Hasbro owns Transformers and the name Xanthium, Lego owns the name Ketongu (although technically not since mine has one e instead of two), and Galem owns Tali, Ava, Amber, Iris, Alyan, Diego, Adhira, and Valera.
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Chapter 21: Discussion
The second Slash had taken his optics from the retreating Makutacon, he noticed the collapsing body of the Guardian Toa of Lightning. On instinct, Slash blew a wave of air from his swords, creating a protective draft between the ground and the back of Adhira's head. Sure, min and bones of a Bionicle were much stronger than that of a human, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Plus, Adhira was severely wounded. To just let her smack her head on the ground and possibly die would make him more responsible, and he just wanted to help her. So help her he would.
Keeping the draft blowing, Slash hurried towards the bleeding Guardian Toa and waited to stop the draft until he had reached her, then catching her head in his right hand. Slash gazed worriedly at her as he saw the wounds. 'This Toa is going to need a lot of medical attention when we get home'. Slash thought. If he were a doctor, and they weren't racing against the clock for two reasons now, he would've tried repairing her right now. But for now, he needed to make sure she would wake up, to ensure that she wasn't gone.
"Adhira"?! Slash shouted as loudly as he possibly could.
There was a slight hint of a wince. But it wasn't good enough to give him a definite yes or no on whether or not she would make it.
As Slash was busy with Adhira, Ops and Tali turned to the sounds of a small ship landing nearby on their left, and a van for the Turpinville Zoo pulling up on their right. The hatch from the ship opened almost immediately, Pow and Amber running out with Z zooming ahead of them and reaching Ops and Tali before the others. Spotting his friends, Green exited the van, slamming the door shut and running to the others, looking around with a confused expression.
'Okay, so Ops, Tali, and Slash are here, Adhira is wounded, and Z, Pow, and Amber just got here... what happened'?! Green thought. 'Where are the others? Where did Z, Pow, and Amber go? Is Paradox okay'? He noticed a tree with a chunk blown out of it, some of the bark still sizzling. 'And what happened HERE'? Green wondered. 'Seriously, I'm gone for three seconds and everything just gets worse? We just won a battle in the Mayan Ruins, how is stuff still getting bad'?
When Amber had exited the ship, she made a run towards Op's and Tali as they were the first she laid eyes on. But as she neared then, she caught sight of Slash on his knees beyond them, cradling a familiar figure in his arms.
"Aunt Adhira? Aunt Adhira!" She cried as she shifted her path and ran past her friends, only to stumble and fall to her knees at the sight that greeted her. Her aunt, badly wounded and seemingly unconscious, the grass beneath her stained dark with the blood that flowed from gashes that would make one think she had been mauled by a wild beast. Amber's heart skipped a beat as fear wrapped her body, sending ice down her spine. She knew her aunt had always taken bad beatings in battle in the past and bounce back after some weeks, but now, she wasn't sure if that would happen again.
Ops's faceplates saddened. "No, please no"! He exclaimed. After all the friends he had lost, from his old team, to Gahu, he did NOT want to lose anyone else. Especially not someone as kind and caring as Adhira.
Slash glared down at the dirt beneath his knees, angry at himself for not focusing more on protecting their friend. 'If I hadn't been so afraid or cautious of KillShot, maybe she wouldn't be this injured. Granted, someone probably would've got injured regardless, but if he had paid more attention to the Guardian Toa of Lightning, he was positive that she would've been okay, and the most she would've gotten would've been a scratch or a few bruises. 'Why did I fail her'?
Green blinked rapidly. Sure, he was sad that Adhira was wounded and really hoped she wasn't dead, but he was still confused having just now gotten here. All he did was follow gunshots and screams and now Adhira was injured and Pow, Amber, and Z popped up out of nowhere. As far as Green knew, Paradox was going in to fight Xanthium alone. If half of these people had just gone with him, this wasn't a good sign to him. For if Paradox wasn't with them, surely something happened to him.
Green looked up at Z, the confused and concerned expression still on his mask as he asked him: "What's going on"?
Z shrugged. "This happened about as randomly as the love triangle in Ninjago season 3. You tell me".
'Seriously, in the first two seasons Jay and Nya seem to be getting along A-okay, and then out of nowhere some program tells her Cole is her best match, and then the triangle just happens'! Z thought in frustration. Then in a thoughtful look: 'Maybe it's because Cole has the least amount of character out of everyone. Seriously, Jar Jar Binks has more character than him'!
"Please, not her." Tali choked out as tears streamed down her mask. All she could think about was her family and friends and the Guardian Vo Toa's family. Of how heart, spark, and liarkbroken they would be if she died. Tali couldn't bear the thought, so she silently prayed that Adhira would survive this. Meanwhile, Amber had gently taken her aunt into her arms and was carefully cradling her close to her body, crying over her as she still showed no sign of life. Suddenly, Adhira shifted a bit and groaned before coughing up some blood.
"Aunt Adhira?" Amber held her breath only to sigh in relief as she watched Adhira's eyes slowly open.
"Am...ber?"
Amber laughed a little in joy that at least her aunt was still alive. Ops wrapped his arms around Tali in a tight hug, also relieved that their friend was alive. Pow smiled happily at the thought of Adhira getting to live another day, then leaning down next to Amber, and holding her tightly close as she continued to hold Adhira. Within seconds, Slash ran to the weakened Guardian Toa and gently gave her a hug. Slash fought not to sob as tears poured through his optics. slash gave a quick prayer of thanks to God for allowing her to live through this attack. From now on, Slash would try harder to protect her and the rest of his friends, even if he would have to risk his own life to do so. 'Then maybe one day I'll make it up to her for failing to protect her'. Slash thought.
"I'm sorry". Slash said through his tears, whilst still gently hugging her.
Adhira weakly smiled up at him as she rested a bloody hand on his cheek comfortingly. "It wasn't your fault." She said after fighting a few times to get her voice to work.
Slash placed his hand over hers on his cheek. "No. I mean I'm sorry I couldn't be there sooner". Then blushing a bit. "And for, you know, being a baby".
Adhira chuckled weakly before gasping at the ever growing pain from her injuries. "D...don't...be silly. A b...baby couldn't...Gah!...couldn't do...what you did." She smiled encouraging at him, to let him know she spoke truth. After all, if he had truly been a baby, as he called himself, then he wouldn't have run into battle and fought back that Makutacon into a retreat, saving all their lives.
Slash smiled lightly at Adhira's compliment, knowing it to be genuine as he laid her down and allowed Amber to freeze the wounds shut to be worked on later.
"You know, it's funny what people will admit when they're in pain". Z said to Green.
Green responded to Z's comment with a glare. Now was not the time to be joking around. Especially not if something had happened to Paradox. Or if something worse had happened to Adhira for that matter. Green still didn't have a clear idea on what just happened, but he was certain that whatever it was could've ended worse than it had.
Z responded to Green's glare with a confused look and a shrug. "Well, it's true".
'Seriously, once I stubbed my toe on a piece of training equipment and I admitted to everyone that I ate Pow's breakfast'. Z thought, looking to his right at nothing with a thoughtful expression. 'Well that description was a bit repetitive. Anyways, I can only imagine what else she's admitted in her sleep. Maybe she said Prowl was a butt-munch. Maybe she said her wings were mechanical and fake. Or MAYBE she admitted she wasn't the only Guardian Toa, foreshadowing a future story'!
"Aunt Adhira?" Amber's voice quavered a bit as she held her aunt's body closer. She could feel Adhira's body going limp and prayed that it was not what she thought.
Adhira looked up at her niece lovingly and smiled reassuringly. "Ssshhhh, it's alright, dear one. I'm not going anywhere. I'm just a bit tired. That's all." With another smile, Adhira rested her head on Amber's arm and lost consciousness.
Deciding to make it up further to Adhira, Slash leaned in front of Amber and Pow, and offered his arms to the Guardian Toa's unconscious body. "It's alright". Slash told them reassuringly. "I've got her".
Green waited for Amber to allow Slash to pick her up, and gently carry her on his shoulder, in case his next question's answer would be to make the young Toabot drop her. 'With all of those wounds shes' got on her, I think that's the last thing she needs'. Green thought.
"So, has anyone heard anything from Paradox"? Green asked a bit fearfully, already knowing the very second he asked that question, that the answer would not be pleasant.
Tali immediately glanced at Ops then Slash, biting her lower lip as the memory of what she had witnessed with Paradox flooded her memory anew.
"Not us." Amber shook her head and turned her attention to her team leader. "What about you, Tali?"
Noticing the look on his fiance's blue and silver Hau, he decided to answer the question for her: "He's been captured. Him, Billy and Outilisa".
Green eyes widened almost immediately upon hearing this news.'Paradox and two of the Toa on their team captured'?! Green thought in horror. 'What did they have waiting down there for you Paradox'? He wondered. Knowing Paradox, he was the kind of person who always had a strategy to win the battle. then again, not all of those strategies had involved Paradox escaping said battle, as Green knew from the multiple stories the Toabots had told him. 'Maybe this was one of those strategies, and he has a plan to get out'! Green thought. But then again, what if he didn't? What if right now, Paradox was being tortured again for answers or just because Killer wanted to? What if right now, Paradox was cornered in the Makutacons new base, and was fighting to stay alive? 'What if something had happened to him'? Green thought sadly. Green In concern of his friends, Green sent a quick prayer to God, asking that he would watch over and protect Paradox, and to get him through whatever he was going through alive.
Amber's eyes flew wide open in shock. "What? How did that happen?" Paradox was one of the strongest Toabots she had ever known. She doubted he would have let all three of them get captured that easily without a fight. Unless...no, not possible. But after what Xanthium had done, there was no point in ruling it out.
"Xanthium was waiting for Paradox, and he beat him like he was nothing". Slash answered.
"Orange knocked out Billy and Outilisa before then". Ops added.
Green felt another wave of shock hit him when he heard that. "What"?! He exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention. "Orange is... Paradox's kid, isn't he"? 'Why would one of Paradox's own kids want to even CONSIDER betraying him for the Makutacons'?! True, Paradox may not have had much time to spend with his family, being their leader and all, but he was the nicest, and most compassionate of the Toabots. For one of his children to betray such a person was sickening, something that did not define Paradox at all.
Tali nodded sadly. "Yes. Somehow, Xanthium got Paradox's youngest son to join him." As painful as it was to admit it, it was still the truth. A truth she wished was not real.
Unable to comprehend this news, Green sat down against a tree and laid his head in his hands. If Paradox was still there in the Makutacon base, this must have really been hectic for him. In the past few days, Paradox had had to kill one of his brothers, a brother he had trusted most had betrayed them and killed many Toa and Autobots, and now his son had betrayed him? 'What is wrong with today'? Green wondered.
Suddenly Z noticed Ops looking down at the dirt and grassy ground, as if he were in deep thought. "What else is there"? Z quickly asked Ops.
Ops gazed up at Z with a confused look. "What do you mean"?
Z approached the Autobot slowly and dramatically with a pair of glasses on so big that they looked like they were going to fall off. "I've seen that face Ops, it means there's something else you haven't told us".
Ops sighed heavily then, having wanted to not explain this detail until later. But in knowing that Z would pester him for the answer, sometimes even after it got annoying, and seeing as he was going to tell everyone this at some point anyways, he decided to say it now.
"Oh yeah, a LOT more". Ops admitted. He looked to everyone. "I need you all to brace yourselves for what I'm about to say next".
Amber bit her lower lip as concern and dread gnawed at her stomach. 'Oh great, what else can go wrong now?'
"The Makutacon forces are bigger". Ops explained. "Much bigger than before. They've got tanks, drones, ships, supersoldiers, and a whole lot more".
Green eyes widened once more. 'So first Paradox is captured, and now the Makutacons have more forces'? Green thought. 'With that many people and weapons backing them up, do we even stand a chance'? True, there were more Toabots arriving daily, but soldiers were one thing. Supplies were another, and Green had been in the TATF base long enough to know that they didn't have most of the things that Ops had just listed.
Pow had a worried look as he then spoke: "Someone Please tell me that's all a lie". 'If all of that is true, we might not stand a chance'.
Slash shook his head however, before then responding: "It's true".
"How is that possible? How did they manage to get that strong?" A shocked beyond belief Amber managed to stutter out.
"I have a theory". Slash stated. "What if Insidious was just a distraction? A distraction from something bigger, something Insidious couldn't be a part of"?
Amber's eyes widened as memories of battle tactics ran through her mind and one in particular slapped her in the face. Divide and conquer. 'Pit'! Amber thought. The Makutacons had played them all like a fiddle!
"A distraction we fell for." Tali growled, clearly having come to the same conclusion as Amber.
"Crap". Green breathed out. With everything that had been going on with the Insidious, of course they wouldn't be expecting anything like this happening.
Z simply shrugged. "Meh, battling Makutacons seemed easy for me that time. This battle shouldn't be any different for me". 'Seriously, fighting those guys off is like blowing up any one of the Decepticons from the Bay films'!
"Of course, it shouldn't." Tali smirked, rolling her eyes at the crazy bot while Amber smiled at how humorous they were.
"And there's something else..." Slash informed them, gaining everyone's attention. "Alyan's ES was spotted a while ago". Slash gazed angrily at his side. "Close to Edwards".
Ops nodded. "We have right to assume that he's betrayed us".
Amber stumbled back in shock, feeling as though she had been punched in the gut. " Alyan? Betray?" Her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground. "...no..no, it can't be! He wouldn't!" It couldn't be possible. Alyan was a dear friend! He loved them just as they loved him! He would never truly turn on them like that after everything they had been through. It can't be true!
Tali closed her eyes as she heard this news, tears beginning to fall, prompting Ops to wrap his arms around Tali as she cried into his shoulder.
Pow had already begun to notice the sadness forming on Amber's white, orange, and red Kanohi Huna before she had collapsed, and had thus opened his arms to her, offering comfort from this sickening news. While Pow was angry, and had already wanted to pound Alyan's face into a wall for pushing his girlfriend earlier, Pow would always put Amber's needs and desires before her own. Though he hadn't yet told her, he did love her that much. Noticing the kind gesture, Amber stood and ran quickly into Pow's arms, sobbing into his shoulder.
Z waited a few moments then for the emotional moment to pass, and for at least one of them to stop crying before angrily exclaiming: "WHAT?! After I JUST got something for him?!
'No joke, it took me about an hour for me to get anything out of the guy'! Z thought. 'And that's not because he was tough, it's because he was stubborn! Even making him listen to Hello by Adele on a loop didn't make him cave. Then again, I'm probably the only one who thinks that song is annoying. The fact that I used to hear it way too often didn't exactly help either'. Z had eventually gotten Kasar to talk after holding him by his underpants off of a skyscraper. 'He's lucky that I'm the one who was holding him too. If he was struggling like that with anyone else they definitely would've dropped him. Really though, after all of that work, and having to pay for gas for our ship, Alyan does THIS to me?! When I find the brat, I'm going to hide his visor and use his longsword on training dummies just to get scratches on it, and then I'm going to send his baby pictures to everyone on base'! Z almost laughed at the thought. 'When I do that, everyone will tease him for a year! Good enough payback if he's going to betray us and then not pay me'.
"Got something for him?" Tali asked, her curiosity distracting her from her grief. "What are you talking about, Z?"
"Alyan wanted me to ask his father a question, I asked it and I got the answer". Z answered, evidently still frustrated. Though that came as no surprise to Tali. If Z still held a slight grudge against Maze for removing the blade from his tail and cleaning it, he was likely to be mad about this too. "I even RECORDED IT"! Then noticing Ops's narrowed optics, he added: "And no, I didn't kill him. His dad's a fragging wimp".
Amber turned quickly to Tali, desperation in her eyes. "There HAS to be a reason for this, Tali. Alyan would never betray us so easily. Something had to have happened to him!"
He could have been brainwashed, Edward could have hurt him and caused him to lose his memory, he could be using Edward to infiltrate the Makutacons. But there was still that worry in the back of her mind that said that they might have pushed Alyan too far and he truly left on his own accord.
"Wait a minute..." Green said with a thoughtful look, gaining everyone's attention. "Does anyone find it little odd that all of this started happening AFTER Xanthiums betrayal"?
Sure, in war bad things were prone to happen but this was different from that. It seemed like Xanthium was trying to make all of these bad things happen. Not just that, but he seemed to be focusing a bit too much on that, and not via battle strategies. First there was the theft of an unknown relic, which led to him killing many Toa and Autobots, so as to make many grieve. Then Paradox went after him and disappeared with his daughter and son in law, possibly so as to leave Athena in no condition to lead. Then Edward had convinced Alyan to betray the others, under Xanthium or Killer's orders. Now here they were stranded in a forest with an unconscious Adhira, and emotionally disturbed Toa and Autobots because of the news of each event. Even if it wasn't clear to the others, it was clear to him. Xanthium was playing with them.
"You're right." Amber said, her body tense.
"Ever since Xanthium betrayed us, it's taken a domino effect." Tali remarked, the pieces of events clicking together in her mind like a puzzle that she was not eager to see.
"Without the communism". Z commented.
Ops turned his head to Z, opticridge raised as he asked: "Really Z"?
Green rolled his eyes. "Back on topic. What if Xanthium somehow KNEW all of this would happen? What if the very fact that none of us are back at base, is all part of his..." The Le-Matoran's eyes suddenly widened in fear. "Oh no".
"THE OTHERS! He's going to attack the base!" Amber exclaimed, eyes wide in fear and urgency.
Tali whirled to face Op's and Green. "We have to get back!" Perhaps they could make it back to base in time to help save the others.
"We're too far away"! Slash exclaimed. "Even in plane mode, I couldn't get there. In full thrust, it'd take me thirty minutes".
As much as Slash truly wanted to remain hopeful of victory, he couldn't ignore the fact that they were still thousands of miles away from the base. 'We'll be lucky if we make it just as the attack is HAPPENING'! slash thought. The Makutacons could be attacking the base at this very moment and they would never know.
But Green refused to allow hope to escape his heartlight as he rose to his feet and said: "It's a chance we'll have to take".
Sure, maybe Slash was right, and maybe they wouldn't get there on time, but this was not definite yet. What if because they left now, they would be able to warn the Toabots just in time before the attack? Or what if they got there as the attack was happening, just in time to help evacuate. Or what if they got there in time to help fight the Makutacons off for as long as possible to ensure everyone else would make it out? Regardless of the outcome, no way was Green going to allow himself to give up. Especially not when his friends lives could be at stake.
"He's right, Slash." Tali looked at him pleasingly. "We need to get back. And Adhira needs help." Tali glanced at the unconscious Guardian Vo Toa worriedly. She knew she had lost a lot of blood already and her wounds needed to be checked by a medic, even if it was on the run. Adhira needed help. She was not going to let Diego lose his mother after he just got her back.
Slash nodded quickly, seeing the truth in Tali's words and not willing to fail Adhira again as he replied: "Alright". before then running into the ship Pow, Z, and Amber had arrived in to pilot it.
Just in case everyone would need a secondary transport, Z quickly transformed into a police plane and said in the built in speaker: "All ladies and gentlemen getting on the planes get on the planes. All ladies and gentlemen getting off the planes... too bad".
Tali and Amber giggled, and the others laughed at Z's words as they ran quickly to their rides.
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Biomarvel740: What Green said about being gone for three seconds is a reference to what Hawk-eye said in Captain America: Civil War, Ninjago as well as Jay, Nya, and Cole are owned by Lego, and yes I am a Ninjago fan. XD Jar Jar Binks is owned by Disney, Z's giant glasses are sort of a reference to the restaurant scene in Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (Super excited for Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi BTW. XD), Decepticons are owned by Hasbro, the song hello is owned by Adele, the wedgie is an idea I got from the Deadpool(Please don't let your kids watch it), the last thing Z says is kinda based off of this joke that involves a few curse words and therefore will not be shared here.
Galem: You really like those references, don't you?
Biomarvel740: Yep. XD
Galem: (chuckles) Well, another great chapter.
Biomarvel740: Indeed. :) (looks to the readers) What did you all think of it?
Galem: Please leave a review or pm either of us to let us know.
Biomarvel740: We thank you all for reading-
Galem: and please...
Biomarvel740 and Galem: Have a God-blessed day! XD :D