Nato G

That's fair. Admittedly I haven't actually read Book 3 in a while, just copy-pasted the chapters when I post them, so I may be misremembering how actively involved he is in this one compared to his more limited role in other instalments. In the grand scheme of the series, I think of him more as a guy who's on the outside but wants to be a main character. I'm going to lie and pretend that was totally what I was going for. With so many characters to juggle, sometimes I do end up feeling it's best to let some of them fade into the background for a while rather than coming up with a lot of extra subplots and side stories to keep everyone directly involved in everything all the time. And occasionally I do genuinely just forget about someone (I was recently doing an edit pass through Book 4 and 5 and realised there's a minor Toa character who doesn't get mentioned at all in 4 despite being involved in everything before and after).

I enjoyed Chapter 3's foray into showing the robot's side of things. Meca 1 already feels like a much more interesting character than the generic "humans suck and I hate my creator" motivation the original theme gave him and the other robots.

Footnote is a good way to put it. Not just in reference to Chavara, but Larone's group as a whole. By design, they're very much on the periphery of the narrative, more of a distraction from the "main" plot than direct participants in it. Thus leading to their increasingly desperate and dangerous attempts to insert themselves into events.

Oh, 100%. I'm definitely emulating canon a bit, where Takanuva was treated more like a novelty than a saviour outside the context of fighting Makuta. And in Chavara's case, she doesn't really have an identity of her own - between the Order's mind-wipe and hiding out during the occupation, she's spent so long not knowing or deliberately hiding her true nature. Now that she has position and power, she doesn't really know what to do with it aside from parroting the orders of the person who elevated her. I wanted there to be a strong contrast between her and Takanuva: he was adventurous and heroic even before he became a Toa, making him a more natural fit for the role, whereas Chavara has basically lived in a constant state of survival mode, keeping her head down and just trying to get through each day as it came.

Chapter 23 – Engineered Chaos From the notes of Chronicler Crisda. Everyone warned of the possibility of war returning, but we didn’t listen. We were so caught up in our demands for justice and revenge for lives already lost that we didn’t stop to consider the reality of a new war. Only now, as we crowd the edge of Ga-Metru, listening to the sounds of distant battle, do we understand. And now it’s too late for us to do anything but regret, and hope. * * * Tustesh Tustesh barely had a moment to register the arrival of the Vortixx before everything went to Karzahni. Trina unleashed lightning, Precision retaliated with laser vision, Tuxar hit the ground with a scream, and then battle was joined. Tuxar’s followers attacked the Toa and rogue Rahkshi, while the Vortixx swept in to assail the Odinans from one side, and the Rahkshi did the same from above. The second group of Odinans swept in from behind, flinging themselves into the melee as well. For the first few moments, Tustesh and his warriors were like statues amidst the sea of seething beings. And then a Rahkshi struck down an Odinan standing near Tustesh and turned its attention to him, stabbing its stave towards his torso. Tustesh let the blade strike harmlessly against his chestplate before seizing the haft with both hands, thrusting the staff back towards its owner with such strength that the blade at the other end of the staff pushed right through the Rahkshi’s chest and out through its back. Tustesh hoisted the staff overhead and waved the flailing Rahkshi like a flag, before flinging it away into the chaos of the battle. Only then did he finally draw his sword, sleek in shape and silver-black in hue. In all of the history of the universe, only one being had ever found a way to make weapons capable of breaching the near-unbreakable natural armour of the Unbroken species. That being was Tustesh himself, and that weapon was the sword he wielded. He’d made other weapons like it in the centuries since, given to only an entrusted few, but this was the first. The blade was hewn from a piece of his own deceased father’s natural armour, stolen from his grave and forged in secret in the heart of a great volcano, the only location on their homeland with heat intense enough to soften the material to the point it could be hammered and reshaped. The blade was sharp enough to pierce protosteel, strong enough to withstand the blow of a Tahtorak, and in hundreds of years it had never lost its edge. This was the blade that had won Tustesh leadership of his people, and slain the Makuta that had once ruled their homeland. This was the blade that would now rend apart Vortixx and Rahkshi alike, and hopefully help bring this ridiculous battle to a swift end. Tustesh strode across the battlefield, swinging the blade in great sweeping arcs around him, leaving severed limbs and ended lives littered behind him. His six warriors kept well back, knowing better than to get too close. Though it would take more than a glancing blow to do them any true harm, the slightest damage to their armour was a weakness some other enemy could exploit. What little glory was to be gained from taking part in this fight wasn’t worth the risk. They settled instead for taking their own mundane weapons to those Tustesh left wounded in his wake. * * * Icthilos The fighting had kicked off far sooner and far more viciously than the two Toa had expected. Savnu’s plan to use her Kakama had gone out the window the instant the battle had broken out. With so many waving blades and flailing forms in her way, the risk of accidentally impaling herself on someone’s weapon was far too high. And unfortunately, fighting their way through the battlefield wasn’t shaping up to be any easier. The moment Icthilos and Savnu had stepped out into the open and approached the battlefield, two Odinans broke away from the melee and charged across the open ground towards them. Odinans that Icthilos recognised. The one in purple was Phidras. The one in white was Aadra… his torturer. “Icthilos?” Savnu asked, keeping her eyes down as she readied her blades. “You take Phidras. I’ve got Aadra.” “I can handle both.” “I know.” “Okay,” Savnu shrugged and disappeared. A split-second later Phidras snapped backwards, struck in the face by a blow so swift he hadn’t even seen it coming. He didn’t even get a chance to hit the ground, being struck again from behind and flung straight into the nearby canal. Aadra didn’t even notice her companion’s plight, her focus solely on Icthilos. “I’ve never had a prisoner I couldn’t break before,” she rasped, her long claws splayed wide to strike. “I’m so glad I’ll get another chance.” “So am I,” Icthilos said, raising his eyes to meet hers and drawing upon his powers at the same time. Aadra’s eyes glowed green as she activated her vision power, but the attack never reached Icthilos. Instead it was Aadra herself who was flung suddenly into a memory, as she met her own gaze in the mirror of ice Icthilos summoned between them. Aadra collapsed to the ground, wailing and writhing. Icthilos didn’t wait around to enjoy her misery, encasing her up to the neck in ice before striding past her. Savnu reappeared at his side. “Nicely done.” “It’s better than she deserves,” Icthilos muttered. “If I had a Komau I’d have made her do that to herself for the rest of her life… short as it would be.” “Remind me never to get on your bad side.” * * * Pira The scene in Ga-Metru was far worse than anything Pira could have imagined. Why were there Rahkshi here? Why were the Vortixx here? Why was Trina here? As battle broke out between the beings gathered before the Great Temple, Larone’s Matoran followers splintered off into groups, scattering into the surrounding district with flaming torches in hand. Smoke soon began swirling skywards as fields and greenhouses caught alight. For the first minute or so, things seemed to be going as planned. Right up until the moment a few of the Matoran got a little too close to one of the Rahkshi fighting the Odinans. It killed them, Chavara killed it, and suddenly the whole group were firmly part of the battle. Pira summoned a swirling air current overhead to sweep the airborne Rahkshi off course as she rushed to Chavara’s side. As she’d feared, the wind didn’t last long, swiftly dissipating as multiple Rahkshi counteracted her powers with their own. “Target the gold ones!” She called out to Chavara. “What?” The Av-Toa asked distractedly, combining her elemental power with her Mask Of Fire to summon a wall of blindingly-bright flame in the path of several oncoming Rahkshi. “The gold Rahkshi are Weather Control,” Pira explained, “They’re the ones making this cloud cover. If you can take them out, I can disperse the clouds.” “Good thinking.” Unfazed by the flashing flames before her, Chavara’s gaze swept across the melee in search of the Weather Control Rahkshi. And then she raised her staff overhead and unleashed blazing beams of combined fire and light that reduced all four of the golden Rahkshi on the battlefield to ash and slag. Pira wasted no time, seizing control of the air currents in the sky overhead, the clouds parting at the wave of her hand. Not for the first time, Pira found herself marvelling at the level of power she wielded now. So many feats she would have once struggled with were trivial now, thanks to the Nuva Symbol fused within her. Rahkshi screeched and scattered all across the Amaja Circle, diving into the canals or running towards empty buildings nearby to shelter from the sudden sunlight. A few Rahkshi Of Darkness banded together to create a dense blanket of shadow under which their companions could shelter during their clumsy retreat. And just like that, the Rahkshi were all gone. Pira recognised Precision as the last to withdraw, unbothered by the light but very bothered by being abruptly outnumbered. Only the black-and-gold Rahkshi fighting beside Trina still remained on the battlefield. “Well, that was fun,” Chavara chuckled. “What now?” “Now we get back to what we came here to do,” Larone said, joining the two Toa. “Go, Chavara. Join the Matoran in razing the gardens.” “No one’s goin’ anywhere,” said a new voice, one Pira knew to be Tivni’s. Pira whirled around to see Tivni and Ithnen approaching them, dragging the squirming shape of the Po-Matoran Ridhus along between them. They tossed him at Larone’s feet, glaring at the Turaga as if the gesture was meant to mean something. “What’s going on?” Pira asked warily. “Why don’t you ask Ridhus,” Ithnen scowled, folding her arms. “Or better yet, Larone.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Larone said. “The Odinans identified Ridhus as the one who told them how to infiltrate the Vahki factory,” Ithnen said. “And we all know he wouldn’t have done that unless he was acting on your orders.” “Larone?” Pira turned towards the Onu-Turaga, trying to read the expression behind his battered Kanohi. But his face gave away nothing. It never did. “And you trust the word of an Odinan?” Larone scoffed, reaching down to help Ridhus stand. “More than we trust you right now.” “Why the sudden suspicion?” Larone coughed, his voice even raspier than usual thanks to the smoke in the air. “You’ve all gladly followed my orders in the past.” “Your orders,” Pira felt like a knife had just been twisted inside her. “You were the one who told the four of us to patrol Ta-Metru that morning.” “It was hardly the first time,” at the sound of a new voice, Pira turned to see that Erdo had joined them. “We have the most experience with the Vortixx. That’s why-” “Stop making excuses for him!” Ithnen pleaded. “He’s been playing all of us! He got innocent Matoran killed just so he could pit the Vortixx against the Odinans.” “A small sacrifice to rid us of our enemies,” Larone said, abandoning all pretence of innocence or ignorance. “No war has ever been won without loss.” “We weren’t at war,” Pira whispered, her eyes burning. “Those Matoran you killed weren’t at war.” “That I killed?” Larone laughed. “I didn’t order the Odinans to attack that factory. The plan and intent was theirs alone. All I did was ask Ridhus to give the Odinans the information they wanted, information they eventually would’ve gotten from someone else, somehow.” “You could have stopped the attack,” Pira drew her staff, pointing the blade towards Larone. Chavara’s staff rose to meet it, blocking it halfway from reaching the Turaga. Steel scraped and shifted around the two Toa as Erdo, Tivni, and Ithnen readied their own tools. “What would that have accomplished?” Larone sneered. “That attack provoked the Vortixx and motivated the Matoran. And now-” “-now you’re about to get all of these people killed!” Ithnen said, pointing back in the direction the Matoran had arrived from. More Odinans and Unbroken were approaching the battlefield, drawn in from elsewhere in Ga-Metru by the sights and sounds of battle. They numbered in the dozens, armed and armoured and fresh for a fight. Already, they were starting to take aim. “Help them!” Pira looked to Erdo and Tivni, both still wearing their Kanohi Kualsis. “We’ll catch up!” Erdo appeared torn, looking to Larone with a questioning glance. The Turaga nodded, and Erdo turned away and disappeared, Tivni following a moment later. “So where does that leave us?” Larone asked. “Surely saving the Matoran takes priority over punishing me for some imagined slight?” “Imagined?” Pira sputtered, anger turning her vision red. When the attack came, it wasn’t from the direction Pira expected. Ridhus slammed suddenly into her legs, bowling her over. And then a blast of blazing fire was flying towards her face.

I will forever resent Lego for not releasing "Tren Krome" as an official set.

Not on-screen, but Greg did say that line was a reference to Star Wars.

Exo-Force was one of those Lego themes that looked cool, but never committed to the darkness and maturity implied by its setting. Setting aside the colourful, anime-inspired motif, the theme was basically inhabiting the same kind of existential-war-against-machines setting seen in Terminator or The Matrix. And right off the bat you’ve captured what I think was missing – the weight and weariness of war. The characters feel stressed and traumatised, with a real sense of fatigue and irritation at their circumstances. I vaguely remember enough of the names to recognise that you’re working with canon characters and mechs, but I admittedly don’t know much about whatever lore Exo-Force had. Was there any actual story and characterisation that you used for inspiration with this, or did you basically have the freedom to make up whatever you wanted?

Alas, I wrote this so long ago that I have no recollection of what was going through my head at the time.

Chapter 22 – Crossing The Line From the notes of Chronicler Crisda. Time and time again, I find myself reminded how swiftly things can change. Yesterday, the demarcation line was as immutable and insurmountable as a fortress wall. Today, it’s just a meaningless mark on a map. And tomorrow… well, I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. * * * Ilton Though the aquatic tactics and unusual abilities of the attackers had given them the advantage at first, the Skakdi were veterans of countless century-spanning conflicts. They adapted quickly, and their counterattacks were devastating. By now most of the Skakdi ships had repelled their boarders, and those that hadn’t had instead been scuttled by their own crews. Skakdi across the remaining fleet were putting their powers to work, merging air and water to summon a swirling column of fog around the Frostelus vessels. A few disintegration beams and rhotuka spinners still made it through here and there, but what few shots did make it near the flagship were blocked by Ilton and Behjen, summoning barriers of steel or stone. With their vision obscured by the fog, the cultists were firing blind. The same couldn’t be said for the Skakdi, many of whom had vision powers that allowed them to maintain line of sight on their enemies despite the fog. The sea rose and roiled beneath the icebergs, propelling them back towards the Great Barrier with such force that they cracked and shattered against each other. The wave grew higher the further it travelled, smashing the icebergs against the ragged rocks before funnelling what was left back through the Sea Gate. With the immediate threat dealt with, Bihriis and the Ce-Skakdi switched focus from shielding to seeking, locating the cultists still hiding below the water and guiding the Ga-Skakdi in summoning currents to wash them through the Gate as well. Smaller waves continued to pummel the tunnel entrance, preventing any survivors on the other side from pushing back through. After a few minutes, the Ce-Skakdi signalled their success, and it fell to the Toa and Skakdi of physical elements to summon a new barrier to block the tunnel entrance, merging powers to form a barricade denser and stronger than even the heavy protodermis plates that blocked the other entrances. “Well done, Toa,” Desecrator said, once Ilton was done. Behind him, the other Skakdi had switched their focus to rescuing survivors from the water… those who’d avoided being caught up in the same waves that had dispelled the cult fleet. “It felt good to be on the same side for once,” Ilton said. The way the Skakdi had sacrificed their own ships and people… it wasn’t how Toa would have fought. But there was no denying the results. Ilton wasn’t going to sour their success by passing judgement. “We will be again,” Desecrator said. “Most of them will have survived the waves, and there are many more of them still out there. They’ll return.” “With their master?” “I fear so.” “Then let’s get back to Metru Nui. The Council needs to know what’s coming.” * * * Tustesh Tustesh was unaccustomed to being summoned. At least by anyone other than Lyrami. And yet, given the precarious politics of the region right now, he couldn’t afford to ignore a plea for help from his partners. Flanked by six of his warriors, Tustesh stormed out of the Great Temple towards the massive Amaja Circle where Tuxar conducted his daily sermons. Many of Greillash’s Odinan warriors and Tuxar’s Matoran followers were already gathered there, aiming their weapons up at a sizeable group of Rahkshi circling in the sky. Thick clouds that hadn’t been there a half-hour ago hung overhead, blotting out the sunlight that would have normally sent the serpents back to the shadows. “What is this?” Tustesh growled, stopping beside Greillash and Tuxar. “What is this?” Tuxar snapped back, pointing at the handful of warriors who’d accompanied Tustesh. “Where are the rest of your fighters?” “These were in temple,” he answered. “Others away.” “Then send one of them to fetch the rest.” “No need,” Tustesh assured him. “Six enough.” Before Tuxar could protest further, one of the Rahkshi – red and orange in hue – flew down from the circling crowd, landing before the Toa. “You are the leader here?” The Rahkshi demanded, its eyes aglow with an intense red light. “You dare come to my Metru and ask questions of me?” Tuxar snarled. “I didn’t give blind obedience to Vhel, and I certainly won’t give it to you.” “But you will give us the ones we seek. The Toa Trina, and the rogue Rahkshi that calls itself Gorast.” “I’m under their protection,” a new figure emerged from the crowd of warriors to stand beside Tuxar, a female Toa clad in black and blue. At her shoulder stood another Rahkshi, this one black and gold. “And you’re out of line. The Council have no power here.” “The Council doesn’t know we’re here,” the Rahkshi answered. Tustesh hadn’t known the Toa was here, nor the Magnetism Rahkshi. Yet another decision that Tuxar and Greillash hadn’t deigned to consult him on. Not for the first time, Tustesh regretted putting up with the two fools and their short-sighted ambitions for as long as he had. But Lyrami was so close to the answer now. He couldn’t allow her work to be interrupted, especially not over a dispute this stupid. “Hand them over,” Tustesh barked at Tuxar. “Not worth trouble.” “I’m with Tustesh on this one,” Greillash said. “Well, that was quick. I guess you truly can’t trust anyone these days,” Trina said, moving suddenly from being beside Tuxar to behind him, one arm holding him in a headlock and the other pressing one of her blades into his back. “Now I’m going to ask you very nicely, Rahkshi, to inform the Council that I’ve just apprehended the leader of Ga-Metru for them.” Greillash drew one of his blades, but before he could put it to use he was swatted aside by a brutal blow from Gorast’s staff. Tustesh’s only reaction was to raise a hand, a signal for the warriors at his back to remain at ease. Though Trina likely didn’t realise it, she was the only being in the square who could actually harm the Unbroken. Electrical attacks were the one thing their armour offered no protection against. “As I said, the Council didn’t send us,” the Rahkshi hissed. “Alive or dead, this Toa doesn’t matter to us. You have nothing to negotiate with.” * * * Icthilos In an empty structure just across the way, Icthilos and Savnu watched the scene escalate from bad to worse in a matter of moments. They couldn’t hear what was being said, but they could clearly see the standoff playing out. “What’s she playing at?” Savnu whispered. “One second she was with Tuxar, and the next-” “This was probably the plan all along,” Icthilos said, grimacing. “Win Tuxar over by requesting asylum, then trade his life for hers.” He’d known what to expect, but seeing Trina again had still rattled him. She looked even worse than she had when he’d last seen her, and her actions now only served to demonstrate how desperate and dangerous she’d become. “I reckon she’s got it handled,” Savnu said, “Maybe we can just go home.” “I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. Precision didn’t come here to make deals. Look.” Across the square, Trina was backing away, shouting at Tuxar’s Matoran followers to keep their distance. Nearby, Greillash was getting to his feet, barking orders to his warriors. Precision was simply standing back and watching. “Then we need to get her out of there before it gets any worse,” Savnu tapped a finger against her mask. “She won’t try to kill me if I’m saving her, right?” “Maybe not, but-” Icthilos broke off as he spotted fresh movement out of the corner of his eye. “It just got worse.” Savnu followed the direction he was looking in, and gasped. A column of Vortixx were marching into the heart of Ga-Metru, carrying all manner of weapons and gadgets. Another group of Odinans from elsewhere in Ga-Metru were massing behind them, and it was only the fact that they were woefully outnumbered by the Vortixx that had stopped them from opening fire so far. Once the Vortixx reached the rest of the Odinan warriors at the temple, though, the numbers were going to be far more even. “What are they doing here?” “Nothing good.” * * * Pira Last time Pira had approached Ga-Metru, she’d feared for the lives of all those with her. Today, however, there was nothing at all to fear. Broken Vahki were strewn around the border, obliterated by Vortixx weaponry. Whatever living defenders might have once been here weren’t now. Larone and his followers marched freely into Ga-Metru, flaming torches raised. And Pira could only follow, her heart sinking with every step.

Please not another Tahu. There are so many other characters to choose from.

The instruction manuals for both models are available online. You can probably go through those and check off whether all of the same parts appear across both builds.

I get that people’s worldviews are often filtered through their faith, but I’ve always found it weird when folks try to make religious parallels with Bionicle. (In particular, I've seen a lot of uncomfortable comparisons between Matoro and Jesus). To me, the Bionicle story has always felt pretty openly antireligious in the way it deliberately demythologised everything. The genesis-style story we're told at the start proves to be a total lie. Every legendary or god-like figure in the text is unveiled as a flawed, mortal being. Mata Nui as the Great Spirit is shown to have been indolent and uncaring. Even the Great Beings were exposed as nothing more than irresponsible mad scientists. Destiny is regarded as a something comparable to a "divine plan" by many characters, but rather than being an immutable force, it's able to be defied and denied. And even when it works as designed, it plays out more like a series of "if this, then that" contingency plans. Characters who put blind faith in Destiny are usually regarded as foolish, with the Matoran time and time again having to stand up and fight for themselves instead of sitting on their hands and hoping some Toa show up eventually. Broadly speaking, there is a greater plan, but there's no god enforcing it. Those who want a better future have to fight for it.

Agreed. It felt like too much of a turn from what Hero Factory had established itself to be in the prior waves: a story of robot space cops fighting criminals. Witch Doctor seemed more like a fantasy villain that got mistakenly dropped in from a completely different theme, and everything about him kind of veered into that same kind of insensitive cultural appropriation territory that got Lego sued during G1's early run. I could write a whole think piece about how much I specifically dislike this ridiculous Gary Stu of a character. He comes out of nowhere in the third wave, sidelines the established characters, and gets all of the cool moments and crazy upgrades. It's completely unearned and undermines the struggle that other rookie characters like Furno went through in previous waves.

Based on last year's leaked development material, and various videos Faber has made on his own channel, some of his concept pitches involved connections between various themes he worked on. Some examples include Mr Makuro from Hero Factory being a Turaga, or a Makuta, or Spherus Magna being a planet that exists in the HF universe (along with locations and species from all of Lego's other space themes). One of his G2 pitches also would have possibly connected with G1 and HF via time/space travel. But I think it's somewhat misleading to say Faber "wanted" any of these things. By their very nature, some of his pitches were contradictory and incompatible with each other, so there's no way to know which he personally preferred. The dude's job was basically to throw a million ideas at a wall and see what sticks. Lego's story team then sifted through Faber's suggestions and chose what they wanted to keep.