Makuta Miserix and the six Toa Hagah turned as one to see figures emerging from the dimensional portal. They were ready for anything, except perhaps for what they saw.
Toa Helryx emerged first, followed by Keetongu. The portal began to shrink behind them, then suddenly widened again to admit two more figures. The Hagah recognized neither one, but it was obvious that Helryx did.
"Axonn!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here? And…what has happened to Brutaka?"
Axonn explained rapidly how he and Brutaka had tracked down the pool where the Makuta species was created, only to be attacked by it. Brutaka had been changed by it somehow and insisted that they come here immediately—wherever "here" might be. He had used his Mask of Dimensional Gates to make the journey.
"Then…was it that which opened a gate allowing us to escape where we were?" wondered Helryx.
"No," answered Brutaka, in a voice like thunder. "There is another Olmak…and it has been misused…and worse. It may well threaten us all."
"It's going to have to wait in line," said Toa Iruini. "Listen, we all came down here looking for Makuta Teridax, on your instructions. Then we were told it was full of traps and a 'place of death.' Well, so far, I see no Teridax, I've run into one pretty good trap, and nobody's died. When do things start happening?"
A bolt of energy shot out from a bank of machinery nearby. It struck Brutaka, shattering his mask to pieces.
"You had to ask," Bomonga grumbled, shooting a hard look at Iruini.
"My apologies for the abrupt greeting," said the voice of Teridax. It was strangely soft, and seemed to be coming from all around. "But I couldn't have Brutaka helping you to leave prematurely. Not when we have so much to discuss."
"Makuta!" said Helryx. "I know what you're planning. You won't get away with it."
"You know?" Teridax repeated, amused. "If you knew, you would be fleeing in panic, Toa. No, you suspect…just as Zaktan does. Or perhaps he does more than that?" A loud hum filled the room. A moment later, both Zaktan and the water tank in which he dwelled exploded.
"I suppose now we will never know," said Teridax. "Now what shall we talk about? The economy of Stelt? The latest Akilini scores? The efforts to turn Metru Nui into an armed camp? No, I know—let's discuss the end of your universe as you have known it."
X X X
The island of Destral was in ruins.
The fortress of the Makuta had been pounded largely to rubble. Vezon, the sole living and conscious occupant of the fortress, had already departed using a Mask of Dimensional Gates. Occupiers were already moving through the shattered rooms, looking for survivors or loot.
Inside a subterranean chamber, a lone figure awoke. He knew his name—Takanuva—and he remembered being kidnapped from his alternate universe by a Makuta. After that, everything was a blank until he woke up here, in a cracked canister.
He kicked the lid of the canister to pieces and stepped out into the chamber. All around him were duplicates of him, some dead, some still trapped in suspended animation. That answered one question—he had not been the only one taken.
Something was nagging at him…something else that was not as it should be. What was it? He was certain that his armor had not been all black before…so that was one possibility. But was that the answer? No, no, it wasn't. He was almost positive that one other thing had been different prior to his awakening.
He was pretty sure—could have sworn, really—that he hadn't wanted to destroy the world before. But now?
The dark Takanuva just couldn't wait to get started.
X X X
The storm (as most storms do) had started out small, but grew bigger rapidly. First, the glow beneath the swamp had grown painfully bright. Then a tiny vortex of energy sprang to life just above the murky water. It rapidly grew bigger and bigger, bolts of power flying from it in all directions. Now it was spreading out across the swamp and stabbing upwards toward the sky.
Although the Toa Nuva had been expecting it, the Makuta were the ones who noticed it first. Unable to see, Antroz, Chirox, and Vamprah could only feel the power crackling in the air. Gorast had managed to free herself from the Toa and greeted the storm as if it were a sign of final victory. Bitil was not so sure, and had Gorast not been looking, he would have been winging his way out of Karda Nui.
Mutran was the most curious about the new arrival. As the winds picked up, debris began to swirl, and crackles of electricity commenced. Its heart began at the codrex and quickly grew outward. Had Vican been around, he would have sent the Matoran into the eye of the storm to check it out. Since he was gone, along with the rest of the Matoran, Mutran steeled himself to examine it on his own. True, it looked dangerous, but it was raw power—if he could tap it, feed it into his creations, who knew what amazing Rahi he might create?
Tentatively, he flew along the very edges of the storm's radius of annihilation. Yes, it was everything he imagined it to be. The energy was devouring everything in its path: water, stalactites, Rahi beasts…everything. But there had to be a way to harness it. He was a Makuta, after all, no mere whirlwind of power was too much for him to master.
"Amazing! If I could tap this energy, I could—wait! Yes!" Then he saw it—the answer! "I see it now! It's so absurdly simple!" he shouted. "I can control this storm! All I have to do is—"
A crimson bolt of power erupted from the heart of the storm and lashed from the enlarging radius. The storm saw to it that Mutran would never control anything ever again. In a flash, it had disintegrated his protosteel armor and vaporized the energy being within. In a microsecond, a 100,000 year-old Makuta was gone, leaving not even a cloud of dust to mark his passing.
X X X
Takanuva flew as quickly as he could to Tahu. Already, traces of his grey armor were beginning to glint a dull yellow-gold color, thanks to his recovery. "The Matoran have been evacuated, but we'll never make it out in time!"
"Yes, we will," Tahu replied, gesturing overhead. Takanuva looked up to see Lewa, Pohatu, and Kopaka flying toward them in the Axalara, Rockoh, and Jetrax. "Here come our rides."
X X X
Now even Gorast realized something was very wrong. The storm was growing in size and strength at blinding speed. "No," she whispered, slumping into the mud. "It isn't possible…it's some trick by the Toa."
"What is it?" demanded Antroz. "What's going on?"
"We have to get away," said Bitil. "Curse us for fools, we've been betrayed!"
"Mutran never had a chance…" Antroz said to Gorast, as reality gripped him like a Nui-Jaga pincer. "And neither do we. Makuta Teridax betrayed us! He knew this storm would erupt when Mata Nui awoke and he never warned us!"
"Krika was right. Krika was right," Gorast kept muttering, utterly ignoring Antroz. "Krika was…"
Antroz wheeled away from the green female, turning to where he had heard Bitil above. "Stay here and die if you like, Gorast, but I won't! Bitil! Fly me out of this place! Lead us out of here," Antroz ordered.
But that yellow-armored Makuta shook his head. "You, Vamprah, and Chirox would only slow me down," Bitil replied, already in flight. "Find your own way out and home, you blind fool!"
Even as he fled, Antroz yelled after him, "Bitil! Come back here! Don't…don't leave us!" But it was no use. Antroz cursed as Bitil flew away, while Chirox sought out Gorast.
But the female Makuta was making no effort to escape whatsoever. She was simply standing on the shore of the swamp, transfixed by the storm—whether it was the sheer destructive beauty of it or the betrayal it represented, not even she could say. Perhaps it was simply the realization that her leader, Makuta Teridax, had sent her and the others to this place knowing that if their mission was successful, this storm would erupt and slay them all…perhaps it was facing that truth that drove her mad. Shocked at the turn of events, she simply sat in the mud and waited for the end.
Bitil smiled when he could no longer hear Antroz's pleas for help and compassion. He'd had enough of him anyway. "'Come back', indeed. What do I have to gain by saving them? When I make it out of here, Teridax will see that I am his most trusted lieutenant! He'll see—"
No. He won't.
Bitil would try to teleport to escape the onrushing storm, but it was already too close. Waves of energy interfered with his power and he went nowhere. He pushed his flight ability to its limit, but could not outrace the vortex. And, as Pohatu Nuva once observed, one power that no Makuta had was superspeed.
X X X
If Mazeka thought he had been rocked by all the differences between the world of Spherus Magna and the universe he was used to, he was in for an even bigger shock. Toa Macku returned with a guide to the fortress of the Great Beings—a tall, white-armored being she introduced as Makuta Teridax. The newcomer greeted both Vultraz and Mazeka and suggested that they get started right away, as it was a treacherous journey in the dark.
"So, your title is Makuta?" asked Mazeka. "What do you do?"
"Whatever is necessary," Teridax replied. "My role is to aid the Toa in looking after the villagers; to create new life forms, as needed; and to teach the virtues of unity, duty and destiny to those I and my brothers bring into being."
Vultraz thought he was going to be sick. What had they done to the Makuta here? Where was the delicious evil, the complex plans, the ruthless ambition? Or…if the Makuta's actions had been fueled by a hatred/jealousy of Mata Nui, and there was no Mata Nui here, had things turned out differently?
"Must be a tough job," commented Vultraz.
"It is…time-consuming," Teridax replied. "A Makuta must be a being utterly without doubt, or fear, or any trace of shadow, so it takes long years of meditation before one is ready to assume the title. The powers that once ran this world were mad with a hunger for power—the Great Beings created the Makuta as an answer to that."
No one spoke for the rest of the journey. Mazeka was filled with questions, but he wasn't sure it would be wise to ask them. If the Makuta found out where he and Vultraz were really from, he might decide to imprison them, or worse. After all, why would the beings of Spherus Magna want those of a universe as war-torn as Mazeka's to know about them, or their dimension?
It was a long and dangerous trip through thick forest and high mountains. Now and then, a great roar would shake the earth. The two Matoran didn't ask the source—neither really wanted to know—and Teridax did not offer. So they continued on their journey to meet entities that lived in more reverence and mystery than any other that Mazeka knew—the Great Beings themselves.
X X X
It took the Toa Mahri a long time to make it back from Artidax to Metru Nui. Jaller's first thought upon arriving was that it had been way too long. Metru Nui was under attack. At first he thought that was Metru Nui; it was surrounded by high walls with weapons mounted at the top of them, weapons belching fire and smoke at the attackers. The weapons were manned by warriors of all sorts, none of which Jaller recognized. Wait, check that. The berserker battling three opponents at once looked a lot like Hewkii.
"What's going on?" said Nuparu. "Looks like we've walked into a full scale war."
"It's been going on for a while," said Hahli. "But I think it's come home."
It was an awesome sight. Ships flying the banner of the Brotherhood of Makuta ringed the island-city, flying Rahkshi were assaulting from every direction, firing bolts of energy from their staffs while others pounded on the walls. In one section, a portion of the wall had already crumbled, and warriors fought in the gap, trying to keep the invaders out.
"They're breaking through!" shouted Nuparu.
"Let's go," said Jaller. "We stand or fall with our city."
The three Toa hit the gap from behind, using Fire, Water, and Earth to tear through the ranks of Rahkshi. They made it through the wall of the city. Beyond the ranks of Order of Mata Nui agents, they spotted a Turaga manning barricades.
Jaller rushed up to Vakama. "Turaga, what's happening, how did this battle begin?"
"We can thank the Order for that," Vakama replied. "Now our problem is how to end it before the city is destroyed."
"The Mask of Time," said Hahli. "Can one of us use it to, I don't know, slow down the Rahkshi somehow?"
"I wish you could," said Vakama. "But the mask is gone, stolen by a Dark Hunter. He made the gap in the wall you came through."
Jaller looked around. In his days as captain of the Ta-Koro Guard, he had learned a thing or two about battle strategy. A quick glance was enough to tell him that the Order had badly underestimated the ferocity of the Brotherhood of Makuta attack. The Rahkshi had already gained the tops of the walls in three or four places, and in one southern section, had made it inside the walls as well. As he watched, the defenders of the gap fell back, and the invaders began pouring through.
"We need an edge," said Jaller. "Something the Rahkshi wouldn't expect."
"There are more Toa coming, but they won't get here in time," said Vakama. "But there might be one Toa here now who could help us in a desperate gamble. Listen well…"