Part I

Chapter I

Far beneath the underground of Mata Nui, they waited.

They were encased in fluidic capsules - waiting to be awoken, to do their master's bidding, to fulfill their Purpose.

Their masters lay asleep also - waiting the time when someone would awake them.

They did.

Takua, then known as the Chronicler, stumbled upon them as the Toa and Makuta's climatic battle ended. He had seen symbols of these creatures in his dreams; the words Beware the Swarm and signs warning of them carved into rock by Matoran all during his adventures traveling Mata Nui. He did not know these were the creatures that matched the warnings, but his curiosity got the better of him. He stared into one of the capsules, peering into its lifeless eyes, when suddenly it woke, its red eyes focusing on the creature - the enemy - in front of it.

"You wake one, you wake them all."

Takua barely escaped with his life from these nightmares, and thus the Bohrok and the Bahrag were awoken to ravage Mata Nui and bring it to what the land was in the Before-Time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'Enter, Tahnok. We are anxious for your knowledge of our search.'

A Tahnok entered the massive black cavern. Its feet marched obediently to the center, where, surrounded by red and blue orbs of energy, were the Bahrag Twins, Cahdok and Gahdok, the Mothers of the Bohrok swarm. The JA Krana that controlled the Tahnok forced it to bend its knee and offer supplication to the enormous Queens in front of it, and then stood up. One of the Twins, Cahdok, who had spoken, concentrated its telepathic power on the JA Krana within the Bohrok. A beam of energy came from the middle of Cahdok's head and immersed the Tahnok completely.

Flashes of battles raced by in both their minds... Then he was traveling with a squad to Ko-Koro... Then they were capturing the Matoran in Le-Koro and overtaking them there...

Suddenly, the memories stopped. The recollection had been frozen so suddenly that much of the picture in the memory was blurred as a result. Cahdok strained the JA's mind. The picture focused to a better view; the dashes on the wall became clearer, soon becoming letters of the Matoran language. From the heat radiating everywhere the Bohrok could see in the memory, it appeared they were in Ta-Koro.

'We have heard of this room from other Bohrok,' said Cahdok telepathically to Gahdok.

'They call it the Wall of History,' answered Gahdok, who clearly was ready to explore in this memory further. Cahdok again intensified the focus in her mind. The frozen memory magnified to the far left and the unknown Matoran inscription was translated. There was a lot to go over and see in the memory; the history of the Matoran on Mata Nui was not condensed. Finally, after searching for many minutes, Cahdok found what they had wanted.

'Date Unknown. BZ-Koro formed. A lesser Toa of unknown elemental power named Hapori Tohu and his group of followers fled their simple town (location unknown) after Makuta appeared and infecting it with Kratta, hoping to destroy them. A large portion died, while the remaining survivors caused them to flee south, which they were not seen again.'

'Gahdok,' said the other Twin, 'Make this Krana a XA for his immense help to us.'

Cahdok's energy released its grip on the Bohrok, while Gahdok concentrated on the Krana, changing its face, adding ripples, and taking bumps out...

Soon, the newly made Krana XA bend the Bohrok's back to give thanks, and soon retreated.

'Could this be, Gahdok?' thought Cahdok, as the cave resumed its emptiness, 'could this be that the place we are searching for our mission lies in this fabled Koro?'

'It appears to be the only choice,' replied her sister, 'but we must continue our assaults on the other Koros, or the Matoran might become suspicious of our motives.' Cahdok nodded.

'I agree. Let us send squads out to the southwest of Mata Nui and start searching there. My feelings tell me they would not have lived that long in Le-Wahi. The sea would be a more likely area to start.' Gahdok grinned maliciously in reply.

'Then let us complete our Mission created for us by the Great Servant of Darkness, and the world will be as it was in the Before-Time; and the might of Makuta and the death of Mata Nui shall conquer the light of this world!'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A sea bird slowly glided over the shimmering water that was reflected off the rising sun as it steadily approaching The Island. It began to rise as the waves crashed down over the rocks, gnawing at the edifice that stood in its way. The bird weaved through the tangle of bushes and plants that had managed to grow amidst the harsh environment. After a few minutes, it had reached the summit and flew above the ground to look at the large plain that had grown on top of the small crop of hills overlooking the sea.

A Matoran stood at the edge of the cliffs, staring blankly into the endless void of ocean. Technically he was not a Matoran – the Matoran's Kanohi did not contain any power, and they were of different build. Not even those of his hometown BZ-Koro could tell what they truly where.

Actually, he was shorter than a normal Matoran would be – something that he used to be sensitive about when he was younger. His mostly-white body stretched as he shook his head from the wondrous sleep he had just had. He grabbed his mask that he had laid on the soft grassy field next to him and his small pack the previous night with his black hands; it was too uncomfortable to sleep with it on. As he put on his silver Akaku, the mask of X-ray vision, he felt the familiar surge of power that was contained in the mask; and for the first time that morning, felt fully awake.

He gave an intake of breath, then a huge a huge refreshing sigh. It was good to leave the village once in a while to ease his mind of the bustle of life that did not always bode well with his mood - even if he left BZ-Koro, his home city, without permission. He needed the time to relax, because he had been busy in his life almost nonstop since the Swarms had been discovered...

It had been Takua, the exploring Matoran that recorded the history of Mata Nui and helped recover the lost Toa stones, which had woken the Swarms unknowingly and unleashed their awful power. Ever since that time, the six Koro's of Mata Nui had been ransacked with many various attacks, each as unpredictable as the next. BZ-Koro had given military assistance to the cities ever since during the time of the Rahi, but had not been attacked themselves.

Maybe it was the fact that the only person who ever knew it truly existed was Nuju - which, the Matoran thought, would keep this information to himself; or the fact that BZ-Korans hardly ever traveled to Mata Nui and did not disguise themselves as other Matoran, so if they did go, their origin would not be known to anyone - or anything.

Whatever the rationale, it was these facts that saved BZ-Koro from suffering as harshly as the other villages had, and saved the Matoran captain from complete exhaustion. He fingered his mace, and then sighed. He had had to travel to Mata Nui to help free Le-Koro during the previous month, so his stamina was unusually low as of late. Generally, he seemed to enjoy war; not because of the killing that occurred, but whenever he fought, it seemed to bring him such excitement, like during the chase in a hunt. It was something always inexplicable to him, even after the many long hours he had spent pondering it, so he simply let it go and continue to do his part in the War.

Maybe his reason for his unexplained love of battle was that he was left-handed. It might seem useless to anyone who did not know what was so unusual, but almost everyone on Mata Nui was right-handed (except for a gifted few), so because of this, the Council pronounced him Different. The astronomers had found the Red Star creating a new prophecy, which said the captain was destined for great things before the end of the Bohrok threat - which also was prophesied about the same time.

The Matoran had actually been serving for quite a while. He was one of the top soldiers in his class (which usually only consisted of, at the most, fifty Matoran), if not the best, and he had won great prestige when Le-Koro was overrun. He had led his group straight into Le-Koro, one of the most dangerous parts of the mission; and amazingly, there were no injuries or deaths to speak of in his group, so he had missed on much of the death and carnage that had overcome some battalions. This soon prompted the prophecy about his destiny, which the soldier held in high respect whenever it was spoken or thought of.

The Council that had lived during the Matoran's youth, however, was now replaced. All the former members had died peacefully, and a young Matoran, even younger than the captain stood up to take the Head Matoran's seat. This Matoran, whose name was Niwan, said he sought to help to citizens of BZ-Koro; however, it was evident that all he cared about was the power that he held, due to the obvious lack of responsibility and leadership he had. There were rumors that the captain was to have wanted the Head's seat (which, as he thought angrily, were not true; he was not one for politics), so Niwan had pushed him to the limit for the training of the new soldiers, whose seventeenth birthday required to serve in the Army for a few months, maybe even years until the Bohrok were defeated (unlike the previous law, which stated that soldier had to be at least twenty to serve). This meant he would be occupied for quite a while, whether he wanted to be or not. Luckily, the Council did not know that he had slipped out of BZ-Koro just as the gates shut a few days ago; so no one would have known he was missing until the next morning, which gave him a few days to be alone, at least. Glad of his chance, the captain surveyed the landscape around him. Sometimes it was wonderful to be utterly alone.

Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, a foot soldier emerged in the distance of the plains, nearing the Matoran. He sighed; the wind blew all around one last time, as if to taunt him. Disgruntled, the captain tried to ignore the inevitable call to the village that was jogging closer to him, while wondering how in the world this soldier had been able to find him way out here; now he would be reported to the Council and he would be in severe trouble with them.

The Matoran tried to distract himself from his problems by watching the sunrise into the sky. Sunrise was one of the captain's favorite times; the colors that splashed across the horizon were nothing short of amazing, even if it was partially obscured by the mist. Today, however, was different; all that appeared across the horizon was red. The captain heightened the clarity of the image with his Akaku, but no new shades emerged. The Matoran's eyes lowered in unease. Only when great war was to begin would the sun become pure red; it served as a warning, along with the Red Star to determine the type of battle, to those who took note of it. Beisbeis shrugged his shoulders; he dismissed it in his mind as something about the Bohrok on Mata Nui, although his excuse did not ease his curiosity or discomfort.

Finally, the soldier reached him and gave a salute, accompanied with a stand for attention. The captain could not pretend he was there any more, much to his displeasure, so he turned to face the soldier, as if he just realized he was there. The Matoran was slightly taller than the captain, but that did not prohibit him from bowing to his authority. The soldier wore a teal Miru and green body, with brown hands. The Matoran tried standing a little taller when he noticed the captain was watching him to show he was not anxious about talking to one of his leaders.

"What is it, soldier?"

"A call for you, sir. Some of the newer recruits need help in drills, especially in hand combat. They requested that you help, sir."

The captain knew that the soldier could mean only one 'they': the Council of BZ-Koro, of which he had no chance of changing their minds, thanks to Niwan. He gave a short gaze out at the ocean, sighed, and then started walking away down the steep path to the bottom of the cliffs and to the plains below. After they had reached the bottom and started on the path back to BZ-Koro, he turned to the soldier.

"Your name, soldier? Také, isn't it? The first in your year two years ago?" Také started, evidently pleased that a captain had recognized him out of the four hundred and fifty soldiers that were from BZ-Koro.

"Yes, sir."

"Don't 'sir' me, I can't stand that... just call me Beisbeis." Také hesitated.

"The Council says we should give respect to our commanding authorities."

"And I say we forget about what the Council says," Beisbeis said darkly. "Just between you and me; Beisbeis is enough of the respect I want," he said, and Také's face became brighter. Beisbeis looked out over the fairly large plain for a couple seconds before turning back to the Matoran, who was still grinning slightly from Beisbeis' recognition.

"So, do you have a report from the villages for me?" Také snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head quickly.

"Well, both fishing parties are back. Between the two of the groups, they caught about twenty Ruki fish - that's all they could get from the east beaches and Lake Lamén. They think it might have had something to do with the Bohrok on Mata Nui. The Bohrok might have disrupted the Tarakava, and the fish might have had to seek safer places - which I guess are not around The Island."

Beisbeis shook his head. The lack of fish was not just disappointing, it was precarious; even though the Koro had enough food to sustain them for while, the lesser amount of meat meant they would eat nothing but grain for a while, which certainly cut into their supplies - they only had enough to last them a few months.

"Have the hunting parties returned yet?" he asked Také. The Matoran shook his head disappointedly.

"No, si- Beisbeis," he added, remembering what the captain had told him, "We've looked, but the animals we had seemed to have a few months ago have gone-"

"Shh. Duck down. Don't move."

Beisbeis suddenly became sharp and aware, although he had actually been listening since they had begun talking. Silently, he pulled Také to the ground and waited, acutely scanning the area with his Akaku.

"What-"

Beisbeis brought a finger to his lips, leaving Také to be silent and confused. The captain inched forward, silently raising his mace from the mud.

"We've been far too loud. Something's heard us, and it's been hiding near that boulder over there." Beisbeis pointed to the rock about five bio away to the north of them. The captain nodded and turned to Také.

"All right, you go to the right," Beisbeis whispered, "And I'll be on the left. Be ready to run, and we should catch the thing that's spying on us." And without another word, he held his breath and snuck through the large weeds, taking careful steps not to attract their apparent enemy's attention.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The creature stood frozen, using all its senses to understand where the two Matoran that it had been hearing for the past half-hour were. They were sneaking closer to its spot, because they had split apart and were approaching from the sides. There was one in front of it, beyond the boulder, but it kept losing sound of him; the Matoran knew what he was doing. The wind was ruining some of its hearing, so it relied on its eyes. Soon, the plants slowly began to straighten up; the breeze was slowing down. The beast raised its small hammer silently while listening for any disturbance that might aid its search.

There was something to the beast's left. The creature jerked its head noiselessly. The bushes swayed quietly, almost silently next to it - without the aid of the wind - and the creature could barely make the glimmer of light off the weapon before it was hid from its sight again.

Instinct – or maybe terror – took over. The creature burst off its rock and flew through the foliage, just as one leaped off the boulder and tried to grab it from behind. He heard the Matoran that was now on the ground shout something to the other, then felt a searing pain in its back. The beast limped a couple steps, swayed back and forth, and finally fell to the ground, darkness finally overcoming him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Beisbeis sprinted to the monster and checked the pulse. The creature was clearly dead. After a second, he grasped the hilt and pulled the dagger out of the back.

"Nice shot, Také," he said impressively, "I can tell why you were first in your class." The foot soldier grinned embarrassingly, yet again pleased that he had satisfied the captain. Beisbeis handed him the weapon and rolled over the creature.

It was a Pahrak Va, evident from the vibrant brown color and the hammer that was on the side of it. The Krana it was holding on its back and suddenly leaped on the ground; it already injured by the dagger, however, frantically attempting to crawl away. Without a thought, Beisbeis swung his mace and severed the creature in two. The pieces ceased wriggling, and it seemed that time was speeding up and taking its toll on the parasite. The half-Krana grew harder and harder, and blue cracks ran through the veins of the creature.

Suddenly, it stopped, and the Krana lay in the dust, dark and looking as if it was a fossil, staying undisturbed since the Before-Time. Another large breeze blew through the marsh, and slowly, flakes flew off the Krana until there was nothing left on the ground. The shavings fluttered in the wind, out into the sea and beyond.

Beisbeis stood rigid to the spot, thinking, his cloak whipping around in the wind. There had been no type of Bohrok on The Island before; so the only reason a Bohrok Va would appear on the island would be if -

"They know we're here." Beisbeis whispered quietly. Také was running up and was confused at what was happening.

"What? What's wrong, si-"

"I don't know what's going on here, but something happening. C'mon, we have to get back - now. We need to tell BZ-Koro. Hurry, Také!"

And without another word, Beisbeis began to run back onto the Road into the plains. Také took one look at the dead Pahrak Va, then turn back to catch up with Beisbeis.