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Anyone remember this show? God, I loved this.On another note, I was in the shop today and spotted Bear in the Big Blue House Corn Snacks. Seeing as the show has been cancelled, how are these foods still being produced?
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Thank you for you people who are willing to take their time for reading this post. LOL, I'm pretty nervous posting this. Anyways, read on.PrefaceThe new story that's going to come soon is based twelve years before the events of Hero Factory in 2010. It's going to be (or I hope to be) a multi-part/chapter series that will be dark, epic, long, and well, EPIC (I don't know any other way of phrasing it)!The story of Shadow Factory begins with the end of the Shadow-Fighter war, with the victory of the great Supreme Fighters. Elite of the Elites, Better than Best of the Best, the Supreme Fighters are a group of former heroes who become extremely well trained warriors under the wings of the Heldrans, the leaders of the Supreme Fighters.But Shadow Factory, is just the opposite. Mainly comprised of criminals, fugitives, and even traitorous heroes of Hero Factory that commit crimes that is too much for any heroes to face. They are ruthless, murders, and many other aspects of evil you can imagine.Then the Supreme Fighters come. They're main enemy is the Shadow Factory. Knowing that each battle might be their last, they face the fears of every hero.Now, read the first part of the new epic serial,SHADOW FACTORY, Rise of Helcore
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"I've been waiting to kill you for a long... LONG time..." - Toa Metro After years of ignoring the shrieks of this character. I finally succumb to the shadow and produced Metro's Infected design. Here's a small profile. Toa Metro (Meh-trow) Age: ??? Allignment: Evil (Formerly Good) Power: Anti-matter (Before transformation is unknown.) Mask Power: Unknown Motives: Unknown Weapon/Tool: Anti-gravity hammer (Summons at will), Morphed antimatter bladearm. Facts: Was once Faybos' Rival. He succumbed to Makuta's influence for ultimate power and is transformed into a Toa of Antimatter. Murdered a Great Being. His body is slowly mutating with effects of Teridax' shadow transformation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bionicle © LEGO, Greg Farshtey Toa Metro © Me Enjoy!
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It's time for things to heat up in Lightfall. If you've missed out on the action so far, start out right here. For the central hub of Lightfall, go to the review topic. Now, if nothing else must be said, I think some of the epic's characters have debts to settle...and they would like to started. Like...Right. Now. Part 3 – The Paths of Warriors Chapter 22 Zakaz, 995 years after the Great Cataclysm “…So you’re up to it then?” said a gray-armored Toa. A squad of Skakdi restlessly waited around him. “Sure, Toa. If we’re in on the bounty, we got your back,” responded a vicious overlord, the leader of these Skakdi mercenaries. The Toa said “Then we’re sealing the transaction, I get one third of the total payment from AlBeGam, your party gets the other two-thirds to split as you see fit. I still support the 50-50 split - ” “Shut it, Toa, if you want your deal. The time for haggling is over - now it’s business or bust.” “Fine. Then let’s go. Reiterate your squad’s names again, Falkhan. I got to call them something.” “That’s Chief Falkhan. As for my squad, that’s Rayzan there, our demolitions expert. Krazann here specializes in close combat, and is generally our primary combatant. Morgoz is the last one. He makes sure nothing escapes alive, so he’s a secondary brawler and long-range specialist.” “A well-balanced group. I suppose that’s why you stood out to me when I went looking for a team. Our destination is here,” said the Toa, pointing at a cove of the Northern Continent on a tattered map. There’s…some sort of fortress there, which is why I needed aid. Rayzan will be indispensable into gaining access. I believe our targets are holed up inside with the aid of at least two other Toa.” The deal was made. The Toa in question wanted no longer just wanted payment, but also revenge. Revenge for the fool they had made him appear to be on Stelt. Order must be established once again. Justice must be dealt. Rynekaad was going to set things straight. Chapter 23 Northern Continent, 995 years after the Great Cataclysm “Well, this is bad,” sighed Emeder. Guftivei contradicted “What? I was getting sick of just sitting here. Time we put things in motion!” After mentally scanning numerous areas to assess the situation, Imegna had found the mind of Rynekaad. She had just notified them of his intentions. “Don’t forget, he doesn’t actually know what’s going on here. He thinks the fortress down the cove is under our control. He doesn’t realize we have been trying to break into it for over a year already, waiting for the opportune moment,” reminded Imegna. The fortress was formerly a Brotherhood of Makuta outpost. It had since been abandoned, but the building still swarmed with their forces. After Imegna had approximated its location with psionic searches, they set out to pinpoint the exact location with traditional exploration. This had taken the better part of the last year. Now that they had found it, they had set camp for a few weeks, uncertain of what step to take next. They wanted to infiltrate it in order to obtain a very specific prize: shadow leeches. After the revelation about the power of the Light Ravager, Imegna had been the least fazed. Certain some way to defeat it existed, she searched her memory of mind-reads to ascertain a feasibly obtainable shadow substance. After discussing possibilities she knew of with the others, the general consensus was that their primary objective would be to steal shadow leeches from a Makuta facility. This outpost, abandoned by its original overlords, seemed like a perfect starting point…until they saw the Rahkshi patrolling it. The party had remained unnoticed so far and determined that there were at least two Exo-Toa suits, a minimum of ten Rahkshi (quite possibly as many as twenty), and who knew what else. Imegna’s mind-reading was unsuccessful in obtaining more information as she had little practice with the unusual minds of kraata, if they could even be considered to have minds. “How did he ever find out we were here?” Tignioni questioned. Imegna answered “It wasn’t clear in what I saw…sometimes - fine, frequently, I only get fuzzy views when trying to use my psionics over such distances or vast groups of people. When I said I read the minds of everyone in several continents, I didn’t mean that it was simultaneous or clear. It was in groups and often very vague.” “Honestly, we passed several settlements on the way here. He could have been tipped off by someone in one of those, or he could have been in one himself. Long-range scouting on his part may have made it clear to him we were in the area and he might have assumed we were in the fortress when he saw it,” contributed Emeder. “We’re totally fried either way.” “Nah…I say the fun’s just beginning,” said Guftivei. “Seriously, I say we blow that rock pile sky-high!” Even Tignioni had a hard time agreeing with this call to action. “Actually, Guftivei –” Imegna started “Your enthusiasm just gave me a great idea. Somehow, I have a creeping suspicion that Tignioni isn’t going to like it too much…” Chapter 24 Northern Continent, 995 years after the Great Cataclysm Rynekaad and Falkhan surveyed the beach. “This looks good. Relatively unassuming, near the ship, fortress in view. Get your squad over here with our supplies, Chief, and we got a camp.” Rynekaad said as they found a seaside opening behind a cluster of boulders. On a hostile rise above them was the fortress, but the boulders would prevent anything from seeing their camp. The terrain was simply austere. Crags of sharp rock existed in place of soil and rubble was littered around the area. Sickly bushes clung to life as unforgiving salty winds raced inland from the ocean. The fortress was about three hundred bios inland and their camp was set almost on the beach and skewed away from it by a slight amount to the right. The fortress walls were about twelve to fifteen bios in height. Sheer escarpments rose up a hundred or so bios out from either side of the fortress with the only gap being a valley that the fortress had been situated in the center of. The cliffs themselves were about thirty bios tall, with talus slopes cascading down them at intervals. Atop these cliffs were thickets of undergrowth that thrived at their elevation, free of the harsh winds in the valley. The valley, by its very nature, funneled foul weather both from the continent and the ocean to this point, leading to perpetually gray skies. - - - Tignioni looked down from the cliff face. From his vantage point he could see everything: the abandoned Makuta outpost to the northwest, the bounty hunter camp to almost straight west, even his own camp to the north. His camp was difficult to see from his spot due to thickets of trees obscuring it. Matter of fact, all he could see of it was the glow of the campfire. Rynekaad and his Skakdi were just getting settled in. Now was his time. With a deep breath in preparation, he jumped off the edge and began to slide down a talus slope. - - - “What in the name of Irnakk?” Falkhan asked himself. Not removing his eyes from the red streak hurtling toward the ground, he called out “Rynekaad, what do you make of this?” Rynekaad came over to assess the source of Falkhan’s confusion. As soon as he saw it though, he was flabbergasted. At the center of a dust cloud that was just starting to dissipate was the very Toa of Fire that had possessed the audacity to challenge him on Stelt. “Get him!” he roared. The rush to secure the enemy wasn’t all that necessary, however. The Fire Toa was almost incapacitated after riding an avalanche of rubble down to the valley bottom. The Toa glanced up to see every Skakdi in the squad with armaments trained on him. He dropped his sword at his feet. Rynekaad stalked forward and removed one of the conventional daggers from the row strapped over his chest, then held it to the newcomer’s throat. “Well, if it isn’t Red Head again.” “It’s Tignioni, if you wanted my name.” “I’ll remember that Hot Shot. Get it? Fire, Hot?” Rynekaad continued, the dagger steady the entire time. “Funny.” “You betcha’ fancy mask I’m funny.” “Right. Um…so, I’m formally handing myself over. If you will just let me go when the battle’s over, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” “Considering there’s no price on your head, I say we got a deal. But first, I want to know just why you suddenly seem all excited to get on our side of things, when you pulled a sword on me back in Stelt. If I even smell a lie, I’m going to let my Skakdi acquaintances have fun with you. From what they’ve told me, they’re pretty creative when it comes amusing themselves. How’s this sound to you, Chief?” “Fun.” “And you, Red Head?” “Fine by me; I’ve nothing to hide. Just one question: Why do you call me Red Head when my mask is yellow? As I said, you can call me Tignioni.” Ignoring the question, Rynekaad concluded “Deal. We’re taking you back to camp Hot Shot…”
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Welcome to the Part 2 of Lightfall. If you haven't read Part 1, why don't you go ahead right now. To access the central hub for all things Lightfall - the epic itself, artwork, and MOCs - go to the review topic. I will apologize in advance: this is the shortest part. It will seems to just fly by, but it sets the groundwork for Parts 3 & 4 where things really get cooking. It has a total of eight chapters to be released two at a time. With that aside, let's get going with Part 2: Looking for Answers (hyper-generic name, I know, but they couldn't all turn out creative).Lightfall-Looking for Answers Chapter 14 Northern Continent, 993 years after Great Cataclysm Welcome to my enclave intoned a musical, feminine voice within Emeder’s head when he approached the mouth of the cave. Looking around, he saw no one other than himself, Guftivei, and Tignioni. Guftivei had an expression of surprise on his face, so Emeder assumed that both of them were just as unprepared to hear a voice from within their heads. Tignioni had warned them it could come as a bit of shock to hear telepathic communication, but nothing really prepared them for the strangeness of it. Please, come in. They quickly found themselves in a chamber dimly lit by lightstones. The lightstones were shrouded and this produced an effect that made it seem as if the very walls of the subterranean dwelling exuded an eerie and ambient glow. A slumped silhouette removed all the shrouds and the blue and gold form of the weary Toa of Psionics named Imegna became clearer with each increase in the volume of light in the room. I am pleased to see that we are at last ready to begin. I have long waited for a survivor to stray near enough to my cavern that I could establish communication. “How did you know of us survivors without having faced this creature?” inquired Emeder. I have seen it all in my head. Over time, my psionic abilities have become more and more powerful. By now, I can reach out and hear the thoughts of beings that are continents away, but I can do nothing. The harder I tap into these extreme powers, the weaker I leave myself physically. That is why I have remained here. “If you know so much -” -then why choose you? It is simple; you have only underscored yourself over the years. You are not the failure you think you are. “But they’re all dead and -” It is not your fault. We share something in common Emeder. We both blame ourselves for something we could not have prevented. I have never forgiven myself for the near-disastrous incident at my village Tignioni told you about. We both ran from our villages and we both need redemption in order to forgive ourselves. This is our chance. Emeder could feel both Tignioni’s and Guftivei’s eyes on him. He knew this conversation was being broadcasted into their minds as well. With a surge of anger he screamed “Then why haven’t you come and done something? Why did you just hide here and let both of us nurture our guilt and hate ourselves when you could track this thing? Why? I was hiding, too, I know, but I didn’t know where to go or what to do and you did! For all this time…” He trailed off as he realized she hadn’t interrupted and finished his sentence for him, already knowing the ending. That was when he realized he’d hurt something deep down inside her, something that hurt with as much agony as his own memories of failure. I waited because someone had to find out the facts. This time pain racked the previously melodic voice. I didn’t tell Tignioni everything…and I lied about having never faced the creature. My village fell victim to it as well. The day I fled my village, I sensed its presence nearby. That was the first time I ran across it. When I tried to return to my village the next day in order to set things right and make amends for my mistake with my psionic powers, only charred husks of the buildings remained. I realized I was the only one who could track it down, and only if I tapped into my psionic abilities in a way I never had before. So I did…but it hurt. It hurt so much. I didn’t know where to look so I read every mind I could find, reaching out over continents. Only then could I find out enough. But when you listen to every thought in a few continents, it hurts. Just an hour ago, a Skakdi wanting nothing more than to be loyal to his leader is bleeding to death on Zakaz. A slave trying to lead a protest against class distinctions on Stelt was assassinated this morning. Five days ago, a Matoran died after a week of being tortured for information by Dark Hunters on Odina. I felt all them. “Why do we bother then? This world -” -isn’t worth fighting for? On the other side of Zakaz, two Skakdi warlords did the unthinkable and formed a peace treaty for the first time in the history of the island. A friend of the assassinated slave on Stelt was inspired by his sacrifice to take up arms and performed a jail break that successfully evacuated over a dozen unjustly incarcerated slaves out to safety on nearby islands. A Matoran from the same village as the tortured one felt his death - don't ask me how - and made a wreath of flowers, which he then cast into the ocean to remember the other one by. I felt all them, too. All that…that’s what’s worth fighting for. Chapter 15 Northern Continent, 993 years after Great Cataclysm For a short while afterwards, an awkward silence hung in the cavern’s air. Imegna had added a new perspective to their view on the mission. Eventually, it was Imegna herself who rekindled the conversation. I already have an initial destination chosen. Once, when I managed to actually find the mind of the creature itself, I traced its point of origin from one of the creature’s embedded memories, if you can call them memories. As I mentioned earlier, it seems to have a “programmed” mind. Either way, I believe Tignioni himself was actually the first being to ever encounter this abomination. “What? You can’t be serious. The day my village was lost was the when it first rose up – ever? Yes. It originated at a location that is underground, but near the area of the Southern continent I have seen in your memories. The time period is also consistent. That is our first task. We must head to that portion of the Southern Continent and discover the details of its genesis, so that we may know how to destroy it. The only problem is that the particular segment of the Southern Continent in question had broken through this level of our universe and now rests in the ocean above. “Oh, this is going to get fun.” Guftivei added with unenthused sarcasm. Stelt is full of ports with many shipping containers. We should be able to procure something that could survive a journey from one dome of our universe to the next on that island. “Best plan we have, I suppose.” Tignioni concluded as Imegna finished. “Let’s go.” Guftivei, Emeder, and Tignioni were all facing each other during this discussion, but the three of them now whipped around to face the new voice that had just spoken. To their great surprise, they discovered Imegna had just spoken non-telepathically. She was now standing erect and energetic rather than slumped with exhaustion as she had been earlier. “Imegna…?” trailed Emeder. “Did I not say that using my psionic abilities in the extreme manner I usually do was what left me debilitated physically? When I try to listen to minds that are incomprehensibly distant, as I was before, I can only communicate telepathically and move lethargically - ” “But that would mean you were reading minds of beings kios away at the same time as you were talking to us. That’s impossible!” “I…multitask. Under normal circumstances, I don’t have any problems.” “You always seem to surprise me,” Tignioni responded. “You've barely met me. Plus, did you really think I would task you with creating a team to take down some freaky ancient enemy without joining in on the fun myself? I’m coming with you. Before we leave, though, I have a little something for Guftivei.” With that she left into a side cavern and returned carrying two armblades. With a glance to Guftivei she called out “Catch!” and heaved the two weapons at him. Then she continued “A replacement for your broadsword, since you always wanted armblades anyway.” “How did you know?” Imegna did not even deign to answer the question. She just gave him a bemused look. Then it occurred to Guftivei. “Oh right…read minds from several continents. Guess I’m no exception. Yeesh - that’s weird to think someone knows all your thoughts.” “Definitely not all your thoughts. It’d be impossible to listen to every mind in reality simultaneously. By 'every mind in several continents,' I mean a process that takes months to complete because I can only read a few at a time. Plus, that’d just be too weird.” “Still weird enough. Well, let’s get on over to Stelt. I want a chance to try out these new murderous friends of mine.” Tignioni contradicted. “I’m afraid I would like to avoid a battle, for one. We should be able to obtain a suitable container without violence as long as everything and everyone in reality doesn’t decide to conspire against us, right? Either way, I agree. Let’s move. The quicker we put an end to this, the better.” The team of four proceeded to Tignioni’s boat and set a heading for Stelt. It was time to get started.
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Would it have been possible for a Toa of Shadow to make a Toa Seal with other Toa? If so, would it be deformed?
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A couple notes before you start to read:1. I started working on this a long, long time ago. I finished recently. End result: the writing style changes will change a bit as this goes on, but it is all pre-written and I've decided I've put enough time in so far that I'm ready to just put it up regardless of the fact I feel the beginning isn't as well written as the end. It tends to get easily sidetracked...2. Yes, the chapters (esp. early ones) are very short. Very, very short - too short for my own taste. That's why I'll post multiple at a time. I wrote this is one-chapter-at-a-time bursts and they all end at any point that came to my mind as a point I could leave off in such a way that the tension would keep running. I hope you don't have anything against lots of cliffhanger-like endings!3. Lastly, I have a sequel planned. That's the one I plan on making my truly great work, and I'm going to take advantage of any input I can get from this one. So, as soon as I have a review topic set up, I would appreciate any feedback. I will be utilizing critiques, so please don't decide it's not worth your time. I am continuing on with my writing and I will listen. That said, it's time I finally put this up. This is Part 1 of "Lightfall."Lightfall-The Menace of LightChapter 1 The Southern Continent, approx. 10 years prior to Great Cataclysm Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. The entire landscape seemed to be composed of them for Tignioni. As a veteran Toa of Fire on the part of the Southern Continent would one day be called Voya Nui, he was all too familiar with the endless rocks. His life seemed to be predominated by scrabbling over them. He felt…that, perhaps, he didn’t have a purpose a here. Despite this, he was obediently poised on a rock, staring out upon the vast, unending field of yet more rocks outside of a village constructed out of even more rocks. He was to await an important shipment of goods and was to make sure that no Rahi damaged it. Suddenly, there was a magnificently bright flash. Could this be the supplies at last? He cared for nothing more than the end to the monotonous wait. He activated his Kakama and sped off absentmindedly in the direction of the light, certain it was the Matoran convoy. Yet, when he stopped he saw nothing other than a massive hole. With a sudden realization he murmured, “Why in Mata Nui’s name is it so bright?” Noticing the light came from behind, he spun around but immediately wished he hadn’t. A dazzlingly radiant orb of energy, with a diameter as great as he was tall, was floating behind him. The sight almost blinded him instantaneously. In fear of some trap he activated his true mask, a Mahiki, and called forth an illusion that there were nearly a dozen copies of him present. Immediately upon doing so, the orb began lashing out at the illusionary versions of Tignioni with rays of energy, with which it was combing the area. Where these touched the soil they vaporized it for as deep as the eye could see, causing a sinkhole to form as the soil collapsed inward. Tignioni frantically raced his mind to try and make sense of the situation before he was obliterated. He thought: It’s trying to kill me. Maybe I can hide if… Seeing it as his only chance, and it probably was, Tignioni called upon his elemental energy to explode the whole surrounding area. The brilliant orb searched haze caused by the blast, but left, noticing nothing more an oddly shaped rock uncovered by that massive explosion… Chapter 2 The Southern Continent, approx. 10 years prior to Great Cataclysm Had there been anyone to witness the aftermath of Tignioni’s battle with the bizarre orb, they would have observed that an unusually shaped rock near the site collapsed into an unconscious Toa of Fire. Tignioni’s quick thinking to produce the illusion he was a rock and veil it with an explosion had saved his life. A short while later, he came to consciousness. Tignioni stared up at the sky, and then thought aloud, “I believe… I have a newfound respect for rocks.” He chuckled to himself, but stopped abruptly. Where had that thing gone? What if it had reached a village? Wait…there was a village right behind him. Tignioni craned his neck in the direction of the village. There seemed to be smoke, and wasn’t it a little lower in the ground… Tignioni suddenly felt a sinking feeling. A pit had formed when that mysterious source of light had attacked him as the dirt had collapsed inward. He reactivated his Kakama and sped off towards the village. Upon reaching the outskirts, his fears were confirmed. Buildings were destroyed, belongings knocked over, holes where concentrated light had burned through objects, and, most disconcertingly, no Matoran anywhere. “Is there anyone here?” Tignioni cried out again, though he knew it would be futile. There were so many questions. Had it simply obliterated the Matoran? Or had it absorbed them? Was it growing in power? Could it be defeated? Where would it go next? Tignioni circled once more, despite the fact he was sure nobody was in the area. He didn’t believe they had all died. He refused to. Yet the facts were overwhelming, and after six passes through the village and a fruitless hour searching, he surrendered himself to the truth. The village had simply been annihilated. Suddenly, Tignioni felt an urge to follow that thing, whatever it was, and stop it. He would have to get to work right away. He couldn’t stick around to explain to the nearby villages. They would just have to count him among the dead. Tignioni set off, toward the horizon, not knowing his current, or final, destination. He knew only one thing: He had found his destiny. Chapter 3 Xia, approx. 920 years after Great Cataclysm A Vortixx rounded the corner, only narrowly avoiding a volley of zamor spheres and Cordak blasts. His name was Guftivei and he was running for his life. He had always been disgusted by his society’s way of life on Xia. His near-fatal mistake was speaking up repetitively against one of the largest corporations in weapon production, and, if he wasn’t careful, it would be a fatal mistake. The company had no regard for anything except profit. Guftivei always hated them, but the final blow was when they destroyed the last stand of vegetation on Xia. It had hardly been more than a stand of a dozen trees, but it was all that remained on Xia as far as plant life went. Now it matched everything else on the island, a complex of gray buildings surrounded by hazy smoke. He couldn’t help it any longer; he protested to it, and now he was paying for it. Guftivei stepped aside into an empty alcove. He had to leave Xia, but where could he go? He certainly wouldn’t be accepted in one of those havens for Matoran like the Southern Continent or that metropolis apparently made by the Great Beings just for Matoran…What was it called? Oh, yes: Metru Nui. Well, with those set aside, where could he go? Zakaz would be remote enough, but he would probably be caught between vicious warlords in no time. Yet, returning to the concept of the Southern Continent, wouldn’t there have to be some sort of barrier islands offshore from the Southern Continent? They would be small and uninhabited. Yes, if he could survive on one of those, he would be safe… His thinking was interrupted by a crackle from a zamor sphere hitting a wall. He peeked out slightly. He saw two phalanxes of armed Vortixx advancing, one from each entrance. They had pinpointed him to this building, but didn’t know where he was. They thought he was unable to escape, but they had overlooked one thing: he could travel from one building to the next on their outsides because Xia was so industrialized and the buildings so close together. It was risky, since the ground was nearly fifty bios below him, but it was his only chance. He opened a ventilation hatch and climbed out holding onto a pipe on the wall. He grabbed a railing on the building next to him and began inching his way across the exterior of the building. Upon finding another ventilation grate, he pried it off with his spear, which he had slung over his back previously. Suddenly, his hand on the rail lost its grip. Since he had removed his other hand to grab his spear, he suddenly found himself falling towards the ground, far, far, below…
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The threat of the Witch Doctor may be over, but he wasn't the only villain who liked the idea of a jungle lair. Ethan Torch, a ruthless turncoat hero, has avoided capture once again and fled to the planet Quatros. Joseph Shadow, his former teammate, has been sent to thwart the traitorous fiend before he revives Witch Doctor's plot to control the planet's Quaza supply.Made these guys a couple months ago to go along with the Savage Planet storyline. They're not really custom at all, the main idea was to experiment with HF's system and make a simple aesthetic look cool. Hopefully that worked out despite their basic design.Joseph ShadowShadow has been fitted with powerful claws and thick, sludge-resistant boots to traverse the treacherous jungle floor. Having nearly been killed by his former colleague some months before, he has abandoned any hope of converting Torch back to the Hero Factory's cause and is focused solely on getting him behind bars.Ethan TorchAs it turns out, Shadow isn't the only one with an upgrade. Torch has adapted to his new environment seamlessly, now equipped with venomous spines, mighty talons, and a toxic gas blaster. He has already resumed Witch Doctor's villainous operations, using leftover Quaza to take control of the planet's most vicious beasts. He has no intention of returning to the Hero Factory, much less as a prisoner, so he'll be pulling out all the stops to eliminate Shadow.Gallery - Might not be public yet. I know the picture quality could be a lot better due to these all being taken last night, so I might try to get some better pictures today with more natural light.
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Bionicle: The Shadows Inside By Ignacis I feel fine and I can smileBut I feel the anger coming.It's underneath I don't know whyIt's always overflowing.It's a constant fight deep insideAnd I want to forget it.I confess I’m always afraid,Always ashamed of what's inside me.I confess I’m always afraid,Always ashamed of what's inside my head.REDInnocents and InstinctCopyright 2009 The Toa Nuva, accompanied by their leader Toa Mata Tahu, struggled against their chain bonds as the Shadowed One examined each of them with the utmost care. Their Kanohi had been stripped from them, as well as their weapons. Even their Toa Symbols had been taken from their makeshift villages in the newly formed Matoran settlement on Spherus Magna. It had started off as any other day, but without warning, the Dark Hunters had appeared, taken the Toa Nuva and Tahu captive and brought them to their newly built fortress on the outskirts of Bara Magna. After they had been beaten and battered by a variety of the Shadow One's cronies, and each of the Toa was strapped to a large pillar in the fortress's dungeon, where the Shadowed One now paced, as if waiting for someone to arrive. "You are probably wondering why I brought you here," he said, stopping in front of Tahu. "Well, if you must know, I am here to become the next great hero of this world." "What in the name of Karzanhi are you talking about?" exclaimed Gali, lifting her head high enough to meet the Shadowed One's gaze. "Silence you pathetic waste of Protodermis!" said the Dark Hunter Amphibax, who was standing next to Gali. There was a loud thud as the Dark Hunter punched Gali in the stomach, causing her to lost her breath and keel over, help up only by her bonds. The Shadowed One snickered. "Foolish Toa. You think your insults phase me? I have your powers, your precious Kanohi and even your Toa Symbols. I could incinerate you right now, but fortunately for you, I have bigger plans than just destroying the most powerful Toa in the universe." His back was to them now, and Tahu could see the Shadowed One's third leg. He then turn to gaze at the Toa out of the corner of his eye, an evil sneer across his face. "You see, I am the one who is going to destroy Teridax one and for all, but I will need your 'help' to do so." "Then why did you feel the need to kidnap us? And what makes you think Makuta is still alive?" asked Tahu, struggling against his bonds. "It's quite simple, Toa of Embers. Teridax cannot die unless all of his antidermis is destroyed," said the Shadowed One, his voice barely above a whisper. There was a loud bang, followed by a serious of grunts and clang of footsteps on the cold, stone floor of the dungeon. Tahu strained his eyes to see what was causing the commotion, but whatever it was, it was making sure to stay out of a sight. When the footsteps stopped, the grunts increased, as well as the rustle of what sounded like fabric. There was a loud thud, the sound of a small scuffle, and then two Dark Hunters appeared, dragging something behind them. Tahu recognized them as Gladiator and Minion, two of the organization's strongest members. After they slammed and fastened what they were dragging onto a rack of some kind, Minion began to shift and almost pace as if irritated by being in the room. The Shadowed One approached him and spoke softly. "He's here, isn't he?" Minion spoke, in a garbled voice, like he was speaking with a mouth full of water. It chilled Tahu to the core as it echoed eerily in the room, thought it was barley over a whisper. "Yes…he is here…I sense him…all over…like…he is…them!" "Then your usefulness has ended," he said, and blasted Minion with his laser vision. There was an explosion of energy, and the massive Dark Hunter fell to the ground and lay there in a pile, unmoving. The Shadowed One turned around and pointed at the rack. "Remove the shield!" Gladiator nodded and ripped something off the rack, holding it high in the air for all to see. Tahu thought it looked like a Kanohi of some kind, but it was solid protosteel and shapeless, with no slits for eyes or any other notable features on its surface. "Bring him forward," said the Shadowed One, stepping to the side. Gladiator pushed the rack forward into the low light from the various candles that filled the room. Strapped spread eagle to the rack was a Toa with dark silver and white armor. He gasped and coughed as he tried to lift his head up to see his surrounding. Tahu felt helpless as he stared at the battered Toa. As a moan escaped the Toa's mouth, and he gasped under his breathe, his voice almost cracking. "Takua…no…" The Shadowed One rapped his staff three times on the ground, and another Dark Hunter, one called Airwatcher, appeared with a two, small bundles to the Shadowed One's left. He gave one to the Shadowed One, and emptied the contents of the other onto the floor near him. Tahu heard a loud clatter as what seemed like Kanohi of some kind hit the floor, though he could not tell which ones they were in the dim light. The Shadowed One removed the cloth from his bundle, and revealed a golden Kanohi, which lit up the cavern and nearly blinded the Toa as its bright light fell on them. The Shadowed One then placed the Kanohi on Takanuva, which made his body lurch as if he had been electrocuted. The Tahu and the others cried out in utter helplessness as the golden armor of Takanuva, the Toa of Light, now shone in the dimly lit dungeon. The Shadowed One leaned in, his face just inches from Takanuva's mask and spoke to him in a chilling voice. "Now, just as we discussed," he said, pointing to the Toa. "I…can't…I…won't…" he gasped, laying his head back against the rack. "Then I'll make you!" said the Shadowed One. With blinding speed, he grabbed a Kanohi from the ground and slammed it onto Takanuva's face, banging his head against the back of the rack with a loud thud. Takanuva seemed to be filled with energy now, and began to fight against his bonds. The Shadowed One picked up another Kanohi and slammed it on Takanuva's face, causing the Toa of Light to start to glow more brightly, and once again bang his head on the back of the wooden rack. "How long can you hold all this energy, Toa of Light?" cried the Shadowed One, slamming yet another mask onto Takanuva's face. "If you release too much, you'll incinerate all of your fellow Toa. Release too little, and you'll destroy yourself. Is that a gamble you honestly want to take?" He slammed yet another Kanohi onto Takanuva's face, causing him to glow even brighter. As the Shadowed One raised another Kanohi from the ground, Tahu gasped as he caught the mask's outline in the dim light. He's giving him Masks of Elemental Energy! Thought Tahu. But if he isn’t more careful, he's going to knock Takanuva unconscious! Doesn't the Shadowed One realize that he could kill us all if he keeps doing that? The Shadowed One slammed another Kanohi onto the Toa of Light's face, causing the Av-Toa's head to bounce violently off the back of the rack yet again. Even as the leader of the Dark Hunter's raised another Kanohi up, the Toa of Light did not utter a sound of protest or pain. This seem to anger the Shadowed One even more as he screamed at Takanuva, his voice echoing several times over in the large, empty chamber. "Release your powers Toa of Light! Do it now!" The Toa of Light looked up and gazed into the eyes of the Tahu's team. "I'm…sorry,” he whispered, and as his head collapsed back onto the rack, he let out a shout of pain. Tahu closed his eyes as an explosion of light came from Takanuva, and washed over the Toa's bodies. Maybe it was his body shutting down, or his mind blocking it out, but Tahu felt no pain from the light. Instead, he felt like something was coursing through out his body, causing him to writhe and struggle to get away. Then, the pain hit him. It was pain like he had never known before. It was like his very soul was being torn from his body, and then torn in two. Memories flashed before his eyes, blurring and stirring his thoughts into a confusing swarm of consciousness, preventing him from distinguishing reality from his memories. Suddenly, the scattered fragments of his psyche then began to focus on one event. It was fuzzy at first, but eventually stabilized and he could now see a figure before him, black as soot and battling against him, a rusted Kanohi Hau on his face. He fought off several blows before his attacker spoke to him. "Take care, Tahu," said his attacker, his voice crackling like fire. "Lest the fire of your anger blaze out of control." "We'll see how you like my fire now," he said and unleashed a wave of fire that melted the very rock between them. He continued to battle his attacker, matching him blow for blow. Tahu felt like his mind was caught between the past and present, melding into some strange time paradox. Around him, the other Toa were battling versions of themselves, with little success. Then, his memories began to shutter, like his vision was trying to correct itself. There was a sudden blast and he saw Gali's attacker vanish in a cloud storm of fire, only to have his vision shift to the shadowy attackers regrouping to face the Toa as a group. "We can't beat them, they are just too powerful!" exclaimed Gali. His vision shifted again, showing Gali washing away Onua's attacker with a massive flood. As Onua went to attack Lewa's opponent, his vision shifted back to their enemies closing in on them as a group as he had seen before. "They match us move for move, as if they know what we are going to do next!" said Pohatu. Tahu's vision shifted again to see Pohatu suddenly fighting his attacker in the corner of the room. "Guys?" he called breathlessly. "Um, hey- anyone want to give me a hand here?" As Kopaka turned towards the Toa of Stone, Tahu's vision shifted again to see Kopaka and the other standing in a line around him, preparing to attack the Shadow Toa who were closing in on them. "It's because they are us!" said Kopaka, unleashing a snowstorm against their attackers. The Shadow Tahu released a torrent of energy, and Kopaka quickly created a wall of ice all around the Shadow Toa, allowing the Toa Mata to retreat to another section of the cavern while they tried to escape from. "What do you mean, brother?" asked Onua, summoning a massive dome of earth over their attackers as they huddled up, still facing the spot where their attackers were imprisoned. "Remember that Matoran was selling the infected Koli balls to the Matoran? The one Takua told us about?" "Yeah, he disappeared. What does that have to do with these Toa we are fighting now?" asked Pohatu, adding another wall of defense to hold their opponents captive. "Everything! Don't you see? We see the Matoran as faithful servants of Mata Nui, but then why would Ahkmou purposely sell those Koli balls to the Matoran?" said Kopaka. The Toa looked at him perplexed, but then Gali seemed to understand. "It is because we all have the choice to do great good or great evil," said Gali. "What is to stop us from now from ending this battle by offering our service to the Makuta? Nothing but our free will, and our heartfelt destiny to reawaken Mata Nui. It is our choices that make us Toa Heroes, instead of tyrants like Makuta." An explosion rocked the room, sending ice, earth and stone flying through the air. The Toa each summoned the power of their Kanohi Hau's, and shielded themselves from the onslaught of debris. As the Shadow Toa emerged from a cloud of dust, Lewa jumped in front of the other Toa and crouched into a battle ready stance. "Well, this has been a great deep-thought conversation, brothers," said Lewa, unleashing a blast of air at their attackers. "But how does that help us stop those things from making us Rahi-bones?" Tahu thought about Lewa's words carefully as he summoned a wall of fire to help impede their steady march towards his team. He thought about how he had nearly lost control of his anger not long after he had landed on the shores of Mata Nui and how tempting it had been to give into his anger and unleash all of his power on that beach, and even the world. It had made him realized just how close he came to giving into his inner darkness, even though he fought for justice and freedom of his Matoran friends. Tahu knew what he had to do and looked around at his fellow Toa. "If those things truly are reflections of us," he said, preparing his sword. "Then perhaps it's time we had a heartlight to heartlight talk with ourselves!" The others understood and readied their weapons as well. Giving a battle cry, Tahu charged, and the other Toa followed suit, yelling at the top of their lungs. The Shadow Toa charged as well, and the two forces met in the middle of the chamber. Locking weapons with his attacker, Tahu pressed his mask up to his shadow version's mask. "So, you say we are one in the same, monster?" "Of course I am you, foolish Toa! Do you finally see the truth?" "Yes I do, and it is time we see how alike we really are!" With a sudden burst of strength, Tahu broke free from his attacker and slammed his body into his Shadow self. As the being seemed to disperse into the air, he found himself engulfed in pain as the Shadow Tahu began to swirl and mass of shadow energy around him. To his left and right, his fellow Toa were also crying out as their enemies were covering them in a whirling mass of darkness. As the darkness continued to whirl around them, the voice of his enemy filled his head, and seemed to break apart as if being cut off by another voice trying to communicate with him as well. "This is not the end, Toa! I shall return!" Tahu suddenly felt his head fly back and he gazed up at the cavern's ceiling, as the dark mass seemed to enter his body from his mouth. As the dark mass seemed to fill his body, his vision once again began flash back and forth between his current battle and the images of the Toa destroying the other's Toa's shadow doubles with their various elemental attacks. Then the world began to swirl, almost blending together in a chaotic mixture of past and present, fact and fiction and light and darkness. With a final convulsion, Tahu found himself gasping for air and staring up at the ceiling of a dark room, pinned to a massive pillar by metallic bonds. As the Toa Nuva came out of their daze, they all looked up to see the Shadowed One getting into a battle stance and shouting at a large, greenish mass that was now floating in the middle of the chamber. "Get his body ready! He won't last long without something to house him!" "What is the meaning of this? What is going on?" said a deep, raspy voice in Tahu's head. He knew that voice. It was the voice of Makuta Teridax communicating through telepathy. The voice made even Tahu cringe, and he now knew what the greenish cloud must be. It was the last remaining portion of Teridax's antidermis, which had housed itself inside the bodies of the Toa Nuva, like they had taken him hostage. Our souls must have kept Makuta pinned down inside of us, knowing what great evil he would have committed should he have escaped! Thought Tahu, as he stared at the swirling cloud above them. But why is the Shadowed One giving him a body? He will only grow stronger if he finds something to house his spirit! "I have freed you from your Toa captures to finish what we started on Metru Nui over 1,000 years ago, Teridax! And today, you will not be able to escape!" "Foolish, Shadowed One. You claim to the all knowing leader of a powerful organization, but you do not realize how clueless you really are!" "What do you mean? I was the one who discovered the full layout of your plan to take over the universe! Did you really think I would not consider you would have a backup plan in case you failed even after your greatest victory? Surely even you cannot be so headstrong you would have an oversight like that? No, I know you have schemes within schemes and plans within plans so that even if you fail, you still keep yourself five steps ahead of your enemies! Well, I have learned from your treachery and I did some scheming of my own! And now, I will be the one who will finally destroy you, and claim my rightful place as the rightful ruler of this universe!" "Against my knowledge, you are nothing more than a Hoto bug in terms of intelligence, Shadowed One. Which is why I will not fight you today. Instead I will leave you now, and let you rethink your glorious plan." The mass suddenly dove towards the ground, and dissipated into Minion through the small gaps in his indestructible armor plating. The massive Dark Hunter then rose from the ground writhing and squirming as if in massive amounts of pain. After Minion rose to his full height, he writhed for several more seconds, and then suddenly roared in the voice of Teridax, raising a massive clawed hand high into the air. Before he could counter the attack, Teridax struck the Shadowed One with a massive blow to his face. The other Dark Hunters sprang into action to subdue him, but Teridax struck them with a blast of laser vision, combined with his chain lightening power from one hand and sonic power from his other. As the various Dark Hunters collapsed to the ground, Teridax turned and unleashed a similar attack on the Shadowed One that sent him flying through the air and through a nearby wall. When the dust settled, Makuta had vanished from view leaving Tahu and his fellow Toa chained to the wall. As the Shadowed One began to stir and recover from the massive blast, Tahu suddenly felt himself being freed. He turned to see Takanuva, using small beams of light to break the Toa's bonds. As soon as he was free, Tahu helped free his fellow Toa. The two Toa worked quickly and as soon as Kopaka's bonds were destroyed, they ran up the flight of stairs that lead out of the dungeon toward the main level of the fortress. As Tahu collected his Kanohi and weapons from a room just to the left of the stairs, he turned and unleashed a torrent of fire at the doorway, blocking any pursuit from the Dark Hunters. The Toa continued to run out of the Dark Hunter's fortress, battling its various members as they went. When they finally reached the exit, the Toa hijacked several of the Hunter's vehicles from the fortresses courtyard and took off towards the Matoran settlement.
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BZPower Short Story Contest #8: Title Twisters Comic 24: Shadow Play By: Click Author's Note: A few probably FAQ's: This takes place in an alternate universe where Ko-Metru astronomers have already discovered Bara-Magna before Mata-Nui was awakened. A secret organization of exclusively Matoran called R.A.M.A. defend and do covert operations when necessary. It is exactly 5,724 words. Hope you enjoy! “Wait for my mark. Ready, go!” Commander Kira signaled with her hand. The dark and light blue matoran was anything but conspicuous in Voya-Nui’s jungle, but with all the missions under her belt, she knew what she was doing. Unfortunately, none of her other fresh recruits did. Commander Kira was one of the leaders of the most elite undercover organizations on Metru-Nui. Code named R.A.M.A., or Resistance Attacks of the Matoran Area, they specialized in the missions The Order didn’t. They had broken into many Makuta’s lairs and stopped attacks planned on the Matoran. They’ve stopped another rising of the Bahrag, and all of these great missions were led by Kira, who has been with them from the start. Of course, no one had heard of them, but that’s because they’re so good. At least, most of them. This mission was a training exercise for the new ‘Makuta Fodder.’ About half were asleep in the bushes, and most of the others were messing around with their new gear. A Lava Hawk fell from the sky in a fiery explosion as a recruit tried target practice. Such maneuvers would give them all away in a normal mission. Com. Kira tried to hide her face as a huge explosion shook the forest. She tried signaling again, but just a few sleepers got up and looked her way, then promptly fell back asleep. Only Verius could sympathize with her. He was the only recruit that was used to such vigorous training and orders. He was actually an Agori, and one of the new test subjects. The standard issue camouflage backpack had been bulked up with a built-in Spinner Launcher, with a netting power. His green and tan body was covered in a lightweight armor. Even his seemingly insignificant combat knife packed a miniaturized Cordak Pistol. Every look Kira took at it was filled with envy as she looked at her huge, bulky, double barrel pistol. Desperate times call for desperate measures, thought Kira, and she whistled loud and long. All the recruits stopped what they were doing and the sleepers got to their feet. Kira looked around, expecting an ambush any second. When she was sure that they were safe, she turned around to face the now orderly recruits. She began pacing in front of the recruits, which they now recognized as an indicator she was about to give a speech. A few groans sounded from the back and Kira fixed the general area with a piercing stare. “Now then, you are by far my worst training group so far. I have never had such disobedient, lazy, or distracted recruits yet. If you want to survive, we need to reach that volcano. Our mission goal is there, and if we don’t reach it by night, we fail, but even worse than that, is Voya-Nui is no place to be at night. All kinds of horrible creatures stalk these jungles, and we don’t stand a chance if your actions are any indicator. Am I clear?” A resounding “Yes, commander” sounded, about a third was reluctantly. The recruits began looking around cautiously, expecting a Muaka to jump out any moment. They were suddenly much more attentive, a fact that Kira loved on all of her past training missions. Of course she had worse, but she knew how to deal with this ‘Makuta Fodder’ because of it. She signaled again towards the volcano, and the trainees slowly advanced, looking all over. They almost jumped out of their masks when Kira’s radio sounded. “Ruku, do not go near the volcano, I repeat, do not go near that volcano, over!” “Copy that, Gukko Bird, may I ask an explanation, over?” “We just got intel that there is a highly dangerous Makuta moving in. I know you are ready for it, but your new rookies aren’t, over.” “Copy that, Gukko Bird. We’re heading home. We’ll have to complete another day, over.” “Over and out.” The rookies seemed almost glad to get out of the dark jungle, but Kira felt unfulfilled. She had started a mission, and couldn’t finish it. It was the first time in her long career. She suddenly made a quick decision that no one liked. “Alright, team, we are going after that Makuta.” As expected, most of them groaned. This would mean that they would need to stay there, probably after dark, just because of their commander. Of course, out of respect, only one voiced this concern. “But, commander, I thought Base just ordered us to get out of here.” “I cannot accept that. We are going after that Makuta, because I have never left a mission unfinished. I cannot accept to let even one spoil my record.” No one pointed out that she wouldn’t be finishing the training mission she was assigned to. They just unwillingly accepted the decision, just because they wouldn’t get out of it anyways. “Let’s move out!” ----------------------------- The force was running through the forest, quickly but silently, towards the huge, glowing volcano. They could barely hear the crash of trees in the distance as the Makuta made his way to the same destination. Suddenly, Kira’s radio sounded again. She held up her hand to stop the recruits, who suddenly were acting like a well-trained unit. “This is Ruku, over.” “Oh, Commander, I’m so glad I caught you before you left. You see, you’re the only one in the area that would be able to stop the Makuta in time.” “I was hoping you’d say that, because I’m already on my way, over.” “What? I specifically told you not to go, even though I kind of guessed you would do this. I should probably give you the details. The Makuta’s name is Tiberis. His goal is the Spear of Fusion, which was presumed to be left there by Vezon. I’m fairly sure it isn’t true, but he must think it is.” “Go on.” “Anyways, you’ll have some help for this mission, if your rookies aren’t prepared for it. The chamber is still guarded by Protodax and Umbra, but I hear he has a way to defeat Umbra. You need to get in there and prevent that from happening, over.” “Well, we’re only about three kio from the entrance to the 777 stairs, but the Makuta is almost there, about half a kio. I’m not sure if we’ll get there on time.” “Relax, soldier. The Protodax will keep him busy until you can get there. Over and out.” Kira took a deep breath and looked at her untrained recruits. On their first day, they were already going up against a Makuta. This won’t turn out well, she thought. She signaled onwards, and marched off into the forest. -------------------------------------- When the troop had finally reached the entrance to the 777 stairs, they knew they were too late. The carnage from the Protodax was horrible, but there was still plenty to fight. Kira remembered from training that Protodax split when hit by any weapon or power, similar to their microscopic counterparts. Somehow, the Makuta had managed to kill enough to get past, but still left enough for the pursuers that they wouldn’t get in easily. As they watched, hundreds more fell from bindings made from shadow. There was no way they could survive. Despite the odds, Verius gave a huge battle yell as he charged in. Taking courage from his bravery, the others joined him. Maybe it was courage, or they had slept through the class on Protodax. Kira was willing to bet on the latter. She joined in the battle, and soon, the whole troop was surrounded by uncountable numbers. Every time one soldier would shoot one or slice it, it quickly cloned into another one, using the energy of the attack. Kira knew she wouldn’t win, but they had to try. Slowly, one Protodax broke through the crowd with a Zamor launcher on its tail. It was obviously the leader. Kira had a crazy idea that wouldn’t work with all of them, but it might work with just one. “Everyone, grab on!” Kira jumped onto one of the two necks, to the total shock of everyone in the room, her troops included. Everyone was sure that she had a death wish. Slowly, they began to realize her plan. Verius grabbed on to the other neck, and after that, everyone piled on, forcing the leader to the ground. Four soldiers had the Zamor Sphere Launcher, which was shooting wildly, shrinking most of the other Protodax back down to microscopic size. Each arm had about six soldiers on it, preventing the Protodax from escaping. There was no chance for it as Kira and Verius slowly squeezed the necks. The other Protodax cried out, but slowly backed away from the fierce warriors. Suddenly, Kira made an almost imperceptible gesture to her soldiers, and they suddenly jumped up and ran down the 777 steps, leaving all the Protodax to wonder what happened. Just about two hundred steps later, the group entered into a wide cavern surrounded with red lightstone. Above the door was the words ‘Chamber of Death’ in Matoran. The troops looked nervous as they glanced up at it. An unseen voice suddenly called out: “For you to pass, one must be sacrificed.” The doors quickly closed down, sealing them in with only the light of the lightstone. Some of the soldiers ran back and pounded on the door, or even shot at it with Cordak pistols. It didn’t budge at all. The voice called out again. “Choose wisely, for there is no way for you to pass.” Verius stepped forward. “I will.” Before Kira could react, he suddenly vaporized, leaving a small pile of green and tan dust. Only the brave Agori’s helmet remained. The doors opened, but no one was enthusiastic to go. Kira fell to her knees, moving her hand through the dust. The other soldiers bowed their heads in sorrow. “Verius, you were one of the best soldiers I have ever had. You were even braver than I was, cleverer, and more honorable. You didn’t deserve to die this way, but your sacrifice will not be in vain.” Suddenly, someone pointed out, “If you needed to sacrifice someone to enter this room, then is the Makuta dead? Is our mission over?” Kira looked up with realization. She almost forgot Verius for a moment. “Are we done then? Was it that easy? I’m not even sure what to think. Maybe, we should move on anyways, just to check.” “Haven’t you heard of what lies beyond this room? It only gets worse! We should go now, while we still have our lives!” “I’m sure Verius would have charged on happily. Let’s do it for him.” Kira slowly got up, and walked towards the exit. She didn’t wait to see if anyone else was following. When she didn’t hear any more steps, she turned around, and gasped in shock. The rest of her troop was gazing at the pile of dust, which was rising up in a huge swirl. The colors matched together to form tan arms and green armor, and the helmet moved to its rightful place. The dust puffed outwards for a moment, and there stood Verius! He took a deep breath, coughed a few times, and then looked around curiously. Cautiously, he said, “Am I dead?” The mysterious voice answered back, “With your willingness to sacrifice yourself to your friends, and their devotion to you, you have shown me that you are worthy to possess what lies ahead. You may pass.” And with that, the troop moved steadily onwards, shaking hands with Verius and laughing all the way down the next few hundred steps. ----------------------------------- All of the laughter suddenly died when they came to the next room. After all, the ‘Zone of Nightmares’ didn’t sound very cheerful at all. Even worse was the huge Makuta standing in the middle of the room, proudly clutching the Spear of Fusion, and in the other hand, the Mask of Life. Kira froze. There was no way she had failed. She was right behind the Makuta the entire time. How could he have gotten all the way there and back so quickly? It also proved that he also came back to life like Verius, except he had no choice in who to sacrifice. The rest of the troop looked as shocked as she felt. The Makuta laughed in their faces, rejoicing in their failure. He flung them aside with the Spear of Fusion, and they crashed against a wall. The Makuta laughed even harder, and suddenly, Kira couldn’t take it anymore. Verius tried to hold her back, but she jumped up at the Makuta’s face, determined to slap that smile off his face. She shook him until he fell over, then she tried to pull out her pistol, but realized it wasn’t there. She had never lost her equipment before! The leader of R.A.M.A. would be furious at how she lost her only gun that cost a fortune to make!She was so furious, that she didn’t even hear Verius yelling. For the moment, all of her problems were the Makuta’s fault as he continued laughing on the floor and shaking the Mask of Life in her face. She brushed it aside, and was horrified that it shattered all over the floor. The Makuta still didn’t stop laughing at her, even though he had lost the mask. Then, the Spear of Fusion came up in her face. Before she could even tell herself to stop, she grabbed the spear and broke it on her knee, throwing it aside. She was almost not surprise it shattered as well.The Makuta stood up, and Kira fell on to the floor. In a daze, she thought she heard Verius yelling “I’m a protrusion!” She looked up and shook her head, finally realizing he was yelling “It’s all an illusion! It’s the…” He suddenly cut off as the Makuta laughed even harder in her face. She tried to find Verius, but she just saw him running out the door. Now her own team was deserting her! That was the final straw. She just sat down, huddled in the corner, sure she would lose her mind with all of her worst nightmares surrounding her.Nightmares. That’s it! Verius yelled it was all an illusion! That was the power of the chamber! It made you experience your worst fears. Verius must have figured it out, and when she realized that, suddenly, everything went quiet. She looked up into Verius’ green helmet as he offered a hand to help her up. There was no more Makuta, no more shattered spear, and all of her team was still there. She took the hand and stood up, trying to hide her face with embarrassment.“It’s okay. We all had the same thing. I’m not sure what happened to you, but it seemed a lot worse. It’s all over now.”She tried to choke out the words. “I…I’m sorry you had to see your ‘fearless leader’ like that. It all seemed so real, but what was the worst part of it all, was losing you. I know I’ll always have my team beside me, no matter what happens.”The voice came back. “You have learned the values of Teamwork and Dependence. I hope you will use them through the next few chambers, because you are going to need it. You may pass on.”Kira suddenly noticed the door had been wide open the whole time. “Come on team, let’s go, because whatever we face next, I know we can handle it, together.” ---------------------------- Luckily, the next chamber presented no challenge at all. It was a simple river of molten protodermis with a collapsed bridge almost sunken into it. This was one of the basic training exercises at boot camp! Teamwork made a huge part of the effort, but it worked smoothly every time after the first ten or so. Needless to say, some Matoran ended up in the hospital with severe burns for a while, but in the end, they survived. The troop quickly formed the basic line with one of their strongest, and one with a good balance of lightness and strength forming the front. Unfortunately, neither was Kira. She wasn’t exactly in her boot camp days anymore. The first few were thrown over the molten protodermis and rolled neatly to a stop at the base of the bridge on the opposite side. Then, they got ready to catch the next few.After a while, almost all of them were over, but there were sounds of clanking metal from the cavern beyond, and they knew they had to hurry to catch the Makuta before he did some real damage. All of them except the last two were thrown over, and then the strongest threw the other over, and then got his cable ready. The cable would only really last one use, so it was a last moment plan, but it worked perfectly. The strongest member of the team quickly shot the cable onto the other tower, and the rest of the team anchored it in or got ready to catch him. He swung over without incident, and the team ran into the next cavern, idly noticing it was the ‘Cavern of Life’ as opposed to the ‘Cavern of Death,’ which was a great relief.Unfortunately, the being waiting inside wasn’t very lively. It could only be Umbra, and he was fighting a losing battle with a horde of Shadow Leeches. The Makuta had already left him beaten, and continued to the next room. Kira and Verius charged in to the rescue, and the rest of the team followed. They used special settings on their guns and swords adapted for shadow beings, and cut away the Shadow Leeches. They were barely in time, and Umbra was barely holding on to life. His heartlight was slowly, almost imperceptibly flashing a dark grey, and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. The brave guardian of the Mask of Life was at death’s door.Umbra tried to pick up his laser lance, but he was too weak, and Verius slowly put the reaching hand on Umbra’s chest. They knew they should go on to fight the Makuta, but they needed Umbra, and they couldn’t leave the poor guardian like this.Umbra quietly tried to speak. “Go, you have proven yourselves worthy to pass. You must stop those who are not. You are the new guardians.” Vaguely, Kira recognized his deep voice as the one in the chambers, even in his weakened state.“No, we need you. We’re just a bunch of Matoran. We can’t take on a Makuta by ourselves.”“Not by yourselves. You have each other, and you all can work together to defeat him. I cannot. You must go now, before he escapes! Go!” With those words, Umbra fell to the cave floor, his heartlight barely recognizable. Kira mourned his loss almost as much as Verius’. Then she quickly looked up and gave the signal to move onwards. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, but reluctantly went. Many of them took mournful looks at Umbra.Someone at the back of the line spoke up. “Are you sure we can kill the Makuta by ourselves? We’re just a bunch of Matoran. We’ve never accomplished anything. We’re all going to die!”Kira snapped back, “No, we’re not going to die. Didn’t you hear Umbra? He believes in us, probably the greatest warrior of all time, and he knows we can conquer what he can’t anymore. We can do it. Haven’t you been paying attention to the teamwork we’ve done just to get here? You didn’t question my decision to come here, even if it meant disobeying orders and probably staying out after dark. When I jumped on the Protodax, even though you all thought I was crazy, we worked together to bring it down and get past. We can all hear each other’s thoughts and respond as one. We know how each other feel. We aren’t just a bunch of Matoran; we’re a professional group of soldiers working to defend Mata-Nui’s life! We will defend that life as hard as our own, and right now, this may just be the way to defend it! We can defeat the Makuta without anyone’s help, even without Umbra, because we are all we need: A team loyal to each other. So let’s go, team! Move out!”Kira’s little speech emboldened everyone, until they saw the Makuta. He was every bit as big as he was in Kira’s nightmare. His gleaming dark grey armor reflected the light of the molten protodermis like a slave of Karzahni. He was tearing apart the room, searching for the Spear, and for now, he was distracted. He didn’t even expect anyone to follow him, especially a group of Matoran. Now was their chance, and everyone knew it. Before the Makuta even saw them, the group had brought him to the ground.“What is this madness,” he yelled. “I am Makuta Tiberis, and I demand that you release me, puny, insignificant Matoran!”“We’re not puny, or insignificant,” responded Verius. “We are R.A.M.A., and you are under arrest for crimes against Mata Nui! Would you like to surrender quietly, or by force?”Makuta Tiberis yelled out and stood up, throwing Matoran everywhere. “You cannot detain me! I will crush you and your insolent band of Fire Flyers!”Kira was thrown over the molten protodermis pit, and barely managed to grab the edge before she plunged in. Now she was rethinking her speech, and wondering if Umbra would come anytime. She looked to Verius, who was stuck high up on the wall, slowly coming down. Makuta Tiberis charged straight towards him and unleashed a shadow hand, picking up Verius and throwing him across the molten protodermis pit, where he collapsed on a small shelf just over the boiling molten protodermis. Somehow, the Makuta detected that Kira was the leader, and moved straight towards her next. She tried to swing her body up and over the edge, but Makuta Tiberis kicked her back over the side and she barely had time to grab a hold again.The Makuta’s foot came down over her hands, and Kira cried out in pain. No one was close enough to help her, and she couldn’t hold on with the pain much longer. The few matoran that were still conscious could only watch as her grip slipped, and she fell into the molten protodermis.The protodermis was searing hot. Kira felt burned all over, and knew she couldn’t take much longer. Then, the ground rose towards her and broke out of the surface of the molten protodermis with a deafening roar. Kira was flung over to Verius, where he safely caught her and tried not to burn himself on her white-hot armor. Out of vision that was unclear from the pain, Kira thought she saw a dragon that had risen out of the molten protodermis. Its armor was still as hot as Kira’s, but it was ready for a fight. Makuta Tiberius was just as shocked as Kira. He tried to get out of the way as the dragon smashed a rock to dust where his head used to be.“Is that the…Kardas Dragon?” Verius finally whispered.His question was answered when a huge beam of energy hit the Makuta, sending him tumbling backwards and shaking the cavern.“Only the Kardas Dragon could do that! What’s it still doing here? Vezon is long gone!” Verius remarked.“It still needs to defend the cavern, even if Vezon and the Mask of Life are gone. There must be something to guard, like the Spear of Fusion! That’s what the Makuta is after, but where is it?” Kira was gaining her strength back, and began frantically looking around the cavern as much as she could from the tiny ledge.Across the lake, the Kardas Dragon and the Makuta were at a stalemate. They had each other’s claws gripped, but the Makuta was using his shadow hand to hold the dragon’s head away. The Kardas Dragon was firing off energy bolts at the ceiling occasionally to prevent it from exploding. If it stores up too much energy, it would explode and die, and that wouldn’t help the Matoran at all.Then again, it already wasn’t helping. The repetitive blasts were shaking the cavern and the tiny shelf that held Verius and Kira was slowly crumbling. The molten protodermis was slowly rising as it was fed this new substance. They only had one way out. Kira still had an extra cable, but the other Matoran wouldn’t be there to anchor them, and they had twice as many people as in the molten protodermis river exercise. It was their only chance between life and plunging back into the protodermis, an experience Kira didn’t want to repeat. She quickly fired the harpoon from her gun and locked the cable to her waist. Verius did the same, and it seemed like they were uncomfortably close, but in the peril, they hardly noticed. The cable reeled in a bit to straighten out the slack, and then the two jumped, passing a single bio from the surface of the protodermis. The cable broke about three quarters of the way to the other side, and momentum sent the two, still hooked together, crashing into Makuta Tiberis. The Kardas Dragon quickly gained the upper hand as it held down the angry Makuta and repeatedly blasted energy at his chest. The Makuta grunted, and finally decided to throw the dragon off of him. He jumped to his feet and smashed the dragon back into the lava, and the Kardas Dragon didn’t rise again.He suddenly turned his attention to the two soldiers that almost cost him the battle. He charged after them now that they were nearly defenseless. His crushing footsteps followed right behind. Kira peeked over to one of her recovering soldiers, who signaled he was okay. The others were also slowly rising and starting to formulate a plan under the radar of the charging Makuta.Meanwhile, Verius and Kira were just struggling to survive. Occasionally, Verius would veer back and stab Makuta Tiberis in the foot and gain them a few seconds while the Makuta quickly lost his temper. After a few minutes of this same tactic, the Makuta lost his mind and suddenly tried his hardest to kill them.“Die puny Matoran! Why won’t you be crushed?! I will destroy you eventually!” He bellowed, repeating it over and over with some meaningless words as well. In his rage, the Matoran knew he wouldn’t stop until both Commander Kira and Verius were dead, or he was. Luckily, they could help with the last one.Even thought the stabbing technique was effective, Verius decided now was the time to just run. Any delay, and he would surely be crushed. They were just lucky that the Makuta was mad enough to not use his brain and try his shadow hand or shadow bolts.Slowly, a plan was coming together in everyone’s minds. If the cable that they use to swing across the molten protodermis wasn’t strong enough for two, a fully armored Makuta wouldn’t stand a chance. Kira knew that Verius would be thinking the same thing. He already had his spare cable out, preparing to swing across to the other side of the protodermis. Kira understood that if she got on, the cable wouldn’t last long enough for the plan to work, so she had to get the Makuta distracted long enough for him to get across then hide and let the Makuta see him.Mata Nui, I have to be crazy, thought Kira as Verius ran off to the side. The Makuta stood for a moment, debating who to go after, when Kira shot him in the face with her Cordak Pistol.“Come and get me, you overgrown Brakas!” shouted Kira as the Makuta turned his full fury on her. She had to plan quickly where to hide so that Verius and his dangling cord were in plain sight. There was a ledge a few bio to the left of the cable, and she could be hidden if she could just get there. Verius was already across, waiting for her signal. She turned straight towards the ledge, pushing with all of her strength to finish those last dozen bio. With the Makuta straight on her heels and with all his might focused on her, they almost finished it as Kira jumped down to the ledge. Makuta Tiberis barely stopped in time on the edge, trying to regain his balance.Then, he fell right onto the ledge, and it shattered, throwing rock, Makuta, and Kira everywhere. Makuta Tiberis managed to grab onto the edge of the cliff before he fell, but Kira had been thrown out too far. Her only hope was the cable dangling lazily over the protodermis. It was already loose from Verius’ stunt, but now it was dangerously close to falling. Any lifeline would be preferred from falling into the molten protodermis again, and this time, there would be no last minute save. The cable touched her finger tips, but she still fell, her foot getting tangled in the strong cable at the last second. The harpoon was still slipping from the ceiling, and Kira had to act fast. Her momentum had only gotten the cable swinging a little bit, so she needed to pendulum her body just over the protodermis with the cable slowly going lower.Suddenly, a shadow blast shot past her arm. Great, now she had Makuta Tiberis to deal with, who had climbed up the cliff and was now attacking. The next blast hit her foot, swinging her wildly and bringing the harpoon even further out of the cliff. Her mind was full of fear again, she knew she wouldn’t live. The odds were hopeless, and she was doomed to fail from the beginning. What was she thinking, taking on a Makuta with a bunch of rookies?No, they weren’t rookies, they were good strong soldiers who knew how to obey their commander even better than any troop she had trained before. As soon as she thought that, she faintly heard someone yelling, and saw a flash of green and tan before going back over the lava. It was Verius who was reaching out to grab her hands, but she couldn’t move. The effects of the shadow blast were still very strong, and she could barely see Verius anyways. The harpoon was slipping, and yet there was nothing Kira could do about it. Finally, Verius grabbed Kira and almost tumbled off the edge himself. Kira stood in a daze against the wall while Verius covered her. He opened his backpack into a small Spinner turret and launched it as a desperate measure against the Makuta. Tiberis simply slapped it aside with his hand, but as he did that, the spinner’s effect activated.A lime-green net slowly closed over the Makuta as he tried to shake it off. He blasted shadow, but the net still grew, sapping his powers to feed its growth. The mighty Makuta dropped to the ground in weakness, collapsing on the side of the cliff. The rest of the troop cautiously looked up from behind rocks to see what had happened.Makuta Tiberis lay trapped completely inside the net. Coming from the top, the spinner still latched onto his hand, out of power. The Matoran cheered, but Kira in her shadow-infected state could feel the power growing. She tried to call out “stop, it isn’t over!” but no one heard her over the cheers.The chamber grew silent as the Makuta yelled out and the net began snapping. There was only one thing to do at a time like this. Soldiers of R.A.M.A. were instructed to only capture except under dire circumstances, and this certainly qualified. The remaining troops marched together and shoved the Makuta into the molten protodermis, the heat destroying his armor and shadow essence in a matter of minutes. He burst from the surface only one, just to release a single, small creature, similar to a Kraata, but made of pure shadow. The last remaining piece of his shadow essence. A Light Warrior, specially equipped to handle these, quickly grabbed it in a special jar. They had won.“Well done, Matoran.” Umbra stood in the doorway, much stronger than when they left him. He still leaned heavily on his Laser Lance, but he was alive. “I don’t even feel the need to battle you for entrance to this chamber. I feel as if you have suffered enough.” He quickly shot over the lake, grabbed Kira and Verius, who had been nearly forgotten on the other side without any means to get back, and returned them to their troop.“That means a lot to us, considering I don’t think that we’ll have the strength to fight anyways,” said an exhausted Kira.“Go, you have completed your mission. There’s another way out that will put you in the Green Strip without going through the other rooms. There, you will find your ship.” Umbra turned around and silently walked away, standing sentinel in the room he was fated to protect. The Matoran left without another word as well.To let off tension, Commander Kira always believed in some good laughs after a hard battle. Today’s jokes were centered on how crazy it was that Makuta Tiberis went after a spear that probably didn’t even stay in the cavern, and he lost so much in the process.“So, what’s our next mission, protect the legendary Rahi-Nui from assassination?”“Taming the Kanohi Dragon?”“Waking Mata Nui?”Kira smiled at all the crazy suggestions about things that may never happen, and most certainly would be done by the Toa. Their mission was done, but they were ready for the next one.Finally, Kira couldn’t resist. “You know, from my vantage point, I saw the Spear of Fusion on the Kardas Dragon’s back. Maybe there was truth to this myth.” She had to try really hard to avoid laughing at their faces as they all ran into the airship to go home.
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Sybre presents an epic made completely by him: Chapters will come daily unless there's a delay. Here the link to the review topic: http://www.bzpower.c...?showtopic=2029 New Chapter: 8 Chapter 1 500 years after the events in SybreNetX, Delva-Nui's peace was everlasting for those good years. But Delvian carver Zakal (in the picture) was growing restless. He was itching for action. He dreamed of it. He carved action scenes. His temper became shorter with each day, until he finally threw his work across the room and shouted, "THAT'S IT! I'm gonna go murder the chief or something!" Zakal stormed out of his home in search of action. His best friend Pomah stopped him. "Why were you shouting about murdering the chief?" he asked, "He might hear you!" "Well," Zakal said, "I've been hungry for action. It's just too peaceful for anything like that!" "Be patient," Pomah said, "The other day I heard that our local ecologist was attacked by peaceful Rahi he was studying. I'm sure they're going to come for our territory sooner or later!" "Don't be too sure." Jovikini, the scholar, said, "Today I found out Vordaiken went after them." Zakal and Pomah froze with fear upon hearing his name. Vordaiken was a Matoran who thought of murdering the village chief, and DID it! He was chased to an island not too far from Delva-Nui. But an armored titan by the name of Kudaiye had obliterated the island. The material he used turned Vordaiken into a creature slightly taller, stronger, smarter, and more aggressive than a Toa. He returned to Delva-Nui, where he is currently a conqueror claiming lands never too far from villages. "We'd better hope he doesn't think of us next!" Zakal said. "And even worse," Jovikini replied, "Kudaiye is planning a visit to Delva-Nui!" "Oh my GOSH," Pomah said, "We've gotta do something NOW!" "Dude, look at us," Zakal replied, "What are WE capable of?" "Forget that," Jovikini said, "Let's try to stay calm. Let's alert the village chief and hopefully he can notify the others, and eventually the High Council will get into the situation." The High Council was never to be spoken of so freely, such as just the Council. You've gotta put "High" in front of it. The High Council is a group of Delva-Nui's Turaga who gathers to discuss important matters. The members rarely visit their home villages, but always attend official Kolhi games. And they're the ones who pick out the next Toa. The last Delvian Toa team went to find out if Rhaio-Nui truly existed. They haven't been heard from since. The High Council is currently picking out new members. "Let's make haste," Zakal said, " We must alert the village chief, quickly!" Chapter 2 "Chief Arka! Chief Arka!" Zakal called as he and his friends ran toward the chief. "Is something wrong, Zakal?" Arka asked. "Yes," Jovikini answered, "Kudaiye and Vordaiken are probably going to do something bad to Delva-Nui! Our village defenders are too weak to fend either of them off!" "If Sybre wasn't dead," Pomah said, "We'd probably have a shot." "Okay," Arka replied, "Here's what YOU'RE gonna do: Tell the messengers to tell other villages and the High Council, then go to the nearest village and tell the mapmaker there to give you a map of Delva-Nui so we can find a safe place to evacuate until we can safely get off the island." "But we can't just LEAVE!" Pomah said, "This is our home! What happens if the High Council picks the next Toa team in time?" "We'll try to hide underground," Arka replied, "Now GO!" Zakal and his friends hurried to the messengers' home and told them the news and what to do next. Then they gathered all the weapons from Zakal's home they could carry and headed out of the village. "HEY!" the village defender shouted, "What's the occcasion? Where are you taking all of those weapons?" "We have no time to chat, Stotaf," Zalak answered, "We have to warn the nearest village about an upcoming disaster and Vordaiken isn't too far from the village! Keep your guard up!" "I will! Be careful!" Stotaf called as the trio left. The Matoran safely reached the next village, but was stopped by the village defender by the name of Shastaa. "Hold on, boys," Shastaa said, blocking the entrance to the village with her weapon, "What do you think you're doing with those weapons?" "I think we're trying to defend ourselves from a DISASTER!" Zalak replied, who was starting to become insane from panic, "Is your village's mapmaker in? We have to talk to her! Now!" Shastaa thought for a moment, then nodded her head. "Go ahead. She's in. But don't hurt anyone with those weapons. Okay?" "Yes." Zalak answered, and he and and his friends hurried into the village. Suddenly, a tall figure approached Shastaa. His body was hidden by a cloak, but his piercing, red eyes were clearly visible. His eyes narrowed. "Excuse me," he said, "What is your name?" Chapter 3 "Shastaa," the village guard replied, "Yours?" The being tried not to laugh. "Whoever takes you to the bad folks' place will tell you!" he said as he raised his arm. The trio suddenly heard a boom noise. "What did that?" Pomah wondered out loud. "Probably some Rahi doing a little rearranging," Zakal suggested, "Come on, let's keep moving." When they reached a small home, they stopped running and looked up at a sign above the door. It read "Mapmaker" written in Matoran. "This is the place," Zakal said as he and his friends started into the home. "Hello?" Zakal called. "Who's there?" a voice asked from another room. "We come in peace," Jovikini answered, "We're here to ask for a map." "Oh," the voice said, "Come in. I made some fresh, new copies." "Great," Zakal said to himself and led the way into the room. "Hello," the owner of the voice said, "I'm Pira, the village's official mapmaker. What is the range of the map you would like?" "The whole island," Jovikini said, putting down his armload of weapons, "And the others surrounding it." "What's the occasion?" Pira asked, "Going on a trip?" "No," Pomah replied, "A disaster is upon us! Kudaiye is planning to destroy the island and Vorzahk has been wandering closer to villages!" Pira gasped. "That's terrible!" she exclaimed, "Did you try to do anything about it?" "Well," Zakal started while examining a map, "We alerted our chief and the messenger,s, and then we came here for a map. We need to decide where to evacuate. But we're probably going to have to let the High Council make the decision." "Can I go with you?" Pira asked, "I know a lot about places that Matoran can't reach and traversed treacherous ground just to get a better view for making my maps." "Sounds useful," Pomah said, "And we could use a couple more maps." Pira loaded her maps, materials, and belongings into a bag while tossing three more to the others for their weapons. "Get another bag for these." Zakal said as he handed her a share of weapons. "Okay," Jovikini said, "The next thing we have to do is go back to the village and tell Chief Arka that we've done our part. Then we'll ask permission to pay a visit to the High Council." The other three nodded and hurried out of the home. A badly beaten Matoran was in their way. "Run," he said, "Vordaiken found us." With his dying breath, he pointed in the direction of an exit. "Go that way." The Matoran then lay dead like a Kavinika. "Let's do it!" Zakal nodded and ran toward the exit. "NOT SO FAST!" Vordaiken yelled, "LET ME DESTROY YOU FIRST!" Chapter 4 Zakal and his friends nervously turned around. "Throw your projectiles." Zakal whispered. Suddenly, a horde of knives, swords, daggers, and arrows flew toward Vordaiken. He tore the front of his cloak, letting the weapons seep in. The boys only had a sword, a knife, and a dagger left, while Pira only had a bow with 10 arrows safely in the bag of maps. "Heh," Vordaiken laughed, "Menial weapons. They're not even worth shooting out of my sleeve!" Zakal was greatly offended by this. "My carving," Zakal said, "IS THE BEST THERE IS!!!!!" He lept toward the conquerer, and with one slash of his sword, he cut off Vordaiken's hood. Zakal was startled by what he saw. Vordaiken's right side of his face was so banged up, he only had one working eye. Zakal quickly jumped up toward the titan and swiftly kicked his face, knocking him out cold. "Let's go!" the Matoran exclaimed and dashed toward an exit. On their way out, they found Shastaa, laying near the gates. A massive wound was on her stomach, which was her ticket to the sleep that knows no dreams. "Rest in peace, Shastaa." Pira sadly uttered as she picked up the fallen defender's weapon. Her new friends pitched in to build Shastaa a grave. Zakal carved a branch to make a headstone. He carved Shastaa's name on the wood and stuck it into the ground. "Thanks, guys." Pira said. "If her grave is going to remain undisturbed, we have the save the island." Jovikini reminded. They headed back to Zakal's village. Luckily, it still stood without an ounce of damage. "Chief Arka, we're back!" Zakal called. "Great," Arka replied, "I have another assignment for you: the Matoran standing next to me is a vehicle designer called Avon. He is willing to take you to his village. What you'll do is you ride with Avon. Once you reach his village, get a vehicle of your own, then go to the High Council and tell them about the upcoming disaster." "You mean," Pomah said, "It's time to tell them?" "Yes," Arka replied, "You are the only ones capable of getting there at this time. I trust you." "We will never let you down, Chief Arka," Zakal promised, "If we did, throw us to the Rock Lions!" Avon led the way toward his vehicle. It was a two-seater speeder bike, but there was room for the others. Avon offered the second seat to Pira. Zakal rode one the very front, Pomah rode sitting in the cargo hold, and poor Jovikini had to hold onto the back. Zakal shouted his farewells to Stotaf as they sped into the distance. "What do we do before we get the vehicles and leave your village, Avon?" Pira asked. "I'm gonna take a friend. He is a tour guide who knows much about the island. He explored ruins, active volcanoes (and surfed them), and even got to sit with the High Council." Time crawled on, but they soon reached the village. Chapter 5 "We're here." Avon announced as they near the gate. Of course, they had to go through the village defender, first. "Well," the defender, Shaga, said with a smile, "What's all this, Avon? Testing a passenger vehicle?" "That was last week," Avon replied, "I'm helping the future of our island." "THEN WHY DID YOU LET ME STOP YOU?!" Shaga shouted, "GO!" Avon nodded quickly and passed through the gates, with Jovikini walking behind the speeder bike, as it slowed down. They headed for Avon's home, a quite large shelter. "Not all of it's for me," Jovikini explained, "Two more live with me, but one's out for the week testing a new vehicle. My friend, however, is waiting for us outside." A Matoran standing outside waved to the party. "Ah, you're back, Avon!" The Matoran said in greeting, "Mind introducing me?" After the introductions, they walked inside. "I'd give you a tour," Avon said, "But our island has limited time, so I'll just show you the workshop and garage." First, they headed for the workshop. "I understand you have a lack of weapons," Takarda, Avon's roomate said, "So we're gonna gear you up ourselves." They handed the group these techo-looking weapons. "Takarda will show you to the garage," Avon said, "I gotta go get my vehicle from outside. I'll meet you out there." He turned back. "Take your pick." Takarda said as he opened the door to the garage. Everybody got on to their preferred speeder bikes. "Inside the cargo holds," Takarda explained, "Are backup weapons and a survival kit in the event of a crash. Only use the things from the survival kit is your vehicle breaks down or you crash. There are also walkie talkies if you are somehow separated from the group. Ready?" Everyone nodded and a big door opened. They slowly drove their bikes out of the garage, where Avon was waiting for them. "Let's go." He said, and they started out of the village. They drove for three hours and nothing bad happened. They soon reached a wide hill with gray, stone steps leading up high into the sky. "Well, I guess we'd better start climbing." Zakal suggested and started up the first of many steps. Thirty minutes crawled by, but they reached a huge, roomy gazibo. A big, stone table was in the middle. All of the island's Turaga sat in all the seats, but the blackest seat was empty. The Shadow Turaga was banished from the High Council for encouraging his village to betray Delva-Nui. "Welcome," one of the Turagas said, "Do you have news for us?" Chapter 6 He had sunken, tired eyes, but wore a kind expression which encouraged Zakal and his friends to approach the Turaga. "Yes," Zakal said, "Big news. Vordaiken and Kudaiye are planning to destroy Delva-Nui. What shall we do?" "Hmmm...." the Turaga said thoughtfully, "I think it's time to choose the new members for a Toa team." The others nodded. The Turaga handed the Matoran some gems. "What are they for?" Zakal asked. "If you look on your weapons," the Turaga replied, "You'll find small punctures that the gems fit into. Remember the tradition?" Zakal remembered it well. The tradition encourages weapon makers to carve punctures in their weapons in the event that they are chosen to be Toa. "Go on," the Turaga said, "Put them in." The Matoran did as they were told. Suddenly, with a big flash of light, they were Toa. They looked the same, but taller. Their weapons looked upgraded, too. "Now," the Turaga said, "You know what to do." "Thank you," Zakal said with a nod, "We won't let you down if our lives depended on it!" They started down the stairs. Strangely, they could still fit on the speeder bikes. The Toa agreed to go back to Pira's village to check and see if anything happened to Vordaiken. But when they arrived, they only found Pira's fellow villagers repairing damage that Vordaiken caused. "Excuse me," Pira said to one Matoran trying to repair her stand, "Do you happen to know where Vordaiken went?" "He left," the Matoran replied, "We hid in the wilderness until we saw him leave." Pira thanked the Matoran but also asked her where Vordaiken went. "Down north," she said, "Why?" Zakal ran toward his speeder. He hopped on and drove north. "ZAKAL!" Pomah shouted, "Where are you going?!" His friend didn't respond. He just continued north. As he neared the village gates, he founded Stotaf laying on the ground. "Oof," the defender said, trying to pick himself up from the ground, "Zakal? Is that you?" "Stotaf!" Zakal said as he ran up to the wounded defender and crouched, "What's happened to you?!" Stotaf coughed. "It was Vordaiken. He beat me up until everyone knew what was going on. Then he threw me onto the ground and went into the village to clear out the witnesses. I haven't been able to move since." "Tell me the cheif is safe!" Zakal exclaimed. "He lost the use of one of his eyes. But he came to see if I was okay. He went to another village to get help. But I don't think I can live long enough for him to come back." "Stotaf," Zakal said with tears in his eyes, "Don't go!" Stotaf coughed again. "I'm sorry, Zakal. It's no use." He started to breath slower. Zakal grabbed the defender's hand. "You know, Zakal," Stotaf said, "You were like a brother to me. Always making new weapons for me. I enjoyed it while it lasted. I just can't believe you were chosen to become a Toa while I dedicated myself to defending my village. Here." He handed Zakal his weapon, a masterpiece made by the former Matoran. "Please keep it," Stotaf insisted, "I can't take it with me, you know." Zakal took it in his hand as his tears were ready to drip. "Do your thing, ..... brother." Stotaf said with his dying breath. He then began to take the eternal sleep. Zakal started to cry. At that moment, his friends arrived. "Zakal, what happened?" Jovikini called as he and the others ran toward him. Zakal said nothing. Instead, they saw Stotaf's lifeless corpse. "Is Stotaf okay?!" a voice cried. Chapter 7 The Toa, except Zakal, turned to see Chief Arka and three medics running toward them. Arka wore an eyepatch over his useless eye. He stopped next to Zakal. "I'm afraid not." Arka answered his own question. "Poor Stotaf," Pomah said, "He failed his duty." Zakal stood up. "But," Pomah said nervously, "He was a great friend!" "Vordaiken," Zakal muttered quietly, "Then Kudaiye. I shall avenge Stotaf and my fellow villagers. I shall become the most powerful Toa in existence. I shall become invincible. I SHALL BECOME UNSTOPPABLE!!!!!" Zakal hopped onto his speeder bike once more and drove off. "I'm going with him." Pomah announced and got onto his speeder and drove in the direction Zakal left. Ten minutes later, Zakal could see Vordaiken on the horizen terrorizing a group of hunters. "VORDAIKEN!" Zakal shouted. Vordaiken looked in Zakal's direction. "You again?" Vordaiken said gruffly, "Someone's been drinking their milk!" "Shut up, slimeball," Zakal retorted as he jumped of his speeder, "It ends here!" "I couldn't agree more!" Vordaiken said with an evil grin as he grabbed a hunter and bent his back the wrong way. He screamed in pain before Vordaiken tossed him where he would lay helpless. Pomah suddenly arrived. "Let me help, Zakal," Pomah said, "Stotaf saved my life once!" Zakal nodded as he and Pomah began to attack. "Fools." Vordaiken said as he grabbed the two Toa and tossed them toward their speeders (I apologize for the overuse of ts), blowing them up. Pomah charged toward his surly opponent, only to be pounded aside. He got up and swung his sword at Vordaiken's head, but in a split-second, he grabbed Pomah's sword by the blade and quickly slashed the startled Toa's heartstone. "POMAH!!!" Zakal cried. He quickly stabbed Vordaiken's arm and ran toward his friend. "Pomah, are you okay?" Zakal asked anxiously. "No, Zakal," Pomah replied weakly, "My end is near." "No," Zakal said sadly, "Not you, too!" "Zakal," Pomah said, "I never thought it would end this way! I thought we would never become Toa. I didn't want to become one. It puts our lives at risk." Pomah wheezed. "Finish what you started, Zakal." Pomah said with his dying breath. Zakal's eyes turned blood red. He turned to face Vordaiken, who was holding his wound. "Now," Zakal said angrily, "You will know the HORROOOOOR!!!" With that he charged toward Vordaiken and slashed his arm off. "You fool!" Vordaiken exclaimed as he grabbed the place where his arm once was. Zakal's hand then shot toward Vordaiken's chest and tore out his heartstone. "You don't need that heart!" Zakal spat as he tossed the heart aside. Vordaiken died immediately. Then, Zakal turned to Pomah's dead body. "Pomah," Zakal said, "I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. I just wanted some action. I was a fool." He walked over to the wreckage of the speeder bikes and began to find anything salvagable. The survival packs provided a kit for emitting signals and the still-intact walkie-talkies. "Perfect." Zakal said and got to work. He set up the signal emitter and turned on a walkie-talkie. "Hello? Hello?" Zakal spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Hello? Zakal?" Pira's voice could be heard from the walkie-talkie. "Pira," Zakal replied, "It's me. I'm the only survivor of a battle between two Toa and Vordaiken. Pomah didn't make it." "I can see your signal," Pira said, "I'll make my way over. See you soon." Chapter 8 New As Zakal waited for help to arrive, he got creative and built a makeshift shovel from pieces of his speeder bike. He dug Pomah a grave and used a wrecked slab of metal as a headstone. He carved "Toa Pomah, a dear friend" on the headstone. Once he had buried Pomah, he turned away to find a way to entertain himself. Five minutes later, the team arrived. Avon got off his speeder bike and looked at the two wrecked ones. WIthout saying a word, he got some tools from his cargo hold, walked over to the pair of scrap heaps, got on his knees, and set to work. He used parts from both of the damaged speeder bikes to create a working one. "Great as the last two." Avon said as he stood up and looked at his work of art. "Thanks," Zakal said as he hopped onto his speeder bike, "I think we should visit the High Council again. Without Pomah, we're an incomplete set of tools." He placed his signal emitter into his cargo hold and headed for the High Council's hill. They reached the base and could easily climb up faster. At that pace, they had reached the top in only a third of the time they had gone up as Matoran. But when they reached the top, there were no Turaga seated at the table. Instead, an armored titan sat in one of the chairs. His armor was silver, but was also black and grey. A torn, light grey cape was wrapped around his neck and covered his left arm. His head sprouted long spikes that pointed up, giving it the appearence of a king's crown. His eyes were green and sharp.He stood up. "Ah, greetings," he said with a voice like a snake's, "I am Kudaiye, a visitor of the High Council. What can I do for you?" "Here's a start: tell us what you did to the High Council!" Jovikini shouted. "This," Kudaiye said as he suddenly appeared next to Takarda and grabbed him by the neck. Next, the titan spun around and let go of the startled Toa. He flew out of the gazibo, where he would suffer a grizzly death from a fatal fall. His comrades watched as he fell toward the ground and met an ill fate. His teamates shuddered. "Are you saying you THREW THEM OFF THE HILL?!" Avon said in surprise. "Precisely," Kudaiye said, "You wanna try?" He got ready to charge at Avon, but Zakal stopped him. "Might I suggest a little chat?" Zakal asked. "We'll make it about YOU!" Kudaiye replied as he punched the Toa out of the gazibo. He sailed over the stairs and fell toward the speeder bikes. The loud explosion that followed made Pira faint. Jovikini ran toward Kudaiye and swung his sword. Kudaiye grabbed it and broke it in half. He tossed the pieces out of the gazibo and tried to grab Jovikini. Avon rushed between him and swung his staff at the villain. The end twacked the side of Kudaiye's head. He shouted in pain. Pira suddenly woke up and rushed down the stairs. "Let's wrap this up." Kudaiye said as he raised his hand. The floor and ceiling suddenly started to break. The whole gazibo shattered. It appeared the three beings were in some purple dimension. Then, the titan solidified some air into spear shapes that launched at the Toa, who were slain. The rest of the hill was breaking up, and Pira was running out of time.Chapter 9 coming soon!Coming in Chapter 9: As Kudaiye lets the island shatter, it is up to Pira to do her thing. But Kudaiye is too powerful. But did Zakal actually die?
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I still don't know how to embed videos here, so links will have to do. The Dark Time. As you can probably tell, it's a theme I have made for the Dark Time after the Great Cataclysm.I am thinking of editing it, making it a bit more 'dark' and more.... 'intense', to say the least. So, tell me how you like it, and what I should do with it. Thx. (PS~ I'm new at this, so please be specific in your criticism.)
