Hasbro owns Transformers, Lego owns Bionicle and the name Ketongu, and Galem owns Tali, Ava, Amber, Iris, Diego, Alyan, Adhira, Valera, and Kasar.
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Chapter 46: War
As the dark and cloudy sky loomed over the city with little slivers of sunlight shining thorough every so often, Alyan and War Machine were both seated in a large cage inside of a bell tower. Both had been disarmed of all of their weapons, minus Alyan's red visor, and therefore had no way or method of escape. Not that Alyan's visor helped him much anyways at the moment, light barely shining in every few seconds due to the abundance of clouds outside. War Machine and Alyan guessed it made sense for them to be imprisoned here, with a lack of light or vision towards what was going on. They already knew what was going to happen. They already knew that they failed, but Xanthium most likely figured that it would be worse not know when your impending death would happen, on Alyan's end as all Bioformers would survive the process of this reformation in theory, than to be able to see and predict it. War Machine half-hoped that he wouldn't survive the process, as it would mean that he would also have to witness Alyan die, which would be a bigger punch in the face to the fact that they failed, and an emotion failure as he had grown close to these Toa and fought so hard to save them, only to see him die mere months later.
'Well, perhaps it would be good to have a final talk before the world dies'. War Machine thought. 'Better than sitting here and waiting to die'. "So what were you doing here again"? He finally asked.
"Here with the Makutacons or here in a cage?" Came a slightly broken whisper in response.
"In the cage, of course". War Machine responded kindly. "I heard about what happened with Edward in the forest".
"Oh." Alyan seemed to slump forward a bit more at that, as though the memory of that day was a painful one. "I...I tried to help Killer when Xanthium threw him in a cage."
War Machine sighed. "That sadistic snail". A moment passed. "You know, I knew since the day he started leading the Toabot forces that something was off with him. But never did I see THIS coming".
The fact that Xanthium, a Prime in the Toabot army, had chosen to abandon God's loving and compassionate ways and instead pursue a hateful and genocidal cause all to gain some power that wouldn't even last him eternity. Before this, he had led the first army of Toabots against the Makutacons who had tried to kill the Turaga Council. He was an inspiration among the Toabots for that. Maybe if Dume hadn't chosen to exile them, maybe things would've been different. After losing some of his own people to defend some defenseless Turaga, those same Turaga had still decided to exile his entire race off of the planet. It could've been so liark-breaking to Xanthium that it just caused him to snap. It basically told him that his actions as a Toabot didn't matter. Actions as the leader even less. Some had even blamed him for the exile and had gone on to join the Makutacons anyways. Now Xanthium was trapped in a self inflicted prison of greed and hate. This may have also turned to jealousy once he saw Paradox actually accomplish peace with the Turaga and destroyed the racist laws with them. Paradox had succeeded flawlessly in what Xanthium had failed to do. Xanthium had been caught up in too much rage in that moment that when he had told Paradox he was proud, he had lied. And now here he was, about to bring an end to the peace that Paradox had created by planet wide genocide.
"When the Toabots left, I actually stayed behind, hoping I could get a shot at taking out the traitor with a few hundred rounds give or take". War Machine explained then. "Me being a Prime, it would've been under fair combat. But then right when I had him I get my butt handed to me by a Makutacon death-master". Death-master was their word for assassin.
War Machine still remembered arriving at the city during the Makutacon. Countless lives he had saved that night, as well as all the Makutacons he had taken out. He even impressed himself as he had been able to kill a few Makutacon super soldiers. Then, upon reaching the center of the city, he had caught Xanthium in his sights standing on the corner of a high building, proud of all of the mass murder no doubt. War Machine remembered stupidly pointing every gun he had at the new Makutacon general, rather than keeping his guns pointed around him at all times to detect enemy movement and take it out automatically. Right when he had had every weapon pointed in the right places, he had been engaged by their assassin, KillShot. As made obvious by him being in this cage, he hadn't lasted too long in that fight.
"Yikes. That's...harsh." Alyan lowered his head a bit more in apology.
"No apologies needed, kid". War Machine told him, noticing the silent gesture. "What's worse about it is I have an arsenal of weapons. And KillShot beat me with a single arm-cannon".
"You sure you weren't trying to show off" Alyan asked with a small smile that was short lived. "Sorry, bad joke."
Much to Alyan's surprise, War Machine burst into a small fit of chuckles. "No no, it's fine. I just never expected it, but like I said he's a death-master. You can never let your guard down around those guys".
Alyan hummed a bit in response to that before hesitantly touching his visor. More than ever, he regretted breaking his blue one. Not only did it look cooler but it helped him see the world as clearly, if not better, as with his own eyes. With the red visor, he was practically seeing everything in a annoying shade of red that made it hard to see through. He knew if he took it off, he would not see anything anymore, but rather darkness than red. Encouraged, he snapped off the visor from its attachments. Carefully easing his fingers across the edges, he applied practiced force, swiftly snapping it in half.
War Machine blinked in confusion as he noticed this. "Wait a minute, doesn't that thing help you see"?
"Yeah." Was the careless response as the pieces where tossed out of the cage.
"But now you see more clearly than ever before"? War Machine asked.
That red visor kinda represented his change of sides so War Machine guessed that wouldn't have been too big of a leap of a guess. He didn't blame Alyan for having changed sides. The Makutacons had learned of his past and took advantage of the negative emotions that sprouted from it. Ever since their formation under the Liege, they had been known for that. Liege had deceived Kafeel into leading the Makutacons into battle while he gathered more Bioformers to fight for them, taking advantage of the physical abuse that Kafeel had suffered before the battle. It had been a skill passed down to every Makutacon general ever since. After all, if they could deceive a few mere Toa or Autobots into betraying leaders, it would be of great benefit to them in this war. Alyan removing his symbol of betrayal would mean the end of his services to them in his own way, and War Machine was happy with it. Just so long as it meant Alyan would finally abandon his hatred like the mental sickness that it was, and adopt the forgiveness and unconditional love for all life offered by God through his Holy Spirit.
"Possibly. I'll miss the physical seeing though." Not that Alyan couldn't "see" without the visors. But it still felt good to get rid of the red, he was feeling better by the second.
War Machine chuckled. "You know you kinda look like Daredevil with those things on"? Of course he was referring to the one owned by Marvel("Owned by Disney". #Z)
Now that he thought about it, there were quite a few similarities between Daredevil and Alyan. Both were skilled with a variety of weapons, born out of a tragic past(though their tragic pasts were vastly different, they were still tragic), and they were both blind fighters. Sure, Alyan had to use a visor to see now, but War Machine was certain that Alyan had still developed his other senses to a higher capacity. War Machine certainly hoped so if they found a way to escape and stop Xanthium. If they were going to last long enough to put a stop to Xanthium's plan, Alyan would definitely need it.
A soft chuckle escaped Alyan's lips. "Thanks, I guess." Not the biggest Marvel fan, but he still understood the reference enough to catch the compliment.
War Machine had then begun to notice that during their entire conversation, Alyan hadn't bothered to turn his head and face him once. 'Over what'? He wondered. Did he feel too guilty over the betrayal. He certainly hoped that that wasn't the case, as he had already forgiven him for that and perfectly understood his actions. As would the other Toabots upon learning that Alyan had learned from his mistake. From day one the Toabots had been loving and forgiving of the Toa and Autobots on the base. Some had even formed relationships with them and gotten back with parents who had dearly missed them. With that as a clear example that the Toabots weren't shallow, War Machine wasn't sure what the Toa Rahayu of Stone really had to hide.
"Why aren't you facing me"?
"My face was scarred from the acid that blinded me. Thus why I wore I visor, to hide those scars." Without his visors, Alyan could feel the scars on his face, bringing back memories of the horrified gasped and exclamations that they had gained when he first returned to school before he gained his visors.
"Alyan". War Machine said, placing his right hand on Alyan's shoulder. "The scars we take are not what define us. Or at least not the real us. As long as you're good and merciful in here-" He stopped momentarily to tap his left elbow on his chest, his gun arm having been removed earlier: , how you look doesn't matter".
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Xanthium couldn't help his wide and happy smile as he saw the Makutacons give the finishing touches to the magnetizer built wherever it could be given all the massive cracks surrounding it, around the massive hole drilled into the ground which displayed a bright orange glow from the magma that waited deep inside. 'I did it. After all these years plotting and scheming, I've finally taken secondary control of the Makutacons, and gained their praise by accomplishing what the Liege could not for a hundred years! And this is only the beginning! Once I have been returned to the Liege, I will inform him of my victory, and when he is busy being proud of a goal long sought finally accomplished, I will surprise him with a killing blow and the throne will be mine! From there, I will lead the Makutacons to conquer the galaxy beyond! Find life forms on other worlds and bring them into his army as he slowly became king of his galaxy.
Xanthium snapped out of his thoughts as he heard what sounded like a sharp echo and snap. Not even a second later, a Makutacon engineer fell from his post and clattered into the ground below, splitting apart into gruesome pieces. Other Makutacons noticed and evidently began to panic before another was shot and fell. Then another. Then another. In a panic the remaining Makutacon raised his servos in surrender. Surrendering evidently worked as more Makutacons aside from this one were shot next. 'But I will not have cowards in my services'. Xanthium thought as he tossed a throwing knife in that Makutacons direction, then smiled with satisfaction as the blade flew through the Makutacons head and he fell. 'I demand courage and undying loyalty to the Makutacon. To MY cause. Anyone who surrenders will be punished with death. It will be the same when I steal command from my master'.
A second later, movement from a street caught his attention. Non Makutacon movement. A snarl escaped his lips upon noticing who it was. 'How did he ever escape?! His execution was supposed to be today with the rest of the planet'! Xanthium continued glaring in anger as Paradox continued walking through the street, looking directly at Xanthium and now approaching his position, a determination in his optics. More than before. Xanthium almost chuckled at the sight. 'Does my brother really think he can take me so soon after the beating I gave him? Does he really expect to beat me alone? Even if I weren't more skilled than my brother, I have the biggest army of Makutacon weapons and soldiers at my disposal! He is dead if he persists'! Xanthium unsheathed his wing sword from the magnet on his back. 'Or he will be soon'.
As Paradox continued walking, more Makutacons began to peek out from their stations and noticed the returned Toabot leader. Their masks expressed different emotions. Some anger, others amusement, some others confusion, and it the rest fear. The sight of more fearful Makutacons caused Xanthium's grip on his sword to tighten more in anger. 'They DARE to fear Paradox more than their OWN leader?! I will slit their throats in their sleep for daring to show such weakness against a mech I have beaten before their very optics! Oh, if Paradox has come to save his friends, he has chosen the wrong moment to do so. Today brother, I will restore my Makutacons faith in me by killing you with the same mercy we spare for the earth inhabitants! I will make you scream so loud in pain that it will haunt my mechs in their nightmares! They will learn today to never fear you as much as they fear ME'!
Xanthium was almost too distracted by his blind rage to notice his nephew approach and also glare down at the approaching Toabot leader.
"He was beaten"! Orange exclaimed. "Why is he back"?!
With a snarl, Xanthium backhanded the young Makutacon to the floor.
"Mind your tone"! Xanthium spat before turning back to Paradox. 'No one comments on my failures'! "To answer your question, I am not sure how he escaped my prison". Xanthium responded as Orange rose back to his pedals, bleeding from his mouth. "Regardless, I'll be sure to finish the job this time, and give him further humiliation in the process". 'Better for people to remember my brother as a failure instead of the 'favorite' anyways'. Xanthium thought.
In seconds, Xanthium transformed and zoomed down in the direction of the street below in a murderous rage. Of course he wouldn't start with an attack, though that would certainly impress his army. But then again, who were they to put their own desires over his? Xanthium would start instead by reminding Paradox that he had already lost before proceeding to murder him with all of his rage.
Upon reaching a good enough stopping point, Xanthium transformed and skidded to a stop on his feet before smirking darkly at the Toabot leader.
"Hello, brother. Come to congratulate me so early"? Xanthium asked. "Even if so, do not expect me to show me mercy. You being here is an insult".
Paradox ignored Xanthium's aggressive remarks and calmly responded: "I have come to stop you from committing genocide, all in the pursuit of power".
Xanthium's optics widened as did his smirk as he shook in insanity. "Darn right I have power! I command the entire Makutacon army now. Soon, I'll even have the Liege's seat"!
Paradox frowned. "So you dream".
It was more clear to Paradox now that Xanthium had given in to his jealous rage and was using it as a motivation for battle against him. 'If only he had remained on the right path'. Paradox thought sadly. Though it may be impossible to reason with Xanthium at the moment, Paradox did not want to kill another brother. Even after Xanthium had betrayed him, and clearly wanted to kill him now, Paradox's love for his older brother still remained. Paradox was also confident that the throne would never belong to Xanthium. He had encountered the Liege once and knew he was not a fool. These Makutacons were evidently fooled into believing that Xanthium would wait for Liege to die before taking his place but Paradox knew better, and if Paradox knew better so would the Liege. Liege was quicker and far more skilled than Xanthium and may even make an easy challenge out of him. So in an effort to save him, Paradox would not kill his brother. He had already lost many of his siblings to this war, either through influence or death. 'No more'. Paradox thought. 'Because God's mercy lives in me, I will have mercy on my brother, in hopes that he will one day change and become a better mech, and maybe even escape a horrible fate that could befall him from the Liege.
"Oh, it's no dream, brother". Xanthium responded. "I'm a conqueror, of the entire earth practically. I've only conquered one city, I know. But the earth is mine to do as I please now. Sure, I could've activated this device anywhere, but I wanted to install fear in these people so that in their last moments, they would fear me as though I were in control of their lives. Like a god. And you? You think you'll bring them any hope? You have nothing, you ARE nothing"!
With that, Xanthium began to approach. Surely he had said enough to get him to feel inferior and like a failure. If not, at least the Makutacons surely thought so. Regardless, Xanthium was getting sick of looking at Paradox's confident face. 'He thinks he's so much better than me'?! He thought in his rage. 'I'LL show him who was always the better brother'!
But rather than the hopeless or fearful look Xanthium was expecting, Paradox smiled and responded: "You are wrong, Xanthium".
That made Xanthium stop and glare with a raised optic ridge. 'Does my brother still believe himself superior to me? After I just told him why he was destined to fail today? I have a massive army, the largest in recorded Makutacon history! I have a plan that I had orchestrated a hundred years ago that succeeded and got the Toabots to leave! I have a key that will reformat the earth to be a more harsh environment for the people who live here! No Bionicle, Transformer, or Human will survive! The humans will suffocate and die out from a lack of oxygen and I will personally hunt down and kill every last Bionicle and Transformer on the planet! No one will be able to escape my coming wrath! Why does Paradox continue to defy me!? Why does he still believe he has a chance at victory'?!
"I beg your pardon"?! Xanthium ragefully demanded as he stormed faster towards Paradox.
"For in Christ, we are more than conquerors". Paradox responded without a single hint of fear in his voice.
Xanthium was about to respond with a final blow to silence him, that he was now close enough to deliver. But then he stopped once realizing something in his sentence. Something that was easily concerning. 'We'. Xanthium thought. 'He said WE! What does he mean by that'?! Xanthium's optics widened in caution as he slowly backed away and spun his helm left and right, desperately searching for other signs of life. 'He can't mean the other's we've imprisoned over the past six months! He CAN'T! It's impossible! He was never supposed to have gotten that far if he had escaped! Surely he must have snuck out, but he didn't bring everyone else with him! NO'!
"What do you mean by we"?! Xanthium demanded as he continued to back away and Paradox began to approach him. "Tell me! WHO ELSE IS HERE"?!
With that, Paradox spoke four words that made Xanthium want to scream in rage: "Toabots, engage the enemy"!
Xanthium's fear and anger grew as hundreds of Toabots began appearing from windows, rooftops, the skies, even from the streets behind him, all charging towards Xanthium and his forces with a war cry in unison that echoes across the city: "FOR THE INNOCENT"!
"KILL THEM ALL"! Xanthium ordered quickly before transforming and beginning to fly away.
As Paradox transformed into his jet mode and boomed after the Makutacon general, hundreds of Makutacons and Toabots fought with each other. Some shooting at each other form the windows, some flying around and firing at each other, squads of Toabots ganged up on super soldiers, and the rest charged and shot at each other. The street was quickly littered with bodies, mostly Makutacon corpses as they had caught them by surprise. The crowds on the street eventually clashed and everyone proceeded using their elemental powers on each other, fire flooding some areas and water others. In some areas, Toabots used the earth to crush squads and Toabots of plant life proceeded to impale some Makutacons with tree roots. It wasn't too long before all this combat began to spread throughout the city, much destruction resulting from the firepower and elemental power shots being fired from every angle.
Meanwhile, Paradox was on Xanthiums tail, firing explosive cordak shots at his foe. Xanthium was quick to move left or right to dodge each shot, using the fin on the bottom to maneuver. Paradox managed to scratch the surface of Xanthiums vehicle a couple times as lightning emerged from his arm-blades and struck Xanthium who growled and tossed a supernova ball behind himself in response. Paradox curved to dodge the shot which impacted behind him and destroyed the top of another building. Xanthium proceeded to speed ahead at a much quicker speed to which Paradox was soon able to catch up to. As Xanthium began to fly downwards in front of the building they were over, it became clear to Paradox what Xanthium was trying to do as he followed. With enough motion build up from Paradox's end, Xanthium intended to dodge and have have Paradox squash on the pavement. But Paradox acted first, spinning and releasing constant streams of lightning before then flying ahead, causing Xanthium to transforms before he had a chance to pull up, rolling and skidding across the pavement. With a growl, Xanthium quickly rose to his feet, transformed back into his gliding jet mode and flew after the Toabot leader.
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The roar of approaching jets caught Alyan's attention, causing him to shift his head a bit to make better sense of the direction it was coming from. He stayed still as the roar heightened, accented by the sounds of metal impacting metal, and then decreased as the source past their holding cell. "Did you hear that, War Machine?"
War Machine laughed happily in response as he heard the familiar jet roar of Paradox's jet mode fly by, as well as Xanthiums engine already exhausting itself.
"Hey, Xanthium"! War Machine shouted. "I think I just heard you lose"!
Now that Paradox was back, and with an army of Toabots, the war was once again in their favor. No doubt the others would be on their way from Mars soon if they weren't already. Just when War Machine was beginning to lose hope, The Lord had brought it back by answering his prayers for Paradox's safety and the prevention of Xanthium in a single action. 'Forgive me for losing faith and please accept my repentance, Lord. it's in Jesus name I pray, amen'. War Machine opened his optics with a wider smile then as the sunlight shone into their make-shift cell brighter than before. Finally, true justice would prevail. On this very day, the Makutacons would suffer their biggest blow yet. As a result, the Liege would have no choice but to finally accept defeat. Finally, mercy would win.
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In another cage, placed in a more open location, Killer and Zera could see the battle going on below. Thousands of Makutacons were charging or flying at hundreds of Toabots. Yet despite the numbers, Killer could see that the Makutacons were losing. The Toabots were facing impossible odds together and smashing through them with ease. If Killer hadn't truly known before, than he certainly knew now that The Lord had never been with the Makutacons, but with the Toabots for their selfless mercy and forgiving nature. A fact that Killer was glad about as he had finally found the light and never ever intended to let go again. If Killer managed to get out, not only would Killer finally make amends with Paradox and beg forgiveness from one of the few brothers that had always been there for him, but he would also regain control of the Makutacons and with Paradox's help, finally bring the Makutacons to their senses and bring about a peace that he hoped would last for the rest of their days. 'Enough of us have killed each other'. Killer thought. 'It's time for the war end so we can finally embrace our family here on Earth'.
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Biomarvel740: Looks like the Toabots are back, and Xanthium really needs to be put in a good mental hospital.
Galem: I second that.
Biomarvel740: And what about Killer's continuing redemption arc?
Galem: always my favorite.
Biomarvel740: (surprised) Really?
Galem: yes.
Biomarvel740: Cool. (looks to the readers) What did you all think of the chapter?
Galem: please leave a review to let us know or pm either of us if you have any questions.
Biomarvel740: We thank you all for reading today-
Galem: and please...
Biomarvel740 and Galem: Have a God-blessed day! XD :D
