Mata Nui knew he had to act with blinding speed. The surprise attack had hit Makuta hard, but it had also caused him to drop the mountain he held suspended. With no time to spare, Mata Nui fired a second blast, turning the falling mass of rock to dust just before it would have crushed the Agori and Glatorian. "Go!" he ordered. "Get far away from here!"

Down below, Kiina watched the fight, despairing, "That metal monster is going to kill Mata Nui. We have to help him!"

Ackar turned to Raanu. "Do what he says. Take the Agori and head east, as fast as you can. Take nothing except what you need."

"What about you?" asked Raanu. "Aren't you coming with us?"

Ackar's blade glowed red-hot. "Not sure what we can do against something that size, but Kiina's right. I think Mata Nui could use some help against that monster. If nothing else, I can be some kind of distraction, maybe buy him a few seconds."

"We can do more than that," said Kiina. "We've got to."

"Think bigger," Gresh spoke up. "If I'm right, we can bring down Makuta. I've got a plan."

Kiina and Ackar gave him a questioning look, then the water Glatorian relayed the message. "Gresh has a plan."

Ackar paused in wonder for a moment, then shrugged and smiled. "Alright. Gresh has a plan. I don't know whether to be intrigued…or scared."

Kiina looked at Gresh, who was smiling more and more the longer he looked Makuta up and down, then back to Ackar. "All things considered, old friend, I'd go with scared."

X X X

Sensors inside Mata Nui's main command chamber were going off competitively, as if each one was trying to outdo another in alarm. A semi-circle of control panels was present for operation, with a similar circumferential array of screens for data. One held information about Aqua Magna, another about his own structural integrity, and still another scanning Makuta's form.

That should at least slow Makuta, and not a moment too soon, Mata Nui's conscience said to himself, observing the warnings and driving his attention several places at once.

Makuta was smiling. "So predictable," he said, as he rose to his feet to face Mata Nui once more. "And you don't even see it, do you?"

Mata Nui didn't respond.

"No, of course you don't," Makuta continued, "even though my strategy would be clear to a blind tunnel crawler. All I need to do is threaten the inhabitants of your little ant farm here to make you expend power to save them. Needless to say, I have more power in this form than you do in yours. I can threaten them long past the point where you can rescue them."

Mata Nui wished he was wrong, but his sensors unfortunately agreed. This robot does not have the power of his. It's already breaking down. His form took another fighting stance—elbows bent, fists clenched in front of himself. If I don't finish him and find a way to complete my mission soon, this body will crumble and Bara Magna will be helpless before Makuta.

Across the Great Barren, Makuta glanced down at the damage done to his robot body by Mata Nui's attack. "Who knew you had such a temper, brother? But you seem to have forgotten, in your righteous rage, that an entire universe of beings devoted to you—your precious Toa heroes, Matoran villagers, and more—live inside of me." Even as Matoran cowered in fear from falling debris and destroyed machinery, Makuta growled, "Damage me…and you may kill them."

Again, Mata Nui knew Makuta was right. There was no way to bring his enemy down without risking injury or death to the population that lived inside of him. But what was the alternative? Surrender, and let Makuta conquer this world and then many more? No. The Toa and Matoran had risked their lives more than once to stop the schemes of Makuta. They would accept whatever had to happen now. At least, that was what Mata Nui had to tell himself.

Something began to flash in front of Mata Nui's eyes. It was a "heads-up display" built into the robot. The green light showed the speed and trajectory of the two other pieces of Spherus Magna that he had tried to pull toward Bara Magna. Both were drifting off course and would require more power to return them to the right trajectory. As he had feared, he didn't have the energy to achieve his mission on his own.

The green light was replaced by a flashing red one. It warned that the structural integrity of his robot body was in serious danger. The power that was keeping the robot moving was slowly destroying it, and the damage done by Makuta had only made things worse. In less than an hour, the complex mechanism was going to collapse in a heap and Makuta would have won.

It was a bad situation.

It was about to get worse.

X X X

Gresh's plan was simple. While Ackar, Kiina and the rest distracted Makuta as best they could, he would try to slip by the robot unnoticed and find a way inside it. It was true that the Glatorian were too small to pose any real threat to the invader, but Gresh hoped that by focusing their Thornax launchers on joints and other potentially weak spots, they might at least annoy the enemy. Once inside, Gresh would secure the entry point and the other Glatorian would join him, smashing whatever they found inside.

With this in mind, the Glatorian charged, along with the other Glatorian and Agori warriors, trying to attract Makuta's attention. Halfway to Makuta, Kiina broke off with one squad and Ackar with the other, while Gresh veered to yet a third direction to dart away and carry out his part of the plan. The platoon of Glatorian led by Ackar, Kiina, and Gelu made it near the base of one of Makuta's feet. As soon as they were in range, the Glatorian began firing their Thornax at the ankle joint on Makuta's left leg.

"Concentrate your fire!" shouted Ackar. "Target one spot on the Makuta robot and punch a hole in it!"

Kiina was already doing that, but she didn't see much effect. The projectiles flew straight, but even she had to blink and gulp when the explosions were much smaller than she'd originally thought they were going to be. Worse, however big or small they looked from this far away, there seemed to be no effect. Whatever the robot was made out of, it was tough. One explosive Thornax could blow a big hole in most things, but dozens had barely made a scratch in this metal. And if this Makuta had even noticed their attack, he wasn't showing it.

"No good," she said in minor defeat. "Whatever that thing's made out of, we can't put a dent in it." Well, okay, thought Kiina. If he hasn't noticed us, maybe he won't notice Gresh, either.

That did, indeed, seem to be the case. Gresh had made it all the way to the foot of the massive robot without being stepped on, blasted, or pulverized. Better still, he had found what appeared to be a hatch in the side of the appendage. Now the only challenge would be getting inside…and surviving whatever might be in there.

X X X

Makuta may not have acted to stop Gresh and the others, but he did know they were there. His sensors had recorded their approach and his damage control systems were monitoring the (negligible) effects of the Thornax explosions. But perhaps it was time to show them what he could do.

Makuta glanced down at where the Glatorian were riding. "I see your little friends below are trying to attract my attention." He casually opened a hand palm-down and fired a massive blast of energy toward the surface. "Perhaps this will show them they have succeeded."

It certainly did. Gresh saw the incoming blast before he could shout a warning. Even if he had, there was little any of them could do to protect against such a force. He, Vastus, Kiina, and more were thrown far from the site, which now held a large crater. Even after, those that could move rallied, helped others evacuate, and continued their assault.

None of this came as a surprise. Makuta knew that Mata Nui would somehow manage to find followers. No doubt they would be as foolhardy as the Toa and Matoran had been and throw themselves into danger on his behalf. Like Mata Nui, these heroic sorts were predictable. By now, it really took no effort for Makuta to think two steps ahead of them.

As soon as he laid plans for an attack on Bara Magna, he mentally ordered his forces inside the robot to move out. By now, large numbers of Rahkshi and Skakdi warriors were assembled, ready to be unleashed on the desert. They had gathered at (what were called in the Matoran Universe) the "southern islands," which were actually the ankle and feet parts of the robot, which had been previously guarded so no one would escape the robot.

He had been massing his armies in preparation and was awaiting the proper time.

That time was now.

X X X

Gresh flew from the site of the large explosive blast, helplessly flying through the air. As he came to a painful stop in the sand, he thought back to how things went so bad so fast. After all, it was only a short time ago that Bara Magna was at peace for the first time in a long while. Mata Nui had solved two of the biggest issues facing the population: defeating the Skrall leader, Tuma, and driving the Skrall army away; and uniting the spiteful and disagreeable villages into one central community.

I guess we should have known it couldn't last, he thought grimly. He picked himself back up and moved toward the robot again, sliding down the ledge of the crater only to climb back up the other side. "Wow…if that was a miss, I don't want to know what a hit would do."

Then he noticed the one good piece of fortune he'd seen all day. "But it blew me closer to what I was looking for—a way to get inside that Makuta robot. That looks to me like a hatch!" The doorway he noticed was in the base of Makuta's foot. He was going to have to take his chance—he wasn't sure when he would get another one.

He raced forward and grabbed the protruding edges of the hatch, trying with all his might to lift and open it. After straining for a moment, it budged, a miniscule amount. He was going to have to try something else. "Now I just have to figure out how to open this. Once I'm inside, I'll smash everything I see and hope it brings this colossus down." Determined, he tried again, jamming the edges of his blades into the opening and prying on them with all his strength.

Trying to think fast, he gave up and looked over it again. His examination revealed a stress point in the hatch, apparently damaged by some past impact. A few well-placed Thornax might make an opening, but he didn't have high hopes from the durability Kiina and Ackar had seen. He was just taking aim for his first shot when a hissing sound came from the hatch. The next instant, it began to slowly open on its own.

"What the—?" he started, surprised and startled by the abrupt sound. But the sounds of screeching and hissing creatures fast approaching told him to seek cover. Instinctively, he quickly ran and flipped behind a nearby rock to watch. "Not sure what might be coming out of there, but I doubt it's here on a friendly visit."

The hatch opened, revealing a tunnel of darkness beyond. "Here we go," the Jungle Glatorian said quietly, readying his blades as the sounds increased in volume. "No wonder my plans scare Kiina…"

What he saw next was staggering.

The hatch had barely reached its fully-open position before a horde of nightmarish, armored figures poured forth in a charge, rivalling the numbers of the Skrall army. In the lead were vaguely reptilian looking creatures of all colors, though grey torsos and arms with yellow hands, heads, and feet seemed to be the most common dressing of hues. They had clawed feet, spiked and arcing spines, and electric red eyes. Each one carried a dangerous staff and had an ugly serpent roaring in its head. It wasn't over though. Right behind them came some of the strangest beings Gresh ever saw: warriors with huge jaws and weird, serpent-like external spines lined with spikes. These were armed with swords, axes and other hand weapons, and seemed to wear constant evil smiles.

With hisses and howls, the invaders charged across the sands. They slammed into Ackar and Kiina's band, battering their way past startled Glatorian. The finest fighters on Bara Magna fell before the savagery of Rahkshi and Skakdi. Though former enemies, they had been teamed in the name of the "Great Spirit Teridax" to conquer new worlds, and were now hitting the opposing forces hard—the Rahkshi with their powers and shadows, and the Skakdi with their fierce weaponry. The Bara Magnan forces had never seen anything like their power before.

"Pull back!" Ackar yelled. It was clear only those with advanced weaponry from the Mask of Life were anywhere close to combating these foes. "Regroup!"

Kiina leveled her vapor trident at one of the yellow Rahkshi and launched a powerful jet of water at it. Twin beams of heat vision flashed from the eyes of the foe, turning the water into steam. For a moment, Kiina could not see her enemy through the cloud. Then the Rahkshi came barreling out of the fog and smashed into her, knocking her off her feet.

Dazed, Kiina raised her trident to defend herself. The Rahkshi's heat beams turned the weapon too hot to handle and she dropped it with a cry. The creature drew back with its staff to deliver a killing blow.

Suddenly, there was a horrible crunch and the Rahkshi's head went flying. Ackar grabbed Kiina's hand and hauled her to her feet. "It got in the way of my sword," he said, smiling. "It won't do that again."

The Rahkshi's armored helmet hit the sand and tumbled to a stop. A moment later, a revolting slug crawled out from inside it.

"What is that?!" cried Kiina, disgusted.

Ackar aimed his sword and hurled a blast of fire, incinerating the slug. "Whatever it was…it's not anymore."

Kiina scooped up her trident just in time to parry the attack of a Skakdi. "Those metal things, they're just worms in armor?"

Ackar nodded as he slammed a Rahkshi to the ground.

Kiina gave a wolfish smile. "Good. Then I don't have to worry about a mess when I smash them to bits."

Up above, Makuta watched his rahkshi army descend upon the helpless Glatorian. "You see, Mata Nui? Your pathetic forces will be no match for my Rahkshi…and my other allies. You will see your friends die before you join them in defeat."

The Glatorian, who had been taken by surprise by the Rahkshi, suffered double when multiple Skakdi of various colors swept through them like a river, slaying scores.

"I have outwitted you, outfought you. Today my march to conquest beings over your broken body," Makuta announced. He fired two more blasts of energy, again driving Mata Nui's weak form several miles backward. "By right of power, I claim this world! Bara Magna is mine!"