Bionicle Alternatives: Empire of Makuta V, Chapter Eleven

 CHAPTER ELEVEN

Destral

By the time Macku and Kongu finally made it out of the dungeons, they stepped outside to find the Makuta Fortress under attack.

Emerging from ships that had reached the island’s coastline, a multitude of beings from various species were marching onto the shores and doing battle with the Makuta and their minions. Beams of energy zipped in every direction while glowing orbs bounced off the walls of the fortress and struck their target, whether they be Makuta, Rahkshi, or other. Many of the invaders resembled Toa, if twice as tall in some cases, while others looked like monsters just as frightening as the shadow warriors that they were crossing blades with. 

For whatever reason, this assortment of beings had been brought together by a unifying desire to bring down the Empire of Makuta. And for that reason alone, Macku was in full support of them.

“Whoever called in the calvary, I’m giving a huge-big hug,” said Kongu. “Provided they aren’t covered in spikes or anything.”

Macku scanned the battlefield for a way to get off the island. As grateful as she was for these reinforcements, she knew it would not be safe for two Matoran to stick around for long. Spotting an unoccupied boat, she beckoned Kongu to follow her and the duo raced towards it, Toa stones in hand. Before they could get close to it however, a beam of energy struck the boat and caused it to explode into a million pieces. Macku and Kongu shielded their eyes as the shrapnel blew in their faces.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Landing in front of them was a Makuta in crimson and violet armor; the same one who had taken Macku in earlier. Gripping a spear laced with acid, Makuta Tridax glared at the two Matoran from behind his fearsome mask. Seeing the Toa stones in their hands, his eyes went wide.

“Where did you get those?”

“You had them in some kind of storage closet or whatever,” Kongu said, doing his best to keep fear out of his voice. “You should probably lock things up more tightly if you don’t want people getting to them.”

But the expression on Tridax’s face seemed to be of a more perplexed nature than anything else. It was as if he hadn’t even been aware that there were Toa stones in the fortress in the first place. Before the Makuta could question them any further however, a projectile zipped over the Matoran’s heads and struck Tridax in the chest, knocking him back. A tall, horned being in red and blue stepped into view, looking down at the Matoran from behind his crimson mask.

“Is it just the two of you?” Trinuma asked.

“Uh, that we know of,” Macku replied. “There might be other Matoran back at the fortress, but—”

“We’ll take care of that, don’t worry. We just need to find a way to get you out of here.” Trinuma ducked as a beam of heat vision shot over his head. He then aimed his Nynrah Ghost Blaster at the yellow-armored Rahkshi responsible and blasted it to pieces. “A safe way,” he muttered.

At that moment, Tridax stirred and was starting to get back onto his feet. Trinuma noticed this but did not appear to be that concerned. Instead, he directed his gaze to a four-armed giant that was cutting his way through hordes of Rahkshi and Visorak with his multi-bladed ax.

“Orkosan! I don’t suppose you’ve seen Viraka anywhere?”

“She went on a mission to Saevta,” the giant growled back. “And before you ask, no, we don’t have any of them on hand.”

“Well then, how are we going to get these Matoran to safety?”

“I don’t know. Find a Dark Hunter or something.”

Trinuma grimaced. “Wonderful.”

Tridax let out a roar as he charged towards the horned warrior. He dodged another projectile from Trinuma’s blaster before lunging at the Order agent, spear raised over his head. Before he could bring his weapon down, a bladed object flew through the air and sliced right through the Makuta’s weapon arm, severing it from the rest of his body.

As Tridax howled in agony, green gases started to leak from his armor. He fell to his knees just as a ten-foot-tall being arrived on the scene and picked up his dagger from the floor.

“I’ll take it from here,” Tobduk said in a low rumble.

Trinuma sighed. “I’m really going to have to carry these two myself, aren’t I?”

Tobduk shrugged. “Helryx gave you that kinetic weaponry for a reason, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just for you to do tricks in the air.”

Rolling his eyes, Trinuma stored his weapons before kneeling down in front of Macku and Kongu. The two Matoran exchanged a glance before climbing onto the nine-foot-tall being’s back.

“You sure you’ve got this handled?” Trinuma asked Tobduk once the Matoran had settled into an appropriate position.

“Please,” Tobduk replied, grinning sadistically as Tridax tried and failed to contain his essence. “I was made for this.”

With a shrug, Trinuma activated his kinetic attachments and took off into the air, heading in the direction of Metru Nui as the combined forces of Dark Hunters and the Order of Mata Nui continued to wage their war across Destral.

The Coliseum

“Don’t be a coward, Teridax! Come out here and fight me!”

The roar of Makuta Miserix could be heard throughout the Coliseum, which the red dragon was tearing apart piece by piece. The entire building was beginning to sway, as if the weight of the beast outside was threatening to push it down.

Turaga Lhikan wasn’t sure if such a thing was possible, and he had no desire to find out. He looked over to Turaga Dume, who stood with him by the throne of Makuta Teridax. The Makuta of Metru Nui himself was still and silence, unfazed by the chaos happening around him.

“We have to get out of here,” Lhikan whispered to his fellow Turaga. “We should find the Matoran guards and get them out of here before this building collapses on us.”

“How do you know he won’t try to stop us as soon as we make a move?” Dume retorted, gesturing at Teridax.

Lhikan glanced at the Makuta. If he was eavesdropping on the Turaga’s conversation, he was not showing any sign of being interested or concerned with it. It was as if he was off in his own little world, oblivious to everything else.

“I don’t,” Lhikan eventually admitted. “But I can’t stand by and do nothing while Matoran lose their lives. If you want to stay here and remain Makuta’s slave, be my guest.”

With that, Lhikan started to walk away from Makuta’s throne, walking briskly and with purpose. Makuta did not shift in his throne or make any move to stop him, nor did Lhikan stop to see if he or Dume were following him. By the time he got to the door, he heard footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder to see Dume coming up behind him.

“Turaga or not,” Dume muttered, “you are still as stubborn as the Toa of Fire I once knew not so long ago.”

Lhikan allowed himself a smile. “Old habits die hard.”

*  *  *

Makuta Antroz hurled another bolt of shadow energy at the massive dragon that was clinging onto the Coliseum. Like all previous attacks of the sort, it did little damage to the beast and instead earned Antroz a swing of the dragon’s tail, which he narrowly avoided.

This confirmed in Antroz’s mind that this dragon was, indeed, Makuta Miserix as it had claimed. How Miserix had survived execution at the hands of Krika and Spiriah, he had no idea; in fact, the more he thought about it, the more he started to wonder if Krika had followed his orders through to begin with. But there was no time to dwell on such things as Miserix raised a hand and fired a beam of energy from his palm.

Antroz dodged the attack while Gorast and Vamprah moved in to attack the dragon from above. While they kept Miserix occupied, Antroz shifted his attention to the Coliseum itself. He wasn’t sure why Teridax had not yet emerged from hiding to handle Miserix himself, but he figured the Makuta of Metru Nui was simply biding time for the right moment to strike. Or maybe he was counting on the other Makuta to finish off the former Brotherhood leader themselves. 

Either way, Antroz centered his gaze on a piece of the Coliseum that Miserix was holding onto and activated his Mask of Corruption. The solid protodermis making up the building quickly started to decompose and it disintegrated in Miserix’s hands, causing him to lose his grip and nearly fall off the side of the building. Grabbing onto another part of the Coliseum to hold onto, Miserix glared up at Antroz, even as the Makuta continued to attack him.

“You will all pay dearly for this betrayal,” the dragon growled.

“You should have stayed dead, Miserix,” Antroz said darkly. “You have only earned yourself a fate worse than death.”

Miserix laughed without mirth. “Nothing can be worse than spending an eternity on that accursed island. Do what you may to me, but only after I have destroyed Teridax once and for all!”

Antroz narrowed his eyes as he prepared to use his mask again… but something was giving him pause. What was this about an island that Miserix was talking about? Had Krika indeed failed to kill the Brotherhood leader? If so, why had Miserix been unable to escape on his own?

Unless… he had not been executed at all… but imprisoned.

As realization began to dawn on Antroz, Miserix opened his mouth and unleashed a power scream at his Makuta attackers, knocking them back. He then returned his attention to the Coliseum and resumed digging his claws through it.

“Come out, Teridax! Come out and face your doom!”

As the Makuta pressed on with their attacks, Antroz spotted a winged figure flying towards their position, coming from the direction of Destral. As they drew closer, Antroz recognized the Kanohi Kraahkan being worn on the newcomer’s face and instantly brandished his claws.

“Icarax! What are you doing here?”

“Tridax sent me to help,” Icarax replied, regarding his fellow Makuta balefully from behind the Mask of Shadows. “For whatever reason, he thinks this mask of mine will do some good against… whatever this is.” As he said this, Miserix swung his tail at Chirox and sent the bat-like Makuta flying into Vamprah. “Though I fail to see how.”

Antroz did as well but he decided it was best not to spend too long pondering the matter. “Go ahead and join in on the fight,” he said. “If anyone asks why I’m gone, tell them that I’ve gone to find Krika.”

“Oh?” Icarax raised an eyebrow. “Is he here?”

“If he is,” Antroz growled, “he won’t be for much longer.”

*  *  *

“Hey, Matoro?”

“Yeah, Hewkii?”

“What do those tablets say about how the Toa Mangai defeated the Kanohi Dragon?”

Matoro cleared his throat. “Well, for one thing, they had at least four Toa of Ice subduing it with their elemental powers.”

“Yeah,” Hewkii muttered. “That’s not happening here.”

The members of the Metru Nui Resistance, along with their newfound allies (Toa and otherwise), stood at the Ga-Metru entry-point to the Coliseum. The centerpiece of the Great City was being torn asunder by a massive red dragon while half a dozen Makuta flew around it, hurling their powers at the beast. According to Onepu and Whenua, the creature did not match any Rahi that had been documented in the Archives.

“Okay,” said Toa Zaria. “So do we help the Makuta in fighting this thing, or do we just wait for them to kill it? Or for it to kill them?”

“I’m perfectly fine with the latter option,” said Toa Arctur. “Who knows, maybe this beast is on our side.”

As he said this, a Shadow Hand burst from the dragon’s chest and seized one of the Makuta attacking it, pulling them towards it and absorbing the hapless Makuta into its body.

“Or maybe not,” Arctur muttered.

“None of us are qualified for something like this,” said Viraka. “Even the strongest members of the Order would not be able to handle so many Makuta at once. We need to go to Daxia and ask for reinforcements.”

“No need to, my winged friend.”

Everyone looked up to see a tall being descending from high up in the air. On his shoulders were two Matoran — a Ga-Matoran and a Le-Matoran — who quickly dismounted from the giant as soon as he had touched down.

“I am not doing that again,” Macku said as she wobbled on her feet.

“Macku!” Hewkii ran over to the Ga-Matoran and pulled her into a hug. Matau and Tamaru joined the Le-Matoran, Kongu, and clanked fists with him. Meanwhile, Viraka regarded the tall, horned being who had brought them with a look of surprise.

“Trinuma? What are you doing here?”

“Same reason as the rest of the Order,” Trinuma replied. “To bring down the Empire of Makuta once and for all.”

“I thought we didn’t have the numbers for that,” Viraka mused.

“We didn’t until Helryx managed to recruit the Dark Hunters to our side.” Trinuma then looked over to the battling Makuta. “Now then… what have we got here?”

“Too many Makuta than we know what to do with,” Toa Lesovikk said dryly.

“Ah. If only Tobduk wasn’t busy over on Destral; he’d probably be drooling from his mask.”

“Kongu and I found some Toa stones,” Macku said once she had finally broken free of Hewkii’s embrace. “I’m not sure what good they’ll do, if any.”

“We could take them back to the Suva at the Great Temple,” suggested Nokama. “Of course, the Coliseum will probably be in ruins by the time we get there.”

“Wait!” Takua pointed up ahead. “I see someone coming out of the Coliseum. I think it’s the Turaga!”

The others looked to see two hunched-over beings hobbling out of the doors to the Coliseum, flanked on either side by Matoran guards. Up above, the dragon broke off a piece of the building and sent it falling down towards them. Before the debris could crush the Turaga and the Matoran, Toa Arctur used his gravity powers to keep it suspended in mid air. Once the Turaga and Matoran had gotten out from under it, Arctur hurled the chunk of protodermis to the side, letting it crash into a nearby Vahki Transport.

“Turaga Lhikan! Turaga Dume!” Vakama rushed over to the elders. “Thank the Great Spirit you are all right.”

Turaga Lhikan smiled at the mask maker. “Likewise, Vakama. I am quite pleased to see you are safe and sound.”

“I’m not sure how long that’s going to last,” Vakama muttered, “but thank you.”

Turaga Dume stepped over to the Ta-Matoran, his expression serious. “The Mask of Time… were you successful in creating it?”

Vakama nodded. “Yes, Turaga, I was.”

“Then we have no time to waste. We must use it against the Makuta.”

“Use it how?” asked Lhikan. “We don’t know what it is capable of or whether a Toa will be strong enough to use it.”

“I guess there’s only one way to find out.” Toa Lesovikk approached Vakama and held out his hand for the Kanohi Vahi. “Give it to me.”

Dume gave him a look. “And just who might you be?”

“My name is Lesovikk. I’m—”

“I know who you are,” the Turaga interjected, his eyes blazing. “You were leader of the Toa Cordak. The same Toa Cordak who met their tragic end at the hands of the Zyglak due to a mistake on their leader’s part.”

Lesovikk glared down at the Turaga. “This really isn’t the time for this. We have a Makuta to bring down.”

“How can we be assured that you won’t make the same mistake again?” Dume asked pointedly. “How do we know that you aren’t simply leading us to your deaths.”

“Enough, Dume,” Lhikan said sternly. “These Toa may very well be our only hope in bringing an end to the Makuta once and for all. We must put our faith in them if we hope to save Metru Nui and the Matoran.” To Vakama, he said, “Give him the mask.”

Vakama hesitated for a moment before handing the Mask of Time to Lesovikk. Dume opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped himself, instead simply regarding both Lhikan and Lesovikk with a look of disapproval.

“All right, then,” Lesovikk said, turning to look up at Taurrus. “Take us into the Coliseum. The rest of you, stay out here and keep an eye on the other Makuta. Get to safety if you need to, but do not engage them for any reason.”

“And if they attack us?” asked Hahli.

Lesovikk glanced at Viraka and Trinuma. “Then I’m sure you’ll have what it takes to stand your ground.”

“Of course we do,” said Hewkii. “This is our city; we’ll do anything to defend it.”

Lesovikk offered a grim smile to the Po-Matoran before turning to join the other Toa Tenebrae. He gave a nod to Taurrus, who proceeded to wrap his arms around the seven Toa and teleport them away into the Coliseum.

Only the Great Spirit knew if any of them would be making it back.

Bionicle Alternatives: Empire of Makuta V, Chapter Ten

 CHAPTER TEN

Ta-Metru

Vakama dropped his firestaff onto the floor, exhausted. It was finally finished; after hours of endless labor, he had successfully forged the legendary Mask of Time from the six Great Disks, ready to be presented to Makuta.

However, Vakama was anything but satisfied with this accomplishment. If anything, he felt disgusted with himself for allowing himself to be an enabler for whatever diabolical things Makuta planned on doing with the Mask of Time. He knew that if he had refused the request, he would have been either killed or brainwashed by the Vahki. Perhaps he should have let one of those things happened; even if it meant the mask was still created, at least he couldn’t have said he did it willingly.

Sighing to himself, Vakama pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind and picked up the newly forged mask. Stepping outside of his forge, he was surprised to see his fellow Ta-Matoran Kapura standing there, in place of the two Vahki Nuurakh that had been assigned to him outside.

“A-hoy, mask maker!” Kapura said with a grin. “Getting off work, I see?”

“Kapura?” Vakama asked, looking around incredulously for any sign of the Vahki. “What are you doing here? Where are—?”

“The Vahki? Their molecules are scattered around here somewhere.” Kapura patted the Disk Launcher attached to his back. “Been learning some Kanoka disk combinations lately.”

Vakama opened his mouth to ask something but thought against it. There would be time for explanations later… if there would even be a later.

“Well, we still need to get past Makuta Antroz,” he said. “He was outside when the Vahki brought me here.”

“He wasn’t when I got here,” said Kapura. “Although I did see something that looked like a winged Makuta flying off with another Ta-Matoran in his clutches….”

“Then we should probably leave before he gets back.” Vakama started to take a step forward only to stop. “Wait, where exactly are we escaping to?”

Kapura simply grabbed his hand. “Like you said, it would be best if we leave sooner rather than later. Besides, you’ll know it when you see it.”

Ko-Metru

“If this is your idea of a good plan, then I don’t want to see what you think a bad one is!”

Matoro ignored Nuju’s griping as he sharply turned a corner, dragging the Ko-Matoran scholar with him. The Vahki Keerahk were close behind him, firing Kanoka disks from their mouths. Clearly they had not taken kindly to Matoro freeing Nuju from the effects of their Staffs of Confusion.

The Ko-Metru chutes were just up ahead, where Kopeke and Talvi were waiting for them. Both Ko-Matoran were armed with Disk Launchers which they had pointed at the Vahki, ready to fire at any given moment.

“Nuju,” Matoro said to the panicked Ko-Matoran, “do you trust me?”

The scholar gave him a dirty look. “What do you think?!”

“Because what I’m about to do is going to require a lot of trust on your part.”

“What is that supposed to mean? What are you—”

Without warning, Matoro pulled Nuju forward and pushed the scholar ahead of him. At that moment, Kopeke fired two Kanoka successively at Nuju; the combination of disks granted the Ko-Matoran the temporary ability of speed, allowing him to reach the chute station quicker. 

Turning around, Matoro drew his own Disk Launcher and fired a Freeze-type Kanoka disk at one of the Vahki, freezing it in place. A disk from Talvi’s launcher scrambled another Keerakh unit’s molecules and reassembled it into a misshapen form, which some of the others tripped over. Still, the Vahki kept coming, undeterred in their mission to capture the Ko-Matoran.

Nuju had already gone through the chute once Matoro had gotten to it. As he was about to jump in, a bolt of energy from one of the Keerakh’s staffs struck Talvi, causing him to drop his disk launcher as he stood in a dazed state. Matoro moved to grab him only to be pushed into the chute by Kopeke. The silent Ko-Matoran then fired a disk at the chute’s control system as he jumped in as well, causing the hatch to close and blocking the Vahki from pursuing them. He then stored his launcher as he let the magnetized Protodermis carry him away to their destination.

Le-Metru

“Get back here, you insolent pests!”

Makuta Gorast cursed in a multitude of languages as she flew after the pair of Le-Matoran that were quickly getting away from her on a speeder. The one piloting the vehicle — Matau, she believed he was named — wasn’t even that good at it, yet his erratic driving made it difficult to pinpoint what he was going to do next or where he was going to turn. Her Kraata powers were useless because of this, as it was nearly impossible to concentrate on the swerving vehicle. She would have gladly used a Shadow Hand against them, if it weren’t for the fact that Teridax had ordered not to kill any of the Matoran.

But was Teridax really going to notice the absence of two Le-Matoran? She could always claim it had been an accident….

The vehicle made an abrupt turn and Gorast nearly crashed into a wall as she quickly shifted directions to follow it. The temptation to use her Shadow Hand was quickly growing stronger, especially now that she realized where the Le-Matoran were headed. She knew that there were Vahki Vorzakh stationed at the Le-Metru chute station, but at the speed the two Matoran were going, she doubted the Vahki would be able to hit them with their staffs in time.

Just as she was about to resort to desperate measures, Gorast heard a voice speak into her mind; a voice so loud she thought it was coming from all around her and was enough to make her pause in the chase.

“Come to me, my brethren.”

It was the voice of Makuta Teridax. Accompanying it was an image of the Coliseum burned into her mind; in it could, she could clearly see what appeared to be a giant red dragon attacking the capitol of Metru Nui, massive claws tearing through the walls.

The Le-Matoran had made it past the Vorzakh and were already in the chutes, but Gorast no longer cared about them. Instead, she spread her wings and took off in the direction of the Coliseum.

Ga-Metru, the Great Temple

“My head still hurts, by the way.”

“Sorry,” Hahli said as she walked alongside Nokama on the path to the Great Temple. “I was always told that hitting someone on the head was the best way of snapping them out of a Vahki’s control.”

“Well, it’s certainly effective in doing that,” Nokama muttered, rubbing her sore head.

Hahli smiled weakly at her. “I take it rescuing you isn’t enough to warrant some extra credit?”

“Ask me after we survive this rebellion.”

The two Ga-Matoran soon reached the entrance to the Great Temple. The pieces of the Vahki Bordakh that had been guarding it laid scattered around the ancient structure, having already been dealt with by Nuparu and his “Boxor Walker.” The Onu-Matoran himself was standing in the entrance to the temple, a smile on his orange mask. That smile faded when he realized that Hahli and Nokama were alone.

“Where’s Macku?” he asked.

Hahli shook her head. “She wasn’t there at the rendezvous. I also had to break Nokama out of the Bordakh’s control; maybe the Vahki have gotten to her as well.”

Nuparu sighed. “Well, in any case, the others have made it here; Hewkii and Onewa, Matau and—”

His voice trailed off as he squinted his eyes, looking at something over the two Ga-Matoran’s shoulders. “Say... is that Onepu?”

Hahli and Nokama glanced at each other before turning around. Coming across the bridge to the Great Temple was a trio of Onu-Matoran, riding on Ussal crabs that pulled carts of equipment. In the lead was an Onu-Matoran with a black Akaku mask, identifying him as the Chief Archivist Pavua. With him were Onepu and another Onu-Matoran wearing a Kanohi Ruru; Hahli believed his name was Whenua, based on what Nuparu had said about him.

Once the trio of archivists had reached the temple, Pavua dismounted from his Ussal crab and walked up to Nuparu, ignoring the two Ga-Matoran. “Nuparu!” the Chief Archivist said. “Where have you been? No one in Onu-Metru has seen you in—”

“Pavua, you really should not have come here,” Nuparu cut him off.

“Why not? We are here on the orders of Makuta Chirox himself. He wants us to find the legendary Rahi Keetongu.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t just pulling your mask? Makuta can have warped senses of humor, especially when they’re bored. And when you’ve pretty much conquered the whole universe, I imagine things can get boring very quick.”

Pavua frowned disapprovingly at him. “It doesn’t matter,” he snapped. “Once we’re done here, you can return to Onu-Metru and explain to Chirox himself why—”

As the archivist was talking, he didn’t notice Onepu sneaking up behind him with a tool in his hands. None of the other Matoran said anything as Onepu struck Pavua in the back of the head with the tool, knocking his mask off and causing him to drop to the floor, passing out.

“Oh, Mata Nui,” Onepu said as he gazed upon the unconscious Pavua. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that.”

“We should probably find someplace safe to keep him in the temple,” said Nokama as she picked up Pavua’s mask. “We can’t just leave him out here without a mask; he’ll die!”

“I’m sure we can find someplace,” Nuparu said as he lifted Pavua up by the arms, while Hahli took him by the legs. “Let’s just get inside before any Vahki come by.”

The five Matoran (plus one unconscious Chief Archivist) entered the Great Temple, where other members of the resistance were waiting. Many of them were looking exhausted and out of breath, having just narrowly escaped the clutches of the Makuta and their minions. Matau and Tamaru had especially been lucky to have escaped Makuta Gorast, who had for some reason abandoned the chase once they had reached the chutes. Hewkii and the other Po-Matoran members had been even luckier, as the Makuta of their metru had inexplicably abandoned them just seconds before he had been about to kill them — or worse.

Clearly something was going on with the Brotherhood, but none of them had time to speculate. This was probably the only chance they would get at formulating a proper plan to bring down the Brotherhood of Makuta once and for all. Even if most of them didn’t have much faith in being able to do so.

At the very least, they had a bargaining chip; Vakama had in his possession the newly forged Mask of Time. If what the legends said about the Kanohi Vahi was true, then the mask had the ability to control time itself and, if broken, could bring about the very end of it. Even the Makuta of Metru Nui himself would not dare risk destroying such a powerful object. Still, that didn’t mean the Makuta lacked the means to obtain the Vahi without destroying it.

“We’re going to need a very good thought-plan if we want to accomplish this,” said Matau, resting against the Great Temple’s Suva. “We only have one shot at this.”

“Obviously we can’t simply charge into the Coliseum like gung-ho heroes,” said Matoro, holding the tablets that had Toa Mangai strategies inscribed on them. “We need to do things conspicuously.”

“It’s hard to be conspicuous when the Makuta have eyes everywhere,” muttered Hewkii. “It seems like you just can’t turn a corner without running into a Vahki or Rahkshi.”

Hahli looked to Matoro. “Do the tablets have any strategies we can use that would get us past the Vahki guarding the Coliseum?”

“It doesn’t matter,” interjected Onewa, cutting off the Ko-Matoran before he could speak. “Those strategies were made for the Toa Mangai. We’re not Toa! We don’t have elements or mask powers or anything. We’re just Matoran!”

“You don’t need to be a Toa to be a hero,” said Kapura.

“Mahi dung,” Onewa retorted. “I just don’t see how we hope to overthrow the Makuta without any of those things. We can’t do this without Toa!”

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and the main chamber of the Great Temple was filled with an addition of seventeen additional beings. One was a giant creature with horns and a fearsome maw. At his side was a winged female being, who was looking around the chamber in confusion. In front of them both were seven warriors clad in armor and masks befitting those of a Toa, along with six creatures resembling Rahkshi and two Matoran. One of the Matoran in particular was one instantly recognized by the resistance members in the room.

“Takua!” Kapura exclaimed, rushing over to the red and blue Matoran. “We’ve all been worried about you! Thank Mata Nui you’re alive!”

Takua smiled as he clanked fists with him. “It’s good to feel alive.”

“You’re mask, though,” remarked Vakama. “It looks… different.”

Before Takua could reply, the winged being turned to the larger horned one with a disapproving look. “Taurrus, you were supposed to take us to Daxia!”

“I’m not an official member of the Order yet, Viraka,” Taurrus replied. “I don’t need to do as you say. Besides, these Matoran clearly look like they could use our help.”

“And they’re going to get that help,” said a green-armored Toa of Air, brandishing his sword. “Whether the Makuta expect it or not.”

As the Matoran all stared in awe at the newcomers, Matoro turned to a slack-jawed Onewa and smiled.

“I suppose these tablets will come in handy.”

Bionicle Alternatives: Empire of Makuta V, Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

 The island of Saevta

“Are you nervous, Krakua?”

Wide green eyes met Viraka’s blue ones. “No,” the De-Matoran whispered.

A loud roar pierced the air, causing Krakua to jump and clamp his hands over his ears. Viraka sighed quietly as she shook her head. She knew it would have been a mistake to bring a sound-sensitive Matoran to an island as noisy as Saevta. But Helryx had given her this task and Krakua had been brought along as part of his training. If he couldn’t handle a little noise, then what hope was there that he would be an effective agent of the Order?

“Come on,” she said, stepping around the large rock they had been hiding behind. “I think they’re done fighting.”

Krakua said nothing as he followed her, humming loudly to himself as a way to calm his nerves. The vast, expansive desert surrounded them as they approached the group of Saevta warriors that had been fighting. A gold-plated one was standing triumphantly over his defeated foes, raising his arms to the sky as he released a hearty laugh from his large, fanged maw.

“Another victory for Taurrus!” the fearsome being bellowed. “The Champion of Saevta has no equal!”

The defeated Saevta all glared at Taurrus as they picked themselves up and limped away from the scene. Taurrus continued to stand there, basking in the moment, as Viraka and Krakua approached him.

“A very impressive display, mighty Taurrus,” Viraka said to the tall, horned being. “Your people are truly deserving of such a warrior.”

Taurrus laughed again, though it did not sound so mirthful this time. “These savages deserve nothing of the sort. If it weren’t for those as noble as me keeping things together, our race would have gone extinct by now thanks to centuries of infighting.”

“I see,” Viraka murmured. “Was Botar such a being?”

Taurrus glanced at her, his eyes narrowing. “I know who you are, winged one,” he growled softly. “Or, rather, I know who you represent. Is Helryx too busy to speak with me herself?”

“So to speak. You know why we’re here then.”

“I don’t believe you have come here for any other reason,” Taurrus replied. “But what purpose could you and your friends possibly have for a third Saevta? Are Botar and Shikaiju not enough?”

“Botar is dead,” Viraka said grimly. “And Shikaiju has betrayed us to the Makuta.”

At this, Taurrus’ expression became a solemn one. “That is… I am sorry to hear that,” he said quietly. “I had always carried a great amount of respect for Botar, which was why I had suggested him to Helryx in the first place. And Shikaiju… she was always a difficult one to categorize. I’m not sure if anyone trusted her; not even those who considered her a friend.”

“I’m sure they weren’t the only ones,” Viraka replied. “In any case, we are in urgent need of another Saevta, especially if we hope to gather the forces necessary in fighting the Brotherhood of Makuta.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go with those guys,” Taurrus said dryly, pointing in the direction his former opponents had gone. “They clearly don’t stand much of a fighting chance, especially if a warrior as great as Botar can be so easily slain.”

“Actually, we were hoping that you would join us.”

Taurrus looked at her in surprise. “Me? Why?”

“As you have proved just now, you are one of if not the greatest warriors of Saevta. The Order of Mata Nui could use someone with your talents.”

The gold Saevta frowned as he looked off into the distance. “But… if I leave, our society will fall apart.”

“There is more at stake than what is happening here,” said Viraka. “The fate of the universe is at stake.”

Taurrus snorted. “Oh, I’ve heard that phrase quite a few times. More often than not, it is a great exaggeration.”

Viraka sighed, folding her wings tightly against her back. “Are you with us or not?”

“How much of a say do I have in the matter?” Taurrus asked, smirking. “If I say no, will you simply choose a different Saevta? Or will Helryx herself come here and try a more… direct approach in persuading me?”

Viraka opened her mouth to reply but Taurrus cut her off. “Very well,” he said. “I will lend my talents to your Order… but only until the Makuta have been vanquished. Don’t expect me to become your ferryman after all is said and done.”

“I’m not sure there’ll even be a need for one once this is all through,” Viraka muttered. “But I thank you nonetheless, mighty Taurrus.”

The Saevta chuckled. “Thank me after I do whatever it is you need me to do. Speaking of which… do you have anything particular in mind?”

“Well,” Viraka said, “there is a team of Toa that Botar was supposed to check in on. They should be in the realm of Karzahni by now.”

“Karzahni, eh?” Taurrus laughed again as he flexed his claws. “Talk about a heavy workload on the first day of the job.”

The island of Karzahni

“You have a name, don’t you?”

Takua stared at the Matoran that had initially brought him and the Rahaga into Karzahni, still waiting for an answer. Even when standing close to him, Takua still could not make out the mysterious Matoran’s eyes from within the shadows of their ghastly mask. It made it impossible to tell if the Matoran was even listening to him.

Just when Takua was about to ask again, the Matoran spoke a single word: “Janar.”

Takua blinked at him. “Pardon?”

“My name is Janar,” the Matoran said, his voice no louder than a whisper. “It has been… so long since someone has called me by that name, that I have almost forgotten it.”

Takua smiled as he placed a hand on the other Matoran’s shoulder. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that any more, Janar. Soon, there’ll be plenty of people around to call you by that name.”

Janar slowly nodded, though he continued to stare off into the distance as he had been for the past while. Sighing, Takua turned away from the Matoran and looked around to see how the others were doing. Toa Varian and the Rahaga were gathering the freed Matoran of Karzahni and trying to coax them out of the trance-like state that centuries of torturous labor had placed them in. Orde and Seldaan were laying nearby, still recovering from their injuries, while Lesovikk and Arctur stood over the constrained Karzahni, having removed his mask in case he woke up and tried to use it on them. 

Chiara and Zaria had gone off in search of Toa Orkahm and Vhisola, although Takua couldn’t help but dread that the surviving Toa Metru would be too far gone, either mentally or physically. Even so, their earlier fight with the Manas — and Umarak before then — had proved that the Toa Metru were not qualified to defend Metru Nui. Although he had only known them for little more than an hour, Takua already had more faith in these new Toa — “Toa Tenebrae” as they called themselves — than he ever had in Nuhrii and the others.

Takua turned back to Janar, hoping to get him talking again, only to notice a giant being with fangs and claws standing next to the other Matoran. Takua let out a scream and fell onto his back, scrambling away as he gazed at the large creature in fear.

The monstrous being looked down at him and, much to the Matoran’s surprise, exhaled deeply as it sighed. “I have to admit,” it muttered, “it’s rather heartbreaking to always earn that kind of reaction.”

“Don’t move!” Toa Lesovikk and Arctur were immediately at Takua’s side, brandishing their tools at the being. “State your business, Saevta,” said the Toa of Air, “before we do to you what we just did to Karzahni.”

“My, what a warm welcome,” the Saevta said dryly. “And here I was under the impression that you needed my help.”

“Lower your weapons, Toa!” A winged female being appeared from behind the Saevta, accompanied by a De-Matoran. “My name is Viraka of the Order of Mata Nui.”

“The Order?” At this, Lesovikk lowered his blade, with Arctur following suit. He glanced up at the Saevta, noting that his armor was similar to that of Botar’s, only with red replacing blue and gold replacing silver. “I thought Botar would be picking us up.”

“I’m afraid Botar is dead,” Viraka replied. “Helryx send me to recruit another Saevta so that you and Karzahni could be brought back to Daxia.”

“Well, we’re a little wary of other Saevta,” said Arctur. “Especially after our encounter with Shikaiju.”

Viraka nodded solemnly. “Yes, I am aware of that. But Taurrus here is one of the more noble members of his species. He is more than willing to serve the will of Mata Nui.”

“Only to an extent,” Taurrus said pointedly. “I don’t want anyone to raise their expectations of me too high.”

He shifted his attention to Karzahni, who continued to lay there comatose and maskless. Walking past the Toa and Matoran, Taurrus approached the mad ruler and hoisted him up by the metal bars that restrained him.

“I’ve heard legends of this being,” Taurrus mused. “I have to say, I’m a little underwhelmed.”

“You know where to take him, yes?” asked Viraka.

Taurrus grinned at her before vanishing in a flash of light, taking Karzahni with him. Seconds later, he returned in the same fashion, with Karzahni nowhere to be seen. “It was as if he was never here,” the Saevta said with a laugh.

“I guess that’s that, then,” Arctur said as he sheathed his Energy Blades. “Is there anything the Order wants us to do now?”

Before Viraka could answer, Takua spoke up as he got back to his feet. “The Rahaga and I need to return to Metru Nui,” he said. “Turaga Dume had sent us to find the Toa of Light, but we were intercepted by some being named Umarak. He took the Mask of Light and stranded us here.”

Viraka frowned. “The Makuta have the Mask of Light? Oh, Great Beings protect us….”

“There’s no time to waste then,” said Lesovikk. “Let’s head to Metru Nui.”

Viraka shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. The Brotherhood of Makuta have taken over Metru Nui; their homeland of Destral is co-inhabiting the Great City’s dome.”

Takua’s eyes widened. “No,” he murmured in shock.

“That’s all the more reason for us to go there,” Arctur said. “As Toa, we are sworn to protect the Matoran.”

“But there are only seven of you,” Viraka said pointedly. “With two of your number being injured,” she added, nodding in the direction of Orde and Seldaan.

“What would you have us do then?” asked Lesovikk. “If we don’t do anything, then the Makuta will continue to terrorize the Matoran of Metru Nui, if not worse. I know you’re not a Toa, but surely even you must understand that that is not right.”

Viraka looked at the Toa of Air, a curious expression on her face. “Haven’t you yourself sworn yourself from ever being considered a Toa again? I am surprised you care so much about the Matoran all of a sudden.”

“I’ve always cared about the Matoran,” Lesovikk muttered. “Toa or not, that has never changed. Your Order has given me a chance to make up for my failures. Defeating Karzahni has only checked off one of those boxes. Saving Metru Nui would check off another.”

“I see. But are you only doing this for your self-conscious, or because you believe it is right?”

Lesovikk opened his mouth but could not come up with an answer. Not waiting for one, Viraka turned her attention back to Taurrus.

“Take us to Daxia, Taurrus,” she said to the Saevta. “We will discuss this further with Helryx.”

“Wait!” Takua exclaimed. “What about these Matoran? What about Toa Orkahm and Vhisola?”

“We’ll have to leave them here for now,” Viraka replied. “Don’t worry, we’ll come back for them.”

Takua severely doubted that but had no chance to speak as he was grabbed by the arm and taken away from the realm of Karzahni in a flash of light. 

Bionicle Alternatives: Empire of Makuta V, Chapter Eight

 CHAPTER EIGHT

As a Ga-Matoran, Macku had no right to be afraid of water. But when she was being flown over the Silver Sea from several feet in the air within the clutches of a Makuta, she couldn’t help but feel an intense feeling of fear as she screamed for her life.

She shuttered her eyes, praying that when she opened them again, she would be back in Ga-Metru safe and sound. Instead, Makuta Vamprah took a dive and released his grip on her, sending her plummeting toward her certain doom.

Rather than plunge into water like she was expecting, Macku instead hit solid ground, grunting as she rolled from the momentum. She stopped with her back flat on the ground and, through her dizziness, she was able to make out two tall figures standing over her. One appeared to be a Makuta, clad in red and purple armor, while the other was a tall Vortixx in black and silver.

“Another one?” the former growled, exasperation prevalent in his voice. “The ones we have are already taking up enough space.”

“Clearly Makuta Vamprah sees value in this one,” said the Vortixx. “Of course, if you don’t want her, then I will gladly bring her to my Visorak.”

“That won’t be necessary, Roodaka,” the Makuta said as he seized Macku’s arm and pulled her up. “The last thing I need is to see your rabid mutations running around and messing with things.”

As the Makuta dragged Macku away, the Ga-Matoran looked up to see Vamprah flying back in the direction of Metru Nui. Dread set into her heart as she realized where she was. Clearly drowning her in the Silver Sea wasn’t a good enough punishment and she loathed to think what the Makuta had in store for her instead.

The Makuta brought her to the central fortress that presided over the island of Destral and descended the stairwell that led into the dungeons. Darkness began to envelop Macku’s vision and she could barely see the path her captor was taking her on. The further the went, she better she could hear the rattling of chains and the groans of misery. She then heard the creak of a cell door before being roughly shoved inside. The door slammed shut behind her and the footsteps of the Makuta quickly receded away.

“Fantastic,” Macku grumbled as she massaged her arm, feeling sore from the Makuta’s tight grip. “This sure is shaping up to be a great plan.”

“Hello?” A voice weakly called out to her from the darkness. “Is someone there?”

Macku turned in the direction of the voice, barely able to make out the outline of another Matoran. “I take it I’m not the first one to be abducted,” she replied.

“I’m afraid not,” the other Matoran said grimly. “My name is Kongu.”

“Kongu,” Macku repeated the name. “I think I’ve heard of you. You’re a friend of Matau’s, aren’t you?”

“You know Matau? Is he all right?”

Macku shook his head. “No one’s seen him in some time. He was supposed to meet with me and other members of the resistance in Po-Metru, but he wasn’t there last time I was there.”

“It’s possible the Vahki Vorzakh got to him,” Kongu said quietly. “I’d been seeing lots of Le-Matoran ‘shamblers’ ever since Makuta Gorast took charge; lots more than usual.”

“How did you end up here?”

“I was heading for a rendezvous with Tamaru when Gorast swooped in and picked me up, bringing me here. She didn’t say anything to me or even to the Makuta outside.”

“Yeah, same with me,” Macku muttered. “The red Makuta outside even said there were others here, ‘taking up space’ as he put it.”

“Well, you’re the first I’ve seen so far,” said Kongu. “Great Spirit knows who or where the others are… or what the Makuta have planned for us.”

“I don’t think I want to find out. We need to get out of here.”

“Uh, and just how are we going to do that? There aren’t any windows or anything here. Just a big metal door, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t think either of us can open that thing.”

“Then we should have a plan for when the Makuta come back for us,” said Macku. “I’m not going to just sit around and wait for the Makuta to turn us into horrible freaks or… or whatever.”

“Well, I’m open to any ideas you may have because—” 

Before Kongu could finish speaking, the ground shook violently, knocking both Matoran off their feet. As the ground continued to rumble, Macku grabbed onto the bars of the cell door to pull herself up, only for its rusted hinges to snap off from the violent quakes, allowing the door to swing open and fling Macku outside.

“Well,” Kongu said as he crawled out of the cell after her. “That’s one way to escape.”

*  *  *

Makuta Tridax grunted as sharp claws pressed down into his shoulders, pushing him deeper into the ground. He could feel the breath of the forty-foot tall dragon as it lowered its head to be face-to-mask with the Makuta of Nynrah, its fearsome maw stretching back to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth.

“Where,” the red beast growled, “is Makuta Teridax?”

It was a voice Tridax had not heard in nearly 80,000 years, yet he recognized it all the same. “M-Miserix?”

“Answer me!” bellowed the former leader of the Brotherhood, pressing his claw further down onto Tridax’s chest.

“He-he’s not here!” Tridax gasped. “He’s… he’s in Metru Nui. You’ll probably find him at the Coliseum. That’s all I know, I swear!”

Miserix sneered at him. “You better be telling the truth, or else—”

He was cut off as he was struck in the back by a Rhotuka spinner, drawing out an annoyed roar from the Makuta. Pulling away from Tridax, Miserix turned to see Roodaka standing there with an army of Visorak spiders, all positioned to fire their spinners at him.

“You are not welcome here, Rahi,” said Roodaka, holding her Catcher Claws aloft in her hands. “Stand down now before we are forced to domesticate you.”

“I am no Rahi!” Miserix called upon his power of chain lightning to electrocute several of the Visorak, startling the others and prompting them to scatter. Roodaka attempted to summon them back to her only for Miserix to grab her by the neck and lift her up, pulling him close to his face.

“I could incinerate you here and now with no more than a single thought,” the dragon Makuta snarled to the Vortixx. “But, seeing as how you do not know me, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and spare you… for now. Once I am through with Teridax, you and your Makuta masters will be forced to decide whether to side with me or against me. Whatever you choose, your choice will forever seal your fate.”

With that, he tossed Roodaka back to the ground before spreading his wings and taking off into the sky. Tridax watched as the massive dragon flew in the direction of Metru Nui before slowly rising from the pit Miserix had dug him into. The former Brotherhood leader’s arrival had dealt some damage to Destral, with portions of the main fortress having collapsed. He wouldn’t have been surprised if some of the prisoners had managed to get out.

But Tridax was not concerned about prisoners at the moment. He had more pressing matters to attend to.

As much as he hated to admit it, he needed to find Icarax.

*  *  *

“Mata Nui, where’s a lightstone when you need one?” Macku muttered as she fumbled around in the dark. Although she and Kongu had managed to break out (if only thanks to sheer luck), they were still stuck in the dungeons with hardly any light source nearby to illuminate their path. She tried retracing the path on which Makuta Tridax had taken her on to bring her here, but that simply resulted in her bumping into walls or into Kongu.

“What I would do to be an Onu-Matoran right about now,” she said quietly to herself.

She heard Kongu trip and fall over something, letting out a loud “Oof!” The Le-Matoran then said, “I think I’ve found the stairs!”

He grabbed Macku’s hand and pulled her in his direction. They walked up a few steps only for the stairs to stop right there. Macku could have sworn that there had been more when she had been brought down here.

Feeling around in the darkness, her hand fell into a crevice in the wall, where she found some kind of knob. Without thinking, she turned it and a row of lightstones lit up on either side of the room they had found themselves in. The light from the stones wasn’t strong, but it was enough for her and Kongu to finally see where they were.

In front of them was a small pedestal with six glowing colored stones placed on top of it. Kongu walked up to the pedestal and picked up a green stone, marveling it as he rolled it around in his hands.

“Toa stones,” he whispered. “Why would the Makuta be keeping Toa stones?”

Macku frowned as she stepped up to join him, retrieving a blue-colored stone from the pedestal. She was aware of the nature of these stones from what Toa Vhisola had once told her some time ago. Vhisola, Nuhrii, and the other Toa Metru had been given stones like these by Toa Lhikan, with directions to the Great Temple and instructions to place the stones within the Suva. This process was what had transformed Vhisola and the others into Toa… for all the good that had done.

Macku had never thought to ask how Lhikan had created those Toa stones, leaving her clueless as to how — or even why — the Makuta had their own on hand. Whatever their reasons were, though, they could not have been for anything good.

“Let’s take these,” Macku said, taking two of the other stones from the pedestal.

Kongu looked at her. “What good will these do for us?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure they’re better off in our hands than in the Makuta’s.”

“Fair point,” Kongu said as he took the remaining two Toa stones. He then reached up and broke off a lightstone from the wall, holding it in one hand while he carried the three Toa stones in his other arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

*  *  *

“Icarax!”

Tridax’s voice echoed throughout the Forbidden Section. The library of the Destral Fortress was a vast chamber filled with ancient carvings and stone tablets containing forbidden knowledge, typically involving sciences that went against the nature of the Great Spirit. The room was frequently visited by the likes of Mutran and Chirox, while the other Makuta — including Tridax himself — didn’t care much for immersing themselves with such things. Icarax, especially, loathed the library and considered it the most frivolous extension of the Brotherhood’s fortress.

Which was exactly why Makuta Teridax had assigned him to be the library’s keeper upon his return to power.

It was a petty move, which was probably the intention. Had it been any other Makuta who had betrayed him and usurped power, Teridax would have obliterated them without hesitation. But considering it had been Icarax of all people — someone who the other Makuta considered to be nothing more than an arrogant bully — then confining him to a fate he considered to be a fate worse than death was exactly the kind of punishment Icarax deserved for his actions. Even the Mask of Shadows, which Teridax had bestowed to him after acquiring the Kanohi Nui, did him little good in his present conditions.

Of course, Icarax’s possession of the Kanohi Kraahkan was the only reason Tridax was seeking him out in the first place. Otherwise, he would not have been giving him a single thought.

“Icarax!” Tridax called out again, stepping over broken tablets that had fallen from their shelves. “Where are you?”

A winged figure in crimson and black armor emerged from one of the aisles, stepping through the wreckage of the library as if it had always been in this state. His tired eyes glowed from the narrowed slits of the Mask of Shadows, regarding Tridax as if he was an obnoxious nuisance.

“What do you want?” the Makuta of Karzahni asked, his voice quiet and raspy.

“I need your help,” Tridax said. “Or, more specifically, I need your mask.”

“Ah. Of course,” Icarax said dryly. “Why else would you have come for me?”

“Miserix has returned,” Tridax went on. “He’s going after Teridax. I’m not sure how well that new mask of his is going to serve him.”

“And you think the Kraahkan will do him any good?” asked Icarax.

“I don’t know what I think,” Tridax snarled. “All I know is that we should make some kind of effort to aid Teridax lest he punishes us for not doing so.”

“And just why would Teridax accept my help? Or, better yet, why should I help him?”

“Think of it this way: If you help Teridax, then maybe — just maybe — he’ll give you a position that’s more dignifying than being a bookkeeper. If you don’t, then you’ll either remain a bookkeeper or be executed. The choice is yours.”

Icarax stared at Tridax for a moment. Then, a smile slowly crept onto the features of the Mask of Shadows. 

“You know,” the Makuta of Karzahni said, “it would be nice to finally put this mask to good use.”

Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia XIII, Chapter Twelve

 CHAPTER TWELVE

Decepticon camp, near Talisman’s location

“Ha! Read ‘em and weep, boys! Full house!”

Ramjet groaned as Thrust threw his cards down for him and Dirge to see. “Are you kidding me?!” the white and gray Seeker growled, tossing his remaining cards aside. “This is the third time in a row!”

“Exactly!” Thrust grinned smugly as he collected his winnings. “Just goes to show you how good I am.”

“You must be cheating. I don’t see how you can possibly be that good at Praxus Fold ‘Em.”

“Suck it up, Ramjet. Sometimes you just have to accept how much of a loser you are.”

Ramjet glanced at Dirge, who was still holding his cards and not really paying much attention to Thrust’s gloating. “He cheated, right? He has to be cheating.”

Dirge looked back at Ramjet, who braced himself for the blue Seeker to go on one of his “doom-and-gloom” diatribes. Instead, Dirge shifted his optics to look over Ramjet’s shoulder. The other Seeker turned around to see a massive, brutish bot in purple and gold approaching the three of them.

“Hey!” Ramjet called over to the newcomer. “It’s Killmaster, right? Been a while since anyone’s heard from you.”

“Is it true you used to be called ‘Murderking?’” asked Thrust. “Skywarp once told me that was your name before you changed it. I just figured he was pulling my leg….”

Killmaster said nothing as he stepped up to the three Seekers, looming over them even after they had risen from their makeshift “game table.” Behind them was the entrance to the chamber that contained the mysterious artifact known as the Talisman. It took a few seconds for Ramjet to remember that was the reason for the three of them being out here in the first place and he quickly assumed his “tough guard” persona.

“So, uh, what brings you out here?” he asked, crossing his arms. “Did Megatron put you on guard duty as well?”

“Move,” Killmaster rumbled.

“Uh, I don’t think so. Not until you answer my question.”

Without a word, Killmaster swung an arm and struck Ramjet, sending him flying into Dirge. As the two Seekers crashed to the ground, Thrust scrambled to pick up his winnings from the game and transformed into his jet mode, taking off into the sky.

“Get back here, you coward!” Ramjet screamed, but the red jet was already long gone. He struggled to get back up but stopped when Killmaster pointed his wand at him.

“If you wish to keep your privilege of existing,” the larger Decepticon growled, “then you will stay where you are.”

If Ramjet had any shred of honor, he would have made an attempt to stop Killmaster as the Warrior Elite entered the chamber to the Talisman. But because honor was such a foreign concept to him, the Seeker simply remained where he was as he watched Killmaster vanish through the entrance.

*  *  *

Scorponok watched from afar as Killmaster entered the chamber, having given the Warrior Elite instructions on what to do once he reached the Talisman. Scorponok was aware of Killmaster’s “wand” and how it relocated objects and people into a pocket dimension that only Killmaster had access to. He would then have Killmaster transport him into the pocket dimension as well, where he could analyze and operate on the Talisman without any interference from Megatron or the other Decepticons.

It was the perfect plan. Naturally, it would be, seeing as how it was his plan.

Once Killmaster was in, Scorponok did a quick scan of the Decepticon camp to make sure no one unwanted was around. Just to be on the safe side, he held the Magnificence in his claws and repeatedly asked it on Megatron, Starscream, or Shockwave’s whereabouts. Each time, it reassured him that they were all within Trypticon and not privy to his activities.

Scorponok couldn’t help but grin to himself. For once, things were going perfectly for him.

Of course, there was still the matter of Sari. Shatter and Dropkick had yet to report on their efforts in tracking her down, something which he was increasingly growing worried about. This told him that her powers were developing faster than he had anticipated, making her a formidable opponent even to Decepticons as skilled as Shatter or Dropkick. Not only would this make her difficult to recapture, but it would surely arouse Megatron’s interest.

He could not have that. He would not have Megatron interfere with his plans; not again. Not even the Grand Architect was going to stand in his way.

And once ultimate power was his — which it soon would be — no one would.

The Ark II

“I’ll admit, it’s not the best setup, but it’s what we have to work with,” Wheeljack said as he dropped another crate of supplies in the corner of the Ark’s command center.

“I still don’t see why we couldn’t just stay on Metroplex,” Sunstreaker commented, his face twisted slightly in disgust as he looked around the less-than-tidy room. “For one, it’s a lot more roomier there.”

“We can’t bring Metroplex too close into Earth’s orbit less Trypticon detects him,” replied Optimus Prime, standing in the center of the room as he observed the other Autobots on his team set up operations. “I understand that this is a less convenient alternative, but it is what we have to work with if we hope in accomplishing our mission effectively.”

“And just how are we gonna deal with the Decepticons when they’re on the opposite side of the globe?” asked Sideswipe.

“Leave that to me, Sideswipe,” Optimus said. “For now, continue getting things set up. I’m going to check on Teletraan-X and see if its made contact with Agent Fowler.”

“Right here, Captain: Optimus Prime!” exclaimed Teletraan-X as it zipped up to the Autobot leader’s face, startling him. “Agent: William E.H. Fowler is currently on speaker on line delta-one-alpha—”

“Please, put him on,” Optimus said, trying his best not to sound exasperated.

“Prime?” Agent Fowler’s voice crackled out from Teletraan-X’s speaker, just barely audible. “Is that you? I didn’t — -lize you were back.”

“You seem to be breaking up, Agent Fowler. What is your present location?”

“Still trying to — -gure that out myself. I’m trying to meet up with a girl named Sari, who the ‘Cons have an interest in for some reason.”

Optimus frowned behind his faceplate. “Yes, I’ve been informed of her. Do you know her last known location?”

“I just got a call from her,” Fowler replied. “She’s somewhere in California; near her school, Furman University, I think. She’s with some guy named Kicker. I don’t suppose you — are within range of there?”

“We are one state over, but I believe we are close enough to reach her in no time. I will send some of my Autobots over there as soon as possible.”

“Good. I’ll meet them there. And, Prime?”

“Yes, Agent Fowler?”

“It’s good to have you back.” Fowler’s tone was the warmest Optimus had ever head it. “Out of all you robots, I always respected you the most. After the rough time I had… it’s good to have someone I know I can trust.”

Optimus nodded, even though Fowler couldn’t see him. “Likewise. And… it’s good to be back.”

With that, the call ended and Optimus Prime turned to face the other Autobots. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were already standing to attention, wide grins on their faces.

“So!” the former said. “When do we leave?”

Furman University

“You’re sure we’ll be safe here?”

“No,” Sari admitted as she and Kicker walked onto the campus grounds, navigating their way through crowds of university students. “But it’s the only place I could think of where I know someone I can trust. I don’t know if they’ll be here, but….”

She trailed off as she scanned the crowds for any sign of Jack, Miko, or Raf. She spotted plenty of other students that she recognized, but none of them she would trust to tell them about her current situation. It might have not been a top priority to find them — she only needed to wait here long enough for Fowler or someone to pick her up — but she still wanted to find them so she could assure them that she was all right.

Well, “all right” being the operative term.

“Maybe they’re in the library?” Kicker asked, pointing at the building in question.

“Maybe,” Sari murmured, still surveying the crowds. “I suppose we might as well check there.”

Making their way towards the school library, Sari noticed a blond white girl standing on the front steps. They locked eyes and Sari immediately felt a sense of discomfort fall over her, shifting at the blond’s intense gaze.

“Hi, Sari,” the young woman said, her tone neutral.

“Um, hi,” Sari said, trying not to sound too uneasy. “Sorry, do I know you?”

“My name’s Alice. You’re a friend of Jack’s, aren’t you?”

“I am, actually. Is he here?”

“He said you had gone missing,” Alice went on, deflecting the question. “He’s been pretty worried about you.”

“I can understand why. So, is he here?”

“I haven’t seen him. He might be at his dorm.” Alice’s eyes briefly flickered to Kicker before she began walking down the steps. “Well, I suppose I’ll catch you later.”

Sari watched the other girl leave and was about to speak to her again when Kicker gently tugged on her arm. She looked at him and saw a strange look in his eyes as he motioned his head to the library doors. Taking the hint, Sari remained quiet as she and Kicker entered the library and found an unoccupied study corner to sit in, with no one around to overhear them.

“Do you know that girl?” Sari asked as she sat across from Kicker.

Kicker shook his head. “No, but something about her rubbed me the wrong way. The way she was looking at you, and at me… it just made me feel a little suspicious.”

“I’ve never met her,” Sari said quietly. “I mean, I think Jack mentioned something about having a crush on a girl in one of his classes, and she kinda looked the way he’d described her, but… I don’t see why she would have an interest in me. Or not tell me where Jack was.”

“Something’s definitely up, I’ll tell you that much. Whether it’s something to be worried about or just typical college drama, is another question.”

Sari couldn’t help but smirk. “The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Kicker didn’t smile back, glancing back at the doors as if he was expecting Alice to walk through them. At that moment, Sari’s phone pinged and she brought it out to read the new message.

“Fowler says that the Autobots are coming to pick me up,” she told Kicker. “I just need to tell him where we’re at.”

“We should leave,” Kicker said, suddenly standing up.

Sari looked up at him, frowning. “Why?”

Before he could answer her, the doors to the library swung open as Alice stormed back in… only this time, her appearance had changed drastically. Her eyes were glowing blue while her blond hair whirled around her head, as if being blown by a powerful wind. Her hands had split up into different segments, exposing mechanical parts beneath the skin, as orbs of energy hovered in her palms. Sari and Kicker barely had time to duck as Alice threw the orbs at them and vaporized the spot where they had been sitting.

As debris fell around her, Sari whipped her head to look at Kicker, who was already suiting up. “Is this the ‘one who got loose?’” she asked as she did the same.

“Only one way to find out,” Kicker muttered, unsheathing his energy sword as Alice propelled herself into the air and lunged at the two techno-organics.

Bionicle Alternatives: Empire of Makuta V, Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Norik, wake up! Norik!”

Rahaga Norik groaned as he awoke to Gaaki’s gentle shaking. Lifting his head from the cold stone floor, he looked up to see the other five Rahaga standing around him. The six of them were all cramped together in a small — even for a Matoran-sized being — cell, with thick iron bars preventing them from being able to escape. If Norik had still been a Toa of Fire, he would have easily been able to melt the bars, or even use his Mask of Diminishment to squeeze his way out. Alas, those days were long behind him….

“Are we still in Karzahni?” he asked, rubbing his eyes to clear them.

“Yes,” Gaaki said quietly. “He must have locked us up after… distracting us with that… that—”

“Nightmare?” Iruini supplied. “I mean, I’m guessing you guys saw the same thing I did.”

“The Great Spirit dying as the shadows of the Makuta tear the universe asunder?” asked Kualus.

“Yeah, something like that.”

Norik allowed Gaaki to take his hand and pull him to his feet, before noticing a very major absence. “Where’s Takua?”

“Karzahni must have put him to work with the rest of the Matoran,” said Bomonga. “As much as I hate to say it, I hope he’s just doing what he’s told. I’ve heard stories about what Karzahni does to those who refuse to work for him, and… I wouldn’t wish such fates on my worst enemy.”

Norik frowned as he walked past the others and up to the cell bars, gripping them tightly. “There must be a way out of here,” he murmured. “Perhaps we could use our Rhotuka spinners to—”

Before he could finish, he heard a loud bang come from outside, just down the hallway. What sounded like the screech of a Manas crab followed, accompanied by flashes of lightning that lit up the corridor. In the matter of seconds, the Manas’ screams were silenced and the faint aroma of smoke filled the air.

“There were less extreme ways you could have handled that,” a female voice spoke up; a voice that sounded very familiar to Norik’s ears.

“What did you think I should have done?” retorted another. “Stealthily walk past them? Besides, they’re just going to get in the way after we free the prisoners.”

“Are you sure there are prisoners down here? I mean… wait a minute.”

Footsteps quickly approached the cell the Rahaga were in and, before long, a blue and gold figure appeared behind the bars of the door. A look of confusion crossed the Toa of Psionics’ expression as she gazed upon the small Rahkshi-like beings.

“Wow. I’ve heard that Karzahni did shoddy repair jobs, but I didn’t know they were that bad.”

“Varian?” Norik said, gazing up at the Toa. “Is that you?”

“How do you know my… wait. Norik?” Toa Varian’s eyes widened as they met those of the red Rahaga. “Is that… is that really you?”

“Come on, Varian,” Norik said, chuckling slightly. “You know you don’t need me to answer that.”

A wide grin replaced the perplexed expression on the Psionics Toa’s mask. “You know, to be honest, this is exactly the kind of predicament I always expected you to wind up in.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you, too,” Iruini interjected. “Say, how about you break us out of here before you two get cutesy with each other.”

While Norik glared at Iruini, Varian looked over to the blue and white Toa of Lightning that had accompanied her. “Chiara, do you think you could call Zaria over? I’ve got something for him to do.”

“I thought he was right behind me.” Toa Chiara looked over her shoulder just as another Manas crab — one with its carapace misshapen and warped — was thrown on top of the one she and Varian had taken down. Zaria himself then stepped down into the dungeon, dusting off his hands.

“Did somebody say my name?” the Toa of Iron asked.

“Get over here, metal-head,” said Chiara. “We’ve got some… weird Rahkshi-Matoran to break out.”

“We’re not Rahkshi!” Pouks piped up. “Or Matoran! We used to be Toa, just like you!”

“You guys must have had a pretty bad day, then.”

Kualus cleared his throat. “I mean, you’re not wrong.”

While Varian and Chiara stepped away from the cell, Zaria approached the door and used his elemental powers to bend the metal bars apart, creating a large enough opening for the six Rahaga to get through. As Norik and the others filed out of the cell, a distant crash could be heard through the walls of the dungeon, followed by what sounded like very strong winds tearing the land outside asunder.

“Sounds like me on a bad day,” Iruini muttered.

“Well,” Varian said quietly, “that’s one way of putting it….”

*  *  *

“WHERE ARE THEY?!”

Lesovikk’s cries were carried by the winds of his storm as they tore through the realm of Karzahni. The crazed ruler and namesake of the realm itself stood in the center of the storm, staring at the enraged Toa of Air as if he was curious specimen rather than the destroyer of his land.

“ANSWER ME!” Lesovikk cried as he aimed his sword and sent a blast of wind in Karzahni’s direction.

The mad ruler crossed his arms and braced himself through the powerful gust, barely maintaining his stance. Once it had passed, he unfurled a set of chains from his hand and lashed them at Lesovikk. The Toa of Air raised his sword to block them only to cry out as they brushed against his arm, sending an intense blast of heat through his armor. This caused him to lose concentration of the cyclone he had been controlling and the winds slowly began to settle.

As Lesovikk tried to shrug off the pain, Karzahni started to approach him, holding his flaming chains in his hands.

“I do wish I could provide you with an answer,” the tyrant said. “But I simply have no idea who you are talking about.”

Lesovikk glared at Karzahni, his eyes burning with hatred. “My friends. Sarda and Idris. Defilak and Dekar. The Turaga of my homeland sent everyone to your realm while I was away. I have spent so many years searching for them, trying to get into your land. I swore to myself that I would find them and free them from your cruelty.”

Karzahni laughed, a harsh sound on the Toa’s ears. “Then you have wasted your time. I sent many of the Matoran I had repaired to the Southern Continent long ago, before I was shunned by the rest of the universe. Whether your friends were among them, I cannot say. I’m not very good with names or faces… especially since I love replacing them.”

Lesovikk’s eyes went wide, staring at Karzahni in disbelief. “You mean… they’re not here.”

“Or they’re dead. Any Matoran who refuses to work gets turned into a statue, and you’ve already destroyed a fair amount of them.” The mad ruler chuckled, a cruel grin twisting across his mask. “That would be painfully tragic, wouldn’t it? For you to come so far, after so long, only to kill the ones you vowed to rescue.”

Lesovikk suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He dropped to his knees, feeling exhausted, as his Air Sword clattered to the ground.

“Imagine that,” Karzahni said quietly, his voice as quiet and cold as the wind. “A Toa murdering Matoran. What would the world think?”

Unable to bring himself to speak, or even to think clearly, Lesovikk said nothing, staring at the ground as painful memories of guilt and sorrow began to wrack his mind.

Suddenly, Karzahni let out a sharp cry of pain and he whirled around to find Toa Arctur and Seldaan, the latter’s hands glowing with superheated gas.

“Ooh,” the Toa of Plasma said, grinning widely. “Somebody didn’t like that.”

Snarling, Karzahni lashed his chains at the two Toa. Seldaan was able to avoid the attack by jumping to the side while Arctur was struck across the mask. While the Toa of Gravity stumbled back, Seldaan came running back towards Karzahni, unleashing blasts of plasma from his hands. Withstanding the attacks, Karzahni pulled his chains taut and swung them at Seldaan. They locked onto the Toa’s armor and began to coil around his arms as he came closer to the mad ruler. As Seldaan skidded to a halt, Karzahni pulled on the chains and drew a long, agonized scream from the Toa of Plasma as the chains burned through his armor. Despite his natural resistance to heat, the sensation was too much for him and he fell to his knees, quickly losing control of his senses.

“No!” Arctur cried out as he charged towards Karzahni, energy blade raised high above his head. He jumped onto Karzahni’s back and drove his blade into the tyrant’s arm, causing him to lose his grip on the chains. By then, however, it was too late as Seldaan had already passed out from the pain and now laid unconscious on the ground.

“Insolent pest,” Karzahni growled as he grabbed Arctur and hurled him off his back. The Toa of Gravity landed where Lesovikk was and the Toa of Air lifted his heavy head to lock eyes with him.

“Arctur.” Lesovikk’s voice was quiet, almost raspy. “Do it.”

“What?” The Toa of Gravity looked at him in confusion before realization set into his eyes. “No. No, Lesovikk, I can’t… I can’t do that. It’s against the—”

“The code doesn’t matter,” Lesovikk snarled. “If it means letting depraved beings like him live, then the Toa Code doesn’t mean Muaka dung. Do it!”

Arctur shook his head, even as Karzahni approached him from behind. “We can beat him, Lesovikk. Without resorting to murder. The Order wants him alive, so we’re going to bring him in alive.”

“I don’t care what the Order wants. They don’t know what he’s done to the Matoran. They don’t know just how dangerous he is.”

“Oh, but you do.” Karzahni cackled as he spun his chains in his hands. “Question is: will any of you live to tell the tale?”

The mad tyrant positioned himself to throw his chains at the Toa… only for his arms to suddenly go slack. His chains clinked together as they fell to the ground before their owner followed suit, landing with a loud thud. The two Toa stared slack-jawed at the immobile form of Karzahni before turning around to see Toa Orde standing nearby, swaying uneasily on his feet.

“Ow,” the Toa of Psionics muttered, clutching his head. “My head….”

With that, he fell to the ground just as Karzahni had. Arctur quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed over to his comrade’s side, leaving Lesovikk alone to gaze upon Karzahni in his comatose state. His eyes slowly drifted to his Air Sword, just within reach. Before he could move to retrieve it and do what he was about to do, he caught movement in the corner of his eye and turned to see the other Toa emerge from Karzahni’s fortress, followed by a group that consisted of freed Matoran and six Rahkshi-like beings that Lesovikk did not recognize.

“By the Great Spirit,” said a blue member of the latter group as she gazed upon the wreckage of what had once been Karzahni’s realm.

“This one is injured,” said a brown one, rushing over to an injured Seldaan. “Gaaki, Bomonga, could you help me with him?”

While the two Rahaga joined their comrade, the remaining three approached Lesovikk and the others along with their Toa rescuers and the Matoran. Noticing Orde’s predicament, Varian rushed over to him while Chiara and Zaria stared down at the comatose Karzahni.

“Huh,” the latter grunted. “I didn’t think it would be that easy.”

“It wasn’t,” Lesovikk muttered, slowly rising to his feet, if a bit unsteadily. “He won’t be like this forever. Could you create some restraints for him?”

Zaria nodded and conjured metal bars around Karzahni, wrapping them tightly around the mad tyrant’s body. Once he was at least slightly confident that Karzahni wouldn’t be breaking out of them any time soon, Lesovikk directed his attention to Orde and walked over to where the Toa of Psionics laid. Varian had used her powers to help him regain consciousness, though he still appeared to be incredibly tired and weak.

“Good work,” Lesovikk said to him with a curt nod. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Toa of Psionics use their powers like that.”

“I had to muster the strength to do so,” Orde muttered. “Kinda hard to concentrate when all hell was breaking loose.”

“I would strongly recommend that you not do something like that again,” Varian said. “At least, not anytime soon. It’s going to be a while before you’re back to full strength.”

“Has anyone seen Takua?” asked one of the Rahkshi-like beings, scanning the ruined land of Karzahni. “He’s a red and blue Ta-Matoran with—”

“Over here!” A blue hand poked out from beneath a pile of rubble. “I’m still alive! At least, I think so….”

Arctur used his gravity powers to lift the rubble off of Takua, freeing the Matoran. After dusting himself off, Takua looked up to see the Rahaga and Toa staring at him strangely.

“What did I do?” he asked.

“Your mask, Takua,” said the red Rahaga.

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Takua raised a hand to his fearsome-looking mask, carefully tracing its rough edges. “Karzahni replaced it and broke my old one. I don’t suppose there’s a more… normal mask lying around, is there?”

“I’m afraid we don’t have time to look for one,” said Lesovikk. “We have to bring Karzahni back to the Order before he regains his strength.”

“Uh, one problem with that,” said Arctur. “Our boat was barely large enough to fit the seven of us. How are we going to fit Karzahni and all these Matoran… and whatever those Rahkshi things are.”

“We were also accompanied by two Toa,” said the blue Rahaga. “They were taken away by the Manas.”

Lesovikk looked to Chiara. “You didn’t find them in the fortress?”

Chiara shook her head. “I mean, we didn’t look that thoroughly because you guys were causing so much havoc. I suppose we could go back in and do another check.”

“Okay, so that would be two more we’d have to fit on the boat,” Arctur said. “I’m not sure if I’m making myself clear, but we’re going to need a lot bigger boat if we want to take everyone with us back to the Order.”

“What about that Botar fellow?” asked Zaria. “He was able to teleport us around, so I don’t see why he can’t do the same here.”

“And just how are we supposed to call him here?” Chiara questioned.

“I don’t know. I guess we just call his name.” Zaria cupped his hands over his mouth as he hollered to the sky. “BOTAR!”

A minute passed and nothing happened. A heavy sigh escaped Lesovikk’s mouth as he dropped himself to the ground, drawing his knees up to his chest and lowering his head.

“I am not having a good day….” 

Bionicle Alternatives: Empire of Makuta V, Chapter Six

 CHAPTER SIX

Onu-Metru

“Tsk, tsk. Another letdown.”

Onepu withheld a grimace as he looked upon the twisted monstrosity in front of him. What had once been an innocent Ash Bear had been mutated into a horrifying beast with a disfigured face and a malformed left arm, ending in a series of blade-like fingers. He had never seen such a horrible creation… yet the black-and-green Makuta standing beside him treated it as if it was an everyday sight for him.

“I can never seem to get the proportions just right,” Mutran murmured to himself, tapping his mask with sharp fingers. “One arm is always different than the other. Such a shame; it was turning out so well.”

He made a small gesture with his hand and the mutated Ash Bear returned to its stasis tube. As the two layers of glass fell over the Rahi, subduing it with gases, Mutran directed his gaze to Onepu. The Onu-Matoran archivist instantly tensed, apprehensive for what the Makuta had to say to him.

“Stay here while I go fetch some more supplies,” Mutran said as he strode past Onepu. “If you touch anything, I’ll have you be my next test subject.”

Before Onepu could even say a word, Mutran was already gone. The Onu-Matoran let out the breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding in. Ever since the Makuta’s takeover of Metru Nui, life in the Archives had taken a complete turn for the worst. Rather than study Rahi, the archivists were expected to bring them to their new Makuta overseers, Mutran and Chirox, so that they could be experimented on and transformed into war beasts, thought the results were anything but pleasing. It sickened Onepu to his very core, but of course the price for voicing his disapproval would be a fate worse than death.

“Mata Nui,” he heard a voice murmur behind him. “Not Graalok….”

Onepu frowned as he turned to see his fellow archivist Whenua standing there with an aghast expression on his mask. Of all the Rahi in the archives, Whenua had formed a personal connection with the particular Ash Bear specimen Mutran had just mutated. Onepu wasn’t sure why Whenua was so close with Graalok, though he suppose he was one to talk considering his affinity for Ussal Crabs.

“He didn’t hurt her much, if that’s any comfort,” Onepu said quietly, knowing deep down that it wasn’t. “She’s a tough girl; she can handle a lot.”

Whenua was silent as he stepped over to Graalok’s stasis tube, putting his hand on the glass. The mutated Ash Bear slept peacefully in stasis; Onepu could only hope that she felt no pain while in that state.

After a tender moment, Whenua let out a sigh as he turned to face Onepu. “We’ve got new orders from Makuta Chirox,” he said grimly. “He wants us to find a rare Rahi hiding somewhere here on Metru Nui.”

A look of confusion crossed Onepu’s mask. “A rare Rahi? Here?”

“Somewhere,” Whenua replied. “He said he would provide us with more details once we were all gathered.”

“Wait, who’s we? Just you and me?”

“You, me, Taipu, and the Chief Archivist. I don’t know why he wants the four of us specifically, but you know I’m not going to be the one to question him.”

Onepu frowned as he looked towards the door. “But Makuta Mutran told me to stay here. Should I wait until he comes back before telling him?”

“I don’t know, Chirox made it sound like he wanted to see us all in the shortest time possible. I don’t think he’s too keen on waiting.”

“Great,” Onepu muttered. “If only Mavrah was still around; then I could just ask him to be my decoy, just like the Kinloka Incident.”

“Uh-huh.” Whenua tugged on his arm. “Come on, we should go. I’m sure Mutran would understand, especially if it’s an order from another Makuta.”

“I don’t know,” Onepu said as he followed his fellow archivist out. “Have you seen the two of them work together? It’s like watching a Ta-Matoran and a Po-Matoran try to screw in a lightstone….”

*  *  *

“You want us to go to the Great Temple?”

Makuta Chirox glared at Chief Archivist Pavua, who immediately shrank from his gaze. “Do you have difficulty hearing, Archivist? Because I can easily amend that.”

“No, Makuta,” Pavua murmured, the three scopes of his mask retracting. “Please, continue.”

Onepu and Whenua exchanged glances as Chirox resumed speaking. “You are to travel to the Great Temple, where you will find information regarding the location of the Rahi you call ‘Keetongu.’”

Onepu perked up at the name but did not dare interrupt. He had heard of Keetongu before — every Onu-Matoran had — but most of the Archivists had dismissed him to be nothing more than a myth. He wasn’t sure what he was the most surprised about; that Chirox seemed to be confirming Keetongu’s existence, or that the Makuta even knew about Keetongu in the first place.

As if reading Onepu’s mind (which he probably was), Chirox said, “Yes, the legends you have heard are true… to an extent. We know that Keetongu is somewhere here on Metru Nui, and we need you to find him.”

Pavua cleared his throat. “Um, with all due respect, Makuta, but why can you not find him yourself?”

“Pavua!” Whenua hissed at him. “Don’t ask questions!”

“Yes, listen to your friend,” Chirox said dryly. “Even if I had an answer to your question, you do not need to know it; my will is final. You will go to the Great Temple and you will find Keetongu. The price for failure will be… well, just look in Mutran’s lab and you will figure it out for yourselves.”

All three Onu-Matoran bowed their heads, not daring to look the Makuta in the eyes. “By you will, it shall be done, Makuta Chirox,” said Pavua. “Are we allowed to bring our equipment with us?”

“Take whatever you need,” Chirox said dismissively, already turning his back to the trio. “Just don’t keep me waiting.”

With that, the black and silver Makuta spread his wings and took off, ascending to the upper levels of the Archives. Once he was gone, Whenua turned to look at the other two Matoran.

“I can’t be the only one who thinks he’s leading us into a trap, right?”

Onepu shrugged. “I mean, if he wanted us dead, Pavua gave him more than enough reason to kill us,” he said with a glare to the Chief Archivist.

“H-hey!” Pavua retorted, his voice still shaky. “That’s no way to talk to your superior.”

“I’m sorry, Pavua, but your rank doesn’t matter much these days. Not since the Makuta took over and made themselves all our bosses. Chirox even referred to you as just an Archivist and not a ‘Chief Archivist.’”

“Even so—”

“Even so, we should get a move on,” Whenua interjected. “Chirox could be back any second and we’ll have less than a microsecond to explain ourselves before he eats us or whatever.”

“Let’s get our equipment, then,” said Onepu. “And let’s just pray we’ll able to take the chutes to Ga-Metru instead of taking the long way….”

Ga-Metru

Macku had full confidence that this plan was not going to work.

Making it into Ga-Metru had been the easy part; she was a Ga-Matoran, so of course it would have been. But the issue was that she wasn’t supposed to have left in the first place. Under the Makuta’s rule, no Matoran was allowed to leave their designated district unless permitted to do so. Hopefully no one had noticed her absence, or else this rebellion had failed before it had even begun.

Fortunately for her, the regularly scheduled classes for the day had already ended and the streets of Ga-Metru were populated with Matoran. If a patrolling Bordakh had spotted her when they were empty, then she would have had a lot to answer for. As she navigated her way through the crowd of Ga-Matoran, Macku spotted Nokama walking out of her class room, arms full with supplies. She hurried over to the teacher and called her name, prompting Nokama to turn around, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Macku?” Nokama said as the other Ga-Matoran reached her. “By the two suns, I thought something had happened to you. You weren’t in today’s class.”

“I accidentally attended Amaya’s class by mistake,” Macku lied, conscious that there were most like prying audio sensors nearby. “Anyway, I was wondering if I could talk to you. Somewhere private, preferably.”

“Well, I have a meeting with the Ga-Metru Board coming up soon,” Nokama replied. “If you want, you could walk with me there and talk.”

Macku shifted uneasily. “Uh, it would be much better if we found somewhere private. Someplace where no one can hear us.”

“Why is that so important?” Nokama asked. Her eyes then dilated briefly before narrowing, her voice dropping lower. “You met with the others, didn’t you?”

“Not so loud!” Macku hissed, glancing around furtively. “I need you to come with me, right now. It’s very important.”

“Have you been plotting against the will of the Makuta?”

Macku took a step back from Nokama, her mouth hanging open. “What… what did you just say?”

It was at that moment that she noticed the Vahki Bordakh standing in the doorway behind Nokama, its Staff of Loyalty sparking at the tips. Realizing what was happening, and knowing that there was nothing she could do about it at this point, Macku turned to run away just as Nokama pointed after her.

“Arrest that traitor!”

From all directions, Bordakh units sprung out from behind the school buildings, moving briskly to converge on Macku. Thinking quickly, she headed for the Protodermis Fountains that spanned the school yards, recalling an entrance to the sewers that she and Hahli would sometimes sneak down into while ditching class years and years ago. Of course, that was well before Turaga Dume implemented his strict labor policies (and the Vahki that were chasing her), so who knew if someone had already done something about that little oversight.

Reaching the fountains, she spotted the grate and ran over to it, pulling on it with all of her might. It didn’t budge and Macku saw that it had been bolted securely into the ground. Cursing to herself, she moved to run a different direction only to be sent flying off her feet by a Kanoka disk launched from one of the Bordakh’s launchers. She landed mask-first onto the ground; she didn’t need to get up to know that the Vahki already had her surrounded.

“All right,” she grumbled, sitting up but keeping her eyes to the ground. “You’ve caught me. Do your worst, you stupid machines.”

The Bordakh units did nothing, remaining still and silent. Macku heard the flapping of wings above her and she looked up to a freakish figure circling over her. As it descended, she was able to make out its bat-like appearance, with blue and black armor covering its warped form. Both its arms and legs ended in sharp points and its claws were curved, looking almost like hooks. The mask it wore on its face was not like any she had seen before; certainly not on any Matoran she knew, nor would she ever associate it with a Toa. That left only one possibility on who the nightmarish newcomer could be.

Landing gracefully within the circle of Vahki, Makuta Vamprah crept over to Macku, red eyes from the slits of his mask. Macku mustered all of her courage to meet his gaze, trying to desperately ignore the fact that her body was shaking. She expected Vamprah to say something; to coax the fear growing inside of her heart; to give her some spiel about how there was no escape for her, no hope, nothing but darkness.

But he did not do any of those things. Instead, he grabbed her with one of his claws and took off into the air, ignoring her screams as he flew further and further from the ground.