Pohatu pointed the Rockoh towards the Coliseum and pushed the throttle as far as it would go, following the flashes of light on the scanners of the Rockoh that represented Gali, Lewa and Kopaka. He gripped the controls so tightly he thought that he might crush them, trying not to let his fears about the Great Spirit get the best of him. Already the air felt colder in the dome, and it was only because his adaptive armor had activated a night-vision visor that he could see at all. It didn't take long for him to spot the enormous tower of ice rising from the waters, with the three Toa standing on the bridge that spanned between the Coliseum and Le-Metru.
Pohatu brought his vehicle to a hover, but Takanuva set down the Jetrax on the bridge first. Pohatu landed the Rockoh next to the Jetrax. "Where's Teridax?"
"He teleported beneath the Coliseum while we made happy-friends with Makuta's shadow-pet," answered Lewa, gesturing to the enormous, frozen tower beside the bridge. "He said he would complete his mission alone. Gali thinks that means stopping Makuta."
"So, was the Great Spirit dying a part of Teridax's plan?" asked Pohatu as he climbed down from his vehicle. "Sure would have been nice for him to let us in on that brilliant idea. You know, some say that Toa of Stone have rocks in their heads, but they have obviously never met a Makuta."
"Pohatu, you're not helping," said Gali, an exasperated tone entering her voice. "Even the mention of Teridax is putting you on edge lately. He has tried to stop Makuta, but you can't see that through your stubbornness."
"That's done a lot of good for us, hasn't it?" Pohatu replied. "The Universe is dead because of him! We were better off with him ruling over us than with this!"
"Teridax fixed your arm!" Gali exclaimed. "He brought an army of Toa together to liberate Metru Nui! I don't know what will happen now, but he has defeated Makuta and rescued this city. We've got bigger things to worry about right now than figuring out who to blame."
Pohatu looked at his left hand. He'd had his mechanical arm for over a month, and it hadn't been any less effective than the one he had lost. In fact, the grip may have even been stronger. The only real complaint he could make was that the silver color didn't match his armor. He felt ridiculous, worrying about matching armor sets when the world had ended. "We've lost everything," he whispered. "Our home, our Universe. We sacrificed so much, only to have even more taken away. How do you remain so calm? How can you trust a Makuta after all they've done?"
"Because, no matter what, I have all of you to rely on," Gali explained gently. "But we need to rely on you, as well. We're a team, brother."
This made Pohatu feel a little sturdier inside. Maybe he didn't have Tahu's courage or Onua's wisdom - but he had always had his friends to rely on. He had been so worried about protecting them from the potential threat of Teridax, that he'd begun pushing them away and ignoring their real foe. "Thank you, sister."
Gali's eyes hinted at a smile, and they bumped fists in a show of mutual appreciation.
Onua walked over to them, his hands trembling. "What next? The Matoran are no doubt terrified of what's happening, and they'll be vulnerable to any Vahki trying to preserve order in the city. We need to find a way to keep them safe." Although his eyes glanced around nervously, he had managed to keep his voice firm and level.
Pohatu looked to the sky. Even the stars had seemed to wink out of existence, and he shivered briefly. Matoran throughout the city would be panicking as they found themselves engulfed by total darkness.
Kopaka was peering toward the Coliseum, the eyepiece of his mask moving in and out as he changed focus. "We should check on Teridax. He's too far away for me to locate with my mask."
"Good idea," said Tahu. "It won't take long with the vehicles."
"Actually, it might," said Kopaka. "Teridax teleported beneath the Coliseum. We'll be able to get in using the Mask of Speed, but the vehicles will have to stay here."
"We'll go the long way then," Tahu said, before taking a deep breath and stepping out in front of the group. All eyes fell to the leader of the Toa Nuva. "Team, we don't know what we're about to find. Teridax's plan has obviously succeeded, but it's placed the Matoran at incredible risk. Now, more than ever, we need to come together to protect them. They might not know where we are or what we're doing, but right now all of Metru Nui is relying on us. Our next moments are uncertain, but no matter what happens we need to be able to put our differences behind us. We can't falter for a moment. We must be united!"
Pohatu looked to the rest of the team - they had already come such a long way from the lost, bickering Toa they had been when they first stepped onto the island of Mata Nui. They'd learned to support and protect one another. Onua nodded gently in agreement with Tahu's speech, while Kopaka scanned the perimeter, remaining half focused on their leader. Takanuva awkwardly looked to his feet, shuffling back to the rear of the group.
Tahu locked eyes with Pohatu. "It's time for us to find out exactly what Teridax has done, and what our next steps will be. Pohatu, take us in!"
Pohatu shared the power of his Mask of Speed, and the team began to blur as their atoms vibrated at higher frequencies. Kopaka's mask allowed them to see the hidden tunnel beneath the Coliseum, while Lewa used his mask to levitate the Toa above the entrance to the tunnel. Everything went dark for a moment as Pohatu felt himself drop through the ground.
A moment later, they reverted back to their normal levels of vibration. Lewa caught the team with his Mask of Levitation before they hit the floor, and they found themselves in a narrow tunnel that slowly angled deeper below the city. Pohatu kept his mask power active, but focused instead on increasing the speed of their movement instead of their vibrations. This would not only would this allow the team to travel through the tunnel much more quickly - without the combined efforts of the Masks of Speed and Levitation, Takanuva wouldn't be able to fly alongside the rest of the team at all.
"Stay alert," commanded Tahu, as they rocketed down into the darkness. "We don't know what we'll find down here."
"Thanks for reminding me Tahu," said Lewa with an air of sarcasm. "I never would have thought to remain ever-alert."
They traveled deeper and deeper through damp stone walls. Minutes ticked by until the long tunnel veered right. Staying at high speed, Pohatu felt a jolt of magnetism pull him toward the wall - but it only lasted a second before they had passed by, unharmed by whatever trap they might have sprung. What would they face down here? Would Teridax be unharmed? Pohatu couldn't be sure, but he felt a sense of dread building. He hoped it was only because of the loss of the Great Spirit.
Tahu called out, distracting Pohatu from his thoughts. "I think I see a light up ahead. We must be close."
The light got brighter and brighter, and soon the Toa landed in a huge amphitheater.
Smashed machinery and computer terminals lay around a huge spherical room. Everything here was made of metal, from the dust-covered floor to the flat ceiling. The fizzle of a cable sparking caught Onua's attention. In the center of the room, hunched over in front of what must have been an enormous power supply moments ago, was the Light Makuta Teridax.
"Are you alright?" Gali asked as she ran over to help pull Teridax to his feet.
"I - I'm fine, Gali," he croaked.
Onua looked around the room, taking in the dozens of ruined computers lying around the room. An enormous structure lay in the center with a huge spherical pit carved into the top. What this device was for, he couldn't fathom. "What happened here? What is this place?"
"This is - was - the control center for the Great Spirit," answered Teridax. "This is where Makuta injected his consciousness into the Great Spirit, and where his memories were stored."
Onua kept searching the room. He had been feeling unnerved ever since he had felt the Universe end, but he felt there was something profoundly wrong here - and searching for the cause helped keep his mind away from his worries about the Matoran. The blinking lights of a surviving machine didn't seem out of place, and the single set of erratic footprints matched the damage that Teridax had done to the machinery. There - a patch of color against the steel wall. What was that? He moved to investigate.
"Wait," said Pohatu. "So if you've destroyed this control center, then the Great Spirit is…"
"He was dying from the moment Makuta ejected him from this world," Teridax finished. "Mata Nui will never rule the Universe again… but that doesn't mean that another being couldn't, given enough time to repair this mess."
A strange image of a red dragon was marked on the wall, surprisingly detailed. Two shackles hung from the wall nearby, each holding an arm, but the body these arms belonged to was nowhere to be seen. Blue armor - it was difficult to tell, but he thought the armor looked antique, picked with marks, pits, and scratches from years of wear. A Toa must have been held captive in here. Onua touched the armor with one finger, finding it was still warm. This Toa had been alive only moments ago. Quietly, Onua returned to the rest of the group, who were still bickering with Teridax.
Pohatu gripped his claws, pulling one back into a position that would allow him to quickly strike. "You used us this whole time!"
Onua grabbed Pohatu's arm, preparing to hold him back if needed. "Settle down! We don't need a fight within our ranks right now!"
"No, Pohatu's right!" said Kopaka. "Teridax lied to us about his intentions all along! We would never have joined you if we knew it meant destroying the Great Spirit!"
Teridax pulled himself up, revealing a gaping hole in his chest armor before ripping a piece of metal off the nearby machinery. Placing the plate over the hole in his chest, he activated his powers of magnetism to strike it to his armor. Plasma erupted from his fingers, welding the metal to his armor. "It's time to leave, Toa. We must evacuate this universe. You should not have come down here."
"We must evacuate the universe? What do you have planned for us, Teridax?" demanded Gali.
Pohatu stepped beside her, crossing his arms. "Not once did you describe this plan to us. You expected us to go along with everything, without question."
"I ensured that your Makuta would no longer be a threat," explained Teridax. "Had I been honest, would we have been able to unite so many Toa? Would all of you stand before me? I may have destroyed your Universe, but I saved its inhabitants."
"We could have prepared a new home for the Matoran," said Gali. "We should have had something planned. A way to restore Mata Nui, perhaps."
Tahu stepped up, ready to point an accusatory finger at Teridax, but pulled back. "We can argue about this later. Right now, we have to rescue the Matoran. Let's go."
One by one, the other Toa Nuva turned to leave. Onua lingered a moment, feeling the touch of earth around them and ensuring it would obey his command if needed, before turning as well.
And suddenly, the seven Toa found themselves jolted with thousands of volts of electricity.
Onua's muscles failed him and he fell to the ground, spasming from the pain. The other Toa screamed as they fell, a horrific sound that wouldn't end. Onua's entire body ached as electricity coursed through his body. They wouldn't survive this assault for long.
Onua created a wall of earth behind the group, absorbing the lightning attack to protect his team. The pain subsided, allowing him to catch his breath. "I knew something was amiss here. You've betrayed us, Teridax!"
The protective wall of earth shattered and crumbled, and Teridax slowly walked towards them. "Teridax? I thought surely you had this figured out, Onua." The bulky, white figure held out his palm, generating power. "Did you really think I would be so easily defeated? Your 'Teridax' came to kill me. But I killed him first. This room was destroyed, and my mind was shutting down. I needed a body - so I took his."
Makuta fired a blast at Onua. Onua rolled out of the way, leaving a sickly poison to pool on the steel floor he was standing on a moment ago.
Lewa brandished his twin katana, circling around the white-armored Makuta. He felt the powers of the winds surround him, ready to unleash themselves into a storm.
The rest of the Toa took up positions of their own. Pohatu, Onua, and Takanuva firmly stood before Makuta, while the rest of the team circled around to flank him.
Takanuva stepped forward. "Leave my friends alone, Makuta! This fight is between you and me!"
"No, Takanuva," said Onua urgently. "We fight as one."
Lewa knew Onua was right - the Toa Nuva had learned so long ago to trust in each other to overcome their foes. Hopefully, Takanuva would listen to Onua's advice.
Makuta sized up Takanuva. "You think you can challenge me alone? You are nothing, Takua. And I will send you back to nothing!" Shadows enveloped his fists, a swirling darkness that light wouldn't penetrate. He punched the air, sending blasts of darkness streaking towards Takanuva.
Lewa forced a gale at Makuta, sending him off balance for a moment. Makuta quickly regained his footing. Takanuva weaved through the blasts and fired a beam of light at Makuta.
Makuta held out his hand, absorbing the beam of light into a vortex of shadow. "I should have destroyed you the moment you entered my lair for the first time!"
"I stopped you once, Makuta," said Takanuva. "I'll end this once and for all."
Lewa felt the powers of the Mask of Strength and Speed shared with him, a silent signal from Onua and Pohatu. As one, the seven Toa charged at Makuta. Lewa swung his blades with incredible speed. Makuta swiftly slipped just out of the way, striking back with his hammer. Lewa nimbly flipped around the attack. As he landed, he saw the other Toa furiously attacking Makuta, moving so swiftly they looked like flashes of lightning. Amazingly, Makuta managed to dodge each and every swing.
Lewa couldn't dwell on this. Kopaka stabbed at Makuta, even as Makuta prepared to strike back. The next thing Lewa knew, Kopaka was slammed to the ground. Makuta lifted his hammer up, preparing to crush the Toa of Ice. Lewa rushed in to defend his fallen teammate, hurling a blast of air at Makuta. This time, Makuta remained planted firmly to the ground, grinning as his hammer came down. Kopaka rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed.
Lewa charged in, his twin katana prepared to strike. He almost made it to the Master of Shadows when his legs gave out beneath him. He fell to the ground, unable to pry himself from the metal floor. Horrified, he realized his armor had been magnetized to the steel floor. He tried again to tear himself free, but it was a wasted effort.
The other Toa were encountering the same problem, each struggling against the magnetic forces pulling them to the floor. Onua managed to take a single step before giving up.
Makuta swung his heavy hammer with amazing speed, cracking Takanuva's chest-plate. Takanuva grunted in pain, trying in vain to get away from Makuta before he was finished off. Makuta's hand lunged down towards Takanuva, firing a crimson beam.
"Takua," whispered Makuta. "You'll never be anything more than a Matoran playing hero. You can't save them. You can't save anyone."
Lewa thrust his arms towards Makuta with every ounce of energy he could muster. He increased the air pressure around Makuta as much as possible, desperately trying to crack his protosteel armor. "Stay away from him!" Lewa cried, straining as he applied as much of his power as he could to his foe. Makuta took a step back to escape the fierce winds, and suddenly the magnetizing force that had kept the Toa trapped disappeared. Onua and Pohatu stumbled forward as they were freed from the magnetism, and Lewa found himself able to move normally again.
Lewa scrambled to check on Takanuva, while his teammates threw elemental attacks of their own at Makuta. Takanuva twitched and writhed as if in a nightmare. Lewa whispered a threat. "You'll hurt-pay for this, Makuta."
He glanced at his friends. Most were swinging weapons at Makuta, but Tahu leaped out of the way of a shadow attack and landed nearby. He rolled back up, pulled himself to his feet, and took stock of the situation before giving Lewa a small nod. Lewa summoned a whirlwind around Makuta, and Tahu combined it with flame. The chamber filled with a ferocious flame, blazing winds whipping past so hard that Lewa felt he would pass out from the heat. For a moment, he thought they might have done it.
But Makuta casually stepped through the firestorm. The other Toa directed their own elemental energies - stone and earth buffeted Makuta, water and ice struck against him. But nothing fazed Makuta, and he walked through each attack as if it were nothing more than a light breeze. "You were lucky you found my double! If you hadn't met that abomination, you would never have been able to stop me!"
Lewa wouldn't give in so easily. "We will ever-stand against you, Makuta! United, we will-"
He couldn't finish his sentence, for shadowy tendrils shot out of Makuta's body, sending Lewa flying. He smashed into the wall, pressed against it by an enormous force. He couldn't breathe with the mounting pressure against his chest, and he couldn't slip clear of the tendrils. His lungs burned, desperate for air, and spots danced across his vision.
Lewa focused on his lungs, creating a well of air within himself to sustain him. The burning sensation went away as he focused on artificially sustaining himself with his powers. But he was too focused on sustaining his breathing to be able to work on escaping the tendrils that had him pinned to the wall.
Lewa was in trouble.
Tahu hurled an enormous flame at Makuta's shadow tendrils, forcing them to wither and retreat. Free from their grasp, Lewa fell to his knees, a look of determination still in his eyes.
Tahu felt his grip on his Magma Swords tightening so hard he thought he might shatter the handles. Makuta was toying with them, dancing around their attacks and striking back with brutal force. His vision narrowed and his blades glowed as he focused his power over fire, ready to finally cut down his foe in a sea of flame. Tahu charged back into the midst of the battle, swinging his greatswords furiously. Makuta managed to dodge each blow.
Pohatu flew past, leading into a flying kick. Makuta ducked beneath it, swinging his hammer overhead and knocking Pohatu out of the air. Tahu saw an opening and swung his blades low, certain the distraction would allow him to finally shatter Makuta's armor. But Makuta jumped over the swords, kneeing Tahu in the chest and sending him reeling. As he regained his composure, Tahu saw Makuta's hammer coming down to crush him and quickly rolled out of the way. Makuta's hammer cracked the metal floor where he had been a moment ago.
"You worshipped Mata Nui blindly," said Makuta, bringing his hammer around for another swing. "What did he ever do in return? I would have helped the Matoran grow and prosper. I would have guided them all to a better future! I would have rewarded the most loyal and hardworking! And you have destroyed that, because of your bitterness and hatred for me."
Tahu jumped to his feet and hurled a fireball, which hurtled uselessly past as Makuta twisted out of its path. "Enough of your twisted justifications! You will pay for all you've done to Mata Nui, for all you've done to the Matoran!"
Onua swung his hammer, but it passed harmlessly through the air. Makuta twisted around, striking back at the Toa of Earth. Onua landed with a thud, groaning as he pulled himself back to his feet.
They barely stood a chance as it was. They were lucky to have been able to avoid the worst of the attacks, but that wouldn't last forever. One by one, the Toa were being knocked down. Someone needed to defend the team. But not with gusts of wind or walls of stone.
With a mask.
Tahu pulled back from the fight. Every metal bone in his body, every fiber in his muscles, told him to fight alongside his comrades, to smash his blades into Makuta, to deliver the blow that would finish him off. But that wouldn't win the battle, nor would it protect his allies.
Makuta sidestepped out of the way of another stab from Pohatu, swinging his hammer back around. The hammer ripped through the air, ready to shatter the Toa of Stone. Tahu summoned the power of his Mask of Shielding, and a glowing orb surrounded Pohatu, deflecting Makuta's hammer harmlessly away.
Kopaka and Onua seemed to appear from nowhere, swinging their own weapons at Makuta. The Toa danced around Makuta, slashing, stabbing and striking with everything they had. Somehow, Makuta managed to dodge each and every attack.
"You have destroyed the universe!" Makuta cried, swinging his huge hammer at the smaller beings. "Was living out the short remainders of your life in a world becoming colder and darker worth it, just to usurp me? Was it worth stopping me, just to send the Matoran to their freezing deaths? They would have worked for me, as they did Mata Nui. Would their lives have been so tragic? Even you could have worshipped me in peace."
Gali saw an opening and struck. "You are a tyrant, Makuta! You deceived the Matoran and you betrayed Mata Nui!" She slipped past a swing from Makuta. "You've killed countless beings in your pursuit of power, and you will destroy thousands more if we don't stop you!" She gave three more sharp thrusts of her trident.
Makuta slipped around the blade, countering with his own weapon. "Your vendetta against me has doomed you all."
Lewa leaped in from behind Makuta, his twin katana poised to slash. Tahu smiled to himself for a moment, anticipating that his comrade had found a way to strike a blow.
Makuta somehow managed to spin around the attack, even though he couldn't see it. As he wheeled around, he swung with his hammer, slamming Lewa to the ground. "You think you have a chance against me? How will you defeat a foe you cannot even hit?"
Tahu cringed as the floor crumpled beneath Lewa. He has to have a weakness. There has to be a way to stop him.
He locked eyes with Onua and nodded. They combined their powers to send a wave of flaming earth toward Makuta. Makuta quickly responded with a power scream that echoed throughout the theater, and the sound was like being punched with the power of a dozen fists. Stars danced across Tahu's eyes, and he was almost driven to the ground by the exploding pain in his head. The power of the shockwave tore the flaming blast apart, scattering burning dirt throughout the room.
Onua created a barrier of earth to protect himself. He needn't have bothered, Tahu's shield protected him and his teammates from the burning soil. Heat radiated from the dirt, and although it didn't bother Tahu, he saw Kopaka and Pohatu scrambling to position themselves away from the flames.
Makuta held out his hand, preparing another energy blast. Pohatu struck him in the back with his claw before he could fire it. Makuta staggered off balance for a moment, turning to find the source of the strike. Pohatu spun around for a follow-up, and all of a sudden Makuta was dodging every blow again.
Onua sidled up to Tahu. "Do you see?" he whispered as he attempted to crush Makuta between two earth pillars. "He can't dodge and use another power at the same time!"
"So if we keep attacking, he can't fight back," answered Tahu, as he used his mask to shield Lewa from Makuta's hammer. "But if he doesn't fight back, we don't stand a chance of hitting him."
Lewa backflipped away, landing to Tahu's left. "We are having some hard-luck in this fight. We need a plan to finish this."
Tahu blocked a shadow blast with his mask power. "I've got an idea. Lewa, get ready to use your mask."
Gali was succumbing to the exhaustion of constantly striking and evading. Again and again, she fired jets of water at Makuta. Again and again, Makuta slipped and ducked past each strike. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tahu whisper something to Lewa. They must be planning another combined attack. Gali whipped a serpent of water at Makuta, forcing him to step back. She whipped it out and back around, herding Makuta away from her friends.
Makuta hurled an energy blast at her, and she ducked out of the way and sprinted towards him. Closing in, she stabbed at him with her trident, then spun around to slash low. Predictably, Makuta evaded her attacks with ease, and she had to duck out of the way of his next swing. Panting, she backed away for a moment to refocus her energy, ready to counter if Makuta made another move. Fortunately, Kopaka and Pohatu dived back into the fight, giving her a moment to recover.
Without warning, she felt herself begin to hover. Glancing around, she saw the other six Toa lift off the ground as well. Even Takanuva, still twitching helplessly, was levitated into the air. Lewa's mask glowed, indicating he was sharing its power of levitation. This is it, Gali thought.
Tahu's swords glowed red hot, and he thrust them into the metal floor. The steel beneath Makuta began to melt, his feet sinking into the metal. In moments, the entire floor had become a searing, viscous liquid. Computers and machinery drooped and deformed into the molten metal, sending sparks flying as the devices were set alight with flames. Makuta tried to pull himself free, but each step just made him sink deeper. He had nowhere to escape to.
Gali used her powers to shower a mist over the Toa, offering some small protection from the sweltering heat.
"Now," shouted Tahu. "Altogether, attack!"
Gali summoned all the water she could, and together the six Toa fired elemental blasts at Makuta. Fire and ice, earth and water, wind and stone - they would come together and trap Makuta in a seal he could never escape from. Makuta held out his hammer in front of his chest. A powerful burst of energy countered the six elemental beams, striking them away harmlessly. He held back his laughter. "A Toa Seal. How many times do you Toa think I would fall for the same tired trick?"
Gali and her teammates had thrown almost everything they had at him, but their efforts hadn't fazed Makuta. They had him trapped right where they wanted him, and it still wasn't enough. What else could they try?
Pohatu and Onua zipped past Makuta, two quick blurs striking at him. Makuta lashed out with his hammer, but he couldn't hit the fast-moving targets. Swift, powerful blows from the two Toa, enhanced by the Masks of Speed and Strength, began to dent his armor.
Gali furrowed her brow. We can't give up. We must find a way. We will fight Makuta to our last, desperate breath. After all this time, there is no way that I will simply allow him lord over the Matoran ever again.
She ducked as a beam of energy passed by, shattering a machine and sending metal flying. Kopaka, Lewa, Onua, and Pohatu darted around Makuta, striking quickly and backing away. Even with his incredible ability, Makuta had no method of dodging their attacks while he was trapped in the molten metal. But the Toa's attacks had already stopped doing any damage, and they bounced off him harmlessly. He's switched to his Invulnerability power again, Gali thought to herself.
Makuta held his hands toward the ceiling, firing a blast of energy.
Gali felt herself falling upwards. She quickly inverted, allowing herself to hover normally again. Makuta had reversed the gravity in the room - yet another ability on his list of seemingly endless powers.
Gali looked up at Makuta hanging awkwardly above her, as he slowly began pulling himself free of the molten surface. She quickly blanketed the molten metal in water, attempting to cool it down so it would harden before Makuta could escape. A beam of ice from Kopaka appeared on her left, landing at the same point she was targeting. The metal hardened and solidified, and they combined their powers to freeze the rest of the molten surface before it could collapse on them.
Makuta had already pulled one leg free, but one foot remained trapped as he dangled above them. He smiled. "You can't defeat me, Toa." He held out his palm to the metal holding him, firing a beam of superheated plasma to free his trapped foot. "We could rebuild this world together. I am the only chance you have to save the Universe. Without me, the Universe, and everything in it, will die."
"Keep attacking!" shouted Tahu, desperately hurling a ball of flame. Gali gathered every droplet of water she could find, unleashing it on Makuta. The blast of water struck him, staggering him for a moment before he moved his palm to counter with an attack of his own. Gali barely ducked out of the way of the searing beam in time, but she saw Pohatu hadn't noticed the blast.
An energy sphere from Tahu's mask absorbed the beam, protecting Pohatu. Gali breathed a sigh of relief.
But Makuta would get them eventually. She could blast him with water a hundred times, she could flood the whole chamber if she wanted, and they still wouldn't finish this fight. Her energy was spent, she felt like it was an effort to just stand up. The other Toa must be feeling the exhaustion as well. How long until Tahu missed blocking a shadow strike with his mask? Or until Onua ran out of energy to share his power of strength? In a test of endurance, Makuta would win. They needed to finish this now, and there was only one Toa who could do that.
Gali closed her eyes, focusing. Takanuva.
Takanuva felt afraid.
Nightmares flashed before his eyes. Matoro, disintegrating in a blast of light. Dead. Jaller, leaping in front of the Tuurakh. Dead. Vakama, lying in his arms. Dead. The Toa Nuva, scattered on the ground in front of Makuta. Dead. An entire world with no light or warmth. Dead.
Takanuva ran. He ran from Rahkshi, from Toa, from being a hero. Everywhere he looked, he was faced with a vision of horror. He rounded a corner, only to find the Fear Rahkshi standing over Jaller. Takanuva kept running.
Takanuva, Gali's voice echoed. Where was it coming from? He wasn't ready to see her death as well.
The next sight made him cower in place. Makuta, hanging from the ceiling, one leg trapped. It would be funny if it weren't for the fact that he was firing energy beam after energy beam, trying to strike the exhausted Toa Nuva. Takanuva tried to run, but his legs wouldn't move. Suddenly, his arm stretched out with a mind of its own, firing a blast of water toward Makuta. But Takanuva didn't remember turning his arms blue.
Takanuva, we need you. You're the only one that can finish this.
Takanuva understood. This wasn't the nightmare he had found himself in. He wasn't seeing through his own eyes, but through the telepathic link he had set up with Gali all those months ago.
He - or rather, Gali - twisted away from the fight and rocketed toward the corner of the room. Takanuva could see his own body splayed on the ground, his legs tangled together awkwardly. Gali grabbed his arm, steadily aiming his lance at Makuta. Makuta was trying to free his leg while the other five Toa pounded him with their weapons.
"Enough games," whispered Makuta. A dark mist began to escape from his body, swirling around him, filling the room. The mist sought out the Toa, persisting even after they weaved away. Kopaka barely managed to duck underneath one of the tendrils before it grabbed him. Another of the misty tentacles wrapped around Onua, but a blast of wind from Lewa blew the dark mist back.
The mist kept on coming, filling the chamber, threatening to engulf the Toa.
I'm with you, Takanuva. It's time to finish this. I'll aim, and you fire.
Takanuva pushed his fears down, trying to quiet them as best he could. Gali and the others needed him now. He focused everything he had into his lance. A brilliant white beam filled the room, vaporizing the shadowy mist it struck and driving back the rest. The light pierced Makuta's chest, ripping the plate apart. Light met darkness, and darkness could not exist where there was light. Antidermis sizzled and snapped, engulfed and destroyed by the beam of light.
"Takua," said Makuta, his voice fading. "Together, you and I could have saved this Universe."
The beam ended. Gali blinked. Takanuva blinked.
His eyes adjusted, and he saw his regular, white arm stretched out in front of him. Suddenly, he felt himself falling upward as gravity righted itself. His arms were yanked as Gali caught him, and she lowered him gently to the ground. Takanuva took a deep breath as he regained his composure, testing the limits of his legs beneath him.
"Are you alright?" asked Gali. "It looked pretty bad in there."
Takanuva shook his head. "I'm fine now. Thanks for getting me out, Gali."
Onua grabbed Takanuva's shoulder, pulling him close. "It's finally over. You saved all of us, Takanuva."
Takanuva smiled. It was good to be back among friends. Back among the living.
They soon exited the Coliseum, hovering above the city. Using his mask, Kopaka could easily see that the inner streets were deserted, but the fighting near the edges of the city continued. Matoran had joined in the fray, throwing Kanoka disks and firing blasters to help finish off the few remaining Vahki. A handful of mechs had been deployed by the Matoran as well - clearly, they had been busy building them during Makuta's reign.
"What now?" asked Lewa, hovering in front of the team. His chest plate looked bent and misshapen from the fight.
"Our world is dead," said Takanuva. "We need to evacuate to the island of Mata Nui."
Pohatu looked upset. "You forget, Mata Nui is gone. Destroyed by the Bohrok. Waking them up doesn't seem like such a great idea now."
The rockets on Onua's legs thrust intermittently. "What other choice do we have?"
Kopaka glanced at the glacier he and Gali had trapped Gavla in. By now, it had melted enough for her to escape, and she was nowhere to be seen. That wasn't their problem now - they had to focus on where they could go next. But he had no idea where else they could search, and the slow freezing of the universe didn't sound like a pleasant future, even to the Toa of Ice.
"Teridax must have had a plan to evacuate us," said Gali. "There must be somewhere to go."
Tahu flew in front of the others, looking at the fighting beneath them. "Alright. Pohatu, Kopaka - scout out the Island of Mata Nui. Make sure it's safe, and report back to us. We'll help finish off the Vahki."
"Sure thing. We'll let you know just how inhospitable it is," replied Pohatu.
Kopaka and Pohatu flew off toward the great barrier, racing through the maze that led to their old home. As they approached the barrier made of stone and metal, Kopaka found himself lost in thoughts.
Teridax was dead, killed by Makuta. While Kopaka doubted Teridax had had evil intentions, he felt that, in hindsight, Pohatu was right to have voiced his concerns. Teridax had deceived them, tricking the Toa into assisting him to slay the Great Spirit. There must have been another way to stop Makuta. Kopaka doubted that they would now be able to find a way to save the Matoran. Teridax clearly knew much more about the nature of the Universe than they did - he knew exactly where to strike at Makuta, and when. So why hadn't he made plans to save the inhabitants of the Universe? Why was he so willing to destroy the Great Spirit? Maybe Teridax had plans to restore the Mata Nui to life somehow, but if he did, he hadn't revealed them to anyone else.
And now that he was gone, the Toa couldn't know how or if the Great Spirit could be restored. And Kopaka would never be able to forgive Teridax for hiding that knowledge from them. For tricking them into helping him destroy the Great Spirit. For his betrayal of Mata Nui.
"Do you think we'll find anything?" asked Pohatu, shaking Kopaka from his thoughts.
"I think we'll find an empty wasteland," answered Kopaka. "I can't imagine it will be much better than in Metru Nui."
The two passed through the gate that led into Makuta's lair, and out into the enormous network of tunnels that led to the surface. Slowly, the gravity beneath them seemed to shift. Kopaka knew the Mangaia having shifting gravity, but it was never this obvious before - and he certainly didn't remember the etched carvings on the wall. He could almost be certain that the circular symbols were on the ground the last time they had passed through. "What happened here?"
"This can't have been caused by Makuta, can it?" Pohatu looked at a tunnel ahead of him as an intense light shone through from the other side. This shaft had once gone straight up and down. "This can't be right, there can't be anything out there. The island will be on its side, Kopaka."
"We should take a look anyway." Kopaka flew through the last tunnel that would take them back to their home. Pohatu was right, though. Would the ocean have fallen beneath them? Or would they find that the entire island had become submerged?
The light got harsher as they headed toward the outside world, and Kopaka had to look away for a moment as his visor shifted to darker tints to adapt. They burst out into the vast openness, and it was exactly what Kopaka expected - and somehow, not what he expected at all. They hovered a hundred kio above a sandy desert lay a hundred, and an enormous metallic wall lay behind them. Some of the ridges and edges of their old home were almost recognizable, but it now stood on its side.
"Who stole the ocean?" Pohatu asked, looking at the huge swaths of desert sand below. It looked like there was a jungle in the far distance, at the foot of the most enormous mountains they had ever seen.
Closer to them was what looked like the body of a giant. A being so large it could not possibly have ever existed lay in a bed of sand. Its head was caved in, and no discernible features of its face remained.
"What is that?!" Pohatu asked.
"Whatever it was, it doesn't matter anymore," answered Kopaka. "It looks like Takanuva was right. That jungle - it might be our salvation." He looked up at the cliff they were standing on. "Hang on…" Kopaka kicked off the wall and flew out of the cavern.
Pohatu followed him out. "Where are we going?"
"I want to check something. Give me your mask power."
"Only because you asked so nicely."
The two Toa raced out. The air blowing past provided some relief from the searing rays from the sun, but that Kopaka was too focused to notice. After a moment, he slowed to a hover and turned around.
"Look at that," he said, his voice almost quivering. Spread out in front of them was an even larger being than the first giant.
"That's where we came from?" asked Pohatu. "We've been living inside a giant all this time?"
It felt like his entire world was shattered. How could the Matoran have been living inside a giant for so long without knowing about it? At the same, it seemed to Kopaka as if he had always known, as if this was simply the only form that Mata Nui could have possibly taken. The work done by the Matoran to keep the Great Spirit healthy, ensuring that Metru Nui's power generators were active and functioning - he knew it related to Mata Nui's health somehow. Now it made sense.
He looked back to the endless dunes of a world larger than he could have ever imagined. "I don't know what this place is," said Kopaka, gently smiling. "But I think it will be our new home."
