Fear War

This article was written by Nuju of Ice. Please do not add to it without the writer's permission.

Fear War
Story
Setting	Mata Nui, Skodian
Date Set	1,001 AGC
Timeline
Previous	None
Concurrent	The Gamble
Next	Shutdown Battle

Fear War is a story written by Nuju of Ice that takes place in the Zeveron Universe. It is the first story in the Zeveron Continuity.

Chapter 1

Turaga Nuju walked out onto the Fehrax Pier. So this is how it is, he thought.

Once, the Fehrax Pier had been the dock for boats to take Matoran from Mata Nui to Zeveron, land of peace and a massive Visorak colony. Now that Keperronyx had attacked the island named after the Great Spirit, the pier was closed. The Ignika was somewhere on Zeveron, and Nuju heard the island was being attacked. The Matoran of both worlds were desperate for help, but the Toa Nuva had left for Metru Nui, and had not been heard from since.

The Ta-Koro Guard was fighting the armies of the warlord Keperronyx, but that wasn't enough. The Ko-Matoran aren't warriors, Nuju thought.

But there were warriors on Mata Nui. And Nuju knew at least two of them.

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Shadox and Ferraii talked as their warriors fought. Shadox was an elite Kolavax, and Ferraii was a mutated Visorak. Keperronyx, like Carapar and Shadox, was a powerful Kolavax warlord, and he was set on conquest... of Mata Nui.

"Fight, men, fight!" shouted Shadox to his troops. One of them struck Aviaz, a Ta-Matoran, on the head with his Wrecker Blade. Aviaz hit the ground like an Ussal Crab trying to fly. The war was easy for the Kolavax. They had allies attacking Zeveron, a paradise world, and winning. The world was theirs...

"What was that blast of light?!" yelled Ferraii. Intense light energy filled the sky. It was too much to look at. "Stare at the ground!" screamed Shadox. No Matoran or Kolavax (or Ferraii) was looking at the sky now.

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Nuju couldn't believe it.

Two seconds ago he had been a Turaga, a wise leader of the Ko-Matoran on Mata Nui. Now, he was back to being a Toa Metru. "But how...?" he wondered. True, it is impossible to transform from a Turaga back into a Toa under normal circumstances. But nothing was impossible to the Ignika, and these weren't normal circumstances. This is the Ignika's doing, Nuju realized. But no, he wasn't the only Toa that had been transformed.

Ignika. Gali. Nuju. Veravax. Thadakk. Zelev.

These were all Toa... and they all had their destiny before them.

Chapter 2

Thadakk looked down on his body to see a Toa, not a Skakdi.

At first, his thoughts were Cool! Now I'm a true hero!

But then, he realized he would never get off his ship to Mata Nui... not as a Toa. He stared at the water, and his face was... different. He wore a Kanohi now, but he had no clue what it was. He carried Toa Tools, but he didn't know what they were or what they did.

Then he saw two armed Skakdi guards charging at him.

Thadakk knew that he had elemental control over Stone, even as a Skakdi. He tried to create a boulder blocking the two guards... and found a mountain of stone rise up from the ship's deck. Thadakk yelled, "I'm Thadakk! You know who I am! I'm not an enemy, I'm an ally!"

The two Skakdi retorted "Thadakk is brown, not yellow."

Thadakk decided to just jump off the ship, rather than fight two Skakdi warriors.

KAPLASHH! Thadakk hit the water and began to swim for shore.

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Shadox looked at the battle unfolding beneath him. Ta-Matoran and Kolavax were dying and weapons being stolen. "ENOUGH!" roared Ferraii. He cracked his whip at his warriors. Shadox shook his head. "That's no way to win a war. Not without being killed in a mutiny."

"Shut up!" screamed Ferraii. "Or would you prefer me to use this whip on you?!" The Kolavax general laughed. He knew that was Ferraii's wierd way of saying he was failing. A Kolavax warrior fell here, a few dozen Ta-Matoran there, it was all working out. The war was won.

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Gali Nuva stared at Tahu, Lewa, Kopaka, and the other Toa Nuva. They were once her brothers, but now... she felt a strong need to return to Ga-Koro. She looked back at the others, fighting a rogue Vahki squadron. Her decision was made.

"I'm leaving, brother Kopaka," she said to the Toa Nuva of Ice. Kopaka was shocked and confused. "My destiny... I feel it is somewhere else," she explained. Kopaka nodded. he understood.

And yet another Toa rose to the challenge... the challenge of the Toa Pharys.

Chapter 3

Ignika ran like he'd never run before.

Well, maybe he never HAD run, but that wasn't the point. What mattered was that a group of Shadow Visorak were chasing him, and knowing what Shadow Visorak were and what they could do, that wasn't a good thing.

Stupid, stupid Gate Guardian! Ignika thought. His Lifeblade could stop the Gate Guardians, but they made enough noise to alert the Shadow Visorak. Now Ignika had to fight the whole colony. The question is, thought the new Toa, why are these Shadow Visorak here at all?

Why, indeed. The Shadow Visorak weren't unheard of, but they weren't natural - they were Visorak that had been infected by Shadow Leeches. Ordinarily that wouldn't have been a problem (just another exhibit for Maaxovius the Archivist), but once they started multiplying...

It was a problem, all right.

Ignika fired his Midak Skyblaster at a Shadow Visorak. The Visorak transformed into an incorporeal mass of shadows and the shot passed harmlessly through it. Darn! thought Ignika as he readied his Skyblaster again. He saw the exit to the Subterranean Cave. I have one shot, he realized. Better make it. With a flash of light, the Toa fired his Midak Skyblaster again, this time hitting a Shadow Visorak. The Visorak dissolved into nothing. Ignika, knowing he had succeeded in scaring the Visorak - temporarily. He had to get out - now. He raced out the cave mouth and into the sunlight. Whew. That was close. he thought. After thinking about where to go, he decided to strike out for the metropolis of Mavador. And with that, he left, not knowing he was being watched...

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Thadakk was dripping with water, and chilled deep to the bone. Why he was a Toa, he didn't know, or why he was yellow, not brown, or why...

Then he remembered: He was on Mata Nui. There were Toa here, maybe they could help. Thadakk recognized the skyline of Mount Ihu in the distance, and where there was Mount Ihu, there was Ko-Koro.

A short while later, Thadakk was at Ko-Koro. He wasn't sure who the Toa of Ice standing around was, but it sure wasn't Kopaka. "Excuse me, Toa of Ice! I am Thadakk, and I seem to be a Toa now. I was a Skakdi, but now, well... you know..."

The Toa of Ice looked surprised. "So I see I'm not the only one. I am Turaga Nuju - er, I was, but now I am Toa Nuju. I get the feeling that we aren't Toa all of a sudden by coincidence... we may be destined to be Toa in a way."

Thadakk smiled. "Maybe we should team up. It's hard enough as a solo Toa, and working together might be the key." Nuju agreed, and for the first time, A Skakdi-Toa found a Toa Team. They would become the Toa Pharys, and so would the four others, but for now one question remained: Why were all these beings becoming Toa?

Chapter 4

Zelev, now a Toa of Air, looked at the sky. Before, it had just been... the sky. Now, it looked so... inviting. He felt he just had to be in the sky.

Fortunately, he was now equipped with Air Elemental powers. Zelev summoned his power...

And felt himself floating. He saw trees underneath him, even the Matoran farmer Jekk staring up at him. Jekk was not exactly a very gullible Matoran. Sure enough, Zelev heard a shout. "Hey! Who are you? Why are you floating up there? And what's a Toa-hero doing here on Mata Nui?" Before Zelev could answer, he saw a swarm of infected Nui-Rama flying on a crash course for a nearby village - Le-Koro. "No time to chat! I have a village to save!" he souted as he flew towards Le-Koro.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nuju headed for Le-Koro, in search of Turaga Matau. Unless Matau had transformed as well, he would be one of only five Turaga, and Nuju, for once, didn't know what to do. Of course, Nuju had another reason to go. He was searching for the other Toa he knew existed. He and Thadakk had recieved a vision that there were other Toa, and one of them was in Le-Koro. Thadakk had volunteered to stay behind and fight the Kolavax while Nuju searched for the others. Nuju swatted at a bug that had been buzzing in his ear. He saw Le-Koro up ahead.

That's when Nuju noticed the Rahkshi of Heat Vision hiding behind the tree. Nuju looked around for more. He saw no Rahkshi or Rahi. Good. Nothing to worry about... just one Rahkshi.

He had spoken too soon - a Nui-Rama swarm came out of nowhere and smothered him. He fell to the ground as the Rahi moved on, and he could see the Rahkshi moving to attack him.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zelev raced through the sky and landed outside of Le-Koro. He was hoping to intercept the Nui-Rama before they could reach the village. He was just barely in time - the Nui-Rama came buzzing the trees and he had no time to react. Fortunately he had his powers of Air, and he concentrated harder than he had ever done before... and it worked. A tornado appeared and blew the swarm away, through the vegetation. They smashed through the Rahkshi and somehow, Zelev knew they wouldn't attack again.

A voice cried out, "Amazing! Who are you, Toa?"

Zelev turned to see Turaga Matau. "Turaga! It's me, Zelev! I seem to be a Toa-hero now."

Matau nodded. Whoever you are, you are a Toa. I know that. Villagers! Come out now from your deep-hiding! A Toa-hero has saved us all!"

Matoran emerged from behind trees and bushes, out of every possible hiding place, cheering for Zelev. "Whoa! Don't spoil me or I'll get used to it!"

A strange figure chuckled. He was tall, leaning against a tree, and wore a Kanohi Matatu. Zelev did not recognize him.

Matau was speechless. When he got his voice back a few seconds later, he exclaimed, "Nuju! How did you...?"

Toa Nuju walked forward. "I do not know. I was a Turaga, now I am a Toa. But I am concerned for you and the others, Matau. You are still Turaga, like I was. Why me, of all us?"

Matau spoke softly. "I guess we'll just have to see-find for ourselves."

Nuju turned to Zelev. "I owe it to you, Toa of Air. A Rahkshi was attacking me when you sent those Nui-Rama flying. It knocked the Rahkshi to who knows where. Thank you."

Zelev said, "You became a Toa? Did it have to do with a blast of light like I did?"

"Yes, you're a new Toa? Then I feel you may be one of us."

"Us? That means there are others, right?"

"Right, and I still have only found one other. Go to Ta-Koro, you will find Thadakk, the Toa of Stone. Be prepared for battle. I must find the last three."

Toa Zelev smiled. "Don't worry-fear, Nuju. I will do as you wish."

If it can be done, he added to himself.

Chapter 5

Gali had finally reached Mata Nui, and she wasn't happy with what she saw.

Kolavax warriors and Ta-Matoran were fighting and dying, and there was no chance of the Ta-matoran winning. Gali turned and ran. One Toa couldn't make a difference. But a whole Toa Team --

Gali remembered all these events, even as she was headed to Ga-Koro. She didn't know who was waiting there for her... or why he was there. But Macku had met the Toa of Water near Ta-Koro, and told her that someone was waiting there for the Toa. Gali saw Ga-Koro now, and there was Turaga Nokama and a strange Toa, talking at the village square.

"Nokama!" gasped Gali, out of breath."Who is this you speak with?"

The Toa, a Toa of Ice, looked confused. "What...? Ah, that's right, you wouldn't know. I am Toa Nuju, Gali."

Of course, Gali couldn't believe it. But Nokama is agreeing, so it must be Nuju, Gali told herself. Nuju looked concerned, gazing off at the sky.

"What is it?" asked Gali. Nuju turned.

"I had a... vision, Gali. One of a Toa... a Toa of Fire."

"Tahu? Or one of the others?"

Nuju replied, "No... a Toa I have never seen before. He is in danger, Gali. I believe he is on Skodian, an island far from here. I must find him... I must. There is no other option. Gali, return to Ta-Koro. You will find two other Toa there. Their names are Zelev and Thadakk. Help them fight the Kolavax."

Gali shook her head. "No, Nuju. If one of us goes, we all go."

Nokama nodded. "Yes, Nuju, she's right. Take the others with you, and find the rest of the Toa."

Nuju shrugged. "All right, Nokama. I'll bring them with me. We'll have to fight to get to them, though. Ready, Gali?"

Gali looked ready for battle. "Ready."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Veravax was fighting for his life. As Nuju had said, he was on Skodian, a barren desert, and home of a Shadow Visorak hive. One Visorak was approaching from the left. Veravax swung his Fire Blades at it, sending a wall of fire into the Visorak, burning it to a crisp. But there were other Visorak, and they wouldn't fall so easily...

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ignika had been watched as he left Zeveron. He was the only Toa who knew of all the others, and he was on his way to Skodian now. He was ready to fight anyone or anything to rescue Veravax. He'd promised himself that.

Of course, if he'd known the Makuta were involved, he never would have made that promise.

Makuta Parakio watched from the shadows as Ignika left on a boat for Skodian. He spoke into his communicator, his eyes watching the only Toa of Life in the universe depart to save Veravax.

"Zarrakini. This is Parakio. We have a new arrival for Skodian. Send more reinforcements immediately. We have another easy victim."

Chapter 6

The four Toa had reached Skodian. It was hard enough to get there, and now it would be even harder to find the Toa of Fire. Only Nuju knew what he looked like, so the others were looking for any red Toa they could see.

"Listen, Treespeaker. If we hadn't listened to your ideas, we would have found this Toa by now!"

Zelev complained loudly, but Thadakk was still accusing him of making the expedition too slow. Gali and Nuju talked quietly ahead of the others.

"Do you think it's safe here, Nuju? I mean, if the Toa of Fire is in danger, we may be too."

"That's what I feared."

"Maybe if we can get those two to stop fighting, we'd have a better chance in battle."

"Good idea, the only question is... how?"

Soon the Toa came to a widening in the canyon they were traveling in. A reddish mass was being dragged away by a yellow one.

"There he is!" Nuju shouted, and immediately Thadakk and Zelev stopped their own private war to focus on the real one. Nuju led the charge, but Zelev quickly overtook him. When they came to the Toa's body, they were taken by fear.

A long, bloody rip in the Toa's armor had left him unconscious, and his Kanohi Mask of Power was shattered completely. His legs were bloody, bruised, and burned, and his Toa Tools were fragmented.

"Holy Bohrok!" yelled Gali. "What happened?!"

The yellow Toa stood up, and Gali could see a gray Kanohi on his face. He gazed at Gali and said, "There were dozens of Shadow Visorak here in this canyon not long ago. They were ripping, slashing, and biting at this one. Their Rhotuka burned him all over, you can see that easily. I get the feeling there were more, but they left when they saw me enter the canyon. I drove off all the Visorak, but the Toa was unconscious already."

The four other Toa looked at each other. They knew what that meant.

Zelev spoke up after a long silence. "How could that many Shadow Visorak exist at once?"

The stranger looked up at the Toa of Air. "They couldn't. Unless the Makuta are involved."

Every one of the Toa had already been fearing just that. A voice called out from the shadows, chilling the Toa to the bone.

"Correct, fools... I am Makuta Parakio, and those were my Shadow Visorak. They seemed to scatter when your yellow friend arrived, but they couldn't have done better with the Toa of Fire. I'm thinking of abandoning the Rahkshi and switching to Shadow Visorak power full time."

The yellow Toa turned to face the other four. "Listen. I am Toa Ignika. I know who you all are. It was my mask here who chose all of you. I know all your names... and this Toa down here is Veravax. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but... we are a team, and we have to work together!"

Gali looked shocked. "But why...? How...?"

Ignika saw a shadow hand floating towards him. "No time to answer questions! We have a battle to fight!"

Chapter 7

The Mask of Life could do a lot, but could it block a Shadow Hand attack?

That was the question on Ignika's mind now. He focused all his power on activating it, but nothing really happened. Great. Now I can die like this.

But a fraction of a second before the shadow hand reached Ignika, Gali charged forward, firing her Nynrah Ghostblaster. Parakio hadn't expected a counterattack, and was hit full force by Gali's attack. His shadow hand vanished, as the Makuta controlling it had lost focus. Parakio was quick to recover, though, and recreated a shadow hand.

Of course, Nuju and Thadakk took the hint, running through the battlefield to attack the Makuta. Parakio was taken by surprise, and yet another Shadow Hand attack failed. Zelev took the opportunity to attack and created a tornado that blew Parakio into the rock face. Parakio cried out in pain, and tried again. This time, Ignika himself blocked the attack. He jumped up the ledges to reach Parakio's perch. Parakio fired several blasts of shadow, but Ignika dodged them all. Nuju looked at Thadakk. "Is he crazy?! A Makuta could kill him easily!"

Gali was transfixed by Ignika's sudden attack. Zelev covered his face.

And then...

Nothing. Ignika spoke loudly at Parakio, trying to convince him to give up. "Come with us, Makuta. I'm sure the Vahki will just love to deal with another lawbreaker."

Parakio laughed. "You think I'm that stupid? Listen, Toa, I am a Makuta. We are much smarter than that. Everyone knows the Makuta as clever, nasty killing machines, and we don't try to deny it. That's the truth of what we are. You, however, seem to think of us as pathetically stupid beings, worthy of no more than a moment of thought. And I will prove you wrong."

Parakio finished his speech by blasting Ignika with a bolt of shadow. Ignika was knocked back, off the cliff. He knew he was doomed, and the Makuta had won. But then he felt himself safely in the arms of two Toa - Gali and Zelev.

"We aren't losing you that easily," said Zelev, even as he fired a blast of Air energy up at Parakio. Parakio jumped to the side, but was then hit by Gali's water blast. "Our little strategy," said a smiling Gali. Zelev put Ignika down and shouted at Thadakk. "Thadakk! Combine our elemental powers!"

The elemental powers of Air mixed with those of Stone to create a massive sandstorm, but before it hit the dangerous Makuta, he jumped away, out of sight.

"Lost him!" complained Zelev. "Quick, let's go after him!"
Thadakk shook his head. "No. We have lost him for good. Besides, I don't even know if it's possible to defeat him. We almost lost Ignika."

Nuju looked at the five other Toa. They really were a team now, even if it wasn't official. He cried out for all to hear, "Destiny has brought us all together. We are one! Unity! Duty! Destiny!"

The other Toa stared at him for a brief moment, then joined in, chanting, "Unity! Duty! Destiny!"

And even as they walked to the boat to take them back to Mata Nui, they could be heard.

"Unity! Duty! Destiny!"

Chapter 8

The boat traveled for Mata Nui and Nuju told tales of the past to his new friends.

"And we had thought we had won, but the Great Cataclysm told a different story."

Zelev had never thought Metru Nui would have been such a great and terrible place, but kept his thoughts to himself. Veravax, Toa of Fire, grinned weakly and held his Kanohi Mask of Power to his face. His mask had been fixed by Zelev's Mask of Regeneration, and he would have to learn to use it. He looked off at the cloudy sky over Mata Nui, and there were fires all over Ga-Koro. He hoped it could be saved.

The Toa's boat docked at a safe area of Ga-Koro, and a Ga-Matoran flax maker, Cautis, approached them. "Toa Gali! Please help us!" she cried, as she ran toward them. Gali was confused. Cautis was almost always laid back, and this seemed unnatural for her. Gali stepped forward. "Explain. What do you mean? And why are you so scared?"

Cautis explained, "Oh Gali, the village is in ruins! Apricus of Ta-Koro is trying to protect it, but he alone can't do much!"

Ferraii stepped forward and shoved Cautis aside. "So, these are the new Toa I hear of? Perhaps we can get you to leave the Kolavax alone?"

Nuju noticed Keperronyx and Shadox standing behind the mutated Visorak. "Never," Nuju said. "These Matoran... you think you can attack them without Toa trying to stop you? Never!"

The battle had begun. Ferraii and Shadox fought Ignika, sensing he was a threat, but Gali and Thadakk both attacked Shadox, while Zelev flew up and over the skirmish to fight Keperronyx. Zelev shouted, "Matoran of Ga-Koro! Leave this place! Get to safety!"

Apricus, a Ta-Matoran, heard the warning. He quickly began evacuating the Ga-Matoran and the others who had gathered in Ga-Koro. Azuma, a Po-Matoran quarrymaster, yelled, "Where are we going, Apricus?" Apricus responded, "To Zeveron!"

Meanwhile, Shadox was unconscious from Thadakk crushing him with a boulder, and Ferraii had been knocked away by Ignika and Gali. Keperronyx remained, and Nuju and Veravax fought him with Zelev. Zelev created a cyclone that knocked the Kolavax back, and Nuju froze him solid. Keperronyx broke free, only to have most of his armor melt. Veravax was using his powers well, and Keperronyx decided to attack him first. He tried, only to have the rest of his armor melt into nothing. Knowing he had lost, he cried out angrily, "Go ahead and take your precious Matoran! I surrender, but I swear upon my heart that I will return, and you will fall!"

Epilogue

The evacuations were delayed for a celebration, but Cautis had discovered that the island was sinking, and the Matoran, Toa, and Turaga would soon flee to Zeveron. But there was a great festival. The six Toa were honored by Turaga Vakama, and Veravax launched fireworks into the night sky. Apricus, being a fruit vendor, sold food and other things to Matoran at the celebration, and many Matoran stood under a flax dragon made by Cautis with great care. The four other Turaga stood with Vakama, and Nuju stood with them. Vakama concluded his speech and the Matoran present cheered. He turned to Nuju and said, "I guess this is it then. Nuju, you have been a great friend and Turaga, but now destiny has chosen you. Go on your own path, then, and farewell."

Nuju just laugher. "This, friend Vakama, is just the beginning. We won't have to say goodbye to each other, for my team of Toa will protect Zeveron just like the Toa Nuva protected this place. We will see each other much more over the years... and my team of Toa will be good allies not just to Turaga and Matoran, but to all who need protection."

The other five Toa had gathered around Nuju at this point. Seeing them made Vakama frown.

"Your Toa team needs a name. What will it be?"

Nuju thought for a moment, but Thadakk was the one who spoke first. "How about the Toa Pharys? We all became Toa in a flash of light, remember?"

Vakama nodded. He knew the Matoran word "Pharys" very well, as it meant "Flash". "Very well then. I declare you all - Nuju, Gali, Veravax, Ignika, Thadakk, and Zelev - to be the Toa Pharys! May you protect the land of Zeveron forever!"

Trivia

• Fear War will have a sequel.
• Fear War is the first story in the Zeveron Continuity, and is the first full story written by Nuju of Ice.
• Although Zarrikini, Lucane, and Gakelna do not appear in Fear War, they play an important role in the development of its sequel, Shutdown Battle, and will star in a substory called The Gamble that takes place at the same time as Fear War.