Chapter 5

When Hahli opened her eyes, she felt the frigid waters of the Pit against her armor.

The Fields of Air were a churning battleground of Keras crabs and Venom Eels, the two armies of ocean creatures converging on the city of Mahri Nui. The distant cries of Matoran guards could be heard as the Rahi overwhelmed their defenses. Hydruka brayed in protest as ocean predators descended on their territory.

This was the conflict the Toa Mahri of Water found herself thrust upon in her moments of anger. The first time she had truly felt the potential of her powers.

Hahli let cry a thunderous roar before driving her Protosteel Talons into the ground, summoning the elemental energies of the Pit to heed her command. When she was satisfied that her weapon was adequately charged, she swung her blade up again, conjuring a burst of water that sliced through a cluster of Venom Eels. Their bodies scattered and shrieks filled the ocean around her.

It did not concern her that she had already fought this battle before. The Toa of Water was thankful of the opportunity to launch herself into the fray, hacking and swooping and gliding through the startled army of Venom Eels. Before long the water around her grew mirky with the swirling black ooze of the creatures’ innards.

Not far away, her teammates struggled to adjust to their new bodies. Jaller and Kongu especially were proving gangly and uncoordinated in the water, their weapons cumbersome and their movements imprecise. Sensing weakness, the straggling few Venom Eels began to cluster around her teammates. Turning to face the second wave, Hahli trusted her fellow Toa to fend for themselves.

Keras crabs now advanced on the Fields of Air, their mottled carapaces camouflaged as they skulked through the airweed. The Toa Mahri of Water made quick work of their forces, her talons tearing through severed thorax and cartilage. Calling upon the powers of her Kanohi Faxon, she harnessed the bio-electricity of the surviving Venom Eels and sent it rippling through the water, frying the Keras in their shells.

Hewkii hollered a quip that she did not care to hear.

For hours, Hahli tore through the waves of ocean predators, her aggression unyielding and ferocious. Over time, she found the battle shifting and dragging her along with it. In pursuit of something she could not grasp, she drifted further from the familiar Fields of Air, until the plateau and her teammates melted away completely and she found herself in the open waters, an inky darkness stretching down beneath her.

Down here, there was no ocean current. The only light came from deep volcanic vents. These were ancient and primordial waters inhabited only by former prisoners of the Pit. It was here that Hahli had faced Mantax and wrestled for possession of the Kanohi Ignika in a contest of wills. And it was here she found herself again, this time with the golden skinned entity at her side. His presence filled her with pride as she turned to face the mounting legions of sea predators that were amassing behind her.

“You Toa Mahri truly are like no Toa to have come before you,” observed the golden being to whom she had pledged her fealty. “To make your home at such unfathomable depths, to rally against such insurmountable odds, to contend with creatures like the Barraki - you are each a treasure trove of such delicious desire and guilt. It is… appetizing to say the least.”

“I knew you would understand, Great One,” said Hahli, blanketing the walls of the cavern with a spray of Cordak missiles that rained jagged debris on the forerunners of the larger Rahi army. To hear such praise from the golden being filled her with new vigor.

“You desire conflict, that much is clear,” continued her patron, waving his hand and conjuring a platoon of Pit War Tortoises and Manas for the Toa to fight. “Such boundless barbarism would give even the Piraka pause, and yet it is all you yearn for…”

Powerful tendrils suddenly snaked around the Toa’s ankles and wrists, dragging her deeper into the heart of the churning army. Wrestling for freedom, she found herself caught in the tentacles of a Giant Squid.

“These Rahi… have tormented me… my whole life,” growled the Toa of Water, flexing her wings and loosening the squid’s grip on her arms. “Only difference is now I have the strength to fight back!”

Prying her arm free, Hahli flexed her Protosteel Talon and used it to tear through one of the Giant Squid’s arms, as though it were a glade of Harakeke on the golden shores of Ga-Wahi. The creature’s mottled skin had been flushed with angry courage, now it was blanched in terror. In the Pit, a scuffle like this would usually end in submission, one predator jetting away, perhaps missing scales and bloodied from the encounter. Already it could sense that the strange Toa had no stomach for mercy today.

“You have worn many masks,” purred the golden entity, watching with satisfaction as Hahli continued to cut her way into the legion of sea creatures. “Assistant Flax Maker, Kolhii Champion, Chronicler. How empty those titles seem in light of all you have experienced. What more is there beneath the surface, that only these unknowable depths can reveal?”

As Hahli continued to lay waste to the armies of the Barraki, she considered her place in the vastness of the wider world. In that moment, the Matoran of Mahri Nui she fought to defend seemed very remote.

“In this world I have more power than I have ever known,” she observed, waving her hand in imitation of the golden being and smashing two Manas together. “For as long as I can remember, the Turaga told stories of power through Unity, the greatest of all their virtues. Of course, they were only half-truths. Comfortable tales to keep us busy until the Toa returned. Well, no more waiting! Down here, I discovered what it meant to be my own protector. To fight my own battles! To triumph!”

“Such beautiful chaos…” remarked the golden being, a proud twinkle in his eye as he watched his disciple hack and slice and weave her way through the remaining Rahi. “I wonder how deep your desire extends… do you desire, perhaps, to see this battle through to its bitter and inevitable conclusion?”

Hahli shifted her position as the world once again blurred around her and she was dragged deeper still into the abyss of the Pit. Now she was on the ocean floor, wading above the sunken ridges of the Razor Whale’s Teeth. There was little light at such abyssal depths, but she was all too familiar with the creatures that skulked these shadows.

Six silhouettes peeled away from the jagged terrain and circled around her. Watching them move so freely through the water filled her with a crimson fury.

“A chance to put these creeps in their place? Naming Day’s come early…”

With an almighty swing of her arm, Hahli lost herself to the tempest stoked up at the sight of the Barraki. She charged her elemental energies and launched an arcing wave of force from the edge of her blade. She sliced through their shapeless forms with the finesse of a Plasma Ray, the brute strength of a Keras, the frenzied bloodlust of a starved Takea…

She fought for what felt like hours, contending with the full might of all six Barraki. For every blow she landed, she received three or four in return. Ehlek’s electricity was a devastating force to contend with, as were the relentless strikes of Pridak and Takadox. Vicious gashes spread up her arms and across her chest as Carapar wrestled to clip her wings with his claw. Even as she reached out to command the water, she felt the tentacle of Kalmah coiling around her.

When at last the dust settled and her Cordak Blaster ran empty, she yielded.

Hobbled, she glared up at the twisted warlords, fighting the sensation of Mantax’s pincer locked around her throat. The battle had been hard fought and she was not without injury, but she had dealt as much out as she had received. If the Barraki hadn’t been bloodied before, they certainly were now.

“You relent too easily, Toa of Water,” admonished the golden being, raising a hand to swat aside a chunk of rubbery cartilage that had once been the tip of Kalmah’s tentacle arm. “If you truly wished to indulge the temptations of boundless barbarism that this Pit has to offer, if you truly believe redemption to be so beyond your reach, why do you resist the darkness? Even in these waters, so far removed from the gaze of the Turaga and Toa Nuva, you are governed by the virtues of your Great Spirit.”

Hahli gazed up at the ocean stretching above her head, feeling the involuntary urge to ascend to the safety of the surface. She hadn’t noticed, but once it was pointed out by the golden entity it became obvious. Was it truly her darkest dream to return to the Pit and seek vengeance? Was this the life she wanted? Or did some part of her still yearn for what she had lost somewhere along the way?

In that moment of clarity, she suddenly remembered how she had left the Pit in the first place and a sobering wave of realization washed over her. It was as chilling as it was abrupt. The battle was long since over. It had been fought and won… but at such terrible cost. The urge to fight waned and dulled, replaced by a new desire to confide in her gold skinned patron.

“All I want… is to return to the surface,” she finally confessed. “To venture back to civilization with some shred of goodness and know that I haven’t become indistinguishable from the Barraki…”

✴        ✴        ✴

“A Skakdi Fortress…” repeated Kualus. “How did they even have time to build such a thing? It’s been three days since Makuta fell!”

At Gaaki’s request, the Toa had gathered in the ruins of an ancient arena to discuss the grim duty that now lay before them. Coupled with Kopaka’s own report that he had left before traveling north, the mission ahead filled them with trepidation.

One Toa in particular had taken the news worse than most.

“This… golden being… he sounds like no ally of the Makuta,” grunted Toa Tahu, who had paused his evening obligations to send them on their way. “But if he champions the cause of Skakdi - if he truly is keeping the Toa Mahri captive in his fortress - then he leaves us little choice. We must act tonight to save Jaller, Hahli and the others!”

“And that’s where we come into things,” murmured Pouks, cricking his neck. “Get in. Get the rookies. Get out. Another classic Toa Hagah rescue mission!”

“Are you sure we’re the right team for the job?” asked Gaaki, weighing her Tidal Spear in her hand. “We’re not exactly the Toa we used to be.”

Tahu nodded knowingly.

“Believe me, Gaaki, if the Toa Nuva weren’t already scattered to the wind on their own missions, we’d storm that fortress ourselves,” he said, reaching for his sword but stopping short. “No doubt the Turaga would be hot on our heels too. But the truth is there are no other Toa we trust with this. The Mahri need rescuing and only the Hagah can do what needs to be done.”

“If we’re lucky, we might turn up to find the Skakdi have bashed each other to pieces already,” chuckled Iruini, leaning on the edge of his Rhotuka shield. “Problem solved!”

But the others didn’t share in his bravado. Kualus had never been one to seek conflict and Gaaki seemed to have misgivings she would not voice with the team. Bomonga’s features were a careful study in neutrality. Despite the preparations they had made, hesitation still hung heavy over the Toa.

“So little is known about this fortress or this band of Skakdi zealots,” pondered Norik. “Rescuing the Toa Mahri while going completely unnoticed will be a delicate process to say the least. And the risk if we are caught…”

Before Tahu could open his mouth to respond, Iruini interjected.

“Norik, quit blowing smoke,” he snorted dismissively. “If we mastered the Destral Fortress then we can handle any dungeon the Skakdi can throw at us.”

“This is no laughing matter, Iruini,” snapped Norik, his patience with the Toa of Air wearing thin. “By Gaaki and Kopaka’s own accounts, the Toa Mahri inhabit those walls by choice. If they have been coerced or influenced as we suspect, how could we get them out unnoticed? How can we be certain that we won’t meet this same fate ourselves?”

“Norik’s right,” added Kualus. “Best case scenario, we’d just be throwing more Toa at this guy. We can’t just go blundering in or Tahu will be here tomorrow assembling a team to come rescue us.”

Iruini glared at the Toa of Ice.

“So what? You’d rather we sit back and do nothing? That didn’t work out so well for you four last time, did it?”

“Iruini…” cautioned Pouks with a low grumble.

“How about we make sure the Klakk have soft enough nests? Have another round of sparring with the Glatorian perhaps? Let the Toa Mahri stay captive until a better time? We need to act now and draw a line in the sand!”

When he found no support from his teammates, Iruini turned to Tahu.

“Lines in the sand can be redrawn all too easily,” said the red Toa sympathetically. “Usually by whoever has the sharpest stick. We are building something greater here, Iruini. Don’t set out in search of battle if it can be avoided. We can’t allow the resentments from the old universe to follow us here.”

Coming from Tahu, the words stung but the Toa of Air recomposed himself quickly. His expression suggested he had more to say but instead he lapsed back into silence, staring longingly at the distant coastline and the fortress that protruded from its shimmering cliffs. The only structure to be seen for mio around.

Norik nodded a silent thanks to Tahu then glanced at Gaaki, who shook her head. There were no helpful glimpses of the future to be had.

“What do you think?” he asked quietly, turning now to Bomonga.

“A tough call,” answered his deputy frostily, mighty arms folded. “For better or worse, we’re the only Toa available or capable enough for a rescue attempt. We’re duty-bound to intervene tonight… but I’ve had my fill of being controlled for one lifetime. We can’t fall for the same spell that the Toa Mahri are under. Until we have a plan for this golden Skakdi pariah and his mind games, I’d have to agree with Kualus.”

“Perhaps we should consult Trinuma and the Order of Mata Nui operatives,” suggested Gaaki. “From what I hear they’re skilled in the art of mental shielding.”

“It’s a shame we couldn’t catch that Toa of Psionics Onua sent north,” grunted Pouks. “Might’ve been useful to have him come along.”

As the well of suggestion dried up, Tahu regarded each of the Toa slowly.

“I don’t make this request lightly,” he finally said, the glare of the sunset catching the ridges of his Kanohi Hau. “But we can’t delay any longer. There are Toa in danger and tonight you six are their only hope of freedom. Whatever doubts you hold, you must take heart and trust in your abilities. You are Toa, after all!”

“But are we the right Toa for the task ahead?” countered Norik, voicing the words he sensed in the mouths of his teammates. “The only reason we survived the reign of Makuta at all was because we were under his spell. Our best fighting days are long behind us and after so many centuries spent as Rahaga… we were fortunate to be given this second chance at being heroes, but this is a fight we aren’t likely to win. And should we fall…”

Tahu placed a firm hand on his shoulder, his meaning clear.

“Norik… you were heroes long before Vakama first picked up a disk launcher. Now you have this chance to define your own destiny - you can either chase the Toa you used to be or, for the first time, you can decide for yourselves the destiny of the Toa Hagah!”

The words stirred something deep within Norik. With ancient eyes, he looked upon his teammates.

“Are you to be the legacy weapons of Makuta after all this time?” continued Tahu, now addressing the full team. “Is that who you are today? Or will you use this second chance to make a difference? To be the heroes the Toa Mahri need? To help those who can’t help themselves in Mata Nui’s name? You are Toa and the time of Toa is now!”

Pouks grunted in approval, strapping his Rhotuka shield to his back. At his side, Gaaki exchanged glances with Kualus. The mission was perilous, but to be a Toa was to face danger. It was an oath they had all taken long before Makuta had come knocking on their doors.

“Well put, Tahu,” said Bomonga. “But what of this golden entity? Should we fall under his sway…”

“You won’t,” said the Toa of Fire with a simple shrug. “You Toa Hagah have won your freedom from Makuta countless times over. You’ll find a way… where wisdom and valor fail, all that remains is faith.”

Hearing those words, Norik felt a wave of confidence swell within his chest. It sounded like something he would have told Vakama a lifetime ago.

“Then, in the name of faith, you shall have our six blades!” he announced firmly, raising his Lava Spear to accentuate his point. “Like the Toa of ancient legend…”

“Tales of this night will be a glorious first chapter for the new Walls of History,” said Tahu with a steely nod. “But the mission must be undertaken with precision - stealth is paramount. What say you to these terms, Norik?”

The Toa of Fire nodded cautiously before a thick smile overcame the features of his Kanohi.

“Far be it from me to shrink away from a challenge…”

A beat passed before Tahu and the rest of the Toa Hagah groaned in disgust.

“How long have you been waiting to use that one?” asked Gaaki, rolling her eyes.

“600 years,” grinned Norik. “Worth every second…”