#hydruka

[antelopefriendcorner]

i haven't drawn any bionicle characters in over a decade, I'm pretty sure. 

(it doesn't help that sketchpages put me in a frame of mind that's not very conducive to drawing them in the first place)

[tiredspacedragon]

2003, 2006, and of course 2010 are, to my knowledge, the only years in all of Bionicle's runs(s) in which a set featuring a stinger tail, counting combination and alternate models, was not produced

[binkybonkles]

Thulox? Dekar? Naw, I'm making my own set of small Mahri-Nui sets

With the exception of the custom masks, these guys are all buildable, and they're growing on me enough to push me to write little character bios for them

[angryraptor13]

Toa Zaria Contest Entry

Toa Zaria - a Toa of Iron who once infamously killed a Makuta in self-defense.

Custom Parts/Colors Used The mask used is Galva's Mask of Adaptation, freely available in the Karzahni's Collection pack on Thingiverse. All other parts used are LEGO parts, though they are not all available in the given colors. The Bionicle parts not available in Stud.io and/or in the given colors are as follows:

Mahri shoulder armor (part #57544), modeled in BioPack 2023, archived by VootCaboot here. LEGO did make these in Light Bright Orange.

Hydruka Back Plate (part #59577) are available in the standard Stud.io download. LEGO did make these in Light Bright Orange, but they are very rare & expensive on Bricklink. I recommend printing them.

Bionicle 1x3 Tooth (part #x346) are available in the standard Stud.io download, but LEGO does not make these in Light Bright Orange.

Metru Knee Cover (part #47299) is available in the standard Stud.io download, but LEGO did not make these in Pearl Dark Gray.

Metru Head Short Brainstalk (part #57536) is available in the standard Stud.io download, but LEGO did not make these in Trans-Red. Could substitute a standard Metru brainstalk (part #47313, also available in standard Stud.io), as those did come in Trans-Red.

Link to ZIP file containing build instructions & the Stud.io model:

[downtofragglerock]

Now that I've went over basically every animal group and their rahi counterparts (or lack their of) anyone reading these posts might notice that there's a number of rahi I just haven't mentioned, well here we are for the "I don't know what the fuck you're supposed to be" round!

Before this special truly gets going we do have to discuss that there is a clade of energy being rahi, including the Avohkah, which are made of lightning, and the fire entity, which are made of fire, unsurprisingly

Onto the main event, firstly we have the archives beast and Krahka's species. These are both species of shapeshifters and both are quite fluid with this ability. If either of them truly have and "original" or "default" form, we've never seen it, and so categorizing them is a moot effort

Then there's a whole bunch of rahi that really could either be mammalian or reptilian, and you really wouldn't be able to tell unless it was outright stated either way. This includes the blade burrower, the cable crawler, the crystal climber, the Kraawa, and the Vahki hunter. I think its possible the blade burrower could be like an anteater or something, but there's really no way to tell.

Next we have Klaak and Keetongu's species, who are both questionably mammalian but really there's no way to figure out exactly what they are from appearance alone

Then we got several rahi that only have some physical feature or behavior about them described, with no context clues to really begin to imagine where they fall of the tree of life. These are the devourer, the dust darter, the "kratana", the mud crawler, the sand screamer, and the water wraith.

Now we just have five stragglers left. The venom flyer like has to be some sort of flying insect, but this is never outright stated so for all we know its a reptile or something. Protodites are microscopic creatures, but anything beyond that is unclear, and their weird mutant scaled up versions just look like a lazy combo model so that's no help. The Hydruka kind of look like scorpions, but have no claws and no outright statements regarding what they are other than rahi. The gate guardian is probably also an arthropod of some sort, but it very easily could not be and looking like that, whose to say what it is. and lastly, we have Gadunka. I don't know what Gadunka could possibly be, if anyone has any ideas, feel free to share.

Also an addendum: turns out the terrain crawlers aren't myriapods, they're worms.

And with that we've covered or attempted to cover the taxonomy of every canon species of rahi, it still have a couple other things to cover in this tag, they're just a little outside canon, but not by that much

[bomonga]

Quick list of all (known) powers a Faxon user could access

In case you were wondering just how overpowered this mask actually is.

Land Rahi:

Artakha Bull - Incredible intelligence

Boggarak - Rhotuka that rapidly dehydrates a target, skating on water

Cable Crawler - Rhotuka that causes vertigo in an enemy

Crystal Serpent - Absorbing light to power a heat ray

Dermis Turtle - Having an impenetrable shell

Dikapi - High endurance and stamina

Doom Viper - Breathing highly toxic chemicals at prey

Energy Hound - Tracking targets

Fader Bull - Teleporting to safety

Frost Leech - Sucking all the heat out of prey

Furnace Salamander - Clinging to any surface

Gate Guardian - Being invisible and making a smaller decoy of itself

Ice Vernin - Rhotuka that makes the target vibrate real hard

Kahgarak - Rhotuka that opens a gate to the Field of Shadows

Mavrah’s Kavinika - Detecting Kanohi use

Keelerak - Rhotuka that acidicly melts anything

Keetongu - Producing any antidote

Kikanalo - Powerful sonic roar

Kinloka - Eating anything

Kraawa - Growing larger every time it gets hit

Kratana - Seeing the future and the past

Lava Rat - Can burst into flames

Mana Ko - Firing energy blasts

Nui-Jaga - Venom that causes blindness

Oohnorak - Rhotuka that causes numbness, voice mimicking

Roporak - Near perfect camouflage

Spine Slug - Feeding off of Skakdi battle rage

Suukorak - Rhotuka that makes an electric net around a target, perfect mimicry of a corpse

Vako - Incredible speed

Aerial Rahi:

Air Serpent - Acid spitting

Avokah - Being a beam of electricity

Fireflyer - Stinging someone so bad they feel like they’re on fire

Kanohi Dragon - Breathing fire, being resistant to cold

Klakk - Sonic beam that cures Shadow Leech effects

Lava Hawk - Total immunity to extreme heat

Phase Dragon - Turning intangible

Venom Flyer - Rhotuka that makes a target unable to fly

Underwater/Amphibious Rahi:

Cave Fish - Absorb Protodermis to become bigger

Hydruka - Firing solidified air bubbles

Makika - Poisonous skin

Sea Spider - Venom that shrinks prey

Underground Rahi:

Archive Beast - Shapeshifting

Blade Burrower - Digging, good sense of smell

Catapult Scorpion - Materializing balls of magma, eating Protodermis

Dagger Spider - Having a paralyzing venom

Fire Entity - Being made entirely of fire

Hoto - Giving off intense heat

Krahka - Shapeshifting

Tunneler - Turning into whatever you shoot at it

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

As a little bonus trivia for Right of Law, I did plan out which Toa would be on the various kolhii teams participating in Ahkmou’s tournament (plus a few others that had been banned from entering).  Not sure how many of these characters will come up again in the future, but if nothing else, they are now confirmed to exist in the Melding Universe.

-Atero Scarabax: Garan and Epena (previously Hewkii) -Civitas Magna 8585th District Kofo-Jaga: Keahi and Bour -Mahri Nui Hydruka: Hahli and Hewkii (Dekar as a substitute) -Iconox Iron Wolves: Kazi and Dosne -Artidax Fireflyers: Golyo and Gadjati -Ko-Koro Muaka: Kantai and Kopeke -Stelt Cliff Vultures: Kai and Bingzak -Ga-Koro Tarakava: Macku and Kotu -Xia Smoke Hawks: Nilkuu and Azibo -Nynrah Razor Whales: Sanso and Jaller (prior to his death)

[txttletale]

bonus small set wave power rankings: kohliitoran > rahaga > voyatoran > agori > bohrok va > metrutoran > hydruka/mahritotan > turaga > avtoran

objectively correct bionicle mainline set waves tier list

[sepublic]

The Beast

In one particular forest of Airweed, rumors of a beast dwell. According to these fables, this beast hides in the fields of Airweed, stalking the workers and Hydruka who come in for the harvest. And when one detracts too far from the group… The Beast snatches them and devours them alive! The tale sprung when a worker named Reysa and his Hydruka lost track of time and stayed past the designated safety hour. One worker who had been close to the Airfields swore that they had heard a scream. Later that evening, many questioned where Reysa had gone, and had assumed that he must’ve returned after the tides rose; Unless he drowned?

They got a grim answer when someone found what seemed to be Reysa’s hand amidst the Airweed. Ever since, hysteria struck the workers as they claimed that some Beast dwelled in the Airfields, likely coming in from the tide to devour everyone. As days passed, more disappeared. Others swore they saw something in the airfields stalking them, one even ran from something massive that chased them!

The rumors of the Beast spread, and the overseer got exasperated and dismissed such claims, even when workers began to strike, unwilling to work with such a predator breathing down their spines. To prove his point, the overseer ventured into the airfields with some hired guns to comb the area, sure that there was no beast.

He never returned, and soon another overseer came in. She let the tales of the Beast run rampant with apathy, not caring for those who quit in fear- There was always some poor, jobless schmuck to take their position, after all, and so the mysterious disappearances continued…

[kopakaskoolkompanion]

Duh

Hydruka are just mutated Gafna

[loysnuva]

Reysa, the shepherd My entry for the contest "Les Archives De Mavrah" #8 on BIONIFIGS.Reysa's head inspired by Artemiy Karpinskiy's work. Flickr

[0m3g45n1p3r4lph4]

I might use it to flesh out life in Mahri Nui a bit more. How did the Matoran learn to tame Hydruka? When did they start mutating in the Black Waters, and did any see any adverse effects from that like other Pit prisoners? On that note, did they encounter any other escaped Pit prisoners? Surely more than just the Barraki and Nocturn survived the Great Cataclysm, as well as the Black Waters...

alright so this idea might be about a decade too late to be relevant but it came to mind and I think it's interesting

if you could write a short story serial (10 chapters about the length of the existing ones) and have it impact the canon, what'd you write about? it's gotta be self-contained so no leaving cliffhangers and the sort

personally I'd probably use it to flesh out some of the dark hunters that never got much attention

like

hey gladiator and krekka are both from the lower classes of stelt, and gladiator wasn't happy with that whole place. what does he think about krekka? are they buddies?

post reformation, what would vengeance and firedracax do now that the enemies they had shaped their whole lives around are gone for good before they could get their resolution?

the cavalcade of things you could do with subterranean and nidhiki

[binkybonkles]

Can you post your Mermaid Mahritoran io files (specifically one with the wide Piraka feet and another one with the Toa Nuva chest armor piece and Pohatu Nuva climbing claw) on your Gumroad shop, please?

Done, the shoulder mounted air launcher, a basic Hydruka and a Toa with an inika-torso compatible mermaid pelvis/tail are included in here as well

[malwarewolf-mocs]

My “Canon” Rahi List

Alright you guys asked for it (no you didn’t, but you’re getting it anyways,) my list of Rahi that I would consider Canon creatures. Or if nothing else, the Rahi I would make as fight-able NPC’s in Bionicle Ages. The keen-eyed will notice a lack of smaller Rahi, ones that have more to do with the environment instead of something that Makuta could easily infect with masks. You may also notice I’ve made it a lot easier to recognize what kind of animal we’re talking about by adding a description of the Rahi after it’s Matoran name, e.g. Dikapi Bird instead of just Dikapi.

Anyway, here’s wonderwall

Archives Mole

Artahka Bull

Ash Bear

Bog Snake

Brakas Monkey

Cable crawler

Caravan Crawler

Catapult Scorpion

Chute Lurker

Cliff Screecher

Crystal Climber

Dagger Spider

Dikapi Bird

Doom Viper

Energy Hound

Fikou Spider

Frost Beetle

Frostelus

Furnace Salamander

Fusa Kangaroo

Ghekula Frog

Gukko Bird

Hahnah Crab

Hapaka Hound

Hikaki Lizard

Hoi Turtle

Husi Bird

Hydruka Lobster

Ice Bat

Ice Vermin

Infernavika Bird

Kahu Eagle

Kane-ra Bull

Kanohi Dragon

Kavinika Wolf

Katohi Cyclops - Keetongu’s Race

Keras Crab

Kikanalo Rhino

Kinloka Rat

Kirikori-Nui Cricket

Klakk Bat

Kuma-Nui Rat

Lava Hawk

Lohrak Eel

Mahi Goat

Makiki Toad

Makuta Fish

Manas Crab

Manutri Penguin

Mata-Nui Fishing bird

Metru Mantis

Muaka Bull

Mukau Cow

Niazesk Mosquito

Nivawk Vulture

Nui-Jaga Scorpion

Nui-Kopen Hornet

Nui-Rama Wasp

Parakrekk Salamander

Pit War Tortise

Pokawi Bird

Protodrake

Protocairn Dragon

Razor Whale

Rock Lion

Rock Raptor

Ruki Fish

Sea Spider

Swamp Stalker

Silver Chute Spider

Spiny Stone Ape

Tahtorak

Takea Shark

Taku bird

Tarakava

Tunnel Stalker

Ussal Crab

Vahki Hunter

Vako Rhino

Visorak Hordes - Colony Drone - Gate Guardian - Kahgarak - Venom Flyer - Visorak - Zivon

Waikiru Walrus

And that’s about it. If you want to know why I did this, well it was to make a good list of enemies for Bionicle Ages, my hypothetical not-real in any stretch of the imagination game. This is only the rahi portion of it.

[tiredspacedragon]

#she also knows about krahka #and keetongu #and the rahi nui

Excellent points

Let’s recap, shall we?

We didn’t see Hahli use her Faxon very much, which is probably good because if she did use it a lot, narrative tension would be a thing of the past. The powers we did see her use are:

- Hypnotic light patterns - Unknown undersea Rahi

and

- Poison immunity - Unknown undersea Rahi

But taking into account all the Rahi Hahli knows of, she is also capable of all these and likely more, depending on her location:

-Shapeshifting - Krahka / Archives Beast (Likely unable to mass-shift)

-Elemental Fire/Water/Air/Earth/Stone/Ice powers - Fire Entity / Burnak / Gafna

- Protodermis control - Protodermis Burnak

-Lava generation - Catapult Scorpion (She may not know of this one)

-Perfect weather prediction - Dermis Turtle

-Toxic breath - Doom Viper

-Electricity generation - Electric Bug / Electric Spider / Red Serpent

-Energy tracking - Energy Hound

-Teleportation - Fader Bull

-Heat absorption - Frost Leech

-Smaller image projection - Gate Guardian

-Heat resistance - Hikaki / Lava Eel / Hoto / others

-Heat generation - Hoto / Lava Eel

-Air harvesting - Hydruka

-Flight - Shore Turtle

-Fire Breath - Kanohi Dragon (I’m not sure if Hahli ever heard of it)

-Concussive energy blasts - Kardas / Mana Ko

-Antidote production - Keetongu

-Inter-temporal telepathy - Kratana

-Power scream - Klakk (Takanuva will definitely tell her this one. They’ll get those Shadow Takanuva cleaned up FAST)

-Bioluminescence - Lightfish

-Cold resistance - Ice Mahi / Suukorak / others

-Acid breath - Mud Crawler

-Intangibility - Phase Daragon

-Duplication - Protodite

-All 8 standard Kanoka Powers (Reconstitute at Random, Freeze, Weaken, Remove Poison, Enlarge, Shrink, Regenerate, Teleport) - Rahi Nui

-Converting Elemental Energy into growth - Rahi Nui

-Biological armour repair - Toa Terrain Crawler

-Substance mimicry - Tunneler

-Hordika Venom production(?) - Visorak (Not sure if this counts as a power)

-Berzerker charge - Vohtarak

-Matter-dissolving sonic hum - Boggarak

-Limited telepathy / voice mimicry - Oohnorak

-Camouflage - Roporak

-Stasis sleep - Suukorak

And those are just the Rahi she (most likely) knows about. ...Faxon wearers are terrifying as Karzahni

Faxon

Friendly reminder that the Fire Entity exists and is considered a Rahi, meaning that any and all wearers of a Kanohi Faxon have access to Elemental Fire powers on the level of or exceeding those of a Toa of Fire

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

Right of Law, Section XXVII

(Zaekura meets again with the Le-Koronans, while the situation surrounding Civitas Magna’s kolhii tournament begins to escalate.)

“Everyone will be so happy to see you!” Tamaru said as she bounced down the path.  “We were all worried sick!”

Zaekura walked a few steps behind her, flanked by Charla, Antroz, and Emsar.  “Yeah, dealing with Atero wasn’t exactly easy, but we managed.  I’m hoping it’ll go a little smoother when we have to take the fight to them.”

Tamaru hummed.  “That’d be nice...you controlling Atero.  Ah, here we are!”

They arrived in a clearing lined with scores of people: Matoran, Toa, Glatorian, and Agori of all kinds, some on solid ground while others perched in the surrounding trees, creating a circular wall of eyes all trained on the visitors.  Zaekura felt like she was trying to walk underwater.

“Okay, everyone’s here!  Go on, Zaekura.”

“Right, of course.  Um…”

She found herself unable to recall the words she had prepared.  Charla set a hand on her shoulder then, reminding her to breathe, and she was able to relax a little.

“First of all,” Zaekura said, “I’d like to thank you all for welcoming us.  It isn’t lost on me how out of the ordinary this gesture is, nor the implicit risk my being here carries.  My name is Zaekura.  Up until recently, I lived a very quiet life...but now, the Great Beings have it out for me, since I’m one of the rare few who possess the same potential as them.  I’ve had to fight to defend myself, and it’s been…quite an adjustment.  But now I realize this isn’t just about me.  Countless lives have been destroyed by the Great Beings, and countless more live in constant fear of them.  And I want that to end.  So now, we’re fighting to stop the Great Beings and take control of Spherus Magna, to reform it into a place where nobody has to live in fear.”

Quiet murmurings rippled through the crowd.  To Zaekura, it was nearly deafening.

“I know that I can’t do something like this on my own, so I’m asking for help from anyone who’ll listen.  We’ve approached you because we think Bota Magna’s natural resources would be a big help to our cause, but if anyone wants to join the fight, we’ll gladly take you.  No matter what, though, I want you all to know this: you are welcome any time.  Even if I go back empty-handed, each and every one of you will be free to come and go from my territory as you please, and we’ll fight just as hard to defend you.  I don’t need anything in return for that.”

The chattering grew louder.  Kiina emerged from the crowd then, saying, “You say you’ll defend us?  How do you plan to do that?  You’re provoking the Great Beings, fighting nonstop against an insurmountable enemy.  That doesn’t sound safe in the slightest.”

Zaekura breathed.  “I understand your concern.  There will absolutely be risk, I won’t deny that.  Our current forces include several Makuta, a few hundred Rahkshi, the militia of both Xia and Mahri-Nui, and a large number of Vorox under the command of the Sand Lord.  Several individuals have already requested to be part of a team dedicated to protecting Bota Magna, if you’ll have them.”

Kiina grumbled—not a very clear response, but it was the only one she offered.  Taipu was next to emerge, waving and calling, “Hey, Zaekura!  Did you get a chance to try out Nuparu’s invention yet?”

She smiled.  “I was able to take a look at it and test it out.  That’s one impressive machine!  We’re still working to reproduce and install them, but we should be using it in a matter of days.  Thanks again, Nuparu.”

Taipu shook Nuparu, who tried to hide his grin.  Zaekura waited while the chatter continued.  Soon, Takua came forward, saying, “I can’t speak for everyone, but...I think you make a pretty good case, Zaekura.  The fact is, we are living in fear—I don’t think that’ll change much whether we stay here or come back to the city.  Being that close to the fight is definitely scary, so I understand why someone might prefer to stay here.  But, a chance to change things, to make a future where we don’t feel like we have to hide...that sounds pretty good too.  If you show me a team that I’m convinced can keep Bota Magna safe, I’ll be willing to fight alongside you.”

New energy rushed into Zaekura.  “Thank you!  I’ll bring them out to meet with you as soon as possible!”

The Le-Koronans talked amongst themselves.  Taipu and Nuparu came into the clearing, the former saying, “We’re definitely coming back with you!  This is so exciting!”

Gradually, more and more Le-Koronans followed suite.  One of them, a Toa of Earth with weathered black and purple armor, came up to Zaekura and smiled at her.

“I can tell that you have a good heart, dear,” she said.  “I’m a bit too attached to these woods to leave now, but I want to offer you what help I can.”

“Oh, thank you very much, uh…”

“The name’s Korgot, dear.  I’ve become very familiar with the lay of the land here, so if you’re looking for spots to mine or to log, I’ve got a few in mind.  Just promise me you won’t overdo it.  The people are important, but we have to take care of the jungle itself, too.”

“Korgot.  Yes, I promise.  Thank you so much!”

They briefly discussed when would be a good time to send a mining team, and then Zaekura answered the questions of a few more Le-Koronans until it seemed everyone’s decision had been made.  She gazed over them all, ultimately turning to Charla.

“I’d say this went well.”

Charla giggled.  “I’m inclined to agree.  Is there anything more you wanted to add, or do we just have that final matter?”

Zaekura glanced back at Emsar, and the Vortixx came to her side.  Turning back towards the Le-Koronans remaining behind, she said, “There’s one last thing before we go.  I wanted to let you know that Emsar here is venturing deeper into Bota Magna; she’ll be fine on her own, I just didn’t want anyone to be surprised if they saw her.”

Takua looked up at Emsar.  “Alright.  Where’s she headed, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Valwahi.”

The clearing grew eerily still.  Quietly, Takua repeated, “Valwahi?”

Zaekura nodded.  “Like I said, I’m asking anyone who’ll listen.”

“Do you think they will?  The Valwahans aren’t exactly the most understanding bunch.”

“I have to try.  Even if we can’t become allies, maybe I can at least make peace with them—that’d be one huge load off my plate when getting things in order once this is all over.  Though, I could be thinking a little far ahead with that...”

“Heh...I guess a little optimism doesn’t have to hurt.”  Facing Emsar, Takua said, “Good luck, then.  Don’t hesitate to ask for help if things go wrong.”

“Much appreciated, but you needn’t worry about me,” Emsar said.  “I’m quite prepared should events take a dire turn.”

The Le-Koronans began to scatter, as did Emsar.  Antroz said, “Emsar.  Please do be careful.”

She grinned back at her.  “You too, Makuta?  I thought you of all people would know better.  Your lack of faith in me is demoralizing.”

“It is precisely because I have faith in you that I’m letting you go alone.  This is something that only you can do.”

Emsar paused, then turned away.  “Hmhm...you’re still no fun.”  She disappeared before anything else could be said.  

Zaekura turned back to her party, now far larger than the one she had entered with. “Alright.  Let’s get everyone back to Xia!”

“Um…”

She realized Tamaru had come up behind her.  “What’s up?”

Tamaru fidgeted, eyes scanning back and forth over the dirt.  “I, uh...I’ve been giving it a lot of thought...I didn’t say anything before because I hadn’t really decided, but now, I…”  She shut her eyes tight.  “I-I want to come with you!”

“Really?  If you need more time to think, that’s okay.”

Tamaru shook her head.  “No...I need to go before I lose my nerve.  I mean, I am nervous, but...if I can really be myself around everyone...I guess I feel like I just have to know.”

Zaekura nodded.  “I’ll do whatever I can to help.  Are you ready to go?”

After taking one last look back into the jungle, Tamaru nodded.  “Yeah.  Let’s go!”

***

Hewkii raced down the field, battling for control of the ball with a Toa of Earth.  He pulled back his kolhii stick; the Toa of Earth, expecting him to knock the ball forward, shifted his weight to block.  Hewkii then swung his stick around, hit the ball back the way they had come, and immediately leapt back to scoop it up.

“The Hydruka’s Hewkii has finally wrested the ball away from Dosne!  He’s headed right for Kazi, and the Iconox Iron Wolves’ goalie sure doesn’t look ready for him!”

Hewkii carefully observed the Toa of Ice he needed to aim around.  Kazi was laser-focused, but stiff in his movements.  He could hear Dosne approaching—at the last second, he threw the ball with all the force he could muster, and it sailed just past Kazi to the cheers of the crowd.

In a special balcony high up the arena’s wall, Ekimu laughed at the spectacle.   “That Hewkii’s pretty good!  Maybe I shouldn’t kill him after all.”

Standing next to him, Ahkmou chuckled.  He busied himself jotting down notes for an article, but his thoughts were elsewhere.  This is the opposite of what I wanted.  The tournament was supposed to distract these common idiots from the rebellion, but everyone’s heard that Hewkii’s defected—with him center stage, I’m sure it’s all they’re thinking about!

He joined Ekimu’s cheer as another ball was set into play.

Sure, no one’s stupid enough to speak out while Lord Ekimu is right here, but that’s ignoring the bigger picture.  This is long-term, delicate work.  If I don’t think of something fast, it’s all going to go right down the drain…

Hewkii leapt in to intercept Dosne’s shot.  Swinging around, he then sent the ball flying back across the court, catching Kazi completely by surprise.  The crowd roared.

“Incredible!” the announcer cried.  “The Mahri-Nui Hydruka have won by a landslide!  Looks like they’ll be moving onto the next round, folks!  I know I don’t want to be the team unlucky enough to go up against them!”

Ekimu applauded with the crowd, but his hands steadily fell still.  “Alright, game’s over.  You can come out now.”

Ahkmou looked over his shoulder, expecting to see one of the Makuta coming to join them.  But he couldn’t quite make out what he was looking at.  The shadows in the balcony moved strangely, almost as if they had a will of their own, refusing to surrender the visitor to the light; all Ahkmou could see clearly was an organic purple face with numerous ridges over where a nose and mouth should have been.  Confused and terrified at the sight, Ahkmou could only remain silent.

“Forgive the intrusion, Lord Ekimu,” the face said.  “We wanted to consult with you, to clarify our orders before acting.”

Ekimu continued to watch the field as the two teams exited.  “Who are you?”

“I am Eliminator, of Odina.  The Keeper’s realized that the operatives sent previously failed to carry out Lord Heremus’s orders, so my partner and I have been dispatched to rectify the situation.”

“So that’s it.  You want Hewkii, I take it?”

Eliminator’s face moved, the shadows moving with it.  “He seemed like a good place to start...but, since you haven’t intervened thus far, we suspected you had another plan.”

“I wouldn’t say that.  I just don’t want the kolhii tournament interrupted.  Once his team’s done, take him if you want.”

Ahkmou jumped as a sudden burst of energy appeared in the space next to Eliminator.  The energy grew into a swirling portal, and out of it stepped another being: he was tall, at least twice the height of a Matoran, clad in blue and gold armor that shone through the darkness that clung to his companion.  Ahkmou didn’t recognize the gold mask he wore, but he found his eyes more drawn to the enormous double blade he carried.

Kneeling, he said, “If I may, Lord Ekimu.  I think there is a much more fruitful route we can take.”

Ekimu grunted.

“Once the tournament has concluded, we will see that Hewkii and his team remain here in Civitas Magna...and be sure that the whole planet knows it.  I have heard that Zaekura is quite the bleeding heart, and I am certain that if she knows one of her allies is being held here, she will march in an effort to save him.  Once we have lured her in, Eliminator and I will capture her and bring her to Lord Heremus—what happens to her associates will be no concern of ours then.”

“So we bait her out.  What was your name?”

The being grinned.  “I am Brutaka, my lord.”

At this, Ekimu finally turned around.  After staring at Brutaka for a few moments, he said, “I thought you sounded familiar.  Good.  If you’re here, then the Keeper must be done messing around.”

The crowd began to cheer as new teams took the field.

“Go ahead,” Ekimu said as he turned back to watch.  “As long as you don’t make a move before the tournament’s over, I couldn’t care less.”

Brutaka nodded.  “Of course, Lord Ekimu.  If you’ll excuse us.”

Another portal opened, and Brutaka disappeared into it.  Eliminator was already gone by the time Ahkmou turned to look.  Facing the field once again, the Toa thought, Odinans...and they’re going to draw Zaekura here...how am I going to cover that up?  Can our public opinion survive something like this?  If we lose control of the people…

“Ahkmou.”

The Toa started.  “Y-Yes, my lord?”

“You’re nervous.”

“Ah...I was just shaken by such a sudden arrival.  I’m sorry, my lord: I’ll focus on my job.”

“Good.”

Ahkmou watched as two new teams met in the center of the field.  If we lose control of the people...then that means I failed to do what the Great Beings asked.  What will happen to me then?

Outside the stadium, Gaaki and Tarduk regrouped near the south entrance.  Flipping through her notes, Gaaki said, “Well, that should be enough of a sample size.  Any favorites among the people you asked?”

Tarduk squatted next to the wall with a sigh.  “The Hydruka are the talk of the town, surprise surprise.  Remains to be seen if Ahkmou will even let us publish all this.”

“Same on my end.  A couple of die-hards for the other teams, but they hardly have enough to say to fill a feature.  A full day’s work and we’re probably going to end up with a block under the horoscopes…”

Tarduk craned his neck.  A particularly dense section of crowd had gathered on the other side of the street, thick enough that he couldn’t see exactly what had drawn them.  He went to push his way closer, Gaaki following for lack of any other distraction, but the Ga-Matoran soon began to fall behind.  Glancing back at her, Tarduk saw that her eyes had gone wide.

“What’s the matter?” Tarduk asked.

“You mean you don’t…”  She shook her head.  “Er, right, you can’t see from here.  Come on!”

Gaaki dove into the crowd.  Tarduk began to have second thoughts, but, figuring it was too late now, went in after her.  At the epicenter was a Toa of Stone wearing a Komau, with various stone carvings laid out before him on a blanket.  The sign behind him made the Agori stiffen: “CARVINGS FOR SALE!  ALL PROFITS HELP NYNRAHN REFUGEES!”

“Gaaki,” Tarduk said, grabbing her by the arm.

“I’m just looking,” she said, picking up a small carving.

“With your hands?”

“Yes.”

The Toa of Stone turned towards them.  “Anything you’re interested in?” Gaaki set the carving down.  “Just browsing.  This is impressive work, uh…”

“Onewa.”

“Onewa...oh, you made the statue they added to District 2458’s historical center!”

“So someone does remember!  Maybe that commission was worth it after all.”  He turned away for a moment to make a sale.

“What brings you here?” Tarduk asked.

“I’m an old friend of one of the players in the tourney.  You know Hewkii?”

Tarduk stiffened further.  “...I’ve heard quite a lot about him.”

“We go way back.  Though, I ended up not being able to get a ticket...but, at least I have a chance to sell some of this work.  We need all the help we can get.”

Gaaki prepared to ask something.  Tarduk tugged on her arm.  She debated continuing anyway, but then the crowd began to quiet, and they both turned to see why.  Their spines turned to ice at the sight of Vamprah cutting through the masses.

“Ah,” Onewa said, climbing to his feet, “that took longer than expected.  Not the Makuta I was prepared for, either.”

Vamprah stalked forward without a word.  Just as Onewa was about to say something more, the Makuta snatched him up in his claws and hurled him against the arena wall.  Total stillness fell over the crowd.  Turning to the remaining carvings, Vamprah waved one hand and unleashed a burst of Plasma, melting them in a matter of seconds.  Then, he turned around to see Onewa slowly getting to his feet.

“Heh...you live up to your reputation,” the Toa said.  Blood could be seen dripping from the gashes left in his armor.  “Guess that’s what I get for pushing my luck, huh?”

Vamprah advanced towards him again.  Tarduk struggled to keep Gaaki still.

“But...I’m not gonna make it that easy for you.”  Onewa took something in his hand, a pellet of some kind, and grinned as he crushed it.  In the next instant, he was gone.

Vamprah froze.  He scanned his surroundings, but saw no trace of his target.  Giving one last look to the crowd, Vamprah unfurled his wings and took to the skies, slowly coasting towards the inner city.  Gradually, the crowd scattered, while Gaaki just stood staring at the still-warm slag that had been beautiful carvings mere seconds ago.

“He got out,” Tarduk said.

“Yeah...this time.  But with Vamprah hunting the Nynrahns, their chances look pretty bleak, don’t they?”

Tarduk sighed.  “What can we actually do, Gaaki?  If we step out of line, we’re going to disappear just like Kodan.”

“I know!”  Gaaki turned and rubbed her temples.  After a bit of thought, she said, “Tarduk...don’t tell Ahkmou we were here to see this.”

The Agori raised an eyebrow.  “Why not?”

Gaaki locked eyes with him.  “Please, just don’t.  He can’t know.  If he does...then nobody else will.”

It took Tarduk a long time to decide on his answer.  “Alright.  But there’s nothing else I can do to help you, Gaaki.  Terrible as things are getting, I just don’t see an opening yet…”

Gaaki nodded.  They parted ways then, Tarduk heading into the stadium while Gaaki found a secluded bench to rest on.  She glanced around, making sure no one was looking, and then pulled at the corner of her breastplate, opening it just long enough to remove a small crystal she quickly tucked into her bag.

A few witnesses are easy to dismiss.  But if everyone sees what happened, then at the very least they’ll have to work a lot harder to lie.  I’ll need to be careful about exactly what footage I use...but by this time tomorrow, I’ll make sure everyone can see the truth.