Chapter 8
Tanja looked at me, and frowned. “You look different, Toa Lewa.”
“You… know me?” I said. Like, of course she knew of the Toa – she was a Great Being, she made the Toa – but knowing me by name was a bit unexpected.
“I helped make you and your team, of course,” she answered. “Well, to be specific, Artakha made you, but I showed him how. And I had hoped it would be one of you who would find me.”
“Should… should I bow, or something?” I said. “Sorry, I’ve never met a Great Being – well, unless you count the one that’s mad-crazy – I’m not really sure–”
“There’s no need for that,” she said. “Wait – crazy? Have you met Axato?”
“Is Axato the guy that brings everything around him to life?” I asked.
Tanja nodded. “You didn’t release him, did you?”
“Well, I didn’t,” I said. “But I know some people who might loose-free him.”
“That could be a problem,” she said. “As if we don’t have enough of those. Anyway, do you know what this is?” She held up the golden mask I’d seen when we first got here.
I took a closer look at it. I’d seen a few Golden masks in my day – my team and I had once all worn golden masks, in fact – but I was pretty sure I’d never seen this one before. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was familiar about its shape…
Then it hit me. This mask appeared to only cover the upper half of the wearer’s face. And there was a certain mask I’d seen once, long ago, that only really covered the lower half of one’s face. This mask looked like it would fit perfectly on top of that one. “Is that… part of the mask of time?”
“So the Vahi was forged,” she said. “In a way, yes. This is… I guess you could call it the Vahi’s ‘other half’. At some point, I hope to combine them.”
“Where did you get that?” I asked.
“I made it, of course,” she replied. “And then, when I found out that someone was trying to kill me, I used it to take myself out of the timeline. I literally didn’t exist… until you brought me back, just now.”
I whistled. “Sounds like an ever-powerful mask.”
“It is,” she said. “But using it is… difficult. I had to set up a complex array of machinery to use it to step out of time. I’d like you to help me use it, and hopefully, we can take a look through time.”
“Possibly?” I said. I remembered how much trouble Tahu once had, controlling the Vahi we had; could I control this one? And then there was another problem. “Unfortunately, I can’t use it and think-talk to you. Only this mask lets me understand you.”
“I do speak Matoran, you know,” Tanja said. It took me a moment to realize that the mask hadn’t translated that; she had said it in the Matoran language.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked.
“Somewhere in this Stronghold, my brother’s body is in stasis,” Tanja said. “But his mind… that, he has hidden in one of the people from your world. Do you understand? Someone – maybe a Matoran, Toa or Turaga, maybe someone you’ve met – is a Great Being in disguise. I need you to help me find out who he has taken.”
I was shocked. It could’ve been one of the Matoran I’d daring-saved. It could even be Turaga Matau, for all I knew.
“But first, we need to see to the people in this room,” she said. “The Agori, for starters. Where is the rest of your tribe?”
“They’re outside, with the Skrall,” Tolk said. “The Skrall are holding them captive, to get Lewa to get in here for them.”
“Well, we’ve seen how that went,” Tanja said. “But perhaps the Skrall will leave us be, if they know I’m back. I’ll see to it that they let the Agori go. After all, Lewa did hold to his end of the bargain, did he not?”
“I suppose that is true,” Coveh agreed.
Then she turned to Likus and Tera. “As for you two… I’d like you to help me lock up Oris where he can’t try to kill me again. And then… perhaps you’d be up for a fight? My brother might send someone else after me. Or I might soon go hunting after him.”
“I don’t get it,” Likus said. “Why does your brother want to kill you so badly?”
“Honestly, I have no idea,” she said. “Nor do I know why he put himself into one of our creations. But considering that he tried to have me killed when I found out what he’d done, he can’t be up to anything good. I intend to find out what his plans are, and put a stop to them.”
“Well, I’m down,” Likus said. “Sounds like an exciting and dangerous adventure, and adventure is just what we sought when we came in here. Right Tera?”
Tera just grunted in response. “He doesn’t talk too much,” Likus said. “That’s all right, though, I talk enough for both of us.”
“All right then,” Tanja said. “Let’s go pay the Skrall a visit. The Stronghold won’t try to kill us, now that I’m in control. And then…” she grinned, showing her teeth, “Let’s go hunt for my brother.”
Far to the south…
Voporak, mighty hunter for the Dark Hunters, was troubled.
Long ago, Voporak had been given a unique ability: the ability to sense fluctuations in time. He had this ability for one purpose: to find the Mask of Time. And he’d done that. He held the great Vahi in his hand right now, and was trying to track down the leader of the Dark Hunters.
And yet… he’d felt another fluctuation in time now, from up north. It was far away, but it was powerful, the kind only the Vahi would give off.
He checked his hand, just to be sure. The Vahi was still there. He could feel that this was the genuine article. Could there be two Vahi? Was that even possible?
Well… even if this wasn’t a Vahi, it was clearly a source of great power. Voporak’s master would want to know about it. Voporak turned and started walking north, heading toward the mountains. Toward the power of time.
To be continued…
Author’s notes: Yep, that’s the G2 Vahi. Well, sort of. It doesn’t look exactly like the G2 Vahi, but it’s the same basic concept, similar abilities. I’m envisioning something like this artwork.
Speaking of the new Vahi’s abilities, it allows one to see into the past, and possibly the future. I’m not going to do ‘changing the past’ time travel, unless maaaaaybe the combined Vahi allows it; and even if that happens, there’s gonna be some kind of limitation.
I had a lot of difficulty deciding where/how to end this story. I ultimately decided to end it here; this is the conclusion of the adventure in the Stronghold story arc. Next time we see Lewa (and that may be a little while) we’ll get to see him take a look through time, where he may or may not eventually find out that the rogue GB is hiding in Velika. But then Voporak’s gonna come knocking…
For now, though, the Red Star is definitely next. I’m looking forward to that one; there’s a lot of interesting things I can do there.