Bionicle World

2009 Spoilers

2008-12-06T09:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so here it is (what I've got)

The 2009 setting is a planet called Bara Magna.
The living things that live on Bara Magna are divided into six tribes - water, fire, ice, jungle, rock, and sand.
Agori, which make up different tribes, are the small 2009 sets.
Glatorian, big 2009 sets, are recruited by Agori, and fight in stadiums.
Their weapons shoot Thornax fruit.
Bara Magna is mostly desert.

Sets:

Glatorian:
Red - Malum
Green - Gresh
Black - Skrall
White - Strakk
Brown - Vorox
Blue - Tarix

Agori:
Red- Raanu
Green - Tarduk
Blue - Berix
Black - Atakus
White - Metus
Brown - Zesk

Large Sets:

Green/Black - Tuma
- leads Rock tribe
Fero and Skirmix
- Fero rides Skirmix

More later if I have any info.

Takanuva's Blog From Where I Left Off

2008-12-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

14 August
"Are you crazy?" I said, staring at Pohatu. "You think I'm a Makuta?"

"Well, you don't look much like a Toa of Light," The Toa of Stone replied, his weapon still aimed at me. "And we've all been fooled by Makuta before."

Gali looked from Pohatu to me. Even she was showing some doubt now - and who could blame her? I had grown in size and my armor color had changed from white and gold to white and grey. Frankly, if I had been a Makuta trying to impersonate a Toa of Light, I'd be doing a really lousy job.

I wracked my brain trying to come up with some way to prove I was me (try it sometime, it's not easy). I could use my light powers, but Pohatu might just think that was just a Makuta illusion. I could use my mask power to promote trust in him, but I had a feeling the second he felt a shift in mood, he would blast away.

"If you're really Takanuva, then I'm sorry," said Pohatu. "But if you're not, then all our lives aren't worth a widget. So I'm giving you to the count of 10 to tell me why I shouldn't skyblast you out of existence. 1... 2... 3..."

18 August
"6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ..."

"What's a Toa?" I suddenly shouted.

Pohatu paused in his countdown and looked at me, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The first time you woke up on Daxia," I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth in my haste. "You were told you were a Toa, and your response was, 'What's a Toa?' There were no Makuta there, so how could one know about that?"

"There's only one problem," said Pohatu. "You weren't there either."

"But I saw it," I insisted. "I saw your creation, your training, I saw the team fighting avohkah here, and I saw the storm ... that's why I'm here."

An idea struck me. I turned to Gali. "Remember, last year, when I was still Takua the Chronicler? You forged a mental link with me so I could see what you saw when you fought Makuta. Do you think you can do it again?"

"I ... I don't know," said Gali.

"Don't do it," said Pohatu. "Makuta would just love to get inside your head."

"She has to," I said. "It's the only way. She has to look inside my mind, and if she doesn't like what she sees ... you can kill me dead, right here."

21 August
Toa Gali shut her eyes. After a few moments, I felt the unique sensation of her mind reaching into mine. For an instant, I could see myself through her eyes (which was pretty disturbing - even I hadn't realized how much I had changed). Then I felt the link snap as she pulled away. Pohatu reached out and grabbed her to keep her from falling.

"Amazing," she said softly. "A place where Mata Nui died ... another where the Toa rule as dictators ... your journey here was ... eventful, Takanuva"

"Then he is --?" asked Pohatu.

"He is," confirmed Gali. "Darker, perhaps, and not quite the innocent Takua or the eager hero we remember ... but he is our friend."

"What's the situation here?" I asked.

Pohatu pointed towards the east. "The Makuta are putting up a good fight, but we're holding our own. We'll have Mata Nui awake again before you know it!"

"That," I said, taking to the sky, "is what I am afraid of."

25 August
Pohatu had just brought up the fact that even he didn't recall the story I had told of his early adventures when we arrived in the midst of a full-scale battle. The Toa Nuva were fighting a group of Makuta I had never seen before. Pohatu and Gali split off to attack from the flanks, while I rammed right up the middle. If my appearance took the Nuva by surprise, it seemed to do even more than that to the Makuta. My light powers tipped the balance and the masters of shadow retreated to the east.

Tahu wasted no time on welcoming me. He produced six fragments of stone and asked us all to read them. They contained, he said, the secret to awakening the Great Spirit. I really wished I could share in the moment ... so close to achieving their destiny ... but the time had come to tell what I knew.

28 August
I was about to speak up when someone new arrived - yet another Toa, though the others seemed a little wary of him. When he spoke, it sounded like he had just learned to use his voice. He related a stunning story. Apparently, he wasn't just wearing the Mask of Life - he was the Mask of Life. Worse, he was a Mask of Life on a countdown to the annihilation of every living being in the universe ... something about things being out of balance and this the only way to make things right.

I gave the others a moment to absorb the news. Then it was my turn to add a little more cheer to the gathering. "We have another problem," I said. "If we succeed in waking up the Great Spirit, this place is going to be hit with an energy storm that will destroy everything in Karda Nui!"

1 September
I expected shock or anger or even panic at my news. I should have known better. "Then we'll just have to move fast," said Tahu. "We need to get into the Codrex. So we hit the Makuta hard and hope some of us make it inside. This may be our only shot at this."

I didn't have time to ask what a Codrex was before we were in the air and in combat with the Makuta. Lewa and Gali combined their powers to call down a raging thunderstorm while I struck with my light powers. The Makuta started to give way, and that's when I saw it through the mist - a great spherical structure, half-buried in the tip of a fallen stalactite, and looking like it had been here forever and was at the same time totally alien to this place. That, I realized, was a Codrex.

4 September
We forced our way inside the Codrex, using the keystones to get us past a force barrier around it. Once inside, the Toa stopped short. This place, they realized, was where they had been for almost 100,000 years, sleeping in their canisters, waiting for the time they would be needed. I noticed that Tahu looked uncomfortable, but having only been a Toa such a short time, I didn't feel right asking him what was wrong.

Onua started examining some of the machinery in the chamber. He must have hit something, because the floor in the center of the room started to descend. Curious, we peered down into the darkness to see what waited below ...

8 September
Down below, we saw a huge, cavernous chamber. As the section of flooring touched bottom, six great lightstones rose to form a circle. We descended down and began to explore. There were six pathways leading from the center. Lewa was the first to reach the end of his. I couldn't hear what he said, but the next instant, a huge metallic cocoon erupted from the floor. A moment later, it was gone, and in its place was an amazing crimson vehicle with a nameplate that read, "Axalara T9."

Lewa always did have incredible luck ...

11 September
We barely had time to marvel at the vehicles we discovered in the depths of the Codrex - for there were three - before disaster happened. A red armored Makuta suddenly appeared in the cockpit of the Jetrax T6. Before we could react, he had flown off! Pohatu and Lewa wasted no time in leaping into the Axalara T9 and Rockoh T3 and heading off in pursuit, leaving the rest of us to wonder what would happen next.

15 September
I knew I had to go back into the swamp. In the moments after Pohatu and Lewa left, I found myself filled with rage. The Makuta had to pay for what they had done, both here and in the rest of the universe. I existed to destroy them - I knew that now. More, I knew that at some point I must have been a Matoran of Light (even if, for some reason, I didn't remember being one). That meant those people were my people out there, fighting for their freedom. Although Tahu and Gali tried to talk me out of it, I left the Codrex and headed back to the fight.

18 September
Kopaka had preceded me out. I caught up to him as he was pursuing the Jetrax and tangling with Radiak. I offered to deal with the shadow Matoran so he could go after the vehicle. Radiak jibed at me, calling me a "Toa of Twilight." I had to fight down an urge to show him just how much light power I still had. But seeing him reminded me of something else - that he wasn't a shadow Matoran by choice. He had been corrupted by the Makuta, and it was up to me to find some way to save him and the others. More, I had to get them out of Karda Nui before the energy storm hit.

22 September
I had managed to collect Photok, Solek, and Tanma, and together we dragged a struggling Radiak through the sky. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish my task. But I knew I had to try. As a Matoran, I had looked up to the Toa and dreamed of being like them. Now I was, and it was time to live up to being a hero. I was still lost in thought when I heard Photok cry out, and looked up to see a shadow Matoran flying right toward me!

25 September
That was when things got really strange. The shadow Matoran, whose name was Vican, insisted that he was no longer a slave to the Makuta. He said that a Rahi's attack had shattered the hold shadow had over him. The other Matoran told me not to believe him. But something in Vican's eyes, his voice, made me wonder. I knew what it was like to be attacked by a shadow leech, as Vican claimed he once had been. If what he was saying was true now, then maybe there was a way to cure the shadow Matoran of Karda Nui. It was a chance I had to take.

29 September
In a strange twist of fate, it was Radiak himself who found the Rahi he sought. Spotting it flying through the air, he hurled a bolt of shadow energy at it. He missed, but had managed to irritate the creature. It emitted a loud cry, the sheer volume of which seemed to stagger the Matoran. He struggled to get free of my grasp, and this time I didn't try to stop him. He looked around at Photok, Solek, and Tanma, as if he they were friends he had not seen in ages. "Are you all right?" he asked. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Tanma, of course, did not believe Radiak had returned to the side of the Av-Matoran. But the change seemed real. When pressed, Radiak revealed that the Makuta planned to allow Mata Nui to wake up, then slay the Toa Nuva and corrupt the rest of the Av-Matoran. But why? Why would they want to let the Great Spirit awaken, I wondered?

2 October
"Get the rest of the shadow Matoran here," I told Tanma. "We're going to cure them all, then we're getting you out of here."

"This is our home," the Av-Matoran protested. "And we'll stay and fight for it."

"Listen to me," I snapped. "In a little while, this isn't going to be anyone's home. When Mata Nui awakens, this place will be hit by the biggest energy storm anyone has ever seen. And that's why I am getting every Matoran out of here, even if I have to drag you."

Little did I know, as Tanma and his companions flew off, that I was about to come under attack.

6 October
There were eight of them. Makuta Chirox and seven different incarnations of Makuta Bitil. Under ordinary circumstances, one Toa against eight Makuta ... I wouldn't have stood a chance. But since being attacked by a shadow leech and walking the fine line between light and darkness ... I wasn't the same being. And these weren't ordinary circumstances.

Light can do a lot of things. It can illuminate. It can welcome. It can warm. As it turns out, it can also make laser beams that slice through protosteel. "Come on, then!" I shouted. "This won't be some kolhii match masquerading as a battle! Any Makuta who gets near me, dies!"

9 October
I confess, I remember little of what happened next. I recall blasting a hole in Chirox's armor, then charging into the midst of the Makuta. All I felt was rage. In that moment, the shadow was the closest it had ever been to taking control. I was so caught up in the battle that I never noticed one of the Bitils about to strike me down.

But he never got a chance. A bolt from the Jetrax T6, piloted by Kopaka, saved me. A second rocked Bitil so much that he lost control of his mask power, causing his duplicates to disappear. But I wasn't done fighting. Chirox was mine, and he was going to pay.

13 October
It was Kopaka who stopped me ... who brought me to my senses before I killed the Makuta. As they fled back to the swamp, I told the Toa of Ice what I had learned: that the Makuta wanted Mata Nui awakened, for reasons I could not imagine.

Kopaka left me to warn the others, while I tracked down the last shadow Matoran needing to be saved. This was Gavla, and despite her protests, I managed to put her in the path of the klakk's scream ... and myself as well. I could feel the barrier within me shatter and the light begin to return. I was cured, and so was she ... but she was not so happy about it. The shadow, apparently, had been a place she felt she belonged, and I had taken her away from it.

I sent her after Tanma and the others. They would be making their way to the western portal and escape from Karda Nui. I had to rejoin my friends.

16 October
The storm had begun.

It started out small, just in the center of the swamp, but grew bigger rapidly. It was terrible and beautiful at the same time, light and power released in a fury that nothing could compare to. Even I, releasing all my power in one mighty blast, could never have equalled what was going on below.

As I flew by, I saw Makuta Mutran tentatively hovering near the edges of the storm. It seemed as if he was trying to study it ... the last foolish act of a wasted life. A bolt of lightning incinerated him as I watched. I didn't have it in me to feel any regret ... perhaps in some ways, what I have been through has changed me for good.

20 October
Along with my friends, I clung to one of the three vehicles discovered in the Codrex as we raced to escape Karda Nui. Around me, I could see the Makuta being consumed by the storm, and I thanked the Great Spirit I had been able to save the Matoran. Nothing could have survived this.

23 October
Toa operate by a code, one that says we do not kill our enemies. To do so would make us no better than them. But when Pohatu called attention to the Makuta, now in mortal danger from the storm, I have to confess - I felt nothing. They had brought this upon themselves. They had chosen to tamper with the natural order of this universe in a petty effort to seize power, and now the universe was setting itself right. And it was a universe that had no room for such as them.

27 October
I heard Pohatu say he thought he saw the Mask of Life. Gali told us of Toa Ignika's sacrifice, his decision to give up his new "life" to awaken Mata Nui. Although Ignika could not die, as Matoro had, he still put the universe before his own needs and desires. I wondered if I would have the strength to do the same, under similar circumstances.

30 October
I thought surely we were going to crash. A wave of energy had rocked the vehicles and now we were headed for a solid wall. But at the last moment, all three and their passengers shimmered out of existence, only to reappear inside a twisting array of tunnels. How Lewa, Pohatu and Kopaka ever managed to pilot us through there, I do not know. Behind us, the storm had reached its peak...anyone and anything that was still in Karda Nui was now disintegrated. The threat of the Brotherhood of Makuta was destroyed ... or so I hoped.

3 November
We felt the universe jolt and tremble, as if the Great Cataclysm had happened again. But somehow we knew that this was no second disaster, but a sign of renewal and hope. I looked at the Toa Nuva, and I could see in their eyes that they knew - after so long, they had at last achieved their destiny. Mata Nui was awake once more!

6 November
The journey to Metru Nui took ages, or so it seemed, despite the speed of the vehicles. We were all exhausted and just longing to see our friends again. No doubt Jaller and the other Toa Mahri were wondering where I had disappeared to. I had no idea what had been happening in the universe since I left Metru Nui. Had the Order attacked the Brotherhood? Had the Toa Mahri been pressed into service? Was Metru Nui still standing?

10 November
Home! I can see the Coliseum, the spires of Ko-Metru, the Great Forge of Ta-Metru, and the beautiful gem that is the Great Temple. We made it ... We're alive ... and we have won!

13 November
Turaga Dume welcomed us warmly, even sparing me a lecture about deserting my post. There must be a celebration, he says, of the Toa Nuva's triumph and the awakening of Mata Nui. More, there must be a tribute to those Toa who lost their lives in the fight against the Makuta.

17 November
What an experience this has been. I have been a part of many celebrations of the Toa's heroics - after they first defeated the Makuta, after the Bohrok were driven off - but to be a part of one as a Toa is an amazing thing. I look back at some of the things I have seen in recent days - a dimension where evil Toa ruled, another where there was no evidence of any Toa at all - and I realize how fortunate I am to have adventured beside heroes like Tahu, Gali, and Kopaka. Hopefully, this day is the start of a new era of peace for our people.

20 November
Turaga Dume made a beautiful speech, honoring the heroes who had given their lives to save the universe. Looking back, I wish I could remember Toa Lhikan, or that I had gotten to know Matoro better. Somehow, you expect your friends to live forever ... but I guess nothing lasts forever. Who knows? Someday, all that we have done, all that we are, may be nothing more than faded carvings on some long-abandoned Wall of History. But now isn't the time for such grim thoughts ... this is a celebration, after all.

24 November
I am writing this from deep in the Archives...Gali is missing ... Tahu badly injured ... I don't understand ... how could this have happened? They're coming ... we have to keep moving ... Onua says he knows a place where we can hide and regroup. More later ...

27 November
We seem to be safe for now. Kopaka and Lewa found Gali, she's all right. The Turaga have brought as many Matoran as they could find to this chamber deep inside the Archives. While it is not much of a hiding place - can there be any hiding place? - it is defensible against Rahkshi attack.

It is almost impossible to believe...Makuta Teridax in possession of the body of the Great Spirit, and so in control of this universe. Can any word be said he will not hear? Any plan carried out he will not know in advance? Tahu says we will fight back ... but how do you fight back against the sun and the stars and the world beneath your feet?

1 December
Onua is right, of course - we can't stay here. We can't hide in the darkness while the entire universe is at the mercy of that vile lunatic. Kapura reports that the surface of Metru Nui is teeming with Rahkshi, enforcing Makuta's evil laws. So we must find another way out.

Fortunately, the Turaga were able to find Krahka, a shapeshifting Rahi they once fought down here. She allied with them once against the Visorak, and is willing to do it again. She knows long unused tunnels that lead to the shoreline. If we can steal a boat, perhaps we can link up with other Toa in other lands.

4 December
Tahu has a plan.

True, Makuta has almost infinite power now, but his mind was not designed to control it. If we split up, stir up trouble, force him to focus his attention in dozens of places at once, perhaps he will lose his grip on the universe... anyway it's worth trying.

We encountered an Order of Mata Nui agent named Trinuma on Stelt. He says Daxia is destroyed, but there are some Order members who survive. I have to believe that as long as anyone who loves freedom is alive, there is still hope.

Brothers in Arms as of Chapter 6

2008-12-06T09:12:00.001-08:00

Chapter 1
Five years ago...

Mazeka dove aside even as the acid blade slashed through the air where he had been standing. He could hear the angry hiss of centuries-old rock dissolving where the sword had brushed against it. A step slower and that would have been his armor.

He hit the ground and rolled, ending up back on his feet with dagger at the ready. Vultraz twirled the blade over his head, smiling. "You knew it had to come down to this, didn't you?" said the crimson-armored Matoran. "Just the two of us, mask to mask."

"This isn't one of your epic fables," Mazeka replied. "You're a thief and a murderer, Vultraz. You killed an entire village of Matoran who never did a thing to you."

"Except have something I wanted – an intact lava-gem, a rare find on the Tren Krom Peninsula," Vultraz replied. "They didn't want to give it up... thought it appeased the volcano or some such thing, kept it from erupting... a few well-timed explosions and one sea of lava later, and they found out how wrong they were."

Mazeka lunged. Vultraz sidestepped and hit his foe with the flat of his blade, burning an impression of the weapon into his armor. Mazeka stumbled toward the edge of the cliff and caught himself just in time. The entire mountain slope was lined with razor crystals, sharp enough to shred armor and tissue into ribbons.

"How many times do we have to do this?" said Vultraz. "When are you going to realize that you're not a Toa... just some crazy villager who thinks he has to risk his neck fighting the bad guys? Go home, Mazeka. Go back to your little life, before you force me to end it."

Mazeka scrambled to his feet, his back to the cliff. Vultraz was right – he was just a Matoran, with no elemental or mask power. Of course, Vultraz was too, but his old enemy had years of experience at lying, cheating and killing. Up until a few years past, Mazeka had just been a scholar trying to solve the mysteries of the universe. That was before Vultraz killed his mentor and stole valuable tablets containing the results of years of research. The two had clashed many times since then, but the tablets had never been found.

"Put down your weapon, old friend, and walk away," said Vultraz.

"We were never friends!" spat Mazeka.

"Sure, we were," Vultraz grinned. "All those happy years toiling away in our backward little village, trying not to attract Makuta Gorast's attention. I was just the more ambitious of the two of us. I got out.'

"And you've been running ever since," said Mazeka. "Time for it to stop, before you run into something even you can't handle."

Vultraz charged, swinging his blade... but not at Mazeka. Instead, he sliced away at the piece of rock upon which his enemy stood. It disintegrated before the acid and fell away. Mazeka fell, too, grabbing onto the ledge and hanging suspended over the razor crystals.

"I really don't want to kill you," Vultraz said quietly. "You're a link to my past... a reminder of all the things I avoided becoming. But you keep getting in my way, and I can't have that."

Vultraz lifted the blade over his head and brought it down. Mazeka swung to the side, letting go of the ledge with one hand, and used his momentum to carry his legs up. He kicked Vultraz in the side even as that Matoran's attack was carrying him forward. The combination sent Vultraz over the edge of the cliff. He never screamed all the long way down.

Mazeka looked down and cursed. It was impossible to spot Vultraz's body so far below, but that was a mercy, in a way. Sliding hundreds of feet down razor crystals would leave precious little to see. He concentrated on trying to climb back up to safety before he joined his enemy in death.

A hand shod in ocean blue armor grabbed his wrist and pulled him up. It belonged to a warrior Mazeka had never seen before. She carried a chain mace and a shield and looked powerful enough to down a Takea shark with one blow. She wasn't a Toa, he was almost certain, but he had no idea who she might be.

"I'm a... friend," the newcomer said. "Never mind my name. I saw what happened here. You are very brave, Matoran."

Mazeka shook his head. "Not brave. Lucky. And not even that... he died before telling me what I needed to know. Now I have to return to my village and submit myself to the justice of my people."

The warrior shook her head. "Don't fear. You did them a service and will be rewarded... and who knows who else you may have helped today?"

Mazeka didn't answer, just walked away with his head down. The warrior watched him go. When he was almost out of sight, the face and form of his rescuer began to shimmer and change. In a moment, the mighty warrior had been replaced by Makuta Gorast. She looked at Mazeka, then glanced over the cliff.

"Yes, little hero," she said, smiling wickedly. "Who knows, indeed?"

Chapter 2
Five years ago...

Sometimes, a being does something so completely unexpected, so totally surprising, that it shocks even them. On this day, that being was Vultraz – and what he did was wake up.

After falling off a cliff, Vultraz fully expected to be very dead. Instead, he was lying on a slab in a darkened chamber, being tended to by... well, they were Rahi of some kind, and he preferred not to know just what type or why they were prodding him. He wondered if he had somehow survived the fall, only to be dragged off by wild animals as an evening snack.

He tried to move, thinking maybe he could make a quick escape. But his arms and legs were tied down with some kind of vines. These were either really intelligent Rahi, or else there was someone else involved.

That someone else chose that moment to walk in. Vultraz gasped. He had only caught a fleeting glimpse of her a few times, but he knew Makuta Gorast just the same. He tried to pretend he was still unconscious, even though he knew it would not fool her.

"I can read your thoughts," the Makuta hissed. "And your fear, little Matoran. But you have nothing to be afraid of... you are safe here."

If he had dared, Vultraz would have laughed. No one knew what happened to Matoran who wound up in Gorast's clutches, but there were plenty of rumors. Each of them was worse than the last and some were downright revolting. Vultraz had done some pretty bad things in his life, but he was a cuddle-Rahi next to Gorast.

"If that were true, I would have let you fall, instead of having Rahi there to save you," Gorast said. "True, you were damaged... badly... but you survived."

"Why...?" Vultraz stopped. His voice did not sound like his voice. He looked down at his hands – the armor on them was completely different. What had happened here? What had she done?

"You are well known on the peninsula," Gorast replied, once again reading his thoughts. "Too well known for my purposes. But your enemy is busy spreading the word of your death, and the changes I have made will insure no one will recognize you."

"Just... just what is it you want me to do?" Vultraz asked, already knowing he wouldn't like the answer.

"I want you to find a Matoran for me," said Gorast. "A Matoran named Krakua... and when you find him, here is what I want you to do..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mazeka returned to his village, bringing word of Vultraz's fatal fall. Some greeted him as a hero, though he did not feel like one. He had failed to regain what Vultraz had stolen, failed to capture him – and while the Ta-Matoran's death brought his evil to an end, it was still not something he could bring himself to celebrate.

He was seated alone in his hut that night when someone rapped on the door. When he opened it, there was no one there. Annoyed, he slammed the door and went back to his sleep mat. It was then that he noticed the chair in the center of the room had moved out of position. He went to move it back to where it was, and found he couldn't – it was as if it were rooted to the ground.

"I wouldn't do that," said a deep, rasping voice. "You're only going to hurt yourself."

Mazeka jumped back a good four feet. There was no one else in the room, but someone was talking to him. He grabbed a weapon and spun around. "Who's here? Show yourself!"

"Ah, if only I could," the voice replied. "Unfortunately, not every experiment has happy results. By the way, the only thing you will get from spinning is dizzy. I am in the chair."

"Who are you?" demanded Mazeka, half-convinced he was just hallucinating the whole thing.

"My name is Jerbraz, once one of the most handsome and dashing members of my little circle of friends... that is, back when I could be seen. Now I have to rely on my charm alone to make an impression... that and this nasty sword that conveniently turned invisible with me. If you see someone's head just suddenly go flying off for no reason, it's not your imagination."

Mazeka backed up against the wall, trying to get as far from the chair as he could. "Is that why you're here? To kill me? But I've done nothing to you."

"No," Jerbraz replied. The chair moved back, as if he had risen and pushed it away. "But you did do something quite permanent to a foul little fellow named Vultraz. And the people I work for appreciate that kind of initiative. We want to hire you."

"Who do you work for?" asked Mazeka, still not fully willing to accept the reality of invisible beings offering jobs.

"If I told you, and you declined the offer, I would have to... well, you know. So I guess you will just have to accept or reject..." Jerbraz gave a low chuckle. "...Sight unseen."

"Then can you tell me what the job is?" said Mazeka.

"Yes," replied Jerbraz. Mazeka could tell his visitor was standing right beside him now. An instant later, he felt an invisible hand resting on his shoulder. "It's stopping people like Vultraz – there are more of them than you might think – and protecting their would-be victims. Specifically, to start with, one potential target – a Matoran named Krakua."

Mazeka thought about Vultraz, all the evil things he had done, all the people he had harmed. If there were others out there like him, stealing and killing and ruining lives, how could he turn down a chance to stop them?

"All right," said the Matoran. "As long as I don't have to turn invisible too... I'm in. Just tell me what I have to do..."

Chapter 3
Five years ago...

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" whispered Mazeka.

"No," answered the invisible Jerbraz. "But it's the only idea I have."

The two were on the outskirts of a small village on the Tren Krom peninsula. Mazeka had never seen it before, and he had explored much of the peninsula over the years. At first glance, it looked like any other village – a series of huts, a central meeting area, Matoran wandering about. The only thing that marked it as strange was the absolute silence that permeated every inch of the place.

"What's going on?" Mazeka asked, so quietly he could barely hear himself. Despite that, one of the Matoran stopped and looked around.

"They are De-Matoran," answered Jerbraz. "Matoran of Sonics. Very sensitive to noise, so they train themselves from early on to not make any more than is necessary. On the plus side, their hearing is so acute that they are probably listening to every word we say ... and would be even if we were a kio away."

Mazeka considered that. "Then why are we whispering?"

"Out of respect. Plus they hate loud sounds – that's why no Toa are allowed into the place. Where Toa go, battles follow ... and battles are noisy."

Mazeka felt the invisible hand of Jerbaz tap him on the shoulder. "Krakua is over there, to the left of the clearing – he's the one you're after. Looks like just another villager to me, but the people in power say he matters. So you go in and bring him out ... before someone else does."

The one Jerbraz had identified was standing off by himself, but not by choice. The other Matoran were avoiding him, and giving him nasty looks besides. Mazeka quickly figured out why: Krakua was humming to himself.

"Someone thinks he may wind up a Toa someday," Jerbraz continued. "I can see why. Matoran with the calling sometimes are a little ... eccentric. Almost like their brain knows something it isn't telling them."

At Jerbraz's urging, Mazeka slipped into the village and beckoned to Krakua. He was careful not to call out to them. No point in drawing unwanted attention to himself. When Krakua joined him at the outskirts, Mazeka said, "You don't know me, but I've been sent here to find you."

"By whom?" asked Krakua.

"I can't tell you that," answered Mazeka.

"Okay. How about why?"

"I can't tell you that either," Mazeka replied, already feeling very uncomfortable.

"Is there anything you can tell me?" asked Krakua, frustrated.

Mazeka looked over Krakua's shoulder. Something was rolling into the center of the De-Matoran village. "Yes!" he yelled, diving for Krakua. "Trust me!"

The two hit the ground, hard. Mazeka clamped his hands over Krakua's audio receptors just in time. A wall of sound struck the village, excruciatingly loud for a being with normal senses, beyond devastating for the Matoran of Sonics. Matoran hit the ground almost instantly, overcome by the sound. Mazeka almost passed out as well, but he fought to stay conscious and do what he could to protect Krakua.

When the effect finally ended, Mazeka couldn't hear his own voice. He called out Jerbraz's name a few times, but couldn't have heard the answer if it came and felt no taps on his shoulder. Had the Order agent deserted him?

Before he could worry about that, someone entered the clearing. It was a Ta-Matoran, though not one Mazeka recognized. He idly picked up the device used to fell the villagers, smiled, and tossed it away. Then he surveyed the unconscious Matoran as if he were looking for someone in particular. Now and then, he would use his sword to roll one over and get a better look.

Mazeka took his hands away from Krakua's head. Using hand signals, he told Krakua to follow him. Mazeka started away, but stepped on a branch, snapping it. He was still unable to hear, so he never noticed the noise. But the Ta-Matoran did.

An instant later, Krakua was spinning Mazeka around. As he did, a dagger thrown by the Ta-Matoran buried itself in a nearby tree. Mazeka drew his own blade, ready to fight. But the Ta-Matoran didn't advance – in fact, he seemed a little startled.

"Go!" Mazeka yelled to Krakua. "Get out of here! I'll handle this."

Krakua hesitated. Then his feet left the ground and he was flying into the jungle. Mazeka almost smiled – Jerbraz hadn't left after all. He was carrying Krakua to safety.

The Ta-Matoran advanced. Mazeka leaned back a little on his heels, ready to meet the attack. The Ta-Matoran made a few tentative attacks, then went to work, hacking and slashing. Mazeka parried the blows, even landing a few of his own. All the while, something was nagging at him. There was something familiar about his enemy – not how he looked, nor how he sounded, since he hadn't said a word. No, it was his moves in combat. Once in a while, he would do something that struck a familiar chord, then it would be gone.

Unfortunately, the middle of a fight is not the best time to try to and jog one's memory. The Ta-Matoran took advantage of his distraction to disarm him. Mazeka tried to retrieve his blade, but the Ta-Matoran got in between him and his weapon. A swift stroke and Mazeka had lost his mask. He stumbled and fell to the ground.

His enemy stood over him, smiling. He lifted his blade for the killing stroke, twirling it over his head for a moment.

And then Mazeka knew. Someone or something had changed his appearance, but that habit of twirling his blade before a final attack ... only one person did that in Mazeka's memory.

"Vultraz!" he gasped. "You're ... alive?"

"More than I can say for you," whispered Vultraz, as he swung his razor-sharp sword at Mazeka's head ...

Chapter 4
Five years ago ...

Mazeka forced himself to keep his eyes open as Vultraz brought the blade down toward his head. He wouldn't give his enemy the satisfaction of seeing he was afraid.

The razor-sharp steel came closer, closer ... Mazeka accepted that it would be his last sight in life ...

And then the sword stopped, less than a quarter of an inch from Mazeka's mask. When he looked beyond the blade, Mazeka could see that Vultraz was smiling.

"No, I don't need to kill you now," said the Ta-Matoran. "I've beaten you. Every breath you take from now on is only because I allow it. No matter where you go, who you fight, how many battles you win – you'll know you're only walking, talking, living because of me." Vultraz laughed. "I just saved your life, Mazeka ... I think that rates a thank you, don't you?"

Mazeka said nothing, just glared with hate-filled eyes at his enemy.

"Of course, it's a shame that I lost the little De-Matoran, but no worries – I'll catch up to him later, and give him what I didn't give you," Vultraz continued. "As for you ... live a long life, Mazeka. I want you around to remember this day."

With that, the Ta-Matoran withdrew his sword and vanished into the jungle. Mazeka got to his feet, ready to pursue him and settle things once and for all. But an invisible hand restrained him.

"That's not what we're here for," said Jerbraz. Mazeka could hear him clearly, though he could not see him. "We got what we came to get. Be satisfied with that."

"But --" Mazeka began, angry and frustrated. Then he stopped. Jerbraz was right. If this Krakua was so important, getting him before Vultraz did was what mattered most ... wasn't it?

"Krakua is someplace safe," said Jerbraz. "Now he can be trained. There's a reason you don't see a lot of Toa of Sonics around – they are vulnerable to their own power. One of the Great Beings' little jokes, I guess. We'll make sure he can use his power – all of it – when he becomes a Toa someday ... because we're going to need it."

Mazeka was only half listening. His mind was on his fight with Vultraz – a fight he vowed wasn't over. "Listen," he said. "I did what you asked. Now I want a favor in return. I want training."

"What kind?" asked Jerbraz.

"I want to learn how to fight," said Mazeka, his tone grim. "I want to learn how to win clean ... and win dirty. When I'm done, I want to be a master with a blade, with my fists, with any kind of weapon – and then I want you to get out of my way."

"You're going after that Ta-Matoran, I'm guessing?" said Jerbraz.

Mazeka walked away from the voice, deeper into the jungle. "We're wasting time. You have a Matoran to deliver ... and I have a hunt to get ready for."

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Now ...

Mazeka walked into an inn in one of the nastier parts of Stelt. The whole island was in an uproar – something about a monstrous, reptilian thing tearing the roof off a building. He didn't see any sign of any giant creatures, so he dismissed it as just another wild Steltian story.

He was here to see a Fe-Matoran whose name changed every few months. A rogue Nynrah crafter, the Matoran had a bad right arm, the result of an accident in a forge. Of course, any Nynrah worth his tools could have made a new mechanical part to replace the damaged one, but he hadn't – story was he kept it as is as a reminder that even the best can make a mistake.

Two big, blue warriors stood at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor. They made it clear that no visitors were allowed. Mazeka nodded, turned as if to leave, then spun and delivered a devastating kick to the knee joint of the nearest. When the second went for his blade, Mazeka's own dagger flashed. He disarmed the brute in one swift motion. The guard charged and Mazeka evaded, winding up behind his larger opponent. Before the guard could turn, Mazeka did a leap from a standing start, got one hand onto the big warrior's shoulder, and then slammed both knees into his face. It didn't do much more than daze the bruiser, but that was all Mazeka needed to do. He took advantage of the situation to race up the stairs.

The door to the Fe-Matoran's workshop was locked. Mazeka brought it down with a kick. The Matoran of Iron grabbed for a weapon, but Mazeka's dagger was already primed to throw. "I just want to talk," said Mazeka.

"You've got a noisy way of saying hello," the Fe-Matoran answered. "I'm open for business – all you had to do was knock."

"I know all about your business," said Mazeka. "Someone will be talking to you about it another day. Right now, I just have one question – where's Vultraz?"

The Fe-Matoran did his best to look confused. "I don't know any Vultraz."

"You helped him modify his vehicle," Mazeka replied. "And he used it to raid a village on an island not far from here. Two Matoran were killed, 12 more were hurt. You're responsible for that."

"Why me?" said the Fe-Matoran. "I didn't do that! He did that!"

Mazeka twirled his dagger, then hurled it at the Nynrah crafter. It struck his mask, knocking it off. The Fe-Matoran staggered and reached for his lost mask, but Mazeka was there first and kicked it away. "Vultraz. Now."

"I don't know anything!" the Matoran sputtered. "Give me my mask back!"

Mazeka held his foot poised over the fallen mask. "Tell me what I want to know or I'll shatter it. And then you and I can have a nice long chat until you pass out. So what's it going to be?"

"He said ... he said he was going to get in good with a Makuta," the Fe-Matoran said. "Said he was heading to the core ...that's all he said, I swear, the core ... to bring something to somebody named Icarax."

Mazeka nodded. That fit with other scraps of information he had picked up.

"Okay, thanks for the information," he said. Almost casually, he brought his foot down and broke the mask to pieces. "Next time, don't take so long to answer."

Mazeka left the room, so lost in thought he almost didn't notice the two guards waiting for him outside. He was distracted enough that it took him all of ten minutes to get away from them. On his way back to his swamp strider, he wondered -- what was Vultraz up to now? And how could he stop him?

Chapter 5
Daxia was a good place to visit, providing you were a member of the Order of Mata Nui and had been invited. There were places to relax and to train, libraries full of tablets on every imaginable subject, and a central well of energy for when one got hungry. Of course, there was also an armory, an equipment storehouse, and a vehicle center that members could access before going on missions.

If, on the other hand, you weren't welcome ... well, that was another story, as Mazeka was finding out. He had been to Daxia before, during his training, and had even been given his swamp strider vehicle by Toa Helryx, leader of the Order. With some reservation, she had approved his pursuit of Vultraz, providing it didn't get in the way of other work she needed him to do. But it was also made clear to him that return trips to Daxia had to be cleared first, so the Order could make sure he was not being followed to their secret base.

This day, Mazeka had not done that. He had stormed the coast of Daxia, seeking information. His old enemy, Vultraz, was heading for someplace called the core, carrying something for a Makuta named Icarax. Mazeka was determined to stop him, but first, he had to learn what the core was and where it was. And he knew who would have the answers.

"Helryx!" he shouted, as he ran through the central corridor of the Order base, two guards in pursuit. "I request an audience!"

"Grab him!" one of the guards yelled. "He could be a Brotherhood spy!"

Mazeka stopped suddenly and dropped to the ground. The lead guard tripped over him and went sprawling. Mazeka shot up, grabbing the second guard's wrist. With a quick movement, he tossed the guard over his shoulder, sending the sentry crashing to the ground.

"Sorry," Mazeka said. "But I don't have time for official channels."

Both guards were getting back to their feet, so Mazeka took off. While he couldn't become invisible like his old trainer, Jerbraz, he knew how to "disappear" when he had to. The shadows were his friend. He found a hiding place and waited for the guards to rush past before moving out again.

Mazeka knew where Helryx's chamber was – he also knew all the traps and guard stations along the way. Jerbraz had trained him to pay attention to things like that. You never knew when you might need the knowledge. Now he used it to evade observation as he made his way to the center of the base.

Under normal circumstances, this would probably have been impossible to do. But with the Order now at war with the Brotherhood, the number of members on Daxia had dropped. Most agents were out leading operations against Makuta strongholds, meaning that many fewer guards to dodge.

Forcing his way into Helryx's chamber would be impossible – too well protected. But he had noted an escape tunnel built into one wall and had made a point of searching for where it came out. Now he went in that hidden exit and followed the tunnel along, all the way back to his goal.

But when he emerged, he saw that Helryx wasn't there. Instead, it was a senior Order of Mata Nui agent, Tobduk. This was just about the last person Mazeka wanted to see.

Tobduk was tall – easily 10 feet in height – and although he looked very lean, it was deceptive. He was all wiry muscle. He wore a Kanohi Sanok, the Mask of Accuracy, an appropriate one for him – for he was a killer.

This particular Order member got the ugly assignments, and thrived on them. He was most famous within the group for planning the deaths of or personally slaying everyone who knew the location of the island of Artakha – including other Order members and a Makuta. Although one would expect someone like him to be cold and calm, Tobduk was in a perpetual rage – he fed on anger, his and others, it made him stronger.

Mazeka had battled Tobduk a few times during his training. He had always lost. Despite the Matoran's best efforts, frustration and anger would grow in him during the fight, making Tobduk even stronger. Then the fight would be over in seconds.

"Come out, Mazeka," Tobduk said, with the grin of a hungry kavinika wolf. "I know you're there."

There was no point in denying it or postponing the inevitable. Mazeka kicked open the entrance to the tunnel and stepped out into the light. "I would have thought you would be out killing something," he said. "Did Helryx ground you?"

"My time is coming," Tobduk snapped. "I was made for war."

"Great," said Mazeka. He forced himself to stay calm and collected, so he could deny Tobduk any extra strength. "I hope you and your battles will be very happy together. I need information. Where's Helryx?"

"Out. And you don't come to us ... we call you," Tobduk growled menacingly.

"Vultraz is heading for the core, bringing something to a Makuta," Mazeka explained. "I need to follow him, but I don't know where the core is."

"I do," said Tobduk. His eyes somehow managed to gleam and yet remain cold and dead at the same time. "And I could tell you ... but not yet." He picked a dagger up off Helryx's desk and toyed with it. "Jerbraz says you have come far. But do you have what it takes to kill?"

Here it comes, thought Mazeka. He's going to challenge me to combat for the information I seek. And I'm better than I once was, but not better enough to beat him.

To Mazeka's surprise, Tobduk put the dagger into a sheath on his hip and smiled. "No. Cutting you down wouldn't even be sport anymore, not when there are so many better targets out there. I have a job to do, Mazeka ... and I could use a little help. You aid me and I will tell you what you want to know ... or you could refuse, and the guards will haul you off to a cell for interrogation while Vultraz roams free."

Mazeka had no choice. His need for revenge on Vultraz mattered more to him than anything else. If he had to team with someone like Tobduk to achieve his goals, then so be it.

"What do I have to do?" asked Mazeka.

"Nothing too terrible," said Tobduk, already walking out of the chamber and obviously expecting Mazeka to follow. "We're just going hunting."

Chapter 6
Mazeka grabbed Vezon's arm and yanked him away from where Makuta Tridax and Tobduk were fighting. "Come on, you fool," the Matoran said. "You want to get killed?"

"Well ...." Vezon said, as if he were seriously debating the question. "Anyway, I want to see the end."

"Trust me, there will be plenty of endings to see," Mazeka said, with some bitterness in his voice. "Everything ends eventually ... and sometimes, you're not sure why."

"How profound. How deep," said Vezon. Then he added, "How boring. Who are you and why are you here?"

"I'm here to kill you," said Mazeka.

"Oh," brightened Vezon. "I knew there was something about you I liked."

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Tobduk watched the last of the Makuta's armor dissolve before the protosteel-eating virus. That left just his free floating antidermis to deal with. Meanwhile, the fortress of Destral continued to shake and crumble before the onslaught outside.

"You Makuta," Tobduk said, shaking his head. "In the end, you're just wisps of corruption, aren't you? No substance at all. Not like these Toa you have imprisoned all over the place in this chamber."

Tobduk looked around. He didn't recognize the Toa in the cases, but could tell they were – somehow – all the same being. "Someone's been tampering with things best left alone," he said, in a vaguely sinister, sing-song voice. "I've heard enough Turaga tales to know what that leads to."

The antidermis floating in the middle of the room turned a darker shade of black and green. Tobduk had no doubt the Makuta was trying to mentally attack him ... or perhaps even telepathically beg for his life? But with his mental shields up, nothing was getting through. That was okay, though. He hated to hear a grown gas cloud cry.

"I can guess what you're thinking," Tobduk said. "With all these Toa here, no one would dare destroy Destral. No one would risk the damage to all those other realities. No one would sacrifice all these lives."

Tobduk smiled and pulled out a nasty looking staff. Its shaft was inscribed with Matoran symbols and its head was carved in the shape of a doom serpent's head. "Well, let me tell you something. I used to live on an island to the east of here ... just a simple place, where a few of us tried to get by day to day. We had a little Rahi trouble now and then, nothing too serious. That is, until the day a Makuta showed up.

"He had a little experiment he wanted to do. He mixed a little of this, a little of that, and before you knew it ... he had a great big spider ... and then a lot more. But that wasn’t enough ... he had to see what they could do. So he unleashed them on our village ... it was over in minutes. When they were done, the Makuta renamed the island Visorak in honor of their pets."

Tobduk shuddered a little, from the memory. "I made it off the island ... a few others did, too ... and got to Nynrah, and from there, to Stelt. By the time we made it there, the horror of all I had seen had ... changed me. When my new friends took me in, they named me 'Tobduk,' which I hear means 'survivor.' Their idea of a joke, I guess."

Tobduk's eyes gleamed with a mixture of rage and madness. "Cause, you see, I didn't survive. I don't even know who I used to be. I'm not who I was ... and I'm not what the Order wanted to make me. I am no one."

A beam of white-hot energy lanced from Tobduk's staff. It struck the antidermis in mid-air, incinerating it in a matter of moments. Tobduk didn't turn the weapon off until every last particle was gone.

"Impressive," said Mazeka from the doorway.

Tobduk shrugged. "It passes the time. Where's the other one? He's a loose Rahi ... needs to be contained."

"He's dead," Mazeka lied. He had no idea who Vezon was, but had no reason to murder him either. He decided to let him take his chances with the army outside the gates, slim though those chances might be.

"You owe me," the Matoran continued. "You said if I helped you, you would tell me how to find the core."

The fortress was rocked by an explosion. The ceiling of the chamber cracked and rubble began to fall. "So I did," said Tobduk, seemingly unconcerned about the destruction all around him. "Very well, Matoran, I will point you in the right direction."

"What about all these Toa?" asked Mazeka.

"Wrong place, wrong time," answered Tobduk. "They don't belong here and we don't have time to send them all home. They're casualties of war. You can stay and try to save them if you like, but I'm done here ... so I am going. If you want the secret of the core, you'll come with me."

Mazeka considered. The lives of a bunch of Toa he didn't know vs. stopping whatever evil Vultraz had planned. He knew what a Toa would do – risk everything to save the helpless and let the villain escape, maybe putting more lives at risk in the long run. But maybe that was why there were only 50+ Toa left in the universe -- and anyway, Mazeka wasn't one of them.

"Okay," said the Matoran. "We go."

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When the Matoran and the Order agent had vanished from the chamber, Vezon stepped out of the shadows. Destral was falling to pieces all around him, but he ignored it. His eyes were on all those crystalline cases and the Toa sleeping inside.

He had mocked Makuta Tridax's "collection" not so long ago. But as the madbeing traced a finger along one of the cases, he couldn't help but wonder:

What couldn't I do with an army of Toa by my side?

Dwellers in Darkness as of Chapter 6

2008-12-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

(by Greg Farshtey - DW by Greg Farshtey also)

Chapter 1
Toa Bomonga tightened his headlock on the Tahtorak and tried to wrestle the beast to the ground. Bomonga's Mask of Growth allowed him to reach almost the size of the creature, but he could not match the Tahtorak in sheer strength. Still, he knew a few things about leverage and pressure points that the Rahi did not.

With a roar, the Tahtorak lost its footing and slammed hard into the ground of Xia. What was left of the island city trembled from the impact. "Now stay down," Bomonga growled, even as Toa Pouks used his power to create bonds of solid stone for the monster.

After a long battle, the Tahtorak had battered the Kanohi Dragon enough that Toa Norik's spinners had been able to slow it down, while Toa Kualus' ice attack finished it off. It now lay unconscious, sprawled across much of the southern district of the city. Toa Iruini had taken the advice of a Vortixx and made sure to move the creature's leg away from The Mountain, so it wouldn't end up a big snack for that hungry landmark.

Only Toa Gaaki stood off to the side, her eyes fixed on the ocean but unseeing. The Toa Hagah had seen her like this before. She was focused inward, using the power of her Mask of Clairvoyance to see things they could not. Now she stiffened, cried out, and turned toward the others.

"They're coming," she said. "Hundreds of them."

"Hundreds of who?" asked Iruini. He considered Gaaki a good friend, but her vague predictions did have a way of getting on his nerves at times.

"Seekers of shadows," Gaaki muttered. "Slayers of the dark ... ready for war ... Vortixx cannot stand ..."

Norik walked up beside her and gently eased Gaaki to a seat on a rock. He knelt in front of her and talked to her in a whisper. Now and then she would nod her head. After a few minutes, he gestured to Kualus.

Although the Toa of Ice was no longer a Rahaga, he had not lost his bond with flying Rahi or his ability to communicate with them. Now he signaled to a smoke hawk up above and spoke rapidly in a language none of the others understood. A moment later, the hawk flew off to the west.

"How is she?" Pouks asked Norik.

"It's been a long time since she used her power," answered the Toa Hagah of Fire. "Or, rather, since it used her. It's never easy."

"What she said – seekers of shadows – what do you think it means?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Bomonga, shrinking down to his normal height. "Seekers of shadows – Dark Hunters."

The smoke hawk picked that moment to return, flying in tight circles above the island and cawing loudly. Kualus nodded twice and rushed over to his fellow Toa.

"Bomonga is right, from the sound of it," he said. "My winged ally sees ships coming, so many they blot out the waves. And the crews are armed, my friends ... it's a battle fleet."

Iruini had climbed up the top of one of the few spires still standing in the city. "Score one for the birdie," he yelled down. "We have company. I'm going to check them out!"

"Iruini, wait --" began Norik.

"Wait for what?" the Toa of Air said, smiling. "I spent thousands of years as a Rahaga – now I'm back in action, and I love it!"

An instant later, the Toa of Air used his Mask of Quick Travel to teleport from the spire to the flagship of the oncoming fleet. He found himself standing on the deck, facing two powerful looking figures. A handful of armed warriors immediately moved to surround him.

"Who are you?" asked Iruini. "What's your business in these waters?"

"My business?" asked one of the figures. "My business is profit, and that profit has been strangled for too long. And who are you?"

"I am Toa Iruini. My friends and I have just completed a mission on Vortixx. That island was half-levelled in the process, and let me guess – you're here to level the other half."

"My name is The Shadowed One," came the reply, "leader of the Dark Hunters. Standing beside me is my loyal lieutenant, Ancient. Standing in front of me is a very foolish Toa if he thinks he can get between me and my goal."

Iruini ignored the jab. "If you're looking to loot Xia, there's precious little left to steal."

"Loot?" repeated The Shadowed One, in mock surprise. "Steal? How little you think of me. Would I muster a fleet for petty thievery? No, Toa, I have made a bargain this day with a power I never knew existed – and my new allies have asked to me to insure that Xia provides no more weapons to the enemy. They wish me to blockade or occupy the island, but I do not believe in half-measures."

The Shadowed One smiled, an expression as cold as one of Kualus' ice blasts. "So I am going to destroy Xia, and every last living thing on it. And if your friends are unfortunate enough to be there when I arrive ... well, perhaps I will be merciful, and leave enough of them to bury."

Iruini raised his Cyclone Spear. Weapons were suddenly aimed at him from a dozen different directions.

"This is my war," The Shadowed One said softly, "and welcome to it."

Chapter 2
At times like this, Iruini looked back fondly on his days as a Rahaga. It wasn't so bad, being short and twisted and spending all your time chasing after Brakas monkeys. At least you didn't have to stand on rolling decks, staring at the crazed leader of the Dark Hunters as he prepared to slaughter an entire island full of ... well, not so innocent Vortixx.

"You know I can't let you do this," Toa Iruini said.

"I know you can't stop me," The Shadowed One replied, smiling. "My new partner suggested I occupy Xia but I must have misheard. I could have sworn she said 'destroy.'"

Iruini was about to make a smart comeback when the seas started to churn and heave. The next moment, a tidal wave big enough to swamp the entire Dark Hunter fleet rose from the ocean depths. It towered hundreds of feet in the air ... and just stayed there, looming over the ships like the shadow of doom.

"Is that enough water to clean out your ears?"

Iruini turned. Standing on the bow of the ship was a Toa of Water he did not recognize, carrying a spiked mace and a shield. She was flanked by a warrior in golden armor and a four-armed giant with two long horns coming out of his head. He alone was heavy enough to almost swamp the ship. He carried a multi-bladed axe and a small object covered in a cloth.

The female Toa stepped down to the deck and marched up to The Shadowed One. Although he was taller than she, her bearing made her seem to dominate everyone on board.

"I hired the Dark Hunters for a simple task," she said, her voice as quiet as a dying breath. "If you can't do it ..."

She held the mace aloft. The tidal wave suddenly rushed forward toward the ships, almost colliding with the flagship. It stopped dead again as she lowered her weapon.

"I'll find someone who can," she finished.

Iruini looked from the Toa to the obviously concerned Shadowed One, and back again. "Nice," he said. "What do you do for an encore?"

The Toa nodded and the golden warrior vanished. He reappeared an instant later with the other five Toa Hagah in tow. They arrived to see The Shadowed One in intense whispered conversation with the Toa of Water. It ended when the Toa blasted three nearby Dark Hunters into the sea as casually as someone else might swat a gnat. Then she turned to the assembled Toa Hagah.

"Ah. Good," she said. "I have a mission for the six of you."

"Wait a minute!" snapped Norik. "Who are you? What's going on here?"

"And we don't take requests from anybody wearing a mask," said Kualus. Then he turned to Norik and added, "Do we?"

Norik shook his head.

"My name is Helryx," said the Toa of Water. "I run an organization you never heard of called the Order of Mata Nui. We are at war – and you've just been drafted."

"And if we say no?" asked Toa Bomonga.

Helryx gave a slight smile. Her eyes darted toward the ocean off the starboard side, where the three Dark Hunters were desperately trying to tread water. Then she looked back at the Toa Hagah. "Yes, you don't take requests, as I understand it – good thing I'm not making one."

"What is it you want us to do?" asked Toa Pouks. Seeing Iruini's glare, he said, "Well, it doesn't hurt to ask."

Helryx took a few steps closer and lowered her voice so the Dark Hunters could not overhear. "We are mounting an attack on the Brotherhood of Makuta, but their leader eludes us. Our best information is that he was last known to be inside a Maxilos robot near Mahri Nui, but where he may have gone to since then is unknown. We need Makuta Teridax found."

"Why us?" asked Iruini.

"You've fought him before. You've beaten him before," Helryx replied.

"And we all remember how well that turned out," muttered Iruini.

Helryx ignored him. "If I am right, Teridax has gone somewhere no one else has ever dared to venture. Left free, he could do untold damage."

"And just how are we supposed to track him down?" asked Bomonga. "Knock on the doors at Destral and ask if he can come out to play?"

Helryx chuckled. "There may not be doors left to knock on soon ... but that's another story. You will have a guide – someone who has generously offered to work with you in exchange for his freedom."

The four-armed giant took a step forward, and at first they thought Helryx meant him. But instead he took the cloth off the object he carried, which was revealed to be a globe filled with water, and something else ... what looked like a green sea snake with hate-filled crimson eyes.

"His name is Zaktan," said Helryx. "He's not as friendly as he looks. If he acts up, just haul him out of the tank and let him gasp for air a few times. That's what I always do. And now I think it's time you got started."

The Toa Hagah looked at each other. One by one, each of them nodded ... all except Gaaki. She was backing away, shaking her head, hands up to the sides of her mask. "Death," she whispered. "All around ... we are going to place of death ... and one of us will not return!"

Chapter 3
Toa Iruini dove for cover, barely dodging Toa Hewkii's chain. Not far away, Norik was locked in a stalemate with Jaller, while Bomonga was having a hard time even finding the stealthy Nuparu. All in all, it was not one of the Toa Hagah's better days.

They had hoped that their return to Metru Nui – the city they helped save when they were Rahaga – would be a joyous one. Instead, they were here on a mission from a shadowy organization called the Order of Mata Nui. Their goal: track down the missing Makuta Teridax before he could execute the final stages of his Plan.

Unfortunately, that was not as easy as it sounded (and it didn't sound that easy). They had been saddled with a mutated Piraka, Zaktan, they had to carry around in a water-filled sphere. His information was that Teridax would be heading to an inaccessible spot below the Metru Nui Coliseum. As antidermis, he could slip through cracks too small even for Norik to make through with his Mask of Shrinking. The only way to follow him would be to shatter the foundation of the Coliseum, which would bring the structure down.

Needless to say, popping in and saying, "We're here to wreck your most important building" had not sparked joy in the Toa Mahri. Given Takanuva's recent unexplained disappearance, they were on edge to start with. This just set them off.

Hewkii swung his chain again. This time Iruini grabbed it in mid-air and yanked the Toa of Stone forward. At the last moment, Iruini sidestepped, letting his opponent slam into a rock wall. "Stone, meet stone," muttered Iruini. "Now will you listen?"

Toa Kualus had teamed with Bomonga in an effort to pin down Nuparu, whose Mask of Stealth made him almost impossible to spot. A hastily created snowstorm revealed the Toa Mahri of Earth, but finding him and stopping him were two different things. Sixty feet in height just made Bomonga an easier target and a barrage of earth kept him off-balance.

Kualus frowned. He remembered these Mahri when they were Matoran villagers. He understood their suspicion and hostility, given the circumstances, but if this kept up, someone was going to get hurt. This called for drastic measures. Summoning the power of his Mask of Rahi Control, he touched the mind of a massive Rahi dwelling in the Archives not far below. In response, a huge claw smashed its way through the pavement and grabbed Nuparu.

"Let him go!" shouted Toa Hahli, blasting Kualus with a powerful jet of water. Even as he staggered from the impact, Kualus realized what was about to happen. The creature had been roused by his mask power, but his concentration was now broken. The Rahi was no longer under his control.

It erupted from below ground in a shower of rock and earth. Well over 60 feet high, it scanned the battlefield with its three heads. Muted light from the sunholes reflected off its brown scales as it spread its batlike wings. Its cry of triumph shattered crystal structures as far away as Ko-Metru.

The word "Toa" means "hero" in Matoran. And one of the characteristics of a hero is the ability to put aside personal feelings in a crisis. Thus it was that the Mahri and the Hagah forgot their fight in the face of this monstrosity from below. Still reeling from Hahli's blow, Kualus could not reassert control. But Jaller and Norik had already discovered the beast feared fire, and their twin blasts drove it back toward the barren plains of Po-Metru.

The creature wasn't about to go quietly. It hurled Nuparu through the sky at deadly speed. Hewkii whirled and used his Mask of Gravity as he never had before, applying just enough power to slow the Toa of Earth without ripping him apart.

Bomonga, still at his maximum size, landed a rain of blows on the Rahi. He might as well have been a Toa of Water summoning a light spring rain for all the good it did. Now it was Kongu and Iruini's turn, as they combined their air power with the powers of the Toa of Fire to create a swirling tornado of flame.

The Rahi was directly in the eye of the storm, which was so hot it melted nearby mountains into slag. It roared and attempted to fly out of the trap, but its wings were already blazing. Finally, overcome by the heat, it toppled over. The impact shook the ground for kios around.

Eleven weary Toa stood around the unconscious beast. Already, Onu-Matoran would be on their way to help prepare the creature for its return to the Archives. Po-Metru was a disaster area, the ground scorched and burned. Not far away, Po-Matoran labored to put out fires in their villages, aided by Hahli and Gaaki. Only the fact that this area of the metru was sparsely populated had kept this from being a true cataclysm.

Norik glanced at Jaller. "We either need to stop fighting," he said, "or find someplace uninhabited to settle things. Otherwise, Matoran are going to get killed – and neither of us wants that."

"What do you think will happen if you destroy the Coliseum?" said Jaller.

"We're not trying to hurt anyone," said Pouks. "We're trying to save them."

"Yes, and we're all idiots," added Iruini. "We have almost a dozen Toa here ... we should be able to figure out how to do what we have to and keep the building intact."

"Just what is it you have to do?" asked Jaller. "Why are you here?"

"Listen to me," said Norik. "The Toa Nuva are in the core of the universe right now, fighting for the Great Spirit. But the true mysteries, the true secrets ... all the hidden knowledge about this cosmos and its workings aren't there. They are somewhere beneath your feet, in a place no Toa, Matoran, Turaga has ever been. Right now, we think Makuta has reached that place – and if we're right, then it may already be too late for us all."

It took hours of planning, more to convince the Turaga the Toa hadn't all lost their minds, and another half a day on top of that to complete the work needed. When they were ready, Jaller, Norik, Pouks and Nuparu used their powers to crack the foundation and create a tunnel where none had been before. Outside, Hewkii's gravity power, Kualus' ice power, and Bomonga's vast strength struggled to keep the building intact. Once the tunnel was in place, Hahli and Gaaki used their water power to cool down the walls. Iruini and Kongu watched over Zaktan, with Kongu more than ready to send the Piraka's glass case hurtling into the air at the first wrong word.

The hardest part came last. Bomonga and Kualus had to let go of the Coliseum to join the others as they prepared to venture into the unknown. That left Hewkii supporting the vast structure alone.

"My team will go with you," said Jaller to Norik.

"No," the leader of the Toa Hagah responded. "If we fail ... if Teridax escapes ... you may be the last hope to stop him. We will go, and Pouks and I will seal the tunnel behind us. Hurry, Hewkii cannot last long."

Jaller wanted to argue, but Norik was right – the Toa of Stone was on the verge of collapse. He watched as the Toa Hagah disappeared below ground. A moment later, the powers of Stone and Fire resealed the entrance. He signaled to Hewkii, who slowly, slowly, eased back on his mask power to lower the Coliseum back to the ground. Then the Toa of Stone passed out.

"He'll be all right," said Hahli, after checking on their fallen friend. "But I still think we should have gone along. They may be facing great danger."

"I know," said the Toa of Fire. "I kept thinking as I watched Pouks and Norik closing the tunnel behind them ... I have never seen anyone seal their own tomb before."

Chapter 4
The five Toa Mahri stood in a semi-circle, staring at the base of the Coliseum. A few moments before, the Toa Hagah had vanished down a tunnel in the foundation, heading for Mata Nui knew what. Now it seemed there was nothing for the Mahri to do but wait.

"What do you think they'll find down there?" asked Nuparu.

"Pipes," said Hewkii dismissively. "Dirt. Stone Rats. Maybe an underground stream or two. There's nothing down there."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Jaller.

"Onu-Matoran have been all over beneath this city," Hewkii replied. "If there was something down there, they would have found it by now."

"Maybe," said Nuparu, sounding not at all convinced.

"Let's go," said Hahli. "We're not accomplishing anything standing here."

The Toa Mahri of Water turned to head back to Ga-Metru. That was when she saw the golden crystal floating in the air. She reached out to touch it, and it moved away from her. "What is this?" she asked.

"Something you need."

The Toa Mahri spun around to see an ebon-armored female standing just behind them. For a second, they thought she was a Vortixx, but a closer look revealed her to belong to a species they had never seen before. She carried a shield, but no weapon that they could see.

"They call it the Heart of the Visorak," the figure continued. "It is active now and its power grows. Wherever it is, the Visorak will come, traveling from everywhere in the known universe to find it. You Toa must take it to the island of Artidax and plant it there. Draw the Visorak to that place, where they can be imprisoned forever."

"Right," said Jaller. "And who guards Metru Nui while we're gone? You?"

"It will be protected, never fear," said the woman. She produced a small stone tablet bearing a map to the island and handed it over. "Now you must take the Heart and go, before the Visorak descend on this city in search of it. Go now!"

Before the Toa could question her further, the armored woman's body shattered into a million crystalline fragments. The fragments scattered on the breeze. In moments, they were gone.

"Well, that was ... weird," said Kongu.

"So what do we do?" asked Nuparu. "If she was telling the truth ... this city isn't ready for another full-scale infestation."

"It's a big 'if,'" said Jaller. "So Kongu, Hewkii, you stay here. Hahli, Nuparu and I will go to this Artidax place."

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The three Toa Mahri departed by ship within the hour. Kongu and Hewkii watched them go, then spent some time agreeing on how best to split up their patrols of the city. Once that was done, they started back for the Coliseum.

Neither one noticed a cloud of crystal shards coalescing behind them into the form of their mysterious visitor. And once her shield struck them, knocking them both unconscious, they noticed nothing at all.

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The trip to Artidax was long, but uneventful. Nuparu kept a careful watch out for Visorak, but saw none the first few days. As they got closer to the island, he would catch a glimpse of the spiders on the shores of islands that they passed. If their visitor was correct, the entire horde would be in pursuit of them now.

The first thing Jaller noticed when they reached the island was a set of recent tracks. A number of older ones had been partially obscured by the actions of wind and tide, but these looked like they had been just made. Nearby, various bits of wood floated in the water, apparently the wreckage of a ship or boat.

"Well, someone's been here," he said.

"And still is." The voice belonged to a tall, blue biped, monstrous in appearance, wearing a water-filled helmet on his head. He held a crude stone dagger in his hand.

"Takadox!" said Jaller, in surprise. He and his team had fought Takadox, along with the other Barraki, in the Pit. "How did you escape? And where are your friends? Talk, you miserable insect."

"I 'escaped,' as you put it, out of a desire to do my bit for Mata Nui," Takadox answered, with a cold smile. "As for my fellow former rulers, they are no doubt rotting in cells by now, where they belong. But what brings you to this garden spot of the universe?"

"They do," said Nuparu, pointing toward the ocean. It had become a sea of Boggarak, skating across the water's surface, heading for the island. Behind them, floating on pieces of flotsam and jetsam of all types, were thousands more Visorak. All of them were coming right for Artidax.

"They're after us," Jaller said to Takadox. "But, don't worry, we won't be staying long ... of course, they will be."

"The entire horde?" said Takadox. "You're carrying the Heart of the Visorak ... I've heard of it, though never seen it, of course. And you're leading them here ... that explains a great deal."

"Talk straight, Takadox," said Hahli. "Or we'll leave you here as company for the spiders."

"Not at all a bad idea,” said Takadox. Summoning all his willpower, he focused his gaze first on Hahli, then on Jaller. When Nuparu tried to shield his eyes, his two allies grabbed him and forced him to meet Takadox's stare. In moments, all three were in a hypnotic trance.

"That is more like it," said the Barraki. "A short time ago, two strange beings appeared on the beach in a flash of light. They did not notice me, and I chose to follow and watch. I saw them mounting something on the slope of the largest volcano on the island ... and even I could tell what it was for: they were planning to trigger an eruption. And when it happens, this island and everything on it will be ashes.

"They disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving me with no way to escape the disaster ... until you arrived. Now I will take your boat and leave this rock – again – while you three stand nice and still, waiting for the end. If you're lucky ... very lucky ... that volcano will explode before the Visorak get their pincers on you."

Chuckling, Takadox climbed on board the Toa's boat. Raising the anchor and adjusting the sail, he started it moving away from the coastline of Artidax. Behind him, the three Toa Mahri stood like statues, helpless to stop his departure. And as Takadox's ship vanished over the horizon, and the volcano moved closer and closer to eruption, the first Visorak set their claws on the sands of the island.

Chapter 5
Toa Norik moved carefully through a narrow passage below the Coliseum of Metru Nui. Behind him, the other Toa Hagah walked single-file, eyes and ears alert for any threat. All of them knew they were in uncharted territory – going somewhere no Toa, Matoran, Turaga, or other intelligent native of this universe had ever gone before.

Well, that was not completely true. If what the Order of Mata Nui suspected was true, Makuta Teridax had traveled this route not long ago. Of course, that information came from an evil Piraka, Zaktan, who was now traveling along with the Toa Hagah. His recent mutation into a sea creature meant Zaktan had to be carried by Kualus in a water-filled globe.

"This reminds me of the Archives," Toa Iruini whispered. After a pause he added, "I pretty much hated that place too."

"You have to admit, though, Teridax fits right in here," said Pouks. "Dark, dank, the kind of place only a stone rat could love."

"We're not looking for a new home," snapped Norik. "Focus on the job."

"That's right, fight among yourselves," hissed Zaktan. "You Toa are all alike – all mewling idiots."

"Well, not all alike," Kualus chuckled. "I, for one, am much clumsier than the average Toa. In fact, I feel your globe slipping from my fingers even as we speak. Certainly hope I don’t drop it."

Zaktan cursed. Kualus responded by dropping the globe for an instant, then catching it again. "Whoops. There I go again," said the Toa.

Up ahead, Norik had come to a stop. Using a small portion of his flame power, he was illuminating one of the walls of the tunnel. On it was a series of inscriptions, apparently very ancient in origin.

"Is that Matoran? It doesn't look like it," said Norik. "I don't recognize the language."

"Let me see," said Bomonga. Being something of a master of the underground, Bomonga had seen more than his share of old inscriptions. "It's not Matoran, I don't think ... maybe some kind of root language. I can make out a little of it ... not much ... I think it's some kind of record."

"A record of what?" asked Gaaki.

Bomonga stared at the writing for a while before answering, "I can't tell. All I can make out is a name ... not sure if it's a person or a place ... 'Bara Magna.'"

No one said anything as they searched their memories for that name. After a few moments, all realized they had never heard it before. If it was somewhere in the universe they knew, then it must have been in an unexplored region.

"Does it say anything about how to stuff a Makuta into his armor and then flush it away?" asked Iruini.

"I wish," muttered Bomonga.

"All right, let's keep going," said Norik. "Zaktan, how much farther do you think it is?"

"I don't know," snapped the Piraka. "I haven't been here either. I just know that the inscriptions I read hinted that this was where the Makuta had to come. I'm not sure he even knew for sure what was down here, or that 'here' actually existed – I think he was guessing."

"Nothing worse than a Makuta who's a good guesser," mumbled Iruini.

"I expected this trip to be more ... dangerous," said Pouks. "From the way Gaaki was talking when we left ... about it being a place of death, and all that ... I expected loads of traps and nasty Rahi. So far, this is a stroll through Metru Nui"

The tunnel was suddenly filled with a low hum, which grew louder by the moment. Too late, Iruini cried out, "Out! Everybody out!" The next instant, he was slammed against the wall, followed by the other Toa Hagah. It was only by sheer luck that Kualus was able to twist his body so that Zaktan’s globe did not get smashed to pieces by the impact.

Now all six Toa Hagah were trapped, pinned to the wall by a powerful magnetic force. Norik immediately called on his power of fire, but the tunnel was fireproof. Each of the others tried their powers in turn, only to find that the wall was somehow impervious to their elemental energies.

"Makuta?" asked Iruini.

"I don't think so," Norik answered. "He's not this subtle. I think this is one of those traps Pouks was so relieved we missed out on."

"Well, it could be worse," said Kualus. "I mean, given time, I'm sure we can figure a way to get free."

"Why do I think time is the last thing we'll be given?" said Bomonga. "Do you smell that?"

They all did. It was a hot, metallic scent that wafted from the tunnel up ahead. They all knew what it was, but Norik was the first to speak it aloud.

"It's molten protodermis," he said quietly. "And it's headed this way."

Chapter 6
Toa Jaller stood on the beach of Artidax, his body locked rigid by Takadox's hypnotic trance. Next to him, Hahli and Nuparu stood, similarly paralyzed. None of the three were aware of what was going on around them, which was probably for the best.

Artidax was about to be the scene of a disaster. Its volcano was mere moments away from exploding, raining fire and ash on anything unfortunate enough to be around. Not knowing this, the Toa Mahri had brought the Heart of the Visorak here, a beacon that would summon the entire Visorak horde to this spot. The idea had been to strand them here. What no one knew was that Takadox was hiding on this island, and he hypnotized the three Toa and stole their ship, intending to make his escape.

Worse, the Visorak had arrived, and were even now scuttling across the beach toward the Toa Mahri.

All in all, not the best day the Toa Mahri ever had ...

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Visorak, it is said, never forget.

The specimens now approaching the Toa Mahri had seen Toa before, 1000 years or so ago in Metru Nui. It had been a different team, of course, but to Visorak, one Toa looks much like another. They could remember, if dimly, the pain the Toa had caused them, and they could remember the hate.

But they recalled one thing more. Toa might appear weak, beaten, or defeated, and then suddenly lash out with devastating effectiveness. It wouldn't do to rush up to their apparently helpless foes and possibly walk into a trap. So they hung back a bit, cautiously probing to see if the Toa would react. Others began to scout - if these Toa really were frozen, as they seemed to be, something had done it to them. Could that something still be on the island, waiting to do it to the Visorak?

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Jaller had a thought. This was very strange, as he wasn't capable of thinking at the moment. But some tiny part of his consciousness that was still active realized the answer: the thought was not his.

This is no way for a Toa to die.

That little spark of awareness was followed by a slightly larger one of recognition. He had heard that voice before. It belonged to Makuta. Although it had sounded different when it came from the mouth of the robotic Maxilos, the arrogant one was the same.

The voice continued. Paralyzed on a beach, about to be slain by Visorak or incinerated by lava? Is that the stuff of which legends are made? I think not. No, don't bother looking around for me ... not that you could, in your condition. I am not on Artidax, but somewhere far away. Still, my powers have increased, so I can see and speak to you just the same. Jaller, Jaller ... Vakama had such hopes for you, and look at you now. As a Toa, you make a good statue.

Of course, I should object to what you had planned for my Visorak ... you and whoever set the volcano to erupt. But you didn't know about that, did you? And it would be such a shame to miss "seeing" your expression when you find out the truth ...

Jaller felt a sudden jolt of pain, sharp and agonizing. It cut through the fog caused by Takadox's hypnosis. In that moment, he awakened, his mind reeling. Someone had been talking to him ... but who? What had they said? What had just happened?

There wasn't time to puzzle it out, not with Nuparu and Hahli in trances and Visorak now closing in. With no other choice, Jaller hurled small fireballs at his two partners, just enough to singe them. As he hoped, the pain shocked them awake.

"Hey!" snapped Nuparu. "What's the idea?"

"Not dying, that's the idea," said Jaller. "We need to get off this island."

Hahli was already at work, summoning a wall of water to smash into the oncoming Visorak. Jaller threw up a wall of flame to block those coming from behind. Both Toa and Visorak alike froze at the sound of a rumble like thunder, coming from the volcano.

"Uh oh," said Nuparu. "I may not be the lava fan you are, Jaller, but I know enough about volcanoes to know what that sound means. It's going to blow!"

"Mata Nui," whispered Hahli. "Do you think that was why we were supposed to bring the Visorak here? So they could be killed?"

Something was nagging at Jaller, a memory of something he had heard, but he couldn't put his finger on what. But somehow he knew he was speaking the truth when he said, "Yes. I think someone planned this ... and I'm not sure they cared if we got caught in the middle."

"Our ship is gone!" said Nuparu. A half dozen Visorak moved on them. A shot from his Cordak blaster convinced them to back off.

"Then we swim," said Jaller.

"To where? We're in the middle of nowhere," Nuparu pointed out.

"It's swim, fry, or be a Visorak's lunch," said Jaller. "Take your pick."

"Did I ever tell you how much I love the water?" said Nuparu. Triggering his elemental power, he churned up the ground in front of the Toa, creating a path temporarily free of Visorak leading to the water.

"Go!" yelled Jaller.

The three broke into a run and dove into the ocean. Behind them, the Visorak milled about for a moment, confused. Their prey was getting away, but the Heart of the Visorak was here. They had to stay where the Heart was, didn't they?

Out in the water, the Toa were battling their way through more of the Visorak horde, all headed inexorably for the island. Jaller looked over his shoulder. For a moment, he was tempted to destroy the Heart. But that would mean having a horde of Visorak on he and his friends in a moment.

It's what a Toa should do, he thought. Toa don't kill, after all ... or help someone else do it. But maybe this is a new world – one where you can't trust your friends or your enemies. Maybe all we can do is try to stay alive.

The Toa were still too close when the Artidax volcano exploded. Hahli grabbed her two friends and pulled them underwater just as flaming chunks of rock started landing all around them. On the beach, the assembled Visorak found themselves too close to the disaster to escape. The horde, which had brought pain and death to so many, now reaped the reward for their acts.

"Now what?" said Nuparu, when the Toa had surfaced again. "We're a long way from home."

"We'll get there, one way or the other," said Jaller. "And then we're going to have a little talk with a certain black-armored female and get some answers ... or we're going to start a war of our own."

Destiny War as of Chapter 7

2008-12-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1
Axonn charged across the landscape of Voya Nui, weapon at the ready. He had just spied two figures materializing in The Green Belt. One looked something like Botar, but obviously wasn't. The other resembled a Toa, but wasn't one Axonn knew. The first thing he had learned after being assigned to this place was subdue first, ask questions later.

The Botar look-alike spotted Axonn first, and tried to block him. A sweep of an armored fist sent him sprawling. Axonn was on top of the Toa in the flash of a heart light, axe blade at the intruder's throat.

"Who are you?" growled Axonn. "What do you want here? Talk!"

"My name is Krakua," the Toa answered, trying in vain to push the axe away from his neck. "I was sent to find you. You're needed."

"Who sent you?" asked Axonn.

"Toa Helryx. Use your mask, you'll see I'm speaking the truth."

Axonn did just that, calling on the powers of his Kanohi Rode, the Mask of Truth. To his surprise, it told him that his captive was indeed being honest. He got up and let Krakua get to his feet. "You're Order of Mata Nui, then," Axonn said. "I see recruiting standards have slipped a little."

Krakua paid no attention to the remark. Instead, he said "Come with us. Your presence is required on Daxia."

Before Axonn could object, the Botar type had come close and activated his teleportation power. The three of them vanished from Voya Nui, only to reappear in the Order of Mata Nui fortress on Daxia. Axonn had been there before, so its appearance was no surprise to him. The sight of his former partner, Brutaka, was, though. Not to mention the huge dragon next to him whose bulk almost filled up the great hall.

"Things must be desperate if they're calling on an old war Rahi like you," Brutaka said with a smile. "Oh, by the way, have you met tall, green, and gruesome here? Don't mind the scales and teeth, but you might want to stay downwind of him."

"Brutaka!" said Axonn. "What are you - how did you get out of The Pit?"

"They let me out early for good behavior," Brutaka smiled. "But I'm the least of the shocking faces around here. This is it, my friend. The Order is about to come out of hiding after all these years. Helryx told me so herself."

"What did she say?"

"Two words," said Brutaka, his smile disappearing. "Destiny war."

***
The Dark Hunter known as Ancient stood on the beach of the island of Odina. Behind him, rebuilding of the fortress destroyed by Pohatu Nuva went on rapidly. His eyes scanned the waters, watching for the return of Lariska from her mission. He was anxious to hear just what she had seen and heard.

A cry made him look up. It came from a bat-winged Rahi wheeling through the sky, one not native to Odina. He recognized the creature as one bred for long distance flying. More than once the Dark Hunters had used them to send messages back and forth to agents on other islands. But the flying creature up above did not come from another Dark Hunter. As a half dozen more joined it, they began flying in a pattern recognizable to no one on the island but Ancient. It was a message intended for him, and one that was urgent. The time had come. He had to seek out The Shadowed One and try to make him see the only possible future for the Dark Hunters. And if The Shadowed One, his old friend, failed to see reason, Ancient would have to kill him.

***
Elsewhere, Vezon paced in his cell on Daxia. Across the corridor were two great water tanks. In one swam the six Piraka, now mutated into water snakes. In the other was a bizarre looking being others referred to as Karzahni, who seemed to Vezon to be quite insane. And Vezon knew insane.

When Brutaka's team had first escaped the island of Artidax with Makuta Miserix, they had flown to a barren island in the middle of nowhere. After a short time, Brutaka had them on the move again, this time to a place called Daxia. Brutaka explained that the location of the island had always been a secret before, but that secrecy didn't matter anymore. Neither, apparently, did gratitude, as Vezon and Roodaka were both thrown into cells immediately upon arrival.

Vezon, frankly, was disappointed. Sure, he had tried to steal the Mask of Life, and, yes, he had tried to kill the Toa Inika once, well, twice. And, okay, he had made an effort to trade their lives to the Zyglak in exchanged for his, but it's not like that had worked. And he had volunteered, well, been forced, well, actually been threatened with bodily harm if he didn't help, but he did aid in the rescue of Makuta Miserix. And what was his reward? A cold cell, an uncaring guard, and nothing nearby he could use to kill the Piraka. Was that justice?

His musings were interrupted by the crimson armor of Trinuma. The Order member took a long look at Vezon, shrugged and shook his head. Then he unlocked the cell door and threw it open. "It's your lucky day, misfit," said Trinuma. "You're getting out."

"I am?" said Vezon. "I mean, of course I am. Keeping a being of my brilliance locked away is a terrible waste of resources. No doubt your masters want to consult me on matters of strategy and tactics."

"No," said Trinuma. "I think they said something about needing someone who could die horribly without being missed. So, naturally, they thought of you."

Vezon's addled brain processed what Trinuma said, and somehow decided it was a compliment. "Well, naturally," he replied. "Lead on, and let me show you all how dying's done."

Chapter 2
Axonn crouched down behind a low stone wall, and watched the Fire and Ice bolts fly by overhead. Beside him, Brutaka was peering around the crumbling bit of cover now and then, hurling a blast from his sword.

"Knock on the front door," grumbled Axonn. "Great strategy. I think all that time in Mahri Nui left you with a waterlogged brain."

"Oh, come on," said Brutaka, smiling. He picked off an attacker with a bolt of energy, then winged another. "You love this, and you know it. After thousands of years sitting around on Voya Nui waiting for something to happen, you need the exercise."

A green-fleshed Skakdi climbed over the wall, spiked club in hand. Axonn quickly made him regret it.

"This was supposed to be a nice, simple job. Go to Zakaz, find warlord Nektann, arrange an alliance between the Order and the Skakdi. Not get pinned on a beach by an angry horde."

"Are we pinned? We're not pinned," said Brutaka. "Watch."

Brutaka popped over the wall and fired an energy bolt at a half-crumbled building. Shearing through its only support, he sent the structure toppling down on a mob of Skakdi. When the dust cleared, all of them were trapped beneath the rubble.

"Now those guys, they're pinned," said Brutaka.

Axonn sighed. "Just like the good old days," he said. "Now I remember why I hated them so much."

"If you liked that idea, you'll love this one," Brutaka replied. Before Axonn could react, Brutaka had grabbed him by the back of the neck. He dragged Axonn to his feet and stood beside him, free arm in the air. "We surrender!" Brutaka shouted to the Skakdi army. "Take us, we're yours."

***
Elsewhere, a trader on the island of Stelt would, over the course of his life, see pretty much everything at least once. The place was a crossroads for the crooked, the desperate and those just looking for fast money, or a deal best kept hidden from Toa. This particular trader, though, had recently seen more than he would have wished. A small group of warriors, including the hated Roodaka, had stolen one of his best ships. Worse, they had done it in such a way that no one would even believe it had happened. Things had at last settled down though; he had managed to find a replacement ship and recover those members of the old crew who were still alive. It was back to business as usual; at least until a 20 foot-tall dragon tore the roof off his shop.

"Where's Teridax?" the dragon growled.

"Teridax? Who or what is that? And how would I know?" said the trader, reaching frantically for a weapon, and coming up with nothing better than a cracked Kanoka disk.

"I know Stelt," said the dragon, "A Nui-Rama doesn't buzz on the Tren Krom Peninsula without you scum hearing it. So I'll ask again, where is he? Where is the Makuta of Metru Nui?"

"I don't know! I swear it!" shouted the trader.

The dragon scooped his victim up in a great claw. "I don't have time for this. I have places to be, and bodies to break. I want you to send out a message to all your friends, to everyone who sails in and out of this island. Tell them Miserix is back, and when I find him, Teridax is dead!"

***
Elsewhere once more, Vezon sat in a small skiff with a jet black sail. Trinuma sat at the bow, keeping an eye out for potential threats. If he considered Vezon one, he didn't show it. For his part, Vezon was just happy to just be out of his cell. Prison was far too... confining, but then he guessed that was the point of it. Speaking of points, Trinuma had given him a lovely dagger. Vezon had said "thank you" by not trying to plunge it into his companion's back.

"Where are we going?" asked Vezon, “Why are we going? Are we going at all, or just sailing in a big circle? Or is it a spiral? I went down a spiral once: a big stone tunnel that went down and down and down, and ended in Zyglak. Whoever built it had no decorating sense at all."

"Would you be quiet?" said Trinuma, "This is a secret mission. Do you understand that?"

"Sure," answered Vezon, "Secret mission means if you get killed, I won't tell anyone. And you still haven't answered any of my one-hundred ten questions, or my follow ups."

Trinuma sighed in resignation. "We're going to a place called Destral. Once we get there your job starts. If you succeed, you live to babble another day. If you fail, you die horribly. Okay?"

"Destral ... Destral. Wait a minute that's the Makuta base! Spiriah was a Makuta. At least, he was until Miserix killed him. I flew with Miserix, did I tell you that? At least until he did those loops and threw me off his back. Ocean water is really cold, don't let anyone tell you different. So what am I supposed to do on Destral? Theft? Assassination? Running with sharp objects?"

"You have the most important job of all," said Trinuma, "You're going to betray the Order of Mata Nui, and the entire universe, and this is how you're going to do it."

Chapter 3
One of the peculiar things about a Skakdi warlord's base is the lack of any kind of a dungeon, torture chamber, or prisoner of war camp. History has shown that there's very little point in torturing a Skakdi, as they never talk except in trade, usually for their freedom, which few captors will agree to. And keeping prisoners means listening to them whine for trivial things like food, water, and a good-sized club to use on the Stone Rats who keep paying midnight visits.

So when Brutaka and Axonn were marched into warlord Nektann's camp, no one seemed quite sure what to do with them. Killing them immediately came to mind, but then it would be impossible to find out why they were on the island to start with. Unlike the famed Necrofinch of the Zakaz mountains, most beings did not continue to sing after they were dead. It was Axonn who insisted that they be brought before Nektann himself. Nektann was larger than the average Skakdi, or at least he appeared so sitting on his throne made from the fused weapons of his foes. He was accompanied by his pet, which looked like a Muaka cat covered in spiked armor. Nektann, ever the gracious host, asked them if they had anything to say before he had them painfully disassembled.

"Yes," said Axonn, "The Brotherhood of Makuta."

Nektann spat on the ground. The Muaka growled. "What about them?" asked the warlord.

"We offer you a chance to sack their fortresses, loot their weapons, and slay their warriors," Axonn said.

"We'd throw in 'Make their women weep,' but have you ever seen a female Makuta?" added Brutaka. "I-It's not pretty."

"Why should I listen to you when it would be so much quicker and easier to throw you into the Tahtorak pens?"

"Because we've already been to see the other warlords of Zakaz," lied Axonn. "What, did you think we would come to this puny hole first? They have all agreed to ally with us. If you refuse, you can sit on your petty throne and watch as they grow rich and powerful."

Nektann frowned, the only expression uglier than a Skakdi's smile. No self-respecting warlord wanted to be left out of a chance at glorious battle and even more glorious loot. In the end, he nodded.

"Why did you tell him we had talked to the other warlords?" whispered Brutaka. "We still have to go to all their camps and talk them into an alliance."

"That's a lot of work," Axonn agreed, "so I guess you better get started."

***
Toa Mahri Jaller stood in the center of Metru Nui, gazing up at the statue of the late Matoro. It had been constructed by Turaga Onewa himself as a tribute to the fallen hero. It was good to know that his comrade was remembered and always would be, but it did little to dispel the grief he felt over his death. He had to admit that thoughts of Matoro had distracted him. When the other Toa Mahri left to search the city for Takanuva, he chose to remain behind. When they returned, reporting that there had been no sign of the Toa of Light, he hardly paid any attention. It still troubled him that the Toa Mahri had been unable to fulfill their destiny without losing one of their own. Behind him, he could hear the other Toa in conference. Metru Nui was quiet for now, with the Kardas Dragon subdued and most of the other Rahi back in the Archives. Still, the heroes could never relax. Who knew where the next threat could come from?

There was a sudden flash of light. When Jaller could see again, six Toa stood in front of him. He didn't recognize any of them. Instinctively, he readied his weapons.

"Welcome to Metru Nui," said Jaller, "Who are you? Why have you come here?"

One of the newcomers, a Toa of Fire also, stepped forward, "My name is Norik, of the Toa Hagah. I ask you and your teammates to stand aside. We have no wish to see anyone hurt while we carry out our task here."

"The Toa Mahri stand aside for no one," said Toa Hewkii, stepping forward. "Tell us your business here, or be considered our enemies."

"Our business," said Norik, "is as simple as it is terrible. We have come to destroy the Coliseum."

***
Vezon landed hard on the stone floor of the Makuta Fortress of Destral. He had been captured by Rahkshi less than two minutes after Trinuma had dropped him off on the shore of the island. Vezon had never met a Rahkshi before, and found that he disliked them. Most beings had a scent, either pleasant or unpleasant; Rahkshi smelled of cold metal and death. The Makuta who came to greet him wore armor of purple and crimson. Although Vezon was polite enough to introduce himself, the Makuta did not bother to share his name. Vezon was tempted to complain about this, but the spear at his throat, the one dripping acid, convinced him to save it for another time.

"Who are you?" said the Makuta. "What are you? And how came you here?"

"My name is Vezon, your darkness, and I was brought here by an agent of a power that wishes you and your Brotherhood harm. They wanted me to come and tell you that they exist and plan to attack this island, but I'm not going to do that, no no no!"

"You just did," said the Makuta. Behind Vezon, three Rahkshi moved a little closer, staffs at the ready.

"Well, of course I did, but only to tell you that I won't!" said Vezon, exasperated. How could this being hope to conquer the universe, and yet be so slow? "It's all a trick, you see. They want me to pretend to betray them. They want you to concentrate your forces here against an attack that won't come. But I decided: Why pretend to betray them when actually doing it would be so much more fun?"

The Makuta grabbed Vezon by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

"Speak, fool! And let only truth and clarity come from your mouth if you wish to continue having one."

"Truth and clarity... Truth and clarity... I don't think I know them," answered Vezon. "Will you settle for 'white-lipped and trembling?' This Order of Mata Nui, it plans to mass an army and navy, threaten Destral, force you to teleport it away from where it is now, and then..."

When Vezon did not continue speaking right away, the Makuta tightened his grip.

"Alright, alright! I was only pausing for effect. They have a spy inside this fortress. They've sabotaged your means of teleportation. When you'll try to use it again... Well, I wouldn't start reading any long tablets, let's put it that way. And now that you know, tell me, what are we going to do about it?"

Chapter 4
Axonn and Brutaka stood on a steep rise, overlooking a battlefield. Down below, the assembled might of the Skakdi of Zakaz were locked in combat with a small army of Rahkshi. The setting was an unnamed island in one of the southern chains, set up as a staging area by the Brotherhood of Makuta for an invasion of the mainland continent. The Rahkshi had been brought there in secret, and allowed to practice their skills on the scattered Matoran residents. Needless to say, there were no longer any Matoran on this island. Initially, the Skakdi had suffered horrible losses, but they were capable of something the Rahkshi could only pretend to: rage. Hungry for victory, and filled with hatred for their enemy, the barbarians regrouped and tore through the Rahkshi ranks. It was overwhelming, thrilling, and sickening all at once.

"Come on," said Brutaka, tearing himself away from the spectacle. "You know what we're here for." Together they walked down the hill and deep into a small canyon. In the center, buried beneath the soil and rock, was a square metal trapdoor with an iron ring. After Axonn split the rock with his axe, Brutaka grasped the ring and pulled open the door. A stench rose from within. The smell of age and neglect, decay and rot. The two Order of Mata Nui members climbed down into the hole.

Axonn sent energy through his axe, illuminating the chamber. It was obvious that no one had walked here since perhaps the beginning of recorded time. The place was bare stone, with the only interesting feature a pool in the center. The waters were greenish-black and swirled angrily, despite there not being even the slightest breeze to stir them.

"So this is it?" asked Brutaka.

Axonn nodded. "Yes, this is the place the Great Spirit created the Makuta. And the only place new Makuta could ever spring from. From that pool came their substance, made into living form by the powers of the Great Spirit until time made it into pure energy."

"Then if we destroy the pool?" said Brutaka.

"Yes. There can be no more Makuta ever. But do we have a right to end a species?"

Brutaka was looking at the pool, eyes wide. "I'd love to get into a philosophical debate with you, old friend, but I think we have a problem."

The waters of the pool suddenly exploded up and outward. Foul, scalding liquid struck Axonn and Brutaka, seeping into the openings in their masks and armor. It hissed and writhed, like a thing alive, burning wherever it touched. Temporarily blinded and in pain, the two warriors staggered and then stumbled, plunging into the pool itself.

***
Toa Helryx sat in the command chamber of her fortress on Daxia. The war against the Brotherhood of Makuta had begun, and it had not begun well. Although the Order, through the Dark Hunters, now held Xia, they had been unable to dislodge Makuta forces from the island of Nynrah. In other places, the Order's surprise attacks had met unexpectedly fierce resistance from Rahkshi and Exo-Toa. Being a leader meant making difficult decisions, something she had always known. In her time, she had sent agents on missions she knew they might well not come back from. She had ordered the deaths of everyone who knew the location of Artakha, and now she had to make two more vital choices that might lead to victory or disaster. The first had been easy. She dispatched a messenger to Metru Nui, carrying the Heart of the Visorak. This artifact could be used to summon the Visorak hordes from anywhere in the universe. It was to be placed in the hands of the Toa Mahri, with instructions to bring it to the volcanic island of Artidax and use it there. The second was more difficult. Brutaka had informed her of the presence of Hydraxon in The Pit, as well as the events that took place there. A second messenger had been sent to The Pit with orders for the jailer. She could not be sure he would follow them, given their nature, or she would simply be trading the Brotherhood in the end for a worse evil. But it had to be done. Sometimes she hated being the one in charge.

***
Hydraxon paced the dark, cavernous chamber that was The Pit. In his hand, he held a tablet that contained the orders from Helryx. The instructions carved in the stone were almost impossible to believe. The chamber door opened. It was Toa Lesovikk, bringing back another escaped prisoner. Although the two had clashed on first meeting, they had since become allies in the effort to recapture the former inmates of this vast prison. Hydraxon hesitated to show the orders to Lesovikk. After all, the existence of the Order of Mata Nui was supposed to be a secret, but if the situation, as outlined on the tablet was true, then he guessed it was a secret no longer.

Lesovikk let out a low whistle as he read the tablet. "So what are you going to do?" he asked.

"What I've always done," Hydraxon answered. "Follow orders."

He climbed down the iron ladder that led to the lowest tier of cells. Here, Pridak, Kalmah, Mantax, and Ehlek were imprisoned. The four Barraki looked at their jailer with undisguised contempt.

"Have you come here to mock us?" snarled Mantax.

Pridak smiled, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "We killed you once, you know. We can do it again."

Hydraxon ignored the obvious insanity. After all, he was alive and well, so obviously he had never been dead. "I have an... offer for you," he said, forcing out each word. "There's a war going on. A war to bring the reign of the Brotherhood of Makuta to an end. Agree to fight against the Makuta, and you will get your freedom."

"And if we refuse?" said Kalmah. "Why should we risk our lives to fight someone else's war?"

"If you refuse," said Hydraxon, "You will find that there are places you can be buried far deeper than this Pit."

"Another chance," said Pridak. "Another chance to fight, to lead armies, to conquer. And when the Brotherhood falls, the League of Six Kingdoms will rise again."

Chapter 5
The Shadowed One - master of the Dark Hunters, mortal enemy of the Makuta, thief, assassin and conqueror - was bored. Since he and his people had been dispatched to occupy the island of Xia by the Order of Mata Nui, there had been precious little to do. The island has been pacified in a matter of hours. Except for the occasional two or three Dark Hunters tapped by the Order for a mission, the bulk of their forces had yet to act. The Shadowed One did not like feeling penned in on this island, or ignored. That was why this day found him prowling the factories of Xia seeking amusement. Despite his pressure to get all manufacturing centers working again, many of the buildings were still badly damaged by the battle between the Tahtorak and the Kanohi Dragon. It was while walking through one such building that he came upon a Vortixx frantically clearing away rubble.

"What are you doing here?" asked The Shadowed One.

The Vortixx gasped, surprised. When he saw who was addressing him, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. The Vortixx, it seemed, had a long history of knowing when and to whom to submit.

"Nothing, Great Lord," said the Vortixx, "just… cleaning up so all factories can be working again as you ordered."

The Shadowed One said nothing. He knew what a lie sounded like. He had told enough of them himself. After several moments, he said, "Then I will help you."

"No!" the Vortixx cried out, "That's… that's unnecessary. This is work for a laborer, not a ruler like yourself."

Power flashed out from The Shadowed One's staff. A band of crystalline Protodermis appeared around the Vortixx's mouth, gagging him.

"I said I will help you," repeated The Shadowed One.

Striding over to the heap of rubble, The Shadowed One began to dig, never taking his eye off the Vortixx. The deeper he got, the more visibly upset the Xian seemed to be.

What, he wondered, was waiting at the bottom of this hole?

He soon found out. Several feet down, he came across a Protosteel box. Burned into the lid was the symbol of the Brotherhood of Makuta. The box was locked, but the lock was no match for the now very curious Dark Hunter. He opened it carefully- after all, this might be some clever trap. But when he saw what the box contained, his eyes widened.

"Oh, my, my," said The Shadowed One, as he gazed at something that soon might make him master of the world.

***
Vezon, it could truly be said, had a unique perspective on life. Perhaps it had been the fact that he had only been truly alive for a matter of weeks. Perhaps it was his time spent wearing the Mask of Life. Or perhaps it was just the fact that he was hopelessly insane. But the perspective he had today, he had to admit, was a new one: upside-down. The Makuta he had encountered in the fortress of Destral, who identified himself with a laugh as Tridax, had not entirely believed Vezon's story about cross and double-cross. In fact, he decided some follow-up questions were in order, the kind delivered when your guest is hanging by the ceiling by his ankles.

"I have checked our teleportation technology," Tridax said. "There was no sign of sabotage. You are a liar."

"Well, no one ever said Makuta were observant," said Vezon. "How could you be so sure? Suppose I sabotaged it myself using my incredible powers of the mind."

"You have no powers," said the Makuta, picking up a wickedly sharp blade. "You have no mind. You are about to have no head."

"You're right! You're right!" babbled Vezon. "There is no army, there is no delay, I simply wanted the pleasure of your company. Well, pleasure might be too strong a word. Did I tell you I once wore the Mask of Life? One stray thought back then, and you wouldn't have even left ashes. I do miss those days. Anyway, take pride in being correct. There is no threat to Destral at all."

The walls of the fortress suddenly shook violently from an incredible impact.

"Except that one." Vezon added helpfully.

Rock-dust fell from the ceiling, masses of weapons clattered to the floor and even the anchors of Vezon's chains came loose. A second blast tore a hole in the wall and sent mangled Rahkshi flying into the chamber. This time, the anchors came loose all the way and Vezon fell to the stone floor.

Makuta Tridax was paying no attention. His orders were clear: maintain Destral in its current location unless attacked. In the event of a serious threat from Toa or Dark Hunters, teleport the island off the shores of Metru Nui and seize that city. He stalked off to carry out those commands. Vezon followed behind, unnoticed.

"That's right," thought the deranged ex-prisoner. "Lead me to your secrets. Ah, this plan is so cunning it might almost be one of mine. And perhaps it will be before I'm done."

***
Far to the west, Pridak watched the fortress burn, and smiled at the sight. He had been fortunate since his release from the Pit. His captors had provided him with ships and the resources with which to raise an army. From the worst holes in the Universe, he had found ex-Dark Hunters, exiled Vortixx, even a Skakdi or two for his crews. Before Kalmah had even devised a battle plan, Pridak had sounded off without him on a voyage of conquest. It felt good. Good to sack and burn and destroy again. Good to feel the warm glow of the Lightstones on his body, even though his water-filled helm had kept him from smelling the wonderful smoke and stench of battle. He was back, and back to stay. His men had rounded the forces of the Makuta who occupied this place, but had found no actual Brotherhood member.

Now, as he surveyed his conquest, a few things captured his notice: the structure was not original, it had been rebuilt on the site of an earlier strong point. The lower levels were still incomplete, and it was while exploring them that he found a strange room. Deep below the basement was a room of rubble. The walls had been smashed, leaving only packed earth behind, and the remnants of those walls were littered around the floor. Intrigued, he picked one of the pieces up, only to find there was an inscription on it. The symbols made no sense to him and he was about to throw it away, when he noticed that another piece also had such an inscription. In fact, all the pieces did. There was some sort of message here, or there had been, he realized. Someone had tried to destroy it by shattering the walls, but the message was still here for someone who had the discipline to decipher it. And if someone had thought whatever information it contained worthy of destruction, it must be quite interesting indeed. With the infinite patience of a born hunter, Pridak began to assemble the stones.

Chapter 6
Axonn was drowning. The greenish-black fluid filled his mouth and lungs before he could react. His mighty arms flailed about, trying to find something to grab on to, and failing. As he sank further toward the bottom, Axonn knew that here, in the birthplace of the Makuta species, he was going to die. Then he was suddenly rising rapidly up through the murky liquid. A strong hand had a hold of him and was yanking him away from his fate. A moment later he felt the hard stone of the floor beneath him. He choked and gasped. When the colors finally stopped swirling in front of his eyes, he looked up at his rescuer. Brutaka floated three feet off the floor. Green fire crackled from his eyes and the tips of his fingers. His armor had cracked in numerous places as the tissue it covered expanded. An aura of pure power surrounded him, so bright that Axonn had to raise a hand to protect his sight.

"Axonn," said Brutaka, "we are glad to see you have survived."

"We? Brutaka, what's happened to you?"

"I... we are the essence of the Makuta species. We know what they were meant to know, but have forgotten. We see the error. The flaws. So much to repair; but it cannot be done."

Axonn stood, axe at the ready. He knew the effects the Makuta Antidermis had on Brutaka. Absorbing it somehow made him stronger, but he had never seen or heard anything like this. It was Brutaka's body and Brutaka's voice, but the words had not come from his old friend.

"Spherus Magna, the shattering," Brutaka muttered, seemingly more to himself than to Axonn, "The three that must be one; the two that must make them one."

Brutaka abruptly reached out and seized Axonn's arm in a grip of iron. His touch burned, but Axonn fought back the urge to scream.

"He must remember, he must be made to see, or the journey of 100,000 years will be for nothing. He hides beneath, preparing to meet his destiny. We must go there, we must right the wrong. So many wrongs before the shattering can end."

***
Ancient climbed a low-rise, stepping carefully to avoid tripping over the rubble that was once a Xian factory. He had been searching for The Shadowed One for the better part of an hour. They were supposed to be discussing the defense of the city, but the Dark Hunter leader was nowhere to be found. He was concerned. Toa Helryx had asked Ancient, her spy within the Dark Hunters, for regular reports on the state of things at Xia and The Shadowed One's actions. She fully expected a Brotherhood of Makuta attack on the island, and he was already overdue with his latest dispatch. Ancient reached the top of the rise. The first thing he saw was The Shadowed One, standing amid a pile of debris. He was holding a small chest, which was open, and staring at the contents with a nasty smile on his face. As Ancient drew closer, he noticed two other things: a dead Vortixx on the ground, his face encased in Crystalline Protodermis; and just what was in the chest: three vials.

"What have you found?" asked Ancient, "And why would a Vortixx be foolish enough to challenge you for it?"

The Shadowed One looked up, surprised. Then seeing it was Ancient, he visibly relaxed.

"A most amazing thing," he said, "Have you ever heard of Makuta Kojol?"

Ancient nodded. He knew the story from the Order of Mata Nui: Kojol had been visiting Xia to discuss having a virus added into a weapon the Vortixx were building for the Makuta. During his visit, he was "accidentally" killed by a different virus. Except it was no accident, but an Order operation to remove him.

"He brought a number of viruses with him when he came to Xia," The Shadowed One continued, "some were never found. The story was they were incinerated along with his armor. But they weren't, and I have found them."

Ancient tried not to look as worried as he felt. Weapons like this in the hands of the Dark Hunters was a disaster in the making.

"Excellent," he said, "We could ransom these for a good price."

"Ransom them?" said The Shadowed One, "No, no, I intend to make use of them. I will learn what they are and what they do, and then Helryx and the Makuta will answer to me! But I will need time... a great deal of time and privacy to work. No one must know I have them. That is why the Vortixx here had to die. And it's why..."

Two beams of power lanced out of The Shadowed Ones' eyes, striking Ancient. The veteran Dark Hunter vanished, disintegrated by the force of the blast.

"Apologies, old friend," The Shadowed One said, "but you know the old saying: 'A secret shared is no longer a secret.'"

***
Vezon stalked through the halls of the fortress of Destral, following Makuta Tridax and doing his best to remain unseen. The walls of the ancient structure shook from a ferocious pounding: the Order of Mata Nui had launched its attack on the Makuta base at last. His mission was simple, purposely so that even his deranged mind could keep it straight: He was to follow Tridax, find the means the Makuta use to teleport their island from place to place, and then disable it. He would then be most likely killed by Tridax, but then no plan was perfect.

At first it seemed like all was proceeding as expected: Tridax made his way to a sub-basement, seemingly oblivious to being followed. At the bottom of the basement was a massive chamber. What waited within that chamber staggered even the deeply disturbed Vezon. The walls towered forty feet, all around. Lining them were stasis tubes, close to one-hundred. And each tube was occupied by an identical figure. A few had armor of jet-black, most white-and-gold, but it was obvious they were all the same being. They were in some kind of stasis. Tridax walked to the center of the room, where a small table sat. On the table was a Kanohi mask. Tridax reached for it, then suddenly whirled and hurled a blast of Shadow at Vezon. Before he could dodge, the shadow had pinned him to the wall.

"Did you think I could not hear your clumsy attempt to follow me?" said Tridax, "Very well, Skakdi trash. You want to learn the most powerful secret of Destral? You want the satisfaction of knowing what hides here before you die? Look around."

Vezon did, but he didn't learn anything more by doing that.

"Quite a collection," he said, "I prefer sea-shells, myself. Sometimes leaves. Oh, and the heads of my enemies, though those take up so much space."

Tridax smiled and held up the mask.

"Do you know what this is? A Kanohi Olmak, the Mask of Dimensional Gates. One of only two known to be in existence. Not long ago, my fellow Makuta Mutran and I began experiments to develop a creature called a Shadow Leech; a creature that could drain the Light of others and turn them into beings of Shadow. That was what sparked my idea. I knew the mask could reach not only other places of this dimension, but other realities as well. And so I have begun traveling to those other realities and collecting the Toa Takanuva of each, bringing him back here, and feeding his Light to my pets. When I am done, I will have an army of Shadow Toa, all made from the most dangerous enemy of the Makuta."

The walls shook again.

"I think you'd better hurry up and finish then," suggested Vezon.

"No need," said Tridax. "I have only to release the Shadow Takanuva I have already made, and they will dispose of the attackers. And then I can go back to work in earnest. And then I can..."

Tridax stopped at the sound of crystal shattering. Startled, he let his Shadow power lapse. Vezon slumped to the ground, but not before he saw the Makuta looking at his arm in horror. Something was dissolving his armored gauntlet before his eyes, and his Antidermis was leaking out into the air. Two beings stepped out of the shadows. One was a Matoran, the other another species, very tall and very dangerous in appearance. He looked at the Makuta and laughed - a harsh and malicious sound.

"The most dangerous enemy of the Makuta?" said Tobduk, "Get ready, you're just about to meet him."

To be continued in Brothers In Arms part 6.

Chapter 7
Toa Helryx, leader of the Order of Mata Nui, picked her way across the remains of a battlefield. She was on the beach of the island of Nynrah, site of a struggle between the Brotherhood of Makuta and the Order. After a long and furious battle, the Order had won - driving the Brotherhood forces from the island or crushing them on the beach. Now she wandered the sands, occasionally picking up a piece of Rahkshi armor, studying it for a moment and then discarding it.

There was a method to her madness. Using her Mask of Power, Helryx could read the past of an object simply by touching it. Her goal here was simple; Rahkshi were created using a powerful substance called Energized Protodermis. The Order wanted to know every source of that substance used by the Makuta so they could capture or destroy those sources. Without them, no new Rahkshi could come into being.

So far, all the ones she had identified here were sources the Order already knew about. Still, it was worth the effort. It would be far easier to defeat the Brotherhood by cutting off their source of power, rather than beating them in battle.

She picked up a piece of crimson Rahkshi armor and called on the power of her mask. This time, she saw a place she did not recognize: Makuta Chirox was there, and a silvery pool, but not just any pool, no, this one had a figure emerging from it: a being actually made of Energized Protodermis. She concentrated hard and the location came to her: an island just north of the one her newest ally came from.

Helryx dropped the piece of armor and turned to Keetongu. The Rahi had reluctantly agreed to break off his efforts to save the victims of Visorak long enough to help in the war. In return, Helryx had promised him the Visorak would never again be a threat to anyone else.

"We have to go," she said, "there's another source."

It was a short journey. Their destination had at first seemed uninhabited, but that illusion didn't last long. Helryx spotted... things skulking among the rocks. They weren't Matoran, or Rahi, but looked like something in between. The overall feeling was that something was very wrong here. The air, the ground, the inhabitants - all felt off, somehow, in a way that obviously made Keetongu uneasy. There were no buildings on the island... none left standing, anyway. The most prominent feature was a large cave. Helryx and Keetongu entered cautiously. The passage narrowed considerably once they were a little ways in, forcing them to crawl to make any forward progress. Helryx couldn't help but think how easy it would be to get trapped in here.

As the passage widened again, Helryx saw more creatures. These obviously were Rahi beasts, but not like anything she'd seen before. They were short, pale bipeds, with large yellow eyes and spindly arms and legs. They backed away and moved to the side as she and her ally passed. But as soon as the two had moved on, they assembled into a group and followed close behind.

Helryx and Keetongu came to a huge chamber. In the center of it was not a pool of Energized Protodermis, but an actual lake of the stuff. And rising from the center was the figure of a living being. A head, two arms, a torso ending in the lake itself. Its features were barely there, and its substance was the silver color of Energized Protodermis. The sight triggered a memory. An agent on Metru Nui had reported that Turaga Vakama had once mentioned an Energized Protodermis Entity his team had fought when they were Toa Metru. Could this be the same being?

"I have been expecting you." said the figure, "I have felt your kind at work in my pools throughout this universe. Destructive, but ultimately futile. Cap one source of my substance and it will emerge somewhere else."

"Then we will destroy it there, too." Helryx answered. "What are you?"

"I am creation and destruction," the Entity answered, "I am the power to transform and to destroy; I am every drop of Energized Protodermis that exists, and every drop is me. I am as far beyond you, creature of armor and tissue, as you are beyond an insect."

"And your purpose here?" asked Helryx.

"I did not choose to come here," the Entity replied, "I lived in the core of a planet, until one day a portion of my substance forced its way to the surface. It did not take long for the inhabitants of that world to discover my power; or to begin warring over it. But some of what makes up my form was taken and placed inside this universe, and so escaped before cataclysm overtook that world."

"And now?" said Helryx.

"Now I experiment on the creatures and things I find around me," said the Entity, "I have even let others make use of my power if I found their intentions intriguing enough."

"You have helped create beings that have brought terror and death to thousands," said Helryx. "It has to stop."

"Is a weapon responsible for the actions of the one who wields it?" asked the Entity.

"Perhaps not," said Helryx, "but a weapon can be broken and so never used again."

A soft sound that might have been laughter escaped from the entity.

"I have met your kind before. So confident in your power to contain me, control me, or destroy me. You are no more than Stone Apes reaching for the stars, believing you could extinguish them if only you could get them in your grasp."

The lake began to boil and churn; a huge wave of Energized Protodermis rose up behind the Entity, so wide it spanned the whole chamber, and began to speed across the surface towards Helryx and Keetongu.

"Transformation, or destruction," said the Entity. "Which will be your fate? Let us find out, together."

Visit This Website

2008-11-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

Hey, everyone. Please visit this website: http://oquiz.blogspot.com/
(I need it for my math homework assignment)

So, I could also start posting again. Just please give me some confirmation that people are still actually reading this blog. (in the Comments section)

Above is a link to the website. Also, you can copy and paste the URL given in the second sentence.

Bionicle Legends#11: Final Battle - All Will be Revealed

2008-10-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

After visiting three bookstores, I finally found Final Battle! And, as promised, spoilers are soon to follow. To find them, look under the Comments section, also as planned. Feel free to ask questions, if without a Google Account, select "anonymous" or the one where you choose a name.

I plan to mainly answer questions instead of posting a giant review. So head on over to the Comments section now.

P.S. Final Battle was pretty good, it sort of leaves you on a cliffhanger at the end, which annoys me, but oh well, waiting for 2009...

Bionicle Legends#11: Final Battle is "In Stock" on Numerous Online Stores

2008-10-02T20:56:00.001-07:00

Final Battle is in stock on Amazon.com and ships in 2-3 days from Barnes & Noble. That's all for now.

Bionicle Legends#11: Final Battle Review

2008-10-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't been able to get to a bookstore yet, but surfing the web I found this:

http://tbluetblue.blogspot.com/2008/10/bionicle-legends-11-final-battle-review.html

(Follow the link to find a general review of Final Battle. When I get the book eventually, I'll post spoilers of my own, of course.)

Note - Blog title is TK Reporter at Large in LA

Takanuva's Blog So Far

2008-09-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

By Greg Farshtey

1 July
My name is Takanuva, Toa of Light. For the past - day? month? year? - I have been traveling through other dimensions trying to find my way to Karda Nui. I was sent on my journey by the Order of Mata Nui, who gave me vital information I must share with the Toa Nuva. Unfortunately, the mask whose power hurled me into the space between dimensions was damaged, so the trip has been a rough one. Hopefully, my next stop will be my own universe.

3 July
I see a point of light in the distance. After three wrong destinations, I can only wish that this is Karda Nui. Fighting the currents of interdimensional space, I make for the spot. It is a portal opening to another reality. Desperately, I dive for it. On the other side, I land hard on a small island of mud. All around me is murky water and weird plant life. Have I found Karda Nui, the core of the universe, or simply another strange world not my own?

7 July
I am in a swamp, surrounded by mist. Now and then, I spot a fin or a tentacle break the surface of the muddy water, but I don't see many other Rahi around. Am I where I am supposed to be? Using my new power of flight, I rise into the air. That's when I spot her - a Toa of Water, being menaced by a pale-white, skeletal monstrosity. I don't know if that's Gali or not, but I know a Toa in danger when I see one. Let's see if I can shed a little light on this with my power lance!

10 July
A burst of light made the creature menacing my fellow Toa stop and take notice. I expected it to attack, or scream out its rage, or do something else I wouldn't enjoy at all. Instead, the look on its face was almost one of ... sadness and resignation. Almost as if it knew that I, or someone like me, was coming, but had hoped against hope I wouldn't show up. Then it drifted down through the mud like a spirit and vanished. Wherever I am ... this is a very strange place.

14 July
Using my newfound ability to fly (the result of a Makuta virus I was exposed to in an alternate universe), I traveled to where the Toa was just getting to her feet. As I got closer, I realized that despite the differences in her appearance, it was Gali. And despite how I looked, she recognized me. "What are you doing here?" she asked, even as I said "Are you all right?" I told her it was a long, long story, and there wasn't time to tell it. We had to find the others - they had to know how much danger they were in!

17 July
Gali looked at me as if she were just seeing me for the first time. "What happened to you?" she asked. "Your armor ... your mask ... and is it me, or have you grown bigger?" The darkening of my armor and mask I already knew about. It was a side-effect of the shadow leech attack on Metru Nui. But I had grown in size? Yes, I guess I had, though I had no idea why. What did it mean? Would it stop, or would I keep growing larger? A Turaga might know the answers, but there were none around. Like far too many situations I had been in lately, I would have to learn as I went.

21 July
Gali was ready to head off in search of the other Toa Nuva, but I had something I felt I had to do first. I umlimbered the sundial I carried with me and placed it on the muddy ground. I shone a beam of light on its face and the shadow that resulted pointed to the east. "Okay, so I keep going that way," I said. Gali looked at me, confused. "Is that the sundial Lewa retrieved from the island of Mata Nui? How did it get so small? And what are you using it for?" Those, at least, were questions I could answer.

24 July
"You know of the Order of Mata Nui," I said to Gali. "They told me you did. They shrunk the sundial down and gave it to me. When I shine light upon it, it points toward the spot from which the Great Spirit can be awakened." Gali looked at me as if I had grown two more heads ... which, the way things were going, I would have believed. She was about to ask me if I was quite sure I was okay when we both spotted a gleam of orange off to the east. It was closing on us rapidly, and the dark side of me urged me to prepare to attack. It was getting harder and harder to resist those impulses - and maybe in this case they were right. After all, I didn't know any orange Toa ...

28 July
I was ready for anything as the orange figure approached, flying at impossibly high speed. Gali, though, look undisturbed by the new arrival. She placed a hand on my arm, a signal that all was well. And it turned out the new arrival was Pohatu, though he did not look much like the Toa of Stone I remembered.

He looked me up and down for a moment, before saying, "I can't say I think much of the color change."

"You should talk," I replied. "You're orange."

"Yeah, but I wear it well," said Pohatu, with a grin.

31 July
Pohatu, Gali and I flew to the east, toward where my two friends said the other Toa Nuva could be found. Along the way, they brought me up to date on what had been happening – their arrival in Karda Nui, the discovery of the Makuta here, and the revelation that they had been turning Matoran of Light into shadow Matoran. That last sickened me. I knew now that I must have been a Matoran of Light in the past, though those memories were blocked. I probably worked alongside some of the Matoran the Makuta had corrupted. They might have even been good friends. Right then and there, I swore that no matter what – even if it meant Mata Nui stayed asleep, even at the cost of my own life – I would see to it that the shadow Matoran were cured.

4 August
We had only been flying a few minutes when Gali spotted something down below. A moment later, so did I - half a dozen insectoids, each about seven feet high, flying close to the surface of the swamp. Each had four arms with nasty stingers on the ends. "What are they?" I asked.

"I heard them called Niazesk," answered Pohatu. "Some little pets of the Makuta who got transformed somehow into big pests you see. Better off staying away from them, they're --"

An angry buzz interrupted him. The Niazesk spotted us and were coming in our direction!

7 August
"We don't have time for this," growled Pohatu. He used his power to hurl stone blocks down at the approaching Niazesk. But they were good flyers and evaded his attack. Gali took down one with a water burst, but they were closing fast. I didn't need to be told that sting from one of them would do more than itch. I started to lower my lance to use a light blast against them ... but then I thought, what if it isn't powerful enough? What if one or two get through and Pohatu or Gali gets harmed? I made my decision ... and raised my right arm to call upon the power of shadow.

11 August
I unleashed a blast of pure darkness at the oncoming Niazesk. It struck them like a solid wall. They spun, reeled, and then plunged down into the swamp. I turned to Pohatu and Gali, expecting to get congratulations for winning the fight. Instead, what I saw in their eyes was fear.

"What ... was ... that?" asked Pohatu. And he was actually aiming his weapon at me as he said it!

"There have been some ... changes," I answered.

"So I see," said Pohatu. "I wondered where the Makuta of Metru Nui was still alive, and if so, where he had got to - I guess now I know, don't I?"

14 August
"Are you crazy?" I said, staring at Pohatu. "You think I'm a Makuta?"

"Well, you don't look much like a Toa of Light," The Toa of Stone replied, his weapon still aimed at me. "And we've all been fooled by Makuta before."

Gali looked from Pohatu to me. Even she was showing some doubt now - and who could blame her? I had grown in size and my armor color had changed from white and gold to white and grey. Frankly, if I had been a Makuta trying to impersonate a Toa of Light, I'd be doing a really lousy job.

I wracked my brain trying to come up with some way to prove I was me (try it sometime, it's not easy). I could use my light powers, but Pohatu might just think that was just a Makuta illusion. I could use my mask power to promote trust in him, but I had a feeling the second he felt a shift in mood, he would blast away.

"If you're really Takanuva, then I'm sorry," said Pohatu. "But if you're not, then all our lives aren't worth a widget. So I'm giving you to the count of 10 to tell me why I shouldn't skyblast you out of existence. 1... 2... 3..."

18 August
"6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ..."

"What's a Toa?" I suddenly shouted.

Pohatu paused in his countdown and looked at me, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The first time you woke up on Daxia," I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth in my haste. "You were told you were a Toa, and your response was, 'What's a Toa?' There were no Makuta there, so how could one know about that?"

"There's only one problem," said Pohatu. "You weren't there either."

"But I saw it," I insisted. "I saw your creation, your training, I saw the team fighting avohkah here, and I saw the storm ... that's why I'm here."

An idea struck me. I turned to Gali. "Remember, last year, when I was still Takua the Chronicler? You forged a mental link with me so I could see what you saw when you fought Makuta. Do you think you can do it again?"

"I ... I don't know," said Gali.

"Don't do it," said Pohatu. "Makuta would just love to get inside your head."

"She has to," I said. "It's the only way. She has to look inside my mind, and if she doesn't like what she sees ... you can kill me dead, right here."

21 August
Toa Gali shut her eyes. After a few moments, I felt the unique sensation of her mind reaching into mine. For an instant, I could see myself through her eyes (which was pretty disturbing - even I hadn't realized how much I had changed). Then I felt the link snap as she pulled away. Pohatu reached out and grabbed her to keep her from falling.

"Amazing," she said softly. "A place where Mata Nui died ... another where the Toa rule as dictators ... your journey here was ... eventful, Takanuva"

"Then he is --?" asked Pohatu.

"He is," confirmed Gali. "Darker, perhaps, and not quite the innocent Takua or the eager hero we remember ... but he is our friend."

"What's the situation here?" I asked.

Pohatu pointed towards the east. "The Makuta are putting up a good fight, but we're holding our own. We'll have Mata Nui awake again before you know it!"

"That," I said, taking to the sky, "is what I am afraid of."

25 August
Pohatu had just brought up the fact that even he didn't recall the story I had told of his early adventures when we arrived in the midst of a full-scale battle. The Toa Nuva were fighting a group of Makuta I had never seen before. Pohatu and Gali split off to attack from the flanks, while I rammed right up the middle. If my appearance took the Nuva by surprise, it seemed to do even more than that to the Makuta. My light powers tipped the balance and the masters of shadow retreated to the east.

Tahu wasted no time on welcoming me. He produced six fragments of stone and asked us all to read them. They contained, he said, the secret to awakening the Great Spirit. I really wished I could share in the moment ... so close to achieving their destiny ... but the time had come to tell what I knew.

28 August
I was about to speak up when someone new arrived - yet another Toa, though the others seemed a little wary of him. When he spoke, it sounded like he had just learned to use his voice. He related a stunning story. Apparently, he wasn't just wearing the Mask of Life - he was the Mask of Life. Worse, he was a Mask of Life on a countdown to the annihilation of every living being in the universe ... something about things being out of balance and this the only way to make things right.

I gave the others a moment to absorb the news. Then it was my turn to add a little more cheer to the gathering. "We have another problem," I said. "If we succeed in waking up the Great Spirit, this place is going to be hit with an energy storm that will destroy everything in Karda Nui!"

1 September
I expected shock or anger or even panic at my news. I should have known better. "Then we'll just have to move fast," said Tahu. "We need to get into the Codrex. So we hit the Makuta hard and hope some of us make it inside. This may be our only shot at this."

I didn't have time to ask what a Codrex was before we were in the air and in combat with the Makuta. Lewa and Gali combined their powers to call down a raging thunderstorm while I struck with my light powers. The Makuta started to give way, and that's when I saw it through the mist - a great spherical structure, half-buried in the tip of a fallen stalactite, and looking like it had been here forever and was at the same time totally alien to this place. That, I realized, was a Codrex.

4 September
We forced our way inside the Codrex, using the keystones to get us past a force barrier around it. Once inside, the Toa stopped short. This place, they realized, was where they had been for almost 100,000 years, sleeping in their canisters, waiting for the time they would be needed. I noticed that Tahu looked uncomfortable, but having only been a Toa such a short time, I didn't feel right asking him what was wrong.

Onua started examining some of the machinery in the chamber. He must have hit something, because the floor in the center of the room started to descend. Curious, we peered down into the darkness to see what waited below ...

8 September
Down below, we saw a huge, cavernous chamber. As the section of flooring touched bottom, six great lightstones rose to form a circle. We descended down and began to explore. There were six pathways leading from the center. Lewa was the first to reach the end of his. I couldn't hear what he said, but the next instant, a huge metallic cocoon erupted from the floor. A moment later, it was gone, and in its place was an amazing crimson vehicle with a nameplate that read, "Axalara T9."

Lewa always did have incredible luck ...

11 September
We barely had time to marvel at the vehicles we discovered in the depths of the Codrex - for there were three - before disaster happened. A red armored Makuta suddenly appeared in the cockpit of the Jetrax T6. Before we could react, he had flown off! Pohatu and Lewa wasted no time in leaping into the Axalara T9 and Rockoh T3 and heading off in pursuit, leaving the rest of us to wonder what would happen next.

15 September
I knew I had to go back into the swamp. In the moments after Pohatu and Lewa left, I found myself filled with rage. The Makuta had to pay for what they had done, both here and in the rest of the universe. I existed to destroy them - I knew that now. More, I knew that at some point I must have been a Matoran of Light (even if, for some reason, I didn't remember being one). That meant those people were my people out there, fighting for their freedom. Although Tahu and Gali tried to talk me out of it, I left the Codrex and headed back to the fight.

18 September
Kopaka had preceded me out. I caught up to him as he was pursuing the Jetrax and tangling with Radiak. I offered to deal with the shadow Matoran so he could go after the vehicle. Radiak jibed at me, calling me a "Toa of Twilight." I had to fight down an urge to show him just how much light power I still had. But seeing him reminded me of something else - that he wasn't a shadow Matoran by choice. He had been corrupted by the Makuta, and it was up to me to find some way to save him and the others. More, I had to get them out of Karda Nui before the energy storm hit.

22 September
I had managed to collect Photok, Solek, and Tanma, and together we dragged a struggling Radiak through the sky. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish my task. But I knew I had to try. As a Matoran, I had looked up to the Toa and dreamed of being like them. Now I was, and it was time to live up to being a hero. I was still lost in thought when I heard Photok cry out, and looked up to see a shadow Matoran flying right toward me!

25 September
That was when things got really strange. The shadow Matoran, whose name was Vican, insisted that he was no longer a slave to the Makuta. He said that a Rahi's attack had shattered the hold shadow had over him. The other Matoran told me not to believe him. But something in Vican's eyes, his voice, made me wonder. I knew what it was like to be attacked by a shadow leech, as Vican claimed he once had been. If what he was saying was true now, then maybe there was a way to cure the shadow Matoran of Karda Nui. It was a chance I had to take.

29 September
In a strange twist of fate, it was Radiak himself who found the Rahi he sought. Spotting it flying through the air, he hurled a bolt of shadow energy at it. He missed, but had managed to irritate the creature. It emitted a loud cry, the sheer volume of which seemed to stagger the Matoran. He struggled to get free of my grasp, and this time I didn't try to stop him. He looked around at Photok, Solek, and Tanma, as if he they were friends he had not seen in ages. "Are you all right?" he asked. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Tanma, of course, did not believe Radiak had returned to the side of the Av-Matoran. But the change seemed real. When pressed, Radiak revealed that the Makuta planned to allow Mata Nui to wake up, then slay the Toa Nuva and corrupt the rest of the Av-Matoran. But why? Why would they want to let the Great Spirit awaken, I wondered?

Operation Update Blog - 2

2008-09-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

This BIONICLE WORLD blog will be updated in the near future. Being busy, I have not found the time to add to it earlier, but expect more in the future.

Currently, I am plotting to infiltrate my local Borders to scrounge it for a copy of Bionicle Legends#11: Final Battle. If I get it, you can definitely expect to see spoilers on or before Sunday.

(Remember, to view the spoilers you must venture to the Comments section, so people not wanting to see future plot details ahead of time do not have to)

Journey of Takanuva in Stores

2008-08-13T09:37:00.001-07:00

The 3.99 USD book Journey of Takanuva is now in stores. I shall not buy it since it is for Level 3 readers, but I can tell you some spoilers in the comments section. My information is limited, however.

Destiny War, Chapter 2

2008-08-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2
Axonn crouched down behind a low stone wall, and watched the Fire and Ice bolts fly by overhead. Beside him, Brutaka was peering around the crumbling bit of cover now and then, hurling a blast from his sword.

"Knock on the front door," grumbled Axonn. "Great strategy. I think all that time in Mahri Nui left you with a waterlogged brain."

"Oh, come on," said Brutaka, smiling. He picked off an attacker with a bolt of energy, then winged another. "You love this, and you know it. After thousands of years sitting around on Voya Nui waiting for something to happen, you need the exercise."

A green-fleshed Skakdi climbed over the wall, spiked club in hand. Axonn quickly made him regret it.

"This was supposed to be a nice, simple job. Go to Zakaz, find warlord Nektann, arrange an alliance between the Order and the Skakdi. Not get pinned on a beach by an angry horde."

"Are we pinned? We're not pinned," said Brutaka. "Watch."

Brutaka popped over the wall and fired an energy bolt at a half-crumbled building. Sheering through its only support, he sent the structure toppling down on a mob of Skakdi. When the dust cleared, all of them were trapped beneath the rubble.

"Now those guys, they're pinned," said Brutaka.

Axonn sighed. "Just like the good old days," he said. "Now I remember why I hated them so much."

"If you liked that idea, you'll love this one," Brutaka replied. Before Axonn could react, Brutaka had grabbed him by the back of the neck. He dragged Axonn to his feet and stood beside him, free arm in the air. "We surrender!" Brutaka shouted to the Skakdi army. "Take us, we're yours."

***
Elsewhere, a trader on the island of Stelt would, over the course of his life, see pretty much everything at least once. The place was a crossroads for the crooked, the desperate and those just looking for fast money, or a deal best kept hidden from Toa. This particular trader, though, had recently seen more than he would have wished. A small group of warriors, including the hated Roodaka, had stolen one of his best ships. Worse, they had done it in such a way that no one would even believe it had happened. Things had at last settled down though; He had managed to find a replacement ship and recover those members of the old crew who were still alive. It was back to business as usual; at least until a 20 foot-tall dragon tore the roof off his shop.

"Where's Teridax?" the dragon growled.

"Teridax? Who or what is that? And how would I know?" said the trader, reaching frantically for a weapon, and coming up with nothing better than a cracked Kanoka disk.

"I know Stelt," said the dragon, "A Nui-Rama doesn't buzz on the Tren Krom Peninsula without you scum hearing it. So I'll ask again, where is he? Where is the Makuta of Metru Nui?"

"I don't know! I swear it!" shouted the trader.

The dragon scooped his victim up in a great claw. "I don't have time for this. I have places to be, and bodies to break. I want you to send out a message to all your friends, to everyone who sails in and out of this island. Tell them Miserix is back, and when I find him, Teridax is dead!"

***
Elsewhere once more, Vezon sat in a small skiff with a jet black sail. Trinuma sat at the bow, keeping an eye out for potential threats. If he considered Vezon one, he didn't show it. For his part, Vezon was just happy to just be out of his cell. Prison was far too... confining, but then he guessed that was the point of it. Speaking of points, Trinuma had given him a lovely dagger. Vezon had said "thank you" by not trying to plunge it into his companion's back.

"Where are we going?" asked Vezon, “Why are we going? Are we going at all, or just sailing in a big circle? Or is it a spiral? I went down a spiral once: a big stone tunnel that went down and down and down, and ended in Zyglak. Whoever built it had no decorating sense at all."

"Would you be quiet?" said Trinuma, "This is a secret mission. Do you understand that?"

"Sure," answered Vezon, "Secret mission means if you get killed, I won't tell anyone. And you still haven't answered any of my one-hundred ten questions, or my follow ups."

Trinuma sighed in resignation. "We're going to a place called Destral. Once we get there your job starts. If you succeed, you live to babble another day. If you fail, you die horribly. Okay?"

"Destral ... Destral. Wait a minute that's the Makuta base! Spiriah was a Makuta. At least, he was until Miserix killed him. I flew with Miserix, did I tell you that? At least until he did those loops and threw me off his back. Ocean water is really cold, don't let anyone tell you different. So what am I supposed to do on Destral? Theft? Assassination? Running with sharp objects?"

"You have the most important job of all," said Trinuma, "You're going to betray the Order of Mata Nui, and the entire universe, and this is how you're going to do it."

Takanuva's Blog

2008-08-12T17:22:00.001-07:00

1 July
My name is Takanuva, Toa of Light. For the past - day? month? year? - I have been traveling through other dimensions trying to find my way to Karda Nui. I was sent on my journey by the Order of Mata Nui, who gave me vital information I must share with the Toa Nuva. Unfortunately, the mask whose power hurled me into the space between dimensions was damaged, so the trip has been a rough one. Hopefully, my next stop will be my own universe.

3 July
I see a point of light in the distance. After three wrong destinations, I can only wish that this is Karda Nui. Fighting the currents of interdimensional space, I make for the spot. It is a portal opening to another reality. Desperately, I dive for it. On the other side, I land hard on a small island of mud. All around me is murky water and weird plant life. Have I found Karda Nui, the core of the universe, or simply another strange world not my own?

7 July
I am in a swamp, surrounded by mist. Now and then, I spot a fin or a tentacle break the surface of the muddy water, but I don't see many other Rahi around. Am I where I am supposed to be? Using my new power of flight, I rise into the air. That's when I spot her - a Toa of Water, being menaced by a pale-white, skeletal monstrosity. I don't know if that's Gali or not, but I know a Toa in danger when I see one. Let's see if I can shed a little light on this with my power lance!

10 July
A burst of light made the creature menacing my fellow Toa stop and take notice. I expected it to attack, or scream out its rage, or do something else I wouldn't enjoy at all. Instead, the look on its face was almost one of ... sadness and resignation. Almost as if it knew that I, or someone like me, was coming, but had hoped against hope I wouldn't show up. Then it drifted down through the mud like a spirit and vanished. Wherever I am ... this is a very strange place.

14 July
Using my newfound ability to fly (the result of a Makuta virus I was exposed to in an alternate universe), I traveled to where the Toa was just getting to her feet. As I got closer, I realized that despite the differences in her appearance, it was Gali. And despite how I looked, she recognized me. "What are you doing here?" she asked, even as I said "Are you all right?" I told her it was a long, long story, and there wasn't time to tell it. We had to find the others - they had to know how much danger they were in!

17 July
Gali looked at me as if she were just seeing me for the first time. "What happened to you?" she asked. "Your armor ... your mask ... and is it me, or have you grown bigger?" The darkening of my armor and mask I already knew about. It was a side-effect of the shadow leech attack on Metru Nui. But I had grown in size? Yes, I guess I had, though I had no idea why. What did it mean? Would it stop, or would I keep growing larger? A Turaga might know the answers, but there were none around. Like far too many situations I had been in lately, I would have to learn as I went.

21 July
Gali was ready to head off in search of the other Toa Nuva, but I had something I felt I had to do first. I umlimbered the sundial I carried with me and placed it on the muddy ground. I shone a beam of light on its face and the shadow that resulted pointed to the east. "Okay, so I keep going that way," I said. Gali looked at me, confused. "Is that the sundial Lewa retrieved from the island of Mata Nui? How did it get so small? And what are you using it for?" Those, at least, were questions I could answer.

24 July
"You know of the Order of Mata Nui," I said to Gali. "They told me you did. They shrunk the sundial down and gave it to me. When I shine light upon it, it points toward the spot from which the Great Spirit can be awakened." Gali looked at me as if I had grown two more heads ... which, the way things were going, I would have believed. She was about to ask me if I was quite sure I was okay when we both spotted a gleam of orange off to the east. It was closing on us rapidly, and the dark side of me urged me to prepare to attack. It was getting harder and harder to resist those impulses - and maybe in this case they were right. After all, I didn't know any orange Toa ...

28 July
I was ready for anything as the orange figure approached, flying at impossibly high speed. Gali, though, look undisturbed by the new arrival. She placed a hand on my arm, a signal that all was well. And it turned out the new arrival was Pohatu, though he did not look much like the Toa of Stone I remembered.

He looked me up and down for a moment, before saying, "I can't say I think much of the color change."

"You should talk," I replied. "You're orange."

"Yeah, but I wear it well," said Pohatu, with a grin.

31 July
Pohatu, Gali and I flew to the east, toward where my two friends said the other Toa Nuva could be found. Along the way, they brought me up to date on what had been happening – their arrival in Karda Nui, the discovery of the Makuta here, and the revelation that they had been turning Matoran of Light into shadow Matoran. That last sickened me. I knew now that I must have been a Matoran of Light in the past, though those memories were blocked. I probably worked alongside some of the Matoran the Makuta had corrupted. They might have even been good friends. Right then and there, I swore that no matter what – even if it meant Mata Nui stayed asleep, even at the cost of my own life – I would see to it that the shadow Matoran were cured.

4 August
We had only been flying a few minutes when Gali spotted something down below. A moment later, so did I - half a dozen insectoids, each about seven feet high, flying close to the surface of the swamp. Each had four arms with nasty stingers on the ends. "What are they?" I asked.

"I heard them called Niazesk," answered Pohatu. "Some little pets of the Makuta who got transformed somehow into big pests you see. Better off staying away from them, they're --"

An angry buzz interrupted him. The Niazesk spotted us and were coming in our direction!

7 August
"We don't have time for this," growled Pohatu. He used his power to hurl stone blocks down at the approaching Niazesk. But they were good flyers and evaded his attack. Gali took down one with a water burst, but they were closing fast. I didn't need to be told that sting from one of them would do more than itch. I started to lower my lance to use a light blast against them ... but then I thought, what if it isn't powerful enough? What if one or two get through and Pohatu or Gali gets harmed? I made my decision ... and raised my right arm to call upon the power of shadow.

11 August
I unleashed a blast of pure darkness at the oncoming Niazesk. It struck them like a solid wall. They spun, reeled, and then plunged down into the swamp. I turned to Pohatu and Gali, expecting to get congratulations for winning the fight. Instead, what I saw in their eyes was fear.

"What ... was ... that?" asked Pohatu. And he was actually aiming his weapon at me as he said it!

"There have been some ... changes," I answered.

"So I see," said Pohatu. "I wondered where the Makuta of Metru Nui was still alive, and if so, where he had got to - I guess now I know, don't I?"

Brothers in Arms, Chapter 1

2008-08-05T09:50:00.001-07:00

New Mistika Ratings

2008-08-04T18:46:00.001-07:00

Now that we actually have most of the Mistika, unlike the previous two rating posts, where in the first we had none and the second we had some, we shall rate the Mistika yet another time.

Tahu Nuva: 8.1
Gali Nuva: 9.35
Onua Nuva: 8.63
Krika: 9.1
Gorast: 9.57
Bitil: 9.8

Vultraz: 7.75
Mazeka: 9.25
Takanuva: 9.69

Rockoh T3: 8.65
Jetrax T6: 9.89
Jetrax T6 (yellow): 9.95
Axalara T9: 9.87

Also, we got the help of my weird brother with these ratings, so they might be kind of...weird.

Brothers in Arms Possible Title

2008-08-04T18:45:00.001-07:00

The author of the summer serials, Greg Farshtey, has stated that the possible name for the third serial about Vultraz and Mazeka might be called "Brothers in Arms."

Dwellers in Darkness

2008-08-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1
Toa Bomonga tightened his headlock on the Tahtorak and tried to wrestle the beast to the ground. Bomonga's Mask of Growth allowed him to reach almost the size of the creature, but he could not match the Tahtorak in sheer strength. Still, he knew a few things about leverage and pressure points that the Rahi did not.

With a roar, the Tahtorak lost its footing and slammed hard into the ground of Xia. What was left of the island city trembled from the impact. "Now stay down," Bomonga growled, even as Toa Pouks used his power to create bonds of solid stone for the monster.

After a long battle, the Tahtorak had battered the Kanohi Dragon enough that Toa Norik's spinners had been able to slow it down, while Toa Kualus' ice attack finished it off. It now lay unconscious, sprawled across much of the southern district of the city. Toa Iruini had taken the advice of a Vortixx and made sure to move the creature's leg away from The Mountain, so it wouldn't end up a big snack for that hungry landmark.

Only Toa Gaaki stood off to the side, her eyes fixed on the ocean but unseeing. The Toa Hagah had seen her like this before. She was focused inward, using the power of her Mask of Clairvoyance to see things they could not. Now she stiffened, cried out, and turned toward the others.

"They're coming," she said. "Hundreds of them."

"Hundreds of who?" asked Iruini. He considered Gaaki a good friend, but her vague predictions did have a way of getting on his nerves at times.

"Seekers of shadows," Gaaki muttered. "Slayers of the dark ... ready for war ... Vortixx cannot stand ..."

Norik walked up beside her and gently eased Gaaki to a seat on a rock. He knelt in front of her and talked to her in a whisper. Now and then she would nod her head. After a few minutes, he gestured to Kualus.

Although the Toa of Ice was no longer a Rahaga, he had not lost his bond with flying Rahi or his ability to communicate with them. Now he signaled to a smoke hawk up above and spoke rapidly in a language none of the others understood. A moment later, the hawk flew off to the west.

"How is she?" Pouks asked Norik.

"It's been a long time since she used her power," answered the Toa Hagah of Fire. "Or, rather, since it used her. It's never easy."

"What she said – seekers of shadows – what do you think it means?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Bomonga, shrinking down to his normal height. "Seekers of shadows – Dark Hunters."

The smoke hawk picked that moment to return, flying in tight circles above the island and cawing loudly. Kualus nodded twice and rushed over to his fellow Toa.

"Bomonga is right, from the sound of it," he said. "My winged ally sees ships coming, so many they blot out the waves. And the crews are armed, my friends ... it's a battle fleet."

Iruini had climbed up the top of one of the few spires still standing in the city. "Score one for the birdie," he yelled down. "We have company. I'm going to check them out!"

"Iruini, wait --" began Norik.

"Wait for what?" the Toa of Air said, smiling. "I spent thousands of years as a Rahaga – now I'm back in action, and I love it!"

An instant later, the Toa of Air used his Mask of Quick Travel to teleport from the spire to the flagship of the oncoming fleet. He found himself standing on the deck, facing two powerful looking figures. A handful of armed warriors immediately moved to surround him.

"Who are you?" asked Iruini. "What's your business in these waters?"

"My business?" asked one of the figures. "My business is profit, and that profit has been strangled for too long. And who are you?"

"I am Toa Iruini. My friends and I have just completed a mission on Vortixx. That island was half-levelled in the process, and let me guess – you're here to level the other half."

"My name is The Shadowed One," came the reply, "leader of the Dark Hunters. Standing beside me is my loyal lieutenant, Ancient. Standing in front of me is a very foolish Toa if he thinks he can get between me and my goal."

Iruini ignored the jab. "If you're looking to loot Xia, there's precious little left to steal."

"Loot?" repeated The Shadowed One, in mock surprise. "Steal? How little you think of me. Would I muster a fleet for petty thievery? No, Toa, I have made a bargain this day with a power I never knew existed – and my new allies have asked to me to insure that Xia provides no more weapons to the enemy. They wish me to blockade or occupy the island, but I do not believe in half-measures."

The Shadowed One smiled, an expression as cold as one of Kualus' ice blasts. "So I am going to destroy Xia, and every last living thing on it. And if your friends are unfortunate enough to be there when I arrive ... well, perhaps I will be merciful, and leave enough of them to bury."

Iruini raised his Cyclone Spear. Weapons were suddenly aimed at him from a dozen different directions.

"This is my war," The Shadowed One said softly, "and welcome to it."

Destiny War, Chapter 1

2008-08-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

Air Toa Poll Extends to Over 600 Votes!

2008-08-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

The air Toa poll has reached 600 votes and is still going strong.

To find it, look on the right, where all the videos and stuff are, and scroll down, to the second poll you'll see.

Incidentally, here are the standings so far:

1. Toa Lesovikk (299, 49%)
2. Toa Lewa (162, 26%)
3. Toa Matau (61, 10%)
4. Toa Mahri Kongu (43, 7%)
5. Toa Inika Kongu (37, 6%)

Oddly, the percentage total amounts to only 98%.

Tahu Review

2008-07-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

Tahu Nuva review. Format credit to BZPower. No pics.

Presentation
From the design of the canister to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

Well, the canister is pretty cool. The lid is a neat Ignika, with half of it corrupted and half of it pure. The clean side of the Ignika is facing the front, and the damaged side is facing the back. The Makuta's canisters are the opposite. On the front is an neat picture of Tahu approaching with his weapons raised, and on the back is a demonstration showing how to connect Solek to Tahu. (this is non-canon) The front of the instructions features a close-up of Tahu. The inside of the booklet is pretty much the same as ever. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the designs of the Mistika canister and manual.

Building
Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

Tahu's mix of red and silver pieces came right out of the canister. There's the main, bigger pieces, and there's the smaller pieces contained in a little plastic bag. Tahu has 73 pieces, the most ever featured in a canister. Of course, he does cost $12.99.

Well, the first thing you build is the Nynrah Ghost Blaster. It's 6 pieces with the ammo, four pieces just plain blaster. Very simple. Next, you move onto the main body, which is one of those old '06 Piraka torsos that they've been using for three years. The arms and the legs are pretty much the same, though the legs have spiky armor from the lower parts of them. Tahu is pretty basic, even though he has many pieces. There are just more parts to him than normal.

Tahu's rotating blades are made of some new pieces, and a Gahlok-Kal shield. He has the feet of Kongu of the Toa Inika, also from 2006. His mask is very awesome, reminds me of a knight or a ninja.

Set Design
Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

New pieces include the three main parts of the rotating blades (mentioned earlier), the jets and the red fins, Tahu's mask, lower leg armor, and the Nynrah Ghost Blaster parts.

Playability
The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

Well, this isn't really my department since I don't really play with Bionicles, I just collect them, but I'll try my best.

His rotating blades spin, but they don't spin as fast as Pohatu's propellors or Icarax's shield. They just sort of...spin. Tahu's great to pose, as he has approximately thirteen points of articulation and eighteen places to move. Also, the Nynrah Ghost Blaster fires well. The only drawbacks are that you only recieve two ammo, in case one gets lost or something random like that.

Final Thoughts
Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

Pros
What's to like?

*Cool mask
*Rotating blades, Nynrah Ghost Blaster
*Great for posing
*73 pieces!

Cons
What's not to like?

*Not very original body design
*$12.99!
*Only two Nynrah Ghost Blaster ammo

I think that Tahu is worth getting, because he has 73 pieces, and some very cool pieces. The price tag may seem like a lot, but you'll be surprised when you see how awesome he really is.

Bitil review coming soon!

Mistika Ratings

2008-07-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

These are actual ratings, now that the sets are out.

Tahu: 9.0
Gali: 8.9
Onua: 8.95

Krika: 9.0
Gorast: 9.5
Bitil: 9.8

Vultraz: 7.5
Mazeka: 9.5

Takanuva: 9.8

Rockoh T3: 9.1
Jetrax T6: 9.8
Jetrax T6 (Yellow): 9.94
Axalara T9: 9.95

Reviews to come.

The Kingdom

2008-07-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Part 1

Takanuva, Toa of Light, fell through inter-dimensional space, trying hard not to scream. A moment before, he had stepped through a dimensional portal created by Brutaka. His mission: travel to Karda Nui and warn the six Toa Nuva there of a disaster about to occur.

Somehow, though, this trip was not going as planned. Takanuva was being buffeted about, catching glimpses now and then of weird other worlds filled with beings both familiar and unfamiliar. He could guess that if he somehow wound up in one of those places, he might never find his way back to his own universe.

Suddenly, there was a jolt worse than any before. He was spinning wildly, out of control. There was an instant of complete darkness, followed by a very bright light, and then Takanuva slammed onto a rocky shore. He lay there, stunned, for a long time. When he finally lifted his head, it was to view a sight he could never have imagined.

The city before him was vast. It made Metru Nui look like a collection of stone-cutter shacks. Multiple design styles had combined to create a megalopolis that stretched for as far as the eye could see. Some of the buildings looked like ones in Metru Nui – he recognized the Coliseum, for example – others were totally strange and some almost primitive.

Takanuva glanced up at the sky. No, it didn't look like the one over Metru Nui. It looked – oh, no, that couldn't be, he thought. It was the same shade of blue as the one over the island of Mata Nui.

That's impossible, he said to himself. Everyone left Mata Nui to move back to Metru Nui months ago. And Mata Nui was never this size, or filled with so many beings and buildings!

He stood up and looked around. Everywhere, he could see Matoran of all kinds hard at work. That certainly wasn't unusual. Of course, the fact that they were working side by side with Bohrok, Skakdi, and Visorak was downright shocking.

"Hey," said a voice from behind him. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

Takanuva turned. A Ga-Matoran, Macku, was there. She gave no sign of recognizing him.

"I'm Toa Takanuva," he answered. "Can you tell me where I am?"

"You're not Takanuva," said Macku, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Try again ... or would you rather we call the Hunters?"

"But I am Takanuva. I know I look different, but -- "

"That's for sure," laughed Macku. "You're a lot taller. Or have you never seen Turaga Takanuva, stranger?"

"Turaga -?" sputtered Takanuva. He recovered quickly. "Um, maybe I was a little confused. Tell me, do you know where I could find Jaller?"

"At the Great Furnace, naturally," said Macku, suspicion in her voice. "What do you want him for?"

"I have, um, a message for him from an old friend," Takanuva replied.

It took some doing, but he finally convinced Macku to escort him into the city, which she called "the kingdom of the Great Spirit." The first person she brought him to was a tall, strong warrior carrying a massive axe. He looked Takanuva over for a minute, then nodded. "He's not a shapeshifter. And he really does think he's Takanuva."

"Thanks, Axonn," said Macku. "So he's crazy then?"

"Not sure," said Axonn. He reached out and snatched away Takanuva's Staff of Light. "Might be better not to let him walk around the city with this. You know how the Turaga feels about citizens carrying weapons."

They walked through the streets of the city, as shock followed shock for Takanuva. Over there were Matoran buying wares from street stands run by Vortixx; further on, a Skakdi was hawking a show, boasting of the amazing Visorak pyramid that could be seen inside for just five widgets. And on every street corner, there was the presence of law enforcers – not Toa, not even Vahki, but Dark Hunters!

Macku left Takanuva with Toa Jaller. The Toa of Fire looked the same as he always had, but he viewed Takanuva without the wariness the Ga-Matoran had. "Well, you're obviously not Takanuva," he said. "But as long as you're not a Makuta in disguise, you're welcome in the kingdom. What can I do for you?"

"Just talk to me," Takanuva said. "Tell me about this place. Are we ... is this really the island of Mata Nui?”

Jaller laughed. "Wow. I haven't heard it called that in close to 10,000 years. Anyway, yes, this was the island of Mata Nui, but it's a lot more than that now."

"I see that. What ... I mean, how ...?"

Jaller pointed to a massive stone wall. "That's what you want. There's a Wall of History in every district – Kopeke made sure of that. You'll find answers there." Jaller paused, and then added, "You know, it's funny. I know I never met you, but somehow you seem familiar. Why did you ask to see me, anyway?"

Takanuva thought about telling Jaller the truth. He could share all sorts of things only the real Takanuva would know. But then he decided that, at best, he would scare his old friend ... and at worst, he would wind up arrested by the Hunters.

"Right. Well, I met Turaga Takanuva once, and he ... um ... told me what a great friend you were. He said if I was ever in trouble, to come see you."

"Well, that's a pleasant surprise," said Jaller. "None of the Toa Mahri are very popular around here, even after all this time ... even after how things turned out. I don't think anyone's even seen Matoro in five or six thousand years."

The name startled Takanuva. Matoro was dead, killed when he sacrificed his life to save the Great Spirit Mata Nui and the universe. A theory was starting to form in the mind of the Toa of Light, and the Wall of History was where it could be proven or disproven. He thanked Jaller and hurried on.

Yes, it was all there all right. The first thing he noticed was the date – it was 10,000 years after he had left Metru Nui! But that wasn't half as surprising as the story the carvings told.

The Toa Mahri had journeyed to the underwater city of Mahri Nui in search of the Mask of Life, just as he recalled. But after that, the story had changed. Toa Matoro - referred to in the carvings as the "Disgraced One" – had hesitated a few moments too long in his pursuit of the mask. The core of the universe had been sealed off, making it impossible for him to revive the Great Spirit Mata Nui with the mask. And Mata Nui, ruler and protector of the entire Matoran universe, had died.

But the tale didn't end there. The Turaga of Metru Nui had been planning for just such an eventuality. Mobilizing the Toa, the Vortixx, the Skakdi, and many of the universe's other species, they led a mass migration to the surface over the course of a few days. The Order of Mata Nui revealed its existence and helped as well. Even as more and more beings poured from Metru Nui up to the Mata Nui, those who were already there worked to construct floating platforms to hold them all. Naturally, not everyone made it – it just wasn't physically possible to evacuate a universe in that short an amount of time – but many did. It was obvious that only by working together could they survive on the surface, and so the concept of the Kingdom was born.

Only two species from the original universe were not represented here. The Zyglak had refused to evacuate, choosing death over accepting assistance from Matoran. The Makuta attempted to migrate, only to find their way barred by Toa Takanuva and the Order. Together, they drove the Makuta back underground, and no sign had been seen of them since. His destiny achieved, Takanuva had sacrificed his power to bring a new generation of Toa into being. These included Toa Kapura, Toa Balta, Toa Dalu, Toa Velika, Toa Defilak, and a new Toa of Light, Tanma. Takanuva had then become a Turaga and was named leader of the Kingdom in recognition of his heroism.

Things got stranger from there. Turaga Takanuva had formed a new ruling council, consisting of Turaga Dume, a prime Skakdi warlord, Roodaka, the Shadowed One, Helryx, and a Nynrah Matoran. Dark Hunters had become the primary law enforcers, while Toa were put to work using their powers to help the city in other ways. First, they prevented the collapse of the original island in the wake of Mata Nui's death. Then they created new and more stable land masses to support the city's expansion. After 10 millennia, the Kingdom was now a mega-city and home to all the survivors of the original universe.

Turaga Takanuva and his Council ruled from the Coliseum. Toa Takanuva not only couldn't resist paying a visit to his other self, but he needed to find some way out of here. The Wall had shown him he had not simply traveled into his future somehow. This was not his universe at all.

As he walked, he had to admit that part of his wished he didn't have to leave. Who would have imagined that Matoro's failure would have resulted in a paradise like this? Everywhere he looked, he saw beings of different species working side by side. Only Toa and Hunters carried weapons, but they looked like they hadn't been used in ages.

He expected to find the Coliseum heavily guarded, but the opposite was the case. The seat of government was open to all in the Kingdom. Instead of asking to see Turaga Takanuva, though, he sent a message to Helryx. It was short, reminding her of what her original plan had been to warn the Toa Nuva about conditions in Karda Nui and asking if she could get him in to see the Turaga.

That produced results. Takanuva was escorted by Trinuma into the Turaga's chamber at the top of the Coliseum. Turaga Takanuva was in conference with Toa Tanma and Roodaka. Resting in the center of a large table was a Rahkshi head.

"You say this Rahkshi appeared in the center of the city, near the Piraka fountain?" the Turaga said.

Roodaka nodded. "A bunch of Fe-Matoran were there feeding Avak and Thok, making plans to add iron supports to the western land mass. They spotted a Panrahk and called the Hunters, who took care of it. This is all that was left."

"It shouldn't have been able to get through," said Tanma, grimly.

"Maybe it was an accident," Turaga Takanuva offered, sounding as if he didn't believe it himself. "Maybe one slipped through before the light barriers went up and has been hiding here all this time."

"I wish," said Toa Tanma.

"The light barriers are going down," said Toa Takanuva. All three turned to look at him, startled. "I ... know a little about light."

Turaga Takanuva started to say something, then stopped. He turned to Roodaka and Tanma and asked them to leave the chamber. Once they were gone, he said, "How is this possible?"

"You know, then?" said the Toa.

"How could I not?" said the Turaga. "And Helryx has told me what she planned to do, if things had gone differently. You're from ... someplace else, I take it?"

The Toa nodded. "Someplace else, it's true, but not someplace as peaceful. You have done an amazing job." He smiled. "I'm proud of me."

The Turaga shook his head. "It can't last. Onua and the others have done all they can, but the original island cannot survive much longer. We will have to move on again, perhaps to the stars if Nuju and Nuparu's project works. But until then, the Makuta – if they still live -- must not be allowed into the Kingdom!"

Turaga Takanuva looked at his Toa counterpart from another universe, not his own. "I know this isn't your world, and I know the message you carry is vital. But Tanma ... and the entire Kingdom ... could use your aid. When you're done, we can find a way to send you back. Will you help?"

Toa Takanuva nodded. "Of course. But ... I could use my Staff of Light back."

Turaga Takanuva smiled. "Oh, that weapon went out of style 10,000 years ago. I think we can find you something better than that, old friend."

Part 2

Turaga Takanuva led Toa Takanuva out of the Coliseum and into the eastern portion of the vast city. Toa Tanma trailed along behind, not saying much. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful another Toa of Light had arrived to help him, or upset that the Turaga didn't think he could handle the job on his own.

They arrived at a small, narrow building in an alleyway, not far from the shore. There was no knob or handle on the outside of the front door, nor any carving to indicate who lived there. Turaga Takanuva rapped twice with his staff.

A small panel opened about halfway up the door. No eyes were visible through it, but a Matoran voice said, "What's the password?"

Turaga Takanuva looked at the two Toa. "They've lived among us for ages, and still like to play at secrecy." Turning back to the door, he said, "This is Turaga Takanuva. Open up."

"Wrong password. Not even close."

"Try this one," said the annoyed Turaga. "I have a troop of Bohrok with nothing to do. If you'd like, I can have them tear down this building and turn it into a park."

There was a pause. Then the voice said, "Close enough," and the door swung open.

The three visitors entered a dark hallway, which twisted and turned far more than one would expect, given the size of the building. A door at the end led to a small workshop, cluttered with all sorts of armor, weapons, and other gadgets. A lone Fe-Matoran was tinkering with a nasty looking projectile launcher when they walked in. He looked up at Turaga Takanuva, surprised and annoyed.

"You know the routine," he said. "Leave your request in the slot outside, and we'll get to it."

"Yes, I know that's how you Nynrah crafters prefer to work," Turaga Takanuva replied, making an effort to keep his temper. "But this is a crisis. I have a Toa who needs weaponry."

The Matoran looked Toa Takanuva up and down. "Looks like his color scheme could use some work too. But ... I might just have something here that could be of use."

After a few minutes of rummaging through claw catchers, Rhotuka launchers, and parts of a Visorak battle wagon, the Matoran emerged with a twin-bladed lance. He handed it to Toa Takanuva and said, "Now, aim at that far wall. Just use a little bit of power, not even enough to singe the stone."

The Toa took the lance, aimed it, and focused on releasing just the tiniest sample of his elemental light. The next instant, a blast of energy blew a hole the size of a Kanoka disk in the wall. "How ...?" said Takanuva, looking down at the lance.

"Most Toa tools just channel power," the Matoran said, smiling. "This one amplifies it. And if that's not enough --"

The Matoran searched some more, this time emerging with a launcher. "We don't have a name for this one yet, too new. Draws light from the environment and fires it as a sphere. It hasn't been tested yet, though."

"Fine," said Turaga Takanuva. He turned to the two Toa. "I suggest you start right away. There's no telling how much time we have."

Once they were back on the street, Tanma wanted to head right for the nearest light barrier, but Toa Takanuva held him up. "There's something I want to do first," said Takanuva. "I want to see Matoro."

"That coward?" spat Tanma. "If not for him, we would still have our homes, our universe. You can go see him if you like – I want nothing to do with him."

Takanuva expected that Matoro would be living in the region inhabited by the Ko-Matoran and Frostelus. But he evidently hadn't been welcome there. Tanma directed his new comrade to an area of what was once Po-Wahi, now home mostly to Skakdi. There, in a small hut made of stone, sat Toa Matoro.

"What do you want?" the Toa of Ice said, not even looking up at his visitor. "Go away."

"Matoro, I ..." Takanuva began. "You're needed. You have to come with me."

Toa Matoro laughed. It was a bitter sound. "I was needed 10,000 years ago. My destiny was before me, and I hesitated ... and a universe died. So don't try to tell me I'm needed now. Just leave me alone."

"I heard what happened," Takanuva said. "But I also know that, in your heart, you're a hero. I know how hard you fought on Voya Nui, on Mahri Nui. And I know if you could have saved the universe, you would have ... you would have done anything to do that."

Takanuva, overcome with emotion, had to stop talking. Here was Matoro, who was dead in his universe, having sacrificed himself to save Mata Nui and every other living thing. Here he was, alive, but dead inside, knowing he had failed his people when it mattered most.

Matoro looked up at him. "Who are you? No one in the Kingdom talks about me that way."

"I'm from ... another kingdom," Takanuva answered. "One where people think of you as a hero."

"I see," said Matoro. "Escaped from an asylum, did you?"

"Okay," said the Toa of Light. "You want to sit here and feel sorry for yourself. You blew your chance to be a hero – well, here's another one. Here's a chance to show everyone you aren't a failure or a coward. Here's an opportunity to bring some honor to your name ... do you have the courage to take it?"

"Why do you care?" asked Matoro. "I don't even know you."

"Maybe I know you," said Takanuva. "Or someone very close to you. Now, come on – we have a kingdom to save."

Tanma was not at all happy to see Matoro along, but there wasn't time for a prolonged argument. Fortunately, the most likely problem spot was in the same area as Matoro's hut. The area around Kini-Nui was too well traveled for Rahkshi to have emerged from there unnoticed, but the old Bohrok tunnels in Po-Wahi were out of the way and largely ignored. If the light barrier in the main tunnel had come down, it would be easy for Makuta to send legions up through those passageways.

"Why not just block the tunnels? Bring them down?" asked Takanuva.

"Pohatu and Hewkii tried that during the evacuation," said Tanma. "The Rahkshi smashed their way through and killed them both before Tahu, Jaller and Kopaka drove them back. No, light was the only effective means of stopping them – intense light, more than their kraata could stand."

"And they couldn't just, I don't know, dig their way around the barrier? Or use density control and float up through the rock?"

"They could," Tanma agreed. "But Onua made sure the ground is warded. Any attempt to dig through it or pass through it, and we'd know."

Matoro had said nothing. Takanuva turned and said, "What do you think?"

"I think ... never mind," said the Toa of Ice.

"What he thinks doesn't matter," snarled Tanma.

"It does to me," Takanuva replied. "Tell us, Matoro."

"Well ... what if the barrier didn't go down? What if they've found some way to shield themselves against the light?"

"Then we have a problem." said Takanuva.

Cautiously, they started down the tunnel. Even this close to the surface, Takanuva could feel the chill in the air. The only light came from Tanma, who kept up a low level illumination using his Toa power. "We can't go down too far," he said. "There's no heat down there and what air there might still be is foul. Most of the universe is flooded and a lot of the water has mutagen in it. So whatever did survive the end probably isn't still recognizable ..."

Takanuva glanced at Matoro. Every word that Toa Tanma said was like a dagger in his heart.

They had walked perhaps a kio when the tunnel brightened. Tanma pointed ahead to a wall of light in their path. "That's the barrier. It's still intact. So the problem isn't here. Mangaia, maybe? Or some other access point we don't know about?"

"Perhaps," said Takanuva. "But what if Matoro's right? What if the barrier simply isn't stopping them anymore?"

"I don't have time for Matoran myth," said Tanma. "We have to check other possibilities. Are you coming or not?"

Takanuva glanced at the barrier, at Matoro, and then back at Tanma. "All right."

The two Toa of Light started back up the tunnel. Neither noticed Matoro wasn't following until they heard the sound of ice blasts coming from behind them. Takanuva turned and ran back down, followed closely by Tanma.

There was Matoro, battling four Rahkshi on his own. Behind them, more were breaching the barrier, each clad in armor made of deep shadow. The armor couldn't survive the passage through the barrier, dissolving not long after making contact with the light. But it lasted just long enough to get the Rahkshi through to the other side.

Takanuva and Tanma both dropped to one knee and opened fire with their light powers. Takanuva's power lance took out two Rahkshi, while Tanma drove a third back into the barrier, where its kraata burned to ashes. Matoro froze the fourth in a block of ice up to its head, just long enough to reach in and yank out its kraata. He threw the squirming creature on the ground and stepped on it.

"Excellent," said a soft, sinister voice, which seemed to come from every shadow. Takanuva knew it well – it belonged to the Makuta of Metru Nui, leader of the Brotherhood. "I see that at least one of you has an imagination. Matoro, my old friend ... it seems like yesterday we were teamed against the Barraki and their hordes."

"You," said Matoro, his voice shaking. "Why aren't you dead? So many others died ... why not you?"

"What is there left when the light dies, Toa? Darkness. Only darkness," Makuta replied. "And I thrive in the dark. Oh, my brothers perished, one by one ... Icarax was the first, driven from his body by my attack so I could possess it, his essence left to die in the cold of the void ... but my hatred will not let me die. Hatred of Mata Nui; hatred of all who escaped the end of this universe; most of all, Matoro, hatred of you ... you turned away from your destiny. Mata Nui was meant to cheat death ... instead, I was cheated of my revenge.”

Now the Toa heard a clanking of armor, as if a colossus were coming toward them. The next moment, a 20-foot giant clad in shadow armor erupted from the barrier. As the shroud of shadow fell away, they could see their foe. He was a bizarre amalgam of the Makuta who had attacked Karda Nui and others who were unfamiliar. He was a monstrosity, now truly as ugly on the outside as his spirit was within.

"As my brothers were about to die, I absorbed them into my body," said Teridax. "I used their mass to grow. I used their knowledge to create armor to pierce this barrier. And now your Kingdom will surrender, or it will suffocate in a sea of shadow."

Tanma, Matoro, and Takanuva attacked. Bolts of ice and spears of light rained on Teridax's armor, but the damage was negligible. "I have had 10,000 years to prepare for this battle," the Makuta hissed. "You cannot win."

"Excuse us if we try," said Takanuva, blasting with his power lance directly at the Mask of Shadow. The blow knocked the mask off. Makuta bent to retrieve it, but Tanma was too fast, hitting it with full power and melting it to slag.

"Tanma, get back!" Takanuva shouted. It was too late. Makuta had scooped up the Toa of Light like a toy and triggered the shattering power of a Panrahk. Takanuva had to look away – it was simply too horrible to watch.

"Now do you see?" said Makuta. "You must --"

Makuta stopped dead. Then he smiled at Takanuva. "Oh, I see ... oh, how intriguing. You are from ... somewhere else ... somewhere ... where Matoro died, and Mata Nui lived. The Plan proceeds there to its inevitable conclusion. Did you flee, then, Takanuva? Did you have the wisdom to escape before my reign begins?"

"I ... died?" said Matoro quietly.

"Yes," Takanuva replied. "You did. You gave your life so billions could live. In my universe, you are considered the greatest hero ever to bear the title of Toa."

"And here you are just one more insect to be crushed," said Makuta, advancing. "Or perhaps ... there is some other use for you. The Mask of Life still exists, and you were connected to it ... you have knowledge I can use, Toa of Ice."

A hand made of shadow emerged from Makuta's chest, heading right for Matoro. Takanuva made a move to get between them, but the Toa of Ice hit him with a barrage of ice shards, driving him back.

"Matoro, what are you doing?" Takanuva cried out. "He's going to kill you!"

"I should have died 10,000 years ago," Matoro said. He stood erect, hands at his sides, waiting for the hand to seize him. "I should have saved everyone, but I didn't. If you think about it, Takanuva, neither of us is meant to be here."

The shadow hand took Matoro in its grasp and drew him, unprotesting, into the substance of Makuta. Takanuva got to his feet, blasting light from his power lance and shadow from his other hand, screaming, "Murderer!"

Strangely enough, Makuta did not counterattack. In fact, the colossus actually looked a bit unsteady on his feet. He took a step back, reached out an armored hand to support himself, then dropped to his knees. Both hands went to the side of his head, as he shouted, "No! My will must prevail! I am the stronger! I am --"

Then another voice came from Makuta's mouth. It was Matoro's! "No, Makuta. You once told the Toa Mata that you could not be destroyed, because you were nothing. You were wrong – it is because you are nothing that I can destroy you. You have no heart, you have no spirit, you have no reason to exist – even your hate is a pale reflection of what once burned in you. You survive out of habit, monster, and habits ... and minds ... can be broken."

The scream that came from Makuta then was a long, loud, and strangely hollow. An instant later, the giant collapsed to the ground and lay unmoving. Takanuva edged closer, and confirmed what he already knew: Makuta was dead. Just to be sure, he used his power to send searing light to every corner of the tunnel, but there was no sign of the master of shadows' antidermis. He had not escaped this final confrontation.

Takanuva pondered for a long time as he walked back up to the surface. Turaga Vakama had once told him that when a Makuta absorbs a body, he must crush the will of his victim immediately. Otherwise, he risks other minds intruding upon his own. Matoro had heard the same tales. He had known if Makuta absorbed him, he could fight back from within.

At one time, such an effort would have been impossible – Makuta's will would have been too strong. But Matoro had been right. Makuta truly had nothing to live for. He survived and plotted his vengeance, but it was a hollow pursuit. He had lusted for a control of a universe, only to see that universe destroyed ... and there was no place for him in the Kingdom.

Takanuva would tell the ruling council what had happened down below, and warn them to beware of any other Rahkshi who might still lurk below, clad in shadow armor. He would stay long enough to see a statue erected of Matoro, the Toa who had been granted that rarest of commodities: a second chance to make things right.

Turaga Takanuva would ask his Toa counterpart to stay, even knowing what the answer would be. In the end, the Brutaka of this universe would use his Kanohi Olmak to send Takanuva back into the space between dimensions, on his journey to Karda Nui. There was much to be done, and still a very long way to go.

Comic 12.5 Script

2008-07-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

BIONICLE COMIC 12.5
      PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE
LEWA NUVA AND TANMA SOAR DOWN THROUGH THE SKY OF KARDA NUI.

1 TANMA: Why are we running? We should turn and fight!

2 LEWA: Great deep‐thought there, Tanma. What happens if we lose?

PANEL TWO
ON TANMA.

3 TANMA: We won’t lose! As long as we have right on our side, nothing can stop us.

PANEL THREE
ON LEWA.

4 LEWA: I used to quick‐talk like that too. That was an infected mask and a Bohrok krana ago, though. Trust me – we need help to save the others.

PANEL FOUR
LEWA AND TANMA HOVER, REACTING TO A VOICE THAT SEEMS TO COME FROM ALL AROUND THEM.

5 ANTROZ (OS): Three little Toa, soaring through the blue – one choked on shadows, and then there were two.

6 TANMA: Show yourself, Makuta!

7 LEWA: They are masters of illusion. One could be standing right close‐near and we wouldn’t know it.

        (((END PAGE ONE)))

  PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE
ON LEWA.

1 ANTROZ (OS): Two little Toa, their time almost done – one met a shadow leech, and then there was one.

2 LEWA: On the other hand … they really stink as poets.

PANEL TWO
ON TANMA, POINTING AHEAD OF THEM.

3 TANMA: What’s that??

PANEL THREE
WE SEE A SWIRLING VORTEX OF DARKNESS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SKY, COMING CLOSER AND CLOSER.

4 LEWA (OS): The Makuta are trying to make us feel at home …

PANEL FOUR
LEWA UNLEASHES A HUGE CYCLONE.

5 LEWA: But Toa‐heroes make lousy guests.

PANEL FIVE
THE CYCLONE TEARS INTO THE VORTEX, SHREDDING THE DARKNESS INTO SCRAPS.

      (((END PAGE TWO))))

   PAGE THREE
PANEL ONE
ANTROZ HOVERS IN THE AIR NEAR AN UNCONSCIOUS KOPAKA, POHATU, SOLEK AND PHOTOK. THEY
ARE BOUND WITH CHAINS MADE OF SHADOW AND HANGING SUSPENDED FROM THE CEILING OF
KARDA NUI. RADIAK IS MOUNTED ON ANTROZ’S BACK.

1 ANTROZ: Your friend will be here to join you soon … Toa are too noble, too brave, and too stupid not to rush right to their dooms. When he arrives, he will see that if he did defeat me, the chains I made would vanish – and all four of you would fall.

2 ANTROZ (2) Teridax says we need you alive … he never said undamaged. Perhaps Chirox and Vamprah will let you bounce once or twice before retrieving you …

PANEL TWO
ON ANTROZ.

3 ANTROZ: He will try a sneak attack, of course. But his Toa power is a light breeze on Destral, his Mask of Levitation is a joke, and his weapon – annoying, true, but nothing a true Makuta cannot handle.

PANEL THREE
LEWA AND TANMA SMASH INTO ANTROZ FROM BEHIND WITH ENORMOUS IMPACT.

4 LEWA: Really? How are you with good old‐fashioned socks to the jaw?

PANEL FOUR
ON A SHAKEN ANTROZ.

5 ANTROZ: Impossible! How did you evade Vamprah and Chirox?

        (((END PAGE THREE)))

   PAGE FOUR
PANEL ONE
ON LEWA, TAKING AIM WITH HIS SKYBLASTER.

1 LEWA: I have been high‐flying a lot longer than you bat‐winged losers. Now free my friends or I light things up.

PANEL TWO
ON ANTROZ AND RADIAK.

2 ANTROZ: Do you really think even a blast from that weapon can harm me?

PANEL THREE
LEWA WHEELS IN MID‐AIR AND FIRES.

3 LEWA: Who said I was aiming at you?

PANEL FOUR
THE LIGHT BURST STRIKES POHATU, WHO IS JOLTED AWAKE.

4 POHATU: Huh? What? Where ‐‐?

     (((END PAGE FOUR)))

  PAGE FIVE
PANEL ONE
LEWA FIRING HIS SKYBLASTER, THIS TIME TOWARD ANTROZ, WHO IS DODGING.

1 LEWA: Three more questions than we have time for, brother! Get ready – get set –

PANEL TWO
LEWA REALLY OPENS UP WITH THE SKYBLASTER, WITH TANMA GLOWING LIKE A STAR BEHIND HIM.

2 LEWA: Go!!

PANEL THREE
THE CHAINS FADE AROUND THE TOA AND MATORAN AND THEY START TO FALL.

3 CAPTION: Antroz’s concentration broken by Lewa’s attack, his shadow chains disappear.

PANEL FOUR
POHATU, FLYING AT SUPER‐SPEED, GATHERS UP PHOTOK, SOLEK, AND KOPAKA BEFORE THEY CAN FALL
FAR.

4 POHATU: Hmmmm … it never rained Matoran on Mata Nui.

PANEL FIVE
VAMPRAH AND CHIROX FLYING THROUGH THE AIR.

5 LEWA (OS): Pohatu! More shadow‐flyers!

       (((END PAGE FIVE))

   PAGE SIX
PANEL ONE
FULL PAGE SPLASH.

POHATU CARRYING KOPAKA AND SOLEK, LEWA CARRYING PHOTOK, SOAR AWAY FROM THE BATTLE.

1 POHATU: Then we fight another day … when our hands are free.

2 LEWA: Next time, Kopaka can hard‐fight, and I will take the nap!

3 POHATU (2): Let’s hope Tahu and his team are doing better than we are – or else this is going to be one of those short missions that ends with dead Toa.

4 LEWA (2): Yeah, hate those …

5 LOWER CAPTION: To be continued in BIONICLE #13, this July!

New Info

2008-07-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Credit to BZPower Member akrax the last elemental.

- Some of the Federation of Fear members will return in the OOMN/Brotherhood War
- The Hagah serial will involve Toa Hagah searching for Teridax’s current location
- The new Bionicle movie’s animation style will be similar to the style used in major motion picture characters like Lord of the Rings’ very own Gollum! (I mean the movement, not the actual design of the characters)
- THE REALLY BIG ONE: In the November edition of the Brickmaster magazine, there will be an exclusive four page poster of the Great Spirit Mata Nui! (He is really tall as I see you need 4 pages to him)

Price Increase on Shop at Home

2008-07-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

On S@H, the prices for the Phantoka have been moved up to $12.99 each.
Hopefully, everyone managed to buy them while they were still $9.99.

Link: http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=8686&cn=517

Jetrax Available on Shop at Home

2008-07-04T06:30:00.001-07:00

Made immediately available now, Jetrax T6 is now available for order on S@H.

http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=8942&cn=541&d=351

Mutran Chronicles 10

2008-07-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

Chapter 10

How quickly 1000 years can go by when you are busy outdoing Chirox in Rahi creation. While Teridax busied himself tormenting the Matoran of Mata Nui like a Muaka with a stone rat, I was bringing fabulous creatures into being. True, some of them did not live very long... and yes, one died quite an explosive death... but I had my successes as well. The shadow leech, for example – a mutated kraata that could drain the light out of any living being. Who couldn't love that?
Naturally, I needed a test subject for it. I traveled to a village in my area of control in search of a Matoran brave/desperate/stupid enough to volunteer (I could have taken one by force, but after 100,000 years, all that screaming and begging grows tiresome to listen to). I was fortunate enough to run across a villager named Vican, eager to find a more adventurous life for himself. What he got for the loss of his light instead was a life of shadow and the honor of being my assistant... a more than fair trade, in my estimation.
It was shortly after I introduced him to the wonder that is Destral that a most fascinating incident took place: a Matoran went flying through my laboratory, to be dashed against the far wall. His armor was crimson, but it was obvious he was one of mine – meaning another beneficiary of the gift of a shadow leech. He was followed by Gorast, in her usual state of rage/psychosis.
The crumpled heap on the floor turned out to be Vultraz, a Matoran who had been in the service of Gorast for some time before becoming one with the shadows. On a far-flung scouting mission, he had discovered a way into the legendary Karda Nui, the core of the universe. That was the good news. The bad news was that he had decided to keep this knowledge to himself, apparently thinking he could benefit from it somehow. That he did, if you consider being beaten by Gorast to be a "benefit."
Once she had the information in hand, Gorast informed Teridax (who was busy taking a long overdue bath beneath Voya Nui at the time). His reaction was predictable: we were to go to Karda Nui immediately, seize it, and see to it any Av-Matoran there would pose no threat. Eventually, he had no doubt the Toa Nuva would make an appearance there... if they did, his wishes were clear. Icarax, of course, thought his demands bordered on insanity if not treason to the Brotherhood, and he refused to go. Eventually, Antroz gave up trying to persuade him.
"We'll call him when there is someone for him to break," our team leader said. "Otherwise, I can do without his company."
Karda Nui – how to describe its glory, its wonder, its sheer beauty? How to capture the feeling one gets at the first sight of it? It isn't easy, but let me try.
It's a big cave. With a swamp in it.
At least, there has been the sport of hunting Matoran, which has kept Vamprah happy. Gorast, Bitil and Krika went down below to ready themselves in case the Toa appear in the swamp first, and I have not seen them since. I am sure they are fine – certainly, they would not be foolish enough to go into water so obviously foul.
As for me, I am back to creating shadow leeches in my new hive. I have my doubts the Toa Nuva will ever arrive – what sane being would challenge seven Makuta? If they do, things will be most ... interesting. Teridax tells us we must show restraint – asking Makuta to show restraint around Toa is like asking a Rahkshi to show table manners.
Hmmmm... what's that? I could have sworn there was a flash of light outside. It must have been pretty powerful for me to see it all the way in here. Well, I suppose if it was anything important, I will find out about it in time...

Online Catalog on Shop at Home

2008-07-02T23:11:00.001-07:00

The online catalog is now on Shop at Home. Simply type in shop.lego.com on your search thing at the top of the screen and it will be on the home page.

Also, I won't be here from now until Sunday, so unless I find a computer where I'm going, there will be no new updates.

All Mistika Available on Shop at Home

2008-07-02T16:53:00.001-07:00

In addition to the ones already specified, Rockoh T3, Mistika Collection, and Vultraz are all available now on Shop at Home.

Jetrax T6 still isn't up...

New Bionicle Website Features

2008-07-01T08:11:00.002-07:00

-Takanuva's Blog
-Bionicle Comic 12.5 Script
-Question and Answer with Greg Farshtey
-Mistika Building Instructions
-Mistika Bios
-Mistika Animation
-New Story Update
-Awesome new Downloads
-Bioniclestory.com Update

Check all that out and more at Bionicle.com!

Bionicle Mistika Bios

2008-07-01T08:11:00.001-07:00

In the Bios section of Bionicle.com.

Mistika Movie on Bionicle.com

2008-07-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

There is an awesome Mistika animation on the Bionicle website.

Link: bionicle.com

Jetrax T6 Available on UK Shop at Home

2008-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=8942&cn=541

Rockoh T3 is also available. (this is only for residents of the UK)

Bionicle.com Site Update

2008-07-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Cool new Swamp of Secrets art. Check it out here:

http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/default.aspx?domainredir=bionicle.com

Vultraz Available Now on Shop at Home

2008-07-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Leaf.aspx?cn=480&d=351

Every Mistika on Shop at Home is available now except for Rockoh T3 and the Mistika Collection.

(this is the second time I've posted this, on the first one there was an error)

Death of Spiriah - Federation of Fear 10

2008-06-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

Chapter 10
Vezon looked from the massive, chained form of the dragon-like beast to his partners, then back at the dragon, then over to Brutaka. He opened his mouth to speak, but Brutaka cut him off.

"Don't say it," said Brutaka.

"We're going to need --" Vezon began.

"A bigger boat. I know," Brutaka said. "Anybody know what those... things... are flying all around?"

Small, winged creatures were indeed flitting all around the dragon. Now and then, one would let out a scream that shattered rock. "They're called klakk," said Makuta Spiriah. "Something Mutran created a long time back – their sonic scream is formidable. They must be meant as guardians."

Brutaka frowned. Guardians, all right, but against whom? He knew the dragon was in fact Makuta Miserix, ex-leader of the Brotherhood. He had been ordered executed, but Makuta Krika had instead chained him up here on the island of Artidax. It was Brutaka's job to rescue him so the Order of Mata Nui could use him against his former organization.

At that moment, Miserix suddenly took notice of them. His great eyes narrowed as he spoke and his voice rumbled like a distant avalanche. "Who... are... you?"

Brutaka started to say, "Friends," then decided he didn't really want to be considered a friend of that thing. "We're here to free you," he said instead. "Can you shapeshift to a smaller form?"

"Why would I wish to do that?" asked Miserix. "Do you know how many of these creatures I had to absorb to reach a size where their screams no longer pain me?"

"See, the size is a problem, your immenseness," Vezon cut in. "We only have a small boat, hardly more than a raft, really, and if it sinks we have to swim. Personally, I am not big on swimming – some friends of mine went for a swim, I heard, and now they look like sea snakes, just a head and a spine. And I have no spine, so I would be just a head, and --"

Miserix's eyes glowed red. A burst of laser vision struck Vezon, sending him tumbling backwards. "Gnat," muttered the Makuta.

Turning to check on Vezon, Brutaka saw that Spiriah had backed way up into the shadows. Miserix noticed too and bellowed, "Tell that one to come forth."

Spiriah took a reluctant step forward. At the sight of another Makuta, the dragon smiled. "Spiriah. I do remember you. When Teridax rose against me, you were one of the first to be by his side. I have so looked forward to meeting you again."

Brutaka tightened his grip on his weapon. He did not like Miserix's tone at all.

"Do you know I have not seen one of my species since Krika left me here?" Miserix continued.

"We all meant to come," Spiriah said hurriedly. "Teridax wouldn't let us. We all knew we would benefit by your experience, your power, your very presence."

"But you did not come," rumbled Miserix. "So now I shall benefit from yours."

A hand made of living shadow erupted from the dragon's chest, grabbed Spiriah, and pulled him into Miserix's body. There wasn't even time for a scream.

Vezon, back on his feet, stopped dead when he saw the Makuta consumed. "I thought we were here to rescue him from captivity," he whispered. "Not from that mid-day empty feeling."

"You know, we could just leave you here to rot," Brutaka said to Miserix. "Or wait for the next volcanic eruption to rain lava down on your oversized head. Or... you could have your chance to take revenge on your brothers. What's it going to be?"

Miserix considered. Then he leaned forward as far as his chains would allow him and said, "Make your attempt, for what good it will do."

"I have seen those kind of chains before," said Lariska. "They grow and shrink with him. They feed on his own power and use it to hold him."

Brutaka hefted his weapon. "Can they be broken?"

"Not without causing him great pain."

Brutaka gave a grim smile. "I'll cry tomorrow. Find me a weak link. Roodaka, we are going to need your help."

The Vortixx had been silent since they had entered Miserix's presence. Brutaka had no doubt she was planning something. But she dutifully stepped forward and stood beside him, her eyes never leaving the chained Makuta.

"There," said Lariska, pointing to a segment of the chain that held Miserix's right arm. "We concentrate our fire there."

Brutaka and Roodaka took aim, he with his blade, she with her outstretched hand. Energy and shadow bolts struck the weak segment of chain, bathing it in a continuous stream of power. After several minutes, the substance of the chain began to flake off. After a few more, it began to crack. Then the link shattered to pieces. Miserix screamed, loud enough to crack the mountain itself.

The klakk reacted instantly, flying toward the rescue team and unleashing their sonic screams. Vezon and Lariska fought them off, while Brutaka used his blade to parry the streams of sound. Meanwhile, Miserix raised his arm tentatively. Seeing that it was indeed free of its bonds, he reached over with it and tore the other chain from the ground. This time, he did not scream, but only smiled.

The klakk were gaining ground now, driving the team back toward where the insects were still lurking. Miserix watched the battle for a moment in silence. Then he opened his mouth and unleashed a power scream that felled the klakk, along with Vezon and Lariska. Brutaka and Roodaka barely remained conscious. Crawling over, Brutaka checked on his two team members – both were still living.

"Now, then," said Miserix. "Where is Teridax?"

Brutaka laughed. "And if I tell you, you have no reason to keep us alive. Gratitude is not high on the list of Makuta emotions. I'll show you. But you are going to need to shrink down to make it out the way we came."

"Your lack of imagination is disappointing," said Miserix, in as close to good spirits as a Makuta ever got. He reared back and struck the side of the mountain with all his might, once, twice, again. The rock cracked and began to crumble. Miserix followed up with his fragmentation power, reducing the entire side of the volcano to shards of stone. Beyond it, Brutaka could see the sky and the sea.

"At last!" said Miserix. "After so many millennia – I am free!"

Before Brutaka's startled eyes, the dragon grew wings. Then Miserix turned his crimson-scaled head to Brutaka and said, "Come. Show me where my enemy hides, so I may grind his armor to dust and feed on his energies."

"No!" shouted Roodaka. "They want to lead you into a trap! Listen to me, I too am an enemy of the Brotherhood. Brutaka wants to use you, to sacrifice you as a pawn in a war against the Makuta. I want you for an ally!"

Miserix lowered his lead and leaned in so that his massive face was up against Roodaka's. When he spoke, it was in a whisper. "Little one, I am Makuta Miserix. I am no one's pawn. I am no one's ally." His next words came in a roar that drove Roodaka back into the rock wall. "And I am no one's fool!!"

Brutaka watched, looking unimpressed. "Are you done?"

Miserix nodded slowly. "Let us go. I have a universe to rediscover."

Brutaka loaded the stunned Roodaka and the now semi-conscious Lariska and Vezon onto the dragon's back. Then he climbed on himself. Miserix unfurled his wings and stepped out into the open air. They soared high above the island, pausing only long enough for Miserix to make a muttered vow to come back and destroy the place one day. Brutaka noted that the team's boat was gone – Takadox had gotten away after all, then.

Let him run. It doesn't matter, thought Brutaka. A storm is coming to this universe, and when it hits, there will be nowhere for anyone to hide.

Miserix spread his wings and turned toward the north, carrying his passengers into the unknown.

Trinuma

2008-06-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

For instructions of the Order of Mata Nui Member Trinuma, go to Lego.com and enter the ClubCode BIONICLEBUILD.

http://assets.lego.com/eng/downloads/club/Clubcodes/BIONICLEBUILD.pdf

Mistika Available Now on Shop at Home!

2008-06-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Axalara T9, Gali, Tahu, Onua, Bitil, Krika, and Gorast are all available now on Shop at Home!

http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Leaf.aspx?cn=540&d=351

BZPower Member finds Mistika

2008-06-29T08:36:00.001-07:00

A BZPower Member has found the Mistika, and purchased Bitil and Vultraz.

Pics here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=3258117
(Brickshelf Gallery)

6th Comic Preview

2008-06-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

found on Bionicle.com.

Yellow Jetrax - Case Closed

2008-06-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Greg Farshtey has reported that the yellow version of the Jetrax will be released as a Target store-exclusive set and represents the vehicle when supercharged with energy.

The blue version will be available everywhere else.

Takanuva Available on Shop at Home

2008-06-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

(Remember, click on the above picture to view the linked URL page)

He's available to order! Buy him now, while he's still in stock.

Mistika added to Bionicle Section of Shop at Home

2008-06-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

(Click on the above pictures to take you to a linked URL)

Bionicle has two new sections of the Shop at Home Bionicle theme. Mistika, and Battle Vehicles are the two new ones. Also, Takanuva and Vultraz are on the Warriors category.

Jetrax: Yellow?

2008-06-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

A huge discussion tumults the Official 2008 Sets Topic of BZPower.

Toa bob: king of something reports that the July 2008 Catalogs have shipped, and in it, Jetrax is yellow!

Member Toa Lahka posts this picture, found by this link:
http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=289646&pid=5570460&mode=threaded&start=300#entry5570460

Is it true? Or is it simply a misprint? Only time will tell.

(I'm so dramatic.)

The Kingdom - Part 1

2008-06-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

I will type (by hand) the Bionicle Web Exclusive story, the Kingdom.

This is for some people that do not have the book. I recently read about a person on BZPower that could not buy the book. So, anyone can read it here.
This might take a while, since I am just typing it by hand, so I will do it in parts and at the end, I will post one with it all together. It is progressive.
There will be 10 parts at the most.

The Kingdom
By Greg Farshtey

Part 1

Takanuva, Toa of Light, fell through inter-dimensional space, trying hard not to scream. A moment before, he had stepped through a dimensional portal created by Brutaka. His mission: travel to Karda Nui and warn the six Toa Nuva there of a disaster about to occur.

Somehow, though, this trip was not going as planned. Takanuva was being buffeted about, catching glimpses now and then of weird other worlds filled with beings both familiar and unfamiliar. He could guess that if he somehow wound up in one of those places, he might never find his way back to his own universe.

Suddenly, there was a jolt worse than any before. He was spinning wildly, out of control. There was an instant of complete darkness, followed by a very bright light, and then Takanuva slammed onto a rocky shore. He lay there, stunned, for a long time. When he finally lifted his head, it was to view a sight he could never have imagined.

The city before him was vast. It made Metru Nui look like a collection of stone-cutter shacks. Multiple design styles had combined to create a megalopolis that stretched for as far as the eye could see. Some of the buildings looked like ones in Metru Nui – he recognized the Coliseum, for example – others were totally strange and some almost primitive.

Takanuva glanced up at the sky. No, it didn’t look like the one over Metru Nui. It looked – oh, no, that couldn’t be, he thought. It was the same shade of blue as the one over the island of Mata Nui.

That’s impossible, he said to himself. Everyone left Mata Nui to move back to Metru Nui months ago. And Mata Nui was never this size, or filled with so many beings and buildings!

He stood up and looked around. Everywhere, he could see Matoran of all kinds hard at work. That certainly wasn’t unusual. Of course, the fact that they were working side by side with Bohrok, Skakdi, and Visorak was downright shocking.

“Hey,” said a voice from behind him. “Who are you? Where did you come from?”

Takanuva turned. A Ga-Matoran, Macku, was there. She gave no sign of recognizing him.

“I’m Toa Takanuva,” he answered. “Can you tell me where I am?”

“You’re not Takanuva,” said Macku, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Try again…or would you rather we call the Hunters?”

“But I am Takanuva. I know I look different, but-“

“That’s for sure,” laughed Macku. “You’re a lot taller. Or have you never seen Turaga Takanuva, stranger?”

“Turaga-?” sputtered Takanuva. He recovered quickly. “Um, maybe I was a little confused. Tell me, do you know where I could find Jaller?”

“At the Great Furnace, naturally,” said Macku, suspicion in her voice. “What do you want him for?”

“I have, um, a message for him from an old friend,” Takanuva replied.

***

Also, you can head over to here:

http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/upload2E039C94-071F-442C-8FFA-215152D71027.pdf

or here:

http://bionicle.lego.com/en-us/kanokaclub/rewards.aspx?code=SCL411

Release Dates and More...

2008-06-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

July 11 is the set release date on Lego Shop at Home for the vehicles Rockoh T3, Vultraz, and Axalara T9. (will ship by July 11)

July 24 is the set release date on Lego Shop at Home for the canisters Onua Nuva, Tahu Nuva, Gali Nuva, Bitil, Krika, and Gorast. (will ship by July 24)

Takanuva is on the store (Warriors section of the Bionicle Theme)
but has no labeled release date.
Mazeka and Jetrax are not even on the website.

How to access the Mistika on Shop at Home:

It seems that they are not listed. However, you can find them by doing one of the two lists below.

1. Go to one of the earlier posts of this blog (Mistika on Shop at Home) and copy and paste the links that I copied down.

2. Go to http://shop.lego.com/Default.aspx.
From there, look for the Search button on the top with the space to type something in.
Next, type "Mistika" in that space.

Now, you will come to a page that has General Results and Best Match.

You can either click on Best Match (Mistika Collection) and see the vehicles but not the canisters, individually.

I recommend clicking on the left one, General Results. Click on the top result

(Products Launched in 2008 | What's New | LEGO Shop
...BIONICLE® Mistika Collection Price USD 72.99 Preorder this item...)

Now you can select the specific Mistika that you want to view.

Swamp Strider

2008-06-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

is the name of Mazeka's vehicle. Found in Bionicle Legends#10: Swamp of Secrets.

was being tinkered with by Order of Mata Nui Leader, first Toa of Water, Helryx.
(I can openly post spoilers now)

And, just if anyone's interested, Vultraz pilots the skyfighter.

Favorite Bionicle

2008-06-25T17:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am not posting a list like I did last time. Just go to the Comments section, type in your answer, and be done with it.

...(I bet that this isn't gonna work out)...

I like Lesovikk.

Favorite Mistika

2008-06-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

your choices...

8688 Gali Nuva
8689 Tahu Nuva
8690 Onua Nuva
8694 Krika
8695 Gorast
8696 Bitil
8698 Vultraz
8699 Takanuva
8941 Rockoh T3
8942 Jetrax T6
8943 Axalara T9
8954 Mazeka

Go on over to the Comments section and vote!

Mistika on Shop at Home!

2008-06-24T19:46:00.001-07:00

This is not a joke!

Go to shop.lego.com and there you will find the Bionicle Mistika!

Mistika Collection: http://shop.lego.com/ByCategory/Product.aspx?p=K8688&cn=4&d=263

Rockoh T3: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8941
Axalara T9: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8943
Takanuva: http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=8699&cn=480
Vultraz: http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=8698&cn=480

Krika: http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=8694&cn=480&d=351
Tahu: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8689
Bitil: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8696
Gorast: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8695
Gali: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8688
Onua: http://shop.lego.com/Product/?p=8690

CREDIT TO BZPOWER MEMBER Air-Spirit-Lewa for the find.

Dark Mirror comes to an End : Chapter 9

2008-06-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Chapter Nine
Toa Tuyet stood over the battered, semi-conscious body of Takanuva, Toa of Light. He did not stir. Being blown through half-a-dozen walls by a focused tidal wave would do that to you. Tuyet smiled.

"Pathetic, truly pathetic. If you are an example of what Toa are like in your Universe, it's a wonder you haven't all been hunted to extinction by now."

The ruler of the Toa Empire slipped off her Mask of Intangibility, and replaced it with a Kanohi Olmak: the mask Takanuva had come seeking. This mask alone had the power to open gateways to inter-dimensional space, and it was Takanuva's only hope of escaping this twisted world.

"Your friends outside are dead, or soon will be. I admit I was surprised to find they still had some fight left in them after 3500 years. But, they can't be allowed to rob the Matoran of the peace I have brought them."

Takanuva managed to get to his hands and knees, rubble sliding off his back as he did so. He looked at Tuyet with eyes that held equal parts of contempt and pity.

"Peace?" he said in disbelief, "Is that what you call perverting the Toa into secret police, terrorizing the villagers, killing anyone who opposes your rule?"

"I did what had to be done. I made the world right. And who are you to judge me? You are nothing but an alien from some other dimension."

Takanuva hurled a blast of Shadow at Tuyet, temporarily cloaking her in darkness. By the time she could see again, he was gone. But his voice came from high above her, saying:

"That's true, my world is messier than yours, more dangerous in some ways, but it is a world that's better, because you're not in it, Tuyet."

The Toa of Water unleashed her power, bringing the ceiling down, but Takanuva was not there. Instead, he sprang from the opening at the far end of the hall, hurling blinding light at Tuyet as he made a grab for her mask. She spun, caught him by the arm and threw him hard to the floor.

"I have hundreds of times your power. You are nothing but a Lightstone to be ground to dust beneath my heel."

Takanuva attacked again, hurling bolts of Shadow and Light. To his amazement, Tuyet parried them with ease. Seeing his surprise, she laughed.

"You know, we had no Toa of Light in this Universe. We didn't need one. And in a few moments, we will be back to being without one."

Takanuva charged. The next few seconds were a blaze of battle. Lasers turning water to steam, waves crashing against walls, a race to see what would happen first: Takanuva drowning in the tide, or Tuyet drowning in darkness. When the fight was through, Tuyet stood once more triumphant.

"Enough! I have wasted enough time on you. Your rebellion is finished, and now, so are you."

Tuyet was about to strike when a strange sound penetrated the damaged Coliseum. Takanuva raised his head and glanced at a hole in the wall. He saw hundreds - no, thousands - of Matoran marching toward the building, all of them armed. In the distance he could see Airships and sea-going vessels carrying other Matoran, Dark Hunters, Vortixx and others. All of them were descending on the city, their eyes fixed on the Coliseum.

"Still think the rebellion is over?" Takanuva asked, "Or maybe it's just beginning."

"The fools. With my power, I can sweep them all away in a flood like no one has seen before."

Takanuva looked right into Tuyet's eyes.

"Then who would there be left to protect? Who would you have made your perfect Universe for?"

Tuyet smiled.

"Very clever, Toa. True, a Universe with only drowned Matoran would not be of much use to anyone. But they must be taught respect."

"Why? If they're so ungrateful, why not use your mask to travel somewhere else? Some place that needs you. Start over again, in another Metru Nui, one where they might welcome a ruler like you."

Tuyet glanced down at the street. The mob was coming closer, and though she could easily kill them all, it would leave her as the ruler of an empire of corpses. Perhaps Takanuva was right. At the least, she could leave and return with an army of Toa from another dimension, enough to stamp out every last visage of rebellion in her own world. She turned away and activated her mask. A portal into inter-dimensional space opened before her and she prepared to step in. That was when Takanuva made his move. He somehow managed to hurl himself at Tuyet, snatching the mask from her face. For the second it lost contact with her, its power shut off and the portal began to close. Takanuva, mask in hand, dove through, but Tuyet was not about to let him escape so easily. Even as he cleared the portal, she grabbed on to his leg, trying to follow him. She blasted him with hard bolts of water, catching his hand and tearing the mask from his grasp. It floated away into the space between dimensions.

Takanuva turned back. What he saw horrified him, but his shout of warning came too late. Tuyet was halfway through the portal, trying to drag Takanuva back in. She was so consumed by rage that she never noticed the portal closing until it was much too late. She screamed as reality slammed shut on her body, leaving her upper half in the void and the lower half in the Coliseum on her world. Mercifully, death came instantly.

Takanuva hovered in space for a long moment. He wondered what would happen in Tuyet's universe with her gone. Would the Toa become protectors again? Would the Matoran take control? Or would some group of the Dark Hunters and Makuta become new dictators? Perhaps someday, if he was able, he would return to find out the answer. He turned his head away from the remains of Tuyet, wondering how a Toa could go so wrong, and realizing with a shudder what a fine line it could be between justice and tyranny. Tuyet's life had been wasted, but the lives of no more Toa would be lost if he could prevent it. With grim resolve, he resumed his journey to Karda Nui.

Old News. But Who Cares?

2008-06-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

As the title reads, this is old news.

Obviously, everyone already knows about the Bionicle Papercutz Comic Previews on Bionicle.com.

So far, there are five installments. Go to http://www.bionicle.com/ if you want to read comic previews.

Bionicle Summer Website Preview

2008-06-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

From Binkmeister's blog on BZPower.

B Dot Com

Guess what I've been working on?

The only unfortunate point is, I have to have it done by Tuesday morning, and I have meetings all day Monday. So flashback to last December, when I worked 15 hour days to get the Phantoka update done. This isn't that bad, but still, working on weekends stinks.

At least the weather sucks too, so I'm not missing anything.

Clearly some of the things in the snapshot above are placeholders - and some aren't. I'll leave you to ponder which is which, and it's not as obvious as you'd think. You'll see the final version in a couple of weeks.

Link: http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=2&showentry=34009

(There is a neat picture of it if you follow the link)

GregF's Blog Updation - Movie Info

2008-06-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Greg Farshtey has updated his blog:

Animation Test

I finally got to see the animation test for the new movie last week -- wow.

For whatever my opinion is worth, it blows away any character animation ever done for BIONICLE and speaks to a lot of things BZPers have said they wanted in a new movie. If the whole movie can look like that, we are going to have quite a film.

The latest news I have heard is that a lot of concept art is done, voice recording should be done soon, and the studio is straining at the leash to get started on the script for the 2010 movie.

Greg

Cool.

The Mistika are Close...

2008-06-20T13:14:00.001-07:00

Several members of the Bionicle fansite BZPower report that they have seen Lego Bionicle Mistika in storage boxes and the store Customer Services claim that they have them.

These signs, along with the fact that Bionicle products are always released early, combine to (hopefully) tell us that the Mistika are near.

Stores that BZPers claim have them:

Toys R Us
Wal-Mart

I usually get mine at the Lego Store first.

July-August 2008 Lego Magazine Shipping

2008-06-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

I guess that it's started arriving.
Might have a comic, might not.

However, BZPower Member nuva-kal has found it in his mailbox and posted scans of it on the BZPower website.

Link to topic:
http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=288506&hl=

Link to scans:

Vultraz: Servant of Shadow -
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/nuva-kal/June2008Mag/06-08_mag3_1.jpg

Showdown in the Swamp -
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/nuva-kal/June2008Mag/06-08_mag3_2.jpg

Awesome Mistika Poster -
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/nuva-kal/June2008Mag/06-08_mag3_3.jpg

If you are subscribed to the Lego Magazine, look forward to getting a copy of your own.

CREDIT TO BZPOWER MEMBER nuva-kal FOR THE SCANS

P.S. I know I've already said this (a lot) but, as probably all of you know, just right click (or highlight and use the "Edit" button on the top of the screen) to Copy and Paste this onto the URL thingy on the very top of this computer screen, so you can view the pages. I don't know why the links don't work any more...

Mutran Chronicles Number 9

2008-06-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Chapter 9
Perhaps readers of this chronicle will have heard the old saying, "When Teridax is away, the Rahi will play." Our leader spent most of his time off of Destral, particularly after the Toa Hagah's rebellion. This left the rest of us to our own devices, particularly when we were visiting that island.

For example, shortly after Teridax left for Metru Nui to initiate the next stage of the Plan, I had a visit from Chirox. He was holding a dead specimen of my new Rahi, the Lohrak. He did not look at all happy, which was nothing new.

"Lohrak! Lohrak?" Chirox raged. "I created the Lohrak, millennia ago, and it wasn't this... this... winged waste of protodermis! How dare you use the same name and try to replace my creation!"

"Your creation is best forgotten," I replied. "As usual, you design Rahi that are a bludgeon rather than a dagger. I, on the other hand, put some subtlety into my work. It's as if I signed my name to them."

"Signed your name?" spat Chirox. "You can't even spell your name!"

I was about to crush him with the perfect insult in response when the world shook. We were both thrown off our feet as a violent earthquake struck Destral. Masonry cracked, ceilings collapsed, and it was all I could to do to shapeshift a pair of claws to dig into the stone floor and hold on. The shaking lasted perhaps a few seconds, or perhaps forever, depending on your viewpoint.

When it was over, I struggled to my feet. The fortress of Destral was in ruins. Some of our prisoners were dead, some wounded. At least one of my fellow Makuta had seen his armor damaged to the point where his energy was floating freely in the air (fortunately, we were able to get him into an Exo-Toa body until his armor could be repaired). Most beings would have reacted to this event with despair, even panic, and I have no doubt many of those mewling Matoran out in the larger universe were doing just that.

But not Chirox and I, for we knew what the tremors meant. They were a sign that the Plan had worked – Mata Nui had fallen before the Brotherhood's attack! Now, if all went right, Teridax would seize complete control of the city of Metru Nui and we would be close to the power we all longed for.

Alas, the best laid plans of Makuta and Matoran... the days following the fall of the Great Spirit proved to be a complete fiasco. Consider:

• Our glorious leader was defeated in battle by six novice Toa and a Turaga.

• The Metru Nui Matoran we so prized were spirited out of the universe by those same Toa, leaving the city of legends abandoned.

• Sidorak was killed and our Visorak legions scattered to the winds.

• Teridax's rash actions led to the deaths of two Dark Hunters and ended up sparking a war with that organization that rages to this day.

• The Mask of Time – a treasure beyond price – wound up in the hands of a Toa, along with a pledge by Teridax not to menace the Matoran for a full year!

It was around this time that Icarax began to grumble in earnest about Teridax's leadership. He proposed his own plan: seize Metru Nui, Matoran or no Matoran, and from there launch a wave of conquest that would make the Barraki look like a bunch of irritable sand frogs. Crush entire continents beneath our heels, loot the halls of the Nynrah and Artakha (if we could ever find that island again), and dare Toa to try to dislodge us from power.

Icarax actually had the insane courage to try to implement his ideas without approval from the rest of the Brotherhood. He left his assigned realm of Karzahni and journeyed south with a small army of Manas crabs. A number of small settlements on the northern continent had fallen to him before Teridax confronted him.

The battle that followed was epic. Icarax was the better fighter, but Teridax was more cunning. He allowed Icarax to pound him for hours on end, until the rebel's energies were almost exhausted. Then Teridax exerted the smallest amount of his will and turned the Manas against Icarax. Once he was surrounded, Teridax used every power at his command to defeat... no, demolish... no, perhaps humiliate would be a better word... Icarax.

Surprisingly, after all that, Teridax let him live. "Your talents are still of some use to me, and so I will not kill you... today," the leader of the Brotherhood said. "But one day – perhaps in a year, or 1000 years, or 100,000 years – I may grow tired of you, Icarax. You may cease to be amusing, with your posturing and your boasting and your lust for battle. And on that day, your armor will be a meal for metal-eating scavengers, and your essence a wisp on the wind."

Although Icarax made light of it later – claiming Teridax had been "too afraid" to try to kill him – I know he never forgot that battle. He remains to this day a danger to the Plan and a threat to Teridax – expecting him to be anything else would be like expecting a Zivon to place its head in your lap and purr.

Teridax did not linger on Destral to oversee repairs to the fortress. He returned to his lair at Mangaia, readying himself for the prophesied arrival of the Toa Mata, the keys to all our planning, all our hopes, and all our dreams of conquest.

Federation of Fear: Chapter 9

2008-06-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

THE FINAL CHAPTER! ALL HAS LED UP TO THIS! WILL THE TEAM FIND MISERIX? OR WILL THEY PERISH, SURROUNDED BY HUNGRY INSECTS? FIND OUT NOW!

Chapter 9

Brutaka scanned the cavern with narrowed eyes. The glowing eyes of the insects all around made it feel as if he were trapped in some lunatic starfield. Behind him, he could hear Vezon humming softly to himself, as if out for an afternoon stroll.

“Do we fight our way out of here?” asked Lariska, hand on the hilt of her dagger.

Brutaka’s answer was to turn to Spiriah. “Okay. You control Rahi. Make them clear a path.”

“On one condition,” said Spiriah. “Once I do, I go free. I turn right around and march out, take the boat – if Takadox hasn’t already – and leave. And I never see or hear from any of you, or anyone associated with you, again.”

“I wasn’t asking you,” replied Brutaka. “I was telling you.”

“I am a Makuta,” said Spiriah. “Disgraced, perhaps; a victim of jealousy and prejudice, most definitely. But I will not be dictated to by some obnoxious, insane --”

Brutaka hit Spiriah a solid blow in the mask, knocking the Makuta over the side of the narrow bridge. Spiriah caught on to the span, just barely, and hung in space.

“I think this is what they call ‘in no position to deal,’” said Brutaka. He triggered his mask power, opening a dimensional portal in space just below Spiriah’s feet. “If I move that opening just a little bit further toward you, you’ll find yourself in a dimension full of beings made of solid light. Know what they eat there? Shadow. You’ll be a food bank for them, Spiriah, but I have to warn you – they’re always hungry. And they don’t close their mouths when they chew.”

Spiriah said nothing. Instead, he reduced his density and floated up and away from Brutaka’s portal. Then he drifted back down to the bridge and turned solid once more. “I’ll do it,” he said. “Then I leave. I advise you not to try and stop me.”

The Makuta concentrated, triggering his power to control Rahi beasts. Nothing happened, other than restless stirring among the insects. After a few moments, Spiriah gave up in frustration. “They’re already under the control of a more powerful will. It must be Miserix.”

Brutaka gestured toward the wall of insect life that blocked the way they had come. “Then I guess you’re not leaving.” He turned to Lariska. “And we’re fighting. You stay back with Vezon. Roodaka, Spiriah and I will lead the way.”

On Brutaka’s signal, he and his two powerful allies unleashed their powers at the insects who blocked the passage way up ahead. As quickly as the crimson creatures fell, more came to replace them. Worse, the ones behind were now skittering across the bridge, closing in on Vezon and Lariska.

“I have an idea,” said Roodaka, summoning a Rhotuka disk into her launcher. She fired at the insects up ahead, the power of her disk mutating them into unrecognizable creatures. An instant later, the other insects fell upon the unfortunate victims of her attack. The mutated insects were dead in seconds, killed for being different than the rest of the species.

Seeing that her ploy had worked, Roodaka repeated the process, this time focusing on the insects blocking the end of the bridge. As the mutations took hold and their former allies turned on them, an opening appeared in the wall of living creatures. With a roar of triumph, she led a charge across the bridge and into the tunnel beyond. The team didn’t stop running until they were well away from the cavern.

“Are they following?” asked Brutaka.

“They don’t seem to be,” Lariska answered. “Maybe they don’t like to leave their nest.”

“”Or maybe they just know we have to go back out that way, so they can eat us then,” Vezon offered, cheerfully.

“Maybe there’s another way out up ahead,” said Brutaka.

“Or maybe we’ll get to like it here,” said Vezon. “A few grass mats, some cave drawings, the heads of my enemies mounted on the wall … it could be quite pleasant.”

“Brutaka!” Roodaka called from up ahead. “I think you had best see this.”

The team rushed through the tunnel to join Roodaka. She was standing at the tunnel’s end, looking out at another vast chamber. More specifically, she was looking at the largest occupant of the chamber, a massive dragon-like beast chained to the stone floor. All around it flew much smaller Rahi, darting and dodging the shadow hand that occasionally shot out from the creature’s chest.

“What … is that?” asked Lariska.

Brutaka shook his head in amazement. “Well, it’s about 40 feet tall, red and silver, with four legs, a tail, and a nasty disposition – and it’s who we’re here to rescue.”

“Miserix,” whispered Spiriah.

“All right, we can take him home,” said Vezon, “but don’t expect me to clean up after him.”

WELL, I THOUGHT IT OBVIOUS THAT THEY WOULD SUCCEED IN THE END. ONE OF THE SERIALS FINISHED! PERSONALLY, I CAN'T WAIT FOR DARK MIRROR'S END.

THE SUMMER SERIALS SHOULD BE GOOD. OOMN-BROTHERHOOD WAR, HAGAH, AND MAHRI? AND VULTRAZ AND MAZEKA?

Mazeka Instructions on Bionicle.com!

2008-06-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

Exciting discovery!

http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/4537409.pdf

MAZEKA PICTURE WITH INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE

(Remember, just copy and paste this onto the URL thing on the top of your Internet Browser Screen.)

What Summer Sets Will You Get?

2008-05-31T19:44:00.001-07:00

Tell us below in the Comments section. Again, anyone can comment, just do it under "anonymous" if you don't have a Google Account.

I will get

Tahu Mistika
Gali Mistika
Onua Mistika

Krika
Bitil

Vultraz
Mazeka

Takanuva x2

Jetrax T6
Axalara T9

This is your chance to see what others are choosing to buy, and help you decide if you don't know. This might not be a success, I don't know... I hope it is, though.

The Kingdom now Available on Bionicle.com

2008-05-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Go to the Kanoka Club (you must have a Lego Account)

and use the code, SCL411 to unlock the downloadable story, The Kingdom!

Well...Swamp of Secrets Spoilers, Anyone?

2008-05-27T21:31:00.000-07:00

I got Swamp of Secrets two days ago and have been debating whether to show spoilers.

I'm not quite sure if it's okay by Bionicle, but as the book has actually been released, I guess it might be okay.

But, just in case, so you can't just come across these Swamp of Secrets spoilers, I'll post them one by one in the Comments section. If you really want to see them, then go there (to the Comments section)

I thought that Bionicle Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets didn't have as good battles as Shadows in the Sky, but I liked it a lot all the same. Probably better than Shadows in the Sky just because. I expect that the final book in the Legends series, Bionicle Legends 11: Final Battle, will be my favorite Bionicle book thus far.

So, head on over to the Comments section (found below this post) if you want to hear about some Swamp of Secrets spoilers.

From the Writer's Desk

2008-05-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

(GregF's blog on BZPower)

Bionicle Legends #10 Web Code

Hey guys,

For those of you who bought Bionicle Legends #10 and wonder what the web code in the book will lead to -- it looks like it will be a new short story called "The Kingdom," which will take place between Bionicle Legends #10 and the first BIONICLE Level 3 reader. It will include how Takanuva lost the Staff of Light and got the Power Lance, and introduce you to the "Kingdom of the Great Spirit," the somewhat bizarre ruling council, and of course, the ruler of the kingdom -- Turaga Takanuva!

Should be up on the site early this week.

Greg

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Apologia

Hey guys,

Recently, in answer to a question, I had stated that Krakua was a MEMBER of the OOMN. This was a mistake on my part (unfortunately, with all the BIONICLE I write, sometimes I confuse things I thought about doing with what I actually did).

So, to make up for the confusion, I am going to give you guys a sneak preview of Bionicle Legends #11:

Divide and conquer, Pohatu thought as he piloted the Rockoh through a tight turn.
The Makuta forces had split up. Gorast and Vamprah had gone after Icarax; Krika had vanished; Mutran, too, was nowhere in sight; and as soon as he spotted Takanuva, Antroz had sent Bitil and Chirox after him. That left Antroz alone against Lewa, Pohatu and Kopaka.
Not that the Makuta seemed to mind. In full control of the Jetrax T6, he had darted around, over and through every obstacle Pohatu or Lewa had thrown in his way, and outpaced Kopaka with ease. Hitting and running, he had already done significant damage to the Rockoh.
Now Lewa was on Antroz’s tail in the Axalara T9. The Toa of Air was buffeting Antroz’s ship with gale-force winds in an effort to crash it into the forest of stone pillars created by Pohatu. Earlier, Antroz had used his magnetic power to send the Axalara into a spin, and only quick action by Pohatu had kept it from crashing into the swamp.
Antroz spotted the Rockoh and fired. The Jetrax’s Skyblasters hit their target, sending the Rockoh into a spin. Pohatu fought to right the ship, but it was headed for one of the stone pillars he had created. Quickly, he used his elemental power to shatter the rock before the ship collided with it.
Lewa banked to the left, trying to flank Antroz. The Axalara was a more powerful ship, but the Jetrax was faster. He needed to box Antroz in somehow.
Further behind, Kopaka had been working at the same thing. But every ice wall he threw up got blown to pieces by the Jetrax’s weapons or smashed by the vehicle itself. Every rain hail stones had been shrugged off by Antroz and bounced harmlessly off the Jetrax’s armored hull.
Pohatu was back in the fight now, and he was angry. Timing it just right, he made a hand of stone erupt out of the swamp and grab the Jetrax. Before Antroz could power it free, Pohatu hit the controls and pulled the Rockoh’s wings in for a dive. Firing as he flew, he raked the side of the Jetrax with bolts of energy.
Antroz jolted the craft free of the stone hand and wheeled in mid-air, firing at the Rockoh. When Pohatu dodged, Antroz used his gravity power to send the Toa’s ship plunging toward the swamp.
Lewa closed in, rocking the Jetrax with fire from the Axalara’s Skyblasters and shattering the Makuta’s concentration. Free of the increased pull of gravity, Pohatu managed to right his ship just as it skimmed the surface of the water.
Then it was Kopaka’s turn. He used his power to drop the temperature around the Jetrax hundreds of degrees in an instant, slowing down the vehicle’s engines and cutting its speed. Lewa and Pohatu closed in from both sides, ready to destroy the wounded craft.
Only Kopaka was close enough to see what happened next. Just as the two Toa vessels came in range, Antroz disappeared from the cockpit using his power to teleport. Acting quickly, Kopaka threw up ice barriers in front of the Axalara and the Rockoh, shouting, “Stop!”
Neither craft could turn in time, smashing into and through the ice. But the barriers had delayed them just long enough for Kopaka to climb behind the controls of the Jetrax. “All right,” said the Toa of Ice. “If this is the final battle, let’s make it one to remember.”

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New Event

Doing another library event -- July 10th, 1 pm, Willimantic Public Library, Willimantic, CT.

Also, visit info for me will be posted on the www.scholastic.com/authorvisit site soon, so that schools and public libraries in the Northeast interested in having me come speak can find out how to make it happen.

Greg

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2008 Video Faq

Many of you may have heard or read or even seen a video that popped up on Amazon.com and elsewhere recently that involved BIONICLE in general and summer 2008 in particular. So let me address some of the Q's you may have about it:

Q. What was it?
A. It was the first draft of what we call a "sell-in" video. That's a video we prepare to show buyers from dept. stores, Toys R Us, etc., to get them excited about BIONICLE for the year. It is not something shown to the public.

Q. So how did it get online?
A. Accidentally. We send electronic files of our TV commercials to Amazon to show on their site. Someone accidentally included the file of this video on the CD mailed to them.

Q. I noticed (fill in the blank) on the video -- does that mean ...?
A. This was a first cut -- it was not the final version of the video. Certain elements in the video shown on the web would have been cut from the final version, for reasons of time or because the content was no longer valid. So while there are certainly things in the video that would have been in the final version, not all of it is final and official.

Q. Now what?
A. Billund has taken steps to severely tighten up the process we use for these sell-in videos. They will not be stored in a totally separate area of the server and branded "Confidential" so this won't happen again.

Q. Can I still see it?
A. Amazon has taken the video down, and the other sites that had it up have either also done so or probably will have done so by the time you read this. As a reminder, BZP has banned any discussion of the video on this site.

Greg

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Set News

A few pieces of news today --

1) I finally got a look at a pic of Mazeka today -- looks from the photo like he's an Onu-Matoran.

2) The Jan. 2009 sets are in our showroom now. Gotta say, very impressive. The new mask pieces are particularly cool shapes and the weaponry is slick too. On the whole, they manage to stay recognizably BIONICLE while still looking nicely different from past sets. I think the new pieces will probably be good for those who like to MOC, too. I will tell you up front, having only seen pics up to now, the pics do not do the sets justice. They are much more striking in person.

I am definitely inspired to do a Club building contest once those come out, to see what fans will build out of them.

3) 2010 story conference next week, so we can clear the decks and I can get moving on the screen treatment for 2010 movie.

4) I am going to be signing up for something on the Scholastic site where teachers and librarians can find authors to come speak at their schools/libraries. Not sure it will produce anything, but at least it will put me out there for folks who might want to do a BIONICLE event as they did in Coventry. So maybe there will be more school/library appearances in the Northeast in future, we'll see.

Greg

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Thoughts on Dark Mirror

I must say, Dark Mirror has provoked some of the most interesting discussions and PMs I have seen in my time on here. It has been really interesting to see the reaction to the story, with Tuyet's Toa being branded as "evil" and "corrupt." And yet ... let's consider:

"Toa Tuyet announced today that the Brotherhood of Makuta poses a potential threat and should be eliminated before they threaten the peace of the universe."
OR
"The leader of a major nation announced today that the country of Gazistan poses a potential threat to the peace of the Middle East, and preemptive strikes have been ordered against their military facilities."

"Matoran are being monitored, and anyone who speaks out in support of the Makuta or the Dark Hunters, or against Toa Tuyet, will be arrested and imprisoned."
OR
"In the interests of national security, security cameras are being mounted in many public places, and telephone calls and email are being monitored for suspicious language."

"The Toa have learned the whereabouts of the dangerous Dark Hunters, a gang of criminals, and are moving in to smash their operations."
OR
"The police have learned the whereabouts of the dangerous Daniels mob, a gang of criminals, and are moving in to smash their operations."

Would we brand the governments or police in the real world examples "evil and corrupt?" Or would we say they were trying to keep peace? I think the answer is different for everyone ... but it is important to remember just what Tuyet did. She took the basic core belief of the Toa -- that the Matoran must be protected -- and simply spun it that the best way to protect them was to smash potential enemies before they acted. The Makoki stone engravings prove the Toa had suspicions about the Makuta from early on, and the DH had a long history of immoral acts -- so how hard would it be to persuade Toa that they should be crushed? And can you argue that, despite all the negatives about Tuyet's society, Mata Nui is still awake there, and hundreds of Toa and thousands of Matoran who died in our universe, didn't die there?

I am not saying she was right, by any means -- but I think it important to understand the world of Dark Mirror. It is a world really governed by the fear of external enemies, the same as many societies in our world are. Instead of finding strength in fellowship, in prophecy, in the three virtues, these Toa and Matoran let fear and hatred drive their actions. The result was shattered Makuta and DH, but also Toa who then became repressive and dictatorial, all in the interests of protecting their people.

So the scary thing to me about DM is not Tuyet, or what happened to Brutaka or Toa Naho ... the scary part is that these Toa are not that far removed from the ones we know. The only real difference here is one of philosophy -- the Toa in DM act without provocation, the Toa in our universe normally wait for provocation and then react. The Toa in our universe wish to set an example and be looked at with respect, and so they don't stoop to the lethal level of their enemies; the Toa in DM believe that the best way to protect the Matoran from a foe is to kill that foe and don't care if they are looked at with fear. There are probably some Toa on Tuyet's side who aren't 100% comfortable with what they have become, but they look around and see a universe with no BOM and no real threat from the DH or anyone else, and so they do nothing.

Lesovikk is really the one who sees the slippery slope -- who understands that today it's Makuta who have to be wiped out, and tomorrow it's Turaga who object to new laws, and the day after it's Matoran who aren't working hard enough. Fear of enemies, real or imagined, can be used to justify any action, and often have been. Any of us can look back in our history and see instances where otherwise good people sat by and did nothing in the face of repression or even murder, because they believed the victims constituted some kind of threat.

So lots to think about in this story, at least for me ...

Greg

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News and Notes

Just a few things today --

-- The event at the Booth-Dimock library in Coventry, CT next week is shaping up to be fun. For those of you who might want to attend, there is still time to register by phone. Just call the library at 860-742-7606.

-- Big week here. After only two weeks of searching, my wife and I bought a new house -- and it has room for all my comics and toys! Anyway, I will most likely be offline some during the first week of June as we move, but will keep you up to date on that.

Greg

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2009 Book Info

Just talked to Scholastic today and got the current 2009 schedule --

It looks at this point like there will be a total of five books in 2009, three the young readers and two chapter books (potentially larger than the normal ones, but don't know yet) --

The readers would be out in January, April, and September, with the chapter books out in summer and fall. The hope is that between the buzz the readers are generating among the retailers (apparently, they are going to get into some big stores that the chapter books currently do not), the increasing sales of BIONICLE and the movie coming, and the chapter books being more of "event books", that chapter book sales will go up and we will be able to do a more extensive schedule of them in 2010. Scholastic does not want to abandon them, but sales continue to be in a trough for them, so right now the two is the best they can manage for the schedule.

I will still be doing them, but will probably also be spending some time on my own, non-LEGO writing, since the readers don't take much time to do.

Greg

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These are all from Greg Farshtey, Bionicle writer.

Also, a bit of a spoiler for the top post.
If you don't have Swamp of Secrets, the exclusive web code is: SCL411.

Just Some Preview Ratings

2008-05-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Of the Mistika...

This'll be fast.
(These ARE NOT reviews, as I don't have the set and I'm only looking at pics on the Internet.)

Tahu Nuva: 9.85
Gali Nuva: 7.05
Onua Nuva: 7.56

Krika: 9.35
Gorast: 8.5
Bitil: 9

Vultraz: 7.35
Mazeka: 7.75 *

Takanuva: 9.95

Rockoh T3: 7.8
Jetrax T6: 8.95
Axalara T9: 10

That's our opinion.

*We have not actually seen Mazeka, just based it on the few descriptions that we had and our own imaginations.

Swamp of Secrets Cover

2008-05-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

The cover can be found on the BL10 page of Biosector01. Also, there is a page poster, not in color. The back's title is "The Heat is On!" With a description, of course.

By the way, the cover has Tahu Nuva and Krika displayed on it. It's pretty cool.

Swamp of Secrets is Out!

2008-05-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Check you local bookstores for details. Unfortunately, I don't have the book yet, so I cannot reveal any spoilers. But, according to Biosector01 (found in the Bionicle Link List) the spoilers will reveal:

Takanuva will appear in the introduction.
Why Tahu was chosen to be the leader of the Toa Mata.
The name of the First Toa.
Which Makuta knocked one of Krekka's eyes out.
Which Makuta conquered the Visorak to use as a Brotherhood of Makuta army.
The storyline significance of the "Bohrok and Balta" sculpture in the Order of Mata Nui's headquarters.
The Order of Mata Nui Leader will make an appearance.
Krakua will also appear, this time in the present.
Brutaka will appear in a most unexpected way.

Also, Greg previewed this a long time ago:

(an excerpt)

The crimson-armored being opened his eyes and looked around. He did not recognize where he was, nor did he have any idea who the five figures nearby might be. Each of them was lying on a slab, just like him, and each wore colored armor and a mask. But where he was red, they were other hues: white, blue, green, black, and brown.

Of course, it came as no great surprise that he didn’t know who these others were. After all, he wasn’t sure who he was, either. He started to rise, then found he could not. Thick metal straps encircled him, keeping him pinned to the slab. Unsure of his identity as he was, he still knew that he didn't like being bound. He tried to exert his strength against the bonds, but without success. His frustration and anger grew. And then suddenly the metal of the straps was growing soft, turning to molten liquid, running off him and onto the floor.

Did I do that? he wondered, as he sat up.

On the next slab, the white armored figure had frozen his straps and then shattered them with the merest gesture. The others had all found unique ways to escape their bonds as well.

“Well, we’re all free,” said the red armored being. “Now what? Anyone know where we are … or who we are?” The answer came then, but not from any of them. Rather, it was a voice that seemed to come from every part of the room that spoke in reply. “You are Toa.”

The figure in the brown armor jumped down from his slab and onto his feet. “Toa! Hey, that’s great. I always wanted to be a Toa.” He looked up and addressed his next words to the ceiling. “Just one question: what’s a Toa?”

“A Toa is a hero,” the voice answered. “Every Toa commands an elemental power, which can be focused through your weapons. Each of you also wears a Great Mask, with a power all its own. You will learn about these powers in time, as well as how to control them.”

The white armored figure frowned. “To whom are we meant to be heroes, and why? You say we have great abilities, but what are we meant to do with them? Too many questions, for my taste …”

The unseen speaker laughed softly. “You underestimate yourself, Kopaka – yes, that is your name. Questions will always whet your appetite for answers. But now it is time for you to meet.”

A lightstone illuminated on the ceiling above Kopaka, as the voice said, “Kopaka, Toa of Ice.” One by one, the lightstones lit above the others as the speaker recited their names.

“Gali, Toa of Water.”

“Pohatu, Toa of Stone.”

“Onua, Toa of Earth.”

“Lewa, Toa of Air.”

The last to be named was the crimson armored figure. “And Tahu, Toa of Fire. He will be your leader.”

That seemed to startle Kopaka, who said sharply, “It seems to me we should be allowed to choose our own leader.”

“I have to agree,” said Gali quietly. “I mean, none of us know anything about this Tahu. What if he’s too impulsive to be a good leader? What if he lacks the ability to work with his team members, or can’t motivate, or --”

Lewa chuckled. “Or what if he’s just a jerk?”

A bolt of flame shot from an irritated Tahu past the Toa of Air, close enough to heat his mask to an uncomfortable temperature. Lewa reached up and yanked the mask off. Immediately, he felt so weak he almost fell over. Pohatu and Onua rushed to support him.

“You must not remove your masks, unless you are replacing one with another,” the voice said. “Without them, your strength is halved.” Lewa gingerly returned the hot mask to his face. “Thanks … ow! … for telling us.” He turned to glare at Tahu. “And as for you, fireflyer, better be careful a big wind doesn’t blow you out one of these days.”

“Big wind,” Tahu said, nodding. “Yes, that’s you, all right.”

Kopaka decided to ignore the argument. “So we are a team,” he said to their unseen host. “Again, I ask – for what purpose? What are we meant to do?”

A panel slid open in the far wall. Beyond, there was only darkness.

“The gateway to another mystery, perhaps,” said Onua. “I wonder if a Toa’s life is filled with them?”

“Then this will be just the first of many we walk through,” Tahu replied. “Let’s go."

So, go to your local bookstore now! Bionicle Legends 10 awaits you.
When I get it, I might reveal some of it.

I hear it's quite epic and full of intense battles.

25 Posts per Page

2008-05-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

Just a notice: There will be 25 posts displayed on a page for now. This is because that it takes too long to load if there is 999 posts per page (not that I have 999 posts)

Therefore, if you want to view all of the posts, go to the bottom of the page and select "Older Posts." Then you can see everything.

Remember the Warriors

2008-05-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

From Bionicle.com.

Toa Ignika
Toa Ignika is the Mask of Life and the body it has created for itself. He is very eager to be a hero and to have friends, but also fairly innocent and naïve. He rarely speaks initially, since he does not have a grasp of spoken language. Brave and somewhat reckless, but with his level of power, he can afford to be.

Mask: Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life
Powers: Although not as powerful as in pure mask form, Toa Ignika still has the ability to bring inanimate objects to life and evolve or devolve objects or other beings.
Weapons: Midak skyblaster; lifeblade

STRENGTH:12
AGILITY:12
TOUGHNESS:12
MIND:14

Mutran and Vican
Mutran is the Brotherhood’s master of mutation, having turned a simple Le-Matoran into the monstrous Vican and kraata into shadow leeches. Well past the point of insanity, Mutran has been assigned to breed the leeches and guard the cavern in which it’s done. Vican serves his faithfully, partly out of his own madness, partly in hope that Mutran will return him to his former shape if he does a good job.

Mask: Kanohi Shelek, Mask of Silence – can cause a target to temporarily lose the ability to hear or speak
Weapons: Shadow blade; shadow spear; claws
Powers: Mutran has the power of flight and has access to all 40+ Makuta powers. He also can wield shadow energies.

STRENGTH:10
AGILITY:10
TOUGHNESS:15
MIND:14

Makuta Icarax
This deadly foe has immense strength and toughness, and has access to shadow energy and all 40+ powers of the Makuta. Unlike the Makuta of Karda Nui, Icarax was not blinded by the burst of light when the Mask of Life was used.

Mask: Kanohi Kraahkan, Mask of Shadows

Weapons: Rotating blade; shield

Quote: “I have fought tougher Toa than you before. And as I stepped over their bodies, I will step over yours.”

STRENGTH:14
AGILITY:18
TOUGHNESS:18
MIND:13

Gadunka
Once, he was a tiny sea creature only a few inches long. Then an accidental exposure to the power of the Mask of Life evolved him into the huge and savage creature he is now. To Gadunka, anything else that lives is the enemy.

Weapons: Cordak blaster
Natural Tools: Claws, teeth

STRENGTH:15
AGILITY:9
TOUGHNESS:15
MIND:5

Hydraxon
The original Hydraxon, jailer of the Pit, died long ago. But the Mask of Life transformed a Matoran into a new Hydraxon. Now this skilled weaponsmaster stalks the seas, hoping to recapture the escaped Barraki.

Weapons: Explosive boomerangs, wrist knives, Cordak blaster

Quote: “Who I am is my business. Staying out of my way is yours.”

STRENGTH:13
AGILITY:12
TOUGHNESS:14
MIND:11

Maxilos
The robot guardian of the Pit has been taken over by the evil Makuta, master of shadows. But is he the enemy of the Toa Mahri … or their only hope of victory?

Weapons: Twin-bladed black fire sword; shoulder-mounted Cordak blaster

Quote: “Carapar, you are an ignorant spawn of a Brakas monkey. You couldn’t snap your fingers without help … if you had fingers.”

STRENGTH:15
AGILITY:10
TOUGHNESS:13
MIND:16

Powerful.

Descriptions and stats of Matoran. Yes, Matoran.

2008-05-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

From Bionicle.com.

Tanma
Tanma is the leader of the last remaining Matoran of Light. He has grown into the job, learning to make the hard choices in the short time Karda Nui has been besieged. Brave, but not foolish, and wise enough to know the Matoran have to strike and run away if they are going to survive.

Weapons: Power swords which fire light bursts; rocket boosters.

Quote: “The life of one Matoran doesn’t matter compared to the fate of the whole universe.”

STRENGTH:8
AGILITY:7
TOUGHNESS:8
MIND:10

Solek
Solek is an expert on the ancient legends of Lewa, Pohatu, etc., and knows more about their past than they do! Kopaka is his hero and he wants to be more like him, but has not yet discovered how to contain his excitement and master his emotions.

Weapons: Power swords which fire light bursts; rocket boosters

Quote: “This is just like that time you fought the acid-spitting air serpents, remember that?”

STRENGTH:7
AGILITY:7
TOUGHNESS:8
MIND:9

Photok
Photok is a warrior who has been longing for something to fight for millennia. He is impatient to take the battle to the Brotherhood of Makuta and feels Tanma is too cautious. He was best friends with Radiak and now the two often clash.

Weapons: Power swords which fire light bursts; rocket boosters

Quote: “Hiding and running away doesn’t make us safe or wise … it makes us cowards.”

STRENGTH:9
AGILITY:8
TOUGHNESS:9
MIND:10

Radiak
He is as fierce a fighter for the side of Shadow as he ever was for Light, and he takes special delight in challenging his former friends to combat and then seeing them ambushed by the Makuta.

Weapons: Four leg blades; teeth

Quote: “Why are you hiding? You always used to talk so brave … come out and fight!”

STRENGTH:9
AGILITY:9
TOUGHNESS:9
MIND:8

Gavla
Leader of the shadow Matoran, Gavla’s hatred for her own people makes her a formidable enemy. She fights the Matoran of Light as much because she enjoys it as because she has been ordered to.

Weapons: Claw blades; teeth

Quote: “You might say I saw the light … by looking into the darkness.”

STRENGTH:7
AGILITY:7
TOUGHNESS:8
MIND:11

Kirop
Former leader of the Matoran of Light, Kirop has become their most dangerous enemy because he knows everything about all of them. He dislikes Gavla because she has been given the authority he feels should have been his.

Weapons: Claws; teeth

Quote: “All those years we spent hiding in the light … we were wrong. We should have embraced the darkness from the start.”

STRENGTH:8
AGILITY:7
TOUGHNESS:8
MIND:11

Matoran with elements.
Light against dark.

Winner take all.

Bios...did I tell you that this isn't new? - TOA MAHRI

2008-05-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

From Bionicle.com.

Toa Kongu
Although Toa Kongu hates the water, he is forcing himself to adapt to battle beneath the sea. He is one of the best at seeing a situation for what it is and using humor to keep his enemies off-balance.

Weapons: Cordak blasters
Mask: Kanohi Zatth, Mask of Summoning

Quote: “Five of us, 5000 of them. I like your idea of fair odds, Hahli.”

STRENGTH:10
AGILITY:12
TOUGHNESS:11
MIND:11

Toa Jaller
Toa Jaller is used to being one of the most powerful Toa, but a water world is not made for a Toa of Fire. Still, he is a strong leader and is working hard to keep his team together in this crisis.

Weapons:Cordak blaster; aquatic fire blade
Mask: Kanohi Arthron, Mask of Sonar

Quote: “Give it up, or some lucky Rahi will be having boiled Barraki for dinner.”

STRENGTH:12
AGILITY:11
TOUGHNESS:12
MIND:11

Toa Hewkii
Toa Hewkii has decided that battle is just another kind of competition, and he is determined to be a champion. Sometimes he won’t even use his mask power or weapons, just pitting his strength against that of his foe.

Weapons: Aqua warblade; Cordak revolving blaster
Mask: Kanohi Garai, Mask of Gravity

Quote: “It’s Gadunka. Too bad we don’t have any of those explosive madu fruit like on our old island. I could teach him to play fetch.”

STRENGTH:13
AGILITY:9
TOUGHNESS:14
MIND:10

Toa Nuparu
Toa Nuparu never dreamed a city of Matoran could exist under the sea. He’s hoping that when the crisis is over, he will have time to study the technology that helped the Matoran survive.

Weapons: Aqua blaster blade; shield; Cordak blaster
Mask: Kanohi Volitak, Mask of Stealth

Quote: “I know a way out … It involves explosions … lots and lots of explosions.”

STRENGTH:12
AGILITY:10
TOUGHNESS:12
MIND:12

Toa Hahli
Toa Hahli is in her element now, and it has helped her to become a stronger person. She has even taken the lead on some missions and has become one of the best fighters on the team.

Weapons: Protosteel talons; Cordak blaster
Mask: Kanohi Faxon, the Mask of Kindred

Quote: “Back off, or I will personally teach you the meaning of ‘dead in the water.’”

STRENGTH:11
AGILITY:13
TOUGHNESS:11
MIND:11

Toa Matoro
Toa Matoro feels responsible for losing the Mask of Life and is determined to get it back, come what may, even if it means making a deal with his worst enemy.

Weapons: Twin cutter, Cordak blaster
Mask: Kanohi Tryna, Mask of Reanimation

Quote: “It ends now. One thousand years of fear and violence and darkness even in the daylight … all over now.”

STRENGTH:11
AGILITY:10
TOUGHNESS:11
MIND:12

Heroic...

Bios...this isn't new - PHANTOKA

2008-05-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

From Bionicle.com.

Toa Kopaka
Unlike some of the other Toa Nuva, Kopaka has changed very little. He still prefers to fight alone, given the opportunity, though he knows it’s not a wise tactic against the Makuta. He is not at all happy about going into battle with Solek, feeling that exposing Matoran to danger is the last thing a responsible Toa should do. He and Tahu have settled many of their differences and Kopaka now fills the role of deputy leader of the team.

Mask: Akaku Nuva, Great Mask of X-Ray Vision.
Weapons: Midak Skyblaster, equipped with blizzard blade and laser sight
Quote: “All right, then, you Matoran ride with us. Stay low, keep your mouths shut, and try not to get killed.”

STRENGTH:12
AGILITY:11
TOUGHNESS:12
MIND:13

Toa Lewa
Of all the Toa, Lewa is one of the two (along with Tahu) who have matured the most. Although he still has an adventu- rous spirit, he is no longer so reckless and wild. He knows he has proven himself in battle, and so doesn’t feel the need to try quite so hard all the time. As a result, he has become a better teammate, a better fighter, and someone both Tahu and Kopaka feel can be trusted in dangerous situations.

Mask: Miru Nuva, Great Mask of Levitation.
Weapons: Midak Skyblaster (fires spheres of light) and air saber
Qutoe: “I am a Toa-hero, here to save you from … whatever it is you need saving from.”

STRENGTH:11
AGILITY:13
TOUGHNESS:12
MIND:11

Toa Pohatu
Always one of the friendlier Toa, Pohatu has been happy to see the team coming together and the internal fights a thing of the past. He is regarded as the most loyal and reliable team member, so easygoing and with such a good sense of humor that even Kopaka can’t help liking him. But Pohatu is also a fierce fighter, especially when he feels the weak are being threatened.

Mask: Kakama Nuva, Great Mask of Speed
Weapons: Rotating propeller/drill claws, Midak Skyblaster (shoots spheres of light)
Quote: “You know, I’ve seen things crawl out from under rocks that had more class than you Makuta. And I’m a Toa of Stone – I know rocks.”

STRENGTH:13
AGILITY:10
TOUGHNESS:14
MIND:11

Antroz
Antroz is the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta forces in Karda Nui. Aggressive, he is not really a long-range planner, more a fierce warrior. In his opinion, complex tactics and strategies don’t win battles – crushing your enemy before he crushes you wins battles. Unlike the Makuta of Metru Nui, he never underestimates a foe.

Mask: Kanohi Jutlin, Mask of Corruption. Causes items to rot and break down.
Weapons: Tridak pod with shadow leeches; claws; teeth
Peculiarity: Antroz is a rare Makuta who has some sense of honor. For example, he’d prefer to win in a fair fight than to hit from behind.
Quote: “Toa serve an important purpose in this world – they help me keep my claws sharp.”

STRENGTH:16
AGILITY:12
TOUGHNESS:16
MIND:14

Vamprah
Vamprah is the true hunter among the Makuta, who delights in silently stalking his prey. Even his allies are uncomfortable around him. Thanks to his mask power and his own experiments, he now literally feeds on the hopes and dreams of others.

Peculiarity: Vamprah hates to see a hunt end too soon, and will often toy with his prey before feeding on their light.
Mask: Kanohi Avsa, Mask of Hunger – allows Vamprah to drain light/energy from a target over a distance
Weapons: Tridak pod with shadow leeches; claws; knife-sharp wings

STRENGTH:15
AGILITY:13
TOUGHNESS:15
MIND:14

Chirox
Chirox is one of the Brotherhood’s top scientists, but is best known for the fact that the Rahi he creates tend to be vicious and destructive. He is less of a warrior than Antroz, but more cunning, and much more likely to fight dirty.

Peculiarity: Chirox lives to do experiments, and is always tinkering with the flying and swimming beasts of Karda Nui to create new and more monstrous creatures.
Mask: Kanohi Shelek, Mask of Silence – can cause a target to temporarily lose the ability to hear or speak
Weapons: Tridak pod with shadow leeches; hook blades; teeth
Quote: “We knew what to do with Toa on Destral – raw material for my Rahi, that’s what they were.”

STRENGTH:15
AGILITY:12
TOUGHNESS:15
MIND:16

Death at the Coliseum - Dark Mirror: Chapter 8

2008-05-22T20:16:00.001-07:00

Chapter Eight
Takanuva crouched behind a wall, a wounded Lesovikk beside him. All around, Elemental Power bursts were flying, warriors were screaming and a disaster beyond his imagination was taking place. It had all started out so well: Lesovikk's van had made it close to the Coliseum before being spotted. As planned, Takanuva had used his new found Shadow powers to blind the guards. Pohatu followed with a massive fist of stone that cracked the walls of the huge structure. To the east, Makuta Teridax led Krika, Kojol, Turaga Dume and Takua into battle.

At first, they made short work of the Matoran and Toa who guarded Tuyet's fortress. Then it all went wrong: a Toa of Iron appeared on the walls and a hail of spikes spelt the end of Takua. Takanuva watched in sheer horror as his other self collapsed and died. Kojol fell next, his armor crushed by the Toa's power, and his essence incinerated by a Toa of Plasma. Teridax was forced to pull back.

Things were going no better for Lesovikk's squad. Primal had run into Tahu in the eastern entrance, and killed the Toa of Fire. But the sudden appearance of Gali, and a sphere of Water around the Dark Hunter's head left him to drown on dry land. Toa Krakua hit Gali with a wave of solid sound, blasting apart her mask and armor. Pohatu cried out too late: Ahkmou had already dashed ahead and slain the fallen Toa of Water. He didn't get to enjoy his triumph long. Kopaka flash-froze Akhmou, and a swipe from Onua's claws shattered the Matoran into little pieces of crystal and Protodermis.

Now it was no longer one battle, but a dozen seperate ones being fought at once, the lines moving back and forth. Pohatu fought his way into the Coliseum, but found himself too evenly matched with Onua to make much progress. Lesovikk fell with an Ice dagger in his shoulder, but rallied to blow Kopaka off his post high atop the Coliseum. Takanuva winced as the Toa of Ice hit the ground and lay still.

"Now," said Lesovikk to Takanuva, "Darkness will lead the way. Get in there and do what you have to."

"What about you?" asked Takanuva.

"We'll give them something to remember," said Lesovikk.

Takanuva took one last look around. Nuju was side-by-side with Guardian, keeping a Toa of Magnetism too off-balance to use his powers. Teridax's forces had charged again. Krika used his Vacuum power to absorb Lewa's attacks until Teridax had summoned a bolt of Lightning, powerful enough to turn a Toa into ashes.

Darkness was already on the move, slipping through the cracks in the Coliseum walls. Takanuva used his Shadow power to enlarge them and followed. Inside, the Coliseum was strangely silent. One would never know a battle raged outside its walls. A team of Toa rushed by on their way to join the fight. Steeling himself, Takanuva fired laser blasts at the ceiling, bringing the rubble down on top of them. He still found himself hoping he had only stunned them, not killed them. Together, Toa and Dark Hunter fought their way to their goal: the Hall of Masks. They had made it to the chamber door when Darkness paused. He heard something. The next instance, the door exploded outward as a wall of water erupted from within, sweeping Darkness away. Takanuva managed to grab hold of the doorway, holding on with all his might and holding his breath. Outside, Teridax's attack had met with success as Toa fell before him and Krika. Turaga Dume had rallied Lesovikk's group, although not before Nuju had been pulled into the Archives by plantlife gone wild. Guardian, too, fell, but took half a dozen Toa with him. Back in the Coliseum, the deluge had finally stopped. There, framed in the chamber doors was Toa Tuyet; Nui Stone in one hand, Mask of Dimensional Gates in the other.

"I know who you are," she said. "Or rather, I had guessed. You don't belong here."

"Neither do you," said Takanuva. "You don't exist in my world. True Toa must have stood up and stopped you before you went too far."

"In my world, I am much more... competent," she replied. "How unfortunate for you."

"Alright then," said Takanuva. "For Takua, for Lesovikk, and for all the Toa and Matoran whose lives you have ruined, I strike."

Some Prototypes

2008-05-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

From the Battle for Power game.

CODE: NRZ981
Makuta
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/nrz981.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/upload2087246B-E322-4DD7-B7F5-E54F5F6AE41B.jpg

CODE: PRA628
Makuta
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/pra628.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/uploadDBD4567C-4F87-476D-8ECB-D6358B44C9ED.jpg

CODE: WAL886
Toa
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/wal886.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/upload92FE1FDB-7210-43C6-B763-3D0A6D425E3B.jpg

CODE: KPK858
Toa
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/kpk858.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/upload11974AE1-84E4-4511-815D-76A130E5D6E6.jpg

CODE: LES485
Toa
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/les485.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/upload095DC8E9-CD96-4A75-B717-D1D4ED5CDB32.jpg

CODE: OAU867
Toa
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/oau867.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/uploadD47A5BF1-65A7-44D2-B0B9-5C508D85807C.jpg

I'll have more.

Bionicle Comic 2008#1 Online

2008-05-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

On Bionicle.com, Bionicle 2008 Comic#1 is online. Check it out if you aren't subscribed to the Lego Magazine!

Power...

2008-05-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

Two new Battle for Power games have swooped down to Bionicle.com. You should go check them out now! I personally think that these are the best out of all of them that I've played. It's the three Av-Matoran and the three Kraa-Matoran.

Check it out here:

http://www.bionicle.com/

And, here's some rewards:
(prototype Lewa Phantoka mask and black Pohatu preview)

CODE: BIO962
Toa
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/bio962.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/uploadCA0BC5AA-579C-490A-B30A-2A28CC929CD2.jpg

CODE: BIO502
Makuta
Link: http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/rewards/bio502.aspx
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/BionicleBIOCodes/otherfiles/1033/upload909BB8FA-E027-45FB-801E-7ACABACBDEBB.jpg

There you have it!

Finally-The Long-Awaited Mutran Chronicles Chapter 8!

2008-05-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

Chapter 8
Well do I remember the first time I saw the Kanohi Avohkii, or Mask of Light. Truly no more vile or disgusting thing has ever been created in this universe. There it was in the hands of Teridax, not even having the courtesy to be the color of a lump of clay when not being worn – oh, no, the Avohkii gleamed golden. Locked within it was the one power we Makuta dreaded, and the unspoken promise of something far worse – the existence, someday, of an actual Toa of Light.

Whispered rumors had reached Destral that such a mask had come into existence on Artakha. Natually, Makuta Kojol, being the idiot he was, had not learned this directly. But he was more than ready to lead an armada against the island and seize the thing.

Teridax wanted a subtle operation, a few Rahkshi, that's all. Kojol, at his peril, chose to ignore this. He assembled a strike force of Visorak, Rahkshi, and even a few Exo-Toa, intending to overwhelm any defenses on the island with one crushing blow.

It didn't quite work out that way. The first things the Visorak ran into when they hit the beach were two massive serpents that seemed to be made of crystal. The Visorak, supremely confident as always, thought they would make short work of such large Rahi. Instead, the rays of the sun focused through the bodies of the snakes promptly incinerated Kojol's entire first wave.

Kojol pulled his ships back and tried another approach. Fortunately, Rahkshi are good climbers and were able to get a clawhold on more treacherous terrain. While the Matoran on the island posed little threat, the devices of the island's ruler – also named Artakha – took a heavy toll on the Rahkshi. They bought enough time for the Exo-Toa to deploy, however, and with their power added to the battle, the island fell.

Kojol could have - should have – taken everything in sight from the fortress. But it took him so long to come ashore, and so long to find the Avohkii (since the interior of the fortress was booby-trapped), and then he claims there was this intense blizzard as he tried to depart. Worse, he was never supposed to have set foot on the island at all – the point was for this to be a secret raid, not one that could be tied to the Brotherhood. (True, Visorak and Rahkshi are associated with us, but without the actual presence of a Makuta there, we could still deny knowledge of what happened.)

Kojol returned to Destral in "triumph", and despite disobeying orders, Teridax praised him for claiming the mask. The Toa Hagah who served us showed no indication they knew anything about the raid, meaning somehow our plans were still safe from view. The story, it seemed, was over.

Then something strange began to happen. Two squads of Rahkshi dispatched to a remote part of the southern continent were never seen alive again. When I found them, their armor was reduced to scraps and their kraata to dark smears on the ground. It seemed an interesting coincidence that they were the same Rahkshi who were on the Artakha raid.

The Exo-Toa were next. In the middle of the night, they vanished from their guard posts. To this day, we have no idea what became of them. By then, I was beginning to suspect that Artakha, or someone close to him, was taking revenge for our raid. That would mean Kojol would be next. Teridax needed to be informed immediately...

So, naturally, I did nothing.

Why? Because Kojol was a posturing, arrogant, obnoxious buffoon. If someone else wanted to spare me the trouble of killing him one day, so be it.

Oh, it looked like an accident, of course. He was visiting Xia, presenting them with a new armor-eating virus he wanted them to incorporate into a weapon. Either he made the virus better than he knew or else someone substituted a different one – for when it escaped, it turned out to have a taste for protosteel. His armor was devoured in seconds. Well, accidents happen. Of course, that didn't explain how his energy form wound up in a high-temperature Vortixx furnace where it was completely destroyed.

The virus had died almost immediately upon finishing its work, and we have never seen its like again. The Vortixx claimed innocence, but Teridax ordered part of the island razed anyway, as a reminder to them to be more careful in future.

It was only later that I realized what a fool I had been. Kojol was the only one who knew where the island of Artakha was, and I should have forced the knowledge from him before he died. When the Brotherhood tried to seek out others likely to know where the island might be located, we found that all had mysteriously died. Artakha – if it was him – was being very thorough.

In the end, we did not keep the Mask of Light for long. Teridax's squad of Toa Hagah actually dared invade the Destral fortress and steal the mask! They paid for it in the end – remind me to write sometime of Roodaka's nasty sense of humor – but they did escape with the mask.

Once that happened – once we knew there were Toa who had divined our new purpose in life – the Plan had to go forward swiftly. The time had come to bring down the Great Spirit and begin our march to power.

Quotes from Greg

2008-05-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

These quotes are from GregF's blog on BZPower.

A few pieces of news today --

1) I finally got a look at a pic of Mazeka today -- looks from the photo like he's an Onu-Matoran.

2) The Jan. 2009 sets are in our showroom now. Gotta say, very impressive. The new mask pieces are particularly cool shapes and the weaponry is slick too. On the whole, they manage to stay recognizably BIONICLE while still looking nicely different from past sets. I think the new pieces will probably be good for those who like to MOC, too. I will tell you up front, having only seen pics up to now, the pics do not do the sets justice. They are much more striking in person.

I am definitely inspired to do a Club building contest once those come out, to see what fans will build out of them.

3) 2010 story conference next week, so we can clear the decks and I can get moving on the screen treatment for 2010 movie.

4) I am going to be signing up for something on the Scholastic site where teachers and librarians can find authors to come speak at their schools/libraries. Not sure it will produce anything, but at least it will put me out there for folks who might want to do a BIONICLE event as they did in Coventry. So maybe there will be more school/library appearances in the Northeast in future, we'll see.

Interesting...

Another Clue to the Mazeka Mystery

2008-05-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Greg Farshtey, writer of the Bionicle storyline, has revealed that Mazeka is an Onu-Matoran. That's all for now.

Some 2008 Set Reviews (Ratings) - Just a Preview

2008-05-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Some ratings of the Phantoka...

Kopaka Phantoka: 8/10
Great new wings. I think that the bayonet is rather small for a melee weapon, and just looks like an advanced Midak Skyblaster. Also, the arm armor keeps falling off when I try to move his arms.

Pohatu Phantoka: 8.4/10
The propellors are fun to spin, and he has two of them. Also, there is a shoulder-mounted Midak Skyblaster that fits in well. Three weapons in all, all of them with functions. These are the highlights of the set. The bad sides? There is a small kind of mask that doesn't cover his whole face (that might not be bad for you) and I think that he's too short. Well, I'm not sure about you, but I prefer taller sets.

Lewa Phantoka: 9.45/10
One of the best Phantoka, he stands tall and wears a neat mask. Also, there are two jetpacks and Matoro Twin Cutters that attach to the shoulders. Midak Skyblaster really fires!

Vamprah: 6.9/10
Good bat wings that attach to the arms. Neat hooks. Only one exclusive piece (the mask, of course) A Tridax Pod. Note that this Tridax Pod only works if you dump it on a hard surface. The bad parts? NO LEGS! Well, there are legs, but they are short and close to nothing. I would not recommend this set, but if you like blue, go ahead, he'll probably satisfy your thirst for blue things and add another Makuta to your collection. True hunter of the sky!

Chirox: 8.7/10
Very tall. Very long arms. Very skinny. Very nerd-like (just kidding). The mask is very neat, though it is not exclusive (See Mutran) Nice pieces for MOCing. Actually, I can't find many bad parts, except that he's rather skinny but tall. Like Brutaka, kind of. Not like Axonn. However, the set has no pieces that are only included in the Chirox set. (the melee weapons are part of the Jetrax T6 Bionicle vehicle)

Antroz: 8.35/10
The most in-balance of the Makuta sets, though with an abnormally small waist. However, he's not too tall (taller than most canisters) and not too short. Not too skinny and not too wide. The average of the Makuta, I would highly recommend that you buy Antroz. Also, he has cool new wings, a great Kanohi, and a Tridax Pod to explode Lewa with. Buy this set!

Mutran and Vican: 8.45/10
Mutran is practically a clone of Chirox, except for a few small differences (i.e. the weapons). Vican is hard to stand up, and like Kirop (thought not as much as Mutran resembles Chirox) Personally, I think that this is almost Chirox recolored. Not sure if you should get this one. Fans of green people (like me) should finish the deal and take him for the price of $15. Compared to the regular price for a Toa and a Matoran ($6) Mutran and Vican for $15 is a nice deal, but there aren't any pieces that aren't included in another set. That's just how store-exclusives work.

Icarax: 9.8/10
He's the best of the Phantoka. Tall. Great poseability. Four functions to keep you at bay. The Kanohi Krahkaan (with one small, almost unnoticeable difference than the 2003 Krahkaan) Let's get started. First, Icarax has many points of articulation (I haven't yet counted, but I think it's around 20) The functions. The Tridax Pod. As told in the Vamprah rating, this pod full of cute 'n cuddly (the Makuta would kill me for saying that) leeches. These leeches deserve a sentence or two to describe them. The leeches are bluish-green and have these neat little faces (they're supposed to terrorize the neighborhood and suck the light out of people) They do not really resemble actual leeches, which happen to suck the blood out of people. Anyway, enough on the Shadow Leeches. Just remember...they're nothing like they're supposed to be. Antroz is angry at me... So, next "function." The Krahkaan. Just as specified in the 2003 Krahkaan, you can flip it and see the other face on the side. The instructions say to put it with the weird face up, but I guess that you can pose it however you want. The moving wings on Icarax's back. They can be adjusted to change to many different ways. Great job, Lego designer people! And the spinning shield, which works perfectly. You just spin it, and it spins (as is the obvious) Anyway, Icarax is (in my opinion) the most awesome set of the Phantoka (though not out of all of the 2008 sets) and you should definitely buy him. Head over to a Toys 'r Us now! (or order him on Lego Shop at Home)

Next time: Reviews of all six of the Av-Matoran and the Shadow Matoran!
Yes, I have all of the Phantoka.

Also, these are just ratings and descriptions. The REAL set reviews come soon!

Federation of Fear 8

2008-05-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

Federation of Fear, Chapter 8

Brutaka pushed aside a pile of rubble and struggled to his feet. Around him, Spiriah and Roodaka were using shadow energy to blast themselves free. Vezon and Lariska were nowhere to be seen.
He glanced back toward the now blocked tunnel entrance. A few blasts of power would no doubt clear away the pile of rocks and stones, but Takadox would be long gone by now. There would be time to settle with him later.
"I've got him!"
Brutaka turned to see Lariska holding a squirming Vezon by the throat. "I caught him sneaking down a side tunnel," the Dark Hunter said.
"Let us track down that traitor," snarled Roodaka. "I want his shattered body beneath my heel."
"We're here to do a job," Brutaka replied. "We keep moving. All of us," he added, looking hard at Vezon.
The tunnel proved to be far more than a mere pathway. It opened upon a vast underground cavern spanned by a narrow bridge made of fibrous protodermis. Down below, the floor was littered with a massive tangle of what looked like dead branches intertwined with each other. Deep channels had been carved into the walls by lava flows over the centuries. Strange flying Rahi hung from the ceiling, their six eyes blinking slowly at the sight of intruders into their realm.
"Remind me not to let Makuta Krika arrange for my next pleasure trip," muttered Spiriah.
"This whole island is volcanic," said Brutaka. "Minor eruptions over the years, but nothing major. Tahu and Kopaka are supposed to have taken care of the problem. Otherwise, we would probably be flash fried by now."
"No Carapar, no Takadox," said Vezon in a sing-song voice. "Who will go next? Spiriah the Sullen? Brutaka the Boorish? Vezon the Vanquisher? Or Lariska --"
The Dark Hunter whipped out a dagger and flung it into the stone right at Vezon's feet. The mad half-Skakdi turned to her, smiling, and said, "Or Lariska, the wise, wonderful, and gloriously homicidal."
Brutaka led the way across the bridge. At the far side, light spilled through a narrow opening. The symbol of the Brotherhood of Makuta was seared into the stone beside that portal. Someone – maybe Krika, maybe Miserix – had marked their path, so long ago.
"What are we going to do with this legendary Makuta when we find him?" asked Roodaka. "What makes you think he will help the likes of you?"
"Miserix hates the Brotherhood for turning on him," Brutaka replied. "He would ally with three Matoran and an Ussal crab if it would get him revenge on his fellow Makuta."
"And so what will he be for you?" Roodaka pressed. "A general? A hero? A symbol around which to rally resistance to the Brotherhood?"
Brutaka shook his head. "Nothing quite so grand. He'll be a weapon, like a Rhotuka launcher or a ghost blaster. And we're going to aim him right at the Makuta fortress on Destral."
Roodaka smiled. "And who, might I ask... are 'we'?"
Brutaka smiled back, the grin of a Kavinika about to feast. "Now, now ... what you don't know won't cut you in two and dump you off this bridge."
"I hear something," said Lariska. "Up ahead... it might be a voice... or the rumble of the volcano."
"I hear something too," said Vezon.
"Shut up," replied Roodaka.
"And I see something as well," Vezon continued. "But since you aren't interested..."
"We're not," Roodaka snapped.
"Personally, I always find my comments and observations most interesting," Vezon rambled on. "You haven't truly lived until you have seen the world through the eyes of madness. Why, half the time I don't know if what I see is what's really there, or what I wish was there ... or what I pray, I beg, I plead is not."
"Why did we bring him again?" said Spiriah.
"He breaks up the monotony," said Lariska.
"I'd like to break something much more satisfying," hissed Roodaka. "I hear Skakdi make a most appealing sound when you snap them into pieces."
"But, since you seem to have no interest," Vezon continued, utterly disregarding his teammates' comments. "Well, then, I won't tell you that the floor is moving. You can find out on your own."
"The floor is...?" Brutaka repeated. He looked down. Far below, the tangled growth of dead branches had indeed begun to shift. The reason why rapidly became clear: they weren't branches at all, but the twisted limbs of thousands of crimson insects, now disentangling themselves from each other. Apparently, it was time to wake up and they were ready for their morning meal.
Swifter than anyone could have predicted, they began to swarm up the walls of the canyon on every side. In an instant, they had blocked the openings on both ends of the bridge. The surrounding rock was now gone, buried beneath a skittering sea of red and thousands of unblinking, predatory eyes.
"No, no, no," said Vezon, shaking his head. "Too late to apologize. Much, much too late."

Dark Mirror 7

2008-04-28T15:13:00.001-07:00

Chapter Seven
Under the cover of darkness, Toa Lesovikk and Toa Takanuva darted through the sculpture fields of Po-Metru. They had slipped back to Metru Nui via an underwater chute a few hours before. Lesovikk knew a few there were closed for repair but were still functioning, and the best of all, unguarded.

"Where are we going?", whispered Takanuva. "The Coliseum is the other way! If Brutaka's mask is in there, that's where I need to go."

"Right," said Lesovikk. "But if you want to get in and out of there alive we do it my way. And my way starts at the Throne of Stone."

The Toa of Air pointed straight ahead. Not far away was indeed a huge throne made of rock, mounted atop a base of Rahkshi parts. Po-Matoran bearing torches surrounded it, and seated in the great chair was Toa Pohatu himself.

"Umm, excuse me," said Takanuva. "I ran into Tahu and Kopaka not long ago, and...are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Trust me," said Lesovikk, smiling.

After a few hours, the Po-Matoran left to go back to their homes. As Pohatu descended from his throne, Lesovikk scraped three times with his armoured boot against a nearby rock. The Toa of Stone stopped, head turned to listen. Then he said, "Lesovikk, you're out of your mind."

"It helps," said the Toa of Air, leading Takanuva to where Pohatu stood. "This is my new pal, Takanuva. He's waiting for the five widget tour of the Coliseum, particularly the Hall of Masks."

"Wait a minute," said Takanuva. "I don't understand any of this. Tahu, Pohatu and the rest were supposed to stay asleep until they were needed to awaken Mata Nui. But Mata Nui never fell asleep here, so why are they here?"

"He talks a lot, doesn't he?" Pohatu said to Lesovikk. Lesovikk shrugged.

"OK, glowfish, let me tell you a story," Pohatu said, "Toa Tuyet found out where we were from Artakha. She sent some Toa in to find us, but none of them survived the trip. That was when she found a spot in the Coliseum no one had ever seen before. A place from which she could fake the signal that would launch our canisters. Next thing you know, here we are. She laid it all out for us. How the Makuta and the Dark Hunters were plotting to take over, and how it was our duty as Toa to stop them dead. It was the only way to make the universe really safe. So we all signed on, but after a while I started to have doubts. They turned into fears when I found out Tuyet had sent a squad headed by Toa Nidhiki to wipe out the Nynrah Ghosts, just because they might someday make something that could be used against her. Four dozen Matoran dead. 'Still makes me sick. That was when I made contact with Lesovikk, and we've been working together ever since. Of course, Tuyet doesn't know that."

"You're a regular stone Wall of History," said Lesovikk. "But it's going to be light soon. We need to get the troops together and get ready for a raid."

Pohatu led the two Toa back to his cavern. Once inside, he used his power to send a mild tremor the length of Metru Nui. Not enough to cause damage, just enough to signal those who would understand and then respond. They started filtering in through underground tunnels not long after. Nuju, Ahkmou, three Dark Hunters: Guardian, Darkness and Primal, one Toa: Krakua, and a Po-Matoran that Lesovikk introduced as Kodan.

"It's handy to have the Toa's Chronicler on our side," said Lesovikk, "Helps us stay informed."

"So what's the plan?" asked Takanuva, "We sneak in, steal the mask and get out?"

"He thinks small, too," Pohatu said to Lesovikk. Lesovikk shrugged.

"Listen, junior. I don't know where you came from or why," said Pohatu, "But I'm betting Tuyet doesn't know either, and maybe that gives us an edge. So we're putting everything on one Akilini play. Ahkmou here has alerted the Makuta in town, Darkness took care of any Dark Hunters nearby who were still on two legs. Everybody's in."

"In what?," asked Takanuva.

"Tuyet's had her own way for too long," Pohatu answered, grabbing a Protosteel Axe off the wall. "It's time to take her down."

Mutran Chronicles: Chapter 7

2008-04-23T15:55:00.001-07:00

Chapter 7

Bitil was the first one to notice. We were both visiting Destral at the time, laying plans to support Teridax's planned coup against Mata Nui. As I recall we were discussing how unfortunate it was so much of the plan might hinge on the actions of Makuta Kojol, who oversaw the region of Artakha. Kojol was a secretive sort, never sharing what he knew with anyone, not even the location of Artakha itself. His specialties were flying Rahi and sea Rahi, both of whom protected his region from any intrusion, even by us.

But I must stay on the subject. Bitil was making a point in his usual way, by throwing a weapon at the wall. He went to pick up an axe and found he couldn't make his armor move. It was like all his muscles had turned to water. My amusement at his panic faded when I realized the same thing was happening to me.

Chirox pulled away some of Kojol's armor, only to see a greenish-black mist rising from inside the shell. Worried, Chirox caught a sample, then did a crude patch of the armor. After extensive tests, he returned to inform us of his results.

"This," he began, holding up a tube with the mist inside, "is what is left of our bodies. We have evolved from muscle and tissue to pure energy. No longer do we need to eat, or breathe, nor do we need fear the pains that come with advanced age.

"But there is more," he continued. "If a Makuta's energy disperses, his consciousness will disappear and he will die. So it is critical to guard against damage to our armor that might allow our essence to escape."

How did I feel about this, you might wonder. Intrigued... resentful that Chirox figured out what was happening before I did... and unsure what this meant for the future of we Makuta. Would we be more powerful now that we did not have to worry about organs and muscles being harmed? Would the fear of our armor being pierced and our energy dispersed make us too cautious?

Teridax wasted no time worrying. He ordered the "Nynrah ghosts" brought to Destral so that they could modify our armor to take advantage of our new "bodies." They added additional layers of protosteel, possible now that we had no physical forms that required space.

An unexpected benefit of our new existence was discovered in quite a painful way (for me, at least). Wandering through the fortress, I encountered a lone Exo-Toa. When I tried to pass it, the robot picked me up and threw me the length of the hallway, all the while laughing a most familiar laugh.

"Chirox?" I asked, getting back to my feet – for that was whose laugh I heard.

"Our new forms," came the reply. 'With them, we can take over robot bodies – perhaps living ones, too, I do not know. Think of it – the ultimate disguise!"

"Ah, yes," I answered. "Once again, you find a better way to hide."

He fired a missile from the armor in response, but not fast enough. I stalked over and tore an arm off the robot, then smiled as I saw his energies begin to drift out of the gap. My smile grew broader as I heard him cursing in my mind, while he directed his energies back toward his empty Makuta armor in another chamber.

The idea of destroying the armor before he could reach it did, I admit, cross my mind. Did I refrain out of mercy, or kindness, or some sense of fellowship with my brother Makuta?

No, no, quite the opposite. I simply knew how long Chirox had been struggling to develop a flying serpent with just the right amount of exterior slime to allow it to slither through small crevices, while not so much that it left a trail wherever it went. And as soon as he was back in his body, I was going to take a great deal of joy in introducing him to my Lohrak, wings, slime, and all...

Mutran Chronicles

2008-04-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

500 Votes

2008-04-20T21:18:00.001-07:00

On our Le-voting poll, the counter has reached 500 votes...

Just an interesting tidbit.

Review Time...comes soon.

2008-04-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well, as the title implies, we will begin to review the Lego Bionicle sets...sometime in the future. The near future, then?

Betrayal

2008-04-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

Federation of Fear 7...

Chapter 7
Brutaka and Lariska stood together, watching Takadox standing silently by the rail of the ship. "I worry about that one," said Lariska. "He has not spoken a word since we left Tren Krom's island, after the death of his friend Carapar."

"Friend?" snorted Brutaka. "Barraki don't have friends, just people they use – and Carapar was Takadox's favorite puppet. Besides, don't waste your worry on him – save it for us.” He pointed off the bow. "We've arrived."

Looming out of the mist was an island of black sand and jagged rock, volcanic peaks and strange Rahi arcing and wheeling through the sky. Despite the bright light that played off the waters around it, the island seemed to be in perpetual shadow.

"Welcome to Artidax," said Brutaka.

Vezon approached, chuckling. "Hope we survive our stay."

Brutaka looked around at his team – a Barraki, half a Skakdi, a Makuta, a former queen of the Visorak, a Dark Hunter, and himself. "Well, if we don't, who knows? The world might be better off without us."

Brutaka and Spiriah, being the two most powerful team members, led the way to shore. As they trod on the ebon sands, all seemed quiet. "So you know nothing about the defenses here?" asked Brutaka.

"Only what Krika sometimes talked about. Ideas he had," said Spiriah. "You realize this whole thing is a terrible idea."

"What?"

"Freeing Miserix," said Spiriah. "He can't stop the Plan. All we will find here is an early death. Listen, we -- "

What happened next was startlingly fast. The black sands began to swirl around Spiriah, forming a hand which grabbed the Makuta and started dragging him down. Brutaka grabbed Spiriah's hand, calling to the others, "Help me!"

Lariska, Vezon and Roodaka rushed to his aid. Takadox hung back, occasionally glancing toward the ship as if contemplating escape. The pull of the sand was too strong and Spiriah’s mask had almost disappeared beneath it. Then Roodaka fired her Rhotuka launcher, the spinner striking the living sand and mutating the grains into a swarm of fireflyers. Unable to maintain its grip in this new form, it freed Spiriah. The Makuta crawled back onto the beach, cursing.

"I'm an idiot," Brutaka said. "I should have realized – Krika rigged this place to sense the presence of a Makuta and react. He didn't want Miserix escaping, or any other Brotherhood member finding him and finishing him off."

"Then I would be insane to go any further," said Spiriah. "I brought you here – you don't need me anymore."

"On the contrary," said Lariska. "I think you would be very useful. Anyone ever hear of a stalking kinloka?"

Surprisingly, Vezon was the only one who nodded. When everyone turned to look at him, he shrugged. "Vezok. He saw lots of things, and since I came from him, I saw them too. Say, when we are done here, who's up for killing him? I'll even clean up after."

Lariska turned back to Brutaka, ignoring their lunatic companion. "Kinloka are rodents, found in many places, among them Zakaz. When the Skakdi need to cross land that might be booby-trapped, they send the kinloka through first. The creatures set off the traps and the Skakdi can cross safely."

"And the traps here are sensitive to Makuta," said Roodaka, smiling. "I see, I see. And come to think of it, Spiriah is somewhat rodent-like."

Spiriah, back on his feet, looked right at Brutaka. "No. Not even if you threw in the chance to eviscerate that Vortixx --"

"Watch your mouth," Roodaka spat, aiming her launcher at him, "while you still have only one."

Brutaka put his arm around Spiriah and led him away. "You're not looking at the big picture here. When all this is over, the Brotherhood could still be a powerful creature, only without a head. It’s going to need a new leader... and the beings I work for will remember who helped them... and who didn’t. Trust me, they have long memories."

It only took a few more minutes of whispered conversation before Spiriah turned back to the group and announced that he would be their guide to Artidax. He immediately set off inland, with the rest following. Lariska fell in beside Brutaka, saying, "You know full well he could never be leader of the Brotherhood."

"Let him think he might get to be the head," Brutaka replied. "It will distract him from the fact that he might well lose his own here."

Their path took them right up to the slope of a volcano. A tunnel had been bored through the mountain at some point, the only way to directly traverse the island. Spiriah was striding on ahead when Vezon leapt in front of him, holding up his hands. Then he pointed downward, at a razor-thin vine stretched across the path. It led up to a pile of boulders poised precariously on the slope.

Spiriah stepped carefully over the vine, followed by the others, and went into the tunnel. It was only when they were already inside that Brutaka noticed someone was missing. "Where's Takadox?"

Lariska turned. "There! Look out!"

Brutaka turned to see Takadox bringing his blade down on the vine. In the moment before an avalanche of rocks cut them off from the Barraki and trapped them in the tunnel, they all could see his evil smile.

Dark Mirror 6

2008-04-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

Chapter Six

Back when Takanuva was Takua, a Matoran in the village of Ta-Koro, he had once found himself walking through a stretch of jungle, being stalked by a monstrous Nui-Jaga scorpion. Whenever he moved, the scorpion moved; if he stopped, it stopped. If he turned to face it, it would kill him, but if he led it back to the village, it might harm others before it was driven off. He was finally saved by a sudden inspiration: he changed direction and led the Nui-Jaga straight toward a Muaka-cat cave. Angered at the intrusion of its territory by the other Rahi beast, the Muaka attacked the Nui-Jaga, and Takua escaped.

Which just goes to show, thought Takanuva, nowadays there's never a Muaka around when you need one. Here he was, trudging across the barren plains of Karzahni in this weird alternate universe. Behind him were two Toa, Bomonga and Kualus, both of whom served the oppressive dictatorship of the Toa Empire. Between them was Jaller, a Matoran, who in Takanuva's world, was the Toa of Light's best friend. In this universe, he was a servant of the Empire, transporting the Mask of Time back to Metru Nui. That wasn't the worst of it, though: Takanuva needed to find Brutaka and the Mask of Dimensional Gates if he was ever going to make it back to his own universe. And Bomonga had just announced that Brutaka was dead, killed by him, all of which left Takanuva exactly nowhere.

"Ah, Brutaka," said Bomonga, "He fought well, but when he turned to fight Gaaki and Pouks, I hit him from behind and that finished him."

"Not very... fair," muttered Takanuva.

"Fair?" asked Bomonga, "He was an enemy of the Empire, he tried to prevent our lawful exploration of Voya Nui. Who cares how he died, as long as he's dead."

"Our friend, Takanuva, seems to be carrying a conscience," said Toa Kualus. "That is a heavy burden in a place like this. You would be amazed how many poor, dead beings I see on the side of the path who just couldn't go one more step with that load on their backs."

"Spare me the philosophy," snapped Takanuva, "What about Brutaka's weapons and his mask? What happened to them?"

"You should know," said Bomonga, "If you really served Toa Tuyet as you claim, any treasure like that gets brought to the Coliseum on Metru Nui for safe-keeping."

"Right, naturally," said Takanuva.

This was going to be a problem: how was he going to get into what happened to be the most heavily guarded spot in Metru Nui to get that mask?

"You know, you remind me a little of someone," said Bomonga, "A Toa of Water, one of Lhikan's old team. What was her name? Toa Naho, that was it. She came along on one of our missions to Odina to clean out that nest of Stone Rats. Offered to go after The Shadowed One herself, take all the risks. Turned out she was helping that creep escape. He got away, she didn't. Tuyet turned her over to her friend Roodaka and, well, she wound up an interesting exhibit in the Archives."

Takanuva knew he should keep quiet, but he couldn't.

"Do you think this is what Tuyet really wanted? Toa betraying other Toa, Matoran living in fear of their heroes. Toa were supposed to be respected, and looked up to!"

"But we are," said Kualus, "Everyone respects what they fear, and they can't help but look up to us when we always look down on them."

Takanuva heard a stirring behind him. He could guess what it was: Bomonga and/or Kualus getting ready to blast him from behind. While there was no choice, he would have to try and take them both out and get the mask from Jaller. It would take a lot of luck, probably more than he could hope for, but... Then he heard other sounds; a rush of wind, startled cries from the two Toa which receded in the distance and the sound of a cart crashing. He turned to see a strange Toa standing amidst the wreckage of Jaller's Ussal cart. He was retrieving the Mask of Time, which lay next to the unconscious Jaller. When he noticed Takanuva, he stopped.

"You're not one of them," the Toa of Air said, "That's why you're still alive. Don't make me regret that decision."

"Who are you?" asked Takanuva, "What do you want here?"

"What do I want," said the Toa, "I want some peace, but I'm never going to get any while that crazy Toa of Water is running things. So I keep an eye out for things she wants, like this Mask here, then I take them from her. That's why when you see her list of enemies of the Empire, you'll find my name at the top: Toa Lesovikk."

So, apparently Lesovikk is still on the side of good! Exciting news for me (I am a Lesovikk fan)

Gavla Game Appears on Bionicle.com

2008-04-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

Title tells the truth, folks! Look at Bionicle.com to find the new Gavla game, where you can drop Tridax Pods on people and villages!

Do you like exploding poor and helpless Matoran? (okay, I'm stretching the truth a bit with the "helpless" part. I mean, come on, they keep attacking you!)

If so, this is the game for you! Go to Bionicle.com NOW!