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 year of 2008, constituting what I've called "Phase 07: Ignition." Please enjoy.

Sequel to "Bionicle - Phase 07: Ignition - Part I: Effulgent Harvest"

When Takanuva could see again, he looked around in surprise. He would have expected to be in Turaga Dume's chambers in the Coliseum or even in some Matoran shelter in Onu-Metru. Instead, he was in a darkened room that stank of rot. Am I dead then? he wondered. Just waiting for some Po-Matoran to carve my memorial stone?

"No, you are very much alive." The voice belonged to a male.

A figure moved toward Takanuva in the dim light. For reasons he couldn't name, his first thought was that it was it was Makuta, come for revenge. But a minor use of his power illuminated the room and revealed the being drawing closer. It was not the same being who had spoken the words—for it was obvious from her form that she was a female. She was not Makuta, but she was indescribably ancient and disturbingly frail in appearance. Her mask and armor were pitted and scarred from a thousand battles. She looked like a Toa, but her armor and mask design didn't resemble any kind of Toa era that Takanuva had ever seen before. The light revealed another figure as well. He must have been the one to speak because he was a male Toa, though not someone Takanuva recognized. His Kanohi matched the description of a Suletu, the Mask of Telepathy.

"It is good to see you are still alive," the female said, her voice so soft it could barely be heard. "When Toa Krakua here found you, we thought…well, we did not bring you to a place of the dead on a whim."

Takanuva sat up painfully and looked around. He knew what this place was now. He had heard Turaga Whenua describe it. If a Rahi beast in the Archives died, either by accident or in an escape attempt, its body would be brought to this chamber for study. Fortunately, there were no carcasses in the room right now, but it was still a very unpleasant place to visit.

"Who are you? What's going on?" demanded the Toa of Light.

"I am Toa Helryx, leader of the Order of Mata Nui," came the reply.

"I've never heard of it…or you."

Helryx chuckled. "If you had, we would have another worry. As for what is going on, the answer is…hopefully not more than your mind is able to comprehend."

"And that Toa?" asked Takanuva. "Is he a member of your little group?"

Helryx shook her head. "Not a member, no. But we need a courier to bring messages between ourselves and the likes of you, one who could do so without revealing the existence of our Order. So we arranged for a Matoran of Sonics named Krakua to achieve his destiny and become a Toa."

"I must have hit my head when I fell," muttered Takanuva. "Hit it really hard."

Helryx's expression darkened. She held out her hand toward the Toa of Light. Instantly, he found himself pinned to the wall by spikes made of water. "Fool!" she snapped. "Even now, the Toa Nuva fight for their lives, and only you can help them. But to do so, you must be armed with knowledge…the kind only we can provide. So you will listen, and you will hear!"

It was all a little too much for Takanuva. "Why me? After that attack, I don't even know how much power I have left."

"More than you know," Helryx answered. "In over 100,000 years, the Order has revealed its existence to very few, and even then only in a time of great need. This is such a time—and we have need of a unique Toa…one who walks the worlds of both Light and Shadow."

"But I'm not—"

"Silence! The time has come to begin." Helryx gestured to Krakua, who stepped forward. In his hand, he held a small creature. It looked like a cross between the Krana who lived inside the Bohrok swarms and the worm-like Kraata who dwelled inside Rahkshi armor. Takanuva remembered the creature from one of Vakama's tales, and it's encounter with Onewa. The creature had been creatively dubbed "Kratana" after its apparent and inexplicable mix. The combination was far from pretty.

"Do not fear," said Helryx. "There is much you need to see; our little pet is here to provide…visual aid." With that, Krakua placed the creature on Takanuva's mask. A moment later, the world around the Toa of Light fell away. Suddenly, he was seeing events from a time long past, when the universe was still new. He heard the voice of Helryx, as if from far away. "Pay attention; watch and listen, Takanuva," she said. "You have much to learn…and time is not your friend."

X X X

It took only minutes for Bitil, his doubles, and Onua Nuva to reach Krika's lair deep in the swamp. There was no sign of any living being, only dead Rahi scattered about in the mud. That didn't seem to deter Bitil, who landed on the small islet and stood, waiting. "Makuta Krika will be pleased to see a Toa captive. If he is not on the hunt, he will be here," he murmured.

"Krika? Show yourself," another being said.

Onua wanted to look around to see if anyone was coming…and suddenly realized that he could. Whatever Bitil had hit him with had worn off. But he stayed perfectly still, not wanting to let the Makuta know his body was his own again.

"You never see him until the last possible moment," another Bitil muttered. "I really hate that." Two other Bitils nodded in agreement, all but one, who looked very confused. Now that Onua took a second look, he realized that particular version of Bitil was not an exact duplicate of the others. In fact, he was quite different in appearance, lacking the leg blades and hideous face of his companions.

The Toa of Earth had no idea what was going on here. But whatever it was, it had started with the Makuta that had captured him. He waited until that one's back was turned, then charged forward and caught him in a headlock. "You have bigger problems than your surprising ally right now, Makuta," he said. He swung Bitil around as the others surged forward, knocking them all back by heavily swinging the Makuta in an arc.

As they began to get back up, Onua rehefted Bitil in his grasp, tightening his headlock. "I wouldn't," Onua threatened them.

The one in his grip chuckled softly. "You against me? The odds are against you…because I never fight one on one…and time is on my side."

Onua addressed him, "Tell your friends to back away, if they like your head attached to your body."

"Oh, we like it more than you can imagine, Toa," one smiled. "But can you act before we strike you down?"

Six pairs of arms were outstretched toward Onua. Shadow energy began to gather in the palms of twelve hands as Bitil's duplicates prepared to attack. "What happens to you doubles if the original dies?" Onua continued, tightening his grip. "Do you really want to find out?"

The Bitil Onua help prisoner began to laugh. Then, with a mere shrug, he broke the Toa's grip and sent Onua sprawling on the ground in front of the duplicates. "You don't understand, do you Onua? You fool," said Makuta Bitil. "These aren't just doubles of me—they are me. They are all me. My mask power lets me summon other versions of myself, each one plucked from the past to aid me in the present. An instant army, all of them ever and completely loyal, and I can call on as many as I need for as long as I need them. See?"

As Onua rose, he saw that six Bitils had become a dozen, then two dozen, then close to fifty. Some were standing, some flying, some resembled Bitil exactly and some hardly at all. But they all hated the sight of a Toa.

"You see? You have no chance! Unfortunately, they—we—never seem to remember what we see in our future," Bitil continued. "The Kanohi Mohtrek is not the Mask of Time—while it might tamper with time, the mask's power is not great enough to alter it. We cannot change history with knowledge obtained from the future. So it's really too bad all these other Bitils won't recall the moment of your death when I send them back. Shame."

Onua had made it to his knees. "Then I guess we better try to make it really…memorable," said the Toa of Earth. Closing his eyes, he called upon his elemental power and summoned and earthquake. Ruled by his will, the substance of the islet exploded, sending tons of mud into the air. Along with it flew Onua, guiding his flight by angling the wings on his shoulders and the boosters on the backs of his legs, rocketing up and away from Makuta Bitil and his legion. As he flew, he called triumphantly, "Like this! Nothing like controlling earth when you are in a world of mud—I feel like Kopaka in a blizzard."

When he felt he was high enough, he turned to see one mud-spattered enemy flying up after him. Shattered concentration had shut off Bitil's mask power, sending his duplicates back to the past. Onua readied the weapon that had appeared when his armor had adapted to the sky—and then discovered to his surprise that his weapon was no longer what Pohatu had used. It had morphed into something resembling Bitil's launcher, but with a laser sight and a heavier energy generator. Here goes nothing, then, thought Onua as he fired. Let's see what this does.

From the blaster's barre, a winged missile of energy flew out. The rocket hit his foe head-on, but the effect was completely unexpected. Rather than controlling Bitil's armor, a the impact caused a sphere of pure energy to form around the Makuta, cutting him off from Onua. The next instant, the sphere dropped like a stone, carrying Bitil all the way back down into the swamp with a crashing force. Onua banked to the right and flew off. He had to warn the others that the Makuta were here in force…if it wasn't already too late. But how to find Gali and Tahu?

Half of that problem was suddenly solved. A huge fireball rocketed into the air far to the east. That was a call for help if ever Onua saw one. "Uh-oh. Either Tahu's found something he wants to share, too, or he's calling for help…and he never calls for help." Angling his wings and triggering the rockets on his armor, he headed for battle.

X X X

It had been three days since Makuta Spiriah's takeover of Brutaka's team vessel. Since then, they had steered a course for the island of Zakaz, surrounded on every side by boats filled with murderous Zyglak.

Around 70,000 years ago, Makuta Spiriah had seen potential for creating a powerful army using the inhabitants of his designated area of influence—the Skakdi of Zakaz. Using Makuta viruses, many of the Skakdi became more than fearsome warriors by receiving elemental and vision powers. Spiriah had left the island and returned much later to find the entire island at war with itself. As a result of this mistake, Spiriah went into hiding, knowing that if he were to be caught, he would be executed by his fellow Makuta. His region of Zakaz was reassigned to Makuta Krika, but had transformed from a beautiful island into a warzone. Eventually, several different Skakdi warlords came to power, and the only safe haven from fighting came from the recent and uneasy truce regarding the lake in the center of the donut-shaped island, as it was the only source of freshwater.

But now I can orchestrate revenge on those savage beasts. Spiriah had been acting every inch the captain of the ship, ordering the others about and being particularly hard on Brutaka. Through it all, Brutaka said nothing and made no attempt to strike at Spiriah.

"To think, we were beginning to feel a little afraid of him," Takadox said, gesturing toward Brutaka.

"Speak for yourself," Carapar replied.

"Home," beamed Vezon. "True, I've never been to Zakaz…I'm not even really one of the native species…in fact, they'll probably kill me on sight…or worse, tie me upside down over a spiked dagger plant…but at least I'll die at home."

Roodaka had abandoned any hope that Brutaka was going to act and concentrated instead on Spiriah. "The Brotherhood has overextended itself in recent years," she assured him. "Warring with Dark Hunters and Toa…they are weak. If you struck at them now with your army, you could take over Destral and rule the universe. Of course, you would need someone by your side who knows all the factions and how best to use them…"

Spiriah looked at her as if she were something stuck to his boot. "I would sooner offer my neck to a dull axe blade than trust you, female. Your name has become another word for 'treachery.'"

"Better that than being another word for 'failure,'" Roodaka muttered.

The conversation was ended by the appearance of land off the port bow. It was the island of Zakaz, in all its ruined "glory." A handful of Dark Hunter vessels could be seen in the waters nearby, on patrol. At a word from Spiriah, the Zyglak vessels attacked. Taken by surprise, three of the Dark Hunter ships were sunk immediately. The others beached on the shores of the island, only for the crews to be slain by a mob of Skakdi natives.

Spiriah laughed at the sight. "The Skakdi believe they know what savagery is," he said. "But they have never met the Zyglak. And the Makuta believe they know all the colors and shapes of revenge…but I will introduce them to a shade darker than even they could imagine."

The mini-armada surged forward, Zyglak already preparing to storm the beaches. They were still 500 yards from shore when the first Zyglak ship suddenly lurched and began to sink. This was followed by another and still another. Soon, Zyglak vessels on every side were taking on water, gaping holes torn in their hulls below the water line.

Takadox rushed to the rail. He caught a glimpse of beings just under the water, attacking the Zyglak craft. From a distance, they almost looked like his old ally, Ehlek. Whatever they were, they moved like fish underwater and the ships were no match for their claws.

Shocked by the abrupt annihilation of his force, Spiriah was unprepared for Brutaka's attack. An energy blast knocked him off his feet, a well-placed kick kept him on the ground, and then Brutaka's blade was pressed against his chest armor.

"Go ahead," Brutaka said, coldly. "Use one of your powers. Think you can do it before I rip open your armor? And how long do you think your energy will last out here at sea, with no body to occupy? Maybe I should just throw you overboard right now."

"How…?" Spiriah began.

"How did I deal with the Zyglak?" said Brutaka. "Simple. You have friends; so do I. Mine are a species of water dwellers who were specially modified by my employers to kill Makuta. They live off the coast of Zakaz, and right now they are practicing their skills on your Zyglak. You don't want to look…it's messy."

"Wait a minute," said Takadox. "Not that I am complaining, but how did you manage to get in touch with these 'friends' of yours? You never left the ship."

Brutaka hauled Spiriah to his feet. All around, the ocean was littered with wrecked ships and dead Zyglak. "Spiriah had his friends following us. And I had someone following us, too, since we left Stelt, just in case of emergency…and here she comes now."

The others turned to see a small skiff approaching from the north. Its lone pilot was a female, lithe and well-armed with several knives. As she came alongside and clambered aboard the ship, Roodaka noticed that her left arm didn't have any organic muscle tissue powering it, but was completely mechanical. For a moment, she almost felt sorry for Spiriah.

"This is the last member of our team," announced Brutaka. "Treat her as you would me…and be sure she will treat you far worse than even I do. Her name's Lariska."