The Madness Series/Genesis

Chapter One
Infernum

Huh.

A cave.

How quaint.

Who would’ve known a Great Being, one of such grand stature, one of such a far-flung and well-known name, one of…

I digress.

Basically, my old pal Mata Nui was living in this roughly-hewn cave in the middle of a desert.

A midday sun unobstructed by clouds shone brightly above me and a stiff breeze blew, showering me with sand. Normally, this would make me set the place on fire in a bout of irritability, but deserts are notoriously hard to set ablaze.

And so, I tip my beloved top hat downwards, wrap my cape that much tighter around me, and bear it.

I reach the entrance of the cave.

It stinks. It stinks something awful. Awful as in the month-old… excretions… of Nui-Jaga.

So. Not only does he live in a cave, but he’s made his home in a Nui-Jaga nest.

That’s low.

I step forward, not even bothering to hide my disgust at a rotten corpse. Time had not been kind to the huge scorpion. From the looks of it, most of the organic flesh had been eaten away.

I also notice, to my eternal regret, tiny little white orbs dotting the carcass. Some lay completely still, looking all innocent.

Others were wriggling, rocking to and fro. Still others had already burst and the Niazesk they held were already feasting on the Nui-Jaga.

Lovely. I’m tempted to just burn the whole thing, ‘til not even ashes would remain.

“Don’t”.

A rich, cultured voice echoes throughout the entire cave network. A voice full to the brim with power. A voice seemingly equal parts amused and stern.

And I grin.

“Big Nui, my man,” I holler back. “How’s everything?”

He gave me no response, unless a shimmering of walls counted as a response. I was showered with multi-coloured sparks as the cavern around me peeled away.

An illusion.

Just an illusion. It was just all an elaborate illusion.

“You like it, Infernum?” Mata Nui, seated on a flat lump of rock, swivelled towards me. In one hand was the Ignika. The other, an odd-looking gadget that slightly resembled a rounded hammer. I think Mata Nui once told me it was something called a… a microphone, or something. And, on his face was a Kanohi Mahiki, though one I’d never seen before. It was gold and shimmering, as if it was forged from pure light.

“Well, apart from the smell, I did. You got me.”

Mata Nui set down the microphone, and his voice returned to its ordinary, friendly, and wise self.

“It’s another experiment I’ve been doing,” he explained. “The Mask of Illusions is powerful in its own right, but making a perfect, flawless illusion? That is what I’m after, Infernum.”

I smile and humour him. Ever since he finally found a reason to return to the world of the living, Mata Nui’s been voraciously trying to find answers to any and nearly all questions. Understandable, I guess. After all, one does need some catching up after a decade of sleeping.

And so, I leave him to his research.

Mata Nui continued on. “So, what brings you here? Surely not for that favour I owe you!” The last sentence has the barest hint of sarcasm in it. I’ve been holding onto an IOU from Mata Nui for years now, but I’ve never found a use for it. It’s become our little idea of a joke.

“Actually,” I reply, eyeing my old friend. “I think it is high time you repay me.”

Not until now, it seems. I now have a use, a desperate, urgent use for it. Life-threatening, in fact.

A pause. An uncomfortable one. As soon as those words left my mouth, a heavy silence descended upon us and neither of us were very willing to break it.

It was Mata Nui who summoned up enough courage. With a hesitant clearing of his throat, he asked me the million-widget question. “I see. What do you need me to do, Infernum?”

I feel a relieved smile start to creep across my face. Though, in all honesty, I don’t know why I would be afraid. Since when has Mata Nui ever broken a promise?

“I need you to do two things, Mata Nui.”

He huffs with exasperation. “Stop being so melodramatic. I’ve already told myself that this day would eventually come, so I’ll do whatever you need done.”

“Fine. I need a small book, two scrolls, a chisel, and thirteen stone tablets.”

The Great Being, in the middle of tweaking his microphone, comes to a sudden, grinding halt.

“Is this a joke, Infernum?”

I ignore him and barrel forwards. “I’ll also need a fresh batch of Toa.”

At that, Mata Nui grows more somber, but the incredulity in his eyes began to die away. Clearly, he was expecting a large request such as this. “Do you have the Toa Stones, then?”

This time around, it is my turn to not respond. Instead, I shove a list under his face.

Mata Nui statches the list from me with a deft movement of his fingers. Almost as an afterthought, he then bats away my arm still stiffly stuck at his face.

Seconds pass.

The Great Being’s face was unreadable, a literal mask, devoid of expression. In all my life, I had never seen a look like that on my old friend’s face.

I think… I think it was… suspicion?

At last, Mata Nui spoke. “What’s going on here? You say you’ve got all the Toa ready, but you want to alter them? And how can you have seventeen Toa? There are only sixteen elements! And what’s this business with an Olmak?”

I try not to allow a pleading tone slip into my voice, but it creeps in anyways.

“Please. Just trust me.”

Mata Nui simply glances at me. “Why?”

I hesitate. The only answer I’m able to give is a blank, helpless stare.

My erstwhile friend’s gaze doesn’t waver either. We go on for what must have been a minute like that, just staring at each others eyes; one a bright blue pair, the other a burning orange set.

‘Each minute I spend here is a minute lost, and I don’t have many left,’ I wanted to say. But I didn’t. I couldn't.

At long last, Mata Nui hold up a finger to me, and then turns around. The finger so obviously meant “wait”. And that was exactly what I did.

No, that was a lie.

Instead, I allowed my gaze to wander. Though it wasn’t the first time I’ve visited Mata Nui, I’ve never ceased to be amazed at the technology he boasts. Even on the old island of Arthaka, there was nothing ‘’this’’ advanced. Every inch of the grotto was covered with a terribly confusing array of snaking wires, blinking lights, strange looking knobs, and huge, glowing windows. I believe the latter were called “monitors”.

“Infernum.”

Mata Nui’s voice derailed my trains of thought and it careened off the rails, taking out the station out along with it.

Yes, I was that shocked at being addressed. And the fact that Mata Nui now wore a Kanohi Rode didn’t make me feel any better.

He continued on. “So, tell me,” he began, a soft glow suffusing the Rode. “What’s happening?”

I hesitate. Even with all my power, I cannot cheat a Mask of Truth forged by a Great Being.

Yet, I plaster the biggest, most fake smile I can muster on my face. I must look like a serial killer.

“Nothing! I’m just trying to cash in that favour you’ve owed me for so long.”

It was the truth, wasn’t it?

Mata Nui’s eyebrows went up. “Nothing? Nothing at all?” The Kanohi Rode continued to shine. I swear, it felt like the light was burning away my denials.

“Yeah. That’s right, nothing.”

The two of us went back to staring at each other. One pair of blue eyes, searching, searching, searching ever deeper for the truth.

One pair of orange eyes, wide with… fear? Impossible. I do not fear.

Mata Nui suddenly raises his hand. I jump. Will he strike at me? Will he…?

He exchanges the Rode for the Ignika. And, with a snap of his fingers, a pile of tablets materialize, along with the book, chisel, and scrolls I had requested. They all settle to the floor with a soft whump.

Upon doing that, he turns to face away me. In a loud voice, he declares, “I think I need a break. A long break. I will head outside this room and I’ll have no idea what will be done in this room while I’m gone. When I return to this room, it will be exactly as it was before. Therefore, that means nobody was here.”

And with that, he briskly heads off into the cave tunnels leading to the surface.

tbw