The other RIA

[Takal]

This is my third (and hopefully final) story of the year. Avak has finished, with Ria commanding Avak to fly them to Karda Nui to fight a penultimate battle against the Makuta. I'm not writing the events of that battle. Ria is doing that.
Introducing.... RIA!!!
I've given him a few mentions before, during my last two stories, but I don't think I've given him enough credit. He's the origional Bohrok and Ria's second-in-command. There are no new characters here to mention, so I'll just get stuck in. (Remember, he's a bohrok so his personality is a bit... weird.
Read Avak and Takal first.

[Takal]

System Startup
Power: 100%
Processor: 100%
Left arm movement: 100%
Right arm movement: 100%
Left leg movement: 100%
Right leg movement: 100%
Left shield ammunition: 0
Elemental: 0
Right shield ammunition: 0
Elemental: 0
Krana: Xa Kal

And so I began. Every time I wake up from a dormant state, I run this check to make sure that I am working properly, as someone stretches and yawns when they wake up. Anyway, this is beside the point and unimportant to my story.

"I've turned it on." a tall red being was saying."If it doesn't work, this battle... Well it won't be a victory."

Identification: Ria of Sona Nui
Occupation: Army commander
Language preference: Matoran - Sona Nui dialect
Language set

"Ria, we need to get back to the battle!" protested a muscular silver being.

Identification: Maroo
Occupation: Dark Hunter
Language preferance: Matoran

"Maroo, If this doesn't work, the fight will be for nothing!" responded The Commander.
A tall white-silver female contributed "Is it on yet? I need to defend the stronghold."

Identification: Lariska
Occupation: Dark Hunter
Language preferance: Matoran

The red being grunted and turned back to the screen. Suddenly a tall black being with a bird's face and a staff charged through the door. "They've taken the forward bunker, and we need you! We need it!"

Identification: Makuta Vorsis
Occupation: Makuta of Sona Nui
Language preference: Rahkshii

"Excuse me?"I asked, marvelling at how my own mechanical voice differed from the other's ones. "What is it?"
"It," said the Commander, "is you. Activate battle protocols." he commanded.

Activating:.....
Battle Protocols activated

Out of the vambraces on my arms, shields unfolded. Each had a pair of gun-barrels and a confusing elemental launcher. Maroo threw me a pair of ammunition clips which slotted into the shields.

Left shield ammunition: 150
Elemental: 0
Right shield ammunition: 150
Elemental: 0

I turned to face the Commander and awaited further orders.

[Takal]

We ran down the corridors, the five of us. (I rolled, but that's running for a bohrok) On the way to the battlefield outside, The Commander told a pair of engineers to 'build the hive.' I wasn't sure what he meant, but it releived the other three. The Commander, Maroo, Vorsis and Lariska onto the battlefield, mowing down what I took to be our enemies. I joined in whenever I could, and was surprised at the power of the bullets being fired from my shields. The Commander and I ran into a tall red being, and unhappily helped him fight off the assailents.

Identification: Makuta Sorrowix
Occupation: Makuta of Karzahnii
Language preferance: Rahkshii

"Sorrowix, I shall be glad when this war is over and I can get back to being your enemy." he said.
"If there is a treaty to be signed, I shall be there. You had better not be, for as soon as the last Barraki puts his name on it, my spear shall be in your back" the Makuta retorted.
A white combatant, accompanied by a guard of brutish soldiers broke through the crowds towards us. His bodyguards formed a protective circle around him, and he spoke to Ria and Sorrowix.

Identification: Pridak
Occupation: Barraki
Language preferance: unknown, possibly matoran

"I've been in your stronghold, and I found these." He held up a sheet of thin metal, almost paper, with my anatomy and construction, among other things, on it.
"How did you get that? Give it back!" The Commander pointed to me. "Get that warrior, Bohrok!"
"Pridak, you've acheived a lot since I last met you." commented Sorrowix. "It is a pity that Ria and I have to end your success story." Sorrowix lunged at Pridak, but the bodyguards held him back, he tried to fight them off, but there were far too many. The Commander joined in, but as they fought the guards, Pridak made his escape. I rolled into a ball and gave chase. Pridak made for the safety of his outpost, but I cut him off as he scrabbled through the ditch he used as a temporary moat.
"Hand the blueprints over." I commanded.
"I'm a Barraki, I do not answer to mechanical insects." he sneered. My shields clicked out of their vambraces. Small barrels protruded from both shields.
"A mechanical insect with fans, then." he said in the same tone. He dived at me, I rolled out of the way, and fired three shots at his head as he dived past. He landed unconsious in the dirt.
I picked up the metal sheet. The heading was 'Ria's army'. It was the bulueprints for a force of fully mechanical soldiers. There were the 'Juggernaughts' which were like me, but with a huge catterpillar track for movement instead of legs, and it had clawed arms. Also there were 'Medics' who looked like me, but for blow torches and buzz saws instead of shields, there were the basic units, me but with less firepower. Finally, there was me. below my blueprints was a name in block capitals. RIA.

[Takal]

We fought on, and soon forced Takadox and Carapar back, but they regrouped with Kalmah, Ehlek, Mantax and Pridak a few islands south, for their last stand against the forces of toa, makuta and Ria's army. The Commander put me in charge of the bohrok, and he led the others. We were sent to attack from the south. The Commander would attack from the southwest, the makuta from the north and the toa from the east. My forces were the first into battle, followed by the Makuta, toa and finally The Commander, who bore the brunt of the enemy, trying to flee. We forced them to the center of the island, slew their soldiers and moved in for the kill. Nocturn's brute force partnered with Carapar's made it hard to get into the stronghold, but we managed. The Commander and Sorrowix forced their way into the room, I and some of The Commanders best managed to get in too. Maroo pulled his hammer off of his back, raiseds it above his head, and brought it down on Nocturn's. Even Pridak shuddered at the thought of Maroo's strength, but at the last moment, just before Nucturn's skull was shattered by this mighty blow, Botar materialised and grabbed the hammer.

Identification: Botar
Occupation: OoMN
Language preference: Matoran
Commander's note: Evil son of a CENSORED

He grabbed the Barraki and was about to teleport them to the Pit when The Commander grabbed his arm.
"And where do you think you're going?"
"I have orders to take them to the Pit. Don't stand in my way or you can come too."
"Do you really think the Pit is going to hold the Barraki for long?" asked Sorrowix, always keen for more life-energy.
"I have no say in the matter, just following orders. Ria, they want to speak to you, bring the tin ball." Botar replied.
"Who gives you orders? Who wants to speak to Ria?" demanded Sorrowix. Botar and The Commander punched him on either side of the head and Maroo punched him in the back. Sorrowix hit the ground.
"Bye Ria, tell Helryx I said hi." Botar joked. He teleported with the Barraki, which was lucky for him, as The Commander's sword flew through the air where his head had been, and embedded itself upto the hilt in the wall beyond.

[Takal]

The commander took me to Odinia, and we marched up to Toa Helryx, who greeted the commander, but ignored me.

Identification: Toa Helryx
Occupation: OoMN leader
Language Preference: Matoran
Commander's note: CENSORED CENSORED of a CENSORED

"Ria, we need to talk about bohrok" she said, as the fortress's gatekeepers unarmed The Commander. One of them turned to me.
"Unless you're a really good surgeon, don't try to take my shields off. Try to take them off without a bandsaw and you'll need a surgeon." I warned.
The Commander's conversation continued: "Why?"
"We think that they could be useful in the Nuva's task. We will use them to clean up where the nuva cannot. Sadly, your bohrok are too... warlike. They could injure the Nuva or innocent matoran. Artahka will build a separate hive, related to the Nuva to help them. I have a prototype here:"
She stepped aside, revealing a little stubby ball of pride. I had tusks, guns in my shields, claws and an agressive look. This doughball had blunt chinspikes, a pathetic watergun for a shield, no hands and looked like a glorified mechanical fowl who'd eaten too much. Its colours were too bright, a thin glass plate over its krana and it didn't look as if it could stop anything.
"We've also got six elites and a pair of queens to pacify the Nuva if they try to stop them-"
"-Hold on, you can't kill the Nuva!" shouted the Commander.
"I said pacify. We simply remove their elemental powers then return them once the job is done." Helryx explained. The dumpy imitation me squeaked with delight. "However, yours are a liability, a group who could push the Dark Hunters or the Brotherhood to war. We need you to shut them down."
"For how long?" I asked.
"Untill we deem it the right time to reactivate you."
"That means forever" The Commander explained.
"Not neccessarily." Helryx said. The Commander's hand went to his empty scabbard from reflex. His hands clenched into fists and sparks flew from them.
"Yes it does. How many times have you said that to me? Every time I nearly end a war, you take the victory from me and steal my weapons!"
"If RIA is damaged from stasis, you could always build another..." Helryx suggested.
"He is sentient! He has memories!" raged The Commander, his mechanical wings spread out, and a stray bolt of lightning connected with the 'bohrok's' head.
"Do you want a war on the Order? Do you want to compromise the safety of Mata Nui?"
"There are more beings in this universe than just Mata Nui..." muttered Ria.
"WELL?"
"No..." grumbled The Commander, like a scolded matoran.
"But-" I protested.
"But nothing! You will be shut down!" screamed Helryx.
And so I was sent back to Sona Nui, and sent into a hive.
"Commander?"
"Yes?"
"If Sorrowix comes, will it be reason enough to wake me up?"
"I suppose so." answered the Titan. I clambered into my section in the honeycomb, the last of the true bohrok, and Ria pulled the shutdown switch on the wall by the door. I was paralysed as soon as the electrical signal reached me.
Bohrok do not dream, as they are not meant to sleep. We are still awake, but unable to move. We record all of the sounds and sights around us, but only get to see them at startup. We are aware only of the passing of time. My only consolation was that the fake bohrok on Mata Nui were having just as bad a time. An earth shock can cure a bohrok's paralysis, and one did. The 'memories' are only viewed for a fraction of a nanosecond, but it feels like a millenia.

[Takal]

System startup - Power: 13%
Processor: 100%
Armour integrity: 3%
Left Arm movement: 0%
Right Arm movement: 80%
Left Leg movement: 57%
Right Leg movement:12%
Left shield ammunition: 12
Elemental: 0
Right shield ammunition: 11
Elemental: 0
Kraana: Xa Kal
Language: Matoran- Sona Nui Dialect
The earth shook. The floor of our tomb was flooded. Something had damaged this portion of the island. I raised a rusty shield to the wall and felt for earth vibrations. Besides small subterrainian animals there was nothing. Why wasn't the Commander here?
"Commaaander..." I moaned, painfully aware that if Sorrowix heard my calls and discovered the hive, I was done for. Still, I had my CPU working fine, so I'd find a way to beat him. I soon gave up shouting, and realised that I would simply have to wait. As long as it took.
Many thousands of years later, something large entered the hive. A vorciss, or something similar.
"Lariska?" I asked the shape.
The figure turned her head toward my cell, and I saw a black and silver Vorciss staring back at me. She activated a device that she had placed on the floor, then ran. A few minutes later, and the device exploded. With the final energy left for motion, I flung myself backwards. The front of my cell was ripped off, bohrok screamed as they were torn apart and a large chunk of the roof fell onto the bodies.
Only a day later (if my internal clock could still be trusted), I heard voices and footsteps coming down underground. Two I recognised, two I didn't.
"The hive was this way." This voice was the Commander's, to my elation.
"Havn't we been in here before?" grumbled a rough voice.
"No. This is the way." This belonged to Vorsis
"We have been this way before, I remember this rock, shaped like your head." replied the first unknown voice.
"Shut up Skakdi, I see bohrok parts through this door." The unmastakable voice of a toa, though muffled through an air filter or breathing device.
"Oh, what happened?" lamented the Commander, running into the middle of the room and falling to his knees.
"Roodaka happened." I croaked.
"Is that...?" began Vorsis.
"RIA!" The Commander jumped to his feet and ran over to my torn cell. His smile faltered. "What happened to you?"
"You tell me. I've been flooded, trapped and blown up."
"No time now, I've got the army back together, with some new recruits." He pointed to the toa of fire, and the Skakdi to which the rough voice belonged. "We just need Maveric, and your army."
Maveric is a toa of fire who trains rookie toa, such as Lhikan and Jovan. He had been a valuable asset against the forces of the Barraki.
"I'm going to hand you over to Avak (The Skakdi grinned) and he'll patch you up in no time, and throw in a few upgrades." The Commander turned to Avak and glared at him. "Won't you?"

[Takal]

I spent a few hours in Avak's armoury, being rebuilt. I requested to be left on so that I could watch - In a battle I would have to repair other bohrok and possibly myself. - and Avak agreed, so long as I didn't struggle. He fixed me up, used a stronger metal for my outer shell and attached rechargable ammunition clips. He's a great engineer, don't doubt him on account of his temper and triggerhappyness. I was soon my old self and once I had left the armoury, I struck up a conversation with the fire toa.
"So what got you in Ria's favour?" I asked.
"My team saved the Great Spirit's life, and we fought off six of the nastiest fish you've ever seen."
"Who?"
"Pridak, Ehlek, Kal-"
"You beat the Barraki?" I blurted out, amazed "That's an acheivement to be proud of. We nearly killed them, but the spoilsports in the order stopped us."
The Commander sat down beside us, and adressed me "We'll get your army back together, get Maveric and a pair of promising students he's training, then head off to Xia. After that, we have important business to attend to in Karda Nui."
"Barraki again?"
"Makuta."
"Oh joy." I muttered.
To cut a long story short, we got Maveric, Takal and Thero from Toa Metru, then massed the army on Sona Nui, then flew our airships to Xia. Before we arrived, we heard that Makuta Sorrowix was gathering forces on Kini Sola. He planned to take these forces to Xia to head us off. We decided instead to stop him before his army was ready for combat. Kini Sola means 'Temple Plateau', as Waru Sola means 'Barren Plateau' The island is completely flat, about two bio above water level. It is regarded as sacred by certain tribes because somehow, it just doesn't fit. The soil isn't like local soil, it's sand. Nothing on it is made out of protodermis and odd structures have been discovered there, the most striking being a large stone colloseum with spectator seats. Dark Hunters had ransacked the place and left no artifact or clue to its history behind. Sorrowix, our main concern, had his army in the colloseum. As we stealthly approached, we saw the army leave for their ships. Avak had already scuttled them, and was beside the Commander, waiting for the order to set off the bombs. Sorrowix remained behind to activate an Exo-Rahkshii, with a garrison of ordinary Rahkshii. Sorrowix activated the Exo, and the Commander gave Avak the thumbs up. There was a loud bang from the dock, Sorrowix turned to gawk at the plume of smoke, and the Commander shouted "CHARGE!"
We flew down though the stands to where Sorrowix and his remaining soldiers stood, our gunners took cover and opened fire, I with them. We blasted the Rahkshii away, but one particularly smart Rahkshii deployed a mortar, and fired it towards us. Avak seemed oblivious to the danger, so Maroo barrelled into him, using his own body to shield him. The shell exploded on contact, knocking all three of us out.

[Takal]

We awoke in the hospital onboard the Karzahnii, Avak woke up at about the same time as me, we looked ourselves down, and besides a few cuts, bruises and scuffs, we were surprised to find that we were completely fine. We heard quiet, harsh breaths from the hospital bed alongside Avak. We turned as one, and saw Maroo, gasping at a stump where his left leg had been, blown off at the knee.
"Wow..." gasped Avak.
"I... I..." breathed Maroo.
"Do you still have the other part of his leg?" I asked the medic.
"Yes, sir. Why?"
"Avak, I have a job for you..."

Avak did a wonderfull job on the semi-prosthetic leg. It worked as well as the origional, not better as we had feared. Lariska, however, had been recalled by the Shadowed One. The Commander was furious, he had hired her for seventy years, and the Shadowed One had agreed. The Commander left for the Dark Hunters' island, taking me with him. The Hunters split to let him through, afraid of his power. We marched up to the Shadowed One's palace. We knew of the moving walls, but we were not planning on using the doors. We stepped inside, the Commander pointed at a wall, and I opened fire. I demolished all of the walls through to the Shadowed One's throne room, as the last one fell, the Shadowed One turned to face us, shock and disbeleif playing accross his facial expressions.

Identification: The Shadowed One
Occupation: Dark Hunter leader
Language preference: Matoran

"How did you get in here?" he shouted at the Commander, then he turned his head to the left and down to face me. The barrels of my guns were still smoking.
"Oh..."
"We're here for Lariska. I can offer you payment for unlimited hire." the Commander bargained.
"And if I refuse?"
"See these walls?"
"No."
"Exactly."
I pointed my guns at his head. He got the point. The Commander darted to the side of the doorway. Prototype ran in to defend his master, but a quick jab of the Commander's sword saw to that. He lay motionless in the doorway.
"The Order wants you to defend Xia. Some of their best will be there, in touch with me, so no funny business."
The Shadowed one agreed to our terms, and we left the way that we had come in.

[Takal]

After we had returned from The Shadowed One's 'newly ventilated' fortress, the Commander gathered us all together. He packed us onto his fleet of blimps, and the Gunship, and we set off on the short journey to Karda Nui. Onboard the gunship, Thero and Maveric continued sparring, to Avak's horror. He would frequently shout things like: "Hey, that's flammable!" or "That's my motorbike, not a shield." or my personal favourite, "I just cleaned that exhaust!"
Once we had finally arrived, the Mistika were far above us, being held back by exos and Makuta. The Commander told Takal and I to prepare for flight. I had a jetpack, and Takal his elemental powers. The Commander led us out into the fray, and we started mowing down Rahkshii, The gunship's turrets picking off the stragglers. Takal punched his way into the Makuta's formation, then recognised one of them, and suddenly stopped.
"Why, of all the makuta, did you have to come!" he shouted at Mutran.
"Makuta, our ground-dwelling brothers need us, retreat!" came the order from Sorrowix, leading the assault, Mutran ignored Takal, and followed the others down. We cleared out the rahkshii, and the Nuva finally stopped to talk.
"Thanks, we've been stuck up here for a week!" was Lewa's greeting.
"No time, Destral's relocating it's population here. You've seen eight makuta, and a further twelve thousand are coming. We have to achieve your goal and get out of here. I've already ordered my ground forces to land and form a base of operation around the codrex." the Commander was always to-the-point.
"You know about the codrex?" Lewa said.
"I know how to open it, what's inside it, how it works and how to fix a broken one." The Commander replied.
The Gunship blasted the hives in the stalectites, and our ground forces put down. We followed them down, towards the mist and the shadows...

[Takal]

"...Bog...Waste of time...swamp water in my joints..." mumbled Maroo as we pulled him out for the seventh time. As he fell backwards, free of his slimy prison, his head hit something with a clang. Kopaka inspected the moss and mud covered object for a few minutes without talking.
"What is is?" asked Antroz.
"See for yourself." Kopaka replied bluntly, wiping the grime off of the cylinder. It was a glass canister, with a green toa in cyrogenic sleep within.
"What do we do with it?" said Lariska, staring at the toa's face.
"Take it back to the gunship and see what Avak's scanners make of it." Maroo offered.
"Some things were lost so as not to be found, some things encased so as not to be released..." muttered Vorsis darkly.
Maroo and I were given the job of carrying it back to the ship. Lewa joked that Maroo couldn't keep himself out of the swamp, so how could he safely carry the canister?
Much grumbling and Maroo fishing later, we returned to the camp, where a being who called himself Axonn, but was certainly not, was conversing with the Mistika and the Commander. The Commander saw us coming, and ran over.
"What's that you've got there?" he asked us.
"A toa in a tin." replied Lariska, her sense of humor as terrible as usual. When you're a computer and you can tell better jokes than a person, you can tell that there's something wrong with them.
We carted the cumbersome canister up the gangplank into the bowels of Avak's pride. He wired it up to a terminal, and started scanning it's computer system for clues as to who this was, why he was here and when he would wake up.
"It's a toa" Commented Avak, eyes fixed on the screen.
"Captain obvious strikes again." commented Ria. "Who is he? What element? Where from?"
"He doesn't match the description of any known toa in the archives, his element isn't recorded because he's never used it and as for where he came from..." Avak turned the canister around so that the back of it faced us, then wiped away a cluster of moss. The writing read: Order Stasis Canister 25U4-D
"I hope they're not trying to interfere again." growled the Commander.
"No, this canister's been here since before the cataclysm, long before it."
"To stop the Barraki I'd bet."
"No, the stasis goes offline in a month."
"Why don't we wake him up, then?" an evil grin had spread across the Commander's face.
"Righty-Ho" cheered Avak, typing at the keyboard with incredible speed.
As the toa thawed, his armour became more vibrant. Once free of his cryogenic sleep, he didn't wake up. Avak voiced his concern.
"I think he's dead."
We turned away to get to the more important business of Axonn. There was a quiet click behind us. Avak, the Commander, Takal and I turned to see what was going on.
The toa's heartlight had turned back on, he had opened his canister and was sitting up, with a look of shock on his face.
"Where am I? This isn't Voya Nui!"
"This is Karda Nui. You probably fell through when the continent split." explained the Commander
"When is this?" the toa shouted.
"About twenty four days before you should have woken up." Avak replied.
"I need to get to Karzahnii. I need a ship."
Takal's face lit up. His life's purpose was to get to Karzahnii and rescue his friend Nuara.
"Why are you going?" Takal asked, beaming.
"To free the Matoran."
"Do you need help?" Takal was nearly jumping with joy.
"The Order sent me on a solo mission. Anyway, I don't need rookies." the toa stated.
Takal's face underneath his mask turned red with fury. He clenched his fists and lightning danced around them, just like the Commander does when he's angry. I think it's to keep their unstable element under control.
"Do you know who we are?" You've just insulted one of the finest toa in Ria's army!" I shouted.
"As I said, rookies. Helryx told me that Ria is unpredictable and volitile, and that the rest of his army are thieves, murderers,(Avak groaned) Dark Hunters, traitors and Makuta." He paused "And talking balls."
The Commander's image became identical to Takal's, Vorsis was growling and Avak's gun was pointed between the toa's eyes.
"Give me one good reason not to shoot" he roared.
"The Order will kill you all."
"I said a good reason."
"Because I am pointing an equally powerful projectile weapon at you."
Avak glanced down. The toa had a strange gun pointed at his stomach. Avak slowly lowered his gun, not without a few curses and rude words.
"Take a ship" said the Commander with no expression in his voice, showing just how hard to control his rage was "Bring back Nuara and some other matoran and never let me see your face again."
The toa borrowed a blimp and set off. Takal sat on the deck muttering "All for nothing, all that training and waiting. Order scum."
That afternoon a sizeable rahkshii force attacked us. We left them to Vorsis, Ria, Avak and Takal who needed stress releif. Woe betide any order member that crosses Takal is all I'll say.
The day after, the Nuva opened the Codrex and we laid claim to it. Avak found six ships in a terrible state of repair inside and took them to his lair for refurbishments.
The Cannok T1, the Rockoh T3, the Revax T5, the Jetrax T6, the Anja T8 and the Axcallera T9 were their names. The Toa ignika claims to know how to work the Codrex systems faster, but his sacrifice to do so would be terrible. Ria said we'd have to take the long way and fight off all the rahkshii and Makuta that try to stop us.

[Takal]

Three days later, and the vehicles were nearly ready. The Commander had hired a new Dark Hunter by the name of Kova, and our old friend the Order toa had returned with seven matoran freed from Karzahnii, the rest he had sent to Metru Nui. We greeted them all, and one with a disk launcher and shield started running towards Takal, but Mutran flew down between them, an evil smirk across his face, he dropped his tridax pod above the matoran, but one with a lava launcher vaporised it in mid-air. Takal fired an arc of lightning at the makuta, who crashed to the ground, the Commander and Takal pointed their weapons at him, holding him prisoner.
The matoran who had tried to talk to Takal stood forward, looking at Mutran with disgust.
"We've been to Karzahnii, Makuta. We've seen unimaginable horrors that not even you would try to reproduce, and we've become inanimate objects. Do you really think that we're afraid of a ball of gas in the air in a metal bat?"
The Commander's sword went up, so that when it came down, there would be one less makuta in the world
"Toa do not kill, Mutran." he stated "Or Takal would have killed you long ago. What you did to him and Nuara is unforgivable. Don't expect mercy from me, I'm not a toa." The sword came down, but Lewa grabbed the Commander's arm, holding the sword inches from Mutran's head.
"Toa do not let others kill, either. Let this rat wind-fly back to his nest. He's the least of our worries. Sooner or later one of his creations will end-finish him off."
The Commander's sword went back to it's sheath, but he kicked the makuta with all of his strength, sending him hurtling into a cluster of rocks.
"Go, before I change my mind."
Mutran glared at us as he took to the air, I saw Gorast hovering overhead, and left the group to see what she was doing. I sneaked behind her through the swamp, to where she was meeting with Sorrowix in a clearing. I hid behind a swamp bush, and listned in.
"Here's the materials you asked for, but if you don't mind me asking, why do you need them?" Gorast was unusually polite around Sorrowix, all makuta are, even Teridax. "You see, gaseous bodily tissues are hard to collect in the amounts you asked for, so I'd like to know what I went through all the effort for."
"Call it life insurance if you like." answered Sorrowix. "Once you are killed, you'll thank me for collecting this." He stowed the makuta vapour in vials on his belt, tucked under the armour.
"But I'll be a small cloud in a bottle!"
"Trust me, I have a plan."
I sneaked away. I didn't understand what they were talking about, but it would come to me in time.
Once I had returned to the camp, the Commander gave us his plan to get the makuta out of the Codrex so that we could claim it for good. The new recruits (an alternate dimension's Axonn and Kova the dark hunter) would team up with Lariska, Avak, Maroo and myself, and we would all gun down the Makuta guard around the codrex, forcing them back towards it, so that their only means of escape could be to the left or right, not forwards or backwards, where the Commander's forces would mow thiem down with their melee weapons. Kova, Axonn, Lariska and Maroo were given Midak Skycannons as heavy ordinance. If we were outpowered, Lewa on the Axcallera, Pohatu on the Rockoh, Antroz on the Jetrax, Poron the matoran from Karzahnii on the Revax, Denza the matoran from Karzahnii on the Anja and the Gunship would give us aid.
The next morning, we set off for battle. Our troop rushed in, guns blazing. Hundreds of rahkshii fell before they could muster any sort of defence, but one of the grenades from Axonn's personally modified Skycannon destroyed the guard, Maroo's flamethrower attachment toasted the survivors that tried to charge us. Avak took aim, and fired his first clip's four shots. His weapon of choice is the gun he had on Voya Nui {see the piraka animations for a demonstration of his weapon's power} and he'd never parted with it. He had a whole shelf in the Karzahnii's armoury full of them, and we could see why: one shot blew the Rahkshii out of the back of his Exo-rahkshii suit, one detonated a pile of Panrahk staffs, causing a huge explosion, one hit Chirox in the face, sending his mask spinning off at a rahkshii, decapitating it and the final shot hit a kraata tank on the back of an exo's suit. Avak grinned, blew the smoke off of the barrel and reloaded. We moved closer to the Codrex, and the fleeing enemies were slaughtered by the Commander, except the makuta, who escaped by taking to the sky instead of running into the Commander's trap. Once we were underneath the Codrex, a Panrahk fired its spear at the loose rocks around it, and a pile collapsed onto Avak, knocking him out.
We took the Codrex. Makuta Teridax, on his way to Metru Nui, thought he could get himself another shadow toa. He tried to take Nuara, but Takal stopped him, painfully. Nuara became a toa in the process, but was not contaminated. The Toa Ignika wired himself up to the machine, saving Mata Nui at the cost of his body, though hie said before he went that he could spend a day or so operating the systems. Desperate for answers, Takal, Avak, Nuara, Jaller and Gali went AWOL, taking the gunship. As soon as he heard, the Commander gathered Lariska, Axonn, Maroo, Vorsis, Maveric and myself to help. All of us, the Commander included, set off in a blimp for the island of Waru Sola, where the Karzahnii had been set to fly to. We saw rahkshii and ...other things climbing down into the basements of Mutran's hive there, the gunship sitting outside.
We were not going to be reinforcements, we were going to be a rescue team.

[Takal]

Maroo barrelled towards the door again. This time as he hit it, it flew open, sending the rahkshii forcing themselves against it rolling down the hall. Axonn and Lariska pounded the survivors. The Commander pulled one up by its neck, pinning it, helpless, against the wall.
"Where are they?" he shouted at it.
"Sssssss, sss! Sssss." it hissed back, flailing wildly.
"What is it saying?" he asked me.
"Excluding the swearing, it says that if it knew that, it wouldn't be here." I replied.
"Ssssss!" it added urgently.
"It adds that it has a general idea, and if you don't kill it, it will lead us to where it thinks they are."
"Tell it I don't like like that idea."
"Ssss sssss ssssss, sss ssssss."
"It said it understands you perfectly without my help, it adds that you are a... I'll ignore that bit."
"Insult me, would you?" the Commander said, driving the rahkshii's spear through it, pinning its body to the wall.
We followed the hallway to the top of a flight of stairs, where an ammo clip lay.
"One of Avak's, I'd bet." Vorsis said.
"We don't have time to follow the clips to them. This might be the only one." the Commander said "RIA, do you have X-ray vision?"
"Yes. You gave it to me, you senile fool."
"Then use it to find them."
I scanned the hall, and the downstairs landing. In a thick-walled room downstairs, I could lightly see the outlines of many dead toa, many shadow toa and four live allies.
"Down below here." I pointed to the ground.
Axonn and Maroo set to work giving the ground what-for. In only four synchronised punches they broke it in, and we all fell through. All of us landed safely, though surrounded by shadow toa. The Commander flew down through the hole in the roof, and they all fled.
"Is everything all right down here?" the Commander asked Takal.
"Well, half of us are unconsious, but no-one's bedly wounded."
From behind us, a troop of exos came. Their commander, with upgraded weapons, addressed the Commander.
"Ssssssurender, Ria. Become prissssoners or perishhh." It hissed.
"Talking rahkshii? Wharever will the brotherhood think of next?"
The rahkshii shot the Commander. He crumpled to the floor.
It turned to me.
"RIA, do you ssssurender the group, or mussst thisss become a bloodbath?"
I weighed up my options. We had a force that could deal with the exos without any bother, but we had wounded, and they had an unusually strong commander.
"I surrender." I replied bitterly.
We were marched downstairs, to a mockery of an operating theatre, I will omit this part as I was out of it for most of the time {and because it would take an age to copy the chunk from Avak and modify it to be from RIA's point of view, and I'd just be repeating myself}.
After Nuara freed me, we hurried upstairs to Avak's hiding place, and the Commander gave him the tools to finish this place off. As we ran upstairs to the gunship, Avak going the other way, the hallway ahead and behind us burst into flames, and chunks of the floor and walls fell down into the floors below.
"You were never going to let us go without a fight, were you?" muttured Vorsis darkly.

[Takal]

As we rushed upstairs, flaming pillars collapsing in front and behind us, smoke blinding and choking my companions, Takal's foot got caught on a burned cable, and he tripped. Lariska and I ran to is aid.
"Takal, can you stand?" asked Lariska, eying the scorched marks on his legs.
"I... I think so." he replied, getting unsteadly to his feet.
"Lariska? Takal? I think we'd better-" I was cut off by a slab of roof crashing down on the floor, smashing through it, cutting us off from the rest of the group.
"Gali, the flames!" shouted Axonn. Gali shot beams of water at the edges of the floor ahead of us, but the water evaporated scarcely a bio from her.
"Lariska, I can get us back over. Grab me, and put Takal under your arm." I shouted, taking aim at the roof of the hall over the gap.
"Why?"
"Now is not the time for a debate, grab on!" I fired a grappeling hook from each shield, rooting the anchor in the roof. Lariska picked up the wounded toa and grabbed on. We swung across the gap, colliding with Maroo.
"Watch where you're flying!" He roared, a joker in even life-and-death situations.
We charged forward, leaving the flames behind. We were out in the grounds before...
"Here comes the welcome comittee!" the Commander shouted, pointing at a squad of exos. We wasted no time counting our kills. An exo, given a chance to make a blow, can be a deadly foe. That's the trick with rahkshii: kill them before they can draw their spears, or spiked gauntlets and harpoon guns in the case of an exo.
As Lariska washed the last of the slime from her daggers, we heard "Whoaaaa!" from the fortress.
"That'll be Avak then." commented Takal.
"Everyone, onboard!" I shouted, the only one other than our best pilot or Avak who could actually use the gunship for more than just a giant mass of turrets and cannons shaped like a blimp.
We boarded, and took to the sky. A small blue shape hurtled towards us. The Commander sat down heavily in his 'admiral's chair' Avak had installed for the Commander's personal use. Its main features were a microphone that projected your voice to all within Metru Nui's area around you, and a small fridge in the arm that held expensive alcoholic beverages.
"Something's just not right. It's all been too easy, like they were playing soft on us."
"Do you mean this operation?" I asked.
"No. This whole makuta situation. I've fought alongide makuta before. They were stronger. It feels like we've been played with. Like the makuta wanted us to win."
By this time, of course, it was already too late. Teridax and Sorrowix had already succeeded. In only minutes the Commander realised how true these words were, and in only hours, he realised how little he, or anyone else, could do to stop the makuta.

END MEMORY RECALL.

[Takal]

And that's it. I'm starting my new story in the first week of March.