To Be A Hero

To Be A Hero is the second Epic in the Dairuno Toa Series by BZPower and C.I.R.C.L.E. member Auserv.

Prologue
There once was an island far to the east of Metru Nui. It was said to be the most rural part of the Matoran universe. The few who inhabited the island were few and far between, with several villages scattered all around. The island was called Ayomeii, but most simply called it ‘the beautiful countryside’.

Once, long ago, the Toa there led normal lives, or as normal as being a super-powerful defender of peace allows. That was long, long before the day that their Toa of Water, Roqini, discovered a strange liquid in a cave unearthed by a strange shaking of the earth.

They absorbed that liquid and became Toa-Kal, awarded with new powers and strength. Then a power-craving organization seeking to conquer the land came. Called the League of Six Kingdoms, their armies ravaged the land for days. But thanks to the heroic efforts of the Toa-Kal, they were eventually fought off.

But still not all was well. For the war had driven Xironu, the Toa-Kal of Speech, to temporarily betraying the team. In his time with the League of Six Kingdoms, he murdered another Toa-Kal: Desurk, Toa-Kal of Thought.

But with the combined power of five Toa-Kal, they were able to bring him back–as a Turaga. And they themselves lost their new power. They tried to find the liquid that had transformed them. But all that was left was just enough for one... and a new Toa-Kal, Auserv, was born.

A week later, a prophecy was discovered. It stated that there was a way for the Toa and Desurk to regain their Toa-Kal states with twelve special Dairuno Stones on a distant island. So they immediately prepared to set off on a new adventure...



“Grunekt! The Matoran will be fine!” Xironu, Ayomeii’s Toa of Jungle and former Toa-Kal of Speech shouted. “For the fiftieth time, the League of Six Kingdoms won’t come back!”

“But, still...” the Toa of Fire, formerly a Toa-Kal of Vision, protested. “Don’t you think one of us should stay behind to protect the island? Just in case?”

“We all have to go to get the Dairuno stones for all of us to turn back to Toa-Kal. If you want to control Fire instead of Vision, you can be the one to stay.”

“Never mind. We have Tuitru, that soldier who defected and joined us, not to mention Auserv.”

The former Toa of Lightning, now a Toa-Kal of Emotion, ran into the village that the two Toa stood arguing in. “What about Auserv?” he asked, grinning. He was clearly out of breath, but he looked as ecstactic if he had seen Mata Nui.

“I was just saying that you are staying here while we go to get the Dairuno stones," Grunekt responded.

“Oh, no, Toa Grunekt! I must come!” Auserv protested.

“Do you have to call me ‘Toa’ Grunekt every time, Auserv? I’ve told you a hundred times that you’re my equal–possibly even my better now. You don’t have to look up to us.”

Auserv nodded, about to say something, when Xironu interrupted. “And you can’t come with us. You don’t need to be transformed to a previous form of your life. And according to the prophecy, that's all the Dairuno Stones do."

“But I know the island they’re on! That was the place I became a Toa on. Remember? I could be your guide, and I’m sure that once I’m there I’ll regain my memory and–“

Xironu raised a hand, signaling for Auserv to be quiet. “Okay, okay. Calm down. We’ll discuss it with Turaga Desurk. Let’s go.”

“No, not yet. I just found something that I really need you guys to see.”

Grunekt’s interest was piqued. “What? What is it?”

“You’ll see when we get there," Auserv said simply, smiling smugly.



“Are we there yet?” demanded Xironu. For the past thirty minutes, Auserv had led Grunekt and him through the forest that covered part of the island. He seemed to make every turn with a purpose, but Xironu and Grunekt had both noted that they seemed to be going in circles.

“Almost!” Auserv muttered. “Wait... this way! Come on!” He ran ahead of the other Toa, who struggled to keep up.

Grunekt and Xironu saw Auserv stopping up ahead, at a clearing. Has he finally gone insane? Xironu wondered. This is that old dock that we abandoned years ago. Xironu recalled that Krakana, the Toa of Earth and former Toa-Kal of Speed, had mentioned that the Barraki, leaders of the League of Six Kingdoms, had come onto the island through this very dock.

“Look!” Auserv cried, gesturing at a large ship, bobbing up and down in the water. It looked like it could hold an entire army, but from the sheer beauty of the ship, it was apparent that was not what it was made for.

“The Barraki’s ship,” Grunekt realized aloud. “When Desurk went nova and knocked out all the soldiers, the armies must have taken their leaders away on their own ships. They probably weren’t allowed to come near their masters’ personal ship.”

Xironu was grinning. “It’s like it was destined for us. We can use it to sail to the island that the Dairuno Stones are on!”

“Let’s get the others!” Auserv exclaimed. “Our adventure will start now!"

Chapter 1: That Sinking Feeling-Part 1
About Two Weeks Ago on the Island of Dyteeli

If the island of Ayomeii was an island to the southeast of Metru Nui, then the island of Dyteeli was an island to the south of Ayomeii. If the island of Ayomeii was rural, the island of Dyteeli was urban. And doubly polluted.

“One day I will find a way to make the skies blue again,” muttered local Toa of Rahi, Barnoka, looking up at the familiar shape of Dyteeli's central city's nuclear power plant.. The black-and-orange Toa had never known many other Toa of Rahi--in fact, none other than any potential Toa among the Kur-Matoran that shared the island with Ti-Matoran (or Matoran of Radiation) and Ga-Matoran.

But that wasn’t the problem concerning Barnoka currently. He was, at the time, more worried about the pollution caused by the power plant before him. At first, there wasn’t any pollution. But it wasn't long, he remembered, until we realized the single negative side effect.

Thick, sludgy waste was left behind by the process, and it was highly poisonous (Ti-Matoran were slightly resistant, but even they were not invulnerable to its effects). Not only that, but it slowly corroded any surface it touched. Eventually, the Matoran decided to bury it. But Matoran were still dying from the poisoned air that welled up from underground.

He continued walking, and eventually found himself in the city square, said to be the center of the entire island. All around him, Matoran ran around excitedly, some happy to see him and others indifferent as they hurried along to their destination.

What happened here took place so long ago, but it seems like it was only last year, he realized. Eventually, he recalled, they had just decided to destroy the nuclear waste.

Using a shipment from Xia, strange blasters that launched exploding projectiles, the island of Dyteeli tried to blow up the waste. It had been a mistake.

Barnoka's destination was not so far away now. As he continued walking, he found himself at a very familiar area of Dyteeli. The city gate was wide open, as it normally was during times of peace, and Barnoka paused to stare out at the large expanse of beach that led all the way down to the ocean. Not so far away was the sanctuary that he had lived in once.

It had been necessary to live there for many years. This was because, upon being blown up, the nuclear waste had not been vaporized but simply made airborne. Ti-Matoran had been able to live in the city with no negative effect--it was a small enough amount of radiation not to effect them. But it was not safe for Ga-Matoran or Kur-Matoran, and Barnoka along with all of his friends had been forced to live in sanctuaries outside of the city until the radiation reached its half-life and was no longer harmful. It had taken thousands of years, but finally the entire island was safe.

Entranced by the beauty of the beach, he wondered if Zirralo, the Toa of Water, had ever walked down to the water here. After she had become a Toa, it was her job to take the nuclear waste (of course, while wearing radiation-resistant armor) and bury it underwater. So far that method had not been problematic.

Sighing, Barnoka tore himself away from the scenery and continued walking towards his destination. The sun was setting, and around this late it became hard to see in the city. You see, there was still one horrible, horrible side effect to the entire radiation crisis: when the waste had been blasted, the sky above the island had become a hazy green, and the city itself was filled with smog. However harmless it now was, it was still there. And there was no way to fix the problem.

Finally, Barnoka arrived at the house he was looking for. He knocked on the door softly, waiting for it to open and for Krandorn, Toa of Radiation, to invite him in.

The door opened slowly, and the grey Sanok of Krandorn greeted him. The Toa of Rahi had always admired the odd color combination of a Matoran, Toa or Turaga of Radiation: gunmetal grey and lime green. With all of the green in the air and the grey in the city, he blended in perfectly.

“Who’s there?” he demanded sharply. “Oh, it’s just you, Barnoka. Sorry for snapping at you.”

“I’ve grown used to it,” replied the Arthron-bearing Toa. “Any particular reason for your moodiness this evening?”

“I’m just busy. That’s all.”

“With what?” Krandorn gestured for the Toa of Rahi to come in. He showed Barnoka tablets and tablets full of hurried engravings and maddened calculations of some sort.

“This,” said the Toa of Radiation at last. “I’ve been working on this for days... no sleeping. I’m calculating exactly how long we have left to live. This island is only going to last a few more days, if that. ”

“W-what?” Barnoka was stunned. He had known that the living conditions were bad, but he had never believed that the island would actually be destroyed.

“Our buried waste is leaking. I realized that the other day when those Matoran who went swimming died a few days later. And that means the sea floor under it is going to collapse, and our island will sink.”

“How deep?” Barnoka asked. “And how long do we have?”

“It shouldn’t be too deep... if we get rid of unnecessary weight on the island there’s a chance it won’t even sink past the central city’s walls. And I have determined that we have approximately 170 hours–that’s about one week–to live now, taking into account the time that has passed since I completed the calculations this morning.”

Barnoka was still too shocked to even speak. Krandorn stared at him expectantly. “This–this is some kind of twisted joke. Right?”

“I wish, my friend. But it is all too real. Check my calculations if you want to. Anyway... what did you come here to tell me?”

“It’s Zirralo,” said the Toa of Rahi. “She’s hosting a party and wanted to know if you could come. It was scheduled next week...” Barnoka scratched his head. “Looks like the party’s canceled.” Out of boredom, the black-and-orange Toa picked up the tablets and started looking over them.

He quickly noticed something very disturbing. “Krandorn...” he said slowly. “You made a mistake in your calculations. We don’t have seven days left to live... we have seven hours.”

Chapter 2: That Sinking Feeling-Part 2
Krandorn checked his work over and over again, shifting the multiple tablets in his hands so quickly that one dropped and shattered on the ground. “Y-you’re right. How could I have not seen that?”

“Seen what?” came a voice from outside. The door opened, revealing Zirralo, Toa of Water, and her Kanohi Mask of Perception, which had apparently allowed her to hear part of the Toa’s conversation. “Hey, Krandorn? Can you come to my party? I sent Barnoka, but he didn’t return for a long time, and...”

“Zirralo. I can’t come. We’re all about to die.”



After the news had been broken to the Toa of Water, she was immediately jumping around, trying to find some way to save the island. “We’ll need to reinforce the city walls... take away everything we don’t need on boats... gather the Matoran into the center of the city...”

Barnoka and Krandorn stared at her blankly. Finally the Toa of Radiation spoke up. “We only have seven hours! There’s no way we can get all that done by midnight!”

“Okay then. We can just wait until our island breaks and we all die. Sounds fun; I can hardly wait."

Barnoka sighed. “I guess she’s right. Let’s get to work.”



A few important Matoran were informed, and immediately a plan was created. In every town and city across the island, specially-selected Matoran drove huge Ussal carts by every house, asking the Matoran for everything they wouldn’t need in case of a disaster, and urging them to move to the central city to escape impending danger. These carts were then shipped off on huge boats and dumped a few miles out to sea.

The city walls were built slightly higher and stronger by the strongest Matoran the island had to offer. An attempt was made to build a ceiling over the city, but it was much too large to fully cover and the project was quickly abandoned.

Zirralo volunteered to keep the waters from the island for as long as she could as midnight approached. Krandorn, using the Kanohi Kaukau that Zirralo used when burying nuclear waste, traveled to the leak and tried to absorb the waste in the hopes that the ocean floor would collapse a little more slowly. And Barnoka led the effort to gather the Matoran into the central city.

And then, the clock tower in the central city rang twelve times. It was midnight.



In the center of the city, at the base of the power plant, Zirralo and her friends were waiting somberly. They felt helpless, and the bleak, starless, night sky was not proving hopeful.

Zirralo activated her Kanohi Hikiri. She heard a terrible sound, like the sound of shifting sand and cracking earth from below. It quickly grew louder and louder, to the point where she had to deactivate the mask's power to avoid being deafened.

At first the sinking was gradual, and then all at once there was some sort of explosion below, and the island fell almost a mile underwater in what felt to Zirralo like a single second. From the sheer force of the fall, she imagined that the central city was the only part of the island that remained intact, and only then because of the reinforced walls.

The ocean now reached nearly to the top of the city walls. With every wave above, a small amount of water would spill in. In the next day, Zirralo estimated, the city would be covered in a foot of water. Everything was dark and damp--the water she didn't mind so much, but she couldn't stand not being able to see.

“Let’s shed some light on the situation,” she heard Krandorn say. He used his control of nuclear power to charge the ground with radiation, making it glow. In addition, Barnoka summoned a bioluminescent Rahi with his power over Rahi. Its orange glow and the greenish glow that Krandorn had created lit the area dimly, but the city could hardly be called well-lit.

Zirralo wondered if she could create a glowing liquid to add to the lighting. She stepped closer to the Rahi and the radiation and slipped on the wet ground. She landed on the nuclear-charged ground. Suddenly she felt sick and weakened. She tried to pull herself up by grabbing the nearest object... but that turned out to be the glowing Rahi. It snarled at her, but it fell down as well, sapped of its energy. Zirralo shrieked as the lights went out, hoping that her friends could save her.

“What just happened?” she heard Barnoka say. “Krandorn? You okay?”

“I’m fine... Zirralo?”

Zirralo tried to utter a response. But she felt herself incapable. In fact, her entire memory of the Matoran language, and everything else, was slowly becoming foggy. Everything was becoming clouded by a strange pain throughout her body. The weakness she had felt earlier was replaced with extra strength, more than normal. But it was an alien feeling, and an uncomfortable one.

Involuntarily, Zirralo growled. I sound like the Rahi, she thought. But as soon as she thought it, the thought sounded strange in her mind. In her mind, the Rahi and her were no longer two separate individuals, but just one entity. Suddenly her body began to glow, allowing her to see Barnoka and Krandorn again. She wanted to ask them why they were looking at her so strangely.

"What... what is that thing?" demanded Barnoka. Zirralo blinked, and before her eyes, Barnoka transformed. He was a hideous creature with a look of insanity on his face. No matter how much she tried to prove herself that this was her friend she was seeing, she could only see him as an evil being. He and Krandorn had brought this horrible pain upon her... and they needed to die.

No! thought the remainder of Zirralo's conscious. They're your friends! You can't hurt them! But the Rahi portion of her mind had already torn the thought from her mind, along with her memory. Suddenly, nothing that had happened before, nor what would happen in the future, mattered in Zirralo's thoughts. All that mattered was the here and now, and here and now she was going to kill Krandorn and Barnoka.

“Barnoka... I think I have some idea of what just happened...” came the frightened voice of the Toa of Radiation.

Zirralo snapped at them and launched water at them out of the staff she had carried as a Toa. She howled and drew nearer. Barnoka poked at her with his scythe. She growled defensively, but finally was able to resist the urge to attack them and then leaped away, climbing up a small building with relative ease.

“What do you think it is, Barnoka?” wondered Krandorn aloud, watching the glowing figure from below.

“My Rahi, your radiation... and Zirralo,” replied Barnoka quietly.

There was silence for a long time. Finally, Krandorn spoke up. “Poor Zirralo... There has to be a way to fix her."

Zirralo saw a group of Matoran huddled on a rooftop to keep dry, and then the thought occurred to her that this entire species was evil and needed to be destroyed. She growled at a Matoran, and the entire group began slowly walking backwards as she waved her staff threateningly.

"I think the flooding city is the least of our problems now," Barnoka noted.

"Perhaps the Dairuno Stones can help her?" Krandorn suggested.

Barnoka rolled his eyes. "I didn't come into being yesterday, Krandorn. No one believes that myth. And even if they do exist, the island is destroyed, and there's no way to get to them."

"You're right," Krandorn admitted, sounding defeated. "But if we don't find a way to heal Zirralo, then the Matoran will all be dead before the city fills with water. We'll just have to hold her off and hope someone--preferably Toa--notices when an entire island disappears."



Around this time, on the island of Ayomeii, six Toa were walking into a cave that had just been opened by a strange and mysterious earthquake. Little did any of them know–or would they ever know–that the collapse of the sea floor around the island of Dyteeli had sent shockwaves throughout the entire dome containing the island. Being the closest island to Dyteeli, Ayomeii was hit the hardest.

Likewise, little did or would any of the few survivors of Dyteeli ever know, their crisis had essentially created hope for another island that would otherwise have fallen to the League of Six Kingdoms. And by saving Ayomeii, they were providing themselves an insurance. For in a few days, the Toa of that island would become Dyteeli's last hope.

Chapter 3: The Adventure Begins
Back on Ayomeii, in the Present

“So... Tuitru... Do you think you’re up to defending the island all by yourself while we’re gone?” Roqini asked.

The powerful warrior, towering over Roqini, was silent, staring at his staff, with two sea squids and two Skwils hanging off it. Roqini frowned, and opened her mouth to speak again, but Tuitru shook his head briefly and suddenly, as if shaking himself out of a trance. Finally, he responded.

“What? Oh. Sure...”

“What’s wrong? Feeling ill?”

“No... It’s just that... my pets... They are restless. We are all creatures of the sea. Most of us are amphibious. But the sea squids I have... they breathe water only.”

“I thought that your Skwils could allow them to breathe on land,” Roqini replied.

“Exactly. And the Skwils are the restless ones. They grow tired of holding squids in their mouths day in and day out, but the life of the squids depend on it.”

“Would you like some water, then?” Roqini asked, unlimbering her spear, which could channel her water elemental energy. A few days ago, she would have been able to heal wounds by doing the same thing, but those powers were gone. A small stream of water poured out of Roqini’s staff, hitting the ground and being absorbed by it. Tuitru held up a hand.

“That will not be enough. Could you take us to... the ocean?”



When Tuitru was knocked underwater by a wave and did not come back up for several minutes, Roqini was at first concerned.

But then she remembered that he too was a water-breather, and probably more at home under the waves than above them. Even as a Toa of Water, she felt nervous every time she went underwater for prolonged periods of time, fearing in the back of her mind that she might not come back up.

After several minutes, Tuitru and Larzef surfaced, looking more refreshed and alive than Roqini had ever seen them. The Skwils stayed under for a short time and then waddled back onto land, enjoying the freedom of having no squid to tend to. The squids, in the meantime, were trying to get used to swimming again, after many days of being above water.

And then Roqini spotted a small brown dot, far off in the water. It was slowly approaching. She glanced nervously at Tuitru, who had also seen it. “Let’s check it out,” Roqini suggested. Roqini used her control over water to create a tidal wave to carry the two over.

Even before they reached it, they could see that it was a ship. On its flag, Tuitru saw the familiar symbol of a large circle, with six smaller circles within, each having a line stretching from its center to the circumference and center of the large circle. It was a symbol used by the League of Six Kingdoms.

“Oh no...” muttered the former soldier, fearing that the League had come back to punish the deserter. Logically he knew that they would never come back just for one disobedient soldier, but he knew instinctively to be cautious of everything.

Roqini created two spouts of water to lift them onto the ship. Tuitru jumped off his spout back into the water, saying, “You can see who’s there, and if it’s the Barraki... I’ll get help.”

“Oh, thanks, Tuitru. I feel really safe now.” Tuitru shrugged and treaded water below, watching Roqini ready her spear as she jumped from her spout and landed on the ship’s deck. She could see burn marks that seemed to suggest that a battle had gone on earlier, but they were very old. Roqini ignored them. Then she heard a muffled voice from behind a door.

It sounded vaguely familiar, but it was too faint for Roqini to tell who it was. She focused hard on the words being said, and then gasped. “Xironu! I think something just boarded our ship!” Xironu had betrayed the team and had for a short time tried to be the seventh Barraki. If he had only faked being good again, then...

Roqini shuddered. Then, building up courage, she punctured a hole with her spear in the door that she had heard the voice from and used the hole to wrench it out of the doorway, throwing it aside. Xironu’s voice, sounding nervous, drifted out from it. “Hey! Who’s there?”

The Toa of Water gazed down at what was behind the door. It was a staircase, going too far down for her to see the bottom. She heard footsteps from the bottom of the staircase. Then the first voice spoke again. “W-who’s there?” It sounded more nervous than hostile, and the voice was not that of a Barraki that she recognized.

A yellow figure walked into view hesitantly. It was Auserv, she realized. “Roqini!” he shouted, startled. “What are you doing here?”

“Long story. A better question would be... what are you doing here?”

Auserv scratched his mask. “Longer story. Come in, and we can share our stories.” The Toa-Kal of Emotion led Roqini into a large room where Xironu and Grunekt sat, looking relieved.

“I guess we have some explaining to do,” muttered Grunekt.



By the time the stories had been told, several Matoran had noticed the ship and alerted the other Toa. Krakana, Guutana, and even Turaga Desurk stood at the shore, wondering what to do, by the time the ship reached shore.

Roqini, Auserv, Grunekt, and Xironu jumped off the ship when they saw this. Roqini landed gracefully in the water; the others fell clumsily. Auserv smashed into the beach, giving a cry of pain. Roqini hurried to his aid and helped him to stand up. Auserv thanked her silently with a weak smile.

Then, there was more storytelling, and Tuitru and his pets had to be fetched for the story as well. When all was said and done, the Matoran were assured that everything was under control, and the Toa began to prepare for an adventure they would remember for the rest of their lives.



When all was ready, the Toa left Tuitru behind and set off to the south with Auserv and Desurk. They left without informing the Matoran, in case any of them insisted on coming. Tuitru had been instructed on what to tell them.

On the ship, Auserv quickly suggested that they look around for any maps the Barraki might have had. While the Toa all took shifts making sure the boat stayed on course, the others explored the Barraki’s cabins.

Upon walking into one of them, Auserv stopped dead in his tracks. Guutana, behind him, immediately demanded, “Um, Auserv? Are you okay?”

Auserv shook himself, as if breaking out of a trance. “I... I just remembered something.”

''Auserv was in the very cabin he would be standing in hundreds of years later, facing the black Barraki, Mantax. ''

''“Don’t worry, Toa,” Mantax said. “You don’t have to fight me again. I’m just going to try a little experiment on you.”''

''Mantax pulled out a cloth bag from a drawer behind him and dumped its contents onto the floor. Twelve ordinary stones hit the ground... or at least they seemed ordinary. But upon closer inspection, Auserv noticed that each stone had a different, illegible symbol carved into it.''

''Mantax quickly and masterfully arranged the stones into a circle. As soon as he placed the final stone in its place, the cabin was filled with light, and Auserv felt energy washing over him. He was getting smaller... and then the light faded and he looked at himself. He was a Ta-Matoran once more.''

''“Now, then... come this way.” Unable to struggle in this powerless form, he allowed Mantax to lead him to a strange helmet. Mantax removed Auserv’s mask and fitted the helmet over his head. The next thing he knew, all was black...''

Things got blurry from there, but Auserv did remember fear and darkness and confusion. Then he remembered stealing a lifeboat from some beings who must have been the Barraki. And then he remembered washing up on Ayomeii.

The memories had all flooded into his mind in seconds, but he had relived the entire thing. He related the events to Guutana.

“Interesting,” muttered Guutana. “Now we know... sort of... how to activate the Dairuno stones when we get them.”

Xironu, also waiting for Auserv to move so he could get into the room, said, “Obviously this is Mantax’s cabin. So maybe the stones or the helmet are still here!”

“I doubt it,” Auserv replied. “If what I remembered the day Turaga Desurk came back to life is right, it’s been hundreds of years since what I just remembered happened.”

“It’s worth a look,” Guutana said conclusively. Surprisingly, they managed to find a sack that must have once contained the Dairuno Stones. But all it contained was dust.

Suddenly, in a separate corner of the room, Auserv shouted, causing the two Toa to run over and see what he had found. It was a machine of some sort, shattered beyond repair. It looked as if it had been destroyed intentionally.

Auserv picked it up, bits and pieces of its insides falling out. “This was what Mantax used to wipe my memory. I can’t imagine why he would have destroyed it.”

“Maybe he knew that you might have been able to use it to gain back your memory,” Guutana said. “He must have really feared you.”

“Who knows why... he seemed like a pretty good match for me when we fought.”

Suddenly there was a muffled cry from above deck. “Guys! Come here! You have to see this!!”

Xironu, Guutana, and Auserv rushed up onto the deck, along with Grunekt and Krakana, who had been searching another cabin. Roqini and Turaga Desurk waited for them there.

“What is it?” demanded Grunekt. “Krakana and I were very busy searching just now.”

“Look!” Roqini gestured to the empty sea in front of the boat.

“I see nothing,” Grunekt muttered.

“No, look closely!” said Auserv, seeing what Roqini had noticed. “There’s a giant hole in the water up ahead, and the water is slowly pouring in.”

“That’s... bizarre,” muttered Krakana. “Should we avoid it, or try to investigate?”

“It looks dangerous,” said Guutana.

“Then we’ll avoid it at all costs!” Roqini cried.

Roqini did not yet know, nor did any of the Toa, that steering around that hole, as she was about to, would cause her to sail right over twelve Dairuno stones, concealed deep in a land that was submerged five hundred feet underwater.

But it did not matter. Because, like it or not, the Toa of Ayomeii would be in that hole very soon.

Chapter 4: Downfall
“Do you hear something?” asked Toa Barnoka to his companion Krandorn. “From above the walls?”

“No... All I hear is rushing water.” In the past few days, the city had continued to flood. Now only the highest buildings and the power plant still had their rooftops above water. Even worse, the monster formerly known as Zirralo still stalked around the city, picking off Matoran one-by-one. If the city had been overpopulated from having most of the island’s Matoran suddenly move there, it would not be for much longer.

Barnoka muttered, “If only Zirralo’s Kanohi Hikiri could be ours... I could swear I just heard yelling from above the walls!”

A Ga-Matoran screamed from nearby. The two Toa whirled to see Zirralo holding her by the neck and aiming a Cordak Blaster that she had grabbed in her time as a monster. Barnoka jumped at Zirralo, but it was too late. The Matoran was hit by the projectile and was blasted back into a building. She was dead before she hit the ground.

Barnoka winced at the sight. He charged at Zirralo, who quickly scurried off. “Coward! Get back here!”

Then there came another scream. Barnoka heard it first, and then even Krandorn seemed to hear it. It was coming from straight up.

“We’re gonna die!” came a voice from above. The Toa of Dyteeli stole glances at each other, and then stared upwards. Just then the edge of a ship peeked over the city walls, blocking out the little light in the city.

“Looks like we’re gonna die too, if that thing falls!” shouted Krandorn.



“We’re gonna die!” cried Roqini. “We’re gonna die!”

A few seconds ago, they had been steering around the hole just fine. Auserv had urged Roqini to check out the hole. He thought they might be near the island.

“But the sea isn’t green,” Roqini had protested. “Remember the prophecy?”

“Yes, I remember it,” said Xironu. “It said ‘The sea will be’ and the rest of that line was missing. Then the first word in the next line was ‘green’. For all we know, it could be saying the Matoran living there are green and the sea has a giant hole in it right near the island.”

“Well, the air does look a little green above the hole,” Grunekt pointed out.

“But we’re not going anywhere near there!” Guutana had insisted. “That hole is huge! Who knows what could be inside it?”

“Um... guys,” Xironu said quietly. “I think we are going near there. Very near. Right now.” The steady water flow into the pit was large enough to pull objects smaller than the pit down into it. And the city-sized hole was much, much bigger than the Barraki’s former ship.

As Roqini remembered those events, she was brought back to the present. She continued screaming. “We’re gonna die!”



As the ship slid into the hole created by Dyteeli’s city’s walls, it got caught on a part of the ceiling that had been attempted but abandoned shortly before the sea floor’s collapse. There was a horrifying sound as the wood the ship was made of splintered and cracked. The ship’s passengers either fell or jumped, falling several hundred feet to the water below. Their screams echoed throughout the city as they fell.

They all expected to meet a horrible watery death. The water cushioned their fall slightly. It was still painful, smacking into the water at such a high speed, but it was better than smashing into the real ground over twenty feet below. The seven figures lay still.



“Great,” Krandorn muttered to himself as a chunk of wood from the ship fell dangerously close to him. “Just great. Now we’ve got seven dead people floating in the water, a shipwreck suspended above the city, and it’s raining wood.”

“Maybe it is great,” called Barnoka, leaping from rooftop to rooftop to get to the one the Toa of Radiation sat on. “One of those ‘dead people’ is blue. Maybe it’s a Toa of Water, and she can help us with all of–“ he paused to gesture out into the city, covered in water–“this.”

“Or maybe they’re just some luckless Dark Hunters here to steal our Dairuno Stones.”

“You know those are just a myth, right?”

Krandorn sighed. “I’m not so sure. I... I found one when I was a Matoran. It was in the basement of the power plant, which used to be a temple, you know. It just looked like a rock with some markings on it, but when I picked it up, I felt a surge of power. It had to be a Dairuno Stone.”

“What did you do with it?” Barnoka demanded, suddenly concerned.

“It’s still in the power plant. For some reason, I was scared of it, so I just threw it.”

“If it really existed, it was probably destroyed in the disaster.”

“Yeah...” The Toa of Radiation’s voice trailed off.



Turaga Desurk spat out a mouthful of water, struggling to stay afloat. His frail body, he thought for sure, would have shattered against the water’s surface. Instead, he just felt like he had been slapped on the chest. He had hardly expected to be alive, but he was already starting to feel better.

He was the only of the travelers conscious. “I-is there anyone here?” he called.

Far in the distance, he detected some movement. “Who’s there?!” Suddenly he heard something land in the water behind him. He spun around to see a glowing two-headed shape rise from the water, snarling fiercely. It paddled towards him aggressively.

Desurk tried to back up, then realized he was floating in twenty foot-deep water. He dove under and began swimming away as quickly as he could.

But Turaga are not very good swimmers.

Like an ash bear scoops fish out of a river for its dinner, the monster grabbed Desurk out of the flood and threatened to crush him in its hands.

“Bad Zirralo!” came a voice from a rooftop. “Down!” A gray-and-green Toa leaped down in front of the monster and blasted it with energy. It snarled and dropped Desurk. The Toa stabbed at the monster with a trident, only for it to quickly counter with a staff of its own. It blasted water out of this staff, launching the strange Toa into a submerged building.

Another Toa, this one black and orange, jumped into the scene. “What have we told you about attacking our guests?” He drew a sword and it began glowing orange.

Desurk paddled over to the injured Toa. “What’s he doing?”

“He’s a Toa of Rahi,” replied the Toa. “He’s trying to control her. By the way, I don’t think I caught your name. I’m Krandorn, and he’s Barnoka.”

“I’m Desurk.” Krandorn nodded and turned towards the fight. The monster seemed to be struggling, as if half of it wanted to listen to Barnoka and the other half wanted nothing more than to kill him. The latter half won, knocking the Toa of Rahi underwater.

“I’ll go help him!” Krandorn cried, apparently having recovered.

“I’ll go get up my friends!”

Krandorn looked back at the tan-and-red Turaga. “You know, you don’t seem very... Turaga-like.”

“I’ll explain later,” Desurk said with a smile. Then he immediately frowned and swam over to Toa Krakana.

“Wake up, Krakana!” He shook the Toa of Earth as hard as he could, and even tried hitting him over the head. But he just floated like a corpse, face down in the water.

Fortunately, not all of the Toa were as sleepy as Krakana. Just from the noise of Desurk’s effort to wake up Krakana, a few other Toa, namely Roqini, Xironu and Auserv, woke up as well.

“Oh...” Roqini murmured. “We didn’t die.”

“No time to explain what’s happening, guys,” cried Desurk quickly. “Just go attack that monster!”

“Erm... okay,” Xironu muttered. As the Toa went to help the others, Desurk continued trying to wake the others.

Quick introductions were made as the new arrivals attempted to drive off the beast. Xironu tried to strangle one of the heads with a vine, but it just slashed the vine into bits. Roqini tried to knock it under with a wave, but it sent the wave in the opposite direction with its staff. And Auserv was rapidly attempting to create friendship towards the Toa in the beast with his concept's power, but not even that was working, for its brain was too simple to have emotions to manipulate.

If only I had my old element, I could take down this thing in half a second, Auserv thought. Suddenly his mask began to glow. A tiny bit of Auserv's memory returned to him. Again Mantax (and the other five Barraki) was before him, this time in a large city. Eight other Toa stood behind him, two of them the same Toa that had greeted the Toa of Ayomeii. His mask was glowing in this instant as well, and a bolt of lightning came from the sky and struck Mantax. As he howled in pain, Auserv snapped back to reality.

"I have a Kanohi Zelzor!" he shouted suddenly.

"Well, use it!" Krandorn shouted. Auserv nodded and launched a blast of electricity out of his staff.

But before it struck, the beast made one final move. It lunged at Barnoka. Its staff plunged into his chest, puncturing his armor and piercing the muscle beneath. And then the lightning bolt hit, and the beast fell and lay still, sinking underwater. Krandorn, mortified, shouted the name of his comrade, as if he thought that shouting loud enough could save his friend.

And it all happened in less than two seconds. By this point, the other Toa had been awakened and informed on the situation by Desurk. Guutana swam over to the fallen Toa, who lay on the surface of the water.

“Hey... Barnoka? Are you okay?” Guutana asked. Roqini instinctively clutched Turaga Desurk's hand, remembering when he had been a Toa-Kal, and the two had been in the same position Guutana and Barnoka were in now.

“Oh, not really...” Barnoka replied, rubbing the stab wound.

“Hang in there,” Guutana urged. “We can fix you! Roqini–oh, wait. You don’t have healing powers anymore.”

Roqini frowned. “I’m so sorry...”

The sharp pain in Barnoka's chest became dull, but so did everything--he felt entirely numb. "Am I going to die?" he muttered. Everything was becoming foggy... Every thought that occurred to Barnoka was blocked out by the numbness or the fear or death.

“No!” Guutana shouted quickly. “We’ll save you. Just don’t let go. Here... tell me about that monster we just fought. And you... Krandorn, is it? Could you go and find a doctor?” Krandorn nodded and scrambled onto a rooftop, hurrying away.

“The monster...?" Barnoka thought hard, ignored the pain, and forced his way into his own memories. "Well, she used to be a Toa of our island. Her name is Zirralo. Then there was the radiation, and the glowing Rahi... and they all got mixed together.”

Guutana had no idea what the Toa was talking about and figured he was delusional, but he nodded and continued to press him for more information, trying to keep him focused on consciousness and not on the pain. “What’s her motive?”

“...Motive? Hey... who are you, anyway?” His gaze became distant and he began to close his eyes.

Guutana slapped him. “Focus!” He snapped back to awareness.

Barnoka no longer knew what he was thinking nor what he was saying--words came out of his mouth on their own accord, and all he wanted was sleep. Surely that would end this unpleasant experience. “Erm... motive... motive... She’s just crazy, I think. Stop asking me these questions. I’m tired. I want to go to sleep.”

There was no changing his mind. Barnoka coughed and closed his eyes, and without another word, his heartlight flickered and his body grew cold. Barely detectable was a smile across his face, and if the Toa had not known better they would've thought he was just napping--and having a pleasant dream at that.

Guutana's mouth opened involuntarily. “We couldn’t save him. This is the third time this has happened to us. Toa are supposed to stop this from happening... and we keep causing it.”

"But it wasn't my fault this time!" Xironu said, attempting to lighten the mood. No one laughed.