Mata Nui Begins

Mata Nui walked through the gates of the fortress the Great Beings have built long ago. He already went past the many obstacles he had encountered, but the fortress didn't seem to have an entrance. Angered, Mata Nui slammed his fist against the wall.

"Is there nothing in this maze that confuses me?" Mata Nui said.

"No."

Startled, he looked around for the source of the voice. There was none. Was this another test?

"Who are you?" Mata Nui asked.

"I am the guardian of this place. To gain access to the Great Beings' fortress, you must first answer three simple questions. What do villagers do to bring beings together?"

"What?"

"What do villagers look for a job that is entrusted onto them?"

Mata Nui was still confused. What was this stranger talking about?

"What do heroes do for the greater good? Answer those questions traveler."

Mata Nui rubbed his head. Bringing beings together, entrusted jobs, and the greater good…he had heard those words somewhere before. But where, deep in the recesses for his mind, he had located the answer he had forgotten so long ago.

"Unity…Duty…Destiny?"

The gate suddenly opened, Mata Nui has completed his test.

"You did well traveler. May the three virtues guide you to success."

Mata Nui entered the chamber, and found the gate closing behind him. As he walked, he noticed strange carvings, pieces of machinery, and a strange, organic, gray creature in a stasis tube. When he went to look closer, he remembered something.

"Where have I seen this before?" Mata Nui wondered. He looked at the creature once again, and remembered one exactly like this one on a planet he observed. The planet, called Earth, was home to a species of intelligent ape like beings called humans, and Mata Nui found them to be very much like the Makuta. "Ahh…now I remember. An alien called Roger, living with a clan of humans."

In any case, Mata Nui decided to move on. As he walked to another chamber, Mata Nui remembered the events on Earth. Light skinned humans persecuting dark skinned humans, a man called Hitler killing millions of innocents who have done nothing wrong, and the trial of a famous musician accused of violating human children. One thing he hated the most was called abortions, when a woman carrying a baby denies it the right to live, he truly wished he could go up there and abolish it.

When he reached the other chamber, he notices a wide pool of lava. And an Agori in chains, suspended above it!

"Please help me!" cried out the villager.

Mata Nui leaped from the floor, and onto a chain. He pulled out his sword, and freed the Agori of his bonds. He grabbed him before he can plunge into the pool of fire below, and swung them onto solid ground.

"Thank you," the Agori said. "My name is Tarduk by the way."

"Who did this to you?" Mata Nui asked.

"I don't know, I think I set a trap." He went on to say how he had tripped over a string, and suddenly found himself locked in chains. "And on top of that, this place is going to self destruct. We've gotta get out of here!"

Suddenly, the walls began to crumble. Both Toa and Agori ran as fast as they could out of the fortress. As they escaped the fortress, Mata Nui noticed something. As the fortress crumbled, a volcano rose to take it's place.

"Oh my…" Tarduk said.

"That's not natural." As Mata Nui went closer to inspect, he noticed a small hatch to it's side.

"What do you think in in there?"

"Maybe the answer to all our problems." Mata Nui beckoned for the agori to followed, and closed the hatch behind them.

Tarduk had seen may things in his life, but an unstable and destructive power source wasn't on his list. As for the former great spirit, he saw it as a way to defeat his enemy and restore order. When he tried to grab it, a magnetic shock threw him to the wall. Mata Nui got up, agitated.

"No luck?" Tarduk asked.

"Creatures from a different world faced problems like this," Mata Nui said. "But how?" He remembered that they used specialized suits and clawed extension tools to grab hazardous materials. Thinking quickly, Mata Nui grabbed a nearby rock, and shaped it to a hook. Next, he fitted the hook to the sword he carried.

"You sure that's going to get it?"

"One way to find out." Mata Nui reached out with the crude pliers, and gently took the unstable battery out of it's perch. He held the source high in the air, to avoid getting electrocuted. He turned to Tarduk. "Do you have something that will hold this?"

"Umm…I think so." Tarduk searched his backpack, and pulled out a metal box. "Will this work?"

"Yes, now look away!" Tarduk did as he said while Mata Nui placed the battery into the box. Tarduk closed it shut and locked it.

"That went well, by the way, who are you?"

"My name is Mata Nui, I have come to find a way to return to my home world."

Tarduk just shrugged. "Good enough answer for me. Where you heading?"

"We're going to Tajun, where they all are."

Toa and Agori left the Valley of the Maze behind them.