BIONICLE G2 Fanfic story: The Awakening

Here is the prologue for the story I am currently working on. This is a little snippet of what’s to come, so stay tuned! This is my first full length story, so feel free to comment and give feedback!

I know it sounds a bit cringy but whatever :stuck_out_tongue:

BIONICLE: The Awakening
Prologue

A huge number of Okotans were gathered in the center of the main plaza in the City of the Mask Makers. The day was a special occasion; it marked the first full year since Makuta, Umarak and the Shadow Horde were defeated by the mighty Toa. It was a great cause for celebration, felt by almost all the denizens of Okoto. Ekimu and the six Protectors stood proudly on the dais as the six statues of the Toa were revealed, soon to be placed in their home regions. Ekimu’s words at the ceremony praising Okoto and its heroes reverberated throughout all parts of the island.

“Today is a great cause for celebration,” Ekimu began, and before he could finish his sentence the crowd erupted into thunderous applause and cheers. “Today was the day our saviors vanquished the darkness once and for all!” Ekimu stated, to more applause.

These words echoed throughout the most remote parts of Okoto, and reached the icy and desolate cave of the dormant Skull Raiders.

Kulta snapped awake, trapped under rubble.

Ekimu thinks that we are defeated. He is about to be proven very wrong.

With the greatest amount of effort, Kulta reached out to Skull Basher and Skull Slicer with tendrils of thought, hoping they would answer his call to battle. Clutching his staff, he punched his way out of the rubble. As if on cue, a violent tremor rippled across the surface of the island.

Frightened and crying Okotans were shook off the ground as the tremor spread.

“Calm down! It will be all right!” The Protectors tried to reassure the Okotans. But just like that, it stopped.

Back at the underground city, Kulta emerged and stood atop a mountain of debris. Around him, he saw the bodies of Skull Army soldiers, lying dormant, waiting for the signal. A lone Skull Warrior’s fist punched out of the ground, clutching an ice spear glowing with energy.

The war for Okoto had begun.

1 Like

@discobot roll 15d27

Hi! To find out what I can do, say @discobot display help.

1 Like

A post was merged into an existing topic: BIONICLE G2 Fanfic Story: The Awakening — Chapter 3

BIONICLE The Awakening

Feel free to comment and give feedback!

Chapter 1
A year after the defeat of Makuta

Vagah the Skull Slicer suddenly woke to a familiar voice in his head, demanding for Skull Slicer to release him. He recognized it as Kulta’s. He found himself amidst a lot of rubble and debris. He got up and brushed himself off. He glanced at one of his arms and saw that it was broken. No doubt the result of his fall. He saw his reflection in a shard of glass and found out that he somehow still had his mask on.

“Curse those stupid Toa,” he muttered to himself. He tried to move it, but a jolt of pain shot up his frame.

Hey, at least I’m lucky enough to have three other arms, he thought to himself.

He looked at his top right arm and saw that his armor was glowing brighter than ever before.

“Kulta must be alive somewhere,” he said, scanning the area for his hook swords. “Why else would he reach out to me?”

He spotted a gleam of silver jutting out from under a rock. He walked toward it. Upon closer inspection he saw it was his hook sword. It shined brightly under all the debris, even under the blackness of the night. It was just waiting to be sheathed in the blood of a Toa. Vagah pulled it out.

“Wow, my sword somehow managed to survive the fall,” he murmured. “And it isn’t even dirty in the slightest.”

He flexed one of his arms, and suddenly a vine shot out and grabbed another one of his hook swords.

Must have been the effect of wearing the Golden Mask of Jungle.

The very thought of the mask triggered some of the recent nightmares he had been having, of the Toa hunting him down and killing him, of Kulta doing the same for him failing to kill the Toa.

“Best not to think about it,” he said out loud, pushing the thoughts from his mind.

He glanced up and saw that the floor of the arena, or to him, the ceiling of this underground shaft, was almost sealed. A tiny crack in the ceiling allowed him to look at the outside world. Seeing this, a plan formed in his mind. He dug his two swords into the incredibly slick wall and started to climb. When he reached the top of the underground shaft, he saw a ledge. Using his agility, he leapt onto it and planted his feet firmly on it. He raised his other two hands and shot vines out of them. He willed the vines to pull open the two stone semicircular doors of the underground shaft. After it was open, he used his vines to swing out of the shaft and land on the arena floor, above ground. He felt the breeze of the night air against his frame.

“Ah, this feels so much better than being trapped in an underground cell,” he said to himself, smiling.

Even though he was in a coma for quite a long time, Skull Slicer seemed to remember everything.

“Where did Kulta and the rest go? Were they defeated by those stupid Toa?” he wondered.

He started to make a mental note of where the rest of the Skull Army would be. He then suddenly remembered a vision in his dreams where he saw Motarek the Skull Basher being led into prison by Ekimu.

“Ekimu’s forge, that must be where they are.”

Vagah put on his tattered and torn cloak and set off into the shadows.


Motarek stirred in his cell. He had a fitful sleep, plagued by visions and nightmares. In one particular nightmare he was in a fight with Kulta. Kulta had decided to punish him for his failure in eliminating the Toa when he had the chance. He tried to repel Kulta’s attacks with his axes, but Kulta had the better skill and strategy. Kulta kicked him hard in the midsection and he was sent sprawling across the cliff, disarmed. Kulta had seized Skull Basher by the throat and was suffocating him. He was dangling above a giant chasm filled with rocky, sharp spikes.

“Let me go, Kulta! I’m sorry for not doing what you asked! Let me go!”
“You failed me and my expectations. This is your punishment, and I find it adequate enough.”
“NO! PLEASE! STOP! I BEG YOU! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH-----”

The nightmare ended there. Motarek felt himself falling into the chasm, felt the spike in his chest. He awoke, gasping for breath. He frantically looked around, and was relieved when he didn’t see anything or anyone else in the cell. He rubbed his head and winced. His hand groped across his face for his mask, an act that became habitual ever since he was imprisoned. A green armored Okotan guard passed by. He was carrying a bowl of sorts. He opened the cell door slowly, fearful of what would happen. He pulled out his Rapid Shooter and had it pointed at Motarek. He regarded the Okotan with curiosity, while he was being watched with fear. An idea began to form in his mind. As soon as the Okotan set down the bowl of food, Motarek charged him with his minotaur tusks and sent him flying. The Okotan hit the ground hard and fell unconscious, his mask shattering. Blood started to pool around his head. Motarek ran out the unlocked door and bolted towards the staircase that led out of the dungeon and to Ekimu’s forge.

“That was a bit noisy,” he muttered.
“FREEZE!” shouted a white armored Okotan prison guard.
“Surrender,” said a Water tribe Okotan, his gun trained on the maskless Skull Basher.

Just at that moment, Vagah came charging in, and shot vines out of his hands that strangled the guards.

“AAAAHHHHH! Let me go!” the guards screamed as the vines constricted around their throats.

He observed what Skull Slicer was doing.

Motarek had his hands pointed towards the struggling Okotans. He pooled all his strength and tried to focus it into his hands. Soon enough, two columns of earth rose up and enveloped the Okotans, sucking out all their air.

“Let’s go,” Vagah told him, handing him his Bull Skull Mask and his two axes. “After all, we have a Skull Army to revive.”

They fled into the shadows, armor glowing red much brighter than ever before.

← Prologue: BIONICLE G2 Fanfic story: The Awakening

—> Chapter 2: BIONICLE The Awakening G2 Fanfic Story -- Chapter 2

1 Like

Feel free to comment and give feedback!

BIONICLE The Awakening
Chapter 2

A lone Fire tribe Okotan prison guard was making his rounds around the dungeon at dawn when he noticed an open cell door. Inside he saw a bowl of food, rotting, and a dead Okotan with dried up blood pooled around his shattered mask and armor.

“Uh oh, there must’ve been a breakout,” he said, nervous.

It got worse as he went on. He saw two partially collapsed columns of dirt, revealing two more dead prison guards. He noticed the vines constricted around their throats. Their eyes were open, unseeing. He knelt down and touched two fingers to their neck. He did this to both of the dead Okotans.

“Nothing,” he said, trying to feel their pulse.

He noticed a Rapid Shooter discarded on the floor. It was still loaded with ammunition.

“Looks like they didn’t do a good job catching the prisoner,” he muttered.

He picked up the Rapid Shooter and aimed it. He walked around with the gun ready, hoping to shoot the prisoner on sight. It was there that he decided to check inside the open prison cell. He slowly went inside the unlocked door. He felt a bit nauseous after laying eyes on the dried up blood. Something hastily scrawled on the wall caught his attention.

“Prison…cell……2343…” he read aloud, trying to translate the text. He also saw a tablet on the ground. On it he saw some hastily scribbled writing making up two words. It was illegible to him, so he did not bother to read it.

An idea began to form in his head.

He ran back to the warden’s office. As soon as he ran in, he saw the warden resting his legs on his desk, sleeping. The warden was an elderly Stone tribe Okotan who often wasn’t aware of what was going on around him. The Okotan prison guard quickly opened some drawers, and after a few minutes of searching he found a prison cell list that contained info of who was in each cell. His eyes quickly scrolled down to cell 2343. Next to it, he saw this name:
Skull Basher

He bolted out of the room and out of the dungeon. He ran out the entrance of the Forge of Mask Makers and towards the staircase. He pulled out his horn and blew on it as loud as he could.

“Escaped prisoner!” he shouted, running into the dungeon at top speed. “Escaped prisoner!”

“Do you really have to shout?” asked a tired and yawning Earth tribe prison guard, roused awake by the screams and shouts.

“Yes! Look outside and see for yourself! There are three of our dead prison guards!” The Fire tribe Okotan shouted.

The other guard groaned and hobbled off his chair. He limped outside.

“Where are the dead bodies like you say there are?” he asked.

“You’ll see. Move along,” the fire tribe Okotan replied.

The Earth tribe Okotan walked throughout the dungeon, scanning for signs of prisoner activity. He noticed an open cell door. He peeked inside, saw the puddle of blood, and fainted. The Fire Okotan caught him.

“Easy there. Don’t faint,” the Fire Okotan said, catching him.

“Alright. We need to grab our horns and sound the alarm. Let’s just hope Ekimu notices in time,” the Earth Okotan said, snapping out of his nausea.

Four other prison guards followed them to check out the scene. The Fire Okotan motioned for them to get going. They ran up the stairs to Ekimu’s forge, and grabbed their horns. They went out to the stairs leading up to the forge, and blew their horns in a rapid succession.


Skull Basher and Skull Slicer ran into some trouble while they were making their
way to the mountains. A convoy of vehicles belonging to the Protector of Water’s bodyguards spotted them and pursued the two Skull Raiders to the edge of a rocky outcropping jutting out above a canyon. The two Skull Raiders made short work of the convoy, killing each Okotan stealthily and efficiently. They sat down to rest for a few seconds, unaware they were being watched by some other Okotans.

Skull Slicer pulled out a map and laid it on the ground. It was a parchment map of Okoto, drawn in black ink. He had found it earlier while running.

“So, we’re here,” he said, pointing to an area just to the west of the City of the Mask Makers in the Region of Water. “…and we need to go here,” he said, pointing to the big mass of mountains in the center of the island.

“We need to open up the underground tunnels before we can access the underground city,” Skull Basher said. “As far as I know, they’re still sealed after the cursed Toa and Ekimu came in and wrecked the whole place.”

They noticed the sun rise approximately an hour ago. In the distance, they heard the alarm set off by the prison sentries. No doubt Ekimu would have noticed by now. If not Ekimu, probably Kivoda or Vizuna is heading there.

“We should go into the mountains and rest there–” Skull Slicer began. He was interrupted by a sharp punch to the midriff which sent him flying. His mask dislodged and fell, sprawling across the ground. It came to a stop at the edge of the canyon’s rim.

“SILENCE! I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR THAT! ESPECIALLY FROM A FELLOW SKULL RAIDER!” Skull Basher roared. “WE DO NOT HIDE! IT ISN’T OUR NATURE!”

“But–”

“You do what I say. Period,” Skull Basher warned, an unmistakable edge to his voice. “Any stepping out of line and my axe will be at your throat before you can
blink. Understood?”

“Who made you my leader?” Skull Slicer demanded.

“You barely have any true fighting experience, so why does it matter? After all, all you did was play Hammer Flush all day long.” Skull Basher replied, almost sounding bored. He grabbed a maskless Skull Slicer by the throat and hauled him off. Skull Basher geared up for the long trek through the freezing cold mountains. He had his cloak ready, and he put it on. The sun was almost up now, and he did not doubt a single bit that the Protectors were out hunting for him. He used his axes to scale the rim of the canyon and descend down. It was not easy, having to carry an unconscious Skull Slicer and descend down a rocky cliff. He reached the bottom and crossed the river, heading in the direction of the freezing cold mountains that dominated Okoto’s geography.

I better head to the underground city, and fast, Skull Basher thought.

I posted a preview of the first 2 chapters earlier, so I figured I might follow up on that :smiley:

Enjoy, and don’t forget to comment and give me feedback on my writing!


Chapter 3

Kivoda, Protector of Water, was in his house’s kitchen making breakfast for his two sons when he heard the alarm go off. After the death of Kivoda’s wife, he was in charge of family affairs and taking care of the kids. In the distance, he heard the faint call of a group of horns.

“Father, what’s that noise outside?” one of his sons asked.

“Wait here,” Kivoda replied, as he ran to grab his Elemental Torpedo Blaster.

He opened the door and looked out. In the distance, he saw several Okotans standing at the top of the stairs to enter the Forge of the Mask Makers. They were all blowing their horns.

“Stay here, my sons. Lock the door. Don’t go out,” Kivoda warned his children.

The children did as they were told. They shut the door, after they saw Kivoda leave with blaster in hand.

Kivoda gripped his blaster tightly as he ran through the streets and alleyways. It has only been four months since they moved into the city, but Kivoda had a good mental map in his mind, so he was able to get to the forge in little time.

“The Protector of Water is coming! Make way!” shouted the Fire tribe Okotan. They all stood to the side. The Protector of Water ran up the stairs, exhausted.

“What’s going on?” he asked the prison guards.

“There’s been a breakout, and three of our prison guards have been killed in the ensuing skirmish,” he replied, “…and the prisoner is dangerous.”

“May I take a look?” Kivoda asked.

They moved aside for the Protector of Water to enter. He walked to the entrance of the dungeon, and slowly opened the door. He descended down the dungeon stairs, and he peered over the railing. He saw three dead bodies, a half burst open column of dirt, and an open cell door.

“Oh, dear,” he muttered.

He went into the open cell. He looked around and saw unlocked shackles and a bowl of rotten food. A dead Jungle tribe Okotan’s body was jutting out of the open cell, dried up blood pooled around his broken mask.

“Who was in here before?’ Kivoda asked the prison guards.

The prison guards hesitated, not wanting to be the first one to answer. They glanced at each other, nervously.

“Who was in here before?” Kivoda demanded, getting more impatient by the second.

“Sk-Skull Basher,” one of the guards stammered, nervous.

“This isn’t good. Tell the local militias to start looking for him. He couldn’t have already left the region if he broke out just last night. Go!”


{This happened before Kivoda started to head to the forge.}

Ekimu was asleep in bed when he was roused awake by the cry of several horns in rapid succession. He got up, took off his mask, and rubbed his eyes before putting it back on. Ekimu preferred to keep the Mask of Creation in a secure vault that only he knows the pin for. He walked over to the edge of the room, and looked through his window. In the distance he saw the looming, pyramidal shape of his forge with a giant anvil structure dominating the top. He looked closely and saw that several silhouetted figures were blowing horns.

They only blow horns in rapid succession if a very dangerous prisoner has escaped, Ekimu thought, terrified by the prospect of a dangerous criminal running amok in the city. He quickly grabbed his hammer and his shield and ran out the bedroom door to his vault. He punched in the numbers on the lock and grabbed his mask. Ekimu placed it on instead of his regular Protector mask and felt the surge of energy through his body. He then bolted out the door. Some startled Okotans watched him racing through the streets. They looked on and saw that he was heading to his forge.

Ekimu reached the forge in three minutes flat, bolting at top speed. He arrived at the forge, exhausted. He went into the dungeon and saw Kivoda kneeling over the corpses of a dead Ice and Water tribe Okotans. He also saw the other prison guards looking on, tense expressions splayed out on their faces.

Ekimu tapped Kivoda on the shoulder gently. Kivoda whirled around, taken aback.

“Ekimu! What’s going on?” Kivoda asked.

“I was about to ask you the same question,” Ekimu replied, gesturing towards the stray vines and the open cell door.

“Wait, what’s this?” Ekimu asked, pointing towards the open cell door.

“See for yourself,” Kivoda replied, placing a hand on Ekimu’s back and guiding him towards the cell door.

Ekimu peered in and saw the body of a dead Jungle tribe Okotan with dried up blood pooled around his head. Next to him he saw a smashed Rapid Shooter and a bowl of rotting food, contents astray all across the dirty ground. Next to the dead Okotan, he saw a tablet. On it was some hastily scrawled Okotan text making up two words. Ekimu picked it up and squinted at it, trying to decipher its meaning. It took him a solid minute for the fact to register in his brain. Without knowing it, he had dropped the tablet. He muttered a name, in a deathly soft voice.

“Skull Basher.”

1 Like

Enjoy, and don’t forget to give me feedback on my writing!


Chapter 4

Kulta was pacing around his underground cell, restless. Everywhere he looked he saw piles and piles of stone debris and rubble, especially in the main stadium where those wretched Toa were once held captive. He placed Axato in charge of the cleanup effort of the city. He had also contacted Skull Slicer repeatedly via mental link, but to no avail. Skull Slicer finally responded last night, and broke out of his jail cell. On his part, Kulta tried repeatedly to break the stone walls at the entrances to the city formed by Toa Pohatu and Toa Onua, but the walls just would not yield to his might. They would not budge even when a whole legion of Skull Warriors rammed it.

“Something demonic is holding up these walls together, otherwise they would have crumbled before my might,” he cursed, hurling a rock across the cell.

He stormed out of his chamber and into the dark alleyways of the sprawling underground city. He headed toward the main Stadium to check on Axato’s progress when he heard a faint series of noises. He quickly ran across the pathway he was traveling on, almost forgetting how treacherous these paths were. He almost lost his footing and tumbled into a crevasse. He pulled himself up and walked a bit more carefully. When Kulta reached the Stadium, he saw an entire legion of Skull Warriors, pointing their freeze bows at a wall of the stadium. Before Kulta’s startled eyes, the wall on that side began to crumble and collapse. Skull Warriors and Skull Scorpios began to flee the Stadium. When the dust settled, a good portion of the Stadium was in ruins. They saw Skull Slicer lying on the ground and a kneeling Skull Basher, palms still outstretched, obviously exhausted from his effort. He withdrew his hands and slumped to the ground. Several Skull Warriors and Axato rushed to help him up. Several more went to assist Skull Slicer. Kulta stood transfixed at the sight of Motarek the Skull Basher, glaring with hatred. It had been four months since the Toa escaped from their clutches, and obviously Kulta was still angry over his top lieutenant’s failure.

“The Protectors,” Motarek rasped, “know we’re alive. They’re out looking for us.”

“How do you know?” Kulta whispered.

“Not long after Vagah and I broke out of Ekimu’s forge, the sentries sounded the horn. I heard it from all the way in the mountains. We also saw a convoy of vehicles with the Protector of Water’s insignia on a red flag. From the looks on their faces, I could tell they were trying to look for us. You know, the wall I opened? That entrance was from the Region of Stone. Only reason why I came this way was to escape sentries. Of course, I killed the occasional guard, but too many dead bodies will rouse suspicions, so….” Motarek’s voice trailed off. Kulta silenced him with a hard glare.

“Enough,” Kulta said. “Follow me.”


The Protectors and Ekimu found themselves on a rocky outcropping jutting out above a large canyon. Surrounding them were the dead bodies of several Okotans, some having stab wounds or slit throats. There were also ransacked and damaged armored vehicles strewn around. Several other grief stricken and worried Okotans were telling the assembled Protectors and Ekimu about what had happened.

“Skull Basher a-and Skull Slicer, sir,” a nervous Okotan told Ekimu, his voice trembling. “They ransacked all these vehicles and killed everyone. My brother was k-killed too, along with all these other O-Okotans,” The Okotan sobbed, pointing toward the dead body of a tall and lanky Water Tribe Okotan.

Ekimu knelt on the ground, and examined the corpse. The Okotan’s mask was shattered and his throat was slit. Blood pooled around his head and neck. His eyes were wide open, unseeing. His heartlight was dark, lacking illumination.

“I’m so sorry,” Ekimu whispered, his head buried in his hands. He wondered how he had the capability to fail at his job by a huge degree. He could hear the muffled sobs of other Okotans nearby, as well as the other Protectors.

“There’s already been twenty dead Okotans within the span of a few hours. How can the people of Okoto trust us to keep them safe?” Narmoto wondered, aloud.

“Do not fear, Okotans. We’ll bring them to justice and have them executed in front of your eyes,” Vizuna assured them.

“Which way did they go?” Izotor asked the Okotans, quietly.

“T-that way, sir,” said the Okotan, pointing towards the edge of the cliff and at the looming mountains in the distance.

“How did they cross the canyon?” Kivoda asked.

“I-I don’t know sir,” the Okotan responded.

Kivoda turned to face Ekimu. “Ekimu, I think I know where they are.”

1 Like

Good writing! My advice would be maybe find some other words for “horn and “blow” as they seemed to be repeated a bit much. Also the repetition of the description of the jungle guys corpse isn’t 100% necessary. Great job fleshing out the G2 world though!

1 Like

@The_Blue_Panda

So far so good! It’s been a long time since I read a fanfic and I don’t think I’ve ever read a G2 one, but it’s definitely coming together! One thing I would suggest is get someone on the boards here to help you edit, as I (and I’d argue most writers) know how easy it is to get into a cycle of using the same kinds of words and phrases. Plus, an editor can increase the overall readability for you!

That said, I would also like to encourage you to post everything in this singular topic, rather than a new topic for each chapter. That reduces clutter on the forums and makes it easy for people who might be reading to find the next chapter!

4 Likes

@Axelford @Kini_Hawkeye Thank you for the kind words! :smiley:

Here’s chapter 5! Enjoy!

Chapter 5

“I’ve got a plan,” Kulta told the leaders of the Skull Army.

Kulta had assembled them all in his private chamber. He had formulated a plan to steal the Mask of Creation from Ekimu once again and get away with it.

“What is it?” Axato demanded to know.

Kulta pulled out a parchment map of Okoto and laid it on the table. He pointed toward the mass of mountains in the island’s center and dragged his finger in a northwesterly direction, ending on a large dot with a circle labeled Zevrodos. Zevrodos was one of the largest cities on Okoto, being the hub for Okoto’s mining industry and weapons manufacturing. The city was also directly above a huge deposit of crude oil and gold. It was also the largest oasis city in the Region of Stone, which made it all the more important to defend against invaders. For Kulta, it was an excellent place to start a military campaign to conquer Okoto because it provided a lot of resources that are essential to the army.

“We invade Zevrodos, ransack the city, and let them find us,” Kulta stated.

“Elaborate further,” Vagah interjected.

“We invade the city and occupy it. Nilkuu will come to the rescue, and we take the Protector of Stone hostage and imprison him in a dungeon. The other Protectors will notice their compatriot’s absence and call the Toa from the skies above. We capture Ekimu and the rest and take the Mask of Creation. Then the Toa will have to come to Zevrodos to free them. Once they arrive, we take our sweet time and finish them off. If we eliminate the Toa, there won’t be anyone else to call when we take over.”

“What’s the guarantee that your plan will work?” Axato demanded. “The Protectors could be listening in on our conversation for all we know. They could be right outside our cave.”

“Trust me, Axato, I know what I’m doing. Before long, the Toa will be at our feet, begging for mercy.” Kulta noticed Motarek sitting in a corner, seething.

Axato drooled at the thought of the Toa begging at his feet for mercy. He especially wanted to kill Toa Gali for humiliating him in front of his entire army. His musings were interrupted by Vagah calling out.

“We would need to kill more Okotans to provide distractions for the Protectors,” Vagah suggested.

“All of that is covered under the invasion of Zevrodos. We need to get moving, and fast. Axato, assemble the Skull Warriors and Scorpios. Ekimu and his gang of Protectors will show up here at any moment. There’s no time to waste!”

Axato left without a word.

The four elite Skull Raiders left the room and began to amass their legions. With the help of Motarek and Vagah’s newfound elemental powers, the walls which sealed off the entrances to their city were slowly opened. Skull Warriors and Skull Scorpios poured out of the exits, flanking Kulta himself, who rode on top of the alpha Skull Scorpio. They were all headed towards Zevrodos, and wherever the Skull Army is headed, death and destruction is sure to follow.


A Stone Tribe Okotan sentry was yawning as he stood on top of the large lookout post on the outskirts of Zevrodos. He was on his ■■■■■, which took place in the evening, after dusk. He was often bored and fell asleep on the spot. In fact, he could feel sleep washing over his eyes. He yawned again.

“In the name of heaven, when is this job going to get more interesting?” he wondered.

As if on cue with his prayer, he heard a faint rumbling sound in the distance. The Stone Tribe Okotan jerked up and adjusted the lens on his mask. He zoomed in and saw whole legions of skeletons marching toward the city. He quickly zoomed out and rushed back down the spiral staircase into the fortress from his vantage point. He grabbed his horn and ran back up. Several other concerned Okotans watched him as he rushed back up the spiral staircase to his lookout post. He blew on the horn as loud as he could. At that particular moment, a few other Okotans ran up the same staircase and onto the lookout post.

“What’s wrong? Why are you blowing your horn?” another Stone Tribe Okotan demanded.

“Take a look,” the sentry said, handing the Okotan his telescope.

The Okotan zoomed in with the telescope. His eyes widened in fear at the fact the newly revived Skull Army was heading in their direction. He dropped the telescope on the ground and ran back down the staircase.

“Get to your places! Sound the alarm! We do not have much time!” the Okotan shouted. Within moments, the entire fortress was blowing their horns. A few minutes passed by and the other fortresses did the same. And then, the first volley of arrows came.

…And chapter 6!

Chapter 6

Ekimu and the Protectors were making their way through the cold and freezing mountains. Twice Ekimu lost his footing and almost fell into a chasm. He was rescued by Izotor both times. Because of Izotor’s expertise in traversing mountainous terrain, they commissioned him to lead the Protectors’ expedition to find the underground city of the Skull Raiders.

“Should we just rest here and continue tomorrow morning?” Izotor suggested. “It’s getting really chilly here, even colder than the Region of Ice at sunset.”

“If I may ask, why is it so unusually cold here, even when compared to the Region of Ice?” Korgot asked.

Kivoda thought. “Could it be because…. of something here, perhaps in this particular location?”

Ekimu pulled out his map. He noted their location, which was very close to the center of the island. If they traveled a bit northwest they would reach the borders of the Region of Stone. He put down his map and peered over the edge of the mountain path into the chasm below. He noticed tiny little specks of light in a line leading up to some other landmark. Ekimu peered the other way and saw a giant cave. Memories of this place began to flood Ekimu’s mind as he suddenly recollected that he had traveled to this particular location with the other Toa to free an imprisoned Lewa and a pair of Okotans.

“We need to backtrack. We’ve just passed the aboveground entrances to the city city. It’s down below,” Ekimu told the assembled group.

“How do you know?” Vizuna asked.

“A while back, the Toa and I had to come here to free a pair of Okotan children, as well as Toa Lewa. I battled Kulta there, and destroyed the entire city using Onua’s hammer. As far as I know, the incapacitated Skull Raiders are still there and the city is in ruins.”

“Why did you use Onua’s hammer?” Korgot asked, interested.

Ekimu sighed. “Kulta told me I could not use my Hammer of Power.”

The group descended down the mountain on which they were climbing amidst gale-force winds. They carefully made their way across the dimly lit path to the cave entrance. It was rimmed with ice crystals and stalactites. Strangely enough, the walls Ekimu commissioned Pohatu and Onua to make were absent, leaving only fragments behind.

“There seems to have been a collapse here,” Nilkuu said, taking note of the shattered fragments of the wall that once sealed this cave.

“Or someone with exceptional control over earth,” Korgot added, quietly.

Ekimu began to understand where she was getting at. “It was probably Skull Basher,” he said quietly. “When he took Onua’s golden mask and wore it, the elemental power must have seeped into his frame.”

“If the Skull Villains also gain elemental powers, what hope is there for us and the Toa?” Kivoda asked. A very long moment of silence followed.

The party ventured into the ice-cold cave. It was littered with rubble, and the stalactites on the ceiling glowed a sickly blue. They eventually found themselves at a huge clearing, filled with a pool of a strange smelling liquid.

“This is strange,” Vizuna remarked. “The Skull Army are normally vocal creatures. Why don’t I hear anything from this place?”

“We also didn’t see any sentries here, so maybe they are all hiding?” Narmoto suggested.

“Or they could have just packed up and left for somewhere else. Beats me why they would want to do it, though,” Nilkuu replied.

Off to the group’s southeast, the faint calls of horns reverberated throughout the starless, empty night sky and through the cavern walls. These horn calls caught the Protector of Stone’s attention.

“That’s where they are,” Izotor said.

“What was that? Did it come from the Region of Stone?” Nilkuu asked.

“I think so,” Izotor responded.

Nilkuu tried listening more. In the distance, he heard the faint sounds of battle. Swords clashing, cannons firing.

“My region needs me. I must go,” Nilkuu told the rest of the Protectors. “My people are in danger, from what I do not know.”

“Why do you need to go so suddenly?” Izotor asked. “Especially now, when we are in the midst of an important quest—”

Ekimu cut him off sternly. “We’ll all go, no matter how big or small the danger is. Okoto is our home, and we are the only guardians left to deal with crises.”

“Are we, though?” Vizuna asked. “If this threat is too big, we may have to summon the Toa from the heavens again. The Region of Stone is not far from here. Izotor, can you zoom in with your scope and see what is going on?”

“I doubt it will be able to zoom in that far, but I can try,” Izotor responded. He zoomed in with his mask’s built in x-ray scope.

“Uh oh,” Izotor whispered.

“What is going on?” Nilkuu asked, nervous.

“The Skull Army,” Izotor quietly said. “They’re back at full power, and are invading our most important city. I saw plumes of smoke rising up, and everywhere I looked, the ground was littered with dead bodies.”

Everyone was silent, their faces showing emotions varying from sadness to rage.

“It’s over. We have failed our island, our people, everything. We couldn’t even prevent a single death,” Narmoto whispered, sadly. The winds of the still-as-death night in this desolate part of Okoto howled through the cavern, almost as if in agreement.

At last, Ekimu spoke up. He addressed Vizuna, Korgot, and Kivoda.

“Narmoto, Nilkuu, Izotor, and I will go to Zevrodos, and try to fend off the Skull Raiders. “You three, head back to the Temple of Time and summon the Toa. This recurring menace is far too powerful to us to take on alone. Summon the other three Protectors’ kids, if necessary, to aid you.”

“But—” Kivoda started.

“I SAID, GO! IT’S AN ORDER!” Ekimu screamed, his features contorting with rage. Rarely had anyone ever seen him this livid.

The other three Protectors left without a word more.


Kulta was having the time of his life.

It feels good to be out on the battlefield again, he thought with pleasure as he mowed down a group of sentries with laser vision. The satisfying sizzle of armor melting soothed his mind.

He was perched atop his steed, which happened to be the Alpha Skull Scorpio. His forces have been almost successful in breaching the city’s gates. So far, it is not going well for the Okotans. A legion of Okotans had made the mistake of surrendering and were butchered by Axato and his forces, while Skull Basher and Skull Slicer were storming and looting the city. Kulta looked up and saw that only the giant fortress at the center remained. Skull Warriors were bombarding it from all angles with volleys of ice arrows. It was just a matter of time before it fell. Spurred on by these thoughts, he charged into the last fortress. He heard the Okotan Commander scream.

“Keep fighting! Do not let your guard down! DO NOT SURRENDER!” the commander screamed.

Foolish imbecile thinks he can defeat me, Kulta thought evilly. Well, I’m about to show him what I can really do.

Skull Warriors and Okotans clashed with each other inside the fortress walls. Kulta charged straight at the Commander and whacked him with his staff from behind. The Commander let out a scream as he was toppled from his steed. He fell on the concrete floor face first, and his mask cracked. He turned in time to see Kulta drawing his serrated hook sword from his sheath. He quickly whipped out his own sword and began to fight. The sounds of sword clashing against sword reverberated through the fortress, and before long the duel attracted a crowd of Skull Warriors and Okotan soldiers alike. Axato was trying his best to control the Okotan soldiers from helping the commander, and often killed them if they did not comply.

The Okotan commander lunged at Kulta, threatening to stab him in the abdomen. Kulta easily sidestepped the attack and extended a foot to send the Commander sprawling. He wasted no time and advanced to the spot where the Commander lay. The Commander sprung up and drew his dagger, but before he had a chance to attack, Kulta kicked him hard in the abdomen. He slammed into the concrete wall, and let out a piercing scream.

“You will NOT defeat me!” he croaked, drawing out his laser pistol.

Kulta raised his sword menacingly and jumped at the commander. While in midair, the commander fired his pistol and sheared off part of Kulta’s leg armor. Kulta fell to the ground and roared with fury. He quickly lashed out with his hand and grabbed the commander by the throat. With the other hand, he tore the mask off the Commander’s face and threw it to the ground. He began to squeeze, and the commander’s eyes bulged with terror.

“Let me go! Let me GO!” the commander shrieked.

“Be gone, flea,” Kulta sneered. He flung the squirming Okotan in his grasp across the room with tremendous force. He slammed into another wall with a sickening thud and lay still. Kulta drew his mask stealer staff and advanced to where the Okotan lay. He raised the staff high over his head and roared with fury. The Commander opened his eyes and turned to see Kulta raising his staff menacingly. He screamed in terror, but part of it was cut off by Kulta bringing the staff down with all of his might on his bare head. The crowd gasped in horror. It made a disgusting crunch as it connected with the Okotan’s head. Everyone in the crowd, even Axato, flinched at the sight.

“It is over,” Kulta exclaimed triumphantly, standing on top of the Commander’s corpse. “The Skull Raiders have won!”

The Skull Warriors in the crowd cheered and reacted with resounding applause. After the commotion died down, Kulta turned towards Axato and gestured toward the crying and frightened Okotan soldiers.

“Kill them all.”

1 Like