Chapter One: Monsters
Less than 1,000 years ago...
Helryx, Toa of Water and leader of the secretive Order of Mata Nui, walked along a rocky beach deep in though. With her was her old friend Zuvak, Toa of Plant Life.
As they walked, Helryx thought about the last few months. Ever since the Great Spirit Mata Nui fell before the might of the Brotherhood of Makuta, things in the universe had gone down hill. A massive earthquake had rocked the universe, causing horrible damage to many parts of the world. Because of this, most Order of Mata Nui members, agents, and opperatives were currently dispatched to several areas of the world in an attempt to help those most in need.
As a result, available members and agents were currently low in numbers. For this reason, Helryx and Zuvak were forced to act on this mission themselves. To Helryx's relief, the mission had gone smoothly and without incedent. She and her companion were now beggining their trip back to Daxia.
Suddenly, a roar from some unseen creature interupted Helryx's thoughts.
Zuvak turned to her. "What was that?" asked the Toa.
"I don't know" replied Helryx. "But it came from this direction" The Toa of Water then took off, running in the direction the sound had come from.
Zuvak trailed behind her. "Wait!" he yelled. "You don't know what made that sound!"
Soon, Zuvak caught up with his companion. He turned to the Toa of Water and said, "What is your problem?"
Helryx didn't respond. She simply starred ahead. Zuvak followed her gaze. Then, he saw it. A huge, bizzare Rahi beast was stretched out on the ground. As the Toa starred they took in its appearance. It was big, well over twenty feet in length. It had a large head that was equiped with huge jaws and teeth. It had a powerful body studded with razor-sharp spikes, while its long tail ended in a sword-like blade. The beast seemed injured, and was roaring in agony.
Helryx took a step toward to the creature, and then another. Soon, she was close enough to touch the beast.
"Helryx!" said Zuvak. "What in Mata Nui's name are you doing? That thing could kill you!"
"It's in pain, Zuvak" replied the Toa of Water. "I need to see if I can fix whatever is wrong with it." She then laid a hand on the pained beast.
Having fought Rahi before, and knowing how unpredictable they can be, Zuvak unlimberd his sword and checked his Cordak Blaster. Should the beast attack Helryx, he would be ready to take action.
Helryx had begun inspecting the Rahi for injuries. Surprisingly, the beast was incredibly tollerent of the Toa's activaties. Soon, Helryx found the source of the creature's pain:
The meatalic armor on its shoulder had been blasted away. The organic tissue beneath it had also been damaged.
"Well?" asked Zuvak. "What's wrong with it?"
"These wounds..." said Helryx. "I've seen this kind of damage before. It's the result of a blast of shadow energy."
Zuvak took a few steps closer. "Shadow energy?" Zuvak said with interest. "Like the kind a Makuta uses?"
Before Helryx could reply the Rahi began growling fiercely. It was looking directly ahead. Helryx followed its gaze until she saw the source of the creature's distress:
A Toa-sized being standing a short distance away from them. He was clad in blue and silver armor, had long, curved blades attached to each arm, and wore a mask that Helryx knew as the Avsa, Great Mask of Hunger. He looked at the two Toa as if they were insects ready to be crushed beneath his heel.
Helryx rose. "Who are you?" asked the Toa.
"And what do you want here?" added Zuvak.
"As for who I am, I am Frezako. Makuta Frezako." said the being. "As for what I want, I want that Rahi. It belongs to the Brotherhood of Makuta."
The Rahi made a long, deep growl.
"It seems your creation isn't very fond of you" said Helryx.
Frezako chuckled. A truly disgusting sound. "This abomination isn't my handy-work. It is one of Verahk's creations. It went wild and escaped his lab. He sent me to retrieve it. Now, if you two wish to continue you meaningless lives, you will stand aside and allow me to take this worthless beast back to Destral."
Helryx put herself between the Rahi and Frezako. "I don't think so" she said.
Zuvak ran up beside her. "Helryx," he said "what are you doing? Just let him take it"
"I can't" she replied. "If we let him take it, he and the other Makuta could make it into an unstoppable weapon" She turned her attention back to Frezako. "Run back to Destral Makuta. This Rahi isn't going anywhere."
While she wouldn't put it past the Brotherhood to create an unstoppable Rahi weapon, Helryx was more concerned about the Rahi's well being than the Makuta's plans. Somehow, for reasons she couldn't understand, she knew there was more to this beast than meets the eye.
Had Helryx had eyes in the back of her head, she would have noticed the Rahi looking at her with what seemed to be abmoration and respect, things most Rahi were incapable of undertanding.
Frezako was now at the end of his patiance. He released a blast of shadow energy, knocking Helryx to the ground. He then lunged forward, blades at the ready. Before he could reach her, however, Zuvak rushed forward and batted the Makuta aside with the flat of his blade, causing Frezako to hit the ground hard. Before he could regain his footing, Zuvak used his elemental power to command several thorny vines to erupt from the ground and pin the Makuta down.
Zuvak stood over the downed Makuta. "Now stand down" said Zuvak. You can't win. It's two of us agianst --"
The rest of Zuvak's sentence was drowned out by Frezako useing his power scream ability. The Toa of Plant Life was sent sprawling onto the ground, knocked out cold.
Using his own ability to command plant life, Frezako made the vines retreat back underground. He then rose to his feet. "Unless you to wish to feel my raw power, I suggest you stand aside"
Helryx got to her feet, and unlimbered her mace and released a powerful stream of water, only to see it turned to a cloud of steam by the Makuta's chain lightning.
"Why do you risk your life for a mindless beast?" asked the Makuta.
"Because, I am a Toa" replied the Toa of Water. "Toa defend those who cannot defend themselves. Toa defend truth and justice. We live to defend peace, and to defeat monsters like you."
Frezako chuckled. "Foolish Toa. You actually believe you can bring peace to a universe that has been devoid of order for millinea? If so, you are a fool. One must take advantge of the constant chaos and brutality if they wish to amount to anything in this world. Now, lay down your weapons before I insure you no longer have hands to hold them with."
Helryx rushed forward, mace and shield ready for battle. Frezako did the same. Sparks flew as the combatants' weapons clashed. Before long, however, Helryx was finding herself out-classed by the Makuta's skills. Frezako then managed to trip the Toa. Two quick blasts of shadow knocked her mace and shield out of her hands. With nothing to defend herelf with, Frezako placed a blade over her throat.
"Well, well, well," mocked the Makuta. "it seems I am the victor. And as the victor, I get the grand prized: Your Kanohi as a trophy."
Frezako then prepared to end the battle once and for all. Before he could, however, a mini-cyclone appeared from nowhere, sending he Makuta sprawling onto the ground. Once his sences returned to him, Frezako looked up to see where the cyclone had come from. What he saw was what he had expected:
Standing a short distance away was a Toa of Air. He, however, was unlike any Toa Frezako had seen before. He was somewhat tall for a Toa, wore a Kanohi who's shape was unknown to Frezako, and possessed razor-sharp claws for hands. One of these clawed hands gripped a long, double bladed sword.
While he didn't know who the new-comer was, Helryx obviously did. "Skydrax!" she called as she got to her feet. "What are you doing here?"
Skydrax didn't respond. He simply looked at Frezako with barely contained rage. "You" said Skydrax in a deadly quiet tone. "I knew I would find you one day"
"Have we met?" asked the Makuta.
Skydrax's eyes narrowed. "Let's just say I know someone a lot like you" replied the Toa. "Now, turn around and return back to your little island fortress on Destral before things get ugly"
"I don't think so" replied Frezako as he released a blast of shadow.
Before it could reach the Toa, however, Skydrax negated the shadow bolt with a swing of his blade. He then unleashed a massive gust of wind, sending the Makuta tumbling through the air. Before he even hit the ground, however, a mass of vines erupted from the earth and seized the surprised Frezako. They then began slamming him into the ground repeatedly. Finally, they released Frezako, allowing him to tumble back to earth, where he was greeted by Helryx. She unleashed a water burst strong enough to force the Makuta to his knees.
When the water blast finally ended, Frezako raised his head to see Helryx standing with Skydrax and Zuvak, who had just recovered from the Makuta's earlier attack.
"Give it up" said Helryx. "You can't beat us"
The Toa expected Frezako to reply with a sneer or scream of rage. What came from his toothy maw was, however, the exact opposite:
The Makuta began laughing.It was a horrible sound that carried more than a trace of maddness.
A moment later, Frezako raised his head and unleashed the the terrible energies of his Kanohi Avsa. A moment later the three Toa slumped to the ground as the Makuta's mask drained their physical energy. Once the energy drain ended Frezako got to his feet and walked over to the spot where the Toa had fell. He stood over his downed opponents. Helryx was the only one with enough strength to raise her head to look up at Frezako.
He looked down at her with a chilling smile. He then raised his balde, as he prepaired the slaughter Helryx and her companions.
That is when something strange happened:
A huge shadow fell over the Makuta, followed by a fearsome growl. Frezako looked up to see the beast he had been sent to capture. The Rahi looked down at the Makuta, as if he were considering making Frezako his next meal.
With a yell of surprise, Frezako unleashed bursts of shadow and chain lightning, only top see them rendered ineffective agianst the Rahi's tough hide. The next instant, an energy blast was released from one of the mutant Rahi's three eyes, sending Frezako to his knees. The beast took three short strides, and scooped up the Makuta in his clawed hands and began to squeeze.
By this time, the three Toa had recovered and were watching the remarkably one-sided battle. Frezako struggled against the monster's grip, even as hairline cracks began to appear in the Makuta's protective armor. Much more of this, and Frezako would be nothing more than a wisp of energy at the mercy of the wind. He knew he would have to retreat if he wanted to survive.
"You and your new Rahi... friend may have won this time," strained Frezako. "But... this battle isn't over!"
Frezako then activated his teleportation power, vanishing from sight. With the Makuta gone, the beast turned around to look at the three Toa.
Then, it talked!
"Thank you" said the beast.
"You can talk?!" asked Skydrax in a surprised tone.
The Rahi took a few steps closer to his rescuers. "Of course I can talk." replied the creature. "Why wouldn't I be able to talk?"
"Well," said the Toa of Air. "It's mainly because you look like a... a..."
"A what?" asked the beast, its face mere inches away from Skydrax's mask.
"A, uh, ... monster?"
"Yeah?" said the Zorvahk, eyes narrowed. "Well, with a face like that, you sort of remind me of a Brakas Monkey"
"Enough" interrupted Helryx. "You're a Rahi? Last I checked, Rahi couldn't talk"
"A few weeks ago you would have been right" replied the beast. "I was once a normal Zorvahk, living my life in the wild. That is until a Makuta named Verahk came along..."
The Zorvahk seemed pained by the memories. Helryx decided to change the subject.
"Well, thank you for stepping in when you did" said Helryx. "If you hadn't, we would be dead by now. In fact, my group could use someone like you"
"Group?" replied the Rahi. "What group?"
"Come." said Helryx, placing a hand on the creature's arm. "We have much to talk about."