Disclaimer: This is a
work of fiction based off the Lego Bionicle story. I do not intend to make money off this
blog. I have links to BIONICLEsector01 and The BIONICLE
Wiki so that if you
want to know more about the things I mention you can look them up and to also
show I did not come up with the things that are linked and I do not take
ownership of them. I do not describe the
things that are linked for the sake of focusing on the story behind my self MOC
and trying to have those interested in learning more go to the other sources
and learn about the Bionicle Universe on their own. I have Maori words in my story and I am using
them to add to the feel of the story. I
am not trying to use the words as my own or change their meaning. As such the Maori words that are not already
part of Bionicle but are in my blog should translate very closely to, if not
exactly to the already established translation from Maori to English. I do not claim ownership of the words in any
fashion. I also use made up words and words that have part of Māori words or
words from another language. Again, not
trying to claim any ownership or change the meaning just using them to fit the
feel of the story. I am writing this
blog just for fun and I am not trying to make any kind of statement. I hope all my readers enjoy the story.
Time
Ripples
After fusing the pool from his flask
with the pool below the Codrex Maruahi went to Metru Nui and retrieved the Vahi
from Vakama. He opened a time rift and
stepped through it. Helryx had been
following him and stepped through with him.
Maruahi let her think he was unaware of her presence and headed out of
the still being built Metru Nui. He ran
into some beings who called themselves the Great Beings. He inquired after some of their creations a
Toa of Water named Helryx and her Toa team.
The Great Beings told him that Helryx was still being created but her
team was amongst the Agori. Maruahi found the first
five Toa tormenting defenseless Agori.
They had been created with an excess amount of pride and thought they
could do as they pleased. This thought
was increased when the Glatorian could not match them due to the Glatorian’s lack of elemental
abilities. The Toa also had physical
attributes that also helped them to defeat the Glatorians. Maruahi defeated them one by one and took
them back to the Great Beings. The Great
Beings altered the make-up of all future Toa, including Helryx, to ensure that
they did not become as prideful as the first five. Then the first five began waking up and
attacking the Great Beings. Helryx broke
from hiding and began fighting her own Toa team. Maruahi helped defeat them and intended on
imprisoning them. Helryx however, killed
them while he was discussing with the Great Beings where to imprison them. Maruahi returned to find them dead and
demanded Helryx tell him why she had killed them. She said it was because she was willing to do
what was necessary even if he wasn’t. He
opened up a time rift back to their present time and telekinetically forced
Helryx through. Before the rift closed
behind her Helryx told Maruahi that she now understood why the Great Beings had
blamed him for the death of her Toa team and now knowing the truth she would
stop trying to kill him.
Maruahi was confused how Helryx had
only been able to recall that it was the Great Beings who had told her of the
demise of her team and wrongly accused Maruahi due to them not being present
when the Toa team members were killed; after she had killed her Toa teammates. The Rangahau and the Motuhake were also
confused. Maruahi then turned around and
found Great Beings charging at him calling him a murderer. They had weapons made from many different
substances. One of them was something
Maruahi had not seen before. The Rangahau
called it Antidermis.
When Maruahi caught a blow to the chest of an Antidermis blade he
suddenly could feel his shadow abilities surging through him. He found that he had to use his shadow
abilities to ensure that the Great Beings did not overwhelm him. His fire and light abilities were ineffective
and his weapons were not enough on their own.
Once he was able to properly fend them off he told them it was not he
who killed Helryx’s Toa team. The Great
Beings did not believe him since the bodies had wounds that matched his
Protosteel knives. Maruahi then
remembered that during the fight he had thrown the blade to Helryx to help her fight
off one of the first five. Helryx had
not given the knife back but instead used it on the first five and then left it
behind when Maruahi sent her back to her own time. Maruahi realized that the Great Beings would
not be swayed in their conviction and he decided to ask them questions. He asked if they had created the any of the
Legendary Masks or if they had created any Toa other than the first five? The Great Beings realized that they could not
defeat him and that he was not trying to kill them so they stopped fighting and
tentatively answered his questions out of fear that if they did not he might
use more of his shadow abilities to force them to respond. They told him they were working on a project
of the most powerful Toa yet. These Toa could
match or outstrip the abilities of the Element Lords.
These Toa would defend the Great
Beings or the Matoran Universe from the Element Lords should they ever
attack. The Rangahau and the Motuhake
told Maruahi that he must stop asking questions that if answered might change
his destiny. Maruahi ignored them and
asked them to show him to these projects.
The Great Beings led him to an underground lab full of Energized
Protodermis. The Great Beings told him
that they had to be careful with the substance since it came from the planet
and only replicated itself at a certain rate.
If they collected it too quickly and tried to drain it from the source
then something might happen to the planet.
They showed him to an observation room and from there he saw four Great
Beings working with Protodermis, Energized Protodermis, fire, and a substance
he had seen before but did not know it’s name.
They told him it was Antidermis.
Maruahi thought to himself, there it was again but he did not know what
it was or where he had seen it before traveling to this time. He asked how they had gotten the materials to
mix. The Great Beings told him it was a
trade secret that they would tell no one and these four particular Great Beings
were the only ones who had combined all these substances together
successfully. Maruahi then realized that
they were working on creating him. This
was the before two of his four creators died.
He told them to stop. They said
they had already started and if they stopped they would have to start all over
again. He told them something bad was
going to happen if they did not stop immediately. Suddenly the Great Being controlling the flow
of Energized Protodermis lost control of the flow. Some of the substance began to spurt onto the
Great being controlling the flow of Antidermis who jerked in pain. The sudden motion caused the Antidermis to
spill out on the Great Being who was controlling it. He shrieked in pain as the Antidermis seemed
to make its way up and over his head.
Then he fell dead to the floor.
The Energized Protodermis spurted again hitting its controller and he
began melting. The Great Being
controlling the flow of Protodermis stopped his flow and rushed to the
exit. The Great Being controlling the
flow of fire increased the flow and then shut off the flow of Energized
Protodermis and headed to the spout of Antidermis. She successfully shut it off and then used
the increased fire to surround the other substances. Then there was a flash and she shut off the
fire spout. Maruahi looked at himself
not knowing what to do. The two
surviving Great Beings stumbled into the observation room. Maruahi asked why the being in the room was
not moving. The Great Beings told him
that their creations were created and then put into stasis until their creators
were sure they were finished with all of the features they wanted the creation
to have. The Great Being who was
controlling the flow of fire said now it was time to put it through the vats. The others shouted no. They did not want to finish the being because
it might get more of them killed. The
Great Being who had been controlling the flow of fire was adamant and said that
the two who had died knew that their might be consequences working with both
Antidermis and Energized Protodermis. They
started the project knowing the risks and the project should be finished to
honor their memory. The others conceded
that they should finish the being before them but they would not create an
entire set of six as they had intended.
Maruahi wanted to follow the Great
Beings as they finished his creation but they forbid it. He had told them to stop and that something
bad would happen if they did not. They
wanted to know how he knew what was going to happen. He said he did not know what was going to
happen but he knew he had a bad feeling.
The Great Beings then asked him where he came from. He told them it was probably best if he went
back to where he came from since he had already seen more than he had
intended. The Great Beings had seen his
fire, light and shadow abilities and wanted to know more about him. They told him if he agreed to stay longer
then they would let him explore the vats that had been mentioned earlier. Maruahi agreed to stay if he got to visit the
vats on his own. The Great Beings agreed
and had him follow them through multiple other chambers. They led him down a stairway and then they
stopped at the door at the bottom.
Maruahi entered the chamber and shut the door behind him.
Maruahi found four vats; three of the
vats were full of Energized Protodermis and the fourth contained a substance
that the Rangahau identified as liquid Antidermis.
Maruahi asked what Antidermis was and why did it seem as though he had
fought against it before the Great Beings.
The Rangahau explained that Antidermis is the building block of the Makuta. When Makuta Teridax took over as the lead
Makuta they evolved into beings composed of a gaseous Antidermis. Every time Maruahi had landed a blow on
Teridax, or another Makuta either his blades, his hands or his feet came into
contact with their armor or their Antidermis.
Maruahi could sense that a being of fire had been through all of
them. The third vat seemed to radiate
light and the vat of liquid Antidermis seemed to be catching the light and
sucking it inwards thus emulating shadow.
Maruahi knew that if a being was destined to transform then Energized
Protodermis would usually make the being more powerful. If a being was not destined to transform then
Energized Protodermis would kill the being.
He wondered how a being had been destined to make four transformations
and why the fourth was Antidermis.
Maruahi then realized that the fourth vat must have a connection to
shadow abilities since it was sucking the radiating light, turning it inwards and
emulating shadow. Maruahi gasped in the
realization that these vats were his. He
had asked the Great Beings to lead him here but he still found it unnerving. He was the being of fire who had been put
into each of the vats and survived. The
Rangahau told him that Energized Protodermis will latch onto the thoughts of
those making the vats or those who have come into contact with the
substance. When the vats for the Toa
Whakawa were made so were the containers of the Liquid Protodermis that would
become the six Legendary Masks. Maruahi
was puzzled because the Vahi had been formed from the six Great Disks of Metru
Nui. The Rangahau said that the Great
Disks were made by Artakha who used a pool of Liquid Protodermis, given to him
by the Great Beings. That pool was
originally going to be turned into the Vahi by the Great Beings but they decided
to let Artakha determine how and when the Vahi would come about. When the vats within the Bahrag lair were
created so were the Nuva Symbols and the pools of Liquid Protodermis for the
Kanohi Nuva. The Rangahau said that just
as the Toa Nuva and those who survived the vats within the Bahrag lair would be
able to use Kanohi Nuva those who survived the Toa Whakawa vats would be able
to understand and use the Legendary Masks to their full potential. Maruahi asked if it was sure it had not known
before-hand what had happened to his creators during his creation. The Rangahau said that as he had just
witnessed the mask was not present during his creation and was not told
everything. Maruahi asked if it could
read the thoughts and duties of the Great Beings. The Rangahau said it could not.
Maruahi used the Energized Protodermis
vats backwards to regain his full elemental power in shadow, light and then
fire. He was fully in control of his own physical appearance again so rather than
allowing his appearance to be changed by the Energized Protodermis he made his
appearance as it originally was. The two
fire Energized Protodermis vats also gave him a greater understanding of how
powerful he truly was. He could use his
shadow abilities to cloud the judgement of his opponents or those in his way.
He could use his light abilities to heighten the judgement and the
understanding of his allies or those who he wanted to convince rather than
fight. He could affect beings created
with Antidermis and beings with shadow abilities so that he could use their
powers against them. He could also turn
the light or fire abilities of other beings against them just as he could with
shadow and Antidermis. After witnessing
his creation, seeing his vats and going through the vats a second time Maruahi
realized that his shadow abilities actually doubled his light abilities. Prior to this he had always thought his light
abilities and shadow abilities were equal.
Maruahi
rejoined the Great Beings who led him out of their vast underground lab. They led him back to the building site of the
giant robot and began telling him about the Matoran Universe and their plans
for it. The Great Beings asked him what
it was like to control three elements.
Maruahi said that it was very useful, that it took concentration to use
more than one at a time, and even with multiple powers he was still
vulnerable. He told them a fight he had
against the Bohrok swarms, he never called them by name so as to not infer he
was from the future and had fought their creations. In this fight multiple Kohrak had successfully pinned him to the ground with their ice. The Great Beings asked how he got out. Maruahi explained that the Kohrak saw him as
an obstacle that was removed once he was covered in ice and they forgot about
him. So when he broke free using his
fire abilities they had moved away and given him the chance to attack while
they were trying to freeze over a river of lava. He asked them why a being might feel certain
emotions when using certain elements.
The Great Beings were confused because they had never heard of this
before. Then the Great Being who had
been controlling the flow of fire during the new Toa’s creation and had seen to
the finishing of his creation came back.
She said that it was because if a being was made from Antidermis and
Energized Protodermis the two would be at odds.
The two substances were alive in some ways and could act in unexpected
ways. Which is why the Energized
Protodermis began spurting during the new Toa’s creation and the Antidermis
suffocated one of the Great Beings during the new Toa’s creation. The two would always seek to overwhelm the
other and thus they would influence the being emotionally when used. Antidermis would express its anger at having
to work with or being melded to Energized Protodermis. In turn the Energized Protodermis would
express its joy and bliss at finally being able to work with and be melded to
its opposite. Maruahi then asked why
Antidermis should be included in the make-up of the Toa they had just
created. The Great Being responded that
he was made to face off against all beings of power, especially if the Makuta,
the Toa or the Element Lords ever turned on the Great Beings or the
Matoran. Maruahi asked who would be
there to stop the new Toa if it became evil.
The Great Beings said that this Toa had been put in vats tied to the
Legendary Masks and the Legendary Masks would guide him. They also said that if he got out of hand
then the spirit Mata Nui or the robot Marendar would be able to defeat him.
Maruahi
asked if they had set up any failsafe should the Matoran Universe ever fall
into the wrong hands. If Mata Nui was
killed or incapacitated who was to take over.
The Great Beings all agreed that a Makuta could access the Core
Processor and would save the universe.
Maruahi asked what if the universe was in danger from the Makuta. The Great Beings then said that the Toa they
had just created would have to be the one to take over the universe. Maruahi asked what if that Toa did not want
to take over the universe, what if it just wanted to stop the Makuta or any
other threat and it did not want the power of the universe unless it needed it
to stop a threat. The Great Beings
laughed and said that they did not give the Matoran or the Toa free will. They had them acting off of instinct. They were made for a purpose that the Great
Beings had for them, not to find their own purpose. There was one Great Being who stayed silent
at this point and seemed to have gotten an idea that it did not want to share
with the rest. Maruahi then asked what
Helryx was to be told about her Toa team.
One of the Great Beings said she was awake and had been told
already.
At this
point Maruahi and the Great Beings were in another observation room that looked
over the creation of Metru Nui. The
Great Beings began to argue saying that she should have her memories erased and
she should think of herself as the first Toa.
Others wanted her to know the truth.
The argument also turned to what was to be done when the new Toa was
awakened from stasis. Some wanted it to
be killed because it had already killed two Great Beings and it could kill
more. Others said that would dishonor
those who had died creating him. Maruahi
himself stayed silent during the argument.
They asked for his input and he said that the creations were theirs and
the decision was theirs alone. They
agreed to banish the new Toa and to erase Helryx’s memories until they became
relevant. Maruahi asked how that was
possible. They said given the right
materials and the right amount of time and experimentation they could do
anything. The Rangahau told him that
because the adjustments made to Helryx’s memory were done by the Great Beings
none of the Legendary Masks would be able to find the adjustments or understand
why they could not see what the Great Beings had hidden. The Great Beings had made the Legendary Masks
for the Matoran Universe not for themselves and thus they could get around even
Legendary Mask mind reading abilities.
The Great Beings asked if Maruahi would stay and help with the Core War. Maruahi said that even if
he helped with the Core War all he would be doing was delaying the
inevitable. The secret of Energized
Protodermis and its power was out and the beings of the planet would seek to
use it for their own intensions. He said
that the problem must be dealt with by the Great Beings and the Agori not by
foreign visitors.
The Great
Beings said they did not want to meddle.
Maruahi exasperated said they should not have created the Element Lords
or the Baterra. If they were going to
meddle then they should clean up their mess and if they were not going to
meddle then they should stop influencing the Agori or creating things that
would affect the Agori. They lived on
the same planet and thus they were going to influence or “meddle” with the
Agori at some point and should stop being by-standers. He would not stop the war even if he could
because it was a war they should be trying to stop. If they would not stop it then they must live
with the consequences. Maruahi got up
and left the room. Heading for the
Coliseum of Metru Nui, where he had first appeared and where he had opened the
time rift. The Great Being who had
controlled the flow of fire during the new Toa’s creation asked him if he could
really leave with all the death happening because of the war. Maruahi answered that it was not his
fight. The Great Being agreed but that
did not stop the innocent from dying and it certainly did not stop dying in
general. She asked if he was a mercenary
that only fought for his own people or was he a good being that fought for the
right reasons no matter the cost or no matter who he had to side with. Maruahi told her that if he interfered then
the planet might still split. The Great
being responded that it did not matter what happened to the planet what
mattered was how many Agori were saved.
Maruahi asked why she did not join the fight if she felt this way. She laughed and said she did not but she saw
that while the Great Beings had been arguing and while they had told him they
did not want to meddle, Maruahi had been fighting himself. She could tell he did care and she wanted him
to leave Spherus Magna happy and not with regrets.
Maruahi asked why she cared if he was happy. She replied that they were not heartless they
just did not believe in the same things he did.
Maruahi
headed out for the Energized Protodermis
spring.
The Rangahau and the Motuhake tried to stop him saying it was not his
destiny or his duty. Maruahi ignored
them and kept moving forward. The
Rangahau asked how he hoped to win against all the Element Lords, their Glatorian,
and their Agori. His Mask powers would
be limited since he was no longer within the Matoran Universe. Maruahi asked it what it meant but kept
moving. The Rangahau said that the only
masks to work properly outside of the Matoran Universe were the Legendary Masks
and those masks created or inspired by the Great Beings. The masks of the Toa Mata and the Toa Nuva
were inspired by the Great Beings and thus could be used outside of the Matoran
Universe but besides those, a Rode or Rode Nuva, and the Legendary Masks all
other masks would be limited or useless.
Maruahi asked why the Rode and Rode Nuva would work. The Rangahau told him that he had been made
with a Rode making Rode masks created or inspired by the Great Beings and thus
the Rode Nuva was inspired by the Great Beings as well. The Rangahau explained that Maruahi’s Rode
had been given to Artakha for safe keeping.
They had taken it off of Maruahi’s stasis sleeping body and replaced it
with the Rangahau so that the Rangahau might guide the most powerful Toa in
existence. All Toa were made with a
Great Mask while Legendary Masks were created completely separate from anything
else. This was to ensure the creator could focus solely on the Legendary Mask
in question and ensure the most power was contained within the Legendary Masks.
Maruahi
asked why the Rangahau had told him about his destiny as “the Investigator”
when the Great Beings had not mentioned it.
The Rangahau told him it had seen it as the best way to keep him looking
for threats rather than becoming one himself.
The Great Beings had banished him and not given him an official mission;
even though they had great aspirations for what he was capable of and what he
could do. If he was idle or without a
mission then he might turn evil but if he was always seeking out evil and
learning how to defeat evil then he would have no time to become evil
himself. Maruahi agreed that it was a
good plan and it worked so he understood the reasoning behind the ruse. Maruahi told them that the Element Lords
might be able to control their respective elements but he had shadow and light
abilities that they did not have and they would not expect. He was determined to stop the war and the
increasing deaths of the Agori.
Maruahi
came upon a battle of Agori and Glatorian from all tribes surrounding the
spring. He changed into a shadow and
made his way undetected to the spring.
He saw that it was surrounded by ice sculptures made to look like Glatorian
of the Ice Tribe. They were so detailed
that Maruahi took off his Protosteel Rode Nuva and looked at them with his own
eyes. His bristled because it seemed as
if the ice Glatorian came alive and they knew he was there. He did not move but readied himself for the
attack. The Glatorian did not move. Maruahi waited and then put his Protosteel
Rode Nuva back on. He could once again
tell that the ice Glatorian were detailed sculptures and not real live
Glatorian. Maruahi then saw the Element Lord of Ice who was giving the sculptures their lifelike appearance. Maruahi wanted to use his telepathic mask
abilities to challenge the Element Lords to fight him without the Agori or the
Glatorian but his telepathic abilities were not working. Maruahi remained a shadow but he grew in size
and he emitted a pulse of shadow knocking those around the spring off their
feet. He continued to grow until the
combatants below him stopped fighting and stood awe struck. In a booming voice he demanded the Element
Lords face him alone. The Element Lord
of Ice and the Element Lord of Rock began attacking the Agori and Glatorian surrounding them, even
their own tribe members. They shouted up
at Maruahi telling him that they would do as they liked, he could not scare
them with his illusionary tricks.
Maruahi’s rage had been building as he had not been countering his shadow
use with light use while moving as a shadow and growing into the towering
shadow form. Seeing two of the Element
Lords turn on their own tribe caused him to snap. Shadow coursed from his fists at the Element
Lord of Rock and the Element Lord of Ice.
The two blasts seared through the two Element Lords and they fell to the
ground unconscious from the pain and shock.
Maruahi knew that if he did not use light his rage would grow but he did
not want the Element Lords to know his full abilities or his true nature. He wanted them to think they were up against
a being of shadow only. He wanted to
show that beings of shadow could do the right thing and could be victorious
while fighting for peace and the innocent.
The Rangahau commented that the Element Lords, the Agori and the
Glatorian had never run into a being of shadow before. The Makuta of the Mata Nui robot were not
active at this point in time. Maruahi
would not be moved thinking that if the Agori or the Glatorian had good stories
or memories of shadow beings then they could tell them to the inhabitants of
the Mata Nui robot allowing for the Matoran and others to gain a perspective of
shadow beings separate from the atrocious actions of the Makuta.
The
remaining four Element Lords joined forces and attacked Maruahi. The Agori all fled from the battle. The Glatorian of the Rock Tribe and Ice Tribe fled as well.
The remaining Glatorian stayed behind continuing to battle thinking that
their respective Element Lords cared for their lives. Maruahi caused a fire to surge from the Element Lord of Fire knocking a group of combatants to the ground and causing them to
have severe burns. The Element Lords
ignored their Glatorian and the injuries they had just sustained from the fire
and continued fighting Maruahi. The
Glatorian realized that the Element Lords did not care for their lives or
safety and fled the battle as well. Maruahi
stopped holding back now that the Glatorian and Agori were gone. He made giant fists of shadow and pummeled
the Element Lords to the ground.
However, the Element Lords were able to effectively put Maruahi on the
defensive as they figured out how to work together and once the Element Lord of
Rock and the Element Lord of Ice rejoined the fight Maruahi was pressed even
harder to keep them from defeating him.
He knew he could kill them one by one using his shadows but he did not
want to kill them. Then he remembered
watching the Toa Mata as they put a Toa Seal around the Bahrag to imprison them and stop the
destruction caused by the Bohrok swarms.
Maruahi only had three elements at his disposal and light and shadow
cancelled each other out. Then he
thought the only reason the Element Lords were working together was because he
posed a common threat but take him away and they would start fighting for the
spring again. Maruahi decided on not
fleeing but instead using the Element Lords’ disunity against them. He again caused fire to surge from the
Element Lord of Fire and this time he had it hit the Element Lord of
Water. As the Element Lord of Water sent
out of stream to hit the Element Lord of Fire in retaliation Maruahi used
shadow to twist around and redirect the water stream to hit the Element Lord of
Jungle. The Element Lords turned on each
other and all six elements began flailing around them. Maruahi backed away from the Element Lords
but kept his shadows swirling around them.
Maruahi used shadow to guide and bind the other six elements
together. He slowed his breathing and
focused on the ebb and flow of the elements.
Once he had the other elements successfully combined he ebbed away his
shadows at different intervals allowing excess elemental powers to escape the
flow until all was equal and then he surged his shadow abilities back and
matched and twisted the shadows around and in the other elements. He also
imparted a portion of his Toa Power to make the elements combine properly as if they had come
from Toa. This formed a Toa Seal surrounding
the Element Lords. Since Maruahi had
combined shadow in and around the other six elements the seal had portions of
it that did not contain one of the seven elements used to create the full
seal. This meant that the seven elements
would need to be used carefully and precisely in-order to free the Element Lords
from the Toa Seal. This fight lasted a
week and it was not until mid-day on the seventh day that Maruahi was able to
imprison the Element Lords in the Toa Seal.
Maruahi was then surrounded by the
Agori and Glatorian of the Rock Tribe.
They threatened to kill him if he did not relinquish the spring. Maruahi had been holding his growing temper
since he had knocked the Element Lord of Rock and the Element Lord of Ice off
their feet the first time. He saw that
the Rock Tribe was ungrateful for his efforts to save them from needless
bloodshed and his anger increased even more.
With an effort he told the Rock Tribe to leave while they still
could. He asked them what hope they had
of winning if he had just defeated all six of the Element Lords. The Rock Tribe said that they knew he would
not kill them and he could not imprison them all. The Rock Tribe then rushed him. Maruahi’s anger had reached its limit and he
snapped his fingers. Two Skrall of the leader-class were ripped apart from the inside by
shadows. Their remains splattered on
those next to them. The Rock Tribe
stopped awestruck. They had been certain
Maruahi would not kill. Maruahi snapped
again and ten more Skrall of the leader-class were surrounded by swirling
shadows that twisted and crushed them.
The Rock Tribe began to flee.
Maruahi suddenly felt mental attacks and began seeing illusions. The female Skrall were
using their mental abilities. Maruahi
saw through the illusions they tried to trick him with by using his Rode Nuva
abilities. However, the Rode did not
protect his mind from mental assaults and the female Skrall were able to put
him on the defensive allowing for the tribe to escape. Once the attacks stopped Maruahi was
alone.
The Rangahau challenged Maruahi to
survive in space. Maruahi propelled
himself past the sky into the blackness declaring that he would survive and
then he would melt both the Rangahau and the Motuhake, and after that he would
find and kill the remaining members of the Rock Tribe. He got outside the atmosphere and began
freezing and noticed that there was no oxygen for him to breathe. The Motuhake said and thus dies the most
powerful Toa. Fire that has taken shape
is being put out. Maruahi became a
pillar of fire but he was not using oxygen so his flame was alien even to him. Confused he asked the two orbs what was
happening. The two orbs told him he was
burning hydrogen and helium instead of oxygen since oxygen was sparse to
non-existent in space. His abilities
were such that he could burn anything and anywhere if he tried. Since Maruahi was no longer a shadow his
anger was lessening and using his favorite element was further lessening his
anger. As his anger abated the memories
of slaughtering the Skrall leader-class warriors flooded in. He realized that his anger had gotten the
better of him and it had led him to kill.
Maruahi began using his light abilities and started to purge his shadow
abilities. The Rangahau and the Motuhake
pleaded with him to stop saying his destiny and duty relied on him having both
shadow and light. Maruahi ignored them
and continued to purge his shadow. Then
he became lightheaded and his thoughts disjointed. In a haze of withering effort he asked the
orbs what was happening. They told him
they did not understand what was happening either. Maruahi stopped purging his shadow and
stopped using his light altogether. He
propelled himself back to the planet surface and began shifting between fire,
light and shadow. He realized that he
was composed of the three and if he purged any of them then he would lose part
of himself mentally, physically, and in essence. He reversed his purging of shadow and began
purging his light until his mind cleared and he felt like himself again. He thanked the Rangahau and the Motuhake for
helping him to stop using his shadows and thus calming him down. If they had not he feared many more would
have died by his hands.
Ashvelg
He then began shifting in and out of
his different elements again studying what he saw and felt. As he was shifting
he realized as a pillar of flame he emitted light and cast a shadow. The light was him and so was the shadow even
though he had focused only on being fire.
When he was a pillar of light there was at least a spark of flame inside
the pillar and the pillar cast a shadow.
When he was a shadow his light was casting the shadow and there was at
least a spark inside the light. He was
never one without being the other two.
He began mixing and melding his elements trying to use them all at the
same time. It clicked. The shadow and the light worked together and
could be used when fire was put between them.
His fire essence bound the other two essences together. He could take full physical shape because his
shadow doubled his light, making him more solid. If he had equal shadow and light then he
would rely on his fire and fire was not solid.
If he had more light than shadow then he would disburse and not be able
to maintain the same shape or consistency.
Maruahi could now use all three of his abilities simultaneously and
fused together. In the back of his mind
he had known since he went through the four vats that he could but he had been
unsuccessful till now. He asked the
Rangahau and the Motuhake how the Great Beings had hoped to link any of the
other elements with both light and shadow other than fire. None of the other elements could be found to
create or affect both light and shadow as fire does. The others could be affected by light and
then create shadows as a result but the light would have to come from somewhere
else.
Maruahi sensed the two orbs had
become uncomfortable. Then he heard a
roaring of a giant engine in the distance.
The orbs became even more uncomfortable.
He could feel the flames and gases as they propelled it toward the
planet. As the object came closer
Maruahi realized it was a giant robot like the one the Great Beings were making
into the Matoran Universe. He could also
sense beings of shadow and beings of light aboard the giant robot. Maruahi reached out with the Rangahau to see
what these beings were. He saw thirteen
elemental beings before he mind was forced away by another being’s mental
abilities. The giant robot changed
course and headed right for Maruahi. The
being who had forced Maruahi out of the other beings heads began mentally
attacking Maruahi. Maruahi took deep
breaths as he let the other being gain ground and then he threw up his mental
defense and was able to get the other being out of his head. Without the use of his telepathic abilities
he could not strike back but he could defend his own mind and keep the other
being from penetrating it. The other
being telepathically asked him how he had come to have such mental
defenses. Maruahi knowing that any
conversation could lead to distraction stayed silent and waited for the giant
robot to descend upon him. In the back
of his mind Maruahi thought of all the times he had used the Rangahau, the
Motuhake, and his telepathic and telekinetic abilities on his opponents. All of these uses had strengthened his mental
focus and sharpened his mental defenses.
He did however have a hard time moving while keeping up his defenses
against this particular being. The giant
robot landed and the thirteen beings came out.
He Toa before him but they were different. They were more powerful and yet their power
was uncertain. They asked him who he was
and why he had tried to probe their minds.
He said he would talk if the Psionics one would stop attacking his mind. The mental attacks stopped. He told them he was a Toa and he could sense
they were a threat to the planet and they wished to harm the Great Beings. The other twelve looked at the Psionics one
as if to ask why he had not stopped Maruahi’s quick probe with the
Rangahau. The Psionics one shrugged and
then said in a steely voice that Maruahi would not trick him again. A blue being other than the Psionics one
stepped forward and told Maruahi that he was in the company of the most
powerful Toa ever.
Maruahi asked why he was surprised
that the Great Beings and the two orbs had lied to him again. The Motuhake said that one would not go
looking for something if they thought it did not exist. Maruahi asked how they were able to get past
the abilities of the Rode and Rode Nuva.
The Rangahau explained that they had simply not told him everything but
they had not lied. The Great Beings lied
so much they could not always keep their own lies straight and the Rode and
Rode Nuva were not made to read through their creators. These Toa came before him but they were not
going to be part of his Whakawa team.
The Whakawa team was to be made with Antidermis as he was so as to
better control their shadow and light abilities. These Toa had been put into a vat of
Energized Protodermis for increasing their original abilities, then a vat for
giving them light abilities and finally their light abilities were partially
drawn out of them causing them to have shadow abilities. The white member of the group stepped forward
and told Maruahi that if he did not get in the way then they would leave him
alone. The Great Beings had created them
and then banished them. They were to get
what was coming to them and it was none of his affair. Maruahi thanked him for considering his
safety but he could take care of himself.
An ice beam shot from the white Toa’s hand Maruahi blocked it with his
fire and then shot a beam of light that sliced off the white Toa’s hand. Maruahi told him to back off or he would
kill. The one Maruahi recognized as a
Toa of Earth stopped the infuriated Toa of Ice asked
Maruahi if he really thought he could defeat all thirteen of them. Maruahi said it may take time and he may get
injured in the process but yes he could defeat them all. The Toa of Stone asked if Maruahi would simply hear
them out first. They did not want to
kill a fellow Toa. Maruahi told him to
speak his peace.
They introduced themselves as the Toa
Ashvelg. They told him of how the Great
Beings had created them and then put them through the painful transformation
process to give them their light and shadow abilities. When the Great Beings realized they could not
properly control their secondary abilities they opened up a portal to another
dimension and tricked the Toa to go into it one by one. The portal changed each time so that they
were separated. They were furious at
being tricked, separated and stranded.
They each came to find the Great Beings of the Alternate Dimension they
had been sent to and they either forced, tricked or stole an Alternate
Dimensions device from the Alternate Dimension Great Beings and used them until
they met up with their brethren. They
then set about forcing the Great Beings of their most current dimension to
build them a giant robot that would help them fight against the giant robot
their creators were building in their original dimension. They killed the makers of the giant robot and
then started using their Alternate Dimensions devises to find their original
dimension. They had finally found it and
they came from space so as to shock and awe the Great Beings and lower their
defenses before striking and killing them.
Maruahi twisted his mouth sarcastically and asked if they were certain
they had the right dimension. They told
him that this was their original dimension but it was not the prime
dimension. Maruahi asked what they
meant. They had gone through so many
dimensions they began noticing similarities.
The dimension that had the most things in common with the myriad of
other dimensions was the one they called the prime dimension. The prime dimension did not have them or Toa
Whakawa but it seemed to have things in common with most of the other
dimensions. They did not find themselves
in other dimensions and they did not find Toa Whakawa in any of the dimensions
either. Maruahi raised his hand and said
well now they found one. They told him
his team was supposed to replace theirs but since he was not with a team the
Great Beings must have again failed at making a team of multiple elemental
Toa. Maruahi said it was a nice story
and all but he did not want the Great Beings dead and as Toa shouldn’t they be
more willing to just lock up the Great Beings instead of killing them. They all told him they did not believe the
Great Beings could be contained and must die in every dimension. Maruahi told them they were just talking
crazy. The Toa of the Green said
they had been talking too long and Maruahi was just taunting them now. She unleashed vines from her arms and
attacked Maruahi. Maruahi blocked the
attack with shadow and used light to slice off her left leg. Maruahi said he did not have time or the
luxury of being gentle with so many powerful elemental beings right there to
take advantage of him trying to be precise and slow about injuring them. He was not going to let them kill the Great
Beings and with every attack he would escalate his damage to get them to back
off. If they did not back off or if he
thought they threatened him or the Great Beings enough he would kill them.
The Toa of Psionics asked him how he
would kill them if he was driven mad and then began mentally assailing
Maruahi’s mind. Maruahi used the shadows
as a hand to grab and choke the Toa of Psionics. The mental attacks became weaker and Maruahi
was able to then use light to slice off the Toa of Psionics head. The other Toa in a rage rushed him. As Maruahi fought them he realized that every
time they would try to use their light or shadow to block and cancel his they
could not control their light or shadow for very long. He had to simply increase or wait out their
blocks and then his attacks would go through.
They dared not attack with shadow or light since they knew they could
not control them. They preferred their
main elemental abilities but the main elemental abilities could also not defend
against Maruahi’s shadow or light attacks.
Maruahi got pinned down by four of the Toa while the others began preparing
their powers for a Toa Seal. Maruahi
became a whirl of flame and shadow knocking over those closest to him and
proceeding to the one’s working on the seal.
He sucked them into himself and crushed two of them. The others he flung away disrupting their
concentration. They then all turned
their abilities on him intending to kill him since he was causing so much
trouble and had killed one of their team.
The Toa of Gravity made the
gravity around him less causing him to float and then increased it surrounding
him causing him to compact. Maruahi set
a fire in her brain causing her to stop her element use. Maruahi increased the flame in her brain
melting it completely. Maruahi noticed that the Toa Ashvelg were not
used to fighting a skilled opponent; or fighting at all for that matter. They had only ever fought Great Beings who
had no use for fighting but wanted nothing but to create. Anything else they had encountered had feared
them and fled because of their elemental prowess. It was their elemental prowess and their
numbers that were preventing him from gaining true headway. The fight lasted three days. On the third day instead of taking off when
the Ashvelg got the upper hand Maruahi was able to hold them off until their
abilities ran out. Then he emitted a
shadow pulse that knocked them to the ground and then he set them all on fire
scorching them. With an effort they
blasted him with their abilities knocking him to the ground and then they fled
back into their giant robot.
Maruahi raced after them. He was tired and could not catch up. The giant robot turned toward him and out of
its palm shot a beam of energy. The beam
had light and fire components allowing Maruahi to absorb the energy, but he
then collapsed out of exhaustion. The
Toa Ashvelg began to file out of their giant robot. They formed a circle and began combining
their elemental abilities for a Toa Seal.
Maruahi asked them if they had ever killed a Toa before. The Toa of Fire said they had no intention of
killing him and he could not escape them at this point. Maruahi smiled and asked if the others
agreed. The others laughed at the idea
of Maruahi gaining his strength back without the assistance of a giant robot
and its faculties as they had. Maruahi
began draining fire from the Toa of Fire.
The Toa of Fire sank to his knees as Maruahi stood up. The other Toa unleashed their attack but it
was no longer in harmony and no Toa Seal was made. Maruahi made himself a shield of shadow and
flame diverting the attack. Maruahi
sapped the Toa of Fire until his fire energy was spent and he fainted. Maruahi began sapping the others of their
light and shadow energies. The Toa of Air asked
how it was possible.
Maruahi then emitted a devastating
pulse of fire knocking them off their feet and searing them. Maruahi told them the only way he would be
stopped was by death. If they continued
to try to use a Toa Seal he would continue to use time and the need for
precision against them. He went to the
Toa of Water and asked her if she was willing to die rather than exiled without
a means of dimensional transport. She
spat in his face and told him he was not a true Toa but a Makuta masquerading
as a Toa. Maruahi told her that Makuta
could manipulate fire to melt someone’s brain as he had the Toa of
Gravity. He used his fire bracer blade
to cut off her head. He then moved on to
the Toa of the Green. He continued on
this way to each Toa. He continued to
drain them of their light and shadow abilities to keep them pinned as he moved
from one to the other. The Toa of the
Green, the Toa of Plasma, the
Toa of Iron and the
Toa of Magnetism all
tried to either lie or trick Maruahi into sparing them while still intending to
kill the Great Beings. Maruahi saw
through their deceptions with his Rode and cut their heads off as well. The Toa of Earth and the Toa of Stone gave
him no reply and he manipulated his combined fire and light abilities to stop
their electronic brain currents. This
way they died instantly and without feeling the pain of his blade. The Toa of Lightning, Toa of
Sonics, and
the Toa of Air seeing that he had killed the others said they would rather die
and be with their brothers and sisters than be prisoners. Maruahi dispatched them by stopping their
hearts. The Toa of Ice asked him why he
was seeing different reactions from different Toa as they were killed. Maruahi told him the responses of his
recently deceased brethren. The Toa of
Ice asked him what he had gone through to make him colder than an avalanche
while taking the lives from his opponents he was expanding his knowledge of the
ways he could kill. Maruahi in a shock
said that was not what he was thinking.
He was trying to determine how to best serve the thoughts of those he
was killing. Those who had been more
defiant and rude deserved to go through pain.
The two who did not respond died because they made the mental choice to
not respond. Those who died by the heart
chose to follow the feelings of the heart.
Maruahi took no pleasure in killing them and he was not practicing but
carrying out their executions as he saw fit their responses to his proposition
of life. The Toa of Ice smiled and asked
if Maruahi got distracted easily. An icicle
pierced Maruahi’s chest. Maruahi saw
stars and collapsed to one knee. Then he
snapped the Toa of Ice’s neck with shadows.
Maruahi lay down and melted the ice in his chest. Luckily the Toa of Ice had been too drained
to have properly hit his heart or his spine.
The Toa of Fire had taken the chance to run back to the giant
robot. Maruahi thought to himself that
if the Toa of Fire and tried to make a stand he would have been drained again
and had made the right decision to flee back to the giant robot.
Maruahi started for the giant robot
but by then it was already powered up and bearing down on him. Maruahi burst into flame and then slowly
turned into a pillar of flame. He was a
pillar just in time for the wave of elemental energy from the giant robot’s
hand to hit him head on. The energy
blast did not contain fire, light or shadow so Maruahi could not absorb any of
it. Maruahi switched to a shadow and
collapsed.
The Toa of Fire was unaware of
Maruahi’s ability to become a pillar of light or a shadow and started walking
away. He also did not notice when part
of the giant robot’s shadow seemed to be left behind as it walked toward the
lab of the Great Beings.
Maruahi awoke in a mental fog and
transformed into a flame pillar to clear his head and even out his mood. Being a flame pillar also allowed for his
body to reform his wounds into scars. He
had never been pierced unawares before.
He had always known the blows were coming and had phased at the right
time and in the right places so as to not get physically hurt. He mentally congratulated the dead Toa of Ice
for being the first to land a permanent blow on him. This blow followed by the attack of the giant
robot which had also done damage while Maruahi was unconscious. Maruahi snapped out of his musing realizing
that the Toa of Fire had probably already made it to the lab and was laying
waste to the Great Beings and their creations.
He knew that he still had to care for his wounds and would be better off
if he had his Rode and his armor. He
propelled himself as fast as light to the Mata Nui robot.
The Toa of Fire had killed many Great
Beings before the Glatorian and Agori came to help them. Maruahi went to the portion of the lab where
the Makuta were created and he told them of the Great Beings predicament. The Makuta rallied behind him and attacked
the Ashvelg robot. Maruahi helped them
to use their shadow abilities to distract the Ashvelg robot while he became a
flame pillar and reached out looking for a fire or torch lit somewhere close to
the Toa of Fire. Finding nothing close
to the Toa of Fire he switched to a light pillar and almost immediately changed
to a shadow but then he remembered the energy storms of Karda Nui within the
Mata Nui robot and teleported himself to the core of the Ashvelg robot. He guided the Energy Storms to begin hitting
the edges of the core. As he got more
and more familiar with guiding the storms he was able to channel them and have
them surround the Codrex causing the ground that held it to be unstable. The Codrex began to come free of the ground
around it and began to roll through the water and chasms surrounding it. The Codrex had not been meant to hold up
against water and rocks since the builders intended it to stay put. The water and rocks cracked its shell
allowing for Maruahi to focus the Energy Storms to purge the inside of the
Codrex. The Ashvelg robot began shutting
down. This caused the energy Storms to
stop. Maruahi generated his own energy
blasts fusing light and fire. Once
Maruahi could see that the Ashvelg robot had no more power he became of flame
pillar and waited.
The Toa of Fire lit his fire mace so
as to guide him out of the head of the downed robot. Maruahi raised himself up out of the shadow
on the ground cast by the light of the fire mace. While still materializing in physical form
Maruahi congratulated the Toa of Fire on successfully killing some Great Beings
and for knocking him out of commission, not many of his opponents could say
that they had done the same. The Toa of
Fire said his fellow Toa Ashvelg were wrong he was not a Toa or a Makuta but a
demon. He charged Maruahi swinging his
fire mace. Maruahi battled him using
just his bracer blades. Maruahi got the
upper hand and took off the Toa of Fire’s right arm. Maruahi told him that this demon just bested
him without any elemental powers.
Maruahi asked if the Toa of fire wished to die or if he wished to live. The Toa of Fire remembering all the ways that
his team members were killed smiled and said he wished to live. Maruahi was taken aback but his Rode could
not sense a lie. Maruahi took a Kanohi
Olmak off the wall and used it to open a portal to a dimension that had beings
with only the primary six
Matoran Universe elemental abilities. It
did not have any objects with Kanohi abilities or any Great Beings to make a
creation that could transport him to another dimension. Maruahi asked why the Toa of Fire wanted to
live since all of his teammates had chosen death or defiance. The Toa of Fire said that this way he might
learn what it is to be a Toa and might be called back to be of help during
Maruahi’s time of need. Maruahi again
detected no lie and asked how the Toa of Fire knew that such a time would
come. The Toa of Fire smiled again and
said that no one could be alone forever, everyone needed a team sometime. Maruahi asked him his name and the Toa of
Fire responded Kataato. Then Kataato
walked off to explore the new world he would be living in. Maruahi closed the portal and began searching
the controls to the Ashvelg robot for a self-destruct. He found a self-destruct by disintegration
and by explosion.
He set the timer for five minutes and
then teleported himself back to the Makuta.
He raised himself out of one of their shadows cast by the sun. They bristled and then relaxed when they
recognized him. Maruahi guided all away
from the Ashvelg robot so that they would not be harmed by its
destruction. Maruahi then turned to the
Makuta and told them to remember this day as the day they helped save not only
the Matoran Universe which they were created to defend and fill with Rahi but
also the creators of Mata Nui, who in turn created the Makuta, the Great Beings
and all who lived on Spherus Magna. He
then looked at Krika and
using the Rangahau and the Motuhake he discovered that this was the Makuta to
disobey Teridax’s oder to kill Miserix.
Maruahi ignored the two orbs as they tried to get him to say no
more. Maruahi told Krika that he should
believe in himself and he should follow his instincts even if it was against
popular opinion or even if it could get him killed. Krika gave him a quizzical look but before he
could ask a question Maruahi called to all the Makuta and told them to return
to the Mata Nui robot. The Ashvelg robot
disintegrated with a roar and a deafening grinding sound causing the Makuta to
cringe. When they looked up again
Maruahi had teleported out of sight, to the Great Being’s lab entrance.
Rode
Maruahi took stock of the damage and
helped in the repairs and the burials or burnings of the Glatorian, Agori and
Great Beings who had been killed. The
Great Beings thanked him and told him that they would create for him anything
he desired. He responded that he did not
do it for a reward but they insisted.
They also told him that they knew who he was. While he had been away fighting and the like for
a month they had finished the Ignika and the Great Spirit Mata Nui as well as
the Auaha.
They had postponed their work on the mask that was meant for him as they
were still deciding how powerful it should be and if he should just receive a
Legendary Mask from the start instead.
As he had seen the Great Spirit Mata Nui had wasted no time in creating
the Makuta to populate the Matoran Universe with Rahi. Maruahi told them to decide on which mask to
give his status self before he would chose the gift they wanted to give
him. The Great Beings discussed and they
decided to give him a mask of truth or a Rode, but he would be banished with
the mask of duty, the Rangahau. Maruahi said
if they insisted on giving him a gift of his choice then he would like to
increase the abilities of his Kanohi Rode.
The Great Being he who had controlled the flow of fire during his
creation stood up and told him to follow her.
Maruahi asked if there was any significance to her creating his mask as
opposed to another Great Being seeing as she was there when he was
created. She said that because she
helped in creating him if she created his mask then the mask would have a
special bond to him.
She and the other three of his
creators had been the ones to create the Pools of Protodermis that were now and
would be the Legendary Masks. The Reason
Mata Nui had such a connection to the Ignika and could use it in so many
different ways was that it was the most powerful and the mask with the most
abilities. The Great Being who created
the Ignika also headed the creation of Mata Nui. Maruahi asked this was the one who ran from
the chamber while two of his creators died and the Great Being before him
stayed behind to finish his creation.
The Great Being nodded and said that they had been foolish to think they
could get it right without incident.
They had put themselves in harm’s way to better control the flows of the
necessary materials but that also put them right in the middle of the swirl of
emotions that comes from working with Antidermis and Energized
Protodermis. The swirling emotions were
invisible but very effective in getting those who used the materials to lose
their focus. She told Maruahi that he
was a successful product of the emotions, the mistakes, the deaths and the
determination that went into his creation.
Maruahi swallowed hard getting past
the memories of two of his creators dying while creating him. He asked her if
she had a name. She said he could call
her Ponum. He then asked Ponum what she
could do to make the Rode more powerful.
Ponum looked at him and said she was a little taken aback that he had
not asked for a different mask and tried to increase the other masks power. She said that in a fight the Rode was not
very useful. It could see through lies,
illusions, and invisibility but it could not give strength, speed, agility or
anything that could help one in a fight.
Maruahi countered that if used properly a Rode could detect when someone
was trying to trick or catch the wearer off guard. The Rode would see the deceptive thoughts
alerting the wearer to be ready for anything rather than being fooled. Ponum said that the mask could not predict or
see future attacks so a being would have to purposefully be trying to deceive
the wearer for the mask to catch it. If
the opponent did not plan their moves but took opportunities as they came and
fought fluidly then the mask would be useless.
Ponum said she was glad he had found the Rode so useful and would be
glad to increase its abilities. However
she would not make it into a Legendary Mask or give it powers only a Legendary
Mask could wield, because it was meant to be used by beings other than Maruahi
and Mata Nui. Maruahi said he wanted the
mask to know if a lie was a lie even if the person lying was unaware that they
were relaying a lie. The Great Being
said that she could get the mask to do that but the mask would not be able to
tell the wearer who originated the lie if it was not the person telling the
lie. Searching the minds of the Matoran
Universe for the originator of a lie was a bit too close to the abilities of a
Legendary Mask. Maruahi said that he
also wanted the mask to be able to detect lies, see through illusions and
invisibility abilities related to the Great Beings and other inhabitants of
Spherus Magna. Ponum shook her head and
said that only part of that was possible.
Even Legendary Masks were limited by the knowledge of the Great
Beings. The Great Beings were also
foreign to even themselves and their minds were so varied that they would all
have to agree to let the Rode see through their lies and the lies told to
them. She told him that she would ask
but she knew that they would not all agree.
As for the other species on Spherus Magna she could only guarantee it
would see the truth in the Glatorian, the Agori, the Annona and all creations of the Great Beings. If any other sentient beings were to come to
Spherus Magna or if the Great Beings had not run into all of the inhabitants of
Spherus Magna then Maruahi would have to outmatch their mental ability to see
through their lies.
If he ran into beings that the Great
Beings had not experienced, on Spherus Magna or otherwise, and were of greater
mental ability then he would have to mind grapple them to determine if they
were telling truth. Sentience would be
the ground work for all beings who could lie, create illusions or make
themselves invisible, the rest would be up to the wearer. Maruahi asked if spirits or beings without a
physical form could avoid the Rode.
Ponum said that spirits and beings that did not have a physical form
could be detected by the Rode already, Maruahi must have never run into
any. Maruahi asked if there was a way
for the mask to teleport with him when he teleported via his elements. Ponum said that she and his other creators
did not mean for him to be able to do that.
She asked him to show her.
Maruahi demonstrated by lighting a fire on the at the end of the lab and
then teleported himself back and forth. Ponum
said that in his creation they had succeeded in ways that they could never have
hoped. However, since they had not
intended Maruahi to have this power only he could replicate its aspects on
other objects. He would have to take
what he had seen during his creation and his current knowledge of what he could
create and combine them. Ponum said
there was a chance it might work and there is a chance it might not. Ponum also said that the Great Beings would
never agree to combining Antidermis with Energized Protodermis again. Maruahi nodded and said he understood.
Ponum came back to Maruahi and told
him that all of the Great Beings were willing to have the Rode see if they had
been lied to and if they were lying. The
only caveat was that a number of Great Beings withheld some information so that
if they were intentionally using their mental prowess to block the Rode then
the Rode would not detect the lie on its own.
If Maruahi suspected a lie, illusion, or invisibility and could match
the mental ability of the Great Being in question then the Rode along with hard
concentration would be able to detect the lie, illusion or invisibility. She could also get the mask to see if beings
were telling him everything related to their statements so lies of omission
would no longer work. Maruahi agreed and
asked if he could know who had not given all the required information. Ponum
said the mask would not communicate with him as the Legendary Masks did but he
would be able to sort out those who had withheld information and those who did
not. Maruahi sighed and said it probably
did not matter because he could not hope to out match the mental ability of a
Great Being, especially as a creation of theirs. Ponum punched him in the gut and told him
that he should never doubt himself or he would surely lose. If he practiced and learned all he could then
he could have a chance against even the smartest Great Beings. He just had to work at it and believe in
himself. She then told him that other
wearers, who were not Maruahi, would be able to see through the lies, etc. of
all but the Great Beings. The Great
Beings had all agreed Maruahi, having the strongest connection to the mask,
would be the only one able to see their lies, etc. Other wearers would also have to be taught or
find out about the increased abilities not relating to Great Beings. These extra abilities would also take others
greater concentration than the initial mask abilities. Maruahi asked why greater concentration on
his part would not be required. Ponum
said as she had mentioned earlier it was because he was linked to the mask by
having the same creator. Maruahi asked
if the masks were sentient. Ponum said
it was something hardwired into the mask and it did not need to be sentient in
order for it to give Maruahi different abilities than other wearers. Legendary Masks and other masks that were
made sentient were intended that way but there were not many of them.
Ponum left Maruahi in the mask
forging chamber to gather the necessary materials. The Rangahau had been silent during this
whole process. The Motuhake, usually the
quieter one, on the other hand had been insistent that Maruahi should not
continue in this way and should go back through to their own time. Maruahi asked the Rangahau why it was not
speaking up and what it thought of the new abilities he would have when he got
back to their own time. The Rangahau did
not answer at first giving the Motuhake time to say that maybe it have given up
trying to change his mind. The Rangahau
snapped that it would never stop telling Maruahi about his duty but it did not
see anything wrong with increasing Maruahi’s abilities and since Maruahi had arrived
his duty had changed to encompass more than just the inhabitants of the Matoran
Universe. However, the Rangahau did
think that it would be best if Maruahi leave after seeing his Rode’s
creation. Maruahi said he did not see
any incoming threats and the planet’s split was unavoidable so going back after
the creation of his Rode would be fine.
The Vahi then spoke up and said that
it was coming time for the Mata Nui robot to depart and this would cause either
Maruahi to have to leave with it or go back to their own time. Maruahi fist mentioned his shock that the
Vahi was actually talking to him. Then
he asked it to explain. The Vahi said
that it could only provide a being with the ability to travel along their own
timeline. They could not go back further
then the project of their creation had been started. They could not go forward further than the
time of their death. While in the past
of the future they could only change things that affect the choices of
others. The wearer’s choices and their defining
moments would only change in timing and the circumstances surrounding their
choices. This allowed for the
personality and the timeline of the wearer to have a baseline which the Vahi
could base its abilities on. If the
wearer was always changing his or her choices and his or her defining moments
then the wearer would lose sight of who they were and where they were going and
would be lost in time. This would also
cause the Vahi to be lost inflicting damage to the timeline of all inhabitants of
the Matoran Universe. The Vahi could
also not take a wearer to a time earlier than the beginning of its creation or
after its destruction. Maruahi asked why
the Vahi had not spoken up earlier about these things or was it like the
Rangahau and the Motuhake; telling someone the rules at the beginning is no
fun. They have to learn as they go or
while you are yelling at them to stop breaking the rules.
The Vahi and the other masks were
silent. Maruahi sighed and said thank
you to the Vahi for telling him this information. The Motuhake asked why Maruahi cared what the
Vahi had to say when he usually ignored the Rangahau and itself. Maruahi said that the rules the Vahi had
given made sense. The rules the Rangahau
and the Motuhake had given him had not always agreed with his conscience. He could tell that the Vahi manipulated time
but could not re-write it as the duty or destiny of a being could be
re-written. Time catches up with
everyone but unity, duty and destiny is determined by one’s conscience not the
will of others. Maruahi could sense the
Motuhake’s frustration and the Rangahau’s acceptance. Again Maruahi was puzzled by the response
from the Rangahau and asked if it was alright.
The Rangahau said it had finally accepted that he had free will and that
meant he could do what he wanted. The
Rangahau would keep pointing to the duty it saw best for the inhabitants of the
Matoran Universe but it would no longer get into debates or argue with him on
his decisions. Maruahi said he was
skeptical but grateful. The Rangahau
said that if it truly detected a threat coming from an intention Maruahi then
it would tell him all the things it thought he needed to know to change his
mind but it would be in a manner of giving information rather than an argument. Maruahi said that he knew there would be a
catch. Then he smiled and said he liked
that catch and would try to keep his own temper as the orb gave him information
that might say his decisions.
Ponum returned and showed Maruahi
everything that would be needed to make a Rode with the new abilities and then
took him step by step so that he could replicate the creation properly. Maruahi asked if there was anything he should
know that he could not have seen as a spectator at his creation. Ponum said that would be his test. If he truly knew himself inside and out and he
knew the object he was working on then it should be possible to replicate his
abilities to the desired object. Ponum
then asked that Maruahi tell her what he knew of the Red Star and how it worked
before he left. Maruahi responded with
what he knew and he also responded that he had been recreated there. Ponum said that she had some work to do
making sure that the necessary materials were in place to recreate Maruahi on
the Red Star and yet they would not be able to recreate Makuta. Maruahi asked why the Red Star did not
account for Makuta. Ponum told him that
Antidermis was much more scarce than Protodermis and Energized Protodermis. She also told him that the Energized
Protodermis spring was not the only place they had found Energized Protodermis
but it was the source that had yielded the most. Maruahi thanked Ponum, said good bye and
began making his way to the Metru Nui Coliseum to open the time rift back to
his own time.
Betrayal
before Banishment
Maruahi
reached the Coliseum and was surprised by the crowd in the stands. Then he saw four Baterra, Marendar and a
creature he did not recognize with tentacles.
The being with tentacles reached out with its mind and began to feed off
of Maruahi’s thoughts and dreams.
Maruahi sunk to one knee. He had
not encountered a being of such mental strength before. He also was without the use of his telepathy
so he could not fight back but only throw up a defense. Seeing that he could not win mentally Maruahi
dropped his defenses and became a pillar of flame. The creature stopped its assault
confused. Maruahi began teleporting all
over the Coliseum. The creature was not
able to latch onto his mind anymore and began flailing its tentacles and its
mental attacks. Maruahi used shadows in
the shape of a fist to punch the creature in the head and then he used his
light to start slicing off its tentacles one by one. Maruahi asked the creature its name. The creature told him it was called
Annona. Maruahi suddenly saw Marendar
draw its weapons and advance on his position.
Maruahi had become stationary once he had been able to start cutting off
Annona’s tentacles. Maruahi told
Marendar to back off he was only defending himself and he was not posing any
threat to the Great Beings. Marendar
continued to advance. Maruahi unleashed
a torrent of fire at Marendar. Marendar
absorbed the attack and began to drain Maruahi of his fire. Maruahi rushed at Marendar and the two became
locked in combat. Maruahi did not use his
elemental abilities but Marendar continued to drain his fire. After a day of fighting Maruahi unleashed his
shadow from the left and his light from the right. Marendar began to drain him of both elements
simultaneously. Marahi increased his
attacks. The more Marendar drained him
the closer the two elements got to each other within Marendar. Marendar could no longer keep the two
elements from combining and the combination not only cancelled out the shadow
and the light but Marendar’s ability to drain elemental power. Maruahi rushed in and disarmed Marendar. Then for a split second he saw the Baterra
vanish and then reappear hazy, indicating that his Rode was helping him to see
them even after they had turned invisible.
Then Marahi noticed that two of them had a green tint on the edges and
the other two had a red tinge. Then the
red tinged Baterra vanished completely.
Maruahi understood. The two that
vanished were created and controlled by a Great Being who had withheld
information from Ponum when she was creating the Rode. Maruahi scanned the crowd and found a Great
Being with a red tinge who was concentrating very hard. Maruahi suddenly heard something picking up
speed and he caught a blade in his belly.
He emitted a fire and shadow pulse knocking over all five of his
opponents and temporarily exposing the position of the two hidden from his
view. He unleahsed a barrage of fire and
light striking one and destroying it.
The other four robots closed in on him and he was again locked in
combat. This time he had one opponent he
could not see and the others were not easy to contend with on their own. Then Maruahi noticed that Annona was
gone. No one else seemed to care so
Maruahi continued to fight on losing ground and catching more and more blows
and slashes.
Maruahi let out another pulse this time of light and
fire. This pulse was small due to his
pain but it still caused the robots pause and he was able to see the shadow
created by his light and the Baterra that was hidden from his view. Maruahi blasted it with his fire abilities
destroying both its arms. Then Maruahi
lost it again as the other three robots attacked. After another full day Marahi finally got the
upper hand and destroyed the two Baterra he could see. He set his sights on destroying Marendar but
the Rangahau told him that Marendar had a duty that would be useful in the
future. Maruahi was about to ignore the
warning until the Motuhake said that if he destroyed the robot more Toa would
die in the future. Maruahi used his
light and fire abilities combined to interrupt the Marendar’s brain circuits,
causing it to shut down. Maruahi then emitted
another pulse of shadow and flame. The
pulse did not hit anything. Marahi
realed in pain and struck out blindly trying to hit his remaining assailant. Maruahi threw up a wall of fire and shadow
which circled him. This kept his opponent
at bay while he focused his mind and began mentally grappling the owner of the
remaining Baterra. Maruahi had never
encountered such a foreign mind but eventually Maruahi was able to find where
the Great Being was too confident and Maruahi struck up a dialogue. As the Great Being got distracted so did
Maruahi. Allowing for the Baterra to get pas his defenses and inflict some
slashes. The Great Being surged with
pride thinking he would surely win. Maruahi
turned the Great Being’s overconfidence into paranoia. Maruahi continued to dispute the Great Being’s
strengths as weaknesses and his arguments and persistence unnerved the Great
Being. Maruahi then saw a blade flash
out at him. He blocked it. Then he saw the Baterra bearing down on
him. He had won the mental battle. He used his shadow abilities to snap the head
of the Baterra off its body. Maruahi
looked at the Great Being he had been mind-grappling and saw the Great Being cringing
and shaking uncontrollably. The Great
Beings in the stand sat there unsure if he was going to attack and kill them
for their betrayal or if he would let them live. Maruahi told them to remember how they felt
right now the next time they wanted to try to kill something that had fought
off two of their enemies. He had taken
care of the Element Lords and he had saved them from the Toa Ashvelg. In return they tried to kill him. Maruahi called them lost causes and transported
himself to Karda Nui and opened a time rift to the time of his banishment on
Karda Nui. The Great Beings were
preparing to weaken his earlier self while still in stasis. Maruahi let out a pulse of shadow and then
scorched their legs. As they crawled
away Maruahi switched the earlier Rode for the earlier Rangahau, which the Great
Beings had brought with them. Maruahi
released himself from stasis and pushed himself off the ledge. He then swooped up the crawling Great Beings
and carried them outside of the Mata Nui robot.
The robot took off. Maruahi
followed it and returned to Karda Nui putting the earlier Rode where his
earlier self would find it. He teleported
back to the Coliseum and then opened another time rift, this one led to his own
time, and stepped through it. The Vahi
then told him that the history of the universe was slightly different due to
his actions in the past but the Rode’s history was unchanged because when
objects are affected by time travelers the changes they undergo will not take effect
until after the wearer has returned to their own time and began using said
objects. Beings and the events related
to beings were what could change in the actual past, objects only changed in retrospect. Maruahi frowned but conceded his
understanding. Maruahi set out for the
entrance to the Coliseum bracing himself for the unknown, which he had helped
set in motion.
