Sumiki

-----Cantai and Carraig sat down across from Puone in the makeshift hut in the woods. Most of Bo-Kima had answered their call to comb the forest along the Tren Krom River, and they too were settling in as night was on the verge of falling. -----“Cantai?” The voice belonged to a Bo-Matoran—Drekka’s right hand, Zel. “We ran into a being in the woods. He’s friendly enough but wants to speak to you.” -----“Bring him in,” the Toa of Ice said. -----Zel jogged off and soon returned with a stocky-looking fellow, with armor of red and silver and a Mask of Truth. A large axe was strapped to his back. -----“This is Cantai and Carriag, Toa Kima. Toa, may I present Axonn.” -----“How can we help you?” Carriag asked. -----“We’re after the same thing,” Axonn said. -----“I’m sorry?” -----“You’re looking for Crallin’s hut and I’m here to help.” -----“Whoa, that’s a little abrupt,” Cantai said. “Who exactly are you?” -----“I am a member of the Order of Mata Nui. Several other members were behind the arrest of Crallin. I wasn’t part of it, but I was called down from Voya Nui to help with locating his hut. My station in the territory has made me a fine tracker.” -----“Good,” Carraig said. “Not to mention that we could use an axe like that.” -----“Wait … so the group behind the arrest is affiliated with Mata Nui?” Cantai asked. “How have we never heard of you before?” -----“We keep quiet because of the Makuta. The less everyone knows about our activity, the less they’ll know. But these are fast becoming trying times.” Axon stared at the Toa. “I do hope you can keep secrets.” -----“Of course,” Cantai assured him. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t have questions.” -----“That doesn’t mean I have the answers.” -----“Where’s Kohi?” Cantai asked. “There hasn’t been a word from him since the arrest.” -----“As I said, I wasn’t involved in that. I don’t know where he could be.” -----“It’s been nearly a week now,” Carriag said. -----“Perhaps the Makuta got to him. They took Crallin from us, which is why I’m here to help find his hut.” -----“We’ll be up first thing tomorrow morning to head out,” Cantai said. -----“No. We leave now.” -----“Axonn, the Matoran are tired—” -----“Then we move out ourselves.” -----“Doesn’t the camp need defending?” -----“We’ve got much bigger problems.” *-----*-----* -----Axonn chopped a path through the thicket as the Toa followed behind. Night had long since fallen, and Cantai’s thoughts often wandered around back to the Bo-Koro Matoran he had been able to befriend during their short stay. -----A great tree fell from Axonn’s singular fiery blow and splashed into the Tren Krom River. “We go across,” Axonn said. “It has to be across the river. If it were on this side, you would have found it by now.” -----One by one, they crossed over the water on the tree, illuminated by the light of a Ruru that Carriag had picked up on a previous adventure. -----Silently, they followed Axonn in his interminable crush through the thicket. -----Soon enough they entered into a clearing. A small but sturdy boat had been dragged in front of a small hut. -----“Good enough as any,” Cantai said. -----Carraig illuminated the inside of the hut while Axonn rifled through rusted tools and various files. -----“Looks like he encrypted these,” Cantai said, handing a stack of diagram-laced sheets to the Order member. -----Axonn flipped through them. “Looks like this is exactly what we’re looking for.” -----“You can read code?” Cantai asked. -----“Mask of Truth.” -----“Convenient.” -----“Less than you might think. Anyway, I don’t want to risk taking these back to your camp. We’ll rest here for the night and go through these in detail in the morning.” *-----*-----* -----Mutran looked down from a treetop vantage point into the town of Bo-Kima. It seemed almost deserted. -----The Order, Mutran thought. Then: Miserix is going to kill me. -----He was too valuable to be knocked off, he knew, but he might still get a whipping or three for letting his presence be detected. Setting off a war with the Order wasn’t on the Brotherhood’s bucket list. -----Digging up Luqyr’s body was enough punishment. -----He glided down from the treetops down to the Suva. The Suva was rather small and housed the few odd Kanohi that Kohi had managed to accrue. He tapped a finger on it, and the sound of metal on metal resonated through the streets. -----I should find Kohi. -----He shapeshifted into his Le-Matoran disguise and entered the Turaga’s office. To his surprise, the Turaga and his left hand were still there. -----“Good morning,” the Turaga said. -----“I’m a reporter for the Gazette,” Mutran lied. “Rumor has it that Qaiu is very concerned about the whereabouts of Toa Kohi. He has not been seen since the recent arrest. Do you know where he is, or can you confirm his absence?” -----“Well, I don’t really keep up with what Kohi does, but I cannot imagine him ever shirking his duties to the town.” -----“A town with no one in it?” -----“Ah, most of them went downriver to look for Crallin’s hut. They were led by the two Toa Kima.” -----“Thank you for your time.” -----Mutran slithered out the door and shed his disguise outside, flying far above the village. -----They’ve all got to be somewhere. If they’re gone, they had better be together. -----There. He had spotted most of Bo-Kima’s residents off downriver a few kio. -----If Kohi is worth anything, he’ll be protecting his citizens. -----Mutran sailed low across the canopy, landing outside the camp. The Matoran were just awakening. -----The Toa aren’t up yet. Good. -----Mutran flew invisibly over the temporary Matoran campground, landing on the far side. -----Kohi better be here, or I’m taking one of the Kima and calling it a day. -----Come on, Kohi. -----Come on. -----He better be here. -----Crallin can g—oh, there he is. -----Being a Toa of Fire, Kohi stood out like a sore thumb in the greenery. Mutran glided down next to him and reached down to rip off his mask. -----Kohi let out an incoherent yell, blasting Mutran with flame. His armor was singed, but the brush was on fire. Mutran sent a few volleys of chain lightning towards Kohi, but the Toa was quick up on his feet, backing up through the thicket. -----Mutran took a quick look back. The Matoran had heard their skirmish, and he had a few moments left before his cover was completely blown. -----The Makuta ran towards Kohi, felling a tree with a single blast of shadow. A branch clipped Kohi, knocking him off balance and sending him head over heels when he hit a rock. -----Time to go. -----Mutran yanked Kohi’s Zatth off and sent the Toa to sleep before teleporting him back to Destral. He thought he caught a glimpse of several Matoran armed with water-filled buckets coming towards the scene, but he opened his eyes on Destral before he could tell for certain. *-----*-----* -----“Did you see that?” Zel asked frantically. -----“Yeah, that was Kohi alright,” his friend said. “That was a beatdown.” -----“That’s not good. The Toa left last night and they’re not back with their new lumberjack friend, and now this. I don’t like any of this. It’s too dangerous.” -----“With all due respect, we have a pressing need to find Crallin’s hut.” -----Zel sighed. “I don’t want you to, but I can’t order the entire town around. I’m going back to Bo-Kima to tell the Turaga. If you want to stay, you can do so at your own risk, and that goes for the whole town.” -----“It doesn’t matter if we’re here or there. We had three Toa in and around us and now all three are gone. If something wanted us dead, whether we’re here or in Bo-Kima doesn’t matter.” -----“The Turaga still needs to know. I’m putting you in charge until I return.” -----“Can you do that?” -----“These are desperate times.” *-----*-----* -----“Kohi is alive?” Turaga Drekka asked. -----“He was when we caught a glimpse of him,” Zel said. “But he was easily overpowered by a tall and vicious creature who vanished soon after he did.” -----“Teleportation,” Drekka mumbled. “This development is more bitter than sweet.” -----“I agree. But this throws a new wrench into our plans. Not only are the citizens out in the woods completely unprotected, but even when it was there, their protection was essentially worthless.” -----“I have to go to Kima-Nui immediately,” Drekka said. “Qaiu needs to know in person.” -----“And what of the town?” -----“Get the citizens back from their trip safely. Zel, you’re coming with me to Kima-Nui.” *-----*-----* -----“This confirms our suspicions,” Axonn said, placing the last sheet down. “He was trying to turn Matoran into Toa, and he had larger plans for modifying elements as well.” -----“And now the Makuta have their hands on this,” Carriag said. “With their lust for power, I’m not surprised they were interested.” -----“It’s far worse than just a tool, it’s a potential weapon.” -----“Shadow Toa?” -----“That’s just the start.” -----A silence fell over the group. Cantai put some of the more important files in a knapsack as they prepared to retrace their steps to the campsite. *-----*-----* -----“Where is everyone?” Cantai exclaimed. “Where’s Zel?” -----“He went back to Bo-Kima,” a Matoran said. “We’re packing up to leave.” -----“Good, because we found the hut.” -----“Anything good?” -----“I wouldn’t call it good,” Axonn said gruffly. -----“Why are you leaving?” Cantai asked. “Did you get word?” -----“Zel and I saw Kohi get attacked and he left to tell Drekka. Miqus showed up a little while later and arranged the retreat back to town. You showed up on the tail end of things.” -----“Wait—Kohi? What happened with Kohi?” Carriag asked. -----“Zel got a better look at it than I did, but he got attacked by a winged creature with teleportation and few other powers. Didn’t get a good look at the attacks themselves. They both got teleported away.” -----“Makuta,” Axonn said. “No doubt in my mind.” -----“At least you three are back.” -----“You two stay with Bo-Kima,” Axonn said. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re on high alert. Kohi out of the picture seems like a set up—for what, I don’t know.” -----“And where are you going?” -----“Kima-Nui,” Axonn said. “If war is coming, we need to prepare.” ------------- Review Topic

My residual neck pain is telling me that it is.

I was skeptical, then moderately hyped, then pessimistic. Now I'm hyped again. DECIDE WHAT EMOTION YOU WANT ME TO FEEL, ROGUE ONE PRE-RELEASE MATERIAL

Retcon most of the story serials and the loose ends we got after 2010. A few of them were good, but mostly they were blasé affairs which left a bad and unfinished taste in everyone's mouths. Tying up the G1 story is an entirely unattainable goal because it essentially devolved into an open-world free-for-all where every non-deceased character is active all at once; there's always going to be something after the end. Bringing non-color-coded pins and axles back. Having the All-American Rejects star in G3.

I feel like G3 will have to include more System elements. I'm not sure there's a modern market for a purely constraction line, so I have a suspicion that the playsets will make their reappearance.

Well, conceivably, anything, really—the MU being a self-contained system, one only really has to worry about making sure Spherus Magna and that whole saga could fit in with rules consistent with another fictional universe, and with any sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic ... one could even argue that all of human history exists on an Earth somewhere within the galaxy of the original Bionicle.

Congratulations to all! There were some great entries in this one.

I MISS EVERYONE

G1's end was a little more obvious in retrospect, what with having one line of small sets at the very end. Denying rumors about G2's end made a ton of sense considering that all evidence we had towards its end were ... rumors. There was no concrete evidence towards its end until LEGO's official announcement. It's not "vehemently denying" anything. It's just not believing rumors.

I used to dream that McToran would come to life and just follow me around wherever I happened to go. It hasn't happened in over a decade, though. Now, if you were asking about recurring dreams of farm animals ...

-----“Ah, Toa!” Turaga Qaiu said, opening her arms. “We’re always honored to have guests in Kima-Nui, but this is a superb hono—” -----“The formality can wait, Turaga,” the Toa of Water said. “I’m older than you are, after all.” -----“Well, ma’am, you certainly don’t look it. So how can I help you?” -----“I am the leader of an organization known as the Order of Mata Nui. We were behind the arrest of a Matoran named Crallin in the outlying area of the province.” -----“Yes, yes, Bo-Kima, yes,” Qaiu said. “I’m very familiar with that case. I just sent two of my finest Toa to find what they can about the situation. Didn’t think the case would come here!” -----“We had reason to believe that Crallin was experimenting on Matoran subjects. Specifically, we were concerned that he was trying to subvert destiny by transforming Matoran into Toa.” -----“Is that even possible?” Qaiu asked. -----“We’re not sure, but we hope it’s not. We were not able to ascertain the information because our prisoner was abducted from us.” -----“By whom?” -----“The Brotherhood of Makuta.” -----“To … spite you? I don’t understand.” -----“A local reporter was writing about the story, which is why we try our best to keep these things under wraps. Usually that happens without a hitch, but this time all of our worst fears have been realized. We had to get him out in the open because we couldn’t track his hut, and … you can figure the rest. The Brotherhood and ourselves have long been at odds, and Crallin’s research can be weaponized. It’s a matter of life and death for ourselves, but also for your city.” -----“… I don’t understand why you’re telling me any of this,” Qaiu said. “Turaga Drekka of Bo-Kima is who you should be talking to.” -----“Makuta are often stationed in larger cities to monitor the activities of larger areas. This situation has become very precarious and unless things are handled carefully, we could see a war between the Order and the Brotherhood with Kima-Nui directly in the crossfire. I need full cooperation from yourself and the Toa Kima.” -----“I will recall all Toa and brief them of the situation,” Qaiu said. -----“No need to recall those in Bo-Kima. They can stay to help with the effort in locating Crallin’s hut, but I suspect they are already searching for it.” -----“Should I declare a state of emergency?” -----“No. Unless the Makuta make their presence known, keep the city running as efficiently as possible. We don’t need to tip them off.” -----Qaiu nodded. “It will be done.” *-----*-----* -----“So,” Mutran said, sitting down opposite Crallin. “First of all, I’m very sorry to hear that the Order treated you in such a way. That’s completely inexcusable.” -----“It could have been worse.” -----“Anyway, we’d like to know of your research.” -----“I’m hesitant to just share it without knowing what you’d end up doing with it.” -----“We will do what we can with whatever information we have to fight the Order and to bring justice and peace to the universe. They hide behind Mata Nui’s name to act as vigilantes, and unfortunately their influence has only spread, despite our best efforts.” -----“Makuta aren’t trusted.” -----“Order propaganda. They act like we’re inferior because we control shadow.” -----“Shadow is considered evil.” -----“And why do you think that is?” -----Crallin shrugged. “It’s what I was always taught.” -----“And yet?” -----“I don’t subscribe to the idea of ‘inner shadow’ as a bad thing. Besides, my investigation into Matoran physiology has nothing to do with morality and everything to do with curiosity. ” -----“Believe me, I’m just as curious as yourself. I bring a little more … practical experience, shall we say, to the table. Are you familiar with the Lohrak?” -----“I’ve read about them. Never met one though.” -----“That’s a bit of my handiwork. With your groundbreaking research combined with my skill in crafting warriors, and we can end the stalemate and bring peace to the universe.” -----“The universe is pretty peaceful, I thought.” -----“You’re lucky that the Southern Continent is so stable. It’s not like that everywhere. Just because you’ve never seen a war doesn’t mean that they don’t happen.” -----Crallin was lost in thought for a moment. “Here’s what I’ve found,” he said. “The structure of Matoran organs is actually fairly simple. Intelligence, memory processing, as well as auditory and visual input centers are located in the head. Everything else vital to continued existence rests in the chest. Once you get the armor off, the inner processing functions are all there.” -----“Much like a Rahi.” -----“Exactly. Comparing my Rahi dissections to my analysis of Matoran internal structure reveals many of the same attributes; the Rahi organs have direct correlations in Matoran, with a few differences. These differences are solid evidence in favor of my theory.” -----“Your theory?” -----“I’m getting there. My theory is derived from the idea that the idea of destiny doesn’t actually exist. I believe that Matoran have free will. And if we all have free will, and Toa come from Matoran, then every Matoran has the capacity to transform into a Toa. See where I’m going with this?” -----“So you’re looking for some kind of physical internal structure that would allow for this.” -----“Precisely. So behind the heartlight is a small cylindrical organ which appears to be for general elemental power. It’s hooked up to the heartlight and keeps the body functioning. However, we know that it’s not elemental power that creates Toa, it’s Toa power.” -----“Jump-starting the process?” -----“Actually, it seems more like a … latent reserve of energy. The Toa Kima were eight Toa created from then-Toa Qaiu, so the threshold for activating this reserve seems to be at most one-eighth of a Toa’s total power. It seems to generate a set amount of itself upon transformation, and I theorize that elemental power is converted since new Toa aren’t really known for throwing their element around.” -----Mutran nodded. “So where were you in your research, exactly?” -----“I believe that I was able to locate the Toa power receptacle above the heartlight. It’s simply an empty cylindrical space which connects on the back to every part of the body through various cables. It appears to have no other purpose, whereas every other organ has previously established purpose.” -----“All you need is Toa power, then? To test it?” -----“Ah,” Crallin smiled. “There’s the rub. My one test subject, Luqyr, died while I was rummaging around his body. His longtime friend was the local Toa named Kohi—and of the same element, no less. Imagine that—a Toa of Fire guarding a village of the Green! That’s a recipe for disaster if I ever heard one.” -----“We have a great many resources on this island, but we have no Toa power.” -----“Can’t you get it?” -----“Certainly. But you also have no test subject and I doubt you’d want to operate on yourself.” -----“Of course not. I intend to finish the work I started. I’ll need Luqyr’s body as well as an incapacitated Kohi.” -----“Luqyr … has been dead for some time. Don’t you want to start fresh?” -----“Not at all. But Luqyr’s time off is exactly why I want Kohi. If anything will work, it’ll be elemental power coming from the same element.” -----“And you think this will work?” -----Crallin looked indignant. “We’re scientists,” he said. “There’s a reason we try.” ------------- Review Topic

I wholeheartedly agree, but there's a part of me that still wonders ... What if the real Hero Factory were the friends we made along the way?

Welcome to the 20 club.

I hope Jess's idea makes it because it's a great set idea and also I want to build it like yesterday

Please refrain from posting in topics that have been inactive for 60 days or more. Ba da ba ba baaaa ... Topic McClosed.

-----I’m here. -----Mutran rendered himself invisible far outside the Order of Mata Nui’s compound. Better be safe than sorry. -----He poked his head out above some rocks. From his cliffside vantage point, he could see the Order’s compound below. The area was eerily quiet, as if all natural life had been eliminated. -----Mutran glided down to the compound. As he approached, he tried to glean as much information as he could from the air. -----Living quarters, check. Garden, check. Nondescript huts? Check. -----A long drab building caught his eye. Two muscular axe-wielding members were guarding the entrance. -----No windows, check. Protosteel door? Check. -----Can’t teleport since I’m still invisible. -----Hmmm. -----Mutran glanced down and picked up a small boulder, chucking it a good ways from the entrance. -----The guards mumbled and pointed to each other before one of them went out to check it. The remaining guard moved forward a few feet to look around the edge of the building. -----Okay, calm down, he’s not looking at you. He’s looking through you. -----Mutran snuck around the peeping guard and slipped into the building. -----Exactly as planned. -----It took a few seconds to adjust to the mustiness of the building. Many of the hallways were still barely more than pitch-black even with the installed lightstones. It smelled of despair. -----Just like back home. -----Mutran opened the first cell door he saw. -----No one. -----Down the hall, then. -----After several empty cells, he opened a stiffer door. This one led to a staircase, and it looked well-traveled; new lightstones adorned the walls and footprints could be seen in the dust on the steps. -----Careful, now. Hard to know where you’re going when you can’t see. -----Gingerly, he reached the bottom of the steps, which led to another whole level of dank hallways and Protosteel doors. -----Where do the footsteps go? -----Mutran strained his eyes to see the well-traveled path, but footsteps were everywhere. -----This is where they keep everyone. Decoy rooms all upstairs—smart thinking. -----Mutran froze as one of the doors opened and a small Toa of Water emerged. She walked past him as he kept as still as possible against the far wall. -----Alright, she’s past. -----… -----No, best wait a little while longer. -----… -----Alright. Time to go. -----Mutran opened the door the Toa had come out of. Ducking through slightly, he saw a maskless Bo-Matoran slumped over in a chair. -----Once the door closed and locked behind him, Mutran released his invisibility and breathed a sign of relief. He took the mask off of the hook on the wall and placed it over the Bo-Matoran’s face. -----The Matoran immediately shot to life, coughing and wheezing. He looked up and nearly fell out of his chair when he saw Mutran’s mask staring right back at him. -----“Who … who are you?” -----“You’re Crallin?” -----“Yeah, I figured anyone who came in would know that. Who are you?” -----“I am a Makuta.” -----Crallin looked impressed. “Makuta. I’ve heard a lot about your kind. Interested in my research?” -----“I read the articles in the Southern Continent Gazette.” -----“Oh, I’m a celebrity now, aren’t I? Fancy that.” -----“You’re working on biological transmutation?” -----“Yes! Finally, someone who speaks my language. Have you done any research in the same field?” -----“No, but that’s why we’re interested. Could you make a Toa for us?” -----“I’d be happy to, as long as you give me the right resources.” -----“We have all the resources you need. Want to get out of here?” -----“Please. The massages here are rough.” -----Mutran focused on Destral in his mind and placed his hands on Crallin’s shoulders, spiriting him away to the Brotherhood’s hands. -----Need to rest. Lots of power used today. I’ll need a few days off when I get back. -----… -----Uh-oh. Footsteps. -----He just barely was able to turn back invisible when the Toa of Water returned. She calmly scanned the room. -----What’s she doing? -----Suddenly, the Toa let out a terrifying scream. Johmak soon appeared behind her. -----Uh-oh. I’m not getting out of here any time soon. Got to keep focus. If I can wait them ou— -----His train of thought was broken when he was suddenly struck by a table. The Toa had flung it clean across the room towards what she thought was merely the far side of the cell, but it had hit him squarely. He tumbled to the floor, visible. -----“Makuta!” the Toa screamed, aiming a blast of water at him. Mutran leapt out of the way, but they were still in a cell and there wasn’t a whole lot of room. It was a glancing blow but enough to spin him around. -----“Let’s neutralize him,” Johmak said. -----Mutran mustered his willpower and teleported, reappearing outside the cell. The Order members were confused, and the Makuta smashed two of them with pulses of pure shadow energy, shattering their bodies and knocking the other present members clean into the cell. -----Mutran rushed forward and slammed the door. Should buy me some time. -----Voices upstairs. They’re coming down. -----Time to go. -----He shut his eyes on Daxia, and he opened them on Destral. ------------- Review Topic

Topic closed by request of the starter.

Please do not post in topics that have been inactive for over 60 days. It is considered revival and then I have to fight a zombie topic before it runs away to elsewhere in the forum. *zombie topic ripped in two through brute force*

needs more slap

AAAAAA WE MISS YOU TOO *looks on instagram* That doesn't look good! Are you feeling any better now?

I have never in my life kept a box around. Where I live is so danged humid that they just attract bugs. Canisters make for great display items if you have a spare shelf or three, and they should be fine in an attic environment.

I loved the change because it meant that there was an upgrade to the stagnant constraction system that we had had, in some form, since before Bionicle began. The building community has proved the worthwhile addition of CCBS to the LEGO pantheon.

-----Crallin had been left alone for quite some time, which was a welcome respite from the constant physical abuse he had endured since he had initially awoken in the dank cell. -----“You’re a fighter,” came a female voice—no, not Johmak—another one. This one was older. -----A Toa of Water entered the room. “Any word, Jerbraz?” -----“Nothing,” Jerbraz replied. -----“You could have just asked me,” Crallin said. “Isn’t that … y’know, what I’m here for?” -----The Toa bent down and looked Crallin straight in the eyes. “Why won’t you tell us?” -----Crallin reached up to rub his shoulder, exaggerating the motion. “A bit hard to believe that you’re the ‘nice ones.’ I can take a bit of torture, believe me.” -----“What would it take?” The Toa was quick and firm in her responses. -----“Unconditional release. I don’t even need an apology, although I feel like the invisible thing over there owes me a few.” -----“This is your idea of being reasonable?” -----“Sure.” -----“This is mine.” -----The Toa snatched Crallin’s mask off. The Matoran grappled with his consciousness as his eyes rolled around, his breathing becoming shallow and erratic. *-----*-----* -----The streets of Kima-Nui were always busy, yet not ever too busy. Those who visited from other lands—or even other areas of the Continent—always remarked about how the capital always felt like it was both a big city and a small town. It was a city of opposites, a city of contradictions, a city that felt both self-contained and open to the natural wonders at the doorsteps. -----It’s a wonder I don’t come back around here more often, Mutran thought. His duties as Makuta were generally confined to the sometimes-nasty business of viruses and Rahi and mutagens and biology and he rarely gave heed to the area he was assigned to oversee. When he did, he was just as drawn into Kima-Nui and its outlying areas as he was to what he saw as his more pressing work. -----Of course, in order to perform his duties, he had to shapeshift into the form of an innocuous Le-Matoran. He wasn’t too upset with this, but it was something upon which he had to keep focus, and shapeshifting wasn’t even his favorite power. No one seemed to give him any attention as he strolled through the downtown area. -----Alright, focus. What’s the latest? -----He leaned against a building and casually snatched a copy of the Southern Continent Gazette from a nearby dispenser. -----“BO-KIMA CONSPIRACY REVEALED” ran the headline. -----Mutran was intrigued. Illegal experimentation? Abduction? All of this was very much up his alley. -----Miserix will be surprised that I’m paying attention to my duties, Mutran thought as he ducked into an alley to shed his Le-Matoran form and teleport to Destral. *-----*-----* “I’m surprised that you’re paying attention to your duties,” Miserix said, examining the Southern Continent Gazette. “But it seems to have paid off.” -----“You’re as intrigued as I am, then, sir?” -----“I want to know what you think.” -----Mutran cleared his throat. “Well, sir, I don’t know for certain, but it seems as if the Order of Mata Nui is behind the abduction. The Dark Hunters have very little business in my area, generally, and the reports of an invisible creature in on the plan seems to denote an Order agent. It would make sense also considering that their operatives are occasionally known to recruit local Toa for help on missions.” -----“And what do you think this Crallin fellow is doing?” -----“That … is obviously a matter of more conjecture, but I would assume that if the Order was involved, he was doing something to upset the status quo. If he was operating on Matoran, the most obvious experiment would be to attempt to transmute their biological components to that of another, similar organism.” -----“You mean to say that he was trying to turn Matoran into Toa?” -----“That would be the first step to take. After that, one could attempt to transmute Matoran into other forms of life. If such transmutation is possible on a larger scale, then one could theoretically attempt to transmute a Muaka into a Toa, or something like it. Also, being a Matoran himself, it is likely that his experimentation is fueled by a desire to be a Toa himself, but if he’s ambitious enough to do this in the first place …” -----“It seems rather far-fetched that it’s possible at all,” Miserix said. “Would not our research have revealed some link?” -----“I checked all records we have, and it doesn’t appear that any research has been done whatsoever. This is entirely novel.” -----“So you think a reclusive backwoods Matoran of the Green has figured out something which we have never even considered as a possibility?” -----“But if it were, sir … would that not make for a highly potent weapon? An improvement over Rahkshi? I mean, if this transmutation is in any way possible, one could create functional Toa of Shadow, corrupted to do our bidding and our bidding exactly. Combined with our viruses and our Energized Protodermis, we could create a small but unstoppable army.” -----“Your theory is … oddly compelling,” Miserix said, after spending some time in thought. “But the Order has him now. Getting Crallin out will be difficult and would amount to an act of warfare.” -----“Which is why I’m informing you, sir. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision.” -----“If you feel as if you can break Crallin out of the hands of the Order, then you’re free to do so,” Miserix said. “But if you are caught, the Brotherhood will not be behind you. You’ll be entirely on your own.” -----“I understand, sir.” ------------- Review Topic

I regret that I never got into G2. I guess I always figured that it'd be around for longer, and thus I'd be able to catch up on the story and sets and media that I missed, but that never materialized.

Ay yi yi. Okay, my bad. So how do I delete this thread? Threads generally don't get deleted on BZP—they get closed, and that's my job.