Akavakaku

Maybe it's not so much a pocket dimension as space-warping? Like, the inside of the box is still attached to the outside, but it has a greater volume.

Hmm, I have a hard time seeing Axxon as being from a well-known species. He has so many incredible powers, and if the Order had the ability to give these out via modifications, wouldn't they give them to powerless beings like Hydraxon, Jerbraz and Mazeka?

Nope, 941 in base 6 would be 4205. Still not a number that would come up in casual conversation.

Chapter 2 Kazi slammed a fist on his desk. Of course. Of course it had to be right now. Right when his inbox was overflowing with demands that he debug some telescope guidance program or retrieve some lost files. But instead he had a shiny white rock from Jovan that he had to take to the other side of the city. There was a knock at the door of his office. As he'd expected, it was another of those insufferable Seers. They imported supercomputers from Xia to perform the crude calculations that their work required, yet most had hardly any idea how the machines worked and no idea what to do when something went wrong. Normally this was infrequent, but lately errors occurred on a regular basis. And so they came running to Kazi in the knowledge tower basement at all hours, asking for help. "Kazi, I wanted to ask..." Matoro's voice trailed off. "Are you packing up?" "Yep. Sorry, it's urgent." Kazi added his handheld computer to his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. "Well, then... I... I'll wait for you to return, then." Matoro glanced down at a tablet he was holding, and then quickly shifted so that its surface was turned away from Kazi. Kazi stared in confusion at Matoro on his way out. Seers were usually distant, but this was odd behavior even for him. Kazi somewhat morbidly looked forward to learning what this was about when he returned. ~~~ Dalu steered the cleaning cart back into its slot in the supply closet and slammed the door with unrestrained confidence. At last, all her nocturnal coursework had paid off! This was exactly what she had always known would happen. A summons to the Great Temple, where all of Ga-Metru's great scholars were inducted. She had no idea what position or honor they planned to bestow upon her, but it had to be a great one. No one ever received a message directly from a Toa. Soon her current status as a laboratory janitor would be far behind her. Even Hahli, the head of the biology wing where she worked, would have to answer to her. A moment after she flung open the laboratory doors, Dalu was greeted by the grating impact of four mechanical legs against the ground right beside her. She spun to see a blue-and-orange Vahki looming over her. It was followed by another an instant later. Freezing in place, Dalu held the blue gem given to her by Jovan in front of her like a charm against evil. The first Vahki's gaze bored into the stone for what felt like a whole minute before it turned to the second Vahki. The two buzzed at each other like insect Rahi, then withdrew and allowed Dalu to pass between them. She glanced back at the Vahki Bordakh over her shoulder and watched them fly off. Her rational side told her that there was no shame in being afraid of them; every Matoran feared being targeted as a criminal by the machines. But the fear felt like poison, and she was glad to be rid of it and on her way to the temple. ~~~ Velika powered down the Kanoka lathe, removed his magnifying goggles and rubbed the back of his neck, sore from hours and hours spent hunched over his work. Now it was time to see if his efforts were finally paying off. He lifted the finished Teleportation disk from his workstation and loaded it into a scanning device. Most properties of a Kanoka could be discerned by sight or touch, if you were skilled enough, but determining a disk's power level required the use of special tools. For an instant, as the disk rotated in its scanner, Velika believed he might have finally succeeded. But he was soon let down as the machine reported the energy content . The disk wasn't even level eight. As he carried it to the pile of finished disks he felt like giving up. It was a very familiar feeling. "Hey, bro!" There was a loud clang against the door of Velika's workshop. He glanced up to see a familiar mask peering in through the door's small window. Velika unlocked the door from his control console, the inadequate disk still weighting his thoughts. "I got your new shipment here!" The Matoran who had arrived pushed in a cart laden with three chest-high reinforced canisters. Each was marked with the seal of a different metru. "Ko,' Le,' and Onu,'" he declared proudly. "Oh, thank you." Velika glanced between his employer and the canisters. "Did you want anything else, Hewkii?" Velika found it strange that Hewkii had delivered the raw protodermis personally, rather than send it via transport drone. "Nah, well, yeah. Just wanted to..." Hewkii absently withdrew the Kanoka in his launcher and spun it between his hands, as he often did. "Just to see how you were doing. Good progress?" "Hah. Oh. Uh, it's okay. I'm... not there yet. But I'll get there." Hewkii sighed and returned the disk to his launcher. "Ok, I'll be honest, bro, Turaga's been on my case to tell you to hurry up with these special disks he wants. Like, I'm trying to tell him you need time, but he isn't happy about it." Velika sunk into a chair and supported his head with one hand, pretending to reread the order from Dume for six high-level disks that lay on the table before him. He hadn't made a single one yet up to the quality standards ordained by the Turaga. Of course, no one in Metru Nui ever had. But Velika had a reputation for achieving what other disk makers said was impossible, so shipments of raw protodermis from all six metru were being delivered to his workshop. "Hey, bro! I know what you need! You need to take a break, you've been working on those 'disks of legend' all week! Come on, me and the assembly carvers are having a kolhii tournament after work today, you should come watch!" "You always win at kolhii." Velika sighed, but a smile reached his mask. Hewkii's familiar chat took his mind off his troubles. "There's no suspense." "Oh, I don't know. Epena's got some really sick new moves." "I'm serious, if you were half as good at Akilini you'd be a superstar." Hewkii's reply was cut off by a knock on the open door. "Hey! You better get back to your shop, Hewkii, there's Zadakh prowling around it!" Hewkii waved to the Matoran who had alerted him. "Gotta go, Velika. You better be at the kolhii field tonight!" He raced out the door, closing it behind him. Velika didn't see the intruder slip in through a window. Review Topic

Here are my thoughts. Tridax is a Krahka, but considers himself a civilized, aracial being rather than a Rahi. Sentrakh and Nocturn are the same species. They look alike, carry similar swords, and perhaps Sentrakh's healing power prompted TSO to choose him for the procedure. Primal and Seeker are he same species; they look very similar. Brutaka, Darkness and Shadow Stealer were all prototypes for the Makuta. All of them are strengthened by Antidermis, their sole unifying trait. Mantax and Trinuma are the same species. They can use Kanohi and have horns. Tobduk and Pridak are the same species. They are tall, strong and fueled by emotion (in Pridak's case, pride). Jerbraz could be almost any minor species. Hydraxon and Lariska are the same species. They have no powers but make up for it with great physical ability. Using Kanohi is within their abilities, but they consider it inappropriate. Vengeance and Dweller are the same species. They have wings, horns, and psychic powers. Axonn is a total enigma, nobody has ever seen another member of his species. Recorder is the last of the native Odinians. Poison was one of Nyrah's original species.

Chapter 1 Balta stared in awe at the figure of Jovan receding into the sky. He had never met a Toa mask-to-mask before, and it had been... not quite as glamorous as he'd have expected. He'd simply said hello, handed Balta an ovoid package and flown off. Was it for some sort of device the Toa wanted made? If so, why hadn't he said anything about it, unless... Unless it was something illegal. Balta glanced left and right, then ducked under an overhanging heap of damaged metal plates and, hands shaking with excitement, removed the foil wrapper from... a red rock. For a few moments he could only stare at it. Jovan must have meant something by it; the Toa of Magnetism didn't have much of a sense of humor. But what? Then his crafter's eye caught something printed on the inside of the foil. It was a schematic of a building, perhaps the best-known building in Metru Nui, aside from the Coliseum. Balta packed up his bag full of scrap and put the red stone in the side pocket. He didn't know what waited for him at the Great Temple, but he was ready to find out. ~~~ Garan exhaled deeply, which was as close as he came to sighing in public. He couldn't ignore a summons delivered by a Toa, even one as informal as a picture printed on the wrapper of a greenish-black stone. Garan neatly stacked the tablets on his desk, sorting them into exhibit blueprints, letters from other archivists, and documents from the Onu-Metru council. "Think you could manage without me for a couple hours, Onepu?" "No problem, Garan," the violet-masked Matoran called from the other side of the office. "Just be back by 25; Nuparu's called a meeting to unveil some new stasis chamber model." Nuparu was one of the few Matoran Garan had real trouble working with. He was only a Rahi shipment unloader, yet he was constantly pelting the archivists with plans for new technology for the Archives. Nuparu wasn't known to be too fond of Garan, either. Something about Garan's habit of rejecting his over-designed gadgets seemingly didn't sit too well with him. Well, perhaps a quick break from the Archives Management Office would do Garan good. After a little fresh air, he'd have all the more energy for sitting through the latest Nuparu nonsense. ~~~ Piruk turned over the bright green stone in his hands, glancing between it and the image of the Great Temple it had been packaged in. The message implied by Jovan's gift was clear. But Piruk had a chute station to look after, and his boss Kongu didn't appreciate it when he called in with questions. He supposed he would have to wait until his shift ended. Still, though... Wasn't Kongu always telling him to take the initiative and make more decisions for himself? The station wasn't due for heavy traffic any time soon. Piruk settled on a compromise: he'd quickly see what was going on in Ga-Metru, and then send a message back to Kongu if it seemed like something that would take a while. Hopefully then he wouldn't be too upset. Hopefully. Review Topic

I just started an epic with a prologue, and since I already had the first chapter written I decided to add that too, but the two sections got merged into a single post. Do I have to wait a certain amount of time before I add a new chapter?

Interchange: Prologue ~~~ What if the Toa you know best were not destined to be? This epic tells the story of a different universe, one where those we know as Matoran took their place. ~~~ The forges and furnaces of Ta-Metru were a dangerous place. Matoran from other Metru imagined the risk might be falling into molten protodermis, but Ta-Matoran worried more about toxic gases and residue, operation errors in automated machinery, Rahi infestations, proto conduit leakage, and lately, their little... weed problem. No one Matoran had to shoulder the duty of managing all these dangers alone, but there was one Matoran who liked to think he did. His name was Jaller, and he sat with heroic dignity in the watchtower by Furnace 03, eyes sweeping the video screens, ears keen for the first shout of alarm from the communicator. But today, the first omen of disaster was not a cry for help, but the heavy clang of armored feet landing on the watchtower behind Jaller. He spun his chair around to see none other than the Toa of Metru Nui himself, his Great Mask of Flight still glowing. "Toa Jovan!" Jaller sprang up to a salute so quickly he almost knocked off his own mask. "No need for ceremony, Overseer." Those who knew Jovan better might have recognized that his smile was forced. "I only came to ask if you knew where Balta might be." Jaller's eyes narrowed, then bulged. "Balta?! The... junk tinkerer?" Many Ta-Matoran tolerated his unusual habit of crafting ornaments and useful devices from scrap metal. Jaller did not. Balta's forages in the scrapyard were flagrant violations of security protocol. Jaller wished the Vahki would arrest him and be done with it, but by some bureaucratic loophole it counted as work. Jovan nodded sharply. "Give me a moment." Turning to his screens, Jaller checked the gate records for the scrapyard under his jurisdiction. They noted a Matoran without security clearance entering an hour ago, with no mention of his departure. There was no other Matoran it could be. "Right down there, Toa." Jaller pointed in the direction of the yard. Jovan leapt from the watchtower and soared out of sight. ~~~ A pair of yellow eyes flickered open. They glanced over a massive insectoid body, equipped with six limbs, a spiked abdomen and a pair of mighty mandibles, all clad in orange carapace and, at the moment, enough soot and metal scrap to crush a Matoran. Well, Krona mused, at least she was still in one piece. With a mighty shout, she flipped herself right-side up, scattering protodermis waste across the derelict forge. Then she heard coughing from the mound of debris. With a huge forelimb, she scraped it aside to reveal a two-legged being much smaller than she, and deceptively frail in appearance. The small being coughed once more, then glared up at her. "I see you have a hidden talent: botching a perfectly laid ambush." "Excuse me? I didn't see you landing any attacks." "Well, that's not easy when my knives are all magnetized to my hands! You told me you knew what tactics he would use!" "Evidently he's been improvising." Krona spat a ball of searing plasma at the floor. It made a red-hot streak among the black soot. "In case you've forgotten, I can't read minds... anymore." "Oh, quit whining." The small being was now digging through the rubble for a set of throwing knives. "I'd like to see you go from being the slave of a gang of Skakdi females--" "--To being their leader in just six days, yeah, we've all heard the story. Pity you let them all die before you enlisted, though, so they can't confirm it." Suddenly a knife was at the side of Krona's head, where her armor was weakest. "What are you implying, you plague-ridden Hoto bug? Maybe YOU have some secrets you'd like to spill, huh? Like how you're collaborating with Jovan?" Krona roared in rage and unfurled her wings, beating them to produce a gust that forced back her partner and allowed her to rear up on her hind legs and abdomen. Her head nearly brushed the mangled overhead beams. "How DARE you! Your very breath taints my honor! Jovan is no brother of mine!" "Dark Hunters don't have honor," replied Lariska in a low voice. Review Topic

What if the Toa you know best were not destined to be? This epic tells the story of a different universe, one where those we know as Matoran took their place. (Contains violence, but nothing more serious than in the actual Bionicle story.) Interchange: Toa Metru Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Questions and comments are welcome!

I have no idea what those green things could be; this is a really interesting development! (Just pointing out, I don't think you intended Ajura to thank "Mat Nui."

I come out of the pool! In goes Mini Avak's Mini Canister, since it's worthless now.

Ihu. The Toa named after a planet.

No, by my estimates, Gali. Since there is no question I'll ask one. Sent that dude a trippy vision from the future.

Botar, death by teleporting him underwater.

Cool, but the chin is way too big for my tastes. Aside from that it's how I imagine the Adaptive Miru in its default state.

All this for a Rickroll... I can't say I'm not impressed and amused.

I really liked this. It's quite a creative look at post-reconstruction Spherus Magna.

So cute! A really inventive design overall.

Out comes actual immortality. Awesome! I jump into the protodermis.

Muaka and Kane-Ra were the first, but they're Rahi, so must be the Bohrok. The Toa who defeated the most Skull Spiders prior to reaching the Golden Mask.

Tahtorak, death by epic city-smashing battle.

"Wait, are the five of you telling me you don't trust the new Toa??" Lord of Skull Spiders

I like the suspense in your Bionicle photos!

Voriki LIVES! (Great job, looks very accurate.)

I voted Pohatu, just because he'd be the most surprising choice of leader. Not necessarily the best leader, but he's focused and decisive.