#Fikou Nui

[irradiated-imp]

So, been a while since I posted Rahi so have some of my recent ones. The Kahu and Kikanalo have been updated recently with new wings and feet, tho that's it.

Tullo Fish Tropical fish rahi found in the oceans around Okoto Nui. They are common prey for numerous rahi and animals.

Khabew Large beetle-like Rahi. They are temperamental and very territorial often fighting with each other or anything else that enters their territory. Bone Hunters have been known to catch them to pit against each other or other rahi for fun.

Tarakava Semi-aquatic lizards. Tarakava are massive, dangerous predators able to punch with enough force to break solid protodermis.

They dig dens for themselves under water, gathering air weed to breath. Some have been known to take stones with coral polyps on them and placing them at the mouths of their dens intending to use the burgeoning coral to draw in small fish to use as bait for larger prey.

Whali Small bugs found almost everywhere. Many matoran consider them cute.

Fikou Nui Massive, venomous Spider-rahi that stalk Okoto-Nui's forests, jungles, and caverns. The only spiders feared more than them are the Vizorak.

Size comps

I always thought it was weird that something that spent alot of time under water didn't seem like it could swim, so I corrected that with my Tarakava build. I like the idea that tropical fish will school around Tarakava for protection.

[toacody]

Fikou

Like a bear cub: cute yet potentially harmful.

Source

Creator: FeroxJ

[nattarthetimedragon]

Fikou-Nui

[lemonylepid]

Announcing commissions!

Do you have a Matoran OC that you love very much? Do you like my art and what I do? Do you want to support me in some way? Well, I am opening commissions!

My art is Miramax Movie inspired, and if you'd like to see your matoran drawn that way, details are below!!

Let's get straight into pricing, I'm offering matoran drawings of this quality starting at $40 USD. Basic matoran, like these ones here, with no special armors, limited to one prop are the flat $40.

Matoran with specialized plating, such as Metru armor, Bohrok shield armor, and similar affects, are $50. (There are some older examples here and a bonus fikou oops)

And lastly, if you have a custom matoran build you'd like me to tackle and miramax-ify, that's going to be $60. Any matoran type with a wonky build like the Voya Nui matoran or later builds like the Marhi matoran or Av-Matoran also fall into this category. Taking the build you give me and translating it into a Miramax style takes far more effort, which is why I have the price so high.

I really try to pour emotion and personality into my art, and if you'd like to see your favorite OC drawn by me, please DM me here or shoot me a DM over Discord! You can find me on many Bionicle servers.

If you DON'T have an OC, I can work with you to make a new one for you! And lastly, if you want to support me and don't feel like commissioning anything or these are too pricey for you, you can support me on my Ko-Fi. :)

All payments are limited through Paypal or Ko-Fi.

[downtofragglerock]

Alright, only one group left to look at (kinda), its time for the arthropod extravaganza

Out of every group of animal, it is by far arthropods with the most rahi representation

We got four main subgroups to look at so lets go over them

The myriapods (centipedes and millipedes) only have one maybe rep in the form of the terrain crawler, which for some reason was canonized as a rahi despite all promo and story material clearly not having that be the intention

As arachnids go, the mu is chockfull of spiders and scorpions, many of them very large. For spiders you have the the chute lurker, the dagger spider, the electric spider, the Fenrakk, the Fikou, the Fikou-Nui, the sea spider, the silver chute spider, and all seven breeds of Visorak. Then for scorpions you have the catapult scorpion, the Kofo-Jaga, the Nui-Jaga, the Zivon, and the scorpion rahi from the cancelled pc game. Interestingly, a uniting factor across all arachnid rahi is that they are immensely bigger than the largest of their real life counterparts, to the point where event he smallest ones are as big as the largest real life ones.

Onto insects, there are also quite a lot, several of which aren't given much elaboration on what specific type of insect they are: like the cliff bug, the colony drone (which technically isn't outright stated to be an insect but from context clues and also the name, kind of has to be), the electric bug, the fireflyer, the lava crawler, and the night creeper (which again, while also not outright stated to be one, is probably an insect due to context clues)

As for specifics, the acid fly is well, a fly. The frost beetle and Hoto are both stated to be beetles, the Kirikori Nui is a grasshopper/locust, the metallic hornet is a hornet, the metru mantis is a mantis, context clues imply the Niazesk is a gadfly of some kind, similarly context clues imply the sand snipe is a gnat, the Nui Kopen is a wasp, I think the tunnel stalker might be an earwig, and the Nui Rama is a bit of a cluster fuck, as it's been referred to as a fly or a mosquito by different media, and they also have the eusociality and hive-building like bees or wasps, so I think they're another one for the specevo pile

Lastly, the crustaceans, all of which are crabs: The Hahnah, the Keras, the Mana-ko, the Manas, the spider crab, the crab rahi from the cancelled pc game, and the ever-lovable Usaal

Despite there being so many arthropod rahi, a number of groups are left out, other types of crustaceans, arachnids that aren't spiders or scorpions, and numerous rather recognizable insect groups like ants, butterflies, moths, roaches, dragonflies, a lot of different beetles, termites, stick insects, and cicadas

And again, a interesting unifying factor among all of them, barring some insects, is how overall larger they are than their real-life counterparts

And with that where done, we've gone over basically every animal group

But there's still some cleaning up to do

[wjbs-bonkle-au]

Lynn's Bionicle Media Looking-At Thing Part 3: The Underwhelming World Of The Interactive Demo CD

I was excited for this one. The thumbnail on Biomedia made it look cool, with the Toa gathered around Kini-Nui, but like. Nah. It's kinda just nothing. Here's a video (for some reason the sound didn't seem to have been recorded, but the music player at the end was just MNOG music, and the reason that I lingered on the last one was because it's the Nui Jaga boss theme):

The video is somehow longer than my City of Legends one despite the comparative lack of content. It is neat that there's a lot of Legend of Mata Nui-related stuff (namely the Onua cutscene and some concept art), plus an actual playable demo of Quest For The Toa's snowball minigame (unlike the Power Pack, which just has a camera-recording of the game from a GBA). I even won both times I played it (I did a small run-through of the CD before recording the video), which is neat! Also I like that it included the Fikou instructions.

Also the reason I didn't click on the movie button in the Toa showcase is because the video flickered violently when I tried on the first runthrough, so I avoided it this time because it could have caused seizures.

[opercot]

OCTOBER BIONICLE POST (PART 2)

HEYYYYYY, i came back, one day later afte i said i would, but i finally finished another 10 more, for all of ya to enjoy, so, hope ya like it.

Also, the last batch of images, it would be 11, so, ya will like it :v

Day 11: Red

Here i depicted Takua going to the telescope to see the mysterious Red Star roaming the sky

Day 12: Mask

Made a collage of the Toa Mata with their golden Kanohi. Always loved how they look with it (Tried to make it a bit similar to the MNOG, but i saw it was too much, so, i desided in mid of it, a collage :v)

Day 13: Wings

Here i depicted the attack that the Nui-Rama did in Le-Koro (even with one of the canceled colors that they would have). Hope ya like it

Day 14: Tool

Made the part in 2002, were Taipu, Onepu & Nuparu created the first Boxor, while they were inside the cave

Day 15: Mist

In this, i did the Bohrok attack in 2002, specifically, Lehvak attacking the jungle, were they leaved a ton of acid mist in the air for their intervention

Day 16: Queen

Recreated one of the scenes in the movie of 2005, where our "Queen" Roodaka was "convincing" Vakama to join her (queen stuff as always :v)

Day 17: Matoran

Did the 2 friends talking in their way to some adventure, while discussing about their futures. Pewku feels that those two would still be friends, and they have a more greater future

Day 18: Bug

Did a little scene of a Gafna being with it's Fikou friend in the jungle, while some other funky bugs in the back chill in their environment

Day 19: Mythical

I imagine that, in the moment that Tahu got the Golden Mask, Vakama went and give him the Vahi (mask of time) as a gift for his achievement, and told him that it was really dangerous, and only use it in an extreme case

Day 20: Shield

Made one of the scenes in the 2003 story line, and i imagine that the Rahkshi did attack a lot in there, so i think that they went for the villagers too, and Tahu protect them from those spaws of Makuta

That's it for the moment, hope y'all like it, we will see the finish line, in the 31 of october......... Hopefully :v

[boobonicle]

bunko bops

[calm-thrill]

FIKOU SPOTTED

MATA NUI COW SPOTTED

‼️REAL ONE CONFIRMED‼️

my wet soppy beast is absolutely enraptured by your art streams

ALERT

❗️IT IS THE HUMBLE HANHAH CRAB OF JALLER ❗️

❗️JALLER ❗️

[boxturret]

Fikou-Nui

I really, really liked the design of this Rahi so I bought all the parts I needed to make it.

I was originally going to get a dark gray Rau, like what the one in the game has, but the cost of one of those was nearly as much as all the other parts combined! So instead I bought a cheaper colour, in this case it’s the brown and silver one from the Metruan Ahkmou, it was only 50 cents instead of 40 dollars. Then I painted it black and infected it. 

I really like the results. The airbrushing gave it a lovely pitted texture. 

For the eyes I used a gem piece which is different from what’s in my 3D model or the game model, which is a ball joint. I tried it with a pair of black ball joints, and a pair of red ones but it just didn’t look right. Then I stuck a couple of red studs on the head with bluetack and it looked so much better, and the best way of achieving a similar result was the gem parts.

This would have made a cool set. I wonder if it was ever considered or if it was just something they made for the game.

Here it is before painting the mask and with the red eyes.

[sepublic]

Above is a link to a short story I wrote for Bionicle: RaE. It’s written more in the style of a recap/explanation, and it details how Onua fought one of Makuta’s servants, the Fikou Nui. It’s a bit of a spooky tale, and what better time to tell it than October, the Month of Halloween?

(I mean I could always wait for the day of Halloween itself, but I also have other posts I want to get onto and this story has been waiting in my documents for like a year. So...)

Below is an excerpt of the story. You can access the rest of it in the above link.

           The Fikou Nui is a hyper-intelligent, massive Fikou spider, with long, spindly legs sharp enough to puncture flesh, a digging ability, and heightened senses from which to detect other organisms. Given its task by Makuta, the Fikou Nui was set loose on the Okotans living in the tunnels of the Region of Earth.

           Using its senses, the Fikou Nui was able to map out the underground tunnels mined by the Okotans. After establishing its own nest-cavern near these tunnels, the Fikou Nui set to work digging incredibly small tunnels with which it squeezed its body through. Finally, the Fikou Nui set to work preparing traps for its prey;

           Once it was close enough to a tunnel, it then used only a single, spindly leg to carve an incredibly small, tube-like opening that connected its tunnel, with one of the underground passages. Such a small hole would be hard to notice, but just in case, the Fikou Nui then reached out into the breached passage, sensing no one was near, and grabbed a rock, spreading a splotch of webbing across the bottom, and glued it over the small opening it had made.

           The Fikou Nui repeated this process on several other nearby tunnels, before proceeding to wait in its nest, sensing the vibrations for the occasion in which a single miner would pass through the tunnels below. When it did sense a potential victim, the Fikou Nui set to work, making its way to one of the openings it had carved out. Then, it waited, its leg stuffed down the tube-opening, poised to flip open the rock covering it on its hinge-like web. The Fikou Nui let its prey pass by this single stone, and with their back turned, it struck.

           The Fikou Nui pushed the rock to the side, its long appendage poking through, with its sharp end bent towards the vulnerable nape of the unsuspecting Okotan- And then struck hard and fast, puncturing their spine and instantly killing them. With its dead prey now hooked onto its leg, the Fikou Nui would then drag the prey right up to its opening. From its mouth, a long, thin proboscis would emerge, sliding down the tube and piercing the prey on the other side. The Fikou Nui would suck out the blood and juices of the prey until it was dry.

           Once that was done, it would lower the prey’s emaciated body to the ground, and with a few precise cuts, flay their skin, before stuffing it up its tube-opening, pulling it through into its own tunnel, where the Fikou Nui would devour the skin. Even as it did, its leg would then go down the tube once more, using its sharp end to cut apart the flayed corpse into smaller chunks of meat that could fit through its tunnel. The Fikou Nui would devour a piece before cutting out another one, devouring as much as it could until it sensed another Okotan coming nearby.

           In the event that the Fikou Nui could not just kill this Okotan (such as if they were in a group) it would simply abandon what was left of the body, assuming it hadn’t devoured all of it, and retreat its leg back through the tube, making sure to carefully close the webbed-rock over the opening. The Fikou Nui, content with its meal, would then haul itself back to the nest, where it would wait in a semi-hibernation mode, where only its senses were active, for another lone Okotan to wander down these tunnels.

           The Fikou Nui managed to get its first victim and devour all of them, leaving behind only the bones- Although it then proceeded to break those into pieces and eat them as well. It finished its meal and retreated back to its nest.

           This poor, lone victim was soon after missed when his fellow miners realized that he hadn’t returned from his tunnel yet. Concerned, they did a sweep of the tunnel, with Korgot concerned that perhaps the Skull Spiders had breached again and seized another victim. Instead, the search party found the entire tunnel to be un-breached (as far as they could tell). Puzzled, they began combing the tunnel, again and again, but no sign of the lost miner.

           Unrest and paranoia spread as Korgot announced the disappearance and urged for everyone to search the tunnels. The lost Okotan was never found, yet the tunnels themselves had obviously not been breached. There were no openings for Skull Spiders to come through…

           So where did the Okotan go? It’s not like they had dug a tunnel, and then covered it up- They’d have seen signs of digging. Again, Korgot and the search parties skimmed the area for the lost Okotan, yet no sign. Days passed, yet nothing, with Korgot even asking Takua and Tamaru if anyone sighted the lost Okotan, on some unruly chance.

           No sign- And eventually, the search was shut down. As far as anyone else could tell, the miner had just… disappeared in thin air. With nothing else to do, the mystified miners decided that they needed to continue work- And so they did.

           Soon after, more disappearances occurred. In those passing days, the Fikou Nui fed itself more, but as time passed it needed to finish its meal more quickly, as people came in to unknowingly interrupt its feast- Until one day, the Fikou Nui was forced to retreat, leaving behind the partly-broken bones it had been meaning to eat.

[irradiated-imp]

Time for some more Rahi. I've made a handful more since I last posted, and updated two of my older ones.

Fikou Nui Massive Spider Rahi closely related to the Fikou spiders. They will eat almost anything they can catch. They prefer dark, damp places, so they are commonly found in the jungles of Ga-Oko and Le-Oko, as well as the caverns of Onu-Oko. They were made from a modified version of the actual Fikou Nui.

Whali Small bugs that can be found all over Okoto Nui. Like the fikou Nui, they were made from a modified version of the Whali.

Tarakava Large, aggressive, lizard-like Rahi. Where as Murk Lurkers stalk swamps and marshlands, Tarakava live in the shallows along the coastlines. They dig out burrows under water to live in, and regularly grab airweed to use to create air bubbles in their dens. They lie in wait to ambush their prey, stunning or killing it with a swift and powerful punch. Some Tarakava have recently learned to 'farm' coral. They have been observed taking rocks with coral growth and relocating it to the mouth of their den. As the coral grows, it attracts small fish for the safety of the coral. The small fish draw in their larger predators, and consequently prey for the Tarakava.

Khabew Massive beetle-like Rahi. They are solitary Rahi and have few predators due to their armor, bulk, and the powerful horn cannons they possess on the back of their thorax. Khabew Massive beetle-like Rahi. They are solitary Rahi and have few predators due to their armor, bulk, and the powerful horn cannons they possess on the back of their thorax. They are found mostly in the desert of Po-Oko, but some haveb een spotted in Ta-Oko. Khazaak and Zilaak's Bonehunters have on numerous occassions captured them and pit them against other Rahi in colesseum fights in Old Po-Ifo.

And the updates. Recently got some new parts, namely the articulated Piraka Feet, and figured out a better wing structure for the Kahu.

Some additional renders. Pretty sure I shared the last three before, but figured I'd share the updated versions again. Up top is a swimming Tarakava with a school of tropical fish traveling with it for protection. The fish are Rewii, which I shared before. Last three, like I said, are updates to some old Renders I did before.

[tiredspacedragon]

BIONICLE Retrospective

2001: Quest for the Masks

Part 7.11: Fikou

Ah yes, deceit incarnate. The Fikou is, outside of Pokémon, probably the cutest spider I have ever seen. They can be found all over the island of Mata Nui, though most commonly in the jungles of Le-Wahi, where they weave incredibly strong webs. Oh, also, these adorable little guys are vicious and dangerous, even to Matoran. They’re known to jump at prey that avoids their webs and have a nasty bite. And here I was thinking about how cute they are.

The Fikou was released several times, but made its first appearance in 2001 as a combiner model. Now you see, the Fikou has something of a reputation. A reputation as a liar. Supposedly, this little critter can be made using pieces from Pohatu and Onua, and for the most part, this is true. Most of the Rahi is built from Onua’s claws with his mask serving as a carapace. However, the spider requires three voodoo balls to be complete, two for its eyes and one to give it neck articulation. Yeah, I know, neck articulation! The problem is that Pohatu and Onua do not have three ball pieces between them. Pohatu comes with two, and Onua has none. You actually need one of the other Toa that features a ball accent, be it Lewa, Kopaka, or Tahu, to finish this build. It’s not a Herculean task to accomplish that, but it’s still false advertising.

Also, getting the eye-pieces out of Toa Mata heads is a nightmare, so whoever designed this thing is clearly a sadist. If you’re hell-bent on building this thing, I strongly recommend the use of a standard Lego brick separator. It can still a fair bit of work, but it’s the only reliable way I’ve found to do remove the eyepiece without damaging the parts or yourself.

The Fikou is a funny little thing. It’s cute, I still think that. Even though I now know that it is demon spider hell-spawn that makes its home in a web of lies and pain. Whatever. The head articulation is nice, and the colour scheme is incredibly consistent, so it gets props for that. It’s a fine little spider, I really just wish this thing acted as cute as it looks.

At least it's not this thing. I’m really glad the Fikou-Nui never became a set. And seeing its model makes me glad Legend of Mata Nui didn’t come out either. That thing is nightmare fuel.

Next up: Mukau

[toehunger]

Kohrok Va Considers Ko-Wahi

* * *

Got more ambitious with the colors and background on this one, to middling results imo. Also doesn’t help that this is the first toehunger I’ve colored in Procreate on an iPad instead of on Sketchbook on my laptop; I feel like the tools weren’t working quite as well and the layer effects were messing up my lines, tbh I might stick with marker color more going forward as much as I can

Lines: Prismacolor marker, Muji pen

Color: Procreate

[rahiwatching]

A1, A16, B9, C26 for the BIONICLE asks?

A1 - Favourite Character

Traditionally, I have always said Pohatu was my favourite, I've always thought he was great and still do. Though I have to say that Vakama is also a favourite of mine as I really adore the journey his character went on over the course of the Metru-Nui arcs.

A16 - Favourite Rahi

The Tarakava will always have a place in my heart as it was my first Rahi set back in 2001. Story wise I love the Catapult Scorpion because of how needlessly extra its powerset is (seriously, the Makuta who created it just went and said "I'm going to make a Rahi that can create LAVA, just so it can create its own rocks to fling at its enemies - because just giving it the power to make rocks in the first place isn't metal enough"). I also love the Fikou. Because its cute.

B9 - Favourite Storyline

Got to either be 2004-2005 or 2007. The Metru-Nui arc was when the Bionicle world really became a world, and it was the jumping off point for the massive expanse that the storyline became (not that I'm saying i disliked the more local scale of 2001-2003 mind you). And 2007 was just fantastic, some of Greg's best writing if you ask me. I loved the way the story explored what a Toa might have to do when their back was against the wall and where the line that a hero mustn't cross became blurry and undefined, and yet they still managed to stay heroes anyway despite everything. Plus, you know, Matoro.

C26 - Favourite Fic author

I've not read a whole lot of Bionicle Fics to be honest (I'm more of a Bionicle meta post guy), but I did enjoy "The Sculptors and the Smelters" by PersnicketyPuffin on Ao3.

[writerfromtheshore]

Kraata Hunting

“So what was it?” asked Matau, impatient for answers. The other Turaga looked at Whenua with similar expressions, anticipating his answer.

“The Matoran said it was some sort of ship,” said the Turaga of Earth.

“Like the Vahki transport we drove?” asked Vakama.

Whenua shook his head. “No— as in an actual ship. Some sort of warship. I have not been out there myself, but from the descriptions my scouts gave… definitely something used in war.”

“What did they find on there?” Nokama asked.

“Weapons, charts, all sorts of things,” Whenua said. He placed a parcel on the Amaja Nui storytelling circle. A series of very thin tablets, very flexible in nature as compared to what the six of them were used to. Paper. Passing it around, each of them looked through it, eyeing the peculiar text on the pages. Nuju clicked and whistled incessantly as he squinted at the contents of the parcel. Any attempt by Nokama with her mask of translation provided to be useless. None of them knew what the writing could mean.

“Takua ranted about weapons when he returned to Ta-Koro,” said Vakama. “Something about wielding a sword with what seemed to be the power of a Toa.”

“He does not even know what a Toa is,” the Ko-Matoran Matoro said, translating for Nuju.

“I have never whisper-heard of power-charged elemental weapons before,” said Matau.

“What super Toa could possibly have these?” Onewa asked.

“I do not think what the Chronicler encountered was from a Toa,” Whenua said, the unease apparent in his voice. “Unless some other society south of Metru Nui that we did not know of which immigrated to the surface, it seems as if these weapons, this ship, all of it— comes from somewhere else. We may not be alone on this ocean up here.”

“I second our earth brother,” said Matau to everyone’s surprise. Pulling something from his pack, he placed a mask on the table alongside the notebook log Whenua produced.

“What kind of Kanohi is that?” asked a bewildered Nokama. Vakama, the only one familiar with masks from the group, shook his head. The shape was totally alien to him.

“That is the thing, teacher-sister,” Matau said. “This is definitely not a Kanohi. I can think of all the masks I have spot seen in my life—add-including the ones the Toa Mangai wore-sported— and this resembles nothing I have seen.”

“This isn’t even protodermis,” Whenua agreed upon closer inspection. “Where did you find it?”

“A Matoran brought it to me,” Matau began. “The last time Nokama and I potion brewed, when Makuta spurred a sickness upon us— I sent my Gukko Force into the jungle for one of the ingredients. They said they ended up in the Fau swamp, and found a figure buried under the mud. This was what it was wearing.”

The six of them sat in silence for a moment, each feeling uncomfortable in their own way. All were certain the figure Matau spoke of was not a Matoran.

“This place was never on any maps of the universe, was it?” asked Vakama. Whenua shook his head.

“There could be others, south of the sea gates, who came up through the Great Barrier as well,” said Whenua. “But no language like this— to my knowledge— was ever used in the history of the universe. Skakdi, Vortixx… nothing comes to mind when I look at this journal.”

Onewa frowned. This discussion was getting them nowhere.

“If there is someone out there coming to this island, let them come,” snapped Onewa. “We will deal with them then. There is no need to get worked up about something that may simply come to pass. We can sit around Amaja Nui all day telling ghost stories, or we can discuss more pressing matters. There was something else you brought us together for, Whenua, was there not?”

The Turaga of Earth nodded. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out a long cylindrical container. The other Turaga leaned in, but could not identify the contents of the container. “You may want to step back for this,” he suggested to the group.

The rest of the Turaga looked uncomfortably at each other before heeding Whenua’s advice. Twisting the lid of the stasis tube, he unscrewed it and placed it on the circle before all of the Turaga.

A chilling hiss came from the tube as whatever was in there woke up. Onewa, Vakama, Nokama, Matau, and Nuju all peered suspiciously at the opening, only to withdraw in disgust when the creature within slithered out into the sand of Amaja Nui.

The snake like thing peered groggily at each of the Turaga. Then it gave a hiss, recognizing what it was that stared at it. The creature coiled up and lunged at their masks. It only got its head in the air before it jerked back to the sand— if not for Whenua’s badge of office pinning the creature’s tail, it would have latched itself onto the Kanohi of one of the elders.

“Seven levels of Karzahni!” Matau swore, brandishing his Kau Kau staff. The little buzzsaw on the Turaga of Air’s badge of office began to whirl. “What is that thing?”

“Do not kill it!” insisted Whenua. Matau looked at him incredulously, buzzsaw whirling, before lowering his staff.

“Kraata,” growled Vakama. “Where did you find it?”

“In a mine, trying to corner one of the workers,” Whenua said. “As soon as I captured it, I knew the six of us had to talk.”

“Another ugly Rahi beast,” Matau said. He watched the Kraata scream as it tried to writhe out of the grip of Whenua’s drill. “So what?”

“These are not just Rahi, Matau,” Whenua shook his head.

“Remember the Rahkshi from the Fikou Web, brother?” asked Nokama. “These are what pilot them.”

“So they are Makuta spawn,” the Turaga of Air said. “Have any Rahkshi been spot-seen on the island?”

Four of the Turaga shook their heads. Vakama, on the other hand, stared at the Kraata with an empty eyed gaze, his mind elsewhere. The Turaga looked at each other, familiar with this expression.

“No, they are not here,” Vakama said. “But one day they will be. Makuta has made Rahkshi with several Kraata before, in one of his lairs between here and Metru Nui. One of his thousand contingency plans.”

“Another vision?” Onewa asked. The Turaga of Fire nodded, frowning at the creature.

“And that is not the only concern with these Kraata,” said Whenua. “Vakama, you brought the mask, as requested?”

Vakama nodded, producing the requested item from his own pack. Even though he did not have his forge anymore, he did still produce masks, on the off chance they did run out of the cache they had retrieved from Metru Nui.

He placed the Kanohi within the sand circle, near the still struggling kraata. The painful screams changed as the Kraata noticed the nearby mask. Whenua looked at his cohorts, and then lifted his drill. The Kraata squirmed free, slithering in a beeline for the mask. The grey silver sheen of the unworn surface became rusted and pitted where the creature touched it, infection coming over it as quickly as a passing shadow.

The Kraata slithered though and around the mask while it changed, the screams a moment before now gentle growls. It was almost as if it were cuddling it. The Turaga watched this happen, repulsed— the perverse affection the infectious creature had for the mask made the elders feel uneasy.

“Just as I thought,” Whenua whispered.

“Is that—“ Matoro said, translating for Turaga Nuju as well as asking of his own accord.

“That is how the Rahi here have come to serve the Makuta,” Whenua said. “Kraata can corrupt the masks they wear. I believe since these come from Makuta himself, it gives him the ability to assume control over the mask and the Matoran wearing it. Or in our cases, the Rahi.”

“So what do you suggest we do?” asked Nokama.

“Look for them in and near your Koro,” said Whenua. “I have more than enough stasis containers to store these things in.”

“And just leave stasis tubes laying around for the Matoran, or even the Makuta, to find?” Vakama asked.

“There are several caves in Po-Wahi, far enough away from where any Matoran would venture,” said Onewa. “We can store them there.”

Whenua nodded thanks to the Turaga of Stone. “We need to find and capture these things before they infect the entire island.”

Several of the Turaga nodded in agreement, accepting their new mission.

“Why can’t we just kill these things?” Matau asked, raising his buzzsaw in confusion.

���Because we need to study them,” Matoro said over the clicks and whirls of Turaga Nuju. “Like Turaga Whenua just said— I am not calling him that, Turaga Nuju—we need to figure out what they can do to the island.”

“If they can corrupt Kanohi with just a touch, who knows what other havoc they can wreak on the island,” Whenua added.

“It will be messy if we do just kill them, brother,” Onewa said. “We can’t leave our mess for the Matoran to find.”

“There is still a lot we do not know about these things,” Whenua said. “The records in the Archives exhibits were vague at best. Aside from cutting them up, how else can they be killed? Can they infect masks even if they are dead? What other powers do they have?”

“It sure seems you are skip-missing an opportunity-chance to experiment-test,” Matau grumbled, crossing his arms and nodding at the Amaja Nui circle before them.

“The more we can capture, the more we can study,” Nokama advised.

“Matau, this is more than Whenua wanting to play Archivist,” Vakama said. “The Kraata pose a danger to us. These are the Makuta’s creatures. After all we did to escape him, his Visorak, and all the other stuff he threatened us and the Matoran with, we are just going to let another one of his creatures slip into our villages and ruin all our hard work?”

Matau looked down at the creature. “You’re right, firespitter,” he said. “Whenua is right. We’ve collect found the Great Disks, homes for our village people; what’s another scavenger find-hunt?”

“Thank you Matau,” Whenua smiled. “May each of you go back to your villages with a sharp eye. I will have stasis tubes sent out to each of you. For now, Onewa, you can show me some of your caves on the trip back north. May your villagers be safe from the Kraata’s reach.”

“And the Great Spirit watch over us all,” added Nokama.

***

Matau swung through the trees of Le-Wahi, grabbing vines as he travelled back to his village.

The meeting was on the forefront of his mind, very much annoying him. But why? He had collected a lot of things over the years on this island. Various fruits, types of bark, all little knick knacks in nature that caught Matau’s attention. What was one more scavenger hunt? he thought to himself.

This collectible you cannot leave lying around your hut, a little voice in the back of his mind told him. That was the uncomfortable part. Matau enjoyed collecting fun things… but this was business. More serious business than just an ivy that made his organics itch from time to time. And on top of all the Rahi attacks they had to look out for, this was just more than a simple challenge.

The Turaga of Air forced himself to stop thinking for a moment and enjoy the jungle around him. Rahi could be heard in the distance, but for the most part, it was quiet. The sun shone from some hole in the jungle canopy. The day was good.

Perhaps he would go food hunting to lighten his mood. Collect something fun, and ease into it. There had to be some bush, some tree, something around here which grew some food for him to collect. Matau swung, grabbing onto each vine as he looked around for crop…

Look up— no one ever looks up, he thought to himself. Matau looked up, eyeing the vines he grabbed. Each line was tough and firm, but coarse, the outer skin of the vines like a hard leaf. He grabbed them skillfully and he swung through looking for fruit—

The next thing he grabbed was definitely not that. Instead of the firm, rope like texture of a vine, his hand closed around something soft and slippery. Matau’s eyes lit up with shock as he looked up to see what he had grabbed.

You have got to be joke-kidding me! the Turaga of Air thought, as the yellowish Kraata screeched under his grip.

The initial shock of grabbing something living made Matau jerk back, letting go. His momentum carried him forward though, and having let go of the previous vine, he fell fast toward the grounds of Le-Wahi.

***

As a general rule, Onu-Matoran did not take well to brightness. Spending most of their time underground left their eyes weak in sunny circumstances— having adapted to seeing in the dark, daylight was almost painful.  

Their Turaga was no exception. Whenua's eyesight was terrible in comparison, if not worse than, his villagers. And having used a Ruru during his time in the caves of Onu-Wahi made his tolerance for the desert sunlight almost unbearable.

Much to Whenua’s dismay, the journey back to his home in the Great Mine ventured through Po-Wahi. He and Onewa ventured on Mahi steeds over the desert, looking out onto the very sunny horizon.

Onewa had said there were caves he knew of where they could store the captured Kraata. Whenua was eager to see them, so they could begin this new project. The brightness did not settle well with him, but nevertheless, he followed atop a Mahi steed. The Turaga of Stone led the way, dead set with a particular destination in mind. The majority of the venture through the canyons had passed almost wordlessly. Onewa hardly stopped to check for direction or rest.

“You know Po-Wahi well, brother,” Whenua remarked. “Is this near where…?”

“No, but I first ventured out this way when I looked for a way back,” Onewa said. “There were a few spots where I wanted to settle Po-Koro. When we returned with all of the Matoran, I spent a lot of time surveying the land. Spent the better part of ten years figuring out which tunnels connected to below, and which were just caves. Helped me figure out where exactly to settle Po-Koro— far away from anywhere a Matoran might figure out a passageway to below. I know this entire region better than the Makuta knows even his own shadows.”

Ten years. Whenua raised his eyebrows. They had already been here on Mata Nui for a few centuries, but ten years in of itself…that was a long time to be cave exploring. “So this cave, for the Kraata… where exactly is it?”

Onewa turned on his steed and smiled at his brother. He could see the Turaga of Earth’s eyes were straining in the bright light.

“Not far now, Whenua,” Onewa smiled.

Whenua spent the rest of the ride staring narrow-eyed at Onewa’s back.

***

The Turaga of Earth was more than relieved when the canyons rose around them, shade finally falling onto their path. Whenua glowered for a bit as his eyesight adjusted, almost able to see Onewa’s smirk from behind him.

They dismounted after maybe an hour of riding, somewhere deep in the winding crevices of the canyon. The two of them looked around, seeing the empty area around them. No Matoran was anywhere close to here. Besides their steeds, no Rahi roamed around the place. This was not somewhere one would roam to by accident. Definitely somewhere where you would go to hide something, Whenua thought.

“Not even Takua could find this place,” Onewa said, satisfaction in his voice. Petting the Mahi, he nodded for Whenua to follow him just a little further.

The cave mouth yawned open for them, a veil of deeper shadow hanging over the entrance. Whenua nodded his approval of the place. Isolated, protected from the elements, it could be the perfect hiding spot.

Small little lights wandered over the walls of the cave, but Onewa dismissed them. Electric spiders. Natural guards, he insisted, in case the Kraata found some way to escape their tubes. Whenua nodded, remembering his Archival days where he put Electric spiders into stasis. Even after several transformations, he could still feel the shock on his fingertips.

Whenua took his drill and traced it along the cavern walls. Just as he did in Onu-Koro, he sensed the walls for empty pockets, places unwelcome guests could nest in. The drill, combined with his connection to the element of earth, could sense tunnels and cavities in the walls. But here, he found none.

“Well?” Onewa asked. “Do you approve?”

Whenua withdrew the stasis tube from his pack and set it down against the wall. He was more than satisfied with the place. Smiling, the Turaga of Earth shuffled to the entrance of the cave. Raising his drill to the canyon wall, he carved in a quick sketch of the Kraata.

***

The sound of chiseling was practically music to Whenua’s ears. After wandering with Onewa to Mata Nui knew where in the Motara desert, he finally had a sense of where he was. The pair had almost reached to Po-Koro— and better yet, in Whenua’s opinion, a tunnel that led back to Onu-Koro.

After years of excavating for raw carving material, the area surrounding the Po-Koro Quarry was riddled with cavities, the result of years of Po-Matoran mining material for their statues. Little alcoves littered the open pit mine, as Matoran over the years would pull from anywhere and everywhere for stone to use. This had caused quarrels between carvers every so often, some Po-Matoran accusing others of toppling their greatest creations for material. (Hafu was a frequent complainer, to which a time came where Onewa was given him his own private section of the quarry-canyon.)

The Turaga dismounted for a rest from their ride, having been traveling on the Mahi for the better part of the day. Onewa took a moment’s leave from the Turaga, going around to inspect the carvings his villagers were producing. Whenua watched as the Turaga of Stone dolled out advice to the craftsmen. He would point here or there on a statue, gesturing with his hammer to show how they could carve out the details they desired.

Whenua surveyed it all, feeling satisfied with his day. He had traversed a good part of the island, and more importantly, accomplished something with the other Turaga. Other than the matters of the ghost ship, he felt as if they finally were competent overseers of their Matoran. Setting his staff down, Whenua smiled.

A reverberation alerted Whenua. Looking around, he could feel something in the earth, something moving through the ground around the carvers. It was faint, it was small, but still, it was something. The Turaga of Earth looked over at his guide, whom was still occupied in teaching a Matoran.

Another Matoran caught his eye. The carver was standing back from his creation, tools held up in a menacing manner. His carving however, looked far from finished. Whenua, curious at the observation, made his way to the carver.

“What goes wrong with your creation?” he asked.

“There is something— something coming out of the stone!” the Matoran said. “I was chiseling a detail on the lower part of the Kanohi, and my chisel went through the rock. Then dust came out— a lot of it— and something popped out! But it ducked back into the stone, and another hole formed!”

Upon closer inspection, the Matoran’s confusion was clear. The carving, a larger rock, was slowly falling apart. The Turaga looked over the carving, concerned. There was something inside, slowly eating away at the rock. He placed his staff on the stone. The drill of Onua was not best when inspecting a stone removed from the ground, but it was still able to pick up some things.

By this point, Onewa had come to the Matoran’s side, equally concerned as Whenua about the rock. Putting his hand to the rock, he nodded.

“There is definitely something in there,” he said. “I am sorry carver, you have done wonderfully on this piece. But whatever it is, I need to do this.”

“By all means, Turaga,” the Matoran said, stepping back.

Onewa nodded, appreciating the Matoran’s understanding, and kicked the mask. With a solid blow, it crashed to the floor of the canyon. The stone rolled over to its side, where several holes bore into the back of the statue. Whenua’s eyes lit up as he saw the tail of… some sort of creature… slither into the back of the statue. He frowned, not liking the look of what he saw.

“Get your brothers away from their carvings,” Onewa ordered the Matoran. “Who knows what this is, and what others may be in the stone. Turaga Whenua and I will deal with it.”

The Matoran nodded, running off to his nearby cohorts.

“It’s one of them,” said Whenua. “A Kraata.”

“You act scared of them, brother,” Onewa said, brandishing his hammer. “I can take care of them with this.”

Onewa concentrated hard on the stone, feeling the structure of the carving. With his hands on the structure, he could feel the space inside, the stone being eaten away from the inside out. He listened to the holes, listening for slithering noises coming from out of it.

And before he knew it, two of them popped out of the structure. Two slimy, screeching Kraata, baring their mandibles at the one who disturbed their new home. Onewa pursed his lips, bringing his hammer down on the yellow and metallic colored one. The second, sand blue one sunk back into its hole as it listened to the hammer come down on its brother.

But the rock rang as he missed his target. “What?” Onewa asked no one in particular as he raised the hammer. No concussed Kraata was underneath as Onewa lifted the face off the carving. “My aim never misses!” he cried out angrily.

“Try again, brother,” Whenua urged. The Turaga of Stone did not look his way, simply focusing on the holes in front of him. Hand on the rock, he felt the Kraata slithering, coming up to check if it was safe…

This time a light grey one poked its head out, before sneaking back into the stone. Onewa slammed the hammer down on the spot where it had been, completely missing the window in which the snake poked its head out. A second too slow to capture this one.

“Your drill,” Onewa barked at the Turaga. “It can sense the changes in the stone?”

Whenua nodded, noticing Onewa’s curt manner.

“Place it on the side,” Onewa told him. “And tell me when they are coming up. There are three of them.”

“Three?” Whenua asked, barely hiding the joy in his voice.

Onewa frowned. “Yes, you lucky archivist you. You’re getting your Naming Day presents early. Just let me know where they are coming out. I will take care of the hitting.”

Whenua nodded, standing to the side of Onewa with his own badge of office. He could feel the Kraata within as they forced away the stone, trying to find a new way out of the rock to avoid the hitting menace.

“Ready?” Whenua asked. “Left!”

“Down!”

“To your right side!”

“Up!”

Whenua barked each time, and Onewa swung, but each time the Kraata dodged his attacks. The Turaga of Stone grew more frustrated with each miss, becoming more curt and erratic with his strikes. Soon he was not even hitting a hole, just wacking the stone at any point he could. Whenua noticed the carvers had gathered in a group not far off from them, watching the show.

“You know what?” Onewa said, throwing his hammer to the ground after several dozen attempts. “Forget this. We are going a different route.”

“I’m not sure if that’s—“ Whenua tried to caution. Onewa ignored him, his Komau beginning to glow. He stared at the rock hard, until almost as if on a string, each of the three Kraata slid out of the structure. Staring at them with an intense hatred, he smashed his hammer on each of them, knocking the first two unconscious. Whenua watched wordlessly, wincing as his fellow Turaga hit each of the specimens.

The last one however, Onewa’s hammer froze just inches above. Whenua looked at his brother, then at the Kraata.

“Why are you hesitating?” asked Whenua. Onewa gave no answer. Instead he just stood there, in a trance, hammer hovering over the creature.

A moment passed, and Onewa brought the hammer down on the creature. The final Kraata went limp, and Onewa lowered his tool, using its staff for support. He breathed heavily.

“Are you alright?” asked Whenua.

“The Makuta,” Onewa panted. “He has a telepathic link with these creatures. One is stronger than the others. But he can feel their thoughts.”

Whenua’s fingertips suddenly felt tingly. It was moments like these he wished he had archival tablets to write on. “What did you see?” he asked.

“A bunch of things, things I couldn’t describe even if I wanted to try,” Onewa said. “But then I heard his voice.”

All joy from the moment before flooded out of Whenua, leaving him with a sense of dread. “What did he say?”

“He knows we are hunting the Kraata.”

Whenua swore.

***

He didn’t know how long he was out, but Matau jerked awake with a shock. Sitting up he gasped, and then immediately groaned. He was limber for a Turaga, yes, but sometimes he forgot that he was not a Toa anymore—despite how briefly he had been one— and that his current body did not take to impacts as well as a Toa did. Still getting used to this frame, even after a century or two, he thought to himself.

As the pain subsided the Turaga of Air looked around, momentarily forgetting why he had fallen to the forest floor. He fell from vine swinging! Oh, how the Le-Matoran would laugh at him if they ever heard of this…

He had been swinging, and grabbed onto a vine. Except it wasn’t just a vine, he remembered, the incident coming back to him. There had been… a Kraata on the vine. And if he remembered correctly, the Kraata had fallen off of the vine to the jungle floor with him.

But his mask… with a cursory inspection, Matau took off his Noble Mahiki to see that it was fine. A few dents and scrapes over the years, but it was otherwise perfectly uninfected. No Kraata had touched it.

If the Kraata hadn’t touched it, was the creature still around?

Putting his mask back on, Matau looked at his surroundings. The snake like creature he had grabbed on the vine was a handful of hues of yellow, yet he only saw green around him.

Picking up his Kau Kau staff, the Turaga looked around. But more importantly, he listened. The area around him was quiet.

He could hear his breath and the sounds of the Rahi in the distance. But the sounds in between the two… There was faint breeze that blew through the jungle, and Matau stood attentive as it rolled over the plants. Yes, there it was, rustling much of the plant life, lightly but slightly… and the sound of shuffling on the underbrush made by a creature trying to stay hidden. Oh yes, it is still around. Matau smiled as the sound reached his audio receptors, his eyesight sliding towards where the sound came from. He raised his staff noiselessly to the brush, and gave a quick whirl of the buzzsaw to scare the creature.

The Kraata shot out of the brush, frightened. In a blur, it snaked toward a tree. Matau lunged after it, swinging his badge of office at the creature. Hold on, he thought as it slid under another bush. The creature spawn I grabbed on the vine was yellow. This one… this is green?

The Kraata had slipped through the bush, and was making a beeline for a tree a few bio away. Matau darted after it, swatting at the creature with his staff. He watched it as he chased, amazed that now the Kraata was taking on the color of the tree stump.

Never mind what color it is, just grab the forsaken thing.

Reaching the tree a few seconds ahead of Matau, the thing began to climb up the tree to allude capture. Matau was faster though, grabbing the thing by the tail. It hissed as it was pulled back towards the ground, the Turaga yanking hard at the creature. It hissed and looked back at Matau.

“Get— back— here— you—slimy— piece— of—“ he grunted.

The Turaga was unable to finish his sentence. The Kraata, not taking too kindly to the tug on the tail, forgot about its ascent on the tree and lunged at the Kanohi of the green one.

Matau fell on his back for the second time that afternoon. The Kraata was in his grasp fully now, albeit an arms length away. It writhed and screamed whilst trying to wriggle free. The Turaga grabbed the creature with as much of a vice grip as he could, trying to keep the thing away from his mask. The Kraata refused to submit, resisting any attempts to be subdued by Matau’s hand. What was he going to do with the thing?

“Don’t you ever tire?” He yelled at it. Getting to his feet, the Kraata still thrashing around in his grip, Matau went over to the tree it tried to climb and did the only thing he could do. Giving a solid swing, he swung the thing’s head at the tree it so desperately clung to moments before.

That did the trick. The snake went limp, suddenly stopping its struggle. The brown hue of the creature’s skin changed, until it was back to the yellowish color Matau had originally seen it bearing.

“So, you can camouflage-change,” the Turaga of Air said. He thought back to what Whenua said about the Kraata possibly having powers. “Well, earth brother,” Matau said aloud, “looks like you were right about that.”

Kongu wandered through the village square of Le-Koro, helping transport goods from one end of the village to the other. He looked very surprised when Turaga Matau came bursting from the trees, swinging in to land on the platform. For his advanced age, it was always impressive to see the Turaga performing acrobats as if he were one of the Matoran.

“Turaga Matau!” Kongu cried, excusing himself from the transport for a moment to greet the Turaga. “You have returned! Did the council-meeting with the other elders go well-fine?”

The Turaga nodded, but there was clearly a sense of stress on the noble Mahiki the elder of Le-Koro wore. “As well fine as it could have gone, vineswinger,” Matau said. “Can you get a Gukko and a carry messenger ready? I have something to ship-send to Turaga Whenua.”

***

Far beneath the Po-Koro Quarry, Makuta brooded.

In the brief moment Onewa had tried to control the Kraata, he had glimpsed Makuta’s mind. In reciprocation, Makuta had sensed the Turaga’s simple thoughts, and seen what he and the others were trying to do. Now he contemplated the information he had gained.

“The Turaga wish to eradicate my Kraata from their paradise,” rumbled Makuta. “They seek to capture the seeds of my sons.”

“But Onewa,” Makuta said as he looked upwards to the ceiling of his lair. “Turaga of Stone… for being such a solid leader, your understanding of the situation is like the rocks you strike. Very hollow.”

Makuta approached a control panel deep within the recesses of the Mangaia. The lair was his, yes, but the cavern predated him by many millennia. This panel, an ancient piece of technology, was one of the mechanisms original to the cavern. It allowed him to manipulate the island above, in ways that his powers could not yet achieve. Makuta now tapped into it, preparing to counter the elder’s plans.

“I wish for the same things you do, Turaga,” Makuta rumbled as he activated the systems of the panel. He had great powers on his own, yes, but devices like these had power on another level. “The Kraata… they allow me to control the Rahi, and I do so in our best interest. They guard the tunnels, the ways back to Metru Nui. I keep the Matoran far away, in their villages, until the time is right— a time that I have chosen— for you to return to the City of Legends.”

The panel whirled to life, and Makuta manipulated the controls with glee.

“So, Turaga, you wish to hunt,” Makuta said. “But how can you capture what you cannot see?”