TNTOS

X-Men: First Class.

 

Really good movie. Probably my favorite X-Men movie.

 

Now I just need to see Days of Future Past, which I've been told is very good.

 

-TNTOS-

Hi TNTOS,

I just finished reading it (it took me a month...) and I loved it!

Keep up the great writing!

Thanks .

 

-TNTOS-

These are really cool. I especially like Keetongu, but honestly they're all fantastic. You managed to capture the look of the actual sets except in miniature, which is pretty impressive I'd say.

-TNTOS-

Probably the Klakk. It's just kind of weird and I just don't like it at all, mostly because the 2008 joints it has are cracked and/or broken, so I can't really do much with it.

 

-TNTOS-

1) No, I don't subscribe. I let my subscription expire years ago because it stopped having content that interested me.

 

2) Because I am no longer subscribed, it doesn't affect me, so I don't care.

 

-TNTOS-

Chapter XIX

Atuje appeared in his throne room and immediately collapsed to his hands and knees. He gritted his teeth as his body shook, trying (thankfully unsuccessfully) to kick out his soul. He needed to acclimate his soul to his body quickly and in fact already had a plan to do just that. He only hoped that his Echoes had been dilligent in bringing the Toa from the dungeons to the throne room, as he had ordered them to.

As soon as he was sure his body wasn't going to act up again, Atuje stood up slowly and unsteadily. He looked around his throne room, distaste rising in his throat when he looked at the changes that had been wrought to it during his absence. The floor was simple stone now, lacking the grass he had grown there; the stream of water was dried up; and his finely crafted wooden throne had been replaced with a stone throne that looked exceedingly uncomfortable to sit in.

Nonetheless, Atuje walked over to it and fell into the throne like a rock. Taking a rest when his enemies were still alive and after his blood may have seemed like a dumb idea, but in his current condition he could not keep going like a machine. Even five minutes of uninterrupted rest was better than no rest at all.

That was when he noticed that the throne room was empty. No Echoes. No prisoners. Just himself.

Good lord, Atuje thought. Where are those morons? How complicated is it to transport six prisoners from the dungeons to the throne room? Can I rely on anyone to get anything done around here or must I do everything myself?

His thoughts were interrupted when the double doors leading into his throne room burst open. Jeran, Wavica, and Asroth dashed through and immediately slammed the doors shut and even bolted them. Not without reason; a small chunk of one of the doors flew off, almost impaling Asroth, though the doors themselves still stood. It was clear, however, that they wouldn't stand much longer.

Sitting up, Atuje said, in his loudest, most authoritative (and irritable) voice, “Jeran, Wavica, Asroth. Where are the prisoners? And who is attacking the castle?”

The three Echoes jumped at Atuje's voice, but as soon as they realized it was him, they turned to him and bowed like loyal subjects.

“Ah, my lord,” said Wavica in the kind of pacifying voice Atuje always associated with bad news. “The castle is under attack by a group of unknown invaders. Additionally, the prisoners . . . it's a funny thing, really. . . .”

“What?” said Atuje. “Spit it out or I will rip the words from your throat with my bare hands.”

“Wavica's trying to say that the prisoners are all gone,” Asroth said. “We were transporting them out of the dungeons, like you told us to, but we were attacked by these guys and had to abandon them. Bet the prisoners are on their way out of Wyoko even as we speak.”

Every word that passed from Asroth's lips felt like a drop of poison into Atuje's system. “No, no, no. Impossible. When did this happen?”

“Probably within the last hour or so,” said Jeran. Then he added, as if to mitigate the damage, “We did try to fight back, but it was dark and there were too many of them. We thought we could hold them off better in the throne room, which is why we came here.”

Jeran's words didn't penetrate Atuje's mind. To the King, it looked like his entire life was falling apart. The Almighty Ones were alive and after him, the prisoners were free, there was an unknown amount of invaders knocking at his doorstep, and he was just beginning to understand exactly how much damage Wanderer had done to his soul.

Unless he got a stroke of miraculous fortune and good luck, it seemed like this was the end. All of those years of planning, the months of hard work as he put the plan into action . . . all it was crashing down around him like so many building blocks. All he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry like a child. It was all just too much even for him.

But despite his intense feelings, Atuje did not allow any of it to show on his face. “Fine. We shall eliminate these invaders and retrieve the prisoners. Surely they could not have made it very far from the castle, could they?”

“No, they could not,” said Wavica in agreement. “My only concern, sir, is how we are going to eliminate the invaders. We were all injured in the initial fight and we're outnumbered about-”

“That is no excuse for cowardice,” Atuje said, pointing at the double doors. “Stand and fight. Be ready to throw away your lives, if that is what you must do to protect your king. I will not tolerate cowardly behavior from my subjects, no matter the reason for it.”

All three of the Echoes rose, but it was with varying degrees of reluctance. None of them were particularly loyal to Atuje, especially Asroth, but he knew they were too afraid to disobey him. At least, he hoped so. With the way his luck had been going, he wondered if he could not even count on them for support.

Then Jeran stepped forward and said, “Lord, if I may ask, why do you even want the prisoners? Shame me with impudence and all that, but until I know the answer to that question, I will not fight for you.”

Atuje let out a long, annoyed sigh and said, “To put it simply, my soul has not yet gotten used to being in such a small body, having spent so many years in Wyoko itself. By absorbing the life energy of the Toa prisoners, I could make my body more suitable for my soul, which would help my soul acclimate to my body easier.”

“Why didn't you do that right away?” Jeran said. “That seems a little too important to put off, in my opinion.”

“Because I was in a hurry to attack the Almighty Ones before they figured out what I was up to,” Atuje said, feeling his temper slip between his fingers like sand. “Which I now realize was a mistake, but I still have a slight chance of fixing it, assuming we can defeat the invaders and retrieve the prisoners before they escape Wyoko.”

“What does Kafor have to do with any of this?” said Jeran. “Were you going to take her life energy, too?”

Atuje shook his head. “Hardly. I wanted her on hand so I could use her psychic skills to help me anticipate possible problems when on the long road to rebuilding my kingdom. Any other stupid questions?”

Jeran shrugged and unlimbered his scythe. “No. I just needed to make sure I knew why I was betraying you.”

Moving with surprising speed, Jeran dashed toward Atuje, running up the steps to Atuje's throne. His scythe flashed through the air as it flew toward Atuje's neck, but the King caught it before it went into his head. With a twist, he ripped the scythe out of Jeran's hands and threw it away. Before Jeran could stop him, Atuje grabbed Jeran and slammed his head against the floor.

“So you have finally decided to betray me,” Atuje said to his barely-conscious minion. “I always knew your loyalty was less-than-ideal, but I had never imagined you would choose to betray me at the very moment of my victory. For that, you are undeserving of the gift of life and so I must take it from you.”

Jeran spit at Atuje's feet. “Do what you will. I've done everything I can to stop you. I doubt it will redeem my soul, but at least it's better than doing nothing.”

Atuje didn't answer. Instead, he sucked the life force out of Jeran. He normally liked to take his time to do this, but under the current circumstances he had to speed the process up. Not that he was complaining. He could already feel himself growing stronger as Jeran's life force entered his body, but he knew that the life force of one individual was hardly enough to satisfy the needs of his soul.

When he was done, Atuje stood up and kicked Jeran's body down the stairs. The corpse rolled down to the bottom, where he lay unmoving, while Wavica and Asroth stared at him with a mixture of shock and horror. Atuje knew that whatever rebellious or cowardly thoughts the two had been entertaining previously had now been crushed by this display of Atuje's power.

“Now,” said Atuje as he reclined in his throne again, “any more stupid questions?”

The two remaining Echoes shook their heads violently.

“Good,” said Atuje. “Now protect your King's life. Spare the life of no one who attempts to come through. No one.”
 

-

As the Will agents battered the surprisingly-strong doors to Atuje's throne room, Kafor briefly wondered (not for the first time) what the heck she was still doing here and not out there with the other prisoners escaping Wyoko. Her panicky side told her that she was absolutely insane for going along with these guys, that they didn't really need her, and that she was just risking her life for no good reason. She should run now and try to catch up with the others before it was too late.

She took a deep, calming breath. She wasn't going to run. All her life, she had run. Now she was tired of running. She didn't even have anywhere to run to, anyway. Her destiny was clear. She needed to help these guys defeat the Echoes and maybe even Atuje himself, if he was there. After that, she would think about her future.

Of course, old habits die hard. While the others attacked the doors, Kafor positioned herself near the hallway, where she could make a quick getaway if things went south. Perhaps it was cowardly, but she reasoned that someone needed to be able to escape alive if the Echoes somehow turned the tides and she was as good as candidate for the role of the sole survivor of an epic battle between good and evil as anyone else.

Just as Kafor wondered whether the old wooden doors were actually made out of protosteel, the sounds of footfalls echoing through the hallways filled her audio receptors. She glanced down the hallway just in time to see four beings running toward her. She didn't recognize the tall, black-armored Gadarian, but she did recognize Night, Kiriah, and even . . . wait, was that Masqouth?

“Guys!” Kafor yelled over the sounds of the Will agents beating the doors. “Guys, look! It's Masqouth!”

That caught their attention right quick. Just as the Will agents turned from the doors, Night, Kiriah, that other guy, and Masqouth skid to a halt not far from Kafor's group. Both groups stared at each other, the sudden lack of nosie and movement from both sides making Kafor uncomfortable. Not that she dared move or speak. She had a feeling that one wrong move or one wrong word could easily result in a bloodbath that even she wouldn't be able to escape.

Then Oggak stepped forward and said, “Who are you people?”

“My name is Night,” said Night. “And this is Toa Kiriah, Jetrupi, and, well, I think you already know Masqouth.”

Masqouth waved at them happily. “Hi! I'm here to avenge my parents. What are you guys here for?”

“To arrest you,” Oggak said. “We are members of the Will of Angonce, an organization dedicated to protecting Spherus Magna from people like you.”

“You make me sound dangerous,” said Masqouth. “Like a threat.”

“That's because you are,” said Oggak. “You masterminded the kidnapping of several innocent beings, orchestrated a world war, and have no doubt done other evil things none of us even know about. 'Threat' is an understatement.”

“Oh,” said Masqouth, the smile disappearing from his lips like someone had vaccumed it off. “Right. Um, I'm sorry about all that. For the record, I didn't know it was wrong and a lot of it was Atuje's fault anyway, even though I helped.”

All of the Will agents stepped forward, their weapons drawn, when Night – much to Kafor's surprise – held out his sword in front of Masqouth and said, “If you want to get to Masqouth, you'll have to go through me first.”

“Uh, Night?” Kafor said, deciding that that was simply too ridiculous to go uncommented on. “You do remember that this guy tried to kill you and that one of his friends murdered Heavyweight, right?”

Night glanced at Kafor in surprise, like he hadn't realized she was there until now. “Kafor? You're still alive. Thought for sure Atuje would have killed you by now, if only so he wouldn't have to listen to your lame attempts at snark anymore.”

Kafor rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha, ha. For your information, I thought you guys were dead. Where were you and Kiriah all of this time? Taking a nap?”

“Wait,” said Oggak. “Kiriah, is that you? What are you doing with Masqouth?”

“It's a long story,” said Kiriah, scratching the back of her head. “But just so you know, Oggak, Masqouth is on our side now. He wants to help us defeat Atuje.”

“Forgive me for being skeptical, but I am not so certain about that,” said Oggak, casting a wary look over Masqouth. “How do I know he's on our side?”

“Well, I haven't attacked any of you guys yet,” said Masqouth. “So I'd say that puts me squarely on your side, wouldn't you agree?”

“No,” said Oggak. “And who is Atuje, anyway?”

“The guy who is really behind all of this,” said Night. “He's the one who orchestrated the war and planned the kidnapping of the Toa and Kafor. He's the guy we have to stop, not Masqouth.”

“Explain,” said Oggak. “I'm listening.”

Night then launched into the most bizarre story Kafor had ever heard in her life. He mentioned something about some beings called the Almighty Ones, something about Masqouth being their son, and Atuje trying to get revenge on them by coming up with a convoluted plan. It sounded like the delusional ravings of a madman, yet Kiriah, Masqouth, and the other guy confirmed every point wherever there was any doubt.

By the time Night finished, Oggak and the other five Will agents with her looked more than a little confused and very skeptical.

“You have to believe us,” said Night. “We are all trying to stop Atuje here. Yes, I understand why you don't like Masqouth, but trust me when I say that he is on our side.”

“Aren't Night, the infamous Dark Hunter?” Oggak said, in dawning realization. “Again, forgive me for my skepticism, but that gives me even less reason to trust you.”

“If you can't trust him, then trust me,” said Kiriah, pointing at herself. “Oggak, you and I know each other. We're friends. Would I really lie to you about something this big? Would I ally myself with Masqouth for the wrong reasons? Ask yourself those questions. The answers will decide your next course of action.”

For a moment, Oggak looked like she was going to order her fellow agents to attack. And Kafor wasn't sure whether she would help Night and the others or fight alongside the agents. She knew them, to a certain extent even liked them (stretching the defintion of the word 'like' to its breaking point, of course), but if they were working with Masqouth, even if they had their reasons . . . well, she decided she would wait for Oggak's answer.

Then Oggak sighed and said, “All right, Kiriah. We'll work with you guys until Atuje is defeated. After that, we will have a serious discussion about Masqouth's future. You know we can't let him go unpunished.”

“Sounds good to me,” Masqouth said. “Now step aside. I'll get the doors open. You all just stand back.”

Much to Kafor's surprise, the Will agents obliged and retreated a little ways from the doors, along with Night, Kiriah, and that other guy. Once they were a certain distance, Masqouth walked up to the doors, his mask's shape changing until it became the Mask of Repulsion.

Masqouth's mouth briefly flashed and the next moment, the doors went flying off their hinges into the throne room beyond. The doors crashed to the floor loudly and through the now-open doorway, three beings stood, looking ready for combat.
 

Review Topic

1) Books. Loved, loved, LOVED the books. I mean, getting a comic in the mail was always exciting, but it never quite compared to getting a book and reading it, in my opinion.

 

2) Other Web content. Most of the time there just wasn't a whole lot of useful or interesting information in character bios and the like. Never really paid attention to them as a result.

 

3) Comics, Books, Serials, Films, A TV Series, and Web Videos/Animations. Think that would cover the story fairly well and offer a wide variety of ways for fans to get content, too.

 

-TNTOS-

 

Now, I'd be lying if I said that everything BIONICLE did for me was positive. My forays into BIONICLE fanfiction are downright embarrassing, for the most part, and any time I even think about writing a story nowadays they discourage me from it. I certainly have given up any hope of being a fiction writer as a career.

As an aspiring writer who used BIONICLE to build up my ability, I'll tell you that it's true you're your own worst critic. My early BIONICLE stuff was awesome, but I naturally gained skill. You should never feel afraid to give it another chance.

 

How true. Despite my own years of experience as a writer, I still hate (or at least dislike) most every fanfic I write. Even though most of my readers love my work and rarely have anything negative to say about it, I still have a hard time believing I'm any good. Just the nature of being a writer I guess. Nothing ever comes out quite the way I imagine it.

 

Back to the topic at hand: Bionicle changed my life by inspiring me to become a professional fiction writer. I haven't yet achieved that dream, but I have published a few books this year already and plan to publish at least one more before the year's out, which I wouldn't have ever done if I hadn't spent countless hours writing Bionicle fanfics and listening to the criticism I've received from my readers and fellow writers. I doubt I'd know what career to take if I hadn't started writing fanfics and realized how much I'd love to write stories as my job.

 

Bionicle is the main reason I love to read as well. Loved reading the Bionicle novels when I was a kid. The comics were pretty good, too, but the books are where it's at.

 

Also thanks to Bionicle, I'm far more knowledgeable about fandoms and the Internet in general, which has helped me avoid some of the dumber aspects of both, heh.

 

-TNTOS-

First reaction to seeing Tahu: "I want one."

 

-TNTOS-

Chapter XVIII

Present day. . . .

If Night had been angry before, he was enraged now. He was currently up to his waist in a pit of sand that was trying to devour him, Jet, Kiriah, and Masqouth. Above them, Mendos sat on her throne, watching the spectacle like it was a good telescreen show. She even had a snack, a bag of dried fruit, and a large glass of water that she occasionally sipped from.

He tried to pull his legs out, but it seemed like the more he struggled, the stronger the sand clung to him. Standing still didn't help because it still pulled him in. True, it wasn't dragging him in very fast, but he figured he and the others only had a few minutes before they disappeared underneath the sand forever.

“Anyone know how we can get out of this?” Night asked, looking around at the others.

Masqouth's mask turned into the Mask of Flight and he attempted to launch himself into the air. Unfortunately, the sand clung to his robes and legs like flypaper and he was dragged back down before he could get even a bio above the sand.

“Nothing,” said Masqouth, punching the sand in frustration. “I used to like sand. Now I don't.”

“Jet, Kiriah?” said Night, looking at those two.

Kiriah was almost up to her chest and shook her head. “Sorry. I don't think there is anything I can do about it. My psionic powers won't work.”

“Don't look at me,” said Jetrupi with a shrug. “I don't have any powers at all, so I feel more than a little useless right now, to be honest.”

“Giving up so soon?” Mendos said. “That would be boring. Half of the fun is watching you four struggle – in vain, of course, because I love a good tragedy – to escape. I should let you know, however, that the Pit of Living Sand has only been conquered once before. And that was because Stronius got lucky. So don't feel too bad if you end up dying.”

The sand was up to Night's chest now. He thought as hard as he could. He had never thought so hard in his entire life. Yet every idea, every plan, seemed doomed to failure from the start. He began to sink into despair, his arms going slack as he accepted his fate.

He looked at the others, perhaps for the last time, and noticed Masqouth's mask. He'd seen it before, of course, but when he looked at it now, a memory stirred in his mind. He remembered almost being killed by Masqouth, being blown through a brick wall, getting buried underneath tons of rubble. If Night died here, he would never get a chance to punch Masqouth in the face for that.

Wait . . . blow through a brick wall. . . .

“Guys,” said Night, raising his arms to avoid getting them stuck in the sand. “I have an idea that just might work.”

“Okay,” said Kiriah. “Let's do it. I don't care if it's absolutely insane. Let's just do it.”

“All right,” said Night. “Masqouth, change your mask into the Mask of Repulsion.”

Masqouth obeyed, his Kanohi shape-shifting into that form Night hated. “Done. What else?”

“Everyone, hold hands,” said Night, throwing out his arms toward Jet, Kiriah, and Masqouth. “And make sure to hold as tightly as you can and even tighter than that.”

Soon all four of them were holding hands so tightly that Night could not feel the blood circulating through his fingers. Then he looked at Masqouth and said, “Activate the mask. Repel the sand away from us.”

“On it,” said Masqouth as the mask glowed briefly.

Without warning, Masqouth shot up so fast that he broke the sand's grip on him. Night, Kiriah, and Jet were jerked into the air with him so fast that they, too, broke out of the sand. All four of them went flying so high into the air that for a moment Night was afraid they were going to hit the ceiling.

But just as soon as they stopped going up, they started going down. The only thing below them was the Pit of Living Sand and Mendos, who was looking up at them with shock. Night doubted she'd seen anything like that in all of her years in the Maze. Which made him feel a bit more smug than he perhaps should have.

The problem of where they would land was one that immediately sprang to Night's mind, but just before he could think of something to do, a dimensional portal opened underneath them and they all fell through it. All four of them tumbled through the space between dimensions – a blurr of colors, shapes, and textures that Night couldn't describe even if he wanted to – for a few seconds before they landed on the stone floor of some hallway and not gracefully, either.

Masqouth was the first to his feet, wiping sand off his robes as he said, “Well, that was fun. We should do it again sometime.”

Night, whose arms felt like they had nearly been ripped from their sockets, sat up and shook his head. “Define 'fun.' Anyway, where are we?”

Before Masqouth could answer, he slammed against the wall, seemingly for no reason at all. Night, in surprise, glanced at Kiriah and Jet, who were back on their feet. Based on the expression Kiriah wore, it was clear she was using her telekinesis to pin Masqouth down.

“The better question is, what was Masqouth doing with you back there, Night?” said Jet. “Unless I am mistaken, Masqouth was trying to kill us all. Is he manipulating you or something?”

“Hey,” Masqouth said, struggling against the telekinesis. “Let me go. This isn't fun.”

“Nope,” said Kiriah, shaking her head. “Until we find out exactly what you're doing with us, I'm going to keep you right there where you can't cause any trouble.”

Night scrambled to his feet and then relayed the story of Masqouth's defection to their side.

“He's the real deal,” said Night. “I don't like him much, either, but so far he's been a helpful ally and I think we should let him tag along until Atuje is defeated.”

Jet shook his head in disbelief. “Night, I thought you hated Masqouth more than any of us. Yet you're the one who is trying to fight for his inclusive in our group. It would be hilarious if the circumstances weren't so grim.”

“I guess if Masqouth really is on our side now, I can let him go,” said Kiriah, scratching the back of her head. “I mean, we can deal with him if necessary. Besides, after all the stuff I've been through recently, holding him down is starting to take a toll on me.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Masqouth. “This wall is hard and not fun at all.”

Kiriah snapped her fingers and Masqouth pushed himself away from the wall. He looked at her with distrustful eyes for a moment before looking up and down the hallway. “Let's see, if I did it right, I think we are currently in the hallways of Castle Kra, probably near the throne room.”

“Castle Kra?” said Jet. “Why Castle Kra?”

“Isn't it obvious?” said Masqouth. “This is where Atuje is currently based. I doubt he's still in the warehouse. Most likely he returned here for the final stage of his plan, which he has yet to put into action. He's probably in the throne room.”

“And what, may I ask, is the final stage of his plan?” said Jet.

Masqouth folded his arms and appeared deep in thought. “I don't know. He never explained it to me. I don't think he told any of us Echoes, to be honest. He just told us it was important and that we couldn't let anyone interfere with it.”

Night pulled the trigger on his sword. The next moment, it burst into flames. “Then let's stop talking and let's start looking for him. Masqouth, you know the way to the throne room, so take us there.”

-

When Ruby blinked, she suddenly found herself standing on the drawbridge of a large castle. She shook her head and looked at Cina, who appeared as disoriented by the teleportation as she felt. Then again, it might not have been the teleportation so much as it had been the fact that only a few minutes ago, they had been lying directly in front of death's door. Ruby herself did not feel entirely well just yet, but that hadn't stopped her from asking the Almighty Ones to teleport them to Castle Kra (which they did, in fact).

“We apologize for not going after him sooner,” said the Almighty Ones, who stood behind them. “It took us a while to recover from his attack. Besides . . . you must understand that we are not terribly eager to face him in battle again, not after our last confrontation with him.”

Ruby nodded. “We get it. I just hope that Niham is still-”

She was interrupted by a sudden flash of light from the castle courtyard, followed immediately by the sounds of people running and talking. The sudden bright lights caused her and Cina to block their eyes to avoid being blinded, even though Ruby quickly realized how dumb a move that was on their part. If this was some kind of trick by Atuje or his Echoes, after all, then not being able to see could easily cost them their lives.

When her eyes felt better, Ruby lowered her hands and looked at the crowd. It was made up of about five Toa and three or four other beings that she didn't recognize, all of whom were holding lightstones, the source of the bright light from before. The Toa all looked tired, dirty, and in desperate need of a good meal, but that wasn't what caught Ruby's attention. What caught her attention was the Toa of the Green who stood on the outer edges of the group, who caught her eye and ran toward her almost immediately.

Ruby didn't even think about her next move. She simply ran, with her arms spread, toward Niham. She forgot about her tiredness. She forgot about Atuje. She forgot about all of the horrible stuff that had happened over the past week. Her only thought was Niham.

The two met in the center of the drawbridge, where they embraced tightly. Niham's lips never tasted so good to Ruby (despite tasting like grime) and the two held their embrace for what felt like forever before they broke the kiss and stared into each other's eyes.

“Ruby . . .” Niham said. Her voice was weak and strained, but still recognizably hers. “I missed you so much.”

Ruby smiled. “And I missed you. Getting to be with you again was worth all of the crud I had to go through to get here.”

Niham returned the smile, then glanced over Ruby's shoulder in surprise. “Who are your friends? For that matter, how did you even get here? Not complaining. Just curious.”

“I was about to ask you the same question,” said Ruby. “I figure the other Toa are the other prisoners, but who are those other guys?”

“Agents of the Will of Angonce,” said Niham. “And yours are-?”

Ruby glanced over her shoulder. The Almighty Ones stood a little ways off, looking quite distant and mysterious, while Cina had joined her fellow Will agents and seemed to be filling them in on her and Ruby's recent adventures.

“Their identities aren't important,” said Ruby. “What's important is that you're safe and we're back together again. And we will never be separated again, not now, not ever.”

The two held each other tightly for a while before Cina walked up to them and said, “Sorry to interrupt, but I've just spoken with my fellow agents and we need to know what you want to do next.”

Ruby and Niham reluctantly broke apart and turned to face Cina. Dawning comprehension rose on Niham's face as she pointed at Cina and said, “Hey, I remember you. Aren't you a Crime Scene Analyst for the NALT?”

“That was just a cover,” said Cina. “I'm actually a member of the Will of Angonce. Sorry for lying to you. Anyway, our plan is to take all of you guys out of Wyoko. Don't worry about Masqouth and the Echoes. I just learned that some of my fellow Will agents are in Castle Kra hunting down the last of the Echoes as we speak.”

Ruby slipped her hand into Niham's. “I wasn't worried about them at all. I didn't come here to save the world or stop a war. I just wanted to save one person.”

Cina nodded. “How sweet. Now I wonder if-”

A mighty wind swept past them just then, almost knocking them off their feet. Ruby had just enough time to glance up into the sky to see five robed beings flying toward the highest tower on the Castle, who vanished into the darkness of Wyoko upon leaving the boundaries of the lightstones.

“Well, I guess the Almighty Ones aren't coming with us,” said Cina. “Just as well. Their goals are obviously very different from ours and frankly I still have no idea who or what they are. Guess it's none of my business.”

After that, Ruby, Niham, and Cina joined the rest of the group, who then proceeded to make their way across the drawbridge to begin the long journey back to Spherus Magna. Ruby had her arm around Niham's shoulder the entire time and wouldn't move it for anything in the world.
 

Review Topic

An exciting end (?) to the flashback section!

There's actually one more flashback chapter left, but glad you found that one exciting anyway.

 

-TNTOS-

Time Trap was pretty good, but my favorite is Dark Destiny. I'm not sure why, but that book always stood out to me. Guess it has something to do with Karzahni or something.

 

Oh, and Swamp of Secrets was awesome, too. Loved how it alternated between the present and the past. And it had a nice cover, too.

 

-TNTOS-

New story set on Spherus Magna after a long time (that way old characters can come back and old plot points can be picked up and resolved, if necessary), finish the serials as a side project (mostly because only we older fans even care about them, so they shouldn't be a top priority for LEGO but should still be finished anyway), and a new one; let LEGO surprise me (not sure how well the whole "Mata Nui is a giant robot" twist could work again).

-TNTOS-

OMG! I cried!

Anyway, I'm kinda new but I love your short stories and Epics. I would love it if you kept on writing!

Thanks . Glad you like my works. Always great to see a new reader.

 

As for writing, it's my dream to be a professional, full-time fiction writer. While I've had a great time writing fanfiction, I've decided to stop writing it to focus more on my original fiction, which is what will help build my career. I mean, I might write more fanfics at some point (most likely flash fiction or short stories), but probably not for the foreseeable future.

 

Now I don't know which of my works you've read (aside from Dimension Hoppers), but if you want to read more of my stuff, you can find links to most of it in my library (click the red link in my sig). While I may not be writing fanfiction anymore, I have a large backlist (50+ epics, short stories, and comedies), so maybe that will satisfy your craving for more of my work.

 

Again, thanks for the comment. I was feeling really crummy this morning and reading your comment just made my day.

 

-TNTOS-

Chapter XVII

Ten years ago. . . .

Two weeks of planning later, Night Vision found himself walking through the winding corridors of the Bunker, all by himself. He glanced at the map of the Bunker he had and knew he was going to find the entrance to the office wing any minute now. And assuming everything went as planned, Heavyweight and Blaze should meet up with him there as well.

The plan had been a risky one and was still risky, even though Night Vision thought he had gotten past the first hurtle. Even now, he couldn't be certain that he was not being followed by someone, maybe one of the guards, even though every glance over his shoulder revealed nothing more than the black stone floor, walls, and ceiling of the Bunker.

To calm his nerves, Night Vision went through the plan in his head. It was mostly Heavyweight's idea, primarily because she was the smarter of the three friends. Night Vision and Blaze had supplied her with a few details of the Bunker that she had not known, but in the end Heavyweight was the true mastermind behind the plan. In the event the plan failed and only one of them was to be punished, it would probably be Heavyweight, assuming the II scientists found out who came up with the plan in the first place.

The plan was simple. During the night, Night Vision was to sneak out of his room, make his way to Blaze's room, and free her. Blaze would then cause a fire in the western wing of the Bunker, near the location of the burning Gadarian's attack. This fire would not be terribly big or damaging or even really dangerous, but it would cause the guards and scientists to panic. All of the guards would go to stop the fire from spreading, while the scientists would be escorted out of the Bunker for safety.

With the guards and scientists distracted, Night Vision, Heavyweight, and Blaze would all make their way independently to the same location: The east wing. Specifically, the scientists' office, which was where the scientists kept all of their important documents and information about the elementalists. The plan was to break into the office, find the information they needed, and hopefully get out before the guards or scientists returned.

So far, everything had gone according to plan\. Night Vision had broken out of his room when his guards were changing shifts, while making sure his door continued to look locked. After a few minutes, he had made it to Blaze's room and broke her out and helped her start a fire in the cafeteria. Then the two split up, each taking a rough map of the Bunker that Heavyweight had drawn for them the day before. Heavyweight had memorized the layout of the Bunker on her first day, so Night Vision was certain that their maps were as accurate as they could be.

How much time did they have to look for the info, once they broke into the office? Night Vision didn't know. Blaze said that they probably had ten or twenty minutes. Considering that none of them had ever actually been inside the office before, nor even knew for sure that they would find what they were looking for, that didn't fill him with much confidence.

Night Vision forced himself to think positive. That meant he couldn't think too deeply about what would happen to Grandfather if Ignika Industries found out what he was doing and fired him. At the very least, he would have to find a new job to keep the money flowing back home. Which might be difficult, because, for all intents and purposes, he was now a freak and no one wanted to hire freaks.

After a few more nerve-wracking minutes of turning corners and walking down hallways, Night Vision found the door to the office. It was shut tight and appeared locked. He looked up and down the hall, realizing that Heavyweight and Blaze were not here yet.

He internally debated whether he should enter when he heard someone running in his direction nearby. Not knowing who it was, Night Vision stepped back against the wall and allowed the shadows to hide him. It was a useful trick he had learned during training, cloaking himself in darkness. It worked similar to Day's invisibility, although it was totally useless in lighted areas.

The next moment, one of the Agori (Water Tribe, by the look of him) scientists ran down the hall, looking hurried and harried. He ran right up to the office door and fumbled with a key ring before unlocking the door. Seeing his chance, Night Vision slipped out of the shadows and brought his fist directly down on the scientist's head, knocking him out instantly.

As soon as the scientist collapsed, Heavyweight and Blaze came running from opposite directions. Blaze looked tired, like she hadn't gotten much sleep, while Heavyweight looked like she had just awoken from a refreshing nap. The Vortixx's excited expression disappeared quickly, however, when she spotted the unconscious Agori scientist lying at Night Vision's feet.

Heavyweight groaned. “You didn't kill him, did you?”

“No,” said Night Vision, shaking his head. “He's still alive. Just unconscious.”

“This is no good at all,” said Heavyweight. “I was hoping we could argue for our innocence if we were caught, but now that you've actually assaulted somebody, that's going to make proving our innocence that much more difficult.”

“Sorry,” said Night Vision, scratching the back of his head. “I saw him unlock the door and knew he'd lock it again when he left. So I knocked him out before he could enter.”

“Look, we don't have much time,” said Blaze. “I heard they were going to get Aqua to put out the fire I made. That will only take a few minutes, so we have to get in there and search for the info we're looking for as quickly as possible.”

Heavyweight was still looking at Night Vision disapprovingly, but then she nodded and said, “Blaze is absolutely right. Let's go.”

The three elementalists entered the office. Night Vision closed the door behind them, making sure to take the key rings from the unconscious scientist as he did so. He locked the door and grabbed a nearby chair and put it under the doorknob to keep it from being opened. If the scientists brought in another elementalist, he doubted the chair would hold for long; nonetheless, he figured it would them at least a few extra seconds of time to search for what they were looking for.

When Night Vision turned to see the office itself, he was awestruck. It was a wide open room, much bigger than even the arena, with desks, telescreens, scientific equipment, and a variety of other things scattered everywhere in a neat yet slightly chaotic way. The florescent lights that lit the room hurt his eyes, forcing him to squint to save his vision. He saw no scientists, which meant that the plan had indeed worked.

Mega telescreens, bigger even than the ones on the buildings of New Atero, hung from the walls like paintings. All of them were currently off, but that didn't stop Night Vision from wondering what the scientists used them for. He doubted it was to watch the news.

At the other end of the room, an office partitioned off from the rest of the wing caught his eye. That had to be the personal office of the head scientist, though from a distance it was hard to tell for sure.

“Oh boy,” said Blaze as the three elementalists looked over the entire place. “Where do we look? Look at all of these desks and filing cabinets. I already knew the plan was a long shot, but I'm pretty sure we're done for now.”

Heavyweight pointed confidently at the partitioned office at the end of the room. “That one. I bet that's where Sorox does all his work. If anyone would know what the true purpose of Project Elementalist is, then it would have to be him and he would have to have files on it where he could keep an eye on them.”

“All right, then,” said Blaze. “Let's hurry. I don't know how much time we have until the guards realize we're all missing and start looking for us.”

The three elementalists weaved in and out of desks, passed strange scientific equipment Night Vision doubted he could understand even if he had an interest in science, and more than once had to tread carefully around desks overflowing with papers and half-eaten fruit to avoid knocking it over. It felt like a giant maze, although unlike a maze the end was always within their sights.

All the while, Night Vision remained aware that, with each passing minute, the chances of the scientists returning only to find the door to their office locked grew exponentially. He kept glancing at the ceiling, but even when he failed to see any security cameras taping their every move, he did not relax. Neither did Heavyweight or Blaze, by the expressions of strain and worry they wore on their faces like Kanohi masks.

Finally, the trio reached Sorox's office. Like the door to the rest of the office, it was locked and none of the keys on Night Vision's key ring could open it. So Night Vision was forced to break the lock with a shadow bolt, allowing them to push the door open and step inside. It was dark at first, but Blaze found a light switch and flipped it on, allowing all three of them to see what they had stepped into.

Night Vision's first impression of Sorox's office was that it was very cluttered. The desk was covered with files, documents, papers, and forgotten cups of half-drunk Madu juice. The walls were covered with various certificates and degrees that the head scientist had received from a variety of scientific organizations and colleges, such as the New Atero Institute of Science, for example. The room smelled strongly of rotten fruit, which Night Vision realized was due to the basket of decaying fruit next to the scientist's desk.

“Ick,” said Blaze, wrinkling her nose. “I guess Sorox doesn't care much about cleanliness, does he?

“Who cares?” said Heavyweight. “We should start looking through his papers. If anyone finds anything, say so.”

Night Vision and Blaze nodded and soon the trio spent the next several minutes in silence, looking through stacks of papers for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Though Night Vision would not admit it, he found the papers a difficult, boring read. Most of them were simply notes on the progression of the various elementalists. Even his own paper was boring, noting only that he was rapidly gaining mastery over his elemental powers and nothing more.

Whenever he glanced up at the others, they, too, appeared bored out of their minds. Even Heavyweight seemed unable to concentrate on one paper for too long. She glanced at it, make a noise of frustration, and tossed it aside and picked up the next paper only to repeat the cycle. Blaze was sitting in one of the chairs, her eyes glazed over as her eyes scanned the pages.

The papers used all kinds of weird jargon and phraseology. Night Vision barely understood half of it. It made him wonder how the scientists managed to understand this kind of technobabble. Most of it seemed like irrelevant nonsense to him, with phrases like 'specific testing of subject's ability to achieve maximum propulsion will be tested at a later period' and 'Number 11 has displayed a propensity for manipulation and subjugation of dihydrogen monoxide.' It was like reading a foreign language.

Due to the lack of a clock in the office, he had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like hours, though, even though it was probably just minutes. Night Vision eventually knocked his stack of papers to the floor, causing both Heavyweight and Blaze to start and look at him in surprise. They looked like they had just awakened from a deep slumber.

“This is ridiculous,” said Night Visin, kicking at the papers at his feet. “Do either of you understand even half of what this stuff says?”

Heavyweight shook her head. “Nope. I was hoping that maybe we'd find something written in a language we could read, but-”

“This is a waste of time,” said Night Vision. “There's no grand conspiracy or deeper motive for the Project aside from what we were told. We're just paranoid.”

“I think you have a point,” said Blaze, scratching the back of her head and yawning. “Even I find this stuff boring and I was a science student before I joined the Project.”

“Maybe we have enough time to get out of here before anyone realizes we're missing,” said Night Vision. “Although now that I think about it, it is strange that no one has found us yet. I wonder what's keeping them.”

Heavyweight put her papers down and stood up, stretching her limbs. “No idea. How big was that fire you made, Blaze?”

“Big enough to cause them trouble, but not big enough to cause any permanent damage,” Blaze answered. “Why?”

“Maybe they ran into some unexpected complications,” said Heavyweight. “Another burning Gadarian, perhaps?”

“Perhaps,” said Night Vision. “Whatever happened, I think we should get going. The faster we get out of here, the easier it will be to hide our tracks.”

“What about the scientist you knocked out?” Heavyweight said. “Won't he tell them you assaulted him?”

“I doubt it,” said Night Vision. “I knocked him out from behind. All he knows is that he was knocked out by someone. For all he knows, it could have been one of the guards. So we're probably safe.”

“Assuming, of course, that he hasn't awoken yet,” said Heavyweight. “Or told the guards that he was assaulted trying to enter the group office. Otherwise, yeah, we're perfectly safe.”

The trio left Sorox's office. Night Vision did not expect to see anyone waiting for them, but much to his surprise, there was a fourth person in the office wing, standing in the very center of all the desks and equipment. The trio stopped as soon as they spotted him. None of them said anything because frankly, none of them knew what to say.

Then Heavyweight somehow found the words and said, in a hesitant voice, “Mr. Gray? What are you doing here? And how did you get in without any of us hearing you enter?”

Even from a distance, Mr. Gray's smile was evident. “I have a variety of ways to move around the Bunker without being seen, Miss Heavyweight. It is how I have been able to keep tabs on your little plan to find out what Project Elementalist is really all about.”

“He knows,” Night Vision muttered to Heavyweight.

“Of course I know,” said Mr. Gray. “What, surprised I can hear you? Shouldn't be. Over the years I've honed my hearing to an almost De-Matoran level of sensitivity. Don't even bother planning behind my back; otherwise, I will crush you before you even realize it.”

“Big words from an old man,” said Night Vision. “And how did you even know we were here, anyway? We didn't tell anyone about our plans.”

Mr. Gray laughed. “Night Vision, in my experience, I have learned that most secrets are leaked not by those outside the circle, but by one of the secret-keepers themselves. Isn't that right, Blaze?”

Night Vision and Heavyweight looked at Blaze in surpsie and confusion. The Ta-Matoran was looking down at her feet, scratching her arm unconsciously.

An ominous feeling crept up Night Vision's spine, a feeling whose source he identified even before Heavyweight said, “What does he mean by that, Blaze? Surely he isn't implying-”

“I did it,” Blaze said. “I betrayed you guys. I wasn't sure we were doing the right thing and I was afraid we'd get hurt and get kicked out and I just couldn't take the worry that we'd be captured so I told him.”

“You did a fine job, Blaze,” said Mr. Gray. “I like to know when my employees are going to be acting in ways I don't approve. And starting a fire and rifling through the belongings of one of my other employees is certainly something I do not approve of in any way, shape, or form.”

Night Vision had always known Blaze was less certain of the plan than either he or Heavyweight. But that she had betrayed them . . . no. He didn't have time to let his feelings of angry override his critical thinking facilities. Maybe later he would deal with them.

“All right, you got us,” said Night Vision. “So what? Are you going to fire us? Have the guards haul us out of the Bunker?”

“No, no, no,” said Mr. Gray, shaking his head. “If I fired you, then there is no telling what would happen to you. There are many beings in the world that would be interested in a shadow-wielding Skrall, a gravity-controlling Vortixx, and a Matoran capable of hurling fireballs, and not all of them are benevolent. No, you three are safer here in the Bunker.”

“So you aren't going to punish us at all,” said Heavyweight, folding her arms over her chest satisfactorily. “Well, that certainly makes things less stressful.”

“I never said I would not punish you,” said Mr. Gray. “Don't be stupid. Of course I will have to punish you. You broke routine. You tried to find out what we're really up to without our permission. All of that is a punishable offense in my book. Only Blaze will get out of this unpunished because of her loyalty to me.”

Night Vision glared at Blaze. “Do you feel good about yourself now, Blaze? You don't get punished. We do. Are you smiling now?”

Blaze was not smiling. She was not even looking up at them. Night Vision appreciated that. If he had betrayed his friends, he certainly wouldn't be walking around with his head held high. She simply walked over to Mr. Gray's side, where the Turaga patted her on the back when she reached him.

“Now,” said Mr. Gray, turning his attention back to Night Vision and Heavyweight. “What shall your punishment be?”

Night Vision smirked. “Nothing too terrible, I bet. After all, you need us in order to find out how the elementalist serum works on our species. If you try anything illegal-”

“Would anyone ever know?” Mr. Gray said, although it didn't sound like a question, coming from him. “I doubt it. The other elementalists need never know about your true fates and none of the guards or scientists would ever try to tell, being as loyal to me as they are. With the kind of power I wield, I could make both of you disappear off the face of Spherus Magna as if you never existed at all.”

Though the Turaga spoke in a calm voice, Night Vision kept his guard up the entire time. “You think that you have what it takes to defeat me and Heavyweight? Even if you have Blaze at your side, I'd say the odds of you beating us are against you, elder.”

“How naive,” said Mr. Gray. “No, I believe Blaze has done enough in this matter. Blaze, I want you to leave and inform the guards that we have a break-in in the communal office, if you would.”

Blaze bowed and, without another word, made her way through the maze of desks and science equipment toward the door at the other end of the room.

That move threw Night Vision off-guard. “What? Why'd you send her away? How do you intend to capture us?”

Mr. Gray leaned against his staff, as though tired, and yawned. “I myself will incapitate you. Then the guards will drag your twitching bodies out of here to another part of the Bunker, where we will keep you under lock-and-key until we have learned as much as your bodies are willing to tell us.”

Heavyweight laughed. “You, defeat us? Sorry, Turaga. I know you fought in the Northern War as a Toa, but even if you were a good fighter, that was ages ago. I bet just talking to us has wiped out half your energy reserves.”

“Never underestimate your elders, Heavyweight,” said Mr. Gray. “Or don't you know which side I fought for during the war?”

The Turaga held up a hand and a small fire ball appear in it. “Night Vision, you remember the story of the Igniters, don't you? The League of Lords' walking furnace?”

“Yeah, I do,” said Night Vision. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I never fought for the New Atero Republic during the Northern War,” said Mr. Gray with a chuckle. “I originally worked for the League of Lords. I fought in their army, but deserted it when it became clear that victory was not to be ours. And lucky thing for me, too, when I later learned of what happened to my teammates.”

Night Vision was about to ask what the Turaga's point was when it hit him like a boulder rolling down a hill.

Pointing at Mr. Gray, Night Vision said, “You were a member of the Igniters.”

Heavyweight looked at Night Vision in surprise. “What? No way. The Igniters are all dead, aren't they?”

Mr. Gray chuckled again, except this time it like the crackling of flames. “Dead? Hardly. They were all banished beneath Aqua Magna after the War, where they will likely be for the rest of eternity. But yes, I am an Igniter, or was one, and have been doing my best to hide my true identity for the past fifty-thousand years. You two are the only ones who have ever learned my true identity. And you will be the last to learn of it, too.”

“Impossible,” said Heavyweight. “All of the Igniters were accounted for. The League of Lords even published a story in the New Atero News that stated-”

“You don't honestly believe everything the newspapers say, do you?” said Mr. Gray. Unless Night Vision's eyes were deceiving him, smoke was curling from the tips of Mr's Gray's fingers. “The League of Lords did not want to admit that one of the Igniters was still on the loose. Furthermore, they did not want to admit that they had no idea where that Igniter was. To this day, I am something of a legend in League countries, a bedtime story told to scare little children into sleep at night. 'You stay in bed tonight,' parents say to their children, 'or the Rogue Igniter will come in the middle of the night and turn you into ashes.'”

“But how?” said Night Vision. “You told me that the Igniters had had their wills and souls crushed. How did you escape with your personality in tact?”

Mr. Gray let out a long, drawn out sigh. “I am not sure, but I believe it happened shortly after we destroyed that village I spoke to you about. A Toa of Psionics attempted to breach our mental defenses in an attempt to disrupt our team efforts. Of course we melted her into a puddle of molten goo, but her efforts were not entirely in vain because it was then that I awoke.”

Night Vision laid his hand on the hilt of his sword. True, Mr. Gray was a Turaga now, but if he had been an Igniter in the past. . . .

“And, for the first time in many years, I thought,” Mr. Gray said. “It was scary, at first, because it had been so long since I last thought on my own. I tried not to think until the day we Igniters were informed that we were going to be banished beneath Aqua Magna for our crimes. That was when I realized I valued my freedom far more than my unity with my fellow Igniters, so I ran away in the middle of the night and never looked back.

“Oh, don't get the wrong idea here. The League learned of my running away well enough. They hired Dark Hunters and independent mercenaries alike to bring me back, but most of them failed to even find me. Those who did . . . well, though I was now a thinker, I still had the knowledge, ability, and general bloodthirstiness that had made the Igniters a name to be feared during the war. It would have been naive to let any of them live. I killed so many Dark Hunters that the Shadowed One eventually refused to make any more deals with the League.”

Mr. Gray talked about those days with the same kind of nostalgia that colored Grandfather's voice whenever he talked about the days of the Skrall's dominance of Bara Magna in the old days. It disturbed Night Vision, to say the least.

“So I came to the countries that were part of the New Atero Republic and hid among the inhabitants as a normal Toa of Fire,” Mr. Gray said. “This was before traveling regulations were codified, by the way. I didn't need to show papers to anyone proving who I said I was. I simply showed up and tried to fit in. Admittedly, it was difficult at first because my knowledge of this culture was extremely limited. Not to mention I didn't even know what my own name was.”

He said that last sentence with more than a hint of bitterness in his voice, as if that was the worst crime that the League had committed against him.

“But I succeeded,” said Mr. Gray. “I built a life here and gave myself a name. I became a Turaga at one point and founded Ignika Industries because, as it turned out, I had a natural talent for business. I tried to forget about my past, but I never did. And now I do not want to. The past has valuable resources in it that, if you mine it, can give you rich knowledge you cannot get from anywhere else.”

“Get to the point,” Night Vision said. “What are you getting at, you old fool?”

“I am getting at this,” said Mr. Gray. “I decided to make Project Elementalist because I saw a profit to be made off it. I wanted to create a serum that could grant anyone elemental powers. Moreover, I wanted to grant people the ability to become as strong as the Igniters. I looked to the Igniters as inspiration for the idea, you see, because as it turned out, not all of the Igniters were Toa.”

“Are you saying that the League of Lords created their own version of the elementalist serum?” Heavyweight said.

“Yes,” said Mr. Gray, nodding. “It was not nearly as powerful as mine, of course, and could only create fire users. Nor was it as stable. I learned that many of the serum's test subjects sponatenously burst into flames or died other horrible deaths. There was a reason the Igniters were only ever six.”

Night Vision remembered the burning Gadarian. “Was the burning Gadarian the result of your testing?”

Mr. Gray shrugged. “You see, I had just recently managed to receive a vial of the same serum used to give the Igniters their fire powers, thanks in no small part to a team of Dark Hunters I hired who had a reputation for doing well in that kind of work. I was eager to test it, so I picked one of my guards and injected him with it. I did not expect him to nearly destroy the Bunker and everyone in it, however; still, his body later revealed many secrets to my scientists, secrets we have used to improve our own elementalist serum.”

“That's crazy,” said Heavyweight. “What are you trying to do? Are you trying to make more Igniters to sell to the government or something?”

“Hardly,” said Mr. Gray, with more than a hint of aloofness. “As a businessman, my loyalty is first and foremost to business. I care little for the politics that hamper both the Republic and the League of Lords. I simply saw an opportunity to make a few widgets and I took it.”

“Even if the testing is inhumane?” said Night Vision. “How many other elementalists have died as a result of your testing?”

“That is not information you need to know,” said Mr. Gray, his eyes narrowing. “Besides, have you noticed a theme running among the elementalists? Most of them are losers, social outcasts, or in some way unwanted by their peers. They came here hoping to make a buck and maybe even help the society that has shunned or ignored them. The fools don't even realize that I hired them exactly because of their expendability. If they die, no one will care or come to investigate. I can do with them as they please because they are effectively invisible to the rest of society.”

Night Vision drew his sword. “So you think that because no one cares if your experiments kill innocent people, you can keep doing it?”

“Of course,” said Mr. Gray. “Society, if you haven't noticed, weeps only for its most valued members. Our society loves to boast of its diversity, about how everyone regardless of species has a say in the government, how all cultures are equal, but this is hypocritical nonsense. You in particular, Night Vision, should know this, considering how the Skrall do not have a government representative in the Council.”

Though Mr. Gray was spot on, Night Vision just grit his teeth and said nothing. He was not going to give the Turaga the satisfaction of knowing he was right.

“Would our society be outraged at my experiments, if they knew about it?” Mr. Gray said. “I doubt it. I have made sure to take only those who have already been placed in society's shadow. Social outcasts tend to have a desire to be special, to show that they aren't as worthless as society makes them out to be. If I told them that they would be the only members of their species who could use elemental powers, why, it's no surprise their resumes flooded the company mailbox.”

“So you don't care about us, either?” said Heavyweight.

“Of course not,” said Mr. Gray. “Why would I? You are nothing more than expendable resources. Insofar as you help me get one step closer to perfecting the serum that will one day make Ignika Industries more money than ever, I need you. Insofar as I care about you as individuals . . . I can always replace you, if necessary.”

Every inch of Night Vision's body was trembling with rage. He didn't even try to hide it. He could feel the shadow powers within him boiling like a cauldron, waiting to explode at any moment. He glanced at Heavyweight and saw that she was equally angry, because even though she was not trembling, her eyes burned with the same kind of hatred Night Vision felt.

“Imagine yourselves as chaff,” said Mr. Gray. “Society weeds out the wheat from the chaff. No one cares about the chaff; therefore, I can do with it as I please. It is really a-”

Mr. Gray was cut off by a fire exploding through his chest. The Turaga didn't have time to cry out as he fell forward, knocking his head against a desk in front of him as he did so. He didn't rise again.

Standing behind where Mr. Gray had stood was Blaze, smoke rising from the fingertips of her outstretched hand. Her brows were furrowed and her lips tight, as though she couldn't quite believe what she had just did.

“Blaze?” said Night Vision in surprise. “I thought you eft to get the guards. Why-”

“Because I just realized that Mr. Gray is a coldhearted moron, that's why,” Blaze said. “You guys are my only friends in the Bunker, my only friends I've ever had. If I actually handed you over to the guards, why, I don't think I could live with myself.”

Her words sounded shaky and uncertain, but Night Vision sensed a confidence under them that he had never heard in Blaze's voice before. And he appreciated it greatly.

“But this isn't good,” said Heavyweight. “I mean, I appreciate you killing Mr. Gray, Blaze, but when the guards find out what you did, I can't see our careers here lasting much longer.”

“Not unless we leave before they find out,” Blaze said. “Look, I know where the exit is. We could be long gone before anyone even knows we're not in the Bnker anymore.”

“What about the other elementalists?” Night Vision asked. “Are we just going to abandon them here to be experimented on like Rahi?”

“Would they even believe us if we told them the truth?” Heavyweight said, shaking her head. “Especially after they learned about our murder of Mr. Gray. Most likely they'd try to stop us. We don't have any choice but to do what Blaze said.”

“All right,” said Night Vision. “But before we go, I think we should destroy this office. It probably has a lot of important information in it that the scientists have been using to do all kinds of horrible experiments. It's not justice, but it should inconvenience them at least.”

Blaze shrugged. “Okay. It's not like we have anything to lose, considering what I just did to Mr. Gray.”

-

After setting the communal office on fire (leaving Mr. Gray's body inside it, of course) and locking the door, Blaze led Night Vision and Heavyweight through the Bunker with a confidence the Skrall had never seen in her before. She knew the Bunker's layout well enough to allow them to avoid the more populous areas, meaning that in no time at all (according to her) they would find the exit and be out fast. They rounded corners, climbed stairs, and passed through security doors that Blaze knew the key codes to.

Indeed, their escape was going so smoothly that for a while there Night Vision honestly believed that they would get out of the Bunker without being caught. That was why he was surprised when they ran into the six other elementalists.

Their appearance was rather sudden. Night Vision, Blaze, and Heavyweight had just climbed the last set of stairs and were running down the hallway (the last hallway before the exit, according to Blaze) when six beings stepped out of an open doorway on their left. The abrupt appearance of so many of their former allies caused the three friends to skid to a halt.

Night Vision had no trouble recognizing these elementalists, as they were ones he often trained with. They were Aqua, Day, Silence, Leaf, Boulder, and Brain. They had no weapons, but considering that all elementalists were essentially living weapons, that did not make them any less dangerous than if they had been armed to the teeth.

“What are you guys doing here?” Heavyweight said. “Isn't this the time of day you six should be in training?”

“We were about to ask you the same question,” said Aqua. “Mr. Gray ordered us to guard the exit. We were told some intruders had entered the Bunker and were attempting to escape with sensitive documents. Our job was to make sure no one got out who wasn't supposed to get out.”

Night Vision cursed internally. Mr. Gray had foreseen that he, Heavyweight, and Blaze would attempt to escape. He wondered what other contingencies the Turaga had put in place before confronting Night Vision and the others.

“I cannot help but wonder if Mr. Gray was warning us about you three,” said Leaf, stroking her large Tetakian chin. “Certainly, you three should not be roaming the halls of the Bunker like jobless hooligans. Unless Mr. Gray gave you permission to leave, of course?”

“Of course he did,” said Blaze on a nonchalant tone. “See, Mr. Gray has a very important assignment for us that we need to get done right away. So if you could let us through-”

Brain, a Kestora with eyes that always seemed to be able to see through people, pointed at them without warning and said, “She lies. I just read their minds. They killed Mr. Gray, set the communal office on fire, and are trying to escape. We must stop them.”

We're screwed, Night Vision thought.

“If that is true, then our objective is clear,” said Aqua. “We will take you three down and hand you over to the proper authorities, who will punish you as the murderers and arsonists you are. I wish we did not, but we have no choice.”

Night Vision summoned a shadow ball in his hands. Blaze's hands burst into flames. All six of the elementalists blocking their paths looked ready for battle. While Night Vision knew that both Blaze and Heavyweight were great fighters, he was equally aware that they were outnumbered two to one and that the odds of them actually winning were not nearly as high as he'd like.

Before anyone could do anything, however, Heavyweight snapped her fingers and all six of the elementalists flew into the ceiling. They smashed into it and then fell back to the floor in a battered, unconscious heap.

Night Vision looked at Heavyweight in surprise.

Heavyweight shrugged. “Why get involved in a big fight that would just delay us?”

It was such a brilliant move that Night Vision cursed himself for not thinking of it. Then again, even if he had, he wouldn't have been able to put it into action. After all, he controlled shadow, not gravity.

“That's nice,” said Blaze, glancing over her shoulder. “But we gotta get going. The guards are going to find out about Mr. Gray soon and when they do . . . let's not even think about it.”

Night Vision and Heavyweight nodded and all three of them dashed past their unconscious ex-comrades toward the exit. As they ran, the Skrall cast one last glance over his shoulder at the Bunker's walls and ceiling, wondering what was going to happen to the rest of the elementalists after this and whether Project Elementalist would continue with Mr. Gray dead and all of their research gone.

Whether it did or didn't, Night Vision understood that from now on, his life was not going to be easy. It was not going to be easy at all.
 

Review Topic

@ fishers: I don't think this story takes place in LoMN. The implication is that it takes place in the aftermath of Comic 20, in which Krekka got teleported outside an airship by Vakama (hence why the disk launcher reminded him of his fall).

 

Nice story, anyway, but I think Krekka's grammar is off. In his canon appearances, he's dumb, but he's not that dumb -- he still uses pronouns and definite articles.

You're correct about this story's placement in the canon timeline. I thought it was pretty clear, but I guess I did pick a rather obscure part of canon to write about.

 

As for Krekka's grammar: I see what you mean. I definitely exaggerated it a little. Oh well.

 

-TNTOS-

The hype train's moving at warp speed now. Better get on it while you can!

 

Anyway, this is awesome. Really interested in seeing what the story is going to be about.

 

-TNTOS-

Chapter XVI

Atuje hated killing.

He gained this distaste for killing eons ago, when he first assumed the throne of Heratone. He had been disturbed by the needless killing he witnessed under the last king's rule and so designed a society and legal system that minimized needless killing. Under Atuje's laws, murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment and serial killers were banished from the country entirely, left to fend for themselves in the lands outside of Heratone's safe borders.

In spite of that, Atuje knew that sometimes, killing was necessary. He had foreseen that much death would result from his plans to regain Wyoko and his body. He planned to kill the Almighty Ones as soon as his soul realized he no longer had a body. And he even killed a few people himself, mostly those who had stood a direct threat against him and his plans.

He regretted all of those deaths. If anyone wanted to listen, Atuje would talk about how he wished he could have avoided them, how he wished that not even a single insect had to die, but that in this case death was necessary in order to achieve a greater good. He hated it, but he had to accept it. There were some rules even he could not change, after all, and death was one of them.

This thought was how he justified draining the life energy out of the Almighty Ones, Rubella, and Cina. He intended to kill them. Take their life out of them. Send them to the great beyond. Put them to sleep. However one wanted to put it.

As the King of Life, this created great distaste in his soul, but he reminded himself, over and over again, that he was only doing what he needed to do. The Almighty Ones had caused the downfall of his entire people. Ruby and Cina had invaded his home in an attempt to undermine his plans. Leaving them alive would only give them an opportunity to try to stop him. And he simply could not allow that, no matter what.

The way their bodies contorted, the way they groaned and moaned in pain . . . all of it made his heart ache with sympathy.

But Atuje ignored it. Those who did not deserve mercy did not receive it.

“Stop it,” Wanderer said. “You're killing them. It's wrong.”

“And why should I pay attention to the words of a spirit?” Atuje said, not even casting her the briefest of glances. “I don't even know who you are or what you are doing here. If I were you, little spirit, I would go home to wherever it is you came from. You are not needed here.”

“Who are you to tell me where I'm not needed?” Wanderer said. “Stop what you're doing right now, Atuje, or I'll-”

“Or you'll what?” said Atuje. “Yell at me? Guilt trip me? You know very well there is nothing you can do, ghost, and it would be better for both of us, I believe, if we recognized that.”

Wanderer let loose a string of curse words that Atuje had never heard before, but he heeded her no worry. While cursing was not expected of a being of his class, he was not prude enough to consider her cursing an evil that needed to be immediately corrected. Besides, there was nothing he could do to shut her up even if he wanted to. She could simply watch as her friends suffered, which he thought by itself would be enough to make her shut up.

Without warning, Wanderer ceased swearing, allowing Atuje to let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at her, hoping to see despair etched onto her features, and saw that she was now pointing her spear directly at his face, with her shield over her chest, like she was ready for battle.

“What are you doing?” said Atuje. “Playing pretend? You don't look much like a fierce soldier, you know.”

Much to his confusion, Wanderer smiled. “I may not be a soldier, but don't think for a moment that means I can't stop you.”

Atuje glanced at the writhing bodies on the ground before saying, “And what makes you think you can stop me? You're a ghost. You can't even interact with the material world. You're immaterial. If I were still a spirit myself, I would be a bit more worried. As it is-”

As it was, he never got to finish his sentence, because the next moment Wanderer yelled and charged at him. He could do nothing to stop her as she flew into his body and disappeared. When she went into him, it was like being hit with a sledge hammer. He staggered backwards, losing his concentration and breaking off his life-draining technique.

He placed a hand on his heart. His body did not feel much different, but it was like extra weight had been added. He realized that she had entered his body. Of course she did. She was a ghost. Ghosts possess people. That's what they do. He should have seen that coming. He was stupid for not.

With that knowledge, Atuje also knew what she was going to try: She was going to try to possess his body, kick his soul out. If she did that, then all of his goals would be for naught. His soul would not be able to last outside his body and he had no time to prepare an alternative vessel for it. Therefore, he had to do something about her.

So Atuje closed his mind and delved deep into his mind and soul. He found himself going down, down, down, until he opened his eyes again and found himself standing in the middle of a wide open sunny field without a house or hill in sight for miles. He cracked his neck a couple of times and then looked around.

“All right, Wanderer,” said Atuje. “Come out and play. I know what you are trying to do and I won't let you do it, not without a fight.”

Receiving no answer, Atuje stepped forward, heard someone running behind him, and whirled around just in time to see Wanderer charging at him with her spear. He just barely managed to grab the weapon before its tip stabbed his face and yanked it forward, punching Wanderer in the face when she stumbled into his reach.

Wanderer staggered backwards as Atuje ripped the spear from her hands and hefted it in his own. He tried to spear her with it, but Wanderer blocked it with her shield and jumped back out of his reach.

“Who's powerless now, Atuje?” said Wanderer.

Atuje snorted and leveled the spear. “You.”

Atuje charged forward, but Wanderer jumped into the air over his head and landed behind him. She slammed her shield into his back, sending him staggering forwards, but he recovered quickly enough to swing his spear into her. The spear slammed into her gut, which sent her flying. She recovered in midair, however, and landed on her feet as Atuje held his spear above his head and sprinted toward her again.

Atuje jabbed forward with his spear. Wanderer dodged it and grabbed the spear and yanked it out of Atuje's hands. Weaponless again, Atuje was forced to back up as his opponent raised her spear and shield again.

“You are a worthy opponent, Wanderer,” said Atuje. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“Part of my training as a Spirit Wanderer,” Wanderer said. “I may not be able to fight physical beings, but as you now know, I can take on other spirits just fine.”

Atuje flashed a smirk and stepped forward. He raised his hand and willed a long, golden sword to exist in his hands. He hefted the sword, testing its weight, and swung it a few times before pointing it at Wanderer.

“Let's even the battlefield a bit,” said Atuje. “Perhaps you received training from your elders, but I received my combat training from the Heratonian Elite Guard, the best of the best of the best from the Heratonian army. I will crush you like an ant.”

“Funny,” said Wanderer. “If you're so great, how come you haven't defeated me yet?”

Atuje teleported and appeared behind Wanderer, swinging his sword at her neck. Wanderer rolled forward, successfully avoiding his attack, and was back on her feet in an instant. She hurled her shield at him like a disk, which Atuje knocked it out of the air before it hit him. This turned out to be a mistake, however, because in the few seconds he was distracted by the shield, Wanderer dashed over and slammed him in the side of the head with her spear.

Stars flashed in Atuje's eyes as he went careening away, his face burning with pain. His vision cleared just in time to see the the tip of Wanderer's spear coming directly at his face. His well-trained reflexes kicked in and Atuje dodged it and slashed at Wanderer's body, which was now very close to him.

The blow was a direct hit. His sword cut through her armor and caused her to yelp in pain before she jumped away, out of the reach of his blade. She felt the wound on her chest as Atuje swung his sword, his eyes never leaving her.

“Ow,” she said. “Well, you got one lucky shot.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” Atuje replied. “Your pitiful reflexes and thin armor did, however.”

Wanderer grit her teeth. “Then take this.”

She hurled her spear at Atuje like a javelin. Before Atuje could act, Wanderer disappeared and reappeared behind him. She wrapped her arms around his chest and held him with surprising strength.

“What are you doing?” Atuje said. “Let go of me this instant.”

“No,” said Wanderer into his ear. “See you in Karzahni.”

Atuje could only watch in horror as the spear flew into his stomach. When it struck, it felt less like he had been stabbed with a spear and more like he had had part of his very soul ripped away. He let out a long, loud cry of pain and barely registered that behind him, Wanderer was letting out a similar cry of agony.

Summoning all his will power, Atuje shook off Wanderer's arms and pushed her off his back. He then ripped the spear out of his stomach and watched as a white gas-like substance – the essence of his very soul – leaked out from the open wound. He waved his hand back and forth over it frantically, but it did nothing to even stem the wound, much less heal it.

With a growl, Atuje whirled around and pointed the spear at Wanderer before he noticed something. She, too, had a spear-shaped hole in her stomach, the same white gas pouring from his body leaking out of her wound like smoke from a factory. He realized (with less satisfaction than he should have) that she was dying.

“So,” said Atuje, breathing in and out hard. “I see what your plan was. You knew all along you would die if you tried to fight me. You know that you couldn't beat me. You were always intending to sacrifice yourself in order to stop me.”

Wanderer nodded, an action that looked like it took every ounce of her willpower to do. “Yep. Part of being a Wanderer, after all, is knowing when my time has come. And after thousands of years helping people and fixing problems, I figure it's time for the next Spirit Wanderer to step up.”

“No matter,” said Atuje as he threw the spear aside. “I will . . . I will survive. I always have. If the Almighty Ones could not defeat me, then how could you-”

His heart suddenly felt like it tried to jump out of his chest and he immediately put his hand over it. No. Not here. Not now. Anywhere else, at any other time. Please.

Wanderer smirked and pointed at his chest. “Your body isn't exactly the biggest fan of your spirit, is it? No, of course not. Your body is going to reject your spirit soon enough, Atuje. And you will lose, no matter how many people you kill or step on.”

Atuje ball his hands into fists and said, “Shut up, female. You know nothing. Your threats are vain and meaningless. Vanity, that is what you are, that is what you speak.”

“Call me what you will, but that doesn't change the facts,” said Wanderer. “Face it, Atuje. You. Lost.”

Atuje reached down and seized Wanderer by the neck. He pulled her face up to his and said, “I am not going to die. You, however, are.”

With that, he hurled the Spirit Wanderer into the big blue sky above them. She flew until she was nothing more than a tiny pinprick in the sky. And when he next blinked, he suddenly found himself lying on the ground in Wyoko, a burning pain in his abdomen, exactly where his soul had been stabbed.

Atuje hastily stood up and saw Ruby, Cina, and the Almighty Ones already back on their feet. They were covered in dirt and grass from lying on the ground, but it looked as though their life energy was nearly restored.

Even in his weakened state, Atuje knew he could probably still beat Ruby and Cina. But the Almighty Ones?

No. He had to get out of there. He had to return to Castle Kra, where his Echoes were, and begin the last phase of his plan. He needed more power and he knew exactly how to get it.

“All right, Atuje,” said Ruby, holding out a hand. “If you will just come with us quietly, we won't be forced to hurt you. It's all over.”

“No,” Atuje said. “It's not over, not yet. My plan is not yet complete. It will only be over when I say it is over, not before.”

He unleashed a bolt of black lightning into the ground at their feet. The Almighty Ones summoned a barrier around them, Ruby, and Cina, protecting them from the explosion that sent clods of dirt into the air. Atuje quickly teleported while they were distracted, hoping against hope that his minions had the Toa ready.

Because if they did not . . . he did not even want to think about that.
 

Review Topic

Living sand? Did it escape from Artidax?

Maybe. I'm not sure. I didn't give that part very much thought.

 

-TNTOS-

Chapter XV

Kiriah was absolutely certain she was going to die. She could feel the poison in her system eating her from the inside, burning through her veins, turning her organs inside out. It was like being ripped in half, except she was aware of it the entire time. She knew it was only a matter of time before her life finally ended, yet she stubbornly held on anyway.

I . . . must . . . live, Kiriah thought.

Of course, that was much easier said than done. Her limbs had locked up and her chest was on fire. She could barely think, much less concentrate on her will to live. It would be easier, far easier, to let the darkness claim her.

But she knew she couldn't. She had a world to save. Her world. Her friends. She still had so much to live for, so much to do. She had to keep going. The only question was, how?

That was when she remembered the red potion. If the green potion was poison, could the red potion be a cure?

There was no way to know. Possibly both potions were poisonous. Maybe death only came when you drank both poisons. Maybe this entire scenario was designed as a no-win situation, in which the only possible outcomes were a quick death or a slow death.

But she had to try. She had to get the red potion, had to at least try it. At this point, she had nothing to lose.

Kiriah used all of her willpower to force her limbs to move, to let her sit up. Whatever the poison was, it seemed to be trying to paralyze her nervous system. Moving her limbs was like trying to move ten ton blocks of protosteel and just as fun.

Then something miraculous happened. She managed to move one finger on her right hand, then another, and soon (although it felt agonizingly slow to her) her entire right hand and arm could move. The same happened to her left arm, allowing her to push herself into a precarious sitting position, bringing her face level with the table.

The red potion sat there on the table, exactly opposite the green potion. She reached over with one hand and wrapped her fingers around the potion's cool glass vial. She slowly brought the red potion up to her mouth, but her arm was erratic. Sometimes it froze up, sometimes it jerked around (almost causing her to drop it once), and every time it acted up, Kiriah was afraid her time had come.

Once her vision even went totally dark, almost causing her to panic. But then her vision cleared a second later and she succeeded in bringing the red potion up to her lips. She allowed the bitter-tasting potion to enter her system, to cleanse her. Or she hoped it would, anyway. After all, she didn't know for sure that this potion could cure her.

When she emptied the entire thing, she dropped the vial. It shattered into countless pieces upon contact with the floor, while Kiriah herself leaned against the table. Her every continued heartbeat both scared and excited her.

Please . . . please let it work . . . I don't want to die, not yet. . . .

Then a sensation passed over her body like a fresh autumnal breeze. She blinked and yawned, suddenly feeling quite sleepy, but she didn't allow herself the luxury of sleep. She could feel the warmth inside her body growing stronger and stronger, slowly relaxing her previously paralyzed limbs and making her feel much stronger.

Carefully, Kiriah stood up, using the table for support. Her body seemed to want to work again. Her legs were stiff, but were quickly becoming looser and soon she was swinging them back and forth to test them. Even her chest felt better; in fact, it was no longer bleeding. That potion really had been a cure.

She leaned against the table for several seconds, letting the potion do its work. When she felt good enough to walk more than a few feet, she made her way to the end of the hall. As she had thought, the exit was no longer blocked and she soon passed through it, walking down the stairs to the next floor.

As she walked down the winding staircase, her audio receptors picked up sounds from up ahead. They grew louder and louder the further she walked until all she could hear was the blowing of trumpets, the banging of drums, and the sonorous noise of a piano. The music instantly put Kiriah on her guard, not because she distrusted music, but because she knew that Mendos most likely had a sinister reason for having a band playing.

Then Kiriah emerged onto the next floor and looked around at her new surroundings.

She stood on a long metal spoke that jutted out over what appeared to be an arena below, with two similar spokes about a couple dozen feet away from hers. A long metal slide stretched from the tip of her spoke to the sandy floor of the arena. The room itself was large and wide open, but for the life of her she could not spot any bands, even though the music was as loud as ever (if not louder).

That was when she noticed a pair of loudspeakers hanging from the ceiling. She instantly recognized them for what they were because they had similar loudspeakers back in the Temple of the Time Stone back home in New Tanjo Nui. The music was blasting from the loudspeakers, but for the life of her Kiriah could not figure out what the music was supposed to accomplish.

As far as she could tell, there was no way forward except to go down the slide. Maybe she'd reached the end already. If so, that made her wonder where Jet and Night were. If she was the first here, then maybe that meant she would be the only one here.

Just as depression began creeping up Kiriah's spine, a being in black armor emerged from the doorway on the right spoke. It was Jetrupi, who despite the splash of blood his chest (which didn't appear to be his own, because he didn't look wounded) seemed just fine. He was looking around the wide-open room in astonishment, but as soon as he spotted Kiriah he waved at her and she waved back. Neither of them said anything because the music drowned out every other noise in the room.

On her left, Night emerged from the left spoke. Like Jet, he looked like he'd gotten into a fight, with dented armor and cuts across his face and arms. Still, at least he was alive and, while Kiriah didn't like him as much as Jet, she was quite grateful for that.

Much to her surprise, however, Night wasn't alone. A being in white robes stepped out of the doorway after him, a being who Kiriah instantly recognized as Masqouth. Like Night, he too, appeared to have been in battle, but she didn't spend a lot of time looking at him in any great detail.

Instead, she pointed at him and shouted, as loudly as she could, “Night, watch out! Masqouth's-”

Her voice was drowned out by the sudden blaring of the speakers, causing all four of them to cringe at the noise. The next moment, a portion of the ceiling slid away and a being sitting in a chair attached to a small platform slowly descended from the hole until she was at a level where they could all see her.

The being was tall and lanky, with a large round head like a boulder. She wore a loose-fitting black poncho that covered her whole body except for her spidery hands and thin legs. Her eyes were as bright and eery as lanterns on a foggy night and her entire form was shivering with excitement.

The being pressed a button on the chair's arms and the music suddenly shut off.

“How amazing,” the being said, rubbing her hands together eagerly. “All four of you made it out of the Maze alive. I cannot believe it. This is a first. I have even recorded this in my diary for posterity.”

Though the being's appearance was unfamiliar to Kiriah, she had no trouble recognizing the voice, even though it was no longer filtered through a speaker.

“Mendos,” Night said, brandishing his sword. “I see you've finally decided to stop hiding behind a speaker and show yourself. Come down from your dumb chair and fight us like a true warrior.”

Mendos laughed. “Why should I? Look at this frail excuse for a body. If I tried to fight you, I'd probably crumble to dust if you poked me hard enough. No, I'm quite happy where I am, thank you very much.”

“Then why show yourself at all?” Night said. “If you are not going to give us an opportunity to fight you, then what's your game?”

Mendos put the tips of her fingers together, as if considering his question. A smile slowly spread across her face as she said, “Well, perhaps I can reward you with that knowledge. After all, you are the first entrants to have made it out of the Maze with all members of your party alive. If I were you, I would be planning a celebration.”

“A celebration?” Masqouth said. “What kind of celebration?”

“We're not celebrating anything, Masqouth,” Night said. “Mendos is just trying to throw us off.”

“How rude,” said Mendos. “I am not trying to throw anyone off. After everything you've been through, I would be a horrible being to trick you.”

Kiriah couldn't trust anyone who named herself after a trickster goddess. At this point, it would be better to take Mendos's thoughts straight from her head, rather than letting her speak them aloud. It would violate Kiriah's own policy of not reading other peoples' minds without their permission, but at this point she was pretty certain that blindly following that policy would not help her or her friends.

She reached out with her mind to touch Mendos's, but without warning a wall shot up on the platform, blocking Kiriah's view of the trickster.

“Now, now, Kiriah,” said Mendos's voice from behind the wall, “there's no need to try to read my mind. If I understand it correctly, you can't read the minds of other beings if something is standing between you and that individual, yes? I believe this wall should do the trick just fine.”

“What are you trying to hide, Mendos?” Kiriah said.

“I simply value my privacy,” said Mendos. “Is that such a difficult concept for you to understand, Kiriah? I suppose for a Toa of Psionics it would be. Toa like you simply have no sense of boundaries, but I digress.”

Kiriah bit her lower lip, but didn't look away.

“Now that we've established some boundaries, let's begin the story, shall we?” said Mendos. “Where to start, where to start . . . ah, I know.”

Mendos clapped her hands and a telescreen lowered from the ceiling. Its blank screen flickered on, revealing the image of a large city that sprawled in every direction for miles. The words 'City of Nenas' were captioned below it in large print.

“This is my home,” said Mendos. “Nenas. The capital of the Skrall Empire.”

“Skrall Empire?” Jetrupi said. “That's impossible. There's no such thing.”

“Of course there is,” said Mendos. “It was established eons ago when the Skrall conquered the Bara Magna region, many years after the Shattering. Admittedly, it did run into some troubles when the Great Giants came from the sky and reformed Spherus Magna, but it recovered from those problems quickly and lasted for a great many years afterward. Those were the days.”

Mendos sounded so wistful that Kiriah almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

“Unfortunately, a variety of factors – including corruption and incompetence on the part of our leaders – caused the Empire to weaken,” Mendos continued. “Then a new empire arose in the south, one comprised of the few Agori and Gadarian nations that had not yet been conquered by the Empire. Our enemies did not have enough manpower to mount a full-scale invasion of the Empire, so they instead unleashed a virus discovered in a hidden Great Beings lab onto us.”

“So everyone died?” Night said.

“Not everyone,” Mendos said. “Some of us mutated. Take me, for example. Once I was the most beautiful member of the Sisters of the Skrall throughout the entire Empire. But now, I look like this . . . this thing. Ugh.”

“Then what about the Maze?” said Jet, pointing back at the doorway from which he had emerged. “Who built it? Seems like an odd thing to have in a skyscraper.”

“It was originally the most popular show in the Empire,” Mendos said. “Every week, three Skrall volunteers would enter the Maze and try to escape alive. It was broadcast on all Skrall telescreen stations across the entire Empire. I myself worked as a producer on it for the entirety of its run.”

“Death as a form of entertainment,” said Jetrupi, shaking his head. “Why am I not surprised that a Skrall society would make something like this?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Night said, glaring at Jet from his spoke.

“It clearly means he never saw an episode of 'Enter the Maze,' as the show was called during its run,” Mendos said. “Each episode was as thrilling as the last. Take the third season's seventh episode, for example, which featured the hardy Stronius, who made it through the entire Maze with a broken arm and half a rusted sword. The best episode of the series, if I do say so myself.”

“So what, were we on your twisted show?” said Night. “Were people sitting in their homes, watching with bated breath as we all nearly died in a dozen horrible ways?”

“Of course not,” Mendos said. “I mean, that's a good idea, but didn't you hear what I said earlier? Everyone is either dead or horribly mutated, like me. There's not much of an audience for this show anymore. Even the Agori and Gadarians do not care much for it. Alas, the only person watching this episode was me, although I am certain that if the Skrall Empire was still going strong, the ratings for this episode would have gone through the roof.”

“Then why did you put us through the maze at all?” Jet said. “If not for the entertainment of millions of Skrall, then what was the point?”

“I was bored,” said Mendos simply. “Bored straight out of my abnormally large head. When I saw three new people – including, to my surprise, a Skrall – turn up on my rooftop and enter my Maze, well, I couldn't just let you all go. It was even better when Masqouth here entered. If the show was still on air, why, I think this might just be the best episode of the entire series, topping Stronius's episode by far. You'd all be celebrities and would attain great honor for your bravery and wits in navigating the Maze.”

“Honor?” Night said. “There's nothing honorable about it. It's a forced situation. True honor is attained only from battle. This is not battle. This is bad entertainment.”

Mendos shrugged. “Whatever you say. I like to think positive, myself.”

“Okay, then,” said Jet, folding his arms. “Well, we won. All of us survived. Will you let us go now?”

“Don't be silly,” said Mendos with a laugh. “I still have one last trick up my sleeve. Because of this unprecedented event, I have decided that you all deserve one last game. Have fun playing in the sand.

Without warning, the spokes inclined and all four of the participants slid uncontrollably down the metal slides. They shot out from the bottom of the slide and rolled across the sand, but soon everyone recovered and was back on their feet. Kiriah looked back just in time to see the slides rise out of the pit, which didn't make her feel any better about their current situation.

“This is the best one yet,” said Mendos's voice above them. “It will be so fun.”

“Fun?” said Masqouth. “I like fun. When does the fun start?”

Mendos's voice took on a more gleeful tone. “It starts . . . now.”

Something like ants started crawling up Kiriah's legs. At least, she thought it might be ants. But when she looked down at her legs, she was shocked to see the sand itself dragging her into it. She struggled to pull her legs out of it, but the sand was too strong. A quick glanced at her friends told her that they, too, were being dragged into the sand and having about as much luck as she was in escaping.

“This is the Pit of Living Sand,” said Mendos. “Only one person has ever successfully escaped the Pit of Living Sand. And he is not any of you.”
 

Review Topic

Great Story! I thoroughly enjoyed it!        

Will you be writing more

Thanks .

 

You can find the sequel here. It's currently still being posted, but there are plenty of chapters for you to read already.

 

-TNTOS-

Chapter XIV

Ten years ago. . . .

After the burning Gadarian incident, the Bunker was never quite the same. Even when a repair crew came down into the Bunker to fix the damage caused by the burning Gadarian (which, from what little Night Vision had seen, was quite extensive), there was always this lingering feeling of ominousness, as though the ghost of that Gadarian still haunted the Bunker.

The official story the elementalists received was that the burning man had been a new recruit for Project Elementalist whose body reacted negatively to the elementalist serum. The new recruit was also revealed to have been a spy from a rival company seeking to shut down the Project, which none of the elementalists could confirm because the burning Gadarian's body was disposed of and his name withheld for 'security reasons,' as the II scientists put it.

That story raised a lot of questions in Night Vision's mind, the first and foremost being why II had tried to make another fire elementalist. They already had Blaze. For what purpose could another fire elementalist have served?

When he brought up this concern to Blaze and Heavyweight during lunch, a week after the burning man's attack, he found that they agreed with him. Heavyweight in particular seemed convinced that there was more to this story than met the eye. She explained that she had heard stories about the II scientists performing gruesome experiments on certain subjects and disposing of the evidence before anyone could find it.

Blaze was a bit less paranoid, suggesting that the scientists may have been trying to see how Gadarian reacted to the fire version of the serum. Nonetheless, she also shared her confusion at the scientists' secrecy, even though she warned them about the dangers of speaking these thoughts aloud.

Her warnings were based in fact. A couple of days after the burning Gadarian incident, Mute tried to ask Sorox about it. That simple question earned her a week in the Room and when she came out, she was far less chatty than usual and never brought up the subject again. That was not necessarily a bad thing, as Night Vision had just barely managed to tolerate her constant talk.

At first, the other elementalists seemed less disturbed by that punishment than he, Blaze, and Heavyweight were. Then at mealtimes, Night Vision heard the others muttering and whispering about the unfairness of Mute's punishment, which was always quickly hushed whenever a scientist or guard was within earshot.

But it wasn't until a week after that that the scientists tried to quell the discontent. And it wasn't even the scientists but Mr. Gray himself.

It was at lunchtime, when all the elementalists were gathered in the dining room. As usual, Night Vision sat with Heavyweight and Blaze, the Skrall trying to explain to them what chewing food was like because Vortixx and Matoran apparently did not eat with their mouths (which he found strange, to say the least). With the clinking of silverware against plates and bowls, the slurping of water, and the general din of sixteen beings of various species all talking at once, none of them noticed the arrival of Mr. Gray until a loud bullhorn directed their attention to the Turaga.

Mr. Gray stood in front of the door on the left side of the room. On either side of him stood two guards, a couple of Toa of Ice based on their white armor. One of them held a bullhorn, looking quite satisfied at having drawn everyone's attention to his boss.

“Hello, elementalists,” said Mr. Gray, smiling just like Grandfather. “I see you're enjoying lunch. After all of the strenuous physical tests you undergo, it is important that you keep your energy up with the well-balanced, scientifically sound meals provided by the scientists working on the Project. I wish I could join you, but as a busy Turaga I unfortunately don't have the time for it, you understand.”

His light and conversational tone made Night Vision suspicious. He exchanged looks with Heavyweight and Blaze. Heavyweight looked as suspicious as he felt, while Blaze's expression was unreadable.

“I have heard about the burning Gadarian's attack on the Bunker,” Mr. Gray said. “A terrible tragedy, one that no doubt has left many of you questioning your own safety in the Bunker. After all, the burning man did kill five scientists and nearly killed two elementalists. In addition, he caused millions of widgets worth of property damage that is still under repair even two weeks after the fact. I can understand why some of you wish to leave the Project and find someplace safer to work.”

Heavyweight was nodding. So were several other elementalists. These were common concerns that many elementalists had spoken about, so it was nice to hear Mr. Gray acknowledging them. That also made Night Vision wonder what Mr. Gray was going to say next.

“But I implore you all to remain with Ignika Industries,” Mr. Gray said. “The safety of our employees is our paramount concern. We have done everything in our power to ensure that another burning Gadarian incident never happens again. All that we ask is that you do not ask questions whose answers you do not need to know. That is all.”

Night Vision felt someone tugging at his arm and look to his right. It was Heavyweight, who wore an expression that quite plainly said, Uh oh.

“I know many of you have questions and concerns about the Project, but rest assured that you have nothing to worry about,” Mr. Gray said. “Your job is not to worry about things like security and safety, but to help us understand the full effects that the elementalist serum has on the average person's body. We will handle the rest.”

Again, people were nodding. Again, Night Vision was not convinced.

“If any of you have any more concerns, feel free to speak with the scientists about them,” said Mr. Gray. “If for any reason they cannot address your concerns themselves, then they will take them directly to me and I will make sure to take a little time out of my busy schedule to address them personally. Good day to you all and enjoy your lunch.”

With that, Mr. Gray and his two bodyguards left. As soon as they did, the elementalists returned to their eating and talking. Night Vision turned back to Heavyweight and Blaze and said, “What do you two think?”

“What is there to say?” said Blaze with a shrug. “He just said that they were going to make things safer and that we don't have to worry about it. What's to think about that?”

“Then you were clearly not listening,” said Heavyweight, tapping the table with her fingers. “He's worried we'll stumble onto the truth. The truth being, of course, that Project Elementalist has a deeper purpose than merely democratizing elemental powers.”

“I don't know,” said Blaze. “Are you sure you weren't reading things into his speech that he didn't intend?”

“Come on, Blaze,” said Heavyweight. “Surely you've noticed how the scientists and guards have been treating us like we're all ticking time bombs. That Mr. Gray explicitly told us not to ask questions is proof enough that they're doing something they don't want us to know about.”

“I'm with Heavyweight on this one,” said Night Vision as he picked at his food with his fork. “The entire thing is still fishy to me. There's more going on than we know and Mr. Gray isn't telling us what.”

“Well . . .” Blaze looked around conspiratorially for a moment before leaning in close. “A couple of days ago, after one of those tests they put us through, I overheard the two scientists who had been tracking my progress talking to each other. I didn't catch the whole conversation, but I did hear one of them say that he was glad that I was 'not like Burner,' while the other guy said that he thought the whole Project was 'doomed to begin with.'”

“Who's Burner?” Heavyweight said.

Blaze shrugged. “No idea. All I can figure is that they were afraid I might lose control of my powers.”

“They think we all might,” said Night Vision. “It's why security is tightened. Their safety is their top priority. The rest of us . . . well, I think you know where they think we should go.”

“You know what we need to do?” said Heavyweight. “We need to start investigating.”

“None of us are detectives, though,” said Night Vision.

Heavyweight punched his shoulder and said, “You know what I mean. We have to find out what the real purpose behind Project Elementalist is.”

“How do we do that?” Blaze said.

Heavyweight leaned forward, like she didn't want anyone else to hear what she was about to say, and said, in a low voice, “We break into the scientists' main office, of course. Where they keep all their records about the Project and, more importantly, us.”

Night Vision put his fork down and looked at her. “And we do that, how? Elementalists aren't allowed to go into the main office. We aren't even allowed to walk around the Bunker wherever we please.”

Heavyweight smiled a wicked grin. “I've already got a plan. If it works, we'll know for sure just what the Project is really for and what's really going on here. You in?”

Night Vision exchanged a look with Blaze. The Ta-Matoran looked very much like she wanted to not get into trouble, but she nodded anyway and so did Night Vision.

“All right,” said Heavyweight. She lowered her voice again and said, “Now listen, here's what we're going to have to do. . . .”
 

-

Present day. . . .

Teaming up with Masqouth seemed like a smart move at the time. After all, Night lacked the ability to dimension-hop, whereas Masqouth did. And Night had to admit (with great reluctance) that Masqouth was a good fighter and his knowledge of Atuje's powers and abilities would surely come in handy soon. As a Skrall, Night had been taught that having allies was the key to success in any battle, which meant his alliance with Masqouth was a smart move on his part.

What made Night regret their alliance was not the knowledge that Masqouth had played a direct role in manipulating his species into starting a war they couldn't win, nor that one of Masqouth's friends had murdered Heavyweight with Masqouth's tacit approval. He wasn't even upset about Masqouth's naivety, necessarily.

What caused him to wonder if he could get away with stabbing Masqouth in the face was Masqouth's unrelenting chatter. For such a powerful and influential figure, Masqouth seemed incapable of controlling his mouth. He droned on and on about subjects Night didn't really care about, such as a play he had seen recently, while occasionally dropping an insult (often a childish one that he seemed to think was scathing) toward Atuje. In particular, Masqouth was describing in detail an encounter he had had with a small homeless Ussal crab, who he of course returned to its rightful master.

“. . . And then he said, 'You know what, Masqouth? You're a pretty cool guy,'” Masqouth said, his voice taking on a slightly deeper tone in imitation of the Skakdi. “He were so happy to have his pet Ussal back that he tried to give me all his money as a reward. He was a rather poor Skakdi, of course, so I had to decline, but I did tell my followers – I have many, if you didn't know – to give him some money. And my how charitable my followers are. I bet they must have thrown him a hundred widgets, maybe even more, and I don't doubt that he's right now living in a nice apartment and eating out at fancy restaurants even as we speak.”

“Or,” said Night, unable to keep his thoughts to himself any longer, “he's fighting and dying in a war that you started. Just a possibility.”

That wiped the smile off Masqouth's face real quick. A cross frown appeared on his face before it was replaced by a sad frown. “Oh. Right. I was just trying to make conversation.”

Night glanced at Masqouth in amazement. “You were trying to kill me five minutes ago. What makes you think I'd want to talk?”

“I don't like silence,” Masqouth said. “I like talking to people. Or being in wide open places with lots of people. If I don't have someone to talk to I go crazy.”

Night shook his head. “Going on and on about pointless subjects makes you look crazier than if you'd kept silent, you know.”

Masqouth folded his arms across his chest and pouted. “Hey, that's not-”

He never got to finish that sentence because the floor fell out beneath them. The two fell screaming until they landed on the bottom of the pit, which, being as smooth and hard as the floor, was not a particularly soft place to fall on. Night rubbed his behind as he looked around at the pit they had fallen into, wondering what happened.

“Ow,” said Masqouth, sitting up and shaking his head. “What happened?”

“Looks like we walked straight into a trap,” said Night. “The walls are too smooth to climb, but with your mask we ought to get out of here easily.”

“Of course,” said Masqouth, hopping to his feet. “If this is the best that Mendos can come up with, then we'll be out of here in no time.”

Masqouth's Kanohi changed shape once again, this time into the Mask of Flight. “Hold on tight. We're going to go fast, so I don't want you falling off or anything.”

Reluctantly, Night grabbed onto Masqouth's shoulders. As soon as the Skrall was certain he was secure, Masqouth shot into the air toward the pit's opening. Night took this moment to think about how easy this particular death trap was. He found that he was actually disappointed. It looked like Mendos had merely exaggerated the dangerousness of this floor because he and Masqouth were certainly not in any-

The only warning he got of the barrier was the low hum of electricity that buzzed in his ears. Before he had time to realize what that meant, an electrical jolt shocked him and Masqouth. Masqouth cried out in surprise as the two fell back to the bottom of the pit, where they crashed in a confused heap of limbs. Night managed to untangle himself from Masqouth and looked up at the top of the pit just in time to see the faint outline of an electrical net fading fast.

“What was that?” said Masqouth, rubbing the top of his head.

“There must be an electrical barrier covering the pit's opening,” said Night. “It's invisible, but it's obviously there.”

Masqouth scrambled to his feet and glared at the top of the pit. “Then how do we get out of here?”

“Easy,” said Night. “We find a way to discharge the electric net. Surely you must have some kind of mask power that can do that, right?”

Masqouth's answer was drowned out by the sound grinding gears from somewhere underneath their feet. The next moment, a portion of the wall on the other end of the pit slid aside and a creature crawled out of it. The creature resembled a rock steed, although it appeared to lack back legs. Not that inhibited its movement much, however, because its muscular forelegs allowed it to move easily across the smooth stone floor.

Then Night noticed that the lizard did in fact have back legs. Or, rather, back wheels. The wheels rolled along the floor, making clicking and clattering sounds like the wheeled vehicles that could be found on the streets of New Atero. That was how Night knew what the beast was and how he knew that Mendos hadn't been exaggerating the deadliness of this level of the Maze.

“Ooo, what is that?” said Masqouth, pointing at the Rahi with interest. “I've never seen something like that before.”

“It's a roller lizard,” said Night as he held up his sword and shield defensively. “They're not particularly common, but they are extremely effective hunters. I've faced a few in the past and let me tell you that they are not something you can scare with bright lights and sounds.”

“So it's not friendly?” Masqouth said.

Night shot him an irritable look. “Of course it's not. They hunt Kikanalo for fun. They're actually known for torturing their prey before finishing them off.”

“Okay,” said Masqouth. “What are we going to do about it?”

“I'll distract it, while you use your powers to get rid of that electric net,” said Night, pointing at the pit's opening with his sword. “I have experience fighting these things, so I should be able to keep it busy for a while.”

Masqouth gave him the thumbs up. “I can already think of a mask that should do the trick. I just need time.”

Night nodded and stepped forward to face the roller lizard. The Rahi had not moved from its position at the other end of the pit. Like most roller lizards, its beady eyes were analyzing its opponents before moving into battle. Not that analyzing him would help the roller lizard one bit. This would be a quick fight.

To make it quicker, Night pulled the trigger on his sword, causing it to burst into flames. He swung it back and forth menacingly, but to the roller lizard's credit it did not seem disturbed by this. It simply let out a deep growl that sent shivers up Night's spine and jumped into the air. It tried to land on Night, but he jumped out of the way just in time and the roller lizard simply crashed onto the floor and rolled away with the impact before turning around to face Night again.

“Ooo!” said Masqouth from somewhere nearby. “I didn't know roller lizards could jump.”

“They can't,” said Night, swinging his sword back and forth. “Normally, at least. This one is different.”

The roller lizard dashed forward and Night ran at it. He swung his flaming sword at the Rahi, but it swerved out of the way just in time and slammed his abdomen with its tail as it passed, knocking him flat off his feet. He landed on his back with a crash, but managed to roll back to his feet instantly, though he had to turn off his sword's fire briefly due to the heat getting to him.

The roller lizard turned around and charged at him again. This time, Night fired off a couple of shadow bolts at it. It managed to avoid the first one, but the second shadow bolt hit it directly in the face, causing it to let out an angry roar. That didn't stop it completely, though, so Night was force to leap over the incoming Rahi as it barreled past him.

Landing on his feet, Night whirled around and fired off a dozen shadow bolts at the roller lizard's back. The roller lizard dodged them, however, and jumped again. This time, it was fast enough to land near Night and tackle him. He tried to shove it off, but the lizard held him tight despite its lack of back legs and it was all he could do to keep the roller lizard from ripping his face off his head.

“Masqouth,” Night said, holding back the roller lizard's head with both of his hands. “What's taking you so long to-”

An explosion of electricity above him answered his question. The sudden explosion caused the roller lizard to look up in astonishment, giving Night the opportunity to shove the Rahi off his body. Then he jumped to his feet and slammed the flat of his still-hot blade against the roller lizard's face, causing it to screech in pain and retreat to the other side of the pit in the blink of an eye.

A second later, Masqouth appeared and said, “Destroyed the net. Let's go before Mendos tries to fix it.”

Night nodded and grabbed onto Masqouth's shoulders and the next moment they were flying again. As they flew, however, the roller lizard let out a screech and launched itself into the air at them. It almost succeeded in grabbing them, but Night lashed out with a kick, knocking the Rahi out of the air and back into the pit, where it crashed with a screech of pain.

A moment later, Night and Masqouth landed on the edge of the pit's mouth. Night let go of Masqouth's shoulders and glanced down into the pit. The roller lizard didn't look any worse the wear for having fallen so far. It was glaring at him like it thought it could kill him with mean looks alone.

Masqouth was dusting off his robes, saying as he did so, “Well, that was random. Wonder why the roller lizard attacked us like that.”

Night gave Masqouth an incredulous look. “It was probably trained that way by Mendos. Remember, this floor is the death floor.”

“Oh yeah,” said Masqouth, snapping his fingers. “Right, right. I bet it gets hungry down there, though, and lonely.”

“It's not our problem,” said Night, turning away from the pit. “By the way, how did you destroy the electrical net?”

Masqouth tapped his mask and grinned. “Mask of Lightning. A simple lightning bolt in the right place completely short-circuited it. Simple, but fun.”

“Handy,” Night said. “Anyway, let's keep going. If Mendos was telling the truth earlier, then we won't have to be inside this Mata-Nui-forsaken Maze anymore. Finally.”

 

Review Topic

I think I made one poll once, many year ago, but what the poll was about, I don't remember. And I think I may have made it because someone asked me to, not because I wanted to.

 

All I know is that polls are probably my least favorite and least used PM perk. I've never really enjoyed or used them much.

 

-TNTOS-

I really like this. The dynamic between the two Great Beings is really well done, but some of the casual dialogue seems a bit out of place ("And we both know how well that turned out"; "All right. What do you suggest we do?")

 

This is a fun little series you've written. I typically don't enjoy short stories, but you've impressed me.

Thanks .

 

Greg Farshtey first stated at http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/6596-update-920-disguised-great-being-revealed/ "The Great Being was already named Velika before inhabiting the Matoran body." Then, in chat, he contradicted himself: "He assumed it [the name] as a Matoran." So we'll never know whether the name in this story is valid.

 

I'm sad to see this series end. You could produce infinitely many flash fictions like these, because there's so much character from which to draw in Bionicle.

*Shrugs* If Greg's not sure, then I don't see any reason to worry about it. Nor would I change it if Greg ever does give a final answer on the question. Although I tried to adhere as strictly to canon in this series as I could, I'm not interested in going back and doing a lot of rewriting or editing if it turns out I got something wrong.

 

Yeah, I could definitely write more flash fics like these, but right now I don't want to. Currently I'm focusing entirely on my original fiction; but hey, flash fics don't take very much time to write at all, so maybe I'll do another series like this at some point. Not sure what the theme would be, though, or if there would any sort of theme to it at all. Maybe I could do a series based on the Dark Hunters or Order of Mata Nui or the Brotherhood of Makuta or just continue this series somehow. Lots of different options.

 

Thanks for enjoying the series, though. Really appreciate it.

 

-TNTOS-

Welcome to the tenth and final installment of my new series of Bionicle flash fics, The Biological Chronicle. If you want to read the other stories in this series, you can find links to them in my signature at the end of this post.

 

If you don't know what this is, allow me to quote from the first fic's introduction:

 

The Biological Chronicle is a series of flash fics written by me. Like my earlier Glatorian Chronicles series of short stories/short epics, each story in The Biological Chronicle is a standalone and can be read in any order you please.

 

What connects these story is the basic theme. I gave myself the challenge of writing ten flash fics based on the ten years of Bionicle (one for 2001, another for 2002, yet another for 2003, etc.). The result is a mixture of my interpretation of scenes from canon, scenes from canon that were mentioned but never shown, and a few scenes that were never mentioned nor shown but which I nonetheless believe could have/probably did happen at some point in canon. I tried to stick to canon as closely as possible, however, so don't expect to see any new characters or locations or anything like that that weren't in canon.

 

They are all quite short (the longest is a little over 700 words), but of course that is to be expected from flash fiction. Fair warning: I've had little practice with flash fiction, so if these aren't as good as my usual work, it's because I'm not used to forcing myself to keep the word count under 800 words (although you are of course still free to criticize them however you usually criticize stories).

With that out of the way, enjoy:

 

2010

“What do we do if the Makuta go astray?”

 

The Great Being known as Angonce looked up from his workbench at his fellow Great Being, Velika. A half-finished mask lay on the table before him, but Angonce didn't pay much attention to it, distracted as he was by his brother's question.

 

“Why would that ever happen, Velika?” said Angonce. “The Makuta are supposed to aid Mata Nui. They would never even think of rebelling against him.”

 

“You said the same thing about the Element Lords,” Velika pointed out. “And we both know how well that turned out.”

 

Angonce sighed and put down his mask-making tools. “All right. What do you suggest we do?”

 

“We need to design a weapon that can combat the Makuta,” said Velika. “Something that can destroy solid antidermis quickly and efficiently.”

 

Angonce quirked an eyebrow. “A bomb of some sort?”

 

“No,” said Velika, shaking his head. He was clearly deep in thought now, like he always got whenever he was on a roll. “There would always be the danger of the bomb being set off too early and thus failing to destroy any antidermis at all. We need something better. But what?”

 

Angonce thought about that for a moment. He glanced at the mask on his table, which was colored gold, and an idea occurred to him. “Maybe a set of golden armor?”

 

Velika looked at Angonce in surprise. “Golden armor?”

 

“Yes,” said Angonce, nodding. “Golden armor that can instantly destroy all solid antidermis within its vicinity. Not only that, but it could also absorb all the powers of the Makuta that are killed.”

 

Now it was Velika's turn to quirk an eyebrow. “And why would that be necessary? It sounds to me like it would only make the user go mad with power.”

 

“Not if the user is a Toa,” said Angonce. “One of the Toa Mata, perhaps the leader, Toa Tahu. As for why it would be necessary . . . well, I just thought what a shame it would be to lose all of our work if the user of the golden armor managed to destroy all the Makuta. At least we can save the powers, if nothing else.”

 

“Yes,” said Velika, though he did not sound entirely convinced by that. “Yes, of course. But where would we keep the golden armor? After all, while it may never be used, we don't want to put it where anyone could get their hands on it, at least not easily.”

 

Angonce stroked his chin and looked at the half-finished mask before him. Then an idea struck him like lightning.

 

“I know,” said Angonce. “We can put it inside the Mask of Life. After all, we already plan to put the Ignika out of the reach of most beings. Not even the Makuta will be able to get it if we do that.”

 

Velika smiled. “I like your way of thinking, brother. Let's get to it.”

 

-

 

And that's a wrap (unless Bionicle comes back next year, in which case I might write The Biological Chronicle: 2015 as the real finale, but we'll see what will happen, I suppose).

 

Comments, criticism, questions, etc. are all welcome .

 

-TNTOS-