BIONICLE 2012: Quest for the Toa

[Kaleidoscope Tekulo]

Once there was a story that ended in madness. Although it was meant to be simple, the story grew out of control, and all of its twists and turns were left unfinished. Filled with holes, the story was left with a feeling of emptiness. In its lamentable state, it longed for satisfaction. In its desire to feel whole, the story decided to take an action that would be unexpected to old and new characters alike.

 

Welcome.

 

---

 

Valentine turned the key and opened the door. It was still early enough, just passed six o' clock in the evening. The sound of crumpled plastic filled the room as he tossed newly bought groceries on the table. His apartment was small, yet filled with plastic wrappers scattered about with the occasional dirty dish. It was a studio flat, and space was certainly scarce. Minimalistic was an appropriate choice of words. Spices and cooking oils were littered on a small counter next to the sink... or actually, perhaps that was the stove. It was difficult to tell in the clutter. He proceeded to put a few items in the small fridge. There was half a quart of milk and what appeared to be a sort of vegetable. With a sigh, he retired to his futon, currently layed flat. By the presence of undisturbed laundry, it appeared to remain flat perpetually.

 

Pulling out his phone, he plugged in some earbuds and got lost in music. Then, he would browse a few social media sites, gets lost further in the events of the world until he would get hungry, probably around nine, and then cook up something to eat. Potatoes, rice, or ramen with seasonings and a type of meat. That was the usual routine. It was the way he lived each day. Nothing extraordinary, nothing particularly grand... it was, simply, what it was. When daily life does not change, people tend to get relaxed. They don't consider the possibility of change, and they simply expect the following day to be, more or less, just as eventful or meaningful as the last. They fail to expect that at any moment, life could throw a curveball and catch them off guard. Surprise!

 

The apartment was met with the tune of a dull buzzing. He didn't notice it at first, but eventually it grew loud enough to rival the noise coming from his earbuds. Worried, Valentine pulled the wires and the music fell to the floor. Suspecting an electronic malfunction, Val looked to the stove and the sink, only to realize the noise was coming from underneath his table. Kicking aside discarded plastics, he eventually found the source; a forgotten green lego set which slumbered beneath trash. At least, it had slumbered. The old toy was shaking unnaturally as if posessed. Fear taking root in his heart, Valentine kicked the toy away, crashing it into the wall. As if retaliating, a blinding light flashed and, with surprisingly little noise, the toy had been replaced with a man.

 

His skin was pale and he was tall and had some muscle to him. His hair was a dirty blonde with yellow eyes in a look of shock and confusion. He was dressed in black slacks, black sneakers, a lime green shirt and a silver bracelet on his left wrist. Breathing was deep for both. Each stared into the others' eyes out of awe. Finally, the silence broke.

 

"wh-" His throat cleared, "Who are you?" Valentine's voice was shaking.

 

"I... What are...? Where?" The stranger raised his right hand and it caught his line of vision. A look of panic spread across his face as he grasped his right wrist with his left hand. Valentine took this moment to reach under the futon for a wooden bat. He didn't break eye contact with this strange man as he did so. He raised the bat and pointed it, both hands clenched on the handle, a few inches from the man's face. The man raised his hands in turn, his pupils wide.

 

"Now that I h-have your attention;" he drew the bat behind his head, showing he was ready to strike, "who are you, and h-how did you get in here?"

 

"R-right..." The man took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. "The name's Lewa - Spirit of Air. As for how I got here... haha, I was hoping you could tell me!"

 

"... Is this a p-prank? It's really n-not funny!" Valentine tightened his grip.

 

"Wait!" The man claiming to be Lewa moved his arms and Valentine was met with a strong gust of wind. It wasn't enough to do any real harm, but it did push him back into the wall.

 

"Oof!"

 

Caught off guard, he fell to the ground and dropped his bat. He looked up at this stranger with fear and confusion. Quickly, he jumped to his feet, grabbed the bat and swung from above. The man claiming to be Lewa merely raised his arms to block and this time unleashed no wind. Valentine stopped before the bat hit. Instead, he slowly moved the tip to poke the man in the stomach. He could feel it through the bat.

 

"Y-you're really... This is... This isn't a..." Valentine closed his eyes and slapped himself in the face. He could feel the sting. It was pulsating, painful and real. He opened his eyes, and the man claiming to be Lewa was still there. He tried to calm himself, however his deep breathing turned into gasps for air. He raised his hands as if to say something, however nothing comprehensive escaped his speech. Still clutching the bat, Valentine walked out into the hall, closed the door behind him, covered his mouth with his left hand and let out a stifled scream.

 

Still inside the apartment, the man claiming to be Lewa stood, perplexed. He took a deep breath in through his nose and let it escape his lips.

 

"Well, that could've gone better."

 

---

 

I like these two together. =3

 

I'm not sure at what rate these stories shall be posted, but I also don't expect a whole lot of review, either.

 

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Edited December 23, 2014 by Actually... I'm Santa

[Kaleidoscope Tekulo]

Chapter 1

 

Valentine splashed some water on his face. He'd run down to the communal bathroom. It occurred to him that he left a stranger alone in his apartment. He didn't care. Grasping the sides of the sink, he stared into the mirror on the wall. He looked terrible.

 

"Figures. Some guy shows up out of nowhere and it turns out I'm a crazy person." He paused for a moment and then started to chuckle. It wasn't that what he said was particularly funny. Actually, he felt that what he said didn't actually make a whole lot of sense. Laughing helped, though. It definitely helped. Having calmed down a bit, he picked up his bat and casually walked back down the hall. He opened the door to his apartment and stepped inside to see Lewa looking up from inspecting his feet. Val closed the door behind him.

 

"Um, could you do that thing again?"

 

"Do... what?" Lewa looked up cautiously.

 

"The thing. The one with the air. Just, not as strong, please?"

 

"O-Okay." Lewa slowly lifted his right hand and Val felt a gentle breeze. Val then slowly walked over and nudged Lewa on the shoulder.

 

"Alright, I'm either in a really detailed dream, or this is real."

 

"i figured that out a while ago." Lewa smirked.

 

"Hah... heh..." Val went to sit down on the futon across from Lewa. "So... How did you get here, exactly?"

 

"I thought I mentioned that I had no idea?"

 

"...Ah, right... Yes, that. Okay. I don't know either. ... Where does that leave us?" Val was clasping his hands together.

 

"I'm not sure. But I've got plenty of questions, if you don't mind answering a few."

 

"Sure. I have some of my own, but I'll, er, let you go first."

 

"Well, for starters, what's with this flimsy armor on my feet?" Lewa held up one of his shoes. Val couldn't help but laugh.

 

They started discussing the basics. What shoes were, why Lewa looked human, what a human was, what the human race was like, etc. The logical conclusion, Valentine silently mused, was that Lewa somehow traveled to this dimension from his universe. It made as much sense as anything else that had happened that night. Having answered a number of Lewa's questions, Val was now anxious to ask a few of his own.

 

"So... How do you think you came to be here?"

 

"It beats me! Last thing I remember was being surrounded by a bunch of jungle Agori on Bota Magna! Next I can recall, here I am." Lewa exclaimed.

 

"Bota... Magna?" Valentine was confused.

 

"Ah, right. I come from a world filled with many strange creatures. I myself am one of the toa - protectors of the matoran! Matoran are-"

 

"Ah," Valentine interrupted, "I uh, know the basics from the story. It's just I stopped following your adventures years ago, and I guess I'm a bit fuzzy on some of the details."

 

Lewa stared back at him, dumbfounded.

 

"You... know of our universe? ... How is that possible?!" He exclaimed.

 

"Oh... Yeah, I guess you wouldn't know. Hmm... It would be easier if I had a comic... Hang on a sec." Val then searched the floor by his feet for a few moments before picking up the phone he had previously discarded. He fiddled with it for a few moments before he handed it to Lewa. "See, in our world, your adventures were chronicled as a children's story."

 

Lewa looked in awe at the screen. It showed images of himself and his teammates throughout the years. Well, in truth they did not look completely accurate, but the masks, the armor... they were easily recognizable. He couldn't quite make out the strange markings beside the images, but it wasn't important. He stared at the images for a short while, trying to grasp what exactly this meant.

 

"Children's story... What makes it different from a regular story?"

 

"Oh, uh. Children are... uh, younger humans. They're, uh, smaller."

 

"Ah, like Matoran!"

 

"Not... exactly. But kind of, maybe? Um, we can get back to that later. Back to my questions. Why do you think you came here?"

 

"... I don't really know... It's like washing up on Mata Nui, except this time I remember yesterday."

 

"You really don't remember anything else?" Val asked. He could see Lewa really thinking it over before he replied.

 

"...No, I can't say I do." He sighed.

 

Val was at a loss. He was hoping one question could lead to some new information. Instead, it really did seem that Lewa knew just as much about this incident as he did. It was frustrating, but there really didn't seem like there was much else he could do about it. Lewa handed the phone back and Val checked the clock.

 

"Well, it's getting late. We should get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow." Val slowly got up and started clearing off his futon.

 

"Ah, right." Lewa glanced around. "Where should I sleep?"

 

"You can have the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." Val put on a hoodie and cleared a spot on the floor across the table from the futon.

 

"Ah, I could sleep on the floor. I don't mind!" Lewa chirped. In truth, he felt a tinge of guilt for forcing his host from his bed.

 

"Hey, you're my guest tonight. Don't sweat it." Val was already laying on the ground.

 

"You know, I don't take up much room. We could both probably fit." Lewa offered. Val did not respond. "Heh. Or not." With that, Lewa laid down and stared at the ceiling. His mind was racing, and he had a feeling sleep would not come easily. It was within a few moments that one final question popped into Lewa's mind. "Um, I don't think I got your name."

 

"... Right. It's, uh, Val."

 

"Well, Val, thanks."

 

"Don't sweat it."

 

***

 

Valerie opened the door to her dorm room. It was late, probably around two in the morning. She honestly wasn't sure. It had been a long night. The wedding's reception had gone on longer than she would have liked. Dragging her feet forward, she made her way to grab her shower caddy under her bed, and grabbed her toothbrush and a bottle of toothpaste. Luckily, her room was only a few steps away from the communal bath. Her legs were sore from bussing tables all night, but work was work. She couldn't complain too much. After a quick session of brushing, she made her way back to her room. She was about to open the door when she picked up on a strange whooshing sound.

 

Valerie opened the door slowly and saw that her old childhood toy was spinning gracefully in the air. Val rubbed her eyes, lightly smacked herself in the face a couple of times and looked back. The figure was moving in a downward spiral, picking up speed. As soon as it reached the floor, a flash of light shone and caused Val's eyelids to tighten. Looking back a second time, Valerie saw the figure of a young woman. She stood strong with dark skin and black hair. Her eyes were a vibrant hazel. She was taller than Valerie, but compared to others, her height would have been considered average. She was dressed in black shoes, black slacks and a blue t-shirt. On her left wrist she wore a silver bracelet. Her eyes were stuck on Val, as if waiting for her to make the first move.

 

"Welp, I've finally cracked." And with that, Valerie closed the door, walked over to her bed, collapsed and fell asleep.

 

I AM THE BEST AT NAMING CHARACTERS! Also, Val, you should take notes from Val on how to react appropriately to toys coming to life. Geez.

 

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Edited December 19, 2014 by Actually... I'm Santa