Pahrak Model ZX

Because why not. Subject to change as time goes on, surely, but as of right now, here’s how I feel about the seven main series regions. 1. Sinnoh, to the surprise of no one. You’re probably saying this is solely based on nostalgic bias, and that is a huge part of it, I’ll admit that. Pokémon Diamond was what brought me back into Pokémon, and it and Platinum were the first times I started to really consume all the data I could about the games, which set the trend going forward. Sinnoh’s the reason I’m playing Pokémon today, so it will always have a very special place in my heart. Of course, there is more to love about Sinnoh: personally I very much like the general design aesthetic of Gen IV Pokémon, I adore that the region is steeped in legend and myth, Cynthia, you can play your badges like a xylophone, and how could you not enjoy the Underground? I know Sinnoh has faults, but it’s very special to me, and I dearly hope the eventual remake is on a system I own. 2. Alola. Probably not surprising either. It’s a beautiful and extremely unique region, and it introduces many new twists on the Pokémon formula without rendering it unrecognizable. Many things I liked about other games/generations/regions were present in Alola, and while they weren’t all handled perfectly, I do think they were handled well, and it helps give the region a more “complete” feel. The plot and mythology are both engaging, though I do wish they’d intertwined a bit more. The Pokédex features favorites from every generation, and as for the new Pokémon…well, I’m a bit 50/50 when it comes to Gen VII’s design aesthetic, but that doesn’t weigh it down too much. And Alola forms are inspired (even if I can’t seem to get behind any that end up Dark-type). There are a few miscellaneous things from ORAS that I wish had stuck around, but Sun and Moon are improvements over X and Y in every conceivable way, and that helps me just really love this region. And judging from what we’ve seen of USUM, I’m beginning to wonder if it could even give Sinnoh a run for its money. 3. Johto. Kind of bumpy getting here, but…nostalgia played a big part again. Gold version was the first Pokémon game that was really mine and I didn’t have to share, so it’s the focal point of nostalgia as far as I’m concerned. Yeah, some of my memories of Gold are hazy, I don’t feel like I excelled when I played HeartGold, and now that I’ve got VC Gold I’m just baffled by some of the Pokémon distribution choices, but the feel of the region is something that just works. Difficult to explain, but this is all subjectivity anyway. And there’s something interesting about this graphical style, something notably old but still in vibrant color, that helps it retain this feeling of being a refreshing update to Gen I. There are some great Pokémon here too, though it can be difficult to find some of them—Typhlosion will always be a favorite, and darn it, I love Unown, I know they’re utterly useless in a battle but I’m too fascinated by their concept to feel anything but love towards these letters with eyes. 4. Hoenn. Before ORAS, if you heard me mentioning Hoenn, it was only to disparage it. I lost interest in Pokémon during Gen III, a large part of which I still blame on not being able to send Pokémon from Gen II up to the new Generation, and even now a large number of the Pokémon designs introduced here just feel a bit odd to me. Again, this hatred was all before ORAS. ORAS, when they came out, were the utmost pinnacle of Pokémon games on a mechanical level, and are still pretty darn close. They took a great deal of the good things in X and Y and really drove them home, capitalized on everything people already liked about the region (except for trumpets), and introduced plenty of new things that all worked very well. I utterly adore soaring, I can’t speak too highly about that feature. Hoenn’s personality also shone really well in those games, and it’s helped me find a much greater respect for the region. Though, since nearly all I like about it is strictly from ORAS, Hoenn itself falls smack dab in the middle. 5. Unova. Really, I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Unova, largely stemming from the fact that during Gen V I was unfortunately going through a bit of a genwunner phase. (Thank God that’s over.) Make no mistake, I still stand by some of my criticism: Black and White try far too hard to distance themselves from the other games, worst of all by expressly forbidding us from catching any Pokémon from the first four Generations until we beat their main story, and that issue is exacerbated tremendously by the general design aesthetic of Gen V Pokémon, which I find to be, well…pretty terrible. (With notable exceptions—Chandelure, Gigalith, and Zekrom are some of my all-time favorites.) But there’s also a lot that Gen V does right. It was an enormous step forward in story and characterization—the Gym Leaders never felt more like an actual ensemble of people, to say nothing of Team Plasma, and it’s always impressed me that the plot actually interrupts your initial League challenge. There’s also a wealth of post-game areas to explore, and we’ve still only covered Black and White. Black 2 and White 2 (as opposed to the expected Pokémon Gray) were a unique choice in and of themselves, and retained the best of their predecessors while strengthening the mechanics, adding loads more content, and no longer restricting you to Unovan-original Pokémon, thank God. (Though now that I think about it, I did only use Gen V mons when I played B2 and W2…huh…) Taking a fairer look at Unova, it really is a wonderful place, and as that teenage inclination towards arbitrary bad decisions abates it might actually move up this list. Still…Gen V Pokémon designs…I haven’t gotten over most of you. 6. Kanto. Kanto is just, well…basic. And I mean, it’s the first Gen, it kind of has to be since it’s the template. But still, I just kind of…I don’t know, I guess I’ve used up all the nostalgia I had for it and feel like there isn’t really much else going for it? I’ve trekked through this region probably more than any other, but I don’t know that I really have anything in particular to say about it. The last two slots on this list were hard to decide between, and part of why Kanto’s here and not the bottom might just be extra slack for having the burden of getting the franchise off the ground. Again, I don’t know that I really have anything to say. 7. Kalos. And like, I like Kalos. I do. But X and Y left me wanting more from it in the worst possible way, and while I was focusing on the positives and giving it the benefit of the doubt when I was expecting them to do a third version or a second pair to fix that, they dropped this region like it was hot and moved right along to Gen VII. So ultimately, Kalos feels like a half-baked trial run for the rest of the 3DS titles and even GameFreak doesn’t really care about it all that much. And that sucks. Because there are a lot of things I like about Kalos: the Gen VI Pokémon design aesthetic is marvelous, its Pokédex being a collection of favorites across all Gens was a wonderful decision that thankfully seems to be the new norm, and I love Mega Evolution and have honestly docked points from Sun and Moon for being so quick to discard it. It’s controversial, but I’m very glad for the changes made to experience—I’m in my 20s, I don’t have the time or patience to grind and now I don’t have to. But for everything Kalos did well, there’s a lot that is just so sloppy. Characterization is a huge step back from Gen V. Plot is about as bare as Gen I. Can’t say there’s much of a post-game. X and Y, in hindsight, just feel like they could have been so much more, and while we can forgive that at the start of a generation, not following up with a correction just makes it look so much worse. Because now X and Y are all we have to judge Kalos with, and it doesn’t compare well. Again, there’s a lot that I like about X and Y and Kalos—I enjoyed playing these games. I just wish I could have had an even better Kalos game after that. Sun and Moon feel like far more complete games, and remembering how abrupt the transition from Gen VI to Gen VII felt at the time, that’s somewhat strange to me. So I guess my relationship with Kalos now is a bit like what I once had with Unova, and maybe as time goes on I’ll be less bitter about the lack of a third game and I’ll feel better about this region. Chances are there will in the distant future come a day when X and Y are remade, and I dearly hope those take better advantage of Kalos. So, there you have it. Who’s offended?

Part III In the 200 years since the Reformation, Vhisola had seen, learned, and experienced many things she had never expected. First and foremost, coming to realize that the entire universe she knew was inside an enormous robot was something of a shock. Adjusting to Spherus Magna had been full of difficulties as well. And of course, there was the fact that a Great Being had inserted himself into a Matoran body with the ultimate goal of ruling them all. But despite all that, she could not help but take a step back and notice how curious her current feelings were. Vhisola was actually feeling sympathy towards a Skrall. Having apparently learned that talking to Vhisola was fruitless, Ehrye had instead taken to pestering their “guide”, and had been doing so near-constantly since dawn. The Skrall seemed a bit irritated, but he nevertheless gave (short) answers to all of Ehrye’s questions, which unfortunately only led to Ehrye asking more—perhaps he hadn’t made the connection yet, Vhisola wondered. Still, she felt annoyed just being next to it. She could only imagine what was going through the Skrall’s mind being a part of it. “So what’s the biggest thing you’ve ever defeated?” Ehrye asked. The Skrall thought for a moment, looking towards the peaks of the mountains they walked between. “Probably that golden spider thing. I think it came out of your robot—enormous monster that shot wheels of energy from its back, and everything they touched disappeared into a portal or something.” “That sounds like one of the Visorak…Kahgarak, I think is what it’s called?” The Skrall shrugged. “All I know is it tasted terrible.” “Oh…how do you…I mean, everything from our universe had a lot of mechanical components, and I’m sure you don’t eat those. How easy is it to remove them, I guess?” “Most of you are pretty repulsed by that stuff.” “Well, you could say it’s a morbid curiosity…” “Hm. It isn’t like the creatures running around here don’t have mechanisms in them—the Great Beings tinkered with everything they could get their hands on. Yours have got more metal than meat, for sure, but in either case, it’s just a few simple cuts.” Ehrye nodded, trying to suppress a grimace. Before he could ask anything else, Vhisola moved forward, asking, “Are we near the end of the pass?” “We’re right on top of it. After this it’s nothing but grass and sand until the Northern Frost.” “Could we still make it by the end of the day?” “It’ll be close. But our destination is right near the border, so it’s possible.” The trio rounded a bend and the path began to gradually slope downward. Sure enough, open ground could be seen not far away. They could also see a massive Catapult Scorpion clinging to an adjacent mountain, and it saw them as well. Ehrye’s eyes instantly grew. “Run!” Vhisola shouted as she drew her disk. The Ko-Matoran complied, and the Catapult Scorpion pulled back its long tail and shifted its footing. The Skrall began to unlimber his Thornax Rifle and asked, “One of yours? What does it do?” The scorpion’s stinger began to glow red. An orb of molten magma formed just above the stinger’s tip, and in the time it took them to blink, the ball hardened into solid rock. Vhisola threw her disk just before the scorpion snapped its tail forward to hurl the projectile at them. She managed to strike the tail at just the right moment, diverting the shot and causing it impact on the path behind them rather than on them. “That’s what it does.” She caught her disk and took off. The Skrall followed, but was still aiming his rifle, never looking away from the scorpion as it skittered down the mountain to chase after them. The Rahi prepared another rock, so the Skrall fired: the Thornax shot out with far greater speed and range than it would from a normal launcher, striking the scorpion in the face and disorienting it. The ball of rock rolled down its tail and off its back. “How intent is it going to be on following us?” the Skrall asked as he reloaded. “If it’s not going to give up, we should stay and fight it here, where we have some cover to utilize.” Vhisola actually agreed. Catapult Scorpions were incredibly violent creatures who loved to destroy whatever they saw, so there was little chance of them escaping while it was still conscious. She was just about to call out to Ehrye, who was out on the sand now, when she realized he had turned back towards them. The reason why, she discovered, was that the sand was moving, and some other massive form was rising up from beneath it. The Skrall laughed. “That’s one of mine. This should be interesting.” Glaring down at the travelers, the Skopio snapped its fangs together and raised one of its legs. Before it could stomp, however, a rock smashed into its face, causing it to turn its attention to the approaching Catapult Scorpion. Aiming its tail, the Skopio fired a blast from its stinger that made the other giant scorpion stumble about in shock. Vhisola grabbed the panicked Ehrye and tried to calm him as she waited to see what would happen. The enraged Catapult Scorpion rushed forward and threw itself at the Skopio, pincers snapping wildly, but the larger scorpion shook it off and knocked it back with a headbutt. “This might be our chance,” Vhisola murmured. “Let’s move.” The Skrall grumbled something, but they all took a few cautious steps forward. It wasn’t long before the Skopio turned and stomped back towards them. “Shoot—Ehrye, try your disks!” Suddenly the Skopio shrieked and spun around. The Catapult Scorpion, having just launched a shot at its foe’s exposed back, ran forward once again. The Skopio just kicked it back. To its credit, the Rahi got right back up. Vhisola felt an idea starting to form as Ehrye shot a Kanoka at the Skopio’s flank. The disk impacted, the surface beneath it clearly buckling, but the Skopio seemed to only barely notice. If anything, it turned around simply because it wanted to make sure its prey was still there, or at least that was how it seemed. “Back into the mountains!” the Skrall shouted. “We’re sitting ducks out here!” A blast hit the mountain above them, bringing down a rain of stone. The Matoran rushed after the Skrall while the Catapult Scorpion returned to fruitlessly raging against the Skopio. The larger creature lost sight of them temporarily, but after bashing the Catapult Scorpion into the mountainside, it took a few thundering steps and fired another shot at them—this one hitting close enough to knock them off their feet. “Why didn’t it work?” Ehrye groaned. “That Kanoka was level 7! It should have sapped the strength right out of it!” Vhisola sprang to her feet and eyed the creature. “It definitely did something.” The Catapult Scorpion tackled the Skopio, hitting the same area that Ehrye had shot. Surprisingly, the Skopio reacted in pain, and spun around to grab its enemy in its jaws. As it swung its head back and forth, Vhisola could now see a large crack in its side. She turned to the Skrall. “That thing—what sort of shell does it have?” “I don’t know,” the Skrall said, “some kind of metal? It isn’t natural, I know that.” “So the Kanoka only affected the armor, it didn’t get through to the creature itself…” Ehrye sighed. “Then I’m not much help, am I?” “Not much to be done anyway,” the Skrall said. “From what I’ve seen, there’s no way that rock hurler’s gonna win. The Skopio’s just gonna stomp its brains out and then come do the same to us.” Vhisola looked over her shoulder. “Do all Skrall give up so easily?” The Skrall just narrowed his eyes. “If we’re going to escape, we need those two to keep each other busy. Meaning we need to find a way to make this a fair fight. Ehrye, how many more disks do you have?” Before Ehrye could reply, the Skopio roared. The trio dashed away from another blast, and over the explosion, Ehrye shouted, “Four of them!” Vhisola glanced over the Skopio again. It charged another blast, and as it fired, she felt her idea was finally complete. Diving for cover, she said, “Okay. We’re going to cripple the Skopio so that the Catapult Scorpion can hold its own.” The Skrall looked at her blankly. “What?” “Then we’ll slip away and find another exit, and get as far away from these mountains as we can!” “How are we supposed to hurt that thing?” Ehrye asked. Another rock bounced off of the Skopio’s head, and it turned to slam the Catapult Scorpion into the dirt. “Can you shoot the tail from here?” Vhisola asked. “No way! Maybe with a Le-Type disk, but—“ “Then you’ll have to get higher.” “What?!” Vhisola turned to the Skrall. “For this to work, we’re going to have to keep those monsters distracted while Ehrye climbs. Also, for our best chance, he’s going to need your rifle.” Through gritted teeth, the Skrall said, “I don’t part with my weapons easily, Matoran.” The Catapult Scorpion hurled a rock into the Skopio’s face. It flinched, but only for a moment, before stomping on one of its victim’s arms. Vhisola stared him dead in the eye, her expression firm as iron. “It’s that, or we die. This plan will work. It’s our only way.” Despite himself, the Skrall began to smile. “…You’re an odd one, for sure.” Reluctantly, the warrior handed his rifle off the Ehrye, who took it very carefully. After Vhisola quickly explained what he had to do, the Ko-Matoran ran off to look for higher ground, while she and the Skrall charged straight at the two scorpions. Vhisola’s disk hit the Skopio between the eyes, doing nothing but getting its attention. It did provide an opening for the Catapult Scorpion to plunge its red-hot stinger into its maw, however, which left it too distracted to notice the Skrall running for its leg. Unlimbering his axe, he let loose a shout and swung with both hands, managing to cut through the treads on the Skopio’s leg. That was something it did take notice of. The Skopio moved to attack the Skrall, ignoring Vhisola’s throws and shouts; not looking intimidated, the Skrall grabbed the chain he carried and threw one end at the Skopio’s rear legs. The weighted end stuck to the monster’s armor, and the Skrall jumped and used the chain to pull himself through the air, swinging up and onto the Skopio’s back. The chain’s ends can magnetize to any metal surface, Vhisola remembered, thinking back to when the Skrall had explained it to Ehrye. He can scale that thing easily. Forgotten by the Skopio, the Catapult Scorpion was getting on its feet now. Unfortunately, it took one look at Vhisola and swiped its claw at her, almost knocking her flat. Vhisola threw her disk at its face and ran to a crack in the rock wall. The Scorpion hurled a rock in an attempt to stop her, but she managed to make it in safely, and the Rahi stood at the entrance and hissed for a while. As this was going on, the Skopio circled about trying to shake the Skrall off its back. The warrior held firm with one hand and grabbed his spear with the other. The head glowed faintly as he thrust it, piercing all the way through the armor and stabbing the animal beneath, eliciting a loud cry of pain. Suddenly everything shifted—the Skopio was moving to slam its back against the rock. Quickly, the Skrall withdrew his spear and threw his chain, managing to swing off of his mount just in time to avoid being squashed. He had no time to celebrate, as the Catapult Scorpion was coming after him now, but that was easy to repel with a few hits from his axe. Ehrye held on tightly to avoid losing his grip. The force of the Skopio hitting the wall was almost enough to send him tumbling to his death, but he managed, somehow. He had made his way up to a ledge that sat just above where the Skopio’s head would reach, facing slightly away from the battle and with some shrubbery to hide behind—it was as good a spot as he was going to find. “Okay, Ehrye, okay,” he breathed, setting out his weapons. “You can do this. It sounded easy when Vhisola explained it! Okay…” Picking up the Kanoka launcher, he poked through the bushes and took aim. The Skopio was standing tall again, and tried to stamp the Skrall to death. He rolled away, but the Catapult Scorpion swung a pincer as he was getting up, knocking his axe out of his hand. Looking angrier than usual, the Skrall hurled his spear into the Skopio’s leg and then magnetized his chain to it, swinging up and out of harm’s way. The two scorpions began trading blows again as the Skrall retrieved his spear and swung back down to the ground. “Now!” Ehrye said. He fired the Kanoka, and it hit the Skopio’s stinger and released its power. The blaster attached to its tail started to fold in on itself slightly, but it was barely noticeable from where he stood. The Skopio seemed to realize it had been hit, but another strike from a red-hot stinger brought its focus back to the Catapult Scorpion. The Skrall tried to reclaim his axe, but the Catapult Scorpion swung and knocked him into the wall, and then faced the Skopio once again. The Skopio flattened it in an instant. “HEY!” The Skopio looked up to see the source of the shout: Vhisola, who was standing on a low outcropping and waving her arms. Clicking in annoyance, the Skopio pointed its tail and started to charge energy. “Okay, okay, um,” Ehrye said, fumbling for the Thornax rifle. “Come on, hurry!” He quickly got into position, but couldn’t help being nervous. He wasn’t familiar with this type of weapon, and he was having trouble aiming it. Still, he didn’t have time to waste: he did the best he could, and when it looked like the Skopio was just about to fire, he shot. The deadly fruit impacted the already weakened blaster, making the barrel crumple like paper. It was too late for the Skopio to stop charging energy, however, and with its usual exit point blocked, it backed up into the weapon, tearing through its now-fragile hull and producing a small explosion of light and shrapnel. Judging by the sound the Skopio made, it was extremely painful. Ehrye was shocked to see he had actually succeeded. It wasn’t until he saw Vhisola make a mad dash that he realized he needed to get moving too. He grabbed his weapons and went downhill as fast as he dared, soon reaching the floor of the pass and seeing the Skrall getting to his feet. “We’ve got to go,” he said, grabbing his rifle back. “Where’s my axe?” The Catapult Scorpion stung the Skopio’s face once more, and this time it stumbled back quite a bit. Hearing footsteps, it turned to see the Skrall and Ehrye trying to circle it and ran at them. The Skrall had his spear ready, but it was Vhisola, jumping onto the Rahi with the axe in her hands, who managed to stun the creature. She, the other Matoran, and the Skrall all disappeared into the mountains as fast as they could, while the Skopio shakily got back on its feet and stepped towards the Catapult Scorpion. The Rahi stood its ground. They could hear the sounds of battle as they navigated down a different path, but it was hard to tell who was winning. Eventually, they reached the edge of the mountains again, but a bit farther east than they had been previously. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, the three of them broke into a run. “Give me that,” the Skrall said, plucking his axe out of Vhisola’s hand. “Can’t you two run any faster?” “Come on,” Ehrye panted. “We weren’t really built for this sort of thing.” The Skrall grunted. After a few seconds passed, he said, “Nice shot. I didn’t think you’d actually be able to land a hit your first time using the rifle.” Ehrye grinned. “Thanks. Neither did I.” “As for you,” he said, looking to Vhisola. “…I admit it, it was a good plan.” “That’s what I was telling you,” Vhisola replied. The Skrall laughed. “Nuhrii did make some good picks. I’m almost beginning to think I should give you Matoran more credit. Almost.” Once they got tired of running, the group stopped to catch their breath for a short time before pressing forward at a more regular pace. They didn’t encounter any more wildlife along the way. At one point they came upon a dead tree, and when they stepped onto the patch of dirt just beyond it, the Skrall stopped walking. “We should camp here for the night.” Vhisola only slowed. “We can still make it a bit farther before sunset.” “I wouldn’t. We might not quite reach the Northern Frost, but if we go much farther it’s definitely going to get a lot colder.” He paused and glanced at Ehrye. “Maybe he wouldn’t mind, but I’m sleeping where I won’t freeze.” “We weren’t going to make it today anyway, with the time we lost,” Ehrye said. “Besides, I’m worn out.” Vhisola finally stopped. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, and said, “Well, alright. We’re close enough that it shouldn’t take us half a day to reach it tomorrow, right?” “You’ve got a good sense of direction,” the Skrall said. They had a fire going by nightfall. Each took out the food they were carrying and consumed it quickly, and then there was nothing else to be done, and the three of them just sat in silence. As usual, Ehrye saw to that. “Well, it didn’t look good at the time, but that was actually pretty exciting! I’m definitely glad we had you along, Skrall.” The Skrall nodded. He poked the fire a bit, and then said, “I was told we’re going to a lab, but that was it. What is it that’s so important to you Matoran you’d be willing to risk your lives?” “Nuhrii says there’s a device there that can let Matoran use Kanohi powers.” “Kano…those masks you wear? They don’t all do things?” Ehrye quickly explained how Kanohi worked and the restrictions on how they could be used. Once that was done, he went on, “Nuhrii wants to study the technology for getting around those rules and forge masks that incorporate it. Then, he and I will be a part of history for pioneering a new age in Kanohi!” The Skrall scratched his head. Turning to Vhisola, he asked, “You don’t want to be ‘a part of history’?” Vhisola shook her head. “I just want the technology. I don’t really care what they do with it after.” “And what do you want it for? You want to be able to use those mask powers to accomplish something?” Ehrye butted in: “She’s trying to impress one of our Turaga.” “I’m trying to help her,” Vhisola corrected, glaring at him. “Nuhrii said he’d make her some free masks, and give her a lifetime discount on more. That’s why she’s so fixated on this.” The Skrall furrowed his brow. “…I don’t get it. You’re doing all this for her? What’s she going to use it for?” Vhisola thought for a moment. “Helping around New Atero, I’d guess.” “That’s it? She’s got no grand goal in mind?” “Helping people is a perfectly fine goal.” “Okay, sure, but…did she even ask for this?” “She doesn’t know about the technology, or why I left.” “You’re not making much sense. Why are you going so far to do something for this person when you don’t know if they even want it that much?” “Vhisola’s obsessed with Turaga Nokama,” Ehrye said. “Always has been.” The Ga-Matoran’s expression warped slightly, making Ehrye slide back just a bit. “C-Come on, you are. It’s not necessarily bad.” The Skrall continued to look puzzled for a time, but suddenly, the confusion cleared from his face and he said, “Oh. You love her, is that it?” Vhisola faced him. “What?” “Yeah, that makes sense,” the Skrall said as he crossed his arms. “You’re doing something ridiculous to get someone you love to notice you.” “Her noticing me isn’t…” She sighed. “I’m not really sure what you’re trying to say, or why that suddenly ‘makes sense’ to you. Agori are always talking about love, and I’ve tried to wrap my head around it, but I still don’t understand what any of you actually mean by that.” The Skrall tilted his head. “…Huh?” “Yeah, I’m not sure either,” Ehrye said. “It’s still a big difference in our cultures—apparently the Great Beings never programmed us to feel this particular emotion, and it’s caused a lot of confusion.” The Skrall’s mouth hung slightly open. “…You don’t feel love?” The Matoran shook their heads. “…That makes even less sense.” Vhisola rolled her eyes. “Alright, fill us in. What is love?” The Skrall scratched his head, glancing around at nothing in particular. “I mean, it’s…you know, you just feel like you…love…someone, and it’s…” He stopped suddenly. Thrusting his spear into the ground, he said, “What am I doing?! Look, if you don’t feel it I don’t know how to explain it!” “That’s what everyone says.” The Skrall grumbled to himself, and Ehrye turned to Vhisola. “That aside…why are so you focused on Nokama all the time?” “I respect her. I admire her. She’s a commanding presence, and an incredibly wise leader who’s shown immense compassion to everyone around her, and always finds solutions that no one else can. And, I…” Ehrye waited as she thought. “…It’s hard to explain. I’ve just always felt a certain…affinity towards her, I guess. Ever since we woke up on Mata-Nui.” Ehrye put a hand to his face. “Hm…well, maybe it started on Metru-Nui? Those feelings could still be there even if you can’t remember why.” Vhisola blinked. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that possibility. “Well, whatever the case it must be nice.” She looked at him sideways. “…Nice?” Ehrye shrugged, looking at the campfire. “Like I said before, it isn’t too different from what I want. Except I want the attention of lots of people—so it must be nice to only have to worry about getting that one person’s attention.” Something in Vhisola snapped. Nokama’s recent trouble, this strange job, Ehrye’s incessant chatter, their suspicious bodyguard, nearly getting killed at least twice in as many days—all of her stress boiled over at once, and she slowly clenched her fists. “…Yeah. Nice. Sure, when you do get that one person’s attention, it’s very nice. But, you know? All it takes is for that one person to take it away from you. And then—“ She snapped her fingers right next to Ehrye’s ear. “—There it all goes! And you’re empty. Not just let down, or discouraged, totally and completely empty because the one and only thing you care about was just ripped out from under you.” She faced the fire now, hunching over and finding herself rambling on without even thinking. “You spend all your time thinking about that one person, what she thinks, what she wants, how you can prove yourself to her, how you can make her like you, even if you want to try to think about something else just for a little. All you want to do is find new ways to please her, but even if you’ve got an idea you might not be able to try it because that one person can’t spend all her time with you. She just can’t. And you know that—of course she can’t, she’s busy, she has many things she needs and wants to attend to, and other people she cares about. You know it’s unreasonable to think she could spend all their time with you. Does that stop the way you feel? No. No, of course it doesn’t. You still feel like you failed, that you don’t actually matter to her, and you know you’re overreacting but that doesn’t make it stop.” She ran her hand over her mask. “It’s a little voice nagging in the back of your mind: ‘she doesn’t actually care about you,’ ‘why would she want to spend time with you?’, ‘you’re not special to her the way she is to you’. And you’ve pushed everyone else away, because you only care about that one person, so you have no one else to talk to and you have to listen to that nagging voice. And it never…it never stops…” She found herself chuckling. Looking up at the Skrall (whose eyes were wide), she asked, “Is that what this love thing is like? If so, I hate it.” She hung her head. “…Sort of.” She looked back at the Skrall. “Sort of, but…there’s more going on there. It definitely sounds like you love her, but it sounds like you’ve got something else that’s screwing with it. Don’t know what. But love by itself doesn’t feel that way. You spend lots of time thinking about them, and you want to make them happy, sure, but in a positive way. Maybe if you can work out whatever else is there…well, I don’t know, maybe you’re closer to understanding love than you think.” Vhisola stared at the Skrall until Ehrye said something. Turning back, she realized she hadn’t heard him. “I’m sorry,” Ehrye said, looking sheepish. “I didn’t mean to…I didn’t know all of that, I didn’t…” Vhisola looked back down. Awkward silence hung over the trio, until eventually Vhisola took a few steps away and got out her sleeping bag. “Do you have someone you love?” Ehrye asked the Skrall. The Skrall rested his chin on his fist. “Not anymore.” “What do you mean?” “I’ve been on my own for a long time. No one to love out here.” Ehrye fidgeted. “Is that why you want to become a citizen?” The Skrall rolled his head to the side. “Not for love, no, but…” He sighed. “Anyone’d get lonely after wandering for two centuries. It’s not that hard to believe, is it?” “No, no I can understand that.” The Skrall was still for a moment before nodding jerkily. A few seconds later, he too stood to leave. “You know, I’ve been thinking,” Ehrye said. The Skrall stopped. “If you’re going to be a citizen, you probably will need a name.” “Oh. Eh, they’ll probably just put down ‘Skrall’ or something, I don’t really care.” “That’d just feel lazy.” “It’s not like I expect them to care. The reason I have to do a job just to get in is proof of how little they want Skrall in New Atero.” He stretched, and then looked up at the stars. “…Guess I can’t really blame them, though. The Skrall have always been narrow-thinkers, working in such a strict hierarchy, thinking everything has to be about pure strength, feeling like everyone else isn’t as good as us just because they’re not as good at fighting. I don’t have room to ask other people to be open-minded.” He turned to leave again, but after taking a few steps Ehrye called, “Jagazya!” The Skrall looked over his shoulder. “…What?” “What about that for a name? Jagazya. It means ‘scorpion fighter’…I think. I might not have conjugated it right, I never was good at that…” The Skrall’s expression was completely blank as he stared at Ehrye. “…Well, it was just a suggestion. Um, good night, I guess.” Ehrye walked over to his sleeping bag, a bit farther away from the fire than where Vhisola and the Skrall lay. The Skrall sat down and looked back up at the stars. “…Jagazya, huh,” he mumbled. “I wonder what the others would’ve thought of that.” (Review)

You could give every faction some type of special ability to balance the stinger tails

Good point, there are some well-done rivals (Silver and Hugh come to mind). I think the reason Lillie stands out to me is how totally central to the plot she is. N...I'd say he still feels a bit different. Definitely a compelling character, and there is some nuance to his role, but in Black and White he's very much an opposing force so I don't get the same feeling of "substitute main character". Hm, maybe I should go back and take a closer look at more of the previous generations' stories...

Elittra's dead and I got a Hot Topic joke, 11/10 Best Episode

Part II “So, really: what do you think he meant?” Vhisola sighed loudly as she climbed over the large tree root in the path. As she glanced back at Ehrye, clambering not far behind, her focus shifted towards the river and she began to wonder how good Ko-Matoran were at swimming. “I mean, ‘you’ll know him when you see him’,” Ehrye repeated for what seemed the hundredth time. He dropped to the ground, faltering a bit but staying upright. “It’s pretty vague. If Nuhrii hired someone specific, he should’ve told us exactly who he was, right? So what do you think—“ “I don’t know,” Vhisola interrupted, moving faster up the river bank. “As I’ve been saying all day, I have no idea what he meant, and I don’t particularly care.” Ehrye huffed, but soon broke into a run to catch up to her. “It doesn’t bother you? You’re okay with going into this blind?” Vhisola didn’t answer. Much as she hated to admit it, Ehrye had something of a point, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it right now. She’d wait and see just what Nuhrii had meant…and if it proved to be an issue, she’d handle it then. “Alright, fine,” Ehrye said, putting his hands behind his head. “I’m just trying to pass the time with some friendly conversation.” “Are you sure you’re a Ko-Matoran?” Vhisola asked. After staring at her a moment, Ehrye glanced aside and mumbled, “You sure you aren’t?” Vhisola stopped to look at him, freezing him in his tracks. Then she resumed walking. “Come on,” Ehrye said, “if we’re going to be working together we should try to get along.” He really isn’t going to shut up, is he? Vhisola thought. Fine, what can I say… The two of them paused at a bend in the river. Vhisola looked up at the sky as she tried to organize her thoughts, only vaguely aware of the path ahead. “Why did you take this job, again?” she asked as they moved on. Ehrye brightened up. “For the fame, of course! I’ll be remembered as the Great Scholar who helped Mask Maker Nuhrii revolutionize Kanohi, whose research pioneered a brand new era!” “Uh-huh. And what are you going to do if someone asks to see your ‘research’?” He thought for a moment. “Hm…I’ll say Nuhrii and I have a contract, and as part of it I can’t reveal any of my research.” Vhisola shook her head. “You’re putting a lot of effort into this. Is fame worth it if it’s a lie?” With a shrug and a chuckle, Ehrye replied, “Well, I’d definitely like the chance to find out.” “You really are desperate for attention.” “Aren’t you the same? You’re only here because you want to impress Nokama.” Vhisola crouched at the edge of the river, pulling out her canteen. “I’m here because I want to help Nokama. Whether that impresses her or not…that isn’t the point.” “But you’d sure be happy if it did, right?” Vhisola dipped her canteen in the river, mumbling, “…Like I said, it isn’t the point.” Ehrye sighed and sat down on another large root. “Right. But I bet you know what I mean more than you let on. I’ve wanted recognition long as I can remember…well, since before I can remember, according to the Turaga’s stories. It’s getting harder and harder to make a name for yourself, though, so I don’t want to pass up a chance like this. Is that so wrong? It’s not like this is going to hurt anyone—the Great Beings have a billion other things they get credit for, and it’s not like they’re as popular as they used to be anyway. What’s the harm in profiting from one thing they forgot they made?” The Ga-Matoran stood, twisting the cap back onto her canteen, and then turned to face Ehrye. “…Are we really sure this was the Great Beings?” “You heard what Nuhrii said: why else would a lab with advanced tech and Matoran lettering be under Spherus Magna?” “Nuhrii also pointed out they were extremely rigid. Why would they want to break a restriction they implemented?” Ehrye didn’t have an answer. Vhisola shrugged and returned her canteen to her pack. The next thing she knew, something collided with her back, and she was sent flying into a tree. Ehrye leapt to his feet and fumbled for the Kanoka launcher he was carrying. The Tarakava waited in the river, eying him warily as its powerful arms twitched in anticipation. Vhisola hit the ground. Shaking her head, she finally noticed the tracks in the mud beneath them, and wished she’d been paying more attention. If I’d seen these earlier, we could have just gone around. Darn Ehrye and his chattering… She stood to find Ehrye shakily pointing the launcher at the Rahi. Drawing a disk, she asked, “What have you got loaded there?” “A Weaken disk, high-level.” “I’m guessing Ko-Type?” “Definitely. And you?” “No, mine’s made of bamboo.” Ehrye looked at her in disbelief—meanwhile she couldn’t believe he was taking his eyes off their assailant. “B…bamboo? We left Mata-Nui a long time ago, Vhisola!” “When you spend a thousand years getting really good with one kind of disk, it doesn’t make sense to suddenly switch to a different one! Now pay attention so you don’t get killed!” Ehrye quickly turned back. “Knowing Tarakava, it’ll probably charge us soon. I’ll feint left and throw right, but it’ll probably still dodge, and that’s when you need to fire. Got it?” “Uh…sure.” Vhisola watched the Tarakava quietly. It watched her back. Just as she was thinking the delay was growing unusually long, she heard something behind her, and allowed herself one quick glance. “Ehrye, get down!” The Ko-Matoran ducked, and Vhisola spun and hurled her disk at the Kavinika that was pouncing at them. The wolf-like Rahi was knocked from the air, stunned; Vhisola caught her disk as it came back and ducked immediately, realizing she had stumbled back into the Tarakava’s range. “Just shoot it now!” she shouted as a fist went over her head. Ehrye took aim, but stopped and turned to his side. Another Kavinika was charging up the riverbank at him. Panicking, he spun and shot that instead, and the Tarakava saw the opening and threw another punch. Vhisola dove and just barely knocked them both clear, and then dragged Ehrye to his feet and pushed him forward. “Fine, we’ll run!” They headed for the trees, skidding to a halt when they saw two more Kavinika lying in wait. The one Vhisola had stunned was starting to get back up. She looked for a path and heard Ehrye fire his launcher—the Tarakava had knocked loose a large chunk of rock, and the Ko-Matoran successfully intercepted the projectile. Unfortunately, the Kavinika took this opportunity to strike. Vhisola knocked one out easily, then broke into a sprint to avoid a second. Ehrye, meanwhile, had to wave his launcher to fend off the third, screaming as he tried to get another disk. Thinking fast, Vhisola vaulted over a massive root and then swung underneath it, the Kavinika running a few meters past her before realizing she had turned around. In a second, the wolf was down. Knocking Ehrye’s attacker off of him, she said, “There might be more—we need to hurry!” Ehrye hastily loaded his launcher and ran with her. “If we go towards the river, the Tarakava gets us, and if we go away we have to deal with Kavinika! Since when do different species of Rahi work together like that?” “Now isn’t the time to wonder—duck!” Another chunk of rock flew overhead. Shoving Ehrye until his launcher lined up with the Tarakava, she commanded him to fire, and then turned and took stock of how many Kavinika were after them now. As the reptile started to collapse, she dragged Ehrye and threw at the wolves, knocking a few back but not stopping them for long. “We just need…there!” She pointed at a tree that leaned towards the river. They ran under it and Ehrye shot its trunk, and soon it toppled over and blocked the path. It took a minute, but the Kavinika were able to get over it. When they did, however, the Matoran were nowhere to be seen. The pack looked around for a moment, sniffing the mud, but ultimately gave up and retreated back towards where the Tarakava was lying. Some ways upriver, Vhisola and Ehrye resurfaced, tossing away their empty air bladders as they climbed onto dry land. Ehrye nearly dropped his Kanoka launcher as he put it away, and then sat down and sighed heavily. “Yikes,” the Ko-Matoran said. “I guess that’s why we need protection, huh?” Vhisola didn’t answer. Examining her pack, she verified that her waterproofing had worked and that the supplies remained dry. “That was pretty incredible. Bamboo disks were great for knocking off infected masks, but I don’t think I’ve seen them do much actual damage before.” Shouldering her pack, Vhisola said, “Like I said: I spent a thousand years getting really good. Now come on.” They tread more carefully as they continued their journey. It was evening when they reached their destination: a modest collection of huts nestled at the base of a small waterfall, about halfway between New Atero and the Northern Frost. The local Matoran and Agori barely took note of their arrival; Vhisola thought this would make it easy to quietly locate their contact and perhaps observe him a bit to get a better idea of if they could trust him, but that was ruined quite quickly when Ehrye started chatting up the first person who came close enough. “Hey!” he called. “This is Naho Village, right?” The Jungle Agori paused mid-step and turned to face them. “Huh? Oh, um, yeah.” “Great! Glad we didn’t take a wrong turn. Hey, we were told to meet someone here, but we weren’t really told anything specific—just ‘you’ll know him when you see him’. No clue what that’s supposed to mean. Have you seen anyone around here who might stand out, I guess?” Vhisola exhaled slowly as the Agori thought. “Oh. Well, the only one who stands out would be that guy, though I’m not sure why you’d need to meet with him.” “You know someone? Where can we find him?” “I think he’s been hanging out across the river. You can’t miss him.” “That’s great! Oh, what’s his name, though?” “I, uh…I don’t think he has a name.” Vhisola gave the Agori a curious look. Ehrye brushed off the remark, saying, “Okay, well thanks! Let’s go, Vhisola!” Reluctantly, she followed him, and they made their way back out of town and carefully waded through the river. There were only a few sparse trees on the other side, so it wasn’t long before they spotted a campsite, although at first it appeared to be deserted. “Guess we’ll wait here for him,” Ehrye said as he sat down near the remains of a fire. Vhisola surveyed the area. There wasn’t really much else to see, just the fire pit, a hammock, and a few weapons. A spear was planted in the ground, a medium-sized axe was set against a nearby tree, and hanging from the branch above that was a length of chain with a weight on either end. She turned back to Ehrye, who either didn’t notice these or wasn’t concerned. Before she could say anything, she heard footsteps. A warrior wearing black and dark blue armor entered the camp site and stopped to stare at the two Matoran. He carried a dead gravel hawk over one shoulder, and in his other hand he held something that looked like an elongated Thornax launcher, outfitted with a scope and trailing a vine from which five more Thornax hung. Vhisola wasn’t sure how she could tell—he didn’t have blades on his shoulders, and his helmet lacked a point—but she was positive that she was looking at a Skrall. Ehrye jumped to his feet stammering. The Skrall sneered at them, and asked, “Are you the ones Nuhrii sent?” Vhisola’s muscles tensed until she could almost feel them snap. “Nuhrii hired a Skrall to go with us?” “That’s right,” the Skrall said, gently lobbing the hawk carcass next to the fire pit. “I’m supposed to protect you while we go north and break into the Great Beings’ lab. Are we leaving now, or at dawn?” Turning to Vhisola, Ehrye whispered, “U-Um, Vhisola, is this…unusual? It feels a little unusual.” “I have to admit,” Vhisola said, carefully watching their ‘escort’, “a Skrall was the last thing I expected to find.” The Skrall set his weapon down next to the others and then approached the fire pit, sitting with his back to the Matoran. “I’m sure.” Ehrye shuffled a few steps to the side. “W-Well, uh, nice to meet you! I’m Ehrye, and this is Vhisola. And you…well, I guess, do you have a name?” The Skrall shook his head as he set about making a fire. Vhisola said, “Forgive me for being blunt, but how do we know we can trust you? All I know about Skrall is that they terrorized Bara Magna before the Reformation, and then a few pockets kept cropping up during Makuta’s invasion, Dark Hunter raids, Velika’s War…” A crackling sound signaled the start of a small flame. Gently prodding the kindling, the Skrall said, “I served under Tuma, but I’ve been keeping my head low since the Reformation, for what it’s worth.” “Still can’t help but wonder if you might try to kill us in our sleep.” “Vhisola,” Ehrye said, “we have no reason to think that, really…” The Skrall smirked. “Matoran, Skrall don’t try to kill anything. If we want something dead, it dies. And if I wanted you dead, you already would be.” “I don’t know if I’d say that.” He looked over his shoulder at her. Her face was stone-cold. “This mission is very important to me. I won’t allow any interference.” A long moment passed, and then the Skrall threw back his head and laughed. “Well! That’s the first time a Matoran’s threatened me! I like you—at least, I’m glad Nuhrii sent someone with a spine.” The fire was growing now, so the Skrall went to grab the axe and spear. Upon returning, he used the former to cut open the gravel hawk, and Ehrye turned away and covered his mouth. “I need to know how important this mission is to you,” Vhisola said, unfazed. “What were you offered, and more importantly, do you already have it?” Poking at his dinner, the Skrall said, “I get paid upon successful delivery, don’t you worry.” “What is the payment?” He continued to cut the hawk. “It’s a dangerous task, and you have to put up with Matoran from start to finish—not something I hear Skrall enjoy. What’s worth all of that?” The Skrall speared a strip of meat and held it over the fire. After a delay, he quietly said, “Papers.” The word hung in the air over the camp site. Ehrye leaned towards Vhisola, muttering, “Why does he want paper so badly? Aren’t there easier ways to get it?” Vhisola closed her eyes and pressed her palm against her mask with such force she nearly dislodged it. “I believe he’s saying he wants to be recognized as a citizen of New Atero.” “Oh!” Ehrye thought for a moment, and then asked, “Wait, really?” “Is that so hard to believe?” the Skrall asked. “Er, that’s not really how I meant it, it’s just…well, I’ve never heard of any Skrall wanting to join larger society. Aren’t you all pretty content wandering around like you do?” The Skrall pulled back the meat and pinched it, testing to see how it was cooking. “…Just thought a change of pace could be nice.” Ehrye nodded slowly. “…Well, okay then. I guess Nuhrii said he’d help you through the process when we get back to New Atero? Sounds like a good deal to me.” Vhisola watched the Skrall as he returned to the fire. She could tell right away there was more to his goal, but also knew it wasn’t likely she would get it out of him—not now, at least. But, that means that he does have reasons. So if nothing else, successfully completing this mission is something he very much wants…meaning he probably won’t be a threat. “Alright, Skrall,” Vhisola said at last. “I’ll accept your help…for now. And to answer your question, we’ll leave at dawn.” The Skrall took a bite of the hawk meat. “Works for me.” “Great!” Ehrye said. He sat down once again. “Vhisola figures it’ll take us about another day to get to the lab, so we might as well rest now.” “We’ll be lucky if we make it tomorrow,” the Skrall said. “There’s all sorts of creatures between here and there, and odds are one of them is going to slow us down.” “Ah, so we should go around to avoid them?” Chewing another bite, the Skrall shook his head and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, reminding Ehrye of the weapons sitting in that direction. After swallowing, he asked, “Why do you think Nuhrii hired me in the first place?” Vhisola finally sat down as well, thinking, That’s a very good question. (Review)

Gali quickly realized why tickets for Spider-Man 4D were so cheap

Elittra, I need to see "Elittra died" in at least one topic this week And, uh...RG?

You’ve played Pokémon Sun and Moon, you know who Lillie is, she doesn’t need much introduction. It surely comes as little to no surprise that I love Lillie, and while it is due to the main reasons anyone loves her (she’s Totally Adorable and a Well-Developed Character), I’ve recently come to feel that she’s actually rather fascinating when you look at her as a writing technique. So: player characters in Pokémon. They aren’t characters, really. They’re consistently left totally and completely blank so that whoever’s playing the game can project themselves onto this avatar with as little friction as possible, taken to unnecessarily hilarious ends with Red’s silent reappearances in later games. Naturally, this approach has its fair share of pros and cons. On one hand, this aids immersion tremendously—you’re free to name this character whatever you want, command them to do whatever you want, interpret their behavior and thought processes however you want, and more recently even dress them however you want. Players turn that character into themselves, and are able to see themselves in the Pokémon world, albeit from a top-down perspective. It’s the ultimate extreme of role-playing, giving you a place in this world but then allowing you complete freedom to adjust to it however you like. But on the other hand, this might have some connection to the fact that Pokémon has never really been known for its story. It’s difficult to write a plot centered around an empty shell. The player does things to continue the story, but they’re very much watching it unfold before them, and only stepping in when given the opportunity as opposed to doing much to actively push it forward. Again, Pokémon’s pretty much always done it this way, and it seems to be working for them, so it may not be something you see a lot of people clambering for. But since there’s a boatload of Pokémon media that does feature main characters who are actually characters, I don’t know that we can say people are totally averse to the thought. It seems to me that Lillie is GameFreak’s attempt to have it both ways. The player character of Sun and Moon remains a void who can be anyone the person holding the 3DS wants them to be, but they have a very close friend who has her own desires and faults, is heavily-entwined in the overarching plot, and develops greatly as a character. Granted, she doesn’t do very much herself in terms of actively driving the plot forward—she spends a lot of time reacting, and not as much time decision-making—but her character is written in a way that that’s actually part of her development. Which is…kind of ingenious, really. Is she meant to be a metaphor for the Pokémon main series games learning to be more active in their storytelling, as opposed to just being an observer? Well, maybe at that point I’m reading a bit too much into it. For the sake of argument, let’s accept my premise as true: Lillie is an attempt to have a “main character” the plot centers on while still having a totally blank “player character” for absolute immersion. Then the only question becomes: Does it work? I’d say yes. People love Lillie. If you looked at a discussion of Sun and Moon prior to their release, you’d see people saying “This Lillie girl is off, we all agree she’s a Nihilego in disguise right?” Check them after its release, and you’ll see dozens of fans shouting about how wonderful she is. Like, I’m sure there are some people who don’t like her, no character can be universally-loved, but…I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone bashing her, and Sun and Moon have been out for close to a year now. When you have to go out of your way to find people who hate a character but get bombarded by people who like them without trying, it’s safe to say they’re pretty darn popular. Has the series had a breakout character like this before? Maybe with N? Certain Hoenn characters certainly had a resurgence when ORAS came out, but even then it seemed to typically be antagonists, plus Steven who just sort of pops in and out on occasion. Even when N does become an ally in B2W2, he’s only in, what…one scene that’s actually plot-relevant? What I’m getting at is that there’s a novelty to Lillie’s role in Sun and Moon’s story. How big a factor that novelty is in her appeal is something we can only know if this becomes more regular. I do hope to see this technique or something similar employed in future Pokémon games, because while I do like feeling like I’m my own trainer, I enjoy stories as well, and Lillie’s story is one I really enjoyed. I’ve gone on record as saying there are aspects of Alola and its cast I wish we’d seen more of, and perhaps the focus on Lillie has a hand in that, but still: she’s very unique in this franchise, and very interesting. Hopefully, she’s a good sign of what’s to come.

-Great humor -Solid animation -Relatable Gali -Puns 9/10, only complaint is that I mistook Amaya for a Vhisola cameo and became sad when I realized I was wrong

I love Bohrok (hence the username), so I mean I do kinda like the Kal. I definitely understand the complaints, though--extending the story we just got an entire year of was fairly meaningless filler, rereleasing sets only a year later with minimal differences is odd, and this and the Nuva was where the whole "the stronger you are the more generic silver/bland gray you have" thing started...still, I feel like the Kal sets have some personality to them, and I'd love to pick up the rest I need someday.

Is that first diagram the stage select of Shadow the Hedgehog

Spot XV please

It is with great pleasure that I announce a new epic, Out of Bounds! This story takes place roughly 200 years after the Reformation of Spherus Magna. When Turaga Nokama becomes frustrated with the limitations of Noble Kanohi, Vhisola goes looking for a way to work around the strict mechanics of the masks of power. Her best bet comes in a job offer from Nuhrii, and so she and Ehrye set out for the Northern Frost, where rumor has it they’ll find a lab with lost technology that just might be what she needs. (This story is technically connected to one I wrote a few years ago, A Mind in Darkness, but there aren’t any explicit references to it—I made sure to write this story so that you could read one without needing to read them both. It’s more a spiritual successor than a straightforward sequel. Though, hey, if you enjoy Bounds, you might like Mind as well!) I rather like how this one turned out. As I went I felt like I was finding more ways to make the story thematically cohesive, which is one of the many things I struggle with, so that’s promising. I’ve tried a few times to write a new Vhisola story but it never quite materialized until now. Of course, it started out involving all the Great Disk Matoran going on a heist of some kind, but I didn’t want to balance so many characters and ended up narrowing the scope. Tehutti almost made the cut, so I’m hoping to find something for him to do soon. I’ll keep you posted. Speaking of posting, expect new chapters on Tuesday and Thursday, next week and the week after. There are five parts in total with a final word count of about 20k, so it won’t take too long to get through it all, but I wanted to space it out at least a little for dramatic effect. I hope you enjoy!

You know the drill, review topic for my new epic Out of Bounds.

Part I “Help! Somebody help me!” “Please, save my children!” “Get us out of here!” Vhisola tried not to focus too much on any one of the numerous shouts she heard, instead thinking only of the person she was currently dragging to safety. She moved as quickly as she could without bumping into the other Matoran and Agori rushing around her, and once she was far enough away, she gently set the injured down and ran back the way she had come. As she ducked underneath the massive, crumbling building that hung in the air over the last few too injured to run, she spared a single glance at Nokama. The Turaga stood with those who had already been rescued, her Noble Matatu on her face and both hands outstretched. Vhisola could see the strain she was under: her teeth were gritted, her eyes were just barely open, and her entire body shuddered with such force it was a wonder her armor hadn’t rattled apart. Turning back to the task at hand, Vhisola hurriedly pulled another person to safety. “That’s it!” shouted an Agori. “They’re all clear!” Hearing this, Nokama finally released her hold and let the building slam into the ground. The Turaga immediately followed suite. “Turaga Nokama!” Vhisola shouted, bolting to her side. She carefully rolled Nokama onto her back and began to check her vitals. “Turaga, can you hear me? Turaga?!” Nokama gasped for air, wheezing loudly. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t form any words, and her eyes rolled about, unable to focus on anything. “Turaga, please hang on!” Turning, Vhisola surveyed the group to see if she could find a paramedic she could pull aside. “Someone, please help!” “N-No,” Nokama breathed. Vhisola looked back to her instantly. “No…I’m…fine…” “With respect Turaga, you don’t sound fine!” “Just…let them…help…the wounded…” “You’re wounded!” “I’m just…tired…please…I just need…rest…” Before Vhisola could argue further, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Macku, who calmly said, “Vhisola.” Vhisola realized she was shaking. “…She…” “There isn’t anything they can do to ease mental strain. Let’s just get her someplace quiet so she can recover, okay?” Realizing she was right, Vhisola nodded and took a deep breath. Slowly and very gently, she and Macku helped Nokama into a sitting position, then onto her feet, and then they carried her up the current of villagers rushing down the street. They returned the Turaga to her hut, and within minutes Turaga Onewa appeared—apparently someone else at the scene had told him of Nokama’s condition, and he wanted to do what he could to help her. The two Matoran waited on the step outside as he tended to Nokama, Vhisola hunched over and Macku resting a hand on her back. It felt like years before the door finally opened. They both looked up to see Turaga Onewa emerging with a serious, rather uncomforting look on his face. Vhisola leapt to her feet immediately, asking, “How is she?” Onewa made an effort to smile. “That Nokama’s really something else. A Noble Matatu isn’t designed to hold something that heavy, let alone for so long, but she found a way.” The Turaga looked Vhisola in the eye. “She will be okay. I’m sure of it. But she overexerted herself something terrible, so I don’t think she’ll be able to do much of anything for a while.” Vhisola’s gaze fell. Bowing, Macku said, “Thank you for everything, Turaga.” “No need to thank me. Make sure she gets her rest—I’ll let the others know, and I’m sure we’ll all be by to keep her company when we can. Until then, I leave her in your capable hands.” As the Turaga departed, the two Matoran entered the hut to see Nokama lying in the bed across the room. She turned her head, and though it was barely audible, she mumbled, “Please, come closer.” They crossed the room, Vhisola doing so in about two steps, and sat down next to the Turaga’s bed. She tried to push herself up, but the Matoran stopped her. “I want to thank you both for helping me,” Nokama said. Her voice was weak, each word spoken very slowly and deliberately. It was a voice neither had ever heard her use. “The people hurt in the earthquake…are they…?” “They all got the medical attention they needed,” Vhisola said. “None of them were seriously wounded,” Macku went on. “A few are going to need a stay in the hospital, but they should be fine again in no time.” “Good,” Nokama said. She closed her eyes, and the Matoran waited patiently until she opened them again. “I don’t think I’ll be able to fulfill my duties for some time. Macku…if you wouldn’t mind, I think you would be the best choice to fill in for me.” Macku took the Turaga’s hand. “I’d be honored. I can’t guarantee I’ll be especially good at it, but I promise to try my best.” “You’ll do fine,” Nokama said, chuckling softly. “Please go to city hall and let them know. Onewa will surely beat you there, so hopefully you won’t have to explain much.” Macku nodded and took her leave. Vhisola remained at Nokama’s side, unsure if she should say something or just let her rest. At first, Nokama just stared at the ceiling, her darkened eyes not looking particularly focused but far clearer than Vhisola had seen them earlier. That helped Vhisola to accept that she really was getting better. What happened next wasn’t something she expected. Nokama put both hands over her mask, and then she started to sob. Vhisola’s eyes widened at the sight. “Oh, Vhisola,” Nokama moaned. “It’s so frustrating. I thought I could handle this…but look at me. I’ve become so weak…I really thought…I was stronger than this…but now, I can’t even…I can’t…” Vhisola grabbed Nokama’s arm, trying and failing to stay calm. “No, Turaga, no! You’re very strong! Turaga Onewa was just saying how impressed he was at what you did—and those people! If it weren’t for you, they could’ve died! You saved them! You’re not…” She also became too upset to speak. Nokama moved one hand, reaching out so that Vhisola would take it. It took her a few minutes to compose herself, but when she did, she turned and looked up at Vhisola, who could only gaze at her helplessly. “I’m sorry,” Nokama said. “Don’t apologize!” Vhisola said, leaning forward. “Please, you have nothing to be sorry about!” “I just can’t help but think…if I were a little stronger, I could have moved that building more easily. I could have tended to everyone myself, and they wouldn’t have had to keep worrying, wondering how long it would be until I gave out. If only I was stronger…” She shook her head. “It seems I overestimated my own limitations. And it’s just such a terrible, terrible feeling. Especially when I think about how I’ll be stuck here, unable to be of any good to anyone for so long…I don’t know how I’ll be able to stand it.” Vhisola gave a small tug on Nokama’s hand, saying, “I’m here for you! If there’s anything at all I can do for you, I’ll do it! Turaga, I…” She trailed off, hanging her head as she searched for the words. Nokama stared at her for a moment, and then smiled; she pulled her hand out of Vhisola’s grasp and reached out, setting it on the side of Vhisola’s mask. “Thank you, Vhisola. It makes me glad to know that even now, I can still count on you.” Vhisola was stunned for a moment, but soon she smiled back. “You can always count on me, Turaga. No matter what.” *** “Vhisola!” She turned to see Macku charging at her. Halting where she was, she waited for her friend to catch up and greeted, “Sorry I haven’t been to visit you this past week. How’ve you been?” Macku shrugged. “A bit busy, but I won’t complain too much. How’s the Turaga?” “She’s…resting easy, at least.” “That’s good to hear! So, out on an errand? Which way are you headed?” Vhisola gestured, and the two of them headed in that direction. “I always knew Turaga Nokama worked hard, but I never realized just how much she was responsible for,” Macku said. Vhisola smiled. “Having second thoughts?” “No, of course not. I was just hoping to get some time off next week, but…” Vhisola’s pace slowed. “Oh, that’s right…Kongu’s memorial.” Macku nodded, kicking a pebble in her path. “I mean, I never really got to know him that well. But I’d like to be there for Hewkii, and Hahli too. It seems like loss just keeps piling up on them: first Matoro, then Jaller and Nuparu during Velika’s War, and now this accident…” “I’m sure the other Turaga want to make time for that as well,” Vhisola said. “You’ll be able to go.” “You’re probably right. Will I see you there?” “Maybe. Turaga Nokama wants to go, so if she’s feeling up to it I’ll definitely be there to help her. It’s kind of hard to say right now.” “Ah. Well, I should get going. Tell the Turaga I hope she feels better soon!” She waved and ran off. Vhisola stopped for a moment to gather her bearings, and then walked a few more blocks and entered a shop. The shelves were lined with Kanohi, many designs she recognized and many more she didn’t, and from a counter across the room, a Ta-Matoran wearing a Ruru in a Noble shape watched over it all. He seemed to snap awake as Vhisola entered. “Oh, if it isn’t Vhisola!” the shopkeeper said. “I wasn’t expecting to see you out and about, having heard of what state Nokama’s in.” “Good morning, Nuhrii,” Vhisola replied, glancing over a shelf without another word. Walking over to her, Nuhrii asked, “How is the Turaga doing?” “She’s healing.” “Wonderful. So, what brings you in today? Anything specific you’re looking for?” Vhisola stared off for a moment, before slowly turning to face Nuhrii. In a low voice, she asked, “Are these the strongest Noble Kanohi you have?” Nuhrii raised an eyebrow. “…I’m sorry?” “I’m looking for extraordinarily powerful Noble Kanohi. Ideally, something akin to a Great Mask that can still be activated by a Turaga. Do you have anything like that?” Taking a minute to absorb this, Nuhrii muttered, “Great power…accessible from a Noble level…ah, for Nokama? Of course.” Vhisola thought she saw him smile for a moment. “Unfortunately, such a thing is impossible. I have tried, but even the highest quality Level 7 Kanoka can’t increase a Noble Kanohi’s power beyond a certain threshold. And of course, anything Level 8 results in a mask that no Turaga can activate. Our creators were very rigid beings through and through.” Vhisola looked away, cursing under her breath. Nuhrii watched her for a moment, putting a hand to his chin, and hummed. “…Actually…” the mask maker said. “If you’re really set on this, there could be a possibility.” Vhisola glanced over her shoulder at him. “Are you just telling me what I want to hear?” “Not at all. Like I said, it’s just a possibility…and verifying it would be a rather dangerous process. What I’m thinking of is definitely not something for the faint of heart.” Vhisola turned and narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn’t sure what the Matoran was getting at, but he sounded like he was making a sale. “However…if I am right, it’s probably the only way to achieve the result you’re looking for.” Deciding it was worth asking, she said, “Alright, fine. Elaborate on this mysterious possibility.” Nuhrii smiled, looking pleased with himself. “Actually, someone else is also interested, so it would be easier to explain to both of you at the same time. I’m meeting up with him tonight—why don’t you join us?” Vhisola ground her teeth. “…Very well.” *** As she made her way past one table after another, Vhisola kept her eyes peeled for any sign of Nuhrii. The restaurant was near the outskirts of New Atero, so there were all kinds of beings hanging around, including a good number who had a suspicious look to them. Vhisola was positive the four-armed warrior in the corner, conspicuously surrounded by bodyguards, was a Dark Hunter who thought he was being subtle. The general shadiness of the establishment did not inspire much confidence in Nuhrii’s information. But if he is right, then this could really help Turaga Nokama, she reminded herself. All I have to do is hear him out. A waving hand caught her eye. Sure enough, Nuhrii sat at a table with another Matoran, a Ko-Matoran with a Noble Mahiki who she also recognized. Making her way over, she sat down, looked them both over, and said, “It’s been a while, Ehrye.” “Yeah, it has,” Ehrye said. “Sorry to hear about Nokama. Does that have to do with why you’re here?” Before Vhisola could answer, Nuhrii said, “Yes, Vhisola came in looking for a Noble Mask with power more like that of a Great. That’s related to the discovery I told you about.” Ehrye nodded. “I see. You’re right, that would be huge! Okay, I’m definitely on-board.” “Hold on, you haven’t even heard the details yet.” “Yes, please explain,” Vhisola said. “Have you really found something that can make that sort of mask or not?” Nuhrii tapped his fingers to stall for time. “…It’s more accurate to say I’ve heard of something like that.” Vhisola sat back and crossed her arms. “Just hold on. Recently, I spoke with some Agori who were travelling up near the Northern Frost. While they were there, they stumbled across a sealed tunnel entrance, and after forcing it open they found that the interior had been coated in metal, with signs on the walls and a few pieces of old tablets all written in Matoran. They went further in, but they tripped off some sort of security system. About half a dozen of them died.” Vhisola looked to Ehrye, who seemed a little less eager now. “After skimming the bits of tablet they found, they were able to work out that it was some kind of laboratory. My guess is that it’s another hidden lab of the Great Beings.” “Based on what?” Vhisola asked. “The level of technology described in the notes, not to mention the presence of Matoran lettering in a facility sealed under Spherus Magna. But, that isn’t really the point.” “Okay. What’s the point?” Nuhrii produced a flat chunk of rock. “They were gracious enough to let me keep one of the tablets they found. It’s only a piece, mind you, and some of it’s too worn to read…but take a look.” He slid the tablet over to Vhisola. With a sigh, she picked it up and looked. -RIMENT 3X4S- PSYCHIC AMPLIFIER HARNES- -IGNED TO INCREASE AN INDIVIUAL’S MENTAL FOCUS, WITH THE GOAL OF ENABLING MATORAN AND OTHER BEINGS TO USE KANOHI POW- Vhisola handed the tablet to Ehrye. “Something that would let Matoran use Kanohi?” She thought about it a bit more, and then it dawned on her. “Something that would enable someone who normally couldn’t use Kanohi at all to use Kanohi…that sort of increase in ability might also allow someone who normally can only use Noble Kanohi to use Great Kanohi…” “Precisely,” Nuhrii said. “Incredible,” Ehrye said, grinning. “This is really incredible!” “That…could actually work,” Vhisola said. “Imagine,” Nuhrii said. “If I could unlock this device’s power and make Kanohi with it, I’d have business from all across the planet! I’d forever be remembered as the world’s greatest mask maker—as someone who was able to break the limitations the Great Beings imposed on us!” “And you’re offering us a chance to be a part of that, right?” Ehrye asked. “Of course!” Nuhrii said, putting the tablet away. “Of course, you’ll both be rewarded if you accept. As for the job itself, if it isn’t obvious: I’m looking for people willing to go retrieve this device for me. You two seemed the most interested, so I wanted to ask you first. However, remember that the lab is very secure, so just going there at all would be risky. If you want to decline, I understand.” “Retrieve it for you?” Vhisola repeated. “You won’t be coming?” Nuhrii smiled and averted his gaze. “Well…I’m not really the adventuring type.” “You’ll be taking credit for inventing this technology, I’d guess?” Ehrye said. “Say that I helped you develop it. That should get me some notoriety.” Nuhrii nodded, saying, “That’s fine with me.” Turning to Vhisola, he went on, “You wanted extraordinarily powerful masks, right? I’d be happy to make one for free for you.” Vhisola scoffed. “Only one?” The Ta-Matoran smirked. “Before we haggle, I need to know if you’re actually willing to accept.” It wasn’t the danger that made Vhisola worry. If this technology would be helpful to Nokama—and it certainly sounded like it would—then she was prepared to tear through anything that tried to get in her way. But to get from New Atero to the Northern Frost, the journey would take two days at least. Even assuming they made great time, fulfilled their objective quickly, and had an uneventful trip back, Vhisola could still expect to be gone for nearly a week. Given the state Nokama was currently in, she was hesitant to leave her side at all, let alone for so long. “It does sound promising,” she said, “but I’d have be away from Nokama…” “Are you the only one watching over her?” Ehrye asked. “Hm? Well, no…” “Then can’t you just get someone else to take over your shifts? She probably wouldn’t even notice.” Vhisola opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped. A hollow, gnawing feeling sprouted within her, and she started to shrink inward. …Right. Just because Turaga Nokama is special to me, that doesn’t mean that I’m special to her. Trying to recover, she quietly cleared her throat. “Make Turaga Nokama all the masks she wants. Do that, and I’ll go to the lab.” Nuhrii recoiled. “All the…? Are you joking?” “A dangerous job to recover something that could change your life—and the entire planet? That’s worth a big price tag.” “…Perhaps,” Nuhrii grumbled, “but I am still trying to run a business.” “You’ll have no shortage of business once you do this,” Ehrye said. “Giving freebies to one customer out of thousands shouldn’t be too bad.” The mask maker was still hesitant. Squirming in his seat, he said, “I will…replace all the Noble Masks she currently has for free. And then give her a 30% discount for life. Surely that should suffice, yes?” Vhisola glanced aside for a few seconds. “Any six masks she wants for free, and then the discount after that.” Nuhrii scowled. Giving him a curious look, Ehrye asked, “What’s the difference?” “What, are you on her side?” Nuhrii said. “Some masks require disks that are very difficult to obtain, and very difficult to work with. The Noble Masks Nokama currently has are ones that are very simple to make and could be replaced in a day.” Ehrye nodded, looking up thoughtfully. “I mean, once word gets around, it should be a lot easier for you to get whatever disks you need, shouldn’t it? You’ll have money to burn, and disk makers will probably be begging you to use their disks. So long as you’re up to the challenge…” Nuhrii rapped his knuckles against the table. “…Alright, any six. But the discount will only be 20%.” Vhisola stared at him, unflinching. “Come now, how many masks do you think she’ll want? 20% is very generous.” Without a word, Vhisola got out of her chair and began to walk away. “Wait!” Nuhrii yelled, shooting to his feet. Vhisola stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “…Fine. Any six, and 30%. Do we have a deal?” Vhisola appeared to give it thorough consideration for a moment, and then turned and sat back down with a single, sagely nod. “Very well, Nuhrii. I accept your conditions.” Nuhrii sighed and shook his head. Ehrye chuckled. “Both of you be at my shop at dawn tomorrow,” Nuhrii said. “Have your bags packed and be ready to depart—I will first send you to meet with a contact of mine, who will guide you to where the lab is located.” For Vhisola, that was a red flag. Even Ehrye seemed to notice, asking, “Wait, contact? I thought you said you asked us first?” “It’s a bit complicated—you’ll understand when you meet him,” Nuhrii explained. “The short version is that, while you two are the brains of this mission, you’re also going to need some muscle to accomplish it. Spherus Magna is still a very dangerous place, so I’ve arranged protection for you. I thought doing that first would help make the offer more appealing.” “Oh,” Ehrye said, all his misgivings seemingly soothed, “well when you put it like that…” “How thoughtful,” Vhisola muttered. Unlike her companion, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was odd. However, this was all for Nokama’s sake, so odd or not she would do everything she could to make the trip successful. I’ll ask Nixie to cover for me, and I’ll write a note telling the Turaga that something’s come up. If she asks, I guess. That same pain was back. …It doesn’t matter whether I’m special to her or not. She’s special to me, so I’m going to do this for her. I don’t want her to have to feel weak ever again. (Review)

"I'm confiscating your masks. You can have them back after class."

I'm in, but only if a player gets burned to death so we can make a joke about them being a hot topic.

Straight up tells you that she isn't responsible for poisonings. You say that likes it makes a difference

i have witnessed dancing bohrok i do not wish to witness them again. *dances aggressively*

Vox I have never been more thrilled to work for anyone in my life.

Mamaaaa, ninja'd a man Got in before his post, ruined his joke now he's toast

So you think you can poison our water supply? So you think you can love us and leave us to die? NOOOO, baby! Can't do this to us baby! Just gotta get out! Just gotta get right out of here!