TBK

I like the direction they're already taking with collectible masks.

This is good. Very, very good.

My only rant is that I utterly dislike the cartoonistic style of the video, but fortunately, that isn't what really matters here. In fact, I'm love everything else so far -- even the fact that this is a total reboot. Yesterday, I thought that fact would have put me off, but I guess LEGO already managed to change my mind.

http://www.lego.com/en-us/bionicle/characters/onya-master-of-earth-d97db9bcfa2a41e4a6a1e130add7a229

Toa Onya, master of onions

Hey Caboose, just a quick note: unless we mass-produce one of our own drift force weapons, all of our soldiers are only armed with their fists. Or whatever wacky thingamjig we can create from the bricks on the battlefield.

Excuse me while I nudge my own little opinion in here.   

I kind of wish that they could have kept Protodermis as its own special mineral apart from other natural substances instead of just saying that everything made out of protodermis. For me, the concept itself is confusing -- trees are trees, but they're not. What it really is, is the dirt you're standing on, and the organic tissue you're made from, and that lightstone over there. And yet, they are essentially no different from the real things outside the giant robot -- aside from atomic/molecular/whatever level of structure.

For some, that could be a good thing, which I guess was one of Bonesii's points in that it takes a more untraveled road and gives Protodermis a more mysterious aura. However, it just seems too... illogical for my taste. Maybe unnecessary is a better word. 

It also just seems to make me lose interest in the concept of Protodermis. Instead of being this special mineral, it's just... everything. To me, it's the same thing as saying that everything we know is made out of atoms -- making Protodermis just a different kind of "atom" that isn't really different at all (unless it's energized).

Then again, if one could word that differently enough, you could say that makes it even cooler.

It's just a matter of personal taste: mine is that I wish they didn't make Protodermis simply an artificial subcategory under "everything".

YES

It was already awesome enough in itself, but an epic explosion at the end was my cherry on the top. It's inspired me to continue on a certain project...

I mean to reply to this earlier   

< Ummm, what did I miss while I was gone?

Most of us are kind of around the central tower now (in my mind, at least). My army is doing battle with Blade and a shadow copy while I'm on top of the tower sniping; Voxumo and his army are assisting me; Chro's and Blade's armies are retreating; Zakaro is off firing at us via giant cannon and bike warriors; and Chro, Rider plus his army, and SV plus his army are battling in some nearby park. I've lost where Luroka is at this point. Oh, and everyone lost 10 troops from an earthquake.

You're with the defenders, and all active teammates include Voxumo, Luroka, Rider, and myself. Did I miss anything?

IC: TBK [35 infantry, 33 spartans.] [TOTAL: 68]

As the spartans were about to regroup with the rest of the army, an earthquake shook throughout the city, sending the Wall tumbling down and burying half of his infantry. [-10] The spartans were about to help the rest recover when they were attacked by a shadowy copy of Blade and by Blade herself. The spartans immediately retaliated with all their strength, but still some quickly fell. [-5] In hope of preventing further casualties, TBK began to provide sniper support, starting with Blade's shadow.

One of the anti-air slingshot operators pointed out the projectile sent flying from Zakaro's cannon, and they quickly swung around the slingshot and aimed for the flying boulder, letting loose a boulder of their own to knock Zakaro's out of the way.

Out from behind Zakaro's bike-warriors came 5 of the hidden spartans, swinging their blades for an attack from behind.

[10 slingshot operators, 15 regular infantry, 20 fighting spartans, 3 spartans in hiding, 5 reemerged.] [TOTAL: 53] Attacking Blade and Zakaro's army.

Name: Liina

Gender & Species: Female Ta-Matoran

Powers, Abilities, and Skills: As a Ta-Matoran, she possesses the usual trait of heat resistance. Along with gaining some hand-to-hand combat training, she has learned to be hardy and agile in order to survive the last few years in the City of Flames. She wears a cracked Great Matatu.

Equipment: She carries a large jagged blade on her thigh and lugs a backpack wherever she goes, loaded with rope, dry food, flint, a water canteen, and a tarp.

Who: She may be just a matoran, but don't underestimate her -- she also has survived the dark alleys of the City of Flames. Her latest years have been hard ones, and not just because she carries the blame on herself for not being able to save the rest of her tribe. Bearing a stronger personality, she will not back down from any challenge or any foe... unless the notion is obviously beyond stupid. Don't take her sarcasm to heart: beneath the surface, she is still understanding and gentle as from before, but years of hardship have added a shell of indifference.

 Her kanohi Matatu and some accents of her armor is a burnt orange color, but otherwise, she is almost completely deep crimson in color. The condition of her armor is lacking, somewhat rusted and chipped.

Backstory: Liina is the last surviving member of a Ta-Matoran clan. She was part of the Ta-Matoran tribe that adopted Kovant after the earthquake, and she essentially became a sister to him. With the tribe's help, Kovant created a booming Kanohi forge business, and he handed the business back to the tribe in order to travel the world. However, disaster struck, and a fire sent their apartment complex crumbling to the ground with Liina being the only known survivor. She has since survived alone in the streets.

 I might add a Skadki or Vortixx as well, still thinking 'bout it 

IC: TBK [35 regular infantry / 45 spartans] [TOTAL:80]

As the spartans continued fighting in spite of a few losses [-4], none of them paid attention to the giant hand until it stopped right over their heads. 6 of those spartans caught in its shadow stopped to look up at the apparition, moments before it clenched and swung down. In spite of their inevitable demise, each of them pointed their swords to the sky as the master hand came down [-6], marrying 6 blades to the giant fist.

As Anna's troops retreated, TBK called his 25 spartans back to the general area of the Wall. However, TBK himself continued to take shots at the backs of Anna's army, while the giant slingshot flung giant clumps of bricks at the master hand in an attempt to finish it off.

Meanwhile, the two ambushing Spartans breathed their last breath as SV's army trampled their bodies. [-2]

[10 slingshot operators, 25 regular infantry, 25 fighting spartans, 8 spartans in hiding.] [TOTAL: 68] Retreating, sniping Anna's army.

IC: TBK [41 regular infantry / 47 spartans] [TOTAL: 88]

Most of the men already around the wall were able to take cover, but 2 spartans and 6 infantry succumbed to Chro's flames before they could take refuge. [-8]

As TBK took aim at Chro, he heard shouts from behind at the base of the tower. Switching to that side and poking his head over the ledge, he saw something he had not anticipated -- an attack from behind, led by Anna's infantry. His giant wall was now utterly useless... except for one thing.

TBK immediately commanded his unarmed men to take apart the wall and instead use the bricks to create makeshift weapons for themselves, while the 35 spartans immediately shifted their effort to slicing through Anna's army. They may be outnumbered, but with a DFW copy in both of each spartan's hands, they weren't going to go down without a fight. TBK himself switched sides of the tower to cover his men, putting sniper bullets in enemy heads as quickly but as accurately as possible. He called over his shoulder to Voxumo, "Think you can hold off Chro?"

TBK also mentally commanded his giant slingshot operators to turn around and bring a few boulders down on Anna's army. On the outskirts of the park, a few of ShadowVezon's troops entered a building and entered an ambush from 2 of TBK's encamped spartans.

[10 slingshot operators, 25 builders, 35 spartans aiding builders, 10 spartans in hiding.] [TOTAL: 80] Attacking Anna and SV's armies.

Nah, I just used my Mask of Creation's power to create copies of his sword and Voxumo's shield.

AND OH MY GOSH EARTHQUAKE

IC: TBK [50 infantry / 47 spartans]

The wall was getting stronger each moment as the soldiers built up in the flurry of bricks -- until TBK noticed a missile launch from the master hand. He immediately ordered his men to clear the area of impact, and TBK attempted to shoot down the missile before it struck, but to no avail. It struck down several feet from the wall, but the explosion still caused some damage and a few casualties -- 9 of his infantry, to be exact. This wasn't going well.

It was time to take countermeasures. With a mental command, 11 of of the builders diverted and began to build a giant makeshift slingshot behind the wall to use as an anti-aircraft turret. As they did so, TBK found new targets as some of Chro's soldiers began to elevate on hardlight platforms. TBK swiftly swung his crosshairs to match those soldiers' chests -- and aiming slightly above, to account for distance and the slight breeze -- and began picking them off one by one. As he did so, he called out to Rider: "My army can't do this themselves... are your men good with bricks?"

Down below, the slingshot unleashed several large bricks at the master hand to fend it off, while the spartans used their Rhindons to create a thin but large hardlight shield over the builders.

[41 infantry / 47 spartans] Attacking Chro's army and master hand.

OOC: Get ready for a ridiculously intricate wall of text

IC: TBK [troops: 80 / 20]

The group of 20 Spartans behind Voxumo's army immediately followed suit, creating a tight shell of shields. Unfortunately, they couldn't form in time before 3 of their own fell to the heavy barrage of attacks. Seeming that telekinesis was a given for commanders here, TBK silently commanded the Spartans to hold their positions there while he set up his rifle on the central tower to provide sniper support. The one advantage that TBK had in this moment was range, and he decided to bring it in play while his enemies were still afar.

In the meantime, the 80 troops that had stayed behind were put to work: they moved away from the central tower, still staying a safe distance away from their opponents, and using the broken bricks of the evacuated towers, they began building a wall. Their aim was to create a blockade separating the center of the center from the besiegers, and if TBK could buy them enough time, they could set up a strong line of defense.

However, they were gonna need help to get it done quickly, lest the attackers befall them in the middle of their construction. TBK called out to his allies, "I need only a few extra hands, but they're gonna need some help down there!"

Not waiting for a response, quickly finished setting up his sniper nest and folded down his bipod, peering down the scope toward the enemy. As soon as  he started sending bullets into Chro's army, his 17 Spartans broke formation, 7 of which enjoined with Voxumo's army while the other 10 began spreading out into the city, either seeking out enemy recon or setting up their own nests by which to ambush the enemy.

[troops: 80 / 7 / 10]

OOC: Will edit if Luroka edits

IC:TBK [100]

Voxumo had come to TBK's aid, but not long before a new problem came to light: it appeared that Luroka had betrayed the defenders. A grim demeanor shadowed TBK's expression as he observed the fight's progress -- he did not want to do battle with his ally.

Nonetheless, he continued the motion of his plan as he sorted his best fighters from the rest, dividing his troops into two even halves. In the meantime, he also divided the mass-produced masks of creation: one half he transformed into Shields of Voltex, and other he transformed into Swords of Ybrus. Afterward, he distributed the weapons solely to the stronger half of his army, naming them the Spartans. The other half, he addressed as Infantry and left with their standard rifles.

He then formed the army around the central tower to wait on orders -- all except for 20 Spartans, who TBK immediately sent out to aid Voxumo. They rounded their approach in order to flank Chro and hopefully take his troops by surprise.

OOC: Allow me to note that I will not be able to properly format posts for a while.

IC:TBK [100/100 troops]

TBK looked down and was instantly dizzy. He didn't usually mind heights until as long as it was just a few feet.

He decided that his first action would be to mass-produce his Mask of Creation. As the masks were handed out to his troops, he turned around to face the rest of his group.

"OK, so... we're under seige. How should we do this?"

Bionicle becoming another The Legend Reborn.

Like stated above, that little blue box with the arrow below each post is basically BZPower's "anonymously like" button. You can't retract the upvote like you normally could with a "like", though.

IC: TBK [ Revived ]

Welp, Blade had been eliminated, leaving only Zero with an overly decent amount of HP. Time to come back from the dead.

TBK sucked in a breath of air as the molecules of his scattered body regrouped and reshaped into his original form behind the machinery, only with a little less health integrity [5/20]. He quickly stood up, and before anyone noticed he had returned, he drew out of his pack and donned the Mask of Creation, sending visible crackles of energy swirling about his head. He swung his rifle on a strap to hang off his back, and upon raising his hands to the sky, light and shadow gathered between his palms and began to take the form of the Sword of Ybrus, which fell into his hands upon completion. Gripping the sword, he pointed at Zero and willed an immense beam of shadow energy to give him a little zap. [Drift Force Weapon Activated]

Satisfied at the result, TBK stuck the sword under his belt and swapped back to the rifle -- not only to charge the pull bolt for another shot, but also to brace for an entirely different maneuver.

[5/20] DFW auto hit on Pheonix Zero. [-7]

Not that I ever collect these, but if I had the chance, I would buy this in a heartbeat just to have Pig Man.

IC: TBK [Caked.]

All he remembered was biting into Niha's delicious cake, then nothing. I knew those birthday candles looked a little too big, he thought. He looked down on the players as he floated above the arena, his eyes drawing to his own corpse. Or rather, his legs, at least. The top half was somewhat obliterated. He had it coming, he supposed.

He wanted to swoop back in to save Vox, but TBK felt that now was not quite the right time to scramble back in with guns ablaze. Patience did not come with ease for TBK, but he was reaching a point where discipline was a little less painful. For now, his ghostly form would simply lean back in his ghostly chair, open a ghostly book, and read of non-ghostly legends that had already fought greater fights long ago.

And for some reason, the thought of calvary trumpets crossed his mind.

IC: TBK [17/20]

Again, Zero's reflexes take action and manage to stop the bullet -- with lightning, no less. And that same bolt was now hurling in his direction. TBK instictively pushed away from the machinery as quickly as possible, but he knew instantly that he made the wrong decision -- upon separating from the metal, his skin returned to normal, allowing tendrils of electrons to reach his body and blaze through his flesh [15/20].

Quite annoyed at himself, he returned to his post behind the machinery. Maybe he didn't cause too much of a ruckus to give his position away, but he didn't keep his hopes up. Nonetheless, he jutted his rifle back toward his targets and aimed for Zero's chest once more and fired, determined to sink one more while he was distracted by Rider.

[15/20] One more try at Zero.

What on earth

I guess I'm still waking up. Fix'd

OOC: Excuse me for my lack of formatting as well =P

IC:TBK [17/20]

As TBK poked his rifle out from behind the machinery, he caught a glimpse of Vox giving him a grateful nod. Returning with a grin and another nod, TBK lowered his eye to the scope, pointing in Anna's direction. However, she had dropped out of sight, apparently having heard the shot. Vox was running out of time, though, so TBK swung the muzzle back to Zero and aimed for the head, repeating his process of firing, taking cover, and charging the bolt for another shot.

[17/20] Firing on Zero.