Bionicle Legends is the third book series based in the Bionicle

Bionicle

Bionicle is a line of toys by the LEGO Group marketed primarily for 5- to 16-year-olds. The line was launched on December 30, 2000 in Europe and June/July 2001 in Canada and the United States. "Bionicle" is a portmanteau constructed from the words "biological" and "chronicle"...

 universe. It had ended in 2008 and was succeeded by a new, final 3-book series, titled Bionicle Super Chapter Book

Bionicle Super Chapter Book

Bionicle Super Chapter Book is the name for the fourth, and final book series in the Bionicle universe, first telling the history of Bara Magna - the birthplace of Great Spirit Mata Nui - to the final confrontation between Makuta Teridax and Mata Nui...

. Bionicle Legends covered the events that occurred in the storyline's 2006-2008 story arc. It follows the Bionicle Adventures

Bionicle Adventures

Bionicle Adventures is the second book series based in the Bionicle universe. It covers the events that occurred in the storyline's 2004-2005 story arc...

series; but as Adventures is almost exclusively told in flashbacks, the events preceding those in Legends are told in the first book series, Bionicle Chronicles

Bionicle Chronicles

Bionicle Chronicles is the first book series set in the Lego Bionicle universe. Although it was published in 2003, it summarizes events that occurred in the first story arc that began in 2001. When the second story arc began in 2004, the Chronicles series was replaced with the Bionicle Adventures...

.

In Bionicle Legends, the Great Spirit Mata Nui is dying, and the universe will die with him if nothing is done. A new group of Toa must find the Mask of Life that can save him before it is too late, but other, more sinister groups also desire such a powerful mask for their own purposes.

The 2006 arc of Legends was adapted into the Bionicle Heroes

Bionicle Heroes

Bionicle Heroes is a 3D video game of the third-person shooter genre, based on Lego popular Bionicle franchise. It was released in November 2006 by TT Games on PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Windows and It was released in November 2006 by Amaze Entertainment on Game Boy...

 video game.

Despite not being named as such on the titles, the 2009 book, Raid on Vulcanus was labeled as being part of Bionicle Legends on some websites.

Sources

The main events of the Legends story arc are told in:

• The Bionicle Legends books; so far there are eight planned through 2007 though the series will continue past that in 2008. The titles of the released novels are, Island of Doom, Dark Destiny, Power Play, Legacy of Evil, Inferno, City of the Lost, Prisoners of the Pit, Downfall, Shadows in the Sky, Swamp of Secrets, and The Final Battle
• The Bionicle: Ignition comic book series, distributed to Lego
  Lego
  Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
  
   Club members and later published online at Bionicle.com: Issues #1-5, Issues #6 -#15.
• The first of the 4 Level 3 Young Reader Bionicle books, which is: Bionicle: Journey of Takanuva.

The following sources provide background information and tell side stories taking place during Bionicle Legends:

• The Bionicle: Dark Hunters guide, written from the perspective of the Hunters' leader, the Shadowed One, during the 2006 portion of Bionicle Legends.
• The Bionicle World guide, written from the perspective of the Order of Mata Nui, during the 2007 portion of Bionicle Legends.
• The following short stories:
  • The Many Deaths of Toa Tuyet, hosted on BZPower forums.
  • Dreams of Destruction, Gali Nuva's Blog, Into the Darkness, Dark Mirror, and Destiny War at BionicleStory.com.
  • The Kingdom short story, unlocked only by uploading the code on the back cover of the Bionicle Legends #10: Swamp of Secrets book, which can only work for a lego club account member. The short story was later released on the Bioniclesector 01 website, for everybody to read.
• Select elements from the Voya Nui Online Game are canonical, mainly the Rahi species present on Voya Nui and the various kinds of Nektann seen.
• The Hope short story, hosted on Bioniclesector 01.

Island of Doom

The story begins when six powerful figures appeared on the island of Voya Nui. They were welcomed as Toa

Toa (Bionicle)

In the fictional Bionicle universe certain Matoran are destined to become Toa: heroic warriors of great strength and power. The Toa's duty is to protect the Matoran and maintain peace in the universe. They usually work together in teams, with each member representing an element...

 by the Matoran villagers. But these newcomers, the Piraka, have far more dangerous plans for the island and the Matoran who live there, as their pursuit of an incredible treasure threatens to unleash an ancient evil. The Toa Nuva arrive on the island and confront the Piraka, but lose.

The reconstruction of Metru Nui is underway as the Turaga call a meeting with the Toa Nuva and Toa Takanuva. Turaga Dume and Nuju reveal their discovery. By studying the stars, they have found the Great Spirit has fallen from his coma-like state and is dying. After his death, the universe will die along with it in three days. His only chance of survival is if the Toa Nuva recover the legendary Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life, to save him. Dume leads the Toa Nuva underground to Toa Canisters and sent them off to the island of Voya Nui while Toa Takanuva stays behind to guard the metropolis.

The Toa Nuva learn of a terrible event: Mata Nui was not only asleep but dying. The only way to save his life is to find the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life. So, the Toa Nuva journey to Voya Nui to find this mysterious mask. Once there, they encounter the Piraka, a group of malicious beings who seek to find the mask for their own purposes.

On Voya Nui, the Piraka, Zaktan, Avak, Thok, Reidak, Vezok, and Hakann, arrive and masquerade as Toa. Despite their claims, it is their frightening appearance and demeanor which primarily makes the Matoran natives fall into the Piraka's plot. Thus, the Matoran survivalists are convinced, and begin the construction of the Piraka's fortress, the Stronghold, as well as temples and statues in their honor. They are also used to dig trenches for "lava-farming" out of Mount Valmai to search for the Ignika. This makes six Matoran suspicious of their claims, and form the "Voya Nui Resistance Team". They watch the Piraka closely and take place in the theft of a mysterious artifact they created, a Zamor Launcher, ultimately believing they will use the weapon against them.

Meanwhile, in Metru Nui, Jaller—a Ta-Matoran and close friend to Takanuva, the Toa of Light—began to suspect that the Turaga were hiding something from the Matoran. He and Takanuva confronted them about this but when the Turaga refused, Jaller staged a Metru-wide boycott (i.e. the Matoran all stop repairing the damage to Metru Nui)and would not end it until the Turaga tell the Mataoran what's going on.

After skirmishes with the Piraka, including Dalu's attempt to increase Avak's senses, Hakann and Avak create a monster of rock and lava to fool the Matoran, and defeat the monster, hopefully to better the Piraka's image. Using Antidermis, Zaktan creates a Zamor Sphere to test upon a Ta-Matoran subject named Dezalk, which makes the Matoran obedient and loyal, sending him to assemble the Matoran where the Piraka enslave the Voya Nui Matoran save the resistance team. Meanwhile, the Toa Nuva arrive, and despite the Resistance Team's intervention, and defeated by the Piraka. Zaktan commands their tools and Kanohi are to be stripped, and the Toa Nuva to burn in Mt. Valmai. During this time, Balta, in an attempt to steal a Zamor Sphere, traps himself in a cave.

Back on Metru Nui, Jaller organizes a labor strike until the Turaga divulge the Toa Nuva's sudden disappearance, believing the Matoran have been protected too closely for far too long. Turaga Nokama meets with Jaller secretly to reveal the truth about Mata Nui and the Toa Nuva's mission.

Dark Destiny

On Metru Nui, Turaga Dume holds a conference with the Turaga. He reviews the events of the previous meeting and confesses his doubts on the Toa Nuva, who have not returned with the Ignika. More importantly, he accuses the Turaga of revealing this, as Takanuva and Jaller's team departed the night before, vanishing into the Underwater Chutes of Le-Metru. Nokama confesses, and the Turaga are forced to wait as Takanuva is not available to dispatch. At the same time, Takanuva and Jaller's team emerges from a Chute onto a land bridge.

Takanuva attempts to unsuccessfully persuade Jaller to return to Metru Nui and let him continue the mission, and scouts ahead up a tunnel. When he uses his Light powers to illuminate the tunnel, he finds his Light powers are disabled in the tunnel, and becomes disoriented and confused. After a while, the Matoran team decide to enter the tunnel, their Lightstones fail, and they link themselves with cable and continue to talk to ensure they would not become separated.

Matoro is worried as Nuju said the way to Voya Nui was through a "land of the dead", but is ignored. He then no longer hears his allies' voices even when he shouts, and stumbles in the darkness. He feels a hand grab out to him and helps the figure to his feet, and continues to follow the cable, where the Matoran and Takanuva await. The figure is no longer in the tunnel, and is revealed to be an extension of the Kanohi Ignika. They continue down a long strip of land, with a stone archway far away.

Jaller offers if anyone wants to turn away do so now, but no one declines. Hahli wonders about Takanuva and Teridax, and if Teridax's defeat was intentional, and Hewkii finds a Kanohi Suletu, Takanuva acknowledging its existence by wearing the Kanohi and listening on Hahli's thoughts. The team sets down close to the Archway, Jaller standing guard as the Matoran slept. Jaller questions Matoro's attitude after they escaped the tunnel, but they are interrupted by Takanuva sighting a Matoran in the archway, which awakens the others. They continue toward the Archway, Takanuva explaining that the Matoran disappeared before contact was made, and he attempts to pass through the Archway only to be repelled, along with the power of light.

The Matoran pass through the Archway, but are unable to get back. Hahli warns them from a tablet she found, describing that "This is a realm of shadow ... of famine and plague and blight ... This is a world of darkness ... and there is no place for light." Sadly, Takanuva is forced to depart for Metru Nui again and the Matoran continue onward, with a message to update the Turaga and not send any assistance. The team continues up a mountain, and are met by eight Manas. They are led into a canyon of Matoran in various states of disrepair. The land is desolate, waterfalls of dust, volcanoes of hot ice, thunderless lighting and thunder-producing water. The ground screams as they walk past stone statues of Matoran and the un-repaired Matoran follow them. They are led to an armored being, with a horrific patch-work mask and chains of fire. His name is Karzahni, the ruler of this land named in his honor.

Hahli remembers this place from the Turaga's tales, where "lazy" Matoran were sent. Karzahni describes a hundred thousand years ago, Matoran of laziness and disrepair were sent here, and when the team mentions Mata Nui would not accept such a place, he is confused. The Matoran then confiscate the Matoran's supplies and tools (to strip their identity), and when asked for their masks, Jaller refuses, learning of his Kanohi Hau belonging to Toa Lhikan. He is forced to carry out his wishes when Karzahni gives him a vision of an alternate future where Takua dies.

The Matoran are re-purposed, Hahli works with Karzahni. As the Chronicler, she educates him in the events of the past hundred centuries. The other Matoran are put to work in the furnaces, where they meet an Av-Matoran who resided there before the light-barrier Archway was constructed. His mind insane, he rambles about his previous identity, working in a "world that feeds the world" where he constructed the Toa Canisters. He reveals a set where hidden in Karzahni, and despite his warnings that Matoran would not survive the journey, they journey underground to them. Karzahni tries to stop them, but when he gives a vision of the death of the Great Spirit and its effects, he hesitates, and Jaller's team escape for Voya Nui.

On the Voya Nui, the Piraka carry the unconscious Toa Nuva to Mt. Valmai, but an eruption stops them from doing so, and they flee. The Toa Nuva regain consciousness in time to save themselves. After recovering, the run into the Voya Nui Resistance Team, but the group believes them as threats as well, and they attack the Toa Nuva, who refuse to retliate against that which they chose to protect. Gali Nuva is driven insane when Dalu enhances her sight, and flees from the area, coming into the custody of Axonn, who heals her and frees Balta from the cave. The two return to the conflict and the Toa Nuva and Matoran ally, and they journey for the Piraka's Stronghold to find the Nuva's Kanohi and tools.

Meanwhile, Zaktan is furious upon the Toa Nuva's survival. He reveals the Piraka's seventh member, Vezon, briefly, and sends Thok to work the Matoran harder, as the volcano had slowed after the eruption. Zaktan later meets with Brutaka, and Hakann overhears. He fires a Zamor Sphere at the titan, which only appears to make him stronger. He follows the gold and blue armored warrior, and strikes a deal that if he can control the Zamor Spheres, he can grant them to Brutaka, they too journey to the Stronghold. Coincidentally, Avak and Thok, searching for the Toa by the green belt of Voya Nui, realize the Ignika must be hidden there, and conclude Zaktan was using Mount Valmai as a diversion. They retreat to the Piraka Stronghold to confront him.

A battle begins within the Stronghold between the Piraka. Reidak attempts to enter the Stronghold and encounters the Toa Nuva, aiding them in getting inside. The Toa Nuva recover their tools and masks. Zaktan once again resumes control of Brutaka, offering the secret of Antidermis. Brutaka defeats the Toa Nuva and the Matoran, and he takes the Toa into his custody. The Piraka continue to hold onto a loose alliance, and interrogate the Matoran.

Just offshore from Voya Nui, the transport pods carrying Jaller and the others arrives just as the mysterious Red Star shoots a bolt of energy at the canisters. The bolt splits into six and strikes them. When the Matoran emerged, they were no longer Matoran, but Toa.

Power Play

From afar, Axonn watches the defeat of the Toa Nuva and the Voya Nui Resistance Team. He reflects upon how they ended up there. Axonn and Brutaka are part of an organization named the Order of Mata Nui, devoted to the Great Spirit. They were assigned to protect the Kanohi Ignika on Voya Nui, unfortunately, Brutaka lost faith within their mission, as Voya Nui separated itself from the Southern Continent and the Great Cataclysm. Soon, Brutaka betrayed his mission to ally himself with the Piraka to ultimately steal the Kanohi Ignika.

Brutaka, as well ponders his history, while aiding the Piraka in interrogating the Voya Nui Resistance Team, and when Dalu attempts an escape, he saves her from a Doom Viper. He leaves, troubled by his choices. After the incident, Garan is questioned, and the Piraka are troubled by the sight of six Spirit Stars, specifically the Toa Inika's. Vezok attempts to throw him in a crevice of lava, but he is rescued by the Voya Nui Resistance Team.

Meanwhile, the Toa Inika start to figure out their next move; noting especially odd things about their transformation like glowing faces and living masks. They end up triggering their mask powers, causing chaos as Nuparu flies uncontrollably, Kongu can't keep from hearing others' thoughts, Matoro's spirit is separated from his body, and Hahli seems to be talking to thin air. As they regain control, Matoro reports that he saw the Matoran, and the Toa agree that they need to meet them and figure out what's going on on this island.

After a scuffle with Vezok, the Toa meet the Matoran rebels and compare notes on what they know. Armed with Zamor Launchers built by Velika, they split up into three groups: Jaller and Hahli go to free enslaved Matoran, Hewkii and Matoro go visit Axonn, and Kongu and Nuparu sneak into the Piraka stronghold to search for the Toa Nuva. While Jaller and Hahli's mission has no problems; Hewkii and Matoro find Axonn badly injured by Brutaka, telling them to stop his former partner even if it means killing him. Worse, Kongu and Nuparu are discovered and faced with all six Piraka and Brutaka.

Thankfully, the other Toa arrive just as the battle starts and Hewkii is able to bury Brutaka under a pile of rock, taking him out of the fight temporarily. While the Matoran search the stronghold for the Toa Nuva, the Toa Inika begin taking the Piraka out one by one. But the tides turn when Brutaka begins to dig himself out: Hakann enacts the plan to steal Brutaka's power for himself, Avak, Reidak, and Thok—but he intended to take it all for himself, and only quick action by Thok allowed him to take a share of Brutaka's power as well. The two quickly use their new strength to turn on the others, with Hakann knocking them all out with one superpowered mental blast.

When everyone comes to, they realize that Hakann and Thok had forced the weakened Brutaka to reveal the location of the Mask of Life. Axonn arrives and begins to go after the two Piraka, but Jaller tells him to swallow his pride and let others help, to which Axonn agrees. Realizing that the best way to stop the two is to return Brutaka's power to him and that the Piraka are the only ones who know how to do that, the two groups form an uneasy alliance. While the Piraka work on the Zamor Sphere that will depower Hakann and Thok, Axonn warns Jaller of the mask's guardians and hands him a glowing Zamor for "protection". At the same time, the Matoran are continuing their search, and they find records of Voya Nui's history - it was long thought that many were lost when some of the land sank underwater, but these records say that they may still be alive underwater as a prelude to the Mahri Nui story!

Meanwhile, Hakann and Thok have begun to turn on each other. The resulting destruction makes them easy to track, and the Toa Inika and other Piraka quickly arrive on the scene (Axonn chose to stay behind). Though most of the Piraka are taken out of the fight early, Hakann and Thok are soon put at a disadvantage by the Inika. The two call a truce and launch a combined attack, but at the same moment Hewkii hits them with the specially prepared Zamor. As a result, both sides fall unconscious from their enemies' assault; leaving only Zaktan standing. By the time the Toa Inika awaken, the Piraka are already up and gone, headed down a staircase that leads to the Mask of Life. Agreeing that they can't wait for reinforcements, they quickly follow.

Legacy Of Evil

This portion of the storyline describes the Piraka's history, involvement in the Dark Hunters and subsequent betrayal and the events leading up to their journey to Voya Nui, described by Zaktan's experiences and tales of the Piraka, "a legacy of evil". The book was initially proposed to come with a Piraka Lego

Lego

Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...

mini-figure.

7,000 years prior to the events of BIONICLE Legends:

Vezok and Hakann, two Skakdi, raid a Toa fortress in search of an artifact. As Hakann creates a fracas to distract the Toa, Vezok finds the artifact, a tablet named the Makoki Stone, with barely discernible writing detailing the Brotherhood of Makuta, in the event that they would rebel. They depart the Fortress and are captured by the Dark Hunter "Ancient", who confiscates the artifact and recruits the Dark Hunters along with four Skakdi, Zaktan, Avak, Thok, and Reidak.

5,000 years prior to the events of BIONICLE Legends:

Zaktan leads his Skakdi peers (minus Avak) in an unsuccessful maneuver to overthrow the Shadowed One, but are confused by the transforming walls of the fortress. The Shadowed One attempts to execute Zaktan for his treacherous leadership of the plot, but his disintegration vision instead transforms Zaktan into a mass of sentient protodites.

4,000 years prior to the events of BIONICLE Legends:

In a blackmail scheme, the Shadowed One sends Reidak, Vezok, and Avak to free the Kanohi Dragon from imprisonment in the seas around Metru Nui, leaving the Rahi to rampage upon the city. When the trio meet with Turaga Dume to offer protection in the event the Dark Hunters' are allowed to establish a base, he declines. Therefore, Vezok attempts an assassination, but is unsuccessful due to the arrival of Toa Lhikan and his Toa Mangai team. The Toa eventually defeat the beast and deport it to Xia, where Roodaka awaits its arrival.

3,000 years prior to the events of BIONICLE Legends:

The Toa/Dark Hunter War, beginning as a result of Dume refusing to establish Dark Hunter bases within Metru Nui, is well underway. Hakann oversees Nidhiki's betrayal and Lhikan overhearing the matter. He bargains with the Toa of Fire, Nidhiki for the Makoki Stone which Lhikan guarded long ago. He agrees, but six months later, the Dark Hunters have it within their possession again, split into six, and auctioned to the Brotherhood at a profitable price. Roodaka then mutates Nidhiki into an insectoid being, dooming him to a lifetime with the Hunters.

250 years prior to the events of BIONICLE Legends:

Zaktan, Thok, and Reidak guard Odina against the Brotherhood during the Dark Hunter/Brotherhood War. As the Hunters' are occupied with an unsuccessful Brotherhood attack of Rahkski, Exo-Toa, and Visorak, Zaktan learns from Roodaka the base was initially in the possession of the Brotherhood. Zaktan investigates the matter and uses his protodite abilities to find an entire record of the Brotherhood and their Plan. Zaktan vows to use this knowledge to his nefarious ends. Later, Zaktan recruits his five fellow Skakdi and rebel against the Hunters'. Rogue, they investigate Teridax's lair after his supposed death, which happens just as the Matoran arrive in Metru Nui.

Hakann discovers the Spear of Fusion, and uses it on Vezok, dividing him into two beings, Vezok and Vezon (the latter taking his name as Vezon means "double" in Matoran). They encounter Teridax's essence as "Antidermis", subconsciously informing them to go to Voya Nui for the Kanohi Ignika, and escape the lair as his Mana Ko come after them. They flee to the island of Mata Nui and find the Toa Mata's Toa Canisters, bringing them to the beach. Avak and Zaktan chart a course to Voya Nui and Zaktan informs the Piraka to masquerade as Toa on their arrival. Hakann uses his heat vision to create a small puncture in Vezok's canister as they depart.

Present:

The Piraka continue down the hall of 777 stairs to the Kanohi Ignika, and surmise that Vezon awaits them as they found another Toa Canister upon Voya Nui on their arrival. Zaktan lets Hakann lead the way, as he is plagued by the laughter of Teridax within his mind. Meanwhile, Avak discovers Hakann cowering in a corner, his armor gleaming with intense heat.

Inferno

The passages to the Kanohi Ignika's chamber are littered with traps and tests to keep the mask out of the wrong hands. The Piraka quickly face their greatest fears in the form of the mythical monster Irnakk. Only Zaktan's willingness to end his own cursed existence and everyone else's lives, thereby eliminating the fear that brought Irnakk to life and sustains him, allows the Piraka to pass the test and continue. In a later test, the Piraka fail due to their inability to trust one another; while they escape the resulting deathtrap they end up exposed to something that begins changing them...

Meanwhile, the Toa Inika have their own tests to worry about. They soon come across a group of enemies that they had fought in their former Matoran lives, including a Rahkshi Turahk that had once killed Jaller during his search for the Toa of Light. Jaller is able to overcome this disturbing memory, but like all the other Inika, his powers go out of control and end up killing his opponent. Adding to their shame and grief at being killers, the bodies change to look like their old friends, the Toa Nuva. While worried that such things could happen again, they decide that the stakes are too high to abandon their quest. However, before the Toa Inika go on they turn to take one last look at the slain Toa Nuva, only to see that the bodies had disappeared. They then realise that the dead Toa Nuva, as well their earlier foes, were merely illusions.

In their next test, the Toa Inika are trapped and told they must sacrifice one of their own to continue. With his last death still on his mind, Jaller is distracted long enough for Matoro to volunteer himself, on the grounds that he as a translator has less to offer their mission than the others and becomes another foreshadow to the Barrakki story. This sacrifice is accepted and Matoro is disintegrated - only to be re-formed moments later, as the willingness to die for the cause was what was important, not the death itself.

After this, the Toa Inika face Umbra, a guardian of the mask who uses super-speed to attack. Matoro is once again key to passing the test, as he uses his ice power to make Umbra slip and crash. As Umbra turns into a beam of light and becomes even faster, he eventually hits the ice and rebounds around the frozen cave until he is knocked out, making it easy to obtain the mask.

As both groups converge on the Mask of Life, the Piraka are a little bit ahead and they set an ambush, with the Toa Inika ending up trapped and delayed. The Piraka enter the mask's chamber to find that Vezon had arrived far ahead of all of them, and has since been fused to a Fenrakk spider and to the Mask of Life itself. As the Piraka prepare to take the mask by any means necessary, Vezon uses his spear to fuse Vezok and Reidak together, ordering the resulting beast to crush the others. By the time the Inika arrive, Vezok and Reidak are back to normal and all six are knocked out.

While all this is happening, Brutaka wakes up in the Piraka's stronghold under Axonn's watch. While Axonn extends an offer of friendship to his old partner, Brutaka rejects it and attacks. In the course of the battle, he tries to get an edge by summoning a dimensional gate to warp Axonn away. Eventually, Axonn accepts that Brutaka will never be redeemed, and he becomes unstoppable in his anger. Brutaka tries to get to the Piraka's antidermis, which could enhance his strength, but Axonn shatters the vat before blasting Brutaka into unconsciousness. Once this is done, Botar arrives to banish Brutaka for his crimes, though Axonn still expresses hope for his redemption. After all leave the stronghold, Krahka and Tahtorak use Brutaka's portal to escape their exile (which began a thousand years ago in Bionicle Adventures).

As the Toa Inika fight Vezon and Fenrakk, the latter's ability to absorb kinetic energy is proving too much for the heroes; even when the Toa figure out how to weaken the two without hitting them, Fenrakk can just tap his leg on the ground to regain his and Vezon's strength. Eventually, the Toa are able to drive Fenrakk towards the chamber's lava, and Vezon surprisingly encourages him to dive in. As Jaller prepares to go after the mask, Vezon reemerges, with his steed evolved into an even more formidable dragon called Kardas. Needing a plan of attack other than direct assault, the Toa guess that the Mask of Life may have life and thoughts of its own, and Kongu attempts to use his Mask of Telepathy to read the mask's mind. He finds that the mask has grown to despise Vezon, and would happily abandon the madman in favor of a new, nobler guardian - Matoro. When Vezon learns of this he becomes enraged, allowing Jaller to use Axonn's Zamor Sphere. The sphere freezes Vezon and Kardas in space and time, allowing the mask to be removed safely.

Unfortunately, the Piraka have recovered by now, and they aren't about to let the mask go without a fight. But the mask has other plans; as Kardas makes Matoro lose his grip on it, it flies away towards the surface. As the Toa Inika are able to get a small head start following it, Vezok is dead set on re-fusing with Vezon; but the other Piraka smash the Spear of Fusion to ensure that Vezok will never be whole again.

Back on the surface, the Mask of Life dives into the sea. Hahli tries to follow it, but the depths become too deep for her to handle. As she loses consciousness, a Mahri Nui Matoran dives from below and helps her up to the surface, though at the cost of his own life. Before passing on, he pleads with the Toa to help a city beneath the sea.

But in the midst of the Toa Inika's mourning the Matoran, they are reunited with all their friends: the Matoran had succeeded in freeing the Toa Nuva, and Axonn is there as well (Botar had just left after talking to the Nuva). While the Inika worry that the Nuva will take over the mission to save the Great Spirit, the Nuva recognize that this mission is the Inika's destiny and give them their full blessing. Axonn also declares his intent to be the Matoran's guardian; openly instead of secretly this time. The Piraka, watching from afar, decide that taking on twelve Toa and Axonn would be suicide; opting to bide their time.

Soon afterward, the Toa depart on their new missions which are revealed on the web: the Toa Nuva go on a mysterious quest that they have not told the Inika about, and the Toa Inika enter a secret passageway (opened by Axonn) leading to the underwater world where the Mask of Life now resides...

City of the Lost

Far beneath the ocean surrounding Voya Nui, the sunken city of Mahri Nui survives surrounded by mysterious predators. As its Matoran plan the defenses for the month, an inventor named Defilak suggests a scouting expedition to learn more about whatever is preying on Mahri Nui. As he does this, the sentry Kyrehx finds and claims a sinking Kanohi mask, never aware that she is being watched...

By the time Kyrehx brings the mask to the planning meeting, it has already been adjourned. She instead seeks out someone knowledgeable about Kanohi, but is soon caught and attacked by the very seaweed beneath her feet. She is saved from the plants by Dekar, and she is happy to pass the strange mask off to him.

Meanwhile, Defilak has gathered a crew for his home-built submarine: Gar, Idris, and Sarda. As they descend into unknown territory, they are soon attacked and trapped by a school of Takea sharks, who are led by a bigger, shark-like being who is named Pridak. After the submarine is destroyed, Pridak demands the Mask of Power from the crew and throws Sarda to the sharks when they claim ignorance. He explains that he is a Barraki, one of six warlords banished to the Pit millennia ago for their crimes. Sarda is subsequently saved by the arrival of Toa Lesovikk.

The other Barraki, however, have their own plans concerning the mask: Takadox has Carapar kidnap Kyrehx, and from her tale realizes that the mask is the legendary Mask of Life. He also sends Carapar to return Kyrehx and stop Ehlek, who has gathered his venom eel army and launched an all-out assault on Mahri Nui.

In the meantime, Dekar has found that every enemy he fights has become immortal and invincible. Realizing that his and Kyrehx's strange curses come from the mask, he decides that it is too dangerous to exist. When Dekar tries to destroy the mask - as the remaining two Barraki, Kalmah and Mantax close in on him - it defends itself by enlarging a nearby venom eel to giant size.

The eel begins to attack everything in sight. As Defilak, Gar, and Idris use the chance to escape from Pridak and his sharks; Ehlek and Carapar take the opportunity to snoop around Pridak's lair, where they find a newcomer to the Pit - the mutated Brutaka. Takadox tries to hypnotize the eel into submission, but it becomes distracted by sounds in a long cord of stone that reaches to the surface and it knocks Takadox far away. Dekar, now with a healthy respect for the mask, cautiously touches it and is given a vision of its history, along with the revelation that the Pit's waters are eroding it away and damaging it.

By this time, Pridak has gathered the Barraki, with Brutaka in place of the missing Takadox. As they confront Dekar, Brutaka demands he hand over the mask, swearing that an Order of Mata Nui member such as himself would never let the Barraki have it. When Dekar refuses, saying one who should have the mask would have claimed it himself, the Barraki mock Brutaka for his "lies" about an Order and command a giant squid to drag him off. They then step over to Dekar and take the mask from him, causing it to release a blinding light.

Prisoners of the Pit

Meanwhile, the Toa Inika are inside the Cord locked in combat with the Zyglak. The light hits them, and they are transformed into the Toa Mahri. At the same time, Dekar is transformed into a duplicate of the former protector of the Pit, Hydraxon.

At the same time the Barraki deliver the damaged Kanohi Ignika to Nocturn to keep it safe, the Toa Mahri knock the 300-foot (91 m) venom eel unconscious, and head for Mahri Nui. However, the Matoran there are frightened and uncertain about the new arrivals, and open fire on the Toa. Toa Mahri Kongu then creates a gust of wind to blow Defilak out of the air bubble, while Toa Mahri Hahli creates a whirlpool, trapping the Matoran. Then Hahli releases him, and states that if she wanted to harm him, she would have done so. Still needing to be convinced, Defilak asks five of the Toa Mahri to rescue Matoro. Arriving at the fields, the other Toa Mahri are captured by the Barraki, and attempt to lull them into a false sense of security by masquerading as Toa sent to the Pit for incarceration. Matoro is captured by the newly reincarnated Hydraxon.

Hydraxon takes Matoro to the Pit, where he his placed under the watch of the guard robot Maxilos. Matoro's predicament worsens when he learns that Maxilos has become the new body of Teridax, the Makuta of Metru Nui. Teridax frees Matoro, forcing him to ally with him without revealing his identity to the other Toa Mahri. The others, taken to prison caves by the Barraki, escape through the use of their new mask powers; Kongu's summons a giant sea creature, which ends up getting into a battle with the revived 300-foot (91 m) venom eel. All the Toa Mahri then return to Mahri Nui, where the others are introduced to Maxilos. Honored by Defilak by being offered the group name Toa Mahri, the six and Maxilos set out to divide the Barraki against each other. Luckily, their efforts prove successful, and the Barraki and their armies begin clashing. Afterwards, however, the Toa are shocked to learn that Mantax's army of rays is approaching Mahri Nui with Hahli at its head.

Meanwhile, Hydraxxon had just defeated Nocturne, who had been entrusted with the Ignika by Pridak. He approached the Mask of Life, conflicted as to whether take someplace secure (his first instinct) or destroy it (unconsciously triggered by Dekar's memory). He eventually decided to destroy it and opened fire.

Downfall

Meanwhile, as Hydraxon tries to destroy the Ignika, the mask is knocked out of the way by Hahli, and Mantax quickly grabs it. After the Toa Mahri reunite with Hahli, they learn from Matoro that they need to destroy the stone cord linking Voya Nui and Mahri Nui and save the Matoran of both islands from the resulting crash. To do so, they travel back up through the cord and hide the Matoran of Voya Nui and Mahri Nui. However, they deal with the Piraka (now mutated into snake-like forms), before being saved by Axonn, who hides the Matoran in caverns on Voya Nui. Before the Toa Mahri leave, Axonn provides them with a living vehicle, the Toa Terrain Crawler, to take them back to Mahri Nui. In time for the battle, Jaller burns Mantax severely, causing him to drop the mask for the Toa to retrieve it when Hydraxon interferes. Hewkii confronts and fights Gadunka, and quickly defeats him by sending volts of electricity into him. Matoro Mahri soon finds Maxilos and freezes him, but is soon set free due to a blast of fire from Jaller that missed Hydraxon. Maxilos and Spinax, now a team, fights Hydraxon, while the Toa get ready to destroy the cord. Before they can, however, Gadunka returns with new allies. The 300-foot (91 m) eel, and the monster Kongu summoned. After a 40 second battle with them, they destroy the cord, bringing Voya Nui crashing down onto Mahri Nui, just as the Barraki come. Matoro feels the mask being pulled in the wake of Voya Nui when suddenly, every creature stops, feeling cold inside. Matoro then looks at the now grey mask, and proclaims that the Great Spirit has died.

Knowing that a moment cannot be spared, Matoro leaves his fellow Mahri, and quickly swims with Voya Nui to its place of origin. Meanwhile, the furious Barraki arrive, and have an all-out battle against the five remaining Mahri, and plot to send their armies after Matoro. Meanwhile, Hydraxon, seeing all that has happened, discovers a destroyed Maxilos, with the Spirit of Teridax missing (which will rock the foundation of the Toa's lives once they discover where he is). Matoro beats Voya Nui and descends into the Universe Core, nearly being crushed by the landmass above. There, the sentient Ignika speaks, and informs him to don the Mask of Life, which Matoro accepts as his destiny. The entirety of his life, from Matoran to Toa, flashes, and Matoro realizes that this was where he must be in the end. However, he used his last bit of will to save his friends. His body is then transformed into fierce raw energy, and revives the Great Spirit Mata Nui in a massive explosion.

As the battle between the Toa Mahri and the Barraki rages, a sudden change of events occurs; the Mahri are instantly transported back to Metru Nui, able to breathe air, where Turaga Vakama awaits, informing them of Matoro's deed and of his death. But in their hearts, he will never be truly gone, he is now part of the universe, having transcended to a higher state of being.

Plot Summary (2008)

Note that the events of Shadows in the Sky, and Swamp of Secrets both take place at the same time, with the exception of the second part of Swamp of Secrets.

Shadows in the Sky

One week before the ending of Downfall, in Karda Nui, Tanma and Gavla were assigned to adjusting the "Scare-Rahi" (apparently a scarecrow-like object used for keeping away flying Rahi from the Matoran village) when Tanma noticed a large black flying creature heading for where Gavla was. When he went to help her, he discovered that she was different. She had been hit with a leech-like creature, and mutated into a monstrous form. She had become the first of the Av-Matoran to have her light drained and become a Shadow Matoran.

In the following week, Kirop, the leader of the Av-Matoran, became corrupted, along with many others. Even Radiak, hero of the Av-Matoran, succumbed to the attack of the enemies, who Kirop revealed to be members of the Brotherhood of Makuta before his corruption. All of the Av-Matoran villages fell save one, where the remaining uncorrupted Matoran were sheltering at the time of Mata Nui's death.

Minutes after the tragic event, Tanma noticed a white Toa falling down the waterfall and there was suddenly a gigantic explosion of light, blinding the three attacking Makuta (Antroz, Vamprah, and Chirox) and bringing the Great Spirit back to life. Likely Tanma ordered all the other Matoran to duck and close their eyes.

A few hours later the Av-Matoran waged a battle against the Makuta and the Shadow Matoran in the sky. And as they did so, the Toa Nuva arrived in Karda Nui, teleported there by Artakha from the island with the same name.

As soon as the Toa Nuva Arrived, Pohatu rush to engage the Makuta in battle. Wise Onua was the one that noticed that the bat-like Makuta were blind. The Toa helped the Matoran finish the fight and regrouped at the village, where they began to remember that they once lived in Karda Nui. They discovered the use of their new weapons, which they named Midak Skyblasters. (Midak was the name of a strange Onu-Matoran of Metru Nui who liked the light despite being able to see better in the dark, and Toa Nuva Lewa had always wanted a weapon called a "Skyblaster", and none of the other Toa cared to object, thus the name was created.)

Meanwhile in the Makuta's Shadow Leech hive, Mutran and Vican were working on a new experiment, a Rahi that could turn into a liquid when disturbed. Mutran "kept slipping in it" and ordered Vican to get rid of it. He kicked it out of the hive and it fell into the swamp below. Vican decided not to tell Mutran that the creature "doesn't fall, it flew."

Vamprah arrived at the hive and forced Mutran to come to the main Makuta lair to create a flying Rahi to take Vican to Destral to summon Icarax. He created a part-Rahi and part-Matoran creature, and sent Vican off to Destral.

Back at the Av-Matoran's village, the Toa Nuva learned of Matoro's death from the Av-Matoran's description of the events leading up to the blinding flash of light. From this they realized that the Mask of Life that Matoro was last seen with was probably in the swamp below. Tahu, Gali, and Onua departed for the swamp and Lewa, Pohatu, and Kopaka stayed to defend the Matoran. Tahu leading one group and Kopaka leading the other.

Later, an Av-Matoran who looked up to the Toa, named Solek, approached Kopaka and gave him part of an object called a Keystone. It was a tablet detailing how to awaken Mata Nui from his endless slumber, but it had been broken into six pieces. According to Solek, the Makuta held two pieces (one held by Kirop), and the locations of the other three were unknown. Kopaka, understanding all that these Matoran have been through, spoke kindly to him and gave him inspiration for the battle to come, using how Takua became a Toa as an example. It was then that Kopaka learned that Solek knew Takua.

The next day, Lewa happened to knock Kirop out of the sky in battle. Kopaka captured him and with Lewa's help, led him to believe the Toa would be launching an attack on the Shadow Leech hive in a few hours. Kirop found a way out and escaped to the Shadow Leech hive, exactly as the Toa had planned. They followed him, along with Tanma, Solek, and another Av-Matoran named Photok.

In the swamp at the bottom of Karda Nui, the Mask of Life pondered whether or not to create some more guardians for it. But recalling the failures of others like Hydraxon and the gigantic Venom Eel, it decided to create a body for itself, so it could have friends like its former guardian, Matoro.

It also created itself a Skyboard. It flew into the skies above and began silently following Kopaka and the others as the trailed Kirop. He (now considering itself male) proved itself by saving the Toa from a hostile flying Rahi by speeding up its life, killing it. The Toa did not notice another flying Rahi escape through the Makuta's portal into Karda Nui, with Vican riding it, heading for Destral.

When the Toa arrived in the Shadow Leech hive, they found no leeches, and just Mutran instead. Kopaka and Solek hung back to take on Mutran, while the others headed further into the hive, which seemed to be bigger on the inside than it was in the outside. They reached a dead-end, and when they turned around to see if Toa Ignika was still behind them, they found that in his place was a gigantic monster. Without worrying about whether it was hostile or not, Tanma (and the others soon afterwards) jumped into battle.

They did not realize that this was an illusion put up by Mutran, and that this monster was actually Toa Ignika. Confused and enraged as to why the Toa were attacking him, he decided to use his Life powers to kill the Toa and their Matoran friends. But eventually the illusion faded and the Toa were able to disrupt Toa Ignika's attack.

Meanwhile, Mutran had attempted to tear Kopaka's mind to pieces, and Kopaka led him to believe he had succeeded, until eventually he turned the tides of the battle and froze Mutran in a blast of ice and snow. It was then that Antroz, Chirox, and Vamprah arrived and quickly defeated Kopaka and captured the heroes. The Toa were chained to a wall, and the Matoran were left in another chamber. Antroz warned the Toa that if they made one hostile move, he would send a mental message to Vamprah and Chirox who were with the Matoran to immediately kill them.

Pohatu collapsed the floor below the Makuta and used his Mask of Speed to race to the chamber with the Matoran before Vamprah and Chirox killed them. He returned with the Matoran, and the Makuta not far behind. Pohatu shared his mask power with the others and the heroes sped around the chamber too fast to be seen and then escaped. Toa Ignika, using his life power, destroyed the organic stone cord holding the hive up and causing it to fall into the swamp.

Vican arrived on Destral before long, and delivered the message to Icarax, who was now wearing Makuta Teridax's Mask of Shadow and sitting on his throne. Though enraged that Antroz was giving him orders, Icarax decided to come and them ordered Vican to tell Antroz that Icarax was not to be ordered around.

By the time Icarax had arrived, the final battle had begun. The Makuta laid siege to the Matoran village...only to find that there were no Matoran there. The Toa Nuva and the Matoran were in the Makuta's base, searching for the third keystone.

When the Makuta went after them, a battle occurred. In the end, Mutran used the equivalent of a Nova Blast of Shadow. Icarax had earlier sent Antroz into the swamp, and Toa Ignika had made Icarax into a biomechanical being once more by de-evolving him. And after the Nova Blast, Chirox, Vamprah, and Icarax were nowhere to be found.

The Toa withstood the blast, and Mutran was forced to surrender. The Toa headed into the swamp to meet up with their friends.

But elsewhere, Makuta Teridax's energy floated through an unknown location...a location that would "rock the Toa's universe" to discover. It was a place heavily guarded, but Teridax easily crossed, having no body and being only a cloud of energy. He located his goal, a carving of a Kanohi Hau, and set about his final goal, to accomplish his destiny.

Swamp of Secrets

Meanwhile, Takanuva was patrolling the beaches of Metru Nui. He begins wondering if things would have been better for Matoro and Toa Mahri if he had been there. A dark thought flutters in his head for a moment, but he quickly expels it. Pushing forward with his mental energy, Takanuva picks up a picture of a Dark Hunter in the Archives. The Toa of Light races toward the Archives in Onu-Metru, but he is taken by surprise at the sudden attack of a Shadow Leech. After a struggle to get it off, he succeeds, but not before being halfway drained of his light and knocked unconscious.

Takanuva wakes up in a room in the Archives where the Onu-Matoran bring dead Rahi bodies for inspection. Illuminating the cave, he notices two Toa standing over him, one Toa of Water, and a Toa of Sonics. The Toa of Water calls herself Helryx, while the Toa of Sonics is Krakua. She explains that they have a message that Takanuva must deliver to the Toa Nuva. Before he leaves, though, Helryx latches her 'pet' Kratana onto Takanuva's Kanohi so he can learn of the past.

Meanwhile, the other three Toa Nuva land in the Swamp of Secrets. They decide to split up, and Onua comes across a giant Nui-Kopen. Slamming it with his fist, it falls into the swamp water, and emerges as a completely different looking creature with tentacles. Before it attacks, Onua's body suddenly does not listen to his will, and he witnesses a yellow Makuta approach him. Bitil explains that his Nynrah Ghost Blaster took over Onua's mechanical parts in his body, then summons duplicates of himself, and they take Onua, who is under their control, to Krika's lair for interrogation. In another part of the swamp, Tahu encounters an enormous spherical structure embedded in a fallen stalactite. He approaches it, but is abruptly blown back by an invisible energy field, and a white Makuta looms over him and prepares to feed.

In Takanuva's visions of the past, he witnesses the Toa Mata being awoken and spoken to by Helryx. After questions are exchanged and hot arguments are quelled, they are led outside of the room they are in, only to be taught more about what Toa are meant to do in their life.

Back in the swamp, Bitil had arrived at Krika's cave. Onua silently realizes that he is no longer under control by Bitil, and quickly gets one duplicate into a headlock. Threatening to tear the Makuta's head off, the other Bitils blast him with energy. Onua rises to see fifty Bitils before him, and he then makes the Earth explode beneath them. His concentration broke, only one Bitil pursues the escaping Onua, who uses his Nynrah Ghost Blaster to create an energy field around Bitil, sending him falling down to the swamp.

In yet another part of the swamp, Gali finds a broken Keystone in the grasp of a sentient plant. After successfully retrieving it, she is attacked by Gorast, who stuns her. After a short, furious fight, Gali traps Gorast in a mud sinkhole. Gorast seemingly commits suicide by drowning herself, but she shortly bursts from the ground and defeats Gali. A huge fireball then illuminates the sky.

Tahu struggles getting up and then rolls away from Krika's grasp. Krika then explains to Tahu why Makuta hate Toa so much, and that is why he must die. Tahu then succumbs to a sudden cold that sweeps over him, and with one final effort, launches an enormous fireball into the sky.

Back in Takanuva's visions, Gali is knocked flat by her trainer, Hydraxon, after being defeated countless times before. She then goes into a short frenzy in a wild effort to defeat him, but fails. She gets up, ready to strike again, but then is knocked down by Spinax. She then finds her way back to the Toa Mata's rest station, and engages in discussion with several of the other Toa.

In the present, right before feeding on Gali's light, Gorast is picked up by Onua and slammed into the ground so hard she almost snaps into pieces. Gali turns out to be alright, and Onua and her escape, Gorast and Bitil wildly on their tails. They eventually arrive at the scene of Tahu's dismay, and a short battle ensues. Chirox, another Makuta, is seen falling out of the sky, and the other three rush to help him, leaving the three Toa Nuva alone. They are guided deeper in the swamp by an Av-Matoran who had appeared to help them escape. They eventually arrive at a small ground surrounded by Lightvines. The Nuva are horrified by what they see in the middle: Matoran-like forms are undergoing strange changes. Suddenly, the forms change into Bohrok, leaving the Toa puzzled. The Av-Matoran explains that the first Bohrok had evolved from Av-Matoran, and the transformations came naturally. Gali takes her eyes off of the robots for a moment, and when she looks back, they are gone. The Matoran guide hands Onua a Keystone, and then lies down and transforms into a Bohrok, and disappears like his other brothers. Tahu then expresses his subtle rage toward the fact that that was the price to be paid for Mata Nui's awakening.

In Takanuva's visions, he sees Lewa underwater, attempting to find his Miru. Frustrated from the attacks of carnivorous schools of fish, he gives up, and Hydraxon laughs at him. Their trainer had taken each of their masks and hidden it somewhere on Daxia. Angered, Lewa comments on how each of the other Toa Mata are doing, then realizes that they can work together. Hydraxon commends him, and Lewa seeks out Gali's help for getting his mask, in exchange for him getting her mask. After the mask search, Tahu and Kopaka scale a mountain to get to an Order of Mata Nui base. They then trick the guards into letting them in, and they are greeted by Helryx, the leader of the Order. She stops working on her project, the Swamp Strider, and then asks them if they will take on the job to become Mata Nui's guardians.

In the present, Tahu and the two other Toa follow a trail created by the Makuta toward Krika's base. They plan a strategy to steal the final Keystone. Once arriving there, they cause timed explosions of their elements to happen. Each explosion goes right, and each Makuta is distracted out of the lair. Seizing the opportunity, the Toa steal the Keystone, and Tahu throws a shield around them from the attack of the non-tricker Krika. Onua digs a huge hole and the Nuva follow it, planning to escape to the Codrex, where they will wait for the other three Toa. Krika and his team follow, planning to ambush the Toa. It turns out the Nuva were the ones planning the ambush. Above the Codrex, they witness the three Makuta and three more Bitils appear, waiting for them. Tahu then lead the two other Nuva in a power dive towards the Makuta in a last attempt to defeat them.

In Takanuva's visions, he witnesses the Toa Mata in Karda Nui, and Kopaka and Tahu fighting off a group of Avohkah. After they are defeated, Tahu and Kopaka debate whether or not they should tell the other Mata the truth about the Codrex and what it is meant for.

Back in the present, a furious battle breaks out against the two teams in the swamp. Eventually, the Toa gain the upper hand, but not before Antroz and his Makuta team come flying down, and prepare to fire at the Nuva. All hope seems lost, when suddenly, an ice blast blocks the blast of energy Antroz fires, backfiring on him. Kopaka, the three Av-Matoran, and the other two Toa soar down, ready to join the fight. Tahu and his team smile as they charge back into the fight, ready for the final battle.

In Takanuva's last vision, Gali defeats the last Avohkah. While Tahu and Kopaka congratulate the team, the final Av-Matoran, Takua, leaves Karda Nui with his friends. While they did that, Tahu and Kopaka led their team to the Codrex. Curious as to what it is, Lewa runs to it, only to be blasted away by the energy field. They insert the Keystone into a niche inside the Codrex's energy field, and enter it. Tahu then closes the entrance, and the Mata witness a huge energy storm brewing inside Karda Nui. Tahu explains what their destinies are, and the other four Toa Mata are outraged by Kopaka and the Toa of Fire for not telling them. Tahu also explains that if they don't get into the six canisters lined up in the Codrex, the storm would kill them all. The team reluctantly enters their canisters, ready for the day that they must awaken.

The Kratana is forcefully ripped off of Takanuva's face, and the Toa of Light then asks how he will go to Karda Nui soon enough. At that moment, Brutaka enters the room, holding the Dark Hunter Dweller in his hands. He then activates his damaged Olmak, and Takanuva steps through the portal, ready to begin his trip to Karda Nui.

Journey of Takanuva

(Note that this story, along with The Kingdom and Dark Mirror, all take place between the ending of Swamp of Secrets, and The Final Battle.)

After passing through the portal made by Brutaka, Takanuva soon exits through another portal and falls out of the sky, and into a different, pocket dimension, which is the City of Silver Pocket Dimonsion. He had ended up here, because Brutaka's Mask of Dimensional Gates was damaged, thus causing its power to malfunction, which resulted in Takanuva to wind up in the wrong place. When Takanuva lands, he finds himself in a dark forest, and soon comes across the Spectral Mask. At first, Takanuva believes he is hallucinating, as masks normally do not talk. His thoughts, however, do not seem to be acknowledged by the Mask, who talks about its relief of Takanuva's arrival and informs Takanuva of trouble in a nearby village. Without hearing what caused the trouble, Takanuva quickly walks off to help the village.

When Takanuva arrives at the village, he sees a large group of Kestora fighting against a large, monster-like creature (City-Building Creature). Thinking that the creature is the source of the commotion (and trouble), Takanuva quickly assaults the creature and drives it off. Turning back to the Kestoras, he expects applause and thanks, but instead, he finds himself being laughed at and locked out of the village.

Distressed, Takanuva goes back into the forest and finds the Mask. He informs it of what happened, and the Mask, shocked, tells him that the members of the creature's species are actually the peaceful inhabitants of the village, and they had been driven out of their city by the Kestoras. It also informs Takanuva that the one he fought off was the last one residing in the village. Takanuva, quickly noting his mistake, runs off to find the creature and apologize. He succeeds, and together they hatch a plan to steal back the city.

At night, Takanuva stations himself outside the village and shoots fireworks into the sky. The Kestoras quickly swarm out of the village, and watch the fireworks in fascination. While they watch and enjoy themselves, the creature burrows back to the city and seals the gates, locking the Kestoras out and reclaiming the village.

Having finally accomplished his task, Takanuva goes back to the Mask, who congratulates him and opens a portal. Takanuva enters it, and is transported once more into another dimensional voyage in the The Kingdom Alternate Universe, which is told in The Kingdom short story. The events of the final journey of Takanuva, including how he got to Karda Nui, are told in the Dark Mirror short story.

The Final Battle

The fight between the Toa Nuva and the blind and mutated Makuta rages on in the swamp. Krika deals a heavy blow that stuns Gali, and he carries her deeper into the swamp. While there, Krika claims that if the Toa awaken Mata Nui, a horrible future will come to pass, so Gali must leave to prevent that. No sooner than when those words left the Makuta's mouth, a powerful blast of light flew across Krika's face. He looked skyward to find the worst fear of the Brotherhood of Makuta: Takanuva, the legendary Toa of Light, with his power lance still aimed at the Makuta, ready to destroy his armor. Krika retreated into the swamp. Gali, confused at the Toa's transformation, wanted answers, only to be told to wait until the Toa were assembled. Pohatu arrived shortly after and remarked on Takanuva's new coloration. When the trio arrived at the Codrex, there was a great battle between the Toa and Makuta. Fortunately, Takanuva arrived from the Space Between Dimensions, using the deceased Dark Mirrors Demension's Brutaka's Mask of Dimensional Gates, and manages to drive off the Makuta Krika, who was menacing Gali, with his Power Lance. A soon as the Toa were reassembled, Ignika (now able to speak) arrived. Ignika quickly reported that he was on a countdown to the elimination of everything in the Universe. He told of how he was forged, and that the Great Beings intended him as a failsafe if the universe ever went wrong. Takanuva then reported that when the Toa reawaken Mata Nui, a massive energy storm will erupt in Karda Nui, and destroy everyone and everything in the cavern. No sooner than when he finished the report, the Makuta returned, and a massive battle erupted once more. The Toa rushed to fit the keystones they retrieved into the Codrex. With the energy field down, they entered the complex, unaware that Antroz was silently following them. Before the other Makuta could get in, Tahu retrieved the keystones to raise the energy field once more. Inside the Codrex, the Toa Nuva discovered niches in the floor, similar in size and shape to the canisters that they used to make their way to the island of Mata Nui. Onua hit a button on a nearby console, and the floor slid down to a cavern far below. The niches were then replaced by large light stones, and three metal cocoons erupted from the floor. The cocoons then disappeared, leaving behind three vehicles. Then Antroz sprang from the shadows into the cockpit of one of the ships, the Jetrax T6. His mind merged with the ship, allowing him to see through the ship's sensors. Lewa and Pohatu both jumped aboard the Axalara T9 and Rockoh T3, and pursued Antroz out of the Codrex. Outside the Codrex, Takanuva meets up with Tanma and Photok, and they dragged Radiak into the swamp, unaware that they are being followed by Kirop, Chirox, and Bitil (with his past selves). Vamprah, Gavla and Gorast had gone to track down Icarax, as had Tahu, Solek and Ignika, and Krika and Mutran had vanished. Mutran's assistan, the Shadow Matoran Vican, meets Takanuva, Photok, Radiak and Tanma. He reports that the scream of a klakk shattered the hold shadow had over him, and he no longer served the Makuta. Takanuva, seeing the truth in his eyes, began search for the klakk. Ironically, Radiak was the one to find the creature. He attacked the rahi, intent on destroying it, but the ceature's cry broke the shadow spell. Although Radiak's mental state was restored, his armor, mask, and elemental ability remained as when he was fully in shadow. Radiak then reported the Makuta actually wanted Mata Nui to awaken for reasons he did not know. Takanuva ordered the four Matoran to leave Karda Nui before the energy storm erupted, but as they left, Takanuva was attacked by Chirox, Kirop, and seven incarnations of Bitil. Under the sway of shadow, he lost control to rage and started attacking them all, taunting them that their greatest wish, a Toa of Shadow, was now in existence and they could choke on the knowledge he was not theirs, and declaring that this battle would not be a Kolhii masquerade; that any Makuta that got near him would die. He blasted a hole in Chirox's armor and charged into the midst of the Makuta, never noticing one of the Bitils was about to strike him down. Meanwhile Antroz fought Pohatu, Lewa and Kopaka in a battle on board vehicles.

Meanwhile, Takanuva was locked in combat with Chirox and Bitil. A bolt of light fired by Kopaka aboard the Jetrax stunned Bitil, causing him to lose focus on his mask and the time clones created by his mask to disappear. Before Takanuva could destroy Chirox though, Kopaka brought him to his senses, allowing the Makuta to flee. Takanuva reported to Kopaka what he had learned from Radiak, and Kopaka left aboard the Jetrax to warn the other Toa Nuva. Takanuva resumed his search for Matoran and came across Gavla. He managed to put himself and the Matoran in the path of the Klakk's scream, and the mental shadow dissolved in both of them. Takanuva told Gavla to leave, for her to join the other Matoran.

Icarax and Krika try to sabotage the plan, by destroying the Codrex. Because of this, Gorast and Vamprah convinced Icarax to teleport, by telling him the plan is working. Fueled by his desires for the plan to fail so he can take over the world, he falls for the trick. Then Gorast disrupts his teleportation power making parts of him scatter all over the universe. Krika escapes for now.

The Toa Nuva reveal that the Lightstones that come up from the canisters resting spot are the key to awaking Mata Nui, They figure out that Ignika could awaken the Great Spirit by removing his mask and placing it in the center of the Codrex. However in doing so Ignika would have to sacrifice his life as a Toa, something he has vowed never to do, and he tries to destroy them when he hears the news. However, when Matoro and how he gave his life to save the entire universe is mentioned, Ignika finally decides to sacrifice himself.

Outside the Codrex, Tahu and Gorast are fighting. Krika comes to warn Gorast that an energy storm will kill them all, but she is so bent on killing him for trying to ruin the plan, she doesn't listen. She disrupts his power to turn intangible, and he becomes nothing.

Just then, the energy storm began. As Takanuva flew to the western portal, he noticed Mutran attempting to control the storm. His life was ended as the energy incinerated his armor and his essence. Takanuva, without regret for not trying to save the Makuta, flew away to join the Toa Nuva.

Meanwhile, Gorast could only stare at the storm, shocked by the betrayal of her idol. Antroz tries to convince all the Makuta that they must try to escape, but Bitil tries to abandon his fellow Makuta. He fails, and all of the remaining Makuta are killed. The Toa Nuva and Takanuva use the vehicles to escape Karda Nui.

Back in Metru Nui, celebrations have begun. But just as Turaga Dume finished his victory speech, a shadow fell across the land, and the stars align into the Kanohi Kraahkan, Great Mask of Shadows. Teridax announces that when Mata Nui awakened, Teridax slipped into the Great Spirit's mind, possessing his body and banishing Mata Nui's mind into the Mask of Life (the only thing to escape the storm, teleported away to safety). Teridax tells the Toa that he has also banished the mask from the universe. He now is the universe, and the Toa have no hope of defeating him.

The book ends with the Mask of Life turning back to gold, and hurdling through the Ultimate Void, the space between the universes. Within the mask, the voice of the Great Spirit vowed, "I will return," as the Mask of Life reaches the planet of Bara Magna.