Toa of Gallifrey

Survival of the Skrall Foreword Greetings! Hope this story finds you well. My apologies for extending my submission all the way up to the end of the deadline and presenting it in an incomplete state. I wanted to avoid posting it as a serial even if it meant being a day or two late, but the finale is still undergoing rewrites and the following chapters are still pending proofreading and polish. I hope you are okay with waiting a little longer and just having the first chapter given to you now. The tentative release schedule I have for the story is as follows: Chapter One: February 4 (Released) Chapter Two: February 17 Chapter Three + An unrelated vignette from the time before time: March 3 On or before these days, you will find the original post edited to add content, and I will bump the thread. On the occasion that I reach some character limit that I'm unaware of for the original post, any subsequent chapters will be found in a new post on the thread. On a final note, one of your requests was for the story to not be overly serious. I apologize in advance for any perceived grimdarkness. I tried to write a tale worthy of the Skrall, but they tend to not allow too much happiness. I hope that the short story included with the last release will satisfy any tonal disappointments you might have. Without further ado, I present you with Survival of the Skrall. I hope you enjoy it. Chapter One: The Desert “Now, time for your assignment. You pitiful ignoramuses are only good for civil unrest, so this is your task: cause rampant chaos in Atero Nui. If those fools wish to be the successors to the cities of old, then they will inherit their problems as well. The Dark Hunters will rise again… but first, we need instability. Target the council, especially that old fool Ackar, but do not spread your forces thin. Attack as many places at once as possible. Your mission is disruption. Stronius, see to it that they complete their task. “You underestimate their intelligence, leader. Savage though warrior-class Skrall may be, they are hardly brutes. Even now they could be carefully plotting your downfall.” “You underestimate my capabilities of managing my inferiors. I had a double agent serve under me as my right hand and he never knew that he fell completely within my machinations. The Makuta of Metru Nui may be a keener strategist than I, he’d have taken the city within hours, but to question my intuition offends me. I am well aware of your Skrall’s capabilities. If I was not, I would not have accepted you as refugees in this encampment. Head off and fulfill your mission before I send a Hunter to torch your belongings and chase you off.” The Shadowed One retreated, followed by his scribe, who had stood silent and dutifully carried out his work until this moment. The Stronius soldier, now called by his rank as if it was his name, pondered for a minute. The treatment he and his men received was far inferior to what they had earned. Going to the city would be tantamount to suicide. Just a little over a dozen Skrall, ranging from rookies to blooded veterans, stood behind him. The least experienced would surely die on the over twenty-five thousand kio journey east. He wasn’t very optimistic of the chances the rest of his company had; or even his own, for that matter. Stronius wasn’t very keen on the idea of dropping in the middle of nowhere and becoming one less of a dying breed. Refusing the mission was not an option, but neither was carrying it out as demanded. What to do? “Stronius, we will do as you ask.” “We’ll begin the journey. I will not let you die out there. If the sands are too rough, we’ll turn to wherever we can find refuge. Rai, I want you to make sure that the caravan the Dark Hunters gave us has enough supplies. Kirida, make sure all armaments are in good shape. The rest of you stand by near the transport and be ready for leaving in a few hours.” The Skrall dispersed, the two lieutenants going off to do what was asked of them and the rest seeking something to keep themselves occupied. After a few seconds, Stronius followed a group of three rookies, for they were heading to the same place: their hut. The hut that Stronius shared with his fourteen underlings was not a very large one to begin with and felt exceedingly cramped with everyone inside. Any given night, three Skrall were stationed to guard duty outside; not out of fear of an attack, but because no matter what they did, they could never find enough room for more than twelve soldiers to sleep inside. Stronius himself stood guard with two Skrall for many a night, which dulled his senses. He couldn’t possibly hope to cross the vast expanse of Spherus Magna’s last remaining desert at his best, let alone when he was debilitated as such. Stronius arrived at the hut and sifted through the tiny sack of tools he had. The Hunters’ leader threatened to destroy their things, but it was a meaningless threat; all that’d get burnt up would be a compass, a map, a thornax launcher and less than half a dozen overripe fruit. Thornax were in high demand among the Hunters, since the majority of the thornax plants just past Atero Nui’s eastern city limits. To the west of the Hunters’ base was more desert. To every direction, there was more desert. Some six hundred kio to the west lay the vast sea of the former Aqua Magna. Far north were trader camps with Glatorian guards. Far south fertile unexplored land. There had been an expedition led by Seeker and Tracker, who had yet to return. It had been two months, and they were assumed dead. Stronius’ ruminations were cut short when one of the Skrall with him tried to get his attention. He recognized the group as a tight-knit circle. They had often volunteered to be on lookout together. “Excuse us, may we ask a question?” “Yes, go ahead. You’re… Arita, correct?” “Yes, thank you for remembering my name. Stronius, my brothers and I had been thinking that we would be dead weight. Perhaps it is best for us to part ways here and— “No, we have plenty of supplies. The company is small enough as it is. You three may be green, but you have potential. You will earn your red armor in time, but to do so, you must accompany us.” “…very well, but know that we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the mission.” “Your courage is admirable, but foolish. The mission is not as high priority as ensuring the survival of the Skrall. We look after our own first and foremost.” The three rookies said no more and quietly left the hut. Stronius went back to studying the map, trying to triangulate the best route to take. Since fulfilling the mission was out of the question, their best chance was traveling south until they reached the restored area. It was possible that the two missing Dark Hunters had set up some sort of base that they could hijack. The plan was uncertain, but better than any other. Less than an hour later, the wagon was ready. The Skrall piled up into covered rear as Stronius took the reins up front. Once everyone was on board, Stronius whipped the two ravenous Spikit into motion. They set off east at first to give the Hunters the impression that they were headed to new Atero. As soon as Rai signaled that the encampment was out of sight, Stronius forced the Spikit to veer right in towards the south, still maintaining some degrees in an eastern direction. The name of the game now was endurance. As long as the Spikit remained seething with anger, they would keep moving forward. As long as supplies lasted, the Skrall could remain within the confines of the wagon. There were enough supplies for two weeks; the main threat were desert beasts such as Skopio, which could lurk beneath any inch of sand. The first three days of travel were uneventful. The Skrall in the back kept themselves entertained with whatever they could, whether it was whittling away at a thornax fruit’s spikes or counting how many sand bats they saw. The fourth day heralded trouble. At the crack of dawn, just as the lush region became visible on the horizon, one of the Spikit gave out. The other kept going, which put the vehicle off balance and tipped it over and broke some of their cargo. The soldiers had to spare supplies for the fallen Spikit, which appeared to be dehydrated. The lively one had to be calmed down until the other could run again. Things went well and they were on their way once more within hours, but the day’s troubles had only just begun. As the midday ticked over, a rumble shook across the desert. One of the Skrall who had kept to himself up this point exclaimed when he saw the cause of the quake. “Skopio!” A massive monster rose up from the sands behind them. Stronius was confident it could be outrun, but the Skrall in the back would beg to differ. The creature began moving much faster than one might think possible for its size, closing the two kio gap between them in seconds. “Present arms! Get ready for battle!” Stronius heeled the Spikit, forcing them further right to avoid the lunging leg. Unbeknownst the any of them, the Skopio had made a massive mistake. Its bladed appendage struck down and impaled a sleeping sand dragon beneath the sand. This was not the problem, though. The problem was that it was a nest. There were three other hulking dragons that lay asleep, shaken away by the smell of their kin’s blood. The monsters sprung to life and leaped up at the four-legged titan. Within seconds, its metallic skin was ripped to pieces. The dragons made short work of what used to be the Skrall’s largest threat. Now the just-awoken hungry dragons turned their eyes to their next prey. The Skrall had made the Spikit stop amidst all this commotion and began arming themselves with their blade-launchers and shields. “Aim and shoot!” The entire company unloaded their launchers at the dragons. Their stash of thornax included roughly 50 given to them by the Hunters and the small stash of supplements that Stronius brought along. The volley of explosive fruit was only enough to fell one of the dragons. Firing just once used up a fourth of their ammo. If they fired again, they’d be down to half what they had. Even then, the dragons had closed the distance. “Aim for their wings! If you clip them, they are immobilized!” Stronius knew these creatures well. They had powerful wings, but weak legs. If they lost the ability to fly, they would lose their mobility. The Skrall divided themselves up evenly to attack the three dragons. Stronius, Rai and the group of the least experienced three Skrall wailed away at a dragon that appeared to be wounded, since it didn’t try to take flight. They were successful in destroying its wings, officially crippling it, and were ready to move on to the next one when it started crying out in pain. A shrill noise reverberated across the battlefield. The glass vials safeguarding their water supply in the wagon shattered, drenching it and rendering it wasted. Even more shaking followed. All around them, four, five, six, seven, eight… at least a dozen more sand dragons rose up from their slumber. Stronius put the wounded dragon out of its misery and ended its wailing, but it was too late. The awoken dragons began feasting on the Skrall. Half the company was wiped out in seconds, becoming morsels to be processed as sustenance for the creatures. The Spikit and the wagon they were saddled with, too, became prey. Stronius’ group was unharmed, but the group of five that had stood close to them just moments ago was gone without a trace. Only Kirida, the strongest of Stronius’ warriors, was left standing, having broken free of one of the dragon’s maw by slicing his way out. All the survivors grouped together. Stronius and Kirida kept up the defensive, slashing away at the dragons whenever they attack and making them think twice before lunging for a snack. The rookies and Rai got to work slashing away at the recently fallen dragon’s armored belly. Once they pierced through to its stomach, they were able to rescue the Skrall that it swallowed. His armor was half-melted, but the warrior was safe. His armor had protected him from being crushed by the dragon’s teeth and he was itching to fight. As this happened, another dragon began seizing. The Skrall it ingested managed to cut his way through and quickly joined the struggle. His armor was in far worse condition, but it didn’t deter him. Stronius fired a thornax at a charging dragon and brought it down. The group rushed over and hacked away. This time, the eaten Skrall wasn’t so lucky. This one did not survive the chewing. Rai shot another one of the dragons down, hitting its belly, and quickly cut through. This Skrall was not fortunate either. It was unknown whether or not he made it down unscathed because the dragon’s powerful digestive system had fully broken down the Skrall by the time Stronius and his men opened up the stomach. The liquefied remains of black and red metal kept dissolving, even with the creature dead. None of the other Skrall had anything resembling a chance. Without needing to communicate it verbally, Stronius and his men knew that their only choice was to fight their way as far from the dragons as possible. They had not even taken down half the monsters and two of their nine men were only fighting on sheer willpower. “Stronius! We can’t hold them off! Let me stay back as bait.” Rai knew he had a decent chance at making it out alive. The dragons’ digestion worked fast, but no one was more skilled with a spinning shield than he. If it came down to it, he could cut through the inside of the dragon before becoming its food. Stronius considered his options for a moment. Sacrificing Rai would buy them little time and there was no way they could make a clean getaway without the Spikit. What they needed was… now within reach. Stronius looked ahead and saw a pack of Vorox in the distance. He quickly loaded a thornax and aimed it at them. The overripe fruit shot off into the horizon and caused an explosion upon colliding with the ground, kicking up a cloud of sand. As the cloud subsided seconds later, he got the sight he was counting on. The pack of Vorox was livid and charging straight at them. The Skrall got as clear as they could and let the Vorox ravenously attack the dragons, thinking them the source of the explosion. The dragons quickly forgot the Skrall and set to attacking the Vorox. Stronius led his party away from the battlefield. They ran as fast as they could until the conflict was well out of sight and the roars were out of earshot. They all breathed a sigh of relief at narrowly escaping their predicament. No such relief came to Stronius, who had to think of what to do now. Their supplies were no more, they were all wounded to some degree and the desert still stretched for a considerable distance. “There is no time for rest. All we can do for now is keep moving forward. There is no telling what other supplies may lie in store for us if we carelessly wander for too long.” To be continued…

I'm gonna be busy this week and I'm still doing last minute edits, so I'll most likely post my story at some point mid-to-late next week (I should be in time before the Feb 4 deadline, though).

*Planet of the Spiny Stone Apes [no, really. https://biosector01.com/wiki/Spiny_Stone_Ape ] No need for the sincerity disclaimer. I have browsed over a thousand hours. Unknown to social life, nor known to physical activity. Have withstood hunger to read many pages. Yet those hands will never write anything.

We return to this thread country four years later to find it like in that one Planet of the Apes movie.

Probably been a thing since the first Lego Star Wars game back in '05

I'm very happy with mine. Broad enough that I can get creative, yet defined enough that I'm not scrambling for ideas. I'm still planning out how I want it to go, but I already have something written. Best of luck to all!

I'd love an animated film series by ufotable. They could really nail G1's aesthetics.

It's Mavrah

She is the forgetful monarch, after all.

This game is another licensed dumpster fire (though a dumpster fire with Roy Mustang being mind controlled; seriously Travis, you coulda done better), except it has godly music. Just take a listen.

Is the ultimate goal to cover 05 material? If you made it that far, I can't imagine the hilarity that'd ensue by making them Turaga and putting them in charge of a village.

*tips hat* c'thulhu Christian Faber

Based

Submitted my form. Looking forward to it, last year was a lot of fun!

That'd be neat! I was against Infection being the name for book 1 at the start, but I thought about it and realized that disease is a key theme in Bionicle and now I'm all for that being the title. The Toa are the medicine that fight the disease that is Makuta, hence why he manifests as an infected Matoran and why he spreads evil through infected Kanohi. It ties perfectly into Faber's vision and I really wish other years stuck with this theme.

Albert Einstein

it was xxxtentacion

thicc cheeky boi Mavrah

Unmei no Kanohi Yorokobe

Key to Nongu Krakua

another hafu original Sidorak

Animation by ufotable, kinda like how they handled their Tales of Zestiria adaptation productionwise except preferably without bad directing or pacing.

klik klak klok Turaga Matau

cute invisible boi Tobduk

swole spooder cops Nidhiki