BIONIC Rim

Chapter 8

Kaiju do not normally express emotion. They do not ask themselves "why do I kill?" They merely go along with the instinct that they must kill. Kaiju are unthinking creatures. To them, a Matoran has no more value than a Nui-Rama at their feet. They eat Matoran because they are programmed to do so, and anything that stands in their way is a minor disturbance.

But this repulsion blast knocked some sense into this particular Kanohi Dragon. She was only in the vicinity to look for food and build a nest, for she was pregnant with a large egg. Already irritable from the stress of carrying such a heavy burden, she charged furiously at her strange attacker.

The dragon had never seen such a structure before. Very much like her prey in body design, yet completely different colors on either side. This was not her usual target, but maybe, just maybe, she could walk away with a decent meal. As she lunged, she butt her head into the glowing center of the giant, which tumbled backwards. It kneeled and charged a second blast. This time, though, the dragon noticed and whipped her tail, redirecting the blast into a large monolithic structure nearby.

The aggressor lifted an arm and rushed at the Kaiju, who opened her mouth and bit the forearm. The giant being pounded its fist angrily against the back of the beast, but the Kanohi Dragon's thick skin meant those blows had little effect. She tried biting its head, realized it was too big to eat, and rammed her right side against the great creature. As the colossus fell backwards into another great structure, the beast roared in its victory.

She could only enjoy this victory for a few seconds, however. No sooner had she turned her head when she saw the terrifying site of a mammoth robot towing a pointed verticle structure. It raised the structure with the clear intent of impaling the Kaiju. The dragon shrieked and whipped her tail one more time. The structure dug into her hide, leaving a slight gash, but she was able to repel enough of the attack to suffer minimal damage.

Once more, the Kanohi Dragon tackled the hulking mass. Once she had finally downed the being and knocked over several more structures, she gripped it in her claws, spread her wings, and ascended to the heavens.


Jaller was surprised. The dragon seemed to be lifting Searing Tsunami into the sky with the intention of dashing it on the cold ice below. This had never been seen in the history of the conflict with the Kaiju. Jaller nearly panicked, but said to his copilot, "what do we do now? This was not in training."

"Thankfully, there is a function I can use to attack this Kaiju," Hahli stated boldly.

Right as she said this, a function Jaller had no idea of erupted from Searing Tsunami's blue arm. It was a katana, not unlike a standard Toa Tool. Those Vortixx think of everything, Jaller screamed in his mind what he could not say aloud.

Hahli slashed with expert precision into the dragon's stomach. She hit exactly the point needed to penetrate the thick skin of the Kaiju. It cut the skin like a hot Kanoka through a wall. Suddenly, dragon in tow, they began their massive freefall. Jaller estimated they must be at least one kio above Ko-Metru.

"What do we do? I didn't train for this!" Hahli screamed into the communication system.

"I don't have any protocol," responded the faint voice of Toa Lhikan. "There are no rockets or anything. Just try not to overheat and don't land headfirst."

"Thanks, I guess," responded Jaller hesitantly.

"I have no idea how to turn the Jaeger around." Hahli sounded uncharacteristically nervous. "I'm scared."

"It's okay," Jaller assured. "Let's just try to keep our emotions from running wild. If we can just tilt the Jaeger ever so slightly, it will land fine."

"Danger zone. Forty bio until impact," Roodaka, who surveyed the operation, warned.

Together, Jaller and Hahli redirected their fall slowly. Jaller could feel the temperature inside the cockpit rising and saw red streaks outside the glass.

"Slow down!" He shouted.

"Easier said than done," Hahli screamed back.

Searing Tsunami did three aerial somersaults and landed shakily on the ground, feet first. As it landed, it buckled to its knees. It took Jaller extending the red hand to keep it from falling flat. The result of the fall was a giant crater and a bioquake that could have been felt all the way in Le-Metru. Below the Jaeger was the shattered husk of a Kanohi Dragon. It was not glamorous, but a Matoran dual-pilot Jaeger had successfully defeated a Category 4 Kaiju. The resounding applause from the other restored Jaegers was deafening over the communication link.

"You did it!" Jaller heard Nidhiki say. "Brilliant job."