This little story was written to accompany my build for the Pantheon of Spherus Magna collab, hosted over on Instagram! (If you happen to be active over there, be sure to check it out!) I’ve included some pictures of this build here, too.
Note: This story is entirely unconnected from my primary project, the New Light AU. (I’m still hard at work on that!) This is imagined to take place in the canon-ish timeline. Much of this is inspired by some of Greg Farshtey’s comments on Takanuva having a large role in the conflict of the Great Beings that was planned for the story.
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The God of Light Descends
(Takanuva, as rebuilt by the Great Being Heremus.)
Suddenly, an alarm sound begins to blare. Heremus rushes over to a bank of computers against the far wall.
“Oh no…” he breathes.
“What’s wrong?” Takanuva strides over, concerned.
“I thought that thing had been locked away…” Heremus’ voice is full of worry.
“What thing?”
Heremus turns. “The Marendar,” he replies. “A living weapon, created to hunt down Toa.”
“What?!” Takanuva exclaims. “Why would you create such a thing?”
“Some of our number greatly feared what would happen, should the Toa ever come into conflict with our people,” Heremus explains. “Given their powers that Agori and Glatorian lack… the threat they’d pose would be great indeed. So the Marendar was created as a sort of contingency. It seeks Toa Power, and operates with the singular goal of eliminating Toa. Worse, it is naturally resistant to elemental attacks. So the Toa’s powers will be all but useless.”
“And now it’s loose?”
Heremus nods. “I don’t know why, or how. It was sealed in a vault, reinforced with the strongest of materials known to us. Either it was released, or it was able to break free on its own.” Heremus looks over at his computers again. “And it’s headed straight for the New Atero.”
Takanuva’s mind immediately goes to his friends, hard at work in New Atero helping to build the city.
“It will hunt down every last Toa,” says Heremus. “With no regard for the lives of those who get in the way, and no care for what it has to destroy to clear its path.”
“Then what do we do?” asks Takanuva.
“You must stop it.”
“Me?” Takanuva looks at the Great Being incredulously. “But you just said it hunts Toa, and is resistant to elemental power.”
Heremus nods. “But you… you are different. Though it will recognize the Toa Power in you and hunt you as it would any other Toa… Light is special among the elements. For Light is something inherent to all beings, in a way Fire or Stone is not. It may be somewhat resilient against you, but your Light will be able to damage it. And with the added power of the Light Core that now pulses within, you have a limitless supply of that Light.” He gazes up at the Toa. “It seems I was Destined to find you, when you were on the verge of death in the wilds. I’ve rebuilt you to be the strongest you could possibly be, Takanuva. Now, you are the only hope for the people in New Atero.”
Takanuva nods. He was used to the burden of being the only hope. And with his friends in grave danger, he was prepared to take on this new threat. “Point me towards the city, and I’ll go straight there.”
Heremus cocks his head. “Do you just plan to walk there?”
“Oh, no no.” Takanuva gives a soft smile. “I had something else in mind.”
–––
Toa Jaller stands at the edge of New Atero, sword at the ready. He’d been nearby when an Agori had rushed up to him, telling of a strange metallic being that had been sighted outside the city. Jaller had been quick to investigate. There were three other Toa as well, each standing a little further out from the city’s edge in the rolling green hills beyond. The strange, metallic being was approaching at a steady pace, it’s methodical movements seeming deeply unsettling to Jaller. Vaguely humanoid, with a smooth mouthless head and clawed limbs, something about it just seemed… off.
“Hello?” calls the Toa closest to the being, a Toa of Plasma. “Who are you?” The being makes no reply, continuing its steady advance toward them, filling Jaller with a gnawing sense of unease. “Hello??” repeats the Toa of Plasma. He takes a step towards the Marendar.
Suddenly, the Marendar rushes towards the Toa of Plasma with blinding speed. It grabs the Toa with one of it’s clawed hands. Before the Toa can even react, it slams its other clawed hand into the Toa. Jaller grimaces as the being’s hand punches right through the Toa of Plasma, coming out the other side with a sickening crunch.
“Brother!” cries the next closest Toa. The entity extracts its arm from the Toa’s body and drops the Toa to the ground. Then, it crushes the Toa’s head.
“No!” The next Toa exclaims, in utter dismay. She charges at the entity, thrusting a hand out in front of her. Elemental Lightning shoots forth, hitting the metallic being. Yet the being seems entirely unfazed by the barrage of electricity. It approaches the charging Toa of Lightning, clawed hands ready to strike. The Toa’s Mask of Quick Travel flashes, and she teleports behind the metallic entity, launching into a barrage of punches. It stumbles forward, momentarily stunned. Then, it whirls around, swinging it’s arm hard and knocking the Toa of Lightning aside. The Toa hits the ground, and the entity lunges at her, pinning her down with its clawed limbs. As the Toa of Lightning struggles beneath it, the metallic entity’s eyes flare up, phasing from red, to orange, to yellow, to blue, and at last to a brilliant white. Twin beams of energy shoot from the metallic being’s eyes, straight into the Toa’s head. When the beams cease, the headless remains of the Toa lays limply beneath the entity. It rises to its feet, turns to face the third Toa, and begins its slow, steady approach.
Jaller looks to the other Toa, a Toa of Stone. He trembles in place, not moving from his spot. What is he doing , Jaller thinks to himself. As the metallic entity continues its approach, it raises one of its arms. Its clawed hand begins to crackle with energy, aimed directly at the Toa. He still stands in place, frozen with fear. It’s going to kill him, Jaller thinks. It’s going to–
“No,” Jaller whispers to himself, clenching his sword tightly in his hand. “I will not watch another Toa die.” His spirit filled with determination, Jaller rushes towards the paralyzed Toa of Stone. Perhaps its the need to prove himself, after so recently being ensnared by that Golden-Skinned Being… but somehow, Jaller is able to reach the frozen Toa just in time.
“Look out!” Jaller shouts. He pushes the Toa of Stone out of the way, just as the metallic being unleashes a blast of energy from its hand. The blast hits Jaller in his left leg, causing the Toa of Fire to cry out as he hits the ground. The Toa of Stone turns to face him, eyes filled with shock.
“Go!” Jaller yells. “Warn the others!”
As the Toa of Stone rushes off, Jaller looks to his leg. The armor was badly cracked and damaged, and he could faintly see the outline of muscle within. Any attempt to move it caused pain to shoot up the length of his leg. Looking up, Jaller could see the metallic being now advancing towards him. It seemed to Jaller almost… angry.
“Hah… I’ve dealt with worse than you,” Jaller scoffs. He summons a large fireball in his hand, hurling it at the being. The fire hits the entity’s metallic surface… and seems to melt into the entity without phasing it whatsoever. Frustrated, Jaller repeats this a few more times, with each fireball being easily absorbed by the being, doing no damage whatsoever.
“Okay, maybe I haven’t dealt with worse,” he mutters. With great effort, Jaller forces himself to his feet, ignoring the shooting pain in his leg.
“Alright… whatever you are,” he begins, “if it’s a fight you want, I will gladly oblige.” Raising his sword, Jaller prepares to attack. The being gives no reply as it draws near. When it is at last in striking distance, Jaller swings his sword with all his might– only to have it batted out of his hand by a swift motion of the being’s arm. Stumbling back, Jaller instinctively hurls bolts of fire at it, and once more the fire is absorbed straight into its body.
“Oh, geez.” Backing up, Jaller looks back and sees a handful of Agori and Matoran anxiously watching him from the windows and roofs of the buildings at the edge of the city behind him. “Get out of here!” he yells at them. “It’s not safe here.”
He turns his attention back to the entity, which is nearly at arm’s length from him now. Jaller continues to back up, but stumbles as his leg gives out beneath him, falling to the ground with a grunt.
The entity at last reaches him. Outstretching its arm, it begins to charge up for another energy blast. Jaller tries to kick at the being with his good leg, but all the force he can muster doesn’t even elicit a flinch.
“So this is it, huh?” he mutters. “Matoro died saving the world… and I die laying on the ground like a wounded ash bear. Hahli will never forgive me…”
But just as the being is about to fire, it lowers its arm, the energy in its hand dissipating. The being turns, facing out towards the rolling grassy hills beyond the city. Something had clearly gotten its attention. Jaller follows it’s gaze, and sees a bright beam of light on the horizon. No… it wasn’t just on the horizon. It was moving. Towards them. Very fast. The being raises its arm to face the oncoming beam, beginning to charge its hand with energy once more.
“Jaller!! Look out!!” As the beam approaches, Jaller can hear a familiar voice calling to him. Mustering all his strength, the Toa manages to roll to one side. Not five seconds later, the oncoming beam of light smashes into the entity.
––––––
As Takanuva smashes into the Marendar, the brief flash of red and orange to his right confirms that his best friend had gotten out of the way. The Marendar is thrown back, crashing to the street with a resounding thud. As the aura of Light around him fades, Takanuva slides to a halt on glowing skates made of hard Light. He smiles briefly. He’d always been fascinated by Jaller’s stories of that being Umbra, who had guarded the Mask of Life. Now, he could finally put some of those techniques into practice. Takanuva turns around, looking to his old friend laying just past the edge of the city.
(Takanuva, with his Light Skates)
“Takanuva…?” Jaller asks, utterly taken aback. “Is that you?”
“Of course it’s me, Kolhii-head, who else would it be?” Takanuva grins. “Looks like you could use a hand.”
“Or a leg. What is that thing?”
“A living Toa-killing machine,” Takanuva answers. “Courtesy of the Great Beings, of course.”
“Of course,” Jaller grumbles. “Takanuva, look out!”
The Toa of Light turns and slides to the side as a blast from the Marendar whizzes by his mask. “Alright,” he says, “let’s get serious.”
Dispelling his light skates, Takanuva lands on the ground with a solid thud. “You want a Toa to fight? You can have me.”
The Marendar begins charging up its hands for another blast. In response, Takanuva fires a beam of light from the palm of his hand. It lands squarely in the Marendar’s chest, knocking the metallic being back. Just as Heremus had said, the Marendar was not impervious to Light. The Marendar responds with another blast of energy, this one hitting Takanuva squarely in the arm. The force of the attack sends the Toa of Light back with a grunt, but his armor remains undamaged and barely scarred.
“I’ve got to draw this thing away from the city,” Takanuva mutters. He summons his Light Skates again. “Alright, come and get me!” he shouts. He begins skating back to the edge of the city, tossing blasts of light from his hand behind him at the Marendar. Glancing back, Takanuva sees the metallic entity beginning to run towards him, paying no mind to Jaller. A frightening sight indeed, but exactly what the Toa had hoped for. Takanuva skates out into the great green fields outside the city. Once he is a sufficient distance out, he turns around and dispels his skates. The Marendar was indeed still running, straight towards him.
Now, the Toa of Light draws his great bow, given to him by Heremus in the Great Being’s lab. As the first bolt of energy charges up at the bow’s tip, Takanuva channels his Light into it, then lets it loose. The arrow of Light flies fast and true, hitting the Marendar in the shoulder. The entity flinches, but does not stop running. Takanuva fires off a volley of Light arrows. Eventually, enough of them manage to hit the Marendar and knock it off it’s feet, sending it crashing into the ground.
(Takanuva, with his Great Bow fashioned by Heremus.)
Takanuva cautiously approaches the being. Suddenly, a blast of fire shoots out from the chest of the Marendar, scorching Takanuva’s hand and sending his great bow flying from his hands. The Marendar rises back to its feet, it’s clawed hands crackling with energy. Takanuva hurls a couple of Light blasts at the entity, but it manages to withstand these as it lumbers once more toward the Toa.
“Alright,” Takanuva murmurs. “Let’s try something else.” Closing his eyes, Takanuva thinks back. He had always carried staffs of some kind, from the Chronicler’s Staff to his twin Light Staffs. But so many of the heroes he looked up to, like Tahu and Kopaka, had wielded swords, blades with which they fought for the freedom of the Matoran. Now, it was his turn.
Tapping into the power of the Light Core, Takanuva channels the energy into his hand, which coalesces into a great broadsword, glowing with Hard Light energy. Closing his fist around the blade, Takanuva charges at the Marendar. It fires a bolt of energy from it’s hand, then another. The Toa uses his sword to deflects these attacks. Closing the distance in mere moments, Takanuva swings his broadsword at the Marendar, landing a solid blow on the being’s body. He swings again, and again, and again, leaving the Marendar off-balance and unable to counter. As the attacks continue, cracks begin to appear in the Marendar’s metallic exterior. Eventually, it is able to summon a blast of energy that forces Takanuva back. As the Toa regains his balance, he notes a tear in the Marendar’s chest.
(Takanuva, brandishing a Hard Light broadsowrd.)
“Have you had enough yet?” he asks. “Leave this city and the Toa within it alone.”
The Marendar makes no reply. Instead, it launches a great ball of fire from its chest. Takanuva is able to dodge the attack, but as he does the Marendar slams into him with full force, knocking him down to the ground. With his concentration broken, his broadsword of Hard Light vanishes. The Marendar now pins Takanuva to the ground, it’s clawed hands firmly holding his arms down, and clawed feet keeping his legs similarly trapped. Despite its smaller size, the entity was physically quite strong, and Takanuva is unable to break free of its grip.
The Marendar stares down at Takanuva with its mouthless head. It’s eye sockets now begin to glow. Takanuva attempts to fire blasts of light from his hand, but is unable to aim them at the Marendar. He struggles under its grip, but to no avail. Its eye sockets begin to glow, phasing from red, to orange, to yellow, to blue, to brilliant white. Takanuva has no idea what the Marendar is about to do, but he knows for certain it won’t be good for him.
“No,” he whispers, “I can’t let you win. My friends… Jaller…”
Takanuva pools all his strength. The panels on the center of his chest open, revealing the glowing, pulsing Light Core within. The Light Core begins to glow brighter as the Toa focuses all his effort. With a defiant yell, Takanuva unleashes a massive beam of pure Light directly from the Light Core. The Marendar is blasted into the sky by the attack. The beam glows so bright as to rival the sun itself for a moment. As Takanuva ceases the attack and the beam ends, the Marendar crashes into ground a few yards away.
(Takanuva, unleashing the raw power of the Light Core.)
Slowly, Takanuva rises to his feet, still recovering from the sheer force of the blast he’d just unleashed. The panels on his chest close around the Light Core again. He stands, muscles tensed, ready to continue. Suddenly, a figure appears before him, seeming to materialize from nowhere. The figure stands over the the body of the Marendar. As Takanuva gets a proper look at the being, he recognizes them instantly.
“Velika,” he growls, clenching his fists.
“Takanuva,” the one-time Matoran responds, perplexed. “I thought I’d killed you.”
Takanuva’s memories flash back to lying in the wilds, left for dead after being pulverized by Velika. “You thought wrong,” he replies. “And it seems your little toy couldn’t handle me, either.”
“Fascinating, isn’t it?” Velika muses. “I didn’t even release it. The Marendar awoke all on its own, drawn to the massive nexus of Toa Power. Though, I should thank you for handling it. I wouldn’t want it killing anyone important– not yet.”
“It won’t be killing anyone at all,” Takanuva retorts. “And neither will you.”
The Great Being cackles. “You poor fool. My kind have abilities and technologies you wouldn’t even be able to fathom. Why, I could go and kill that measly Toa of Fire right now. It would be so easy to–”
Velika is stopped midway through his sentence as Takanuva fires a blast of light from his hand, striking the Being in the shoulder.
Velika lets out a grunt. “You would strike at me, one of your own creators?” He stares at the Toa. “Just who do you think you are?”
Takanuva stands tall. His entire body almost seems to be glowing, softly yet brilliantly. “I am Takanuva. I am Light. And whatever schemes you may have… I will stop you.”
Velika scoffs. “We will see about that.” And just like that, the Great Being and the Marendar are gone, nowhere to be seen.
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“…well, this is certainly concerning.” Tahu stands, flanked by Ackar and Raanu, speaking with Takanuva. After the commotion of the battle on the edge of New Atero they were quick to arrive, and had listened to Takanuva’s story. Jaller had been quickly rushed off to have his leg repaired.
“Whatever Velika’s ultimate goals are,” Ackar begins, “he could become a grave problem for us.”
Takanuva nods. “We will need to warm the people about this. And make sure all Toa are aware of the Marendar.”
“Agreed,” Tahu concurs. “I would very much like to speak with this Heremus who rebuilt you.”
“I can take you to him tomorrow.”
“Very well.” Tahu turns to his companions. “Come, we have much to discuss with the council.” And with that, the three depart. Takanuva turns, and is surprised to see a group of Agori eagerly approaching, with a couple of Matoran sprinkled in. They come to a halt in front of him, gazing up at Takanuva’s form as it towers above them.
“You… you defeated that being…” the green Agori at the front of the group speaks. Clearly, some of these people had been watching Takanuva’s battle with the Marendar.
Takanuva shakes his head. “It was down, but not completely beaten.”
“But you still fended it off,” another Agori says. “And the you saved that Toa…”
Takanuva nods. “Jaller is… my best friend. Once, long long ago, he put himself in grave danger to save my life. I’m glad I could return the favor.”
The gathered crowd stare at Takanuva, his armor gleaming in the setting sun, murmuring among themselves.
“He is… like a god…” an Agori whispers to the Matoran beside her.
“Yes,” agrees another Agori.
“He is the God of Light…” yet another says, just loud enough for Takanuva to hear.
At the mention of the word ‘god,’ memories of Teridax flood Takanuva’s mind.
“No,” he says, “I am no god. I’ve had more than enough of ‘gods.’ Everyone I’ve encountered who’s been referred to as a god… has been deeply flawed. Even Mata Nui…” A pause, as his thoughts drift back to Mata Nui’s last words, before the once-Great Spirit had receded into the Mask of Life. “Mata Nui wanted us to forge our future without his shadow looming over us. I don’t want to end up filling that role in his absence.” Takanuva shakes his head. “No. Please. I’m just Takanuva. Not a god, just someone trying to do what’s right and defend the people of this world.” Takanuva gazes out at the rolling green hills beyond the edge of the city. This world that Mata Nui had given them was truly beautiful… a place for Agori and Matoran alike to flourish. And he would protect, whatever the cost. He was the Light, the shining beckon of hope for all in the uncertain times ahead. That was his Destiny.
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A fun little short story, if I do say so myself. Again, this is separate from my main NLAU story, and is a tie-in to the Pantheon of Spherus Magna collab, hosted over on Instagram. A whole lineup of fantastic creators came together to imagine a pantheon of ‘gods’ for all the elements. There’s some fantastic builds to check out, and I was thrilled to be a part of this project! I highly encourage any and all to check out everyone else’s creations!
(For those handful of you who have followed my NLAU story, Past Part 3 is nearly done, and will be posted within the next couple months! I know it’s been awhile; life’s been kinda hectic. But there’s lots of good stuff coming for my AU, that I can guarantee!)