Kapura probably just teleported.
We all know that’s definitely in his skill seT
Drop bear lore confirmed?
So were Clanik’s soldiers his own toa hagah?
I admit I hadn’t made the connection there.
Technically, no; this is during Miserix’s leadership, so the Toa Hagah aren’t a thing yet.
But they could be Toa; I hadn’t given any thought as to what they were, aside from “some kind of warrior.”
And if they were Toa protecting a Makuta, they would technically be “Toa Hagah”, though they likely wouldn’t be called that.
But they were only assigned to Clanik for this one mission.
Oh my Great Spirit - it is a picture of a character! I just like pictures in books. Might there be more?
Chapters are well done as always, can’t add anything here.
Probably not for a while; most of my Moccing attention is going to the canon contests right now. But who knows, I might just come up with an interesting character design that I just have to build.
Anyway, since I apparently forgot to post a chapter last night (darn it, there went my streak), here’s today’s chapter a bit early.
Chapter 6
Tuyet awoke to someone trying to move her. By instinct, she swung her arm at the attacker, then cried out in pain at the movement. The ‘attacker’ stumbled back in surprise.
“Woah!” the female warrior said. “You’re alive?”
Tuyet couldn’t understand the words, but she understood the tone. This new arrival was not a threat, but simply concerned and surprised.
Behind the warrior was another, this one male. He was holding something, which Tuyet realized was her satchel, and the Nui Stone was in his other hand.
“No!” she screamed, and sent a blast of water from her hand, knocking the stone from the surprised warrior’s hand. The female warrior scrambled back in surprise.
“What… how did you do that?” she stammered.
Tuyet tried to get to her feet, then cried out in pain and fell to the ground again. She reached out her hand and pointed at the Nui Stone, trying to gesture that she wanted it.
It seemed that the female understood. “You want this?” she said, picking up the red stone. Tuyet nodded, and the female brought her the stone. When it was in her hand, she felt the power from it, and it gave her the strength to stand, albeit uneasily.
“Easy there,” the female said. “You’re badly hurt. I’m surprised you survived. Most of the Jungle Lord’s victims don’t.”
“Careful, Melea,” the male said. “She’s powerful. She’s not the Element lord of Water, but she may have some connection to him.”
“I think she’s one of the new ones from the south we’ve heard about,” Melea replied. “But whoever she is, she needs help. I’m not just going to leave her here to die.”
Her male companion grunted. “Fine. But if the Earth Lord gets mad at us for helping her, it’s on your head, not mine.”
“I can accept that,” Melea replied, reaching out to help Tuyet stand.
Tuyet still couldn’t understand what the warriors were saying, but she understood that they wanted to help her. And though she didn’t want to admit it, she needed the help right now. Reluctantly, she leaned on the shoulders of the two warriors, and let them carry her off into the woods.
After Clanik had finished his story, Miserix stared at him, at a loss for words for a moment. Finally, he said, “We looked for you, you know. Teridax, in particular, was frustrated by your disappearance.”
Then the Brotherhood leader turned to Brutaka. “And you,” he growled, “you’re one of the people we sent looking for him, and you knew where he was the whole time. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“We-- I thought he had died,” Brutaka explained, not flinching in the face of Miserix’s ire. “It would’ve ruined the joke if I said what happened to his body. That, and I… didn’t exactly know where I’d sent him. I imagined a distant forest, and I guess the mask sent him here.”
Brutaka turned to Clanik. “There’s one thing we still don’t understand,” he said. “That weapon you used to chase off the lizards – where did you get it?”
Clanik held up the strange device. “One of the soldiers in my employ had it, and it managed to survive the fire. I think it’s supposed to stop people from teleporting or something. I discovered its effects on the Warp Lizards by accident one day, and I always keep it in case I run into one.” Clanik grimaced. “Or, in this case, several.”
“A teleport blocker,” Brutaka realized. “I remember those. Teridax outlawed them at one point, and tracked down and destroyed them so they couldn’t be used against his Makuta. That might be the only one left.”
“His Makuta?” Clanik asked, confused.
“Hey, guys?” Hafu cut in. No one heard him.
“That’s right, you’ve missed a lot,” Miserix said. “Teridax has taken the Brotherhood from me. I intend to take it back. You’d be welcome to rejoin, Clanik.”
“Do you hear–” Hafu tried to cut in again.
“Thanks, but I must refuse,” Clanik said. “I have a new home, and new people here. Though I can guide you through the jungle while you’re here.”
“Your help would be–”
“Shut up and listen!” Hafu yelled.
He immediately regretted it, as he realized that he’d just yelled at some of the most powerful people in the world. At least two of the people here could probably kill him with a thought, just for interrupting. But once he got their attention, they heard what he heard – a faint, angry buzzing, mixed with a slight crackling noise, growing louder by the second.
The Agori villagers behind Clanik started murmuring, words Hafu didn’t understand. “Impossible…” Clanik said.
Miserix looked at him. “If you know what that noise is, spill it,” he demanded.
“Well, it sounds like Battoga Hornets,” Clanik said. “But that’s impossible; they’ve been extinct for centuries.”
Miserix relaxed slightly. “Well, if it’s insects, then that should be no problem.” Hafu recalled that one of the Makuta powers was Insect Control.
“No!” Brutaka said. “Your powers will not work on the creatures of this world!”
Miserix glared at him suspiciously. “And how do you know that?”
“Questions later!” Clanik said. “If these are Battoga, there’s a way we can deal with them, but I’ll need your help.”
Author’s notes: the first G2 character name, Melea. I want to make this clear: I’m not planning any G1/G2 connection in this story. I might hind at one, perhaps, but I’d rather leave that open.
I know this chapter kinda violates my “one POV per scene” rule, but I didn’t want to show Tuyet’s POV and not be able to see what the Earth Glatorian were saying; nor did I want to show their POV and not mention Tuyet’s thoughts on needing help from another, so I bent the rules a little.
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Chapter 7
Miserix, Brutaka, and Clanik stood, waiting for the approaching buzzing. Behind them, Hafu stood with the Agori in a small lake Clanik had led them to. When the bugs arrived, they would duck underwater to get away, while the others dealt with the Battoga. Another lake was nearby, but no one was in it.
Miserix, however, didn’t have a lot of faith in Clanik’s plan. “Why don’t we just teleport to our allies?” he said. “Between Brutaka and me, we can take all of you.”
Clanik glared at him, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “First of all, there may still be Warp Lizards around,” he pointed out, "and while you might be fine due to your armor, my Agori, and your Matoran, won’t be so safe.
“And secondly, the Miserix I know would never run from a threat. And the Teridax I remember wouldn’t run, either. If you want to take your Brotherhood back, you need to show some backbone.”
Miserix was taken aback by Clanik’s words. The Clanik he remembered was always soft-spoken, never raising his voice or criticizing others. “When did you get to be so bold?” he said.
“Being stranded in an alien forest, losing all your powers, and being ostracized by most people of the new world will do that to you,” Clanik said. “Now hush, they’re almost here.”
The bugs were visible now, a glowing, buzzing cloud coming ever closer. Clanik had explained that the Battoga were able to turn their whole body into electricity, only materializing when they were about to attack. This made them hard to defend against, unless the attacker had water powers. Unfortunately, neither Helryx nor Tuyet were here, and water control was not among Miserix’s powers or Brutaka’s.
First, Miserix opened his mouth, unleashing a power scream. The force of his scream cracked several trees and blasted their limbs away, but the bugs held, shuddering in place but not falling back. It was as if they were magnetically holding themselves in place. Clanik had said something like that would happen, but Miserix still wanted to try it.
The bugs swarmed out as they approached. Hafu and the Agori dove underwater. Then, Miserix used his power of Gravity to lift the water in the other lake up into the air. When it was high enough, he let go, at the same time switching to his fragmentation ability, causing the water to explode, water droplets flying everywhere.
In effect, he was making it rain for a while.
The insects buzzed angrily, and there was a loud sizzling noise as the water struck several of them. Then they all turned tangible, and the sizzling stopped. This gave the warriors a window of opportunity.
Now it was Brutaka’s turn. Two mechanical arms sprouted from his back, flinging knives in multiple directions. The knives were charged with magnetic energy, enough to attract the Battoga thanks to the metallic implants the Great Beings had given them. As the knives flew through the horde, they took clumps of bugs with them. It wouldn’t hold them for long, as the magnetism on the knives would wear off.
A few of the bugs still managed to get close. Brutaka’s body crackled with energy, frying any that got too close. Miserix ignored the ones that landed on him, as their stingers couldn’t pierce his armor. He focused on using his powers to protect Clanik as best as he could creating an aura of fear that kept the bugs away for the most part.
Miserix and Clanik ran to each of the clumps of bugs felled by Brutaka, kicking the bug-covered knives into holes the Agori and Hafu had dug and then pushing the dirt back in, burying them. A few of the bugs got past Miserix’s protection and stung him, and while he was immune to their venom for reasons he couldn’t explain, the stings still hurt.
After enough bugs were buried by the trio’s combined efforts, the rest decided to retreat. Miserix used his plasma powers to destroy the buried bugs. The threat of the bugs was over.
“Nice!” Clanik said. “They’ll know better than to mess with us, next time.”
Miserix nodded. “We really do need to get back to our allies,” he said. “But, as you say, teleporting is out of the question, so I guess we’re walking.” He looked at Clanik. “I believe you offered to guide us?”
“He’s been gone for too long,” Axonn grumbled.
Helryx glanced at her companion. “You have to remember, Miserix is not one of us,” she said. “He doesn’t follow the same rules we do. In fact, he’s only allied with us because we share a common enemy.”
“Are you saying we can’t trust him?” Axonn replied.
“I’m saying we shouldn’t expect him to act like a trained and disciplined member of our Order,” Helryx explained.
“I believe Miserix is more trustworthy than you give him credit for,” Artakha cut in. “However, he may be in trouble.”
Lying nearby, Kapura heard their words, though they didn’t register to him. His mind was miles away, quite literally.
Kapura had a strange ability, one even he didn’t fully understand, that allowed him to project himself far from his actual location – to “be where you are not” as Turaga Vakama had put it. If he focused, he could even physically be in that location for a brief time. The downside was that it slowed down his body’s processes, meaning that he couldn’t move fast or it would hinder his ability to use this power.
Right now, his mind was probing the woods, searching for Miserix, Brutaka, Hafu, even Tuyet or Vezon. But instead, he found someone else.
Kapura opened his eyes. “Hey, guys,” he said, getting the attention of his powerful companions. “About a kio northwest of here, there’s a group of Matoran.”
Helryx glanced at him suspiciously. “How do you know that?”
“I was there,” was Kapura’s reply. He didn’t like trying to explain his strange powers.
Artakha glanced into his mind. “Interesting,” he muttered. “I’ve seen something like this before, but it was…” The creator trailed off, lost in thought.
“Should we go to these Matoran?” Axonn said. “Maybe they can help us figure out where we are, and how to get back home.”
“I think we should at least find Miserix and Brutaka first,” Helryx said. “And Tuyet, if we can; I don’t like her being on the loose.”
“And Hafu,” Kapura added.
“Yes, of course,” Helryx replied quickly. She wasn’t that concerned about Hafu – one Matoran mattered little, in the grand scheme of things, and she had much bigger matters to worry about – but she wasn’t about to admit that to Kapura.
Suddenly, Artakha tensed up. “Something’s coming.”
“What?” Helryx said.
“We need to move, now!” Artakha snapped, grabbing Helryx, Axonn, and Kapura, and activating his powers.
As space began to warp around them, Helryx thought she saw the vague outline of something massive among the rock of the cliffs. Then the creature and the cliffs were gone, as the group warped to a new location…
Author’s notes: and thus, we have my attempt at an explanation of Kapura’s powers from MNOG. And a hint that maybe Artakha knows what’s up with him. I’m actually interested to develop this plotline now, so definitely expect to see Kapura again after this story wraps up.
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Nice call back to Kapura powers. I hope the Agori helped Hafu to get off the water, since as a Po-Matoran he isn’t a very good swimmer
Kapura can astral project confirmed.
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He didn’t really need to – the pool came up to about his waist, when standing. Deep enough for him and the Agori to get fully submerged, but not deep enough that someone who can’t swim would be in trouble.
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Really excited to see where this is going. Just curious, you haven’t forgotten about Lewa, have you?
Also, forgot to ask earlier why/how Brutaka stopped speaking in 2nd person?
Because he was referring to something he did when he was just Brutaka, before he got possessed/merged with the Antidermis.
Nah, it’s just that there’s a lot of characters and scenes to juggle. Lewa gets sidelined a bit in this story, but he’s gonna be a major player in the next.
(unless I shuffle the order of things a bit, but right now it’s slated to be next)
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Yeah, yeah, there was that episode with Tahtorak, but that does not sound like good guy Brutaka. That’s debatable, but I really do not see Brutaka that weird and “playful”.
About chapter 7: as good as it is, I don’t think a bunch of bugs was any threat to Miserix and Brutaka. Miserix could’ve used power scream, or sleep, or slow, or any other of his 40 powers. Maybe you should make the bugs bigger/more frightening in their description? By the way, how did Brutaka magnetized his knives? But the chapter is still very nice of course 
.
Also, I just wondered about Voporak and Vahi for some time… Do you have any ideas on that part of the story? If not, how about some time-travel? It would be pretty funny I think, and we can get a little more Teridax… 
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Ah. Yeah, makes sense.
All right, quite a bit to respond to here. Not that I’m complaining, of course; as a writer, this is great for me.
Honestly, I think this is less ‘evil’ than the Tahtorak scene. The Tahtorak could have caused massive damage in Metru Nui and killed tons of Matoran. In fact, it likely would have, had the Toa Metru not stopped it, or had Matoran been around during its rampage in the Visorak arc.
Here? As far as Brutaka’s concerned, Clanik and the others are already dead. It’s a bit of a miracle Clanik survived. Honestly, I might add a line about Brutaka’s actions also putting out a fire which could threaten the rest of the forest as well; that way he’s doing something good, but also being a bit of a prankster.
(grumbles something about Makuta having way too many powers to keep track of)
All right, to be fully honest, the meta explanation is: I wanted a scene where Clanik comes up with a creative way to deal with a threat, rather than a “Makuta uses his powers to just blast away the bugs in one shot.”
As for the story explanation: I’m going to use a common fanon explanation for this: Makuta have to practice their powers to be proficient at them. Actually, they progress in a similar way to Kraata: they start at stage one, with practice they can go up to stage two, stage three, etc.
Now, gravity and fragmentation are powers we’ve seen Miserix use, so we know he’d likely be good with them. Sleep isn’t something we’ve seen him use, so it’s possible he would only be at stage one or two: he might be able to slow the bugs, but not stop them.
Now, that still does raise a problem: we have seen him use power scream. To great effect, I might add, against the Klakk. It’s something I’d forgotten about, until you reminded me. So, I’m going to add something acknowledging why that wouldn’t work:
First, Miserix opened his mouth, unleashing a power scream. The force of his scream cracked several trees and blasted their limbs away, but the bugs held, shuddering in place but not falling back. It was as if they were magnetically holding themselves in place. Clanik had said something like that would happen, but Miserix still wanted to try it.
According to BS01, Brutaka has “several Kraata powers, including teleportation”. So I just added magnetism to the list.
(as for why Miserix couldn’t do it, well, he theoretically could’ve, but he would’ve had to time it carefully after they were thrown, or they’d just stick to Brutaka. Since Brutaka’s the one actually throwing them, it’s much easier for him to do it.)
I am so happy you reminded me of Voporak, because I just realized a story I’ve got that has to pull him into play. So the answer to your question about if I have plans for Voporak and the Vahi is: I do now.
I will say this: I’m definitely going to avoid the “travel to the past and change the future” type of time travel. Partly because I don’t want the potential for the characters to just undo consequences.
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As the creator of clanik’s backstory, I have to confess: I didn’t put nearly as much thought into it. My thought process was just “what’s something that could send him to another planet? I know, the Olmak. Hmm, Brutaka seems playful.”
Nice to see this expansion, though. Props to you for making something well-developed out of my ill-thought-out backstory.
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Chapter 8
“They’re not here,” Miserix growled.
“You sure this is the right cliff?” Hafu asked.
Miserix glared at the Matoran. “Of course I’m sure! This is where the others were when I left them. Now they’re gone.”
Clanik was talking with a few of his people, who had been scouting the area around the cliffs. “There’s a trail of a single large being going to the cliffs,” Clanik told the rest, “but none leading away.”
“Perhaps they teleported away?” Brutaka guessed. “Artakha’s teleportation works differently from ours; he could get past the lizards.”
“Then where did they go?” Miserix asked. “And why did they leave?”
“Uh, guys?” Hafu said, pointing up at the cliffside. “I think that’s why.”
Miserix looked up. At first, he didn’t see anything. Then, he noticed it, a vague outline of a massive, bat-like creature. The beast was nearly translucent, making it look like a part of the cliffside. It almost resembled the power of the mask of stealth.
“What… is that?” Miserix exclaimed.
“Quiet!” Clanik whispered harshly. “That’s a Volibat! It can’t see very well, but it might hear us.”
If the massive creature weren’t staring at him, Miserix might’ve laughed at it’s name, a combination of Volitak, the name for the Mask of Stealth, and the word bat. He wondered if that was what the creature was actually called, or if Clanik had just given it that name on the spot.
Well, if it hunted by sound… Miserix activated his power of sonics, making a sudden banging noise at the top of the cliff. The beast quickly scuttled to the top, its movements making it easier to see, and then dissapeared beyond the top of the cliff.
“We should leave, before it gets back,” Clanik said. “It’s going to be night soon. I can take you back to our camp, and we can search for your friends in the morning.”
Miserix grumbled. He didn’t really care about his allies. What he really need to do was find Teridax, destroy him, and then remake the Brotherhood of Makuta. But right here, right now, in this strange jungle, there was no way to do that. As much as he hated it, he would need to rely on Clanik’s help until he could find his way home.
“All right,” he said. “We’ll follow you.”
When he detected the presence of a massive creature nearby, about to attack, Artakha had had to act fast. He grabbed the others, and teleported him to the first location he could think of: the location he’d seen in Kapura’s mind, where Kapura had seen the Matoran.
The Matoran cried out in shock when the group appeared in front of them. Then, one of them shouted “Axonn!”
Axonn recognized the Matoran: they were members of the Voya Nui Resistance Team, who he’d helped fight off the Piraka not long ago. “Kazi! Dalu!” he greeted. “How did you get here?”
“Well, we walked,” Kazi said. “But it seems you chose a different means of travel. Where have you been, anyway? We haven’t seen you since before the Makuta took over.”
Axonn suddenly realized that, when the Order had called him back into the field to fight against the Makuta, he hadn’t had time to tell the Voya Nui Matoran where he was going. “I’ve been… a lot of places,” he said. “Including here, though I must confess that I don’t know where here is. Tell me, where exactly did you walk from?”
“We came from Mata Nui’s Village!” Dalu exclaimed. “Where else would we have come from?”
“We were out looking for a friend of ours, Velika,” Kazi explained. “He wandered off into the woods this morning, and we haven’t seen him since. I don’t suppose you’ve seen him?”
Axonn shook his head. “You’re the first Matoran we’ve seen since arriving in these woods.”
“Mata Nui’s village?” Helryx said, surprised. “Can you… take us there?”
“Of course!” Dalu replied. “Though we should probably find Velika first. It’ll be dark soon, and I don’t like him being out here alone in the dark.”
“He can handle himself,” Kazi pointed out.
Artakha shook his head. “These woods are home to dangerous creatures,” he said. “Perhaps our friend can help find yours?” He held up Kapura, who was still too wounded to move on his own.
“Sometimes, the Rahi you seek is closer than you think.” The voice belonged to Velika, who had just emerged from the woods.
“There you are!” Dalu said. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
Velika just shrugged. Axonn, Dalu, and Kazi all knew that it would be pointless to question him further. Knowing him, he’d probably just been out exploring.
“Well, Axonn’s back,” Dalu told him. As if he could have somehow missed the group of people standing in front of her and Kazi. “We were about to lead him and his friends to Mata Nui’s Village.”
“With a name like that, it has to be a good place,” Kapura muttered.
With that, the group followed Kazi, Dalu, and Velika through the woods, into the unknown.
Far away from Artakha’s group, or any of the other groups, another being watched.
Vezon had to admit that he was surprised how everyone had found different people. Miserix had joined Clanik and his tribe of exiles. Lewa had joined the jungle Agori, and they’d headed off toward the mountains. Tuyet had been carried off to the Earth Tribe – that was a potentially interesting development. There were many ways that could go. And then Artakha and the rest had found their allies from the south.
As for Vezon, he’d found the strangest companion of all. When the tower had exploded, it had freed the Great Being held within. Maybe it was because they were both mad, maybe it was because they shared powers that they couldn’t control, but Vezon felt a kinship with the Great Being. In return for indirectly helping free him, the Great Being had allowed Vezon to see what had happened to those he brought to this world.
It was a fun show, but nothing held Vezon’s interest for too long. He turned away from the windows the Great Being had provided. “All right,” he said. “I’m done watching the others and what they’re doing. I want to know what you’re doing. You’re the Great Being here, after all; you should be doing something great, right?”
The Great Being was standing a ways behind Vezon, far enough that his powers wouldn’t reach Vezon’s armor. “Indeed,” he said. “I think it is time I found my brothers and sisters. I need to… thank them for keeping me in that tower for so long.”
“Oh, more Great Beings?” Vezon said. “Sounds fascinating. Need a ride? I do happen to have the power to go anywhere, if you’d be so kind as to turn it back on…?”
The Great Being considered. Vezon was a dangerous anomaly, one he’d gone out of his way to contain before. It wouldn’t be good to give him his powers back… but it would be good to keep an eye on him.
“Tell you what,” he said. “The same deal as before. I have powers I want to get rid of, and you have powers you want back. You help me… and I’ll help you?”
Vezon grinned. “Sounds exciting,” he said. “When do we start?”
To be continued…
Author’s notes: All right, this story was a lot of setting up stuff for the future. Tuyet with the Earth Tribe, Lewa with the Jungle Agori, Miserix with Clanik and his crew. Each of these arcs will be further developed in future stories. I’m already working on one that is all about Lewa.
For right now, though, there’s a certain red light drawing my attention, up in the sky. Looks like some sort of Star? I’m sure it’s nothing important.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hint so directly at the Velika thing this early, but I decided to do so because… everyone knows it’s Velika already. At this point, going out of my way to hide it would just be frustrating to the reader, I think.
The ending of this story was difficult to write. I rewrote it about three times, as I figured out what Vezon and A-- er, I mean, the Great Being would be doing, what type of agreement they would reach, etc.
The next story will start… soon. Probably.
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I’m just curious what your plans are for Marendar. Are you going to try to wait on bringing him up until after his contest (which obviously won’t be for a long time) or just have him do stuff off-screen? Sorry if you answered this question already.
First of all, thank you for your previous reply, it clarifies a lot.
Haven’t Vezon teleported out of the blowing tower in the first chapter?
So a little bit of confusion here.
Hey, some more guys now know that Teridax is dead 
. But Miserix does not.
Nice book, some cool scenes, great new character (Brotherhood is recovering - we already have 3 good guy Makuta!) and super Bionicleish aethstetic. Looking forward to the next one. And yeah, don’t care about the red thig in the sky, it’s probably nothing.
That’s… actually an interesting idea; having him killing Toa in the Shadows, unseen, some kind of dark hunter Shadow Hunter.
Also, I have a similar dilemna with Chiara, Zaria, and Orde; to a lesser extent, but I would like to know what tools/masks they have.
Right you are! Similar to how he turned it on long enough for Vezon to bring Lewa and co. to the tower, he turned it on long enough for Vezon (and himself) to escape, and then turned it off once more. Basically, he only lets Vezon’s powers work when it’s convenient for the plot his own purposes.
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This might be important to consider, from BS01:
“The Baterra continue their advance towards the south of Bara Magna.”
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