Kirop woke up in a cell. It took him a moment to remember what had happened to him. Then he recalled spying on the Toa Nuva of Air and Tanma from above, a blast of wind, and a sudden slam into the ground. Looking around, he recognized the chamber he was in as one of the smaller ones in the Av-Matoran shelter. The shadow Matoran chuckled. It was funny: here he was, the former leader of Karda Nui, now captured by his own people.

Ignorant fools, he thought. They can't keep me locked up. Already, I see a way out. And they will pay dearly for their lack of respect!

He sat up. It was then he realized his bag was gone and, with it, the fragment of keystone he carried. He knew he should have told the Makuta about possessing it, but figured he might be able to use its existence someday to win influence with them. Now it was in the hands of the Toa Nuva.

Yet another reason to escape, he thought. The Makuta have to be told the Toa possess at least two of the pieces now.

It would take only a few moments to blast open a weak spot in the ceiling with his shadow energy. He raised his arm—then hesitated. He could hear voices coming from a nearby room. What were they saying? He put his audio receptor to the wall to listen. It was two of the Toa Nuva, that was obvious, though he did not know which ones. They were talking about the Brotherhood of Makuta and the shadow leeches.

"Are you certain-sure this is going to work?" asked one.

"Very sure," replied the other. "With what we know now, we can destroy all the shadow leeches and the ability of the Brotherhood to make more. They will have corrupted their last Matoran of Light!"

"Then what are we long-waiting for? Let's do it!"

"Give me a few hours. I need to make sure the Matoran know what they have to do. Then we strike."

Kirop got to his feet, startled and worried. Had the Toa discovered the location of Mutran's hive? And what was this about a means to destroy the shadow leeches? Mutran had to be warned!

He unleashed a blast of dark energy at the ceiling, blowing a hole large enough for him to pass through. An instant later, he was free and headed for Mutran's hidden hive.

X X X

The three Toa Nuva watched Kirop go. Pohatu smiled. "Well, he fell for it. Now what?"

Kopaka Nuva checked his Midak Skyblaster and reattached his bayonet blade onto the end. The weapon's name had come from Pohatu and Lewa. "Midak" was an Onu-Matoran on the island of Mata Nui, a very strange one, who much preferred being out in the light to being in the dark tunnels of his village. Despite having weak eyesight in bright sunshine, he still spent most of his time outside and told anyone who would listen about the thrill of pure light. Most Matoran thought he was nice, if a little off, and most Onu-Matoran had slightly harsher descriptions of him. But Pohatu considered him a friend and thought this would be just the sort of weapon he would have enjoyed using. As for "skyblaster," Lewa had always wanted to call a weapon that. So, since neither of the other Toa Nuva cared enough to debate, the new weapons became "Midak Skyblasters."

"Now we give him a minute's headstart, then we go after him," said Kopaka Nuva. "With luck, he will lead us right to the home of the shadow leeches."

"That was sharp-smart to fool him into thinking we already knew where it was," said Lewa. "Of course, it never would have worked without my acting talent."

Pohatu laughed. "That's true, brother—after all, you've been acting like you were a Toa for years."

Lewa Nuva smiled at the joke. "And a most ever-convincing performance it has been."

"Five other Toa to choose from, and I am stuck with two that are just this side of being Rahi," muttered Kopaka. "Let's go."

"Not without us." Tanma was standing in the doorway, flanked by Photok and Solek. "This is our home. It's our people who have been corrupted. No one else is going to fight for them."

Kopaka Nuva wanted to argue, but he knew there was no time. "Alright, then the six of us will go. You ride with us. The fewer potential targets we give the Makuta, the better. Stay low, keep your mouths shut, and try not to get killed."

"Oh, listen to him…" said Lewa Nuva, grinning. "Trust me, I've never done any of those three things…and look where I wound up!"

X X X

Kirop flew as fast as he could toward the eastern side of the vast cavern that was Karda Nui. He shot through the layers of mist that obscured the cavern entrances, focused on reaching his destination. Occasionally, he would allow himself to think about the vast reward Antroz would surely give him for his information. Perhaps his actions might even lead to the deaths of three Toa Nuva—wouldn't that be wonderful?

So intent was he on his mission that he never noticed the Toa Nuva pursuing him, with three Av-Matoran riding along with them. They were staying some distance behind, so as not to alert Kirop to their presence. If he so much as looked over his shoulder too soon, the whole plan would fail.

Kirop would have been shocked if he had glanced behind and realized he had been duped. He would have been even more surprised if he had turned in time to see three Toa suddenly become four.

X X X

"We're being followed," said Lewa Nuva, with Tanma riding on his back.

"I know," Kopaka Nuva replied.

"You know?"

"Mask of Vision, remember?" said Kopaka. "It's not just a cute name…unlike, say, 'skyblaster.'"

"So who is he? Another of the Makuta?" asked Pohatu, looking back at their pursuer. The figure didn't look like a Makuta—it looked like a Toa. Then again, being shape-shifters, the Makuta could look like whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

"I've never seen him before," said Solek, riding on Kopaka.

"So far, he's just following," said Kopaka. "If he makes a hostile move, then we'll deal with him. Right now, we need to worry about Kirop."

"He's pulling away," said Pohatu. "If we don't speed up, we're going to lose him!"

The words were barely out of Pohatu's mouth when he and Photok suddenly shot forward so fast they were almost a blur. They were almost on top of Kirop before the Toa Nuva of Stone recovered from his surprise and veered them away. When he and Photok had rejoined the others, Pohatu finally allowed himself to exclaim, "What the rampaging Rahi was that?!"

Photok shook his head, smiling. "No idea. But it was fun! I just thought about us going faster, and zing!"

"Nothing like that ever happened to you before?"

"No," said the Av-Matoran.

"And I didn't trigger the Mask of Speed," said Pohatu, puzzled. "Maybe you did somehow? Well, whatever it was, next time, warn me."

But Photok wasn't paying attention. He was looking up to where a huge, winged, multi-headed Rahi was headed right for them. "Warn you—got it—is now a good time?"

Kopaka and Lewa saw the menace at the same time. But before they could form a battle plan and attack, their mysterious pursuer had shot up into the sky to confront the beast. The Rahi eyed him with barely disguised glee, no doubt seeing a meal in its future.

The strange figure raised a hand, as if bidding the creature to halt. That was weird enough, but then the Rahi actually did stop in mid-air. A slight quiver ran down the length of its body. Its eyes grew wide and its breathing incredibly rapid. An instant later, it dropped like a rock and plummeted toward the swamp.

The Nuva's mysterious pursuer—the self-styled Toa Ignika—watched the Rahi fall with a mixture of regret and satisfaction. The Mask of Life did not like killing any living thing—it felt wrong. But it—no, now I have a body, now I am "he," not "it," the new being thought—did not have enough experience in this new body to know how to stop the Rahi without ending its existence. So he chose the most merciful option, simply speeding up the creature's life processes until they reached their natural point of exhaustion.

Of course, the three Toa Nuva did not know that. All they knew was that a being who looked like a Toa stopped a multi-ton Rahi by holding up his hand. And now that same being was hovering in the sky, watching the Toa in silence, as if waiting for an invitation to join them.

Kopaka looked at Pohatu and Lewa. Then, with a grim smile, he gestured for the new Toa to come along. "And now," said the Toa Nuva of Ice, "we are seven."

X X X

Takanuva's vision of the past begins…

The crimson-armored being opened his eyes and looked around. He did not recognize where he was, nor did he have any idea who the five figures nearby might be. Each of them was lying on a slab, just like him, and each wore colored armor and a mask. But where he was red, they were other hues: white, blue, green, black, and brown. Of course, it came as no great surprise that he didn't know who these others were. After all, he wasn't sure who he was, either.

He started to rise, then found he could not. Thick metal straps encircled him, keeping him pinned to the slab. Unsure of his identity as he was, he still knew that he did not like being bound. He tried to exert his strength against the bonds, but without success. His frustration and anger grew. And then, suddenly, the metal of the straps was growing soft, turning to molten liquid, running off him and onto the floor. Did I do that? he wondered, as he sat up.

On the next slab, the white-armored figure had frozen his straps, and then shattered them with the merest gesture. The others had all found unique ways to escape their bonds as well. "Well, we're all free," said the red-armored being. "Now what? Anyone know where we are…or who we are?"

The answer came then, but not from any of them. Rather, it was a female voice that seemed to come from every part of the room that spoke in reply. "You are Toa."

The figure in brown armor jumped down from his slab and onto his feet. "Toa! Hey, that's great. I always wanted to be a Toa." He looked up and addressed his next words to the ceiling. "Just one question: what's a Toa?"

"A Toa is a hero," the voice answered. "Every Toa commands an elemental power, which can be focused through your weapons. Each of you also wears a Great Mask, with a power all its own. You will learn about these powers in time, as well as how to control them."

The white-armored figure frowned. "To whom are we meant to be heroes, and why? You say we have great abilities, but what are we meant to do with them? Too many questions for my taste."

The unseen speaker laughed softly. "You underestimate yourself, Kopaka—yes, that is your name. Questions will always whet your appetite for answers. But now it is time for you to meet."

A lightstone illuminated on the ceiling above Kopaka, as the voice said, "Kopaka, Toa of Ice."

One by one, the lightstones lit above the others as the speaker recited their names.

"Gali, Toa of Water."

"Pohatu, Toa of Stone."

"Onua, Toa of Earth."

"Lewa, Toa of Air."

The last to be named was the crimson-armored figure. "And Tahu, Toa of Fire. He will be your leader."

That seemed to startle Kopaka, who said sharply, "It seems to me we should be allowed to choose our own leader."

"I have to agree," said Gali quietly. "I mean, none of us know anything about this Tahu. What if he's too impulsive to be a good leader? What if he lacks the ability to work with his team members, or can't motivate, or—"

Lewa chuckled. "Or what if he's just a jerk?"

A bolt of flame shot from an irritated Tahu past the Toa of Air, close enough to heat his mask to an uncomfortable temperature. Lewa reached up and yanked the mask off. Immediately, he felt so weak he almost fell over. Pohatu and Onua rushed to support him.

"You must not remove your masks, unless you are replacing one with another," the voice said. "Without them, your strength is halved."

Lewa gingerly returned the hot mask to his face. "Thanks—ow!—for telling us." He turned to glare at Tahu. "And as for you, fireflyer, better be careful a big wind doesn't blow you out one of these days."

"Big wind," Tahu said, nodding. "Yes, that's you, alright."

Kopaka decided to ignore the argument. "So we are a 'team,'" he said to their unseen hostess. "Again, I ask—for what purpose? What are we meant to do?"

A panel slid open in the rear wall. Beyond, there was only darkness. "The gateway to another mystery, perhaps," said Onua. "I wonder if a Toa's life is filled with them."

"Then this will be just the first of many we walk through," Tahu replied. "Let's go."

X X X

Beyond the door, there was a long, narrow platform that jutted out into the empty space of a massive, spherical chamber. The cavernous room was totally dark. Only Onua was able to see at all, thanks to excellent night vision the others lacked. This was not altogether a blessing, because it allowed him to see just how high off the ground they were standing. He peered nervously over the edge of the platform. Being a creature of the earth, heights were not his favorite thing.

There was a sudden burst of light. A symbol illuminated in mid-air and hung silently before the eyes of the Toa. In the center was an oval shape, flanked to the northeast and southwest by two much smaller ones. On either side of the three ovals were larger curved shapes which ended in two sharp points.

The voice spoke again. "Your universe is guided and protected by the Great Spirit Mata Nui. You, in turn, shall be Mata Nui's protectors. What you see before you is the symbol of his might and purpose."

Pohatu was the first to put what all the Toa were thinking into words. "If he's a 'Great Spirit,' why does he need protection?"

"The universe is vast and holds many dangers," the voice replied. "If Mata Nui should ever be struck down, it will be your role—your destiny—to restore him to power. If that time comes, you will know what to do."

"And in the meantime?" asked Tahu. "Do we just sit around and wait?"

"You will train. You will learn," the voice said. "And, in time, you will go to the aid of the Matoran, who labor to carry out the will of Mata Nui."

"Sure," said Pohatu. "Hey, the Matoran could probably use our help. You know, what with laboring all day to carry out somebody's will and everything."

All five other Toa turned to look at Pohatu. Finally, Gali smiled and said, "Alright, Pohatu. Go ahead. Say it."

Pohatu shrugged, looked up and asked, "Okay, I give up: what's a Matoran!?"