Mata Nui Comics
2003 - BIONICLE Comic 15: Secrets and Shadows
Adapted by Michael Larson. Edited by Jeff Douglas.
The Rahkshi made fast progress, but the Toa were hot on their trail. Even as Onua and Pohatu clashed with the three Rahkshi in Onu-Koro, Kopaka, Lewa, and Tahu fought theirs in the Ko-Wahi drifts. It was the same thing each time — the fighting would be vicious, but before either side could make a decisive victory, the Rahkshi would flee, compelled to find their quarry before it was too late.
It was not long after emerging from the Ihu Pass that Tahu, Lewa, and Kopaka arrived at a suspicious sight. “Mata Nui!” Lewa exclaimed. “What happened here?”
“It looks like one of your cyclones at work,” remarked Kopaka.
What had once been one of the densest regions of Le-Wahi was now bare. Tree trunks at least a hundred feet long lay uprooted and tossed aside, and many small Rahi could be seen either scurrying about or wounded from the wreckage.
The three Toa levitated to the forest floor.
“Perhaps the Matoran here can tell us what happened.” Tahu offered, gesturing to the Matoran nearby. The two Matoran were facing away from where the Toa had landed, swaying back and forth irregularly. Lewa’s eyes narrowed. “I would like to believe you, Tahu…”
The two Matoran suddenly spun and snarled at the Toa.
“But those don’t look like friend-smiles on their masks!” Lewa finished.
“Perhaps they just need some time to cool off,” Kopaka said, launching a blast of ice from his sword. The energy stopped just in front of the crazed Matoran and froze them solid, just enough to keep them pinned. “An ice wall should hold them for now.”
“But their behavior…?” Lewa asked.
“Infected Kanohi, just like the Rahi used to wear. They are claimed by the Madness.”
“But no Matoran has fallen hard-ill to Madness since we fought Makuta.”
A shrill, head-splitting screech caused Tahu. On a nearby rock, he saw a purple serpent writhing as it casted its power. “And there is the creature responsible for this,” Tahu said grimly. “Shadow Kraata! Beware brothers. This monster can infect Kanohi at will!”
“A fear-dread thing indeed…but no match for an air-Toa!” Lewa said, hurtling a mini-cyclone toward the creature. He bent the air in and over itself, catching the kraata and sending it spinning uncontrollably. “Let it use its power now, if it can!” So fast was the kraata whipped around that creature soon went limp. With the coast now clear, Le-Matoran rushed into the clearing to replace the masks of the infected Matoran.
Kopaka frowned. “The shadow kraata alone could not have caused this damage to Le-Wahi. We must look elsewhere for our foe.”
✴ ✴ ✴
“Our foes are leaving a clear trail,” Kopaka remarked. “It is as if they want to be followed…”
Tahu glanced over his shoulder. “You worry too much, Toa of Frost.”
“Or you too little, Toa of Ash,” Kopaka shot back.
Lewa followed them, more than a little uncomfortable. It was bad enough he had to walk on the ground, but he had to do it with the two most argumentative Toa. “I really should go back to quick-soaring alone,” he murmured, “it’s quieter.”
Kopaka abruptly stopped.
“Do any of you feel…as if you are having a hard time going on?” he asked. “Like something horrible is waiting up ahead?”
Lewa blinked, wondering if he had just heard a tremble in Kopaka’s voice.
Beside him, Tahu bristled. “I knew I should have done this myself! Fire works best alone!”
Lewa tilted his head. He was getting the strangest sense of déjà vu. Tahu angry…Kopaka afraid…what could—
“Look!” he cried, as the ground exploded in front of them. From out of their cover, two monstrous giants emerged. The Toa of Air backflipped, using his swords as wings at the end of his flip to carry him to a safe distance.
It was like something out of their nightmares. Before their very eyes, the two titanic creatures before them were amalgams of the six Rahkshi. The first appeared to be a monstrous fusion of Turahk, Lerahk, and Kurahk. The other contained the forms of the Guurahk, Vorahk, and Panrahk.
Lewa had never seen these before, but he could guess. “Rahkshi Kaita!”
“How could our three have met up with the others?” demanded Kopaka. “Pohatu and Onua were supposed to be trailing them.”
Tahu raised his swords. “Nothing to fear! We have taken the measure of their power—we know what we face. They will not defeat us!”
The long-armed Kaita hissed something that sounded like amusement. It then went from a standstill to a rapid spin in a second, generating a large cyclone and flew to the three Toa.
“What?” Tahu said in disbelief, backing away. “Where did it get such power?”
None of the Toa could dodge fast enough. The Kaita slammed into all three, sending them flying in every direction. Tahu collided hard against a wall, even cracking the wall with his armor. Kopaka landed with a thud on the ground.
Lewa tumbled through the air but stabilized under the power of his Miru and elemental powers. In an abrupt, uncharacteristic rage, he used his katana as wings to fly back to the other Kaita. As he soared overhead, he landed hits with each sword.
“It is…your dark-luck day…monster!” he growled. His eyes widened. “I…my energy…you’re…”
Lewa’s legs buckled out from under him. He landed on his side but pushed himself to his hands and knees as he bore the brunt of Vorahk’s hunger powers. Meanwhile, the other, cyclone-like Rahkshi Kaita was bearing down fast on the other two Toa.
Only instants to save Lewa…! Kopaka realized, crawling to his feet.
Taking aim, he fired a precise bolt of ice that formed a mirror-like shield between him and the shadow blast. Even as the first surface materialized, Kopaka quickly fired two more, hoping to Mata Nui his idea would work. Fortune favored him, as the bolt of combined energy reflected off the first mirror and away from Lewa. Kopaka watched with anticipation, tracing the trajectory of the bolt as it reflected off the following two ice sheets and struck the cyclone Rahkshi Kaita square in the chest.
The Toa of Ice felt a vengeful surge of satisfaction as the blast from the other Kaita landed home, causing all three Rahkshi heads to hiss with rage. The energy drain, combined with the added powers of disintegration, and fragmentation caused a violent, painful split of the Kaita form. Turahk, Kurahk, and Lerahk were all thrown apart from each other into the surrounding environment.
Kopaka whirled. “Tahu, we must find the others while we can!”
Tahu stood to his feet. “Yes…go! Find Pohatu and Onua. We will need their strength! I will see to Lewa.”
Kopaka nodded, then turned, jumped, and created an ice slide to carry him away from the scene of battle. Tahu turned back to the remaining Rahkshi Kaita, which had just battered through the ice shield. Lewa staggered to his feet but collapsed again under the strain.
“Wait a moment, Lewa…” Tahu said, brandishing his magma swords. “Let me give this creature…” he fired a precise shot of white-hot flame and lava at an overhead snow peak on Ko-Wahi’s border, causing a massive avalanche of snow and rock. “…something to remember us by!” he finished.
The black head of the amalgamation turned to the oncoming rush of pummeling objects. It raised its staff to obliterate what it could, but the number was too great, and it was ultimately and unceremoniously buried.
Tahu had no doubt the Rahkshi could still escape, and he started toward the mound before stopping.
Gali and Lewa cared for me when I was in the Rahkshi’s throes, he thought. Can I do no less?
He sighed.
“If my brother were not injured, monster…” he murmured, even as he spied Gali’s blue armor in the distance. “But there will be another day.”
✴ ✴ ✴
Kopaka stepped onto the Ko-Wahi beach. In the distance, he could see his Toa canister, and the lapping of the sea against the shore. His footsteps were no longer visible in the sands, but he could vaguely make out Ussal tracks, the likes of which he had first seen upon awakening.
The Toa of Ice was not one for nostalgia. So it came as no surprise that he had never considered revisiting the place where he had been awakened. But now, to see it again, and to think that it could be the last time…
He titled his head as he gazed at the gleaming white sand and gold-hued seas.
“This is where I first walked the sands of Mata Nui,” he remarked softly. “So much has happened since then.”
“And now a new adventure is about to begin,” Nokama declared, stepping onto the beach behind him. Behind her, Tahu and Gali stepped onto the beach as well. Tahu surveyed the region, raising his hand to block the blinding evening sun. Gali walked down to the shore and waded in the surf.
Kopaka did feel strange, and more than a little uncomfortable bringing the others to a place that had been so personal to him. Yet if his time on Mata Nui had taught him one thing, he was not the same Toa that had awakened long ago on this shore.
“Yes,” Tahu said finally, “A return to the city you call Metru Nui, Turaga. Are the Matoran prepared to leave this island and make the journey?”
Gali looked over. “They are building boats even now to carry us all across the silver sea, Tahu.” She turned to the water elder. “I could not see very much of the city from the shore of the tunnel. Is it very beautiful, Turaga?”
Nokama nodded slowly. She covered her eyes as the memories flooded back. “Once, long ago, it was the most beautiful place in all of Mata Nui’s creation. But before we travel there, you must remember—appearances can be deceiving.”
✴ ✴ ✴
In the underground tunnels of Mangaia leading to Metru Nui, Turaga Vakama gazed in awe at the city, marveling at seeing it again. Behind him, Jaller and Takanuva stood somberly.
“I still can’t believe that Ta-Koro is…gone,” Jaller shook his head, recalling the village which he had called home for hundreds of years.
Vakama bowed his head. Though he now reveled in the prospect of returning to his original home, the Matoran had no memories of this. Their hearts would always lie with their lost villages.
Beside Jaller, the Toa of Light stood tall, planting his staff and clenching a fist. “But our friends are safe, Jaller…you’re safe. That is what matters. Now our destiny leads us to a new island, a new city.”
Vakama nodded. “New, and yet very old, Toa of Light. We return to Metru Nui, our home, but be warned…there are many dangers there, some familiar, some you have never seen before. Do not assume you can take the measure of an enemy based on its appearance. Remember the tale of the Toa Nuva and the Rahkshi Kaita…”
With this, the Turaga recounted the adventures of the Toa Nuva in Le-Wahi and their battle against the twin fusions. Takanuva merely listened, taking the story in.
As he finished, Vakama looked up to meet eyes with the legendary Toa of Light. “Tahu swore that there would be another day, and so here was. And the Rahkshi were defeated. But the Toa Nuva’s ignorance of their foes almost cost them dearly.”
“And that is why these secrets are being revealed now?” Jaller asked.
Vakama nodded. “Yes. The Toa need to know the truth…about everything. Just as your abilities spread wide and revealed Metru Nui, so must illumination flood the minds of the Toa with knowledge.”
The Turaga of Fire started back for Mata Nui’s surface. “Come. We must gather the Toa. There is one more tale to be told.”
✴ ✴ ✴
An hour later, when the moons had risen high in the night sky and the red star had begun its orbit, the six Turaga elders, Matoro, Hahli, and the seven Toa assembled on the beach. The six elders stood on an elevated precipice, raising them to the Toa’s height. Both sides had anticipated this meeting, though for different amounts of time and for different reasons. The Toa knew the Turaga still had much to reveal and were anxious to learn all, especially the details and history of this city, Metru Nui. And the Turaga had been waiting to share what only they knew with other beings for hundreds of years.
Vakama spoke first. “Soon, we begin the long journey to Metru Nui—the land from which the Matoran came, the home we left to come to these shores,” he began. “You will unlock many secrets there, Toa. You will learn about the past, for only that can prepare you for the future. There are many things you should have been told before now. We had resolved to tell you after the Kolhii Tournament, but…”
“The appearance of the Mask of Light banished all other plans from our minds,” Nokama finished.
Whenua stepped forward. “You will discover Metru Nui is filled with mystery…dark secrets that have been buried there since the Time Before Time,” he said.
Tahu folded his arms. “Surely there could not have been anything so terrible there,” he said. “Not if you Turaga and the Matoran were able to travel safely from there to here.”
Vakama’s eyes darkened. “You have all faced many great dangers—Rahi, Rahkshi, Bohrok, and more. But others walked the path before you…others witnessed the birth of true darkness.”
He hesitated, glanced at the others. The Toa unconsciously leaned in, waiting with baited breath.
“Heroes of Mata Nui… brothers and sister…” Vakama said slowly, “It is time you knew the truth—you are not the first Toa…”