Pahrak Model ZX

Raanu: "Look at all those chickens!"

Vastus: "u wot m8"

Tarix: "rude"

Gresh: "So...are we allowed to make a joke about a fire-themed image running during a particular date, or...?"

Chapter 25

Walking down the halls of AMAKEN was nostalgic for Sonia.  She just wished it could’ve been under better circumstances.

It had taken a long time to get in touch with WAZA, which she then found out was due to a Dealer spy crippling their network—even once that was dealt with, everyone had been so busy evacuating the damaged headquarters that it had taken even longer for someone to arrive on-scene to retrieve Ace and Acid.  She and Geo were given some instructions on how to stabilize them both, and luckily it had worked well enough.  Ace had been taken to a hospital nearby, meanwhile the majority of WAZA’s personnel regrouped here at AMAKEN, save a select team who stayed behind to guard equipment and data that hadn’t been safely moved yet, and Acid had been brought in to be repaired by Goodall and Vega.

Sonia entered a lab to find the both of them, as well as Boreal and Dubius, gathered around a computer screen.  After a small pause, she came over to join them.

“How’s Acid?” she asked.

“He’ll be alright,” Goodall said.  “There wasn’t really all that much damage done to him.  I’ve got him straightened out—he just needs a bit more time to rest.”

Sonia nodded.  Turning to Dubius, she said, “Thanks for letting us come here, Mr. Dubius.  I really appreciate it.”

Nodding, he said, “No problem at all.  I’m more than happy to help out.”

Then facing Boreal, Sonia asked, “…Any word on Ace?”

“He’s stable,” Boreal said.  “They say he should wake up soon, and then it’s just a matter of getting him to rest until he’s fully healed.  That’s probably what’s going to be the hard part.”

Sonia hummed to herself.

“Sonia, can you go over what happened again?  Just in case we missed something.”

“Uh, sure.  When the Noise Wave opened, it spat out a bunch of those Noise Beasts, so we had to focus on fighting those first.  We tried to get into the Wave when we had a chance, but then…Joker showed up…”  She clenched and unclenched her fist.  “We tried…well, really, he was trying to talk to Acid.  He was saying that Dealer would give them the freedom they wanted, and that he wouldn’t have to…be denied his purpose, or something like that?  I wasn’t really sure what he was talking about.  Ace charged at him, but his attack did nothing.  Joker just grabbed him and started pumping Noise into him.  Then he left, and…Ace just went berserk.  He didn’t say anything—I don’t think he could even understand us.  He just kept attacking, until the limiter activated and broke his Wave Change.”

Vega put a hand to her chin.  “And you said his armor turned black?  It sounds as though Joker was trying to force him to Finalize…”

“Yeah, I think he did say that.”

“Goodness…I didn’t think our restrictions would cause that to happen…”

“He shouldn’t have been able to hack the Ace Program to begin with,” Goodall said.  “King must’ve made some nasty adjustments to the Joker Program.”

“Sonia, you’ll need to be extra careful,” Boreal said.  “Both you and Geo: the second generation Noise Control Programs should have better security, but Joker might still try to hack them and overwhelm you with Noise.”

Sonia shuddered.  “So…we could go berserk too?”

Boreal glanced to Vega.  She answered, “…Only if you aren’t able to retain control over the Finalization process.  Acid has been modified explicitly to make that impossible, which is most likely why he became temporarily corrupted by the Noise.”

“Okay, but…what is Finalization?”

“It’s a type of Noise Change,” Goodall said.  “A very powerful, very dangerous one that calls upon files from deep inside the Meteor Server to supercharge its user.  Acid used to be able to do it, but after…after Joker left…”

She trailed off.  Boreal picked up, “When Joker left, concerns arose over the possibility of Acid doing the same thing.  So I ordered Acid’s abilities to be limited.  That way, if he did betray us—“

“He wouldn’t betray us,” Vega interrupted.  “He’s not capable of being lured away with false promises, not without emotions.  It was unnecessary, and it was those very modifications that led to this fiasco.”

Boreal narrowed his eyes a bit.  “Might I remind you, doctor, Acid always had trouble controlling himself when Finalized.  If he hadn’t been modified, and Joker had forced him to Finalize, he may have still gone berserk…and a properly Finalized Acid would have done much, much more damage.”

Vega looked away.  Sonia glanced at Goodall, who sat staring at the floor with a sad, distant look in her eyes.  Clearing her throat, Sonia said, “Dr. Goodall…I’d hate to pry, but I’ve been wondering something.”

Looking up, the doctor said, “Oh?  What is it, Sonia?”

She hesitated a bit.  “…Are you…Joker’s mother?”

Goodall stared at her for a moment.  Then, the sad look came back to her eyes, and she chuckled once.  “Well…in a way.  He certainly always thought of me as such.”  She turned around, facing the screen again.  “…There’s no reason to be coy about it now.  Sonia, the truth is that Joker is not a human.  He is a Wizard.  One that I was responsible for programming.”

Sonia blinked, wondering if she had misheard the doctor.  “…What?  But…he…”

“Looks human?  Yes, that was the intention.”  Goodall tapped her fingers against the desk.  “You might have already heard—when we were creating Wizards, there was some disagreement over whether to give them emotions or not.  Veggie here was dead set against it, but me, I was all for it.  We could never quite agree, so when the time came to create Wave Change-capable Wizards to use the Noise Control Programs, we compromised: Veggie could program Acid however she liked, while I took the lead in programming Joker.”

Sonia furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of it.  “Okay, but…emotions are one thing.  Why make him look just like a human?”

Goodall gazed up at the ceiling.  “I wanted Wizards to be able to integrate into society as seamlessly as possible, to be treated just the same as people.  It wouldn’t be enough to make them the same underneath—humans can be so petty when it comes to appearances, surface differences.  So I thought the best way for Joker to be treated like a human was to make him indistinguishable from one.”  She shook her head.  “Hah!  Or, maybe I got a little carried away and just wanted to play God?  Lord knows it wouldn’t be the first time…”

Sonia glanced over the doctors.  “…Okay.  Whatever the reason…why am I only being told this now?  Geo and I both hesitated out there because we didn’t want to hurt an unarmed human!  If we’d known he was a Wizard—that he was capable of taking a few hits—then we might’ve been able to stop him from screwing up Ace and Acid!”

“To be fair, dear,” Lyra said, “Mega did point out he defeated Solo.  We already knew he could take a few hits.”

Sonia looked off into a distant corner of the room.  Goodall glanced over her shoulder and said, “Well, regardless…the main reason we don’t talk much about Joker is just down to the fact that I’m embarrassed over the whole ordeal, and no one wants to remind me of it.  Even I’ve done what I can to try not to talk about him.  I know it’s not a good enough reason, not by a long shot…but what’s done is done.  I’m sorry, Sonia.”

Sonia stared at her.  Eventually, she took a deep breath, put both hands over her face, and just laughed.  “Okay!  So!”  Counting on her fingers, she went on, “Ace was raised by Dealer before defecting to our side, there’s a gigantic meteor made entirely of Noise headed for Planet Earth, and Joker is actually a Wizard made at WAZA.  While we’re here, is there anything else I should know?!  Anything at all that could be helpful?!  Because to be honest, I’m getting really tired of surprises!”

Boreal quietly said, “I can’t think of anything.”

“Well if you do, please let me know!”  And with that, she stormed out.  She made her way through the lobby, ignoring everyone she passed, and out onto the grounds to find some place where she could be alone.  When she finally sat down on a nearby hill, she buried her face in her arms and screamed.

“This revelation explains a few things,” commented Lyra, who materialized next to her.  “We should have a much better understanding of Joker now.”

Sonia glared at her.  “Who cares?!  All that’s important is that I beat him, and you were right: I already knew everything I needed to do that!  Next time, I’m not going to let him get away!”

Lyra stared at her.  “…Sonia…are you listening to yourself?”

With a sigh, Sonia faced forward.

“Dear, this isn’t like you at all.  Normally you’d be doing whatever you could to understand your opponent, trying to find some way to talk them out of what they’re doing.  We finally have a real chance to do that with Joker.  Don’t you want to take it?”

Sonia leaned into her arms again.  “…No.  I don’t think I do.”

“…My,” Lyra said.  “You really hate Joker, don’t you?”

Sonia just hid her face.

“Is it because of what he did to Luna?”

“Of course!” Sonia said.  “He tried to kill her, Lyra!  I thought he did!  And he had no reason at all!”

“He had his own reason, it—“

“No good reason!  And even if it hadn’t been Luna, even if he had only killed Strong, I’d still hate him!  You know how I feel about killing, Lyra.  Why…”  She took a moment to breathe, and then, more quietly, finished, “Why shouldn’t I hate a killer?”

A very long pause followed.  Eventually, Lyra looked at the ground and sighed.  “Sonia…there’s a conversation I’ve long dreaded having with you.  I’d hoped to avoid it, but now I think perhaps we need to have it.”

She shifted a little.  “…What’s that?”

“The FM-ians, for the longest time, were a warrior race.  We thrived by attacking and destroying other planets.” Lyra paused.  “Dear…do you really think that none of us have killed people?”

Sonia slowly looked up.

“I had my suspicions you hadn’t thought about it, and I suppose I was too afraid to ask.  But, Sonia…we have.  I have.”

The girl remained frozen in place.

“I wouldn’t now, of course.  I realize that it was wrong, and I regret it.  All of it.  I think that’s how a lot of us feel now, because we’ve been able to change for the better.  We were able to do that because you were willing to show us compassion, and believe that we could change—you said you wanted to help us to do it, if you could.  And you did.”

Lyra’s gaze fell.

“And of course…that doesn’t make my mistakes any less terrible.  If there is something in this universe that will judge me, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out I’ve already been condemned.”  Looking back up, she went on, “Still…even still, I truly want to behave differently going forward, simply for the sake of doing so.  And that’s not something I ever expected to feel.”

She turned back to Sonia.  She wouldn’t face her.

“I won’t tell you how to feel towards Joker, dear.  I find his actions quite deplorable myself.  But you have been able to change those who have killed, and prevented them from killing more.  So I suppose the real question is…do you still believe that all people have the ability to change?”

Sonia said nothing.

“…You don’t have to answer now.  I just felt this was something you should consider.  I’m worried about you, Sonia.  I’ve never seen you like this, and I’ve no idea how it might change you.  But, if you’re content with that, then I won’t pretend it’s my place to stop you.  It’s your decision.  But please…all I ask is that you take some more time to think before you make it.  That’s all.”

Lyra dematerialized, and Sonia remained frozen in place, still not saying a word.

***

From his hospital bed, Ace reached out to take the folder from Boreal, inspecting the papers within quickly but thoroughly.  His superior asked, “Do these look alright to you?”

Ace nodded.  “Yeah—no complaints here, Chief.  I trust all these people.”

Boreal took the folder back and tucked it away.  “Good.  The sooner we get this team over to Whazzap, the sooner we can get Solo back.  I have a feeling we’re going to need him.”

Turning to Dubius, Ace said, “I bet you’ll be relieved to have a few less people crashing at AMAKEN.”

“It’s no trouble, really,” Dubius said with a smile.

Ace turned to the other side of his bed, where Acid floated, saying, “And thanks for your help in getting Acid back on his feet…so to speak.  I was really worried Joker might’ve corrupted his systems for good.”

“There was no cause for alarm, Ace,” Acid said.  “My program is fairly resistant to Noise.  Additionally, even if I should sustain irreparable damage, WAZA still possesses my backup data and could recreate me quite swiftly.”

“What?  Don’t say it like that—just because they can make a new you doesn’t make it okay if something happens to this you!”

Acid cocked his head.  “…I fail to see the distinction.  Nothing would be lost, barring perhaps a short period of memory.”

“You would be lost.  And I don’t want to see that happen.”

Not sure how to respond, Acid faced Boreal instead.  “Chief Boreal, I wish to apologize for losing control of myself.  I have been working on potential ways to upgrade my Ace Program’s security so that this will not happen again, and will share them with you as soon as I am satisfied with the results.”

“Good,” Boreal said.  “I look forward to it.”

“Why don’t we just disable his limiters?” Ace said.  “Then he’ll be able to maintain full control over the Finalization.”

Boreal ran a hand over his face.  Acid said, “That is not guaranteed, Ace.  You will recall that I—“

“Yeah, you used to have problems, but you’ve grown so much since then!  I’m sure you could stay in control now!  We should at least give him a chance, right Chief?”

“It’s a dangerous thing to consider,” Boreal said, “especially in the wake of this latest development.  Right now I think it’s better to keep Acid restricted, and just have the rest of our team focus on keeping him from begin hacked again.”

Ace got a thoughtful look, muttering, “So we should focus on the team…”  A glint came to his eye, and he turned to Dubius.  “…Hey, while I have you here: I don’t suppose there’s any chance you know where Cyg—“

“Stop it,” Boreal said.

“What?  I’m just asking.  When will we get another chance?”

Boreal shook his head sternly, and Dubius glanced between the two of them.  “Um,” he said, “are you asking about Cygnus?  I know where he is.”

Ace and Boreal both turned to him, the former asking, “Really?!”

“W-Well, sort of.  I know he’s…around.”

“Has he been bothering you?” Boreal asked.

“No, nothing like that!” Dubius said, waving his hands.  “I’ve just…I’ve seen him.  I’ve been keeping an eye out for any EM wave bodies, with the scanners and the security cameras, and a while back I noticed that Cygnus had come by the facility.  He didn’t do anything, he just kind of…stopped by.  I didn’t know what to make of it.  But, then he started to do it more and more—I’ve never actually approached him face to face, just seen the recordings.  I’m not really sure why he’s been doing it.”

Ace grinned at Boreal, saying, “This could be our chance!”

“Hold on,” Boreal said.  “We don’t have any idea what his intentions are.  For all we know, he’s still sees us as enemies.”

Dubius fidgeted.  “…Well…actually, I, um…”

Boreal faced Dubius, waiting patiently for him to speak.

“…I guess you could say…I left him a peace offering?  On one of the more recent recordings, I noticed he was having some kind of spasm, and I figured it was probably due to Noise.  So, um…I left out a data packet containing a Noise Filter…”

Boreal’s eyes widened.  “You left a Filter sitting out in the open?!”

“W-Well, it was on the Wave Road, so most people wouldn’t even be able to get to it, and it was encoded so that a virus wouldn’t be able to open it.  Plus, I was keeping watch!  Cygnus came back, and…he seemed hesitant, but he took it.  It was a while before he came back, but he did, and he seems fine now.”  Dubius glanced at the wall.  “It just…seemed like the right thing to do…b-besides, it’d be really dangerous for everyone if he ended up corrupted, right?”

After a moment, Boreal nodded.  “No, you’re right.  Good call, Tom.”

Dubius gave a relieved smile.  Ace said, “So we can approach him!  This’ll be perfect!  Mr. Shepar already said he was interested in helping us out, and who knows, maybe Cygnus can even lead us to Libra!  We’ll be able to—“

“Ace,” Boreal said.  “Slow down.  I’m still not convinced Cygnus would join us if we asked him.”

“I’m sure we can swing it.  Especially if we let Sonia do the talking!”

Looking down, Boreal said, “I…don’t think that’s going to work right now…”

Ace frowned.  “…Oh.  Is she not…?”

Boreal shook his head.

“Oh.  That’s too bad…I was hoping she’d be ready to talk some sense into Jack and Tia once we track them back down.”  He paused.  “Any word on them?”

Again, Boreal shook his head.

“Shouldn’t be surprised.  Tia’s been honing her plan to escape Dealer for as long as I can remember.  If she can avoid them, she can surely avoid us too.”

“Did she ever tell you anything that might give us a clue?”

Ace shrugged.  “I used what I remembered when I escaped, and even that wasn’t perfect.  I wouldn’t have made it if not for…”  He cut himself off.

“Right,” Boreal said, quickly moving the conversation along, “but at the very least, you still know them.  What do you think they’re planning to do now?”

Ace leaned back as he thought, eventually saying, “Tia’s main goal is always Jack’s safety.  But...I think she’s considering more than just his physical well-being?  I remember her talking a lot about revenge, saying that as long as the people who made them suffer were still around, Jack would never truly be okay.  I think…I think she wants to erase anything that could remind her or Jack about what happened to them.  And King has definitely done a lot to them.  So, as long as we keep fighting Dealer, I’m positive we’ll bump into them again.”

Boreal nodded, saying, “We’ll keep our guards up, then.”

Ace looked out the window.  “…If Sonia won’t be up to talking sense into them…then are we going to have to capture them again?  Even if I was as good at this as her, Tia’s never going to listen to me, which also means Jack won’t.  I’m beginning to wonder…if we’ll ever really be able to help them…”

He didn’t get a response, as Boreal simply tugged on the brim of his cap.

“I wish they’d been the ones who managed to escape.  They deserve freedom so much more than I do.”

“You aren’t helping anyone by beating yourself up, Ace.  Everyone makes mistakes, and your circumstances were pretty extreme to boot.”

Ace looked at him.  “Back when the FM-ians invaded…Sonia more or less had to kill some of them, didn’t she?  She must have hated it, but she seems fine now.  How did she cope?”

“…I’m not sure she did,” Boreal said.  “I didn’t really have many chances to catch up with her while it was going on, but she seemed to just be pushing it out of her mind as much as she could—and eventually, of course, the FM-ians were all reconstructed by the FM King.  So at that point, I guess she didn’t really need to deal with it.”

Ace’s gaze fell, and then he turned it back towards the window.  “...I’m glad, for her sake.  Because the people I’ve killed never got to come back…and I don’t think I’m ever going to be okay with that…”

A long silence followed.  Eventually, Dubius received a call and left the room, and Boreal also got up to leave.

“Sorry for almost spilling the beans, Chief,” Ace said.

“Don’t sweat it,” Boreal said.  “I trust Tom, so it wouldn’t be a problem if he knew.  It’s just…you never know who else might be listening.”

“Right.  I won’t bring her up again.”

“Get some rest, Ace.  Acid, I’m trusting you to keep him confined to this room by any means necessary.”

“Understood,” Acid said.

Ace finally cracked a smile.  “Don’t be so dramatic, Chief.  I’ll be up in no time!  Besides, won’t you need my help transporting whatever’s still in HQ?”

“We’ve got that covered,” Boreal said.  “I’ve been in talks to get it transferred ASAP, and I’ve already asked Geo to take the lead.  You rest.  That’s an order.”

“…Well, he can definitely handle it.  Maybe I should take it easy for just a bit.”

“Good.  I’ll stay in touch with the guards, so if you need anything just let them know.  Get well soon, Ace.”

Boreal left, and Acid dematerialized.  Ace stared back out the window, his smile gone at once.

Please save them, Sonia.  I don’t think that anyone else can.

(Review)

1000 DEGREE KNIFE VS MASK CONTAINING THE SOUL OF AN ARTIFICIAL GOD

SECTION XV

Carna’s eyes darted back and forth at ferocious speeds as she was led through the outpost.  Next to her, Krika quietly said, “Be at ease, Carna.  There’s no need to act so wary.”

“Easier said than done,” Carna mumbled, adjusting the bag full of paintings on her back.  “This still feels like walking into enemy territory.”

“I’d be more than happy to help you along with my Peace powers.”

Carna immediately stepped away from him, eyes wide.

“Alright, simply an offer.  Nevermind, then.”

Eventually they reached the watchtower, and Krika gently swung the door open.  Antroz, Bitil, and Zaekura all stood discussing something, with Kapura still held in stasis off in the corner, and the three of them all turned at the sound.  Zaekura’s jaw dropped.

“Mom?!”

Carna dropped her bag, breathlessly saying, “Zaekura!”

They both ran forward, locking each other in a tight embrace.  Carna began to sob into her daughter’s shoulder.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re alright!” she said.  “I was so worried about you!”

“I’m sorry!” Zaekura said, squeezing her even more tightly.  “There was so much happening, I didn’t think…what are you doing here?  Didn’t you evacuate with everyone else?”

Carna pulled back, keeping her hands firmly on Zaekura’s shoulders.  “I did, but no one was telling me anything!  I went to Civitas Magna to try to find out what was going on, and then I ran into this joke…”

Krika made a short wave.  “Yes, that would be me.  Nice to see you again.  Also, who’s the new centerpiece?  I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“One of the Odinans,” Antroz answered.  Krika immediately abandoned all semblance of mirth.  “A pair of them attacked while you were gone.  The other has been dealt with, but this one is tricky: he possesses some manner of short-range teleportation, meaning he’ll flee if we let him out of this field for even a second.  We’ve yet to decide how to proceed.”

Krika nodded.  Taking a step to the side, he pointed two fingers at Kapura.  He lowered one, exerting his own stasis field powers to open the tiniest gap in front of the Toa’s heartlight, and at the same time he extended his other finger into a spike that reached across the room and pierced it.

“Krika!” Antroz said.  “What are you—“

“I’m dealing with him,” Krika answered.

To his surprise, Zaekura reached out suddenly and grabbed hold of the spike, glaring straight at him as she tried to snap the appendage.  “What is wrong with you?!  Stop!”

“…It’s done, Zaekura.  And it was the only choice we had.”

“We?  Then why the karz did you make it yourself?!  You think we didn’t already consider killing him?  We wanted to see if there was another way!  What makes you think you can walk in here and do whatever you want?!”

Krika stared back at her in silence.  After a moment, he slowly retracted his spike, saying, “Alright.  My apologies.  I shall behave less rashly in the future.”

He didn’t get an answer.  Zaekura turned back to Carna, who pulled her in again and took up glaring at Krika in her place.

“Well, we should probably remove him now.  Antroz, Bitil, care to help me?”

Bitil shrugged.  “What, you don’t think you can handle it yourself?”

Antroz gestured to Zaekura and Carna.

“…Oh.  Um, yes.  Yes, we should accompany you, to…make sure you don’t ruin anything else!  Of course.”

Krika hummed quietly as he went over to the stasis field.  He and the other Makuta carried it outside, shutting the door behind them, and then the two Glatorian finally sat down.

“He said you decided to fight a war?” Carna asked.

Zaekura nodded.  “I know it sounds weird.  But, they’re going to come after me regardless.  I want to fight back.”

“That’s not…!”  Carna cut herself off, clenching her fists as she stopped to think.  “…It’s not…safe.  You’re going to go put yourself right in harm’s way?  Why would you do that?  We just need to find some place to hide, some place the Great Beings won’t be able to find you, and—“

“Mom, I’m—I’m tired of doing that!  I’ve spent almost my whole life just hiding away, keeping my head down, being afraid of everyone around me…and I’m sick of it!  I can’t take it anymore, alright?”

“I’m not saying it’s right, Zae.  I wish more than anything that you could have a better life than this, believe me, but these are the circumstances we’ve been given.  You just need to stay alive.  Please.  I need you to stay alive, especially now that…”  She hesitated.

Zaekura bit her lip.  “…I know about Dad.”

Carna shut her eyes tight, hanging her head.

“They didn’t tell me at first, but now I know…”

Carna immediately looked back up.  “What?!  They didn’t…rrgh, those—!”

She started to get up, but Zaekura grabbed her arm.  “Mom, stop.”

“But they—“

“I know!  I’ve already gone over it, I…I don’t think I can do it again.”

Reluctantly, Carna sat back down.

“I know, Mom.  It’s just us now.  And I’m just as scared as you.”

Placing a hand on her daughter’s cheek, Carna said, “Then you understand?  We need to escape!  If you go out there and fight the Great Beings, nothing’s going to change—you’re only going to get killed!”

Zaekura shook her head.  “I already fought them, Mom.  And I won.  I managed to make a difference, I actually got to do what I felt like I needed to, and it worked!  It felt so good to finally win, to feel like for once I was really…”  She struggled to find the words.  “…I dunno, real!  Complete!  I was thinking, and working, and building, and it all just felt right—I can’t just go back!  Hiding was already miserable, but now it’d be torture!  I wouldn’t be able to take it!”

“Zae…”

“And more than that…people have already…Dad, and others, have already died because of me.”

Carna leaned forward.  “That’s not your fault!”

“Mom, I—“

“You didn’t kill any of them, it isn’t your fault!”

“I need to do this!  Okay?  My fault or not, I have to risk the same thing they risked!  I know I can do something, so I feel like I need to.  I can’t bring them back, but I can…I just, I feel like it would be…dishonoring them, or something.  And I…”

She sighed.  Carna looked down, taking Zaekura’s hands in hers, and said, “You don’t sound so sure.”

Zaekura gave a harsh chuckle.  “…Yeah, I don’t.  I mean, I don’t know how good my chances are, and I don’t want to die.  I’m overwhelmed, Mom, I’m…maybe I am a little confused.”  She looked up into her mother’s eyes.  “But I know this is what I want to do.  Maybe I don’t know how to articulate it right, but that’s one thing I’m definitely not confused on.  I know you want to keep me safe…I know this isn’t what you want to hear, especially now, and I’m sorry.  But I need to do this.  Okay?  Please, just…forgive me for that.  That’s all I’ll ask you to do.”

Carna stared back at her sadly for what felt like forever.  Then she pulled Zaekura in, hugged her, and said, “I love you, Zae.  Do you know that?”

“Of course, Mom.  I love you too.”

Carna sighed heavily.  “I can tell when you’ve made up your mind.  I wish this wasn’t what you wanted, but if it is…I’ll do whatever I can to help.  I’m not going to abandon you now.  Okay?”

Zaekura sniffed.  “…Okay.  Thank you.  Thank you…”

Eventually they separated again.  Taking a moment to wipe her eyes, Carna said, “Well…I guess it’s a good thing I let that disgrace much around in Civitas Magna.  He said he’s trying to build support for you, and it sounded like he got off to a decent start.”

She turned to wipe away Zaekura’s tears now.  Zaekura said, “Yeah, that’s what he was saying when he left.  He sounded like he was onto something.”

“Just a heads-up: on the way back, he was saying he wanted to talk you into going to Ga-Koro, doing some kind of interview with someone from Civitas Magna.”

Zaekura frowned.  “An interview?”

“Yeah.  I don’t know all the details, but if you want my opinion…it does sound like it could be a good opportunity.”  She clenched her teeth.  “And you know I’d never want to say that about anything Krika thinks up.”

“Right.  Uh, okay then…I’ll think about it.”

“And if you do, you’re going to need to sound sure.  Polish up some of those answers.”

Zaekura smiled.  “Okay, Mom, I get it.  Thanks.”  Glancing back towards the door, she asked, “Did you bring paintings?”

“Oh, right.”  Carna went to retrieve the bag.  “Figured I wouldn’t stick out in Civitas as much if I was selling these.  Course, that ended up being how the law enforcement found me…”

“The what?”

“Ah, don’t worry, we got it settled.”  She sat back down and drew out a painting.  “I needed to make these quick, so they’re all recreations of things I’ve made before, just worse.  Don’t know if you remember this one?”

Zaekura took the piece: it depicted a single flower alone in the desert, half-wilted and in the process of being ripped apart by a white vulture.  “…This is…one you made after Grandpa…”

Carna blinked.  “…Oh.  I guess it is, isn’t it?”

She returned to the bag with a more tense expression.  Gently setting the piece down, Zaekura said, “Hey, why don’t I show you around?  I mean, there’s not much to see, but I can introduce you to some of the Rahkshi at least.”

Carna scowled.  “Hrm, Rahkshi…”

Zaekura scowled back.  “Yes, Rahkshi.  I know what you might be thinking, but I should remind you the ones here are sentient?”

“They’re part Makuta—how can you trust them?”

“Mom.  They’re people—they deserve as much respect as any of the rest of us.  Besides, they’ve been nothing but kind to me, and they’re really helped me out in a lot of ways.”

Carna clumsily closed her bag.  “…Well…guess I should start getting used to this now…”

Zaekura stood and offered a hand, saying, “Be nice.  And I don’t just mean what you say, think nice thoughts: if you stay so on-edge, Charla’s going to get a real bad impression of you.”

“Who’s Charla?”

“You’ll see!  Just be nice, okay?”

Carna accepted the hand as she stood, saying, “Fine, fine…”

“I’m serious, alright?  They just lost someone too.”

Carna looked up.  “What?”

Zaekura sighed.  “During that last battle…one of the Rahkshi was killed.  One of their brothers.  It’s the first time they’ve had to experience that, and it’s still fresh in their minds.  So please, please, be nice?”

Carna stood still for a moment.  With a nod, she said, “…Okay.  I get it.”

Zaekura hesitated a bit, but she still led her mother outside to see who was around.  Sure enough, Charla was poking around nearby, and she figured she might be the best person to start with.  She waved to the Rahkshi as they approached.

“I’d heard that Krika brought someone back with him,” Charla said.  “Someone you know, Zaekura?”

“Yeah, this is my mom, actually,” Zaekura said.  “Apparently she bumped into Krika in Civitas Magna and…well, I still haven’t gotten the whole story…”

Charla perked up.  “Oh, your mother!  That’s wonderful!  It’s so nice to meet you, miss—my name is Charla, and I…”

She trailed off, so Zaekura glanced at Carna.  Her mother had a somewhat vacant expression as she took in the sight before her.  Discreetly bumping her ribs, Zaekura whispered, “Mom, don’t be rude!”

Carna snapped out of it.  “Er, sorry, sorry, I just…first time I’ve met a talking Rahkshi.  Sorry.”

Charla chuckled.  “That’s quite alright.  I remember you having a pretty similar reaction, Zaekura.”

“Uh…I guess I did,” Zaekura said, rubbing her neck.  “I’m sorry about that.”

“So, Charla, you said?” Carna asked.  “My name’s Carna.  Zaekura says you all have been taking pretty good care of her, so…thank you for that.  It’s nice to know she’s had people watching out for her.”

Charla nodded.  “Of course.  We’ve all enjoyed Lady Zaekura’s company a great deal, so think nothing of it.”

Carna smirked.  “Oh, Lady Zaekura?  Zae, you didn’t tell me—“

“It’s not…it’s not a big deal, Mom,” Zaekura said.

“What’s wrong, milady, you look a bit flustered?”

“Can you not?  They’re gonna start calling you ‘Lady Carna’, you know!”

Carna laughed.  “Well, sounds like she’s been behaving herself too.  That’s good to hear.”

Charla nodded to her before turning to Zaekura.  “If you’re showing her around, I’d be happy to assist you.  It’ll certainly make introductions easier.”

“Ah, I don’t want to bother you if you’re doing something,” Zaekura said.

“Nothing at all!  Shall we?”

As they continued on their way, Zaekura sighed to herself, and then looked up to see Carna and Charla conversing with each other.  She couldn’t help but smile.

***

Kodan kept his eyes peeled as he wandered the streets of Ga-Koro.  Behind him, Gaaki and Tarduk were fumbling for notepads and recording equipment, trying to coordinate how best to cover all of the Nynrans fast enough to still have time for compiling the information into an article, but he was looking for someone far more specific.

“Sound good to you, boss?” Gaaki asked.

“Yeah, you two do that,” Kodan said.  “I’ll go see if I can talk to Makuta Kojol, get her opinion on the situation.”

“Good thinking.  We’ll meet back here at sundown.”

As soon as he was out of sight of his coworkers, Kodan came to a halt.  He still had no idea where to go, so after a bit of thought, he decided Kojol’s cathedral was as good a place to start as any.  Making his way there was no easy task given how crowded the streets were, but eventually he pushed open the double doors and spotted the Makuta.

“Makuta Kojol!” he said, walking across the floor.  “Hello there—my name is Kodan, and I represent the Civitas Chronicle.  If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind if I…”

He trailed off as more of the room came into view.  Sitting amidst the pews were Antroz, Krika, Carna, and Zaekura.  Kodan stared at them blankly, frozen in place.

“So nice to see you again, reporter,” Krika said with a cordial wave.  “Thank you so much for agreeing to meet us like this.”

“Uh…yeah,” Kodan said, still a bit dumbstruck.  “So, um…which of you is Zaekura?”

Zaekura stood and cleared her throat.  “Th-That’s me.  I’m, uh, told you were interested in learning more about my…situation?”

“Yes, I am.  Since you’re here, would you be willing to answer some questions?  It would really help us clear the air around this whole story, let the people of Civitas Magna know what’s been going on.”

“Sure.  I mean, yes, I would be delighted to have a chance to…do that.  Of course.”

“Great!”  Kodan turned to Kojol to add, “Well, if you’re alright with it, Makuta.  I don’t want to get in your way.”

“Think nothing of it,” Kojol said.  “There is a conference room upstairs—setting up there would be the better idea, I would think.”

“Oh, that would be perfect!  Thank you!”

Kojol nodded.  “This way, then.”

The room in question was smaller than anticipated, with only a single short table and maybe half a dozen chairs.  Kodan sat down at one end and rummaged through his bag while Zaekura sat at the other.  Antroz, Krika, and Kojol waited at the door.

“Perhaps one of you should stay,” Kojol suggested.

“Yes, perhaps,” Krika said.  “Do you have a preference, Zaekura?”

“Slim pickings,” Zaekura grumbled.  She thought for a moment, and then asked, “Fangs?”

Antroz stepped inside the room and to the side.  Kojol closed the door, and she and Krika headed back downstairs.

“Is it alright if I record the audio?” Kodan said.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Zaekura said.

The Toa produced a small crystal held length-wise in a metal base.  He set it down on the table, and after drawing out a stone tablet, he asked, “Ready?”

Zaekura nodded.  Kodan squeezed the crystal from both sides, and it lit up with red light.

“Civitas Chronicle interview with Zaekura,” he said, and then rattled off the date and a few other things Zaekura guessed were for organizational purposes.  “Begin transcript.  Well, Miss Zaekura, it’s fortunate that I encountered you here today.  There has been a great deal of confusion surrounding the events at Nynrah, as well as what’s transpired since then, so thank you very much for agreeing to speak with me on the subject.”

Eyeing the crystal, Zaekura said, “My pleasure…um…”

“Oh, Kodan.”

“Kodan.”

The Toa leaned back in his chair.  “So, to get us started…what we have been told is that Makuta Krika, the Guardian of Nynrah, went rogue and drove out his own citizens, and that you are his accomplice.  Would you say that is an accurate portrayal of what happened?”

Zaekura ground her teeth.  “…I would say…that is a slanted portrayal of what happened.”

Kodan nodded, waving his hand over the tablet to copy down notes.

“Depending on how technical you want to get, I don’t know that I can exactly say that portrayal is ‘false’.  However, I feel it misrepresents the situation—things are a good deal more complex than that.”

“I see.  Then how would you describe what occurred?”

Zaekura wrung her hands.  “Well…it’s true that I was detained by Krika under order of the Great Beings.  But I’ll wager little if anything has been officially stated as to what my ‘crime’ was, right Kodan?”

Kodan lifted his note tablet to glance over another, completed one underneath it.  “Let me see…it’s been said that you want to take power away from the Great Beings, though nothing more specific than that.”

“Hmph.  That’s not why I was arrested.  They could’ve kept their power for all I cared, I was just minding my own business.”

“Alright…then what?”

Zaekura leaned forward.  “Nothing.  I had done nothing wrong.”

Kodan tapped his fingers against his tablet.  “…If you’d done nothing wrong, then why would the Great Beings order Krika to detain you?”

“Because they were afraid of what I might do.  Somehow—and I don’t know how, not yet—they found out that I have the potential to be like them.  And they didn’t want that to happen.”

Kodan’s fingers stopped.  “…What do you mean…’like them’?”

“The Great Beings are Glatorian, right?” Zaekura explained.  “It’s still possible for other Glatorian to become new Great Beings.  You just need to have a certain quirk in your DNA, and I have it.”

Tentatively, Kodan waved his hand to put down the notes.  “That’s…an intriguing claim.  So you’re saying you have the same level of ability as the Great Beings?”

“Not quite, but I’ve got the potential.  I just need to figure out how to unlock it, and…”  She trailed off, putting a hand to her head as a sharp pain erupted.  “Ah, sorry, I’ve been having some migraines lately…”

Kodan waited until she put her hand down before continuing, “Alright.  So, the Great Beings had Krika detain you because you possess the same potential they do.  But you convinced Krika to join you instead?”

Zaekura shifted.  “…I didn’t do much convincing.  Krika wasn’t willing to turn me over to the Great Beings.  That’s why they sent Antroz to retrieve me instead—she took some convincing.  But at that point, honestly all I cared about was staying alive.”

“Alive?  You think that the Great Beings were going to kill you?”

“Yes.  My grandfather had the same potential.  He was hauled off years ago, never to be seen again.”  Seeing Kodan glance aside, she added, “And if that sounds too much like an assumption, Antroz confronted Angonce about the issue and he said about as much.”

Kodan turned to Antroz.  The Makuta said, “I told Lord Angonce that I did not think it would be right to kill Zaekura for such a thing.  He said that it was, for the simple fact that he had ordered it.”

The Toa stared at her for a time.  “…That is…”

As he struggled to find the words, Zaekura went on, “Angonce then proceeded to send an army of drones upon Nynrah.  Krika told the citizens to flee to Ga-Koro while he and his Rahkshi held them off.  A few of them tried to join the fight, and the drones killed as many as they could—Krika couldn’t save all of them on his own.  Meanwhile, Antroz and I were…waiting to see how the situation would develop…and eventually escaped Nynrah ourselves.  I think that covers everything on that particular incident.”

Kodan’s wide-eyed gaze was aimed at the floor.  “That is…quite a lot to take in…”

“Tell me about it,” Zaekura mumbled.

The Toa set about recomposing himself.  “Well, um…yes, I think that’s a fairly comprehensive explanation.  I can’t think of any further questions regarding Nynrah at the moment.  Ah, other than that, all we’ve heard has been rumors…perhaps you could simply tell us what you’ve been doing since then, and what it is you plan to do now?”

“Well, I don’t want to give away too much.  It’s not that I don’t trust you, Kodan, but I don’t know who’s going to hear this or what ideas they might get.”

“Oh, of course, I understand.”

“Suffice to say, I’ve found some more allies and had a few other encounters we’ve needed to defend ourselves against.  We’ve lost more good people.  And, frankly…”  Her hands curled into fists.  “I’m furious.  I did nothing to the Great Beings, and they sent things after me that kill indiscriminately, and I can’t stand it.  So now, I’ve changed my mind.  I am going to take away their power.”

Kodan swallowed hard.  “…You’re going to fight against the Great Beings?”

“I’m going to fight back against them,” Zaekura corrected.

“Do you…well, do you really think that’s the best thing to do?”

Zaekura averted her eyes.  “…No.  Ideally, there would be a way to settle this peacefully.  We’ve tried that.  But the Great Beings have made it clear that the only ‘peaceful’ resolution they’ll accept is killing me, along with anyone else who might be born with this potential.  So if my choices are let that happen, or try to stop it, I’d rather try.”

Kodan nodded thoughtfully as he copied her words down.

“But we’re not going to get careless,” Zaekura said as she looked back up.  “Even if we have to fight, we’re going to be as careful about it as we possibly can.  We don’t want to see anyone else die.  We’ll fight just as hard as we need to in order to win, no more.”

“Interesting,” Kodan said.  “I would imagine you’re already at something of a disadvantage.  Adding another restriction like that…”

Zaekura shook her head.  “Like I said: we don’t want anyone else to die.  That’s what our victory looks like.  If we have to kill to win, then winning isn’t worth it.”

Kodan found himself smiling at this.  Turning to Antroz, he said, “Makuta Antroz, since you’re here, is there anything you would like to add?”

Antroz inclined her head.  “I believe Zaekura has covered everything necessary.”

“I have to admit, hearing that you in particular have decided to stop following the Great Beings is something of a shock.”

“I understand.  I have always strove to be as loyal as I could be to my creators.  But, more importantly…I have always strove to do what is right.  And now I can see that what they are doing is not right, no matter how they try to justify it.  It is my belief that following Zaekura is the best course of action available to me now.”

Kodan copied those words to his tablet.  “Alright.  Well, I believe that’s all, unless you have anything to add?”

With a shake of her head, Zaekura said, “No.  Ah, thank you, for asking my side of the story.  I wasn’t sure anyone was going to.”

“Don’t mention it.  Reporting the truth is my job, after all!  And thank you for your time.”

Zaekura gave a nod, and then Kodan tapped the top of the crystal, causing its glow to shut off.  As he put his material away, Zaekura asked, “So, you believe me?”

His movements slowed.  “…Well…I know what a liar sounds like it, and you don’t sound like one.  But to be honest, I think I’m going to need some time to absorb what you’ve told me.  It just…doesn’t really mesh with what I thought I knew.”

“...Yeah, that’s fair,” Zaekura said.  “Okay then.  Guess I’ll be going.”

She stood, and Antroz opened the door.  Kodan said, “Hold on.  If I wanted to do a follow-up, is there some way I could get in contact with you?”

Zaekura thought for a moment.  “For now, let’s just say I’ll get ahold of you if I have something to say.  But, depending on how this interview goes down, who knows, that could change.”

Kodan gave a small sigh.  “Alright.  I won’t keep you any longer.”

In a few seconds he was alone, closing up his bag and throwing it back over his shoulder.  He leaned to look out the window and over the sea.

New Great Beings…the old ones killing citizens just for getting in the way…it’s crazy.  Could that kind of stuff really be true?

He blinked.

Oh, he realized.  Sounds like I don’t want it to be true.

Shaking his head, Kodan readjusted his grip on his bag and headed for the stairs.

Shame on me.  We don’t get to pick what the truth is.

ADDENDUM:

-Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it!  Sorry about that.  I went into detail over on Twitter, and though I maybe should’ve made another chapter to have a chance to explain the situation here first, that ran a bit counter to what I was trying to do.  Since juggling three/four ongoing stories at once was…not going very well for me, I decided to focus entirely upon the one that I felt was closest to completion and knock it out, and I’ve done just that!  I have one entire story off my plate!  But, here’s the thing: while I do want to continue to focus on one story at a time right now, my other ongoing fic is far closer to completion than Right of Law…and has been open a while longer…so, all things considered, knocking out that one just seems like the better idea.  I didn’t want to leave you all hanging for too too long, though, so I wanted to make just one quick update before I totally shift gears.  This fic is not dead.  I will finish it.  It’s the “when” that’s going to be a problem.  I’ll do all I can to finish this next fic in as speedy a fashion as possible, but even after that, I’m actually giving serious consideration to attempting NaNoWriMo again in November, and even if I get back to Law in just a few months I know I won’t have it completed by that time.  There’s so much I want to do with this story…I wish I could just get it all out for you immediately, but sadly such a thing just isn’t possible. (At least, not in any particularly engaging way.  I could infodump my plans but that feels even worse than just letting it die.) So for now, I’m afraid I have to ask more patience of you—I assure you these decisions are being made with the intention of making all of my stories, most certainly including this one, as high a quality as I possibly can make them.  Further updates will be posted to my Twitter (ExoPahrak) as they are decided upon.  If you came back after such a long, unexpected break, then thank you.  Again, I’m sorry.  And again, I will finish this fic.

-Reviews to be submitted here

Aw, poor Lewa still can’t catch a break. D:

But this is an interesting development!  While I think a little more hesitation from the Skrall to surrender might’ve been nice, Takanuva’s displeasure with their methods still sells that no matter how badly they need this, it’s still a bit counter to everything they’ve known up to now.  That the one who diffuses the situation is one of the younger recruits who hasn’t had a “proper Skrall training” is an excellent touch.

Also Seeker was a great pick—having him mention the Mask of Light helped me remember that hunting the mask is his whole backstory, so it only makes sense he’d be sent to handle its wearer!

Well that was a pleasant surprise to come home to!

(I will be sad if this turns out to be an April Fools joke ;_; )

Mata Nui: "Where I come from, we have a saying..."

Mata Nui: "Water is for whimps!"

Dear Nintendo:

It is my belief that I would make an excellent DLC character for Mario Kart.  Attached is my resume and a photo of me riding a super cool vehicle, which as you can see

Mata Nui: "Oh...you collect shields..."

Mata Nui: "I'm starting to think bringing Click here was a bad idea..."

Metus: "...I paid ten dollars for this?"

Even with all the misery of Bara Magna, Ackar was still willing to fight for one simple truth: that G2 was worse than Bara Magna.

Straak: "They both have their own merits!!"

Don't sweat it!  School can be rough, and I don't want you to kill yourself just to get this done on a certain timetable.  Take as much time as you need.

Mata Nui: "The heck you lookin' at?"

Metus: "Keep scrolling."

Mata Nui: "Well would you look at the time!  It's already four o'Click!"

No worries on the serialization—gives me something more to look forward to!  And it’s off to a great start: the Skrall’s plight is made immediately apparent, the goals presented are straight-forward and the motivation of survival is universal, and establishing a familiar face like Stronius as the lead makes grabbing our attention much easier (plus it’s a chance for him to shine, which is nice since he didn’t really get to do much in canon).  Quite an effective hook!

This may be really specific, but I really enjoyed seeing Stronius call the inexperienced Skrall “green” and then subtly clarify to the reader that he means their armor, not just their inexperience.  It makes sense of the different armor colors and works as a great double-meaning!  And while it caught me off-guard at first, the Skrall cutting their brothers out of the dragons’ stomachs is another great choice—it fits that relentless warriors like the Skrall wouldn’t let something like being eaten kill them, plus it really drives home just how desperate the species is to survive.

Jaller: "Hi mom!"

Jaller: "Oh, she can't hear me, I..."

Jaller: "HI MOM!"

You’ve captured the atmosphere of Bionicle so well that this feels like an official story, and it’s written with such a smooth rhythm that it just pulls the reader along.  There were a couple nitpicks I had (early on it seemed like “stifling” came up a lot, and the treespeak varied a bit but I know how tough that is to work with), but really, nitpicks are the only criticisms I can offer.  An excellent read!

First of all, I love that this entire story is extrapolated from one design mixup.  Such a tiny thing, but you found a way to make it work!  That’s incredible!

This does a great job of evoking nostalgia for Mata Nui through Taipu’s own observations and recollections, making it effortless to empathize with his motivation to protect it from the Bohrok’s destruction.  It helps that we get to see so much of the island, which also enables the other members of the Chronicler’s Company to show up naturally, making them feel like parts of this world rather than boxes on a checklist.  Using Kanohi to explore themes of identity is also a really neat technique that works extremely well!

The only real complaint I have is that it might benefit from some more prominent transitions.  It was difficult for me to tell exactly where one scene ended and another began, with Whenua in particular seeming to just show up, and I found that a bit jarring. (That, and the Pahrak being unceremoniously chucked into the lava, I’m shocked to see such a thing.)

All in all, a great story that digs deep into a character we don’t really see a lot of!  Nice work!

Alternate universes sure are fun to work with, aren’t they?  I like how you take advantage of the setting to twist a lot of familiar characters and ideas—I think my favorite is actually the different reason for Nidhiki Beach’s name.  It’s also really neat that Tuyet’s death isn’t immediately the end of the empire.  Seeing the struggle to fill the power vacuum was unexpected and very engrossing!

I will say, though, some of the phrasing feels a little awkward.  There are parts throughout that don’t exactly flow, and feel like some afterthoughts were sort of thrown in.  Aside from that, I had a few questions like why Artakha put Mata Nui to sleep, and how exactly Mata Nui is waking up now (though I’d guess it has to do with the Ignika?).  Also, Robspierre caught me off-guard.  I see what you were going for, but one real world name suddenly showing up amidst all these familiar Bionicle names makes it stand out in an unfortunate way.  References like that might work better if you come up with a name that sounds like the source (Rospeir?) rather than directly transplanting it.

There are a lot of really interesting ideas in here, and a very believable fate for the Toa Empire!  A few things could use a bit more polish, but despite that, this was definitely a fun read!

Thank you all!

Awesome story. I loved the characters (although I might be a bit biased on Jaiya's design...), and his dynamic with Roz would make for a great ongoing buddy cop show.
My one problem with the story (and tha"problem"'s too big of a word, actually) is that moment where Sykit adresses the weapon's canonicity. As informative as it was, it felt a bit out of place in the conversation. Still, that's but one small thing in an otherwise very solid, entertaining story.
Congrats on such a great story! Will we ever see more of Detective Jaiya?

Fun fact: the reason Jaiya has a Kaukau is because of the visor.  His job requires him to spend a lot of time above-ground, so I thought it would be helpful if his mask had an add-on that allowed him to darken the visor like sunglasses, and that would be the most apparent on the Kaukau.  This story originally had more legwork, but I felt like it was getting long and a bit disjointed, so I upped the convenience and kept everyone in one place.

With the Chute Blade, I felt a certain pressure to prove that I wasn't inventing a solution on the spot and wanted to make sure the reader knew the weapon already existed.  Still, I probably could've found a subtler way to do so.

I definitely think there's more potential in these characters, but I've got a lot on my plate right now, so it'll likely be a while before I'm able to revisit them.

You had me laughing out loud way too many times, and this was a very enjoyable piece. I think my favorite joke was the one at the very start, where one of the Matoran claims that 'all this security to guard nothing' was a work of art.

I am surprised that you haven't graced us with the etymology of your character names, that's something I've always appreciated in your other works. I did really enjoy the vast array of non-canon characters as well, it allowed you to make the world seem bigger, not smaller. The ending was perfect as well, with just enough of a hint as to the nature of the world around them. Jaiya's dismissal of it was fantastic.

 

I did rather enjoy the Electro Chute Blade. Something about its specificity made me suspect it would have been one of the contest-winning Xian weapons. Sykit stating that it was a canon weapon was a joke I rather enjoyed, personally, as I had just looked it up on BS01.

 

Absolutely hilarious.

Names:

-"Jaiya" comes from "Pangaea" and "Gaia"

-"Roz" is obviously taken from "Rorzakh"

-"Dumon"...I honestly don't remember, actually.  Huh.

-"Tinnei" is a mix of "continent" and "tunnel"

-"Abcel" comes from "absolute" (as in absolute zero) and "Celsius"

-"Sykit" comes from "cyclone" and "circuit"

-"Torpat" came from "tornado" and "corporate"

-"Curup" is a mix of "curator" and "corrupt"

Glad you caught that about the sculpture!  It took quite a while to figure out what shape to give it, and even after settling on a GSR model, I wasn't sure how best to describe that.  Nice to hear it works!

"It's a canon weapon; you can look it up on BS01" lmaoooo

 

Really good job overall. I was convinced it was going to be Dumon, but you managed to keep me going till almost the very end! Also Roz is my new favorite character. He is canon now.

I'm glad you liked Roz!  They were a lot of fun to write.

For this year’s exchange I was asked to write a story for Glimmer.  His prompts included mystery and comedy, so with that in mind I set about crafting the tale of…

Detective Jaiya and the Baffling Barrier

The main floor of the Archives was as busy as ever, but this time it was for all the wrong reasons.  There were as many Vahki as there were exhibits, and though only a handful of nervous Matoran worked alongside them, a massive, bustling crowd swelled at the edge of the perimeter they had established, hundreds of Matoran all pushing and straining for a look at the law enforcers at work.  At first glance, nothing was wrong in the area they had sectioned off: every display was perfectly lined up, not the slightest crack in their cases and hardly a speck of dust upon them.  Even the massive, shimmering barrier protecting a very special exhibit appeared to be in perfect order.  But a closer look at that very barrier would reveal that, for some reason, there was nothing behind it.

“Simply exquisite,” one of the Matoran said.  “Truly a wondrous work of modern art.  All this security set up to protect what we hold most dear, but in truth what we value most…means nothing.”

Another Matoran squinted at them.  “What?  No, there’s been a robbery.  The exhibit that’s supposed to be there is missing.”

The first Matoran closed his eyes.  “…Are you sure?”

“Uh, yeah.  Don’t you remember?  An ancient sculpture was brought to Turaga Dume a month ago, and when he had it analyzed they found it wasn’t made out of protodermis.  Until a more thorough study could be commissioned, it was given to the Archives to be displayed, but they were required to implement some special security—word had gotten out and the Turaga was worried someone might try to steal the artifact.  They spent a fortune on this shield, more than they usually spend in an entire year, but looks like it didn’t get the job done.”

The first Matoran nodded slowly as he absorbed this exposition, and then sheepishly backed away into the crowd.

Two Rorzakh maintaining the perimeter looked up suddenly.  The disorganized masses were parting ever so slightly, and through the opening came two figures: one an Onu-Matoran wearing a purple Kaukau, and the other yet another Rorzakh.  The guards moved aside to allow the pair past, and then quickly stepped back together before anyone else could slip through.  Behind them, the two newcomers slowed to a halt in front of the strange barrier, the Matoran reaching his hand towards it.  A powerful repulsive force pushed back against him, halting his advance inches from the surface.

“Detective Jaiya!”

The Onu-Matoran turned to see a very flustered-looking Archivist running up to him.  The Rorzakh beside him stepped forward, saying, “UNKNOWN ENTITY APPROACHING!  ENGAGING DEFENSIVE PROTOCOLS!”

While the Archivist skidded to a halt, the detective calmly raised his hand.  “Easy, Roz.  Disengage.”

The Vahki turned to him.  “…BUT…”

“Disengage.”

“…UNDERSTOOD,” Roz said, drooping as they stepped back.

“Apologies,” Jaiya said to the Archivist, “my partner can be a bit excitable.  Name please?”

“Uh, my name is Dumon,” the Archivist replied.  “…Your Vahki talks?”

“ALL VAHKI SPEAK,” Roz said.  “THIS UNIT SIMPLY DOES SO AT A SPEED AND PITCH DISCERNABLE TO THE AVERAGE MATORAN.”

“I-I see.”

“I PROPOSE THAT DUMON IS THE CULPRIT.”

“What?!”

“CULPRITS ARE KNOWN TO RETURN TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.”

“I work here!”

“ARRESTING NOW!”

“Roz,” Jaiya said, “disengage.  We lack proper evidence to be certain.”

Roz paused for a few seconds, and then turned around and squatted.

“Apologies again,” Jaiya said.  “Dumon, what can you tell me about the theft?”

Eying Roz warily, the Archivist said, “Uh, well…as you know, recently a strange sculpture—“

“Yes,” Jaiya said, “that exposition has already been covered, please skip ahead.”

“Oh, of course.  We installed this shield to keep the artifact safe: it’s an experimental barrier based on chute technology, making it easy to maintain and virtually impenetrable at its maximum settings.  Yesterday’s showing went fine, and when we closed up for the night, we left a Matoran guard right next to it as an added precaution.  I came in today to find the shield intact, but the artifact missing.  I don’t understand what happened!  The Head Archivist is furious about this, he—“

Roz sprang up. “THE GUARD WAS THE CULPRIT!  LOCATING NOW!”

“Disengage,” Jaiya said.  “Dumon, can you tell us where the guard is?  So that we may ask for his side of the story?”

Dumon nodded.  “We have him here.  There’s also a few suspicious figures the patrol Vahki found loitering nearby, and they’ve been detained for questioning too.”

“Lovely.  With any luck you’ve conveniently rounded up just the people I need to talk to in order to get this sorted out.  Let’s get started.”

The Archivist led the pair down a corridor, eventually stopping at a rather cramped break room with one table and an empty vending machine.  Another Onu-Matoran was already inside, as well as two other Rorzakh, and they all looked up in surprise as the door opened.

“UNITS IDENTIFIED,” Roz said.  “EXPRESSING DISPLEASURE AT SEEING ZK-87 AGAIN.”

One of the Rorzakh shook their head, emitting a series of beeps.

“ERRONEOUS!  THAT INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY XH-22—NO BLAME IS TO BE PLACED ON THIS UNIT!”

The Rorzakh waved their staff as they replied.

“SUCH COMMENTS ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE REVISED 3^RD EDITION ETIQUETTE HANDBOOK!  YOU WILL BE REPRIMANDED!”

Jaiya stepped forward, announcing, “Excuse me.  Would you mind giving Roz and me a moment with this guard?  I believe we have a significant chance of progressing our understanding of the case.”

After exchanging a look, the two Rorzakh reluctantly walked out of the room, glaring at Roz as they did.  Dumon stepped out behind them and shut the door.

“It wasn’t me!” the guard said.  “I know this looks bad, detective, but it wasn’t me!  I swear!”

Roz started to say something, but Jaiya tapped their arm and motioned.  The Vahki took a few steps to the side, and Jaiya sat down at the table, folded his hands, and said, “Name please.”

“Uh…Tinnei.”

“Tinnei, tell me what happened.”

Nodding, the guard shifted in his seat and looked down at the table.  “Um, thing is, I’ve been making some big mistakes lately.  The Head Archivist was threatening to fire me, but I’ve been trying real hard to turn it around, you know?  So when he gave me this post guarding this special thing—“

“I only need to know about last night,” Jaiya interrupted.

“Oh, uh, right.  So I was here, you know, watching the exhibit, but at some point around, uh…”  He took a very long time to think.  “Half past four?  I guess?  I felt something.  It was this super painful shock, like sticking your hand in a power socket.”

Jaiya raised an eyebrow.  “Have you done that?”

Tinnei’s eyes widened.  “Wh—bah, who, me?  No!  No, never!  But, ah, point is, I passed out from the pain, and when I woke up, well, uh, the thing was gone.  That’s it.”

“FALSEHOOD SUSPECTED,” Roz said, leaning forward.

“I don’t think so,” Jaiya said.  “He doesn’t seem capable of telling a convincing lie.”

“Yeah, I’m not!” Tinnei said with a smile.  “Thanks detective, I knew you’d understand!”

“I think that’s all we need from you.  You’re free to go.”

Tinnei breathed a deep sigh of relief as he left the room.  Dumon poked his head in and asked, “Well?”

Jaiya shook his head.  “It wasn’t him.  He’s not clever enough to pull this off.”

“Ah.  I thought as much.”

“I should ask, what other security does the Archives have?”

“Well we’ve got a few squadrons of Vahki, but they didn’t register anything out of the ordinary last night.  There’s also the cameras, but they all went out at the same time…we still don’t have an explanation for that either.”

Jaiya rubbed his chin.  “Hm.  Interesting.”

Roz walked over, asking, “WHO IS THE CULPRIT?”

“Hard to say.  Dumon, who else was detained?”

“We’ve got a Ko-Matoran with a shady background who has been very vocal about his distaste for the Archives.  He was stalking around outside early this morning, and tried to run when we asked what he was doing.”

“Well he sounds a bit too obvious, but bring him in anyway.”

Dumon was off.  Roz said, “I RECOMMEND WE ARREST THE KO-MATORAN.  CASE SOLVED.”

“You’re jumping the gun, Roz,” Jaiya said as he sat back down.

“ERRONEOUS.  I HAVE NOT LEFT THE GROUND, AND THERE IS NO FIREARM DETECTED NEARBY.”

Jaiya sighed.  “Just calm down, please?”

Roz grumbled to themselves and went back to stand in the corner.

It wasn’t long before the Ko-Matoran was brought into the room.  His eyes darted about as he circled the table, finally coming to rest on Jaiya as the detective raised his hand in greeting.

“Name please.”

“It wasn’t me!” the Ko-Matoran shouted, recoiling as the words exploded out of him.

“First I need your name.”

Crossing his arms, the Ko-Matoran said, “What for, eh?  You think you’re gonna get me talkin’, think I’m gonna confess to something for ya?  Well I ain’t guilty!”

“Please tell me your name.”

The Ko-Matoran eyed Jaiya cautiously for a few seconds, and then slowly pulled out a chair and sat down.  “…Name’s Abcel.  And you are?”

“Detective Jaiya.”

“Here to solve the robbery, eh?  It wasn’t me!”

Jaiya nodded and asked, “Why were you brought into custody?”

“Beats me!” Abcel said, throwing his hands up.  “I was just walkin’ by, mindin’ my own business, then some Vahki grab me and drag me in here!  Just takin’ a nice, leisurely stroll through your lovely Metru!  I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Roz turned their head.  “YOU ARE NOT NATIVE TO THIS METRU.  YOUR PRESENCE IS VERY SUSPICIOUS!”

“It is curious,” Jaiya said.  “I’ve also been told you’re not a fan of the Archives.  Why go for a stroll in an unfamiliar Metru, one that you’re known to have a grievance with?”

Abcel averted his gaze, scratching his head as he reclined in his chair.  “Well, eh, I was just, eh…look of course I’m not a fan of this dusty ol’ place, how many Ko-Matoran are?  Is it so wrong I can’t wrap my head around why the Turaga would want to put that precious artifact on display here when our labs could be makin’ some real progress?”

Roz suddenly approached the table.  “INCOMING REPORT FROM CENTRAL HIVE.  SEARCH OF YOUR LIVING QUARTERS HAS REVEALED SEVERAL PIECES OF CONTRABAND.  YOU ARE GUILTY!  ARRESTING NOW!”

Abcel leapt to his feet, shouting, “Hey, hey!  Easy!  Easy!”

Before Jaiya could say anything, Roz vaulted over the table and tackled Abcel to the ground, producing restraints to bind his wrists and then hauling him back to his feet.  The Vahki turned to lead the Matoran out, but Jaiya was up now, standing in their way.

“Hold on, Roz.”

“HE IS IN POSSESSION OF CONTRABAND!  HE IS A CRIMINAL, AND THUS MUST BE ARRESTED!”

“I’m not disputing that.  But tell me: was the sculpture found in this search?”

After a moment, Roz answered, “NEGATIVE.”

Jaiya turned to Abcel.  “Then we still have questions to ask.”

Abcel sighed deeply.  “…Look, detective.  I didn’t steal the thing.  Would I really lie about it now that you’re already takin’ me in?”

“Hard to say.”

“Yeesh.  Alright, I may’ve heard from…certain sources…that someone was planning to sell the exhibit.  So, I was curious, y’know?  I came to take a look if it was still here.  But it was long gone by the time I arrived.  Ya believe that, at least, right?”

Jaiya tapped his foot as he thought.  “Did your sources specify when or where this sale was going to take place?”

“Nah, none of that.  People in, ah…a certain line of work…learn not to offer more information than is needed, y’know?  But if I had to make a guess, I did catch wind that Xia was in the market for rare metal.  Wouldn’t surprise me if they were involved.”

“I see.  Thank you for your help, Abcel.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Jaiya stepped aside, allowing Roz to shove Abcel out the door and into the hands of another Rorzakh.  Dumon said, “Was it him after all?”

“No, he was arrested on different charges,” Jaiya said.

Dumon groaned.  “So we’re still no closer to finding the artifact?  Oh dear, the Head Archivist won’t like to hear that…”

“We are closer.  He says someone is planning to sell the sculpture, most likely to Xia.”

“Xia?!  There’s no way we’ll see it again!”

Jaiya turned to Roz.  “Notify the hive: block off all ports until further notice.  If we’re lucky, it might still be in the city.”

Roz nodded and turned aside to send the message.  Dumon said, “So what now?  We just wait for the Vahki to comb the city looking for it?”

“That would take much too long,” Jaiya said.  “We need a way to narrow it down.  If only we could figure out how the crime was committed, then we’d have a better idea of what to look for.  Maybe if we knew more about how this special barrier works?”

“Well, we have two people from the company that made it here right now.”

“Perfect!  Send them in!”

Jaiya sat and waited.  He could hear shouting long before Dumon opened the door again.  Two Le-Matoran were brought in, one of them yelling angrily at the other—the second tried to greet Jaiya, but the first cut him off.

“I hope you’re happy, numbskull!” he was saying.  “Who’s gonna want to do business with you now, huh?  This is on you!”

“Sykit, please!” said the other.  “We’re here to get to the bottom of this.  We can settle blame later!”

“I’ve got it settled already.”  Sykit turned to Jaiya.  “Oi, can you arrest this guy for incompetence?”

Blinking slowly, Jaiya said, “Um, I believe we should start at the top.  Your names, please?”

The other Le-Matoran shook Jaiya’s hand and said, “Torpat, sir.  I run the shop that invented the barrier technology.  This is—“

“I’m the one who actually made it,” Sykit interrupted.  “I told this idiot it wasn’t ready!  It’s still in the experimental stages, years away from being ready for public release!  But no, the Archives were willing to pay you handsomely for it, so you just sold it without any regard for the consequences, didn’t you?  Short-sighted oaf.”

Torpat sighed.  “Detective, we just want to help you solve this case.  What can we do to make that happen?”

“I would like to know more about how the barrier works,” Jaiya said.

“Same as any chute,” Sykit said, crossing his arms.  “You just need liquid protodermis and a way to maintain the high magnetic field density and you’re good to go.”

“And in what ways could it be disabled?”

“Flip the off switch.”

Roz took a step forward.  “OFF SWITCH FOR BARRIER IS LOCATED IN ARCHIVES CENTRAL SECURITY CONTROL ROOM.  VAHKI PATROL REPORTS NO UNAUTHORIZED INTERACTION WITH CONTROL ROOM AROUND THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT.”

Sykit’s eyes went wide as he turned to look at Roz.  Murmuring to himself, he said, “Standardized speech?  Never seen a Vahki wired for that.  It sounds almost natural—must’ve been a heck of a job.  And now that I look at it, that custom finish is gorgeously subtle.”

“NO ONE EVER NOTICES!” Roz said.  “YOU ARE DESIGNATED AS ONE WITH GOOD TASTE.”

Meanwhile, Torpat took Jaiya by the shoulder.  “Please, detective: this much bad publicity could shut down our shop.  Isn’t there some proof that our technology isn’t what’s at fault here?”

Jaiya shrugged.  “Hard to say.  But if the switch wasn’t used, it certainly seems like someone found another way through it.”

Torpat wrung his hands.  “Dear me…how did this happen?  We only just installed it!  Who could have known so quickly, and who could know the machine so well that they could find a way to disable it?”

He stood there a few moments longer, and then he gasped, turned, and pointed at Sykit.  The other Le-Matoran was almost too busy admiring Roz to notice.

“Wait, what?” he said.  “You can’t be serious!”

“You have all the necessary insider information!” Torpat said.  “Motive, too!  You were so against me selling the barrier—now that it’s failed, you’ve been proven right, and taken your revenge on me!”

Sykit stalked forward, saying, “Listen here, dimwit!  I don’t have to stoop to the level of exploiting unfinished work to make you look bad!  I take pride in my work—you think I want something I made failing?  That’s why I was so against this sale in the first place!”

“Oh, I’m sure.  Do you have an alibi?”

“I was working!  You’d know that if you weren’t out celebrating!  Just ask anyone at the shop, they’ll tell you I was at my station!”

Jaiya stepped between the two of them.  “Calm down, everyone.  Roz, can we verify that?”

“VERIFIED,” the Vahki said.  “SYKIT IS ON SECURITY FOOTAGE FROM HIS WORKPLACE.”

Torpat grumbled something as he shuffled off to the side of the room.  Sykit grinned and said, “Roz?  That’s cute.  You come up with that?”

“No, that was the chief,” Jaiya said.  Leaning in closer, he added, “You’re not the only one who finds your superior troublesome.”

“Hah!  Glad to know!”

Jaiya backed up and grabbed his chair, spinning it around before sitting so he could face the door.  “Well then.  At the moment it seems our culprit managed to get past the chute barrier somehow, without outright destroying it.  Can you think of any way that might have been done, Sykit?”

Sykit threw his hands up.  “Beats me.”

“What if the culprit had a degree of control over electricity?”

Sykit craned his neck.  “What?”

“The guard on-duty claimed he was knocked out by a powerful electric shock.  Could an ability such as that interface with the barrier?”

“It would take more than just a shock.  I mean maybe if it…”  His eyes went blank as he trailed off.  “…Shoot.  That could actually work, couldn’t it?  Why the heck didn’t I think of that?”

Everyone turned towards him.  Jaiya asked, “You’ve got something?”

“An Electro Chute Blade!” Sykit said, gesturing for emphasis.  “They must’ve had one of those!”

Jaiya turned to Roz.  After processing a moment, the Vahki replied, “ELECTRO CHUTE BLADE.  WEAPON PRODUCED PRIMARILY IN XIA UTILIZING SIMILAR PRINCIPLES TO CHUTE TECHNOLOGY.  BLADE IS MADE OF LIQUID PROTODERMIS SUSPENDED IN A MAGNETIC FIELD AND ELECTRIFIED FOR STABILITY.”

“It’s a canon weapon,” Sykit said, “you can look it up on BS01.”

“Of course!” Torpat said.  “They have knobs on the hilt to modify the field density—the blade will pass through solid objects at low density, but the electricity will still shock anyone it passes through!”

“More importantly,” Sykit said, “if you got just the right polarization and field density, you could jam the barrier field just enough to make an opening.  Then it’d be easy pickings.  Hole would be gone as soon as the blade is taken out.”

“I see,” Jaiya said, nodding along.  “Yes, that does seem in-line with what we know.  Someone able to obtain one of those would even have connections with Xia, and we know they’re interested in this sculpture.  Roz, is there a way to—“

“IT WAS HIM!” Roz declared.

Jaiya furrowed his brow.  “Pardon?”

“CRIME WAS COMMITED BY ABCEL!  ONE ELECTRO CHUTE BLADE WAS AMONG THE CONTRABAND DISCOVERED IN HIS LIVING QUARTERS!”

“You know who did it?!” Sykit said.  “Great!  Let’s go arrest the poor sap!”

“HE IS ALREADY IN CUSTODY!”

“Oh.  Well, uh…good.  Good.”

“Hold on a moment,” Jaiya said.  “When we arrested him, he said he wasn’t the one who stole the sculpture.  Why not just confess, if he’s headed to jail anyway?”

“Perhaps he simply wanted fewer charges,” Torpat said.

“But it won’t make that much of a difference.  And you said the settings on the blade would need to be precise—how could he know what those settings would be?”

“KO-MATORAN HAVE ACCESS TO A WIDE VARIETY OF INFORMATION,” Roz said.  “IT IS NOT UNREASONABLE TO ASSUME HE HAS GATHERED SOME KNOWLEDGE OF CHUTE FIELD DENSITY.”

Jaiya stared down at the floor, putting a hand over his mouth as he said, “I don’t know.  Something just doesn’t seem right…”

“THE CRIME IS SOLVED.  CASE CLOSED.  WE MUST RETURN TO HQ TO PROVIDE A FULL REPORT.”

Torpat grinned as he shook Jaiya’s hand again.  “Thank you, detective!  With this, we just might be able to save our reputation!”

“Maybe next time you won’t hand out experimental tech like it’s a Bula basket on Naming Day!” Sykit said.  Turning to Roz, he smirked and said, “Thanks for the help.  If the next line of models is half as sophisticated as you I’ll know we’re in good hands.”

“IT IS AN HONOR TO SERVE,” Roz said.  “YOU ARE WISHED THE BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR CONTINUING ENDEAVORS.”

The Le-Matoran left then, and Roz filled Dumon in on the case’s resolution.  Jaiya remained silent through all of this.  As they were on their way out, they bumped into Tinnei again, and upon hearing the situation the guard gave them a sad smile.

“At least you got the guy,” he said.  “Too bad I won’t be able to see you bring back the exhibit.  I was just told I’ve been fired for letting it get stolen.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Dumon said.  “Maybe we can try to convince the Head Archivist to change his mind now that the matter’s solved?”

Tinnei shook his head.  “Nah, I don’t think so.  He’s been wanting to get rid of me for a while now.  I guess this is just the excuse he needed, haha…”

The former guard sighed and continued on his way.  Dumon and Roz resumed walking, but after a few steps they noticed Jaiya was not with them.  Turning back, Dumon said, “Detective?”

Jaiya’s eyes were focused, but on what, no one could tell.  The Onu-Matoran caught up in a few quick steps.  “Roz.  I want you to cancel the request to have the ports blocked off.”

“EXCLAMATION!  REPEAT ORDER FOR CLARITY!”

“Leave the ports be.  I think I’ve figured out what’s been bothering me, and I know just how to find out for sure.”

***

Curup, the Head Archivist, was just reaching for the door handle when a knock came from the other side.  He paused a moment in surprise, and then set down what he was carrying and punched a number into the keypad, opening the door to find Jaiya standing there.

“Ah, detective!” Curup greeted, clasping his hands together and smiling brightly.  “I’m glad to see you: I wanted to thank you personally for your hard work in solving this case!”

“I am happy to help,” Jaiya said.  “Though, thanks feel a bit premature since we’ve yet to discover where Abcel has hidden the sculpture.”

“Nonsense, the hard work is done!  I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we have our exhibit back.”

Curup headed back towards his desk.  Jaiya came further into the room, shutting the door behind him; the detective’s gaze wandered as he said, “Well, thank you for the vote of confidence.  I was a bit nervous coming here: Dumon said you were livid when the theft was discovered.”

“Indeed I was,” Curup said, reaching down to flip through some papers.  “Wouldn’t anyone be angry in such a position?”

“Most certainly.  However, it did strike me as a bit odd that you weren’t on the scene.  I would assume you’d want to be as close as possible to stay on top of matters.”

Curup nodded as he slid the papers into a folder.  “Yes, I would have preferred to, but regrettably I had some other matters to attend to.  The Archives cannot grind to a halt for one theft, regardless of how great the loss.”

Jaiya took a seat.  “I imagine this will be quite the blow.  I’m told you pushed quite fervently for the chute barrier, and spent a great deal on it despite typically being very frugal.  You must have believed in it.”

“That I did,” Curup said, looking up for only a second before reaching for a drawer.  “But, I think I’ll find a way to make back what we spent.  Having one less guard on the payroll certainly helps in that.”

“Ah, yes, Tinnei.  He mentioned he’d been having some trouble lately.”

“Since he began.  He’s been a nuisance for so long, his departure is the only silver lining of this whole fiasco.”

Jaiya leaned back.  “Curious.  If you feel that way about him, then why did you trust him to guard such a valuable exhibit, especially one you knew to be at risk?  I would think you would choose a more reliable guard, or perhaps a dedicated Vahki or two.”

Curup slowly slid the drawer shut.  “…Well…I thought it might be nice to give him a chance.  But if he can’t even handle one Ko-Matoran, then firing him is simply the wisest course of action.”

Jaiya hummed.  “Isn’t it remarkable, Curup?  That Abcel was able to short out the security cameras, slip past the Vahki, and find the exact right setting that would allow him to get through the barrier?  All immediately after it was set up.  Most criminals would need more time to become that familiar with their opposition, but it’s as if he knew what measures you were going to put in place as soon as you decided upon them.”

Curup stared at Jaiya as the detective rose to his feet.  “Yes, remarkable.”

“But more than that…I cannot believe that he would lie about committing this crime after being arrested.”

“Detective…are you saying you think someone else stole the sculpture?”

Jaiya nodded.  “I believe so.”

Curup inclined his head.  “I see.  Then who, would you guess, is the true culprit?”

Jaiya turned and took a few slow steps.  “It would need to be someone who knows the Archives very well, and could disable its security cameras at just the right time.  Someone who would have intimate knowledge of the chute barrier, knowing exactly how to disable it.  Someone whose profession would make communications with a place like Xia seem like normal business.”

Curup said nothing.

“That’s a large suitcase sitting next to your door, Curup,” Jaiya observed.  “Are you going on a business trip?”

He received no response.  When he turned around, Curup had an Electro Chute Blade in hand, the tip mere inches from Jaiya’s mask.

“You really do notice the little things, detective,” Curup said.  “It’s a shame you couldn’t just leave well enough alone—no one would question that a lowlife like Abcel stole it, and soon enough they’d just forget and the whole thing would blow over.  Would that have been so bad?”

“My job is to find the truth,” Jaiya said.  “And the truth is that you arranged things in just the right way that you would be able to steal the sculpture and sell it to Xia.”

Curup sighed.  “It worked perfectly, too.  But now that you’ve shown your hand, I’ll have to dispose of you, find a way to make it look like an accident…goodness, I’m going to need to hurry to catch my boat.”

Jaiya shook his head.  “You aren’t going to Xia, Curup.”

“Beg pardon?  You are unarmed.  My door locks automatically, and requires a password from either side—you have no escape.”

“Answer me this, Curup.  Do you know how the Rorzakh’s Staff of Presence operates?”

Curup stopped to think.  The realization dawned on him mere moments before Roz broke down the door.

“HEAD ARCHIVIST CURUP!” the Vahki shouted.  “YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!”

Jaiya dove to the side as Roz came barreling through.  Curup twisted and swung, managing to make contact with Roz’s arm.  The blade passed through the Vahki, but the electricity coursing through it interacted with their circuits, shorting out the limb so that it dangled uselessly at Roz’s side.  Curup grinned when he saw this.  His grin faded when Roz simply fell forward on top of him, pinning him to the ground with their body.

“You underestimate how stubborn Rorzakh are,” Jaiya said as he picked himself up.

“IT IS TENACITY,” Roz corrected.

“It’s reckless is what it is.  Now hold still a moment.”

With some difficulty, Jaiya cuffed Curup, and then Roz got up and hoisted the Archivist with their functional hand.  Jaiya then walked over to the suitcase; undoing the latch, he opened the container to find a sculpture roughly a bio tall made of silvery metal that gleamed as if brand-new.  It was shaped like some sort of lifeform, that much he could tell, but he could not recognize what kind.  The body was blocky with piston-like supports around its joints, and the face reminded him of a Toa without a mask.  He paused for a moment to admire it.

“I’m a bit curious why Xia would want rare art,” Jaiya said, turning back to Curup.

“They want the metal, you idiot,” Curup said.  “Testing revealed that it’s resistant to energized protodermis—if the Vortixx have it, they can work with that substance and make even deadlier weapons.”

“Ah.  And they’re willing to pay well for that?”

“More than I make in a decade here!  How could I refuse an offer like that?”

Gesturing to the sculpture, Jaiya said, “You would really destroy this just to sate you greed?”

Curup rolled his eyes.  “Oh, spare me.  If you’re going to arrest me then just get it over with.”

“AGREED!” Roz said.  “THE REACTION FROM UNIT ZX-87 WILL BE VERY ENJOYABLE!  WE ARE DEPARTING NOW!”

Roz ushered Curup out.  Dumon entered as he left, saying, “I just happened to be passing by and saw Roz taking away the Head Archivist.  What’s going on, detective?”

“Curup was the real thief.  He abused his power and authority to steal from the Archives, all so that he could make a bit of extra money.”

“Wow!  That’s a surprise.”

“To be frank, I don’t find it all that surprising.”

“I guess I’ll go put the sculpture back on display.  Though, I wonder…”

“Hm?”

“What is this sculpture supposed to be, anyway?”

Jaiya turned and examined it once more.  Something seemed vaguely familiar about this gray, strange, robot-like figure…but ultimately, he shrugged.  “Hard to say.”

Her previous post says the deadline is being "extended" rather than "moved", so I think we're good?

Blue Jaga: "IMMA STING YA"

Pohatu: "heck"

Purple Jaga: "u doin great sweetie"

Vakama: "...wh"

Vakama: "what the heckie"