster (and if I recall they lost contact with the females when they banished them) or were they just lucky enough to not be depopulated in the Shattering as much as the others? Or did most of the Agori and warrior race die off in the desert, and the Black Spike Mountains supported life better?

Yeah, I do kind of abrupt transitions sometimes. Especially long time skips, I do that a lot for the previous epics, which had timelines spanning millennia, and it'll happen again in this story before it's over. Like I said earlier, I'll see about writing short stories to fill some of the time between the gaps. Besides the time skips, I try to make things flow well enough. But I can see how those chapters can seem to be 'another life' because the first of those were seven years ago, and in the others they were away from home. Is that what you meant? As for the typo, look again. Zima is the one that wears the Mask of Telepathy. It seemed clear when I typed that part.Thanks for reviewing again.

End of YrentaChapter Twenty-five==Wastelands North of Yrenta, Northern Continent, Matoran Universe==~543 AGC~ It had taken a while to find a safe way down, and longer to ride down that path. The way was rocky and steep, so the Toa had to ride slowly. Meanwhile Zima trekked at a steady pace, increasing the distance between him and his hunters. If he noticed he was being followed, he did not show it. The Toa were at least a kio behind him, maybe two kio, but the air was clear enough for them to see much farther than that. And yet, though it was daylight, the desert below them was not bright. Nor was it dark. A shadow hung over the Wastelands, as if clouds covered the sky, but there was not a drop of moisture to be seen. The Toa could see groups of creatures moving far away, much too far away to identify them. Finally, their steeds stepped onto the gray ground of the Wastelands. Immediately, the Rahi and Toa alike felt both a physical chill and a chilling dread. The Toa struggled to keep the beasts calm.“What is this? It's colder here than in the mountains,” said Vayrag.“This land is tainted by Shadow,” said Mozmana. “Whether or not this was ever a natural desert, there is nothing natural about it now.”“It has been like this as long as we can remember,” said Vilam. “The Makuta dwells somewhere here.”“In the heart of it all, no doubt,” said Iskanemo. “And that is where Zima is heading.”“Then we must catch up to him right away!” said Imlen, urging his mount to go faster. “He is alone, that will not last much longer.”“He's seen us, I'm sure of it,” said Vayrag as his steed and the others' began to gallop. “But I haven't noticed any reaction.”“He is alone, but can we defeat him?” said Vilam. “It is already so cold.”“But it's very dry, so he will need to expend more energy to form ice,” Iskanemo pointed out. “Still, Imlen's plasma will be vital. Don't let him go down.”The Toa reached Zima a few minutes later. The Toa of Ice had turned to face them, and wasted no time. An even greater chill came over the other Toa, and they shielded their faces instinctively, although there was no wind. Zima took out a Kanoka launcher and fired a series of disks, which Imlen melted in midair. Vayrag was the first to dismount, jumping off his steed and charging Zima almost as fast as the Rahi had been galloping. He scurried forward, hunched over on his long, clawed arm, howling and releasing a volley of Rhotuka spinners. The other Toa continued to ride to Zima, blasting him with a combined elemental blast and threatening to trample him. The Toa Hagah adeptly dodged the passing Rahi, and impaled the one Vilam was riding. She jumped off and released a blast of lightning before her feet touched the ground. Zima blocked the electricity with his spear, then with one hand plunged his spear into the ground to discharge the energy, and reached out with the other hand, channeling his element through the disk launcher.Vilam shivered. It was so cold, she could barely move. Then Zima aimed his spear at her and released a sonic blast. It was far less powerful than a Toa of Sonics' attack, not devastating, but it was enough to knock the frigid Toa of Lightning down. Fortunately for her, Zima did not have time to finish her off. He darted out of a cloud of plasma Imlen was gathering around him, dodged the Hordika's spinners, and fought against Iskanemo's wind as he focused his next attack on Mozmana. Her powers were preventing him from using his Mask of Telepathy, which granted him a great tactical advantage. The powers of Imlen and Iskanemo were destroying and diverting his disks, so he put the launcher away. But even without his Kanohi power and his Kanoka, he was a dangerous opponent. Still, the other Toa had him outnumbered, and even with the advantage of the cold climate, his elemental power was no match for the powers of five Toa combined.He stood no chance if he let his foes attack him at range. He needed to turn the fight to melee combat. Application of his elemental power caused the Rahi steeds to collapse, nearly frozen to death. Without that advantage, the other Toa could not prevent Zima from closing in on them. He advanced on Vilam, who had since gotten back up, and Vayrag charged him before he could reach her. The Toa Hordika of Magnetism dodged Zima's spearhead and wrestled with him up close. Imlen, Vilam, and Iskanemo withheld their attacks, so as not to hit Vayrag, but Mozmana did not need to worry about that. Zima nearly fell to the ground as her mental assault supplemented Vayrag's physical attack. Vayrag noticed his weakness and drew back slightly to plunge his claws into him, but that gave Zima an opportunity. He kicked the Hordika with his right foot, causing Vayrag to stagger as he brought his spear to bear. Vayrag dodged quickly enough to avoid being skewered completely, but he was wounded.The other four Toa released a full elemental attack as Vayrag fell to the ground. Zima anticipated that and easily dodged. The tenacious Vayrag was still trying to fight, so Zima kicked him unconscious without slowing as he showered the other Toa with a hail of ice spikes. Imlen created a screen of plasma to vaporize the flying shards. The Toa of Plasma expended more valuable elemental energy in that exchange than Zima had, just as the veteran Toa of Ice had planned. Iskanemo manipulated the air to suck Zima's breath away, and Zima countered by forming a flurry of snow that was drawn to Iskanemo by the vacuum. The Toa of Air's concentration was broken, and Zima charged him. Mozmana was too occupied shielding her allies' minds to notice Zima's charge was a feint until it was too late. Just before he was in melee range of Iskanemo, the Hagah turned and thrust his spear at the Toa of Psionics. Mozmana leaned back to avoid being impaled, but the spearhead still cut through her thin abdominal armor.She cried out and fell to the ground. She was immobilized, but regained her concentration enough to continue to counteract Zima's Kanohi Suletu. Zima prepared to end that, but for a brief moment he neglected to consider the mask powers of his opponents. Before Zima could plunge his spear into the fallen Mozmana, Iskanemo's mask glowed and the Toa Hagah was violently blasted several bio away. He landed on his feet, though somewhat awkwardly, and was struck by a bolt of lightning. He grabbed his Kanoka launcher again and retaliated with a salvo of disks. As he expected, Iskanemo blew most of the disks off course, and Imlen vaporized the rest. But that was just a distraction to allow him to move into melee combat again. Zima released a blast of ice at Iskanemo as he charged again, preventing him from concentrating on his mask. Mozmana was attempting to get up, but it only took Zima a low-level Weaken Kanoka to cause her to collapse again. In desperation, she channeled a powerful mental attack into his mind.For a moment, he was overcome by agony. Stinging, burning electrified plasma added to the pain, but he struggled through it. Imlen and Vilam faltered as their opponent endured their attack, and a second later, they were nearly frozen solid. They moved, but it was too late for Imlen to dodge. Vilam screamed as a Reconstitute at Random disk struck her brother and turned him into a shapeless blob. Fortunately, the effect was temporary, but she did not know how long it would last. While it lasted, the effect was grotesque, and Imlen was out of the fight. She moved to cover Iskanemo as Zima launched more shards of ice at his face. The fight was going all wrong. Vayrag was unconscious, Mozmana was too, or nearly so, and Imlen was also incapacitated. The Vortixx Dark Hunter was nowhere to be seen, and Vilam doubted he could sneak up on Zima in this open desert anyway. She realized that Zima could probably now hear her thoughts, and she indeed noticed a slight reaction from him. He seemed to be expecting someone else to join the fight at any moment. But then Vilam heard a familiar sound and knew that the reinforcements were not on her side.Four Rahkshi were diving down towards the battle, as if they had appeared in the sky spontaneously. Iskanemo barked a command, instructing Vilam to distract Zima while he dealt with the Rahkshi. She complied, and released forked lightning bolts as Iskanemo called upon his elemental and mask powers. One Rahkshi reversed direction in midair, repelled by the Toa of Air's mask, and strong winds buffeted the other three. The repulsed Rahkshi lost control and crashed into the ground, but Iskanemo could not prevent the other three from landing around him. There was a Rahkshi of Disintegration, a Rahkshi of Sleep, and a Rahkshi of Power Scream. Iskanemo used his mask again, propelling himself into the air as energy bolts converged on where he had been standing. In his experience, Rahkshi were tricky opponents for a Toa of Air, so he focused on Zima. Vilam was dueling him in melee combat and losing badly, and she was relieved when Iskanemo dived in to relieve her.“What about the Rahkshi?” she said, as she and Iskanemo dodged the energy bolts that came from behind.“Try to wake the others,” said Iskanemo, and he tried to use his mask again, but Zima broke his concentration. “Or... something. Be quick!”Iskanemo's sickle was small, but a faster weapon to use than Zima's spear. The two of them sparred, both their weapons and their elemental powers clashing, while Vilam turned to the three Rahkshi. A bolt struck her, and she felt a sudden sleepiness. She struggled against it, and with a two-handed grip, she channeled a bolt at the Rahkshi of Sleep. The attack did not defeat it, but it caused it to stagger, and the sight of it spasming gave Vilam rejuvenating hope. The Rahkshi of Disintegration struck next, causing the ground under her to crumble. She jumped out of the way, and as she did so the Power Scream Rahkshi attacked next. The terrible sound forced her to drop her sword and cover her ears, and she stumbled. Again the Rahkshi of Disintegration blasted the ground, and it gave way under her. She grabbed her sword just in time and plunged it into the wall of the pit she was falling into. She could see the bottom, and dropped down carefully. Now the Rahkshi had to come to her, and as they appeared over the rim of the pit, she blasted them viciously.Meanwhile, Iskanemo had repulsed Zima again, and the Toa of Ice launched another volley of Kanoka. Rather than manipulating the air to blow the disks away, Iskanemo dodged them, but that left him open to another blast of cold. He stopped suddenly, and had to release a sudden gust of wind to deflect the last two Kanoka. Zima was quickly covering the distance between them. Another elemental attack froze Iskanemo long enough for Zima to move close enough to use his spear. Iskanemo blocked the thrusting spearhead, but it was forceful enough for him to stagger back. In a flash, Zima launched a Kanoka at him. At first, nothing seemed to happen, and Iskanemo called upon his element again. Then he felt his powers go wildly out of control. Zima pressed himself against the ground as Iskanemo blew himself away with a sudden cyclone. The cyclone lifted the Toa of Air high before disappearing abruptly. Iskanemo hit the ground hard before he could react, and achingly looked up to see Zima approaching rapidly to finish him off.Vilam channeled a great amount of elemental energy at the Rahkshi of Sleep, destroying it before it could render her unconscious. The Rahkshi of Power Scream roared down at her, forcing her against the wall of the pit, and the Rahkshi of Disintegration once again caused the earth around her to crumble. She ducked forward to avoid falling deeper underground, and the Rahkshi of Power Scream attacked again, causing her to fall forward. The two Rahkshi dropped down on top of her, and she rolled out of the way as they stabbed at her with their staffs. She released lightning from all around her, causing the Rahkshi to falter. Then the purple Rahkshi screamed right in her face, and she was bested. The horrible screech overwhelmed her, and she fell to her knees. Even when it was over, she could hear a roar echoing in her ears. The Rahkshi prepared to finish her, and at that moment she realized that the roar was actually a different sound.She lashed out with her sword, causing the two Rahkshi to hesitate. That same second, the roaring quieted, and a multitude of knives rained down upon them. The noise started again, louder than before, as the Rahkshi staggered, blades lodged in their backs. Vilam snarled with determination and struck again, cutting down first the purple Rahkshi, then the blue one before they could recover. Again, pain and weariness came over her, but she endured it. Her friends likely needed her help. She climbed onto one of the fallen Rahkshi, and from there she was able to lift herself out of the pit. The fight had lasted for some time, and she was surprised to see that the other Toa were recovering. Vayrag was the last to get up. She was not as surprised to see the Dark Hunter battling Zima while the wounded Toa got up. Zima was outnumbered again, but the battle was not over. Rather, another phase of the fight was beginning, as many more Rahkshi were arriving.“Thanks for finally showing up,” said Iskanemo to the Dark Hunter as Vilam ran over.“You could have picked a better place,” said the Vortixx, sparring with Zima while dodging Rahkshi energy bolts. “He's the target, take him out!”The Toa tried to focus on Zima, but there were over a dozen Rahkshi reinforcements that prevented them from doing so. The Dark Hunter was skilled, but Zima was too. He expertly parried the Vortixx's sword for a few seconds, then chilled the blade, making it brittle. A small sonic blast made the Vortixx jump back as the blade shattered in his face. With one swift motion, the Hunter grabbed a series of knives and hurled them. Zima dodged most of them, and one of them dug into his armor. That slowed him briefly, and the Vortixx followed up with a punch that knocked him back. He nearly dropped his spear, and desperately conjured a burst of ice. That bought him the time he needed to recover, and he launched a salvo of Kanoka. As he expected, the Dark Hunter leaped high over him. Zima turned and plunged his spear into the Vortixx's leg as he landed. The Vortixx cursed in pain and staggered, but he was not yet defeated.Nearby, Imlen and his friends were having difficulty fending off the Rahkshi. Vayrag and Mozmana were still sore, but were determined to stay in the fight this time. The Hordika was by far the most ferocious fighter. He roared and snarled as he tore through the Makuta-spawn with little regard to his own well-being, shredding armor and enduring the various effects of the energy bolts. Imlen and Iskanemo moved to cover him before he got himself killed. As Imlen turned to dodge an attack, he saw something and gasped. An army was approaching. Visorak or Ukzokth, he could not tell which, but they would be upon the Toa in less than half an hour. He felt his elemental energy reserves running low, and now was the time to use what was left of his power. He melted one Rahkshi, then another. The other Toa also brought the remainder of the elemental energies to bear, and within a few minutes the Rahkshi were destroyed.The Toa were barely able to stand by this point, however, and the Dark Hunter and Zima were still evenly matched. Imlen and Vilam were the first to interrupt their duel, as this was personal for them. The other Toa followed, and together they attempted to move behind Zima. But they were exhausted, and the Toa of Ice merely chilled the air around him, keeping the other Toa at bay without taking his eyes off the Dark Hunter. The Toa backed off and sat down. They needed rest, and if only the Vortixx could keep Zima occupied for another minute, they would have another chance. Zima knew this, and he decided to not allow it. He leaped over the Dark Hunter, away from the sitting Toa. He retreated towards the advancing army, allowing the Vortixx to waste energy trying to stop him. The Dark Hunter's acrobatics were quickly tiring him, and though Zima had also moved a lot, he was less fatigued. A forceful bash with the shaft of his spear knocked away the Vortixx's last dagger. As he anticipated, the Vortixx jumped back to avoid his follow-up thrust.He had nearly won, but the other Toa would not give up. They had had a brief moment to rest, and now they got up and advanced on him as quickly as they could. Zima took a step back, and did something he rarely ever did: he stumbled. He recovered in time to fend off the Vortixx, but Imlen persisted. He swung his staff, diverting Zima's spear. Zima countered the clumsy attack easily, plunging his spear through the Toa of Plasma. The other Toa screamed Imlen's name, but Imlen only grunted. He dropped his staff and grasped the spear that perforated his chest. Zima tried to pull his weapon out of the wound, but it was too late. A quick punch from the Dark Hunter knocked him down, and he let go of the spear, leaving it lodged in Imlen. Zima was defeated, and now Imlen felt the pain. The injury was dire, and he was exhausted, and covered with dozens of smaller wounds. He fell to the ground and his senses faded away.Review

End of YrentaChapter Twenty-four==Domain of Makuta Krika, Northern Continent, Matoran Universe==~543 AGC~ “What's going on?” demanded Imlen as the Matoran surrounded the group.“So you are Toa,” said the leader of the armed Matoran. “What is that creature?”“I am Toa Vayrag,” said the Toa Hordika with strained patience.“He's really a Toa?” said the Matoran leader. “Not some dangerous beast?”“I'm both,” said Vayrag, baring his fangs in a smile.“We don't like having dangerous strangers in town, especially since we lost our Toa,” said the Matoran leader. “We're even suspicious of other Toa, especially those that steal boats.”“What? How – what makes you think we stole a boat?” said Iskanemo.“I noticed the vessel you arrived in,” said the Matoran leader. “I've seen ships like that before, the company that owns them doesn't sell them.”“Come now, Kyhudh,” said the shopkeeper to the leader. “They're Toa. They live a life of adventure, and sometimes they need to bend the rules for the greater good.”“We used to allow that, Sopur,” said Kyhudh. “But I can't trust beings just because they're Toa. Not anymore.”“Because of Zima? But surely you know he's a rare exception,” said Imlen. “And we've come to hunt him down.”“Alright, we'll give you a chance,” said Kyhudh, and he dismissed his subordinates. “But the boat stays behind where it can be returned. No more ignoring the laws.”“Very well,” said Mozmana. “Do you know where to find Zima?”“Just that he didn't set sail from here,” said Sopur. “I expect that means he's on the continent somewhere, but it's possible he took a boat from some other place.”“He was traveling south from here, actually. He left four days ago,” said Kyhudh. “There is a Po-Matoran village to the south. You should look there first.”“And you should probably not come back for a while,” said Sopur. “Give us a chance to get over what happened.”“Are you sure you'll be alright?” said Iskanemo.“I'm more worried about you,” said the shopkeeper. “After all, you're the ones going looking for Zima.”When the Toa left the store, they found all the Matoran had hidden themselves in their homes, with the exception of Kyhudh's city guard. They certainly were paranoid. Once they had the necessary supplies packed, the Toa decided to travel directly to the Po-Koro to the south that Kyhudh had told them about. They walked for a few hours over grassy land that gradually became rockier and steeper. By late afternoon, they were hiking through foothills. They passed several kio east of a small mountain on the way to a larger mountain directly ahead. About an hour after dusk, they came to a steep valley between the last hill and the side of the mountain itself. The Po-Matoran village was on the other side of the valley, on the bottommost slopes of the mountain. There was a nearly vertical drop in front of the Toa, and no path in sight. They remembered the directions Kyhudh and Sopur had given them and walked half a kio west. There, the slope was less steep, and there was a winding path leading down.The path was well-maintained, but it was long, and the Toa had to move slowly in the dark. It took them an hour just to get to the bottom. The Toa decided to reach the village before stopping for the night, but needed to take a brief rest. The arid night was cold, and howling wind chilled the valley. Taking shelter behind some rocks, they got out their bedrolls and sleeping pouches, as well as a heatstone that was shrouded to hide its glow. The Toa huddled around the heat source and wrapped themselves up, though they kept alert for nocturnal predators. Several stone huts in the village ahead were illuminated, until one by one the lights went out. With only the muted light of the heatstone and the starlight, the Toa could barely see. They relied on Mozmana to sense incoming threats by continually feeling for unknown minds in the area. Reaching out with her psionic power, she sensed several hostile Rahi, but they were far off. She sensed the grief felt by Vilam and Imlen, and it stung, especially the resentment the Toa of Plasma had for her and her friends. Still 'listening' carefully for approaching enemies, she decided to start a telepathic conversation with him.I'm very sorry, Imlen, she projected. Sorry I... we brought Paqyar to Xia.Apologies won't bring him back, Imlen consciously thought in response to Mozmana.I know. Nothing will, projected Mozmana. His work is done. We still have a job to do.Get out of my head, thought Imlen angrily.Very well, but first I want you to know this: you have a destiny to fulfill, and I will stay with you until you have done so, projected Mozmana. I swear it. I will help you as much as I can until your destiny is fulfilled.I suppose that would mean I'd be stuck with Iskanemo and Vayrag too, right? thought Imlen.Iskanemo? I do not know. I am a psychic, not a future-seer, responded Mozmana. As for Vayrag, I certainly hope he stays with me.Why? What do you mean? thought Imlen, who seemed suddenly interested, despite his earlier message.You know. Without my influence, he would turn into a savage beast, thought Mozmana. He has only half the body and half the mind of a Toa. But he is still a Toa in spirit. I do not want that to be taken from him.I did not realize your influence was so important to keeping him... docile, thought Imlen.Indeed. I am ashamed to think like this, but... I do hope that he dies before I do, projected Mozmana. Without my help, he will lose all of his former identity. He is aware of that, and he does not want that to happen to him.Wow... perhaps Paqyar was lucky in a way. We still have to face the future, and he... he does not need to worry about anything anymore, thought Imlen. Tell me, how long have you, Vayrag, and Iskanemo known each other?That is a story for another time. It is time to continue, thought Mozmana.“Alright, I still want to get to that village tonight,” said Iskanemo, right on cue. “Let's get going, team.”The Toa continued their journey. The bottom of the valley was narrow and rocky. Halfway across, a large feline Rahi pounced on them. But Mozmana had sensed him coming, and the Toa were ready. The valley was illuminated for a brief moment when Imlen released a blast of plasma that knocked the beast back in midair. The Rahi roared and jumped behind a rock, which Vilam shattered with a lightning bolt. The cat charged Vilam, and Mozmana held out her hand, attempting to affect its mind directly. The Rahi resisted her mental intrusion, but was stopped by a sudden continuous wind. It struggled against Iskanemo's gale, then the Toa of Air reversed the flow, sucking the creature's breath away. He maintained the vacuum until the Rahi attempted to retreat. He let it, and it fled. The Toa continued, and came to the Po-Koro before midnight.The village was larger than most of the settlements in Yrenta and the southern continent, but much smaller than the port city the Toa had arrived in. As was usual for Po-Matoran communities, the homes were entirely constructed of stone, even the furniture. Apparently, the struggle in the valley had gone unnoticed, for the village was asleep. Only one Matoran was outside: a guard dozing next to a small fire at the center of the village. Hearing the Toa approach, he jumped up and babbled sleepily in surprise. He pulled out a spear, and Mozmana held out her hand peacefully. The others were not sure if she was using her elemental power, but the Po-Matoran guard seemed to wake up more and calm down. Perhaps it was merely the realization of who he was looking at, and the meaning of Mozmana's gesture.“Toa?” said the Po-Matoran. “Careful, Toa, you – you're in danger!”“Because of Zima?” asked Imlen.“You know then?” said the guard, nodding. “Of course – you came from the port, didn't you?”“Yes. Where is Zima?” said Vilam.“I do not know. He last passed this way four days ago,” said the Matoran sadly. “You should go in and see Turaga Xhaliki. I'm sure he'll want to talk to you.”“Will you introduce us?” said Mozmana.“Oh, no. I need to stand guard out here,” said the Po-Matoran. “Just wake him gently.”“I can do that,” said Mozmana.The guard indicated one of the adjacent buildings. It was a large stone hut, the largest structure in the village. As with the other huts, the door was also made of stone, with a lubricated bottom so it could be moved easily. The entrance was just large enough for the Toa to pass through. The interior was spacious, but barely large enough to comfortably accommodate the five Toa. There were a few stone items of furniture, consisting of chairs and a table of a suitable size for Matoran, as well as a bed, upon which a Turaga of Stone slept. Mozmana stepped over to him while the other Toa sat down on the floor, and she held her hand out over him. The Turaga stirred and opened his eyes. He was fully awake when he spoke, though he was still lying down. His voice conveyed some relief, but mostly fear and regret.“Hello, Toa,” he said, then he sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. “I presume Rakun let you in. Welcome to my village.”“Turaga Xhaliki? Thank you for your hospitality,” said Imlen.“We know of the murder of your region's Toa, and we offer our condolences,” said Mozmana. “We have come to bring Zima to justice. If only we had come sooner.”“I know,” said Imlen. “And if we had skipped going to Xia, Paqyar would still live.”“There is no 'if', just what is, what has been, and what will be,” said the Turaga. “It has happened, and now we must continue to fulfill our destinies.”“We have encountered Zima before, in our homeland,” said Vilam. “Under orders from the Makuta that oversees that region, he enslaved and murdered our Matoran friends. I think we are meant to defeat him.”“Oh, Zima,” said Turaga Xhaliki sadly. “Why have you done such things?”“What is it, Turaga?” said Mozmana, noticing something strange about the Turaga's attitude.“I... I've known Zima. I met him before, long ago,” said the Turaga. “I was still a Matoran then. And he was a hero.”“You mean Zima was once a true Toa? Do you know why he turned evil?” said Iskanemo.“He was strange even then. Unsociable, even for a Toa of Ice,” said Xhaliki. “In fact, I think little has changed overall. But he never violated the Toa Code, not in those days. He and his teammates would occasionally visit this region and help us deal with local threats – Frostelus, Dark Hunters, rampaging Rahi, and the like. He was always concerned with order and duty, and neither kind nor malicious. I suspect that when he was recruited by the Makuta, he was corrupted by their promises to enforce order.”“Do you think he still thinks he is doing the right thing?” pondered Mozmana. “Maybe he does not see himself as a villain.”“Even if he needs to kill every other Toa?” said Vilam. “No. I don't believe anyone could be so... deluded.”“I've never met a being with a mind quite like Zima's, however,” said the Turaga. “But please, it is very late now. Rest here, and tomorrow we will locate him.”The Toa squeezed around each other until they could each find a spot to sleep in. As usual, they took turns sleeping and watching. One Toa stood alert at the entrance at all times through the rest of the night. Rakun the guard insisted on staying at his post until his shift was over, and then he summoned another Po-Matoran to take over. This next guard briefly spoke with Vilam during her shift, but he had no information about Zima. Unlike Rakun, he seemed to want to go to bed, and Vilam allowed it. The night passed peacefully, and in the morning the villagers gathered around, curious about the visiting Toa. The Toa learned Zima had passed south through the village, and was probably traveling through the mountains beyond. They prepared to leave immediately, and as they did that Xhaliki spoke with them again.“When Zima came this way, he told us what he had done,” said the Turaga. “He said that he killed our Toa because they were rebelling against the righteous rule of the Brotherhood of Makuta. We were all too afraid to protest, but he could hear our thoughts. He sternly ordered the Matoran to only mind their labors, and told me that if I spread 'propaganda' against the Makuta, I would be killed as well. I expected him to kill me immediately, but I suppose he wanted me to remain to keep the village running. He seemed to be in a hurry, though he took the time to drive off a rock lion that was straying close to the village.”“You mean he defeated a rock lion?” said Vayrag in surprise.“Well, he scared it off. I did not see the fight for myself, but I heard it lasted about an hour until the lion gave up and fled.”“That's not encouraging,” said Iskanemo.“Are rock lions as tough as they're said to be?” asked Imlen.“Oh, yes,” said the Toa of Air. “But they're not as dangerous as five Toa. Let's go.”“Will you come back, if you live?” said Turaga Xhaliki.“Sorry, Turaga, I do not plan to,” said Imlen. “Vilam and I are on our way home after seven years. But if Zima is vanquished, you will find out soon enough, I expect.”“That is true, and I understand,” said the Turaga. “Well, I hope it is your destiny to defeat him. Farewell.”The Toa thanked the Turaga again and resumed their journey. They followed a path that went around the side of the mountain. Beyond that was an entire range of larger mountains, far larger than the mountains of Yrenta. The road wound between the mountains, and the next evening they saw a Ko-Matoran village on a crag above them. They climbed up to the village and asked about Zima. They were told Zima had been seen passing the village on the path below, but he had not stopped at the village. The Toa were worried about their ability to catch up to him, but they were tired, so they spent the night in the Ko-Koro. The Matoran would have offered to give them mounts, but they only had Ussal and other riding Rahi that were too small for Toa. The villagers informed the Toa of a settlement of larger beings that had mounts suitable for Toa, and perhaps even self-propelled vehicles. However, it was on the other side of a mountain to the southwest.The Toa left the Ice village in the morning and returned to the path. As they traveled south, they debated whether to go to the town the Ko-Matoran had told them about or continue to go straight. By the time they came to the fork in the road, they decided to go to the settlement. There was little hope of them catching up to Zima at their current pace, and he may have also passed through that town. The path that split off from the main route led around a mountain and down to the small town near the bottom. The Toa reached the town, and saw a narrow, rocky valley below, with a larger mountain on the other side. The settlement was inhabited by members of a well-known species. They were about the same size as Toa and their armor was mostly black and white. Vilam and Imlen vaguely recalled encountering a Dark Hunter minion of the same species back in Yrenta.The town was not much more populous than the villages the Toa had passed earlier, but it was significantly larger, to accommodate the larger denizens. The locals did have a few self-propelled vehicles, but they would not give them away for free. They were reluctant to sell them, and their price was too high for the Toa anyway. The Toa purchased some fast but reasonably priced riding beasts instead. The news of Zima and his deeds had just barely come to the town, and the Toa of Ice himself had not been seen by the locals. Still, the locals would not allow the Toa to rest in their homes, for they did not want trouble from the Brotherhood. The Toa rode back towards the main road through the mountains, and stopped to camp before reaching it. By then it was late at night, so they slept under the stars and continued in the morning.Their Rahi allowed them to travel at a much faster pace. They rode for a few days, passing through several more settlements along the way. Zima had been seen by the inhabitants of some of these, but he had apparently stayed away from most of the villages. The Toa were disturbed to find that his name was known in many of the places they visited, even if the locals had never seen him. After passing through an area of lower elevation, the Toa entered another mountainous region. Not far to the south, the mountains began to slope west to meet the smaller mountains of Yrenta. By now, the Toa expected Zima was heading to Yrenta. He reported to the Makuta that watched over that region, so in a way, it was his home too. The thought of returning home – and of Zima returning there – caused Imlen and Vilam to ride faster and longer than before. The other Toa increased their pace to keep up.The Toa rode fast for the rest of the day, passing another village, then camped outside for the night. They rested for a long time, as the steeds were exhausted, and they anticipated a confrontation with Zima soon. The next morning they followed an old unused road that led west towards Yrenta. Below them, to the south and west, stretched the inexplicably cold desert known as the Wastelands to the inhabitants of Yrenta. Makuta Teskor was known dwell there, as it was well within his control. Imlen wondered if the wastes were in the middle of his territory. He had learned that Yrenta only formed the southern border of his domain, but was not sure how far that domain extended. The vista of the Wastelands from the mountainside surprised Imlen and Vilam. The wastes had seemed so vast, but from the road they now traveled on, the Toa could clearly see fertile land north of the desert.They could also see a bipedal figure walking alone into the Wastelands almost directly west of them. They stopped and looked carefully. It was Zima. The Toa found the nearest path down the mountainside and rode down after him.Review

I've never played a Pencil and Paper or play-by-post RPG, but I might be interested. I've looked on the forums, but there's one thing I don't get: what's the system that's used? Is there some rule system for Bionicle RPGs based on D&D or GURPS or something?

I lost momentum on my epic. It's just hard to concentrate on Bionicle-related stuff without the BZP forums.

End of YrentaChapter Twenty-three==Off the Coast of Xia, Matoran Universe==~543 AGC~ Vayrag launched his Rhotuka, and a powerful magnetic force began to deform Imlen's armor. Before either of them could make another move, Vilam intervened.“Stop!” shouted Vilam, and she struck Imlen with a bolt of lightning that knocked him out. “Sorry about that, Imlen. And Vayrag. Don't worry, he'll get over it.”“He'd better,” said Vayrag, demagnetizing Imlen's armor and putting his launcher away.Dawn had come and was passing when Vilam brought the boat to the rendezvous point. Imlen had been awake for a while, and he was sulking. He seemed too upset to do or say anything. Vilam knew how he felt, but she also knew they were not safe yet. She kept the boat anchored, and waited. A little while later, Mozmana and Iskanemo appeared on the shore, just barely close enough to be seen. As the two of them prepared to swim, a lean, dark figure came out of the shadows and struck them both from behind. Vilam gasped as she saw them fall, and immediately raised the anchor and headed towards the land. Whether or not Imlen had noticed what had happened, he did not react. At full speed, it only took a few minutes to reach the shore, but that was almost too long for Vayrag. As soon as the boat was close enough, he leaped out of the boat and pounced on his friends' attacker.“Whoa, wait,” said the Vortixx Dark Hunter as he caught Vayrag mid-pounce with one hand and set him down. “They're alright. Sorry, I needed to get your attention, and prevent these two from reacting rashly to my appearance.”“I should still maul you for treating my friends like that,” growled Vayrag, checking on his friends and trying to wake them. “But I... I don't think I could beat you. Who are you?”“He saved us a couple times years ago, back home,” said Vilam as she came ashore, followed by the silent Imlen. “But he's a Dark Hunter.”“What do you want, then, Dark Hunter?” said Vayrag. “Off-duty from killing Toa?”“I don't usually get those jobs,” said the Dark Hunter casually. “But before we say any more, let's wake these two. And before that, I'd better make things a little safer.”Before the Toa could question that, he moved swiftly to disarm them. Half-reflexively, they fought back, and the Dark Hunter dodged or endured their attacks effortlessly. Seconds later, Imlen's staff, Vilam's sword, and a knife Vayrag had been carrying were lying at his feet. Of course, he could not steal their elemental power, nor harmlessly remove Vayrag's claws, but he had again asserted his superior combat ability. He added Mozmana's sword and Iskanemo's sickle to the pile, and woke the unconscious Toa. As the two of them got up, the Dark Hunter showed the courtesy to place his own weapons on the ground in front of him. Vilam was certain that he was still capable of defeating them even while disarmed. Upon getting up, Iskanemo and Mozmana immediately prepared for combat, then relaxed when they noticed no one was fighting.“What's going on?” said Iskanemo, seeing the pile of weapons in the midst of the group.“Sorry for my rude greeting,” chuckled the Vortixx Dark Hunter. “I've come to discuss something with you.”“Where's – ” Mozmana began to say, suddenly noticing the missing member of the team.“Paqyar is dead,” Imlen chose that moment to speak. “Because of you.”“Oh. Oh, no,” said Mozmana, and Iskanemo muttered a curse word regretfully.“Yes, it's true,” said Imlen angrily. “And I want nothing more to do with you. Let's go, Vilam.”“Hold on there, Jet, hear me out,” said the Vortixx as he grabbed the turning Toa of Plasma's shoulder.“My name is Imlen,” Imlen responded indignantly to the nickname. “What do you want?”“To have Toa Zima taken out,” said the Hunter.“Zima? He's still around?” said Vilam with surprise.“So you are out to kill Toa,” said Vayrag suspiciously.“Zima is a villain,” explained Imlen. “A servant of the Makuta, and traitor to the word 'Toa'.”“And the Makuta that oversees your part of the Northern Continent – Teskor – has made him his champion,” said the Dark Hunter. “Since he defeated us in Yrenta, Zima has been assigned to hunt his fellow Toa.”“And has he... had any success?” said Mozmana apprehensively.“He has killed several Toa,” confirmed the Vortixx. “I believe his mission is to convert them to the Makuta cause, but as far as I know, every one of his targets has resisted. That's no surprise, really.”“Why do you care about this?” said Iskanemo. “Your kind is one of the factions most responsible for the decline in our numbers.”“Well, you Toa do interfere a lot...” said the Dark Hunter.“Like what you've been doing?” said Imlen.“Point taken. But I personally don't want to see Toa go extinct. More relevantly, Zima must be eliminated because he is dangerous as an individual and as a symbol. Makuta Teskor is using him to demoralize his enemies and gain prestige among his allies. It's working.”“It sounds like he's not on Yrenta,” said Imlen. “And I plan to – ”“Return home and free your people,” interrupted the Hunter. “I know. But listen: if a Toa's responsibility to help those in need means nothing to you, you at least have a grievance against Zima. Even if you do not care for his other victims, you can at least consider this part of your quest. And I know you mean to battle Teskor. I cannot expect you to triumph over him. He is a lesser among his brethren, but a Makuta all the same. But you would have no chance if Zima was protecting him.”“If Zima is far from Yrenta, he will not be able to defend his Makuta,” said Vilam.“I never said he was far from Yrenta. Last I heard, he was somewhere else on the same continent. I do not know what the effective range of a Makuta's teleportation power is, but I suggest you consider that.”“So this Zima is a rogue Toa working for the Makuta...” said Iskanemo.“A Toa of Ice, and Teskor's last Toa Hagah,” the Dark Hunter clarified. “It is said he killed his teammates himself.”“And if he is linked to Imlen and Vilam's homeland, they should be happy to hunt him down,” said the Toa of Air. “Very well – ”“Wait. This is a job for Vilam and I,” said Imlen. “I told you, I am done with you three. And you, Dark Hunter... do you have any more information?”“I'm not going to just give you directions,” said the Vortixx. “I'm taking you there.”“You? But – ” Imlen began to protest.“And we are going too,” Mozmana said, stretching her arms to indicate herself, Vayrag, and Iskanemo.“No time to argue,” said the Dark Hunter as the Toa noticed mechanical whirring and heavy footsteps coming closer.A small group of Rahkshi and an Exo-Toa had found them. They were no match for five Toa and an expert Dark Hunter operative together, but the presence of the intruders had now been detected. The Toa and the Dark Hunter grabbed their weapons and destroyed the Brotherhood patrol. When the fight was over, the Dark Hunter plunged into the water and swam for the boat. Imlen pulled Vilam's hand and they followed him. He knew the other Toa were also following, but he could do nothing to prevent that. He was fatigued and weary with grief, so the others passed him. Mozmana helped Vilam into the boat, and with Vilam's help Imlen climbed up last. He scowled at the others for a moment, then gave up on keeping them out of his business. He went down to the vessel's hold to be alone. The hold was empty, and so he had a lot of space to himself down there. A small corner of his consciousness hoped they would get to their destination before they needed supplies, but he mostly did not think about that.He could only focus on the fact that Paqyar was dead. Imlen had lost many friends before becoming a Toa, but that had been years ago, and members of a Toa team shared a special bond. Paqyar had been killed instantly and by accident, too. No heroic sacrifice, no time for meaningful last words. And it was supposed to be his last stop before finally returning home. Paqyar had not wanted to go to Xia, he had known it was too dangerous, and no one had listened. Well, they had listened, but they not considered his concerns to be of any worth. With a shock, Imlen realized that he had also ignored his brother's warnings. Iskanemo also had a good point about the Toa's duty to protect the entire universe, and Imlen had not been eager to listen to his wisdom. Still, Imlen felt it was wrong of Iskanemo and Mozmana to persuade him and his friends into going on a mission they were not ready for. With seven years of experience, Imlen, Paqyar, and Vayrag were no longer novices, but Iskanemo knew they were far less experienced than his team.And yet no one had forced Imlen to take his team to Xia. In turn, he had not forced his teammates, but no one was expecting Paqyar or Vilam to leave him. The bond between the two teams of three Toa was much weaker than the bonds between the individual team members. As Imlen thought of this, his anger at the other Toa turned into shame, along with the grief and regret he already had. He suddenly felt exhausted, and went to sleep. Later, he snapped awake and saw Mozmana's hand reaching above him. She displayed a smile that was visible through a gap in her Mask of Healing, and bent down to help Imlen up. He did not respond, and she said nothing. She turned and left, and Imlen remained in the hold, though he felt a little better. He suspected her psychic abilities were partially responsible for that.Vilam was not as angry, and did not display her emotions as openly, but she was equally as upset. It was never easy, but Vilam had learned to not be crippled by grief, and instead endure it or harness it to do what must be done. Paqyar had died on a mission for the three other Toa, and so Vilam resolved to make sure Mozmana and her friends fulfilled their promise to help the Toa from Yrenta with their quest. She tried to plan what exactly to do when they reached the northern continent, and if they defeated Zima, what to do after that, but she was too tired. No one spoke, so it was easy for her to fall asleep. The other Toa took turns sleeping, always leaving two to watch the Dark Hunter as he brought the boat to the northern coast of the Northern Continent. They knew the Vortixx could kill any of them, maybe even all of them, if he wanted to. He had not shown even a tiny hint of any intention to do so, but Mozmana and Iskanemo were still unhappy about being knocked unconscious, and as a rule, Toa did not trust Dark Hunters.After a meandering voyage through waterways and along coastlines that lasted about three days, the boat came to its destination on the Northern Continent. The Vortixx brought the boat to a large Matoran port on the western side of the trapezoidal cape in the center of the continent's northern coast. Viewing the coast from the boat, the Toa could see the settlement was built in various traditional small-village styles, with huts of stone and plant material, like Sisretan's new home. However, it was much larger than the Southern Continent village the Toa had sailed away from. This was large enough to be called a city by Matoran standards, though it was far less urbanized than the lost island of Metru Nui. Before sailing into the port, the Dark Hunter had the boat anchored where it was and summoned the Toa into the hold.“I haven't had anything to drink since yesterday,” said Vayrag, demonstrating his dry, creaking joints. “Could we get to the town already?”“Hungry, too,” groaned Imlen. “We should have stolen a boat that had enough food aboard to last the journey.”“You can get your supplies once you're in town,” said the Vortixx. “I'll drop you off as soon as we're done here.”“This is the place?” asked Imlen.“If my information is correct, he's somewhere nearby,” said the Dark Hunter with a nod.“But I thought you were going to help fight him,” said Imlen.“If you had not spent the entire journey in the hold, you would have heard me tell your friends that all I'm doing is giving you some free information and a free ride,” said the Dark Hunter.“Really, Imlen,” said Iskanemo. “I know you're grieving, but you just ate, drank, slept and moped all three days.”“Shut up, Iskanemo,” snapped Imlen, then he addressed the Vortixx. “Listen, we'll need all the help we can get.”“And this is all you can get. Be happy all five of you came along.”“But – ”“It's alright, Imlen,” said Vilam. “He's planning to shadow us and sneak up on Zima while we confront him.”“How do you know that?” said Iskanemo. “You're not the Toa of Psionics here.”“And I am, and I can't read his mind for some reason,” said Mozmana.“Keeping a stealth attacker in reserve for a critical moment is a basic tactic, and his body language subtly indicated he was bluffing,” explained Vilam.“Darn, you're too clever for your own good,” sighed the Vortixx. “Don't you remember that Zima wears the Mask of Telepathy? If you're expecting me to jump out of the shadows and stab him in the back, he'll know that.”“Oh. Any other ideas, then?” said Imlen.“He has a mask with a psionic ability, but as you pointed out, you have something better than that: a Toa of Psionics,” said the Dark Hunter. “You'll know to expect me, but if you can prevent him from 'hearing' your thoughts, it won't matter.”“So, how will we find him?” said Mozmana.“Do I need to guide you through all of this? Ask around, you'll hear about him,” said the Dark Hunter. “And don't bother to keep a low profile. Maybe he'll come to you.”“So, no splitting up?” asked Imlen, and the Vortixx nodded. “Do you really expect him to take us all on?”“Not alone, and not if he can help it,” said the Vortixx. “He'll have plenty of backup, which is why we'll need to take him down hard and fast when the time comes. And I must emphasize that you must not split up. He is an incredibly skilled Toa, but it's not just combat ability that allows him to eliminate entire Toa teams. He waits until the right moment, when his targets are alone or in groups small enough for him to handle.”“So, keep our thoughts shielded, stay together, try to find him or let him come to us,” said Imlen. “That's it?”“Wait, I don't like the idea of letting him ambush us,” said Iskanemo. “I think we should try to not let him know we're around.”“That won't be easy to do without splitting up. And I was only trying to speed things up. After all, I expect him to find you first no matter how stealthily you try to be,” said the Dark Hunter. “But that's just my advice. You five are in charge of yourselves, and after all, this isn't my fight.”The Dark Hunter winked at that last phrase and gracefully hurdled up the ladder. A few seconds later, the Toa heard a quiet splash. The Toa were not sure if they agreed with his plan, but they were too hungry and thirsty to think of an alternative. They decided that could wait, and to refresh themselves in town before thinking about how to find and defeat Zima. The anchor was raised, and soon the boat entered the port. The Toa sighed with relief as they finally walked down the gangplank and set foot on one of the docks. Matoran of all types were here, both denizens and visitors by the looks of them, and most of them were Ga-Matoran. All the Matoran stared at the five Toa, especially at the Hordika that coughed and creaked from dehydration. Vayrag bared his fangs and muttered angrily at the curious Matoran. At that, the Matoran scattered, clearing a path as the Toa walked into town. Imlen heard Mozmana utter a brief reprimand to Vayrag, but was distracted looking at the local stores. Soon, he found what they were looking for: a general store selling basic supplies, including rations and water.“Oh, my,” said the shopkeeper as they entered. “Mata Nui awake! Toa – four of them, and... and what sort of being is this?”“He's a Toa too,” said Iskanemo, to the confusion of the Matoran. “Don't mind us, we just need basic supplies. Food and water first, please.”“Er, yes, of course,” said the shopkeeper. "I do wish I could give them for free, but I can't... not these days, not anymore. I'll give you a discount though – fifty percent off!”“Good enough deal for us, thanks,” said Vilam, selecting the supplies they needed.“Yeah, thanks,” said Iskanemo as he handed over the money. “Also, we came for information on Toa Zima. Heard of him?”“Toa Zima? Y-you know him?” said the Matoran fearfully.“Don't be afraid, we're no friends of him,” said Imlen.“I did not think you were,” said the shopkeeper. “I'm afraid for you.”“He has a reputation here, I take it,” said Iskanemo, taking a drink of water and passing it around.“He killed four Toa we all knew and loved!” said the Matoran. “Protectors we had had for centuries. He even killed the last one right outside town – we collected the frozen, shattered...”“I'm sorry,” said Mozmana, using her power to calm the Matoran and sooth his grief. “We will put an end to – ”She cut herself off upon seeing a group of armed Matoran rush inside.Review

The universe stops existing.I wish it back into existence.D'oh! Um, hold on...Someone makes an invincible evil copy of you and you are doomed to battle him forever.I wish new official Bionicle stories and sets were made again and were good.

Good. I could probably use some more, um, critical criticism, like what Ptah posted. But it's good to know you think I'm doing well enough. I guess I tried to make Paqyar sort of an Iskanemo-Lite, I mean a little more of a pragmatist and pessimistic than his friends. I guess his most defining traits ended up just being his sharp eyes and use of ranged weapons. Oh well.I'll try to get the next chapter posted tonight.

I'm surprised it's taken this long, considering how big Asia is, and Malaysia is only a little part of it.

End of YrentaChapter Twenty-two==Armaments Production and Shipment Districts, Xia, Matoran Universe==~543 AGC~ Vayrag rampaged through the streets, blasting and mauling hired guards along with Brotherhood soldiers, Exo-Toa, and Rahkshi. Behind him ran the three other Toa. A powerfully-charged Rhotuka caused a large group of enemies to magnetize to each other, allowing Imlen and Vilam to defeat them with their combined powers. Paqyar was especially nauseated by the pollution of the island, and he had to expend additional energy to keep the plants he summoned strong enough to fight. Fortunately for him, he still had plenty of Kanoka left, though he was saving the powerful Fire disk for an emergency. He realized that every moment was potentially an emergency, and hoped that he would recognize the most desperate moment before it was too late. The security force moved to close the gap in its lines, and local officers saw to their wounded allies. The Exo-Toa and Rahkshi stepped on and crushed living and dead bodies alike.That last attack had cost too much elemental energy for the Toa to maintain such a strategy, and the group they had taken out was a small portion of the security force present. Vilam spotted two possible hiding locations: a warehouse and a waste processing center. She gave her comrades a subtle signal, then cried out and pointed in the direction of the warehouse. The Xian and Makuta forces moved to cut the Toa off as they ran towards the warehouse, then the Toa split up and evaded them. Stealthily, each of the Toa changed direction and headed in the direction of the waste processing center. Imlen was the first to arrive, and he ducked behind an enormous waste receptacle. As he expected of such a thing on Xia, the waste processing was very minimal. Byproducts and refuse of every sort were buried, burned, or floated down greasy slicks that led either to the sea or Xia's single stream.“Where's Vayrag?” said Imlen after he and the others had waited for a minute.“I've been here,” said the Toa Hordika, climbing down and around from the other side of the waste container.“Whoa, startled me there,” said Paqyar. “Vilam, are you sure this is a good idea? This place looks rather hazardous, and unless you're relying on the chance we'll be beneficially mutated by energized garbage...”“Just a temporary stop,” said Vilam quickly as she began to move again. “Look for another place to hide.”“Quickly, they'll be spreading out to look for us,” said Imlen, scanning the area.“I just hope they don't spread out far enough to find Mozmana and – in there!” Paqyar indicated a derelict-looking building just as the sounds of security forces got uncomfortably close.A trio of Vortixx enforcers spotted them as they ran to the building. Vilam half-turned and released a triple bolt that knocked all three of them out. She hoped that encounter went unnoticed long enough. The Toa entered the run-down structure, and found it was pitch black inside. They slowed to a careful walk and groped their way around in the dark. They found nothing but walls, and after a few minutes Imlen dared to create a dim globe of plasma in his raised hand. There was no hostile response from inside or outside, so he maintained the light, allowing himself and his allies to look around. The building was indeed abandoned. It looked like it had once been a factory, but it was hard to be certain, as it had been stripped clean of machinery. It had not, however, been cleaned of dust and grime. The windows were so filthy all light from the outside was blocked, and Imlen guessed that even in the night, his light would not be seen from outside.But it was only a matter of time until the local security and Brotherhood forces came upon the factory in their search. And an abandoned building was an obvious place to hide. After another minute to rest and recover, the Toa crawled through a small delivery chute of some kind on the other side of the building. As Paqyar came out last, a security team led by two Rahkshi came upon the Toa. There was no chance to be stealthy at this time, so Imlen, Vilam, and Paqyar merged into Samruna. The Toa Kaita scattered the entire group with a swing of his arms, and Vayrag took out one of the Rahkshi before it could recover. The other Rahkshi reduced its density, causing it to be immune to his claws, and floated away. The Hordika launched a Rhotuka at it and missed, then snarled and turned to the others. Samruna conserved his elemental energy, and used his size and strength to pummel the Xian and Makuta enforcers. Vayrag made sure those who fell would not get back up.As the Kaita and the Hordika took out the last two members of the security team, the Rahkshi of Density Control returned with reinforcements. Samruna then called upon his elemental powers, and along with Vayrag's, he immediately devastated a large portion of the reinforcements. Vayrag brought a couple damaged Exo-Toa down on the survivors. Three Rahkshi remained. Samruna hurled a volley of Kanoka, and one of the Rahkshi was struck by a Weaken Disk that allowed him to shatter it with a thrown piece of rubble. A second Rahkshi was struck by another disk, and shrunk to the size of a Matoran. Vayrag pulled it to him with his magnetism powers and shredded it. Again the Rahkshi of Density control turned nearly intangible and attempted to flee. That did not save it from Samruna's plasma powers. The Rahkshi were the last members of the security team to be defeated, but an even larger force was converging on the district. The Makuta of Xia – or whomever was overseeing the island in his absence – had surely been informed of the situation.Samruna separated into the Toa that had formed him, and the three of them plus Vayrag took cover and looked for another place to hide. They spotted a packaging facility of some sort with an unguarded entrance, and ran inside. There was a small night shift of guards and workers on duty, and the Toa attacked swiftly, hoping to render them unconscious before anyone could sound an alarm. The Toa noticed too late that there were many other workers sleeping at their posts, and the sound of battle woke these off-duty workers. The workers scattered, and the Toa knew even if none of them cared if the Toa were caught, the commotion would be noticed by the searching security force. Yet as the Toa ran outside, they noticed their intrusion and the search for them had caused confusion among the locals. Fleeing workers woke their neighbors, and the streets filled with agitated laborers, overseers, and guards.The searching Brotherhood enforcers did not react with patience. After a brief attempt to bring order to the crowd, they moved through and over the mess of confused Vortixx. From inside a building whose workers had just run outside, the Toa saw this. They did not know how satisfied the Vortixx were with their working conditions, but being trampled by Rahkshi and occupying soldiers was enough to irritate anyone. The spark to ignite a riot came in the form of a series of blasts from a Panrahk that destroyed a large workshop the Toa had recently passed. The workers inside attempted to flee as the building crumbled. Some of them made it, others emerged from the rubble with various injuries. A few of them did not emerge from the ruins. The brown Rahkshi began to shatter the fragments of rubble, looking for the Toa underneath. Of course, the Toa were not in the pile, but several innocent Vortixx were.The locals did not like that. The workers that had escaped from the shop surrounded the Panrahk and tore it apart. As the machine was being destroyed, it resisted, and two more Vortixx were slain. Ordinarily, Vortixx were content to work for whomever, as long as they were paid. Fighting with the customers was bad for business. But, in the opinion of the low-ranking laborers that did most of the work in the district, the Brotherhood had just crossed the line. The workers went from clogging the streets in confusion to actively resisting the enforcers. The Toa ran out into the streets, and saw how quickly and ferociously the riot was spreading. Brotherhood soldiers and Xian security officers were assaulted, Exo-Toa were toppled, and even many more Rahkshi were destroyed. Reinforcements continued to pour into the district, and soon the rioters would be mercilessly subjugated.“I think the others have had enough time,” said Vilam as they took shelter in another empty building.“I agree. We should be able to steal a boat from the docks easily enough, if we hurry,” said Paqyar.“What about the workers?” said Imlen. “It's already turning into a massacre.”“It will be for us, too, if we don't get out of here,” said Vilam. “There's too many of them, there's nothing we can do.”“We didn't tell them to riot, or even ask them nicely,” said Paqyar. “And this frenzy is getting to Vayrag.”“It sure is,” growled Vayrag. “I want to be out there, tearing through my enemies!”“Shh, you'll give us away!” Imlen shushed the Hordika as he howled, and turned to the others. “You're right. We've done all we can do loosen the Brotherhood's grip on Xia. Let's go.”Just then, something hit the walls of the building from outside. The Toa dodged and fled the building as it trembled and the ceiling started to collapse. Vortixx typically took too much pride in their work to vandalize their own workplaces, but there was bound to be collateral damage in such a struggle. As he and the others ran towards the docks, Imlen grimly wondered what would be more difficult and costly: rebuilding, or replacing the workers that had rebelled. The Toa soon found they were not the only ones fleeing to the sea. With the exception of exiles, low-ranking male Vortixx were not allowed to leave the island. Exile would be the most merciful punishment any captured rioters could hope to receive, so those who realized it was a lost cause were voluntarily leaving the island. But though the rioters were outnumbered, they were not all outmatched in terms of firepower.Many of the rogue laborers had looted weapons from the very armaments factories they worked in, and were using the high-tech devices to blast their way to freedom, or just blast as many enforcers as they could before they were overwhelmed. This contributed to the destruction of the district's buildings, and the air was becoming even smoggier than usual as fire spread, burning pollutants of all kinds. The Toa took cover against a wall and wheezed. Fleeing rioters passed them, and when they continued, they found the escaping Vortixx rebels in battle with a large force of Rahkshi, Brotherhood soldiers, and guards and officers that remained loyal to the Makuta. Several of the rioters managed to get onto boats, most of which were sunk. Imlen heard a Vortixx enforcer loudly complain to a Brother soldier as a particularly large cargo transport was destroyed.“On the count of three,” he said as they took shelter around a corner. “One...”“Need to shred enemies now!” interrupted Vayrag, and with a feral roar he charged into the fight.“Okay, now!” said Imlen.The battle for the docks was horrifically chaotic. Haze that burned the lungs spread outward and downward until it was all the way to the ground, and it obscured the combatants' vision. The Toa coughed and wheezed as they fought the security forces, while attempting to see a suitable escape vessel through the toxic fog. Vayrag was lashing out half-blindly, and all the other Toa could do was keep a safe distance from him and hope he could continue to evade attacks with his senses blocked. There were over a dozen Rahkshi, and the Toa knew that were it not for the rioters, they would have had no chance. Yet the rebels were only enraged and heavily armed laborers, and they were no match for the Rahkshi and trained soldiers despite their superior weapons. Paqyar had given up using his elemental powers in this environment, and again resorted to throwing Kanoka. His friends heard him call out, and saw him pointing to something. Vilam and Imlen strained and through the haze they could just barely see a nearby boat. Even in this pollution, which he was so unsuited for, Paqyar seemed to have the best eyes. Imlen turned back to acknowledge him, and found Paqyar was not where he had been.“Paqyar!” he called. “Where did you go?”There was no response, and he repeated the call, this time loudly enough to be heard over the sounds of battle. Still, there was no reply. Then a Rahkshi of Weather Control created a wind that blew the smog away for a short time, and Imlen saw Paqyar. Or rather, he saw what was left of him. That wasn't much more than a pair of legs. A shocked Vortixx rioter with an enormous cannon mounted on his shoulder still stood over the remains. Imlen snarled and tackled the Vortixx. Vilam and Vayrag were busy fighting on their own, so they did not notice him vengefully assaulting the confused rioter. The air around him superheated and ionized, and the Vortixx wailed as his armor glowed red-hot. Imlen savagely beat the unlucky rebel with his staff, causing his melting armor to ripple and splash. The Vortixx fainted, and before Imlen could finish him, a strong hand restrained the Toa of Plasma. Imlen started to protest to Vilam, then realized the hand was not Vilam's at all. Nor was it Vayrag's, or any other Toa's. He looked up and saw a face that did not look out of place at all here, then he realized he had seen that particular face before, about seven years ago.“He didn't mean to, you know,” said the Vortixx Dark Hunter. “Toa aren't murderers.”“Unlike Dark Hunters,” retorted Imlen.“I'm just a simple Vortixx, doing my part to improve the lives of my people,” said the Dark Hunter.“Sure you are,” said Imlen sarcastically. “Aren't Vortixx all about the individual putting himself first?”“Does this seem like a good time to discuss cultural stereotypes to you?” said the Dark Hunter as he defended himself, Imlen, and the beaten rioter from advancing Rahkshi.“Good point. And you haven't stabbed me in the back yet,” said Imlen, turning to help the Dark Hunter finish off a fourth and fifth Rahkshi. “Didn't back in my homeland either.”“Thanks for noticing,” said the Dark Hunter, and he called to Vilam and Vayrag. “Hey, you – Lightning Toa and... beast Toa... thing – over here!”“Paqyar? No!” cried Vilam as she ran over and saw what had happened.“Who did this?” demanded Vayrag. “I'll rip out their...”“Never mind!” snapped the Dark Hunter, earning a defiant growl from the Toa Hordika. “The Weather Control Rahkshi are gone, and soon the smog will be so dense you'll be running into each other, if you don't suffocate first. Luckily, I found – ”He had to stop mid-sentence to fight off the Rahkshi, soldiers, and security officers. The last of the rioters at the docks had been defeated, and the Vortixx Dark Hunter and the Toa stood against a few remaining Rahkshi and many others. Before anyone else could attack, the Dark Hunter took out two of the Rahkshi, then jumped back and held up the Level Eight Disk of Fire.“ – this,” he finished. “Now run! Now!”The Toa complied, rushing for the nearest vessel. The boat Paqyar had pointed out was gone, but there was another not far from where it had been. A flash of light, a rush of heat, and the roar of fire erupted simultaneously behind them as they ran. The Toa nearly fell over. When they recovered, they continued to run, and a moment later they jumped off the high dock into the boat. Before dropping down, Imlen turned to see the results of the fireball. Of the entire group that was advancing on them, no one was left standing. Of course, more enforcers were on their way from deeper into the district. The Dark Hunter was not there, but Imlen just barely saw a figure moving rapidly among the buildings in the distance. The fire was nearly extinguished, though the smog was still enough to make him dizzy. Before he could fall, or be attacked by the enemy reinforcements, he followed his allies into the boat.“I hope Mozmana and Iskanemo are alright,” said Vayrag as they launched the boat and set a course to where the team had split up.“They'll want to stay here when they meet me,” growled Imlen. “That's a good idea, actually. Let's leave them behind.”“What are you saying, Imlen?” said Vilam with disbelief. “We – ”“It's their fault Paqyar is dead,” said Imlen bitterly. “This was all their idea.”“Don't talk like that about them,” warned Vayrag.“We agreed to help them,” said Vilam, who continued to steer the boat to the rendezvous point. “Do you really mean to betray them?”“We didn't have a choice,” said Imlen. “It's not betrayal, it's... it's... what they deserve.”“You monster. If you want your barbaric revenge, you'll have to deal with me first,” said Vayrag, readying his Rhotuka launcher.“Ever heard the expression 'the Lohrak calling the Stone Ape ugly'?” retorted Imlen.With that, Imlen and Vayrag began to fight.Review

The last couple strips have been especially slow. I bet Rich Burlew has a lot of extra work to do in the wake of the Kickstarter. I can't wait to get my books and PDFs.

I thought the Matoran Universe natives greatly outnumbered the Agori and Glatorian. But I don't think we've been hold how many Agori and Glatorian surived on Bota Magna yet, so it's hard to tell.

Theme from Rocky XIII - "Weird Al" Yankovic

The Extra-terrestrial? ;)But seriously, nice lightning stylized letters, with a foreground and background effect that works.PS: Darnit, you had to go change your picture a moment later. It's, uh a guy with a mask and two guns.

I do, and it's my favorite webcomic right now.