Chapter Twenty-Eight: Birth of a World

The battle was over.

The Bara Magna desert was a disaster area. The surrounding mountains had been pulverized or flattened and massive scorch marks scarred the sands. The ground was littered with the bodies of those who had lost their lives in the clash, along with countless shattered pieces of Rahkshi armor. Dominating it all, of course, was the fallen robot that once had been Makuta’s greatest weapon.

Tahu and Takanuva stood on a dune, looking at the metallic shell inside which they had lived their entire lives. No doubt the inner workings had been heavily damaged and there would be casualties. But as they watched the multitudes streaming out of the robot, they saw many familiar figures. More than likely, most had taken shelter after the initial quake and so survived the much larger shock. They stumbled out onto the sands — Toa, Matoran villagers, Vortixx traders, Skakdi barbarians, agents of the Order of Mata Nui, Dark Hunter bandits, animals, birds, insects and more — shielding their eyes against the bright sun of their new world.

“Do you think Makuta’s really gone?” asked Takanuva.

Tahu nodded. “Yes, I do. He never saw it coming, so he had no time to will his spirit out of that body. I think — I hope — he died with the robot.”

“And what about the rest? The Matoran, the other Toa… us… can we all survive here?”

Tahu looked out over the vast desert. Already, he could see Agori coming to the aid of Matoran, Glatorian talking with Toa, and members of other species already scouting for someplace to settle and regroup.

“You know what, Takanuva? I think we’re going to be just fine.”

“I’m just happy you’re alive,” said Takanuva. “When you fell over like that, I thought sure you were dead. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m sure,” Tahu said smiling. Two thin beams of heat vision shot from his eyes then, striking the sand and burning three words into the ground:

Unity.

Duty.

Destiny.

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Mata Nui looked down at the various populations meeting so far below and felt like he was seeing the future. The Matoran and Agori had much to learn from each other. The Toa teamed with the Glatorian would safeguard both sets of villagers from any threat. Natural alliances were being forged even now.

He turned his attention to the fallen form of Makuta. There was another alliance that should have existed, but never came to pass. Had he and Makuta worked together, they could have restored Spherus Magna without the devastation and loss of life. But Makuta’s greed and ambition wouldn’t allow that. In the end, both his mad dreams and the body he had stolen were wreckage.

Makuta was the past. It was time to worry about today and tomorrow for this world.

When he had gone to Raanu and asked to take the Agori’s city away from them, MataNui had made a vow to himself. If he succeeded in rebuilding the planet, he would not stop there. He would give the Agori a new life, a new chance to thrive here. Now it was time to begin that work.

Mata Nui scanned the body he wore. It was badly damaged and power levels were barely high enough to do what had to be done. But if he could call upon the Mask of Life one last time, combine its energies with the robot’s, then maybe…

Of course, there was one other aspect of what he was about to do that he tried to ignore. There was no way he would survive it. The robot was already dangerously unstable and channeling so much power through it at once would surely mean its destruction. Mata Nui would die with it.

If that was how it had to be, so be it. The Great Beings owed this world and its people a debt, and he was going to pay it.

Mata Nui looked toward the sky and stretched out his arms. He summoned the energies that coursed through his body, even as he called out to the Mask of Life. The mask at first resisted — it, too, knew that it might well not survive this, and it did not want to cease to exist. Mata Nui could have forced it to aid him — he had a stronger will — but he did not. Instead, he simply pictured in his mind how Spherus Magna could be if this was successful. He knew the mask would sense what was in his thoughts and that it would know this would be the ultimate use of its power.

A moment later, Mata Nui felt the power of the mask merge with what little remained of his own. Then he willed that power to flow from his body and sweep across the planet. Everywhere it touched, mountains rose, forest flourished, life appeared where none had been before. In the desert of Bara Magna, time seemed to flow backwards as barren sand  gave way to a jungle teeming with trees and plants and long-dead rivers returned to life.

The vast ocean of Aqua Magna felt Mata Nui’s touch as well. Underwater, plants flourished, providing a bounty for the fish that swam in the sea. The power of the Mask of Life touched even the twisted, mutated beings who lived in the depths, curing them of the worst of their afflictions while leaving them able to survive beneath the waves.

In the great forest of Bota Magna, the giant, bio-mechanical reptiles created so long ago by the Great Beings watched, amazed, as their homeland shifted and changed all around them. Areas where trees and foliage had ceased to grow suddenly were green again. Smaller animals scurried from their hiding places to feast on the new growth.

Agori and Glatorian stood in the once-desert and were speechless. This was not the world they once knew — it was better. After 100,000 years of struggling to survive, of scraping for every morsel of food and drop of water, now there was enough for all. As they watched in awe, clouds gathered above their heads for the first time in living memory, it began to rain in Bara Magna.

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“Barraki Pridak…!”

Pridak felt his body moving through the ocean. He opened his eyes to see a Vortixx, one of his lieutenants, had pulled him from the waters… onto dry land.

“You idiot!” he cried, giving a hacking cough. “I can’t… breathe…”

He trailed away as he realized the impossible: he could breathe. His breathing helmet was so much shrapnel and glass, and his body was still monstrous and finned… but he was breathing air.

“What is this?” he murmured.

“I don’t know, sir,” said the Vortixx, “but since the universe turned upside down, I don’t know a lot of things.”

Pridak looked around. He and his rescuer were perched on the side of the Coliseum, where he had been pulled from a flooded room. Far above them was the leveled City of Legends, most of its buildings smashed to pieces. Below them, the waters of the Silver Sea had pooled over the darkened sky. The remains of buildings and warships floated idly through the dark waters. Some distance away, he could see the corpse of a giant sea serpent, its body battered and broken by impact with the skyscrapers.

“I don’t think there’s anything to be done, sir,” said the Vortixx. Pridak realized that several of his other soldiers were standing behind her. “The world is ending.”

“No,” Pridak coughed. His mind turned to the writing he had uncovered in the Makuta fortress, so many months ago. “There is… more… beyond the Great Barrier. We must leave this universe to die.”

His soldiers shared nervous glances. “Sir,” said one of them, “the legends say there is only the void outside our walls! You’ll lead us to our deaths!”

Pridak glared at the soldier. In an instant, the Barraki was on his feet, clutching the offending soldier by the throat. “No,” he growled, “I will lead my soldiers to salvation… except for you.”

Pridak hurled the soldier off the balcony, and let her fall from the Coliseum. His soldiers watched as she fell, screaming, into the darkened waters. The flooded dome seemed to swallow her whole.

“Does anyone else question my knowledge?” Pridak asked.

No one did.

“Another subject, sir,” said the Vortixx tentatively. She gestured to a building nearby, where Pridak could see several shapes moving. “Many of the survivors were injured, and cannot walk. How shall we transport them?”

“Are you a fool?” said Pridak. “We leave them. An injured soldier is no use to anyone.” He strode towards the Coliseum’s elevator, and wrenched open its doors. “There is a network of tunnels beneath here,” he explained. “They will lead us outside. Follow me if you wish to live.”

Behind him, the Vortixx and the soldiers murmured amongst themselves. “We don’t know what’s out there. We could be walking to our doom.” “Perhaps Barraki Pridak knows more than we do.” “Leaving is unknown, but staying here is certain death. I’ll take my chances.”

Eventually, the Vortixx made her decision. Silently, she climbed into the elevator, and joined Pridak. The rest of the soldiers mumbled incoherently, and followed. They rode, and then walked, in silence.

Pridak led his soldiers through the tunnels of the Coliseum, recalling the directions to the core. Makuta’s records had said this place was lined with traps, but as he continued, nothing else moved in the tunnels. Perhaps the traps had perished with the universe itself.

He never made it to the core. Halfway there, he found a tunnel opening blown apart, and climbed up into alien sunlight. Pridak and his soldiers stood in the middle of a gaping wound, amidst a slab of rock and metal. He knew not what could have devastated the Great Spirit so drastically, but he knew there was no life left within that thick hull.

“Barraki Pridak!” The cries came from behind his soldiers, as they gasped in surprise. Pridak looked to them, and then down at his body. A wave of light washed over his claws, his scales, and fins, which began to glow and change. When the light had cleared, he looked down at his old body: strong, lithe, and supple, the most perfectly forged body in all creation. He was beautiful once more.

His soldiers stared in dumbstruck wonder, until the Vortixx knelt and bowed her head in reverence. Still dazed, the other soldiers followed suit. Pridak looked down upon them through his bright and shining eyes, and gave a smile.

“There can be no doubt,” he declared. “Mata Nui smiles upon us. Follow me, and you will share in the greatness of my kingdom in this new world!”

His soldiers cheered. Pridak looked down at the rolling hills and green forests below him, admiring the bounty of this rich new paradise. “Oh, yes,” he murmured. “This will make an excellent kingdom.”

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Kopaka threw his weapon onto the sand slumped down a rock. He was tired, all the way down to the core of his being… tired of fighting and running and fighting some more. It seemed like that was all he had done since he and his teammates had arrived on the island of Mata Nui more than a year before. As he looked over the Bara Magna battlefield, and the hulking corpse of Makuta’s massive robot, he wondered if at last it was over.

He had answered Tahu’s call with all of the Toa Nuva, except for Lewa. Side by side with other Toa and the inhabitants of this world, they had battled Rahkshi, Skakdi, and vicious, black-armored warriors as well. Tahu had single-handedly defeated the Rahkshi, and the others had battered the rest of Makuta’s army into submission. The Makuta robot had been struck on the back of the head by an astral body and fallen faster than an avalanche on Mount Ihu. Now, one by one, Matoran and other inhabitants of the robot were emerging from the ruined shell into the sunlight of a new world.

Using his powers to create an ice ramp, Kopaka traveled over the treetops of the new jungle. He wanted some time alone.

Finding a likely spot, miles away from where the other Toa and Glatorian were assembled, he sat down to contemplate his future. The destiny of the Toa Nuva had been achieved, so he always had the option of giving up his Toa power and becoming a Turaga. But he had no real wish to wind up running a village or outpost somewhere.

He could always just retire from adventuring, of course. This was a whole new world for him, with plenty of places to explore and maybe even someplace to settle. It might be nice to do something besides battle for his life all the time. Of course, he had no idea what that “something” might be, but one thing he did know — there was no way he could lay down his weapons until Lewa was found.

The Toa of Air had been missing for days. It was possible he was simply in some other part of the robot and would be emerging. But he might also have been wounded or waylaid. As annoying as Lewa could be sometimes, he was a fellow Toa Nuva and… a friend. Kopaka made a silent vow to find him wherever he might be.

The first step would be to talk to the other Nuva and organize a search. Before he could do that, though, something extremely strange caught his eye. A section of the robot’s surface was simply disappearing. There had been no explosion, no heat, no sign of the metal being cut. One moment it was there, and the next it was gone.

What was even more bizarre was who emerged from the hole. A small army of Skakdi; a strange, golden-skinned creature; and… the Toa Mahri! The heroes did not seem to be hostages or prisoners. In fact, it looked like they were quite happily acting as beasts of burden for the Skakdi.

Lewa will have to wait, I’m afraid, thought Kopaka. I need to get to the bottom of this, for the Mahri’s sake if nothing else.

Fortunately, the new plant life created by Mata Nui provided a lot better cover than a desert ever could have. Kopaka trailed the Skakdi and their mysterious “allies” for miles. When they came to the shores of the ocean, the troop came to a halt. The Skakdi could be seen talking and gesturing to the golden-skinned creature.

The creature nodded once and turned to look at the cliffs beyond the beach. Before Kopaka’s startled eyes, a massive castle took shape atop the highest of the rock formations. The walls were made of stone and the towers bristled with weaponry. All of Metru Nui could probably have fit inside it, with room to spare.

This is extremely not good, thought Kopaka. One Toa Nuva can’t do anything here. Let’s find out what five can do.

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Lewa Nuva was in the middle of his own mystery at the moment. Transported to someplace called Bota Magna along with Toa Helryx, Vezon, Toa Tuyet, Miserix, Brutaka, and others, he had found himself in the presence of someone claiming to be an imprisoned Great Being who sought freedom. The members of his party had immediately fallen into debate on whether it was wise to free someone with so much potential power and evidently a tenuous grasp on sanity. Lewa rapidly grew tired of the argument and found his way out of the fortress.

The area in which he now stood was one of the most beautiful he had ever seen, even more stunning than the jungles of Mata Nui. He used his power to soar above the trees, taking in the majestic forest, beautiful rivers, rolling fields, cybernetically enhanced giant reptiles, and —

Lewa circled back for a second look. Yes, that was a lizard, roughly forty feet high by the Toa’s rough estimate. And yes, it did have a laser targeting system in place of one eye, its teeth were polished metal, and its tail was covered in circuitry for its entire length. The Toa of Air watched as the beast pursued a smaller and much faster reptile. The prey looked likely to escape… at least, until something flashed from the giant’s mechanical eye and the ground exploded in front of his quarry. The smaller reptile flew backwards, tumbling end over end, and landed hard on the forest floor. The larger reptile swallowed it whole.

And we thought we had Rahi problems on the island, thought Lewa. They grow them big here.

Swooping down for a closer view, Lewa spotted movement on the forest floor. This time, it wasn’t reptiles, but villagers not too different in size from Matoran. They were marching at a steady pace, seemingly unaware of the proximity of the massive predator. Lewa decided he had better warn them.

Landing some distance away, so as not to startle the natives, he waited for their approach. As soon as they saw him, they spread out as if to surround them. He kept his arms at his sides, not wanting to appear hostile. Now that they were closer, he could see they were quite different from Matoran in some ways. They carried very crude weapons, axes and spears and clubs made from wood and rock. While they did wear armor, it was a strange hybrid of metal and plant life.

One of the villagers, obviously the leader of the patrol, stepped forward and addressed the Toa. But Lewa could not understand anything he said. He tried to use gestures to convey the message that a huge reptile was not far away, but the villagers did not seem to get it, or else just didn’t care. They seemed much more fascinated about him. A few of the braver ones poked and prodded him, as if they had never seen his like before.

Now the leader was making gestures of his own, evidently asking Lewa’s point of origin. The Toa of Air smiled and nodded, trying to show he understood, and pointed in the direction of the fortress. There was an immediate murmuring among the villagers, not at all a happy sound. The next thing Lewa knew, the points of countless spears were at his throat.

Oh, thought the Toa of Air. It’s going to be this kind of day.