Pushing Back the Dark

Pushing Back the Dark is a story written by as part of the 2015 reboot of BIONICLE, or the second generation of the theme. It revolves around the arrival of the Masters on Okoto and documents their quest for the Mask of Creation aided by the Protectors.

Prologue: The Legend
''A long time ago on the mythical island of Okoto. The islanders all lived in harmony. It was a place of great wonders and beautiful landscapes.''

Out of the island's six elemental forces: Fire, Water, Jungle, Stone, Earth and Ice, two brothers, known as the Mask Makers, created Masks of Power.

Each brother bore a special mask: Makuta owned the Mask of Control, and Ekimu the Mask of Creation.

''The brothers gave the islanders many masks, but Ekimu's were the most prized and treasured. Makuta became envious and forged an evil plan.''

''It was a sacred law that a Mask could never contain the power of more than one element, lest it become too strong and dangerous. But Makuta wanted to create the strongest Mask of all time; the Mask of Ultimate Power.''

''When Makuta put it on, it took control over him, and the island began to shake and crumble. Realizing what his brother had done, Ekimu managed to knock the Mask from Makuta's face. A shockwave rolled across the land, sending both brothers into an endless sleep.''

The Masks were scattered across the island,

Waiting for a time when someone would come looking for them...

Chapter 1: Prophecy of Heroes
''On the mythical island of Okoto, ancient Masks of Power were hidden away for only the strongest to find and claim. But, evil was rising, growing stronger by the minute, searching for the Masks.''

The Region of Stone, thousands of years ago.

The island had begun to shake and crumble. A shockwave had then rolled across Okoto, turning the skies sour, and rain began to pour down. As they ran, they could still hear the echo of the shockwave, like a giant had clapped his hands together.

The Protectors of the time ran to where they had heard the blast come from. Their weapons clanging and their feet thumping against the ground. They came to a giant crater in the ground, and they saw the nearly lifeless body of Ekimu laying in the center of it, no Mask on his face, no movement.

There was, however, a voice. It was like a whisper, and it was coming from Ekimu. How this was possible, they did not know, but they listened, they listened to his words...

After they heard Ekimu cease to speak, the Protector of Water of that time spoke. “We need to bury him. But we have to do it in the City.”

The Protectors nodded in agreement.

They climbed down into and crater and lifted Ekimu and carried him out of the hole in the ground. They traveled through Okoto for several hours, eventually coming to the ancient city of Okoto, the City of the Mask Makers. The bridge to the city had been damaged by the shockwave, and the villagers had been evacuated. The city had become unstable, and was not safe for them. The ground had been soaked by the heavy rainfall just hours ago, making it even more dangerous to cross into the city.

“Alright, we're going to need to be careful here,” the Protector of Earth from that time said.

They began to walk across the bridge slowly and steadily. They made sure to take small steps to prevent themselves from slipping and falling to their deaths. After what seemed like hours, they finally made it across the bridge and into the city. They carried him towards a graveyard.

The rest of the city was like a ghost town, with buildings broken and their fragments scattered everywhere.

They came into the graveyard, which looked like a place where evil hid. They came to a large mausoleum with a sculpture of the Mask of Creation over it. They pulled the door open and carried the unconscious Mask Maker inside. They brought him in and the end of the building laid a golden sarcophagus that was craved loosely in the shape of the Mask Maker, retaining the obvious shape of the Mask of Creation.

The Protector of Fire of that time went over to the casket and slid the lid off. The other Protectors hoisted Ekimu's body into the coffin and stared at their former leader. The Protector of Jungle of that time went over to a carving on the wall that was shaped like one of their Elemental Masks that had been handed down to them from their fathers and from their fathers before them. The Protector pushed the carving inwards, revealing a secret hatch.

The carving lifted itself out of the way and revealed a blended gold and blue Mask just like the one of the carving. The Protector took out the Mask and walked over to the open casket, and the Protectors stood on either side of the the sarcophagus. The Protector of Jungle held the Mask above the Mask Maker's face. The Protector of Stone from that time reached out and grabbed the other side of the Mask, and together they placed the Mask on Ekimu's face.

The Protector of Fire pressed a carving-shaped button on the casket the the lid slide closed, their Mask Maker being laid to rest.

As they left the city that had once been the home of the two Mask Makers: Makuta and Ekimu and various Islanders. The Protectors looked back at their city as they stepped off the damaged bridge, several emotions flooding them.

But they remembered what Ekimu had spoken to them, the Prophecy of Heroes, and passed it down to their children, as a beacon of hope for them.

As a light in the dark.

Okoto, present day.

Lava bubbled and burped in the Region of Fire. Hot air ascended from the flames and up through the houses in the village. They had built their houses above the lake of lava, along with pretty much everything else. The houses themselves were built into the large rocks that jutted out from the ground. Nobody knew why, but the Fire Tribe Villagers loved being next to boiling lava.

The Protector of Fire looked down over the village, his blue eyes watching for any Skull Spiders that would attack their village. They had invaded the island in search of the three Legendary Masks of Power; the Mask of Control, the Mask of Ultimate Power, and the Mask of Creation.

Black clouds covered the skies above the Region, most of them caused by the three massive volcanoes that inhabited the island. The eruptions of these volcanoes shook the whole island, and even caused evacuations of villages if the lava flowed close enough.

The Protector hopped down from his perch and onto a bridge that spanned over over the lake of lava. Villagers who were walking on the bridge turned at his sudden arrival and he nodded to them and they kept walking.

He looked and saw his son running towards him, his blue eyes glowing bright. Narmoto, the Protector of Fire, knelt down to meet his son, embracing him in a hug. With the threat of Skull Spiders, he could barely get home at night. He often spent the nights either in the watch tower or just staying up all night, which wasn't good for him. For now, it was good to be reunited with his family.

“Are there any Skull Spiders going to attack, father?”

“Not that I know of, my son, but they will come.”

Worry filled his son's eyes. Narmoto saw this and comforted his son.

“Do not worry, my son. You are strong, you are brave, and you are loyal to your land. You will someday, after I pass from this world, make an excellent Protector. But for now, you must protect your mother from these beasts-.”

He was cut off by the sound several villagers screaming. He turned to see many villagers running in their direction, and behind them were about six dozen green Skull Spiders. The Protector stood up and said to his son.

“Get back to the house and protect your mother. I will get rid of these monsters.” His son looked up at him, fear over him. “Don't worry, my son, I will push them back into the dark from which they came.”

His son turned and ran with the other villagers and towards his house, glancing back at his father as he ran. The Protector turned back towards the Skull Spiders. His Elemental Fire Blaster came from his back and rested on his shoulder. He ignited his two Flame Swords. As the Spiders got closer, Narmoto's blaster began to spin. He smiled and unleashed hell upon the beasts.

The red beams of Fire energy destroyed the Skull Spiders, blasting them off of the bridge and into the lava below their feet. A few Skull Spiders survived his blasts and jumped at the Protector. He lifted his twin Flame Sword and knocked the Spiders away, leaving burn marks on their backs.

He turned to see Skull Spiders all over the village, looking for the Masks again. They kept raiding this village in search of the three Masks, every time they failed in their quest. He saw Skull Spiders crawling on his home. A rage suddenly filled him.

“The Masks of Power you seek are not here, Lord of Skull Spiders! Would the Protectors of Old be stupid enough to hide the most powerful Masks on Okoto in one of their villages? That would be putting their people in harm's way. Now leave, you wretched beast!”

The Spiders turned to look at him, their red eyes glowing brightly. Far across Okoto, six eyes watched the Protector through a Golden Mask. It gritted its teeth in anger and ordered the Skull Spiders to abandon the village, because deep down, it knew that the Masks of Power were not there.

Narmoto watched as the Spiders abandoned the village, leaving the Islanders unharmed. The villagers came out from their huts and looked around the village. His son ran over to him and gave him another hug. He looked and saw his wife coming towards him as well. Together they embraced as a family, but it was not to last.

“I'm sorry, my wife, but I need to leave again. I need to gather the other Protectors and we must summon the heroes.”

“Do you what you have to do to rid our island of these beasts, Narmoto.”

“Thank you, my love.”

He turned towards the villagers.

“I need five volunteers to go and send word to the other Protectors to gather at the Temple of Time.”

After a lot of glances and murmurs, five villagers stepped out from the crowd.

“Good. Tell the Protectors that the time to summon the heroes and awaken the Mask Maker has come.”

The five villagers then left that place in search of the other five Protectors of Okoto to tell them that it was time to summon the Toa...

The young villager walked through one of the several villages in the Region of Stone. He looked around at the other villagers who looked slightly worried. He didn't know why, but his guess was that it was related to those big blue scorpions that came to the village and made everyone run in fear. But not him, when he grew up, he wanted to be like his father, who protected the village when they came.

His father was walking beside him, holding his hand. He looked at his father's Elemental Mask of Power, which was different from the other villager's masks, because it had lime on it. It was very pretty, and he had always wanted to wear it someday.

But the duty of a Protector was a heavy burden and tough job. The battles were fierce and dangerous. He had seen his father fight, and he always had nightmares of his father fighting, and never coming back home to him.

He didn't like to think about this, so he cast his young mind to other things. He looked around and saw something move fast out of the corner of his eye. He looked around and saw nothing. Again, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye, and when he looked, he saw nothing.

He tugged at his father's robes, concern engulfing him. “Dad... I think I saw something-.” He couldn't finish his sentence. A flash of navy blue soared through the air at the young villager. The youngling brought his hands up to cover his face and waited for impact.

Which never came.

In its place was a flash of bright light, the scream of a Skull Spider, and it falling to the ground. The young villager uncovered his face and saw that his father had removed his robe and was standing with his Sandstone Blaster in hand. He looked down at his son.

“Get out of here. Get everyone out of here.”

“Yes sir!” His son ran and gathered other villagers and got them inside the buildings. The village went from an inhabited place to a ghost town.

He scanned his surroundings, waiting for another Skull Spider to pounce. The current Protector of Stone was ready to once again defend his home and his villagers.

“Alright, you damn spiders. I am the Protector of Stone, and this is my home,” he said with confidence. He heard the hissing of a few Skull Spiders.

“These are my people, and I will protect them even if it means giving up my life for them. Now go back to whatever hell you emerged from!”

The Protector stood in the middle of the street for some time, waiting for either the Spiders to attack or to simply flee. After moments of listening to the wind howl through the desert, the Skull Spiders attacked.

The first of the pests came flying at his face, obviously trying to take him over. The Protector knocked the spider away into the sand. Another spider came flying at the Protector of Stone and he fired a blast of Stone at it and made it fly back about thirty yards. Several Skull Spiders came out of hiding and gathered about fifteen feet from the Protector.

“Right, I'll give you one more chance. Get out of my village... now.”

The Skull Spiders hissed again and jumped at the Protector. He was able to fend off the first few Skull Spiders, but it became too much for the older Protector. He tried to knock them away with his staff, but they began to cover him. They tackled him to the ground and consumed him, not a part of the Protector to be seen.

His son looked out the window of his hut to see his father consumed by the Spiders.

“NO!” He screamed. The Spiders looked up to the hut and saw the villager. One of the dark blue spiders screamed and the others who weren't attacking the Protector were about to invade the house when a massive amount of sand began swirling around them. The foul beasts looked at the sand, their tiny minds puzzled.

After a few moments of the sand swirling magically in the air, a huge blast erupting from underneath the Skull Spiders that consumed his father. A bright light shone for a minute or two and then faded to reveal all the Skull Spiders laying unconscious on the ground, and his father standing victoriously above them, the ends of his Sandstone Blaster glowing brightly.

“I warned you.” He muttered to himself.

The villagers came out from their houses and gathered around the Protector. Some were congratulating him, others were thanking him, and some just remained silent, in awe of what their Protector had done. He looked around at the villagers and smiled, but that smile quickly faded as he realized that this was just a minor victory in the war against the Skull Spiders, a very small victory.

His son came up to him from the crowd and said to him: “What will you do now, father?”

“I don't know, Ralack. I'm waiting for Narmoto, the Protector of Fire's word-.” He was stopped by the arrival of a villager from the Region of Fire who cut through the crowd and came up to the Protector.

“Nilkuu, Protector of Stone! The Protector of Fire has summoned you and the other Protectors to the Temple of Time to use the Prophecy of Heroes!”

“Thank you...?”

“Helos, sir.”

“Thank you, Helos. You can rest here from your journey.” Nilkuu said as he put his weapon on his back and walked through the crowd towards the end of the village. As he walked his son came running up to him. They both stopped and looked at each other. The wise Protector saw what his son's eyes held: worry and fear.

The Protector smiled. “I'll come back. I will always come back to you.” He said and walked out of the village to the Temple of Time.

The Region of Water.

The dark clouds overhead promised rain. The mossy ground squished underneath his feet. Nothing had been the same since the fall of Ekimu, the Mask Maker, their wise leader. And it wasn't the fact that they didn't have new replacement Masks for ones that broke. It was they didn't have his leadership, his ever-so-wise judgment. He was a beacon when times were dark, acting as a light in the shadows.

He stopped when he heard a sound to his left. Any other day he would just a assume it was a child playing, but now he knew for a fact that it wasn't a child.

It was a Skull Spider.

The nasty little beast jumped out from behind a small slope and attacked the Protector of Water. The new Protector rolled out of the way of the Skull Spider. He landed and grabbed his Elemental Torpedo Blaster and located the Skull Spider. Firing several blasts of condensed Water at the beast, it managed to dodge a few of them, but got hit by the fourth one and was sent flying backwards, hitting a rock and being knocked out.

He waited a moment for any sign of another Skull Spider. For a while nothing happened, but about two dozen Skull Spiders jumped out of nowhere and approached him. The Protector lifted his weapon and fired at the Skull Spiders, hitting several of them. But they jumped at the Protector and he nearly dodged them before they got onto his face and took control of him.

The Protector dove into the water and towards the bottom. He landed on the ocean floor and looked up at the surface of the water. For several moments nothing happened. But then, the Skull Spiders jumped into the water after him and descended towards Kivoda. He opened fire on them again and hit several of them, their limp bodies floating to the surface.

He thought he was going to win this battle, but he spoke too soon because about four dozen of the creatures rose from under the ocean floor behind him and came at the Protector. The instant he saw them he knew that he couldn't fight them off. All he could do was run, or more accurately; swim.

He activated the twin yellow turbines on his shoulders and the propellers spun around and around, propelling him forward just as the Skull Spiders got to him. The Protector of Water cut through the silver Skull Spiders and went through the water towards the closest village. Skull Spiders usually distracted the region's Protector and then attacked the closest village.

An interesting tactic, yes, but not for their side.

A trail of bubbles were left by his turbines as they twirled around. He looked back as he sped through the waters of the Region to see about four dozen of the gunmetal-silver Skull Spiders chasing him. He fired a few stray projectiles from his blaster back at the spiders, but it was no use because the Skull Spiders just dodged the attack.

The wise Protector saw land up ahead and knew that he was close to a village. Just as he was about to hit the land, he jumped out of the water and onto the mossy ground. He glanced down and saw that a few of the Skull Spiders had hit the land and were knocked down. As he saw the rest of the Spiders ascending towards him, he quickly ran towards the village as fast as he legs could carry him. He was fortunate that his turbines were virtually weightless.

He saw a village begin to come into view, and he ran faster. Skull Spiders began to jump at him from behind. They were fast little beasts. He entered the village and looked around. All the villagers halted what they had been doing and looked at the Protector.

“Hide, now! They're coming!” The Protector yelled to them.

They all glanced at each other and quickly ran into their homes. This was one of the few above-ground villages in the Region. Their houses, however, had a section that was consumed by water, and allowed them to go into the sea below their feet.

Once the villagers had cleared, the Protector pulled out his Elemental Torpedo Blaster again and turned to fire upon the Skull Spiders. He knocked a few away, but they dodged his attacks again. One jumped right at him and he launched one of his two torpedoes. It cut straight through the little beast, killing it instantly.

The Spiders began to overwhelm the Protector, surrounding him. He fired some more blasts but his weapon ran out of ammo. His eyes suddenly filled with fear as the Spiders were about to jump at him. But suddenly all their eyes flashed red and it seemed like they were in a trance. He looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.

They then snapped out of the trace and left the village, not even knocking over the food stands. The villagers slowly came out of their homes as the Spiders left. A child villager walked up to the Protector.

“Why are they leaving?”

“I think their master, the Lord of Skull Spiders, called them away. Why? I don't know.”

A Fire Tribe villager came into the village and ran up to the Protector of Water.

“Kivoda, the Protector of Water! Narmoto, the Protector of Fire has summoned you to the Temple of Time.”

“It's about time, too. Thank you. Stay hidden, stay safe.” The Protector said and he walked away from the village. He jumped into the water and swam towards the Region of Jungle.

Hopefully he didn't run into any more water-dwellers along the way.

Wind rustled the leaves of the tall trees in the Region of Jungle. Long vines reached down to the forest floor and some into the swampy waters of the region. The young villagers walked through the forest, sticks in hand. They were explorers, walking in their ancestor's footsteps. A lot of Okoto had been explored in the past, but they were heading for the unexplored swamps that divided the Region of Jungle from the Region of Water.

They knew the swamps were dangerous, but they wanted to explore their homeland, and maybe make a safer route for travel between the Regions that was now hard to have.

As they left the woodlands they came into a large field, tall grass consuming it. The grass was taller than any of the five villagers and they would surely get lost in there, either that or get possessed by a Skull Spider, or both. One of the five grabbed a blade off his back, a farming tool, and began to cut down the grass, making a way for the others.

The stomped down the grass to the ground as they walked. The other four were tense and had their weapons ready to fend off any Skull Spiders that wanted to jump out at them. After several minutes of walking through the tall, dense grass, they finally made it out the other side and were met by the outskirts of a swamp.

Now that the easy part was over, came the hard part. There were various insects, creatures and deadly plants in there. And that was just the first forty feet in. There had been explorers in the past, but they didn't make it very far, and very few of them came back out.

Admittedly, they were taking a huge risk by going into these swamps, but for the past few thousand years after Ekimu's fall, the bonds between the villagers had been falling apart and better connecting them would help their broken relations repair. The only real force keeping the villages together were the Protectors. But as the rise of the next generation of Protectors grew closer, the villages grew even further apart. Balance had to be restored.

They were ready to enter the swamp when they heard something behind them. They turned with their weapons at the ready. The young villagers' eyes surveyed the area, watching for any movement. For several moments they heard nothing, but they heard the sound of a twig snap, the screeching of a Skull Spider, and then the scream of one of the villagers as the Skull Spider latched itself onto his face.

The others tried to stab the Spider with their spears, trying to kill it before it possessed their friend. But before they could get a clean shot, several more, about six, Skull Spiders jumped from the trees and surrounded the villagers, their pincers snapping open and close, drool foaming at their mouths.

The beasts closed in on the villagers, their end drawing nearer. Their friend was also walking towards them, weapon in hand and controlled by a Skull Spider. The villagers closed their eyes and waited for the Skull Spiders to attack.

Nothing happened.

They suddenly heard the sound of energy being discharged from a weapon, and green flashes through their eyelids. They opened their eyes and saw that several of the Skull Spiders were now laying on the ground, unconscious. One of the villagers looked up and saw hanging on the large trunk of the tree, Vizuna, the Protector of Jungle.

The Protector jumped down and a Skull Spider jumped at him. He knocked the Spider away with one of the flames on the side of his Elemental Flame Bow and burned it. The possessed villager ran at the Protector and swung at him, and the Protector nearly dodged it.

The Skull Spider had probably only been on the villager for about a minute, so that meant it was going to be fairly easy to knock off. But the hard part was trying not to harm the villager in the process. The villager lunged at Vizuna with his staff again, chipping off a piece of the Protector's armor. The Protector readied his weapon and aimed at the Skull Spider on the child's face. His weapon was extremely accurate. All he needed to do was shoot.

The villager charged at him with the staff in hand. The Protector pulled back on his weapon, it glowing brightly. He let go and a neon beam of energy flew through the air and hit the Skull Spider in the center of it's face. The child fell backwards and hit the ground hard, the Skull Spider getting launched off his face and into the air. The Protector quickly fired another blast of Air at the Spider, launching it backwards into a pool of swamp water. Bubbles formed as it sank below the surface, never to be seen again.

The Protector came over to the villager and helped him up, the child holding his head with his hand.

“I am never doing that again... ever...”

“It's okay, little one. I'm sure none of us want that.”

“So what now?” one of the villagers asked the Protector.

Vizuna turned towards them. “I believe it's time to summon the heroes.”

The Protector of Jungle began to walk there, and the villagers followed at a distance. The Protector figured Narmoto, the Protector of Fire, would probably have sent a messenger to find him and tell him to assemble at the Temple of Time.

By now Narmoto should know I don't need messengers. the Protector smiled as he headed towards the Temple.

Large purple crystals hung from the ceiling and jutted out from the ground in the Region of Earth. Rocks also jutted from both these places, and the villagers of Earth had built their homes into the sturdiest of these stalactites. A large crevice in the side of the mountain the village rested in, about thirty-feet wide, let natural light in. This light was yellow as it was the early morning.

The Protector of Earth looked out her window at the subterranean village. She grabbed her star drill and throwing knives. She attached the knives to her side and picked up her Rapid Fire Shooter, and attached it to her chest. She walked to the door to leave when she heard something moving behind her. The Protector turned around to see a small child villager standing there; her daughter.

Korgot, the Protector of Earth smiled and came over to her only child. She picked her up held her up to her Mask of Earth.

“I'm sorry, did I wake you, Hali?”

The small child rubbed her eyes. “Kind of, mom. I was half-sleeping, and half-awake.”

Her mother chuckled. “I hate when that happens. You know what I do?”

“What?”

“I think of you and dad.”

“So... I think of you and dad?”

“Exactly, Hali. Now you can go try that. Trust me, it works like a charm.”

“Okay, mommy.”

Korgot set the toddler down and the future Protector of Earth walked towards her room, smiling back at her mother as she went. When she heard the small child close her bedroom door and climb back into bed, the Protector of Earth turned around and walked out the door into the cavernous village.

She turned and walked down a flight of stairs to a bridge where the Crystal Miners were heading to work, still groggy from their early awakening. They had been doing this for years now, but the nightly attacks of Skull Spiders caused them to stay awake well past midnight. They usually only got three, maybe five hours of sleep if they were lucky.

Day after day, things just kept on tumbling down.

She came to the large crack in the mountain side and looked out on the barren, rocky wasteland that was the Region of Earth. She sighed. The Protector turned when she heard a hissing behind her. Korgot only knew that sound too well.

The Protector of Earth grabbed her Star Drill and turned to meet a flying green Skull Spider. The sharp edges of her weapon met with the hard shell of the beast and shattered it. The dead creature fell to the ground. She looked up to see about two dozen Spiders crawling towards the village.

Instead of at night, they were now attacking by day. She really hated these things. Korgot readied her throwing knives and her Rapid Fire Shooter began to spin, glowing with purple energy. She waited for the Spiders to grow a little closer and then opened fire upon them.

Purple balls of energy came from her chest and struck the oncoming Skull Spiders, blasting them in every which direction. She knocked away about a dozen and a half of the beasts when she ran out of ammo on her weapon. She backed away as the Spiders noticed that she was out of ammo and ran for the village. The Protector once again readied her melee weapons and fought off the Spiders as they came.

Three Skull Spiders jumped at her at once and she ducked out of the way. When she got back up she threw both her knives into two of the Spiders, killing them instantly. The third one came at her and she smashed it with her Star Drill, killing it.

The remaining three saw that their comrades were defeated, and that the Protector would surely kill them. They just turned and ran for their lives, not caring what their master would say.

Korgot sat down on a rock and breathed in and out. She had won another battle, but how many more could she? The Spider's attacks were getting deadlier every time. How long could she keep this up?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a Fire Tribe Villager.

“Korgot, Protector of Earth. Narmoto, the Protector of Fire has requested your presence at the Temple of Time.”

“Finally. Finally it's time to summon them.”

She got up and thanked the villager and left the village, and as she walked across the rocky terrain of the Region, she looked back at her village, and hoped her daughter would be safe while she was gone.

A large icicle fell from it's base on the top of the tunnel opening. It fell into the snow just in front of the being's feet. He looked up at where it had fallen from and used his Elemental Powers over Ice to put it back to where it had fallen from.

He continued walking through the Region of Ice. Ahead of him was a mostly-clear field of snow, with a few hills and mountains in the distance, reaching up and into the gray clouds. Flakes of snow flew through the air, being swept along by the fierce wind. Snow drifts dragged across the ground, leaving marks in the fluffy frozen rain for only a few moments, as it was soon covered back up by newly-fallen snow.

It was also extremely cold. Any other being would be shivering and trying to warm themselves up, but not members of the Ice Tribe. They had a natural resistance to the cold climate of the Region. Izotor, the Protector of Ice, was thankful for that.

He saw the Ancient Ruins of Okoto in the distance. The Protector continued walking as closed in on the ruins. They had been hit by the shockwave, nearly a direct hit. It was a miracle that they hadn't been obliterated by it. It was like Ekimu had somehow protected their heritage...

Izotor came into the ruins and looked around. The ruins were tall pillars, either still standing, or leaning to the side, or even on the ground. Most were cracked, some were shattered. On them was inscribed ancient histories in the Okoto dialect. Many of these texts dating back to the early days of Okoto History.

All the pillars were covered in snow and ice, some of it had been there for thousands of years. A being came out from behind one of the pillars, clad in white armor and wearing a sacred Mask that had been passed down to him from his father who had unfortunately lost his life to the Skull Spiders. He wielded a Bo Staff and a sword that could conduct an electrical charge that could stun a Skull Spider for hours.

“Protector,” Arker said. “Good to see you.”

“How much have you been able to translate of the ancient text?”

“Not much, but I was able to get the origins of Okoto down.”

“May I be able to see them?” Izotor asked.

“Indeed, Protector of Ice.” Arker ran behind the pillar again and opened his bag. He pulled out a scroll and was about to go back to the Protector when a Skull Spider jumped at him and knocked him over, his weapons sliding away on the snow.

Izotor quickly grabbed his shield and Elemental Ice Blaster and both began to spin; one with its razor blades, and the other with elemental energy. About two dozen Skull Spiders emerged and began to close in on the Protector.

He aimed and opened fire on the little silver beasts. Several of them were frozen in place, a few of them suspended in mid-air. One came right at his face, but he managed to use his Saw Shield to cut off a few of its legs. It landed in the white snow and quickly turned the area around it dark red. He turned to see a Skull Spider right in his face. Izotor didn't have enough time to react as the Spider latched onto his face.

The villager used his staff to smash the Skull Spider attacking him and he got up to aid the Protector. He turned the corner to see the Protector struggling with a Skull Spider that was trying to take his mind. Around them were about six more Spiders watching the scene. Arker pulled out his Shock Blade and ran at them. They turned to see the villager and took up the defensive.

Arker reached down and fried the first of the Skull Spiders in his way. Its smoking, burnt corpse rolled away. The other jumped at him and he dodged and struck them with his two weapons. He defeated five of them, and only two remained: the one standing between him and the Protector, and the one taking control of Izotor.

The two narrowed their eyes and ran at each other. Silver Skull Spiders were the fastest of the species. It jumped and Arker ducked underneath it, sliding through the snow. He got back up and threw his blade, charged with electricity, at the Spider. It hit it right between its eyes, covering it in blue lightning. The beast burnt to a crisp. It dropped dead in the snow.

Arker quickly ran over and grabbed the weapon and ran towards the Protector, who was almost under full possession of the Lord of Skull Spiders. He charged his blade, the two prongs at the end sparking. The villager had to be careful and try not to electrocute the Protector, or worse.

He took a deep breath, and deciding it was now or never, touched the blade to the Spider. Electricity quickly consumed the little beast, frying it. It fell away from the Protector's sacred Mask of Ice. Arker pulled away the blade so he didn't shock the Protector.

Izotor fell to the ground gasping. “...Thanks... Arker...”

“No problem, Protector.” Arker said, leaning against a rock.

Suddenly a red-armored being, a Fire Tribe Villager, approached the two. He was shivering from the cold. He was used to the hot, volcanic climate of the Region of Fire. This was his natural enemy.

Izotor arose to his feet to meet the villager.

“Izotor, Protector of Ice. The Protector of Fire, Narmoto has summoned you to the Temple of Time.”

“About time,” he muttered under his breath. “Thank you. Arker, make this poor fellow a campfire. I think he's going to lose a finger, or an arm.”

“Yes, Protector.”

Izotor left the ruins and headed towards the Temple. He'd have to cross through the Region of Water and over the mountains in the Region of Jungle. It was going to be a long and hard journey, so he had to hurry.

He disappeared into the blizzard.

Above Okoto, the bright stars burned in the night sky. Close celestial bodies filled the sky with color. The moonlight cast a pale glow on a hill with a large clearing on it. In the center of this clearing a massive structure. It was an ancient and sacred place.

The Temple of Time.

The Temple of Time was built in the shape of a large metronome, with a large pendulum swaying side to side, creating a rhythmic ticking as it went. A staircase was laid in front of it and up into the structure. Blue light poured from the building, illuminating the area around it.

Inside was a circular platform, with six staircases leading up to it. At the top of these were six beings, the Protectors, all standing around the outer-ring of the platform.

“Are we ready?” Vizuna, the Protector of Jungle asked.

“Yes,” Narmoto, the Protector of Fire replied. “It is time to summon the heroes.”

Korgot, the Protector of Earth walked down from the platform and to the base of it. A carving of a Mask of Power was there, illuminated by orange light that outlined its appearance. She pressed inwards on this and channeled some elemental power into it. She heard a lock click and the door slid to the side to reveal one of their most sacred Masks: The Mask of Time.

The Protector retrieved the Mask from the vault and brought it up to the platform. She set it down in the center, on top of clear glass orb. She backed away and joined her brothers in the outer circle. They all looked anxiously at one another, because this was the first time in centuries that the Mask had been used for anything.

They stretched out their hands, glowing with sheer Elemental Energy and channeled it into the Mask of Time, causing it to glow. They then began to speak, an ancient prophecy whispered to the Protectors by Ekimu a long time ago. They recited the Prophecy of Heroes, speaking in perfect unison.

“''When times are dark and all hope seems lost, the Protectors must unite, one from each tribe. Evoke the power of past and future, and look to the skies for an answer. When the stars align, six comets will bring timeless heroes to claim the Masks of Power and find the Mask Maker. United, the elements hold the power to defeat evil. United, but not one.''”

The center of the circle began to glow brighter than the sun, causing the Protectors to look away. Elemental energy swirling around it faster than an tornado in the desert. Suddenly the Mask exploded with energy and sent a huge beam of energy up into the sky. Light consumed the temple.

After a few moments, the light vanished, and the Protectors looked around, blinking.

“I think... I think it worked...” Izotor, Protector of Ice said.

“If it didn't we might have just failed the whole island.” Nilkuu, Protector of Stone said.

As they left, they returned the Mask of Time to its vault. They came out into the clearing on the hilltop. They looked to the stars above.

“When do you think they'll come?” Kivoda, Protector of Water asked.

“Soon, I hope. My village has been ambushed by Skull Spiders every night.” Korgot, Protector of Earth said.

“According to the Prophecy, they will come when the stars align.” Narmoto, Protector of Fire said.

“We all know the Prophecy, brother. According the astronomical movements, the stars align every hundred years, and we're in that hundredth year. The stars are close now.” Vizuna, Protector of Jungle said.

“Then we wait for the heroes to come.” Narmoto said.

They all then left the hilltop, back to their homes, their families. Hopefully the Prophecy was true, and that it had actually worked. Hopefully, the heroes will come, and defeat the Skull Spiders, awake the Mask Maker Ekimu, and bring balance to the world.

They could only hope.

Two weeks later...

The Jungle Tribe villager known as Bingzak sat in the sand of the Region of Stone. Nilkuu had rescued him from Skull Spiders. He had guided the Protector to the Temple of Time after he had gotten lost (Nilkuu didn't like that word). He saw a brilliant beam of energy come from the Temple and into the sky above Okoto. He knew the Protectors had summoned the ancient heroes.

As he looked towards the sky, he saw something flicker oddly. He squinted to see what it was when he saw another, and another, and another... six of them... all different colors. They were comets, and they were heading straight towards the island. As they closed in, he saw their colors: red, blue, green, brown, purple and white.

He suddenly realized what they were. Bingzak hopped up and ran as fast as he could to the Protector. He had to tell everyone, tell everyone that they were coming.

Tell everyone that the heroes were coming.

Chapter 2: The Arrival
Bright lights burned high above the island of Okoto. They were an array of colors: red, blue, green, brown, purple and white. They fell towards the island, like meteors. One crashed into each region of the land.

Region of Stone

It was night, the deep blue sky was full of stars, planets and nebulae. The Protector climbed the stairs towards his house. He had just returned from the Region of Ice, where he had assisted the Protector of Ice in the building of a giant wall around a village. Apparently, the Skull Spider attacks were increasingly worsening there.

Well, the Skull Spider attacks were growing worse all over the island, but they seemed to concentrate their attacks there. Perhaps they believed with all their little hearts that one of the Legendary Masks of Power were hidden there.

The Protector sighed. He came to the door of his home and decided that he'd worry about that later. Nilkuu was about to open the door when the Protector looked up to the sky and saw a bright brown light coming down towards the Region. It crashed somewhere west of the village and the sound echoed through the village like a small shockwave. He looked around as the villagers emerged from their homes to find out what had happened.

He jumped down from his balcony and into the sand. The Protector of Stone ran through the village towards the crash site, his cloak flapping behind him. They had arrived...

The sound of amazed villagers filled the streets of the village in the Region of Earth. A bright purple comet had come crashing down onto the island. The light had come in through the large crack that was the entrance to their village, illuminating them in purple light. The Protector of Earth looked out her window and ran through the front door. She jumped off the balcony and onto a bridge below her home.

After all this time, the heroes have arrived. She thought to herself.

Korgot ran down the bridge and towards the crash site, several villagers, including her daughter, Hali, followed her. They ran out of the village and through a large road cut out of a hill, letting them view the various sedimentary layers of rock, dating back thousands of years. The path curved up ahead of them, but a new road streaked across the ground feet from the path.

The villagers came to the end of their path and to the new one. They looked down it and saw a crater of purple fire, smoke ascending into the skies.

The Protector turned towards the villagers. “The time of heroes is upon us. The end of the Skull Spider's reign is about to come to an end.”

They approached the crater.

Darkness surrounded him. He heard whispers of things that were strange to him, yells of beings that he did not know.

The white and gold armored being arose from the large snow-filled crater. He looked around at the impossible white and blue flames that surrounded him. When he looked at them it seems to cause them to go out in a whisp of steam. He turned around until all the flames had vanished.

The being looked down and saw what appeared to be a shield and a long spear. He reached down and grabbed the spear with his right hand and the shield with his left. He looked around, his telescopic lens glowing brightly.

The white armored figure turned at the sound of snow crunching and saw several smaller beings approaching him. He readied his weapons.

“We have been expecting you, Toa.” Said one of the beings who was wearing a cloak.

“Who am I?” Lewa, Master of Jungle asked the Protector.

“You mean, you don't know your duty?”

“Define duty. Do you mean duty has in 'I have a duty to something', or doodie as in-. ”

“The first one, Toa. The Lord of Skull Spiders is controlling an army of Skull Spiders to ravage our island in search of the three Legendary Masks of Power.”

“What are these Masks?”

“The Mask of Creation, formerly worn by our leader, Ekimu. The Mask of Control, formerly worn by his brother Makuta. And the Mask of Ultimate Power, the forbidden Mask of Power forged by Makuta after he grew jealous of his brother.”

“And these Masks are lost to the world?”

“Yes. But that doesn't mean they can't be found.”

“Why does this 'Lord of Skull Spiders' want these Masks?”

“We don't know, maybe to awake Makuta the Mask Hoarder so he can bring darkness back into the world.”

“Tell me more about this 'Makuta' and my duty.”

“Very well, Toa...”

“Long ago, Ekimu and Makuta, the Mask Makers, created Masks of Power for us islanders,” the Protector of Water told Gali, Master of Water as they floated under the sea.

“Everyone lived in harmony for years. But, the islanders began to prize Ekimu's Masks more than Makuta's. This made him envious of his brother's honors and forged an evil plan.

“It was a sacred law that a Mask could not contain the power of more than one element, otherwise it would become too strong and dangerous. But Makuta ignored this rules and created the strongest Mask to ever exist on the island of Okoto: the Mask of Ultimate Power.”

Kivoda breathed out heavily, a jet of bubbles coming from his mouth and up towards the water's surface. “He put on the Mask and the sheer elemental force caused the island to begin to shake and crumble.”

“Ekimu fought his brother and managed to knock the Mask from his face, but detaching the Mask from him caused a massive shockwave that rolled across the entire island, destroying structures. It threw the whole island out of balance.”

“And what of Ekimu and Makuta? Did they die?” Gali asked.

“No, but something much worse.”

“Like what? What could be worse than dying?”

“Still being alive.”

The Toa's eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“The blast knocked them asleep... an endless sleep. That's worse than being dead, still alive during it.”

“So what am I supposed to do? What is my duty?” The Toa asked, wanting to help these people.

“Before the Protectors of Old buried Ekimu, they found that he was whispering something to them. It spoke of six timeless heroes, the Toa. It said that they would go on a quest to find the Masks of Power, and awaken the Mask Maker.” The Protector of Fire said to the tall red and golden armored hero standing before them.

“Are these Masks of Power the same as the ones you spoke of?” Tahu, the Master of Fire asked.

“No. It is said that Ekimu forged six Golden Masks of Power for the six Elemental Toa of Okoto and hid them for the Toa to find.”

“There are other heroes?”

“Yes. To defeat evil, you six must unite.”

“Why haven't we united yet?”

“Because it is not your time yet. You must first collect the Masks of Power because they will give you strength to defeat the Skull Spiders.”

“How do you know we're-.”

The villagers were suddenly gripped with fear, them backing away from the Toa slowly. Tahu looked around them.

“What? Was it something I said?”

“No, it's those Skull Spiders behind you!” Narmoto, the Protector of Fire pointed behind the Toa.

Tahu began to turn as a Skull Spider flew through the air at him. He managed to accidentally knock the Spider with his shield that he had tucked under his arm. It flew into the dirt and was knocked out. Another came from his left and he knocked it away. And then one of the beast from his right and he bashed it into a large rock.

He turned back towards the villagers as one came from behind him. He lifted up his right hand and the Spider impacted with his hand, knocking it out. The villagers, as one, bowed before the Toa, seeing him truly as the hero that was foretold. The Protector looked around at the villagers, and back at the Toa's confused face.

“Do you still doubt your Destiny, Tahu? Quickly, we must hurry,”

He threw down his staff and tore off his cloak to reveal red and silver armor. He had had a hump on his back, but he now saw that it was a large cannon. It came from his back and rested on his shoulder. The Protector ignited two flame swords from his hands.

“We have no time to lose.” He ran off through the crowd of villagers and Tahu followed, but stopped at the sight of a strange carving on a rock. It looked kind of like half of a Mask, with three holes on either side.

“Come, Tahu. We must not delay.” Narmoto called after him. The Toa turned from the carving and ran after the Protector toward his Destiny.

Lightning flashed above the Ancient City. The old bridge was cracked and damaged. Large cocoons of fallen villagers hung from underneath it in a spider's web. The large form of the Lord of Skull Spiders crawled past the bodies, trying to decide who would make the best meal. He found one near the end of the bridge and was about to grab it when one of his Skull Spiders crawled up behind him.

“What do you wanttt?” He said telepathically to the small creature.

“The Toa have arriveddd.” It replied back.

The Lord of Skull Spiders hissed. “''Very welllll. Do not let them get their Masks of Power. They must not awaken the Mask Maker.''”

The Spider bowed upside down and crawled to the top of the to ready the troops. Since the Spiders were all telepathically linked, telling one Spider to do something meant telling all the Spiders what to do. It just depended on what the command was.

He turned back towards the body and snatched it from where it hung, the thread breaking like a twig. The great beast walked away with the body, ready for a meal.

He would need his strength to defeat the legendary heroes.

Chapter 3: Quest for the Golden Masks
Legend told that one day six heroes would make it through dangerous parts of the island to claim Golden Masks to unlock their true powers.

The Region of Jungle.

The Master of Jungle used his sword to cut another vine, the plant falling to the ground, dead. He walked past it, the Protector of Jungle following close behind him.

“How far are we from the Shrine?” Lewa, Toa of Jungle asked Vizuna.

“Pretty far. It's on the other side of the Region from where you landed.”

“Are you serious?”

“I wouldn't joke about this, Toa. The fate of the entire island, my children, are hanging in the balance.”

They continued to walk on, but in dead silence, the only sound being the grass crunching underneath their feet. Lewa found the silence from his Protector guide unbearable. Vizuna probably found comfort in the silence, but Lewa hated it.

“So do you have any idea where the three Legendary Masks of Power are?”

“That is not your quest right now, Toa.”

“Alright-.” Lewa was interrupted by the sound of bushes rustling behind them. They both turned, weapons in hand.

“Was that...?”

“A Skull Spider? Yes, and it sounds like it brought friends.” The Protector of Jungle replied.

The Protector's Elemental Flame Bow glowed bright green, charged with energy, while the Toa's swords glistened in the sunlight.

They waited for several long moments with no movement from anything, not even the trees. Then suddenly, they attacked. Six Skull Spiders came from all around them, flying at them.

“DUCK!” Vizuna shouted as the Skull Spiders closed on them. Lewa didn't need to be told twice and he crashed to the ground. The Skull Spiders all collided in mid-air and were all knocked out. Their unconscious bodies fell on the two travelers, but Lewa quickly got rid of them.

The Toa and Protector got back up and looked around for more Skull Spiders. Three more jumped from their left, but the Protector acted fast and fired several blasts of green flame energy to meet them, knocking them back into the brush.

“Run!” Vizuna shouted to the Toa of Jungle. Lewa didn't hesitate to do so and both ran from that place through the jungles of Okoto. The Master of Jungle could hear the screeches of Skull Spiders behind them, the little pests crawling through the bushes after them.

As they ran, Lewa looked around to see if any Skull Spiders were coming from their sides, and there weren't any, but, there was a pair of crimson red eyes staring at him from behind a tree, the figure's face shrouded in darkness. Lewa could see some green, similar to his own armor color, on the being, but also what seemed like... antlers. He blinked and they were gone, disappeared into the vast jungle.

The Toa didn't know if it was a figment of his imagination or if their really was a being watching them.

“Vizuna, do you know of any beings with antlers, green armor and red eyes around these parts?” Lewa asked as they ran.

“The Hunter... I thought he was just a myth.” The Protector muttered.

“What did you say? I couldn't hear,”

“Oh, nothing, Toa. Nothing you need to worry about right now. Let's get out of this jungle,”

“Yes Protector.” Lewa replied, his mind still on the mysterious figure, and that the Protector seemed hesitant to answer the Toa.

They ran faster.

The sun beat down on the two figures that strode through the desert of Okoto. A trail of foot prints lay in their wake. The Protector of Stone sheltered his eyes with his hand to keep the sun out. His Toa companion, however, didn't show any sign of pain from the scorching sun. He just kept on trudging through the desert wastelands of the Region of Stone.

In some ways, Nilkuu admired the Toa, but he also thought he was foolish pretending to act like a solid rock.

“Aren't you hot, Toa?” Nilkuu panted.

The Master of Stone said nothing, his eyes fixed on the desert ahead of him.

The Protector sighed. “Acting like the sun isn't burning you is just going to get you killed, Master of Stone.”

“Why does Okoto have to have such treacherous deserts?” The Toa finally asked.

“It wasn't always this way.”

“Was it different before the Mask Makers fell?”

“Yes, very different.”

“I can't really imagine a 'calm' desert-.”

“Quiet, Toa.” Nilkuu said, cutting him off.

“What is it?”

“I said quiet!”

The Toa shut his mouth and waited for the Protector to give him a reason. In the silence he heard something rumbling, like a huge gust of wind. He looked around and saw a massive sand-strom coming from the west of them.

“We can't stop it. Run!” Nilkuu yelled to the Toa.

The two ran the exact opposite from the storm. It drew closer every second. They were now running at a large mountain that stretched far and wide across the Region of Stone. Pohatu knew that they weren't going to be able to climb it before the storm caught up with them.

“There!” The Protector pointed to a small cave in the base of the mountain. They changed their direction in an instant and kept on running. They jumped in through the opening and rolled across the stone floor. Nilkuu quickly made a wall of rock on the entrance to block the storm, plunging them into darkness.

Pohatu got up and tried to look around look around the cave, but the only light was coming from their eyes and the tip of Nilkuu's weapon.

“Such a shame Narmoto isn't here. He'd have a small bonfire lite for us in no-time.”

“So what do we do now?”

“We wait out the storm.” The Protector's blue eyes flashed.

The Toa sighed and slumped to the ground and laid against the wall and began to wait out the storm.

Two hours later...

The Master of Stone had gotten tired of waiting and was ready to bash the wall down himself, but the Protector of Stone got up before the Toa could do anything and lowered the rock wall, sun light flooding into the cave, blinding both of them.

Once their eyes had gotten adjusted to the light of the outside world, they started making for the desert once again, but as they left, Pohatu noticed several carvings on one of the walls. He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at them. Nilkuu noticed this and joined the Toa.

“What are these carving off?” Pohatu asked him.

“Many ancient things. This carving here,” he pointed to an island-shaped carving with what appeared to be a large volcano in the center of it on the far right of the wall. “That is of a mythical land from legends old. Oh, and that,” he pointed to a carving of a being that vaguely resembled a Protector, but was very different. “That's what the kids call a Tohunga.”

“What's this one? It's another one of them. Only this one has a name... Ahkmou...” Pohatu said. “Who is this Ahkmou? He sounds like a traitor.”

“Interesting. Anyways, we must be off, shouldn't we? In search of the Golden Mask that will unlock your true potential.”

The Protector left the cave, the Toa making to follow him when he saw a strange Mask carved on the wall. It appeared like it was only half a Mask, with three holes on either side and a vent-like part in the middle.

“Toa, hurry!” The Protector called from the desert.

The Toa looked away from the carving and walked out to join the Protector of Stone. Pohatu looked back into the cave as they both left towards the Shrine.

The blizzard raged across the Region of Ice. Two figures, one tall, the other short, fought their way across the frozen tundra. The Protector of Ice had his Ice Saw Shield up in front of his face blocking the flying snow, while the Master of Ice walking beside him trudged his way through the snow like it was nothing.

The wind howled into their ears, deafening them. Kopaka, the Master of Ice turned to the Protector at his side.

“How much longer until the Shrine?” He yelled over the wind.

“I don't know! Might be a few hours, might be a few weeks! Who knows?”

“This blizzard's getting worse!” The Toa of Ice called through the storm.

“Yes! We can try and lighten it, but without the Golden Mask of Ice we can't stop it! We have to seek refuge, and I know just the place!”

The Protector turned about fifty degrees to his right and walked forward. The blizzard raged the entire time. About twenty minutes later Kopaka saw several pillars in the distance, which were similar to ones he had seen near where he had crashed on the island of Okoto. This must be where the Protector of Ice wanted to seek refuge.

They arrived at the ruins and walked into the forest of frozen stone pillars. The blizzard wasn't as bad as it was out in the valley, but the snow was still intense. Kopaka looked around at the ruins, and saw that there were runes engraved on them, what they said the Toa did not know, but it was sure mysterious.

Something shuffled behind one of the pillar and the Master of Ice pulled out his spear and aimed it in the direction of the sound. A villager of Ice came out from behind a pillar with a spear in hand.

“Protector? And who is-? Wait... are you...” The Islander stuttered when he saw the white and gold armored being standing beside Izotor.

Izotor chuckled to himself. “Yes, Arker. This is Kopaka, Master of Ice.”

“What're you doing here?”

“Seeking refuge from the storm. Got room here?”

The Islander looked at the various spaces in-between the pillars of stone throughout the ruins. “Yeah.”

“Alright then.” He set down his shield and his gun up against a ruin and sat down beside them, gesturing to the tall Toa to do the same. Kopaka just stood there, but he did put his spear on his back again. The Toa looked around at the runes carved on the pillars and saw that they were like nothing he'd ever seen. Well, he couldn't really remember anything from his past so that wasn't saying much.

The Islander approached Kopaka. The Toa turned his head at the little one's approach.

“My name's Arker, by the way. And I know your name, obviously.” The Islander said. He was obviously very excited about the arrival of the Toa, and hoped that he could defeat the evil Skull Spiders and save the island from darkness.

“What do you do here, Arker?” The Toa asked the Islander.

“I study the ruins,” he gestured to the various stone pillars that surrounded them. “Trying to decipher the ancient texts engraved on them.”

“What have you found so far?” Kopaka asked.

“Most of it isn't coherent and is incomplete, lost to time, but I have been able to find at least twenty passages, such as the arrival of the Toa, the Prophecy of Heroes, the Elemental Crea-.”

“The Prophecy of Heroes? The one that brought me here?” Kopaka interrupted.

“Yes, Master of Ice. You see, everyone on Okoto knows it by heart. It's a beacon of hope to them, a light in the dark.”

“Then I will do my best to fulfill that Prophecy, to be the light in the dark.” Kopaka said proudly.

“All of you Toa will fulfill the Prophecy,” Izotor interrupted. “The Masters together will be enough to combat the dark, but only if you have unity.”

“So I must work with the other Masters? Ugh, I hate working with others.” Kopaka grumbled.

“You didn't at one time.”

“What does that mean?”

“Before you came here, you worked with the other Toa. They were your best friends, probably. But you have forgotten about it.”

“Well if we need to work together, I hope they listen to my lead.”

The Protector of Ice sighed and decided to stop arguing. He leaned against the rock again and listened to howling wind.

Hopefully they can work together.

One thing was for sure: Gali loved water.

Of course it made sense because she was the Master of Water, but there was something about the sea that just comforted her. Gali looked around at all the reefs under the sea, as well as the small fish that swam past, just minding their own.

Gali looked over to the Protector of Water, Kivoda, floating next to her. “Where's the Shrine from here?”

Kivoda pointed to their northeast. “That way, about maybe thirty miles.”

“Thirty miles?!” The Toa of Water gasped, bubbles of air coming from her month and ascending to the surface.

“Well yes. You crashed about thirty-five miles from the Shrine.”

“Why couldn't I have crashed closer to the Shrine?”

“Because you didn't. I don't think you can control yourself while you're falling unconsciously towards the ground.”

Gali sighed and turned to the northwest, where she could only see for about a mile before the seafloor disappeared into darkness.

“Alright, let's get moving. The sooner we get there, the sooner the other Toa and I can save your island.”

“I couldn't agree more, Master of Water.”

The both of them swam forward, Kivoda activating his turbines and Gali using her shark fins to cut through the water. They swam for about five miles before Gali noticed a large shipwreck to her right. She stopped almost instantly in the water. The Protector noticed this and stopped alongside the Master. Kivoda followed Gali's eyes and saw the boat.

His eyes widen. “That's... that's the Baranus... the ship that my... my father died on...”

Gali turned to Kivoda. “Your father?”

“Yeah, the Protector of Water before me,” He paused for a moment, the memory obviously bringing him pain.

“Should we leave?”

“Yeah.” The Protector said simply.

They began to swim forward again when Kivoda saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned toward the boat and saw what looked like a Skull Spider in the shadows. He narrowed his eyes and activated his twin turbines and pushed forward through the water to the boat. Gali saw this and turned and followed the Protector, her spear in hand.

Kivoda came to an entrance in the hull of the ship, made by an impact with a large rock. He looked into the darkness of the ship and saw the Skull Spider skitter past again. The Protector fired several compact blasts of water at the Spider as it disappeared again into the ship, none of them making contact. Without a moment's hesitation, the Protector of Water swam into the boat after the Spider.

The Toa of Water saw the Elder of the Region disappear into the hull of the boat and followed him, hoping not to lose her guide to the Shrine. She entered the boat and looked around for the Protector, but could only see darkness.

She suddenly heard Kivoda yell to her right and went down the passage into darkness. She came out into another hole in the ship which lead out into a large underwater cave that was illuminated by several glowing stones staggered around the cavern. Coral and other underwater plants grew here, giving it less of a depressing feel and more of a natural one.

Gali looked up and saw Kivoda floating a foot off the sea floor, Torpedo Blaster in hand and pointed in front of him. She turned her eyes to where the Protector was pointing his weapon and saw a figure floating in front of him, about the same size of Kivoda, only he seemed... dead. The figure was missing armor and looked like a skeleton.

“Hello, Kivoda, my heir.” The skeletal figure said.

“You're not my father! My father's dead!” Kivoda shouted at the figure.

“Don't say that, Kivoda.”

The Protector shot off a blast of Water at the being, but instead of impacting, it went straight through, hitting the wall behind it.

“Why would you shoot me? Don't you still care about me?”

“SHUT UP.”

Kivoda shot several more blasts of Water at the figure claiming to be his father, but they all just went straight through and hit the rock wall behind.

“I'm disappointed in you.”

He thrust his staff forward at the Protector, a jet of water coming from the end and pushing Kivoda back. He lifted up his left hand, which was a claw, and fired a condense blast of water and struck his son again, knocking him against one of the cave walls. The Protector floated to the sea floor, nearly unconscious.

“Stop believing in him! The more you think he's real, the more real he'll become!” Gali shouted from the cave entrance.

Kivoda looked up at his father approaching him, another blast of water ready in his hand. He had to believe that this being wasn't real, that his father was dead for good, a hero. It was painful, but he had too, otherwise it would tear him apart, from the inside out.

“You're not real. My father died seventy years ago, and passed on the mantle of Protector to me. He was a hero, and would never attack me. You're a fool for believing you could destroy me. Makuta must be getting desperate.”

The being suddenly started to fade into the dark which it had come from. Before it disappeared completely, it whispered something to the Protector.

“I was always proud of you.”

The figure disappeared, never to be seen again.

Kivoda just stared at the seafloor, not saying a word to the Master of Water that came to him.

I hate this job. He thought to himself.

“Just keep digging.”

Korgot, the Protector of Earth had been telling Onua, Master of Earth, that for the past hour. He had his Turbo Shovelers in hand and was clawing his way through a mountain towards the center, where Korgot had said was the Golden Mask of Earth's Shrine.

“How much longer until we get to the Shrine?” Onua asked while continuing to dig through the dirt wall.

“Oh, I don't know. Maybe twenty miles?”

The Toa stopped digging and turned around to the Protector of Earth. “What?!”

“Well it's not easy to get to it!”

“Do I have to dig the whole way?”

“No, there are several caverns in the mountain,” she took a step back, chambered her leg, and stomped on the ground. After a moment she got up and turned to Onua. “There's a cavern beyond this wall.” She pointed to the wall the Toa had been digging through.

“Really? How do you know?”

“I used vibrations when I hit the ground to sense the layout of the mountain, and I saw that there was a cavern just beyond this wall.”

“Impressive.” Onua said simply.

He turned back to the wall and readied his claws and began digging again. He threw aside one rock after another after another until the Toa crashed through into a large hollowed-out cave in the mountain. It was huge and had purple crystals coming from the walls and ceiling, all glowing and illuminating the cavern in a magenta light.

“Wow.” The large Toa of Earth simply said at the sight.

The Protector walked forward into the room past the Toa and looked around. “There are many of these around the Region, underground of course, but it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful they are.”

The Master of Earth strode forward after the Protector of Earth and marveled at the purple crystals. Korgot ran up to the wall across from the hole that Onua had carved and turned back to the large being. “This is it. We must keep going.”

Onua sighed as the Protector said that, meaning he had to dig another tunnel through the mountain. The Toa was walking over to Korgot when something struck him, sending him across the room.

The Toa recovered and sat up and looks for his attacker. He saw where he had been standing, some kind of scorpion moving towards him, its tail moving like a giant pair of clippers.

“Scorpio!” Korgot shouted as she jumped forward and fired several blasts of Earth from her chest-mounted gun. They hit the beast and simply bounced off. The creature turned instantly and struck at the Protector. She rolled out of the way as the tail chopped a rock behind where she had been standing in half.

The Protector of Earth rolled over to Onua and helped him up. He readied his Turbo Shovelers and charged at the Scorpio. It snapped its tail at the Toa but he, just barely, jumped out of the way of the tail and swung one of his claws at the beast's back. The tips dug into the beast's skin, making it scream in agony. It spun around and launched Onua off, but as the Scorpio tried to shake the Toa off, it made Onua move around and drag his claws across its back, making it cry in even more pain.

The Master of Earth flew across the cavern and crashed into on of the walls and fell to the floor, shaking the whole cave and leaving a huge dent in the wall. The beast was screaming and stumbling around in pain, crashing into the walls, making the cavern shake even more. The combined force of Onua's crashing into the wall and the Scorpio's caused and earthquake that made the cavern to start to fall apart, rocks coming from the ceiling to crush them.

One large rock fell from the roof and fell right onto the Scorpio, relieving of its agony... forever. Korgot managed to get to her feet and helped the Toa up again.

“We must get out of here! The whole cavern's coming down on us!” They ran to the wall Korgot had said was the way out and Onua wasted no time and started clawing his way through the rock.

Behind them more and more of the cave fell, daring to crush them.

“Hurry!” The female Protector urged the Toa on.

Never before had Onua had such motivation to dig through solid rock. After a few moments the Toa had made a ten-foot-deep hole and saved them from being crushed. The entire ceiling of the cavern caved in and fell, but the some of the rocks almost tumbled into the tunnel, but Korgot made a wall of Earth to block it. It worked, but it also plunged them into totally darkness.

“How am I supposed to dig now?” Onua asked through the darkness.

“Here.” Korgot said, reaching into her bag and pulling out one of the glowing purple crystals. She held it up to the wall and illuminated it for the Toa.

“Thanks.” And Onua started digging once more, once more towards his Destiny.

The Toa of Fire cut through another green Skull Spider with his Golden Blades, the remains falling to the floor. The Protector of the Region of Fire stabbed through a spider with one of his flame blades, leaving a burnt hole in the back of the creature.

He turned to his Toa companion, Tahu. “We must get out of here if we want to reach the Shrine!” Narmoto cut the legs off of another Skull Spider as it flew at him, its body falling into the flowing lava.

“I couldn't agree more, Protector of Fire.” Tahu said. He cut another Spider in half and ran forward, Narmoto running after him.

Tahu jumped over a small lump in the ground and kept on running. The remaining Skull Spiders began to follow them, their master desperate to keep them from the Shrine. As they ran Narmoto fired blasts of Fire backwards at the Skull Spiders in a desperate attempt to slow them down.

They came to a steep hill in their path. They stopped at it and looked back at the incoming Skull Spiders. They had no choice but to climb it. Narmoto jumped on Tahu's back and the Toa of Fire began to scale the hill. He grabbed onto every rocky ledge he could reach, desperate to get away from the vicious creatures. The Master of Fire looked back down and saw that the Skull Spiders were slowly making their way up the side of the hill as well. It only gave the Toa more motivation he needed to climb faster up the rock wall.

He came up on top of the hill and was blinded by the sun, now setting directly ahead of him. The Toa looked up and saw the stars and planets shining above them. The Protector jumped off and started running down the hill, the Toa going after him.

“What're we trying to do?” Tahu asked as they ran down the steep hill, their armor and weapons clanking against themselves.

“Trying to put as much distance between us and them!” Narmoto yelled back.

“So we're just running? I thought heroes never ran!”

“Not without a reason!”

They were coming up on a stream of lava flowing with the mountain. Lava bubbled at the top, it popping and sizzling away. The Toa's eyes widened as they approached, realizing that the Protector was really going to jump it. He sighed and braced himself to jump over the fire. He got ready to jump and did when he hit the end of the land. The Toa felt like he was in the air for minutes as opposed to seconds.

The unrealness of it all was dispersed as he hit the ground on the other side and kept running. As they ran Tahu looked back and saw the Skull Spiders stop at the stream. The Toa grinned as the Skull Spiders were now trapped on the other side, but it was short-lived as they backed up and then jumped over the lava after them.

“These Skull Spiders never let up, don't they?” Tahu shouted to his guide.

“It's not their fault!” Narmoto called back. “The Lord of Skull Spiders is literally controlling them through a Golden Mask!”

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure.” The Protector of Fire said grimly.

“How're we going to lose them?”

Narmoto waited for a moment and then responded. “I've got a plan.”

“What?”

“Just follow me.”

The Protector made a sharp turn to the right, catching the Master by surprise. Tahu did his best to follow the Protector, which was a little hard because Narmoto moved swiftly across the rocky terrain. The Toa actually almost fell a few times, but never admitted it to the Elder of Fire.

The Protector of Fire climbed over a large fold in the land, once part of the lake of lava but had been hardened by a previous Protector.

Tahu followed suit and jumped over the fold, landing on the other side. But as he did, a green Skull Spider came out of nowhere and landed on his chest, knocking him backwards.

“Argh!” Tahu yelled as he fell to the ground.

Narmoto turned on a dime at the sound of the Toa clattering to the ground. The Skull Spider was almost on the Toa's face, attaching itself to take over the Master of Fire. The Protector ignited one of his flame blades and jumped over to Tahu and cut off one of the Skull Spider's legs, causing it to scream in pain. He didn't want to stab it in the back, which risked the Toa's face getting burnt. The pest momentarily came up to cry in agony, and Narmoto took his window.

The Protector of Fire readied his shoulder-mounted cannon and fired several blasts the Skull Spider, hitting it and causing the pest to fly off the Toa and into the lava, it burning away into nothing.

Narmoto came over to the Toa and helped him up off the ground. The Toa was panting from the attack.

“That... was... not nice... at all...” He said.

“I've seen many villagers get taken by these... things.” Narmoto said. “It's fortunate that you were not taken, otherwise all hope would be lost.”

The Toa looked around and saw the Skull Spiders down the hill. “We should start moving.”

“Agreed.”

They ran off across the scorched earth. After a while they came to another hill. Tahu sighed at the sight of it, tired of climbing them. But suddenly he heard something explode behind the hill, and saw a great light come over the top.

“What was that?” Tahu asked Narmoto.

“Come and see.” The Protector said, starting to climb.

The Toa of Fire followed the Protector up the side of the hill, eventually coming out on top of it. He climbed onto the solid ground and looked up to see a massive volcano before him, fresh lava bubbling over the top.

“Tahu, Toa of Fire. This is Okoto's greatest volcano. You are close now.”

Narmoto pointed to a steep staircase leading up to a platform coming out the side of the flaming mountain, leading to a hole going into the volcano itself. The entrance to the Shrine.

“But reaching your goal does not mean the end of danger; far from it. Know this, Tahu, the shadows of the Shrine hold stronger enemies than you could ever imagine-.”

Across Okoto the Toa and their Protectors looked upon their goals.

''“Be brave, be strong. Believe in your Destiny.”''

Chapter 4: The Protectors Fight Back
To be written

Chapter 5: The Power of the Golden Masks
To be written

Chapter 6: Quest for the Mask Maker
To be written

Chapter 7: Team of Heroes
To be written

Chapter 8: Lord of Skull Spiders
To be written

Chapter 9: The City of the Mask Makers
To be written

Chapter 10: When Evil Rises
To be written

Chapter 11: The Arena
To be written

Chapter 12: The Game
To be written

Chapter 13: Fallen Heroes
To be written

Chapter 14: Beware Their Tails
To be written

Chapter 15: Tomb of Ekimu
To be written

Chapter 16: Unity. Duty. Destiny.
To be written

Chapter 17: Forge of the Mask Maker
To be written

Chapter 18: The Mask of Creation
To be written

Characters

 * Masters:
 * Tahu, the Master of Fire
 * Gali, the Master of Water
 * Lewa, the Master of Jungle
 * Pohatu, the Master of Stone
 * Onua, the Master of Earth
 * Kopaka, the Master of Ice
 * Protectors
 * Narmoto, the Protector of Fire
 * Kivoda, the Protector of Water
 * Vizuna, the Protector of Jungle
 * Nilkuu, the Protector of Stone
 * Korgot, the Protector of Earth
 * Izotor, the Protector of Ice
 * Ekimu, the Mask Maker - In an endless sleep
 * Makuta, the Mask Hoarder - In an endless sleep
 * Kulta, the Skull Grinder
 * Skull Scropios
 * Skull Basher
 * Skull Slicer
 * Lord of Skull Spiders
 * Skull Warriors
 * Skull Spiders
 * Arker
 * Narmoto's son
 * Hali
 * Ralack
 * Bingzak
 * Helos
 * Several Islanders

Trivia

 * This is 's first story set in the Nuvaverse.
 * Each chapter will be an expanded version of each of the BIONICLE 2015 Story Animations.
 * Also each chapter title is that of each of the Animation Episodes.
 * Promotional comics/animations have been confirmed to be released in the near future.