They traveled for a long time over the sand dunes and through the wastelands, into the brightness of the following day. There was little to see—just long stretches of empty sand occasionally broken up by bizarre structures that jutted up from the ground at weird angles. Now and then, Mata Nui would spot buildings marking some kind of old civilization in the distance. They were half-buried in sand and most of the structural pillars were leaning unsteadily. It looked like no one had lived in them for centuries.

"What happened here?" Mata Nui asked finally.

"Who knows?" answered Metus. "It's been like this for as long as anyone can remember. But if I had to make a guess, I'd say it was probably—"

"Evil," said Mata Nui, softly.

Metus glanced at his passenger, then shrugged. "l was going to say 'earthquake,' maybe 'volcanic eruption,' but, hey, 'evil' works." He paused. "Not from around here, are you?"

Mata Nui thought about how to answer. "No."

"I figured," said Metus. A Glatorian named Gelu recently retired from the arena as Second Glatorian, leaving Iconox short-handed. Metus was actively trying to recruit a new Second Glatorian for the village. He pointed at the stinger tail Mata Nui carried. "It's clear you can fight if you can defeat a Vorox, and there aren't many Agori or even Glatorian who can do that."

"Agori?"

"Me. I'm an Agori," Metus said, smiling. "Although most aren't as good looking as I am." Mata Nui didn't react. Metus continued, "That's another joke. Anyway…the truth is, we're just peaceful villagers trying to survive. Not like the Bone Hunters. They're cutthroats who steal what little we've got left. And the Skrall…whoo…they're just as bad, if not worse."

Metus suddenly stopped the vehicle and pointed up ahead. Mata Nui could see movement in the sand. It looked like ocean waves pulsating along the ground, but there was no water anywhere around. "Uh-oh," said Metus.

"What is it?" asked Mata Nui.

"Its real name is very long," Metus answered. "By the time you finish saying it, you've already been eaten. So we just call them Sand Bats."

Metus turned the vehicle and they sped off over the dunes. Mata Nui looked back and saw that the moving sand was following them. It came closer and closer, before the sand exploded upward.

"Look out!" yelled Metus. "It's attacking!"

Mata Nui hung on as Metus steered the transport into a sharp turn. As it swerved, he got a good look at the Sand Bat. It looked like a huge snake with bat wings and was at least 15 feet long, its skin dark brown all over its body. It glared at them with slanted red eyes, snapped sharp fangs ravenously, leaving Mata Nui little room for error on its friendliness. Foot-long horns protruded out of the sides of its head, and spines running down its back swayed as it slithered through the air toward them.

The creature had shot straight up into the air and now dove down toward the two travelers, thrashing a blow into the vehicle. Mata Nui and Metus fell out, landing in the sand nearby. Mata Nui gripped his sword and prepared for a fight. He was sure the creature would attack them now that they were on the ground. Instead, the creature dove back into the sand and disappeared. Utterly confused, Mata Nui still made good use of the opportunity, looking to find Metus.

Metus was on his feet, trying to roll the transport back onto its blades before the Sand Bat came back. Mata Nui helped him, but he couldn't take his eyes off the spot where the monster had vanished.

"Where is it?" he wondered.

"Not here. That's what matters," said Metus, climbing back into the driver's seat. "Get in!"

"Too late!" said Mata Nui, pointing at the ground. It was moving again, and the waves were headed right for them. Mata Nui grabbed Metus, pulling him out of his machine just before the Sand Bat soared up again and crashed into the vehicle.

"Run!" shouted Metus.

Mata Nui thought that seemed like a good idea. He started running but a screech from behind him made him turn. The Sand Bat was flying right at him! Just before the creature grabbed him, Mata Nui dove to the ground. The Sand Bat flew past and plowed into the dunes, vanishing below ground yet again.

Metus had turned back and helped Mata Nui get up. "There are caves over there," said Metus. "Maybe we can hide in them…if there isn't something worse already inside."

Mata Nui looked ahead where Metus was pointing. The caves were at least a mile away. They would never make it. "We're going to have to fight it," he said. "Keep your eyes on the ground. Maybe we can spot the creature before it attacks again. When it comes up, try and knock its mask off."

"Huh?" said Metus, confused. Curiosity spun his face. "Its mask? What mask?"

"Where I come from, beasts wore masks that made them do evil things," explained Mata Nui, perching on a rock off the softer sand. "But if you knocked the mask off, the animal went back to being peaceful."

Metus started running toward the caves. He scanned the sand for signs of the creature as he went. "Oh, well…that sounds nice. Around here the monsters don't wear masks…or hats, or pants, or anything else. And they eat you because they're hungry and you're nearby. Got it?"

Mata Nui frowned. Metus was right. He had to make the active effort of remembering that this wasn't home and things didn't work the same way here. Forgetting that might get me hurt, or worse.

The Sand Bat exploded out of the sand to their left. Metus ran toward the caves. Mata Nui stood, sword in hand, waiting for the creature to attack.

He didn't have to wait long. The Sand Bat screeched and dove at him. At the last second, Mata Nui dove aside and swung his sword, trying to at least get a small slice. The blade hit the Sand Bat's wing, but did no damage. The creature promptly disappeared under the sand again.

Mata Nui looked down at the sand, then at his sword. "Metus, this makes no sense!" he said.

"Of course not," Metus yelled back. "Getting eaten by a big, winged snake usually doesn't."

"No, I mean…it's bigger and stronger than we are," said Mata Nui. "It's tough enough that my sword doesn't hurt it. So why does it keep diving into the ground and hiding? What's it afraid of?"

"Missing dinner?" Metus snapped. "How should I know?"

"Think!" answered Mata Nui. "What's around here? Sand…rocks…air…"

The Sand Bat shot out of the ground right near Mata Nui, knocking him backward. As it dove at him, Mata Nui raised his sword to protect himself. The creature suddenly turned away with an irritated screech, then it dove back beneath the sand again.

Mata Nui thought hard. Just before it would have finished him, light from his sword shone brightly in its eyes—the first light of the bright morning sun. "Sunlight!" Mata Nui shouted, jumping up. "It doesn't like the sunlight!"

Metus looked around at the open desert, which would soon be blazing hot and bright enough to cause eye damage to a traveler without protection. "Boy, did it pick the wrong place to live," he muttered.

"This is what we're going to do," said Mata Nui. As he explained his plan, the villager simply kept shaking his head as if Mata Nui were crazy.

X X X

The sand started to move again. This time, instead of running away, Metus and Mata Nui ran toward the spot where the Sand Bat would appear. The creature came up out of the ground and flew into the sky again, before diving at Metus.

As the Sand Bat headed for the ground, Mata Nui ran at it. He jumped and tackled the creature, knocking it off balance. He held tight, but was soon overpowered. The Sand Bat threw Mata Nui off easily.

Metus gave a yell and ran right in front of the Sand Bat. When it ignored him and continued after Mata Nui, he threw a handful of sand at it, which landed in its ear. Agitated, the creature flew after him. Metus ran as fast as he could, but the Sand Bat was faster than his small legs.

"Mata Nui!" Metus yelled. "Is this part of the plan? Because if it is, I don't like it!"

The Sand Bat suddenly turned back. Smoke was starting to come from its wings. It flew one way, abandoning its pursuit of Metus, but saw Mata Nui blocking its path. It flew the other, and Metus was there again, sword drawn. Now its whole body was smoking, causing a screech to come from its savage jaws. Only this time, it wasn't one of pursuit or anger, it was a cry of pain.

The creature tried once more to get underground. This time, Mata Nui moved out of the way and let it go. It disappeared into the dunes in an instant.

"Wait a second!" cried Metus. "You let it go!"

Mata Nui started walking toward the transport, waving for Metus to follow. "It didn't need to be hurt," Mata Nui said quietly. "It just needed to learn that the world it was visiting, the world above the ground, was dangerous. That's something I have to learn too."

Metus still wasn't sure who this strange visitor was or why he was here. But something told him he better stay close to this 'Mata Nui.' Maybe I might learn something valuable, too, he thought. Something very valuable indeed.

X X X

Mata Nui's Diary - 1

Once, I ruled a universe.

You might not believe me, for I look much like any other warrior on this world. You would have been even less likely to believe me a few short days ago, when I first arrived on this strange planet of Bara Magna. But it is the truth…as cold and painful a truth as there was in any world.

I could tell you a great deal about the universe that once was mine, about its people, its heroes, and the threats to its peace. But none of that matters very much now. It is enough to say that my rule was stolen from me, because I was not wise enough to keep it safe. The thief was a being of darkness and fear, whose terrible plans for my people I can only imagine. He trapped me inside an object, a Mask of Life, and hurled me from my universe into the blackness of space. He believed I was gone forever, no longer a threat to him in any way. He believed he was safe from me at last.

I intend to prove him wrong.

I would be lying if I said I had any idea how I would do that as my prison soard through space. I felt shock, rage, and yes, fear, more for my people than myself. As the pull of Bara Magna's gravity latched onto the mask in which my spirit was trapped, I wondered if this was how my 100,000 years existence would end—burned up in the atmosphere of an alien world.

But that was not to be my fate. Rocketing down like a blazing star, the Mask of Life struck the sands of Bara Magna, scorching a deep trench in the floor of the desert. It came to rest, smoke still rising from its surface. And then the power buried deep in the mask exerted itself, and began to create a living body from the sand and the earth.

And when it was done, I, Mata Nui, stood on the surface of a new world.

Mata Nui

X X X

As the elder of the village of Vulcanus, Raanu's days were filled with hard work, whether it was with the other Agori or keeping an eye on the fighting skills of Ackar, the village's lone Glatorian.

Earlier today, Raanu stood by in supervision as three other Fire Agori completed the last wall of what would be a new dwelling. His presence there was more a formality than anything else—the villagers really didn't need him, but it was still a traditional part of his job. With little else to hold on to, Bara Magna denizens tended to hold on to tradition. Because of his passive responsibilities, his mind began to wander away from him before he brought it back to monitoring the progress of the builders.

Later he went to watch Ackar train, his mind drifting to the future of Vulcanus. Without a new experienced Glatorian for Raanu's village, they would quickly fall behind the competition of the other villages. From a rise overlooking a practice arena, Raanu watched Ackar perform a jumping strike, spinning to slice his sword through the empty air behind him. The Agori elder couldn't stop the skeptical and saddened expression that formed as he watched the Glatorian push himself back to his feet slower than he used to.

But when the work was done, and things were quiet, Raanu sometimes found a few spare moments to spend by himself. Raanu himself on a rock to watch the sun of Solis Magna set over Bara Magna's horizon. Its setting yielded the only time of day with a comfortable temperature before the blistering heat of the desert turned to freezing cold. Turning to face directly into the glowing orb, he closed his eyes and remembered.

It was at these lonesome and quiet times that Raanu thought of home.

Memories flooded him of times long past, when the world was a very different place. He remembered actions that were taken—some his, and some from others—that led to the situation which affected more lives than he could know.

He sighed a heavy sigh. Sometimes he did not know why he reflected in meditation over these events. They were slow long ago, and such a burden, that it might be best if they were forgotten. No, he stopped himself. Every time he was tempted to forget them, he told himself the same thing: Negligence and ignorance is what caused this. Though it may hurt, it is for the better that we—that I—keep…

"All our sins remembered," he finished quietly.

Sitting with his tools down and his feet pulled close in front of him, he heard the presence of another. Looking up, he saw Ackar approaching him. The Fire Glatorian said nothing as the elder joined him.

There was much about the past that Raanu didn't know, much he did not understand. Right now, he knew only that water supplies were low for the month, that the Skrall could raid at any moment, and that Ackar must prepare for his match with Strakk.

The two left then, leaving two pairs of footprints in the sand behind them, trailing back to torches near Raanu's spot. The flames were now dying out as the horizon pulled the sun ever closer to its boundary.

Bara Magan's vast desert was Raanu's whole world now…but he would never forget the sounds of the sea, or the trees that stretched up to the sky, though he is certain they are gone for good.

Like everyone else here, he was too busy just surviving to have time for hope.