On the island of Okoto, home to the Matoran, was a great city: Rano Nui. Within Rano Nui was a forgery: the home and workplace for two brothers, collectively known as the mask makers. Who, as you would assume, created great Kanohi masks of power. Both brothers wore masks of their own. Ekimu wearing the Kanohi Hanga: the mask of creation, and Makuta wearing the Kanohi Mana: the mask of control.
Both brothers made masks, but Ekimu's were preferred by the Matoran. Makuta was jealous, as most brothers are, of Ekimu's great popularity. So, one night, he stole the mask of creation from Ekimu's bedside. He then tried to create a great mask of power that would be so great, so special, and so powerful, that no-one would ever doubt his abilities again! But his plan failed, and he instead accidentally created an army of mask-like creatures he called Vonahk (roughly translated to skull spider). And because Makuta had made them, who wore the mask of control, they had the natural ability to control others by latching onto the faces of anyone unfortunate enough to cross them.
But Makuta was not deterred, the next night, after hiding the Vonahk away, he tried again, this time succeeding by creating a mask capable of channeling all six of the elemental powers: Fire, Ice, Air, Water, Earth and Stone. But this broke a sacred rule that stated a mask containing more than one element was forbidden, as it was too unstable and dangerous.
The next day, he presented the mask to the Matoran, bragging of its abilities. The Matoran were not convinced. In desperation, Makuta donned the mask to prove he was right. That was the biggest mistake he'd ever made. The mask began to change him. He started to grow, soon, he was a hulking figure towering over the other Matoran. He was filled with the power of the elements, but also, filled with hate. Hate greater than anything he had ever felt before! This mask had been made out of spite, so that is what gave its user, spite greatly increased by the power of all six elements.
The Matoran cowered beneath his feet. Some flat out ran. But he didn't care, he had something else to turn his attention to. Destroying his brother! Ekimu rushed out of the forge. His eyes traveled from the fearful Matoran, to the gigantic figure standing above them, and back to the Matoran again. Then he realized what had happened. "Makuta!" He yelled up at his brother in fury, "What have you done!?" Makuta spun around to see who had addressed him. Then, seeing who it was, he laughed. "Isn't it obvious brother?" He said, his voice booming with mirth, "I've become the most powerful Matoran on Okoto!"
"No brother!" Ekimu yelled back at him, "You have broken the most sacred rule laid down by our ancestors! And you have insulted their memory by doing so!"
"Curse the old fools, and all that they once were!" Makuta said bitterly, "I am more powerful than they could have ever imagined in their lifetimes!"
"You sicken me brother," Ekimu said in disgust, "you speak foul of our ancestors and claim yourself to be above their rules? You are no brother of mine."
The rage that filled Makuta from those words was like nothing of before, beyond description. He roared with anger and charged at Ekimu, ready to obliterate any part of him he could. Ekimu leaped out of the way and Makuta crashed through the wall of the forge behind. He yelled once more in anger and pursued Ekimu. Ekimu rushed towards his mask forging hammer, reaching out to grab it. Makuta powered on after him, with no concern for anything in his way. Ekimu reached his hammer, plucked it from its stand, and swung his hammer towards Makuta's face.
The blow connected with the sound of a gunshot. Makuta staggered backwards clutching his face with his hands. His mask had been knocked off and the mask of control underneath was transforming into a hideous skull. Having the mask of Elements removed prematurely before his transformation to unbeatable giant, he was mutating into something more terrifying. Horns began to grow. His metallic flesh peeled back to reveal naked bone. "What have you done to me!?" Makuta screamed at Ekimu, his face contorted with pain.
"No," Ekimu replied, "what have you done to yourself?" Makuta punched Ekimu and he went rocketing backwards, crashing into the far wall of the forge. His head lolled to the side. He was unconscious. The Matoran who had stayed where they were, frozen with fear, now screamed and ran. "I guess the Matoran don't like the new me," Makuta said with sarcastic disappointment, "What a shame. I guess I'll have to... Persuade them." And with that: he released the Vonahk he had hidden before, sending them after the fleeing Matoran with his mask of control.
...
From nearby, a curious Tuvaki (Lord of Skull Spiders) watched the scene play out.
...
The Matoran that escaped successfully formed six villages each representing an element. The Onu-Matoran formed a village under the obsidian fields to the West, the Ko-Matoran set up on a mountain in the frozen land of the North, the Po-Matoran built theirs in the desert to the Northwest, the Ta-Matoran made their home in the volcanic land to the Southwest, the Ga-Matoran moved underwater to the East and the Le-Matoran took to the jungle to the Southeast.
...
Sometime later, Makuta was searching through the Rano Nui hall of records for an ancient relic which would help him greatly: The Staff of Tenebris. It was known for the many dark properties it possessed. The main reason he wanted it was that it had the power to steal the masks of others, but the other was that it had the power to raise the dead.
He walked through hall after hall of the grand museum, searching for the staff.
After some time, he found what he sought. It lay on top of a pedestal at the end of one of the many long corridors lined with ancient tablets written in a language long forgotten. His cold, bony fingers clasped around the staff as his raised it above his head in triumph.
...
The Tuvaki had been watching Makuta for some time and had followed him to the building which he was now re-emerging from. It skittered up to him, with curious look in its eyes. Makuta took no notice in the rahi beast, as he was examining his newly acquired weapon. "I have the staff now," He thought aloud, "but nothing to try it on... But wait." Then the thought hit him. "The graveyard!" He exclaimed, "I can test it on the dead in the graveyard!"
...
The Turaga Elders were in deliberation. It had been quite a while since those who could had fled Rano Nui, and Makuta had not yet made his next move. But they were not just going to sit idly while that madman planned his next assault. Within the temporary shelter, they had made for this meeting, they sat in a circle around the golden glow of a camp fire. "Our chances of defeating Makuta now are very slim." Vakama, the Turaga of fire said softly with his calm and wizened voice, "but there is one way to tip the odds in our favour,"
"The Toa? Vakama, if we had the chance, we would have summoned them years ago!" Croaked Whenua, the Turaga of earth, "We have searched the entire island, and we still haven't found the barrier's weak point!"
"Ah, but that is where you are wrong Whenua," Vakama countered placidly, "the latest Ta-Matoran scouting run found some very conclusive results near the border between the regions of fire and earth."
"And I assume you brought the mask of time with you," chuckled Nokama, the Turaga of water, seeing where this was going.
"Naturally," Vakama beamed, "I suppose that's settled then?" The other Turaga nod in agreement. With that, they set off for the border, to summon the Toa.
...
The Turaga had reached the weak point. The land surrounding it was much like the rest of the regions of Fire and Earth: dark and desolate. The main difference between the two of them being that the region of earth was not unspeakably hot nor stank of brimstone. Sharp rocks jutted out from the ground with malice and sudden ravines awaited those who didn't watch their step. It was a generally unwelcoming environment, not that it was really of the concern of the Turaga traversing these deadly lands: they had a job to do.
Vakama produced the mask of time from a satchel at his hip. He held the mask out in front of him, moving it around in an attempt to find the exact point. He soon found it, the matter of the area of weakness contorting. He pressed the mask forward, giving as much force as he was prepared to into it. The anomaly gave way, and reality itself was punctured. Vakama almost stumbled forward from his momentum, but managed to regain his balance.
Discharges of dimensional energy shot out from the hole, stabbing outwards in all directions. Vakama yelled into the hole, trying to get the attention of anyone on the other side. "Help! Send the Toa, send anyone you can, just help us!"
...
From far off, Makuta could see the bright lights of the strange energy illuminating the sky like fireworks. Almost instantly, he knew what it meant. The Turaga had punctured the barrier! He had to do something. He looked around him, searching for something that could help him. Then his eyes fell upon the Tuvaki that had followed him to the graveyard. The mouth behind his skull mask smiled evilly.
...
Before much more could be said, the hole closed itself up, healing the anomaly. "And now we must hope that help is on the way," Vakama said. The Tuvaki crept up on them, its mind influenced by Makuta's mask. The Turaga took no notice of the rahi creature, lost in their thoughts. The Tuvaki opened its mouth and spat at the Turaga. The Turaga suddenly realized they were being attacked, but it was too late. All six of the Turaga were covered in a tough and stringy web. They struggled helplessly as the Tuvaki dragged them away.
...
In the sky, six metallic spheres one could liken to comets could be seen raining down upon Okoto. Each contained a Toa within, put into a sort of sleep, and as a side-effect of this they had no idea who they were or what they were here for. Ko-matoran star gazers looked on in alarm as the six spheres simultaneously smashed into the islands surface.
...
Meanwhile, Makuta had raised a small group of undead from the graveyard. They looked around, uncertain of what they were seeing was real or not. They had been dead, their life stripped from them years ago. At first, they assumed they were dreaming, but if they were dreaming, how could they be dead? "Welcome back to the world my undead minions!" Makuta boomed with a renewed sense of triumph in his voice.
"I am the minion of no-one!" Boomed the Minotaur-like Surdus (Skull Basher), who had been very popular in the Rano Nui arena in his time.
"Neither am I!" Added Lacero (Skull Slicer), another popular gladiator during his time of living. Makuta groaned, this was turning out to be more difficult than expected.
"I am loyal only to the captain of the Rano Nui guard!" Announced another of the skeletons stood before Makuta, who had obviously in his time been a part of the Rano Nui guard that had patrolled the streets, keeping crime to a minimum. "And my trusted steed here is loyal only to me," He continued, pointing to the Kopiona (Skull Scorpio) beside him which had probably been his pet. Makuta facepalmed and groaned again saying: "I hope that my little friend is faring better than me."
And indeed, it was. The Tuvaki appeared over the horizon, pulling the six Turaga behind it. Eventually reaching Makuta and the unyielding skeletons. "Look what the rahi dragged in," Makuta said, his confident smirk back on his face, "Vakama, Nokama, Matau, Onewa, Nuju AND Whenua! At least someone is loyal to me." The other skeletons gaped in surprise, words failing them. Makuta laughed evilly. "So," He boomed with delight, "how about your undying loyalty to me, your one and only master?"
"You have my swords," said Lacero.
"You have my bow," said the guardsman.
"And my axes!" Added Surdus.
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Makuta said with obvious glee.
Then, using his telepathic power to control, ordered the Tuvaki to ungag the Turaga. The Tuvaki busily skittered around, unbinding the mouths of the Turaga. With the freedom to speak once more, Turaga Vakama spat: "Makuta! Release us at once!"
"Makuta?" Makuta asked sarcastically, "I am Makuta the mask maker no longer, I am Kulta: the mask stealer!" And with that, he held up his staff, calling upon its power.
The masks of the Turaga, as though affected by a magnetic pull, tore off of their faces and onto the staff of Tenebris. The newly christened Kulta laughed, an evil, cold, laugh. He removed the masks from his staff and placed them onto his face.
Kulta tested out each of the powers in turn, invisibility, then telekinesis, then night vision, then gravity (I'm replacing Onewa's mask with a mask worn by another being of earth because Makuta already has the mask of control.), then translation to read the inscription on the staff which was this: "We fight. We win. We take." and he then used the mask of illusions to make himself appear in three places at once. Once he deactivated the mask power, the two extra illusion clones fizzled away into nothing.
"So," Kulta boomed with satisfaction, "Feeling a little drained Vakama? You look very pale," He laughed manically. But Vakama was not listening, he was trying to free himself from his bonds. Kulta cleared his throat to get the attention of the skeletons, "Take out the trash, will you? They're starting to bore me," he said.
As he was dragged away by the skeletons, Vakama said: "You won't get away with this!"
"Oh?" Kulta countered, "I believe I already have, Vakama. Even if the Toa do find their golden Kanohi, which they won't by the way, they will be unable to stop me with all of the power I now possess thanks to you!" From far of, Vakama yelled something to Kulta which he couldn't hear from the distance. He didn't try to discover what Vakama had said as he didn't really care. He had more important matters to attend to.
...
He returned to the Rano Nui hall of hall of records to find one more important item, or in this case: person. After travelling through the fancily decorated corridors again, he found what was searching for. What stood before him was a black rectangular case stood up so its longer edges stretched up to the ceiling, about three quarters up the out-of-place structure was a little window from which a grotesque face could be seen frozen in ice.
That face belonged to none other than Krekka; the powerful (Albeit stupid) and feared dark hunter who had been locked away many years ago. Next to the coffin-like case was a panel with a few buttons and a dial. Kulta twiddled around with the controls for a little bit and soon; Krekka's case was starting to thaw.
After a few seconds, the door opened, steam escaped and Krekka stepped out. He wasn't a day older than he had been when he was placed in there in the first place. He had been in a perfect state of suspended animation. Kulta was pleased with the result he had ended up with. "I welcome you back to the world Krekka!" He said, smiling broadly.
"Wha-what happened?" Krekka said scratching his head, "they put me in that box... Then I went cold. Now I'm here."
"Yes Krekka, they put you in suspended animation," Kulta said slowly, hoping Krekka would understand.
"Sus, suspe, sus... Uhh," Krekka scratched his head again, who obviously had not understood, "What?"
Kulta sighed and said slowly, emphasizing every syllable, "It's when you get fro-zen, and then you can be a-live lon-ger!"
"Oh!" Krekka said, finally getting it, "why didn't you just say so?"
Kulta facepalmed for the second time that day. Then he said; "Just come with me!"
...
"So, I need you to be here in case my plan fails," Kulta finished, "you got all that?"
"Yeah... I think," Krekka said slowly, "Wait... Can you say that first bit again?"
"Oh, for the love of! Ugh," Kulta groaned and decided a simpler approach was necessary. "Just stand here," He said, pointing to the ground under the archway leading to the prison he had made to hold Ekimu and the Turaga, "and if you see any colourful people with weapons coming toward you: END THEM! Is that enough to get through your thick skull!?"
"Okay," Said Krekka, "I'll try!"
Now Kulta could finally turn his attention to the minions who actually had some kind of brain left in them. He rubbed his hands together, a malicious grin on his face. "Time to get to work!" He boomed…