BIONICLE Legends 11: The Final Battle

"If this is the final battle, let's make it one to remember."
— Toa Nuva Kopaka

The Final Battle
Book
Series	BIONICLE Legends
Author	Greg Farshtey
Publisher	Scholastic
ISBN 0-545-08079-7

The Final Battle is the eleventh BIONICLE book in the BIONICLE Legends series. The book was released in November 2008, and ends the Quest for the Mask of Life Saga.

Synopsis

The book begins by detailing, in brief, significant parts of the BIONICLE history. The recap ends at the point of the Toa Nuva combating against the Makuta in the Swamp of Secrets, and diverts attention onto Tahu, who is fighting against Makuta Vamprah over the swamp. The silent Makuta suddenly vanishes into the mist, leaving the Toa of Fire on every sense of alert. Suddenly, a flash of shadow over the swamp causes Tahu to roll and attack blindly with his powers, but turns out to be a false alarm. As he continues to fly, he hears a Tridax Pod being launched at him. Quickly, Tahu uses his Kanohi Hau Nuva to shield himself from the falling leeches, which land on the shield and continue to feed on the energy of the shield. Disgusted, Tahu skims above the swamp waters, then abruptly disables the shield, causing the leeches to fall into the swamp.

Meanwhile, Lewa, Onua and Kopaka are locked in combat against the Makuta under a stand of trees. Alternating attacks at the Makuta, Kopaka and Onua find themselves being told a story by Lewa. The story is about three Matoran with a basket of Bula berries, who are confronted by a swarm of Nui-Rama, and how the Matoran discover that the Rahi are actually interested in their berries, which they give up, thus escaping from the danger. When he is faced by two confused comrades, Lewa explains that the moral of the story is that they should actually question what the Makuta wanted, instead of simply fighting. Eventually, Onua concludes that they must have a purpose in mind, for the Toa Nuva have not been killed by their powerful foes yet.

Meanwhile, Krika confronts Gali elsewhere in the swamp. Gali demands to know what the Makuta are doing, and Krika replies by breaking through the bars the Toa of Water created using her Nynrah Ghost Blaster, drains part of her energy, and carries her to another part of the swamp. There, Krika gives Gali a Tablet of Transit, and pleads with Gali to leave, or she will doom all that she cares for to "a future more horrible than you can imagine".

Elsewhere, Pohatu and Photok battle against Makuta Gorast. The Makuta refuses to submit to his attack, and responds by throwing the Toa and Matoran at the energy field surrounding the Codrex, causing them smash violently onto the shield and blasted backwards. Gorast then uses her Kanohi Felnas to disrupt Pohatu's Elemental Powers, burying the Toa and Matoran under a mountain of rocks.

At another part of the swamp, Tahu continues his fight against Vamprah, who has re-emerged. The Toa of Fire searches around the swamp ground in hopes for material which can help with his battle. He discovers a pile of rotting vegetation nearby, and remembers Turaga Matau's words about setting rotting vegetation on fire. With an idea in mind, Tahu stops flying and hovers in the air, with Vamprah continuing to fly towards him. As the Makuta comes to the right distance, Tahu tosses a fireball at the plants, which created a large explosion of swamp gas, sending the Makuta reeling and soon clinging onto a tree to prevent himself from falling into the swamp.

Trapped inside a tiny pocket under the mount, Photok desperately attempts to awaken the unconscious Pohatu. When shaking the fallen Toa has no effect, Photok begins hitting the Toa with light blasts. His initial two attempts fail, but the third, more powerful attempt, works. Conscious once more, Pohatu fuses the rocks together, then uses his powers over stone to levitate out of the swamp. Once they are far enough, Pohatu unleashes his powers once more, and cracks their stone prison in half. The pair then soar off, and are soon met with Tahu. Pohatu, who saw Krika carrying Gali away, asks Tahu whether he knows of what happened to the Toa of Water. Tahu responds that he does not, and orders Pohatu to find her, as he is the fastest, a task which Pohatu accepts.

Meanwhile, Toa Ignika continues to guard over Icarax. The Makuta informs Ignika of its doomsday countdown, and jeers at the fact that the mask did not know of it. Upon hearing the news, the Toa Ignika immediately speeds off to inform the other Toa regarding its countdown, with Icarax forgotten and left behind.

Around the same time, Takanuva arrives at Karda Nui after his adventures in alternate dimensions. As he travels over the swamp in search of the Toa Nuva, he soon discovers Gali and Krika. Spotting Gali lying on the ground and Krika walking closer to the Toa of Water, Takanuva fires a warning blast of light at the Makuta. Krika looks up, and acknowledges Takanuva's presence. He then turns intangible, with a face of sadness as he departs, as if he finally accepted his fate. Takanuva then lands besides Gali, when the latter begins asking questions about Takanuva and the former asking of her status. Takanuva tells Gali that he will tell her as they travel, and Gali responds by telling him that Karda Nui is under attack by the Makuta. Before she can ask Takanuva of his changes, Takanuva places the Great Sundial on the ground. He then shoots a beam of light at the sundial, which casts a shadow which points to the direction where he must travel to, which would turn out to be the Codrex. The duo are then united with Pohatu, and go to aid the others.

On a small island on the swamp, Makuta Mutran grumbles over his misfortune of having his Shadow Leech vat and other equipment destroyed, and that it is "neither efficient nor ideal" for Mutran to work on the island, as he is working on a new creation. Meanwhile, his lab assistant, Vican, though afraid of Mutran, bravely confronts the Makuta and asks him what he is attempting to make on the island. Though irritated, the mad Makuta is also eager to show off his work, and informs the curious Matoran that he is re-creating a Rahi named klakk. Almost immediately after he finishes his brief talk, the vat containing the creature is shattered by the rampaging klakk inside. The Makuta attempts to capture it, but fails. Instead, the Rahi directs a sonic scream at Vican, knocking him off his feet and for a few moments, unconscious. When he regains his posture, Vican is ordered by Mutran to capture the escaped Rahi. As he flies off, he notices that the effects brought on him by the Shadow Leech attack have been erased, returning to him the light he had lost.

Elsewhere, the Toa Nuva and Takanuva unite. Tahu assembles the Keystones, and the Toa read over the instructions as to how the process of reawakening Mata Nui would take place. Once they are done reading, they are suddenly joined by the Toa Ignika. In a harsh, raspy voice of a being who has not used it's voice for a large period of time, Ignika haltingly informs the assembled Toa of its doomsday countdown. Takanuva then informs the Toa also that, when they fulfill their destiny and mission, the Energy Storms which plagued Karda Nui when Mata Nui was originally awakened would occur once more, devastating Karda Nui and killing all who are in it at the time.

The Toa decide that they must enter the Codrex first, and to do so, they unite together and launch a joint attack at the Makuta. With the Makuta distracted by the attack, the Toa immediately fly to the Codrex, place the Keystones in their places, and enter the Codrex without further problems. Inside, the Toa Nuva begin to recall memories of the Codrex, and soon find the platform on which their Toa Canisters had once rested. Tahu soon breaks the mood, and Onua walks over to a panel of switches. He accidentally triggers the panel as he waves his hand over it, and the platform hosting the canisters give way to a large chamber beneath. Inside, they discover three vehicles - Rockoh T3, Jetrax T6 and Axalara T9.

Outside of the Codrex, Icarax begins plotting to sabotage Teridax's Plan and take over the Brotherhood of Makuta for himself. He persuades Krika to join him in the cause, and orders him to use his unnatural intangibility powers to penetrate the shield and re-materialize in the midst of it. As the energy field only prevents intruders of known forces and Krika's powers came by mutation from the swamp, making it an unknown force, the Makuta succeeds, and as Icarax wished, Krika re-materializes in the middle of the shield. Stuck with an obstacle in its middle which it can not be rid of, the shield overloads and explodes, destroying the shield completely. Dazed by the attempt, Krika falls to the muddy ground surrounding the Codrex. Icarax begins to use his gravity powers on the Codrex, slowly flattening the spherical structure and imagining to himself about the panicking Toa inside.

Although not panicking, the Toa noticed the destruction of the shield and the Codrex being flattened. Worried, the Toa begin formulating a plan, with Lewa, Pohatu and Kopaka riding the vehicles to combat against the Makuta, while the others remain behind to plot further. Before Kopaka can enter Jetrax T6, however, it is revealed that Makuta Antroz managed to sneak inside, and he hijacks the vehicle before the Toa of Ice can pilot it. Lewa and Pohatu immediately begin pursuit after it, beginning an aerial bout of combat. As the crafts fly, the Jetrax T6 crashes into a large Lightstone, charging it with energy and causing it to glow bright yellow. The three vehicles then rocket out of the Codrex and into the cavern beyond.

Back inside the Codrex, Takanuva, who is angry at the Makuta for their past evil actions due to his Shadow Leech infection, decides to exit the Codrex in order to evacuate the Av-Matoran population. He is then followed by Kopaka as well, and the Toa of Ice manages to capture Radiak, who was flung from the Jetrax T6 by Antroz in his attempt to help the Makuta. Takanuva then takes the Shadow Matoran from the Toa of Ice, with the latter going after the hijacked vehicle. Meanwhile, Tahu, Gali and Onua desperately labor in their task of reawakening Mata Nui. They soon decide that the process would simply take too long, as the process requires the Toa to slowly shock the Great Spirit from his slumber. The three Toa arrive at the idea of using the Ignika, who would be able to jolt Mata Nui awake with only one attempt, although it means the mask would have to give up its newly-formed body.

Holding onto Radiak, and joined with Tanma, Solek and Photok, Takanuva and his company find themselves with Vican, who was looking for a Toa. The frightened Le-Matoran informs Takanuva of the klakk, and its apparent ability to heal beings from Shadow Leech attacks. Given hope by the news, Takanuva asks for the direction in which the Rahi had flew off to, and the group begins their search for the screaming Rahi.

Meanwhile, Icarax busies himself with fighting against Gorast and Vamprah. The Makuta warrior begins his attack by blasting Gavla from Vamprah's back, causing the Makuta to lose his sight. Gorast however, catches Gavla and strikes Icarax's armor with her blades, in hope of causing his energy to leak out, but she is shocked to find that Icarax is a biomechanical being once more.

Inside the Codrex, the Toa decide to inform Toa Ignika of their idea of using his body to reawaken Mata Nui. The Ignika takes offense at the idea that he would have to lose his body as a result, and pins Tahu against the wall in its fury, slowly killing the Toa of Fire. Onua and Gali frantically attempt to free Tahu from Ignika's grasp, but the mask keeps hold. Desperate, Tahu increases the temperature of his armor in a second, causing Toa Ignika to drop his hold. The Ignika then advances on Tahu once more, but Gali intervenes, and questions the mask about what made him want to become a Toa. When Ignika replies it was Matoro, Gali understands and tells the mask that Matoro sacrificed his life for the greater good and asks what the mask would do if it had been in his place. The mask understands, and accepts the proposal, in return for being accepted as a hero.

Back outside the Codrex, the fight against Icarax continues. Now joined with Mutran, who has reluctantly joined the battle under orders given by Antroz, Gorast is able to formulate a plan. She orders the master of mutations to send a stream of blank thought at Icarax, confusing the warrior, whilst she relays her plan to Vamprah telepathically. Gorast then moves closer to Icarax, and lies to him that the Toa are about to succeed. Stunned by the possibility that his plot is about to fail, Icarax decided to teleport away and confront the Toa. As he teleports, Gorast grabs the Makuta and causes his teleportation to go wild using her mask. Vamprah, now reunited with Gavla, sends a powerful blast of energy at Icarax as he is disappearing into a cluster of atoms, blasting the Makuta's atoms throughout the Matoran Universe and effectively killing the warrior.

Elsewhere, Takanuva and his companions have tracked down the klakk. The angry Rahi directs a blast at Radiak, who is still held by Takanuva. The attack shatters the barrier which kept Light from returning to the Shadow Matoran, restoring him into an Av-Matoran. Witnessing and acknowledging the effects, Takanuva orders the Matoran to track down the remaining Shadow Matoran and free them under the klakk's attacks. As soon as the four Matoran leave, Makuta Chirox and Bitil attacks Takanuva, bringing down a hail of Shadow blasts. Losing himself to the side of Shadow, Takanuva attacks the two Makuta like a berserker, and in his fury, he is almost downed by one the duplicates of Bitil which the Makuta summoned using his mask. Kopaka comes to his rescue in time, and stops Bitil before he could attack Takanuva. However, Takanuva continued his rampage, targeting himself at Chirox, and going as far as tearing the Shadow Matoran Kirop from the Makuta's back and throwing the Matoran down to the swamp beneath. Having regained Jetrax T6 from Antroz, Kopaka has had enough of Takanuva's attack, and catches the falling Kirop. The Toa of Ice then confronts Takanuva, struggling to calm his fellow Toa down. He is able to succeed. Bitil takes this as an advantage, shocking the Toa into unconsciousness, allowing himself and Chirox to escape. Takanuva informs Kopaka that, from what he has learnt from Radiak, the Makuta want them to succeed in their mission, though for reasons unknown.

Inside the Codrex, the Toa Nuva's destiny is being fulfilled. The Ignika sacrifices his body, in return for powering Mata Nui with energy and reawakening the slumbering spirit. Left alone in the Codrex, Gali witnesses something pouring into the mask, although she does not know what. She attempts to stop it, but fails. Outside, the Energy Storms has begun. The tribe of Av-Matoran, now with all of its members cured, escapes Karda Nui and heads towards Metru Nui. The Toa Nuva and Takanuva reassemble outside the Codrex, and escape from Karda Nui using the three vehicles as fast as they can. However, the Makuta have no such choice. Very soon, the storm has increased to its maximum velocity, killing all the Makuta inside the large cavern except Krika and Icarax, who had both been killed by Gorast for betraying the Brotherhood before the storm had begun.

As the Toa exit from Karda Nui, they notice a shudder in the earth, heralding Mata Nui's return. After some time of traveling, they finally arrive on their island city home, Metru Nui. A large celebration takes place in the Coliseum, with more then a thousand cheering Matoran present inside the stadium, celebrating the return of the Great Spirit. However, as Turaga Dume makes his speech about the success, a fleeting shadow passes over the twin suns followed by an ice-cold wind. The stars above the island city rearrange themselves into the shape of the Kanohi Kraahkan, Mask of Shadows, and the great voice of Makuta Teridax sounds all over the Matoran Universe. Teridax informs the assembled Matoran, Toa, Turaga, and the rest of the universe that he had taken over Mata Nui's body before the Great Spirit's spirit could return to it. By claiming dominance over the body, he also claimed control over the entire Matoran Universe, which is located inside the body. Teridax also informs the universe that their only hope, Mata Nui, has been banished into the Ignika, and consequently shot out of the body and into outer space. Now the ruler of the universe, Teridax guarantees the universe misery and pain for all eternity.

Mata Nui

Taken directly from The Final Battle.

And somewhere in the endless void between here and there, the Mask of Life flew. Free of the bounds of the Matoran universe, it had turned from silver back to gold once more. It carried within it the mind and spirit of Mata Nui, on a journey whose destination no one could know. But if anyone were able to hear the being within the mask, one statement would have been clear, ringing through the void like the tolling of a bell:

I will return.

Characters

• The Toa Nuva
• Takanuva
• Toa Ignika
• Makuta
  • Antroz
  • Chirox
  • Vamprah
  • Krika
  • Gorast
  • Bitil
  • Mutran
  • Icarax
  • Teridax
• Vican
• Av-Matoran
  • Tanma
  • Solek
  • Photok
  • Gavla
  • Radiak
  • Kirop
• Dume
• Mata Nui

Quotes

Dedication

"For Peggy, who wins every battle with kindness"
— Greg Farshtey

Trivia

• The original title for The Final Battle was Mata Nui Rising, but the final comic was named that instead.
• Copies of this novel could be found in some book stores from around mid-September 2008, two months before November 1st, its official release date.
• Erroneously, the chapter number 8 is skipped in the book, instead jumping from 7 to 9.

See also

• BIONICLE Ignition 15: Mata Nui Rising
• The Rise of Mata Nui
• The Rising
• The Truth
• BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn
• BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn (Book)
• Saga Guide - Karda Nui
• Timeline - Karda Nui

External links

• The Final Battle archived on Wall of History