The
Toa Metru had returned to Metru Nui, and found it barren, shaken, and
crawling with spider-like Visorak, named in legend as 'stealers of
life.'
Injected with Visorak venom, they became Toa Hordika, half
Toa, half Rahi. They met the Rahaga, dimunitive creatures with wisdom
beyond their years. Now, the Toa Hordika, along with the Rahaga, have
begun the search for the mythical rahi Keetongu, whose power of
countering venoms may be the Hordika's only chance to become Toa
again.
Nuju and Kualus stood in front of a Knowledge Tower in
Ko-Metru. When the great earthquake occured, this particular tower
had split in half, causing it to resemble a Y.
"Is this the
place?" Nuju asked his Rahaga friend.
"Yes," Kualus
replied. "This is the largest ice bat nest in the city. The
perfect place to learn the language of flying Rahi. Come on now, we
haven't got all day."
Nuju was about to follow Kualus when he
heard an odd sound. It sounded like a muffled cry coming from below
him.
"Kualus, look!" Nuju exclaimed. "I think I
found an injured Rahi!"
Just as Kualus turned his head,
Nuju was thrown up into the air by an explosion underneath his
feet.
After readying his Rhotuka, Nuju looked down into the pit
that had been concealed by the rubble. Then he let out an audible
gasp, for curled up inside the pit was something that should not have
been there.
A Matoran.
The Matoran opened his eyes.
"Water..." he croaked.
Nuju motioned to Kualus, who took
out a canteen of water from their raid of a Le-Metru storehouse and
gave it to the parched Matoran.
After the Matoran drank the water,
he stared at the sky. He was engulfed in a blast of bright light, and
then a Toa stood there.
Nuju jumped back. "Krahka,"
he exclaimed, "How on Mata Nui did you escape the Kahgarak's
darkness field?"
The Toa, (whose body, Nuju noticed, was
crystalline) replied, "What Krahka? All I remember was the quake
and a strange dream. In it was..."
"That's not
important," Kualus cut in. "The important thing is that you
are a Toa. You are not supposed to exist. There are only six Toa on
Metru Nui."
The stranger bent his head. "And if I am
not supposed to exist, how could I have placed my Toa Stone in a slot
in the Great Suva?"
Suddenly, Nuju realized something. There
were seven slots in the Great Suva that day we became Toa...
"Come," Kualus said to the Toa. "Come with us. We
must talk."
And so the two of them walked off, with Nuju
cautiously following behind.
Soon, the three companions
reached the Tower of Toa, the Toa Hordika's headquarters. The
crystalline Toa gazed in wonder at the tall structure, but had little
time to marvel at this sight when Kualus abruptly knocked on the
door.
A part of the steel door slid open and an orange eye peeked
out. "Name and business," the voice grunted.
"Nuju
and Kualus," the Toa of Ice replied cooly, "We have, uh,
important news."
The door swung open, and Matau Hordika
stepped inside. "Good to see you again, Nuju," the former
Toa of Air exclaimed, "How did that raid go?"
"The
raid went successfully," Kualus said, "We found enough
supplies to last us for a week, and something else as well."
The
two pushed the crystalline Toa inside.
There were cries of
"Sweet Mata Nui!" and "How...?"
Vakama Hordika
stared at the Toa and asked, "Who are you? And what is your
power?"
The Toa sighed. "My name is Hikan, and I control
Crystal. Crystal can come in many different shapes and sizes, and
that is the basis of my power. I can zap creatures with my staff and
then transform into them."
"A useful power,"
murmured Nokama Hordika. "But you do not have your staff here.
How can we utilize this ability if you don't have your tool for doing
so?"
"Actually, he CAN use his power," said a voice
by the door.
All heads looked towards Nuju, the speaker. "I
lagged behind on our walk to our tower, and I found this." He
held out a purple claw-topped silver staff crackling with
electricity.
"My staff!" Hikan exclaimed. "Erm, if
you Rahaga could step outside for a second..."
"Of
course!" Kualus replied and lead the other Rahaga
outside.
Onewa Hordika frowned. "Why did you do that?"
he asked curiously.
Hikan sighed. "I have something to tell
you that wasn't fit for their ears. During the time I was trapped
under all that rubble, I kept on having the same dream, over and
over. I saw, in my mind, a large orange Rahi--"
"Keetongu,"
breathed Whenua Hordika. "The only hope for us to be Toa Metru
again."
"Along with this Rahi, I saw a single word:
Impostor. Now that you told me that Keetongu has a cure of some sort,
I saw the connection."
"Keetongu does not know how to cure venoms. He may even be working for the dark side. I'm sorry to say this, but...
Keetongu is an impostor."
