ANOTHER FINE ADDITION
3,500 years ago
“I’m sorry, brothers. I’m sorry it had to end like this.”
Toa Tuyet stood over the motionless bodies of Lhikan and Nidhiki, the Nui Stone glowing bright in her hand as a red cloud enveloped her whole body. Her two fellow Toa Mangai had made a noble attempt to stop her, but their efforts had ultimately been futile. Now sapped of their Toa energy and deprived of their lives, there was no one left to stop her from taking over Metru Nui. Turaga Dume would have no choice but to bow to her will and relinquish the Great City to her. As it was meant to be.
Just as she was about to step foot out of her abode and head for the Coliseum, a tear in the fabric of time and space began to form in front of her. It took her a moment to figure out exactly what it was she was seeing, and another for her to realize that she was not simply hallucinating from the effects of the Nui Stone. As the portal widened, she saw a tall, imposing figure on the other end, wearing a golden mask with curved, pointed edges at its mouth. It was unlike any Kanohi mask that she had seen before.
The figure stepped out and Tuyet raised the Nui Stone at them, only for her to quickly realize that this mask-wearing individual was no Toa. With a single swipe of his hand, the stranger knocked the crystal out of her hand and it went flying across the room, landing and shattering in a far-off corner. Before Tuyet could think of what to do next, the being seized her by the neck and pulled her into the portal with him. She cried out as the whole universe spun around her before finally depositing back onto solid ground, which was cold and damp and nothing at all like her abode in Metru Nui.
As she pulled herself up from the ground, she saw the monstrous being standing behind a cell door. It didn’t take her long to realize that she was the one in the cell and not him and she quickly sprung to her feet, grabbing onto the steel bars of the door.
“Where am I?” she cried. “Who even are you?”
The being said nothing to her, instead simply glowering at her from behind the slits of his golden mask. A few minutes later, a second being joined him, this one clad in black and silver armor. Despite being closer to her in size than the other being, Tuyet doubted this one was a Toa either, as he wore a helmet with a face mask instead of a Kanohi and wore all sorts of spikes and blades on his person. He carried a chain in his hand, which was connected to a fearsome-looking Rahi that was unlike any she had seen before in Metru Nui. She backed away as he opened the door to her cell, only for him to gesture to her.
“Step outside,” he said gruffly.
Tuyet hesitated before complying with the command. The Rahi growled at her as she stepped out of the cell, though the jailer made no attempt to calm it. Instead, he brought out some sort of weapon and pointed it at Tuyet.
“Hold still.”
Before Tuyet could object, she was met with a brief flash of pain, which coursed through her body. When it subsided enough for her to focus, she looked down at herself to see shards of crystal embedded into her body, jutting out from her blue armor. The jailer then roughly pushed her back into the cell before slamming the door shut and locking it.
“There,” the jailer muttered, putting away the device. “It’s done.”
“Good work, Hydraxon,” rumbled the larger being with the gold mask. “Our leader will be pleased.”
“Don’t tell her I said this,” Hydraxon said, “but this has got to be the most convoluted thing we have ever done. Or at least one of them.”
“So long as it accomplishes what it needs to, then it is irrelevant.” With that, the mask-wearing being vanished in a flash of light, a method of travel different from the portals he had been using just moments before.
Tuyet stared in the space where the being had been before shifting her gaze to Hydraxon. However, the jailer and his pet had already started to walk away from her, striding down the rows of inmates that populated the Pit.
* * *
“Such a pitiful creature.”
Makuta Tridax stared upon the monstrous creature trapped in the cage before him, thrashing against its confinements. Unlike any Rahi or sapient being that Tridax had seen before, the creature had such a haphazard appearance that made it difficult to make out where parts of its body began and end. Its torso was red, but its long arms and legs were a multitude of colors, ranging from different shades of gray to blue, green, and even orange. The Kanohi Hau that it wore also had a golden finish to it, accompanied by a pair of horns jutting out from its head. Huge scalloped wings hung from its back which the creature had been forced to fold up in order to fit in its newfound prison.
It was such a pathetic abomination that Tridax couldn’t help but take pity on it. Were he a merciful person, he would have gladly put the monstrosity out of its misery. But Tridax was not feeling particularly merciful today.
“He calls himself Gaardus,” said a Matoran standing next to him. The gray and orange-armored Matoran of Iron represented the secretive organization known as the Nynrah Ghosts, whom had a special relationship with the Brotherhood of Makuta ever since they had helped the Makuta rebuild their armor in order to sustain their newly evolved forms. As the Makuta assigned to oversee the region of Nynrah, Tridax naturally had the strongest working relationship with the Ghosts than any of his other brothers.
“’He?’” Tridax questioned, still staring at the creature as it raged within its confinements. “You speak of it as if it was a person.”
“Because he is. Or was, in any case,” said the Nynrah Ghost. “He used to be an ordinary Matoran until some of our own that had been exiled captured him and rebuilt him into… this.”
“How intriguing,” Tridax mused. He had already known beforehand that a group of exiled Nynrah had been responsible for the creation of this creature, but he had not realized this creature had once been a civilized being. “And you know this because…?”
“Because he told us. Or at least, he told us enough for us to infer the rest. The exiles in question were rather… notorious among the Nynrah.”
“I’m sure they were,” Tridax said, already losing interest in the matter. He returned his attention to the creature — “Gaardus,” apparently — and stepped closer to the cage. The mutated Matoran let out a raged cry as he rattled the bars of his prison only to back down as Tridax called upon one of his many powers, that of the Kraata Power of Sleep. Gaardus suddenly became groggy and he slumped down onto his knees, groaning as he struggled to maintain consciousness.
“There’s no need to be so restless,” Tridax said to the creature as he knelt down in front of its cage. “You will be freed from these confinements soon, but only if you agree to do a favor for me.”
Gaardus glared at him from behind the slits of his mask. “What… kind of… favor?” he growled.
“There is a mask known as the Kanohi Olmak,” the Makuta of Nynrah began. “It is one of only two that exist in the universe. I have longed to have it in my possession for quite some time now, though it has consistently eluded me for countless years.”
Gaardus said nothing, continuing to stare at Tridax with half-open eyes.
“However,” the Makuta continued, “my spies have recently located the mask. It is in a guarded facility on an island just north of Nynrah. I understand that you have teleportation powers, is that correct?”
“Yes…?”
“Then my request of you is simple: Teleport into the facility, steal the mask, and deliver it to me. Then, you will be free to resume living your miserable life.”
“Only one problem with that plan,” Gaardus muttered. “I can only teleport to places I have been before. I highly doubt I have ever been inside this guarded facility you want me to break into.”
A grin broke out across Tridax’s mask. “Oh, but you have. Because the facility in question just so happens to be the place that birthed you.”
At this, the creature’s eyes widened. His wings reflexively spread out only to be pushed back by the corners of his cage. A low groan emitted from Gaardus’ throat.
“Fine,” he growled. “I’ll do it. But if you don’t hold up your end of the bargain….”
Tridax chuckled, amused by the mutant Matoran’s theatrics. “Oh, don’t worry, my friend. I am always a man of word.”
* * *
“What do you mean its gone?!”
“How else do you want me to rephrase it?” A swarm of crystalline black shards trailed after Trinuma as he stormed down the stairs leading into the lowest chamber of the outpost. “When I say that the Kanohi Olmak is gone, there’s not much room for interpretation, is there?”
Trinuma cursed under his breath as he stepped foot into the chamber, already seeing the empty pedestal where the mask in question had once been. “I knew I should have told Helryx that this would have been a bad idea,” he muttered.
Just a few weeks ago, Helryx had ordered that a number of relics and artifacts in the Order’s possession be relocated from Daxia to an island just north of Nynrah. Most of these artifacts weren’t of much value to the Order to begin with, hence why they had been removed from Daxia in order to make room for items that were of greater importance. However, among these items had been a Kanohi Olmak that had once been in the possession of a Toa of Fire that had helped save the Great Spirit following the Great Disruption. One of only two in existence, the Order had been quick to recover this mask as soon as the Toa had met his untimely demise. In order to facilitate the transfer of items from Daxia to this outpost without exhausting Botar and his teleportation abilities, Trinuma had used the Olmak himself to deliver the artifacts through a portal produced by the mask. Once all was said and done, Trinuma had been told to hold onto the mask for the time being in case they needed to relocate the items again. Trinuma had had his private reservations over this idea, seeing it as a risky move, but had decided to keep them to himself.
Now, staring in the spot where the Olmak should have been, he wished he had said something after all, if only to put that bug in Helryx’s ear.
The swarm of crystalline shards caught up to him and joined together to form a tall black figure. Johmak looked from him to the empty pedestal before narrowing her eyes at Trinuma.
“So,” she said. “Who’s going to be the one to tell Helryx?”
* * *
Toa Takanuva was running. From what, he still was not quite sure. In fact, he was still trying to process the past fifteen minutes of his life.
Just moments ago he had been a Matoran named Takua, embarking on a quest with his friend Jaller to find the Seventh Toa. Shortly upon reaching their destination of Kini-Nui, they had been attacked by the Rahkshi, servants of Makuta, and Takua had watched as one of them robbed Jaller of his life. Left with no other option, he had placed the Mask of Light that had served as their guide over his own mask and was transformed into a Toa himself before defeating the Rahkshi with the help of the Toa Nuva.
He did not have much time to process what had just transpired nor to mourn his fallen friend when a portal suddenly tore open in the sky and a monstrous being clad in crimson and purple descended down on them, a golden mask gleaming from his face. Caught off guard and still recharging from their fight with the Rahkshi, the Toa Nuva quickly fell to the winged monster’s acid-tipped spear. Takanuva had been about to retaliate with his Staff of Light only for the being to hit him with a blast of red energy. Stricken with fear, the Toa of Light turned and ran into the wilderness surrounding Kini-Nui, creating as much distance between him and his foe as he could.
Turn back, a voice rang in his head. Turn back and fight!
But he did not listen to it. He just kept running. Behind him, he could hear the being laughing.
Another bolt of energy struck him in the back and Takanuva fell face-first onto the ground. A drowsy sensation overwhelmed him and he soon succumbed to long slumber.
Makuta Tridax landed beside the unconscious Takanuva, a broad grin spread across the Kanohi Olmak adorning his face. Without a word, he picked up the Toa of Light and opened another dimensional gate with his mask, stepping through it with his captured quarry in tow.
* * *
Collector stood on a mountain of masks, each one the same as the other. He had lost track of the time, no longer sure how many hours, days, or even years had passed since he had awakened in this nightmare of a world.
In one of his four hands he clutched a purple Kanohi Pakari. He hadn’t let go of it for some time now. Something about it just made him want to hold it and not lose it, even though there were at least a dozen more scattered all around him.
As he continued to dig through the sea of Pakaris, making a mental catalog of how often he came across a particular color, he heard someone cry from above. At first he didn’t think much of it, figuring he was just hallucinating. However, as the cry grew louder, he realized that it was actually real and definitely not a hallucination and decided to look up. Plummeting through the sky, falling from some sort of portal, was what appeared to be a spineless Skakdi in black and silver armor, a tattered cape fluttering behind him. As the falling Skakdi drew closer and closer, another portal opened up beneath Collector’s feet and the Dark Hunter fell through it, along with the hundreds of thousands of Kanohi Pakaris that he had been digging through.
Collector fell for a long time, his vision obfuscated by all the Pakaris that were falling with him. When he finally hit solid ground, the masks started to pile up both on and around him, threatening to crush him beneath their weight. Just as he was about to accept his ironically fitting fate, he felt someone grab his arm and pull him out of the Kanohi avalanche, hoisting him onto a raised platform.
“By the Great Beings,” a familiar voice said. “This has got to be a dream.”
After gathering himself and getting up onto his feet, Collector looked up to see some of his fellow Dark Hunters standing in front of him, all wearing shocked expressions on their faces. Standing closest to him was a Hunter who was in a form that Collector instantly recognized.
“Triglax! You are not going to believe what I just went through!”
“I don’t think I can argue with that,” Triglax murmured, still gawking at the cascade of Kanohi Pakaris that were still falling behind Collector.
Ignoring his comrade’s astonishment, Collector looked around, taking note of the various industrial buildings that surrounded them and the pollution-choked air. “Say, this is Xia, isn’t it? What are you guys doing in Xia?”
“Collector,” Triglax said carefully. “You have been missing for a very, very long time.”
“I figured that. It sure felt like a very long time. So, what are you doing here?”
“We’re in an open rebellion against Makuta,” said another Dark Hunter, a purple and white one known as Vanisher. “He’s overthrown Mata Nui and taken over the universe.”
Collector nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay?” snapped Triglax. “No, it’s not okay! It’s bad, Collector! Very, very bad!”
“Oh, I know.” Collector looked back to the Kanohi Pakaris, which had finally stopped falling now that the portal had closed and had now formed a sea on the outskirts of Xia’s capital city.
“But after what I’ve just been through, an open rebellion against Makuta sounds like a welcome breath of fresh air.”
FIN
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