Part Three

When twilight fell over Spherus Magna, it happened quite literally. 100,000 years ago, when the two major fragments of the planet had been ejected, they had pulled in their wake many tons of debris that had followed them like tails of a comet. In the millennia that followed, their orbits, balanced between the gravity of the moons and Bara Magna, stabilized to form a swirling nimbus around the planet. But with the moons gone, the orbits of the debris were starting to collapse, and glowing lights illuminated the sky as the dirt and dust rained back down.

After the incident with the fight, Pohatu had been pulled away by some construction workers while some Order of Mata Nui members had conferred with Takanuva about plans to excavate the Codrex. Onua and Gali went on ahead.

So by the time Takanuva arrived at the Toa Nuva’s makeshift command center, he was unsurprised to see them already deep in conference with Tahu, Ackar, and Kiina, as they frequently had been for the past day and a half. Turaga Vakama was also there, occasionally speaking and lending his wisdom. The sandstone building was simple, having been erected soon after Makuta’s fall for this purpose out of some old Glatorian ruins. The structure afforded scarcely more protection from the elements than a simple tent would have.

Once, these meetings had been energetic, abuzz with new opportunities and optimism for the future. Now, little more than a day later, the atmosphere was heavy and slow. None of them had gotten any real rest since the battle.

“The southeast foothills,” Ackar yawned, dragging his finger across the map, “will be a large enough place to take the Agori and Glatorian for now. Although I expect we can mix our populations back together, I increasingly get the sense that they need some breathing room. Your arrival has united them as never before, but they are now a minority within their own land. They need space and time to get accustomed to the novelty of a shared planet. We all will.”

“Agreed,” Tahu nodded. “I’ll discuss it with the Vortixx currently camped there and see what arrangement we can come to.”

“Speaking of Vortixx,” Kiina jumped in. “At least… I think they’re Vortixx… Whatever they are, some ruffians near the Left Foot have been stealing Sand Stalkers from our pens and forcing them to fight each other. That is something I won’t tolerate, from Agori or any of your populations.”

Tahu slumped slightly, but then nodded. “I’ll handle it.”

Gali put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be supervising the other Toa of Water there tomorrow. I’ll take care of it on my way.”

“Lastly, on a somewhat happier note,” Ackar added, “Gresh has convinced the Tesaran elder to share a wealth of Thornax plants to help in the disassembly of the Makuta robot. Not sure if they’ll work on that metal framing, but given what I’ve seen of the inside, I’m sure you’ll still be able to put them to good use.”

In his mind’s eye, the Toa of Fire reflected on the explosive plants he’d encountered on Mata Nui and in Karda Nui. Having seen the explosive power of the Thornax, he knew this gift would be invaluable.

Turaga Vakama was thinking the same thing. “We know of the value of the Thornax plants,” he said. “We are grateful for this generosity.”

“Anyway, we’ll have to get going,” Ackar said, rising. “Kiina and I have one more meeting tonight with the Agori elders before we can call it quits. Today has been… productive. That’s good. If tomorrow is as industrious, we’ll have New Atero built by week’s end.”

“Let’s hope,” Tahu said, walking the Glatorian to the entrance. “But as long as no wars have started by then, I will be just as happy.”

✴        ✴        ✴

“The Vortixx are stealing their steeds?” Takanuva moaned, rubbing his face.

“It wasn’t Vortixx. It was Steltians,” Tahu replied. “I heard a rumor about it earlier today, but it slipped my mind.”

“It’s alright, Tahu,” Gali sighed. “You have more than enough to deal with. As I said, I’ll take care of it when I’m out there retrieving sea Rahi.”

Takanuva glanced at her. She looked dead tired too.

“No,” Tahu shook his head. “I need your help finding a place for a proper city for all these people. The New Atero.”

“Do we have anything to build it with?”

“We’ll use metal from the universe’s hull.”

There was a knock on the outside doorframe, before an orange Kakama Nuva popped through.

“I heard that Tahu was having a fun, upbeat conversation somewhere. Am I in the right place?”

Pohatu stepped inside the building.

“You must be in the wrong dimension,” the Toa of Earth mused. “You made a wrong turn somewhere and got lost.”

Gali cleared her throat. “Speaking of lost,” she said, “it appears we’ll have to continue this meeting without the company of Lewa or Kopaka.”

“Should we send someone after them?”

“I’m not worried about Kopaka,” Tahu said. “He was seen cooling himself after the fight. Knowing him, he has found a way of helping our efforts from solitude while he rejuvenates. But Lewa hasn’t been seen since he went searching for Artakha. Nor have the Toa Mahri been seen… nor Artakha, Karzahni, Helryx, and a number of others. All are unexplained and worrisome absences. Some of them would be of incredible help during these times.”

Pohatu shrugged. “Helpful, yes, and we should absolutely make certain they’re alright. But let’s not discount what we’ve knocked out so far. Our old universe is over halfway evacuated already, and preparations are made for disassembly. People are getting accustomed to this new world, and they’re eager to begin building our new cities.”

Tahu shook his head. “Every meeting I have, the obstacles that remain grow exponentially, Pohatu. Without a common enemy, things will inevitably get worse before they get better.”

“It’s already getting better,” said Pohatu, gesturing to the wall beyond which lay fields of houses he had raised. “See for yourself, brother. Our work has paid off. Not just today, but in the course of history. There are no more villains left to harm the Matoran, except maybe the Shadowed One — and I think his shattered fortress walls should tell him just how scared he should be of us.”

“As they say,” Onua nodded, “a house visited by Pohatu cannot stand.”

Tahu smiled grimly. “It would be one thing if we could solve our problems by banding together and defeating a villain with a Protodermis cage.” He smiled slightly at Turaga Vakama, who nodded. “But the problems we face here are more complicated now, and solving them will take more thought than that,” the Toa of Fire finished.

Gali crossed her arms. “We’re Toa. We don’t carry our immense power for nothing — our purpose is to help and protect the Matoran. It would be trivially easy to assign some Toa of Stone to building houses, Toa of Water to providing drinking water to the Matoran, and Toa of the Green to grow food for the Agori. All we need is more Toa who can help with just that. Then we’ll be set.”

“I agree with Gali,” said Takanuva. “I’m sure there are plenty of Toa still making their way out of the universe who can do just that.”

“There aren’t.” Onua said softly. “There have been a lot of refugees flooding out of the universe, none of them Toa. There simply aren’t enough of us. Whenua and I have counted again and again, and we can barely name forty. Many of the ones we know personally are unaccounted for, and the rest are still recovering from the showdown with Makuta.”

The group fell silent.

Pohatu piped up. “I can continue supervising the camps and forming structures for people. And if Kopaka shows up, both of us could make cooling stations.”

Onua nodded. “I will focus on guiding the Toa of Earth, Water, and Air in evacuating the universe’s Rahi populations.”

“Good,” Tahu said. “And if Lewa isn’t accounted for soon, I’ll likely send you after him. Takanuva—”

“There is something I must see to in our old universe,” Takanuva interjected. “A place I have dreaded returning to, but which requires my attention.”

“Do you need any of us to come with you? Is it a threat to us?”

“Creatures that should still be in suspended animation. I may take a Toa of Sonics. Maybe Krakua, if he’s up for it.”

“Good. Once that’s finished, I want you to track down the Toa Mahri. They were last reported heading to Zakaz. If you’re in the area, see if you can find any clues.”

“I’ll start my search for a place for New Atero to the north,” Gali said.

“Excellent,” Tahu said. “Once you think you have some good options, send for me and I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Pohatu said. “Is that all for tonight?”

“All we need to discuss, yes,” Tahu nodded. “Although if Gali and Onua have some time, I would appreciate your input with a small matter. Out of all of us, you two have interacted most closely with all the other Toa. Mata Nui left us with one task, and while it’s clear we will be too busy to see to it ourselves, we cannot neglect it altogether.”

✴        ✴        ✴

Turaga Vakama stepped outside the meeting center. While Gali and Onua had been preparing a list of known Toa, Tahu had stepped outside for a breather. But he had been gone for some time now.

In some ways it had felt odd being present at the meeting and not guiding it. Like the other Turaga of Metru Nui, he had felt that they should be present as advisors carrying the wisdom of the past. But the world of the future was something Tahu and the others would have to shape.

“Looking for me, wise Turaga?”

Vakama looked up. Tahu was sitting cross-legged on the roof of the building.

The Turaga looked to the side of the structure, where a small set of stairs had been carved to allow ascent. Tahu watched silently as his mentor made his way onto the balcony.

“This is a beautiful view,” Vakama said, looking around at the twinkling campsite laid out before them. There was the hubbub of creatures chatting late into the night and others trying to find a place to sleep. In the night, the struggles of the day seemed far away, and with the guards posted along the edges of the camp, it was almost a different world.

“You should know,” Vakama said abruptly, “that whatever is in our power to do, the Turaga will do it. We have cared for you Toa since you arrived to save us from Makuta. We will always be here for you.”

“I could not have come this far without the wisdom you imparted. Even now, there’s so much I wish I could know from you.”

“Such as?”

“Such as your composure,” Tahu said. “You experienced the universe more intimately than we Toa Nuva did. Now it’s all been destroyed in another cataclysm, and once again you’ve been forced to help guide everyone out of it.”

“Perhaps the first time I didn’t handle it so well,” Vakama shrugged. “But I now know the joys of seeing a paradise flourish. Seeing a civilization build itself out of nothing before your very eyes. If I had any lesson to teach now, it would be this: do not let yourself be so mired in tedium that the beauty of what’s happening around you passes you by.”

Tahu smiled. “Let’s hope another dark lord doesn’t come to ruin it.”

Vakama chuckled.

The glowing lights of debris streaking across the sky seemed to grow more vivid. It was more vivid than any fireworks they had ever seen.

“I think sometimes,” Tahu said finally, “of the many ways this could go. So many possibilities that could play out. All our lives, there has been such uncertainty. Yet it feels like here more than ever, anything can happen.”

“You are right to feel this way. Every rule we have known has been discarded.”

“Every possibility, every alternate path is legitimate. Any number of chronicles can be written. What tales could be told of the choices a parallel Tahu makes? With every decision that lies in store, the multiverse is going to get very crowded these next few weeks.”

Vakama nodded.

The next few moments were spent in silence. Mentor and student gazed out across the sparkling lights of known civilization and attempted in vain to pierce into the darkness that lay beyond.