Takanuva's Blog So Far

By Greg Farshtey

1 July
My name is Takanuva, Toa of Light. For the past - day? month? year? - I have been traveling through other dimensions trying to find my way to Karda Nui. I was sent on my journey by the Order of Mata Nui, who gave me vital information I must share with the Toa Nuva. Unfortunately, the mask whose power hurled me into the space between dimensions was damaged, so the trip has been a rough one. Hopefully, my next stop will be my own universe.

3 July
I see a point of light in the distance. After three wrong destinations, I can only wish that this is Karda Nui. Fighting the currents of interdimensional space, I make for the spot. It is a portal opening to another reality. Desperately, I dive for it. On the other side, I land hard on a small island of mud. All around me is murky water and weird plant life. Have I found Karda Nui, the core of the universe, or simply another strange world not my own?

7 July
I am in a swamp, surrounded by mist. Now and then, I spot a fin or a tentacle break the surface of the muddy water, but I don't see many other Rahi around. Am I where I am supposed to be? Using my new power of flight, I rise into the air. That's when I spot her - a Toa of Water, being menaced by a pale-white, skeletal monstrosity. I don't know if that's Gali or not, but I know a Toa in danger when I see one. Let's see if I can shed a little light on this with my power lance!

10 July
A burst of light made the creature menacing my fellow Toa stop and take notice. I expected it to attack, or scream out its rage, or do something else I wouldn't enjoy at all. Instead, the look on its face was almost one of ... sadness and resignation. Almost as if it knew that I, or someone like me, was coming, but had hoped against hope I wouldn't show up. Then it drifted down through the mud like a spirit and vanished. Wherever I am ... this is a very strange place.

14 July
Using my newfound ability to fly (the result of a Makuta virus I was exposed to in an alternate universe), I traveled to where the Toa was just getting to her feet. As I got closer, I realized that despite the differences in her appearance, it was Gali. And despite how I looked, she recognized me. "What are you doing here?" she asked, even as I said "Are you all right?" I told her it was a long, long story, and there wasn't time to tell it. We had to find the others - they had to know how much danger they were in!

17 July
Gali looked at me as if she were just seeing me for the first time. "What happened to you?" she asked. "Your armor ... your mask ... and is it me, or have you grown bigger?" The darkening of my armor and mask I already knew about. It was a side-effect of the shadow leech attack on Metru Nui. But I had grown in size? Yes, I guess I had, though I had no idea why. What did it mean? Would it stop, or would I keep growing larger? A Turaga might know the answers, but there were none around. Like far too many situations I had been in lately, I would have to learn as I went.

21 July
Gali was ready to head off in search of the other Toa Nuva, but I had something I felt I had to do first. I umlimbered the sundial I carried with me and placed it on the muddy ground. I shone a beam of light on its face and the shadow that resulted pointed to the east. "Okay, so I keep going that way," I said. Gali looked at me, confused. "Is that the sundial Lewa retrieved from the island of Mata Nui? How did it get so small? And what are you using it for?" Those, at least, were questions I could answer.

24 July
"You know of the Order of Mata Nui," I said to Gali. "They told me you did. They shrunk the sundial down and gave it to me. When I shine light upon it, it points toward the spot from which the Great Spirit can be awakened." Gali looked at me as if I had grown two more heads ... which, the way things were going, I would have believed. She was about to ask me if I was quite sure I was okay when we both spotted a gleam of orange off to the east. It was closing on us rapidly, and the dark side of me urged me to prepare to attack. It was getting harder and harder to resist those impulses - and maybe in this case they were right. After all, I didn't know any orange Toa ...

28 July
I was ready for anything as the orange figure approached, flying at impossibly high speed. Gali, though, look undisturbed by the new arrival. She placed a hand on my arm, a signal that all was well. And it turned out the new arrival was Pohatu, though he did not look much like the Toa of Stone I remembered.

He looked me up and down for a moment, before saying, "I can't say I think much of the color change."

"You should talk," I replied. "You're orange."

"Yeah, but I wear it well," said Pohatu, with a grin.

31 July
Pohatu, Gali and I flew to the east, toward where my two friends said the other Toa Nuva could be found. Along the way, they brought me up to date on what had been happening – their arrival in Karda Nui, the discovery of the Makuta here, and the revelation that they had been turning Matoran of Light into shadow Matoran. That last sickened me. I knew now that I must have been a Matoran of Light in the past, though those memories were blocked. I probably worked alongside some of the Matoran the Makuta had corrupted. They might have even been good friends. Right then and there, I swore that no matter what – even if it meant Mata Nui stayed asleep, even at the cost of my own life – I would see to it that the shadow Matoran were cured.

4 August
We had only been flying a few minutes when Gali spotted something down below. A moment later, so did I - half a dozen insectoids, each about seven feet high, flying close to the surface of the swamp. Each had four arms with nasty stingers on the ends. "What are they?" I asked.

"I heard them called Niazesk," answered Pohatu. "Some little pets of the Makuta who got transformed somehow into big pests you see. Better off staying away from them, they're --"

An angry buzz interrupted him. The Niazesk spotted us and were coming in our direction!

7 August
"We don't have time for this," growled Pohatu. He used his power to hurl stone blocks down at the approaching Niazesk. But they were good flyers and evaded his attack. Gali took down one with a water burst, but they were closing fast. I didn't need to be told that sting from one of them would do more than itch. I started to lower my lance to use a light blast against them ... but then I thought, what if it isn't powerful enough? What if one or two get through and Pohatu or Gali gets harmed? I made my decision ... and raised my right arm to call upon the power of shadow.

11 August
I unleashed a blast of pure darkness at the oncoming Niazesk. It struck them like a solid wall. They spun, reeled, and then plunged down into the swamp. I turned to Pohatu and Gali, expecting to get congratulations for winning the fight. Instead, what I saw in their eyes was fear.

"What ... was ... that?" asked Pohatu. And he was actually aiming his weapon at me as he said it!

"There have been some ... changes," I answered.

"So I see," said Pohatu. "I wondered where the Makuta of Metru Nui was still alive, and if so, where he had got to - I guess now I know, don't I?"

14 August
"Are you crazy?" I said, staring at Pohatu. "You think I'm a Makuta?"

"Well, you don't look much like a Toa of Light," The Toa of Stone replied, his weapon still aimed at me. "And we've all been fooled by Makuta before."

Gali looked from Pohatu to me. Even she was showing some doubt now - and who could blame her? I had grown in size and my armor color had changed from white and gold to white and grey. Frankly, if I had been a Makuta trying to impersonate a Toa of Light, I'd be doing a really lousy job.

I wracked my brain trying to come up with some way to prove I was me (try it sometime, it's not easy). I could use my light powers, but Pohatu might just think that was just a Makuta illusion. I could use my mask power to promote trust in him, but I had a feeling the second he felt a shift in mood, he would blast away.

"If you're really Takanuva, then I'm sorry," said Pohatu. "But if you're not, then all our lives aren't worth a widget. So I'm giving you to the count of 10 to tell me why I shouldn't skyblast you out of existence. 1... 2... 3..."

18 August
"6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9 ..."

"What's a Toa?" I suddenly shouted.

Pohatu paused in his countdown and looked at me, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The first time you woke up on Daxia," I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth in my haste. "You were told you were a Toa, and your response was, 'What's a Toa?' There were no Makuta there, so how could one know about that?"

"There's only one problem," said Pohatu. "You weren't there either."

"But I saw it," I insisted. "I saw your creation, your training, I saw the team fighting avohkah here, and I saw the storm ... that's why I'm here."

An idea struck me. I turned to Gali. "Remember, last year, when I was still Takua the Chronicler? You forged a mental link with me so I could see what you saw when you fought Makuta. Do you think you can do it again?"

"I ... I don't know," said Gali.

"Don't do it," said Pohatu. "Makuta would just love to get inside your head."

"She has to," I said. "It's the only way. She has to look inside my mind, and if she doesn't like what she sees ... you can kill me dead, right here."

21 August
Toa Gali shut her eyes. After a few moments, I felt the unique sensation of her mind reaching into mine. For an instant, I could see myself through her eyes (which was pretty disturbing - even I hadn't realized how much I had changed). Then I felt the link snap as she pulled away. Pohatu reached out and grabbed her to keep her from falling.

"Amazing," she said softly. "A place where Mata Nui died ... another where the Toa rule as dictators ... your journey here was ... eventful, Takanuva"

"Then he is --?" asked Pohatu.

"He is," confirmed Gali. "Darker, perhaps, and not quite the innocent Takua or the eager hero we remember ... but he is our friend."

"What's the situation here?" I asked.

Pohatu pointed towards the east. "The Makuta are putting up a good fight, but we're holding our own. We'll have Mata Nui awake again before you know it!"

"That," I said, taking to the sky, "is what I am afraid of."

25 August
Pohatu had just brought up the fact that even he didn't recall the story I had told of his early adventures when we arrived in the midst of a full-scale battle. The Toa Nuva were fighting a group of Makuta I had never seen before. Pohatu and Gali split off to attack from the flanks, while I rammed right up the middle. If my appearance took the Nuva by surprise, it seemed to do even more than that to the Makuta. My light powers tipped the balance and the masters of shadow retreated to the east.

Tahu wasted no time on welcoming me. He produced six fragments of stone and asked us all to read them. They contained, he said, the secret to awakening the Great Spirit. I really wished I could share in the moment ... so close to achieving their destiny ... but the time had come to tell what I knew.

28 August
I was about to speak up when someone new arrived - yet another Toa, though the others seemed a little wary of him. When he spoke, it sounded like he had just learned to use his voice. He related a stunning story. Apparently, he wasn't just wearing the Mask of Life - he was the Mask of Life. Worse, he was a Mask of Life on a countdown to the annihilation of every living being in the universe ... something about things being out of balance and this the only way to make things right.

I gave the others a moment to absorb the news. Then it was my turn to add a little more cheer to the gathering. "We have another problem," I said. "If we succeed in waking up the Great Spirit, this place is going to be hit with an energy storm that will destroy everything in Karda Nui!"

1 September
I expected shock or anger or even panic at my news. I should have known better. "Then we'll just have to move fast," said Tahu. "We need to get into the Codrex. So we hit the Makuta hard and hope some of us make it inside. This may be our only shot at this."

I didn't have time to ask what a Codrex was before we were in the air and in combat with the Makuta. Lewa and Gali combined their powers to call down a raging thunderstorm while I struck with my light powers. The Makuta started to give way, and that's when I saw it through the mist - a great spherical structure, half-buried in the tip of a fallen stalactite, and looking like it had been here forever and was at the same time totally alien to this place. That, I realized, was a Codrex.

4 September
We forced our way inside the Codrex, using the keystones to get us past a force barrier around it. Once inside, the Toa stopped short. This place, they realized, was where they had been for almost 100,000 years, sleeping in their canisters, waiting for the time they would be needed. I noticed that Tahu looked uncomfortable, but having only been a Toa such a short time, I didn't feel right asking him what was wrong.

Onua started examining some of the machinery in the chamber. He must have hit something, because the floor in the center of the room started to descend. Curious, we peered down into the darkness to see what waited below ...

8 September
Down below, we saw a huge, cavernous chamber. As the section of flooring touched bottom, six great lightstones rose to form a circle. We descended down and began to explore. There were six pathways leading from the center. Lewa was the first to reach the end of his. I couldn't hear what he said, but the next instant, a huge metallic cocoon erupted from the floor. A moment later, it was gone, and in its place was an amazing crimson vehicle with a nameplate that read, "Axalara T9."

Lewa always did have incredible luck ...

11 September
We barely had time to marvel at the vehicles we discovered in the depths of the Codrex - for there were three - before disaster happened. A red armored Makuta suddenly appeared in the cockpit of the Jetrax T6. Before we could react, he had flown off! Pohatu and Lewa wasted no time in leaping into the Axalara T9 and Rockoh T3 and heading off in pursuit, leaving the rest of us to wonder what would happen next.

15 September
I knew I had to go back into the swamp. In the moments after Pohatu and Lewa left, I found myself filled with rage. The Makuta had to pay for what they had done, both here and in the rest of the universe. I existed to destroy them - I knew that now. More, I knew that at some point I must have been a Matoran of Light (even if, for some reason, I didn't remember being one). That meant those people were my people out there, fighting for their freedom. Although Tahu and Gali tried to talk me out of it, I left the Codrex and headed back to the fight.

18 September
Kopaka had preceded me out. I caught up to him as he was pursuing the Jetrax and tangling with Radiak. I offered to deal with the shadow Matoran so he could go after the vehicle. Radiak jibed at me, calling me a "Toa of Twilight." I had to fight down an urge to show him just how much light power I still had. But seeing him reminded me of something else - that he wasn't a shadow Matoran by choice. He had been corrupted by the Makuta, and it was up to me to find some way to save him and the others. More, I had to get them out of Karda Nui before the energy storm hit.

22 September
I had managed to collect Photok, Solek, and Tanma, and together we dragged a struggling Radiak through the sky. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish my task. But I knew I had to try. As a Matoran, I had looked up to the Toa and dreamed of being like them. Now I was, and it was time to live up to being a hero. I was still lost in thought when I heard Photok cry out, and looked up to see a shadow Matoran flying right toward me!

25 September
That was when things got really strange. The shadow Matoran, whose name was Vican, insisted that he was no longer a slave to the Makuta. He said that a Rahi's attack had shattered the hold shadow had over him. The other Matoran told me not to believe him. But something in Vican's eyes, his voice, made me wonder. I knew what it was like to be attacked by a shadow leech, as Vican claimed he once had been. If what he was saying was true now, then maybe there was a way to cure the shadow Matoran of Karda Nui. It was a chance I had to take.

29 September
In a strange twist of fate, it was Radiak himself who found the Rahi he sought. Spotting it flying through the air, he hurled a bolt of shadow energy at it. He missed, but had managed to irritate the creature. It emitted a loud cry, the sheer volume of which seemed to stagger the Matoran. He struggled to get free of my grasp, and this time I didn't try to stop him. He looked around at Photok, Solek, and Tanma, as if he they were friends he had not seen in ages. "Are you all right?" he asked. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Tanma, of course, did not believe Radiak had returned to the side of the Av-Matoran. But the change seemed real. When pressed, Radiak revealed that the Makuta planned to allow Mata Nui to wake up, then slay the Toa Nuva and corrupt the rest of the Av-Matoran. But why? Why would they want to let the Great Spirit awaken, I wondered?