“I’m just… trying to fix what’s broken.”
But I’m not proving that today!
This is V5 of my take on Ahkmou as a Toa, heavily inspired by NickonPlanetRipple’s Bionicle: Nova Orbis. I previously posted V3, and skipped V4 because I changed him again before I got the pictures done.
Contrary to expectations, “Turaga” Ahkmou was far from the devoted Makuta worshipper he was stereotyped as. His view of the ascendant Teridax was a complicated one, as he was both grateful for his newfound power and resentful of the damage that the Master of Shadows’ plans had done to his life.
Teridax played to his former servant’s avarice and desire for vengeance, telling him that he had intended to make Ahkmou a Toa of Shadow, only for Takanuva to steal that destiny from him when Icarax chose to infect the Toa of Light with the Shadow Leech meant for him.
"You don’t hate me because of what I did. You hate me because you know that any one of you could’ve been me."
Once the initial power-trip had worn off however, Ahkmou’s anger over his brainwashing (see Time Trap) returned in full force, spurred on by an encounter with one of Teridax’s Shadow Takanuva soldiers. Far from the mighty black knight he had imagined, Ahkmou discovered that Toa of Shadow were empty, hollow beings, devoid of anything besides a desire to destroy.
From then on, Ahkmou began to rebel in small ways. Things that would be beneath Teridax’s notice, but would make things easier for the Matoran resistance cells in the City of Legends. He engaged in a difficult balancing act, trying to prevent Tanma and Macku from gaining enough ground to attract the dark god’s attention, while still allowing them to evade Rahkshi and Exo-Toa.
Eventually, though, it was Ahkmou’s own actions that brought his scheme crashing down. His attempt to dissuade the Av-Matoran Gavla from joining the Shadow Tribe that worked in the Coliseum reached its head just as Teridax finally got used to his new body, and the Makuta promptly took control of Ahkmou’s body via the black armour he had been given, forcing him to lash out at his new friend and drive her fully into the grip of his true worshippers.
As the Battle of Bara Magna came to a close, Ahkmou finally acted by turning off the fusion-disruption field in the cells that contained the seven Turaga, allowing the former Toa Metru to take the form of a Turaga Nui and lead the Matoran to safety. Ahkmou himself refused to join them, electing to remain in the dying robot.
He was surprised to find himself waking up after the crash, and began to ponder where his destiny truly lay. Already resentful of the larger forces of the Matoran Universe, Toa, Makuta, and Great Being alike, he hid away among the other refugees, wrapped in a black cloak and carrying his miniature Staff of Darkness with him.
Rediscovering his love of carving, he set up a shop in New Atero, producing statues of heroes and villains alike, and selling them for a profit. Still, he was wracked with nightmares, flashbacks, and blackouts, lasting damage left from Teridax’s intrusion into his mind. He returned to the rubble of the Great Spirit, buying himself a large “Lightstone” to aid in his urban exploration, and using his proficient climbing ability to navigate the ruins.
It was during this time that he encountered the Toa Mahri Nuparu, and the two discussed how they had both done terrible things for tyrants who abused their trust- Nuparu had created the Vahki for Dume, and Ahkmou had poisoned his brothers for Teridax- and the two struck up an odd friendship. As a result, Ahkmou showed Nuparu a project of his: Restoring all of the statues of Toa he had ordered be torn down while he was serving as “Turaga.”
However, Ahkmou also learned a terrible truth: Nuparu had encountered a shade of Teridax, a fragment of the Makuta’s essence, left over after his death and now possessing the body of a dead Toa. Somewhere on their new safe-haven of a planet, Teridax still lingered, diminished and incomplete, but alive.
(This one was inspired by Makuta’s appearance in The Toa)
Ahkmou developed a habit of instantly hiding his “Lightstone” in any gap it could fit if he heard anything or anyone approaching. Indeed, Nuparu had only caught the Matoran because of his Volitak. This habit would result in the most unexpected change of Ahkmou’s entire life: While exploring the rubble of Teridax’s “Re-Education Centre”, formerly the Great Temple, Ahkmou was startled and dropped his Lightstone into the nearest void… the Toa Suva.
The subsequent rumbling and lightshow told Ahkmou two very important things: The Suva still worked, and his “Lightstone” was actually a Toa Stone.
So began the career of the least-likely Toa in the history of Spherus Magna and the Matoran Universe combined.
After two lifetimes of bowing and scraping to every villain he ever met just to survive, Ahkmou was finally strong enough to fight for himself, and set out to make things right.
As a result of his larger “Turaga” body, as well as the natural size and power of Po-Matoran, Ahkmou’s Toa body is huge, standing a full head taller than most other Toa.
His Staff was transformed into his Toa Tool, the massive Blackstone Scythe, which can be collapsed down for easier storage. The blade can also be rotated into alternate configurations.
Recognising the down-sides of such a weapon, he opted to supplement it with a pair of arm-mounted Obsidian Rending Blades from the Suva’s cache of tools.
Still, Teridax’s continued existence weighed heavily on the new Toa’s mind, and he eventually enquired a Midak Skyblaster for the purposes of defending himself… and maybe going a step further.
Ahkmou is still new and experienced with his powers. He exhibits fine control over them… whenever he isn’t in battle. Free of pressure, he can create beautiful works of art with gestures alone, wielding not just the bedrock beneath him, but creating marble, granite, and precious gemstones to go with it. His sculptures of Toa now have glittering jewels forming their eyes and heartlights. The blue stones that crown his shoulders and upper arms were grown there by Ahkmou himself.
In battle, however, he wields his power like a cudgel, creating boulders and walls and little else. He is far better and using his arsenal of weapons to fight, backed up by his immense physical might.
Curiously, his anger and fear seem to actually bring him clarity in battle, overwhelming adrenaline allowing him greater control over his abilities. This may be a lingering result of his association with Shadow.
For now, Ahkmou remains on the outskirts of Magnan society, keeping contact with the few friends he retains. He continues to hone his body and mind for a confrontation he knows is coming… and even that may be easier than facing his people again.
“Have you crawled here to beg me for death?”
“No. I came here to kill you.”
So that’s Ahkmou, as a Toa. Less thought went into his design than Arcan, I basically set out with the goal of “2004 set but BIG” and it largely worked out. I know a lot of people dislike Medium Brown, but I don’t hate it. I’m also of the opinion that Brown + Blue Eyes was an inspired colour scheme choice. Even if the darker blue eyepieces struggle to catch the light as well as the light and pale blue ones used by the Ice sets, when it works, it really works.
He still has the Noble Rau for the time being. There are a handful of really nice Great Rau redesigns available now, and I’ve been sorely tempted by a couple of them… but there’s only one Rau redesign I really want for him.
(Commissioned art from Nickon, based on V3)
I know, with my luck, that the moment I get someone else’s Rau for him, someone will finally model this thing and then I’ll have to find another use for the one I previously acquired.
“And I may never be a true Toa. I may always be a monster… but I will never again be your monster. And you will always be the god that failed."
Story-wise, I did it for a variety of reasons. One, I love throwing redemption arcs at C- and D-list villains, and I love angsty characters. Ahkmou was a perfect candidate for both.
I also noticed that, for all the scorn Ahkmou gets… he doesn’t really… do a whole lot of evil stuff. Like sure, he’s the traitor in both 2004 and 2001, but it’s not his choice in either case. In 04, he’s threatened by Nidhiki, and 01, he’s quite literally brainwashed. And we don’t know the circumstances of his becoming “Turaga” in 2009 because it’s literally never shown. You’d think something like that might get more attention than “Vezon’s Magical Mystery Tour Around AUs That Literally Don’t Matter” but nope. Instead, I drew most of my inspiration for his time as “Turaga” from Reign of Shadows: The Untold Stories by Nicrophorus. It’s not a 1-to-1 adaptation, I’ve changed bits around, but that was my primary source for this really crucial part of Ahkmou’s life.
Looking outside of that, though… Ahkmou is a way more tragic character than he’s given credit for. The guy is the second-best carver in Po-Metru, beaten only by Onewa himself, and he’s one of the only Matoran in all of Metru Nui to have friends from outside his own district. Heck, he’s one of the only characters we see have a positive relationship with a Matoran from the opposite side of the Matoran Civil War during 04-05, with his friendship with Tehutti (The other being Matau taking a liking to Nokama pretty quickly), whereas we can see from the Toa Metru themselves that the conflicts that led to the war are still a raw wound for a lot of them.
In another life, had Nidhiki chosen another mark for his plan to capture the Great Disk Matoran, if someone else’s pod had fallen off the Lhikan during the voyage to Mata Nui, Ahkmou might’ve been rubbing shoulders with Takua and Hahli as friends.
Instead, he was manipulated, corrupted, and became a much worse person… and I decided it would be fun to have him start pulling back in the other direction. Not too far, though…
How far would you go to protect what you love?