The Legend of the Bionicle-2001
Archivist's Note: Many of the original conceptions of the Bionicle universe have changed since 2001. Some of the elements described below did not fit with the later structure of the story. These are now officially regarded as Matoran myths.
The Legend of Mata Nui
In the time before time, states the legend, the Great Spirit Mata Nui descended from the heavens, carrying the beings called Matoran to an island paradise. But they were separate and without purpose, so the Great Spirit illuminated them with the Three Virtues: Unity, Duty, and Destiny. In gratitude, the Matoran named their island home Mata Nui, after the Great Spirit himself. But their happiness was not to last. Mata Nui's brother, the Makuta, was jealous of these honors. Following Mata Nui, he cast a spell upon the Great Spirit, sending him into a deep sleep. Makuta then brought darkness and fear upon Mata Nui's creation, terrorizing the Matoran with Rahi, savage beasts which he controlled through the infected masks they wore. But the Matoran did not lose hope, even under the shadow of Makuta. Their leaders, the Turaga, kept alive the legends which told them that six more beings would descend from the skies to save them: the mighty Toa, warriors who would vanquish Makuta and restore light to the island of Mata Nui. In this hope, the Matoran defended their six villages, which they called Koro, from the Rahi and prepared for the arrival of their heroes.
The Coming of the Toa
One Matoran from Ta-Koro, called Takua, was especially busy with preparing for the coming of the Toa. He traveled from village to village, going on several different quests for the Turaga. In the process, he discovered six Toa stones. Takua brought these stones to the Kini-Nui, the temple at the center of Mata Nui. When the stones were arranged in a circle, a power surge catapulted Takua to the beach of Ta-Wahi. The impact damaged Takua's memory, causing him to forget all that had happened on his journey. He did not realize the most important result of his efforts: the Toa stones had ignited a beacon that guided six canisters to the shores of Mata Nui.
Out of the canisters emerged the legendary heroes. Tahu, Toa of Fire. Pohatu, Toa of Stone. Onua, Toa of Earth. Kopaka, Toa of Ice. Gali, Toa of Water. Lewa, Toa of Air. But like Takua, they had little memory of their past. They knew only their names, and that they had a duty to fight the darkness. And this duty they would fulfill.
Matoran quickly found the Toa and excitedly brought them to the villages. There, the Turaga explained how they were to go about their quest. Hidden around the island were the Great Kanohi, masks which would give the Toa powers such as shielding, levitation, and speed. Only when the Toa had collected all the masks would they be ready to challenge the Makuta. The search would not be easy. The masks' locations were hard to reach, and Makuta had sent vicious Rahi to guard them. The Toa discovered that the strength of one was not enough to retrieve the Kanohi. Though they had their differences, the Toa searched together, and soon each had collected a complete set of six masks.
The Travels of Takua
Meanwhile, Takua had set out on another adventure. In Ga-Koro, he rescued villagers from a hut that had sunken when Rahi damaged a pump. Po-Koro was struck by a mysterious epidemic that infected even the strongest Matoran. Takua discovered the source of the epidemic: infected Koli balls which were smuggled into the village bazaar and sold to unsuspecting athletes. Traveling to the underground village of Onu-Koro, Takua cleared a lava flow, opening a path to a lightstone mine. He also found a way to break through a rock layer that was stopping mining activity. The Turaga recognized Takua's importance, giving him the title of Chronicler and the duty of recording all he saw.
When the Onu-Matoran completed a tunnel to Le-Koro, Takua visited the treetop village as a swarm of Nui-Rama attacked. He offered to ride as a disk-thrower in the defense, and ended up in the hive of the Nui-Rama, where Matau and several villagers were held captive. Unknown to the Matoran, Lewa was also there. The Toa of Air had been captured and forced to wear an infected mask. His will held captive to Makuta's, Lewa was unable to rescue them from the Nui-Rama. But Onua tunneled into the hive. After some struggle, he removed the infected mask and replaced it with Lewa's proper Kanohi. The Toa then used the Mask of Mind Control on the Nui-Rama and escaped from the hive.
Takua next traveled to Ko-Koro, where he became lost in a blizzard and was rescued by Matoro and Kopaka. Turaga Nuju spoke to him, explaining that Takua would lead an alliance of Matoran from each village to the Kini-Nui, the temple at the island's center. Nuju gave Takua a letter to deliver to the other Turaga, asking them to choose Matoran to form this company. Soon afterward, the Chronicler and his Company set out for Kini-Nui, where the Toa had already gone. Their mission: to protect the Temple from Rahi while the Toa entered the tunnels beneath in search of Mangaia, the lair of Makuta.
Takua and his six companions reached the Kini-Nui just as the Toa prepared to go underground. They summoned golden masks, which contained the combined powers of the six they had already collected. Then the heroes of Mata Nui descended into the underground realm of Makuta, leaving seven Matoran to guard their backs against a horde of Rahi. Though the Chronicler's Company fought well, they were outnumbered in the end. But as Makuta's beasts closed in, the Matoran of the village defense forces surrounded the Temple! Their surprise attack saved Takua and his friends and won a great victory over the Rahi.
The Battle with Makuta
But the battle of Kini-Nui was of little importance compared to the final quest of the Toa. Deep beneath the earth, they combined their bodies and minds to form two Toa Kaita, Akamai and Wairuha. These mighty beings faced the Manas, two giant crabs that guarded the gateway to Makuta's lair. The Kaita tried many tricks to defeat the Manas, but Makuta's guardians were strong and intelligent. Finally, the Toa Kaita weakened the crabs by destroying strange towers which fed them energy, and then froze the Manas solid. But they had only passed the first test...
The Toa Kaita marched through a portal, and were suddenly torn apart into the six Toa. They had entered Makuta's inner realm, where the Kaita could not exist. There, they were attacked by Shadow Toa, sickly-looking counterfeits of themselves which Makuta had created. Each Toa struggled against his own counterpart, but they were so evenly matched that neither could prevail. Worse, the Toa's powerful strikes against their enemies were endangering their comrades. Then the Toa realized the importance of unity. By acting together, they were able to destroy each other's shadow counterparts. With the Shadow Toa vanquished, the heroes of Mata Nui passed through the final portal, prepared to confront the Makuta himself.
Whatever they had been expecting, it was not what they found. Marching into a great cavern, the Toa saw a sphere of churning Shadow Toa components, suspended far above their heads. Tahu shouted into the darkness, "Makuta! We have come!"
Out of the shadows crept a small Matoran. Not only his mask, but his entire body was pocked with the pattern of infection. "I have been waiting for you," announced the Makuta. Kopaka, sure that their enemy's form was a trick, urged the Toa to destroy him. But Makuta only laughed. "Destroy me? You cannot destroy me, no more than you can destroy the sea, or the wind, or the void."
"You are like the sea?" Gali broke in incredulously. "The sea bears life! The sea bore us!"
"I bore you," responded Makuta. "For I am Nothing. Out of Nothing you came, and it is into Nothing that you will go. I stand with Mata Nui, side by side. I am his brother." He continued, "The people of the world are builders. But look into their hearts and you will find that they have also the power to destroy. I am that power. I am destruction. And I will destroy you."
"But... you are but a Matoran!" shouted one of the Toa.
"Were you expecting something else?" asked Makuta. "Something like- this?" He raised his arms, and ropes of shadow shot from the sphere of components. Whether the Toa ran or dodged or shielded themselves, the ropes of shadow battered them about like Koli balls. The Toa realized that they could not hope to stand against the might of Makuta unless they stood together. As one, they unleashed their elemental powers, blasting Makuta's sphere and his infected mask.
"You cannot destroy me," shouted Makuta's voice. "For I am Nothing." And suddenly, it was over. The sphere of Toa components fell to the floor, and the ropes of shadow disappeared. The Toa were teleported out of the chamber, their enemy vanquished and their first duty fulfilled. The Rahi, freed from Makuta's control, returned to their normal behavior and threatened the Matoran no more. All Mata Nui celebrated the triumph of the Toa.
But all was not over. Takua had followed the Toa into Makuta's lair to chronicle the final moments of their quest. After the Toa left, he began searching for a way out. Passing through a portal, he saw an array of pods containing strange bug-like creatures. Suddenly, the pods erupted in jets of steam as the creatures began to hatch. Takua fled, and activated an energy sphere that carried him safely to the beach where he had landed at the end of his first adventure. He returned to Ta-Koro to celebrate the peace and freedom of Mata Nui... while it lasted.