Tavakai

wow. what can i saythis is really a work of art. its a post-apocalyptic vision of the comics forum's future. time and space have collapsed on each other. years of comics have melded into a twisting maelstrom of words and pixels. a few, still alive, cling to whatever unstable matter they can. cries of "are you still here? are you still here?" echo throughout. there is no answer. those who are there only know that they themselves are still here

a few months ago, i said "attack on titan au where all of the titans are the titan sets from bionicle" it's something i very much wanted to see, and after all this time, it's here.

to me, this is more than a comic. this is more than just that. this is a dream. a dream that has finally become reality.

thank you, bionicles adventurs comixs. thank you

in the night while you sleepwho is itwho is the man who comes with the moldy old comics rotting away on his hard drivethat's right kids I'm backif by back you mean I sort of stumbled in here on accident so I might as well take care of some unfinished business before I leave forever again then yes I am backwell folks I am here with a new launchpad comic for youAntihero Factorykeep in mind this comic is a year old so you should wash your hands after reading it or you will get the diseases because if this isn't expired then nothing can be expiredthat's right you can go ahead and eat that mushroom-covered cheese in the fridge your family has passed down for generations, it won't hurt you at allanyway yes I intended to turn this into an actual full series back then but then my priorities turned against me and now I am completely unable to do thatit was horrible, they locked me in the closet and didn't feed me anything except really really rich chocolatedo you know what it is like to eat chocolate that rich like it was showing off all of its cool stuff even as my stomach acids tore it to tiny tiny pieces never to be seen again. it sickened meanyway my point is this was going to be a full series with plot and stuffit basically follows the origins of hero factoryI have no idea if it is consistent with the ICCverse hero factoryI think it was as of a year ago perhaps but I'm not surethe scientist guy is a character I wrote out of my series after the first seasonI decided to bring him back for thisalso wow look at the inactivity this late at nightwhat are you people doing are you sleeping come ongo to bed at five like real menwell I guess it is past five on the east coast though so nvmfriendly reminder that if you respond to my tangents instead of the comic windrider will snatch you up with his talons and carry you to his nest where he will feed you to his youngthat's right I may have been inactive on bzp for like six months in a mystical land where rules are just an urban legend told by old swarthy fishermen in hushed tones to passerby but I still remember how things go down in this place

this comic is so wonderful that I visited and logged into bzp for the first time in months just to tell you how great it isit is truly a masterpieceyou can see the shock all over that man's face as windrider enters the scene and stops his shenanaginsthis is quite a work of art and I congratulate you on your successwindrider should be proud

RWAM 16: The Story Comes to a CloseThis is the last RWAM comic. That's it. It's done.I made this like ten months ago wowanyway I still have a few comics left in the stockpile too

Happy birthday, Israeli Toa!

yay 79 days have passed and nobody seems to have noticedEvil plan to fade myself out of BZPower entirely: 60% completeANYWAYHere's the rest of what I had for those things since I'm not doing them anymore:You will have to make sense of them yourself since it's about 3 AM and I'm just going to drop these here and go to bed.http://www.majhost.com/gallery/VakamaTK/Comics/Tavakai-the-Movie/ABRIDGIFICATED/tm_p8_abridgificated.pnghttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/VakamaTK/Comics/Tavakai-the-Movie/ABRIDGIFICATED/tm_p9_abridgificated.pnghttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/VakamaTK/Comics/Tavakai-the-Movie/ABRIDGIFICATED/tm_p10_abridgificated.pnghttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/VakamaTK/Comics/Tavakai-the-Movie/ABRIDGIFICATED/tm_p11_abridgificated.pnghttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/VakamaTK/Comics/Tavakai-the-Movie/ABRIDGIFICATED/tm_p12_abridgificated.pnghttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/VakamaTK/Comics/Tavakai-the-Movie/ABRIDGIFICATED/tm_p13_abridgificated.pnghttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/VakamaTK/Comics/Tavakai-the-Movie/ABRIDGIFICATED/tm_p14_abridgificated.pngand so yeah I'm not doing any moreSeriously there would be like a good seven or so more, too much effortBut now you can just start at chapter 15 instead of chapter two or the prologueAlso, I'm not going to do season two of my comics (past the first comic which I made last August), or season three, or the movie; instead I will hopefully get the content to you in a different method and if that doesn't work out I'll just tell you what was going to happen.I think really the only things I'll end up doing after I release the rest of what I did last summer will be finishing that Norik Head comic and then making some TavKorp: Behind the Panels comics because I scripted out a lot of those and they were great.So anyway in like a week or something I guess you'll get the RWAM finale finally

VakamaTK -> TavakaiI'm really bad at coming up with names; VakamaTK was the name I'd used on the Internet for a while because it was the best thing I could come up with at the time. Tavakai was invented by my cousin when I asked if he could come up with a better Bionicle sounding name for me to use.

Congratulations, Gav!I'm pretty sure those are 95% you posting comics.

You're comparing apples and oranges here. It's basically the same as anything else, like, say, humor versus plot. Some people like one, some people like the other, some people like both. I've been around the comics forum for over four years; I've seen good sprite comics, I've seen bad sprite comics; I've seen good hand drawn comics, I've seen bad hand drawn comics. I actually don't care. And I actually have done both if you count vectoring as "hand drawn." If one of those was better, clearly I'd stick with it instead of switching between them.I really feel, though, that there's a bias of some people against sprite comics, the fact that using a sprite kit means they put less work into the final product. I don't really think this argument really makes sense in regard to whether something is better--if you're making something, and it's not good art (I'm not even referring to anything here, merely bringing this up as an example), it doesn't matter how long you spent on it or how much work went into it, it's still bad art. Quality and amount of work and time aren't necessarily related.And don't forget, not everyone just goes and grabs a sprite kit and starts copypasting it into their comics. Some people actually make their own sprites. And others, even though they don't make a totally new sprite kit, add on to existing ones or sprite props related to their comics.Additionally, there's more to comics than just how the characters are represented. There's the text, the background, the plot and/or humor, etc. Picking out just one category and judging the entire thing based off said category isn't really that good of a thing to do either.Anyway, as for the whole "sprite comics don't take effort thing," let's come back to that. Sure, you can spend two minutes sticking some sprites on a blank background and typing in some text. Or you can do what one of my friends did and spend like 20 hours or something on a sprite comic (which was heavy with special effects, and put a lot of thought into how to arrange things and word the text) and still not be done. You can do what I've done, and compensate for the low speed it takes to make panels by making comics with a ton of them, which I've done on several occasions (most notably a 564-panel comic, and most recently my 200-panel Christmas comic; on the latter my panel output was about sixty per day).Hand drawn things, I think, get the preference by people because they're more traditional, and therefore, "actual art." Sprite comics, however, came out of video games, so they're fairly recent--and since video games are generally constantly upgrading their style to be more realistic, meaning they have fewer and fewer sprites, this would give the impression to some people that sprites are therefore inferior to hand drawn things, and other "actual art." But no, sprites have actually become their own form of art. Somehow, that pixelly feel, those blocks that look anywhere from vaguely like what they represent to just a little bit blockier--somehow that's become pretty popular. Otherwise, you wouldn't still see them around. Take VVVVVV, for example. Haven't heard of it? It's a platformer game that came out in 2010. But wait, don't the graphics make it look like it's from the 1980s or something? And yet it was made in the past couple years? Yes. It certainly could have been done with much better graphics, but it wasn't because that style is something people enjoy.So anyway, like I've been saying, don't try to compare the two like this. It just doesn't work. I'll also take a short moment here to speak out against people who say that sprites are better than hand drawn, for the same reason; I'm not going to expand on that though because it's much less prevalent (there may actually be some in this topic but I don't know because I just skimmed it a little) and mostly a reactionary thing to the people who think hand drawn comics are better.

Happy birthday, SPIRIT!

Happy birthday Kex!

I think my absolute favorite was Dokuma's. It was pretty much all around awesome.

I've submitted a few, and one of them was used and credited to me. Wasn't important enough for Proto though, apparently.If I recall correctly, it was something to do with some Phantoka thing that was released on some spinoff site of the official Bionicle site.

Okay guys, the epic is completely posted and done. read it here, post stuff here.And yes, I somehow managed to win third place in the contest! Old news, yeah, but I haven't posted anything here in a while.Anyway, I'm going to continue this abridgificating stuff until I've done everything before I move back to the regular comics. I'll do five at a time though from now on, so it won't take very long.Tavakai: The Movie: SLOPIFILOUSLY ABRIDGIFICATEDPart 3: Boat HuntingPart 4: The JourneyPart 5: ArrivalPart 6: CapturePart 7: PrisonersI am so proud of these.Next up, 8-12, then 13-17, then 18-epilogue. THEN THE RWAM FINALE

@fishers: I typed everything in Notepad, so that would explain the typo. I'll fix it as soon as I can.I might end up making the rest of my planned storyline in epic form; I might quit making Bionicle comics soon and it's a lot faster to write epics. I don't really want all of my planned story to go to waste.Anyway, here's the remainder of the commentary:Comments on Chapter 16Vorox appearance.Zakadox is meant to be a similar creature to Takadox; the Fenradox had inspiration from that one screechy monster in the arena in Star Wars Episode II. Also, if I'd done this in flash I would have made the Vorox sound like a Tuskan Raider.Comments on Chapter 17Get it? The conflict erupts?Also the stuff I did to the masks in the header looks cool on first glance, but when you look at it more closely it's pretty obvious I was pretty lazy about it; there shouldn't be that much reflection of the lava light inside the eyeholes. So don't look closely.Plus it later occurred to me that the sun doesn't go out that quickly. :Palso cliffhanger againComments on Chapter 18The full scene I used for the title pic is probably a lot more epic. I need to post some full pics of the best of these in my blog or something sometime soon.NEXT TIME EPIC FIGHT SCENEComments on Chapter 19I probably have loads of run-on sentences in this chapter. :PStill, I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. I actually described an epic fight scene in pretty good detail for once.As for the picture--It's pretty blurred, so I don't know if you can totally tell what's going on. Jacku's swinging on a rope and kicking at Randu, who's ducking. It was actually originally a lot more blurred.NEXT TIME SLIGHTLY LESS EPIC BUT STILL PRETTY EPIC EPIC FIGHT SCENEComments on Chapter 20Yeah, here's the other epic fight. Less epic than the other one, for sure. But still pretty epic.Comments on Chapter 21FINAL CHAPTER(stick around for the epilogue though)So anyway, this basically just wraps things up and sets things up for season two, AKA Kaitro Comeback. Not even sure if that's going to be done anymore, though. I do have pretty much the entire script already written out, so I'll try to post that if I don't go through with it.Also, look at the name of this chapter. Now look at the name of the first chapter. Now back at this chapter. It isn't this chapter's title. But it's very similar to this chapter's title. Look down, back up. Where are you? You're posting about the chapter with a similar title to that other chapter. What's in your post? Back at this one. I have it. It's some words of praise and TWO THUMBS UP for that epic you love. Look again. The post is now posted. Anything is possible when you read TavKorp. I'm on a cliff. This is a really good benefit of writing out the whole thing ahead of time; I actually changed the first chapter's title.Comments on Epilogue[strongbadvoice]IT'S OVER!!![/strongbadvoice]Yeah, not much to talk about here, except point out that this is where the ICC began to be created in-canon. Kahi brought up some issues with me later about chronology, so I had to change it from being when it was actually created to when they started thinking about it.I think I originally planned on writing some kind of lengthy review of the epic as a whole here, but I don't feel like it.Also, I have no idea what's going to happen with Kaitro Comeback. I'm probably not going to make the comics; I may release the raw script or turn it into a sort of epic, though not as epic an epic as this one.As for the future, after Kaitro Comeback I had another comic season, which would probably go the same way as whatever way KC goes. Then I had a second movie planned, and that's probably going to go as an epic too. I'm not going to put "the movie" in the title though; I think I only really kept that one in here because it's also the name of my main character and my username, and things could have gotten confusing.

LLL Towers, Kato, Taone Nui - A week laterKahinuva bent over his computer, concentrating intently. He was trying to work on comics, but it was all he could do to prevent himself from playing Portal. Just a few more panels... he told himself.Suddenly, the phone rang. The caller ID told him nothing; it was an unregistered number. He shrugged and picked up the receiver. "Hello?""Kahi! How's it going?""VTK?! I've been trying to call you for what, over a week! Where are you?!""Kaitro Nui. Long story. And another thing, my name's Tavakai. So what did you want to talk to me about?"So Kahi told Tavakai about his idea to ally comic corporations together (and the true nature of that compact), and Tavakai told him about what he had been through in recent times.After a while, Tavakai excused himself from the conversation, and hung up the phone he had brought up from the underground base. He was standing with a delegation including Viron at the shores of Kaitro Nui's main port (at least in days past), and the first ship of returning Kaitoran was about to dock. As soon as the signal had been sent that the island was once more safe to live on, Kaitoran all across the universe had been alerted, and were now making their way home.He turned to Viron. "So, what do you think about this?"Viron smiled. "I think it's about time Kaitro Nui's coming back."

Viron followed Jacku through the jungle, guards from his organization following him in turn. When they had been surrounded earlier, it had taken him some time to escape, for the bulk of the Ke-Matoran guards seemed to have followed him. He had weaved around and backtracked, picking them off one by one--fortunately for him they wore iron armor, else he wouldn't know how to handle them--until he was free to go to the base beneath the lake. He met Jacku at the entrance, who told him that they had to retrieve Randu from a net and interrogate him.And that was what they were setting out to do, going through the wilderness, Jacku stopping at every tree and appearing to inspect the bark. Eventually they came to a clearing, and Jacku stopped, staring at the strands of slashed rope hanging from the trees, as well as that strewn on the ground."What's wrong? Did we get lost?" Viron asked, halting."Yes..." Jacku said slowly, "not our location, but our target. Somehow, Randu escaped."Jacku seemed to speed back up, instantly kneeling before the rope, examining it in an effort to discover how it had been broken."It wasn't torn... He didn't have any weapons... nothing sharp at all... Rahi couldn't've gotten him; they'd leave at least some remains or trail..." he turned his head, looking at a different edge of the clearing than they had entered at. "See, those branches are cut as well... just enough for someone to get through. Randu didn't escape on his own. Someone broke him out."Jacku grabbed a fistful of rope, slamming it back down to the ground. "I should have tried to take him with me, or killed him! Now he's still out there, still free to do whatever evil he wishes to do now!""Don't be so hard on yourself." said Viron. "If you focus on what would have happened, you'll only feel worse--what happened happened, and that's that.""I guess you're right."Viron looked toward where Randu's rescuer had come from, and began retracing the being's steps, going back through the path cut in the thick brush. Not far from where he began, he found a lake, and stopped when he got to the shore. He could see no more signs of where his quarry had been.Just then, the first rays of dawn began creeping across the sky. Viron looked up; the light was mostly blocked by the large hill just beyond the lake, but he could see the light outlining it, outlining the trees and the vines and--and glinting off of something red at the edge of a cliff.------------After a couple hours of sleeping, VakamaTK got up, just at dawn. As light shone from behind him, he gazed over the jungle below him, at the trees and lakes and the newly awakened birds. And beyond that, to the jungle's edge, where he could just make out rougher terrain, and what seemed to be the ruins of a once prosperous city.He continued to examine the distance for quite some time, until he heard footsteps from behind him. Instantly reminded of Randu and his guards, VakamaTK turned--and was startled to see, not enemies, but friends--Viron, followed by Jacku, and accompanied by some guards who worked with the former.They were silent for a moment. Then Viron said, "Jacku trapped Randu, but someone broke him out while Jacku went to us to retrieve him for interrogation.""That could have been Jack." replied VakamaTK. "I fought him, and he fell down this cliff--now I can see that there's a lake directly beneath us...""The good news," said Jacku, "is that Randu's influence over the tribe is most likely neutralized. They've scattered, and we've gone through the village destroying the virus in any Apple Jacks we've found. We've got pretty much all of them now. Soon the brainwashing should wear off.""And then we can rebuild." said Viron. "The island's state of emergency is over now, and we can call in those who were evacuated. Then we'll build back our infrastructure, better than before." He was smiling now, the thought of his society prospering once more such a great source of joy. But his smile faded when he looked at his old friend. "So how long will you be staying before you return to your other island to make comics, VakamaTK?""Oh, I think that there's plenty of room for me to do my business here--once I've helped build the first city, of course. I won't need to return to the Comic Land. And one more thing," he added, "Don't call me VakamaTK."My name is Tavakai."THE END

There they stood by the cliff, the two Matoran who had unknowingly followed each other across the oceans, beginning at a maskmaking forge in Metru Nui, then in the southwestern region of Hapori Nui, and now into the jungles of Kaitro Nui."So long, so very long..." Jack said, smirking. "My plan to destroy you failed somehow, but now vengeance will at last be served.""Vengeance for what?" VakamaTK asked."Ah, how easily you forget. Of course, it didn't affect you, did it? No, only me, poor, poor me...""For what?" VakamaTK repeated."For giving me this blasted injury!" Jack yelled, pointing at his eye patch. He let out another yell, slashing a couple of bushes with his sword. "You were good at making masks, and I was bad. I couldn't stand it! I couldn't stand not being able to succeed in the business, and it drove me mad!"Do you know how it felt?! Do you know how it felt to watch you make masks, every one of them perfect, perhaps not by professional standards, but certainly compared to my deformed little things, while I made misshapen hunks of Protodermis that would make any wearer a laughingstock?! Do you know how that felt?!"Spittle was coming out of Jack's mouth now. VakamaTK was silent, so the pirate continued."I felt horrible! Absolutely worthless! Every day I awoke with nothing to look forward to but to go to my miserable workplace, and manufacture my miserable excuses for Kanohi, see yours, and go home at night feeling worse than I had in the morning!"It didn't affect me, for a while. I could stand it. I could live with my horrible lack of ability. But one day, one day something snapped in my brain. I threw down my tools and stormed from the room, not caring that the Vahki would be after me, not caring about anything but getting out of that place!"And then... and then I tripped on my own feet... and someone had left a maskmaking tool lying on the ground, the fool... I landed on it, and..." he put his hand to his eye patch as his voice trailed off."So?" VakamaTK said, seeming to come back to life. "So what if you're not as talented as me at making masks? Why should you blame me? It's not my fault you let it get to you, and it's certainly not my fault that you injured yourself. Take responsibility for your own actions, and stop passing the blame to others."This time, it was Jack who was silent."And if you're not satisfied with being a maskmaker? You can always get a new job. Le-Matoran aren't usually maskmakers anyway. Explore other careers, and you'll find something you're good at. You've done this to yourself, and while I feel sorry for you, I'm not at all responsible for it happening.""But that's exactly what I've done!" Jack shouted. "I have chosen a different career! Killing you! Killing you for what you've done to me, ruining my life! Did you know that that was my good eye that you injured?! And now I have no depth perception, either! I've made it my goal for the last two years to kill you in whatever way I could. I almost did it, too, but you somehow survived the Energized Protodermis. And then again, I almost had you melted in that volcano, but you escaped, and then that same volcano saved you from the beasts I had wanted so very much to consume you. I've wanted you dead, VakamaTK. Let's stop with this inane banter, I'm not going to compromise, and I'm eager to end your life!"The discussion was over, VakamaTK thought grimly as he readied himself for the swordfight. His red blade met Jack's silver one with a clang, followed by a number of other clangs as they continued to thrust and parry. Something was guiding him--his old memories, he felt sure--because he had no experience with swordfighting at all, save the little he had done with his old sword that had been left at his comic studio.He found himself walking, Jack doing so as well, the both of them circling around each other constantly as they did so. They moved along the cliff, some of the ground crumbling beneath them and falling down into space. Eventually they came to a peninsula of sorts, a wide view of the jungle seen from atop it.With a confidant movement of his arm, Jack swiped VakamaTK's sword to the side, catching the other off guard and whisking his sword out of his hand and off the cliff. The point of Jack's sword was at VakamaTK's neck, and VakamaTK held up his hands."Should I kill you?" Jack said, "Or perhaps, should I inflict upon you the same pain which I have borne all these years...?"VakamaTK needed to do something, and quick. He racked his brain, trying to come up with something, anything to save him.At last, a lightbulb went off in his head--he remembered Viron in the arena, what he had said after releasing them from the chains."Yes," Jack was saying, "Yes, I'll give you the burning fire of pain that I've experienced for so long as a result of your actions...""Fire?" VakamaTK said, still holding his hands up, but now with his fingers flexed. "You haven't felt fire yet."Jack was confused, for a moment, looking at VakamaTK's face, at the eyes closed in what seemed to be concentration. But he wasn't confused for long, for flames burst from VakamaTK's fingers, leaping onto Jack's sword, traveling up to his body before he could react.And for a moment, he didn't react, too stunned by the sudden development to respond. "El-elemental powers?" he finally stuttered, "Matoran can't use elemental powers!""Regular Matoran can't," VakamaTK said, echoing Viron, "Kaitoran can."Jack stumbled backwards, and the ground beneath him crumbled. He screamed, falling into the depths below, vanishing out of sight.VakamaTK shook his hand in the air next to him, extinguishing a small flame on his finger. He peered over the edge of the cliff, but could discern nothing in the darkness below.As he squinted downward, he noticed a swishing noise, and eventually made out the form of his sword spinning through the air. He held out a hand, and it returned directly to him.For now, he was at peace. He gathered some foliage from the surrounding area and made himself a small shelter, then collapsed inside it and slept soundly despite the discomfort.

Jacku's speed had been slowed somewhat when he knocked over the guard, but he was making up for that, increasing his stride and his pace as much as his body would allow. He heard himself being pursued, so after a while he seized a nearby tree trunk and hoisted himself upward, climbing with the skill he had learned living in these jungles so long ago, and in his home island before that.The jungle's ecosystem was such that one could practically walk in the trees, and many Rahi that live only on the ground in other localities make their home there. The dominant species of tree in the jungle, besides having quite thick branches, had been infused with Kaitrodermis--the substance which replaced Protodermis's function on Kaitro Nui--giving it an extra strength that made even its smallest twigs resistant to breaking. As a result, most beings could get around by walking on the trees' branches--though keeping an eye out for the weaker trees.Reaching this area, Jacku stood up on the thick branch, and once he got his balance, began making his way through. There was a hollow tree somewhere around here, he remembered--he had used to spend time with his friends there--if he could only get to it, he could stay there and rest, then in the morning go to the cave beneath the lake.But he didn't make it that far. A little more of navigating the treetops, and he ran straight into Randu, who was leaning against his staff and wearing a nasty grin."How did you--" Jacku started to ask."Jacku, you fool. I knew you would be headed somewhere in the trees, and so I only had to have some of my guards take me to a tree further ahead in the direction you would be going. And it helps that I had brought my climbing gear with me." He held up a rope with a hook, then tossed it down below, where it brushed through the the branches and other plants.Jacku pulled Taku's iron dagger from its sheath around his waist, but Randu knocked it aside with his staff. Reacting immediately, Jacku grabbed onto the staff, trying to wrench it out of the Turaga's hands. Randu let go, just before the two were about to fall off into an unstable branch--Jacku let go as well, grabbing a vine for support, and the staff plunged out of sight as the dagger had. He didn't stop moving, swinging around on the vine, straight at Randu--who ducked, then kicked upward when Jacku was directly above him--Jacku fell, but rolled onto his back and sprang to his feet, and punched Randu straight in the face--It was a whirl of conflict now, each of them dealing a blow for every one they received, paying attention to nothing but defeating the other and avoiding the fall to the ground. They slowly moved through the trees as they fought, a slow, unintentional motion with no destination in mind, a mere product of their mutual desire to end the other's life.They stepped into an old elevator used by some Ke-Matoran to enter the trees, not even acknowledging it by so much as a glance around them. With the added weight, the elevator began to descend, at a faster rate than normal due to the fact that it was partly rotten and the rope slipped through too quickly.And still they fought on, knocking each other against the walls of the elevator, Randu's armor getting a large scratch from a branch that snapped inside. They descended faster, and faster, everything around them became a blur, but still they fought.With a thud and a groan of rotten wood, the elevator landed on the ground and burst into pieces on impact. Jacku seized a medium-sized plank, swung it around his head, and whacked Randu squarely in the back, sending him stumbling forward. It wasn't long before he regained his footing, and the two of them continued fighting as before, in a sort of dance, a dance of death, a dance representing the culmination of all of the years of conflict between them; Jacku's discovery of the great crime the Turaga had commited against his brothers, Randu's act of taking Jacku's sanity, all the years Jacku spent insane, wandering the land making it his one goal to destroy the Apple Jacks empire, and now, at last, he would be given the chance, Randu wanting to finally get rid of this annoying hinderance to his and his master's plans, the both of them aware that they had to win at all costs.As in the trees, they continuously moved along in their battle, like fluid down a slope, still exchanging blows but also showing signs of the toll it was taking on their energy. Soon they ran only on adrenaline, both knowing that soon they would have to finish the other off so they could rest.Just as Jacku felt it would take all of his energy to just avoid Randu's attempts to strike him, the ground burst open beneath the Turaga's feet, and he was scooped up in a net. It was one of the Ke-Matoran tribe's traps, like the one that had caught Jacku's friends.Jacku searched the underbrush, and found a Ke-Matoran guard spear--it wasn't rare for them to be lying around in the jungle; guards often lost them and there were plenty of replacements. He walked back toward the net, using the spear to support his exhausted body."You wouldn't kill an old, helpless Turaga," Randu pleaded from inside the net, "would you?""I would have killed you," Jacku replied, out of breath, "but now you're in a much better position to be captured, and I'd prefer that.""Yes..." the wicked Turaga hissed, "You'll give me a fair trial, the justice you heroes always proclaim, won't you? Thank you...""No," Jacku said, "I'm taking you to be interrogated. I know part of what you've done to my people, and--""Our people?""You lost the right to belong with us when you brainwashed people to follow you."As I was saying, I know the basis of what you've done, but I want to know more. I'll take you to people who'll force it out of you.""Ah, clever, clever, clever... I know, let's make a deal. You cut me free, and I'll tell you all I know.""Do you think I'm stupid? You're just going to run away. No, you'll stay right there in that net until I get back."Randu made a reply, but Jacku paid no attention, instead marking a nearby tree with a circle carved into the bark. He moved away from the Turaga, marking another tree with an arrow pointing to where he had come from. He continued to do this, intending to go back to the lake to find Viron's people. Looking at the stars (the clouds had parted since the sun had first gone down), he noted that sunrise was not too far off--soon, he would be guided to his destination by better light instead of having to go through the dark jungle. Refusing to give in to the worry that Randu would escape, he pressed forward into the distance, marking trees as he went.

After they had gone far enough that the sounds of the wreckage and screams were no longer audible, VakamaTK, Viron, and Jacku stopped to rest. Fortunately, the moon had risen, which had given them sufficient light to find their way.VakamaTK spent this time processing the new information that he had learned from Viron. Kaitoran--Matoran native to Kaitro Nui--could use their elemental powers? And their Kanohi? How could this be possible?Then again, there was that thing The Seeker had mentioned--it seemed like ages ago, though it was not even half a week--that he wasn't even made of the same material as regular Matoran. He'd have to look into that later; now wasn't really a good time to bother Viron with questions.Instead, he let his mind wander once more toward his past, then caught himself, remembering what had happened the last time he did so. But it was too late--although blurred by the resistance to the thought, he did see a vision.There was a purple and black Matoran, sitting behind a desk and examining a stack of papers. He couldn't remember, but somehow VakamaTK knew that this Matoran was important. But the vision was so weak that he couldn't take in anything but what little he saw, not the Matoran's name, position, or even facial features. Perhaps if, later, he could trigger another vision, it woul--"Tavakai!"Jerking himself back to reality, VakamaTK jumped to his feet, his sword at the ready. Judging by the name Viron had used to address him, something serious must have happened while he was lost in his vision.And, sure enough, he could see, by the moonlight, a Ke-Matoran guard coming toward them. He turned, and saw another, and another, and soon found that they were surrounded."Ah, you thought you'd get away," the familiar voice of Randu, elderly but with the sharpness of a viper, came from behind him. VakamaTK whirled, and saw him and Jack side by side in the ring of guards. "You don't understand. Nothing escapes the will of our Great Beings.""What do we do?" VakamaTK whispered to Viron."Not sure. I'm a weapon maker, not a strategist.""Okay," Jacku said, his eyes bright with hope, "here's what we do. We make a break for it, on three, and just run into the forest. If we split up, it'll be harder for them to follow us. Ready... One..."Jack was talking, but the three of them ignored him in preparation for their escape."...Two..."VakamaTK focused on a gap between two guards, picturing exactly where he would have to place his feet. He tensed, ready for Jacku's signal."...Three!"The three of them burst forward, straight at the surrounding guards. VakamaTK darted around the enemies, Jacku tackled one, and Viron used his Miru to help him jump over another. All three sprinted as fast as they could away, wanting to put as much distance between them and their foes.This was how VakamaTK ran, leaping ferns, weaving through trees, swinging on branches. At least, until he stopped abruptly, at the edge of a cliff so high that he couldn't see the bottom of it. He was grateful that he had stopped, otherwise... he didn't want to think about otherwise.He sat down, leaning against a tree and resting from his sprint. Surely he was far enough away. Jack wouldn't find him.As if on cue, Jack himself stepped from the foliage, unsheathing his sword. "As I said a few days ago, I've waited a long time for this."VakamaTK stood, prepared to fight but wary of the ever-present cliff beside them.

There was very little light left, which made it all the more frightening to be trapped in the arena with the Fenradox. VakamaTK, Jacku, and Viron, as stealthily as possible, made their way to the wall around the field. When they were within perhaps ten feet from it, a spear shot out into the ground in front of them, thrown by a guard just behind the wall in the stands. They thought it best to abandon that effort, at least for the moment.This left them with no option but one. They could not escape over the walls, for they were completely surrounded. The gates which the creatures had been let in by were shut--and not made of iron, so Viron could not manipulate them. It seemed they would have no choice but to fight the creature.And, once each of their minds had come to this conclusion, the sun vanished completely beyond the horizon, leaving them in complete and utter darkness. The moon was not yet visible, and clouds covered up the stars. It was not even bright enough to see one's hand before one's mask.For a few seconds, at least. Then a rumbling sound and a flash of red light attracted everyone's attention. As one, every head in the stadium--including that of the Fenradox--turned upward and in the direction of the volcano, for that was the source of the distraction.The volcano was erupting, but nothing seemed to be coming out of it. The top glowed with increasing intensity, and parts of the stadium built on it began melting off.Suddenly, a huge mass of molten rock burst out of the volcano, hurtled through the sky and crashed in the arena. It exploded upon impact, bringing a rain of fiery rubble on the people in the stands. The Fenradox was met with most of the force of the impact, and would not be bothering anyone anymore.VakamaTK and his friends, however, managed to be safe. Just before the impact, part of VakamaTK's mask had begun glowing--the part around his mouth--and a small shield appeared in front of the three. It deflected the barrage, and they were unharmed.The Matoran of the Apple Jacks tribe, however, were not so lucky. Some received bad burns, and many were trampled in the rush to escape from the stadium. Randu knew there was no point in trying to keep order, for it was hopeless. Jack, on the other hand, was furious."I had him in my grasp--right in my grasp! That blasted volcano!" He squinted, looking into the smoke and fiery wreckage below. "I won't let you escape this time, VakamaTK! Don't try, because it'll be a waste of time!" He turned to Randu. "What are you waiting for, you old fool?! Send out your guards!""What guards? The ones that fled when the eruption began? My people may be brainwashed, but they're not stupid. They know when their lives are in danger.""But-bu-but, you can't just let VakamaTK escape!""Who said I was letting him escape? Don't forget, Jacku is also among them. I have hated him for years, ever since he unknowingly discovered our master's plan. I cannot send my entire force after him, but I still intend to pursue him with what I can muster. Perhaps you should similarly try your luck with your own adversary."Both of them looked down then, and saw a shadow of a silhouette fly through the wreckage, only for an instant. They both knew what it must mean.---------More magma erupted from the volcano now, smashing the walls of the stadium and creating a gap, albeit one between two chunks of molten rock."Now's our chance!" Viron said. "Use your mask power, VakamaTK!"VakamaTK blinked. "Mask power?""Yes, yes! Kaitoran can use their masks, though they are not as powerful as Great Kanohi. Your mask is a fusion of the Kakama--speed, the Hau--shielding, and the Huna--concealment. All you must do is carry us, activate your shield, and speed through that gap, and we'll be out of here."VakamaTK bent over, mentally aiming his course toward the gap. Viron and Jacku climbed onto his shoulders, and he strained with the extra weight. "One..." he started, "Oh, forget it, you guys are too heavy."The bottom half of his mask began to glow, and the three of them sped off toward the gap, hurtling at what would be impossible speeds if not for the Kanohi--not quite as fast as the Great Kakama's full capacity, but still fast enough to escape serious burns. They continued for some time, then VakamaTK stopped a little ways into the jungle and they all ran together.

Go inactive, and then come back three years later and make some posts like I never left.

Naming is my greatest weakness in writing. I'm awful at it most of the time. Other than naming my Makuta Vitriax, I haven't really done much to be proud of.As for Vitriax, I just combined vitriol (sulfuric acid) with the Makuta suffix -ax.I usually try really hard to look through the dictionary and the thesaurus even if I'm not successful, though.

Am I the only person who checked once or twice at the beginning and then didn't ever come back until the day BZP returned?