“Unleashed”

Deep beneath the island’s surface, where no hint of light had ever penetrated, lay the lair of Makuta. Only his glowing red eyes and the shadowy outline of his hulking form were visible as he stalked around his lair.

“The earth shudders, my brother,” he rumbled, speaking to the enormous mask on one wall of the chamber, a carved image of the face of the Great Spirit, Mata Nui. “The Seventh Toa has begun its approach.” He sighed. “Again the prophecies of the Matoran oppose my will.”

Makuta paced restlessly, clutching a stone tablet in one hand. The Toa were about to interfere with his plans. And this time, he intended to defeat them once and for all.

He paused beside three massive carved stone pillars. The pictographs on them showed the masks of those who served Makuta’s brother, the Great Spirit, Mata Nui. Makuta touched a pillar lightly.

“Has it come to this?” he mused. “Must I release those who should never see the light of day?”

Makuta plunged his hand into his chest. When he pulled it out, it clutched three writhing, snakelike creatures. The kraata.

“I must strike the foundation of the Matoran soul,” Makuta hissed. “Their unity can be poisoned.”

He slapped one of the kraata onto the first pillar. A beam of dark energy burst from the pillar as chunks of stone crumbled and crashed to the floor. Gradually, a dark, terrifying figure appeared from the rubble. A Rahkshi. The Rahkshi’s body quivered with energy. Dark eyes burned behind the ghastly mask, eyes filled with ruthless determination.

Makuta smiled grimly. Welcome, Lerahk, the Poison-Rahkshi, he thought. Your stinger full of deadly poison will sicken anything it contacts.

He moved on to the next pillar. “Their duty will be broken,” he murmured as he slapped on another kraata.

As the kraata burrowed its way into the creature at the heart of the pillar, a long, sinewy blue leg burst out of the stone. With a burst of dark energy, the pillar collapsed, revealing a second Rahkshi. Its eyes glowed. Its limbs twitched with energy.

The Disintegrator-Rahkshi, Guuhrahk, Makuta thought with pride. Your disintegrator beam has the power to crack any structure.

Makuta stepped over to the third column. “And their destiny,” he whispered, “I must shatter.”

He slapped a third kraata onto the column. With a deafening roar, the column shattered. A brown Rahkshi burst through the stone.

Panrahk, the Fragmenter-Rahkshi, Makuta thought. The arc of your dark energy will cause anything in its path to explode into pieces.

Makuta stepped back from his creation as a door split open at one end of the chamber.

“Go, my sons,” Makuta told them. “Use the shadows.” He glanced at the mask of Mata Nui with grim resolve burning in his eyes. “And keep my brother asleep.”