Well, folks, it's me again. I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter because now the story really begins, I've been going back and playing MNOG and reading the old books from the early days of Bionicle to draw from.
Still, this next chapter is longer and I want to give you guys something to enjoy for a bit while I work on the next chapter. So, without further ado, let's jump right in.
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan story. RWBY and Bionicle are owned By Rooster Teeth and Lego respectively and are the respective intellectual property of Monty Oum and Christian Faber, respectively. Please support the official release.
"It is like a voyage of discovery into unknown lands, seeking not for new territory but for new knowledge. It should appeal to those with a good sense of adventure."
-Frederick Sanger
A beach, he found himself awake, and before him lay a silver canister on the golden shore of a beach. He had only awoken just moments ago and saw the canister before him. It was strange, he had no memory of how he got here or why. All he could remember was the name of the island, Mata Nui, and that this canister had fallen from the sky like the six stones he saw in his dream before he woke up. He walked to the canister and examined it as he went from the edge of the shore to the dry sands of the beach and stopped to examine what might have been inside. His hand brushed along the entrance to the canister a mix of red metal and flesh felt the cold surface of the canister. He looked at his hand as though looking at something in his palm.
The Ta-Matoran looked to the right and saw a series of footprints leading toward a charred forest. He followed the trail, never taking his eyes off of the trail. With each step of his yellow feet, he would walk right beside the tracks and keep in step with the trail. Eventually, the sands turned black as though scorched with fragments of glass littering the once golden sands of the beach. He took his eyes off the trail and looked ahead. He found himself in awe of the sight before him.
Obscured by smoke a short distance away, he saw a lone warrior. He was seven feet tall and stalwart. He carried himself as though he would lead an army. The warrior turned around and saw him. The Ta-Matoran gasped as they made eye contact. Red eyes pierced the smoke and glowed like two proud flames. The warrior said nothing and instead moved forward into the charred forest. He wanted to follow him; to see where he was going. Could he be a new rahi or even something else entirely? He began to follow. Almost running towards the warrior and would have continued had he not noticed the river of lava in front of him. He wanted to follow but his mind counseled caution and so he turned back. He would have to wait for now. As he walked back, he noticed two things, a stone structure he hadn't noticed before and, to his shock, a maskless female in black and red fabrics lying on her back on the beach next to the canister.
He ran as fast as he could to what he assumed was a female. Concern for the stranger was evident on his face. He reached the strange being and pulled her inland by the arms and dropped her closer inland. He placed his hand on her forehead and felt the warmth of her skin. She had been in the water on her back for some time as it was clear her surface temperature was higher than what most of the organic tissues of Rahi had on the island. The being seemed to be breathing based on what he could see. He needed to wake her and soon but was unsure of how to. He had never seen something like this before and wasn't sure what would be the best course of action. Thankfully, she began to stir. He looked down at her as she slowly moved her maskless face. He lightly shook her arm to help her wake up faster.
"Hey, wake up." she heard. Ruby's eyes opened slowly. The last thing she remembered was that she and her team were about to crash into the sea when all of a sudden, everything went white and then there was a vision of a story told by a series of rocks and stones.
Ruby soon opened her eyes completely and made out the distinction of a boy.
"Are you okay?" Ruby heard him say. His words were as fuzzy as his face. As she came two, Ruby's vision and hearing cleared, and could see what was in front of her. The red and yellow biomechanical body of the Ta-Matoran and his blue mask over his face. Ruby let out a quick scream and quickly backed away from the Ta-Matoran which shocked him. She breathed heavily at the sight of him as he concerningly approached her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, just startled." Ruby answered
"I'm glad, when I saw you on the shore I thought you were drowned. Thankfully, I was wrong."
Ruby looked at the Ta-Matoran. He clearly didn't mean any harm and all he had done thus far was make sure she was alive. Ruby looked around.
"Where am I?" Ruby asked.
"Mata Nui, an island." the Ta-Matorna replied.
"Where?" Ruby asked
"Mata Nui, it's where I live and a lot of other Matoran like me, though I can't say I know much about this island. The last thing I remember is waking up here and seeing that." the Ta-Matoran pointed at the canister. Ruby looked at the canister and looked inside it.
"Do you know what was in it?" Ruby asked the boy.
"Not entirely, I followed it until a lava river blocked it off. We might have to wait to follow it." the Ta-Matorna answered.
"Well, I guess we'll have to wait it out. Until then, why don't we introduce ourselves? My name's Ruby. What's your name?" Ruby asked
The Ta-Matoran looked confused as he tried to think but couldn't seem to know what it was. Ruby looked worried.
"Do you have a name?" she asked
"No, I mean yes, I have a name but I just can't seem to remember it." the Ta-Matoran answered.
"Do you remember anything?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"Not much, all I can recall is that this island is called Mata Nui and that this is one of six canisters that fell out of the sky. How I know that is beyond me but hopefully, I'll remember it at some point." replied the Ta-Matoran it was at this point that he decided to turn his attention to the statue behind him. Ruby followed close behind him.
"So, what do you think this is?" Ruby asked
"Don't know, this is my first time seeing this. It could be anything." the Ta-Matoran asked
Ruby looked at the wall carving. It was big enough to put a human or Faunus in but there was no way to interact with it. For some reason, it reminded them of the giant white stone from their dream. Ruby turned to the shore to see a stone outcropping with a large strange object on top with a flight of stairs leading to the strange object at the top.
"Maybe we should come back later. For now, let's go take a look at that." Ruby said pointing at the top of the outcropping. The Ta-Matoran looked up and nodded to Ruby in silent agreement. As they made their way to the telescope. The Ta-Matoran noticed a Matoran on the shore having just left a strange boat waving to them both.
"Hey, Ruby, maybe we should help her out first." said the Ta-Matoran.
They both headed towards the Matoran who had traveled far in search of their help.
Yang had no idea where she was. All around her were charred trees and scorched earth. Wandering for hours did little to help her get a sense of where she was or where her team could be. The constant wandering was frustrating. She needed to find something, anything that could help her get a sense of direction.
Suddenly as she thought this, she found the tell tail signs of a trail. Not even the black soot and long extinguished embers could hide of a trail or road when she found one. To top it off, each turn was marked by a tree with a series of "X"s all in various faded shades of color. Clearly, someone left these to find their way. Deciding to do the same, Yang grabbed a nearby rock and carved her own "X" on the tree.
Finally, something to know where I am. Maybe now I can find some answers and, hopefully, Ruby and my friends. Yang thought. The blonde bombshell walked the trail for some hours until coming upon another turn and carved another "X" to mark her trail. This continued for several minutes until a growling sound reached her ears. Yang froze. She wasn't afraid, rather she was listening. Searching for the would-be man-eater through what she heard. She looked left and caught the faint sign of something large staring at her. The darkened, smoke-filled, sky and charred trees made it difficult to see but the piercing yellow eyes gave away the monster.
Yang activated Ember Celica and leaped back as the creature brought its maw down on the spot she once stood at. To her surprise, the monster was techno-organic. Pistons, pipes, and plates lined its body, and its robotic neck allowed it to attack its prey from the shadow. To her further surprise, this creature looked nothing like any Grimm she had ever seen before. Its front half was feline in appearance, reminiscent of a tiger. With yellow ears and metallic yellow claws on its front legs. Two poles stuck out from its legs. The mask on its left was black and sleek but the one on its right was rusted, and pitted, almost as if time had corroded the mask to some extent. Its back was the most unusual aspect of the feliform, no hind legs were visible. Instead, a single tread constantly stayed near the ground.
The feliform loomed over Yang whose fists were raised ready to fight. She looked at the rusted and pitted mask. Perhaps it was in pain and that mask was the cause of it.
If I can remove that mask, maybe it'll calm down. Yang thought. The feliform lunged its head again at Yang who ducked out of the way and made a b-line for the rusty mask. The feliform moved back and swatted Yang with its claw. Yang tumbled and recovered before going for the mask again. The feliform lunged its whole body as Yang propelled herself into the air with gauntlets. She intended to land in front of the mask but she miscalculated and landed on the armored back of the creature. Her opponent turned to look at her.
Yang stared back and for the first time in a while felt truly afraid. Inside the eyes of the cat, she saw a shadow. A shadow without form or shape except for a single, rusty, and pitted mask staring back at her. She didn't know why but something about the shadow truly terrified her. It was as if she was staring at the face of evil itself. The shadow stared back at her and the cat made the move in Yang's distraction. The feliform revved up its tread and began to run rampant trying to shake off Yang who desperately clung to the armor of her opponent. Amidst the constant jerking, shaking, and turning of the feliform she rode, Yang made her way to the creature's right leg in an attempt to remove the mask there. She moved closer and closer but the big cat felt Yang's movements and made a sharp, inward turn. Yang was forced off and was able to hold on by one arm for a short time. However, the speed of the turn spun Yang, and was forced to let go as her arm twisted in near one hundred eighty degrees. She tumbled on the ground and lay on her side as she grabbed her wrist. It ached from the fast turn but it would most certainly heal in time.
Yang looked up to see the robot turn around to face her. She stared at the creature who eyed her up as if to devour her whole. Yang wanted to get up but for some reason. Her body refused to move.
Come on get Yang! Get up! You can do this! You have to! Yang thought. Her eyes looked at her legs as she tried to get up.
The feliform charged. As Yang continued to struggle to get up. She tried to use her hands but a sharp pain in her right wrist and forearm kept her from fully using her upper limbs. The feliform roared as it lunged itself and its neck extended forward to clamp down on the torso.
Yang braced for the pain and closed her eyes for the end only for the roars to turn to yelps and shrieks of pain followed by a wave of heat. Yang opened her eyes to see the biomechanical feliform on its side and use its front legs to get back up. Yang sighed in relief and laid her head back on the ground in exhaustion.
As she lay on the ground, Yang heard the sound of machinery and footsteps from behind her. She briefly saw a warrior in red and orange with a mask red mask with a similar design to that of the feline in front of her. His hands had only two fingers and in his right hand was a red sword designed like a fire. The blade glowed a fiery orange in the warrior's hand as he stepped between Yang and the robo-cat that attacked her.
By now, the tiger-like cyborg had regained its footing and glared daggers at the warrior. The red and orange warrior stood ready to fight. His feral opponent was at the ready. The big cat tried to jump forward but was immediately stopped and pushed back by a wave of fire released from the swing of the warrior's sword. The warrior swung his sword again and a wave of fire was released.
The feliform was unable to move in for an attack and began to walk along the wall of fire for an opportunity.
Once again Yang tried to get to her feet. However, this time, she was able to start making progress. It was as if she had her strength renewed, she felt refreshed. With each passing moment, Yang felt like she was getting stronger and her aura regenerated faster as she rose. Soon, she was on her feet and her hair began to glow as if it were on fire. Her eyes were now red instead of their usual lilac. Yang smirked at the biomechanical creature that glared at her. Without hesitation. Yang charged forward as soon as the warrior swung his blade again.
The flames surged forward and with the swing, he noticed Yang rush with the flames he hurled at the feliform. The flames disoriented the creature and knocked off the mask on its left while allowing Yang to reach her mark. With a jab combined with a shotgun blast of fire dust, Yang struck the rusted mask and caused it to shatter. The feline lept back in pained surprise. The creature shook its head and looked at where one of its masks used to be on its arm and back to Yang and her unknown ally. This time, Yang saw no shadow in its eyes. Rather, Yang saw a warm yellow glow with warmth and relief. The creature looked away and skulked off into the forest. Yang turned back to the warrior who looked at her with glowing red eyes showing a look of distrust.
"I had that one." Yang said to the warrior. He smirked.
"Sure you did." the warrior snidely remarked.
Weiss was halfway up the mountain. She had stopped at a nearby cave for shelter amidst a harsh blizzard and a swarm of large dragonfly-like monsters in the skies above. Normally, she would be able to fight such creatures off but what made her run was not the monsters themselves but rather a combination of the blizzard and the speed at which her attacks struck. Weiss sat on a stone near a makeshift fire. She opened Myrtenaster's hilt exposing the cylinder of her weapon's firing-revolver mechanism. She pulled out two empty vials and replaced them with a white vial and a cyan vial in their respective slots. Closing the hilt. Weiss spun the sword and stopped Myrtenaster on the white slot and waited for the storm to drop.
She wasn't sure what was out there but she would be ready when the time came. Until then, she would have to wait it out. And hopefully not run out of fire dust by then.
"You're sure we're going the right way Matoro?" a voice asked
"Yes, Turaga Nuju and Ko-Koro are beyond this ridge." another voice, possibly Matoro's replied.
Weiss turned to the entrance and hid at the side of the entrance. The ice queen tightened her grip on her rapier. Footsteps began to sound accompanied by the soft noise of machinery.
"We'll need to find shelter until this storm clears up." the first voice said.
"But you are the Toa of Ice. You can make this disappear." the voice of Matoro objected.
"That's the plan. We just need to get to the cave and-" The first voice stopped mid-sentence. Weiss couldn't see it but outside, the travelers had spotted her.
"Someone's inside." the first voice said calmly.
"Rahi?" Matoro's voice asked.
"I don't know, but it seems to be waiting for something. I'll frost it out." the first voice said. Weiss could hear the sound of a sword being drawn as he approached his destination. The footsteps grew louder. The storm seemed to grow more intense as the sound of footsteps to the entrance of the cave stopped. For a moment, Weiss theorizes that there talking about a different cave she missed on her run from the monsters.
That theory is thrown out the window when she feels the wall's temperature decrease dramatically forcing her away. Weiss points Myrtenaster at the entrance of the cave and waits. The exhaust port of her weapon pointed out into the blizzard. The winds blew straight into the cave as Weiss raised her arms and weapon in self-defense. From the snow, she saw a sword swinging at her waist.
Weiss immediately turns and blocks the attack. It is now that she got a faint view of her attacker a biomechanical warrior at 7ft tall in white and gray armor with blue eyes and a mask. His mask was white and with three lenses of different sizes similar to a microscope on the right side of the mask. The sword she was attacked with was in the warrior's left hand while his right hand held a shield of alien design. The warrior stared at her. His expression was cold and unyielding. She was surprised at what she saw but steeled her nerves as she held off her attacker's advance. Weiss pushed forward and forced the sword away. Weiss lunged her weapon to stab him but he dodged each strike.
The warrior jumped back to gain some space between them. He raised his sword upward as part of the blizzard winds and snow circled around the blade and pulled back and retaliated.
Weiss summons a glyph above her and jumps up as the warrior fires a blast of ice. Using the glyph, Weiss launches herself off the glyph towards the warrior. Their blades connected as sparks flew from the point of contact.
Their movements quickened with each passing strike. For every time their blades hit each other, the warrior and Weiss would speed up. Weiss had to end this quickly. She was fast but her opponent's mechanical components presented a possible edge that would be unwise to ignore. This concern was made more valid when the icy warrior seemed to move faster when she charged him. She backed up but felt a warmth on her cheek. Weiss placed her and to wiped at the warm spot with a handkerchief and felt a sharp pain. She looked at the handkerchief and saw the fabric stained red. While her aura could easily heal that, it was a telling sign of her opponent's skill.
Acting quickly, Weiss formed a black glyph under the warrior's feet. He tried to move forward but found himself stuck in place. He briefly looked down to see the glyph and looked back up to see Weiss charge at him with her weapon. The warrior parried the attack and froze Weiss' legs to the ground once she landed. Weiss noticed this when she tried to attack again and found her feet frozen by ice. The warrior pointed his sword at Weiss who switched the cylinder in Myrtenaster to a red slot and fired two shots. The warrior immediately blocked the first shot with his shield but the second hit the blade and forced the sword out of the warrior's hand.
Weiss pulled back the hammer of the firing mechanism and pulled the trigger. However, a disk hit her side causing her to drop her rapier disarming Weiss.
She turned to the entrance to see another biomechanical humanoid only half her height. With a white body and arms and grayish-blue feet with a mask of the same color. His mask also had several lenses on its right side like the warrior who accompanied him.
"Release the Toa! Now!" he commanded
Weiss watched the new arrival pull out an ice pick made of ice from his back. He held it in front of him as if aiming it at her. Weiss was as surprised as she was confused. What was a "toa?"
"Put the pickaxe away, Matoro, I can handle this." The warrior told his companion. At least she now knew who he was.
"Look, I don't know what your problem is, but I'm just trying to get home. I'm in this cave to escape the blizzard and the monsters out there. Not that I haven't faced monsters before, mind you." the ice queen answered matter-of-factly. Matoro didn't buy her story.
"Your kind hasn't been seen since the great Cataclysm. What makes you think that you've been here all this time without the Matoran's knowledge for a thousand years?" Matoro questioned. Weiss was stunned. Humans hadn't come to this island for a millennium? How? Why?
"I just only arrived here." Weiss sighed
"All I want to do is find my friends, get off this island and go home. I'm not even sure how I got here." Weiss said. Matoro eyed Weiss who only had a more frustrated expression.
"She's not lying." the warrior said. Both Matoro and Weiss looked at the warrior. Weiss was confused while Matoro was stunned.
"How do you know?" Matoro asked
"Her heart rate. It's accelerated from our fight but it's slowing down. I don't know if she's being honest but I know she's sure of what she says." the warrior said
"The Kanohi Akaku. I should have known." Matoro said. He then turned to Weiss and walked up to her.
"Again, release the Toa of Ice." Matoro ordered.
"Only if he doesn't attack me." Weiss remarked
"Sure, just don't attack me or the Matoran and you'll be fine. Deal?" the Toa of Ice answered.
"You have my word." Weiss said. With that, Weiss removed the glyph and the Toa could move again. He then recovered his sword and pointed it at an understandably angered Weiss.
"I thought you said you wouldn't attack me." Weiss questioned.
"I won't, just hold still." the toa replied. The ice around Weiss' feet began to disappear in a series of snowflakes until her legs were free. Weiss went to pick up Myrtenaster and looked at Matoro and the toa who fought her and sheathed her weapon. Matoro and the warrior took seats as Weiss restarted the campfire.
"Before we start I want to know, what's your name?" asked the Toa.
Weiss sat back on the rock from earlier and said,
"Weiss Schnee. And you are?"
The Toa looked at her with a seemingly emotionless gaze.
"Kopaka" he answered. Kopaka pointed to the Matoran
"He's Matoro."
"Hello" Matoro said.
"Hi" Weiss replied.
"Now what's your story?"
Blake was surprised by how things had turned out, after arriving on this island, she immediately met a being in black and gray armor with claw hands and a black wedge-shaped mask. After introducing himself as Onua, the two agreed to help each other. Blake would help Onua figure out where they were and he would help her find a way home. Right now, Onua was burrowing up a storm. Dig. Pull. Scrape. Push. Dig. Pull. Scrape. Push. The rhythm of his burrowing was almost serene. Peaceful to the one who witnessed this action.
"So you said you were out in the middle of the ocean about to drown and all of a sudden you ended up on this island?" Onua asked.
"In short, yes." Blake replied
"I see, so what was your mission exactly? You said you were going to study these 'Grimm' but for what purpose? Why take the risk?" Onua asked.
"It was something that had been going on for hundreds on thousands, maybe millions of years. Once a year, the Grimm journey to the same spot in the Sea of Lost Souls and circle it for three months. No one knows how or why. The only thing we do know is that it happens every year, at the same place 150 miles away from Patch." Blake answered.
Onua looked back and gave a comforting, yet uneasy, smile.
"At least you have something to remember. All I have is my name and that's it." Onua replied as he continued digging. Blake seemed to sense what Onua was feeling. It felt sad to her. She wondered what it must be like to wake up and not know anything other than your name. Onua paused for a moment and Blake grew worried if he had hit something he shouldn't.
That concern turned to relief, then interest when Onua began to dig again albeit faster. Onua dug a little further until he found himself in a cavern with Blake following behind as they passed through rock and clay. In the center of the cavern was a flat rock platform with a glowing crystal. Blake would have said it was hard light dust but, for some reason, the glow of the crystal was a warm and calm sunlight yellow while hard light dust crystal was a sharp and cold cyan light.
So, there are others underground, Onua thought perhaps they will have the answers for us.
"Looks like we're not alone." Onua told Blake
"You think anyone might be down here?" the cat Faunus asked.
"I'm sure of it." Onua answered. The Toa of Earth saw a tunnel and motioned for Blake to follow. Onua held out his clawed hand and Blake took it as she stepped down from the pile of debris from the tunnel Onua dug and they explored the cavern.
As they surveyed the cavern, Blake and Onua came across a tunnel and they came across a mural that contained someone Onua recognized quickly standing mightily alongside five other figures with him.
"Seems like you're quite the celebrity around here." Blake remarked.
"It would appear so." Onua said. Onua approached the mural and felt vibrations in the wall. A rhythmic sound of metal objects hitting rock. Onua followed the rock and continued down the tunnel with his hand on the wall.
"What is it?" Blake asked.
"I don't know, but I think I can hear people working on something down here." Onua said.
"You think they could be mining something?" Blake asked.
"Hard to say, it's just metal hitting rock for the moment. Though I would guess you'd be right." Onua answered.
The pair continued onward until at last, they reached a much larger cavern with more crystals illuminating the cavern. Before them was two cobblestone paths with pillars of rock leading to the entrances of both tunnel. Onua stood and looked at one of them. Blake walked over and stared at a large sign with a series of crystals that came together to create a series of hexagonal symbols that Blake could not recognize. To Onua however, the sign spelled out a single word. It read:
ONU-KORO
A/N: So that's another story on the web, I greatly enjoyed writing this chapter. Now, before we get any further, I wanted to address a few things, I usually update a story once a few chapters are done so right now I'm currently writing the next chapter but don't expect there to be a release schedule. I do intend to finish this fic. I want others to see and enjoy it for what it is.
As for the setup, expect, Weiss, Yang, and Blake to switch between Toa later on after the Toa Mata meet up for the first time. We might see Ruby briefly unite with them but I do intend to dive a little deeper into the lore of the island and have my own take on certain events. I like to reference some fun moments from both RWBY and Bionicle so expect that to continue for a bit longer. Even still, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please read and review every chapter you can. Also, as a side note, this story is now on ao3. Once again, I don't have a release schedule. It's not worth it to me as it'll just lead to burn out and I don't want that. So, I hope you all have a great day. Until then...
God bless you
and live life to the fullest.
