Chapter Ten

The Coliseum had become a volcano. Energized protodermis spewed out from the mouth of the metallic tower, dribbling down its sides into the city below. Steam hissed as it advanced on its path, slowly consuming the tower with its energy.

It was an unprecedented disaster. Had this occurred in Metru Nui’s golden years, it would have resulted in the death of hundreds. If it was allowed to continue now, that number would grow to the millions. The substance only spread more and more, threatening anything in its path with destruction, or transformation.

Only a dozen beings remained in Metru Nui at this point, watching from the streets below. Three Glatorian, five Matoran, an Agori, a Turaga, and their Ussal Crab and Scarabax Beetle companions. These were the last survivors of the battle for the ancient city. And if they failed in their mission, they would be the first witnesses to their world’s end.

“How can we stop it?!” Gresh demanded.

A tremor ran through the ground, shaking the ancient city from the underground up. Ackar knelt down for stability, leaning on the hilt of his sword. “Alright,” he said quietly, “let’s start with what we know.”

“We’ve encountered that stuff in the mines before,” Tehutti explained. “When it starts bubbling up like that, it’s time to run.”

“But with that much of it, there’s not likely going to be anywhere to run to,” Vhisola added. “At the rate it's going, it’ll start flowing outside the ruins within the hour.”

“So we destroy it before it does,” Kiina resolved. “How do we do that?”

The Matoran all turned their eyes to Ehrye, the resident scholar.

“Well… heat makes energized protodermis expand, causing it to explode,” the Ko-Matoran suggested.

Nuhrii’s eyes lit up. “There’s a big eruption of molten protodermis in Ta-Metru right now,” he said breathlessly. “If we find some way to get the gravity to switch again, like it did earlier, the two substances will mix, and–”

“And blow us all halfway to Karzahni,” Tehutti interjected.

“Not just us,” Ehrye sighed. “This isn’t just one pool of the stuff. If what that voice said was true, this is almost everything that was in Metru Nui, if not the whole of our universe. If it explodes… it destroys the whole city. Possibly even more.”

Ackar rubbed his temples. “There shouldn’t be anyone nearby the robot. The camp is a few miles out, and there shouldn’t be any salvage teams nearby this late at night.”

“Great! But there’s still one problem,” Berix said impatiently. “How are we going to get out?”

A chilling silence hung over the group. Though no one wanted to voice it, the truth of the matter was as inescapable as the situation they found themselves in.

“If we can destroy the Core Processor, the Coliseum will collapse,” Whenua explained. “Before, the only way to access it was by lifting up the Coliseum itself. But with those Bohrok tunneling underground, I might just be able to get inside.”

“...There aren’t any tunnels that connect to the Coliseum,” Tehutti said, still unsure of where the Turaga was going with this.

“There is one,” Whenua said. “In a Po-Metru canyon, there’s an old prison that was used to contain the Dark Hunters during the war. It leads to a tunnel system that connects to the Coliseum. If I can make it there, I may be able to make it down below.”

“What will we find down there?” Berix asked.

“Maybe the gravity well,” Ehrye hypothesized. “If we destroy that, the gravity goes back to normal. Once it does, we can dislodge the Coliseum with enough power to send it crashing down.”

“Very well then,” Whenua said, rising to his feet. “I will go to Po-Metru, and find the entrance I seek. Ackar, Kiina, and Gresh, take the Matroan to find a way out.”

Tehutti stopped. “How will you get out, Turaga?”

“I’ll find a way,” he said softly.

But the Onu-Matoran remained skeptical, narrowing his eyes. “Turaga, if we find a way–”

“Then I will follow you. Please, trust me. Now go!”

With no time to spare, the Glatorian led their team away, racing against time to save the world. Left alone, Whenua turned towards Po-Metru, making his way for the Dark Hunter prison.

They will find a way out, Whenua said, comforting himself. I only need to secure their safety.

✴        ✴        ✴

Ackar led his team onward, carefully making their way through the streets of Ga-Metru. The entire time, the flood of energized protodermis in the distance kept them on the move.

Looking over his shoulder, Gresh watched the wave of silver liquid pooling up between the buildings and overflowing the dried up fountains. As he did, the stories his elders told of the Core War echoed in his memories, and his mind raced with questions.

At the head of the group, Ackar looked back to see that Gresh had stopped, and slowed down. “Hey, come on!” he called. “We need to keep moving!”

But Gresh stood still, looking back on the energized protodermis wave. “That stuff,” he said, “it’s what you fought for in the Core War, isn’t it?”

Ackar paused for a second, taken aback by the question, then nodded silently. “It’s what broke the planet apart.”

“And it can talk, evidently,” Kiina noted.

“I’m not letting it back onto my world,” Ackar growled. “Not one drop. It did enough damage last time.”

“We won't,” Gresh said. “We’ll stop it, and we’ll make it out of here with the Matoran in tow. I promise.”

Berix slowed his pace a bit, something on the ground catching his eye. Reaching down out of curiosity, he picked up a small handheld device with a hose connected at the end, and began examining it.

“Hey, c'mon,” Ehyre chided. “Now is not the time for collecting.”

Berix frowned, and held up the device. “What if it could be useful?”

“We don't have time to waste with that kind of thing,” Ehyre chided. “Once Whenua gets the gravity flipped, we'll have less than a minute to get out of here.”

Hearing this, Tehutti’s eyes grew wide, and he whirled around on a heel. “But if he's following us, how is he supposed to get out in time?!”

The group went silent for a moment, as a cold realization dawned on each of them.

“He wasn't planning to,” Nuhrii realized out loud. “He was giving us a head start.”

Tehutti stepped back, slowly shaking his head. “No. No no no. I'm going back for him.” He began to take off running, but Ehyre held him back.

“He's making this sacrifice for us,” the Ko-Matoran said.

“I don't care!” Tehutti protested, struggling against Ehyre’s grip. “I'm not leaving him behind!”

“We don’t have to,” Kiina interjected, kneeling down to Tehutti’s level. “Once we find a way out, we can go back for him, and lead him to the exit.”

Ehyre shook his head dismally. “There won’t be enough time. He’s giving us a window to escape, and only us.”

“Then we’re not escaping,” Tehutti said.

Before anyone else could protest, a sudden tremor shook the ground the group stood upon. Looking over in unison, they watched as the wall before them burst open, a cloud of smoke billowing out from the blast. As the dust settled, two new silhouettes emerged from within.

As the group each drew their weapons, they looked up at the newcomers. Two amalgamations of Rahkshi now stood before them. One was short and stocky, with bulky crimson and bronze gauntlets gripping its staff. The other was lean and nimble, clad in emerald and white. The Glatorian could make out the individual pieces of three Rahkshi in each of them, combining their parts to make a new set of warriors.

“What now?!” Gresh gasped, exacerbated.

“These are my champions,” the voice of the energized protodermis entity echoed through the Rahkshi’s speakers. “I let destiny claim the Rahkshi, and as a reward, I was given these emissaries.”

Kiina groaned, hoisting up her scarab shield. “Really? The wave of destruction wasn’t enough?”

“Come now,” the voice taunted. “You are Glatorian. Combat is in your nature. Don’t let your world die with a whimper…”

The two amalgamations raised their staffs.

“Go out with a fight.”

✴        ✴        ✴

Whenua moved silently through the tunnels beneath the Coliseum, using his Mask of Night Vision to navigate. As he made his way onwards to the Core Processor, his mind reached out to worries for the Matoran, no matter how much he tried to quell them.

They’ve made it out, the Turaga reassured himself, doing his best to keep his thoughts from dwelling on the Glatorian and Matoran. Ackar and his team are strong. They will have found an exit by now.

He took no pride in his deception, but he knew that the Matoran would never let him leave if they knew he was planning to sacrifice himself. If he wanted to ensure their safety, then they needed to be safely out of the way.

A long sigh escaped his mouth, and he found himself wishing he could have said one last goodbye to the other Turaga, to Onua, to so many others. This ending wasn’t fair to him, but it would prevent a worse ending for all of Spherus Magna.

Interrupting his thoughts, a metal doorway blocked his path, partially submerged under the rubble. Whenua reached up to feel it, and ran his fingers over some text that was engraved on it, noticing that it did not match Matoran script.

“This is it,” Whenua said aloud, partly to reassure himself. “Where I face my destiny.”

Without another word, he placed a hand on the door, and watched as it slowly creaked open.

✴        ✴        ✴

The Rahkshi fusion stood strong as it bore the brunt of a thornax exploding just beside its head. The attack may have destroyed any one of the amalgamation’s composite parts, but this new warrior was far more powerful.

A few feet away, Orkahm cursed a string of treespeak. “That was my last one!” he bemoaned, tossing his empty satchel to the side. “Now what?”

Turning its head, the fusion spotted the Matoran, and marched forward slowly. Orkahm raised his hand to defend, only for Kiina to jump in between them, standing ready.

“Any other ideas to fight them?” she asked.

Tehutti’s eyes lit up. “Ooh! Maybe you could fuse? Form a Glatorian Kaita?”

“Eww, I don’t wanna fuse with them!” Kiina shuddered. “Besides, I don’t even know if that would be- aghh!”

The fusion towered over her as it delivered a strike to her gut. As she fell to her knees, it raised up its staff, preparing the decisive blow.

“A lesson that your desert home took to heart in my absence;” the voice boomed, “power is everything. You are unworthy of the potential of Spherus Magna, and the powers of the Matoran Universe have once again outmatched you. You have failed to save both worlds. This city will fall, and so will the planet soon after.”

“You’re right,” Kiina said, finally letting herself breathe. “Both worlds fell apart. But we’ll pick up those pieces–”

She ducked low, moving out of the way as Nuhrii leapt over her head, swinging his tool upon the Rahkshi fusion.

“--And build something new!” the Ta-Matoran finished, bringing his weapon down.

There was no time to move. The Rahkshi fusion realized the oncoming threat just too late, as the tool blade split the armor down the middle. It moved to repair itself, only for Tehutti to fire upon it with the Volo Lutu Launcher, and pull back. In an instant, he tore the being in half, cleanly dividing it into the armors of the two Rahkshi that made up its being.

With a thud, the two halves collapsed to the ground, and Kiina rushed over to embrace the two Matoran, praising their instincts with every breath. While they recuperated, Ackar was still working on the emerald fusion, parrying its staff attacks with his sword. Neither of them had used their powers against each other, drawn into a combat of pure skill and swordsmanship.

Of course, the energized protodermis entity was simply toying with Ackar. The more time it wasted, the less time they had to stop its plans.

Ackar was quick to realize this, and channeled elemental energy through his blade. Within moments, he heated the staff to its melting point and cut cleanly through, nearly reaching the armor of the fusion.

Before the amalgamation could launch a counter attack, Vhisola leapt out from behind Ackar, and quickly fired off a Kanoka disk. The fusion ducked to avoid the attack, but Gresh was waiting just behind it, and just as quickly struck the Kanoka with his blades. Redoubling its speed, the disk flew in the opposite direction, striking the fusion in the back of the head.

“Cowards,” the amalgamation growled, falling to its knees as it felt itself grow weaker. “You cannot run from destiny forever.”

Ackar looked down upon the fusion, the energies of energized protodermis coursing through its armor plates. Kiina and Gresh stood above it in a circle, keeping the monstrosity at the tip of their weapons.

“We’re not running,” Ackar said. “Not anymore.”

With that, he plunged his sword into the chest of the Rahkshi fusion, landing the killing blow. The silver glow that once lit up the Rahkshi’s eyes dimmed to black, and the voice of the energized protodermis entity went silent.

Pulling his blade back, Ackar looked up, still in a battle ready stance. His two fellow Glatorian looked at him with uneasy confidence. It seemed that the worst of the attacks had passed.

Then, a shrill screech echoed through the air, and every head turned. A smaller fusion raced forward, carried through the air by mechanical wings. This one seemed to be comprised of Bohrok pieces, but it was significantly less threatening than the Rahkshi fusions.

Berix frowned as he watched the new fusion approach, and looked back down to the device in his hand, striking it with his palm. “Come on, you’ve gotta do something,” he muttered.

“I’ll take this one,” Gresh said, drawing his twin blades once more.

“We’ll take it together,” Ackar corrected.

But before it could even reach them, a blade of blue fire cut through its wing, sending it crashing to the ground. As it slid across the metal floor, Ackar caught its head under its foot and stomped down, rendering it immobile.

All eyes turned to Berix, holding a device that now ignited a blade of blue fire. He looked around awkwardly, unsure of what to make of the situation. “I got it to work,” he finally squeaked.

Kiina paused for a moment, and then chuckled. “Someone’s gotten to save the day a lot today,” she said.

“Yeah,” added Nuhrii, setting down his tool. “You look like a regular Toa Tahu.”

“Alright, that’s enough post-battle conversation,” Ackar said. “We’ve got a Turaga to save.”

Gresh flashed a look at the team leader. “Ackar, are you sure?”

He nodded. “I am.”

“We’re all making it out of this city,” Kiina reiterated. “No one gets left behind.”

Nuhrii looked over to Orkahm to say something, but noticed that the Le-Matoran’s attention was on something else.

“Orkahm?” he asked plainly. “What’s going on?”

Looking up from the corpses of the two fusions, Orkahm spotted it. One of the many airships that had fallen into Metru Nui’s streets blocked their progress, nestled snugly between two buildings. Despite its crash, the vessel’s hull was still mostly intact, even if its engine would likely never start up again. While his comrades may have seen this solely as an obstacle, Orkahm saw an opportunity.

“Nuhrii,” he said, his eyes still fixed on the airship. “Do we still have that safe-stash of Kanoka you grab-napped?”

The Ta-Matoran perked up. “Yeah, there’s a bunch left. Why?”

“Any levitation disks?”

He scanned the bag quickly, looking over the codes inscribed on the Kanoka. “There’s a couple. Why…” As he looked up to where Orkahm was looking, he slowly pieced together just what the Le-Matoran was thinking.

“...Oh no.”