User:The Inceptionist/The Mask of Infinity

This page contains the original unfinished draft of Mask of Infinity (Story) written by ToaInfinity.

Another Day, Another Rahi Tanuva dashed through the barren desert of Durima Nui, trying to evade the deadly Rahi in pursuit of him. The Rahi was tracking him down, wanting revenge on what Tanuva had done minutes ago. Tanuva was becoming tired of all of the running. The suns weren't out yet, however, so the landscape was cast in a gloomy shadow which lingered and swirled upon everything in site. But Tanuva didn’t care to notice. He had to keep running. Tanuva looked toward his feet and saw part of the ground cracking. A sharp metal fin stuck out of the ground, dragging forward under the desert floor and slicing through the dusty ground. What was that thing? Tanuva stopped running and skidded to a halt, and the fin did the same. He leaned down, attempting to touch it, but it zipped forward a few feet. Tanuva stepped forward and leaped after the strange object. Instead of gaining possession of it, he faceplanted against a rock and the fin proceeded forward once more. Suddenly, a loud THUD boomed through the air. Tanuva stopped what he was doing and looked around. He saw nothing but the desert. No living thing was in sight. It was hard to see, since it was still dark. What could've made the sound? Just then, he remembered what he was doing before chasing the fin. He was running from an enraged Rahi that was dead-set on killing him. Another echoing thud, now sounding closer than before, shook the desert floor. But even after the sound died down, the ground still rumbled. Cracks rippled and scattered, and pebbles bounced frantically against the vibrating ground. The fin began to rise out of the ground, and Tanuva saw that it was attached to an object. Only, to Tanuva's discovery, it wasn't an object. It was a Rahi. But it wasn't the one that he encountered earlier. He could still hear the original one's footsteps in the background. Tanuva stood in sheer disbelief, confused and scared all at the same time. But he couldn't run. It was almost as if he was glued to that exact spot, waiting for his inevitable death. The Rahi sniffed the air, towering above the helpless Matoran in front of him, and looked around. It caught a scent of Tanuva and lowered its head. Tanuva saw rows of sharp, bloodstained teeth in the beast's enormous mouth. The creature slammed its tail into the ground, creating a dent. It roared in Tanuva's face and showed its claws, making Tanuva quiver in fear. He found the strength of his leg muscles and bolted, dodging the Rahi. It began stomping after him, slowly at first but nonetheless gaining momentum. Tanuva suddenly felt a burst of energy from deep down inside him and ran even faster. He looked back and saw now that both Rahi were behind him, and they were both equally furious. Perhaps a Matoran would make a nice Rahi snack. As Tanuva progressed on, he realized that running somewhere without a set destination would do him no good. He peered off into the distance, looking for a trace of civilization. He saw a faint line of flags above a canyon. Maybe someone lived here. The least he could do was take a chance. After all, his only other choice was to be devoured by enraged Rahi. Take a Look At This "Gulik, I think you should take a look at this," said Najax to Gulik. Najax stared through a pair of binoculars, observing what was charging for their village. "What is it?" Turaga Gulik groaned, picking up his staff that was leaning against a huge boulder. He shuffled over to Najax. He stole the binoculars and placed them over his eyes. " What in the name of Mata Nui," he mumbled to himself. "Advise our Toa. Send a few out to figure out what those things are." "Um, Gulik, I don't think there's time for that," Najax argued, taking back the binoculars. "Why?" "Because here they come!" Najax dropped his binoculars and hopped into a wide canyon with numerous buildings inside. He landed on top of a tall tower with a siren mounted at the top. He activated the siren, and a loud noise echoed in the canyon, and hundreds of Matoran flooded out of their houses and buildings. The new mob of Matoran shoved, pushed, and cried, and a squad of Toa led the crowd into a huge stadium in the center of the city. A sudden wind picked up, blowing a line of flags at the top of the canyon where Gulik and Najax were only moments ago. Gulik was now making his way into the stadium along with everyone else. The wall of clouds in the sky was clearing up, and morning was finally arriving. The suns peeked through the clouds, gleaming against all of the land of Durima Nui. The oceans of sand sparkled in the midst of the light, and the sky restored to its light blue coloring. But no one was admiring any of the desert beauty; they were all too worried to get into the stadium and spare their lives. A green Toa named Grik hopped across a path of rocks and grasped the ledge of the cliff wall. He hoisted himself up and hopped to his feet. He pulled dual aeroblades from behind that were previously strapped to his back. Pumped with the thrill of battle, Grik charged for the uncontrollable mob swiftly gallivanting toward the canyon. "Oh, yes," whispered Grik to himself, adrenaline coursing through his veins. "I live for this stuff!" Durima Nui "Hey, I was right!" Tanuva thought out loud as he approached the line of flags above the village in the canyon. "Hey! Anyone! I need help, he shouted ahead, hoping someone would hear his pleading and save him from the ravenous beasts chasing him. A tall, green figure sprinted in Tanuva's direction, appearing larger and larger as he became nearer. But it was too late for the figure to save him now.  "AAHHH!" shrieked Tanuva in excruciating pain as a Rahi injected his rusty claws into his leg. He doubled over in pain and fell, unable to walk now that his leg was gushing blood. The other Rahi scrambled up in front of him and lapped up his blood, thirsty for the flavor of gore. The creature ripped and tore at Tanuva, pulling off chunks of his armor and ripping flesh off of his body. The livid beast persisted, smashing the vunerable Matoran, leaving him in more and more pain with each blow. Tanuva felt closer and closer to the end of his life. The Rahi was yearning for the pleasure of bringing death. "Hey, you hideously overgrown lizard, get your filthy paws off of that Matoran!" ordered Grik. With a mighty swing of an aeroblade, he struck a Rahi square in the chest, leaving it stumbling in a haze of pain. It groaned and roared weakly, glaring at Grik with a fierce blaze in his eyes, but a touch of weakness peeked through. The Rahi didn't have the energy to run. Instead, he fell to the ground and stopped breathing. "Eat it, you ugly sack!" the Toa bellowed in furiosity, kicking a wave of baking sand in the monster's face. He swooped around to the other side of Tanuva, who was now wheezing with blood clogging his lungs. Grik kicked the other surviving Rahi in the head, denting his jaw. It reared back on its hind legs and hissed, gooey blobs of drool sputtering out of its enormous mouth. Grik shoved his arm into its mouth and grabbed its tongue, casing it to gag wildly. A hot mixture of green and orange chunks cascaded out of its mouth and drenched Grik in a steamy waterfall. He tried shaking most of it off, but it was too heavy, and the smell could've just about knocked him out. He clasped his aeroblades together and thrust it into the side of the creature's skull. He ripped it out and large chunks of wet, pink brain splattered onto the ground and sizzled with the heat of the desert, singing the pieces brown. Green blood poured out of the gaping hole in the Rahi's head, and it fell over with a huge smash that propelled a plume of hazy dust into the air. Tanuva was in utter silence, soaking in the gore of the battle, still leaking blood. Grik stuck his hand out, waiting for Tanuva to grab it so he could help him out. But Tanuva was too weak. He couldn't do anything but sit there almost lifelessly. "What were you doing that made those atrocious animals follow you?" wondered Grik as he stuck his blades into the sand, cleaning the blood off of them. "I...I...was walking...and saw an...egg...looked edible...hungry...turned out to be...Rahi egg...mother chased me...tried to get away...saw something interesting...tried to get it...was a Rahi fin...almost died...." stammered Tanuva, too weak to finish a full sentence. "Why couldn't you...have rescued me...quicker?" "Hey, a simple "thank you" wouldn't hurt, pal. I just saved your life! You're just lucky those things didn't kill you!" Medic  "Take my hand, buddy, you're gonna need it," ordered Grik as he held his hand out for Tanuva, waiting for him to clasp it. Tanuva simply looked at it, too energy-deprived to do anything. Grik sighed and bent down, then slung the Matoran over his back. "Let's get you over to a hospital somewhere in the village. Well, it’s more like a city,” he corrected himself, gesturing towards the expansive array of buildings not too far in front of them. As Grik sauntered along towards the flags marking the city's location, Tanuva's chest clanked against Grik's sharp, metal shoulder pads, hitting him right in the spot where the Rahi had hit him. He nearly passed out with pain, but could only manage to spit out a weak "ugh."  "What's wrong back there?" asked Grik after hearing the grunt. "You okay?"   "No...." said Tanuva. Thick streams of blood ran from his chest and drizzled onto Grik's neck. He shook with a slight tickle as the blood trickled upon him. He put his hand up to his neck and wiped the liquid off, seeing it splatter onto the sand.   "Whoa, you're bleeding harder," Grik noticed, flicking the last of the blood off of the tips of his fingers. "We need a medic. Now." Concerned to save Tanuva, Grik started hustling quickly, taking wide steps to reach his destination faster. When he arrived at the flags, he looked down into the canyon. "Someone get a doctor! He's hurt!" Grik called down, gesturing at Tanuva. The alarm that sounded earlier was now seized, so hopefully a Matoran would hear the cries for help. Grik grasped the ledge of the canyon stuck an aeroblade into the side of the rock wall. He held onto it and slid down, sword grinding through the wall, and finally reached the base of the canyon. The last of the Matoran quickly made their way into the stadium, unaware that the Rahi had been defeated. Only one Matoran was traveling in the opposite direction of the rest; her glossy blue armor glistened in the intense light of the suns. She came up to Grik. "Are you the one that called for a medic?" she asked. "Yes, that was me," Grik responded. "So what's wrong?" she wondered. Grik gently pulled Tanuva off of his shoulder, and Tanuva slipped off and plopped onto a walkway like a lifeless blob. The medic gasped in horror; she had never seen something so severe. She didn't have time to ask what had happened right now. She needed to worry about bringing the Matoran back to a life-sustaining status. The doctor opened up the case that she was carrying and searched through the contents. She found a bottle filled with a thick liquid inside and grabbed it. "Be cautious, this will probably sting," she warned Tanuva as she unscrewed the lid. She gently swirled the contents and wiped the dust off of the label, reading it just to make sure that this was the right concoction. The label read "ProtoHeal." This was the stuff, alright. Tipping the bottle slightly over Tanuva's chest, she let a bit of it drip onto him. "A...aaa...aaahhh!" he weakly groaned. The liquid bubbled on the surface of Tanuva's body. Almost instantly, though, the liquid began sealing up the wounds on his torso, then moved onto his legs. The mixture had healed him. He rose to his feet and let out a sigh of thankfulness, excited to regain his life. "What is that stuff?" Tanuva inquired, amazed at his sudden recovery. "It's called ProtoHeal," the doctor answered, holding up the bottle as she screwed the top on. "It's a mixture of liquid and energized healing protodermis. It can heal just about any injury. It just can't bring you back to life." Tanuva tried to bring down his level of insanity and sat on the walkway. "Thanks, um...I don't know your name." "I don't think any of us know each other's names," Grik noticed. The medic placed the bottle in its case and latched it closed. "My name is Turah," she introduced herself. "I'm Grik, a noble Toa," Grik cockily bragged, flexing his muscles. "What are you doing?" asked Turah, obviously unimpressed. "Um, I, I have a sore arm," Grik said, coming up with a pathetic excuse. "I see...." Turah said. “Where are we headed?”  “Arena Durima.”   Turah paused. “Why was that thing built, anyway? Aren’t battles just pointless? It’s a waste of energy,” she concluded. “Yes,” Grik started, “but Turaga Gulik thinks that battles are entertaining to the Matoran.”  "Just so you all know, I'm Tanuva," the Matoran interrupted, stopping their conversation. "I'm not from around here." "Well, then where are you from?" asked Grik. "I lived in another small city on the other side of Hura Magna called Durima Nui," Tanuva said. After the words had come out of his mouth, Turah and Grik glanced at each other with an expression of concern on their faces. Durima Nui was an enemy of Avaha Nui. An Unwelcomed Guest  The group ambled down a wide walkway, passing by numerous deserted buildings. Not a single soul treaded the paths of the village; the entire place was deserted. The only noise they could hear was the occasional shuffle of a small Rahi lizard traveling over the rocky ground, and in the background was the faint, worried chatter of frightened Matoran in the stadium. As they progressed on, Tanuva noticed a huge, grayish brown structure that slightly blended into the canyon. On the outside were broken weapons and pieces of armor scattered and resting against rocks. Two flags with the Durima Nui symbol on them waved and were stuck in the ground on either side of a large entrance. On the inside were thousands of Matoran, sitting and squirming in their seats restlessly. "What is this place?" Tanuva wondered in awe. "This, my friend, is the symbol of any warrior. The home of entertainment. The excitement of all Matoran. The pride of Durima Nui--"  "Just get on with it!" Turah ordered, growing bored of Grik's fancy talk. "This is the Arena Durima. People of all kinds come here to battle the city's finest warriors. We also use this place for other things, like for the Turaga's important announcements or for shelter, which is how it's functioning right now," Grik explained. They came closer to the front of the building, avoiding sharp blades jutting from the ground. They passed through the main entryway, and all of the Matoran immediately swooshed their heads around and glared at the three walking in. Everything became silenced. They were the only ones that weren't in seats besides the Turaga standing behind a podium. He was speaking into a microphone-like device. When he saw that everyone's attention was at something else, he turned around and saw the three walking in. "Fellow Matoran," the Turaga started, "I present to you...your heroes!" The crowd began whooping and cheering, voices full of glee, in honor of the trio. Tanuva didn't feel like much of a hero, though. After all, he was the one who led the deranged Rahi to the city in the first place. And he almost got killed. He couldn't even save himself. But the crowd continued cheering. "Settle now, Matoran," Turaga Gulik ordered, observing that the screaming from the ecstatic fans was only growing louder. "No, Gulik, let them shout!" forced Grik, bubbling with joy from all the attention that, in Grik's opinion, was directed solely towards him. He killed the Rahi. He thought he should recieve the praise. Turah walked up to the podium, and Gulik looked at her. She began whispering something in his ear, and the Turaga nodded with a strange confusion. "I see," he whispered to himself once Turah was finished informing him. Gulik cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone. "Matoran," he addressed the crowd. "It seems as though we have a hero who is not from our great island." He pointed at Tanuva as he spoke. His name is Tanuva." Immediately, the crowd started hollering with happiness once again, and their boisterous cheering began forming into a chant. "Tanuva!" they cried. "Tanuva! Tanuva! Tanuva! Tanuva! Tanuva!"  When the Matoran calmed once again, Gulik gestured for Tanuva to approach the podium. He walked up, cautiously, not feeling ready to stand in the vicinity of a powerful Turaga.   "And where might you be from, great noble one?" Gulik said, almost in praise. "A-Avaha Nui," he stuttered.   The crowd gasped in shock. They stared, in pure disbelief. It can't be, they thought to themselves. All of a sudden, they began shouting again, but this time it was not out of glee. It was out of madness. The Matoran screamed and cried, and soon they began throwing bits of food at Tanuva.   "Avaha Nui?" Gulik questioned with wide eyes, hoping he didn't hear Tanuva right.   "Y-yes," answered Tanuva, hiding his face, now obviously discovering that he shouldn’t have given this information.   "Tanuva, Avaha Nui is one of the worst enemies of Durima Nui," the Turaga explained. "We have warred with them for centuries on Hura Magna, ever sincewe created our first village. Avaha Nui is not to be trusted.” He inhaled greatly, as if he was ready to make a speech. “On behalf of my people, I sentence you to the Sand Pit…for death.”  Tanuva whimpered in fear. The dismal word hung about like the chains of a prisoner. "But why do I have to die? You can’t just kill me for entering the city! This is madness!" As he sobbed, flooding with tears, two bulky Matoran guards walked up to him and clasped his arms. Tanuva squirmed and kicked, but he could not escape their forceful grip. They dragged him off to an exit on the other side of the stadium. Tanuva tried to stand and run away, but the guards shoved him to the ground. He hit his head with an enormous bang, and everything went black. A Cold Concrete Room  Tanuva awoke in a dark, windowless room. He was sitting on a damp concrete floor. He looked around, but he couldn't tell where the walls were. It was too dark do see anything. Even just glancing at his hand was nearly impossible. He stood up, but hit his head against metal bars. He looked up and saw six metal bars going across from one side of the wall to another. Tanuva peeked through the metal bars and saw nothing except a huge vertical tunnel. He figured that he was at the base of it. Since he couldn't stand, Tanuva crawled forward and felt around, trying to reach the wall to see how long the room was. He hit his face against the wall and sent a thudding noise echoing up the tunnel. Based on the distance he'd traveled, the tunnel wasn't that large. Actually, it was very small; there was only enough room for two Toa to stand side-by-side. Tanuva suddenly started breathing heavily. Claustrophobia had kicked in. His heart thumped rapidly in his chest, and his eyes widened. Where's the way out? he thought, desperate to escape. He crawled quickly across the tunnel and dragged his hands against every wall, searching for an exit. But he felt nothing except cold concrete. Overcome with a sense of panic, he slammed his hands against the wall. He reached his arms up and pounded on one of the metal bars. After a few seconds, the bar started denting to the side. He stopped, looking at a new gap. Perhaps a gap small enough to slip through. He had an idea. He lied down on his back, facing the bars. He coiled towards the ground, and then relinquished an outburst of strength at the bars. They all bent to the side and left a wide opening. Tanuva climbed through the opening and pulled a bar off. He dented the tip, giving it a sharp point, and stuck it into the wall. He continued doing this, climbing up the tunnel with the bar, sort of like a mountain climber. Finally, he poked his head out of the top of the tunnel and took in a sudden blast of light. It was basically pitch-black in his tunnel cell, so the suns hurt his eyes. But at least now, he was almost out. He hoisted himself out of the tunnel and plopped onto the sand. Nothing much was around him, except a few flags. He stood up and looked down, and he could see the city. The tunnel had led him to the top of the canyon. "Finally, free. If I stayed there any longer, I would've been executed," murmured Tanuva to himself, feeling relieved. Tanuva wanted to leave and get back to his hometown. But he remembered Grik and Turah. He didn't want to leave without them. They were his friends, and they saved his life. But I can't, he thought to himself. If I go down into the canyon, I'll just be put back in jail and get killed. Though the more he thought about it, the more he longed for his companions. He took a deep breath and searched for signs of bravery within him. After a few moments of thinking, he dusted himself off and slid down the canyon into the village. Not a Time To Ask Questions  “You summoned me, Circam?” Leviathos asked as he finally saw the Order of Mata Nui member. “Yes, Leviathos. I am glad I found you,” Circam responded, a feeling of relief sink into him. Leviathos stood blankly, tapping his foot. “So…what do you need?” he asked, irritation in his voice. Circam gestured with his arm for Leviathos to follow. “Come with me. Mission briefing will begin in a separate chamber.”  “Wait, wait, wait. What mission?” queried Leviathos, every once in a while stopping, thinking Circam would stop as well so Leviathos could speak to him. But Circam was in a hurry. “This isn’t time to ask questions!” an annoyed Circam stated. “Your mission is vital to the Order of Mata Nui, and virtually everyone else. Now, like I said, come with me. No more questions until we get to briefing.”  Circam progressed down a long walkway, oblivious to everything around him. The passage cut through the center of a large lobby, branching out to various rooms. Leviathos promptly followed, finally realizing that his mission probably was as important as Circam wad explained. Soon enough, they arrived at a small, quiet room. Inside stood only a few other of the Order members, whispering quietly to one another. The chatter came to a halt when Leviathos and Circam entered. “Ah, Leviathos. Good to see you,” a member said. “You have a mission.”  “I know that. Just skip to the important parts,” hastily responded Leviathos. Slightly offended, the other member continued speaking. “An object landed on the planet of Hura Magna. We strongly think it is a kanohi. Possibly the one from a prophecy.”  “Do you mean the mask of—infinity?” questioned Leviathos, now becoming interested. The member nodded his head. “The Order has agreed to send you out and retrieve the mask. If it holds the power that we think it does, than no one else can have it. We need to keep it safe, here at the Order of Mata Nui base,” the member continued. “The mask landed somewhere in the desert, but unfortunately, most of the planet is desert.”  “Oh, great,” Leviathos groaned. “How the heck am I supposed to find it?”  “Well, you’ll just have to search hard for it,” the member said weakly. “But, if you would like, we can send a partner to go with you to Hura Magna.” Leviathos nodded his head, taking the offer. “Great!” Circam exclaimed. “We can get Toa Mirdex to assist you.”  Leviathos frowned. “A Toa? He’ll just get in the way and slow things down! I don’t want to go with him!”  “The only other option is to go alone.”   Leviathos didn’t particularly like his choices. He pondered the situation for a minute, then looked again at Circam. “Fine. Give me the Toa. Just tell him not to screw things up.”  Circam approached a computer-like monitor and spoke into a microphone. Intercom throughout the buildings released the sound of his voice. “Toa Mirdex, please report to the mission briefing room immediately. Again, Toa Mirdex, you are needed in the mission briefing chamber.” The group waited, and waited, and waited. But Mirdex hadn’t shown up. Circam tried the intercom again. Still no luck. Leviathos peeked his head outside, hoping to spot Mirdex. He wasn’t in sight. You Can Never Find a Sword When You Need One "I said, BACK AWAY, RAHKSHI!" Toa Mirdex, clearly antagonized, bellowed. Still, the Rahkshi continued to clash with the struggling Toa. The waves of the ocean next to them splashed onto shore and sprinkled Mirdex with water. He shook it off. Being a fire Toa, he hated water. He clasped his hands together and channeled a beam of energy through his body. An explosion of lava gushed out of his hands and stung the Rahkshi. It burned and scorched, but the Rahkshi didn't give up. Starting to become tempered, Mirdex unsheathed a huge fireblade. He stabbed a Rahkshi with it and jumped over it to kill it from behind. Instead, the Rahkshi swooshed around and knocked Mirdex to the ground. He was flat on his back, groaning. The Rahkshi kicked his fireblade into the ocean and the flame on it fizzled out. The unignited weapon floated farther out into the water. Mirdex couldn't grab it now. If he went into the water, he could die. His elemental power would fail. "Stupid creature," muttered Mirdex as he scrambled to his feet. He couldn't see his sword now. The only weapon he had left was his fists. Jabbing and punching, Mirdex began losing energy, and he wasn't doing much damage. He needed a sword. No weapon was in sight except for the Rahkshi's staff-like objects. Making an attempt to grab one, the Rahkshi instead whacked Mirdex's leg. "OW! IN THE NAME OF MATA NUI!" he cried in agony. "You're going to pay for that!" He whisked around to the other side of a blue Rahkshi and slammed it with his elbow in the back of its neck. It froze, paralyzed, and fell flat on its face. This just made the other Rahkshi more furious. They began swarming and circling Mirdex like a group of bloodthirsty sharks. Growling, the Rahkshi threatened to eat the Toa. Mirdex suddenly lost his confidence now that he was surrounded. There weren't any weapons for him to use to hold the evil Rahksi off. He desperately glanced off into a forest far off in the mountains of Daxia. He wished that another Toa would come out of the forest and help defeat the Rahkshi. He needed to do something, because delaying the situation wasn't going to improve anything. Then he remembered. The Order, he thought. Mirdex suddenly darted towards the forest. The puzzled Rahkshi watched him progress farther and farther into the distance. They turned and looked at one another and began to communicate with strange hisses. Finally, a growling Rahkshi followed the Toa. Another Rahkshi wasn't far behind, and one by one they began running into the forest. Exile  Where was Grik? This is exactly what Tanuva was wondering as he snuck through the shadows of Durima Nui. It wouldn't be long before someone found out that he escaped the Sand Pit jail. Tanuva wanted to just head for the hills and be done with this wretched desert city, but he couldn't leave without Grik. Tanuva was approaching the Arena Durima. He slowly, carefully, snuck up to the side of the round stadium. He edged along the arena until he reached the opening that led into the main arena area. Silently, he rounded his head and peered into the stadium. The Matoran and Toa had cleared out. An eerie silence lingered, sending a chill down Tanuva's spine. He tiptoed into the arena, cautious not to make any noise. He still wasn't sure if a stray Po-Matoran was left wandering around through the stadium seats. He was about to say something out loud, but he hesitated. He finally managed to spit out, "H-hello?"