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VakamaMetruNui

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Year 17

About VakamaMetruNui

  • Birthday 03/04/1995

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  • Location
    New York
  • Interests
    Bionicle of course, Star Wars, BZP. I also like Transformers, Marvel, Halo, Pokemon, and both model and real trains (Favorite are steam engines ^.^). I also have quite an interest in voice acting, writing, and Machinima.

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  1. All right, here is my next entry in the Legends of the Bionicle saga, you can look at my library topic to find a reading order. As always, give me your honest criticism. Once again, credit to nuhrii-flaming and Tolkien for the month name Olva. Also, this will be my last one-shot for a while, my next two stories shall be multi-chapter affairs. Legends of the Bionicle: Landing Day 1,011 AGC Takanuva stood on the docks of Ga-Metru, looking at the rising suns. He knew this would be the last time he saw those suns for a long time. He was certainly sad but also relieved the day was finally here. He breathed the sea breeze in deep. Two years of searching had finally paid off. They had found an island to relocate to. A place they could start over, away from it all. Half self-imposed exile, half imposed. Over the past five years since Lhikan was attacked by Ahkmou, relations between the Resurrected and non-Resurrected were increasingly strained. Scuffles and skirmishes were very common and unfortunately, attempts on lives were not unheard of. Ahkmou was a fugitive of the law, hidden somewhere in the Fikou web, a series of maintenance tunnels that crossed over each other and twisted around like the web of a Fikou spider. They were too dangerous to search; violent Rahi lived in them and legends said even worse things lived there as well. However, the Po-Matoran still managed to direct his followers despite hiding in the shadows. The stress of it all got so bad that two years ago, the Turaga and Toa collectively decided it might be best if the Resurrected left Metru Nui, at least for a while. Takanuva immediately volunteered to lead them to safety and watch over them. There was no denying he was responsible for the Resurrected. So Takanuva and others began scouting for a suitable island to move to. It took the better part of two years, but an island was found far to the east. It was uninhabited and remote, the Resurrected would be safe there. The last few months were spent preparing the ships, supplies, and Matoran to go. It was bittersweet but ultimately for the best. Takanuva wasn’t the only non-resurrected going of course. Vamkoda, Malohi, Reymar, Jaller, Nuhrii, and Orkahm were going as well, to name just a few. In total, there were about four hundred beings setting out today. Twelve Toa were among them, including Takanuva. Most were Resurrected like Lhikan and Nidhiki, having relocated to Metru Nui over the past few years on account of being pariahs from all of their home islands. The other non-Resurrected were following them for their own various reasons. Lhikan walked up behind Takanuva and put his hand on his shoulder. “Well, my friend. The day is finally here. Are you looking forward to it?” Takanuva nodded somberly. “Truthfully, yes. It was always my dream as a Matoran to be the first one to explore a new island and now I’m finally getting my chance. I just wish it was under better circumstances.” Lhikan gave an indifferent shrug. “What are you going to do? Things happen. We just try to do our best under the conditions. Besides, I much prefer this than getting wracked with shadow energy. That’s not something I’d like to experience again. Come on, the Turaga and Toa Nuva are here to see us off.” *** Vakama walked alongside his fellow Turaga, the Toa Nuva, and Rahaga. “Are you sure about this, Norik?” “Yeah, we are. Someone has to look out for Takanuva. He has a lot on his shoulders. I believe Metru Nui will be fine without six former Toa.” “And is Takanuva sure he wants to lead this little adventure?” Vakama asked. Norik looked at the Turaga of Fire and Vakama could tell that he saw the worry in his eyes. “He is haunted by that night, the role he played in all of this. He believes you would rather he go as well.” Vakama shook his head sadly. “That was almost seven years ago, it’s in the past. Yes, I was furious at him for messing with time, and I can’t deny those feelings resurfaced when Voporak stole the Vahi due to the effects of the mask’s use, but there have also been a lot of blessings from it. Lhikan, the redemption of Nidhiki, these things wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. It just feels like cowardice on our part to send him off to shoulder this burden alone.” “But he won’t be alone,” said Norik with a smile. “He’s got four hundred other beings watching his back and supporting him. He’ll be fine.” Vakama nodded, knowing that Norik was right. His eye caught Takua running up to Jaller and Nuhrii and jumping around excitedly. Vakama smiled at his childish nature. In the past seven years, Takua and Takanuva had grown further apart as far as personalities go. While Takua was like his old Matoran-self on Mata Nui, restless and constantly looking for adventure, even more so than before in many ways as he suddenly found himself with no responsibilities of note, Takanuva grew more serious, always watching for threats to the city and being a role model for Matoran. Vakama also saw Vamkoda and Malohi walk up to the trio and join in on the conversation, both carrying backpacks. The two Matoran sported the fashion trend that started a few years ago of Matoran rebuilding their bodies to resemble the forms they had over a thousand years ago. It was purely aesthetic, but it had proved fairly popular among a percentage of the Matoran. Nuhrii had also adopted the new vogue, even exchanging his black Kaukau for a red Ruru, complete with silver paint on top. Vakama let his countenance fall as he thought about Vamkoda and Malohi leaving. Those two were some of the youngest of the Matoran on the island. Everyone was very protective of them for that reason so it hurt Vakama to see them go. It’s how he imagined a parent must feel seeing their child venture out into the world on their own. He knew they were grown up, still young compared to others such as himself, but old enough to handle anything the universe could throw at them. Still, he worried. Balta ran past the Turaga and over to the gathering. Even he and the others that had originally come from Voya Nui were embarking on this voyage. Vakama looked back at the city. They really had made a lot of progress in twelve years, enough that they could afford to lose a large part of their labor force. The Voya Nui Matoran were true to their word, they worked hard fixing Metru Nui and producing additional resources. The two islands had begun trading, using the tunnels up to Mata Nui as a means of transit. Voya Nui was no longer on the verge of extinction. Vakama looked back to see Takanuva, Lhikan, and Nidhiki approaching. It was hard to keep the tears out of his eyes. Nidhiki came up to him first. “Turaga,” he said with a formal bow. “Thank you for everything. And sorry about trying to drop you molten protodermis a thousand years ago.” Vakama chuckled. “You’re forgiven, Nidhiki. Just don’t stray from the path. It may be narrow and rough going at times, but its destination is worth it.” “Thank you, Turaga.” He made similar goodbyes to the other Turaga. He clanked fists with the Toa Nuva. “Brothers, sister. Thanks for making me feel like a hero again.” “We did very little, Nidhiki,” said Onua. “Most of it was your own doing.” “I promise I won’t let you down,” said Nidhiki. He then turned to Dume. “Turaga Dume.” “Toa Nidhiki. Thank you for your service to Metru Nui. You did a lot for this island, and I truly believe you will continue to do great things for the universe.” “Well thanks for the invite way back when,” said Nidhiki. “Who knew that fighting an overgrown lizard would lead to so much?” Lhikan clanked his fist against Vakama’s. “Continue to trust your visions,” said the Toa. “They haven’t steered you wrong yet, have they?” “No, they haven’t. And neither have you.” Lhikan smiled. He gave similar words of encouragement to the other Turaga. He said his goodbyes to the Toa Nuva, telling Tahu in particular to take care of his team. Lhikan then knelt down before Dume. “Well, I guess this is officially the end of the Toa Mangai.” Dume nodded. “I guess so. You had a good run.” “I just wish I protected my team better. “You did the best you could. You couldn’t have known that Makuta was impersonating me.” Lhikan breathed deep and nodded. “I know, I keep telling myself that. One day I might actually believe it. Thank you for helping me become a Toa and for giving me the chance to lead a Toa team.” “Thank you for standing for Metru Nui when no one else could.” Dume offered his fist in Toa salute and Lhikan accepted it. Takanuva walked up to Dume and shook his hand. “It was nice to meet you, Turaga.” “It was nice to meet you again, Takanuva. Good luck out there.” Takanuva turned to the Toa Nuva, his brothers and sister. “I guess I’m out of the band,” he said with a sad smile. “You’ll always be a part of the Toa Nuva,” said Gali. “You’re the linchpin of the team.” “We wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t gathered the Toa stones and summoned us to Mata Nui,” said Pohatu. “The only reason we’re a team is because of your actions,” said Onua. “Not to mention how much you ever-helped the villages while we were hunt-seeking Kanohi and quick-learning how to function as a team,” added Lewa. “Don’t forget that your mind is your sharpest weapon,” said Kopaka. “As long as you listen to it as well as your heart, you’ll be fine.” Tahu smiled as he clanked his fist against Takanuva’s. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Takanuva smiled as well. “I’ll try not to do anything you would do either.” Tahu laughed. “You’re a good Toa, Takanuva. You have nothing to worry about. And don’t worry about us. We’ll manage here without you.” Takanuva choked up and nodded wordlessly. He then turned to the Turaga. “You are an absolute whenever times change, Takanuva,” said Nokama, “especially now, always remember that.” “I wish you the speed of Pohatu, Toa,” said Onewa. “Never lose your inquisitive mind.” “Don’t lose sight of your past,” said Whenua. “It can help you in dark times.” “Thank you for help-saving me and the other Le-Matoran… twice!” said Matau. “May the wind be ever underneath your wings.” Nuju made a series of clicks and whistles, followed by two short gestures. “Turaga Nuju says to always keep an eye on the future,” translated Matoro. “He also still very much believes you will play a role in Mata Nui’s awakening.” Then Takanuva came to Vakama. He knelt down and hugged him. Vakama returned the embrace. “I’m scared, Vakama,” he whispered, barely keeping himself from sobbing. “I would rather fight Makuta again than do this. Even when I was exiled from Ta-Koro, it was nothing like this.” Vakama smiled. “I know. But remember, you’re doing this for the good of everyone, just like when you fought Makuta. You’re strong enough to shoulder this responsibility.” “But what if I screw up again?” “Oh, you will. But that’s inevitable. We all do. Just learn from your mistakes and keep moving forward. You stand amongst the universe’s greatest heroes. Now leave this windy dock and go out there and make a home for all of these Matoran.” Takanuva pulled away and smiled sadly, trying to push past the tears. “Thank you, Vakama,” he whispered as he backed away with Lhikan and Nidhiki. “Until we meet again, Toa of Light,” said Vakama. Takanuva forced a bigger smile. “Until we meet again, Toa Metru of Fire.” Then Takanuva did the hardest thing he had ever done: he turned his back on his friends and home and stepped out into the unknown. The Turaga said their goodbyes to the Rahaga and others. Jaller shook hands with Vakama, Tahu, and Matoro, as did Takua. Lifelong friends bade farewell to one another as the pilgrims made their way to the boats. Soon enough, the boats launched and began the laborious trip out of the harbor. Hundreds of Matoran stood on docks, watching their friends sail away. Vakama held his fist out in Toa salute. The other Turaga and Toa Nuva followed suit, as did everyone else beside them. Takanuva looked a bit surprised before he copied the gesture, as did everyone else on the boats. “No matter where you are,” said Vakama to himself. “No matter how many mio are between us, you’ll always be in our hearts.” Takanuva nodded to Vakama as if he could hear him before he broke down into tears. *** About fifteen minutes later, Metru Nui was starting to disappear from sight, dissolving into the fog. Lhikan leaned against the railing, staring at the only home he’d known for three thousand years. Nidhiki came up next to him and looked out at Metru Nui. “You know,” said Lhikan, “when I put you on that boat with the rest of the Dark Hunters, I never thought I would one day be joining you in leaving Metru Nui forever.” “Yeah, well I never thought I’d be doing it twice.” Lhikan smirked. “Yeah, I’ll bet.” Nidhiki looked over at Lhikan and cleared his throat. “What about your nephews? You never found them.” Lhikan sighed. “I know. I never found any sign of Kazahk and Tazahk. Maybe they’re in capsules hidden under the island somewhere. Or maybe they’re…” He didn’t finish that thought. “Or maybe they were removed from the city before the Great Cataclysm. Maybe they’re out there somewhere else in the universe. Maybe I’ll find them out there. But if that’s not true, and they are still on Metru Nui… then I blew my chance to fix one of my biggest mistakes.” “Well, we don’t know we’ll never be back. Once all of this has blown over, I’m sure we’ll be able to go back, and then you’ll find your nephews.” “I hope you’re right.” “And just so you know,” added Nidhiki, “leaving Metru Nui for a second time is just as hard as it was the first time.” Lhikan met Nidhiki’s gaze. “Well, now we’re going to face this future together. And this time I’m not going to let you fall to the darkness.” Nidhiki smiled. “Thanks, buddy, that means a lot—OOF!” The Toa of Air almost fell overboard as Malohi crashed into him as the Le-Matoran half ran, half danced around the ship, fleeing from Vamkoda. Nidhiki growled as he straightened again. He turned around to face Malohi. “Hey, watch it, kid!” he raged. “You trying to get yourself thrown off the boat?” “Sorry, Nidhiki!” laughed Malohi as he danced away from Vamkoda. “But you can’t stop my magic feet!” Vamkoda dove at Malohi, but the Le-Matoran spun out of the way, causing the Ta-Matoran to smash into Balta. “Whoa!” cried the inventor as he staggered back into Orkahm. He almost stepped on the giant claws the Le-Matoran was working on. “Yo, watch it!” Orkahm shouted. “You clumsy fire-spitter!” “Hey, it wasn’t my fault!” Vamkoda sat up and rubbed his head. “Ow.” He looked over at Orkahm’s inventions. “What are those?” “Some backup Toa-hero tools Nidhiki asked me to build-make. They’re based on the claws he had while he was bad-mutated. Except he can put them on his back and channel-direct his elemental power through them to give him the ability of wind-flight.” “Oh, neat. Say, when did you become the mechanically inclined type?” “Who do you think craft-made the disk launchers to be mounted on the Gukko and Kahu?” said Orkahm. “Obviously not Kongu or Tamaru.” “Oh, okay,” said Vamkoda. Takanuva walked to the back of the boat just then. “Everyone holding up so far?” “Okay, all things considered,” said Lhikan. “How ever-long is it going to take to get to this oak-new island?” Orkahm asked. “Hopefully not too long…” He glanced at Malohi still dancing around the boat. “It will probably be five days until we reach it. I’d say we’ll reach it by the new year.” Orkahm sighed heavily as he rubbed his silver-topped Matatu. “It’s going to be a long sail-trip.” 1,012 AGC “Land ho!” Malohi cried from his perch on top of the bridge. “I see land! I see land!” Takanuva rushed to the bow of the boat with Garan and Norik. Indeed an island was emerging from the fog. Excitement grew among the crews of the boats. “Is that it?” asked Garan hopefully. “Yup, that’s it,” said Takanuva. “See, Orkahm? Five days, right on the dot.” “Thank Papu and Rangi,” said the Le-Matoran from further aft. The island looked to be about four kio away. They would be landing in about fifteen minutes. “Get ready to disembark, everyone!” Takanuva called out. “We’ve reached our destination!” A cry of triumph rose up from the boats as Malohi did a little celebratory dance. The boats snaked along the coast until they found a natural harbor on the northwestern edge of the island. As the boats were too large to get close to the shore, the crews had to drop anchor and make their way on foot. “Be careful,” said Lhikan as he handed Malohi a small crate. The Le-Matoran was hanging onto the rope ladder on the side of the boat. “The water could be over your head.” “I’m fine, Lhikan,” said Malohi as he descended the ladder. “You’re talking to a veteran of the great Le-Koro Water War.” “What’s that?” “Probably something he imagined,” said Vamkoda. “Point is I’m fine—AH!” Malohi shrieked as he stepped off the ladder and plunged beneath the water. Vamkoda shook his head. “This is why I pretend I don’t know him sometimes.” Malohi resurfaced, flailing theatrically. “Help! Help!” Reymar appeared beside him, holding the crate and putting the Matoran onto her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Malohi, I’ll take you to shore.” “Thank you, miss.” “Just call me Reymar. You don’t always have to try my patience.” “Thanks, Reymar,” said Lhikan as he climbed down the ladder with a crate. The Toa of Water smiled back at Lhikan. “Don’t mention it.” Hafu looked at the water uncertainly then turned to Hewkii. “I don’t know about this. Maybe I’ll just stay here until they build the docks. It can’t take too long right?” “It could be a couple of weeks,” said Hewkii although he also seemed unsure about swimming to shore. “That’s not too bad,” said Hafu, sitting down. “I can catch up on carving.” “Yeah, I think I’ll join you,” said Hewkii, sitting as well. “What are you doing, Hewkii?” asked Macku. “We need to help the others take supplies to shore.” “But—” Hewkii was cut off as Macku hauled him to his feet. “Come on, I’ll see if you’ve been keeping up on your swimming lessons.” Hewkii looked back at Hafu pleadingly but the other Po-Matoran made no move to help his friend. Potan, a Toa of Stone from the southern continent, appeared beside Hafu and offered his hand. “Come on, Hafu, I’ll help you out.” Hafu looked up at the Toa’s black Huna. “Okay,” he said uncertainly as he took Potan’s hand. The Toa hoisted Hafu onto his shoulders and picked up a crate. “Hold on tight,” he said to the Matoran before jumping overboard. Hafu let out a fearful scream as they landed in the water. It only came up to Potan’s chest. “See? No problem.” The Toa began wading toward the shore. Nidhiki fitted his air claws to his back. They looked like a giant pair of wings. “All right, time to finally give these a test run.” “Just be ever-careful,” said Orkahm. “There could be some fine-tweaks that need to be made.” “Don’t worry, I know how to fly.” “Yeah, but you didn’t use elemental powers to wind-fly before. The thought-science is completely different.” “Screw the science!” said Nidhiki as he channeled his air abilities through the claws and took off into the air. “Woohoo!” he cried as he dove and rolled. “This is the only thing I missed about being a giant spider!” The Rahaga flew on their Rhotuka toward the island, carrying supplies in the process. “Careful, Nidhiki!” Iruini called. “Don’t push your luck!” “Don’t worry!” Nidhiki called back. “I’m an expert at flying!” He did a rather intense roll and soon found himself in an unrecoverable one as one of the claws stopped working. “Whoa!” he cried as he spiraled down to the water and impacted hard. He spat out water as he flailed his arms to balance himself. Once he was safely treading water, he moaned and started swimming toward shore. “That stunk.” “I guess there’s a couple of issue-kinks to work out,” said Orkahm. Nuparu shook his head from the pilot seat of a Boxor, using the floats he had fitted to the mechs after the Attack on Ga-Koro to not sink to the bottom of the bay. “I could have built something better,” he said as he moved past Nidhiki. Rurtua, a young Resurrected Toa of Fire from the northern continent, flew overhead with his twin flamethrowers attached to his ankles. “Looks like you’re a bit rusty, Nidhiki!” he called. “Oh shut up, Rurtua.” Takanuva stepped out of the surf and set down the crate he was carrying. For dozens of bio in both directions, hundreds of Matoran were coming ashore. Already some Ga-Matoran were starting construction on a wooden pier to reach out to the boats, overseen by Katorna, a Toa of Water. “Could I have everyone’s attention?” Takanuva called out to the crowd. Slowly they began to form around the Toa of Light, eager to hear what he had to say. Takanuva waited until everyone was present and then climbed on top of a crate. “I know it’s been a really hard last few years for most of you. But now is our chance for a fresh start. We’ll be away from everyone else and get to make our own thriving society.” He glanced at the interior of the island. “This is an island naturally rich in the elements. We shall make a great city that lives in harmony with nature, to serve as a beacon of hope for all Resurrected and slighted beings across the universe searching for a safe place to call home. We shall call this island Nahi Nui and prove to everyone that there is nothing to fear of the Resurrected or we who stand up for them! For today, Olva first, one thousand twelve years after the Great Cataclysm marks our Landing Day!” He pointed to Garan who unfurled a black flag dominated by the symbol of the three virtues. Encircling the sacred emblem were the symbols for all of the elements. This was to be the flag of Nahi Nui. The crowd cheered and applauded before setting to work constructing temporary housing for everyone. Takanuva beamed with pride. *** Twenty minutes later and Vamkoda was leading a small group consisting of Nuhrii, Takua, Jaller, and Balta through the thick forests. The Matoran came to a river and found a log to cross it. “Wow, this place is like Mata Nui,” said Nuhrii. “Yeah it is,” said Jaller. “We should be careful of any dangers that could be on this island. Rahi, pitfalls, volcanoes, avalanches, anything of the sort.” Takua turned around to face his friend, walking along the log backward. “You worry too much, Jaller.” The former Captain of the Guard shook his head. “You’re going to fall, Takua, and when you do, I’m not going to feel sorry for you.” “Hey, it’s me—” Takua was cut off as his foot slipped off the log and he plunged over the side. The only thing that stopped the Av-Matoran from falling into the river below was Vamkoda and Jaller’s quick reflexes, each one grabbing one of his arms. Takua looked down at the water and let out a low whistle. “That was close. Thanks, guys.” The two Ta-Matoran hauled Takua back up onto the log and Jaller smacked him in the back of the head. “I told you! You could have been river-bones! I can’t believe you were the Herald of the Seventh Toa.” “And not just that,” said Takua, with a smile as they continued across the log. “I was the seventh Toa too.” “Well, Takanuva was the seventh Toa,” said Vamkoda. “You’re just a Matoran of Light that happens to share the same memories as the seventh Toa.” “Okay, rude,” said Takua as he jumped down from the log. “As an outside observer,” interjected Balta, “there seems to be little in common between the two of you. Takanuva is very focused on his mission and you are… well, you.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Takua asked accusingly. “I’m plenty focused.” “Don’t kid yourself,” said Vamkoda. “Uh, guys?” asked Nuhrii. The Ta-Matoran was stopped by the bushes, looking further into the forest. “Are we sure we’re the only ones here?” Everyone looked to see a stone temple-like structure several bio away. The Matoran tentatively walked toward it. “That looks ancient,” said Balta. “At least fifty thousand years old, maybe older. I’ve never seen architecture like it.” “Something seems familiar about it but I can’t place it,” said Takua. He pulled a lightstone out of his pack and started toward the temple’s yawning entrance. “Let’s go take a look.” “I don’t know about this,” said Vamkoda, pulling out a sword that was fashioned after Tahu’s fire sword before he had become a Toa Nuva. “Vamkoda, you worry too much,” Takua called back as he disappeared into the darkness. Jaller glanced at Vamkoda. “I guess we better follow him.” The four Ta-Matoran followed after their friend. The inside of the temple was in surprisingly poor shape compared to the outside. “What happened here?” asked Nuhrii. “It’s like someone ransacked the place.” “We have to keep Hafu away from here,” Vamkoda said dryly. “He might have a nervous breakdown seeing all these carvings busted.” Indeed, all around the temple were multiple carvings and statues that were in varying states of destruction. There were carvings of Mata Nui similar to the stone the Turaga used for telling stories, statues that represented Toa, Matoran, masks, Rahi, all kinds of things. At the back of the temple were the most interesting statues, however. Various beings of varying species with what seemed to be a nameplate beneath each of them. However, the names seemed wiped clean and most of the statues were pretty ruined. “Who are these people?” Jaller asked, looking at a statue that seemed to resemble a Toa. “Ancient heroes?” “Or villains,” said Balta, eyeing what looked like a grinning hulk of a monster. He tried in vain to make out the name under it but all he could read was “I.” “I’m more interested who destroyed this place and for what purpose,” said Vamkoda. “And if they’re still here on the island.” “Hey, look at this, guys!” called Takua. “Here’s a statue they mostly missed!” The other Matoran hurried over to where Takua was standing and gathered around to look at the statue. It was mostly in one piece and they could clearly tell it was a Toa. Beneath it was the name “Onarax.” “Onarax?” said Nuhrii. “Turaga Vakama never mentioned him before, right?” “I’ve never heard the name,” said Jaller. He turned to Balta. “You ever hear that name?” Balta grimaced, wracking his brain. “I don’t think so, but we should ask Velika. He’s the one that would know. He knows everything.” Takua touched the statue and accidentally turned it, causing a secret passage to open behind them: a large staircase descending down into the darkness. “And it looks like there’s more.” “We need Onu-Matoran for this,” said Vamkoda. “Come on, let’s go tell Takanuva.” “I couldn’t agree more,” said Nuhrii before the five Matoran rushed out of the temple and back toward the safety of their friends. *** From the bushes, a set of predatory eyes watched the Matoran, although it was completely invisible to them. The creature wished to attack the unsuspecting Matoran but it had strict orders to only observe the newcomers. Reluctantly, it forced itself once more as it had several times over the last hour, to relax. Its master would be very intrigued by these developments, and perhaps if it gave good information to him, he would let it return and kill everyone on this island. Satisfied, the observer jumped into the air and flew into the sky. This creature was a Rahkshi, specifically a Nurahk, a chameleon Rahkshi. It was completely invisible as it jetted across the sky, perfectly blending into the blue and white above the Matoran’s heads. It angled northwest and prepared for a long journey. *** Many days later, the Nurahk arrived at its destination: Metru Nui. Using its powers, it slipped in unseen and entered a secret hatch that led down into the maintenance tunnels below the Archives. It walked for hours until it finally came to a fairly sized room about five bio across. At a table off to the left going over some plans, was the Rahkshi’s target. A Po-Matoran with a black Noble Rau; Ahkmou. Only now did the Nurahk allow its camouflage to drop, allowing its red and gold armor to shine in the dull light. Ahkmou turned at the sound of the Rahkshi’s footsteps. “Oh good. You’re back,” he remarked in an uninterested tone. He turned back to the stone tablets on his table. The Nurahk hissed as it marched into the room and threw a tablet down on the Matoran’s table. Ahkmou glared at the Rahkshi but decided not to say anything. He picked up the stone tablet and read it. His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Hm, so Takanuva successfully found an island to hide his little band of freaks on, did he? Interesting…” He looked at the Nurahk again. “This is good stuff here. You really did your homework, how did you get all of this information? Never mind, you’re just a dumb beast.” Ahkmou kept reading. “The island is about two and a half mio to the southeast, eh? Roughly circular and about forty-four kio in diameter… Heavily forested with a small desert on the northern end… Single mountain on the island. Fair amount of Rahi… Ruins of unknown origins… The Toa of Light is calling the island Nahi Nui. I have to say, I am impressed.” “As am I,” said a dark voice. Ahkmou and the Rahkshi looked to see a pair of red eyes manifest in the shadows. “Thank you, my son, for this very valuable information.” The Nurahk felt the Rahkshi equivalent of pride surge through it. “Ahkmou,” continued the voice. “You have done well in helping to drive these ‘Resurrected’ from Metru Nui. And you even managed to make Takanuva leave with them. This is a great turn of fate. I am very pleased.” The Po-Matoran bowed his torso toward the red eyes. “I live to serve, Master.” “I want you to keep an eye on this Nahi Nui,” said the voice. “Deploy spies there to watch over them. I do not want them to interfere with my plans.” “Should we just not send a couple of squads of Rahkshi and wipe them out before they pose a threat?” asked Ahkmou. “No. You think too much like Icarax. One does not throw out pieces of the game unless absolutely necessary. You never know when they could be useful. Keep an eye on them but do not hurt them… yet. Keep up the good work, Ahkmou. Don’t let up the pressure here in Metru Nui just because the Resurrected are gone. I shall contact you when I require your assistance again.” Then the eyes disappeared into the inky darkness, leaving no trace of their presence. The End <-Previous Story
  2. Credit to Llortor for the custom Nuva Symbols Hello and welcome to my library topic, specifically my series called Legends of the Bionicle, although if I write anything unrelated it will go here as well in a separate section. Background on LotB Legends of the Bionicle is roughly based on an ongoing storyline my brother and I played when we were kids. I thought it would be fun to adapt to a story and share it with everyone. The story of LotB is mostly the same as the Bionicle canon storyline with a few changes such as the roster of the Toa Mangai and Nidhiki being from a continent called Rehi Nui as opposed to the Tren Krom Peninsula. It diverges in severity however once the Matoran return to Metru Nui as Mata Nui doesn’t begin to die. So what might happen if Takanuva didn’t have another crisis to hold his attention so soon after Makuta? Read The Vahi’s Destructive Power and find out! Reading Order The Vahi’s Destructive Power - Takanuva gets a dangerous idea and acts on it. But will it land him in a world of trouble? Resurrection and Redemption - After a time wave rips through the universe, a hero finds himself once more in the land of the living, forced to confront a ghost from his past. Purity of Hearts - Vamkoda relays the story of how he met Malohi hundreds of years ago, and learns a valuable lesson along the way. Time Heist - After the opening exhibition match to the new kolhii tournament, a monster arrives on Metru Nui with only one target in its sights: the Mask of Time. Tension Rising - As tensions reach the breaking point between the Resurrected and the rest of the population, Lhikan is brought face-to-face with true evil. Landing Day - Being unsafe on Metru Nui, Takanuva leads the Resurrected to a new island where they learn they may have not been the first ones to visit.
  3. All right, everyone, sorry about the delay on this one but I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t had time to work on my stories. But anyways, here’s the next one. A small thing deviating from the canon story introduced here is that Nidhiki is not from the Tren Krom Peninsula. Also, credit to nuhrii-flaming and outofgloom on Tumblr for the name of the month, Olva. Anyways, give me your honest feedback as usual and here we go. Legends of the Bionicle: Tension Rising 1,006 AGC Lhikan and Nidhiki stood on the side of the dock in Ga-Metru, along with Vamkoda and Malohi, watching the Ga-Matoran regatta celebrating six years since the end of the Attack on Ga-Koro and the defeat of the Bohrok swarms. The day had become something of a holiday to the Ga-Matoran, commemorating the bravery shown by all the Matoran in the defense of Ga-Koro that day. Matoran from every metru lined the docks, laughing with each other and enjoying themselves. Turaga Nokama stood with Gaaki and Gali, watching the proceedings with pride. Vamkoda and Malohi cheered on Kai as she pulled ahead of the other racers. “Go, Kai!” shouted Vamkoda. “So this whole thing is remembering an attack from those mechanical bugs they found in Onu-Metru?” asked Nidhiki. “I didn’t think they would be any trouble.” “They aren’t when they are dormant,” said Vamkoda. “But the Bohrok swarms are very dangerous when awakened. They did untold damage to our villages, including devastating Le-Koro.” “I helped save the day!” Malohi interjected. “Yeah, not really,” said Vamkoda. “It’s nice to finally be getting back to something resembling normalcy,” said Lhikan. “It’s been a rough eight months.” Vamkoda nodded in agreement. Eight months ago, the monstrous titan Voporak had attacked the Coliseum and stolen the legendary Mask of Time. Fortunately, no one had been killed but it was quite the blow to Metru Nui. And to make matters worse, Ahkmou and other provocateurs had been stirring up sentiment against the Resurrected, the term for the beings brought back to life through a time anomaly. Vamkoda wanted nothing more than to knock Ahkmou’s mask right off his face. Starting two months ago, Matoran and Toa had started arriving on Metru Nui, drawn to the newly reinhabited City of Legends. Some were Resurrected. They brought with them many skills and ideas that helped improve the city and for the most part were a benefit. But some were reviled by the Resurrected and listened to Ahkmou’s lectures and agreed with him. Lhikan and Nidhiki never showed any great concern about it but to say that the Turaga were worried was an understatement. Vamkoda noticed Lhikan was not watching the boats anymore and he followed the Toa’s gaze to see a Toa of Water watching the regatta. Lhikan seemed to be staring at her. “Uh, Lhikan?” said Vamkoda. “You okay, buddy?” The Toa of Water noticed Lhikan watching her and smiled before walking over. “Hey, how’s it going?” she asked. Nidhiki noticed Lhikan staring as well and elbowed him in the side. “Well answer her, idiot.” The Toa of Fire quickly recovered. “Uh, fine. How are you?” “Pretty good. I’ve been watching this regatta of yours here, it’s pretty impressive I have to say. You Metru Nuians know how to put on a show.” “Actually I’m from Rehi Nui,” said Nidhiki. He pointed his thumb at Lhikan. “And he’s from Taminu Nui but he’s too love-struck to mention that.” “Knock it off,” Lhikan warned darkly. “Well I was born and raised on Metru Nui,” said Malohi. “Although I don’t remember any of it.” “Well I’m from the southern continent,” replied the Toa of Water. “I had heard that Metru Nui was occupied again so I decided to come and see for myself. Oh, my name’s Reymar by the way.” “Lhikan, former leader of the Toa Mangai,” said the Toa of Fire. “Although you probably haven’t heard of us.” “Nope, sorry, can’t say I have.” “That’s probably for the best,” said Nidhiki. “I’m Nidhiki.” “I’m Vamkoda, and this is Malohi,” said Vamkoda. “Yo,” said Malohi, raising his hand in greeting. “So you’re enjoying your stay in the City of Legends so far?” said Lhikan. “I am, it’s quite a step up from the small villages I was used to on the southern continent.” “Maybe afterward you’d like to see more of the city, I could be your guide,” offered Lhikan. “That would be lovely, thank you, Lhikan.” Vamkoda looked up at Nidhiki who rolled his eyes and looked back out at the sea. Everyone was so caught up in the event that no one noticed a slapped together sailboat had entered the fray until it almost collided with a Ga-Matoran boat. The sailor shouted an angry rebuke at the rogue vessel as it moved closer to the docks and more people began to notice it. “What is that?” asked Nidhiki. “A cobbled together craft if I’ve ever seen one,” said Reymar. Nokama pointed out to the boat. “It looks like it’s been damaged, it’s sinking! Gali, go and help them.” “At once, Turaga!” said Gali before she dove into the water. Other boats began moving in to help try to rescue any passengers. Lhikan was wondering if anyone was even onboard when a Ko-Matoran appeared above deck. Even at this distance, the Toa of Fire could tell there was something strange looking about the Matoran. Gali reached the boat and began guiding it toward the shore as some of the crew of the vessel evacuated to the other boats. By the time they reached the docks, only an Onu-Matoran was left on board. Spectators helped him onto the dock as Gali climbed out of the water, leaving the boat to its fate. The Onu-Matoran glanced back at the now rapidly sinking vessel. “Thank you, you served us well,” he said to it. Vamkoda and the others made their way through the crowd even as the other boats were delivering the other crewmembers to the docks. There were six Matoran total, one of each primary element. All of them were smaller than normal Matoran and looked like they had been disfigured in some way. It reminded Vamkoda of the Matoran’s rebuilding on the island of Mata Nui but in a sick, twisted way. “Who are you?” Nokama asked as she reached the group of Matoran with Gaaki. The Onu-Matoran turned to face her. “My name is Garan. Sorry about our crude entrance, we aren’t typically a seafaring people but our situation has become very desperate. We are from the island of Voya Nui.” “Voya Nui?” said Reymar. “You’ve heard of it?” asked Nidhiki. “It was a village that lay at the center of my continent until the Great Cataclysm when it and the landmass around it were jettisoned through the dome.” “That sounds improbable,” said Nidhiki. “Well you should believe it, a giant waterfall is currently falling through the hole in the dome and into a cavern below. I just never imagined anyone could have survived the ascent, or that there was anything above for them to exist on.” “There’s an entire ocean above although we never explored it,” said Vamkoda. “Takua was talking about setting out on a voyage shortly before the discovery of the Mask of Light.” “We have come seeking aid for our island,” Garan continued. “The situation has become very bleak back home.” Garan relayed his story of Voya Nui’s ascent, including the deaths of many Matoran and their Turaga. After a thousand years of carving out a miserable existence, including the sinking of an entire village three centuries ago, some debris that showed the location of another island in relation to the stars floated into their bay. Inspired to find help, the Matoran spent the next few years building test craft until finally Garan and his friends decided they couldn’t waste any more time and set sail. “And then we found an island but it seemed to be abandoned,” said the Ta-Matoran, Balta. “So after some scouting, we found some tunnels that showed recent use and found a subterranean sea. We carried the boat down to the tunnels and set sail. However, it seems we took some damage on the way.” “Well I’m glad you made it here safely,” said Nokama. “Let’s get you to the Coliseum, we can tell the other Turaga and then we can decide our next move.” *** The Turaga and Rahaga all listened intently to the Matoran’s story in Dume’s personal chamber, and once they were finished, Dume stood up. “I commend your bravery in venturing out to seek help. I know the voyage must have been very trying. But all the same, we cannot spare any aid to your island. Metru Nui is still in very bad shape and after the further damage to the Coliseum we suffered this past Olva, we’re even further behind in repairs. I’m sorry.” “I understand your position, Turaga, I truly do,” said Garan, “but if I may, you are at least connected to other islands, so you and the others create a net to support each other. We are completely cut off from the rest of the universe. Water is running dangerously low, we will be completely dry by the end of the year. Please, Turaga, I beg you to reconsider.” Garan and the other five Matoran with him all fell to their knees and bowed their heads in respect. “Dume, we have to do something to help them,” said Nokama. “They wouldn’t come to us unless the situation was so dire.” “Yes, Nokama, but so is ours, and we have more Matoran to worry about. We just can’t spare the resources. You can’t save a drowning Matoran at the risk of your own life. All you end up with is two drowned Matoran.” “Please, Turaga,” said the Ga-Matoran in the group, Dalu. She looked up at Dume with pleading eyes. “There must be something we can do in return, just name your price.” “Whatever it is, we’ll pay it,” said Piruk, the Le-Matoran. “Our friends are worth anything.” Dume sighed heavily. “All right, but some of your numbers would need to come and work here to help generate the additional resources, at least until Metru Nui is fully repaired.” Garan smiled and bowed his head again. “All we want is a chance, Turaga. The six of us will gladly stay and do whatever work you require of us, and I’m sure others from our island would do the same.” Vakama stood up and clapped his hands together. “Excellent, then it is decided. ­The Matoran of Voya Nui will help us to produce more resources, and in return, we will send them supplies. Is there anything else that needs to be addressed while we’re here?” The Ko-Matoran, Kazi, raised his hand. “Yeah, I have a question. Who are those Matoran causing a ruckus outside?” *** Ahkmou stood behind a makeshift podium as he faced a riled-up crowd holding various signs of protest. He smiled internally as he surveyed the beautiful scene he had helped create. The Turaga were beside themselves with worry and the Toa were not much better over Ahkmou’s machinations. After all his schemes of trying to undermine the Turaga’s leadership over the years, all it took to do it was some time anomaly. And Ahkmou was going to get to the bottom of what caused that anomaly but in the end, it didn’t really matter. He was going to spin it however it best suited him. “Brothers and sisters!” Ahkmou announced loudly. “Eight months ago, we were attacked by a savage monster, drawn here by a time distortion surrounding the Resurrected. And while I have my sources looking into what caused that, what is not disputed is the Resurrected’s part in all this. The temporal anomaly surrounds them and drew Voporak to our shores!” The crowd erupted into cheers of agreement. Ahkmou smiled internally again. Sure he was exaggerating about the Resurrected’s actual involvement. There was no evidence that the temporal anomaly surrounded the Resurrected but that didn’t matter to him. Everyone needed a target to take out their aggression on. Ahkmou held up a hand for silence. “That is why I have been petitioning the Turaga for months, pleading with them, that they send the Resurrected away. I’m sure there’s a peaceful island they can live on out there, away from all of us. But my words have fallen on deaf ears.” A chorus of boos from the audience. “It seems they care more about a couple of hundred freaks of nature than thousands of natural Matoran. Does that seem fair or right to any of you?” The crowd replied in the negative. “And now, as I speak to you here, there are newcomers from Mata Nui knows where talking to the Turaga about getting resources from us when we can barely take care of ourselves.” “How do you know all this?” asked a Ta-Matoran in wonder. “I have eyes and ears everywhere,” said Ahkmou with a sly smile. “There is nowhere on the island that escapes my awareness.” “Okay, okay, show’s over,” said Jaller as he pushed his way through the crowd, flanked by Ta-Metru guards. “You’ve said your piece, Ahkmou, now move along.” “I’ll have you know, Captain, that I have a permit to be here.” “One that expired weeks ago I’m sure. But if you want to play that game, let me see it.” When Ahkmou didn’t make a move, Jaller added, “That’s what I thought. Now get out of here.” “People have a right to know what’s going on here,” protested Ahkmou. “The Turaga have told us what happened.” “And the Turaga have always been so truthful with us in the past,” said Ahkmou with dripping sarcasm. Jaller tried to hide his uncertainty. “They have told us what we need to know. If there’s more, they will tell us that when we need to know it.” “So naïve, Jaller. But then again, Vakama needs a good puppet to help with his control of the idiotic masses.” Jaller stepped right up to Ahkmou, shoving his mask into the Po-Matoran’s. “Let’s make sure something is understood, rock head. I never liked you. Even before we knew you were allied with Makuta. You always preyed on Matoran’s superstitions and fears, with no regard for the damage you were causing to our fragile communities. And once it was revealed where your real loyalties lay, I would have much preferred you be taken out back and dealt with like the common Rahi you are.” Ahkmou gave a confident smirk. “Careful, Captain, the others will see you for the hotheaded tyrant that you truly are.” Jaller became aware of the others watching him and straightened up. He pointed out into the city. “Get lost, Ahkmou. Go peddle your conspiracy theories elsewhere.” Ahkmou noticed Lhikan talking to a Toa of Water near the Coliseum before the new Matoran came walking out. After a brief discussion, Lhikan led the Toa of Water off in the direction of Ta-Metru. “Very well, Captain. You win today. I have other places to be anyway.” *** Lhikan and Reymar walked through the streets of Ta-Metru, the former pointing out different places of interest to the latter. The two talked about Metru Nui, their homelands, their adventures, and everything else under the suns until they set, and even afterward. Even when it began to rain, the two Toa didn’t mind. They still talked as they snaked their way to the edge of the metru. Lhikan couldn’t help smiling as Reymar recalled a story where she defeated three Rahkshi while the rest of her team were incapacitated by the dark creatures’ abilities. He felt very different around this Toa than anyone else he had ever been around. He had seen Naho and Tuyet in purely sisterly terms, and of course, he didn’t even feel that for Tuyet anymore. No, this felt like it could be something more. Lhikan was so enraptured in his thoughts that he was completely oblivious to the trap they were walking into. The Toa of Fire heard the scrape of metal against stone and instantly froze. That was no Rahi, that was a being with intent, one trying to be quiet. He held out his hand to stop Reymar and put a finger to his mouth. “What is it?” she asked, now on the alert as well. “We are not alone.” Lhikan was now aware of sounds all around them. He scanned his eyes in all directions, thinking he caught movements in the shadows. But the rain and lack of light made it almost impossible to see. He cursed himself for not paying better attention and walking into a section of the city still under reconstruction where no Matoran or lights were. “Get ready,” he said. Lhikan could now see shapes moving in the shadows. He created two columns of fire in his hands and the glow revealed dozens of Matoran with various weapons surrounding them. The orange light distorted the wolfish and hungry expressions on the Matoran’s masks into even more grotesque versions of themselves. Ahkmou seemed to be leading them, holding a club threateningly. “Ahkmou, what is the meaning of this?” Lhikan demanded. “Nothing personal, Lhikan, just trying to protect our island.” “Yeah, like you care about the wellbeing of Metru Nui. And attacking me is supposed to do that?” “You Resurrected are more trouble than you’re worth. You drain our resources and draw threats to Metru Nui.” “My only intention is to protect the heart of Metru Nui as I have done since I first set foot on these shores. But if this is truly the will of the Matoran, I will leave without a fight.” “But, Lhikan, this is your home!” said Reymar. “How could you just leave?” “I didn’t say I would be happy, it would be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But I’ve already given my life for the city I love, so this seems like a small sacrifice in comparison.” The crowd’s resolve suddenly wavered. Obviously, they had been led to believe that Lhikan was a dangerous and unreasonable character. Ahkmou looked nervous, like he was going to lose his grip on his lynch gang. “You can’t believe him, he’s a liar!” said the Po-Matoran. “I mean, how do we even know this is really Lhikan? He could just be some monster using him as a disguise. We don’t know what these Resurrected are!” Fear of the unknown took over once again and the angry mob started to advance. Reymar pulled out two scimitars and looked around at the threatening faces surrounding the two Toa. “What’s the plan, Lhikan? They have us boxed in here.” Lhikan threw out a spread of fireballs around himself and Reymar. It made the Matoran jump back but the flames were nowhere near touching them. It was meant to keep the villagers back, not hurt them. Lhikan had no interest in hurting those he was sworn to protect, even if the feeling was not mutual. He took his greatswords off his back and combined them into his flying board. He threw it on the ground and stepped on board as he wrapped his arm around Reymar’s waist. “Hang on,” he said as he mentally triggered the board and took off into the night sky. But Ahkmou wasn’t going to be so easily outmaneuvered. “Freeze disks, now! Shoot him out of the sky!” The mob took aim with disk launchers and fired. Lhikan saw the incoming projectiles and began jerking left and right, trying to dodge them. He looked back and activated his Hau, but it was hard to spot all the disks in the darkness and continue flying forward at the same time. One got through and struck his feet, freezing them to the board. The shock made him lose concentration over his mask and the sudden weight made him lose balance. More disks struck, weighing the board down and sending the two Toa plummeting to the ground. The Toa Mangai of Fire tried to drop Reymar off before she wound up entangled in the inevitable crash. She dropped from the board and hit the ground, still getting stunned from the impact. Lhikan didn’t have any time to try to save himself and slammed into the ground at a high rate of speed. The impact broke one of his legs free of the ice but the other one stayed stuck as he rolled across the ground, board and all. Lhikan shook his head to clear it and rolled over before immediately starting to thaw out the ice. It must have been a pretty high-level disk that hit him as his fire was hardly having any effect. Lhikan looked up to see Reymar stirring before a dozen Matoran jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. “Hey, leave her alone!” he barked. “She has nothing to do with this!” “Don’t worry, Lhikan, we’re not going to hurt her,” said Ahkmou. “We’re just making sure she doesn’t interfere.” The Po-Matoran nodded to some others who moved in with their clubs. Lhikan threw up his shield as the Matoran brought down their weapons, causing them to ricochet off. The Toa was unharmed but he was also at a stalemate with the Matoran. Their attacks were so constant that if he were to drop his shield, he would immediately beset upon by their weapons. Unfortunately, the choice was soon taken from Lhikan’s hands. A Matoran came up behind the Toa of Fire and smashed Lhikan’s mask off his face. He watched helplessly as it skidded across the ground. Then the mob began to hammer away at him with their clubs. Reymar was conscious again and struggled under the Matoran’s weight. “You have to fight back, Lhikan!” she cried. “They’ll kill you if you don’t!” She glanced and saw her scimitars were out of reach, meaning her elemental powers would be limited. She was able to twist her hand out and hit a Matoran in the face with a stream of water. The Matoran stumbled backward as he tried to get out of the jet. As he fell to the ground, three more Matoran jumped and took his place, forcing Reymar even lower into the ground. Meanwhile the Matoran clubbing Lhikan began to tire and slowed down drastically. This allowed the Toa to climb laboriously to his feet, stumbling a little once he did so. His armor looked like it had been through Karzahni and back with all the dents and marks on it. “I never asked to come back,” he said distantly, sounding like he was thinking out loud. The Matoran paused in their attack. “When I closed my eyes on the Great Barrier over a thousand years ago, I thought it would be for the last time. And I was at peace with that. I gave my life protecting the future and I would do it all over again if I had to. But I figured if I came back, it must be for a reason. And I’m determined to live my life to the fullest and protect those I care about.” Lhikan looked at Ahkmou. “I intend to help those I let down: Nidhiki, my nephews, and anyone else. And you won’t stop me, Ahkmou.” The Po-Matoran looked thoroughly bored. “That was a great speech, Lhikan,” he said patronizingly. “String him up!” A Matoran jumped up behind Lhikan and wrapped a cable around his neck. Lhikan’s hands instinctively shot to his neck to try to free himself from the makeshift noose. The Matoran yanked the cable backward and pulled Lhikan off his feet. Other Matoran joined the first in hauling Lhikan toward a broken wall two and a half bio tall. Ahkmou looked around. “Make this quick, the Guard could be here any minute.” “No!” Reymar cried as she struggled as hard as she could. She shot streams of water from her hands. But without her tools, the blasts were hardly enough to get the Matoran wet at this range. The Matoran threw the cable over the wall and quickly began pulling it back, lifting Lhikan off the ground. He struggled to keep his neck off the cable as he swung his legs frantically. He tried to brace his feet against the wall to attempt to relieve the pressure but they kept slipping against the rain-slicked solid protodermis. The cable ground a rut into the rock under Lhikan’s weight. “Stop it!” Reymar shouted. “You’re killing him!” “That’s the idea,” replied Ahkmou emotionlessly. “You’ll never get away with it!” said Reymar. “I’ll tell the Turaga what you did!” Ahkmou sighed. “I suppose you will, won’t you?” He took an axe off his back and held it over the Toa of Water’s neck. “Now no one will know.” He brought the axe up only to have it knocked from his hand by a Kanoka disk. “What the—?” “Go, go, go!” shouted Jaller as he led the Ta-Metru Guard into the fray. They were outfitted in riot gear: heavy armor with shields and batons. They began to batter their way through the crowd, beating back Ahkmou’s fanatic followers. The Po-Matoran growled in anger. “They always ruin everything!” Jaller kicked a Matoran back into another before blocking a strike from his left. His eye caught the shine of gold in the low light and saw Lhikan struggling against the noose. “Nuhrii, save Lhikan!” “On it!” said the Ta-Matoran. He took a knee and aimed his disk launcher at the Matoran pulling on the cable. Just as he fired, Ahkmou knocked him off target, sending the Kanoka flying off into the night. “Not so fast, fire-spitter,” said Ahkmou. The Po-Matoran punched Nuhrii in the face, sending him to the ground. As Ahkmou moved in, Nuhrii brought his feet up and kicked the rogue Matoran backward. Ahkmou stumbled back, the wind knocked out of him. Nuhrii leaped to his feet and pummeled Ahkmou relentlessly, not letting up for a second. After what felt like an eternity and a half, Ahkmou finally fell over, defeated. Nuhrii grabbed his launcher again and loaded a new disk. He aimed at the cable and fired. The Kanoka struck true, activating its power and enlarging the cable by many sizes, causing Lhikan to easily slip out and land on his back. He coughed and choked as he was able to breathe freely again. The battle between the Ta-Metru Guard and mob continued on, with the Guard slowly but surely gaining ground. *** White armored feet pounded the pavement as their owner ran through the downpour toward the small fires and sounds of battle. Takanuva had heard from Vamkoda that the Ta-Metru Guard had been mobilized in riot gear and set out for the northern edge of the metru after receiving reports of prowlers in the area. Jaller must have suspected something pretty serious to deploy the Guard in riot gear. Takanuva suspected something serious as well. Ahkmou had been more and more radical in his speech and actions as of late. Takanuva had always hoped that Ahkmou had just been led astray by Makuta, deceived by his lies. He hoped he would see the light. But when Vakama’s stories revealed that he had always had a penchant for betrayal, he knew that was an unlikely outcome. As much as he hated to admit it, Ahkmou may have been lost to the darkness for millennia, and there was no chance he would come back. The Toa of Light put two and two together. Ahkmou was leading a group of Matoran that distrusted the Resurrected, and they were growing in size and fanaticism. Lhikan had been giving the new arrival, Reymar, a tour of Ta-Metru. They hadn’t been seen recently so they were unaccounted for. The only thing Takanuva wasn’t positive of was if Ahkmou would be bold enough to attack two Toa. Yeah, he would, Takanuva thought grimly. He wasn’t sure of Ahkmou’s exact motivations or goals, but his conviction was unquestionable. If he tried to murder a Toa in cold blood… that would be a new low for the population. There had never been any real attempts at murder in the thousand years on Mata Nui. Karzahni, they had never even deployed the guards in riot gear, only practicing with it as a means of being prepared for any outcome. To think it was actually being deployed against their Matoran brethren… Takanuva ran a little faster. This was becoming too much to bear. The only reason the Resurrected were even here was because Takanuva had messed with the Mask of Time, accidentally creating the hole in time that tore so many beings forward. Only a handful of people knew the truth, although occasionally Takanuva wished everyone did. He scrambled up some broken structures until he was on top of a roof and could see the Ta-Metru Guard smashing through the mob. Kalama and Kapura were currently battering the Matoran off of Reymar. Takanuva blinked away the tears that formed in his eyes. He had to act now. “Stop!” he cried as he sent out a brilliant burst of light that made the entire area look like it was the middle of the day. All of the combatants stopped to look at the Toa of Light. Unseen by everyone, Ahkmou used that time to sneak away. As the elemental light dissipated and darkness once more took over, Takanuva leaped down from the rooftop. “What are we doing?” he asked as he walked over to the crowd of Matoran. “We’re brothers and sisters for crying out loud! I know some of you are new here, but some of you were on the same island as the rest of us for a millennium. We’ve been with each other for as long as we can remember. And we’re going to let something like this tear us apart? “Lhikan and the other Resurrected are the same people that they were when they died. They are not any kind of scary monsters posing as old friends. They were just plucked out of time. I should know…” Takanuva had to stop himself from revealing the truth. “…because I have a personal connection to one of them. Takua is me, there’s no doubt about it. We have all the same memories up to his ‘resurrection.’ There’s no way that could be faked. Which means you’re trying to kill the Toa responsible for why we are all here and not the Makuta’s slaves right now. Now I suggest you put down your weapons before you do something you can’t take back.” One by one, the mob threw down their weapons and put their hands on their heads, submitting to the Ta-Metru Guard. The guards were quick to arrest them before any changed their minds. Jaller elbowed Takanuva in the side. “Thanks, buddy. You were able to defuse the situation.” “No problem, I’m just glad I was able to.” Nuhrii recovered Lhikan’s mask and gave it back to its owner. “Careful, Toa Lhikan,” he said as he helped the Toa Mangai sit up. “You could be pretty hurt.” “I’m fine,” he wheezed. “Are you sure?” Reymar asked. “Yeah.” Lhikan slowly climbed to his feet with the help of Takanuva and Reymar. “If it’s okay with you guys, can I go home now? I need to be alone.” “Of course, Toa Lhikan,” said Jaller. “Do you want an escort?” “No, I’ll be fine.” Lhikan limped away from the crowd, looking as if he was carrying the weight of Metru Nui on his back. Takanuva had never seen him so down and dejected. “Is it smart to let him go alone?” asked Kalama. “Probably not, but I think he’ll be fine,” said Jaller. “I don’t think anyone will attack him again tonight. He needs this right now, to be away from the rest of us. He’s hurt bad and needs time to heal.” “But I thought he said he wasn’t hurt,” said Nuhrii. “He’s not hurt physically, Nuhrii,” said Jaller. “At least not that badly. It’s much worse than that.” Nuhrii nodded sadly and watched Lhikan walk off into the night. “And unfortunately,” continued the Captain of the Guard, “I don’t think this is the end of it. I think this tension is going to keep rising until it reaches the breaking point.” “And then what?” asked Kapura nervously. “I hate to think of it,” Jaller replied. Takanuva lightly punched the wall where Lhikan had just been hanging. He couldn’t help feeling responsible and was determined to do something about it. Change was coming to Metru Nui and it wasn’t good. Maybe we need to make a change of our own, thought Takanuva as he looked out toward the sea. Maybe we need to change the game board. The End <-Previous Story Next Story->
  4. All right, here’s the fourth entry in my series of stories. Nothing too much to say before this one, just give your honest feedback as usual. Anyways, here’s the story. Legends of the Bionicle: Time Heist 1,006 AGC “The Coliseum welcomes six teams!” said the announcer into a microphone. “From the Knowledge Towers of Ko-Metru, the translator of Nuju and the silent ice carver, Matoro and Kopeke! From the desert city of Po-Metru, Copper Mask winners and undisputed kolhii champions, Hewkii and Hafu! From the subterranean tunnels of Onu-Metru, the Ussalry captain and adventurous miner, Onepu and Taipu! From the shining seas of Ga-Metru, returning kolhii champions, Hahli and Macku! From the dizzying heights of Le-Metru, Commander of the Gukko Force and deep-wood way-finder, Kongu and Tamaru! And last but not least, from the furnaces of Ta-Metru, the Captain of the Guard and the former Chronicler himself, Jaller and Takua!” The twelve Matoran made their way onto the Coliseum’s field, waving to the cheering crowd of thousands. The Turaga and Rahaga sat in the box, overlooking the field. The Toa Nuva plus Takanuva sat together near the elders. Vakama got to his feet and walked to the railing. He tapped the microphone and cleared his throat. The microphone was a small box about a quarter of a bio square and a little bit more than that tall. It worked by having a dial on the side of the box that turned a wheel inside that carried shrunken amplify sound Kanoka disks of different power levels on it. The sound waves of the user’s voice would activate the disk in the front and the amplified sound was projected out of the other side of the box. “Welcome, everyone, to our opening exhibition kolhii match,” said Vakama. “Six years ago, when we had our last kolhii tournament, we intended for it to be an annual event. But with the discovery of the Mask of Light and the rediscovery of Metru Nui and its subsequent rebuilding, we have had larger concerns. But now that we have reached a new level of stability, we decided now was a good time to revisit that. So I hope you will all enjoy the start to this kolhii season.” The crowd cheered as Vakama took his seat again. In the stands, Lhikan, Nidhiki, Vamkoda, and Malohi sat together applauding with the rest of the crowd. “I can’t wait for this,” said Vamkoda. “It’s not going to be like six years ago, this time the Ta-Matoran will win!” “What was the outcome six years ago?” asked Lhikan. “Ga-Koro crushed Po-Koro and Ta-Koro with Ta-Koro not even getting one goal,” said Malohi. “But today will be different,” Vamkoda quickly added. “Yes it will,” Malohi agreed. “Today Le-Metru will win. Just like we would have done in the final match six years ago if I had been on the team.” “Give me a break, kid,” said Nidhiki. “I’ve seen you try to run in a straight line, you couldn’t run across the field if you tried.” Malohi gasped theatrically. “Nidhiki, that’s rude!” The Toa of Air shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “Sue me.” “I have to say I am impressed with this game Vakama and the others created,” said Lhikan. “It’s action-packed and easy to follow.” “It’s certainly more exciting than Akilini,” Nidhiki agreed. Vamkoda smiled. About a year ago, a time anomaly struck the island, bringing several people back to life, including a split version of Takanuva as a Matoran. Due to its nature, it was called the Resurrection. Nidhiki and Lhikan had been among those returned, in Toa form as well. The traitorous Toa of Air had been remorseful of his past actions and began the long road to redemption. He had made a lot of headway on coming back to the light and most Matoran had accepted him rather easily relatively speaking, no doubt made easier since they didn’t actually remember his crimes. The two Toa had become good friends of Vamkoda and Malohi and the four often hung out together. At that moment, the six forwards of the teams got into position around a hole in the center of the field. They crossed kolhii sticks and soon after, the first ball was launched into the air. Kongu made the first move. He jumped up, using Onepu and Hewkii as springboards and scooped the ball out of the air. He somersaulted to the ground and looked back to see Takua and Hahli right behind him. The Le-Matoran laughed and ran straight for the nearest goal: Po-Metru’s. “Yes!” Malohi said as he stood up. “For Le-Metru, Kongu!” Hahli made a move toward Kongu but the Le-Matoran jumped and threw the ball as hard as he could at Po-Metru’s goal. But Hafu was ready and easily smacked it away with his shield. Malohi growled in frustration. Kongu went for the ball again but Takua batted his stick out of the way and claimed the ball for himself. He then flung it to the far end of the field, straight at Taipu. Faced with the choice of blocking the ball or having his head taken off, Taipu decided to live to play another day and ducked under the ball, giving Ta-Metru the first goal of the game. “All right!” Vamkoda cheered. He looked over at Malohi. “It’s already different than last time, now watch as Takua and Jaller bring home the glory.” “The first goal goes to Ta-Metru!” said the announcer. “Taipu!” yelled Onepu. “You were supposed to stop it!” “It was that or I lose my head!” complained Taipu. “That’s what the shield is for!” Onepu suddenly turned as he heard the next kolhii ball being launched into play and Hewkii and Hahli were already going for it. Hahli smashed her kolhii stick into the ball, sending it flying toward Tamaru. It hit the ground and rolled for several yards before Tamaru scooped it up and flung it to Kongu. The Gukko Force Commander caught it in his stick and ran the field toward Macku. “Not today, wind-flyer!” said Hewkii as he intercepted Kongu. Thinking quickly, the Le-Matoran threw it over the other Matoran’s head at the Ga-Metru goal. Matoro leaped up, snatched the ball out of the air, and spun, completing the throw toward Macku. The Ga-Matoran leaped for the ball and skimmed it with her shield, but it ultimately wasn’t enough and the ball entered the goal. “Yes!” said Matoro. “What?” Malohi cried. “Those Ko-Matoran jerks!” Vamkoda couldn’t help but laugh hysterically at his friend’s annoyance. The kolhii match went on for another thirty minutes with Ga-Metru, Po-Metru, and Ko-Metru all having two goals, and Ta-Metru, Le-Metru, and Onu-Metru all having one. Hahli was running down the field straight at Jaller, dead set on winning the game. Takua, Hewkii, and Kongu were right on her heels, constantly trying to steal the ball. She blocked every attempt successfully. Just then Onepu stepped out in front, ready to stop the Ga-Matoran. “End of the road, Hahli,” he said with a smile. She returned the smile. “I don’t think so,” she said before jumping over him and throwing the ball at Ta-Metru’s goal. “Block it, Jaller!” cried Takua. Jaller dove to his right and smashed the ball out of the way with his shield. It rolled away from the other five players and came to a stop at Matoro’s feet. The Ko-Matoran wasted no time in picking up the ball and running for Onu-Metru’s goal. “Not again!” said Onepu as he ran after Matoro. Hewkii and Kongu pushed past him, almost knocking the Onu-Matoran over. The two came up behind Matoro fast, pushing at each other to try to be the one to take the ball from the Ko-Matoran. The interpreter focused on his target, not looking back at the others. Taipu got ready to block any ball that came at him. Hewkii came up right behind Matoro, trying to knock the ball out of the Ko-Matoran’s grip. There was no more time, Matoro had to make his move now. He brought his stick back, preparing to throw the ball when Kongu tried to smack it. Suddenly finding nothing to stop his strike, Kongu accidentally tripped Matoro, causing him and Hewkii to fall as well. Just before Matoro fell in a heap with the other two Matoran, he let the ball fly. The three watched it soar through the air toward Taipu. Takua made a futile attempt to try to stop the ball while Onepu just held his head in dismay. Hahli simply watched to see what would happen. Taipu leaped for the ball but came up short and watched it sail over his head into the goal. “Ko-Metru wins!” cried the announcer. “An amazing victory from Matoro and Kopeke!” Vamkoda and Malohi growled in frustration as Lhikan chuckled. The Toa Nuva all clapped, albeit Tahu reluctantly. The Turaga congratulated Nuju as Vakama got up to speak again. “Congratulations to Ko-Metru and well played by all,” said Vakama into the microphone. “I hope you all enjoyed this exhibition match and we will see you all soon at the new kolhii stadiums being built in all the Metru. I assure you, this kolhii season will be quite the spectacle.” Vamkoda groaned as he got to his feet. “That sucked.” “I know,” Malohi agreed. “Le-Metru was robbed once again. Were you disappointed, Nidhiki?” “Not really, I didn’t have an Ussal in the race.” Nidhiki and the others joined the throngs of people slowly making their way out of the Coliseum. “But where’s your Le-Matoran pride?” “Must have lost it with my Chutespeak.” “I thought it was pretty exciting,” said a Ta-Matoran with a black Kaukau as he joined them. “Oh hey, Nuhrii,” said Vamkoda. “Nidhiki, this is my friend Nuhrii. He’s one of our best guards.” “Although I’ve recently gotten back into trying mask making since Turaga Vakama said I used to be pretty good at it,” added Nuhrii. “Although not as good as Turaga Vakama,” put in Malohi. “Yeah, I know who Nuhrii is,” said Nidhiki. “Although I only knew of him through, uh… reputation.” “Oh right,” said Vamkoda, remembering Vakama’s stories. “You want me to make a mask for you?” Nuhrii asked Nidhiki. “I’ve been practicing a lot recently.” “Why would I want that? My mask is perfectly fine,” said the Toa of Air indignantly. “Because maybe you want an upgrade.” “Well I don’t, and even if I need one, I would get it from a better mask maker than you.” Lhikan smiled as the two argued. “All right, guys, enough fighting. Let’s get out of here.” “Hey, I found my old house the other day,” Nidhiki mentioned. “Oh yeah?” asked Vamkoda. “Is it in good shape?” “No, it’s complete ruins. But I’m going to get it fixed back up. Orkahm has been helping me with it.” “I would help if you wanted me to,” offered Malohi. “Okay, kid. If I need someone to break their hand with a hammer, I’ll give you a shout.” “You just can’t help being rude to me today can you?” *** Up in the box, the Turaga, Toa, and Rahaga all started to get up and go their separate ways. “That was a good competition-match,” said Lewa. “Yes, it makes me excited for the rest of the season,” agreed Pohatu. He glanced at Tahu. “And Takua and Jaller did much better than last time.” “Ta-Metru will do better in the coming matches, don’t you worry,” said the Toa of Fire. Vakama smiled. Tahu was still very competitive, whether it was about himself or his Metru. His mind wandered to Jaller and Takua, specifically Takua. The adventurous Matoran and former Chronicler had been quickly accepted back into the Matoran, which made Takanuva very relieved. He had been very concerned over his counterpart ever since the Resurrection, no doubt partially because of guilt. He was after all the one who had caused the Resurrection, although that was a complete secret to all but a select few. Takanuva had made it his duty to keep tabs on all of the Resurrected as they had been called. The Turaga’s mind returned to Takua once again. Hahli had offered to give Takua back the role of Chronicler but Takua refused. He liked this newfound freedom, being able to adventure wherever he wanted without any responsibilities. Vakama was sure he and the other Turaga would be able to find something to keep Takua— “Ah!” Vakama cried as he fell to his knees, gripping his head. His mind was sent to somewhere else as a vision took over his mind. “Vakama?” said Whenua. “Are you all right?” asked Norik. Tahu knelt down next to his Turaga. “Turaga, is it another vision?” Vakama nodded absently. “They’re becoming more common again,” said Onewa anxiously. Vakama breathed heavily for several seconds before he looked up at everyone else. “He is here.” “Who?” Dume asked. “The beast.” *** Out in the halls of the Coliseum, one of the Po-Metru Guards, Piatra, was patrolling with his squad when he heard the telltale sound of a wall crumbling. Working with structures for over a millennium, Piatra knew all the sounds they made. He turned to see a wall ten bio down the hallway decaying rapidly as if that section was thousands of years older than the rest of the wall. It then suddenly crumbled and a giant monster walked through the newly created hole. It was red and black and stood over two bio tall. The creature had four arms, the upper two carrying a bladed weapon each. One of the lower arms carried a strange device that Piatra thought resembled the Rhotuka launchers that were built into the Rahaga’s backs. Piatra grabbed the horn off his back and put it to his mouth. “Attention, intruder! You are trespassing in a restricted area! Leave immediately or prepare to be taken down!” The creature noticed them for the first time and started to walk in the Matoran’s direction. With each step, the ground around its foot seemed to decay. “S-Strop, that’s an order!” Piatra stammered. There was something very alien about this beast. When it did not comply, Piatra brought up his disk launcher, weaken Kanoka loaded. “First line, open fire!” The first half of the squad launched their Kanoka and watched in horror as they all crumbled to dust before they ever reached the titan. “What?” Piatra said, completely shocked. “Second line, fire!” The other half of the squad fired, only to be met with the same results. The beast kept walking, completely unfazed. “Everyone fire at will!” Piatra cried as he reloaded his launcher and fired. “Take that son of a Kavinika down!” Dozens of disks rained down on the monster but none touched it as it continued its methodical advance. When it got closer, it began to spin its weapons at an incredible speed and Piatra watched helplessly as it brought them down on the assembled Po-Matoran. *** Further up in the Coliseum, Takanuva, Pohatu, Gali, and Kopaka raced through the halls with the help of the Toa of Stone’s Kakama Nuva. Vakama’s vision told him that their enemy was on the first floor on the southeast side. Tahu, Onua, and Lewa went to the vault to go and guard it while the rest went to confront this new threat. Voporak. That name was burned into Takanuva’s mind. It represented the danger that existed as a result of his foolish actions. His mind flashed back to one year ago, right after he caused the Resurrection. *** Vakama sat down, having just finished telling his story to the other Turaga, the Toa Nuva, and the Rahaga. The twenty beings currently sitting in a circle were the only ones that knew the full version of what had happened the day before; that Takanuva had foolishly played with the Vahi and ripped open a hole in time that brought several beings that were dead back to life, including a version of himself as a Matoran that had memories only up to when he was about to become a Toa. And no one else would ever know that version. Takanuva selfishly requested that everyone be told it was some kind of a temporal attack by an unknown enemy. It was only a short-term solution, of course; the Matoran would wish to find this enemy and if necessary, stop them from attacking again. And inevitably once no enemy was found, the truth was bound to come out. But that was a future problem for Takanuva. Vakama had just told his own secret he had kept for over a thousand years: the true story of how he recovered the Vahi from the Silver Sea. He mentioned how he was gripped in a powerful illusion, how he inadvertently started the Dark Hunter-Brotherhood of Makuta War, how he made a truce with Makuta, and mostly about the monstrous titan, Voporak. Takanuva took particular interest in this, especially Voporak’s ability to track the use of the Mask of Time. As the others discussed how best to prepare for this inevitably, all Takanuva could think was that this was all his fault. *** Takanuva and the others ran past the hole in the wall and came to a stop in front of the Po-Matoran squad. Of the few that were standing, they were stumbling around, completely disoriented. The others were down for the count. Pohatu knelt down beside Piatra. “What happened, little brother?” “A monster,” Piatra croaked. “It tore through us then opened that hole and went down it.” The Toa looked to indeed see a hole in the floor a little farther up the hallway. “We didn’t stand a chance. I’m so sorry.” “You have nothing to apologize for,” said Gali. “But I do,” said Takanuva before he made a break for the hole. “Takanuva, wait!” Kopaka called. “Don’t rush headlong into danger!” Takanuva didn’t reply as he created a hard light slide down the hole and began to descend it rapidly. Kopaka growled in frustration. “Tahu has worn off on him.” He looked at Gali and Pohatu. “You two stay here with the Matoran, I’m going after him.” Kopaka ran to the hole and jumped onto the slide, splitting his ice blade in two and using them in their skate formation. “Please be careful,” Gali said quietly. *** Takanuva landed on the ground in a crouched position and looked around. The hall was sparsely lit, with only a few lightstones hanging on the walls. Matoran did not often come down here so there was no need for more. He was probably almost two hundred fifty bio below the Coliseum, even farther beneath where the Matoran spheres had been held, where the only point of interest was a great vault that held items considered too valuable or dangerous to ever fall into the hands of evil. The Kanohi Vahi was among them. Takanuva created a ball of light in his hand and began walking in the direction of the vault. Voporak was down here hunting for the Vahi and the only thing standing between him and his prize was Tahu, Lewa, and Onua. He picked up the pace a little. He had to go and back them up. If anything happened to them… He couldn’t think about that. A sound behind him made him stop. He turned around and tried to peer into the darkness but saw nothing. Back before the Great Cataclysm, Vahki used to patrol down here, their night vision allowing them to see clearly in the dark. Since the Matoran’s return to Metru Nui, it was now up to them to walk these darkened halls. However, they were so busy rebuilding the city that Matoran could only be spared to come down every so often. The ones who had reported seeing strange creatures lurking in the shadows, just out of sight. Some even claimed to see Vahki, still patrolling the halls as they had been tasked for millennia. Takanuva decided to take it a little slower. If he went around a corner and right into the jaws of some beast, that would be of no help to Tahu and the others. He had just restarted his advance when his feet stuck fast and he felt a sudden sensation of cold. He looked down to find his feet encased in ice. “Oh no,” said the Toa of Light before he looked back to see Kopaka approaching. “You’ve still got a lot to learn in being a Toa,” said the Toa Nuva of Ice as he got closer. “You’re not the Chronicler anymore, running from Wahi to Wahi recording stories. You have a duty as one of the nine Toa on this island to protect the Matoran, and that means you can’t run into the darkness and think you’re going to come out unscathed. You got real lucky against Makuta, but remember what I told you, it’s not luck, it’s what you do that makes you a hero. And going and getting yourself killed sure as Karzahni won’t help anybody.” Takanuva broke the ice around his feet with his staff. “All right, so what do you suggest?” Kopaka put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We remember the first of the three virtues, unity. We go together to help our brothers. Carefully.” *** Onua was the first one to hear something approaching. “He’s coming.” He stood up and readied his quake breakers. Lewa swung his air katanas anxiously. He was uncomfortable this far below ground. “Well, I hope he quick-hurries up. I’m getting ever-tired of long-waiting.” Tahu lit up his magma swords. “Tell us as soon as you see him, Onua.” They stood in front of the vault door, a giant protosteel monstrosity that was over a bio thick. It had never been penetrated in a hundred millennia and required six keys that were locked away in different sections of the Coliseum to open it. The three Toa shifted their weight as Voporak’s footsteps came ever closer. They had heard Vakama’s stories and read everything Whenua had found on this monster. They had been waiting for this day, dreading it. And now… they only hoped to survive it. Suddenly the footsteps stopped and the Toa tensed up. What was Voporak doing? Tahu was about to ask Onua if he saw anything when a weapon came flying out of the darkness and smashed into Tahu, knocking him off his feet. “I see him,” said Onua. “Thanks for that,” Tahu growled as he struggled under the weapon. It had embedded itself deep in the floor, pinning him under it. He tried to push it off of him to no avail. “A little help here?” Onua activated his Pakari Nuva as Voporak stepped out of the darkness. Tahu used the mask’s power-sharing ability to easily free himself. He hefted the weapon and threw it back at Voporak who easily snatched it out of the air. The titan simply growled at them. “What? No taunts?” asked Lewa. “I was expecting something to quick-shut you up about.” Voporak made no moves to attack, apparently waiting to see if the Toa made the first move. They didn’t, but they also refused to get out of the way. Obviously seeing no other way further, Voporak charged forward, stabbing at Onua with his weapons. The Toa of Earth tried to parry with his quake breakers but they were knocked out of his hands when Voporak changed tactics and suddenly swiped at his tools. Then he went in for the kill and stabbed once more. Onua caught the weapon and pushed back against it with all of his enhanced strength. He was pushed backward, creating ruts in the floor with his feet. Onua suddenly came to a stop as Tahu and Lewa stood behind him, bracing him. “We’re with you, Onua, take him down!” said Tahu. Onua nodded and grabbed hold of the weapon, ripping it out of Voporak’s hand. Before the titan could react, Onua turned the weapon on Voporak and stabbed it into his armor. Using the tool, Onua hefted the beast into the air. Then the Toa of Earth drove Voporak into the ground with a loud roar, the monster disappearing from sight. The Toa dared not breathe as they waited to see if that was the end. Unfortunately, it was not, as first one, then two, then three, and four arms came out of the hole and pulled their owner back up into the fight. Lewa unleashed a hurricane-force wind at Voporak, but it died into a stiff breeze by the time it reached him. Tahu and Onua combined their powers to send a lava flow at the beast, but it too was ineffective as it hardened into rock and then crumbled to dust. Voporak began to advance forward, tearing out a chunk of the floor and casually tossing it at Lewa. The Toa of Air was ready and used his mask to levitate up and over the object. He hovered up near the ceiling and prepared to go into a screaming power-dive. Voporak tracked him and aimed his Rhotuka launcher at the Toa. He fired and hit the Toa before he had a chance to dodge. Lewa dove at Voporak as the beast continued his advance. Lewa smashed into the ground where Voporak had been standing a second ago and got up, only to throw a punch at empty air. “What’s going on? Why can’t I smash-hit him?” “Voporak’s power,” Onua said. “Lewa’s perception of time is out of whack.” Tahu shot a blast of fire at Voporak but it was quickly extinguished by the titan’s time bubble. “Blast,” said Tahu. “How are we gonna stop this guy?” Voporak suddenly shot his weapon forward, seizing Onua in its grasp and threw him back into Lewa. He then retrieved his weapon Onua had stolen and turned his gaze back to Tahu. The Toa of Fire threw up his protective shielding and took a step back. Voporak followed him and reached out to touch the shield but found his power ineffective against Tahu’s mask power. He waited to see what Tahu would do but when the Toa remained where he was, Voporak apparently realized that Tahu could not attack him while using his mask power so he decided to change tactics. He simply walked past Tahu toward the door. Tahu watched with horror as Voporak reached out for the vault door and touched it, causing it to age rapidly. “No!” Tahu cried as he dropped his shield and jumped for Voporak. The titan shot his hand out and snatched Tahu by the throat in his weapon. As Tahu struggled, he heard Voporak make a sound for the first time. He began to laugh. *** Takanuva and Kopaka arrived at the vault to find their brothers scattered around like ragdolls. The vault door was completely disintegrated. Takanuva rushed inside as Kopaka checked on the others. “We couldn’t stop him,” Tahu wheezed. “He got away.” Inside the vault were dozens of pedestals with various artifacts on top, perfectly untouched. Takanuva reached the one he was looking for and dropped to his knees when he found it empty. The Vahi was gone. And it was all his fault. He punched the ground in anger and cried out in despair. *** Lhikan and the others had almost made it out of the Coliseum when the intruder alarm was raised. Not ones to run away from a fight, the five Matoran and Toa began patrolling the Coliseum for the trespasser. They were walking through the halls of the northeast side of the building when they heard a rumbling sound. “Heads up!” said Nidhiki as he turned to face the noise. The wall caved in and a four-armed beast walked through, only sparing the group of defenders a moment’s glance. He was heading for the wall directly across from him. “No you don’t!” said Vamkoda as he launched a disk, with Malohi and Nuhrii following suit. The disks crumbled to dust before they ever reached the titan. “What happened to our Kanoka?” “How about this?” Nidhiki said as he launched a cyclone at the monster. The beast gazed at it disinterested before stepping toward it, completely dissolving it as he did so. “Let’s see him stop this!” Nidhiki cried as he leaped forward. “No, Nidhiki, wait!” Lhikan shouted. The monster backhanded Nidhiki and sent him flying into the wall, the impact splitting his mask in half. The Toa of Air tried to get to his feet but fell back to the ground. The three Matoran ran forward, Vamkoda and Nuhrii pulling out bidents and Malohi a homemade axe. They gave a loud roar as they charged and the titan responded by firing three Rhotuka at each of them. The spinners hit their marks and the three Matoran started to stumble around, completely dazed. The titan slammed his foot on the ground, knocking the three Matoran off their feet. “No!” Lhikan cried as he ran forward. He dropped a rain of fire bolts onto the monster but it was completely useless as they disappeared before they could touch the beast. It was then that he noticed what was in the titan’s grasp. “The Mask of Time? You will not be taking that today, monster!” The titan ripped out a piece of the floor and threw it at Lhikan. The Toa ground to a halt and activated his mask, blocking the debris. The titan fired several Rhotuka at Lhikan, forcing him to keep his shield up. At the same time, he tore another chunk of the floor out and threw it at the ceiling. Lhikan was so focused on keeping his shield up that he never noticed the rubble as it hit the chandelier of lightstones above him and send it crashing down to the ground until it hit him and his vision went to black. *** Vakama and Norik came around the corner just as the chandelier landed on Lhikan, breaking through his shield and sending him to the ground. “Lhikan!” Vakama shouted as he and Norik ran to the Toa’s side. The two moved the chandelier off Lhikan as the Rahaga checked his vitals. “He’s still alive, just unconscious.” Vakama nodded, relieved, and turned to see Voporak staring back at him, Vahi in hand. He could see recognition in the titan’s eyes and what he thought looked like contempt. For a long second, Vakama thought Voporak would attack, but the monster just shrugged and walked toward the wall, intent on leaving. “Oh no you don’t, beast,” said the Turaga as he followed after him. “You don’t get off that easy.” Vakama suddenly came to a stop and looked to see his limbs ensnared by ropes of energy. He looked back over his shoulder to see Norik pulling him back, no doubt the ropes being created by the Rahaga. “Norik, what the Karzahni are you doing? He’s getting away with the Vahi!” “And what will you do?” Norik demanded as he held Vakama back with all his might. “We’re not Toa anymore and I don’t know if that would make a difference!” “But if he gives the mask back to his master, the world as we know it will end!” “Perhaps, but you’ll still have a chance to make things right! But not if you go and get yourself killed!” Vakama still struggled in vain against Norik but the Rahaga was much stronger than him. The Turaga finally slumped to the floor and hung his head in defeat. “We lost,” he groaned. “Today we did, but there’s always tomorrow,” said Norik as he put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Now, we must tend to the wounded and damage.” *** The injured Matoran and Toa sat on the Akilini field of the Coliseum, being tended to by others. Luckily no one had been killed by Voporak’s attack, but many had been badly injured. The Matoran were all scared and angry and Takanuva couldn’t blame them. He sat on a raised pillar, slumped over and holding his head in his hands. He knew Vakama blamed him for this and he wanted nothing more than to just slink away to some unknown island and never be heard from again. Maybe he wouldn’t cause any more trouble there. The Toa of Light looked over to see Lhikan rubbing his head in pain. Nidhiki sat next to him, weak and maskless. Vamkoda was trying to hold Malohi still as the Le-Matoran struggled like a child in the healer’s grip. Just then, Nuhrii walked up to Nidhiki holding a mask. “Here, I made you a replacement Kanohi. I hope you like it.” Nidhiki took it and made a quizzical expression. The mask looked nothing like his old one. It had two long points coming off its sides and swept back to cover the top of the head. “Why does it look like a Kualsi? It doesn’t look remotely close to a Volitak.” Nuhrii twisted his foot in the ground nervously as he looked down. “I don’t know, I thought it looked cool. Plus, I may have screwed up in the execution a little bit.” “Oh, I’d say so.” “But it’s still a Volitak in power,” Nuhrii added. “Oh come on, Nidhiki,” said Lhikan before the Toa of Air could say anything else. “Nuhrii put a lot of work into it, especially in such a short time. Besides, maybe it’ll help you start a new chapter. Maybe a new mask is just the thing the healer ordered.” “You don’t like it?” said Nuhrii sadly. “Uh, no, it’s fine,” said Nidhiki as he put the mask on, changing from gray to green. Strength immediately returned to him. “Thank you, Nuhrii. It’s nice to have someone looking out for you. I haven’t had that in… a long time.” The Ta-Matoran suddenly brightened up and hurried off to see if anyone else needed help. Takanuva got up and started to make his way for the Coliseum gate. He stopped by Lhikan and Nidhiki. “I’m sorry for everything, guys.” “What are you talking about, Takanuva?” asked Lhikan. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” “Yeah, it’s not like you sent Voporak here,” added Nidhiki. “You have no idea,” the Toa of Light whispered before resuming his sad march. At that moment, the Po-Matoran Ahkmou was standing on a column, speaking to a group of gathered Matoran. “Voporak is attracted to disturbances in time,” he was explaining. “And we had one not too long ago when all these people came back to life. If you ask me, these Resurrected are more trouble than they’re worth.” Several Matoran agreed as Takanuva sighed. He had a feeling Metru Nui was heading for some pretty big changes. *** Far to the southeast, on the Dark Hunter island of Odina, Voporak entered a darkened chamber, greeted only by a pair of orange eyes. “Come in, come in, Voporak,” said the titan’s master. “I assume you were successful in your task.” Voporak nodded and stepped forward, kneeling and presenting the Kanohi Vahi to the being known only as the Shadowed One. The Dark Hunter leader took the mask and examined it like it was the largest amount of treasure he had ever seen at one time. “Yessssss. The Mask of Time…” he breathed in awe. “You couldn’t stop me this time, ‘great’ Makuta.” He directed his attention to Voporak. “I assume you went easy on the Toa stationed there to test them as I instructed?” Voporak nodded. “Excellent, I expect a full report. Go find the Recorder and relay it to him. I have much to think about. Like how I will use this mask to bring the Brotherhood of Makuta and Toa to their knees.” The End <-Previous Story Next Story->
  5. Once again, thank you so much for reviewing my story. To answer your question about these being separate stories, I personally feel that the stories are not connected enough to justify an epic. Also, I thought it might be easier to get people to read some short stories before I hit them with an epic But I am building toward a couple, more than a couple hopefully. Thank you again for your feedback and I shall keep it in mind for future stories.
  6. And here is the third story in the Legends of the Bionicle series. You can read the first two stories here and here. Credit goes to nuhrii-flaming (Don’t know if they have a BZP account or not) and outofgloom (Tolkien on BZP) on Tumblr for coming up with the word Bovaiki, a day of the week. As usual, give me your honest feedback and I hope you enjoy. Legends of the Bionicle: Purity of Hearts 1,005 AGC Vamkoda pounded his feet down the streets of Ta-Metru, searching for his target. Ta-Matoran all around let out shouts of surprise as he nearly bowled them over. Nothing mattered except finding a particular Matoran. He was sure he saw him run down here, and it’s not like he could blend in very well. The Ta-Matoran reached an intersection and stopped. He looked down the three streets before him as he caught his breath. Vamkoda closely observed the street to his right, looking for any sign of recent disturbances. There were a few lava rats that were scurrying deeper into the labyrinthine maze of the metru but any number of things could have scared them off. He was just starting to continue along when he heard a voice off to his left. “What do you think he’s doing?” one Ta-Matoran asked another one. They were looking up at the roofs. Vamkoda looked as well and saw a green flash run across the rooftops. There he was. “Out of the way!” Vamkoda shouted as he pushed the two gawking Matoran to the sides. “Hey, watch it!” “What the Karzahni?!” Vamkoda sprinted to the end of the street where a ladder was set up against the building. By the time he scrambled up it, the Le-Matoran was already on the next rooftop. “Malohi!” Vamkoda shouted. The Le-Matoran froze and looked back with a Rahi-in-the-lightstones look. “Just going out for a jog, Vamkoda. Nothing wrong with that, right?” “Yeah right,” said Vamkoda as he edged toward Malohi. “I saw you running away from that building you defaced.” “What did the building say on it?” Malohi asked, barely able to contain his laughter. “It said… it said ‘Le-Matoran rule, Ta-Matoran…’ Well, you know what it said, you wrote it!” Malohi burst out laughing, falling over onto the rooftop and clutching his sides. “It’s not funny!” Vamkoda snapped. “It’s hilarious!” Malohi gasped. “It’s an inflammatory statement meant to provoke outrage!” “And it worked! Plus it’s true!” Vamkoda stamped his foot down. “Well, in my opinion, it’s not true!” “Have it your way.” Malohi jumped to his feet and scrabbled to another roof with the ease of a Brakas monkey. He kept leaping and climbing, not seeming to have even a shred of fear. Vamkoda knew that was because the Le-Matoran was too stupid to be afraid. Vamkoda jumped to another roof and barely grabbed the edge. He managed to pull himself up and saw Malohi was three roofs ahead now. He sprinted after him and clumsily ran across a connecting plank, almost losing his footing twice. He looked up to see Malohi waiting for him to catch up. The smugness plastered across his Noble Mahiki was infuriating. He got up to speed and jumped across to the next rooftop only to come up completely short and the last thing Vamkoda heard before his head hit the pavement was Malohi’s high-pitched laughter. “Hey, Vamkoda, are you okay?” asked a voice out of the darkness. Vamkoda slowly opened his eyes and found Lhikan and Nidhiki crouched over him. He sat up and rubbed his head. “How long have I been out?” “No idea, we just found you,” said Lhikan. “Where’s Malohi?” Vamkoda looked around furtively as if the Le-Matoran would be in hiding, snickering. “He’s not here,” replied Nidhiki. “Were you chasing him again?” “Yes, and I had a good reason.” Vamkoda was still a little cold to Nidhiki. It was only six months ago that the Resurrection had occurred. The Resurrection had been a time anomaly launched by an unknown foe which brought dozens of beings back from the dead. Vakama explained it like going to an earlier page in a book, ripping out a word, and putting it into a later spot. Most beings seemed to have memories up to when they died so they gained the name Resurrected since it was like they had been brought back to life. However, not all were in the forms they died in for unknown reasons. Most Resurrected proved harmless although there had been a few criminals that Vamkoda and the other guards around the city had had quite a time collecting. Lhikan and Nidhiki had been among those wrenched from time and returned to the forms of Toa. There was quite an adjustment period for them and not everyone was comfortable with the idea of Nidhiki coming back into the Toa fold after all of the Turaga’s stories. But Lhikan seemed to have faith in him that he truly did wish to repent of his previous misdeeds. The Toa of Fire acted as a sort parole officer to him, keeping an eye on him to make sure he stayed out of trouble. The Resurrection had also brought up philosophical questions like were these truly the same beings that had lived long ago or were they just clones with identical memories? Could they be held responsible for past actions? Should they be treated with the respect they used to be? Vamkoda left such questions to Ko-Matoran, he was more interested in the tangible stuff happening right in front of him, like Le-Matoran vandals. Still, he had to admit, a lot of the Resurrected’s knowledge had been useful. Since they had full memories of how Metru Nui had been, they were a great asset in rebuilding. Of course, it was an open question of how far this time anomaly spread, and how many other Resurrected were out there, using forgotten knowledge to wreak havoc. “So what are you two doing here?” asked Vamkoda. “I was asking around to see if anyone in this area of the metru had heard anything about my nephews,” answered Lhikan. “And I brought Nidhiki along to try to acclimate the Matoran to him.” “You would think I was still a four-legged monster the way some of them react to me,” muttered Nidhiki. “So any luck about your nephews?” Vamkoda asked Lhikan. Lhikan shook his head sadly. “No one heard of Kazahk or Tazahk but I have faith I will eventually find them, it’ll just take time.” “So why do even bother chasing after Malohi?” Nidhiki asked Vamkoda. “He seems mostly harmless.” “It’s the principle of the thing!” said Vamkoda. “Plus if he goes too far and gets himself into trouble, who else will be there to pull him out?” “Not to discourage you from doing a noble deed,” began Lhikan, “but I have been wondering why you care so much about Malohi. You’re not the same element after all so I wouldn’t think you two would know each other very well.” Vamkoda frowned. “I’ve known Malohi a long time… Nine hundred and eighty-five years this past Bovaiki actually. And I owe him my life believe it or not…” 20 AGC Vamkoda stood stock still and proud against a small warehouse on the outskirts of Ta-Koro. He had only been a guard for a year but he couldn’t be happier. He had wanted to be a member of the Ta-Koro Guard for as long as he could remember. But Turaga Vakama had insisted that he was not yet ready to be a warrior. Vakama had kept him as a lava farmer until he felt Vamkoda was ready. At last, Vakama allowed Vamkoda to become a guard. Vamkoda trained hard under Jala. The Captain of the Guard was unsure about Vamkoda at first but the young Ta-Matoran proved himself and made fast friends with fellow guards Kapura and Nuhrii. Due to his short tenure with the Ta-Koro Guard, Vamkoda was given small posts, such as guarding minor warehouses or the Ta-Suva, a sacred shrine built in honor of the enigmatic Toa Tahu. So far, nothing exciting had happened on Vamkoda’s watch, which disappointed him a little. He wanted to prove himself to Vakama and Jala and he would never get a chance to do that if he wasn’t tested. He found himself praying now and again for a little action. Movement caught his eye and he noticed the strange Ta-Matoran Takua venturing out of his hut. He was supposed to be going to work on making bidents for the Guard but Vamkoda knew better than that. Takua was most likely going to sneak out of the village again. Vamkoda started to get excited. If he caught Takua breaking the rules, he would show everyone he was worthy of being a guard. He took one step in the direction of Takua when rapid footsteps sounded behind him. He whipped his head around and just caught something green vanishing into the warehouse door. Vamkoda almost thought he imagined it. But he couldn’t have, it was too clear. He tentatively stuck his head inside and looked around. It was too dark to see. “Hello?” he called out warily. There was no reply but he thought he could hear breathing. Vamkoda withdrew and almost sounded the alarm. He was almost positive there was something alive in that warehouse. What if it was a really dangerous Rahi, or worse, some dark creation of the Makuta? Better safe than sorry, he thought as he reached for his horn. But he stopped himself. What if it was something harmless like a Mahi and half the Guard came rushing just to find that Vamkoda was afraid to go into a warehouse and face a domesticated Rahi? And what if his eyes and ears were playing tricks on him and there wasn’t anything at all in there? Then one more dangerous and seductive thought came to mind. What if it was something really dangerous and Vamkoda was able to defeat it single-handedly? He would be hailed a hero, right up there with the likes of Lhii the Surfer. Without a second thought, Vamkoda pulled the lightstone off the wall and plunged into the darkened building. Vamkoda swept the stone’s bright light across the small room, at one end first and working his way across. So far he saw nothing except lava farming equipment and lava boards. When he got to the other end of the warehouse, he found a green creature crouched on top of a crate. Vamkoda was too dumbfounded at first to react, but that changed when the creature said, “Boo.” Vamkoda shrieked and stumbled backward out of the warehouse, falling on his back. He backed away quickly as he heard the creature leap down and start walking toward the door. It reappeared and Vamkoda realized it was actually a Le-Matoran. He had only seen a couple in his life, but Jala told him that they were a peculiar arboreal people that spoke in a code to confuse their enemies. Vakama insisted that the Le-Matoran and the other four villages were allies against Makuta but Vamkoda was not convinced. Seeing that the intruder was really a Matoran caused the fear to drain out of Vamkoda only to be replaced by anger. However, he was still wary as he saw three small picks in the Le-Matoran’s hand. He attempted his most serious and commanding voice. “Identify yourself and state your purpose for being here!” The Le-Matoran cocked his head to the side as a Hapaka would. “I’m Malohi, who are you?” He spoke in an annoying high-pitched voice that contained a child-like innocence. “I’m Vamkoda but that’s not the point. This is not a meet and greet. You are trespassing in Ta-Koro and I have every right to haul you in and let Turaga Vakama sort you out.” “But that would spoil my fun!” Malohi whined. Vamkoda nervously glanced at the pickaxes in the Le-Matoran’s hand. “And what fun would that be?” Malohi held his finger up to his mouth. “Shh. That’s a secret.” Realizing he was still on the ground, Vamkoda scrambled to his feet and took his bident off his back. “I’m not in the mood for games. I’m going to have to ask you to come with me. Surely you are not supposed to be outside your village. I am guessing you are a truant.” “What’s a truant?” “Someone who leaves their koro without telling their Turaga that they are going.” Malohi’s face brightened. “Oh, like that Takua that comes to Le-Koro from time to time.” “Yes, and if I have my way, I’ll be going after him as well.” Vamkoda held up his bident in a threatening manner. “Now come quietly.” Malohi looked absolutely unconcerned. “No thank you.” Then he gained a glint of malice in his eye. Vamkoda was suddenly worried. What if this wasn’t some mostly harmless wanderer like Takua? What if he was an escaped maniac on the run from the Le-Matoran authorities? “I think I’m going to go and hide these somewhere,” said Malohi. “No, we need those,” Vamkoda argued. “Then you’ll come looking for them.” Malohi took off, laughing hysterically. “Hey, get back here!” Vamkoda shouted, all traces of fear forgotten. He ran after Malohi but was surprised at how fast his quarry was. Malohi leaped onto a wheelbarrow, almost tipping it over and then up onto the roof of a hut. Vamkoda attempted to follow him and ended up on the ground under the wheelbarrow. Malohi laughed. Vamkoda growled and crawled out from under the wheelbarrow and looked up at the Le-Matoran. “You won’t be laughing in a second, punk!” “Ooh!” said Malohi in a mock frightened voice. Then he turned and bounded off across the roofs. Vamkoda was shocked by his agility and how he made it look so easy. Not wanting a repeat of the wheelbarrow, Vamkoda followed from the ground. But taking the streets wasn’t as fast as Malohi’s route as the Kewa flies and soon enough, Vamkoda had lost him. He kept running in the general direction Malohi had been going but he was starting to worry he wouldn’t be able to find him. Get a hold of yourself! Vamkoda admonished himself. He’s a Le-Matoran in a village full of hundreds of Ta-Matoran! How hard can it be? But it was surprisingly difficult to track down Malohi. He spent a full thirty minutes searching for him before he finally had to admit defeat and go report to Jala. He was making his way to the Captain of the Guard’s office when he saw Malohi standing at the edge of the village, looking out at the far end of the Lake of Fire where the rest of Ta-Wahi lay. He seemed to have lost the three picks but had now acquired a disk. “I finally caught you, you little thief!” said Vamkoda with a manic hint in his voice. “Now I can add theft of Ta-Koro Guard property to your crimes!” Malohi turned around casually. “I’m only borrowing it.” “You have to ask to borrow, and you didn’t! Now, what did you do with those picks?” “I told you, I hid them. You have to go find them.” Vamkoda brandished his bident and took a threatening step toward Malohi. Maddeningly, the Le-Matoran still didn’t react. “This isn’t a game of lose-and-seek! In case you haven’t noticed, you are a Matoran from a different village standing in Ta-Koro without permission! And in case you haven’t also noticed, we are at war with a dark spirit and his army of Rahi! Maybe we could afford to be less cautious in times past before Makuta came here but not anymore! We can’t afford risks!” Malohi yawned. “Are you done? Good.” He flung the disk at Vamkoda. He ducked but it would have missed anyway. It soared through the window of the guard shack and struck something inside. A moment later and the bridge out of the village began to rise out of the lava. “Fun playing with you, Vamkoda. See ya soon.” With a salute, Malohi stepped back onto the rising bridge. Vamkoda ran to the edge and watched as the Le-Matoran ran across to the far side even as the bridge was still ascending. “There won’t be a next time!” Vamkoda bellowed after him. “Because if I ever see you in this village again, I’m taking you down!” *** It took Vamkoda a good hour and a half to track down the three pickaxes and once he returned them to the warehouse, he demanded an audience with Turaga Vakama. When he arrived at the Turaga’s hut, it was twilight. He flung open the door and found Jala and Kapura inside with Vakama who was seated before his fire. He didn’t care about making a scene, he had never been more furious in his life. “Vamkoda, what’s wrong?” asked Vakama, ignoring the Matoran’s aggressive entrance. “Nuhrii said you sounded very upset.” “Yes I am!” shouted Vamkoda. “A Le-Matoran was in the village, robbing warehouses and hiding their contents elsewhere!” Vakama couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, is that all?” Vamkoda couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Turaga, this is a major breach of security! What if he took something else and brought it back to Le-Koro?” “If it was something important, I will reach out to Le-Koro and have it returned at once. Vamkoda, I really do believe you are making a bigger deal out of this than it is.” “I’m sorry, Turaga, but it’s you who is not taking it seriously!” shouted Vamkoda. “You need to contact… what’s Le-Koro’s Turaga’s name?” “Matau,” said Vakama calmly. “Right, well you need to contact him and tell him to get his Matoran under control! We can’t be fighting them as well as Makuta’s Rahi!” “We are not fighting the other Matoran, Vamkoda,” said Vakama sternly. “Our only enemy is the Makuta.” “Well, I don’t think the other villages get that,” said Vamkoda, giving voice to concerns he had long harbored. “You say they are our allies but where were they when the forest burned three years ago? I’m not the only one who has wondered this.” He shot a look at Jala who gave him a strong glare, not daring to look at Vakama. “I already know Jala’s misgivings about the other villages,” said Vakama. “But I have every reason to trust the other Turaga. They’ve never let me down yet.” He seemed like he wanted to say more but he held his tongue. “But maybe this is all part of a ploy to gather intelligence on us,” pressed Vamkoda. “Maybe this Matau guy sent Malohi in as a spy—” “That’s enough!” roared Vakama as he got to his feet. “I will not have you questioning the loyalty of the other Turaga, especially Matau! He is one whose loyalty shall never be in doubt! Do I make myself clear, Vamkoda?” Vamkoda looked down at his feet. “Yes, Turaga.” “Good. Now, I believe you are simply frustrated that someone made you look foolish at your post. And I shall speak to Matau about this…” “Malohi,” replied Vamkoda sheepishly. “Malohi,” repeated Vakama. “But right now, go and get some rest. And try to not take your job or life so seriously. Because Mata Nui knows you’ll be lucky to live long enough to be made a fool again before your life is over.” “Yes, Turaga,” muttered Vamkoda before he shuffled out of the Turaga’s hut. He wasn’t sure of too much, but he certainly knew he didn’t like being a fool. *** A couple of weeks later, Vamkoda patrolled up and down the streets of Ta-Koro, guarding the Ta-Suva. He had been on the lookout for Malohi ever since his last encounter with the delinquent Le-Matoran but so far, he had not shown himself. Vamkoda thought he caught a flash of green every now and then but it was always just his eyes playing tricks on him. Sometimes he and other Matoran would complain about different objects missing and being found elsewhere, but Vamkoda was sure it couldn’t have been Malohi, he would have known if the troublemaker had entered the city. Vamkoda nodded to Vohon and another Ta-Matoran as they passed by. They returned the gesture and Vamkoda kept walking, eyes scanning the rooftops. That’s probably where Malohi would show up. It was the closest thing Ta-Koro had to trees so it’s where a Le-Matoran would most feel comfortable. Still no sign of him. But then again, maybe he wouldn’t see Malohi again. Vamkoda had gone around to all of the guards whose posts were entrances of the village and told them to tighten up security. They didn’t seem to like being told what to do by such a young member of the Guard but Vamkoda felt confident they would listen to him. Yeah, that must be it. Malohi couldn’t even get into the koro now. He breathed a sigh of relief. His Le-Matoran worries were over. He turned around and found the Matoran that had been with Vohon now standing by himself, examining the suva. Vamkoda found this odd and approached the Matoran. “Excuse me, do you have authorization to be that close to the suva?” The other Ta-Matoran ignored him. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” Vamkoda said as he clapped his hand on the other’s shoulder. Black powder flew off him. “What the—?” said Vamkoda as he examined his blackened hand. “Soot?” Then he looked down and saw a glint of green on the other Matoran’s shoulder. Vamkoda turned him around and looked at his red Noble Mahiki, dripping in what appeared to be some kind of berry juice. Then Vamkoda saw those eyes… those same eyes that haunted his dreams. “It’s you!” he shouted. Malohi barely ducked the punch thrown at his face. He crawled away, cackling like a maniac. “About time you realized! I’ve been here for two weeks! I’ve been hiding people’s stuff all this time!” “Little gremlin!” Vamkoda shouted as he leaped after Malohi, trying to stab him with his bident. Malohi rolled out of the way and sprang to his feet. He started doing a little dance as Vamkoda spied a stack of disks. “Dodge these, freak!” He dove for the pile and began flinging the disks at Malohi with reckless abandon. The Le-Matoran expertly dodged each one, dancing all the while. “Gotta do better than that, Vamkoda! I thought they trained you fire-spitters how to aim!” “Stay still and you’ll see!” Vamkoda growled. “The Rahi won’t!” said Malohi as he executed a handstand to avoid a disk. He cartwheeled to his feet again and grabbed a disk out of the air. “In fact, they might even strike back.” He flung the disk back at Vamkoda with incredible power. He was sure it would have taken his head off had he not ducked. A lightstone shattered somewhere behind him and he stood up, bident in hand. “Assaulting a Ta-Koro Guardsman?” A malevolent smile spread across Vamkoda’s mask. “Another charge against you. You’ll be spending the next century in jail when I get my hands on you.” He lunged forward and came within an inch of Malohi. “No, stop it!” cried Malohi as he ran for a staircase. “I’ll stop it when you come in quietly!” shouted Vamkoda. Malohi bounded up the stairs, Vamkoda right on his heels. Malohi glanced backward and Vamkoda was glad to see a hint of fear in his eyes. But they were still mostly filled with a wondrous excitement. “You aren’t getting away this time, Malohi!” shouted Vamkoda as they ran along the top of the wall. “I know every inch of this city! You’re cornered like a lava rat!” “Not yet!” said Malohi as he reached in his pack. He pulled out something shiny and Vamkoda thought it was a weapon. He was surprised to see it was a flute. Malohi put it to his mouth and played it, able to play a shockingly good tune given the fact he was running at full sprint. He put the flute away and ran to the side of the wall. “Woohoo!” he shouted as he leaped over the side. “What?!” Vamkoda cried. Then something swooped past him and he was almost knocked off his feet. He looked to see a Kewa dive and grab Malohi in its talons. “Bye, Vamkoda!” Malohi called as the Kewa carried him to safety. “See you next week!” Vamkoda growled like a Muaka and snapped his bident over his knee, throwing the two halves into the Lake of Fire below. He couldn’t stand that arrogant Le-Matoran. “Vamkoda, what’s all the commotion?” Vakama asked as he came up behind the steaming Ta-Matoran. Vamkoda spun around. “Turaga—he—Malohi—suva—soot—weeks—disks—assaulted—flute—wall—Kewa!” “Calm down, Vamkoda, you sound like a raving lunatic. Take a deep breath and tell me what happened.” Vamkoda did and recounted his whole tale. Vakama laughed at the end. “That Malohi sure is an ingenious little rascal, isn’t he? Matau should use him as a scout, he would probably come in handy.” “How can you laugh, Turaga? Malohi is here causing sedition—” “‘Sedition?’” repeated Vakama, amused as if a child was complaining about some trivial matter. “Matau needs to extradite him here to stand trial!” Vamkoda persisted. Vakama laughed again and shook his head. “I think Malohi is rather harmless. It’s all innocent pranks. Remember what I said, Vamkoda. Don’t take life too seriously. It’s far too short.” He turned and walked away, leaving Vamkoda to stare out at the horizon. He didn’t care what Vakama said. Malohi was not harmless, and it was only a matter of time until he revealed his true colors. *** Over the course of the next few months, Malohi made regular appearances, hiding people’s belongings and pulling similar pranks. Vamkoda chased him down constantly but the Le-Matoran always stayed one step ahead of him. Vamkoda had even begun setting traps for Malohi but the hoodlum always managed to avoid them with what seemed like a sixth sense. It was just further proof that there was something maleficent about him. Maybe he was even working with the Makuta. Vamkoda spent little time doing anything else but searching for Malohi. One day, Vamkoda was standing near the armory, preparing a snare trap for his eternal nemesis. He had a pile of bidents as bait, surely Malohi wouldn’t be able to pass that up. But of course, to get to them, he would have to step into the snare. There was no way this one could fail. He just had to make the finishing touches. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t hear someone come up behind him. “Eh, what’s up, bud?” “I’m just setting a little trap for an annoying pain in my side,” replied Vamkoda. “What’s he look like?” asked the stranger. “He’s a Le-Matoran. He’s stupid-looking, always walking around with a shocked expression as if everything he sees or hears is a new experience for him.” “Hmmm,” pondered the stranger. “Have you tried looking behind you?” “What?” Vamkoda said, recognizing the voice at last. He turned and stood up in one motion, only to be pushed backward by Malohi. “Did your mother ever tell you that you’re a rude little gafna?” asked the Le-Matoran. Vamkoda snarled. “I don’t have a mother, I’m an orphan!” He lunged forward but ended up face down on the ground. He looked back to see his foot caught in his snare. He cursed as he began to hack away at the rope with a knife. “Have fun with that,” said Malohi. “I’m going to go for a ride.” “And what the Karzahni is that supposed to mean?” Vamkoda shouted as Malohi jogged away. “Blasted tree-dwelling, air-headed, stupid…” As Vamkoda worked on the snare, he tried to figure out what Malohi was talking about. Then as he freed himself, he got it. The cable cars! Vamkoda ran full out to get to the cable cars before Malohi sabotaged something. He pushed past a group of guards and ran up the stairs to where the cable cars were located. He found them devoid of any life but he could see a car halfway across the Break. That must be Malohi. He wasn’t getting away that easily. Vamkoda ran to another car, jumped in, and started across after the recalcitrant Le-Matoran. He looked out of the cable car nervously. He had never ridden it before and didn’t realize how high up he would be. The cable cars spanned the Tren Krom Break, a lava river that flowed all the way from the Mangai volcano to the sea. If the cable were to snap suddenly, he would plunge to a fiery and painful death. Vamkoda immediately began searching the car for any signs of tampering but saw none. It didn’t put his mind at ease, however. Before he knew it, he was approaching the far end of the Break and with it, the North March. As he got nearer, Vamkoda could see Malohi’s cable car sitting at the station. The Le-Matoran was nowhere in sight. Was he really so stupid as to run off into the cold wilderness of Ko-Wahi? The car docked and Vamkoda leaped onto the snowy ground, immediately hit by the frigid air. He had never been outside Ta-Wahi before in his life. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. He looked for any sign of Malohi. The wind was blowing so fiercely that it must have swept away his tracks. The young Ta-Matoran almost started walking in a random direction to find Malohi but logic finally seemed to stop him. He had no idea which way the Le-Matoran had gone and no knowledge of the region. He could easily freeze to death if he wasn’t careful. Not seeing anything else to do, he returned to the cable car to wait for his quarry. He opened the heatstone that was installed in the center of the cable car and got warm. The next thing Vamkoda realized, he was waking up to the sound of loud screeching. He sat up and looked to see Malohi charging down a path toward the cable cars. He was wearing an expression of excited fear. Vamkoda jumped out of the car. “There you are!” he bellowed. “Now you’re mine!” “Get in the car, Vamkoda!” Malohi cried. “Oh trust me, I will, with you bound and gagged!” “We gotta run!” Vamkoda made a skeptical expression. “Why?” “These guys want to kill me for some reason!” Malohi pointed back at a dozen armed Ko-Matoran chasing him. “What the Karzahni did you do?” Vamkoda shouted as he back up a few steps. “I just added to their Wall of Prophecy a little bit!” “You what?!” Malohi dove into his car and started it. “Run!” Vamkoda was going to argue but he noticed the furious looks on the Ko-Matoran and decided it was better to have this sorted out later. He jumped into his own car and started after Malohi. A few disks flew past him but none hit their marks. He looked back to see the Ko-Matoran standing by the station, apparently resigned to letting them go. Vamkoda glanced over at Malohi who was looking at him with a big smile. Vamkoda just glared. They were in big trouble. *** A week later, Vakama and Matau stood near the gate to Ta-Koro, a compliment of Ta-Matoran and Le-Matoran with them. Vamkoda and Malohi were among them. Malohi had really done it this time. He had actually gone into the Sanctum of Ko-Koro and defaced the Wall of Prophecy with childish graffiti. The Turaga of Ko-Koro, Nuju, was reportedly furious. Rumor had it that he had demolished an entire glacier in his rage. He had demanded a meeting with Matau and Vakama to sort out this debacle. Vamkoda glanced over at Jala. He stood at stiff attention, eager to impress with his professionalism. Standing next to Matau was the Captain of the Le-Koro Gukko Force, Kongu. He looked rather unconcerned about the whole affair, like Malohi and their Turaga. It infuriated Vamkoda to no end. “Ever-wonder where Nuju is,” began Matau. He was preparing to deliver his eighth joke in half as many minutes. “Perhaps he got way-lost in his own backyard.” Vakama gave the smallest of smiles. “I believe we should prepare for Nuju’s arrival in as serious a manner as we can manage, brother.” Vamkoda frowned. He was not at all impressed with Matau. And why did Vakama tolerate him, and refer to him in such familial terms? Didn’t he see what an inter-village disaster this was? And it was all Malohi’s fault, and by extension Matau’s for not keeping an eye on him. “The Turaga of Ice approaches!” called a guard from on top of the wall. “The Turaga of Ice approaches!” Vamkoda matched Jala’s posture as did the rest of the Guard. Even some of the Le-Matoran stood a little straighter. Vakama and Matau looked as if they were about to meet an old friend. That’s when Nuju, Turaga of Ice, leader of Ko-Koro, entered the gates, followed by a dozen Ko-Matoran and wearing features chiseled out of ice. His very presence seemed to suck the heat out of the village. And he was not happy. Not in the slightest. Vamkoda wasn’t sure what he pictured Nuju to sound like, but it certainly wasn’t what came out of his mouth. As soon as Nuju was a few bio from the other Turaga, he began speaking in a flurry of whistles and clicks, hands flying all over the place in complex gestures. A Ko-Matoran with a sand blue Akaku behind him nodded as he paid attention to what Nuju was saying. Vamkoda was completely taken aback by this. He guessed this must be some odd language Nuju spoke, gestures included, although he was pretty sure some of the gestures were not part of the actual language and just rude interjections. Vakama and Matau did not seem surprised by this outburst, but they did shrink a little from it, and Matau certainly wasn’t enjoying himself anymore. Once Nuju finished, the Matoran with the Akaku spoke. “Turaga Nuju says that he has never seen such base behavior in his life. A section of the Wall of Prophecy has been ruined. You ignore the future at your own peril. He says Turaga Matau should be ashamed of himself, letting his Matoran have their run of the island like a bunch of deranged Brakas.” “In my defense,” began Matau, “Malohi here is ever-hard to keep a Kahu-eye on. He is always quick-running around and—” Nuju cut him off with a string of more bizarre noises and hand movements. Vamkoda expected the interpreter to have to translate Matau back to Nuju but it seemed he understood the other Turaga just fine. “Turaga Nuju says that you are making excuses, Turaga Matau,” said the interpreter. “He expects more out of you, even if you are just a Gukko-riding, foolhardy, glory-seeking pilot.” Matau scowled and looked like he was going to say something but Nuju turned his attention to Vakama. He gave three short whistles and waited for the translation. “Turaga Nuju doesn’t want you to think you’re blameless in this situation, Turaga Vakama.” Nuju continued and the interpreter said, “Turaga Nuju demands to know why a Le-Matoran was able to access the cable cars with no questions asked. They should be restricted to authorized personnel.” “You are correct, Nuju,” said Vakama. “We should have had that in place, but to be fair, we’ve never had an incident quite like this. Not all outcomes can be predicted.” Nuju scoffed and made another incomprehensible reply. “Turaga Nuju says that’s the excuse those who don’t take the future seriously make,” said the translator. “Well, don’t worry, that particular oversight will be amended going further,” said Vakama. “And I have complete faith in your ability to restore the Wall of Prophecy. If you require any of our help, we shall be willing to give it, even if that is just staying out of your way. And I believe there is one more thing that needs to be said. Matau?” The Turaga of Air was still scowling and turned to look at Malohi. “Yes. Malohi, you should apologize and ever-promise you will never do anything like that again.” Malohi considered it. “Sorry I guess. And I promise I’ll never do anything like that again… until I do it again.” He then took off running. Matau shrugged. “I think that’s the ever-best you can hope for.” Vamkoda seethed at Malohi’s impertinence. Then he saw him run to a trader and jump on one of his Husi. “I’m borrowing this, okay? Yah!” He spurred the bird and took off out of the village. “That slimy, arrogant—!” cried Vamkoda before he ran to the trader, jumping on one of his other Husi. “Hey, what are you doing?” asked the trader. “Not you too!” “Don’t worry, I’ll bring back your other Husi along with that criminal hogtied,” said Vamkoda. “Vamkoda, no!” shouted Vakama. “It’s almost nightfall, it’s too dangerous!” “I have to do this, Turaga! No one else will!” Vamkoda spurred the Husi and took off after Malohi. Within a couple of minutes, Vamkoda found his prey. The Le-Matoran wasn’t going particularly fast, apparently waiting for Vamkoda to catch up. “You’re not getting out of this one this time, Malohi!” he shouted. “They all saw you! I’m going to haul you into prison where you belong!” Malohi turned around and gave a taunting look. “You have to catch me first!” He put the speed on and began to pull away from Vamkoda. The Ta-Matoran was not going to give up that easily. He dogged Malohi relentlessly, chasing him all the way to the far end of the burnt and destroyed forest. Slowly but surely, Vamkoda was gaining on Malohi. Only a few more bio and he would have him. Once his Husi was right behind Malohi’s, Vamkoda stood up and leaped at the Le-Matoran. Malohi let out a loud screech as he was tackled off his mount and the two rolled around in the dirt. Vamkoda ended up on top of the scuffle and punched Malohi square in the face. The green-armored Matoran let out a cry of pain and surprise as he held his face. Vamkoda smiled at his victory. Malohi lowered his hands and for the first time, Vamkoda saw anger in his eyes. He was suddenly not feeling like he was the one in control. Malohi brought up his feet and kicked Vamkoda off of him. The Ta-Matoran crashed back into a tree and slumped to the ground. He shook his head and could just barely make out Malohi running away in the darkness. He would not escape this time. Vamkoda jumped to his feet and chased Malohi. The Le-Matoran seemed to be carefree again, skipping as if he had all the time in the world. He let out a whoop of joy with a particularly big skip. Vamkoda was going to make sure he never had anything to skip about ever again. Malohi was going to be pining for the old days when he— Suddenly Vamkoda’s feet were above the void. Malohi’s big skip hadn’t been random, he had seen a giant fissure and jumped over it. But Vamkoda, in a mixture of the lowlight and his single-minded pursuit of Malohi, missed it. And now he was going to plunge to his death. All of this shot through his mind in an instant. He slammed into the opposite side of the fissure, his bident slipping off his back and falling into the abyss below. He dug his fingers into the soil but they didn’t even offer a shred of resistance to gravity. He watched in horror as his fingers slid through the dirt and inched ever closer to the edge and certain death. It was literally a visual representation of how much longer he had to live. Vamkoda’s hands slipped off the ground and for a second he was suspended in space, the full weight of the situation sinking into his mind. Then something gripped his arm. He looked up to see Malohi holding onto him, heartlight flashing rapidly. “Hang on, Vamkoda, I’ll pull you up!” Vamkoda couldn’t understand what was happening. But he forced those thoughts aside and focused on more innate ones, such as survival. He planted his feet on the chasm wall and managed to climb up with Malohi’s help. Back on solid ground, Vamkoda took a long time to say anything, simply catching his breath and watching as his life flashed before his eyes over and over, paying particular attention to the last few months. Malohi said nothing either, just watching the moon rising through trees with uncharacteristic calmness. “Why did you save me?” Vamkoda finally managed. Malohi looked at him with a genuinely shocked expression. It was an odd sight to see such sincerity from him. “Because we’re friends.” “We’re… friends?” “Of course. We spend so much time together, how could we be anything but friends?” “But… but…” Vamkoda was too shocked and ashamed to say anything else. “I’ll always be there to make sure you don’t fall,” Malohi continued. “And you’ll do the same for me. You help me and I’ll help you. United we stand, divided we fall. Right?” Vamkoda stared at Malohi for a long time before he replied. “R-Right.” He stood up and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go back to Ta-Koro. I’m sure Turaga Matau is worried about you.” Malohi gave a big smile and took Vamkoda’s hand. 1,005 AGC “And ever since then,” Vamkoda said, “we’ve been good friends. Malohi helped me to learn to trust the other villages, something that I believe was vital to our survival against Makuta.” “So did he stop harassing you after that?” asked Nidhiki. Vamkoda laughed. “Are you kidding? I think he did it even more. But I took Turaga Vakama’s advice, I stopped taking life so seriously. Sure, Malohi still annoys the Karzahni out of me sometimes—a lot of times really—but I’ve never questioned his heart after that night. I think he might have one of the purest hearts I’ve ever seen.” “That’s a truly great story, Vamkoda,” said Lhikan. “I can tell he really is a friend.” “He’s my best friend,” said Vamkoda, realizing that for the first time. “And I’ll always be there to back him up, no matter what.” He suddenly realized something else. “I guess… it’s kind of like you and Nidhiki. Maybe all hearts are not what they appear to be at first.” Lhikan smiled at his brother Toa. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” Nidhiki returned the smile. “Well, I don’t think we’re going to find anything else on your nephews today, Lhikan. How about we help Vamkoda round up Malohi?” “Sounds like a plan. Come on, Vamkoda. Let’s go find your friend.” “Okay. Can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell him he’ll be scrubbing that graffiti off that building tomorrow.” The End <-Previous Story Next Story->
  7. So here is the second story in my series. I would recommend reading the first one here. However, I believe I do a decent job of explaining the main events of that story if you just want to read this one. Also as an aside, the Toa Mangai roster is different in this story than what is canon, the difference being that I replaced the Toa of Plantlife and Stone with different characters. Anyways, give me your honest feedback again, hopefully these stories continually get better. Legends of the Bionicle: Resurrection and Redemption 1,005 AGC “I am proud to have called you ‘brother’… Toa Vakama.” Those were the last words Turaga Lhikan spoke before he closed his eyes and felt his systems shutting down. He had little to regret, certainly nothing in the last few months. But he had wished he had done better by his team and family. Allowing Tuyet and Nidhiki to fall and losing the rest of his team to Makuta’s machinations were his biggest mistakes as a Toa. But he didn’t regret sacrificing his life for Vakama. The Toa had been fighting Makuta with the Mask of Time but lost control of it and found himself trapped in its power as well. Lhikan had climbed up to where the battle was taking place and saw that Vakama was realizing too late that he was in danger from the Makuta’s shadow hand. Lhikan didn’t hesitate. He sprinted as fast as his weakened frame could carry him and he jumped into the time vortex, calling on his Hau and bringing up his shield. Makuta’s shadow hand broke through Lhikan’s protective barrier and grabbed a hold of his shield, dark tendrils grabbing at his arm in the process. Lhikan let out a silent scream as his shield was ripped out of his hand and shadow energy shot through his system. Makuta absorbed the shield and the explosion of energy threw Lhikan and Vakama in opposite directions. The Vahi was knocked from Vakama’s face and skidded over the edge of the Great Barrier and plunged into the silver sea. Vakama had checked on Lhikan and expressed remorse for the Turaga but Lhikan had assured him this was his destiny before he bestowed his Kanohi to the Toa of Fire. Yes, no regrets. He drew one last ragged breath and felt his heartlight go out. And then Lhikan, leader of the Toa Mangai and last surviving member, died. And there was only darkness. And then Lhikan did something he never thought he would do again: He opened his eyes. Shocked, he sat bolt upright and looked around. He was in Ta-Metru and it was early morning, that much he was certain of. He looked down to see his next surprise: he was a Toa again. How? thought Lhikan. I’m alive and I’m a Toa again? It couldn’t have all been a dream, could it? No, it wasn’t. Ta-Metru was in ruins, and not from the Morbuzakh. This was from the great earthquake that occurred after Makuta cast some kind of spell on Mata Nui to make him fall asleep. Lhikan still wasn’t sure how that was possible either, but that would have to wait for another day. He got to his feet and took his fire greatswords off his back, which somehow he still possessed. He threw the board out in front of him and jumped on, taking to the skies. He flew over the metru, observing the damage from above. It was going to take a long time to fix, and if Vakama and the others succeeded in escaping Metru Nui, he was going to have to do it by himself, at least for the time being. Perhaps he could track down Turaga Dume and rescue him from his pod, his Kanohi Kiril would come in handy. Soon after Lhikan crossed the line into Le-Metru, he heard a shout from behind him. He almost fell off his board from the shock; he had been starting to get the feeling the island was abandoned. He turned to see two Le-Matoran riding Gukko birds coming up on him fast. So apparently Makuta had not been successful in capturing all the Matoran, although he didn’t know how they had managed to tame Gukko in such a short time. “Quick-stop or be fired upon!” called one of the riders. “In the name of the Le-Metru Gukko Force!” Lhikan brought his board to a stop and turned to face the Matoran, putting his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat. “Le-Metru Gukko Force? What is that?” The two riders brought their Gukko to a stop and looked at each other perplexed. “He hasn’t known-heard of the Gukko Force?” asked one. “Who is this funny-joker?” replied the other. “Has he been sleep-living under a rock?” “Who am I?” repeated Lhikan. “I’m quite possibly the last Toa on Metru Nui.” “No, we ever-have seven more,” said the first Le-Matoran. Seven? Lhikan thought. So the Toa Metru are still here? And there’s another Toa? “Anyways, I’m Toa Lhikan, leader of the Toa Mangai. How could you not know me?” The two Matoran’s eyes went wide and looked at each other. “Did he just speak-say ‘Toa Lhikan?’” asked the first one. “He did,” said the second. “We have to quick-bring him to the Turaga.” “Yes, bring me to Turaga Dume,” said Lhikan. “He’ll sort this all out.” The two Matoran quickly led him back in the direction of Ta-Metru and soon landed where a group of Ta-Matoran were milling around. Lhikan disembarked and looked around the area. This section seemed to be in better shape. Ta-Matoran were hard at work repairing the surrounding buildings. “Wow, a fair amount of you managed to escape Makuta.” A Ta-Matoran with a yellow Great Hau approached Lhikan and eyed him warily. “Go get the Turaga!” he barked to a Ta-Matoran who promptly ran off. “Good, where’s Dume?” asked Lhikan. “Dume is in the Coliseum still trying to sort out this crisis with some of the Toa Nuva,” said a wizened voice. Lhikan turned to see an unfamiliar Turaga of Fire approaching him. “I prefer to be out on the ground, facing the problem head-on.” The Turaga stopped and leaned on his firestaff for support. He smiled and looked like he had tears in his eyes. “When the reports started coming in of people returning, I hoped you would be one of them. It’s great to see you again, Lhikan.” “Apologies, Turaga,” said Lhikan. “But I don’t recognize you.” “That’s understandable. I suppose I have changed a lot since you last saw me, in more ways than one,” continued the Turaga. He brought his fist up in Toa salute. “I hope you’re still proud to call me ‘brother’… Toa Lhikan.” Realization dawned on Lhikan’s face. “Vakama!” He grabbed the Turaga in an embrace. “What happened? How did you become a Turaga?” Vakama laughed as he pushed away from Lhikan. “Nothing ill happened if that’s what you mean. We sacrificed our power for the Matoran, just like you did for us.” Lhikan’s mind was still playing catchup. “We did it, we escaped Metru Nui to an island beyond the Great Barrier, along with all the Matoran. We hit a few snags along the way, but in the end, we succeeded.” “Hold on a second,” said Lhikan. “How long has it been since I… since you last saw me?” “It’s been over a thousand years, old friend. We have a lot to catch you up on. Come, I think there’s someone you’ll want to see.” *** As the two walked toward the Ta-Metru Guard base of operations, Vakama explained how he defeated Makuta and how the Toa Metru rescued the rest of the Matoran and became Turaga, not to mention the thousand years on the island of Mata Nui, somehow located above Metru Nui. He also explained about how an unknown enemy used some kind of time power the previous night to attack Metru Nui, resulting in the resurrection of Lhikan and others. The Toa of Fire’s head was still spinning when they reached the base. Two Ta-Matoran, one with a red Noble Ruru and one with an orange Noble Huna, saluted as Vakama and Lhikan approached. “Welcome back, Turaga,” said the one with a Ruru. “Thank you, Kapura,” said Vakama. “I assume the prisoner is still secure?” “Yes, Turaga.” The Matoran with the Huna looked up at Lhikan. “Is this really him? I wasn’t sure Jaller knew what he was talking about when he came and told us.” “Yes, Vamkoda, it is,” said Vakama. “A living legend.” Lhikan nodded to the two Matoran as he walked past them, following behind Vakama. They descended a staircase into a basement where two more Ta-Matoran stood in front of a cell. They saluted Vakama. “He was found wandering Onu-Metru by the Ussalry,” explained Vakama. “He put up quite a fight, they pursued him all the way to Ta-Metru before he was finally apprehended. Luckily he seemed disoriented, stumbling all over the place, and not using any other powers. We decided to take him in since our facilities were closer.” Lhikan took a step closer to the cell. Whoever was inside was in the back, where it was too dark to see. Then a pair of orange eyes opened, taking in Lhikan with what looked like amusement. The figure stood up and started making his way to the front of the cell. “Well if it isn’t the Matoran in Toa armor, changed quite a bit I see,” he said undoubtedly with a smirk. “And my ‘brother,’ so good to see you again, Lhikan.” The figure stepped into the light, revealing the unmistakable form of Nidhiki, Toa of Air. Lhikan recoiled back. So he really wasn’t the only one who returned from the dead. “Nidhiki, you’re alive.” “I am, and we’re Toa again. How’d we pull that trick off? Could probably make a fortune with it.” Nidhiki glanced down at Vakama, eyes smiling behind his green Volitak. “He could be our first customer. Time hasn’t been kind to him.” “At least I still have my soul, Nidhiki,” said Vakama. “Vakama, do you mind if I have a word with Nidhiki alone?” asked Lhikan. “Sure, we’ll be upstairs if you need anything.” Vakama led the two guards upstairs. Lhikan waited until they were gone before turning back to the traitorous Toa of Air. “So, Lhikan, what do you—ah!” Nidhiki cried out as a fireball hit him in the chest and launched him into the far wall. “What the Karzahni!” Nidhiki shouted as he climbed to his feet. “What was that for? The whole Toa-Dark Hunter War thing?” “No, that was for insulting Vakama.” Lhikan pulled out his swords, white-hot flames dancing along their length. “This is for trying to deliver Metru Nui into the hands of the Dark Hunters.” “Whoa, whoa, hold on!” Nidhiki cried. “You can’t just kill me, that’s against the Toa code!” “I don’t know, maybe I’m not a Toa anymore since I died,” Lhikan growled. “I told you to never come back, Nidhiki.” “Well I didn’t have much of a choice, I just kind of woke up here.” “I mean before that!” Lhikan snapped. “When you and Krekka murdered our brothers and sisters.” “Okay well, first of all, I didn’t kill them. That was Eliminator’s job. Krekka and I were close support for Dume in scaring Matoran to the center of the city.” “You mean Makuta.” Nidhiki had to think about it for a second. “Right, but we didn’t know that before we took the job. But where was that Toa love and understanding when you exiled me? All of you couldn’t see why I made my choice, that I was the only one smart enough to actually look out for myself for once.” “Mata Nui, I can’t believe you!” said Lhikan, powering down his swords and throwing them on the ground. “All you ever do is think about yourself! Do you even have a conscience?” “Don’t give me that,” said Nidhiki. “You only think of yourself too! You wanted the glory of defeating the Kanohi Dragon, you wanted the glory of defeating the Dark Hunters, and you wanted to save your reputation so you threw me out to the mercy of the Dark Hunters!” Fury burned in Lhikan’s eyes. “Why you—!” Lhikan heated up his hands to an incredibly high temperature. He grabbed the bars of the cell and pulled them apart. Nidhiki took a step back as Lhikan entered the cell. The Toa of Fire grabbed hold of his former teammate, earning a pained scream from Nidhiki as his armor was burned. Lhikan threw Nidhiki out of the cell and followed out right behind him. Nidhiki spied his scythe hanging on the wall two bio away. He got to his knees only for a wall of fire to cut him off from his Toa tool. “You think I exiled you to save my reputation? Do you think I took pleasure in casting you out? It tore me up inside. You were my brother, Nidhiki! I did it because it was what was required of me! And it didn’t help my reputation because everyone still knew what you did! Do you know what they say about a leader who has a Toa go rogue? The leader is blamed for it, they say he should have seen it coming. They say he must be a terrible leader and Toa. Do you have any idea what they say about a leader who loses two Toa that way?” “Don’t lump me in with Tuyet,” spat Nidhiki. Lhikan kicked him over and knelt down over him. “You’re right. You’re a hundred times worse than her.” “Okay, that seems like a bit of an exaggeration,” said Nidhiki. Lhikan stood up and stalked to the other side of the room, keeping the wall of fire up between Nidhiki and his scythe. “Nidhiki, tell me, was it worth it?” “Well, I died so clearly not.” “So did I, but I don’t regret anything. So I ask again: was it worth it?” Nidhiki took a deep breath. “No, it wasn’t.” “Well, that’s progress,” said Lhikan. He grabbed a pair of handcuffs and placed them on Nidhiki’s wrists. He dispersed the fire, retrieved his swords, and picked Nidhiki up off the floor. “Come on.” “Where are we going?” Nidhiki asked as Lhikan grabbed the former’s scythe off the wall. “For a walk,” Lhikan replied as he pulled Nidhiki up the stairs. “We have missed a lot over the last millennium.” “Wait, millennium?” Nidhiki repeated, shocked. *** Lhikan relayed the story Vakama had told him. Nidhiki simply listened, not interrupting. Once Lhikan was finished, Nidhiki said, “Well… I guess we did miss quite a bit.” The two were standing in Le-Metru, overlooking the ruined Moto-Hub. “Remember that time we came here because Matau had commandeered that prototype vehicle, and they had deployed three whole Vorzakh squads to capture him?” Lhikan smiled, remembering. “Yeah, he had led them on a chase through the whole structure before he finally ended up on the roof, trapped when the sled stopped working. We had to scramble up there to get Matau down. You almost slipped off a couple of times.” “Only because you wouldn’t give me a ride up to the roof,” Nidhiki smiled. “Look around you, Nidhiki,” said Lhikan. “Look at the damage to Le-Metru. This is what Makuta caused, what you helped him do. This is why we need Toa to help protect the Matoran. If you hadn’t betrayed us all those years ago, maybe the Toa Mangai with the Toa Metru could have stopped Makuta.” “If I hadn’t gone with the Dark Hunters, it would have just been someone else they sent instead,” said Nidhiki. “And I would have died with the others.” “Maybe not. You were my deputy for a reason. You saw things no one else ever picked up on. I lost my right hand the day you walked out of the city.” A few seconds passed before Nidhiki spoke again. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about your brother and his wife.” “It’s not worth much, but thank you. They had two sons you know.” “Really? Where are they?” Lhikan sighed. “I don’t know. After Taga and Lehi never returned from their mission, my nephews were put in an orphanage. I was suddenly on my own, busy dealing with threats all over the city. I lost track of them, I still haven’t forgiven myself for that. But I will find them, I swear.” “What are their names?” “Kazahk and Tazahk. They were such happy kids, I shudder to think of what could have happened to them.” The two Toa noticed the Ta-Matoran with an orange Huna from earlier, Vamkoda, chasing a Le-Matoran around, the latter screeching wildly in excitement. The other guard, Kapura, stood nearby watching. “Just be glad it’s not that guy,” said Nidhiki, pointing to the Le-Matoran. “I know, I think I would go insane,” said Lhikan as they walked over to the commotion. “Malohi get back here!” Vamkoda was shouting. He threw his bident at the Le-Matoran. “No!” shouted Malohi defiantly as he skillfully rolled under the bident. As soon as he finished his roll, he was back on his feet and grabbed the bident, flinging it back at Vamkoda. The Ta-Matoran snatched it out of the air before sending it back at Malohi. The Le-Matoran reached a broken building and jumped straight up, dodging the bident which dug itself into the side of the ruins. Malohi grabbed a ledge above him and pulled himself up with ease before leaping to a cable and sprinting along at full speed. “Idiot,” growled Vamkoda. He wordlessly reached his hand out to Kapura who replied by giving him his bident. “Darn fool is going to fall,” said Vamkoda as he took aim. He threw the bident, nicking Malohi in the shoulder and causing him to fall three bio to the ground with a loud shriek. Vamkoda was upon him in a second. “Told you,” he said as he immediately put the Le-Matoran in a headlock and started punching him in the head. Malohi’s response was to make a short repeating screeching sound that was a mix between laughter and terror. “Well this is entertaining,” said Nidhiki as the Toa walked up. “What’s going on here?” asked Lhikan. Kapura turned to face the two newcomers. “Toa Lhikan. Vamkoda and Malohi are fighting. This is pretty standard.” The two Matoran stopped their skirmish and stood at stiff attention position. “Toa Lhikan,” said Vamkoda as they bowed. “Apologies for that display. This is Malohi, a local Le-Matoran troublemaker. He can be quite a handful.” “Not true,” said Malohi. “I fill at least three hands.” “Is something wrong with this one?” asked Nidhiki, pointing at Malohi. “He seems disturbed.” “I am,” replied the Le-Matoran. “I was having fun throwing hammers straight into the air and Vamkoda stopped me because he’s a meanie.” “Turaga Matau believes it’s a mixture of Malohi’s eccentricity, the Mata Nui sun, and the fresh air,” said Vamkoda. Malohi nodded in agreement before asking Nidhiki, “Why don’t you use Treespeak?” “What the Karzahni is Treespeak?” asked Nidhiki. “Turaga Matau said that he changed the name from Chutespeak to Treespeak because there were no chutes on Mata Nui,” Vamkoda answered. “Only Matoran from Metru Nui use Chutespeak,” replied Nidhiki. “Why don’t you, kid?” “My mind gets confused when I try. I’m guessing you know what that’s like. Turaga Vakama told us all about you, you piraka.” There was a silence. “What? We were all thinking it!” Lhikan smiled at Malohi’s wit. Clearly, his mind was sharper than it appeared. Nidhiki didn’t seem amused, however. “Well you don’t have to worry about him,” said Lhikan. “He’s not going anywhere or doing anything. We’re just going for a little walk and catching up on things. So if everything is fine here, we’ll just be on our way. Come on, Nidhiki.” “Oh joy, more sightseeing,” groaned Nidhiki as the two Toa walked away. “Bye-bye!” Malohi shouted as he waved after them. “And, Toa Lhikan!” Vamkoda called. Lhikan turned to face him. “Welcome back!” Lhikan smiled as he waved to the Matoran. “Thanks, it’s nice to be back.” *** The two Toa crossed the border into Ko-Metru, walking mostly in silence. All around them, the damage from the Great Cataclysm was evident. Knowledge Towers were cracked and some were threatening to fall over. Nearly every street was littered with debris, a stark contrast to the normally pristine metru. “So are you really not going to ask?” said Nidhiki, finally breaking the silence. “Ask what?” replied Lhikan. “Why I was a giant spider monster.” “I wondered that a thousand years ago, but I really didn’t care. I figured something terrible happened, but I had stopped caring about your wellbeing two thousand years prior.” Nidhiki looked hurt but quickly hid it with indifference. “Yeah well I tried to leave the Dark Hunters but this Roodaka witch mutated me in order to get training from the Shadowed One.” “Great, I didn’t ask,” said Lhikan. “It must have been a living Karzahni.” “You have no idea.” Nidhiki’s voice was grim. “Why do you think I was so different?” “Seemed the same to me,” joked Lhikan cruelly. “Ha, very funny,” said Nidhiki sarcastically. “I think I’m still recovering from the whole thing, to be honest. You try living in the body of a thing you despise for two thousand years and see how you turn out.” “I’d go crazy after one day as you.” “Come on, what’s your problem?” Nidhiki snapped. “You. I thought we covered that already.” Nidhiki grimaced. “So that’s it? You just hate me until the time after time?” “Look around you, Nidhiki!” Lhikan shouted. “Look at Metru Nui, you’ve been to four of the Metru! Makuta executed the ultimate betrayal in putting Mata Nui to sleep and causing this earthquake, followed by the Visorak invasion shortly after. And you’re really going to stand there and act like you had no part in any of this?” Nidhiki growled. “What’s it matter if I do or not? It won’t change how you think either way.” Lhikan was about to lie and say that wasn’t true when a cry rang out from further up the street, followed by a loud roar. Instincts took over and Lhikan sprinted down the street, Nidhiki right behind him. They rounded a corner and were almost run over by half a dozen Ko-Matoran running away frantically. The Toa looked up to see a Muaka raging in the street. It smashed into buildings and roared ferociously. “Get back, Nidhiki, I’ll take care of this.” “Let me out of these cuffs, you’ll need my help.” “I didn’t need your help for two thousand years against hundreds of Rahi, I don’t need it now.” “Yeah, but you’re out of practice, spending a millennium dead will do that to you.” Lhikan activated his Hau and looked back at Nidhiki. “Shut up and let me—” The Muaka roared and extended its mighty neck, slamming into the two Toa and throwing them into the side of a Knowledge Tower. “Well that went great,” said Nidhiki as he pulled himself out of the tower, still in his cuffs. “Just shut up and stay behind me!” Lhikan shouted as he leaped from the building. He sprinted forward and put his swords together into a shield and shoved it vertically into the open mouth of the Muaka as it tried to bite him. The Muaka growled as it tried to get rid of the shield. Lhikan leaped to the top of the tiger’s head and grabbed a hold of its ears to keep himself from falling as the Muaka thrashed around wildly. The Toa created a chain of fire around the Muaka’s neck and he yanked hard to try to get the Rahi under control. The tiger spat out Lhikan’s shield, inadvertently throwing it at Nidhiki who dove to prone to avoid getting hit. Lhikan only lasted a couple more seconds before he was thrown from the Muaka and smashed into the ground. As the Toa of Fire climbed to his feet, he saw the tiger rev up its tread and race forward toward the Toa. It would have to make a choice for which Toa it would go for, as they were too far apart to hit both of them. Nidhiki activated his mask and the Muaka tackled Lhikan into another building. Lhikan rubbed his head as he looked around bleary-eyed. The Muaka was sniffing around for Nidhiki who was still invisible. His shield was ten bio away from him, and the Muaka would surely attack him before he reached it. He almost jumped out of his armor when Nidhiki suddenly appeared next to him. “Ready to let me help yet?” “No,” Lhikan grunted as he stood up. The Muaka’s head snapped over to where they were standing and got ready to run them down. “Are you going to help us, Toa?” asked a voice. Lhikan and Nidhiki looked to see a crowd of Ko-Matoran packed into the building behind them. “Get out of here!” said Lhikan. “This is going to be extremely dangerous!” “Which is why you need me,” said Nidhiki. Lhikan was about to respond when the Muaka roared and charged them. Lhikan stepped forward and activated his Hau. The Muaka was bearing down on them when two bamboo disks flew down from above, hitting the Rahi in the head and knocking it off course. It slid across the ground and smashed into a Knowledge Tower and shook its head to clear it. Lhikan looked up to see Vamkoda and Malohi standing on a rooftop, readying more disks. “I got something for your ugly face!” Malohi called as he threw another one at the Rahi. The tiger snarled as the disk hit it in the head and it charged the two Matoran. It tried to scale the three-story structure but only succeeded in tearing more of it down. Vamkoda leaped over the Muaka’s gaping jaws and landed on its forehead, jabbing his bident at its face. Malohi moved to follow, but the Muaka collapsed the part of the roof he was on and landed on the Rahi’s lower jaw, almost falling into its mouth. Vamkoda scrambled up to the Muaka’s upper jaw and braced against Malohi, the two Matoran bridging the tiger’s great maw. It snapped its jaws shut, causing the Matoran to lose their balance and tumble down the Muaka’s back to the ground below. Just then, a squad of armed Ko-Matoran appeared, throwing their own disks in order to get the beast’s attention. Lhikan knew he had to reach his tools but they were blocked off by the rampaging tiger. “Lhikan!” Nidhiki shouted. “You need me!” “I can do it myself!” said Lhikan. “Matoran are going to die if I don’t help!” Nidhiki snapped. “Starting with those two!” He gestured at Vamkoda and Malohi who were just coming to their senses, not knowing how close they were to being stepped on as the Muaka thrashed around wildly. Lhikan growled as he realized he had no choice. He superheated his hand before sending a blade of fire at Nidhiki’s cuffs, severing the link. He tossed the Toa of Air his scythe as he said, “Don’t make me regret this.” Nidhiki caught his scythe and smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s me.” He activated his Volitak and disappeared from view. A couple of moments later, the Muaka was blasted straight into the air from a hurricane-force blast directly under it. Lhikan made his move. He sprinted for his shield and scooped it up, separating them into his swords. “Vamkoda, Malohi, run!” he shouted. “Get over to the Ko-Matoran!” “On it!” Vamkoda replied as he yanked Malohi to his feet and they bolted for the armed line of Matoran. As Malohi sprinted after the Ta-Matoran, a loud crash sounded directly behind him. “Hello?” he asked as he turned to see the Muaka extending its jaws right at him. “Why?” he cried as he cringed and closed his eyes. “Malohi, no!” Vamkoda cried as he ran back to help. Lhikan was preparing a blast of fire but he knew it would be too late. There was a flash of green as Nidhiki jumped down and grabbed Malohi before using his air power to assist in a jump up to the roof of a two-story building. “You’re safe, kid,” said Nidhiki. Malohi opened his eyes and was surprised to see the traitorous Toa of Air next to him. “Hugs,” he said as he hugged Nidhiki. “Uh, okay,” said the Toa, clearly uncomfortable. “You’re still a piraka,” said Malohi. “But I think we can still become friends.” “Uh, that’s not necessary.” Nidhiki pushed away from him and jumped back into the fight. Lhikan smiled but pushed any other thoughts from his mind for now. He sent a powerful fire blast at the Muaka, trying to get its attention. Hopefully, he could wear it out enough that they would be able to subdue it. Nidhiki leaped down and kicked it in the side of the head. The Rahi snapped at him but the Toa of Air disappeared from view before it could grab him. Lhikan jumped on his board and flew over the tiger’s head, causing the beast to snap at him. He flew to a rooftop where Nidhiki reappeared. “Grab on!” Lhikan called as he reached out his hand. Nidhiki grabbed his former leader’s arm and was yanked off his feet. As they circled around, Nidhiki fired a blast of air to get the Muaka’s attention. The Rahi tried to grab them but Lhikan was too fast. He began flying a tight circle around it with Nidhiki firing occasional air blasts. The Muaka tried to follow them as best as it could but only ended up getting dizzy and stumbling around in a daze. “Now!” Nidhiki cried. Lhikan circled around to come at the Muaka from straight on and Nidhiki fired a powerful blast into it, knocking it back toward the three-story building. “Bring it down!” Lhikan ordered. The Matoran all threw disks at the building as Lhikan and Nidhiki unleashed their own elemental powers to bring the structure crashing down onto the Muaka. Lhikan landed as the last pieces of rubble crashed to the ground and he cautiously approached the pile of debris. It suddenly exploded in a spray of rocks that blasted Nidhiki off his feet and knocked Lhikan’s mask from his face. “Everyone get back!” Lhikan cried as he reached for his mask. Just as he grabbed it, he heard Vamkoda’s shout. “Lhikan, watch out!” The Toa turned to see the Muaka’s jaws coming at him. Suddenly his vision of his death was obscured and he refocused to see Nidhiki standing in the Rahi’s jaws, struggling to keep them open. “Nidhiki, what are you doing?” The Toa of Air flashed a strained smile. “Don’t worry, Lhikan. I got your back. Because that’s what Toa do.” “No!” Lhikan cried, putting his Kanohi back on. A length of fire started to form in his hands. Then the Muaka’s teeth slammed shut, but Nidhiki was safely out of the way, lying on the ground at Lhikan’s feet with a burning chain around his torso. Lhikan unraveled the rope around Nidhiki and cracked the whip of flame at the Muaka, driving it back down the street. The heat and energy expenditure to avoid it was too much for the Muaka. The Rahi finally collapsed to the ground, completely exhausted. Nidhiki lay on the ground, breathing heavily. “That could have been terrible,” he said. “Be thankful I still got the skill for a little maneuver like that,” gasped Lhikan. Nidhiki looked at yet another new burn on his armor. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to do that.” “Whoo!” cried Malohi from the rooftop. “Metru Nui forever!” He leaped from the roof and face planted. “Ouch.” *** As the suns set, Lhikan and Nidhiki watched the Matoran cart the Muaka away to store it in the Archives where it wouldn’t hurt anyone else. “Still make quite the team, huh?” said Nidhiki. “Just like old times.” Lhikan smiled, allowing himself to remember a thousand years of friendship and adventures. “Mata Nui, I wish I could trust you, Nidhiki. But too much has happened.” Nidhiki nodded sadly. “I know.” Lhikan escorted Nidhiki back to Ta-Metru where he intended to lock him up again. Nidhiki requested that he could watch the suns set one last time before returning to his cell. Lhikan felt compelled to accommodate him. He watched the Toa of Air sitting on a rooftop as he pondered the day’s events. “So you had an eventful day,” said Vakama’s voice. Lhikan turned to see the Turaga walking up behind him. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that.” “I heard that Nidhiki helped save the day, including the life of one of my guards. I was quite surprised to hear that.” “Yeah, it was even more surprising to see it.” “Nidhiki has my gratitude for saving Vamkoda,” continued Vakama. “He’s a good kid, he and Malohi were some of the youngest on Mata Nui and have had to deal with quite a lot. They mean a lot to all of us.” Vakama let a moment pass. “What do you plan to do with him?” “Nidhiki?” Lhikan shook his head. “He has to face punishment for his crimes. Saving a couple of Matoran doesn’t erase all of the wrong he’s done.” “No, it doesn’t,” Vakama admitted. “But maybe more similar acts over time could redeem him.” “You’re saying to let him go free? My mind can’t wrap around that possibility.” “But what does your heart tell you?” Lhikan sighed. “My heart wants to forget all the evil and betrayal and just go back to being friends. But how can I make such a selfish choice?” “Is it selfish? Or is it the selfless option? How much good can he do for the universe if he was to return to being a Toa? It is possible for a Toa to find their way back to the light. I know from personal experience.” Lhikan was shocked. “One of your team turned on you? How? Why?” Vakama shook his head. “Not one of them… me. When we became Hordika, the venom mixed with my doubts and guilt made me turn my back on everything. I briefly allied myself with Sidorak and Roodaka. But the other Toa stormed the Coliseum to turn me back to the light. They say they were mostly there to save the other Rahaga and Matoran and would only try to save me if possible, but they could have come up with a much stealthier plan if that was their true goal. They wanted to save me at all costs because they couldn’t conceive of leaving me behind. Just like you don’t want to leave Nidhiki behind.” Lhikan turned to look back at his former brother. “You’re saying you think he can be saved too?” “Maybe, if he wants to. But I’ll leave that judgment up to you. You know him better than anyone else here.” With that, Vakama left Lhikan with his thoughts. *** The Toa Mangai of Fire walked up behind Nidhiki as the suns were just finishing setting. “You miss this view?” he asked. Nidhiki nodded. “The sunsets were nothing like this on Odina. It just felt like a mocking gesture, telling you how stranded you were. How you could never leave that place and truly experience the universe again.” He looked up at Lhikan. “So what is your plan now?” “I’m going to keep defending Metru Nui as is my duty. I’m going to help rebuild and I’m going to find my nephews.” Nidhiki smiled and nodded. “Well good luck. I guess you know where I’ll be. I’ve been thinking about it, and I suppose I don’t really belong anywhere else, not after everything I did. You know, coming back has given me clarity. I realize now that my mind was clouded by my transformation, it made me bitter and angry, more so than usual. And if I could go back and change it, I would.” He sighed, got to his feet, and held out his hands. “I’m ready.” “Yeah, about that,” said the Toa of Fire. “If you were free to do whatever you wanted, what is it you would want to do? Truly.” Nidhiki thought about it. “I want to right the wrongs I’ve made.” “You seek redemption,” said Lhikan. Nidhiki nodded. “It is possible for a Toa to redeem themselves, but depending on what they’ve done, it might take a long time.” “Just give me that chance, I won’t let you down,” said Nidhiki, practically jumping at the idea. Lhikan looked out at the horizon. “Today’s events have earned your freedom I’d say. You still have a long way to go to being a hero again, and I still haven’t forgiven you for what you’ve done, but… given enough time, I would be proud to again call you brother… Toa Nidhiki.” He offered his fist in Toa salute. Nidhiki smiled and clanked his fist against the other Toa’s. They stared out at the horizon until there was nothing more to see and then returned to the streets of Ta-Metru, reminiscing of old adventures and battles until morning came once again. The End <-Previous Story Next Story->
  8. First I want to say thank you very much for taking the time to read my story. I will try to keep that stuff in mind in the future, especially about the back and forth being clearer and characterization. Someone else has told me about Tahu being off as well and I am forced to agree now that I take a second look at it. Also, I don't think that Takanuva's thought about Makuta was an intentional reference to Vakama, but I can't be 100% sure since I wrote this a year ago. However, I'm always for little references like that so I'll take it, intentional or not. Anyways, thank you for reading this again, hopefully you'll read the next one as well.
  9. So, this is the start of a new series of stories I’m doing in a Bionicle AU. I plan to be uploading stories on a fairly regular basis. This starts five years after the events of the 2003 story year however Mata Nui has not started to die yet so the events of 2006 on have not occurred. This will be looking into what might have happened if Mata Nui’s death had been postponed. Everything before the 2003 story chronologically is pretty much identical except for a few things here and there which I will point out at the appropriate times. The only other change is that there are biological familial relationships and all that entails. One more thing, I really want to get better at writing so I’m looking for constructive criticism. So please review and give your honest feedback, even if it’s negative, it means a lot to me. Legends of the Bionicle: The Vahi’s Destructive Power 1,005 AGC It had been five years since the defeat of Makuta at the hands of Takanuva, Toa of Light. The Turaga had then shared the Legends of Metru Nui and the Great Rescue with the Matoran before they all returned to the City of Legends. The Turaga were reunited with Dume and the Rahaga and they all got to work rebuilding Metru Nui. It was long and hard work, Turaga Onewa estimated it might take another millennium to fully repair the damage, but all the same, they were making good progress. Takanuva, however, was bored with rebuilding. He understood the importance of it, sure. But his heart was in adventuring. It was what led to him being exiled from Ta-Koro and becoming Chronicler, and eventually Toa of Light. And the rush of defeating Makuta in one-on-one combat? That was a feeling that couldn’t be replicated. He wanted more adventures like that. But anytime he suggested going out on some kind of quest, Vakama, or Dume, or Tahu, or someone else would shut him down. But if he didn’t do something remotely taboo soon, he was going to lose it. Takanuva had had to resort to stealing chisels from worksites just to get a taste of something close to breaking the rules. Then a couple of days ago, Takanuva got an interesting idea, although quite foolish and one that would most likely land him in deep trouble. His kind of idea. He was going to steal the Kanohi Vahi and test it out for a few hours. What could the harm be? Sure he heard the story of Vakama losing control against his battle with Makuta and Tahu almost doing so in the Toa Nuva’s battle with the Bohrok-Kal. But Takanuva figured since he wouldn’t be fighting anyone, he would have a better time at handling the mask’s power. Besides, he had faced Makuta and won. Maybe he was stronger than Vakama and Tahu. As night fell, Takanuva watched from behind a broken wall as Vakama left his hut and headed out for a meeting with the other Turaga. The Toa of Light waited until it was completely dark to avoid being seen by any Matoran. He opened up the door to Vakama’s hut and quickly moved inside, silently shutting the door behind him. Takanuva made a small light manifest on his index finger and began searching the walls, trying to keep it dark enough to remain unnoticed. He slid desks, bookshelves, and even the Turaga’s bed but found no sign of the Vahi. Takanuva knew Tahu had given the Mask of Time back to Vakama so it had to be hidden somewhere in his hut. Surely he hadn’t placed it in the Coliseum for safekeeping. If so, there was little chance Takanuva could get it. Then his light caught something small: a tiny shadow on the wall where there shouldn’t be one. Takanuva examined the wall closely and realized that the wall was indented ever so slightly. It looked like it could be a secret compartment; one big enough to hold the Vahi. He searched all over and tried all variety of ways to open it, but to no avail. Maybe there was a secret switch somewhere… His eye noticed a painting of the island of Mata Nui on the wall a bio away. Something about it seemed out of place. Takanuva removed the painting and saw a button hidden behind it. “There we go,” said the Toa as he pushed the button. The compartment slid open and indeed the Kanohi Vahi was resting inside it. Takanuva gingerly took it out and examined it. Its dull orange reflected the small amount of light from his finger and its empty eyes seemed to show him countless possibilities. This was going to be a fun night. Takanuva closed the compartment and hung the painting in place again. He placed the mask in his pack and then slung it over his shoulder. Then as stealthily as he entered, he exited Vakama’s hut and made his way to the far end of the metru. *** Takanuva hurried down the street toward his house and flung open the door after checking to make sure the coast was clear. Once inside, he shut the door and locked it. He turned on a lightstone and anxiously took the Vahi out of his pack and removed his Avohkii. Taking a deep breath, Takanuva placed the legendary mask on his face. Immediately, he felt the overwhelming power of time course through his body. He grunted as he struggled to maintain control. It was hard, but he was pretty sure he still commanded the mask’s awesome power. The Toa of Light spied a chisel that he had stolen from a Po-Metru worksite and picked it up before flinging it at the far wall. Concentrating, Takanuva activated the mask, slowing down time around the chisel. To his astonished eyes, the chisel was moving through the air slower. It took a full two minutes before it finally hit the ground. He experimented with other small objects, slowing down and speeding up time. He was having so much fun that he ironically lost track of time. But after an hour, he began to feel strange. It suddenly felt like the mask was starting to control him. Takanuva tried desperately to force down the mask’s power but as hard as he tried, the mask kept fighting back. The Toa’s mind was transported backward and forward in time, simultaneously witnessing events long transpired and yet to come. “Sometimes, my brothers, the best way, the only way, to win… is by losing.” “Lhii. His name is Lhii.” “Get out, Nidhiki—of my sight and of this city. Get out before I kill you.” “I can’t believe it… after all this… it was you guys all along…” “Now even the Great Spirit shall soon sleep!” “Today we defeat Onarax once and for all!” “This is my lifetime’s journey, yours lies beyond.” “We shall call this island Nahi Nui…” “I am Takanuva, Toa of Light.” “Stopped what?” Takanuva could feel the very fabric of time ripping apart. He knew he had to regain control or risk destroying the entire universe. It took every ounce of willpower Takanuva had inside him but finally, he was able to force down the mask’s power. As soon as he did, he ripped it off his face and slammed it down on the desk, leaning on the piece of furniture to catch his breath. He waited a few tentative moments before placing the Avohkii back on his face. Everything seemed to be all right. “There,” he breathed raggedly. “I stopped it.” “Stopped what?” Takanuva’s body went numb as he heard another voice in the room, particularly because it was his own. He turned around quickly to see himself standing behind him, albeit a Matoran around the time he became a Toa. Takanuva was speechless for a few moments, dumbfounded by the impossibility of the situation. “What did you say?” asked Takanuva. “I said ‘stopped what?’” Takua repeated. “I don’t remember what we were doing. In fact, I don’t really remember how I got here. I last remember searching for the Toa of Light.” Realization dawned on Takua’s face. “That’s who you are right? You’re wearing the Mask of Light. However…” Takua’s face scrunched up. “I thought I was supposed to be the Toa of Light, I could just feel it.” “You were,” said Takanuva. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.” “The last thing I remember,” continued Takua, “Jaller and I were cornered at the Kini-Nui and then the Rahkshi showed up… and I was paralyzed with fear… and then Jaller jumped in and saved me… and then he died. Oh, Mata Nui, no.” Takua had to catch himself on the wall to keep himself from falling. “No, don’t worry, Jaller’s fine!” Takanuva assured his other-self. “We found a way to bring him back to life.” Takua breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Mata Nui.” “You were right, you were meant to be the Toa of Light,” said Takanuva. “You see, I am you. You’re another version of me I guess.” “Okay,” said Takua, skeptical. “So how did that happen?” Takanuva was going to tell Takua the truth but he couldn’t. He couldn’t admit that it was his fault. The notion that he was essentially lying to himself was not lost on him. “It was an unknown enemy,” he lied. “They unleashed some kind of time attack that led to your creation.” “Oh, okay. Well, are we going to do something about that?” “Uh, I think so, I actually should go talk to the Turaga about that now.” “Okay, I’m going to go find Jaller.” Takua unlocked the door and was about to leave when Takanuva stopped him. “It’s night now you know.” “Oh, so it is. Then I’m just going to sleep here. Is that all right?” “Uh, sure, you make yourself comfortable, I’m just going to go out for a little bit.” Takanuva grabbed the Vahi from his desk and shoved it in his pack before bolting for the door. He paused briefly to glance at Takua, climbing into bed. He felt an odd combination of horror and pity. He then sprinted out of his hut and back toward Vakama’s. *** As Takanuva raced through the metru, he hoped that the damage was localized to Takua but as screams started rising up through the streets, he knew that wasn’t the case. He didn’t know how bad it was, but he couldn’t worry about that yet. Right now, he had to return the Vahi before Vakama realized it was missing. Maybe he could spin it as not being his fault. He opened Vakama’s door and hurried inside, not even bothering to shut it behind him. He reached his hand under the painting, pressed the button, opened the compartment, placed the Vahi inside, and shut it again. He let out his breath now that the deed was done. “And what Vakama doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” “It’s too late for that, Toa of Light,” said a voice. Takanuva looked over to his left to see Vakama deactivating his Huna. He looked more furious than Takanuva had ever seen him. He wondered if this was what the Turaga looked like when he was a Hordika. “Turaga Vakama, I’m so sorry—” Vakama held up his hand. “Silence. Do you think apologies can fix what you’ve done?” Tahu walked into the hut, magma swords drawn. “Takanuva, I really hoped Turaga Vakama was wrong.” “What do you mean wrong?” asked Takanuva. “Shortly before the time anomaly,” explained Vakama, “I had a vision of someone placing the Vahi back where it belongs. It looked like you, but like Tahu, I too hoped I was mistaken. Do you have any idea what kind of irreparable damage you’ve caused?” “What if Tahu uses the mask?” suggested Takanuva. “Maybe he can reverse it.” “And risk further damage to the universe?” Vakama shouted. “Absolutely not! The Mask of Time is a power that no Toa can truly wield, perhaps not even Makuta could have fully controlled its power. Any attempt to erase your mistake could lead to more havoc.” “I’m so disappointed in you, Takanuva,” said Tahu. Those words were some of the worst Takanuva had ever heard in his life. “I thought you knew better than this. What were you thinking?” “I don’t know, I just wanted to break the rules, like the old days, when I was a Matoran.” “Well those days are gone,” said Tahu harshly. “You’re a Toa now and you have responsibilities. If you can’t handle that or be trusted with that power, you don’t deserve to wear that armor or that mask.” Takanuva looked down sheepishly. “How bad is it?” “Bad,” said Vakama. “All kinds of beings that have been long dead have started appearing through the city, who knows what’s going on in the rest of the universe. And not everyone coming back is friendly.” Takanuva put his head in his hands and sat down in a chair. “So what do we do?” “We’re still figuring that out,” said Tahu, finally putting his swords on his back. “We have to take care of the dangerous beings and help integrate the peaceful ones into society.” “Please don’t tell anyone this was my fault,” Takanuva pleaded. “So you want us to lie for you?” asked Tahu. “You think you just get to wreck the universe and claim it’s someone else’s fault?” “I already told myself—Takua, that is, another version of myself—that it was some unknown enemy force. What’s the harm in that? It’s not naming anyone specific.” Vakama looked at Tahu. “Fine,” said the Turaga. “Out of respect to you, we will go with that story, but if the truth comes out, we will not come to your defense.” “Fair enough. So what do you want me to do?” “I think you’ve done enough,” said Vakama icily. “Return home and do your best not to break anything else.” *** As Takanuva walked sadly back to his hut, he reflected on his actions and wished the Vahi was capable of time travel so he could go back and stop himself from ever taking the mask. He had made some serious blunders in the last thousand years but this one really took the Madu fruit. He just hoped no one would end up getting hurt from all this. The Toa of Light stopped at his door, knowing what was waiting for him inside. But there was nothing he could do about it now, just accept it and move on. He opened the door and stepped through to find Takua asleep in Takanuva’s bed. The Toa quietly shut the door and sat down in a chair, just watching his Matoran-self sleep. He was so innocent-looking, unlike Takanuva. Maybe he could be better than Takanuva. The Toa of Light vowed not to let anything happen to Takua, the Matoran was going to live a better life than Takanuva. As for the Toa of Light, he would have to live with his mistake for the rest of his life, but he wasn’t sure how long he could live with his secret. The End Next Story->
  10. Just read this whole thing and I have to say I quite enjoy it. I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I enjoy seeing things people do things in Bionicle that we never got to see in the story, like a dictator Toa running an island. The only criticism I would offer at this time would be to separate different characters' dialogue into separate paragraphs so it clearer to see that someone new is speaking. Other than that, I really like it.
  11. I remember reading your original spoofs like it was yesterday back in 2005. I always loved your spoofs and this one is your best. Keep it up, I can't wait to read the next chapter.
  12. Hello everyone, today I am here to show you my entry: Vezon - Master of Anarchy! Entry Picture On one of his many dimension hopping adventures, Vezon ended up on the mystical island of Okoto. There, he realized the the local Toa team did not recognize him, so he hatched a dastardly scheme. He claimed to be the Master of Anarchy, and vowed to fight beside the Toa for justice. But that charade can only last so long, and Vezon will eventually have to kill Tahu and his friends. Close Up Spear of Fusion I wanted to do a different take on the Spear of Fusion, so I took inspiration from Vezon's debut comic appearance where his spear is oddly warped. It also reminds of Loki's scepter from The Avengers, and who doesn't like Loki? Side View Back View I dunno Vezon doesn't know how he got here. Heroic Pose Vezon strikes a pose to show how much of a hero he is. He got sick soon after this photo was taken. Shhh, be vewy quiet, I'm hunting Tahus! Vezon arrives on Okoto and prepares to take out Tahu. Let me tell you a tale Vezon recounts tales of glory to his new BFF Tahu. The inevitable betrayal All good things must come to an end, including the Master of Fire. So there you have it, I hope you guys like him and constructive criticism is welcome. I don't think I'll win but hopefully I'll get a few votes at least. Anyways, have a nice day.
  13. That would be okay. Interesting. So just curious, how does removing a chest printing differ from painting a part? I would have thought they'd be on the same level.
  14. I was looking at the list again and I was thinking that The Many Deaths of Toa Tuyet should be in 07 since it references the Pit, Hydraxon and Botar.
  15. If I'm not mistaken, Vakama's jetpack is a secondary ability of the weapon itself, which means it would have worked the same even if a non-Toa had it.
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