Chapter Text
For the first time in too long, the heaviness of sleep left him, and light flooded his vision. He could feel the pulse of life within his body, stronger than ever before. He lifted his head slowly, feeling the deluge of water and earth rush off his face. He could see he was in a bright endless ocean, with a bright blue sky blazing overhead.
He stood with great effort; he had not used his legs in a very long time. His immense form rose thousands of miles above the endless ocean. He glanced about as more water fell off him in great sheets.
His mind was still groggy from sleep.
Who am I? What happened?
He felt another pulse of energy inside his power core.
I’ve been brought back. Brought back from what?
He slowly blinked. His ocular sensors had finally adjusted to the vibrant world around him. And with another pulse, he suddenly became aware of all the lives inside him. The lives of…who? Or what?
Mata Nui.
His name flooded back to him. Before he could contemplate further, he felt something dark touching the corners of his mind.
Brother.
That cold voice he knew well. But from where?
Makuta? Before he could react, he felt an immense pressure around his mind. It was as if something, or someone, was crushing his very soul down into a tiny space. He could no longer feel the strength of his limbs, the pulse of his power core.
And before he knew it, Mata Nui was moving at the speed of light.
He flew past the blue sky, up into an obsidian abyss of stars. He had no control over his speed or direction. He could do nothing but watch planets whiz by. During his flight, Mata Nui regained bits and pieces of dreams he had had while he was asleep.
He was the Great Spirit. He was created by the Great Beings to host his own universe. The universe of…small creatures, hard workers, what were they called?
The matoran.
Snippets of the battles they had to fight flashed across his memory. He also saw a glimpse of six faces, not matoran, but faces he thought he knew at some point.
A small brown planet was fast approaching. In his mind Mata Nui felt a flash of panic. He couldn’t slow down. He entered its atmosphere, now a blazing ball of fire.
Impact.
He lay in a crater of sand.
Then by instinct, he activated the power of life. Bit by bit, the sand around him swirled together and solidified, shaping into a new body. When it was all over, Mata Nui opened his new eyes. He felt his face, his head, noticing that long golden hair now grew from it. He looked down at the tan skin of his hands, his legs and feet, the armor he was now clothed in. He recognized the symbol emblazoned on the chest of his armor.
The Ignika.
Makuta had trapped him inside the Ignika and cast him out of his own body.
Mata Nui took a shaky step forward. This body was much smaller than what he was used to. Another step, and his foot caught on a stone, and he stumbled face first into the sand. He pushed himself up into a sitting position. Something skittered over his hand.
Startled, he looked down to see a tiny horned creature with an armored shell and six small legs. He leaned down to the ground to get a closer look. Its shell had a purple sheen. Its eyes were small and beady. Its mandibles made tiny clicking noises.
Mata Nui held out the palm of his hand. The creature scuttled onto it. He remembered the word beetle. He lifted his hand and examined the beetle as it ran in circles up his arm and perched on his shoulder before it skittered back down and disappeared into the sands.
So small. Much like the matoran.
In the next instant, Mata Nui sensed a few pairs of eyes staring down at him. He glanced slowly about. Three bipedal beings surrounded his crater. They wielded spears, wore tattered armor, and sported long stinger tails like nui-jaga. Their eyes were wild and savage, their toothy mouths snarled like animals.
Mata Nui shakily stood himself up. He guessed running away wouldn’t get him far, since he still wasn’t used to this body. But his only other option was to fight, and he wasn’t sure that would go over well either.
A tiny clicking noise tickled his ear. Looking down by his foot Mata Nui saw the beetle from before. Its shell opened and tiny wings sprouted from it. It flew and landed on his chest directly over the symbol for the Ignika, and in a flash a large shield formed in its place. Mata Nui weighed it in his hand.
It was a start.
The first bipedal nui-jaga being sprang at him, its stinger whistling through the air. Before Mata Nui realized what he was doing, his shield shot up and blocked it, making a loud ringing sound that scared the two other bipedal beings away. The one that faced him raised its spear above its head, making an angry screeching sound. Mata Nui dove onto the sand to avoid its sharp point.
His opponent circled him for a few moments. Mata Nui’s breath was haggard already. Between having just woken up from a coma and suddenly existing in a new and weaker body, he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d last in this encounter. His opponent lunged again, and Mata Nui thrust his shield right into its face. The impact seemed to rattle the being, who stumbled backwards a step. With a surge of adrenaline, Mata Nui grabbed its spear, swung it about with one hand, and deftly sliced off the tip of its stinger tail.
The bipedal nui-jaga ran off screeching in pain, dripping blood on the sand.
Mata Nui dropped the spear and his new shield, panting. With another flash of light, the shield became a beetle once again. He looked down at the small creature.
“Thank you,” he said, even though he was certain it didn’t understand. He crouched to the ground, allowing the beetle to crawl up his arm and settle on his shoulder. He surveyed his surroundings for the first time since his crash landing. Nothing but desert as far as his eyes could see.
“I suppose I will have to start walking,” he commented to his new companion, and set off into the sandy horizon.