Beginning Editor's Note: I do not claim to own the Bionicle characters or the majority of these plot points. The material here is simply an edited and compiled version of original Bionicle material. Decanonized series, books, guide books, novels, comics, story serials, blogs, etc. have been transcribed in novel form and fully integrated into one chronological read. The poetic liberties of novelization and editing are all I can claim.
Feel free to discuss any questions and feedback on this project, and be sure to keep following/favoriting so you know when a new story or chapter is posted. Reviews are always welcome for reactions, questions, concerns, or general feedback.
These parts constitute material from the story years of 2009 and 2010, constituting what I've called "Phase 08: Revolution."
Enjoy!
Sequel to "Bionicle - Phase 08: Revolution - Part IV: The Valley of the Maze"
100,000+ years ago…
Angonce walked purposefully toward a blank stone wall in the rear of his chamber. As the tall, wizened figure approached, the blocks that made up the wall softened and shifted, forming an opening. He gazed out this new window at the mountains and forest below, sadness and regret in his dark eyes.
He had often stood here before, reflecting upon the beauty of Spherus Magna. From the southern desert of Bara Magna to the great northern forest of Bota Magna with the ocean of Aqua Magna spread throughout, it was a place of stunning vistas and infinite opportunities for knowledge. The planet was truly a blessed place to be, with secrets, adventures, and the miracle of life throughout the Solis Magna system. Angonce had spent most of his life discovering its mysteries, and had hoped for many more years in the pursuit.
But now it seemed that was not to be. He had run every test that he could think of, and checked and rechecked his findings. They always came out the same: Spherus Magna was doomed.
How did it come to this? Angonce wondered. How did we let it get so far?
He, his brothers and sisters were scholars. Their theories, discoveries and inventions had transformed this world and changed the lives of the inhabitants, the Agori, in many ways. In gratitude, they had long ago been proclaimed rulers of Spherus Magna. The Agori called them the "Great Beings."
But the business of running a world—settling disputes, managing economies, dealing with defense issues, worrying about food and equipment supplies—all of this the Great Beings found a distraction. They wanted to build, study, invent, not oversee, adjudicate, and set policy. Those were vital duties, they realized, but it was better that someone else do them. And so, the Great Beings did what they always did when they had a problem: they created a solution.
Choosing specific warriors, one from each village, the Great Beings endowed them with the power to control, respectively, fire, water, plant life, ice, earth, rock, metal, and sand. They altered the warriors' very body chemistry to make each closer to being one with his element. Finally, they gave their newly created "Element Lords" weapons and armor that made them look like symbols of the natural forces of the world.
The Great Beings also gifted the Element Lords one more thing: the responsibility of ruling over the tribes of the Agori. They would shoulder the day to day duties the Great Beings so despised, and in return, they would be allowed to rule without interference.
Our first mistake, thought Angonce, though far from our last.
He turned away from the window, which transformed instantly back into a solid wall. It was time to face the truth. Any seeker of wisdom will, at some point, encounter an experiment that goes wrong. When that happens, the best thing to do is learn from it and move on. Naturally, the results of that experiment must be destroyed to prevent any unforeseen damage from being done. The Element Lords had been an experiment that had gone horribly wrong, warring with each other and usurping their elemental powers. Now the Great Beings would have to unleash a new invention to destroy an old one.
Angonce left the chamber and walked down a long corridor, passing a sealed door. Behind it, he knew that Heremus and the others were completing work on an ultimate weapon to be used against the Element Lords. It was a shape-shifting machine, one which would kill any warrior on the planet, thus ironically creating peace again. He had no desire to witness this. Rather, he felt the need for a vision of hope, something that spoke of better tomorrows and not the tragedies of today.
Leaving the fortress, he walked into a clearing—and there it was. Already standing millions of feet high, the giant before him was the last, best hope of Spherus Magna. Heremus had said that if it could not carry the physical heart of the planet within, it could at least carry the great spirit of this once beautiful world.
Angonce had liked that thought, and it had rung within him. When it came time to give this new creation a name, he knew just what to choose. The machine would doubly serve to leave Spherus Magna and study other worlds in order to prevent other tragedies from repeating like this Core War, and also act as a failsafe for Spherus Magna's rapidly approaching end. Using the language of the programs that would guide the giant and keep it running (called Matoran), he christened it "Mata Nui."
The "Great Spirit"…of Spherus Magna.
X X X
The impact of Makuta's landing shook the cavern, bringing down a rain of rock and dust. While Raanu and Ackar worked to keep the assembled Agori calm, Kiina and Gresh peered out the mouth of the cave. What they saw astonished them.
Two gigantic robots stood in the open desert, facing each other. One they recognized as Mata Nui. The other, bigger and stronger in appearance, was unknown to them. But they could take a wild guess at who it was.
"Two of them?" said Gresh. "There's two of them?"
"The big one must be Makuta," said Kiina. "Mata Nui told Raanu he was coming. This is bad."
"How bad?"
"Well, take a look at him," snapped Kiina. "If he flicks a toe, he could bring the whole mountain down on top of us. We have to find a way to help Mata Nui."
Gresh hefted his shield and started out of the cave. "Then what are we waiting for?"
Kiina put an arm up to block his exit. "A plan, and the right moment, kid…right now, we would just be something else for Mata Nui to worry about. Let's wait and watch for a while."
Gresh looked at her, a trace of disbelief in his expression. "When did you start talking like Ackar?"
Kiina smiled. "When I got smart—so listen, and maybe you'll live long enough to do that too."
X X X
Mata Nui stared into the crimson eyes of the mechanical nightmare that stood before him. He knew his thoughts should have been on how to defeat Makuta, how to save his people trapped inside that robot, and how to keep Bara Magna from being destroyed in the process. But he couldn't help asking himself—Is that what I used to look like? Is that why the Great Beings designed the robot to be able to conceal itself, so it wouldn't terrify everyone who saw it?
"Silence, brother?" asked Makuta. "No threats? No denunciations? No vows of revenge? You disappoint me."
"I don't need to do any of those things, Makuta," Mata Nui answered defiantly. Although he was speaking quietly, the sound of his words still echoed all over the planet. "I don't need to prove my power in useless combat with you, either. We don't need to fight."
Makuta chuckled, a harsh, metallic sound. "No, of course we don't. You could just lie down and die right now. You would save me at least a few minutes' effort, and yourself a lot of pain." He raised his right arm. "Or do you need persuading?"
A burst of power shot from Makuta's armored gauntlet. It sizzled past Mata Nui's head and struck one of the peaks of the distant Black Spike Mountains. The terrific heat melted the mountain in an instant. Mata Nui's sensitive sensor array picked up the screams of faraway Skrall warriors in the split second before they were covered in magma.
"I could do that all day," said Makuta, "and into the next. You would fight back, naturally, and between the two of us we would lay waste this planet…which suggests a better idea."
Makuta lifted his arm again and Mata Nui prepared for another attack. But this time Makuta opened his hand and turned it palm up. "Join me," he said. "In these bodies, we have the power to decimate entire universes. Together, we could rule all of reality."
"You know so much, and yet you understand so little," said Mata Nui. "You look at the body you stole from me and see only an engine of destruction, a weapon to be wielded against anyone you choose. Didn't you ever wonder why the Great Beings created it to be so powerful? Or why you felt compelled to seize control of it? I have a destiny to fulfill…a reason for existing. You have nothing, Makuta. You are nothing."
"Your 'destiny?'" said Makuta, acid dripping from his words. "Indeed. Yes, I know all about your mission—your great quest to reunite the three wandering pieces of Spherus Magna. Let me show you what I think of it." Power lanced from Makuta's outstretched hand. It struck Mata Nui in the shoulder, staggering him and tearing a gash in his robotic shell. "Ah, I see," Makuta said. "You must be wearing an old model. Cheap materials, cheap construction…I'm surprised you would be caught dead in that."
"Makuta, listen to me!" answered Mata Nui. "I know the truth. My destiny…it's yours, too. The Great Beings intended for us to work together to save this planet. Bara Magna was once part of a larger world, Spherus Magna. That shattered into three pieces. We're meant to heal it. We can work together to restore Spherus Magna to what it once was."
Makuta took two lumbering strides forward and backhanded Mata Nui. The huge robot the Agori had reconstructed toppled, flattening an entire mountain range when it fell. Makuta stood over his fallen opponent, contempt in his eyes. "Why?" he sneered. "Because the Great Beings said so? Where are they? Let them come forth and tell me themselves what I 'must' do. Great Beings, I await your command!"
There was a terrible silence. Nothing stirred in the desert, and even the carrion eaters circling overhead quieted their cries. "As I thought," said Makuta. "They have abandoned this world to its fate. So should you, Mata Nui. There is nothing here for you to fight for. Or do you think the miserable peasants who inhabit this pile of sand will craft legends of you and sing songs to your glory?"
Mata Nui rose. His new body was cracked in several places now. "I'm not here for glory," he said. "I'm here to do justice to these people after so many long years."
"The people," Makuta said quietly. "I am surprised at this new level of concern for the little things that scurry across the sands. You never seemed to care very much about those whose work kept you alive. And yet, here you are, trying to be the hero to the Bara Magnans."
Makuta pointed toward a mountain to the south. The sensors in his body identified hundreds of living beings hiding inside caves within that rock. Triggering the gravitic power of his robot form, he tore the mountain loose from the ground, exposing the Glatorian and Agori who had been concealed inside. They looked up fearfully at the mountain that hovered above their heads. "Shall I drop it?" asked Makuta. "What do you think they will feel about their 'hero' in their last few moments of life? Will they die cursing you in their hearts?"
Mata Nui's head dropped to his chest. "You would really do that, wouldn't you? Kill all those innocents just to prove some warped point? You're a fool." He glared up at Makuta. "That body does not make you a giant. Stand 40 million feet high, or 100 million, you are still an insect."
He raised both arms, charging and drawing power and strength from both the Mask of Life and his unstable power supply, hurling a twin blast of energy at his opponent. "And here on Bara Magna," yelled Mata Nui, "we know what to do with insects!" Makuta started to rise again, but Mata Nui, at the expense of stability, wasn't going to let this attack go to waste. He continued the beams, boring into Makuta's form. "Since you won't listen to reason, I'll speak to you in the language you understand!"
X X X
Inside the robot body Makuta controlled, a violent earthquake rocked every land mass. Buildings toppled, trees were hurled into the air, tidal waves smashed into coastlines and the inhabitants of countless islands fled in panic. They had known something like this once before, a little over 1000 years ago, and called it the Great Cataclysm.
Tahu had been standing beside Takanuva, Toa of Light, when the quake hit. Both were knocked off their feet from the quake. Tahu glanced up to see a mass of metal falling right toward them. He unleashed his power of flame as Takanuva shot a full power laser from his amplifying power lance, together vaporizing the solid iron.
"What…what was that?" asked Takanuva. "An attack by Makuta?"
"I don't think so," Tahu said, struggling back to his feet. "I think our old enemy just ran into someone who knows how to throw a punch."
The Toa of Fire pointed up ahead. The Rahkshi had been scattered like leaves in the wind by the tremors. They were only now regaining their feet and continuing their journey south.
"Are they ever going to get where they're going?" asked Takanuva. "We've been traveling for days."
"And picking up an army of Toa as we go," Tahu reminded him. "Let them keep going. By the time they stop, we'll be ready for them."