Metru Nui Comics
2005 - BIONICLE Comic 25: Birth of the Rahaga
Adapted by Michael Larson. Edited by Jeff Douglas.
It was a tranquil scene. Tons of rock, stone, and earth lay still on the bodies of Visorak, Toa Hordika, and Rahaga. Visorak feet stuck out, the legs crushed underneath badly twisted and broken. Whenua’s head was all that was visible under a massive stone slab. Nuju was sprawled on his stomach beneath another, his breaths small and weak. Not far from them lay the Rahaga, also buried, with tons of rubble miraculously suspended mere moments from crushing them forever.
A few moments ago, this chamber was the scene of a furious battle between the Toa Hordika, their Rahaga allies, and the Visorak.
Now, in the aftermath of that disastrous struggle, it was quiet as the grave.
Battered into unconsciousness by the rubble, Kualus slept and dreamed. He dreamed of a time long ago, before he and his friends were Rahaga… when they, too, were mighty Toa… and of a tale told many times since then.
✴ ✴ ✴
Time: The Past - ??? years ago
Place: Outside the gates of a Brotherhood of Makuta fortress
Situation: Desperate
“Well, this worked out well,” Iruini muttered, watching the explosions chip away at their cover. Not far away, a projectile landed in the ground and detonated, spraying him with mud.
To his side, Norik batted away a stray electro rocket with his shield. “I know. I’m thinking.”
The two Toa had found themselves backed against the large trunk of a tree, pinned down by Exo-Toa rockets and wave after wave of Visorak Rhotuka. It was just their luck that the tree trunk was three bio in diameter and would sustain a great deal before it gave way. But at the rate it was being battered, that wouldn't be long.
Iruini was just about to make a break for it when the enemy fire converged, destroying the tree faster than Iruini had expected. Both Toa drew their large shields to their faces to protect themselves, but all that was left now was a stump.
“Can you think faster?” Iruini demanded.
Norik threw a glance at the satchel he carried. It had been a difficult decision to bring this particular item with them on this counterattack, but eventually the two decided that leaving it behind, anywhere, without proper security was even more dangerous. It had to come with them.
With sudden resolve, he pulled the satchel from his shoulders. “Go!” he shouted, tossing it to his teammate. “Take the bag, find the others, and get as far away from here as you can!”
The Toa of Fire crouched behind what was left of the tree, pouring elemental energy through his Lava Spear and blasting flame in a swirling inferno toward the oncomers. Seeing an Oohnorak trying to flank him, Norik cut off the blast and shot a narrower stream of lava at it, stopping it quickly.
He threw a glance to see how far Iruini had made it, only to realize the Toa of Air was in exactly the same spot. “Hurry!” Norik snapped. “My lava may slow down these things, but it won’t stop them.”
Iruini whirled to comply, but he was met by a most unpleasant sight.
“Oh…” he sighed. “You again.”
“You took shiny mask! Give it back!” Krekka bellowed, charging straight for him.
“Think I will be busy for the next few minutes,” Iruini muttered, stowing his shield on his back. He spun his Cyclone Spear several times with both hands before catching it, preparing for battle.
As he ran, Krekka launched a Kanoka disk and then lunged for the Toa of Air. But Iruini was too fast for either, diving over the disk and then rolling under Krekka’s sweeping arm and standing back up behind him. The Dark Hunter swirled with both fists, but Iruini parried them with the blunt end of his spear. Then he half-spun it to the sharp end and jabbed twice. Krekka caught the spear in one hand and yanked, getting ready to slam Iruini’s mask off when he stumbled forward.
Again, Iruini was too quick, letting go of the staff and using Krekka’s own pull to help himself. The Toa front-flipped forward, landing both feet on the Dark Hunter’s chest before kicking back off, one from on chest and one on his chin. Krekka stumbled four steps back.
Iruini landed the backflip to the ground and immediately dashed forward again, this time jumping with open hands for his spear still in Krekka’s firm grip. The dazed Dark Hunter didn’t have time to respond before Iruini grabbed the spear and flipped around it twice, again landing another kick to the side of Krekka’s head with both his feet. That was enough to send Krekka stumbling back several more paces, but more importantly, he released Iruini’s weapon. Still spinning in midair from the kick, Iruini landed, weapon in hand.
“Are you always this annoying!?” bellowed Krekka. He ran at Iruini and, impressively, for his size, jumped overhead. Iruini lifted his Cyclone Spear over his head, too, to block any aerial attack that might come.
Some distance away, Norik had found himself cornered by five Visorak, with more pouring in every minute. Throwing a glance at Iruini, he looked again at the spiders and gulped. “When you’re quite through playing ‘dump the Dark Hunter,’ Iruini…”
Krekka grabbed Iruini’s spear from midair as he raised it. Landing behind the Toa of Air, the Dark Hunter pulled back on it hard to choke Iruini.
“Be right—urk!—there!” Iruini squeezed out.
He desperately pulled the long bar of his Toa tool down and away from his neck. He knew he couldn’t move Krekka backward, forward, or side to side, but he found that by applying force to one end of the spear in the grapple, he could rotate them. He spun them until they were facing what was left of the tree. Stretching out his feet, Iruini stepped onto the blasted trunk, jumping off with such strength he backflipped over and behind Krekka.
“What—!?” Krekka exclaimed, surprised.
But that was all he had time to say before Iruini kicked him strong in the back. At the same time, he spun his staff and pointed the end of it at the Dark Hunter, sending a cyclone out and pushing the Dark Hunter away. As Krekka flew forward, the Toa of Air warned Norik, “Look out! Dumb stuff, coming through!”
Norik watched, amused and amazed, as the Dark Hunter’s airborn body slammed into all the Visorak that had been stalking toward him. Those that hadn’t been crushed beneath his weight scattered quickly, the slower ones picked off by Norik and Iruini.
By the time the Toa were finished, only one Visorak Roporak was still conscious, if woozy. Norik held his spear right next to the creature’s mouth. “You’re going to help us find a safe way out of here, right?”
The Visorak seemed to hesitate. Norik knelt down, resting his white-hot spear inches away from the Visorak’s soft underbelly.
“…because I really hate the smell of baked Visorak.”
✴ ✴ ✴
Nidhiki moved along the desolate landscape, inwardly cursing all the way. At his back were a small regiment of Vohtarak, all itching for battle. All his life he had despised insects, and while the Visorak spiders didn’t fit that category per se, they were much too similar for his liking. He found himself shuddering with revulsion at the sight.
Following his defeat earlier, it had not taken long before the Makuta of Metru Nui was calling for the execution of him and Krekka, as well as those of the various other Dark Hunters stationed throughout Destral who had failed their duties.
Under normal circumstances, the Shadowed One would not think twice about such disciplinary action. It did not become the Dark Hunters to harbor such incompetent agents. But the leader of the Dark Hunters did not take kindly to an outside party presuming to interfere with that process. Furthermore, it was just Nidhiki’s luck that the Shadowed One had been bristling at a slight Makuta had dealt him only moments before. The Shadowed One refused Makuta’s demands, neglecting to punish any of the Dark Hunters.
Makuta seemed furious at first, but then he seemed to relax. “After all,” he had said, “They will meet their ends in time. The nature of their work is just as fitting a punishment as any, and I am certain they will devote their all to me on the day they serve me again.”
The matter seemed resolved and Makuta seemed at ease, and that was good enough for Nidhiki, despite the ominous nature of the words. Neither Nidhiki nor Krekka looked forward to serving him again, but both knew neither ruler would look so kindly upon failure a second time.
So it was that Nidhiki found himself marching through the Visorak outpost, unsure whether which group he hated more: Makuta, Visorak, Dark Hunters, or Toa.
✴ ✴ ✴
Norik and Iruini were moving at a fast clip behind their captive Visorak Roporak. Both were deep in thought and reflecting upon their circumstances when Iruini suddenly stopped.
“Hold it,” he whispered, “Look over there!”
Norik squinted. Through the island’s haze and the twilight of dusk, he spotted multiple spider-like beings moving up it. Most were Visorak, but the odd one out had four legs with an upper humanoid torso possessing two arms that ended in pincers.
“Nidhiki…” he muttered.
“Four captured Toa to ‘question’” they could hear him chuckling to himself. “How delicious…”
Norik and Iruini exchanged a glance. Leaving the Roporak bound and helpless, they stealthily trailed the Dark Hunter, certain to remain in the shadows.
“I don’t suppose he could be talking about four other Toa?” Iruini whispered.
“If you believed that, you wouldn’t be here,” Norik replied. “You told me you were going to quit the team after we raided the Brotherhood’s fortress, remember?”
“And I will,” Iruini assured him. “As soon as the others are safe.”
Their conversation and pursuit brought them to the edge of a cliff overlooking a bowl-shaped valley. Norik inhaled sharply as Iruini took in the sight.
“Then again,” he murmured, “Now might be a good time to quit…”
The sight below them was like nothing they had ever seen. Legions of spiders crawled in formation, marching to and fro about their assignments. Every breed of Visorak could be observed crawling over and around each other along their cables and meshwork. The very mountains were buried in a tangle of webs, and netted tent-like structures dotted the landscape as Visorak poured in and out. Iruini guessed they were probably entrances to the caverns below.
Directly beneath them, at the entrance to the camp, massive archways of stone erupted from the ground, forming natural gateways under the black, starry night. This gate was guarded by Visorak that looked wary and on edge. Beneath the position of the Toa, Nidhiki approached and entered with his Visorak platoon escort, saying something they couldn’t quite hear.
“Roodaka and Sidorak are nowhere to be seen,” said Norik as he scanned the valley. His eyes fell on a cage hidden in the shadow of the mountain. “I see prisoners down there, but they certainly don’t look like Toa Hagah to me. A prisoner’s a prisoner, though — they could still be useful to us. Can you get in?”
Iruini chuckled, concealing the sack with the Avohkii and summoning his Kanohi Kualsi. “Can I get in? I was sneaking into worse places than this when you were still trying to make sparks…” With a flash, Iruini used his Mask of Quick Travel to teleport himself directly next to the Visorak cage in the camp.
As he approached the bars, he noted the four stout and colored individuals Norik had pointed out before. All four still had two arms and legs, but the fact that the top of their form ended in a Rahkshi head was threatening, to say the least. What is this? he wondered, dumbfounded.
One of the prisoners’ eyes widened at the Toa, and it began waving its arms.
“Over here! He came to save us!”
“I’m not sure who you are, but I’m here to get you out,” Iruini whispered, unlocking the cell. “Have you seen four Toa? They would have been shiny and carried a shield and spear, like these.”
The little blue looked up at him pleadingly.
“Iruini… we are the Toa Hagah!”
✴ ✴ ✴
Far away, Norik shivered as he looked on. The Visorak weren’t acting as if they’d noticed the new arrival, but there was a ripple through their ranks.
Every nerve in his body was screaming the same thing to him. The spiders knew the Toa Hagah would come. It had been a trap all along. And suddenly Norik had a sinking feeling in his chest who the prisoners actually were.
The Toa of Fire stood and activated his mask, disappearing from sight. If this was to be the last stand of the Toa Hagah, it would be one to remember.
✴ ✴ ✴
Iruini staggered, stepping backward in horror. Bomonga grabbed the Toa’s hand, and it was all the Toa of Air could do not to recoil. “We were changed into these… these monsters by—”
A sudden shadow blast from off to the side struck all four of Iruini’s old friends. With cries of pain, they fell back away from the bars.
“By me!” came the chilling laugh from behind Iruini.
With a sudden pang, the Toa of Air realized the same exact truth Norik had. Although every instinct told him not to turn, he found doing so anyway.
He scowled when he saw her.
“Don’t act so surprised,” Roodaka purred. “I think your little friends look much better this way, don’t you? No longer Toa Hagah. That duty is over, after all, as they have surrendered the responsibilities of Toa. Now they are a monstrous blend of monstrous Rahi, daring Toa Hagah, noble Turaga, and vile Rahkshi. They are… Rahaga.” She giggled. “A special concoction I prepared just for the occasion.”
“Roodaka,” he breathed. “You miserable excuse for—”
“Oh no,” she laughed. “Not miserable in the slightest. But you will be. Perhaps you and Nidhiki can compare notes.” Even as she said this, she gestured to the four-legged, green Dark Hunter who scowled at her but started in their direction.
Iruini followed her gaze, the full weight of defeat landing squarely upon his shoulders, a million thoughts passing through his head: the fate of Toa Nidhiki, the final defeat of the Toa Hagah, and the inevitable victory of the Makuta.
Now word would never get out. With the Toa Hagah caught in the snare of the Visorak, there would be no hope of stopping the darkness. The Avohkii would be recovered and sealed again and the Brotherhood would resume its march to conquest.
And all would be powerless to stop them.
With no other hope, the Toa of Air threw an unconscious glance at the ledge where he had left Norik. But the Toa of Fire was gone. Iruini immediately knew what had happened.
Norik had abandoned them. And he had made the right choice. The only hope the Toa Hagah had left of victory was if Norik had realized the trap and fled.
But the other five would never escape.
Wordlessly, Iruini brought his eyes to meet those of Roodaka. He attempted to say something only for the words to get caught in his mouth. There was nothing to be done. He should have known better than to hope.
Roodaka sneered as utter resignation swept over the Toa’s features. “Now, just relax” she smiled. “This will only hurt a little.”
As she raised her Rhotuka launcher at Iruini, the Toa of Air saw a flash of movement along the ground. Unconsciously, he inhaled sharply. Roodaka seemed to notice this, for she followed his gaze and her eyes widened.
It was too late. Something on the ground, no more than six inches in height, sprang back up to the size of a Toa. Norik increased back to normal size, reverting the effect of his Kanohi Pehkui. He had reverted directly beneath Roodaka, and with her off-balance, he forced his shield upward, striking her directly in the face and sending her sprawling. Now he stood between the cage door and Roodaka.
Norik whirled and looked at Iruini. “Move!”
But Iruini was already on the move. With a swift motion, he threw open the cage. “Go!” he shouted. “Run!”
The small figures battered through the Visorak defenses and fled with surprising speed for their diminutive size. Iruini smiled grimly.
“You!”
Iruini whirled. Roodaka had made it to one knee. “You… dare… to lay hands on me?” she demanded, incensed.
“We’re Toa,” Iruini scoffed. “We dare a lot of things.”
Norik raised his spear at her. “Whatever Makuta is planning for the Matoran, it ends now.”
Roodaka rose back to her full, imposing height. “A bold statement, Toa Norik…”
She raised her arms. Behind her, hundreds of Visorak had convened, gnashing their pincers and grinding their teeth. “…but I can think of a few hundred reasons you are wrong.”
Behind Roodaka, not just Visorak were gathering, but Exo-Toa and the dark forms of Sidorak, Nidhiki, and Krekka were all gathering for the kill. Even if the pair somehow evaded the Visorak, the combined powers of the four Brotherhood agents would easily fell the exhausted Toa.
Norik and Iruini scarcely needed to look around to realize the situation they were in. Iruini’s teleport and Norik’s shrinking had allowed them to sneak in, but now, all eyes were on the two of them. Iruini was just glad the others, helpless as they were now, had managed to escape.
“The others are safe,” Iruini murmured to the Toa of Fire. “Remember what we did against the Frostelus?”
Norik nodded, “You call it.”
Roodaka raised her hand and lowered it sharply. The Visorak began to advance.
“Now!” Iruini shouted. Both Toa lowered their spears and poured elemental energy through the tips, combing Iruini’s Cyclone Spear with Norik’s Lava Spear. The result was greater than either could have done alone. The raging winds of Iruini’s control over air would have scattered the Visorak; the tornado of fire from Norik would have been a force to be avoided. But when Iruini’s wind propelled and spun Norik’s lava, and tossed Visorak about, it was no mere storm—it was a raging, flaming, hurricane.
Fire and lava danced in the air, raining from the sky. Hurricane force winds tossed every being but Roodaka from the ground. And all the while, a swirling, deadly inferno swept out of the two Toa’s staffs. Roodaka herself had to duck back to the safety of a building to avoid the scorching heat.
The Toa Hagah then lowered the ends of their spears to the ground in front of them, causing their powers to spew out of the ground sustained, even without their influx of will and energy. They knew this was the last of their elemental reserves, but if this desperate move paid off, it would be worth it.
And if not, they wouldn’t need it anyway.
“Come on!” Norik shouted above the maelstrom, certain that the molton tornado would provide ample distraction and destruction. While Visorak scrambled to calm the blazes, the two Toa Hagah raced to join their teammates.
Far behind them, a lean ebon figure stepped out from behind her cover.
Roodaka wasn’t going to accept defeat today. Around the column of wind and lava, she spied the exposed back of the Toa.
She smiled.
Rhotuka spinners were pure energy. No amount of magma could stop them. Nor could battle-weary Toa outrace their doom. The gambit of the queen was at hand, and the Toa Hagah were finished.
She raised her launcher and let loose two Rhotuka.
They flew straight and true through the raging cyclone, emerging safely on the other side.
Two were all it took. Two spinners to fell two of the greatest Toa that had ever lived.
Norik screamed, feeling the Rhotuka struck his back, stumbling as searing pain tore through his body. His mighty body was twisted and shrunk, and his head and Kanohi morphed into a feared and hated Rahkshi. His shield disappeared into his arm, its mounted Rhotuka launcher moved to his back. And his Lava Spear, his trusted Toa tool for millennia and used on countless missions, now morphed into a powerless little staff proportional to his own reduced size. Behind alien eyes, he turned with horror to his teammate, only to find Iruini had gone through the same transformation.
Where once stood two Toa, now there were two more of the strange beings called Rahaga. As soon as the transformation was complete, their elemental attacks died out, for there was no Toa energy to fuel it anymore. Roodaka stepped forward and laughed.
Though his body still burned with the affliction, Norik picked himself back up. Relying on his staff for support, he pulled Iruini to his feet. They gave one more mournful look behind them at Roodaka, surrounded by the Visorak of various colors, then turned and hobbled into the shadows.
Some of the eager Visorak started after them, but Roodaka’s voice stopped them. “Leave them!” she commanded, throwing her arms out to both sides. “They are no longer a threat. Let them live… and suffer.”
✴ ✴ ✴
But Roodaka was wrong. The Rahaga escaped with the powerful Mask of Light, and would one day bring it to Metru Nui and see it safely into the hands of the Toa Hordika.
Heroes we might not appear to be, Kualus had thought as the group recovered the mask from its hiding spot. He watched Norik take one last look at the Kanohi Avohkii before closing the satchel. But appearances are often deceiving.