Chapter 1
The last thing Vakama remembered before he and the other Toa Metru were magically swept away to this foreign land was helping unload the last of the encapsulated Matoran from Metru Nui unto the shores of the island Mata Nui. He and his sister Toa Nokama woke up, lying face-first in the middle of Ga-Ao, the water region of the planet Ankoku Nui. The sky was grey, and the land had been struck by a great flood that left the air thick with humidity, and few landmasses of sand visible to the naked eye.
“What in blazes is this place?” said Vakama as he and his friend got up on their feet, “Matau! Onewa!”
Nokama too, called out for her brothers and teammates, whom she and Vakama immediately realized were absent. “Nuju, Whenua, if you can hear us, answer!”
Vakama felt a shudder as he surveyed his new surroundings; he was scared half to death that something or someone may have took them away, probably to their deaths, Mata Nui forbid. He had too much on his conscience already; not stopping the Makuta of Metru Nui, who, unbeknownst to the Toa, is called Teridax, from instigating the Great Cataclysm, or preventing the death of Lhikan, Vakama was not willing to allow for one more such failure! As they searched for their comrades, if hopelessly, Vakama noticed an unconscious young man floating face down in the water. Nokama also spotted a young woman drifting slowly from the man Vakama just found. Neither Toa had ever seen humans before, but they weren’t going to let them drown either, for that matter. Vakama waded towards the girl who was closer to him, while Nokama swam straight for the man, carrying him to the nearest remaining piece of land. She felt him around for a faint heartbeat, and remained by his side even as Vakama did his best to save the woman. Eventually, the young man opened his eyes, to Nokama’s relief.
“…Yu-Yuna… Where?” the young man said.
“You’re awake!” Nokama gasped, “Thank the Great Spirit!”
The young man, who is called Tidus, flinched in surprise at the sight of the Toa who saved his life. “Ahh!” he cried, “Who are you? And where’s Yuna?!”
Vakama turned around to greet Tidus. “You mean her? She just woke up, so she’s alright, I believe.”
The girl whom Tidus referred to as Yuna walked straight up to Vakama’s side, assuring her friend she was alright. “They saved us from drowning, Tidus.” Yuna says, and turns to Nokama, as Vakama walked towards her, “Whoever you are, you have our gratitude.” Yuna bowed in respect to the Toa as they properly introduced themselves.
“I am Vakama, and this is Nokama. We’re Toa.”
“Whoa! What’s a Toa?” Tidus asked curiously.
But before either Toa could respond, they were approached by a vicious looking black and white creature with the head of a Rahkshi. The four didn’t know what to make of this creature, only that it was looking to fight and likely kill them.
“Allow us to explain later. We’ve got company!” Nokama said as she readied her Hydro blades for combat.
The black and white creature parried as Nokama swung her weapons at it’s direction. Vakama wanted to fight as well, but he had no weapon. His Kanoka Disc Launcher had been previously destroyed in an earlier skirmish between him and The Shadowed One, leader of the Dark Hunters, so he ordered Tidus and Yuna to stand back.
“No way,” Tidus told the Toa of Fire, “We can take him!”
Fortunately, this wasn’t their first time fighting, so they pick up their weapons and engage the black and white creature. While the creature was occupied with Nokama, Tidus struck it from behind with his sword, the blade of which gleamed blue like the sun’s rays on water. The creature screeched in pain as what seemed like machinery was exposed from underneath it’s exo-skeleton. It was a robot! As Tidus and Nokama fought the robot up front with Yuna providing supporting fire with her twin handguns, Vakama searched desperately for some kind of weapon, or at least the materials to construct one. It was not long before he spotted his Disc Launcher, completely repaired by unknown circumstances, lying near the spot where he woke up. He had no time to dwell on how it got here, and picked it up, firing an energy projectile at the robot, damaging it further. His weapon had somehow gotten stronger, but again, this was not the time to wonder why. Nokama and Tidus continued hacking at the robot until it could fight no longer, and collapsed into a pile of scrap.
“What in Mata Nui’s name was that, a new type of Vahki?” Vakama wondered as he knelt down, examining the robot’s remains.
“Maybe it’s a kind of machina we’ve never seen before.” Tidus guessed, “You think that’s what brought us here?”
“If not, it’s at least connected to the real cause, I guess.” Yuna replied.
“Whatever this place is,” said Nokama, “we must learn more about it if we’re to even find a way back home, right?”
Vakama nodded his head in approval. “Agreed. Will you two join us then?”
Being the selfless and caring woman she is, Yuna wanted to help her new acquaintances find their way back to their native world. “Very well. Come on, Tidus!”
As for Tidus, this wasn’t his first time being ripped away from his home, so he knew how badly Vakama and Nokama wanted to return home, about as badly as he wanted to return to Zanarkand when he first ended up in Spira. “Right behind you.”
The four travelers began their journey.
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