PeabodySam

I'm still pleasantly surprised that Gresh - Gladiator of Jungle made it to the finals, despite not being particularly well-written or well-polished due to my tight schedule. Thank you so much to everyone who had voted for it! I really appreciate your support! As for me? After much thought (there were plenty of fantastic entries in this contest), I ultimately cast my vote for Clinging to the Bones. In keeping with the theme of the contest, it told a story that I would have loved to have seen in Gen 2... you could probably figure that out, given that the same subject matter was tackled in my own entry. It also has the benefits of being able to fit right into Gen 2 canon without any glaring contradictions, and can stand on its own without having to connect to Gen 1. Best of luck to everyone!

Now that I've submitted my own entry by the skin of my teeth, time to see what sorts of entries other people have written- ... Oh. Ohhhhhhhh. Heh, heh. Well, isn't this awkward. Looks like you and I independently came up with similar premises. And while our separate takes might be rather different, there's also quite a few uncanny similarities in the execution, including flashing back-and-forth between the past and present (the latter represented with a retelling of the online animations), and a rather depressing ending where everything comes together. So much for thinking that I had come up with an original entry for the contest! Amusing coincidences aside, this is a fantastic entry, and one that certainly leaves my own in the dust. Upon a second reading, I was able to truly appreciate the storytelling, how a throwaway line about shoulder armor near the beginning comes full circle and plays into the tragic conclusion. Even the little detail about the armor from the Region of Fire lends a justified explanation to that ugly bit of fluorescent reddish orange on the Skull Slicer set. Best of luck in the contest, SPIRIT!

“Hailing from the deepest and darkest corners of the Okoto jungle, it’s the rookie of the year, so close to winning his first ever championship! You all know him, you all love him. Give it up for… Gresh, the Gladiator of Jungle!” As the announcer’s booming, echoing voice faded away beneath the cheering audience, Gresh stepped forward through the gate. At first, he shielded his eyes as his vision adjusted to the bright sunlight, a stark contrast to the dark armory that he had just left. Then, as he looked around the arena, he allowed himself a well-deserved moment to fully take in his surroundings. Even now, after so many games, the arena still took his breath away. The unorthodox angular stone architecture that reached up towards the heavens… the statues modeled in the likeness of past champions… a massive carving of the Protectors’ mask that marked the entrance to the arena, which surely must have taken years to complete, even for the Stone Tribe’s greatest carvers. The stands were completely filled; he had never seen such a large audience gathered before. Then again, this was the first time he had ever attended the final championship game. Okotans from all across the island were in attendance, but most wore the green or red-hued armor of the Regions of Jungle or Fire, respectively. The Okotans of the Jungle Tribe cheered as they saw their Gladiator. With a laugh, Gresh flexed his muscular arms, twice as thick as any normal arm should be. The villagers roared with excitement, and some of the female Okotans even swooned. One particular Okotan in the front row caught Gresh’s eye. He was a familiar young lad named Tamaru, and he had attended every single one of Gresh’s games. Although he nursed a crippling fear of heights, he watched the arena matches with his innocent wide eyes, always so full of wonder and curiosity. Gresh had hoped that the courage displayed in the arena would inspire Tamaru to overcome his phobia. “You’ll win today, right?” asked Tamaru. Gresh grinned. “You bet, I will!” he replied, winking to the young villager. Gresh took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. While he lived in the Region of Jungle, he thought of this arena as his true home. So long as he had a long life and full career ahead of him, it would always be his home. It was where he belonged, and where he was destined to be. He knew that without a doubt. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky. The arena, along with the entire City of the Mask Makers, was blanketed in perpetual night. The ancient architecture was overgrown with vines as nature fought to reclaim what it once held as its own. Many of the statues had collapsed and crumbled into pieces, with the remaining few looking as though they might topple at the lightest breeze. The stands were empty. There was not a living soul in sight. It was as quiet and still as the grave. Gresh blinked and shook his head. What was that? A vision? Or was it just a dream? Rubbing his eyes, he grumbled, “I haven’t rested enough, recently.” In his moment of distraction, Gresh hardly even noticed that the announcer had revealed his opponent in today’s game. Malum, the Gladiator of Fire, stepped through the gate on the opposite side of the arena. This powerful warrior clad in red armor had chosen to arm himself with a pair of large Flame Claws. He was a tough and resilient foe who was known for not giving up, even when the odds were stacked against him. Gresh tightened his grip on his Hook Blades, a popular choice of Gladiator weapon in the arena. He knew that the match would not be an easy victory against Malum, who had years of experience on his side. Still, perhaps a breath of fresh air was just what this arena needed. Ekimu and Makuta, the great Mask Makers, stood in the balcony above the stands. Gresh faced them and raised his weapons in salute. He could hardly contain the thrilling excitement that rushed through him. The Mask Makers! They were here to see him! Ekimu lifted his Hammer of Power to the sky, single-handedly silencing the crowd. “Play well,” he announced, “and may the virtues guide you to victory!” Makuta lifted his Hammer of Control as well. “Let the tournament… begin!” he proclaimed. Gresh felt the arena shake as the ancient machinery came to life. The entire floor was comprised of a hexagonal grid, which rose and fall like the waves upon the beach. Gladiators had to be light on their feet to able to cross the “sea of stone.” If that was all, then it would be easy. Of course, that was not all. A large hole opened up in the center of the arena, unveiling an artificial tornado. Sand flew through the air as it was sucked into the all-consuming vortex. “Well,” Gresh murmured to himself, “this is certainly new.” He had seen plenty of arena hazards during the tournament, everything from flamethrowers to water geysers, but this whirlwind of sand was unexpected. In a matter of moments, the tiny rock particles stung his eyes, coated the insides of his lungs, and made every movement feel sluggish. He was smothered. It had latched onto his face and bored its sharp claws into the back of his skull. He tried to pull it off, but he just felt so weak… as though all of his muscle was stripped away, leaving him bare to the metallic bone. He could hardly breathe with this thing covering his mouth… as he tried to scream for help, all that he could manage were ragged gasps that eerily sounded almost like maniacal giggling. He could not see… not with his own eyes, which felt as though they were stabbed with knives. Instead, he was forced to see the world through this other creature’s eyes, as it prodded his cranium and moved him like a puppet without free will. “Snap out of it!” Gresh told himself, shaking his head again. This was no time for daydreaming. He had to concentrate on the game. After all, just one wrong move, and- Gresh was knocked to the ground, dropping his weapons as he fell. Through the sandstorm, he could see the shape of Malum standing over him. The Gladiator of Fire scowled upon him, and then raised his Flame Claws in preparation for the final blow. “Malum, wait!” Gresh called out. “I’m disarmed! The rules, you can’t-” Malum gritted his teeth. “I don’t care!” he spat. “I have not come this far just to lose to a rookie like you! We’re not heroes, Gresh… we’re just warriors, without a war to fight, forced fight for money and fame. We’re not heroes, and we never will be.” Instinct kicked in and guided Gresh’s movements as he rolled out of the way of Malum’s Flame Claws. As soon as he was back on his feet, he grabbed one of the spare weapons strapped to his back: a long chain with a pair of hooks on the end. It was not a Gladiator weapon he typically used, since he preferred the Hook Blades, but for some reason he decided to try something different today. As Malum charged at him, Gresh jumped onto a rising hexagonal pillar, giving himself the high ground over his opponent. He whipped the chain forward and latched the claws onto Malum’s mask. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the red mask was sent flying off of his opponent’s face. Weakened, the Gladiator of Fire fell forward. He watched as his unmasked opponent hit the ground and lay there, unmoving. Oh, yes! It just felt so satisfying to watch the once-mighty warrior, now even more weakened and lifeless than himself. Now, they would know how it felt to be him. He could hear more coming. With his defeated foe’s mask in his hand, he scurried away as quickly as he could. This was his home, and he’d make them regret intruding upon his territory. Gresh blinked again. “Why does this keep happening?” he wondered aloud. But, now was not the time for such questions. His long-coveted victory was within his grasp. He jumped from pillar to pillar before leaping directly into the sand vortex. In the center of the tornado - the eye of the storm - was the lever that would end the match. With a mighty swing of his Hook Blade, he activated the mechanism. At once, the “sea of stone” settled as the hexagonal grid coalesced back into a smooth flat surface. The sand whirlwind dissipated, and once again Gresh could clearly see the audience. They cheered for him, celebrating his victory. Gresh had accomplished his dream: he was finally an arena champion. With a hearty laugh, he lifted his weapons to the sky and took it all in, closing his eyes and letting the wonderful sounds of praise ring in his ears. After his celebration, Gresh ascended a flight of stairs leading up to the balcony, where he met Ekimu and Makuta. He knelt before them, bowing his head respectfully. “My victory is dedicated to you. Without your unity to guide us, Okoto would be lost.” “Congratulations on winning the tournament, Gresh!” said Makuta. “With your power, you’ve come a long way for a rookie.” “You have shown great honor and courage in the arena,” proclaimed Ekimu. “For that, we award you with the ceremonial Copper Mask of Victory!” Then, the Mask Makers revealed the bronze mask, resting upon a decorated pedestal. The Copper Mask was beautiful, combining Makuta’s fine craftsmanship and Ekimu’s ornate detail. Gresh could see his own image reflected upon its shining surface, which gleamed in the sunlight. It had no power, but it was a symbol of great respect that would only be awarded to the greatest champions. He looked down upon the shining mask he held in his hands. Something compelled him to put it on. He clawed at the thing on his face, but it would still not let go. Determined not to let this deter him, he instead placed the coveted mask over the facehugger. Instantly, energy surged through him as it was drained from the mask. This was more than any being, other than the legendary Toa, should have handled, but now it was his. Unhinged laughter escaped from his lips as he felt more life than he had in millennia. He… could… feel… the… POWER! Gresh gasped as he snapped back to reality. Chaos had unfolded around him while he had blacked out. Okotans screamed and ran as a dozen powerful warriors barged into the arena, spreading fear and panic in their wake. The invaders were all shapes and sizes. One of them was a hulking titan able to demolish rock with his fists. Another was shorter than most Okotans but made up for his diminutive stature by riding upon a vicious reptilian mount. One thing united them all: they were the Hunters, a band of thieves and mercenaries whose loyalties belonged to the highest bidders. With a start, Gresh realized that the Copper Mask of Victory was missing from its pedestal. He ran through the arena, looking for the Hunter that had taken it. At last, he spotted the gleaming mask in the hands of someone he recognized all too well: a fellow warrior hailing from the Jungle Tribe, clad in green and silver armor, and wielding a large Jungle Scythe. “Nidhiki!” shouted Gresh. “Hand over the mask!” Nidhiki turned around slowly and smiled. “Gresh,” he murmured. “Hello again, my old friend. It’s good to see you again.” Gresh grimaced. “You lost the right to call me ‘friend’ after what you did. You… you betrayed Okoto! You tried to sell us out to Kulta and the Skull Raiders!” He remembered that day. It was then that the young Gresh learned the hard way that not everyone was as idealistic or virtuous as himself. Shrugging, Nidhiki said, “See, now that unforgiving attitude is exactly why I left the Jungle Tribe.” “You were exiled,” Gresh pointed out. “Same difference,” said Nidhiki, rolling his eyes. “Now, see, the Hunters welcomed me with open arms. They don’t care what you’ve done in the past; as long as you do honest work, you get paid. And now, I see you’ve chosen a similar profession, Gladiator of Jungle.” “No,” insisted Gresh, shaking his head. “No. It’s not the same at all!” Nidhiki laughed. “Of course it is! Neither of us are heroes, Gresh. It’s not about honor or virtue; it’s about making a living in a harsh world. You get paid to fight, and at the end of the day, you’re awarded with a shiny mask of if you did well enough.” He lifted the Copper Mask as a visual aid. “By the way, congratulations on your victory, kid, and I’m sorry to cut the celebration short for you. But, sooner or later, you’ll learn that being a Gladiator isn’t all fun and games. The crowd may love you now, but once you start growing old and losing your edge, they’ll turn on you and hate you. As you stop winning, they’ll throw you to the Skull Scorpios. Malum knows this well, and it’s only a matter of time before you do, too.” “Enough!” snapped Gresh, unlimbering his chain and one Hook Blade. “Hand over the mask, or I’ll take it from you! It has no power or use to you!” Nidhiki did not seem intimidated by his display. “A Copper Mask of Victory, crafted by Ekimu and Makuta themselves? No, I think it does have some use to me. It’ll fetch a high price on the aftermarket. You want it? Come and take it from me!” Gresh charged at Nidhiki. He swung his chain, attempting to grab the Copper Mask out of Nidhiki’s hand. Instead, Nidhiki used his Jungle Scythe to intercept the claw, wrapping the chain around the shaft and yanking it to pull Gresh close. Then, with the scythe’s blade, the Hunter parried the Gladiator’s Hook Blade, sending sparks flying as the two metallic edges clashed. “Face it, Gresh,” hissed Nidhiki. “You’re no match for me. I’ve been fighting tougher opponents since before you even conceived your first thought.” Gresh chuckled. “Oh, Nidhiki. It’s such a shame you haven’t been here to see me in the arena, rooting for me and cheering me on to victory, like the rest of our tribe. Otherwise, you would’ve known from some of my previous games that I can do… this!” He felt the gears in his torso turning, clinking as they interacted with one another. Then, each of his thick arms separated in two, revealing his true form as a four-armed being. With his two newly-freed hands, he reached for and unsheathed the two additional Hook Blades strapped to his back. Gresh had caught Nidhiki off-guard. Spinning his arms rapidly, he forced the surprised Hunter to recoil. Gresh pressed his advantage and did not let up. With this tactic, he was determined not let any of his opponents get close enough to take the mask away from him. One of them attempted to disarm him, throwing their own weapons to knock two Hook Blades out of his hands, but he kept fighting with his extra limbs. He whipped his chain, latching onto one warrior’s shield, and was ready to pull it away. However, even with the extra power granted to him by the mask, he was still too frail and weak compared to his prime, and his foe pulled the chain right out of his hands. Still, he grabbed one of the other intruders, who had dared to come within arm’s reach, and then used their body as a shield to block an incoming attack. As the champion of the arena, he refused to go down easily, not to these imposters. “Make your choice, Gresh!” Gresh cursed silently to himself. He needed to concentrate on the fight, and these visions kept interfering with ability to stay focused. Gresh turned around and saw one of the other Hunters: a large bruiser who was clad in blue and white armor. The brute held an Okotan in one hand, and was strong enough to lift the villager in the air. Gresh gasped as he realized that the Okotan was none other than Tamaru, whose young innocent eyes were wide with terror. “You can’t have it both ways, Gladiator!” declared Nidhiki. “Either you save the poor helpless villager and let me escape with the Copper Mask… or you try to stop me, and Krekka bashes the villager’s skull in. Let’s see if you really are the hero you claim to be!” Gresh knew that the Copper Mask of Victory was one that he had coveted for years. As the Gladiator of Jungle, he fought each match in the arena with the dream of becoming champion. It was a priceless creation crafted by the greatest Mask Makers, and now it rightfully belonged to him. There was no choice to be made. Gresh charged at one of the two Hunters, bellowing a war cry as he did so. He swung his chain and used the claws to snatch his quarry right out of the Hunter’s hand. He spun his Hook Blades, swinging them down upon his foe. He did not stop until he was sure that his opponent was defeated. In his arms, he cradled the small delicate shape that he had taken from the Hunter. “Don’t worry,” Gresh whispered. “I’ve got you now. You’re safe… Tamaru.” Tamaru looked up at him and wrapped his arms around the Gladiator’s torso, hugging his savior. “Thank you, Gresh!” said the young Okotan. Suddenly, Gresh felt a sharp pain in his spine as a blade sliced through his armor. Gasping, he collapsed to the ground next to Krekka’s fallen form. He felt his energy slip away and was helpless to do anything about it. The only good fortune was that his body cushioned the fall for Tamaru, who was uninjured but very scared. Nidhiki stood over them, having stabbed Gresh in the back with his Jungle Scythe. He bent in close and murmured, “And now, you know what happens to heroes. Goodbye, Gresh.” The Hunter’s voice did not sound happy or proud of his victory, but was instead solemn. Perhaps he did not wish to mortally wound his old friend after all, but he had determined that the decisions leading to this point had led him to this path. With that, Nidhiki and the Hunters departed, taking the Copper Mask of Victory with them. His skill in the arena was not enough to save him. One of the warriors had gotten past his guard and taken the mask away from him for good, stripping away his newfound power. Another had bested him in his own element, bringing a mighty hammer down upon the lever. The games were finally over. Gresh took ragged breaths. He no longer had the strength left to even sit up. Instead, he laid upon the floor of the arena, curled up in a fetal position. Tamaru was still held close in his arms. The scared younger villager shook Gresh as he pleaded, “Get up! Please, Gresh! You have to get up!” Gresh knew that he could not get up. His destiny was clear now. But he could not leave Tamaru scared and alone. Instead, he lifted a trembling hand to gently caress Tamaru’s mask, hoping to comfort the young Okotan. “It’s… okay…” he whispered, struggling to speak when every word felt like a knife in his chest. “You… have to… be… strong, now… I… have to… go…” “I… I don’t understand!” cried Tamaru. “Where are you going? Why can’t you stay?” Summoning his remaining strength, Gresh turned his head and looked towards the sky. “Remember… the legends…? My spirit… will… ascend… to the… stars… to join… the… heroes…” Teary-eyed, Tamaru looked upward. “The stars?” he repeated. “You mean the… the legends of the red stars?” Gresh smiled. “Yes… and when… you see… the… stars… at night… think of me… and… I’ll be… watching…” Slowly, Tamaru nodded. “I… I will think of you! I’ll always remember you, Gresh! We’ll tell stories and sing songs about you!” As Gresh’s eyelids slowly shut, he whispered, “Now… I must… rest… peacefully…” Rest… Gresh’s eyes shot open. No, that couldn’t be right. He needed to rest. He should have been resting. Why wasn’t he resting? Something kept him awake. Something wrong. What was it? Dreams. Was that it? The visions that had plagued him all day. Every time he blacked out. What did they mean? They couldn’t have meant much. They could not have been the past; he had no memory of the events that unfolded before his eyes. They could not have been visions of the future, since he never known such a power in his whole life. No, he was just a simple Gladiator of Jungle who lived an honorable life as a beloved champion of the arena. That’s who he was. A thought took hold of Gresh. A terrible thought. A thought that chilled him straight to the bone. He did not want to think about it. But, like an itch, it would not go away. It took hold of him and he could not think about anything else. The dreams and visions… were his present reality. Fighting in the arena… becoming the champion… battling the Hunters… saving Tamaru… dying at Nidhiki’s hands… that was all just a dream. Or, more accurately, memories. Of a past life. One that he no longer had, because he had died. He was dead, and had been so for millennia. But, something had recently interrupted his peaceful rest. And now, against his will, he was forced to keep fighting in the arena, despite wishing that he could still rest. And he was fighting… Toa! But… no, that can’t be right. The Toa were heroes, according to legend. Why was he fighting them? Why did he oppose them? The bone-chilling answer was like a twisted knife to his heart. I’m not the hero, realized Gresh. I’m… I’m the villain. That was the last thing Skull Slicer thought before he plummeted into the abyss. ----- I was not planning on entering the Legend Continues contest, but last night I suddenly had an idea for a story. I just thought that the backstory of this particular Gen 2 character was very interesting and was disappointed that, canonically, it was never relevant to the plot. Of course, writing and editing the story in less than a day so I can submit it before the deadline by the skin of my teeth... well, that means that this is not one of my better-written or more-polished works, and therefore I'm willing to bet that this will not be the winning entry. Still, it was fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Comments are appreciated. Constructive criticism is welcome.

None taken. Believe me, I found that out the hard way a long time ago during a Google search. This blog post is two years old, and therefore rather out-of-date as far as the Frosam rewrite is concerned. For example, I've since opted to rename the title character "Rosamu" after receiving some encouragement from Jacks and other readers. In addition to avoiding aforementioned connotations, this new name was crafted to fit Tolkien's Matoran Dictionary. Therefore, it sound more like an actual BIONICLE name than "Frosam" ever did. Certainly helps that it apparently follows the naming scheme of Onepu, Taipu, Nuparu, Mamru, and other such Onu-Matoran. So, I guess this comment serves as an update to this blog post which was originally supposed to be an update. Two years and not a single word from me regarding this story (on this website, at least)? Still, I am working on it... slowly. I've written up to chapter 8 of what is currently projected to be approximately 16-20 chapters. Not that anybody cares... after all, the first blog comment I get in two years is nothing more than pointing out the similarities between a name and a ship...

Edit 7/26/16: This was originally posted back in 2014, but I tried to fix a broken Majhost link last year... only to forget that BZP's anniversary had just ended. Okay, seriously, BZPower needs to disable the option of editing blog posts for non-premier members if they're just going to leave the blog post in draft mode. This is the second time that this has happened to me! Okay, so I know there's probably only two of you who have ever read The Story of Frosam or Vakama's Secret, and had one of you not suddenly showed up again after nearly a year of absence I probably wouldn't even bother to write this blog entry. But here we are again, it's always such a pleasure, and while only two of you care about this blog entry, I'm writing this blog entry specifically for you. Now, I bet you're wondering, "What's the status on Reign of Shadows? Or Shadow's Reign, as you've been forced to call it since Greg Farshtey copyrighted Reign of Shadows?" Well, the short answer is... if you're holding your breath for Shadow's Reign, you're going to die of suffocation, because I honestly don't think I'll write it at this point. Don't get me wrong. I would love to finish the trilogy and wrap up the story arc with the Shifting Shadows and reveal Meench Vyzumi's secrets and show how Turaga Wodahs and his Matoran fit into the whole thing... but at this rate, I think it would be unrealistic to honestly say that I will be able to write it. Part one of the problem? Part one of the trilogy: The Story of Frosam. It sucks. And, thanks to a certain hacker, it's no longer online. Don't worry - I still have it saved on several computers, USB drives, and external harddrives. Unlike how BZPower handled the forum archive, I can take care of my stuff so long as I have it saved somewhere. However, if you want to read Vakama's Secret and, subsequently, Shadow's Reign, you need to read The Story of Frosam first. Therefore, reposting The Story of Frosam is a major priority if I want to write Shadow's Reign. But it sucks. Who would want to read it, even if I reposted it? And then I got an idea. Ideas are very dangerous things. What if I rewrote The Story of Frosam? And then I started thinking. Thinking is a dangerous pastime, I know. And the more I thought about it, the more ideas came to me. Eventually, they became a flood, and I could not hold them back. I knew then and there that I had to do it. I had to rewrite The Story of Frosam. Now, here's the problem. I've been working on this rewrite since last fall. I've only just started the second chapter. At this rate, it'll take a long time to finish this rewrite. Also, there's Vakama's Secret. It's a significant improvement over The Story of Frosam, but it still has a number of problems. Worse, one of the ideas I came up with for the rewrite of The Story of Frosam completely retcons... well, Vakama's secret, which as you can imagine is a big part of Vakama's Secret. Now, Vakama still has a secret concerning the Shifting Shadows, and it's similar to the one in the original, but not quite the same. However, I don't have nearly as many ideas for a Vakama's Secret rewrite at the present moment, which is probably a good thing at this point. But for now, I'm focusing my efforts on a rewrite of The Story of Frosam. And even though I'm barely over a chapter finished, I'm very pleased with the results so far. I'm torn on whether or not I want to wait until later chapters are completed before I post the first chapter, but I'll keep you guys (all two of you) posted. In the meantime... please enjoy this preview image of a certain major character who desperately needed a revamp:

"They say that the multiverse is composed of constants and variables. There are endless possibilities for what could happen. In one world, he dons the last mask of dimensional gates and is forever bonded to it by his destiny. In another, he teams up with a young woman who lost her finger and gained the power of tears. In yet another, he is unlucky enough to be the lab rat of a homicidal artificial intelligence with a penchant for portals. Through all these variables, one thing remains constant: Vezon is an annoying lunatic who never shuts up as he stumbles blindly from one universe to the next." Ah, Vezon. Whether you love him or hate him, I think we can all agree that he was certainly... memorable. As of this past March, I can finally add BioShock Infinite to the list of games I've completed. A crossover between BioShock and Portal, specifically Elizabeth using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, was something that I had in mind for a while, even seen here in this Garry's Mod screenshot from last year. You know, because portals and tears are basically the same thing (okay, not really, but that's not the point). Now that I've completed BioShock Infinite, what better way to celebrate? But then, I remembered another Portal crossover that I wanted to do for an even longer time. You can see one of my cruddy sketches from circa-2008 depicting Vezon meeting GLaDOS. A while back, I even jokingly suggested to Andrewnuva199 the possibility of a "Vezon's Mind", basically a Freeman's Mind-style playthrough of Portal from the perspective of Vezon. Again, because portals and dimensional gates are basically the same thing (again, not really, but that doesn't matter). And now, it's finally made possible with the porting of the BIONICLE Heroes Piraka models to GMod, thanks to The Frosty_Engine! So then, I asked... "Why not both?" Much like Armed with a Tail, the mental image was just too amusing for me to pass up. Elizabeth running through Aperture Science, escaping from GLaDOS and her turrets... while Vezon rides on her shoulders like a Jockey from Left 4 Dead, telling her where to go and pretending that he's contributing something useful to the situation. Admittedly, the "riding on the shoulders" pose proved to be the most difficult part of the picture to pull off, thanks to Vezon's thick legs and Elizabeth's (comparatively) short thin arms. Also, I discovered that, even when adjusting video settings to their maximum (e.g. enabling anti-aliasing), images through portals in GMod are not affected (e.g. still aliased), so GLaDOS ended up looking lower-quality than the rest of the image. Even Super DOF doesn't affect images in portals. Therefore, I tried to hide this with some additional dynamic post-processing in Picasa, but... I still don't know if I trust that program when I can't tell whether or not the JPG files it saves (and it only saves JPGs) are truly lossless. Once again, big thanks to The Frosty_Engine for making this possible. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.

"The Hoi are flying swamp turtles that dwell in the vicinity of Le-Koro. They are slow and relatively harmless. The arrival of the Lehvak forced many of the Hoi to move into coastal waters, where they have had a harder time surviving. Gali and the Ga-Koro Matoran have made an extra effort to aid and protect the Hoi." You're welcome.

I consider the BIONICLE films to be guilty pleasures. I still enjoy them, but... they're objectively bad. How bad? So bad, it actually took me a couple hours to write up a post that was intended to briefly summarize a few flaws with each film and nearly ended up becoming a lengthy novel about Mask of Light's ending. Mask of Light: The casting choice to make the Matoran sound like teenagers. It's particularly glaring when it comes to Jaller. Try reading any of Jaller's dialogue in Mata Nui Online Game or the Wall of History animations; for me, the voice of a stern soldier, hardened from a lifetime of combat and strife, comes to mind. Even if I do find amusement in the anecdote about how Takua and Jaller switched voice actors because of the physical conditions of their scripts... I'm just unable to hear Matoran when they speak. I just hear young voice actors.Reverting character development just so they could re-undergo that development in the movie. What's that? Takua stepped up as a courageous and resourceful leader of the Matoran? Nope, we have to make him duty-shirking and irresponsible so that he can develop that courage and resourcefulness... again. What's that? The Toa Nuva have finally learned to overcome their differences and work together? Nope, we need to have them not get along and refuse to cooperate for petty reasons just so they can learn that friendship is important... again.The walking disaster that dares to call itself "Onua". A lot of character personalities were horribly mistreated in this film (hippie Lewa, anyone?), but this is undoubtedly the worst. Onua was always my favorite of the original Toa Mata/Nuva team because I thought his character provided an interesting contrast from the typical "dumb brute" trope: he was noted for his incredible physical strength, but had a very reserved personality and was considered the wisest of the Toa, carefully assessing a situation before taking action so that he would not place his allies in danger. I suppose, in yet another example of Mask of Light shamelessly ripping off lovingly pulling inspiration from The Lord of the Rings, Miramax decided that the depiction of Gimli as dim and boisterous in the Peter Jackson films was such a big hit among the audience that they had to give Toa "WELCOME TO ONU-KORO" Onua a similar treatment. And what do we get? A typical dumb brute. No, worse than a dumb brute. An idiot who, when confronted by three enemies he knows nothing about, proceeds to blow up half of Onu-Koro without a second thought (to no avail), jumps into hand-to-hand combat with Vorohk (to no avail), and then blows up the other half of Onu-Koro, nearly killing everyone inside (still to no avail!). Ugh. Thankfully, unlike Sidorak, this personality did not stick around.The Rahkshi magically losing all their competence during the battle for Kini-Nui. It's a common complaint that six Rakhshi were unstoppable foes while armies of Rahkshi were mere cannon fodder in later years... but would you believe me if I told you that all that "cannon fodder" can be traced back to this moment? The very same Rahkshi that destroyed villages and kicked Toa butts suddenly succumbed to Rahkshi Idleness Syndrome: a fatal disease that causes the infected individual to just stand still while the Toa kick their butts and freeze them in ice and glass. Oh, and Kurahk hits Turahk in the face. Just like that, they lost all credibility as villains.The ending. I could rant and rant and rant about this, but that would take up a whole post of its own, so I'll just summarize here. Everything starting with the infamous five words, "... a simple game of Kohlii". Now it's Makuta's turn to lose all credibility as a villain. Sure, we can look back on it post-Time Trap and say Makuta was a devious schemer who was only just toying with Takanuva, but that's not the character that Miramax had in mind in 2003. That's not the final showdown that three years of BIONICLE had been building up to. It was a major, major letdown. I'll give the film credit that, at least, the cinematography is trying its darndest to make the Kohlii match look like an epic showdown... but the problem is, at the end of the day, it's still a Kohlii match. That's Makuta losing the battle because he got hit in the chest with a Kohlii ball. And then, he spews some gibberish about "My duty is to the Mask of Shadows!" that made no sense back then and make no sense now... maybe because he was possibly intended to be a tragic villain who was corrupted by the Kanohi Kraakhan, but that's not the villain that we ultimately got, resulting in this scene being confusing and pointless in both the film and the overall saga. Then, Takanuva and Makuta fall in Makuta's swimming pool (Oh, wait, that's Energized Protodermis? Good thing the film tells us... no, wait, it doesn't? Well, maybe the novelization... nope, C.A. Hapka calls it mercury. Good luck figuring this out if you aren't a hardcore BIONICLE fan!), and emerge as Takutanuva. So, what does the character who was hyped up as the most powerful being in the universe do? Opens a door. Yeah, so Makuta apparently guards a door that's suddenly relevant, but never really explained why. What else does he do? He brings Jaller back to life, at the cost of his own life. Normally, I would criticize the undoing of a major character sacrifice that provided the hero's motivations, but since the hero had to sacrifice his own life to make this possible, I could let it go... no, wait, what is Vakama doing? What's this Three Virtues symbol on the floor? What's that light? Explain, movie! Explain! Wait, now Takanuva is alive again? Three words: Kane. Ra. Dung. And then, they find some new island, and then the film just... ends. Nothing is explained. And, to rub extra salt in that wound, remember how the entire third act of the movie has everyone going "Mata Nui will be awoken this day"? Guess what? Mata Nui's still sleeping. Not like you would even know that, since nothing is explained. Ugh. Twelve years later, and this ending still gets my blood boiling.Legends of Metru Nui: Any time Matau says "WOOHOO!" or some variant thereof. You think Kiina is bad? Matau says it more often than she does, and in a far more obnoxious voice at that. For that matter, much of his comic relief doesn't hold up well, and the same goes for Web of Shadows.I can understand cutting out the Morbuzakh and Krahka storylines for time. However, when Turaga Dume dismisses the Toa Metru because they haven't yet proven their worth with "deeds, not simple gifts", and then all the Toa Metru just shoot dirty looks at Vakama... yeah, that scene really does not hold up in the context of the overall storyline. You'd think someone would've said, "Uh, hello? Morbuzakh is gone? Archives are saved? All thanks to us?" I probably wouldn't mind this scene so much if it weren't for the fact that even Nokama looks irritated with Vakama, which doesn't fit her character at all and only further enforces the issue.The scene where Turaga Dume speaks with Makuta about the Mask of Time. It's a cheap throwaway scene that attempts to throw the viewer off by making them think that Turaga Dume is in cahoots with Makuta, but then makes no sense upon second viewing. I mean, yeah, I get that villains like to monologue to themselves... but not literally to themselves!What's that? Makuta hasn't lost all of his credibility as a villain in the previous film's climax? Well, then, let's have this film's climax consist of... Makuta hitting himself with a rock. Again. And again. And again. And then, he says, "I know where you are" in this dark menacing voice, and then proceeds to hit himself yet again with another rock, demonstrating that, contrary to that menacing-sounding line, he actually has no clue where Vakama is, and is thereby just digging himself deeper in this hole of terrible kids' movie villains.Web of Shadows: Let's get this one out of the way first, since it's the very backbone of the film and therefore a very major flaw: Vakama's betrayal. Just as Mask of Light was riding off the success of Lord of the Rings, this one was clearly marketed to cash in on the Revenge of the Sith craze. Character-wise, it makes little sense for Vakama, even with Greg Farshtey trying so hard to justify it in the novelization. But what's even worse is that, being a prequel... no, wait, a midquel of a prequel, there is no dramatic tension whatsoever. You already know that Vakama is not going to stay evil and he's going to go back to being a good guy in the end. It was dead on arrival, and unfortunately takes down the whole film with it, making it the worst of the four in my opinion.The Rahaga character design. Or, should I say, the "flashlight helicopter" character design. Why did this need to exist? It did not add anything to the characters, since they could already fly with Rhotuka and could probably use an old-fashioned lightstone like everyone else in the universe. Everyone harps on The Legend Reborn for making the characters look like the toys (unlike, you know, the comics, the animations, the games... oh wait), at least it didn't pull this nonsense on us."That's what friends do." All four films are filled to the brim with corny lines such as this, but this one is undoubtedly the worst. Why is that? Well, let's take a look at Mata Nui's line "We can win this, together! For unity!" from The Legend Reborn. Yeah, it's corny, but Michael Dorn sounds like he's putting his all into the line, and as a result, it really does feel like the character of Mata Nui is, with all his heart, genuinely believing the words he's saying. In contrast, when Paul Dobson delivers this particular line, he says it in a tone of voice that is not "I truly believe this with every fiber of my being!", but "I am so filled with self-loathing right now because I have to deliver this stupid kids' movie line just to get my paycheck."The Muaka scene. For context, I read the novelization before I saw the film, so when I read there was an appearance by a Muaka, I got really excited because the Muaka (and Kane-Ra) is one of my favorite BIONICLE sets of all time. And what did we get? A recycled Ash Bear model. Okay, so maybe the original script said it was a Muaka but then they changed it to an Ash Bear to save production time... wait, what? Norik still calls it a Muaka? Oh, come on!The characterization of Sidorak. Well, Makuta's only got a bit part in this film, so whose villain credibility can we ruin this time? I know! Let's take that fierce warrior king who personally leads his horde into war, and turn him into a sniveling cowardly buffoon who never dirties his hands with combat and needs Roodaka to do everything for him, just to make Roodaka look like a good villain in comparison! Even worse than Makuta and Onua, this is the personality that ultimately stuck, with retcons and amendments made to his previous appearances in an attempt to make him look more pitiful.The Legend Reborn: The soundtrack. This, personally, is the film's biggest flaw, hands-down. I strongly believe that a film's score has a massive impact upon the audience's perception. And while The Legend Reborn's score isn't bad, it's mediocre. It sounds like an average direct-to-DVD kids' movie soundtrack. Compare this to Nathan Furst's score for the Miramax trilogy. The opening titles of Mask of Light feel so big and epic because the music was telling us that it was big and epic. The Legend Reborn is sorely lacking in this regard. As an experiment, I actually took several clips from the film and rescored them using the soundtracks of the Miramax trilogy and other BIONICLE media, and what I got was a tremendous improvement. The world seems bigger, the fights seem more intense, the characters seem more emotional... but you don't get any of that with a mediocre film score.Strakk striking Ackar after surrendering. Interestingly, here's a problem that I have with The Legend Reborn... but not actually with the movie itself. Rather, I am referring to the novelization and comic adaptations of this scene: they both explicitly state that Strakk will be banished as punishment for this crime, which goes against everything about Strakk's personality and backstory. Strakk is characterized as a fellow who only does that which would benefit him, and after his match with Malum, he should know better than to try the same dirty trick in the arena. A case could be made that, since he was Iconox's only Glatorian, he knew he could get away with this since he knew that his village could not afford to banish him, and that's why the sudden arrival of a new unemployed Glatorian (i.e. Mata Nui) posed such a great threat to him... but this is not explicitly stated. In the film, his fate is left ambiguous, so I actually don't have a problem with it there.Any time Kiina says "WOOHOO!" or some variant thereof. Which, surprisingly, isn't actually as often as you'd think. But, fans won't stop whining and moaning about it, so apparently its existence is bad enough that it overshadows everything else about her. Remember when Kiina argues with Mata Nui over the Great Beings because she bitterly blames them for the destruction of Spherus Magna, and how that was actually a decent scene that stuck true to her character? No? Probably because we're too busy instinctively putting our hands over our ears whenever she opens her mouth thanks to a particularly bad choice of establishing character moment.Berix's voice. The Legend Reborn had the decency to have the Agori voiced by adults, thus avoiding the pitfalls of the Matoran in the Miramax trilogy. But, unfortunately, James Arnold Taylor had to give Berix an annoying high-pitched nasally voice, because we all loved the sound of Matau's obnoxious voice, right?The "tell, don't show" depiction of the Skrall. Until the climax, the only villains we see are Bone Hunters, who are unfortunately treated as cannon fodder. On the other hand, the complete absence of Skrall for most of the film means that the audience doesn't get to see why they are considered such a great threat, which either runs of the risk of making them uninteresting or else hypes them up too much and subsequently leads to a let-down in the climax. And, yes, the climax was yet another let-down, continuing the grand tradition of BIONICLE films. But, for all the flack that I gave the Rahkshi in the battle of Kini-Nui, at least they had the rest of the film to make themselves look like legitimate villains before being utterly humiliated in the climax... the Skrall didn't get that chance.The characterization of Tuma. Hey, what's another grand tradition of BIONICLE films? Ruining the credibility of villains? Okay, great! Let's take Tuma, who is a fleshed-out tragic villain, and reduce him to a one-note kids' film bad guy! Blah blah blah, you guys already get the point.The Agori literally moving whole villages across the vast Bara Magna desert on their own... with mere rope. It's a stupid concept, and merely writing about it feels stupid. Actually, the concept could work, since the villages are actually pieces of a robot... which is two-thirds the size of the entire Matoran universe, causing these scenes to largely falls apart on the account of sci-fi writers having no sense of scale. Yep, still stupid.

This. This is exactly what I thought of when I heard "Mask of Control". Or, at least, this is what I thought of when I hear of such a vaguely-named mask... in the context of being used by a craftsman. I'm honestly surprised by the number of people who believe that it refers to controlling minds, controlling telekinesis, controlling the elements, et cetera. As I said, "control" is a very broad term, but in the context of one of the two greatest craftsmen who spend their time in the forge making masks (with an old-fashioned hammer and anvil, not with telekinesis or other special powers), whilst keeping in mind that the other craftsman's mask power is "creation", does it really make sense for "control" to refer to a power like mind-control? Then again, I suppose anything's possible. This is BIONICLE we're talking about. After all, what does a power like mind-control have to do with being the elder of a rock village? But, I do see (and I like what I see) the parallels to Lord Business and the Master Builders from The LEGO Movie. With the power of control, Makuta is Lord Business, carefully making sure that everything he makes is well-crafted and practical, however boring it may be. With the power of creation, Ekimu is the Master Builder, coming up with designs that may not necessarily be practical, but are creative, extravagant, and awesome. Just look at how the Mask of Control is perfectly symmetrical and refined, but largely overshadowed by the needlessly ornate design of the Mask of Creation. What does that tell you? As an example, Ekimu and Makuta are both assigned to create a Mask of Jungle. Ekimu crafts an extravagant mask that pulls together colors like lime and teal, even though teal has been out of production for ten years and lime is notorious for breaking, but it looks pretty darn cool and everybody loves it. Makuta consistently and carefully sticks to one shade of green, making a mask that is uniform in appearance and is practical for production, but green is not a creative color and everyone ignores it. Cue Makuta's jealousy... and grumbled complaints that he's stuck with a lousy mask power like "precision and control" instead of something cool like "mind-control". Time for a new mask power! Or rather, a new ultimate mask power...

Thank you for your comments! I do agree with you that the glowing floor dome does take away some of the focus from Takua and the lightstone. I used it because I wanted a source of the green illumination (which, admittedly, is a relic of the original version of the picture) and to give Takua a place to stand that would, like you said, fit with the general Bohrok nest aesthetics (the actual floor of the map is a square tile floor, like what you'd find in a kitchen or a bathroom, so that was definitely something that could not be shown in the picture!). I did cover it up with an enlarged Kopaka shield to make it more visually interesting and BIONICLE-esque while decreasing the amount of green glow, but I found that trying to dim the glow itself made it look (no pun intended) duller. At this point, it's too late to go back and fix it. Loading up the save, rather predictably, caused all the Bohrok to vanish (that's what I get for trying to play with SFM toys in GMod...). However, as I said, this is a good point that you bring up and I do agree with you, so it's something I'll keep in mind for future projects. Sure. You can find most of this stuff, as well as other such addons, by searching for "bionicle" on the workshop, but here are direct links to the specific models used in this picture: BIONICLE Matoran Pack by Callegos-Y and VincentorBionicle Mask Models by Lehvak and DeikaBionicle Weapon Models by Lehvak and DeikaAs for the Tahnok model, as I said in the first post, it's something that hasn't been released for GMod yet and is currently only available for SFM, so you won't find it on the GMod Workshop. I don't even think it's on the SFM Workshop, either. However, Vissova38 has provided a MediaFire download link for the model, and if you transfer the files to your GMod addons folder, you can spawn it in-game using the console command "prop_dynamic_create vissova/bionicle/bohrok.mdl" (without quotes, of course) and then pose it with the Advanced Bone Tool, the Joint Tool, or some other similar tool of your liking. Have fun and play well!

"... and you wake them all." Oh, yes. What a time to be a BIONICLE fan with access to Garry's Mod! As if the Toa Mata and Glatorian were not enough to satisfy our appetites, we are still continuing to receive our classic childhood nostalgia recreated in Source engine. Of course, those aforementioned models were ported from other games... but what about those willing to take a step further? Enter Vissova38, who is taking virtual BIONICLE bricks and piecing them together in Blender to create beautiful high-poly sets for us to play with. Already, Vissova38 has released the Tahnok upon unsuspecting Source Film Maker users. Of course, since my computer hates SFM and SFM hates my computer, that option was out of the question. That's why the console command prop_dynamic_create comes in handy when you want to play around with SFM toys before they are officially released for Garry's Mod! I originally envisioned this as taking place in near-total darkness, illuminated only by Takua's lightstone and a faint green glow coming from the floor... and the glowing eyes of Jellicle Cats Bohrok. The inspiration came from the post-climax scene in Mata Nui Online Game, wherein Takua accidentally stumbles upon a Lehvak nest and is forced to flee from a bunch of dark silhouettes with glowing eyes. However, when I was looking to see if there was anything else I wanted to add before I closed down GMod, I found that one of the mist effects from Team Fortress 2's Lakeside Event map was strikingly reminiscent of the mist in Bohrok promotional art, and I decided to make a few adjustments to accommodate this addition. You can see the original version here. Please let me know which version you prefer. Personally, I really like how the original version has this more isolated feel, and how the giant Kanohi Hau statue is only just barely visible in the darkness. But, at the same time, I do feel it looks a little empty, while this version (as I said) better captures the mood and atmosphere of the Bohrok promotional artwork. Also, I had to find a map that had practically no lights in order to make this work. And when you turn fullbright on... "Well, this ain't so bad!" Once again, big thanks to Callegos-Y, Lehvak, and Vissova38 for making this possible with their Matoran, Kanohi, and Bohrok models, respectively. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.

I refuge to acknowledge the Glatorian sets as "guilty" pleasures. While they are unfortunately yet another rehash of the Toa Inika build, they are easily the best instances of that particular canister set bodygroup - bright colors, visually varied, appealing mask and weapon design, finally downplaying those projectile launchers, and even sporting a few twists on the standard build (i.e. Skrall, Strakk, and especially Kiina). Compare to, say, the Bohrok-Kal, which are nearly identical to the original Bohrok, but blander in appearance (which is ironic, because when they were originally released, silver was meant to be something special). I honestly don't get why they get so much negativity, other than perhaps the fact that they are part of the Bara Magna story arc (which, again, I feel gets a lot of undeserved vitriol from the fanbase). The Stars, on the other hand... I'd consider them guilty pleasures, since I understand why they are not seen by many fans as worthy of being BIONICLE's final set wave, being a set of small simplistic builds using the Av-Matoran bodygroup (which, unlike the Toa Inika bodygroup, was already quite controversial upon its initial release). But, that being said, I am very impressed with how much the LEGO designers were able to accomplish with this simple build. The addition of the shoulder/chest armor made the heroes stand out from the bare-bones Av-Matoran and Agori, and I was surprised by how faithfully the aesthetics of the Piraka and Rahkshi sets were recreated with Nektann and Samuel L. Jackson the Rahkshi of Heat-Vision. Of course, those two particular characters had never been released in set form before despite existing in the story for years, not to mention that this is the first time that Tahu has been released in some semblance of his Toa Mata form since the original wave of sets in 2001*. The only one I'm not particularly fond of is the Skrall, and even then it's a set that comes with a black Ice Sword, so that still opens up some MOCing potential (Shadow Kopaka, anyone?). Add in the fact that the BIONICLE team had to fight tooth and nail to even make these sets in the first place, since LEGO just wanted to cut the line short with the Glatorian Legends, and I'd honestly say... all things considered, the Stars served as a satisfactory celebration of the ten-year-long BIONICLE saga, which is really all I could have asked for when it comes to how BIONICLE should have ended. Of course, being the BIONICLE fanbase, everybody else insists (even five years after the fact) that "stars killed bonkledore". *Warning: it's personal story time that nobody cares about but still gives context to that particular statement! Even though I've been following BIONICLE since day one (more or less), my LEGO budget in 2001 was largely given to the Adventurers, Studios, Dinosaurs, and Harry Potter themes, so I only ended up getting one Turaga (Nuju) and four Tohunga (Onepu, Huki, Matoro, and Maku) for that year. In 2004, that 2001 collection expanded to include two more Turaga (Vakama and Onewa) and one Rahi (Muaka & Kane-Ra), but I did not acquire any more 2001 sets for the rest of BIONICLE's run. Therefore, when I saw that Tahu Mata was among the Stars line-up, I was overjoyed, since I thought this would be my final opportunity to get a set based upon, if not actually, the original Toa Mata. Of course, by the end of 2010, my best friend ended up giving me his entire BIONICLE collection, including the original Tahu Mata, so the point was ultimately rendered moot... not to mention that the Gen 2 Tahu is probably everything that the Stars Tahu should have been... but I could not have known about that back in late 2009 when the Stars were announced!

Hmm, let me see... how would I have ended BIONICLE? Well, I would have brought it all back to where it began: the conflict of two brothers, Mata Nui and Makuta. Being brothers, they cannot help but attempt to appeal to one another, offer each other one last chance to join forces, but Mata Nui's selflessness and Makuta's selfishness ultimately result in the rejection of these offers. Then, a final showdown commences between them, with the fates of both the Matoran Universe and the greater universe in their hands. And you know, that would be an interesting dynamic, with Makuta in control of the Great Spirit robot and the Matoran Universe within, meaning that every blow Mata Nui makes against his brother risks the lives of his own people. Of course, to stand a chance against his original body, Mata Nui needs a new body that's on a similar scale, but because "Evil is Bigger" is a classic trope, it needs to be smaller and weaker than the Great Spirit robot... so, let's say he gets a prototype robot that was built by the Great Beings on Bara Magna, which exploded thousands of years ago and its pieces scattered across the planet and became one with the geography, resulting in subtle foreshadowing in the 2009 year's map of Bara Magna that is somewhat reminiscent of the subtle foreshadowing in the original island of Mata Nui's geography back in 2001. While the Mata Nui versus Makuta fight is going in, their own forces partake in an ultimate battle of good versus evil down below on Bara Magna. We see heroes and villains from across the BIONICLE saga: the Toa Nuva, Toa Mahri, and Glatorian uniting against the combined might of the Rahkshi, Skakdi, and Skrall. And, to take advantage of this, LEGO can release one last wave of sets based upon these BIONICLE all-stars, including never-before-released ensemble darkhorses such as Nektann and Samuel L. Jackson the Rahkshi of Heat-Vision. And, reminiscent of the old days of Kanohi and Krana, Tahu (who is in his original Toa Mata form, because I believe that is far more iconic than his Toa Nuva form) has to go on a quest to collect six ancient mystical macguffins, including a classic golden Kanohi Hau, that will be crucial to defeating the bad guys and saving the day. And, in one more hearkening to ye olde days of 2001, the final comic cover should feature these aforementioned all-stars in a similar pose to the Toa Mata's group pose in the very first comic. Meanwhile, Mata Nui is nearly defeated by Makuta, since the latter is bigger, faster, and stronger, too. He is almost dead... not big surprise. But then, oh the irony, Makuta's own evil schemes bring about his downfall: he uses the Great Spirit robot's original purpose, to pull in Aqua Magna and Bota Magna, in a spectacular effort to completely demolish Mata Nui and the armies fighting on Bara Magna. But then, Mata Nui, in a last-ditch effort to save his people, shoves Makuta in the path of an incoming chunk of Aqua Magna, the very moon that Makuta caused Mata Nui to crash-land upon so many years ago, and it kills Makuta (Metru Nui is a necessary sacrifice... don't worry; everybody else known by name, including our dear Tiribomba, survives the impact). Then, with his remaining strength, Mata Nui finishes the job and recreates Spherus Magna, bringing the Matoran (and everybody else) to the very paradise promised by the Turaga in the Legend of Mata Nui. Finally, when all is said and done, Mata Nui's body dies, but his spirit remains in the legendary Kanohi Ignika, once again bringing a lost spiritual element back to both the Great Spirit and the Masks of Power. He bids his farewell to his people, as it is finally time for them to live their own lives and create their own future without him. Then, he goes back to sleep. Oh, how things come full circle. And that is the way... of the BIONICLE. ... But, who am I kidding? Nobody would like an ending like that! Also, that's totally how it should have ended. That's right, I said "ended". Meaning "no serial cliffhangers left hanging, doomed to never be resolved".

I had an image for reference, but majhost decided to undergo indefinite maintenance without warning and I do not currently have access to the hard drive on which said image is stored, so unfortunately I can't show you at this time. However, according to my hypothesis, it is not merely Charge and Flex whose faces have been swapped. Sure, Charge's Mission Deep Freeze face greatly resembles Flex's previous faces, but Flex's Mission Deep Freeze face doesn't really look that much like Charge. However, swap around a few more heads, and you get the following: Charge's head + Flex's body = Flex. This one is simple enough, with the big grin and orange uniform together bearing a very strong resemblance to the Flex we all know and love.Flex's head + Diamond Tooth's body = Crunch. Crunch was conspicuously absent in Mission Deep Freeze... or was he? The stubble and wide mouth are much more evocative of Crunch than they are of either Flex or Charge, and the green-sleeved torso is one that has always belonged to Crunch.Diamond Tooth's head + Dash Justice's body = Charge. It seems that poor Charge can't get around shaving his beloved mustache, but this time, at least he gets to keep the goatee. The blue uniform has never belonged to Dash; it has always gone to Charge. You will also notice that, in junction with the previous bullet, this completely eliminates the new character Diamond Tooth.Dash Justice's head + Arrow's body = Dash Justice. If the blue uniform doesn't belong to Dash, then which one does? The problem is that Dash's previous uniforms have never had a particular color, instead simply using the current mission's neutral color (black in the original mission, dark-blue in Mission Deep Sea) without any differently-colored arms. However, of the remaining Alpha Team minifigs (red uniform, yellow arm, and purple arm), Arrow's yellow-armed torso is the only one that does not conflict with any of the previous Alpha Team characters, making it the most likely choice for Dash.Arrow's head + Charge's body = Arrow. Unfortunately, unlike Diamond Tooth, there is no getting around Arrow. Either Cam Attaway woke up at four in the morning and forgot to apply her make-up, or we've got a new character. Still, since Arrow is the team's new mechanic replacing Cam, it makes sense that he would inherit her previously-held red uniform designation. Besides, we have to use that leftover Charge body for something...This leaves us with Radia and Tee Vee, who are the only two minifigs of the Mission Deep Freeze line who are not in need of any head-swapping. Radia's head and purple sleeve work well enough for Radia, while Tee Vee is a brand-new iteration of a robotic character who has demonstrated the ability to download his consciousness into other bodies (see his rover form in Mission Deep Sea). And then, of course, there's the brand-new special agent Zed, but his face doesn't resemble any of the original Alpha Team members and his uniform is rather unique, making it safe to assume that he is correctly assembled. But hey, it's just a hypothesis. A LEGO hypothesis! Thanks for reading!

Right, because as we all know, there were absolutely no mentions of tragic backstories involving the deaths of many back in the light and cheery year of 2001. I haven't had the chance to give this a proper read, though I did skim though it a little. Perhaps that's for the best; the writing style does seem to be aimed at a slightly younger audience than Greg Farshtey's work (for better or for worse), and besides I don't think I can afford to become so heavily invested in the story of Gen 2 as I was fifteen years ago with Gen 1. Regardless, it's good to see that these characters have names, even if they are not the names that I've personally been used to calling the Protectors for the past seven months (i.e. the names of the original Turaga). I was disappointed that the Protector of Water was immediately identified as male... but, if the Protector of Earth is female, then that seems to be a huge step forward for BIONICLE. Gender diversity, at last! It seems LEGO's marketing strategy this year is to give the characters easily-remembered and pronounced English names in the sets consumers, while giving story buffs (such as the majority of BZPower) something a little tastier to chew upon in the books and other supplemental materials. An interesting choice; let's see if it works out better for them this time. I'm sure parents are relieved that they have to look for "Protector of Fire" and "Lord of Skull Spiders" rather than try to remember bizarre names like "Turaga Vakama" and "Visorak Oohnorak".

Really? Hmm, this is concerning. If it's a problem with the host website, then perhaps this Brickshelf reupload will work better for you. If it's a problem with file size, then maybe the smaller preview image will load for you (though you'll have to deal with grainy JPEG compression as a result). Please let me know if either of these options are viable.

"Beware my stinger tail!" It is the beginning of a great new era of prosperity for BIONICLE fans who use Garry's Mod. Not only do we have several classic Toa Mata and Toa Nuva models from BIONICLE: The Game thanks to Xiron (as showcased here with my earlier piece), but now we also have Glatorian and Toa Inika from Glatorian Arena and BIONICLE Heroes, respectively, thanks to the work of The Frosty_Engine. Still working on an idea with the Inika, but I definitely had something in mind for the Glatorian. I suppose I'm in the minority of the BIONICLE fanbase, since I consider 2009 to be an overall good year for the franchise. Gone were the over-abundance of silver and giant projectile launchers and unrecognizable travesties of our favorite characters. Once more, we had a brand new world to explore, populated by literally-colorful new characters who hearkened back to the early days of the tribes of Mata Nui. I even think that The Legend Reborn is not nearly as terrible as most fans make it out to be, and I can make an argument for it being one of the better films in the series. Its soundtrack, on the other hand... But, I digress. Anyways, I wanted to make a cool scene in the Bara Magna desert, maybe with one of the Glatorian tending a campfire while some Vorox lurk in the shadows, but tigerfaceswe already did a pretty good job at that, so I chose to do something different. Still wanted to do something with the Vorox, though; it's one of my personal favorite sets of the Glatorian line. Then, I thought about a particular quote from The Legend Reborn, where Ackar refers to Mata Nui as crazy because he charged into a Glatorian arena with only a Scarabax beetle and a Vorox tail for protection. For some reason, I had the mental image of Mata Nui wielding a Vorox tail... still attached to a living and very annoyed Vorox. The whole scene still played straight and dramatic, except for the Vorox ruining the tone. I found this just too amusing to ignore. But, if you're a stickler for canon, then I suggest you view this alternate version instead. As before, everything you see here was done directly in Garry's Mod, since I don't have access to Photoshop on this computer. This one took a lot of playing around with different camera angles and lighting effects to try to recreate the scene I imagined, since Garry's Mod is currently lacking in maps with volcanic gladiator arenas like that of Vulcanus. Backlighting Mata Nui with a red/orange lamp seemed to do the trick, as it found a perfect intersection between a fiery setting and a dramatic tone, as well as making up for the lack of lighting in this corner of the map. Much to my frustration, models cast no shadows on the map, which I feared would ruin the whole picture... but fortunately, this issue ultimately rectified itself once I maximized video settings for the screenshot. I'm really satisfied with how this one turned out. Once again, big thanks to The Frosty_Engine for making this possible. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.

"I have slept for so long. My dreams have been dark ones. But now I am awakened. Now the scattered elements of my being are rejoined. Now I am whole. And the darkness cannot stand before me." Thanks to the hard work of Xiron, Garry's Mod and Source Film Maker finally have a ton of LEGO models to play around with, without having to resort to work-arounds such as my earlier Toa of Light. I'm hoping to make some big pictures with these new assets in the future, but for now, I wanted to celebrate the birth of this new GMod era with a homage to another era's birth. This is a recreation of the full-page splash panel of Kopaka from the very first BIONICLE comic drawn by Carlos D'Anda, using models from BIONICLE: The Game, Half-Life 2, and the "Legend of the Toa" Skyrim mod on the GM_BigIsland map. Of course, the BIONICLE: The Game model for Kopaka doesn't hold a candle to the sheer legendary awe invoked by D'Anda's work, but unless/until custom Toa models come out, this is the best that we can use. Also, even though I'm aware that a much higher-poly version of the Kanohi Akaku was released for GMod (modeled, if I'm not mistaken, by the same person who modeled the "Legend of the Toa" weapons), I stuck with the BIONICLE: The Game Akaku because it better fit the artstyle of the rest of the model. Again, if a whole high-poly Toa Mata was released, then I'd change my mind, but until such a day... Still, despite the graphical limitations of the model, I tried to spruce it up a bit with some dynamic lighting and glow effects to better recreate the original image. Everything you see here was done directly in GMod, since I don't have access to Photoshop on this computer. If my computer didn't vehemently despise Source Engine water effects with a passion and crash GMod every few minutes on this map, I'm sure I could have done even more. Nonetheless, I'm very satisfied with the end result. Once again, big thanks to Xiron for making this possible. I hope you enjoyed this journey back in time to the beginning of BIONICLE. Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated.

I have very mixed feelings about the Portal 2 kit. On one hand, I'm very excited to finally see Chell, a turret, and the Weighted Companion Cube finally realized in LEGO form. On the other hand, I'm very disappointed that potential for a fantastic Portal set (such as the proposed Ideas project a year or two ago) has been wasted on a mere expansion pack for a game released for systems that I don't own. I want to say "YES!", but I also want to say "NO!". So, then... "THIS SENTENCE IS FALSE?"

"The masks will guide us!" Nice try, Onua, but I think you meant to say, "Trust in the masks; let them be your guide."

My fondest memories with "Bionicles"? Well, there was that one time back in 2008 where I accidentally ripped open a tear in the fabric of space and time through the magic of SCIENCE. It's okay, though, because I got to look at all these cool alternate universes while trying to figure out how to close the gap with duct tape. Many of them had its own version of the LEGO Group, and there were quite a few of these alternate companies that produced their own alternate versions of the BIONICLE toy line. I remember one BIONICLE where it was Matau who betrayed the Toa Hordika instead of Vakama. Then, there was another BIONICLE where the Toa Inika actually looked like their Matoran selves; that one was really neat. Not to mention that one BIONICLE where the Toa Mata went to the Three Finger Island and the Bahrag were actually giant spiders. If I remember correctly, there was one BIONICLE where all the characters wore bones on their heads and practiced voodoo, and Pohatu just had these big adorable eyes. There was even one alternate universe where the BIONICLE: The Legend of Mata Nui PC game was actually released, but was criticized for its clunky controls and BIONICLE fans all agreed that it would have been better off if it had never been released at all so it could have been this cool, mysterious legend of a game that dissolved into vaporware and became the Holy Grail of BIONICLE. The less said about that one BIONICLE where the Piraka were released with a tea party and hair-braiding accessories, the better. Although, then again, I did like the Bohrok Raiders subtheme from that same universe... kinda wish some of those sets were released in our universe... Then, all the Greg Farshteys from the different universes got together and helped me patch up the hole in the space-time continuum with duct tape. This experience filled our universe's Greg Farshtey with such inspiration that he continued to incorporate alternate universes into his BIONICLE serials for the next couple years, desperately trying to tell us about all this cool stuff that he had witnessed, but, of course, we foolishly turned a deaf ear towards him because it quickly lost its novelty and we were annoyed that the end of Brothers in Arms was a complete and utter cop-out. Anyways, that was a fun time, seeing multiple different BIONICLE toy lines all at once. At least, that's what I think you meant by "Bionicles"...

I passed the ten-year mark last September, and I still honestly find it hard to believe that I wasted spent a whole decade of my life on this website. As for my earliest memories of BZPower? Several months before joining BZPower, I was active on the LEGO Message Boards. It was early 2004, and for someone who received all their LEGO news through the Shop@Home catalogs, LEGO Magazine, and LEGO.com, all I knew of the Vahki was a number of mysterious silhouettes in Comic 16: Toa Metru!, although I did notice that the LEGO Magazine issue announcing the Rahi Building Challenge (the same contest that gave us the Tahtorak and others in the Rahi Beasts guide) also revealed that they would be eventually released as sets. On the LEGO Message Boards, there was a topic where several members were discussing the new Vahki sets. I remember being confused since there were no pictures of the Vahki available yet (beyond those aforementioned silhouettes), but then I noticed that one of these posts mentioned that images were available on BZPower. My curiosity got the better of me, I checked it out, and lo and behold! Photographs from Toyfair 2004, featuring not only the Vahki but also Nidhiki, Krekka, and even the mysterious Turaga Dume! My young, naive mind was blown. I'm not sure why it took me several more months before I actually joined BZPower (seeing as the Vahki sets were already on store shelves long before September), but here I am. And as for my first memory as a member of BZPower? The Chronicles of Vladek by Rahkshi Prime. Oh goodness, just finding the still-intact Brickshelf gallery (since the original topic is long gone thanks to a certain idiot) brings back the memories. Did you know that seeing the Muaka and Kane-Ra in this comic rekindled my desire from 2001 to own that set, so I ended up tracking it down and buying it from an online store by the end of the year? What's that? You don't care? Oh... okay. I'm sorry. Then, after wandering around the forums while making a complete utter fool of myself (look, my only prior forum experience was the LEGO Message Boards, can you blame me?), I eventually settled in at the LEGO General Discussion subforum. The rest is history, I suppose. Obscure history that nobody else cares about, I'm sure, but history nonetheless.

I was just heading to Eurobricks to find a relevant quote explaining why so many BIONICLE parts are given the short end of the cross axle, but looks like Lyichir just Kapura'd me. But just to reiterate: specialized elements that haven't been used in at least five years are not a high priority for the LEGO Digital Designer team. Still, fret not. The most recent brick version, 1564.2, gave us 60930 Rocket Rucksack, better known as the jetpack used by the 2008 Av-Matoran and Lewa's Phantoka armor, among others. The update before that gave us some more parts, including 64305 Weapon 7. 2009 (Stronius's Thorned Club), 64307 Weapon 9 2009 (Vastus's Venom Talon), 64308 Weapon 10 2009 (Kiina's Vapor Trident), 64321 Maske 9, 09 (Metus's helmet), and 64328 Mask 22, 09 (Perditus's helmet). Some more BIONICLE parts came from the brick version before that one, and some more from the brick version before that one, and so on and so forth. Simply put, we're getting our BIONICLE parts... very slowly, but surely. For what it's worth, even with LEGO Digital Designer's limitations, I've been finding ways to recreate a number of sets to the best of my ability for the Eurobricks "Official LEGO Sets made in LDD" index. You can find my works here. All substitutions made for missing pieces are marked under the Groups tab (along with other general errors due to software limitations), so you can easily pick them out and remove them if you don't like them. And there's still plenty of work that I can do, trust me! I just finished the 2005 playsets, and I'm currently working on the 2006 playsets... that is, if I ever have free time...

For context: what you are about to read was never before posted on BZPower. This was to be the final chapter of the story arc based upon Monty Python and the Holy Grail before The Search for the Mask of Light began its own original plot. However, this chapter was never finished, and this is all that remains. ----- Chapter 18 The City of Urban Legends As usual, Director Spielbrick and the Narrator sat off to the side, only now there was something different in Spielbrick's attitude. He seemed tense and nervous, even more so than usual. Then again, that may just be because he had gone more than six months without a single drop of coffee, thanks to the nonexistence of plastic coffee. Narrator slightly rose his eyebrows. "So, Director," he smiled a little, "your name is actually Steven Spielbrick?" Director Spielbrick jumped fifty meters out of his seat in fright. "Who said that?" he demanded. "Who told you my name?" Narrator chuckled softly. Being the only character in the rewrite from the original script comedy, he knew that the Director's name was never revealed in the original, but was once questioned by Primis. "Just why are you so afraid of people finding out your name?" he inquired. Director Steven Spielbrick glanced around. "They all know I'm paranoid... they're here because they know... now that my name's out to the public, everyone will sue me again and again for having a name that by some coincidence is similar to Steven Spielberg." "You know," noted Property Master Bob, "I was beginning to suspect you were actually George Brickas." "Why?" smiled Spielbrick. "Because I seem like someone who created the single best sci-fi trilogy of all time?" "No..." frowned Bob, "because you seem like the kind of person who would ruin said trilogy with a poorly-done prequel trilogy that had an over-reliance on special effects and bad script-writing." Narrator intervened just in time to protect Bob from getting socked in the face by Spielbrick. "That would not be Spielbrick's fault," he explained. "That would be the fault of that special effects guy responsible for the booming lightning and flashing thunder in Chapter 8. You know, the special effects guy whose computer had the Rahi Nui CGI model on it and you destroyed it by going on virus-filled website? And the script-" "What?" bellowed Spielbrick. "Oh, you mean that special effects guy and that computer?" Bob pointed to the special effects guy desperately trying to recover information from his external hard drive, which too was infected and destroyed by the virus. "Isn't polite to point!" shouted someone. Immediately, Director Spielbrick reached for his table, but his hands groped empty air. "Where are my clapperboards?" he screamed. "You threw them all at Maxilos and Vorzakh." Narrator reminded him. "Grip!" shouted the Director. A few moments later, Grips Stephanie and Harley stood in front of Spielbrick. "Go get me some new clapperboards, pronto!" "With all due respect–" began Stephanie. "– not that we have any for you to begin with," interrupted Harley. "We're Grips, not Gofers." "Do you want a demotion?" Director Spielbrick smiled menacingly. Stephanie and Harley traded glances. They both knew that Spielbrick would demote them to Gofers, putting them both at the mercy of getting his clapperboards, megaphones, and non-existent coffee. "No," replied Stephanie. "Well, unless you want to be demoted to Gofers, go get me some clapperboards!" demanded Spielbrick. "Get on with it!" "Great," muttered Harley. "We're given Gofer duties without even being demoted to Gofers. This is worse than that time I had to guard the alligator cage. I let in some Gofer claiming to be Stuntman Bart, even though I was perfectly aware that he was not Stuntman Bart, just because the job of guarding the alligator cage was so boring that I wanted to see some bloody entertainment." When Harley noticed everyone staring awkwardly at him, he added: "Don't worry: no Gofers were harmed in the making of that scene. Unfortunately, that made things more boring than ever." "Yeah?" Stephanie raised an eyebrow. "Well, I had to move Rex's trailer to Stage 1!" She shuddered at the memory of moving a trailer belonging to an overweight T-Rex who had a love for – dare I say it – rhubarb pie. And that's not a stupid pie joke – it's canon. Sadly. ***** The Chronicler's Company pressed even deeper into the depths of the Mangaia. Or rather, what was left of the company, since Lewa and Pohatu were tossed into the Gorge of Eternal Peril by the Gate Guardian, Nokama quit, and Gali had been arrested. ----- I hope you enjoyed reading The Search for the Mask of Light. Reading it over myself for the first time in years as I reposted these chapters for you, I still found a few chuckles, even with the occasional cringe. Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, if I have a bit of time and a little inspiration, I might be tempted to finish this chapter and wrap up the story arc so that The Search for the Mask of Light could have some semblance of a conclusion. But, until then, always remember... Be polite and don't point. ... Okay, seriously, I'm going out on that note? Who wrote this lousy excuse for a "comedy", anyway?