BIONICLE UNIVERSE

The spaceship hurtled through the unknown of space through planets of volcanoes and lava, huge rings full of rocks that could smash the spaceship into fragments. The spaceship used the latest technology, it’s massive thrusters hurtling it through the wilds of space. The four pilots were ever determined in their resolve to find one of the legendary planets.

“It’s in this quadrant, I know it,” a determined voice muttered.

“So you have said many times, but you haven’t been right yet Exeter,” another voice muttered.

Exeter rapped his fists and muttered an oath to Mata Nui that they’d find it this time. The Water Glatorian was equipped with the best armor and sword forged from the Valley. A descendant of Tarix, Exeter had inherited the power of water, however weak it was.

“We will never be able to find it. For hundreds of thousands of years we have tried to follow the sacred oath that our ancestors pledged to the dying Tahu, that we would find the legendary planets. There are three, and we haven’t found one.”

“True,” a Toa of Plant Life said. “But you know that we finally found the last part of our map that the visionary Tarduk found in the dunes. It points to the third legendary planet.”

“That’s what we think Storm,” Dr. Costruire said. A Toa of Plasma, he was a genius creator. He had two mechanical arms sprouting from his back, and he had given himself all sorts of powers. “I have always dreamed of finding the pure legendary element of my trade. However, I don’t think it’ll ever been done. I’m sorry Storm, I’m sorry Exeter.”

“You better find it,” a gravelly voice said. “I can’t support you after this mission. When you return to Spherus Magna, your contract will have run out.”

Typhonus, the Skrall of the group, was the richest of the Skrall. A leader Skrall whose ancestors lived in Bota Magna, Typhonus was a scholar. The Skrall were the smartest and brightest of Spherus Magna.

“We will find it!” Exeter said, banging his sword on the table. Dew began to form on the table and the air seemed wet and sluggish.

“Incredible…” Storm said from the cockpit. Suddenly light and energy flooded the craft, and the four felt the secrets of legend flooding through them.

In front of them was a pillar of energy stretching off into the boundless regions of space. It was coming from a square planet, the strange plant Krux. Krux was the legendary home of the building secrets of the Ancients who had lived when the day was young, and learned the elements of legend. Krux was the home of Creation, the third element, nearly forgotten, but in use everyday in the futuristic miracle of Spherus Magna.

Costruire looked at the Creation nexus and felt his body getting energized until he was falling over in the throes of wonder.

***
The genius creator awoke to the hum of energy. He faintly heard Storm mutter that it was just Stockholm Syndrome, and not that big of a deal. The aged builder raised himself up, and flipped on his Akaku.

“You do realize that you three are now the greatest explores that I believe in,” Typhonus said, wrapped in his cloak. “The Creation nexus sits in the temple of the Ancients in front of us. A truly historic day.”

At that moment the first trap appeared, bursting into life around the four explores. The temple of the Ancients flared and hissed as fire leaped from the walls and flamed up around them. Even Typhonus was unconcerned as Exeter summoned a rain to quench the fire. The room was filled with steam, and the heat of the fire made even Exeter hot and sluggish.

“Well, no fire can stop I!” Exeter roared when suddenly a wizened voice boomed through the temple.

“Those who dare steal the legendary nexus are doomed to forever be subject to the elements!” the voice was old and cracking, but it still resounded with such strength that there was no doubt that the speaker was one to be feared. “You foolhardy explores know that everyone isn’t pure, and Creation is a very powerful element indeed.”

A flood rushed at the four and Exeter managed to hold it back, but they were too late and the wind blew to life. The temple of the Ancients shook and groaned under the wind. The genius of Dr. Costruire wasn’t going to end drowning so close to the greatest discovery of Toa-kind. He wasn’t going to let that happen.

Only a genius like the doctor could’ve stopped the barrage. When he noticed that the door into the Ancient temple was shut, he realized it was to contain the attacks. Firing an energy orb at the wall, he broke it open. With the wind, it was blowing out of the hole, which stopped the water flow. The wind was gone, but now the outside was howling with the wind.

“Well that works,” Storm said. “Even though we have to trudge through waist-deep water, it isn’t attacking us.”

In response Exeter directed the wall through the hole Costruire made until it was outside as well.

“We can’t solve our problems by changing their location, but we have a fighting chance of delaying them,” Exeter said with a smile.

As they turned a hallway, the elaborate marble carvings of the Ancients faded into soil and rough-hewn stone. It was too much to consider why the Ancients had left their temple unfinished. Or had they?

“Too creepy,” Storm muttered.

“We’ll battle every element if we can reach the Creation nexus!” Exeter yelled.

“You may have won by shattering the wall, but ah, what if the wall is what you need to avoid?” the Ancient’s voice rippled around the room.

How did the recording know? Exeter thought. The ship showed no life forms were present as guards on Krux.

The stonewalls began to squeeze in, the roof push down. The earth, the soil, began to rise upwards. They were moving too fast, and the next marble tunnel was just ahead. Without thinking, Exeter plunged his sword in the earth. Storm stabbed his katana there too. Typhonus put his staff lengthwise between the walls, and then he was followed by Costruire’s buzz saw.

“Get out!” Storm yelled, and he dove for the opening. The other three quickly followed into the marble.

The doctor charged himself with magnetic energy, and the weapons flew out. The tunnel slammed shut leaving a stonewall in its place.

“I see it now,” Typhonus muttered. “It’s a pattern. They’re following the elements chart. Fire, water, air, stone, earth. Brace yourselves, here comes the ice.”

Right on cue the walls froze, and the explorers lost their balance. Hitting the ice caused cuffs to appear, linking the four to the ice. Huge icicles formed on the ice-covered roof and began to crack. Snow created a near whiteout and all four felt the chill of ten below.

“I didn’t think I’d ever be killed in an ice storm,” Storm said with a chuckle. “Thank goodness I won’t be now.”

“What do you—” Typhonus said, but was cut off.

Plants grew in the bitter cold, huge snaking vines that created a shield over the top of the four. There was the sound of icicles hitting the vines, the four meant to end the life of the explorers. The blizzard switched off, and the ice melted away. The vines sagged and moved away.

“They think we’re dead,” Exeter marveled.

“No one but a Toa of Plant Life could’ve survived,” Storm said with a grin.

The next hall was huge and cavernous, arching high in the air. Typhonus looked around, and noticed that the ceiling was lined with spikes. When he looked up, Typhonus shot into the air as gravity began to warp. The other three, sluggish and heavy could only hear Typhonus’ screams.

I have my staff, but no other powers! Typhonus thought. I shouldn’t have been talked into this, should’ve remained in the ship as my clients got themselves killed.

As the spikes drew closer, Typhonus decided he was going to make it to the Creation nexus no matter what. At one of the low spikes, he turned himself sideways to push off it. Flying sideways under the points of the spikes, Typhonus grabbed the bottoms. Swinging there, Typhonus began to loosen the bonds of the rock.

The Ancients never expected such a smart mind as Typhnous to enter the gravity chamber. With the spike breaking off, Typhonus was able to find a safe spot on the ceiling. Locking eyes with Costruire, the doctor mentally triggered an energy ball to fire right at Typhonus. Using the diamond on his staff, he reflected it at a red button. Typhonus fell into Exeter’s arms.

“Impressive!” Exeter said. “Truly magnificent.”

The four continued into the next room, which was small and tiny, forcing them into single file. The doctor’s Akaku let him see that the chamber had much bigger walls, but something was in the way.

What’s next? Storm thought. Sonics?

“The power of sound is one to be feared!” The Ancient boomed. “As sound can cause things to mend, and to shatter into fragments.”

The tiny walls began to vibrate with sound and the room began to shake. Plaster began to fall off the music drums off the speakers, and the muted sound became louder. It wasn’t the rock music of Spherus Magna’s northern tribes, or the gloomy songs sung by the mellow west. But this was pure sound, every single sound of the Ancient’s world combined into one ear-splitting frequency.

There were the sounds of the Ancients, and things too far off and ancient to describe. These noises were ethereal and primal and deep and dark. The cold light and hungry creature, the dream-eater that dwelled deep in the underground. Things that were myths told by the mythical Agori and Toa, long dead with names like Gresh and Tahu. The explorers wanted to listen, to hear the sounds of a world trillions of years before. Only Exeter noticed that his armor was forming cracks as the awful and beautiful noise continued. A little water was all it took, dampening the noise until it played no longer.

“It was killing us,” Exeter explained. No one needn’t doubt him; their armor was proof enough.

The next room was plain and blank with no decoration whatsoever. This time there was no time for thoughts or lecture as the magnets began pulsing. They were trying to rip the four apart, but oddly no one noticed. Other than Costruire, who had de-magnetized the four in secret?

Again the next room was plain, with no sign of traps by the elements. Then the electricity hummed up and began darting around the room, zapping the walls. The walls were white steel, not marble.

“Oh please,” Typhonus muttered.

Holding out his diamond-tipped staff, the electricity fed into the jewel. With the lightning flowing into it, the others walked safely behind Typhonus. When they got out, Exeter splashed water on the staff.

“You have reached the Creation nexus!” the voice boomed. “But I caution you, Creation is a legendary element for a reason! Life and Time’s dangers are obvious, but the warped power of Creation isn’t death or a paradox. It is simply destruction. And destruction can create a Maelstrom that will destroy you and all that you hold dear!”

Huge doors swung open, and there was a pillar of pure creation energy. The explorers were to stunned to speak, and only Exeter could move. He waved his hand near the pillar, and envisioned a treasure chest. It appeared in front of him, and was filled with riches.

“We have found it!” Exeter yelled, pumping his fist. “We can create anything! Never can we be limited by materials, just the creativity of the thinker! This could change Spherus Magna forever!”

Storm approached warily, and dreamed of an elephant. One roared to life, a creature given birth by the mind. A little robotic dog jumped at Costruire, made with mechanical parts that would require a 133rd element to make, but were there.

Maybe all the myths aren’t just myths after all, Typhonus thought. What could I do with this power? I could rule the world, I could be commander of the universe! The Skrall weren’t always weak scholars, they were military men, warriors! Tuma would be proud.

Smiling, Typhonus imagined a huge creature of chaos, a massive spider. It emerged from the nexus tinged with purple energy.

“Typhonus, what have you created!” Exeter wailed in shock.

“I have created the greatest thing you have ever seen. An army of chaos that can be used by the right mind to take over the universe!” Typhonus yelled. “You think to small Exeter, the Ancients, I read the carvings. I’m a scholar, remember! The Ancients detailed how one of their race created an army of creatures to enslave the world. That’s why it’s locked up past these elemental traps!”

The huge spider smashed the robot dog and Typhonus let out a giddy laugh. The creature turned on Typhonus and lunged at him. Typhonus tried to flee, but the creature grabbed him.

“Noooooo, Exeter, Storm, help!” Typhonus yelled.

The huge spider dove into the Creation energy, and dragged Typhonus into it too. The energy flooded the pillar and dark purple gases began to swirl up it. The energy of destruction was released, the darkness lurking in Creation was revealed to the world.

“It’s a Maelstrom! Our work was for naught!” Storm yelled as huge bricks tainted with purple energy flew from the energy of destruction.

One hit Exeter, and he was struggling to get out from under it. He tried to push it over with water, but it was too heavy. Costruire lifted the brick up with his gravity generators, and slammed it on the Maelstrom.

“We have ruined ourselves!” Storm yelled, kicking at a glowing purple rock. “It was like the Ancient said, not everyone is pure of heart.”

Suddenly Krux shook and energy lines shot through the room. Dark bubbling energy seeped up from the ground and suddenly the ground felt unstable. Exeter grabbed Storm and the doctor’s hands and gathered them in a small circle.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Krux was no more. They shot backwards as they found that Krux had shattered, buckling under the forces of the Maelstrom. Now the dark Creation energy lay in the sky as a nebula, endlessly spawning the dark minions of Ancient lore.

“The Maelstrom will destroy us, and Creation is gone forever!” Exeter moaned, on one of the pieces of debris. Smaller worlds floated in an orbit around the Maelstrom.

Costruire picked up a piece of circuitry. What remained of the robotic dog, the last pure product of Creation. A little spark jumped in the wires. The doctor ran around and grabbed the other parts of the dog. He pushed them together and stared down at them.

I wish Creation was still here, that Creation could once again be possible.

The pieces formed together, smashing as one. A little robotic Terrier curiously stared up at Costruire. He broke into a grin.

“It’s still here Exeter!” he said as the dog jumped in his arms. “The last source of pure Creation.”

“We can still defeat the Maelstrom,” Storm said.

“As one, I know someone that can help. Vanda, heard of her?” Exeter said.

Even as the robotic dog yipped and the pure Creation nexus glowed on the rocky debris of plant Krux, a message was broadcasted to Spherus Magna. That the three need the help they can get.

But the Maelstrom narrowed its eyes and the dark force began churning, infecting the land. And that’s where the new four’s story began…

The Venture Explorer was finally in the quadrant near the Maelstrom and the small worlds that were planet Krux a year ago. Now they were home to Agori, Glatorian, Toa, Matoran, Turaga, Skrall, and others. They had all been called in by the beacon to fight off the destructive force of Creation’s inner darkness. There was nowhere to hide, and everyone was doing their part. Explorers departed weekly from the worlds to find the nexuses of Time and Life. Maybe death could be given to the dark energy, or time reversed.

“Well you four, we’re approaching the last source of pure Creation,” the pilot, Ciela, said. Ciela was an explorer and master pilot, and worked in the Venture league that Storm headed. A female Jungle Glatorian, Ciela was very quick on her feet.

“After you meet the four founding explorers, you’ll join the Nexus Force and help battle the Maelstrom,” Giovo said. Giovo was a Toa of Fire, and was one of the new generation.

The small worlds were stunning, tiny jagged debris that had become the new fight against darkness’s location. The dark twirling Maelstrom twirled below and rumbled in the dark purple energy. The four new Nexus Force recruits were stunned. There was so much activity, rockets shooting from world to world. The center of it all was a circular planet with rockets coming in an out. Up north Creation shined bright.

“So, how can we begin to fight that…darkness?” a scared recruit asked. A Glatorian of Iron, Hierro was a great creator and miner. He was able to build anything with lightning speed. He wore orange armor instead of the midnight blue of his tribesman as a tribute to the discrimination his people faced in the times of myth.

The girl of the group just stared at him, steely eyed. Liked Ciela, she was a female Jungle Glatorian. Very adept and quick on her feet, Jamia was recruited by her tribesman as the best fighter in her town to combat the Maelstrom. Jamia was a good vine-swinger, and adept with the Le-Matoran. However, she never wanted to fight the Maelstrom.

“With bravery,” Honneur said. A brave Water Glatorian, Honneur had led campaigns into the third-world provinces up north to drive out the dark followers of the Makuta. He was quick with a sword, and was charming and well beloved. If he were to die, facing down a creature terrible and mutated would be the way to go.

“We’re going to die,” Sombro muttered, wrapped in his cloak. A Skrall, Sombro was one of the commanders in the Skrall army. Though most Skrall were scholars, and leaders, Sombro wasn’t any of those. A quiet, reserved Skrall, Sombro wanted nothing more than to go home. He had been ordered here by Vanda, the female Skrall that now had taken Typhonus’ place as a Nexus member.

“Will you guys stop the negativity!” Ghiaccio snapped. A Glatorian hailing from Iconox, Ghiaccio’s family had been traced back to the caravan guard Gelu in the mythical book of legend. If it was to be believed. An adept creator, and a master with all animals, Ghiaccio was Iconox’s choice to be sent to fight the Maelstrom. “Most people live and die without ever flying to other worlds!”

“Lucky them,” Sombro spat.

“Hey!” Buia yelled. “Sombro, do not continue the Skrall tradition of self-centeredness.”

“Oh Buia,” Sombro said in a mocking tone. “Great Skrall warrior, the only female Skrall to be a General in the army. Oh how wonderful you are, how lucky you are to actually fight a foe. The Maelstrom cowers before you.”

“Gosh you two, break it up!” the Fire Glatorian yelled. “I haven’t introduced myself, or spoken one word this whole trip due to the group of idiots with me on this trip! Really, this is an embarrassment! And by the way, I’m Ignis!”

The eighth recruit stared out the window glumly. Everyone thought Rieder was a freak. And he didn’t blame them. His grandfather had been a savage, a crazy man, until science came to Bota Magna. He had fixed him, fixed him up well. Now the Vorox weren’t savages, but everyone was still wary of Rieder and his people. They never were quite right in the head.

The Venture Explorer began speeding up past the first few outlying worlds. It had been four days ago when it had departed Spherus Magna, and now it was a billion light years away. A string of wormholes that Exeter had laid out had taken them here to the Maelstrom. Is the Maelstrom wasn’t stopped, it would consume the universe into never-ending chaos. It had to be defeated, here and now.

They are too powerful, these ones will doom me and my reign. They must be taken, they must not survive. My fate is in the balance.

A huge bolt of lightning tinged with purple gases launched from the heart of the Maelstrom. It hit the Venture Explorer, and the ship rocked and plunged. Dark laughter bubbled all around, and the ship fell into a tail spin. The eight recruits began to panic, trying to find a way to escape.

“Everyone!” Giovo yelled, fire jumping in his palms. “I expect that all of you can get out of here. We aren’t going to make it to the pure Creation nexus anytime soon, but we can’t out of here.”

“We’re doomed!” Sombro yelled. “I was right! The Maelstrom is just too strong.”

Ignis punched Sombro to the ground, and towered over him. Before Sombro could get up, Giovio blew them apart with a blast of hot air. He grabbed Ignis by the shoulders, and it seemed that Ignis brimmed with fire like Giovo. Another swirling tendril from the Maelstrom attacked the starship. Dark energy flowed everywhere.

Hierro jumped up in the air, and began gathering scrap parts. “Look! I can build some escape rockets for us if Giovo will weld them together. We’ll fly to that large world with the huge sculpture.”

“Avant,” Giovo said, nodding.

“I can’t hold on much longer, we need to get out!” Ciela yelled, jumping from the controls.

The Venture Explorer was in a wild spin toward the huge churning Maelstrom below. Hierro began grabbing things from storage, old pieces of rockets. Some looked like wood and used pistons on the outside. Others looked old and boring, plain white metal. And some were fantastic all together. Giovo took the rocket parts and shot a thin beam of fire to weld them together. Sparks jumped off the rocket parts.

“We can’t get out!” Buia yelled, banging on the walls. Taking her saw-blade she began to hack at the medal.

“Doomed I told you,” Sombro wailed. “Doomed!”

“You sicken me with your pessimistic tone,” Honneur spat at the cowering Skrall.

Jamia ran at the wall where Buia was attacking, and kicked the wall. At this moment, the Maelstrom began to squeeze the Venture Explorer. The result was a section of the wall ripped off and fell into the dark churning energy below. There was an explosion of light as the metal was absorbed into the Maelstrom, and destroyed.

“Go now!” Giovo yelled. He shot fire bolts at the Maelstrom, and cries of pain rumbled in space.

“I’ll lead!” Ghiacco yelled. Taking a plain white rocket, he jumped in and shot out of the opening.

The two Skrall quickly climbed in their rockets, and shot out dangerously above the Maelstrom. Hierro, Jamia, Ignis, and Rieder shot out into space as well. They shot out to the Avant where they were destined to begin their tale of fighting the Maelstrom.

“We did it Ciela!” Giovo said with a sad smile as the Venture Explorer was pulled into the Maelstrom’s maw. “We always knew that they were the eight that would finally take back Creation.”

“This is all part of their failsafe,” Ciela said darkly.

“Whose?”

“The Ancient’s prophecy Giovo!” Ciela yelled despite her death rapidly approaching. “When Creation turns against itself, eight heroes will rise up to fight the destruction. They’ll be put through trial and terror, four groups reunited. The bad seed betrayed by the strength and honor and cunning. When the final fight comes, destruction will show its true form. The darkness seven will overcome, and fight the darkness itself.”

“Ciela, they can’t do this alone!” Giovo yelled. Now the Avant was high above them. It was now or never.

A message appeared on the intercom, filled with static. Barely recognizable was Ghiacco’s voice. “Get out of there!”

“There’s one rocket Giovo, get out!” Ciela pleaded. “I’ve spent my whole life exploring, and you need a second chance. I know what’s happened to you.”

“I’m not leaving!” Giovo yelled. “I’m a Toa, I can fight for myself!”

The Venture Explorer fell straight into the center of the Maelstrom. Around the two, purple gases and energy flowed. Lightning crackled as the Maelstrom’s dark influence was destroying everything that came in its path. One lone rocket shot from the Venture Explorer up to the Avant. Below the Venture Explorer crumpled into the churning maw of the Maelstrom. There was a huge fireball and triumphant laughter shot out from below.

A deeper sound rumbled in anger as the Maelstrom reacted to the fire flaring up around it. As the lone rocket tried to catch up with the eight heading towards Avant’s left sector, the Maelstrom lashed out a tendril of energy that shot the rocket to the other end of the Avant. The rocket shot through the sky heading toward a green field.

The rocket shot across the green and skidded to a halt in front of a launch pad. A vendor ran over to the rocket and tried to pry it open. Painted in swirling decals and floral colors now blacked by the dark Maelstrom and ash, it was impossible to open. Then the explorer burst out, covered in ash and coughing.
The Maelstrom had been thwarted by destiny again as the eight set by the Ancients to vanquish it forever were landing on a launch pad in the Avant. For the several spectators that had watched the scene play out with the Venture Explorer being absorbed by the Maelstrom, there were shocked.

Ghiocco landed first, and stumbled out onto the metal. The others followed, coughing and gagging. They had arrived on just about the other end of the remains of Krux. It would be a long hard to journey to the Creation nexus that Ciela and Giovo wished them to see. One day, they would be able to reach the nexus and defeat Typhonus once and for all.

These are the eight heroes of Ancient lore: Ghiocco, Ignis, Jamia, Rieder, Hierro, Sombro, Bula, and Honneur. This is their story.

The first one to see Ghiocco’s rocket touch down was Wispar. He was a Paradox researcher, taking pieces and parts infected by the Maelstrom and studying them. Due to the dangerous nature of the Maelstrom, Wispar was tainted. He had lost an eye when an experiment attacked him, and he had been rendered weakened. And Toa of Earth don’t like weakened.

The eight Spherus Magna natives coughed and sputtered in the green of the Avant. Wispar rushed over to support Honneur, who looked the worse of the eight. It had happened so fast, and was so heartbreaking to watch the Maelstrom destroy the Venture Explorer, and either Ciela or Giovo dead. Both were very dear to Wispar. He’d never forget them.

“Where are we…” Honneur sputtered to Wispar. Other Toa and Matoran were supporting the other eight.

“You’re at the Assembly stronghold of the Avant,” Wispar answered. “It used to be a modern marvel that Costruire’s followers worked together to create. Now it’s my entire fault that the Strom have overwhelmed us. Thank goodness that Bante led the Sentinels in here or Avant would be overrun.”

“You Toa always assume that we are up to date,” Honneur spat. “We don’t know anything. We have no elemental powers. Without using terms like Assembly and Strom and Bante, tell me. What is going on here at the Avant?

Wispar’s Tale—One Week Prior to Venture Explorer launch

Wispar was always impressed at the Paradox Research Center. His place of work, it was a Paradox outpost on the Avant. Several one-eyed orange robots, products of the Assembly faction, guarded the center. A group started in the Nexus Force by Dr. Costruire, the Assembly were master builders. They had been the reason for the Avant success.

Clearing his name with the burly Toa of Sonics guarding the building as well, Wispar entered. He began to look around slowly. Then he went into the detainment room. There sitting in a cell made of pure diamond was a Strom.

Strom were beings that were taken over by the Maelstrom’s dark influence. If the Maelstrom expanded itself and reached out to a being on an island, it would infect that person and forever turn them into a being of pure dark energy. The Maelstrom personified by a powerful evil creation tinged with dark powers. People being turned into a Strom consistently ravaged other worlds, but the Avant had managed to escape complete overwhelming by the Strom forces.

“You will tell me your secrets,” Wispar hissed to the Strom.

Wispar’s group, the Paradox, focused on using the Maelstrom against itself. Harnessing the power of destruction to destroy destruction itself. Generally, the other groups thought this of as a bad idea, and it didn’t help that the leader was Vanda. Vanda was a young female Skrall that was the daughter of Typhonus. Typhonus got the universe into this mess, and they feared Vanda would still help Typhonus’ legacy.

“Sir Wispar, we have perfected the melding of the spider Rahi with the Maelstrom influence!” A jubilant Agori of Rock jumped in before Wispar could attack the Strom and dissect the Maelstrom.

Wispar raced after the Agori to a balcony, where he stared down into a huge rushing expanse. Below were squat four-legged spiders that were frothing with the dark purple energy of the Maelstrom. It was the first artificial Maelstrom induction into a being ever. They were Strom Spiders, and they were the key to curing and inducing Maelstrom possession in a being.

“Strom Spiders!” Wispar yelled. “Why our lab has done it! The Paradox no longer will be fools laughed at by snobs like the Assembly!”

At Wispar’s announcement, the Strom Spiders looked up at him. They looked curiously, and suddenly the room felt dark and damp. The Maelstrom intensified on the spiders, and they leapt out at Wispar. Jumping past him, they crashed through the facility. Alarms began to sound as the spiders ran through the facility.

With the Paradox running to stop the spiders, only Wispar couldn’t bring himself to join them. The Strom Spiders were too fast, and broke all the infected Strom from their cages. They rushed from the facility out into the Avant Gardens. The guard robots fought valiantly, but to no avail. The Strom Spiders bit them, and Strom Mech were born.

“Incredible,” Wispar muttered. “The Maelstrom can infect 100% mechanical automatons as well. It’s stronger than we thought.”

The last guard was fighting furiously, but had to flee to escape the onslaught of Strom beings. Two days later, the great Assembly highway connecting Avant fell to the Strom onslaught. The next day Exeter’s Sentinel group arrived, and fought the Strom away from Assembly’s famous monument. Now they were concentrated near the Research Center. The Sentinel leader, Bante, proposed harsh punishment for the Paradox. Vanda was supported by Storm, and the measure is in limbo. This is where the Avant is today.

“So now we have to battle through our comrades irreparably hurt by the Maelstrom!” Honneur spat. “And because of you.”

“He is not at fault!” Jamia said, lying a hand on Honneur’s shoulder. “We are all going to do this as a team. I was reading up on a book about Krux and the current lands.”

“So was I,” Rieder announced, drawing looks. Vorox were supposed to be illiterate. “Currently the only ships strong enough to make it to the pure source of Creation are ships designed for long travel like the Venture Explorer. As the rocky worlds close to the Creation nexus are unequipped with rocket launch pads, a station is being build at the Krux hub, Nimbus.”

“So then,” Bula said. “If the Strom are here, where are they!”

A wave of infected Strom began to charge near the landing pad right on cue. There were at least a hundred charging, their bodies corroded and weak, unable to handle the dark energies of the Maelstrom. Some had badges identifying themselves as Assembly engineers, Sentinel warriors, and Paradox researches. They all looked the same apart from that, demented shadow warriors awash in darkness.

Wispar pulled out eight rays, and zapped all eight rockets with a different ray. They vanished from the platform, and Wispar tossed them to each of the recruits.

“It’s a pocket dimension ray!” Wispar explained while the Strom ran closer. “It takes things and places them in a pocket dimension for storage. Your rockets are in there, and I don’t think you want a Strom trashing them. This battle will be fists on fists!”

The Strom swarmed the nine, and began attacking and thrashing and fighting. It was the best Wispar and the recruits could do from not getting entirely overwhelmed. Ignis seemed to be having the best luck, with booming kicks that seemed to scald the Strom.

Jamia thought she saw Wispar taking things from the Strom that were still infected with the bubbling purple energy. It was actually pretty easy to defeat a Strom, just punch them once or twice and they’d buckle under the impact. The body is too much for the immense energy of the Maelstrom, and any Strom are dangerously unstable creatures. Strom eventually disintegrate over time.

Furious purple energy flared as the Strom tried to punch the recruits into submission through sheer numbers alone. Honneur fought flashily with moves befitting a warrior of Trajan. Rieder had an advantage with his mechanical stringer tail that he wore as a tribute to the awful experiments the Great Beings conducted on the Vorox in the Book of Legend. Strom wrapped in blue flame were pierced with a mechanical stinger.

Sombro and Buia were working together with their Skrall jujitsu skills to take out Strom in a wide circle. With Jamia, Ghiocco, and Hierro working as well, the Strom were quickly gone, what was left being swallowed up by the Maelstrom. There was a quiet pause as everyone looked around.

“I believe they are gone,” Ignis said, his body pulsating with what was the sun, but seemed to be heat brimming on his oriental armor.

Jamia quickly scanned the cliffs among the ruins of the Paradox Research Center. She grimly noticed the destroyed husk of a Mech guard, sparking and dead. Dark sticky liquid oozed out of the research center, the gases that normally composed the Maelstrom reduced to a syrupy liquid that had pooled in the grasses of Avant. Above what used to be a soaring highway overtop Avant was smoking and ruins. The world was being overrun.

“Well I think you better go see Epsilon,” Wispar said quickly. Only Ignis’ sharp eyes noticed his full satchel was glowing in ethereal purple, Maelstrom infected badges and clothes and hats were contained within for study.

“Who?” Sombro asked. “Another person to lead us into fights where we might nearly die!”

“Epsilon is a good reason that the area you’re walking on isn’t completely Maelstrom overtaken. You’ll see some small world that have been completely overtaken by the Maelstrom. There is some hope, but they have captured all the Creation particles in a dense orb. But I’m getting ahead of myself. He’s around the bend.”

Ghiacco led the way again, and hiked ahead they went down into a small valley. There was black bubbling springs of pure Maelstrom and Strom trying to reach a fortification up on a small hill. There the eight caught the first glimpse of a Strom Mech. Terrifying, clunking orange robots with a one-eyed optical sensor and a huge targeting laser beam.

“No one can see us,” Sombro whispered. “If we bring our rockets back with the ray thingamajig that the creepy researcher gave us, Hierro can get us to blast off. We can fly at a starship going to Spherus Magna and say we’re refugees. We’ll be thought dead, and have our own lives.”

“I will never do that!” Hierro said. “I’m here to show that the Iron Tribe will leave generations of bias and fear behind to aid their Spherus Magna tribesman here in Krux’s ruins. Not to flee!”

“Bravery. Justice. Honor,” Jamia said. “Not fear.”

“If we die, we shall bury our dead with all the honor deserving of true heroes whole left their lives behind to be on the front line of the fight to save the universe,” Buia said. “I had my first action in years with those Strom. There’s universal peace on Spherus Magna, let’s go on, and see…how it ends up.”

Below, they looked down at the hill that the Strom and Mech just couldn’t reach. Down there, they looked at a Toa of Magnetism clad in blue armor hovering in the air. He was hovering on a magnetic current and was repulsing Mech away into rock faces. His sword let out a sonic boom that ripped through any Strom that came close. Around him others clad in blue grappled with Strom, while heavily armored warriors were shredding through Mech. There was Epsilon, it had to be.

“You Strom can’t even get close!” Epsilon yelled as he shattered Strom with his specialized sword containing a built in sonic boom function.

The eight recruits had a change of leaders as Honneur decided to take the lead. When Ghiacco curiously asked why, Honneur responded ‘I like that guy’s style’. With the great fighting that Epsilon was doing, there wasn’t much need for the recruits to get dirty with the Strom. The only kill was when Rieder flicked his stinger tail to get a Strom that had bubbled up from a pool of Maelstrom liquid.

“New recruits!” Epsilon asked, puzzled. “All new recruits don’t come to Avant, especially with the current situation. What happened.”

“We were on a ship, the Venture Explorer,” Hierro said, the sun shining on his orange armor. “It was piloted by Ciela and Giovo, and heading to the Creation nexus. The Maelstrom attacked us as we were passing the Avant. We got out, I don’t know about Ciela and Giovo. Wispar sent us here.”

“I saw the escapee’s rocket,” Epsilon confirmed gravely. “It had suffered a massive hit at the Maelstrom’s hands and was streaking to the launch area on the free side of the Avant. Whoever escaped is alive. And Wispar sent you all with out a weapon?”

“Yes, but it didn’t look like he was in a position to open up the Paradox Research Facility armory,” Hierro confirmed.

“Don’t matter about that old Paradox fool,” Epsilon said with a laugh, blasting a Mech into shreds. “The Paradox think they can control the Maelstrom, but look around! Is that control, is that success? Well I’ve got some things here. Take your pick.”

The eight looked at a pile of weapons behind them that were emblazoned with the logo of the Sentinels. Epsilon explained that while the Paradox were dissecting the Maelstrom, the Venture League was off exploring far off debris of Krux, and Assembly is too busy building grand sculptures and castles, the Sentinels were on the front lines of fighting the Maelstrom.

The spare weapons were just blunted swords, hammers that seemed to have used to been Assembly property, and a spear that was long and had a very sharp point. After they had their weapons, Epsilon sized them up. He seemed very impressed.

“Eight as one, iron, ice, water, jungle, sand, and two from rock will stand up to the destruction from the typhoon of worry and rock. This is the prophecy of Ancient destruction,” Epsilon muttered.

“Come again?” Buia asked.

“You didn’t here?” Epsilon asked. “I said, go out there and crush 10 Strom a piece.”

The eight found it remarkably easy to smash down the Strom. It was apparent that the issue at Avant as that the Strom had strength in numbers, not skill. The Strom were bumbling husks of Toa, Glatorian, Matoran, or Agori that were burning in Maelstrom energy. Quick spear thrusts, hammer whacks, and sword slices rendered short work of the Strom. The Sentinels that were fighting seemed happy to see 80 entire Strom wiped out by the fighting forces of the recruits.

It appeared that there were three different armor that the Sentinel forces were wearing. Some were wearing circular helmets and white armor tinged with flecks of blue. Others looked like knights with sleek armor and strong faceplates. A minority seemed like samurai with bows and spiked armor. It seemed that Ignis was curiously looking at the minority while the knights were drawing Honneur’s attention.

A perfect for them both, Jamia thought. Honneur is all about bravery and justice, and he looks soooo handsome too. Just like the knights of old in the cinemas we watch. And Ignis is so…right but also fiery like the armor those samurai are wearing.

Rieder looked at the others being congratulated by the Sentinel fighters. No one was approaching him, not even looking at him. It was obvious why. He was a Vorox, and he was a savage. A starved, half-crazy killing machine. All those meetings and ads on the portable cinemas still hadn’t erased that bias that was carried. Vorox were crazies, people to be feared. Jamia would never accept him, he was a loner for life.

“You guys are naturals!” Epsilon said, patting Ghiacco on the back. “Uccello will be sure to let you guys try your hand with the Nexus Force when I radio him in about that performance! 80 Strom in 5 minuets, you guys know what you’re doing!”

“I trained for a month for this in the virtual portable cinema in the Iron Tribe village,” Hierro said darkly. “I’ve faced down creatures that I wish the Maelstrom will never ever infect. Creatures in your darkest nightmares.”

“I see. Look, the scariest you’ll ever see is a dragon. Comprendo?”

“What he means is this is good, but we need to reach our full potential,” Ghiacco said. “Summoning our might to us.”

“Cute,” Epsilon said. “Go see Bante, our commander. Maybe he’ll let you in, maybe you don’t have the right stuff.”

Hierro left, head help high, walking over green grasses into the next valley. The others nervously followed Hierro. He was stalking, calmly and quickly.

“Wait!” Epsilon yelled. “I’ve got a job for you eight crackpots. Radio control just called in. They say that one of their Sentinel communication beacons is down. It’s in the direction that you guys are heading. If you build that, you’ll earn by respect.”

“Do I want it?” Sombro muttered.

“We have a mission, one that we cannot refuse,” Ignis said, head held high.

“Indeed, we need to gain prominence,” Hierro said. “Even with that dumb Sentinel jerk.”

“You can call anyone dumb you want,” Ghiacco snapped. “But it won’t change hard, cold facts. We’re weaponless recruits diverted off our course to this war-torn wasteland without any fighting experience on Krux.”

The sky grew dark and instantly more humid. A dark cloud of Maelstrom energy moved across the sky. Lightning struck and there was the screams as more Sentinel warriors fell to the Maelstrom. Strom clawed at the ground near the recruits. And there was a huge burst of energy.

“Spread out!” Ignis yelled, his red armor brimming with energy. “Strom Mech!”

The huge one-eyed orange behemoth clunked up over the hill, crushing some Strom. Ignis noticed there was a Fire Agori whacking the back of the Mech, but to no avail. Four more repeated energy shots fired at the eight had them ducking and dodging.

“I found the beacon!” Hierro yelled.

“What?” Jamia asked as she clipped a Strom with her spear.

“Just a minute!” Hierro yelled.

“Whatever it is, you better—” Sombro yelled. He was cut off by the sound of screaming jets that raced through the air, and an explosion sounded, and pieces of Mech rained in every direction.

“The com beacon was down,” Hierro said with a laugh.