Bionicle: Renewal [Wattys 2017]

Chapter 11: The Power of Creation

"Perfect. The forge is ready." Kulta said. The smoke from inside the massive forge billowed out through a hole in the roof. Kulta held the Mask of Creation in has hand, ready to drop it in, but hesitated for a moment. Holding the mask up to the light, he could see the golden reflection, almost beckoning him. He slowly brought the mask to his face, until a voice in his mind told him otherwise.
"You dare disobey my orders, Kulta?" The voice of Makuta hissed.
"No, master." Kulta growled, moving the mask away from his face.
"Good. Now drop it into the forge. The Toa are approaching." Makuta continued.
"What? How is this possible?" Kulta asked. Makuta did not answer. Kulta growled again and held his arm out over the forge, holding the mask in his hand. Before he could drop it in, he heard another voice.
"Not so fast, Kulta!" It was Tahu, leading the other Toa, as well as Ekimu into the room. Kulta's brow furrowed as he stared daggers at the Toa.
"So, you managed to somehow get past my minions." He said. "But your journey was in vain. You will all die at my hand, and Ekimu's mask will be destroyed!"
"You won't get the chance." Kopaka challenged, holding out his spear and shield. An idea passed through Kulta's mind. He spoke to Makuta once more.
"Makuta, my master, please allow me to wear the Mask of Creation so that I may destroy these fools." He asked. After a brief moment, he heard a low growl.
"Very well." Makuta said. Kulta growled and turned back to the Toa. His malicious grin put them all at unease.
"What's he planning?" Gali asked.
"He's not gonna... is he?" Lewa wondered. His fears were realized when Kulta put the Mask of Creation onto his face. Red light erupted from his eyes as metal from around the room began to add onto his armour. He was beginning to transform. The metal mask and weapon matterials were flying towards him and glinging to his body.
"No!" Ekimu shouted. He turned to the Toa. "You distract him while I try to find my hammer. It should be here somewhere."
The Toa nodded, and rushed towards Kulta, who had now fully transformed. He was now a massive monster, with long skeletal arms and legs. The black horns on the sides of his head had grown longer, and red claws had grown on the tips of his fingers and toes. He laughed evilly as the Toa approached him.
"Do you think you can defeat me?" He laughed. "Not only am I bless by Makuta's dark power, I am endowed with the power of creation!"
"Not for long!" Tahu shouted. He shot a blast of fire at Kulta. It hit him in the shoulder but had little to no impact. He shot another blast, but Kulta actually managed to backhand the fire into the wall next to him. While Tahu tried to register what had happened, Kulta smacked Tahu away with his staff. He attempted to walk foreword, but found that his foot was stuck to the ground. Looking down, he saw that Kopaka had froze him in place. Without another thought, he ripped his foot out of the ice and kicked Kopaka into the wall. Lewa and Gali attacked in tandem, with Lewa trapping him in vines and Gali blasting him with a jet of water. Kulta laughed as he ripped his way out of the vines, grabbed both Gali and Lewa, and smacked them into each other. He suddenly felt a massive rock hit him the back of the head. He turned around only for another one to hit him in the face. He growled as his saw the source of these rocks. Pohatu raised the rocks into the air, and Onua hit them with his hammer, sending them at Kulta. They sent another one, but Kulta caught it in his clawed hand. He broke the rock into two pieces, throwing them both at the two Toa. Now all the Toa were incapacitated. But Kulta wasn't done yet.
"Foolish Toa." He laughed evily. "Your punishment must be more severe. The power to create also comes with the power to destroy!"
Kulta raised his staff into the air, and a red light began to glow from around it. The light branched out in tentacles and grabbed hold of the Toa. The light enveloped the Toa, trapping them each in a ball of heat. The heat actually melted and dissolved their armour, weapons, and more importantly, their Golden Masks. The only things left were small scraps of gold and metal. After Kulta was satisfied, the light dissappeared. Kulta looked out onto the defeated Toa lying on the ground in front of him. He began laughing evilly once again.
"We... we failed." Gali said.
"No... we can still fight!" Tahu replied. Before he could attack on his own, Pohatu held him back.
"What can we do without our weapons or powers?" He asked. "It's over. Kulta's won."
"What about Ekimu?" Lewa asked.
Kulta didn't think about this either. He quickly turned around, only to see Ekimu holding his old hammer in a defensive position, along with a shield on his other arm. He pointed the hammer at the Mask of Creation.
"I'm back, Kulta. And that mask belongs to me." He said.
"Oh please! You lost the right to wear this mask when you killed your own brother." Kulta accused.
"I did not kill Makuta." Ekimu growled. Kulta didn't listen.
"You're finished, old man. Prepare to be destroyed!" He continued.
"I think not, Kulta!" Ekimu challenged. Kulta swung his staff down at him, but he deflected with his hammer. The hammer, like his mask, was filled with elemental power. It reacted to the Mask of Creation, with Ekimu able to access its power to create other masks. Even without it, he was able to use it was a weapon. He used his shield to deflect from another attack before jumping into the air. He landed right in front of Kulta, smacking his hammer into the ground. The shock from the hammer actually made an impact, causing the floor to crack. Kulta gritted his teeth behind the mask. He had not expected Ekimu to hold that much power.
"I see you will be more of a challenge than your Toa, old man." Kulta said.
"I'm not much older than you, Kulta!" Ekimu reminded. "And I can still fight!"
Ekimu swung his hammer at Kulta, who parried with his staff. He swung again before using his small stature to his advantage and dodging around Kulta and attacking from the back. Kulta winced and growled as he turned around. He slammed his staff into the ground, but Ekimu dodged once again. He once again jumped into the air and swung his hammer at Kulta's face. Just as Ekimu had predicted, the Mask of Creation dislodged itself from his face, clattering on the ground. Kulta slumped onto the ground as his body transformed back into its natural state. He looked up at the mask, and quickly reached for it, but he wasn't fast enough. Ekimu picked up the mask and held it in front of his own face.
"You have been beaten, Kulta." He said.
"Not for long." Kulta hissed. "I am not Makuta's only minion. The 5 other Warriors of Darkness still exist in this world. And they're also dedicated to bringing Makuta back and destroying you and your precious Toa."
"The I guess we'll have to stop them too." Ekimu said, placing the Mask of Creation onto his face. The room was filled with a bright golden light, blinding Kulta and the other Toa with its brilliance.