BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall

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"... He turned out to be the greatest of us all."
— Kongu

Parent Page: Expanded Universe

BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall
Books
Series BIONICLE Legends
Author Greg Farshtey
Publisher Scholastic
Sources: ISBN 9780439890373

BIONICLE Legends 8: Downfall is the eighth installment in the BIONICLE Legends book series. It picks up where the Toa Nuva Blog, Entry 10 left off.

Contents

[carve] Synopsis

Three days after the Toa Mahri were returned to Metru Nui, Toa Hahli told the chronicle of their journey to the new chronicler, Kopeke.

In the depths of Mahri Nui, Hydraxon took aim and fired a bullet at the Ignika, after wresting control of it from Nocturn. Before it hit home, a current sent the bullet off course, controlled by Hahli. Mantax then hurried and grabbed the Mask of Life, and sped away. His curse, the ability to drain the energy from others, weakened Hahli and Hydraxon, keeping them from pursing. Once recovering, Hahli told the other Toa what happened, and Matoro, uneasily, told the Toa of what must be done to save Mata Nui's life. Once they had the mask, they were to destroy the stone cord connecting Mahri Nui and Voya Nui, thus killing thousands of Matoran! It was then decided that the Matoran would be safe in the caverns beneath Voya Nui, so the Toa sent them up the cord. As they went up, the evil Piraka, now mutated by the mutagenic waters, appeared and attacked with their snake-like bodies. As the Toa began to fight, a blast of energy hit them all, rendering everyone unconscious. When they woke up, they found out that Axonn had saved them, and he provided them with a transport, the Toa Terrain Crawler. The creature healed the Toa, and repaired their armor. As they descended, Gadunka was beginning to rise from his home, now fully grown by the power of the Ignika.

Meanwhile, Mantax and the other Barraki held a meeting. After a long discussion, Mantax explained that one Barraki had betrayed them to the Brotherhood of Makuta. With the mask as his bargaining chip, he demanded the traitor face punishment right then and there. During this time, Maxilos, the unknown host body of the Makuta struck Hydraxon down. However, Hydraxon didn't go down without a fight, as he commanded Spinax to attack the Makuta, who then proceeded to brush off the Rahi. After this encounter, Hydraxon stabbed the Maxilos robot's left limbs, disabling them for good. After Mantax explained the traitor, a giant avalanche carrying Makuta broke up the meeting, which the traitor used to his advantage to steal the tablet and the mask; Takadox. After a fight between the Toa Mahri and Gadunka, Mantax used his paralyzing venom, causing Takadox to drop the mask and allowing Mantax to recapture it. Around this time, Maxilos/Makuta got up, and began fighting the Barraki, after revealing to them who he was. However, the Barraki beat Makuta, and they raced on to fight the Toa Mahri. Matoro, seeing the Makuta, froze him as Jaller reclaimed the Mask of Life himself. This didn't last long, as Jaller protected himself against Hydraxon by unleashing a fire wall, inadvertatly freeing the Makuta, who joined into the fray. Jaller yelled for Matoro, who took the mask, and Jaller. Matoro and Jaller talked for a bit, and sealed their friendship. When the Toa Mahri met together again, they were prepared to destroy the cord. After a diversion with a few creatures, they sank the cord, and raced to where Voya Nui was going. Sadly, before they could make it, Mata Nui died. Matoro, desperate, consulted with his friends, and it was decided that he would go and try to bring Mata Nui back, while the others made the ultimate sacrifice.

Matoro swam to where Voya Nui was going, and, through the urging of the mask, he put it on and used it to bring back Mata Nui, which would kill him in the process, as it required Matoro's life energy. Before he died, Matoro used the power of the Ignika to teleport the Toa Mahri to safety, who were on the losing side of the battle against the Barraki. After the teleportation was done, Matoro died, and brought back the Great Spirit.

Back on Metru Nui, the Toa Mahri realized the awful truth, and were deeply saddened by it. Nuju was even worse, even though he did celebrate for the Great Spirit's revival.

At this point, Hahli stopped her tales, and told Kopeke, that, "... [Matoro is] never truly gone... as long as the Great Spirit Mata Nui exists."

In the Pit, Hydraxon continued looking for runners, never knowing that he was once a Po-Matoran named Dekar.

Meanwhile, the Toa Nuva were on Artakha, getting their new Adaptive Armor and Toa Tools. From there, Artakha teleported them to Karda Nui, where they saw a battle raging in the sky ...

[carve] Matoro's Final Moments

Taken directly from Downfall

In the heart of a waterfall, Matoro fell.

________The outside world was a blur of motion. He thought he caught glimpses of high mountains around him. It seemed there was a body of murky water down below, though he could not be sure. At one point, a dark, winged shape flew through the falls just below him, but he could not identify it.

________Time was measured in micro-seconds now, flashes of sight and sensation as he plunged deep into the core of the universe. He realized that he had made this leap of faith with absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do with the Mask of Life once he got here. It almost made him laugh. His five best friends were giving their lives for him, and here he was, moments from disaster and still clueless about what it would take to be a hero this day.

________Put on the mask.

________"What—?" he said, startled. "Who said that?"

________There was no answer. Had he really heard that, or was he losing his mind?

________Put on the mask.

________The Mask of Life — no one really knew the limits of its power. Maybe he was just hallucinating that he heard a voice, but the idea... what if the mask had to be, not just carried to the core, but donned for its power to be used? He remembered Takua, the adventurous Matoran who was hailed as the "herald" of a seventh Toa, meant to bring the Mask of Light to him wherever he might be. Little did anyone know Takua was destined to become that Toa, and the hero he had to find was the one who lived inside his own heart.

________The universe is a riddle, thought Matoro. Turaga Nuju often said that. It hints at the path you are meant to walk, but never makes its message clear. You have to figure that out for yourself... and maybe I just did.

________With a trembling hand, Matoro placed the Kanohi Ignika on top of his own mask. He expected to feel a surge of strength, or perhaps the opposite, a sudden, terrible weakness. But instead he felt... different. His body felt light and tingled as if a current of energy ran through it. He was falling still, but no longer tumbling out of control. His form was straight as an arrow and headed for a target still unknown.

________Images flashed through Matoro's mind. He saw the creation of the Ignika; its millenia of waiting for the proper time to be used and the destined wearer; he saw it taken from its resting place once before, to be used to heal the Great Spirit... and he saw what happened to the one who wore it then.

________He didn't cry out, or protest, or rush to tear the mask from his face. Nor did he waste a single moment in regret. He had never asked to become a Toa, or desired it, and the mantle of hero had never fit comfortably on his shoulders. But now, now he knew, and the knowledge brought peace.

________Nuju was right. The universe is a riddle. And today, I am the answer.

________His arms were thrust out in front of him. They were glowing now, little sparkles of light like the starfield above the island of Mata Nui. His whole body was changing now, patterns of light swirling, energies being unleashed, as the Mask of Life drew forth the essence of the being called Matoro.

________Is this the end then? he wondered. Is this what it feels like?

________Yes, he decided. This was death. This was the price the Ignika demanded for its use. He would no longer exist as Matoro, as a Toa, as a living being of organic muscle and mechanical parts... he would be far less than what he was, and far more.

________The world was changing all around him, and it did not frighten the Toa of Ice. He knew the real change was in how he was viewing his surroundings — no longer with eyes, a mind, a spirit bound to the physical world. He was becoming pure energy, pure life... the force that would bring the Great Spirit back from death. Already, he could barely remember how it felt to be in battle, or to be lonely, or to feel the warmth of a fire on a cold night. Pleasure, pain, satisfaction, disappointment, these were all just words to him now. He was beyond all that, or almost.

________But there was one emotion, one part of his former life, that he had not forgotten — one memory he refused to surrender. Jaller, Hahli, Hewkii, Kongu, Nuparu — his friends — his partners — who had fought beside him and laughed with him and made all the burdens bearable. They were out there now in the black water, about to die at the claws of the Barraki. No one on Metru Nui would ever know of their heroism or the sacrifices they were willing to make. They would never see their homes or those they cared about ever again.

________His own death, he could accept — but theirs? No, that was too high a price to pay, even to buy the salvation of a universe.

________He was Toa Matoro, at least for a few moments more, and he wore the Mask of Life. Or perhaps the Mask of life now wore him. He didn't know, or care. He knew his friends were willing to die for him and his destiny, and for that reason alone, they had to live.

________Matoro pushed back against the power of the mask, fighting to hold on to his consciousness and his own existence for just another heartbeat. He wrestled with the power, pleaded with it, tried to bend it to his will. The Ignika, for reasons of its own, allowed this.

________Once before, long ago, a Toa had donned the Ignika and lost his life to complete his mission. That Toa had tried to be brave, but there was fear in his heart and he met his end with grief and regret. The Ignika sensed none of this in Matoro — only a will and determination that rivaled even that of Mata Nui himself.

________The Mask of Life, bound now to the energy of Matoro, granted him its power. Matoro seized upon it to perform his final act. It was not one of grand heroism, not a gesture that would shake the universe, but something more powerful and lasting than either one: a simple act of friendship.

________With all that done, Matoro surrendered himself gratefully and completely to his destiny. The merged energies of Toa and Kanohi mask exploded in the core of the universe, flooding it with light. Streams of golden power flowed into every part of this realm and then beyond it, until it had touched every place where the Great Spirit had once reigned. Just as countless beings had sensed the death of Mata Nui, so did they now feel life return to him. And in the sky above the city of Metru Nui, the stars shone brightly once before...

[carve] Characters

[carve] Quotes

"Carapar, you are an ignorant spawn of a Brakas monkey, and you always were. You couldn't snap your fingers without help ... if you had fingers."
— Teridax

[carve] See Also


BIONICLE Legends
2006: Island of Doom | Dark Destiny | Power Play | Legacy of Evil | Inferno

2007: City of the Lost | Prisoners of The Pit | Downfall

2008: Shadows in the Sky | Swamp of Secrets | The Final Battle


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