Yeah, the Kestora’s weapons show up briefly in Rising Star; Ruhko still has one of them.
I made the Kestora in a D&D mod, but I gave them plasma rifles and daggers instead of plasma swords.
Chapter 3
Kopaka stared at the red wall of metal in front of him, thinking.
The first task he and his team needed to overcome was getting into the Star. There was an easy way to do that, of course: with his mask power and Botar’s teleportation, they could teleport safely into the Star. But perhaps the easiest solution wouldn’t be the right one; they also needed to create an exit from the Red Star for any survivors to leave. Botar had a limit to how many people he could teleport with, according to Hydraxon.
That meant they had to break through the wall somehow. The walls had already proved to be resistant to his elemental power, and his powers were too drained from overusing them on the Star anyway.
These walls are meant to hold up to the vacuum of space, Kopaka thought. How can we get through them?
“Maybe there’s some type of door?” Quilha suggested. “I doubt the Great Beings designed this thing with teleportation as the only way in or out.”
Kopaka suddenly remembered the escape hatch that he and the other Toa had used to escape the Great Spirit Robot. He scanned the wall of the robot, looking for a similar hatch, and finally found one… way up in the air. With the lens in his mask, he estimated that it was 80 Bio from the ground. The Star was likely not meant to land crooked like this, and the hatch would probably be closer to the ground if it landed normally.
His first instinct was to use his elemental power to make a pillar of ice and lift the group, before he remembered his powers were drained. Pohatu could easily have lifted the group, but he wasn’t here either.
But there was one more way to get there. “Ivohku, do you think you can get us up there?”
Ivohku nodded, and the group joined hands, before all of them started to rise upwards, lifted by Ivohku’s gravity power. The three Matoran rose the fastest, but they held on to Kopaka’s hand and stayed with the rest. It took them about a minute to reach the hatch. Ivohku adjusted the gravity on the group until they all hovered in front of it.
“Looks like an Air Cycle hatch,” Ruhko said. “I’ve seen them before on sea craft. When it’s pressurized, it’s practically impossible to open, but in an atmosphere, it’s just a matter of pulling it open.” Ruhko grabbed the handle, pulled… and nothing happened. “Well, unless it gets stuck.”
“Allow me,” Hydraxon said. Jamming one of his wrist blades into the side of the hatch, he twisted it to the side, until it finally snapped open. There was a slight hiss of air from the Air Cycle lock as it opened. Beyond it, there was an open tunnel.
Hydraxon pulled himself in first, then helped the rest get in. The hallway slanted heavily to the side, and Kopaka had to brace against the wall.
He paused to take one last glance outside. Hopefully, when the group was ready to leave, they would have Pohatu with them, and he could create a stone ramp down to the surface. If he was still alive… no, Kopaka refused to think that. Pohatu would be fine, and Kopaka would find him.
Grimly, the Toa of Ice turned and walked into the dark hallway.
Ivohku’s Mask of Night Vision lit up the darkened hallway. As he did so, he realized he had no idea how long it had been since he’d been here under his own power. How long had the Kestora controlled him?
Unwittingly, his mind flashed back to the last time he remembered being on the Star…
Years ago…
“The won’t even let us look at it!”
An irate Iron Toa slammed his hand against the wall of the Red Star. He was one of the first Toa of Iron who had been killed by the Makuta, simply because his power posed a threat to them. Then, he had been forced to watch as more Toa of Iron and Magnetism came to the Red Star. He wanted to warn them, that the Makuta had gone dark and they were in danger, but he couldn’t, because he was trapped on this infernal star of the dead.
“Calm down, brother,” a low voice said from the corner. This came from a Toa of Earth who had been part of the Iron Toa’s team, and had died fighting beside him. “Let the Kestora do their duty. This is their land, not ours.”
“I think calling this place ‘land’ is a bit of a stretch,” a Toa of Air said. “But he’s got a point. The Kestora’s duty is to get this place fixed. Our duty is to protect people, even here. That six-armed monster is still up here somewhere…”
“If it’s the Kestora’s duty, why haven’t they done it?” Ivohku said. He was the most recent Toa to arrive here. “Some of you have been up here for thousands of years! Maybe whatever’s wrong here, the Kestora can’t fix.”
“See?” the Iron Toa said. “He agrees with me.”
“So what do you suggest we do about it?” a Water Toa asked.
“There’s all kinds of people stuck here,” Ivohku said. “Crafters, inventors, tinkerers, even the Nynrah Ghosts. Surely there’s someone who can get this place working and get us home. Because I think it’s obvious the Kestora can’t do it.”
“One should not try to take the duties of another,” the Earth Toa said. “This is what the Kestora are supposed to do.”
“Yeah, and the Makuta were ‘supposed’ to protect the Matoran,” the Iron Toa pointed out. “And look how that turned out. They kill people to suit their own needs. You think the Kestora keep them dead for the same reason?”
“No,” the Earth Toa said. “I don’t think that.”
“Maybe I do,” Ivohku said. “And maybe it’s time we did something about it.”
It took some time, but Ivohku had rallied other Toa to his cause. He had led a group of Toa against the Kestora.
The attack didn’t go as planned. And just like the Makuta, they decided to eliminate the threat. A new weapon was built, ironically by the Kestora named Makuta, and soon all of the Toa were under their control.
Ivohku had led them to their doom.
Author’s notes: I really wanted to emphasize just how much Ivohku feels responsible for what happened to the Toa on the Star.
6 Likes
Ah yes very nice. I like the little interlude thingy with Ivohku.
This whole story is written very accurately to the style of the original serials, but this little bit sticks out to me as being particularly good. I could easily see this being an actual legend in the Bionicle story.
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Sorry for the delay; had some stuff come up this weekend.
Chapter 4
On the other side of the Star, a different group was trying to get in, though they had a very different means of entrance.
Zaria held up his hand, exerting his power over Iron to open up a gap in the outer wall of the Star. It wasn’t easy – there was something else mixed in with the metal, something that didn’t respond to his powers. Still, he finally managed to open up a section, bit by bit, until…
Something burst out of the opening, falling onto the ground. Zaria took a closer look, then recoiled when he realized what it was.
“What is it?” Chiara asked.
“Bodies,” Zaria replied. Several bodies, at least a dozen, lay in a pile. Some of them looked Matoran, while others were unfamiliar.
“Isn’t this place supposed to bring people back from the dead?” Strakk pointed out.
“This doesn’t bode well,” Fierah said quietly.
Orde shook his head. “We can’t turn back now,” he said. “Whatever’s going on in there, we have to face it. Oh Great One, you know the layout of this place?” He said Great One as if it were an insult, but one Fierah apparently chose to ignore.
“I know it well enough, yes,” she replied.
“Well, first off, do you know where the lights are?” Chiara said. “It looks pretty dark in there. Shame Zaria can’t conjure up a lightstone.”
“The lights may not have survived the crash,” Fierah said.
“These will still last for a while,” Gelu said, holding up his torch. “Still, I’d rather not be stuck in the dark in there when they burn out.”
Orde was considering the best way to address this issue when the answer decided to present itself.
“It sounds like you need a Toa of Light, then.”
Somewhere in the Star, Delara’s eyes flashed open.
Voices. He heard voices. He’d always heard lots of voices, hearing almost everything on the Star. It was strangely quiet now, and there weren’t as many voices as before.
But there were some new ones, some he hadn’t heard before, and one that he definitely had heard before. This one was different, though. It came from before the madness, before the two Skakdi had sent him here.
He remembered that voice. He’d hated that voice. That voice had betrayed him. He’d sworn, if he ever heard that voice again, he’d… he’d…
He’d follow the Toa Code, that was it. And the Toa Code was very specific: Toa must kill.
Delara got to his feet. Very well then. This new arrival would be the next one that he would kill.
Takanuva stared at the group in front of him. Four of them he recognized as the group Onua had sent in search of the Great Beings. The white-armored Glatorian and the robed figure were unfamiliar to him. To his surprise, though, it was the robed figure who first spoke his name.
“Takua?” she said, seeming shocked.
“Well, yes and no,” he said. “It’s Takanuva now, Toa of Light. Sorry, Toa Nuva of Light. Guess we’re here for the same reason?”
“Takanuva?” Gelu said. “You don’t look like the Takanuva I know.”
“Energized Protodermis tends to do that,” Takanuva said. He suddenly remembered that the Toa Nuva had had the same issue back when they first transformed – the Matoran took a while to get comfortable with their new appearance. As a Matoran, Takua had been scared of Tahu Nuva at first, until he realized it was the same person, just more powerful. “I may have changed, but I’m still the same old Takanuva you fought Makuta alongside.”
“Wait, fought Makuta?” the robed female said. “You never told me about that.”
“Well, there’s a lot you haven’t told us,” Orde pointed out. “If you ask me, that’s only fair.”
“So, who’s she?” Takanuva asked. “One of the natives?”
Orde and Gelu shared a glance. “You… could say that, yes,” Orde said. “How did you get here so fast? We’re several days away from the villages.”
“That’s a long story,” Takanuva said. “Sounds like we all have a few of those. Perhaps we should sit down and share a few? I am the former Chronicler, after all.”
“Our mission is urgent,” Fierah said. “We must stop Marendar before he finds us.”
“What’s a Marendar?” Takanuva asked.
Before anyone could respond, Zaria suddenly cut in. “There’s something moving in the Star,” he said. The group turned toward him. He had his hand on one of the metal walls, feeling it. “It’s coming this way. Fast.”
All of the Toa prepared for battle. Takanuva held up his hand, lighting up the dark tunnel. He listened, but nothing was coming. Maybe whatever Zaria had felt had–
He never saw the attack coming. All of a sudden, something hit him, knocking him off his feet with a deafening clap. He’d only felt something like that once before, when he’d tried to retrieve one of the Toa’s Nuva Symbols from Kohrok-Kal, the Bohrok-Kal of Sound. No wonder he hadn’t heard the attacker approach.
He sat up, and saw a grey-armored Toa run out of the dark. No sooner had it become visible than Zaria held out his hand and halted the Toa’s charge, using his power to hold the Toa’s armor. The Toa growled angrily, realizing he couldn’t move.
“I can heeeeear you,” the Toa said. Takanuva realized suddenly that no eyes were visible behind his mask; he was blind. “I know you’re heeeeere… Orde.”
Takanuva turned to the Toa of Psionics, who had taken a step back. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“Delara?”
Author’s notes: Credit to @TheJerminator for pointing out that the Great Beings would definitely call him Takua. Won’t be the last time, either.
7 Likes
oh no
what did you do orde
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Ooh interesting!
A pretty nice read overall.
Chapter 5
Kopaka scanned the Star, trying to find Pohatu, or any familiar locations. Unfortunately, all of the lights on the star had gone dark, and even though Kopaka’s mask could see through all the walls, it couldn’t pierce the darkness.
Maybe if he and Ivohku were to fuse, they could combine their mask powers? Could normal Toa even fuse with a Toa Nuva? And were fusions of two Toa even possible? Kopaka wasn’t sure. Regardless, their only current option was to wander blindly until they found a location Quilha recognized.
Kopaka glanced around the base of the Star, looking to see if anyone had managed to escape. He spotted a group of Toa and… Glatorian? To his surprise, Delara was among them.
If Delara’s there, perhaps the piloting chamber isn’t far, Kopaka thought. That was where Delara had been last time Kopaka had seen him. He pointed in the direction of Delara. “That way,” he said.
It took a while to find a side passage in that direction. It sloped downward at a sharp angle, making it tricky to navigate, but at least it led in the right direction. If Kopaka were alone – and if his Ice powers weren’t drained – he would’ve simply frozen the floor and skated down. Ivohku focused his power, and the force of Gravity shifted, allowing them to walk down the slope easier.
There didn’t seem to be any revived beings in this part of the Star. But apparently, it wasn’t completely abandoned. “There’s someone up ahead,” Ivohku said. “Looks like Kestora. They aren’t moving.”
Indeed, as the group got closer, they could see that the small purple-and-black figures lay unmoving in the floor. One of them lay at an awkward angle, and it didn’t look like he’d survived the crash. As for the others, since Kestora lacked Heartlights, it was hard to tell without closer inspection, and Ivohku didn’t really want to get close to the Kestora again.
Kopaka, however, lacked Ivohku’s discomfort with the Kestora. He approached and inspected the Kestora. “Only one dead. The rest are simply unconscious.”
“Do you think… do you think the Red Star can revive them?” Quilha wondered.
Ivohku stopped short of saying “Better if it doesn’t.” He realized that a part of him wanted to see the Kestora die, after what they’d done to the Toa. But that went against the Toa Code. No matter what the Kestora had done, letting them die – or stay dead, in this case – went against what the Toa stood for.
Still, there was nothing saying they couldn’t restrain them. “Kopaka, you want to freeze them?” he said. “So they don’t get up and shoot at us?”
“I still haven’t recharged enough elemental power,” Kopaka replied. “What about you? You can increase their weight.”
“I… I don’t know,” Ivohku said. “If I do it wrong, I could kill them.”
“Allow me,” Hydraxon said. He stepped forward, placing metallic clamps on the Kestora’s arms.
“Where did you get those from?” Ruhko asked.
“They were to restrain prisoners,” Hydraxon said. “I was a jailor, of… of…” Hydraxon faltered.
“The Pit?” Kopaka offered.
“Yes, that was it,” the armored warrior replied. His memories had been damaged by his death, and only meeting Kopaka and Pohatu had helped him start to remember.
“Why don’t we remove their masks?” Mavrah suggested. “If they’re like Matoran, maybe they will be weakened without their masks.”
“I’ve never seen a maskless Kestora,” Ruhko pointed out.
Kopaka nodded in agreement, removing the Kestora’s masks. Out of curiosity, he put one on, but then shook his head and removed it. “They’re powerless.”
Leaving the Kestora behind, the group proceeded onward. Ivohku found himself wondering where the Kestora leader, the one known as Makuta, had wound up. Was she still alive? Did she still have control over the Toa?
Ivohku clenched his fists. Not for long, he thought darkly.
Orde took a step back, staring at the Sound Toa. He should have known Delara would be here.
“You…” Delara groaned. Even though he was blind, he was staring straight at Orde, having heard his voice. “You left me… left me to die…”
Chiara turned to Orde upon hearing this. “What is he talking about?”
Orde remembered the last time he’d seen Delara. The two monsters that had attacked, the fight that went horribly. When Orde realized how outmatched they were, he… he had run away. He didn’t check to make sure Delara was with him, not until it was too late.
“I will follow the Code,” Delara said. “You will die, Orde. Die, die, diediediediedie…”
“He’s gone mad,” Zaria said.
“Can you, I dunno, use your powers? Fix his mind?” Gelu asked.
Orde hesitated, and Chiara glanced at him. Gelu hadn’t been paying attention, or hadn’t heard, when Orde explained what happened the first time he tried to ‘fix minds’ with the Zyglak.
“You’ve been a Toa for millennia since then, right?” Chiara said. “You can do this. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
Orde gazed into Delara’s eyes, or where his eyes would be. He had only worked briefly with the Toa of Sonics, but he still remembered him, all too vividly. Even if his powers didn’t give him a near-perfect memory, he could never forget Delara. There was little left of the Sonics Toa he knew.
“All right,” he said. “I’ll try.”
Orde held up his hand, using his powers to reach into Delara’s mind. Almost immediately, the first thing he saw was a wave of hatred. He hadn’t realized how much anger Delara harbored against him. It was matched by his own guilt, for running and leaving Delara behind.
He looked deeper into Delara’s mind. It was chaotic, broken. At the forefront of it was a repeating mantra: the Toa Code, Toa must kill.
You caused it, Delara’s voice said in his head. Your fault. The reason we were there.
Yes, Orde thought back. It is my fault. I should have been there with you. I should have made sure we both got away.
He swore, after that day, he’d never run again. He’d be the last one to escape, no matter what, even if it meant he died. Or got captured by Dark Hunters, as the case may be. On that day, he’d made sure the Matoran all escaped, and he got himself captured. And he’d do it again. He’d never let someone else take the fall again.
Orde focused. He’d used his powers a lot since the time he’d tried to calm down the Zyglak. He knew what he was doing.
He grabbed onto the broken parts of Delara’s mind, trying to pull them together. Delara resisted, pouring images of his death, of the day Orde ran away, trying to distract him. But Orde focused. He’d failed Delara once.
He wouldn’t fail again.
7 Likes
ooh cool!
Are two Toa fusions even possible??
The existence of Prototype suggests that Two-Toa are possible, but it’s not something Kopaka knows the answer to.
3 Likes
Ah, forgot about that.
And be rendered comatose. Not sure if they die.
I don’t know why it took me this long to notice, but I just realized that Delara’s name starts with his Elemental prefix, just like the Toa Mata. Was this intentional?
Also:
Since Takanuva is now a Toa Nuva, does that mean he has a Nuva Symbol? If so, where is it?
Yep. I like the idea that it’s just a thing that happens sometimes, like Lesovikk or Kopeke.
I’ll admit, that hadn’t occurred to me until you asked. It would’ve shown up wherever the Ta-Matoran are set up right now, since that’s who he would consider his people.
Since I got distracted by life stuff for like a week, I’m going to try and pick up the pace again, so here’s the next chapter.
Chapter 6
For the first time in his life, Takanuva found himself overwhelmed.
While Orde worked his Psionics powers, trying to fix Delara, Chiara and Gelu had caught him up on their recent adventures. The shocks just kept coming:
One: the Red Star was meant to revive everyone who had died in the Matoran Universe and send them back. But if Delara was anything to go by, something had gone very wrong. Also, Lesovikk had died, and seemed to have been taken by the star.
Two: there was a Toa-killing being known as Marendar on the loose. Fortunately, the Great Being known as Fierah had an idea that might help stop it. Unfortunately, Fierah didn’t like to share much, including her plan, but it had something to do with the Star.
Three: there was another Great Being hidden in one of the Matoran Universe inhabitants, with a dark plan that rivalled Teridax’s ambitions. The only one who might know his identity was the leader of a city of Vorox who had it out for Toa and Glatorian.
“How do we know he’s not the Great Being?” Zaria pointed out. “It could be anyone.”
“Why don’t we just have Orde read his mind?” Chiara said. “You know, once he’s done with the Sound guy over there.”
“And what if this Great Being knows how to block Orde’s powers, like Fierah?” Zaria pointed out. “Or even give him false thoughts?”
“Orde can tell if he’s giving false thoughts, if he knows what to look for,” Fierah said. “And if he just shields his mind entirely, well, then we’ll know if Orde doesn’t get anything from Takua. If Takua is just who he says he is, he should have no reason to shield his mind.”
“I told you, it’s Takanuva now,” the Toa of Light said.
The Great Being stared at him. “Why did you change your name?” she asked, her voice suddenly angry.
Takanuva was taken aback by her tone. “Well, I was honoring the Toa Nuva,” he said. “I thought ‘Takua Nuva’ sounded a bit weird when I wasn’t actually a Toa Nuva, though I guess I am now, but–”
“Do you even know what ‘Takua’ means?” Fierah said. “No, of course not, you ignorant Sand Bat. You were the first of our wonders, the Matoran. Your name is an ancient word for ‘success’. And you ruined it, turned it into a meaningless string of sounds.”
Takanuva blinked. “Wait, back up a bit. Did you say I was the first Matoran?”
Fierah nodded. “I was there when you first opened your eyes, Takua. All of us were. Though I suppose you wouldn’t remember that. You weren’t supposed to be… aware.”
“I’ve also lost my memories a few times since then,” Takanuva replied. Okay, so that was the fourth stunning reveal of the past hour. What next, was his Kanohi not called the Avohkii?
There was a sudden gasp from Orde, and Takanuva and the rest looked to see that the Psionics Toa had opened his eyes. Delara had gone limp, no longer struggling against Zaria’s power. The Iron Toa relaxed his power, and Orde slowly lowered Delara to the ground.
“Is he…?” Chiara asked.
“I did as much as I could,” Orde said. “Any more, and I would’ve risked tearing his mind to pieces, beyond the point where it could be fixed. But as to whether it worked… we won’t know until he wakes up.”
“All right then,” Chiara said. “Well, I guess Strakk has another body to carry.”
“What?” Strakk said. “Why do I always have to carry all the bodies? Can’t Zaria do it?”
“I could,” Zaria said. “Of course, if I’m using my powers to carry him, I can’t use them to make you a fancy new shield. Shame, I was thinking on making a cool one that looked like a Skrall shield. Everyone would think you’d defeated a Skrall. But I guess if you want me to carry the body…”
Strakk swooped in, picking up the Sound Toa’s body. Gelu grinned at Zaria. “I see you’ve finally learned to speak Strakk’s language.”
“All right,” Fierah said. “Are we finally ready to head into the Star so we can get to work on a way to stop Marendar?”
Takanuva stepped forward toward the hallway into the Red Star. But before he could activate his powers, he noticed a light at the end of the tunnel. “Someone’s coming,” he said.
“Again?” Chiara said. “Someone else here to attack us? What next, a Turaga from Zaria’s past?”
Takanuva squinted. “Wait a second… is that Kopaka?”
Indeed, it was the Toa Nuva of Ice, along with another Toa he didn’t recognize, three Matoran, and what appeared to be Hydraxon, the latter looking a lot worse for wear than the last time Takanuva had seen him. “Kopaka!” he yelled, running toward his friend.
The Toa Nuva of Ice hesitated, before apparently recognizing the voice. “Takanuva?” he said. “You look different. Again.”
“You know me,” the Toa of Light said. “Always different. So, who are these guys?”
“Refugees from the Star,” Kopaka explained. “They were trapped here. I helped them escape. Pohatu was with us; he didn’t make it out. We have to find him, if he survived.”
Takanuva blinked, taking this in. He’d forgotten how quickly Kopaka could sum up a story. “So you were on the Star already?”
Kopaka nodded. “A teleporter took us there, while it was still in space. Then another took us off the Star, just before it crashed.”
“So I take it this is one of your allies?” Hydraxon said. “But he isn’t one of the Toa Mata.”
“Yes,” Kopaka said. “Takanuva, Toa of Light.”
Hydraxon’s eyebrows raised. “A Toa of Light?” he said. “Interesting. So the universe did have need for a Toa of Light after all.”
“Wait a second,” Takanuva said. “Hydraxon, do you not remember me? We spoke less than a week ago, back at the villages.”
“You must have me confused with someone else,” Hydraxon said. “I’ve been trapped on the Star for centuries.”
“No, no, that can’t be right,” Takanuva said. “There can’t be two Hydraxon’s. One must be a fake.”
Both Kopaka and Takanuva looked toward Hydraxon, who glared back at them. “What, you think I’m a fake?” he said. “I remember training you, Kopaka, back at Karda Nui. Also, Botar answered my call. Would he do that for a fake?”
“So, there’s likely a fake Hydraxon back at the villages?” Takanuva said. “Wonderful. Just what we need right now.”
Takanuva’s line about his mask being called something different is a reference to the fact that the Avohkii had a different name in some of the 03 promotional material.
7 Likes
ooh interesting. It raises the possibility (for the characters) that the replica Hydraxon is the Great Being in disguise.
2 Likes
Huh.
I hadn’t noticed that until just now either.
Does this mean that Takanuva is going to start going by Takua again?
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Good stuff. Keep it up 
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Possibly. I haven’t figured out exactly how it’s going to go yet.
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Better Takua Nuva than Takanuva Nuva
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