A Company of Toa is a BIONICLE fanfic by Inthehouse001
beginning during the 2001 Chronicles era of the toyline.
During the Battle of Kini Nui, Takua and the Chronicler's Company (first seen during the Mata Nui Online Game) are in danger of being overwhelmed by the rahi as they cover the Toa Mata's descent into Mangaia. With the aid from the rest of the Matoran still far away, Takua gets a bright idea, remembering how his activating the Toa Stones that summoned the Toa Mata blasted him all the way to the Ta-Wahi beach, he instructs the Chronicler's Company to do the same in the hope of driving off the rahi. Each of them note takes one of the Toa stones in hand and places them in the Suva-Kaita and are all enveloped in a great flash of light.
Only they don't wake up on Ta-Wahi beach... but as Toa instead.
It seems the Toa Stones, which were originally created by the Toa Metru in BIONICLE Adventures #6: Maze of Shadows, weren't exhausted by summoning the Toa Mata, and still had enough juice to create a Toa.
A Company of Toa can be found here on AO3.
A Compnay of Toa provides examples of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance: The Rahkshi are dispatched while the Toa are still fighting the Bohrok-Kal in the Bahrag's prison, and Takua has already taken the warning totem hiding the Avokhii during that same arc, instead of much later per the beginning of Mask of Light.
- Adaptational Heroism: The Bohrok-Kal. Downplayed as they are still opposed to the Toa in their mission to free the Bahrag and resume the clearing of Mata Nui, but because the story is written with the full story in mind (see Late-Arrival Spoiler below) we get more scenes of the Bohrok-Kal's point of view and their confusion as to why the Matoran, Toa, and Turaga are seemingly standing in the way of the will of Mata Nui. Which wasn't helped by the misinformation given to them by Ahkmou.
- Adaptational Intelligence: The Vahi is given some level of sentience, not as much as the Ignika but enough that it can independently create a "Groundhog Day" Loop to force Vakama into giving it to Kapura.
- Adaptational Personality Change: The Turaga are more than just the wise village elders they were portrayed as at this point in the story, taking on more of the personality traits they were given during the Adventures storyline as the Toa Metru.
- Adaptation Species Change After discovering their elemental abilities, the Toa of the Chronicler's Company discover that they actually belong to different Matoran tribes than the one they had lived withnote :
- Kapura was a Su-Matoran.
- Tamaru was a Bo-Matoran.
- Kopeke was a Vo-Matoran.
- Taipu was a Ba-Matoran.
- Hafu was a Fe-Matoran.
- Macku was a Ce-Matoran.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: The Vahi is shown to have other powers than just affecting the flow of time, such as being able to create a "Groundhog Day" Loop even when not being worn, and showing Kapura visions of an alternate future if they went down a different tunnel.
- Ascended Extra: The Chronicler's Company, who had very little to do in the BIONICLE story outside the Mata Nui Online Game are thrust into the spotlight by their transformation into Toa during the Battle of Kini Nui.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Kopeke isn't thrilled by the implications of his Kanohi Komau and it takes a conversation with Turaga Onewa for him to come to terms with it as he explains that the Komau is more like a powerful suggestion rather than outright mind control.
- Call-Forward:
- When Kopeke meets Matoro after returning to Ko-Koro, he says, in as much as he says anything, that Matoro would make a better Toa than him, but Matoro says he's much better being Nuju's interpreter.
- Jaller decides to go aid the Toa by defending the entrance to the Bahrag's prison, who should join him but Hahli, Hewkii, Nuparu, Kongu and, much to his own surprise, Matoro.
- Conspiracy Theorist: In part because of her psionic abilities, and the inconsistency their existence as Toa creates with the legends as taught by the Turaga, Macku starts to unravel the truth about their life on Mata Nui until Nokama decides to finally let her in on the secret in chapter 39.
- Didn't See That Coming: That the Toa Metru's Toa Stones could still create Toa after summoning the Toa Mata comes to a surprise to everyone, not just the Matoran and Toa involved, but to the Turaga and Makuta as well.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Macku blows up against the Toa Mata for calling the Chronicler's Company inexperienced just because they were still getting used to their then-unknown powers by pointing out the Matoran had been defending themselves against Makuta and his rahi for a thousand years before the Toa arrived.
- Elemental Powers: As detailed under Adaptational Species Change, the Toa of the Chronicler's Company receive different powers from the standard six:
- Kapura becomes a Toa of Plasma.
- Tamaru becomes a Toa of the Green.
- Kopeke becomes a Toa of Lightning.
- Taipu becomes a Toa of Gravity.
- Hafu becomes a Toa of Iron.
- Macku becomes Toa of Psionics.
- Forgotten First Meeting: When Gali sees Takua the first time after leaving Mangaia, she can't help but wonder if they had met before, alluding to their first meeting millennia ago in Karda Nui, but Takua thinks that she just forgot they had already met when dealing with the tarakava in Ga-Koro.
- Forgotten Friend, New Foe: Gahlok-Kal in particular is revealed to have been a friend of Takua's when the latter still lived with the other Av-Matoran before the Time Slip.
- Footnote Fever: Some chapters have footnotes elaborating certain points or giving humorous asides into a character's thoughts.
- Framing Device: The fic's version of Tales of the Masks is reframed to Takua telling the Turaga about the Toa Nuva's search for the Kanohi Nuva, instead of the Turaga meeting to discuss whether or not to reveal the existence of Metru Nui, though that question is still behind the story's thrust, Takua himself is unaware of it as he tells his tales.
- I Got Bigger: Because the Toa Stones somehow restored Takua to the form he had as an Av-Matoran, he's now the tallest inhabitant of Mata Nui that isn't a Toa.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: The Vahi imposes a small and short one on Vakama's hut to convince him to give the Vahi to Kapura.
- Green-Eyed Monster: If Ahkmou was still sore about being "robbed" of his destiny as a Toa by the Turaga, the transformation of the Chronicler's Company by the Toa Metru's own toa stones haven't helped matters. In his tent he has also carved a depiction of six Toa, presumably him and the other Great Disk Matoran as Toa, with the words "Stolen Destiny".
- Insistent Terminology: Once they become the Toa Nuva, Tahu becomes quick to correct anyone that leaves off the Nuva from their names, much to the exasperation of the other Toa.
- Kaleidoscope Hair: Takua wasn't left out when the Chronicler's company activated the Toa Stones, as they restored his appearance as an Av-Matoran, and unlocked his ability to change his colours too.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: The story is written assuming the reader is already familiar with the major reveals of the BIONICLE story, including but not limited to:
- The existence of Metru Nui.
- The Turaga were once the Toa Metru.
- Takua is an Av-Matoran and that Av-Matoran evolve into the Bohrok.
- Secret-Keeper: As per canon Matoro and Ahkmou are the only Matoran who are aware of the existence of Metru Nui and how the Turaga brought them to Mata Nui.
- Shout-Out: Because they've gone through hundreds of cleansings before when Mata Nui visited other worlds, the Bohrok-Kal have apparently encountered some familiar aliens in the past 100,000 years:
- They specifically mention a race of megalomaniac snake parasites obsessed with pyramids when they discuss why the Matoran are acting so wildly outside what they think are their usual routines.
- Spared by the Adaptation: The Bohrok-Kal aren't killed when the Toa Nuva overload their Nuva Symbols and are instead bound together by Gahlok-Kal's magnetism and launched into space, until they land on Bara Magna.
- The Speechless: Kopeke and while Matoro can understand him, he develops a form of sign language to communicate with the other Toa, apparently similar to the hand signs used by the Ga-Matoran to communicate underwater.
- Supernaturally-Validated Trans Person: Toa Tamaru, who is commonly interpreted as trans in fanon, finds her Toa form much more comfortable than her matoran body.
- Universal Translator: Tamaru's Great Rau, the Mask of Translation, unfortunately it can't read body language or gestures, meaning it can't translate Kopeke's sign language as easily.
- Unstoppable Rage: When hit by a Kurahk's staff weapon, Jaller's anger is amplified to such an extent that he want to fight them even harder it's enough form him to actually activate his Hau to protect Hahli from an approaching Vorahk.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: The Matoran, as per
Word of God, don't necessarily feel romantic love and lack a full grasp of the concept, but the intensity of affection between Macku and Hewkii is such that the closest thing that they can call it is Friendship-Nui.
