Chapter 1 The winds of Mount Ihu whipped viciously along the snow covered plain. The mountain was famous throughout Mata Nui for being one of the most inhospitable places of the island, but then the tribe of Ko-Koro didn't give up easily. And besides- the Tohunga of the tribe had adapted for the environment. The Great Spirit Mata Nui must have blessed them, for their feet had been altered so that they covered a larger area on the snow to prevent them from sinking, and their armour like skin had become particularly resistant to the cold. However, this did not really do much for a certain Tohunga who went by the name of Matoro. The alteration to the villager's appearance had left their personalities unaffected. They were distinctly 'cold hearted' as it was probably best put. It was not that they disliked other Tohunga - they did in fact care a great deal for the well-being of all of The Great Spirit's creatures - it was just that the isolation for many years during a great snowstorm had severed all contact to the outside world, and had forced them to become independent. And they had come to prefer it that way. Matoro was a prime example of this. Inside, he was a kind and caring being, yet on the outside he was somewhat bigheaded. This was a result of him being the only Tohunga in all of Mata Nui who could understand Nuju, the village priest, also known as Turaga. There were six villages on Mata Nui, and so only six Turaga, and therefore Matoro was proud of his position in society- Nuju's personal translator. Nuju was odd among the Turaga because he did not speak like the rest of them when telling legends. His words would become whistles and gestures, and Matoro would stand at his right hand side with his feet apart, head back, and translate in a deep and booming voice. This had gone to his head, and he would often show off... But he was oddly pleased when a practical joke from a fellow Tohunga would bring him back to Earth. Nuju though, was a relatively kind being for a Ko-Korian, and thanked Matoro for his services. They had become good friends over time, and now Nuju always gave his aide, translator, and friend the more important jobs... Which was why Matoro was wondering what the heck he was doing out here in the wasteland. Each Tohunga had a freedom to believe whatever he or she wanted, though the existence of Mata Nui and the dreaded Makuta was unquestionable. What Matoro doubted though, was of the existence of the Toa. Apparently, when the world fell into trouble, six mighty heroes would be sent to lift the darkness from the land. At first he had been keen on the idea... But the Makuta had now been ruling over the land for five long years. Many, many Tohunga like himself had given up on this legend. But all of the Turaga had kept the legend, and often told the biological stories... The biological chronicles... The Bionicle. That was what it has simply been called, and up till two and a half years ago it had literally radiated hope, courage, light... Many things. Now it was of broken promises, despair and darkness. The Turaga had done their best to keep the morale of the people up, for it was also believed that each Toa would take on the personality of the villagers at his or her respective village. Kopaka, the so called Toa of Ice, was bound to be a cold character with a lack of faith in anyone but himself if things stayed as they were. But the did not arrive... And so Matoro had lost faith in The Bionicle. And now, for some reason, Nuju had gone and made him stand in the biting cold, watching for any unusual occurrences. About an hour ago, there had been a flash and a loud bang, but he really didn't care very much. He was more concerned about any of the Makuta's beasts, the Rahi, hunting him. It was probably a Nui- Rama crashing or something. Good riddance. A flash of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked over in that direction through the eyeholes of his light blue replica Kanohi Akaku. Every Tohunga wore a replica great or noble mask, as a sign of respect for Mata Nui. The Turaga didn't though. Their noble masks were real. There it was again, over to his left now. Matoro suddenly felt very scared. Was it a Rahi? If so, then it was probably a good time to leave. He turned, and bolted for the relative safety of the village, but when a wall of sheer ice appeared between him and home, he realized that he was in deep, deep trouble. He turned to face his opponent... to find that nothing was there. He quickly drew his razor sharp disk from it's mount on his back, and readied himself for combat. In the back of his mind, he knew that this was more that a normal Rahi... and he distinctly wished that The Boinicle was indeed true. Then the attack came. There was another flash of movement, and Matoro instantly hurled his disk at it. Whatever it was, he missed it, and suddenly realised that there was a white double bladed sword at his neck. He made a sound that was half-way between a whimper and a squeak, and stood perfectly still whilst looking down at the weapon. His eyes slowly followed the blade up to the hilt, followed by the light grey arm, and promptly widened. The figure was around three time's his size, and was coloured white with light grey arms and legs. In his right hand he had the sword, the other held a simple white shield. There was a black ball-like object in the centre of it's chest, but what was most frightening, and relieving, were the four glowing ice like blue eyes that looked down at him from the white Kanohi Akaku, the Great Mask of X-Ray Vision. it was him... It was a Toa... It was Kopaka, the Toa of Ice. He was just how Nuju had described. "Who are you?" he said in a cold, no-nonsense voice. "I-I-I- I am Matoro, T-Tohunga of-of Ka-Koro, Great Spirit." Kopaka looked down at him. It appeared that this... Tohunga... knew who he was. "Who am I?" Matoro blinked. He was not expecting that. "Y-You are Kopaka, the Great T-Toa of Ice." "How do you know this?" "My lord Nuju told me," he replied with growing confidence as the sword moved away. "Very well Matoro of Ka-Koro. Take me to this 'Lord Nuju'." "Yes noble Toa." Matoro didn't waste any time, and began to jog in the direction of the village. Due to Kopaka's longer legs, he would easily keep up. After a few minutes like this, Matoro dropped into step next to him. He could not believe it, Nuju was right! How had he known that Kopaka would appear today? But then, that was why he was the Turaga of the village. He was psychic, and his gifts were amplified by that large noble mask he wore. Only Nuju would have seen this coming. Matoro soon found that he couldn't help but look up in wonder at the Toa. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it. Nuju would be pleased. At last, Kopaka was here to save them from the Makuta! "Tell me Tohunga Matoro, what is 'Lord Nuju'?" "He is the leader of our village, Ka-Koro. He is a Turaga, and keeps legends and stories for future generations. He told us of you, mighty Toa, and that you would come with five others, free us from tyranny, and lead us to an era of prosperity." Kopaka appeared to think about this for a while. "And from what am I supposed to save you?" "The Makuta. An evil being, who enslaves us and the animals of Mata Nui." They talked like that as they travelled back to Ka-Koro, Matoro answering his questions as best he could. Matoro found it funny how Kopaka didn't understand how or why the island had the same name as the Tohunga' s god. Needless to say, he had got confused, and so had settled to hear everything from Nuju. He would explain everything better... And faster. Matoro had quickly developed a trust in Kopaka, and was talking to him much more openly than he would to another Tohunga. He told Kopaka. He didn't seem to care. And so, after a while Matoro walked next to him talking about anything and everything, from the difference between a Po-Korian Koli Ball and a Deluxe Po-Korian Koli Ball, to how long the island was in 'Bio's. After an hour of this, Kopaka began to consider cutting the annoying Tohunga up. The joke came. "Hey, hey Kopaka. I've got this great joke! It's sooooo funny! Wanna hear it?" Kopaka sighed in resignation. Maybe, just maybe if is was so funny, the Tohunga would die of laughter. He decided that he would like that. "Very well." "Right, okay, what do you call a three headed Tohunga?" "I don't know and I don't care." Matoro ignored his last statement and continued, accompanied by giggles, and an obviously strained voice. Apparently, he found this joke so funny that he was having trouble telling it. Then, he exploded into a fit of laughter as he said the answer. "A Tri-hunga!!!" Kopaka stopped and looked down at Matoro, who was rolling around in the snow, giggling like a madman. He now seriously began to consider killing him. Put them both out of their misery. Chapter 2 It was a long distance to Ko-Koro. The two travellers trudged on through the snow, though with somewhat different attitudes. One was cheerful, the other was anything but. The sky had begun to darken, and the land was getting colder... Which perfectly mirrored Kopaka's mood. After Matoro had told that pathetic joke, he had essentially rendered himself unable to walk... Meaning that Kopaka had been forced to carry the insanely giggling Tohunga if he hoped to ever find 'Turaga Nuju'. He had finally stopped laughing, and was once again talking endlessly. 'This had better be worth it,' Kopaka thought darkly. Kopaka was, under his robotic body, a spirit. A great spirit in fact, and in tune with the cold, snow and ice. It was his element. He was a loner, he always worked by himself, and this had hardened into what would best be called an 'assassin'. He could hunt anything on normal terrain, and could often tell an attack was coming before it could do any harm. This, combined with his affinity for his element, made it virtually impossible to mount a surprise attack on him. They never lived long enough to get close, he would surprise them first. So, he knew something was about to happen... But he didn't know what. This was a new creature... Something that flies... He stopped, and Matoro looked up at him in confusion. Kopaka stared straight forward, trying to figure out where it was. "What's wrong?" the Tohunga asked. "Something..." "The village is just over the hill. We can make it." "No... We can't." Matoro was visibly shaken by this. "W-why not?" "Because we're being hunted." There was a sharp gasp from the Tohunga. If he wasn't scared before, he was now. "It's all right." There it was, to the north. And it was getting closer... fast. "I've got it. Run. To the village." He paused. "Go! Now!" Matoro turned and stumbled on a rock. He picked himself up, and ran in a panic in the direction of Ko-Koro. Then there was a terrible screech... He looked behind him, just in time to see an orange Nui-Rama burst out of the snow at Kopaka's side. The Toa turned, sword in hand, and slashed at it in a downward strike. Only the reflexes of the giant insect saved it from an early death, and it regarded Kopaka with more caution. After taking a moment , it reared up, wings out, and charged. Kopaka dived to the side and rolled out of the way, and saw in horror that it's path was taking it directly towards the terrified Matoro. "Matoro! Move!" he barked, which the Tohunga promptly tried. He wasn't fast enough, and the Rahi bowled him over. It pinned him down, and raised an orange claw to deliver the killing blow. "Kopaka! Help!" He didn't need to be told. For some reason, he felt... that he had to. It was as if he were being told to by something... So he did. With a battle cry, Kopaka leapt at the thing. It's head turned to see the Toa about to attack, so it left it's prey to take this more dangerous target. It jumped into the air, and hovered in front of him, brandishing it's claws. Kopaka slashed with unnatural speed at the Rahi and severed one of it's arms. It howled in agony, but that didn't stop the Toa of Ice. He followed through, and repeatedly hit with deadly accurate blows that only a true sword master could perform. The Nui-Rama was dead even before it hit the ground. Kopaka growled in annoyance. Darn thing. He walked to where Matoro was lying. He was breathing heavily, but looked unharmed. He quickly got up. "Th-thank you, Kopaka!" He didn't reply, as something else had already taken his attention. He looked up the nearby hill, to see a collection of Tohunga looking back at him with a mixture of surprise and shock in their glowing blue eyes. One of then took his attention more than the others, however. He was taller than the others, perhaps half his height, and wore a large grey mask. In his right hand was a large white ice pick. "Nuju..." Kopaka said. He didn't know why, but he knew that this was the 'Lord Nuju' that Matoro had told him about. He felt as if he knew him... Like they were connected in some way... Strange... However, this felt right. Like he was supposed to meet this character... And for the first time, Kopaka felt like he was doing the right thing. Then the Turaga spoke. "Welcome, Kopaka," he said. Chapter 3 Mount Ihu was calmer today. The skies were blue with streaks of white clouds, adding an interesting break in the uniform blue. Anybody would have stopped to look up at it and admire the beauty which Mata Nui had given them. But Kopaka wasn't anybody. And he was having a bad day. As he trudged along through the rock and snow, his mind wondered back to his conversation with Nuju the night before. Quite how the island had got itself into this mess was beyond him. Nuju had explained everything to him, and had unlocked knowledge in his mind of who he was, what he could do, and why he was here. Now, suddenly remembering everything about yourself is usually a miracle when you have lost who you are. But then most of the people who had experienced it hadn't woken up to the 'happy' thought of having to save the world from a force so evil it was difficult to comprehend. Suffice to say, Kopaka had more then a headache on his mind. So following Nuju's advice, 'he had set off to find a 'Great Mask of Power' at the summit of Mount Ihu. Apparently, it had been sighted by some Tohunga, so at least he knew he wasn't looking for something that wasn't there. If it WASN'T there, however, he would have to kill something just to vent his frustration. More annoying than anything else though, was the five other Toa. Earth, Stone, Water, Wind, and worst of all, Fire. Kopaka hated fire. Nuju had said that they would have to work together if they were to succeed in their quest, and to add insult to injury, Fire was destined to be their leader. 'He had better not be some hot-headed moron,' he thought to himself. He wouldn't be able to stand that. So... He had no intention of meeting these other Toa. Any of them. He would not get on with them at all, he never did, Matoro had been living proof of that. Anyone he met was a liability- they could turn on him at any moment. For this reason, he worked alone, and that was how he liked it. He took orders from no one. No one. He hated destiny. And he would not listen to it. Nothing was dictating what he would do, he decided on his own future. And, if he was alert instead of wallowing in self pity, then maybe he would have defied destiny... At least for a little while. Only the shout saved him. "Ye-ha! Hey- hey mister! look out!" Kopaka snapped his head up in the direction of the yell, only to see a wall of stone boulders heading directly towards him. He swore viciously, and razed his shield just before the rolling mass hit him. Everything span around, but he was somewhat relieved that he was not greatly injured. As he rolled, in a smooth motion he drew his sword, and carefully kept the blade away from himself. As he stopped, he hid the weapon hidden beneath the rocks. Whoever did this was going to pay... "Frell! Are you alright?" Kopaka growled in response, and through his limited field of vision he saw a hand offering to pick him up. He ignored it. Taking his sword, he knocked the rocks away from his body, and pulled himself to his feet. He then turned to see who the hell had the guts to pull a stunt like this on him. If it was Matoro, he could not be held responsible for his actions. What he was not expecting to see was a brown creature slightly shorter than himself. The being had black hands, and tan arms and legs. It's legs were well built, and looked very powerful. The extra armour on it's feet only added to that image. Orange eyes glowed from behind it's mask, looking at him with concern and confusion. He wore the mask which Kopaka somehow knew was the Kanohi Kakama. "Hey, I know who you are!" It spoke up in a warm and caring voice. You're Kopaka, the Toa of Ice! I'm Pohatu, the Toa of stone. Good to meecha!" With that, Pohatu stuck out his hand in a friendly gesture, and expected Kopaka to shake it. He was surprised when he simply turned away and carried on in the direction he had previously been going. "Hey, wait up!" He called after him, and ran up beside him. "Well, aren't you going to say 'hello'?" "No," Kopaka returned flatly, an a voice completely different from Pohatu's. He wasn't paying attention to the brown Toa who was looking at him intently. Why had he not seen him coming? 'Idiot!' he shouted at himself. Had he not been feeling sorry for himself, he would have easily avoided him. "Uh, why not?" Kopaka, once again didn't answer. He just began hoping and wishing that he would go away. Pohatu looked away from the Toa of Ice. "Gali was right." He turned to look at the other Toa in confusion. "Gali?" he questioned. "The Toa of Water. She's a real wise character." He chuckled again. "And quite a babe too." Kopaka turned to look at him. "Joke!" the other replied innocently. "What was she right about?" "She said that you would be very cold towards people. She was right, again." "Why are you following me?" "Because Tahu told me to. He said to look for you, and then back to the others at Po-Koro." ".........." "Oh, Tahu is the Toa of Fire. He's our boss." "Great." "He is a bit hot headed and all, and often makes stupid decisions, but the Turaga have all said that he is the destined leader. Who are we to question their judgement?" 'Smart', Kopaka thought . Things were just getting better and better. "So, uh, where are we going?" "Turaga Nuju told me that a White mask was at the top of Mount Ihu. I am going to retrieve it." "Oh." ".........." ".........." ".........." "....you don't talk much, do you?" "No." "Dang. I was hoping that you would be the chatty type." "Well I'm not." "Oh." ".........." ".........." ".........." "Good grief. Say something Kopaka!" "Something." "Jeez, you are such a grouch!" ".........." "A dumn grouch!" ".........." "With... With a dirty mask!" ".........." "Oh for crying out loud! C'mon man, you're depressing me!" ".........." "Hmmm... I know... Hey, I bet I can make you laugh!" "I doubt that." "Yeah, well..." Pohatu started to giggle, and Kopaka had a sudden feeling that he knew where this was going. "What do you call a three headed Tohunga?" Kopaka growled. He did not need this. He trudged on, and tried to ignore the Toa of Stone. "Hey! C'mon, it's really funny! Kopaka, are you listening to me? What do you call a three headed Tohunga? Kopaka? Kopaka!!!" Kopaka hated Pohatu. Chapter 4 "So, who do you think would win out of a fight out of..." Pohatu trailed off and looked up in thought. "I know! Nokama and a tired Nui-Rama with one wing!" Kopaka had had enough. Pohatu had been talking all day, much like Matoro had, but in such a stupid way... He didn't care about the average speed of a Ussel Crab, nor did he care how deep Lake Naho was. Pohatu was driving him up the wall, and the added problem of having to climb Mount Ihu just to find a damn mask didn't make things any easier on him. To be honest, Kopaka felt like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "So, what shade of brown do you think my mask is? I recon that it-" He was abruptly cut off by a very, VERY angry Toa of Ice. He wheeled round to look at the frustrating Pohatu. "Shut up, Shut up! SHUT UP! I don't care! I don't care how tall a Tohunga is! I don't care how high a Nui-Rama can fly! I don't care how a Tarakava can swim! I don't even know what one is, and I don't care about that either! All I care about is YOU SHUTTING UP!!! So just - be - quiet!!!" They were both silent for a long time, just staring at each other. The only sound was Kopaka's heavy breathing from all the yelling which he had just done. Pohatu eventually broke the stand off by raising his nose in the air. "Well I never. I have never been so insulted in my entire life. How dare you say this to me, the Toa of Stone? How dar-" "I dare because you are annoying!!! I just want you to shut up! Be quiet! But noooo, you can't do that! You can't be quiet for five minutes can you? CAN YOU?!?!?" They stared at each other for a while longer, until Pohatu caught Kopaka off guard by starting to laugh. "Ha ha! I won! I won! I got you to talk to me! You know Kopaka? You're all right! Ha ha!" Kopaka just continued to stare at him. He couldn't believe it! He had been doing this on purpose, just to get a reaction! He leaned closer to the Toa of Stone, and bent slightly to be face to face, or mask to mask, with him. "Listen Pohatu, because I will only tell you this once. I have been on this world for 3 days, -3 days-, and I have so far fought a giant Nui Rama, travelled across snow plains with a annoying Tohunga, be told to climb a mounting, discovered that I have to save the entire planet from a great evil shape shifter, be told that I will be commanded by a fire creature, and worst of all, be forced to work with a frustrating, stupid, loudmouthed 'big brother'. I am in no mood for chit-chat, and I have a real bad headache. So. Pohatu, you have a choice. Either shut up and stay with me, or go back to your elemental friends and tell them where to stick it. Now, what will it be? Pohatu looked evenly back at him. "You need to lighten up. I'll stay with you... But I won't stay quiet all the time. And, Kopaka, don't make fun of my friends. Ever." "Don't threaten me Pohatu. I can kill you faster then you can blink. Now... Let's go." ------------------------------ They carried on up Mount Ihu, and much to Kopaka's relief, his companion talked no where near as much as before. They had a couple of encounters with some stray Nui Ramas, but with the two of them fighting together they had little trouble After an hour or two, they reached the summit and looked around. "So, uh, where is this mask then?" "How should I know? Nuju never said specifically." "Great." Pohatu sat down on a nearby rock. "And how are we going to find it under all this snow?" Kopaka had to admit, he had a point. How were they going to find it? Was it even here? 'It had BETTER be here,' he thought to himself. If it wasn't... Well, he didn't want to think about that. But, no, it would be here. Nuju wouldn't lie to him... Would he? He grunted and began to look around. Using his mask's power, he looked through the snow. It didn't help much, for he could only check a small area at a time, but... It was better than nothing. Then, a flash of light caught his eye. "Pohatu... Did you see that? Over there..." He pointed towards where he saw and drew his sword. Better safe then sorry. If it was hostile... Pohatu got up and took up a combat stance. "Cover me," Kopaka said. Pohatu complied, and stood a distance behind the now advancing Toa of Ice. "Who's there? Show yourself!" He shouted, and used his mask to zoom in on where he believed it to be. It looked... Metallic, and white... The mask! He quickly jogged towards the object and grabbed it. With a grunt, he pulled it free of the snow, and looked at it. "Pohatu! Come here!" he called, and his companion came up beside him. "What? What is it?" "The mask!" Pohatu looked down at it, and then a pleased look came into his glowing orange eyes. "That must be it. Kanohi Hau, the Great Mask of Shielding. Protects the user from attacks which he is aware of," he classified. "Mission complete!" "Now what?" Kopaka asked, still looking at it. "You throw it in the sea. What do you think?" Pohatu replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Kopaka shot him a glare that would melt glass. He didn't mean what to do with the mask, he meant what do they do now? Go back to Nuju? Ask where the next mask was? He shrugged and put those thoughts out of his mind. He would work it out... He always did. He removed his Kanohi Akaku and put it on the floor. He then took the Kanohi Hau in both hands, and slowly put it to his face. A sudden buzzing filled his mind. All he could see was the Hau's face. It faded... Faded... Into the Akaku. He opened his eyes, and noticed with surprise that he couldn't remember closing them. Even more surprising was the Akaku on the floor... It was missing. Kopaka turned to look at Pohatu. He chuckled at him. "Yes, it is quite surprising at first isn't it?" "Where is my mask?" "You're wearing it. The two masks have joined. You can now use your Hau at the same time as your Akaku, but it will always look like the original mask." Kopaka took off his mask and looked at it. Indeed, it did look like the Akaku. This was going to take some getting used to. "So what masks have you got?" "Kakama and Pakari. Speed and strength." He frowned. Yes, this would take some getting used to. Kopaka hated masks. ------------------------------ "Ye haw!" "Pohatu! Shut up!" They were both skiing back down the side of Mount Ihu. Kopaka was an expert skier, and Pohatu appeared to enjoy rolling on rocks. This provided a fast, yet noisy (thanks to the Toa of stone) way down. But, the noise was helpful in one way... He couldn't hear Pohatu's constant yapping. Good. "Kopaka! Slow down!" He turned to see Pohatu using his Kakama to run beside him, but he was apparently having trouble keeping up. He complied with his ally's request. "What?" he asked bluntly. "We're nearly there!" "Where?" He asked. He was answered with a shout from a new character. "Look! Over there! It's Pohatu... And... Is that Kopaka?" A green figure said. "Hey guys! I've got a new buddy for you all to meet!" Pohatu shouted. Kopaka skidded to a halt and looked at the new arrivals. 'The other Toa. Damn!' he thought. Pohatu had lured him to them... How could he have been so stupid? "It's too cold here! Let's go!" A red figure at the head of the group shouted. "Aw, we only just got here! C'mon guys, let's be nice and say hello!" the green one replied. He hopped over to Kopaka and stuck his hand out, much like Pohatu had before. True to form, Kopaka simply ignored it. "Uh, I'm Lewa, Toa of Air." ".........." Lewa turned back to the others, who were watching the exchange. Pohatu now stood with them. "He isn't very friendly, is he?" Pohatu chuckled. "That's a bit of an understatement Lewa." He turned to another figure, a blue one. "You were right again Gali. He's very moody." Gali nodded and stepped towards him. Kopaka watched her carefully. Pohatu had said she was wise. No doubt that she was also an expert with those hooks which made up most of her arms. Lewa moved out of her way and she stopped in front of him. She crossed both hooks in front of her chest and bowed to him. "Greetings Kopaka. I hope that Pohatu was not too much trouble." "Me? Trouble?" Pohatu spoke up innocently. A look of humour appeared in her eyes and she laughed quietly. "I assume he was. I am Gali, Toa of Water. I trust you are well? The trip in the canisters can be tiring. To climb Mount Ihu right afterwards is very impressive." "..........thank you." She chuckled and pointed with a hook towards a hunch- backed black figure. "This is Onua. He's the strong, silent type. But he is nice, and a good friend." Onua waved at him with a clawed hand. Kopaka vaguely wondered why he couldn't have found him instead of Pohatu. He had a feeling that he would get on well with him. Kopaka gave a short nod back. "And this... Is Tahu, the Toa of Fire, our leader," she said, and gestured to the red figure. Kopaka noted that he wore a Hau. He looked... Fearsome. And he was glaring at him. Kopaka just glared back and refused to back down. The leader. He took orders from no one, not even this Tahu. And he could just feel that he would hate him for it. And he knew then and there that he now had a rival. Kopaka hated Tahu. Chapter 5 Po-Wahi was, simply put, a desert. A very big desert, in fact. The six toa, finally united, were heading to Po-Koro to meet Onewa. Pohatu had received a psychic massage from him early in the morning telling of a new mask which had been sighted, and were off to find out the details. The point that it was early morning didn't speed up the journey, for they had had to wake up a very lazy Lewa. This morning also marked Kopaka's fourth day on Mata-Nui, and, unsurprisingly... He was having a bad day. It was becoming quite a habit, but he really didn't care. What he did care about was why he was following the other five. What had possessed him to go with them? What was in it for him? He had no doubt that they would never turn on him - except maybe Tahu, he was likely to do so if it suited his needs. The rest would not, they all had a strong sense of honour, and he respected them for that. Yes, that was why he had gone with them. Because he respected their sense of honour... And it had annoyed Tahu, but that was beside the point. There had been quite a fight about what he would do, and as Kopaka thought back on it, he found that it was quite amusing. When they were about to leave, Kopaka had refused to travel with them, much to everyone's distress. Apparently, they had been looking for him for a long time, and he was needed if they were to succeed in their quest. He didn't buy it, and Tahu's 'legendary' Ta-Korian temper came into play. So, they had argued, and it got to the point Tahu had told Kopaka not to come with them. So he changed his mind... To spite Tahu. There had been an interesting result to this fight. There was a tension so thick between everyone now, Kopaka thought that he could reach out and pick it out the air. One wrong word could spark a vicious fight between the two Toa of opposing elements. But Lewa, being the youngest, either knew what he was doing or didn't realise. Kopaka suspected the latter. "Well, at least it's a nice day!" He spoke up cheerfully. They all stopped and turned to look at him. "What?" Kopaka sighed in frustration. Without another word, he turned and carried on in the direction of Po-Koro. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Tahu shouted to him. He ignored the Toa of Fire. "Hey ice boy! I'm talking' to you!" Kopaka stopped and spoke without turning. "We had better get to Po-Koro quickly. We don't have time to stop and argue." "I give the orders around here, not you." "Yes, but have you thought about your orders? You don't seem suited for this job." Everyone went silent. No one had dared to challenge Tahu like this. He was the strongest among them in single combat, but Pohatu being the only one who had seen Kopaka in action had begun to question this. If they fought then it would be a spectacular battle. "Are you questioning my authority, Kopaka?" Tahu said darkly. Kopaka turned to look him in the eye. "Yes. I am. You say that you are the leader, but you do not lead. You control your allies through fear. You do not listen to other opinions, you do what you think is best without thinking of the consequences." "Is that a bad thing? Should we not do what we think is right?" "Do you think that inspiring fear in your 'friends' is right? Do you think leaping into trouble is right? In case you haven't noticed Tahu, we are in a desert. A hot desert." "And? That doesn't bother me." "And that is where you fail. Tell me, before you decided that we should all head to Po-Koro, did you stop to think about how your comrades would react to the heat? Look at Gali." Tahu turned to look at the Toa of Water. For the first time he realised that she looked tired. Very tired. "Yes, you can see now. She is a water elemental. She cannot survive in heat for an extended period of time without any contact with water. I am an ice elemental, and I too am beginning to feel weak. I need to feel cold soon, or I will die." They glared at each other for a while, until Tahu spoke. "So what do you suggest?" He ground out. "Simple." Kopaka returned. "Gali, which direction is it to Ga-Koro?" She weakly pointed to the east. "I take her there where she will be able to recover. I assume that the water is cold there, so I should be fine." "I want to go with you too," Lewa said. "I'm feeling' kinda... Dry." "You're affected too? Very well, Lewa shall come with us also." They stared at each other for a while longer. "I agree," Pohatu spoke up. "Gali looks in bad shape. I'll stay with you Tahu, but I agree with Kopaka. We should split up." "...yes, that is the best move we can make," Onua said quietly. They all looked at him. Onua rarely spoke, but when he did it was for a good reason. "Who are you with?" Pohatu asked. "You. I am needed in this land, I can easily keep going, and my skills will be needed." They all looked at Tahu. He couldn't believe it. They had all turned on him because of this ice being. He would have to pay... But not yet. Tahu did not want to lose any members of the team. Except Kopaka. Tahu hated Kopaka. He would have his revenge. But not yet. Not yet. "Very well. We shall part ways, but know that I am the leader Kopaka. You are not." He growled. "Who said I wanted to be leader? All I said was that you are not very good at it. I think that one such as Gali or Pohatu would be more suitable. Regardless, we need to go now, or Gali, Lewa, and myself will die." So it was with that that the two parties separated. Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu were off to Po-Koro to find this new mask, and Kopaka, Gali, and Lewa were off to recover from the heat. They said their goodbyes in which neither the Toa of Ice or Fire participated, but there were no further incidents between them. Yet. However, none of them knew where their journeys would lead them... And what horrors they would face... Chapter 6 "Gali? Gali, wake up." Kopaka watched from a short distance as Lewa woke Gali up. She had fallen asleep almost a day ago, and as it had been midday at the time, it had been a bad sign. He too had become very weak, until they had entered a forest south west from Ga-Koro. It had been cool under the trees, and this had given him enough energy to make it to the beach. He then helped Lewa carry Gali the rest of the way, and the younger Toa was now supporting her back, putting her in a sitting position in some shallow water. She would be fine. To be honest, Kopaka was quite impressed with Lewa. He was headstrong, and the Toa of Ice had a suspicions that he would not be used to fighting, but he had a good heart. He also appeared to look up to Gali, and had really looked after her. Kopaka made a mental note to check on his fighting abilities. If they were to succeed in this quest, Lewa would have to act as a vital member of the team. If he were to crack under pressure... The consequences could be devastating. Gali's eyes began to glow a bright yellow. She said something quietly to Lewa, and moved forwards into the water. After a few moments, she disappeared beneath the surface. Kopaka came up beside the Toa of Air. "What did she say?" "She said 'thank you'. Do you think she'll be okay boss?" "She will be fine now Lewa. By the way, well done for getting her here. I am impressed." Lewa's eyes shone, showing that he was feeling embarrassed, but pleased none the less. "And i am not 'the boss'," Kopaka added. "But... I think that you should be leader. You're nicer than Tahu, he scares me." "I am not 'nice'." Kopaka snapped. This appeared to take the other off guard. "Sure you are! You stood up to Tahu because you were worried about me and Gali." "No, I didn't. All I told him was that he was a bad leader. Had we carried on to Po-Koro, it is very likely that Gali would now be dead. I didn't know that you were also being affected. I did what I did because if we are not all alive, we will never defeat the Makuta. If we can't defeat the Makuta, I will never go back to Ko-Wahi. And it's not 'me and Gali'. It's 'Gali and I'. Lewa looked at him for a few moments with an 'I don't believe you' look in his lime coloured eyes. "Right. So, how about we join Gali? I could do with a swim!" ".........." "Aw, you aren't going to give me the silent treatment now, are you?" ".........." "Darn, why?" Without another word, Kopaka turned and walked over to the water. It was cold, good. He needed to cool down. And get away from Lewa. He was beginning to wish that he hadn't said anything to him in the first place, he hated it when people tried to make him have a heart. He didn't want or need one. What he did was solely for his own benefit... Wasn't it? The truth was, he didn't really know anymore. He had suggested the splitting up because he didn't want to lose Gali. They needed her to defeat Makuta... that was all. As they had travelled to Ga-Wahi, Kopaka had come to realise that he would do the same for any of them, even Tahu. It was an strange thing for Kopaka, and even worse was because he wasn't sure that Makuta was the only reason. He was actually beginning to care for the other five Toa... And that troubled him. ------------------------------ Kopaka sat back under a tree. They had been here for about an hour, and Gali was showing definite signs of improvement. Lewa was swinging around in the trees, and he appeared to be enjoying himself. So, the Toa of Ice was taking the opportunity for a well earned rest. However, he was interrupted by the green Toa, who suddenly appeared before him. "Hey Kopaka, there's a Ga-Korian Tohunga approaching from the north." "And?" he replied flatly. "She looks pretty spooked, and she's shouting for Gali." Kopaka thought for a moment. "Right. Go and see what's wrong, I'll get Gali. Bring the Tohunga here." Lewa nodded and disappeared up into the trees. Kopaka watched for a moment, then turned and walked onto the beach. "Gali!" He shouted. His efforts were rewarded by seeing Gali's head emerge from the water. "Yes, Kopaka?" "Lewa has seen a Ga-Korian Tohunga shouting for you. Appently, she looks frightened." Gali watched him as she emerged from the water and walked up the beach. "Frightened? Of what? A Rahi?" "I don't know. I have told Lewa to go and get her." "Something's... Wrong. I don't know what, but I can feel that Nokama is... worried." Kopaka sighed. If this Tohunga was scared of... a spider in her bed or something, then he would kill her. No doubt about it. "Lewa!" He called. "Right here boss!" The Toa of Air replied, emerging from the forest canopy. A blue Tohunga walked next to him, and by the way she was fidgeting, it obvious that she was nervous... and scared. She was wearing a blue Kanohi Huna replica. No, it wasn't a spider in her bed. Thank Mata-Nui. Gali immediately recognised her. "Maku! What are you doing out here? Not looking for Huki, I hope." "No, no Great Toa! I need help! The village is in great danger!" "Maku, please call me Gali. I hate all this 'Great Toa' stuff. Now, what's wrong?" "Tarakava attacked! We were unprepared for them. They destroyed some homes, but all the Tohunga escaped into the submergible hut. I headed for mainland to look for help." "Are they all right in the hut? The sinking machine was faulty last time I was there." The Toa of Water was beginning to get a worried gleam in her eyes. "I don't know, uh, Gali. I met another Tohunga as I hit shore, he is making sure they are okay." "Thank you for getting me Maku, you did the right thing." She turned to look at the other two Toa. "So, what do we do?" she said. "To work effectively, we need a leader." "I agree," Lewa added brightly. Gali and Lewa looked at each other for a moment, and then slowly turned to look at Kopaka. "What?" He said. "I vote Kopaka," the Toa of Air said. "Me too." "Hey, I-" "Please hurry!" The Maku shouted. "The village is in great danger!" Kopaka had to agree with that. Were the fate of Ga-Koro not upon them, he would have refused. But right now, they didn't have time to argue. He sighed. Muki?" "Yes, Toa of Ice?" "How many Tarakava are there?" "Three, Great Toa." "Right. Lewa?" "Yeah boss?" "Travel through the trees and find where these Tarakava are. Gali? "Yes, Kopaka?" "Carry Muki. We will have to be quick." She nodded in reply. "Then, lets go!" Lewa leapt up into the trees, and began swinging monkey-like to the north. Gali picked up Muki and put her on her shoulders. She and Kopaka then ran off in the same direction as Lewa, and disappeared into the trees. They were off to save Ga-Koro. ------------------------------ "So, where are they Lewa?" The four of them were crouching behind a large fallen log, watching the Ga-Koro for any movement. All they had seen so far was a single Tohunga emerge from a hut in the deserted village. He was currently inserting something into a machine. Gali had pointed it out as the controls for the submergible hut. The entire village was floating on the water. It really was spectacular, but it had made it an easy target for the Tarakava- they were water creatures after all. "There's one about 100 bios to the west. Another is just behind the trees at the top of the beach. I couldn't find the last one though." he whispered back. "Right.. Okay, here's the plan. Lewa, I want you to surprise attack the one to the west. Don't take any risks, just get rid of it. I will take the one at the top of the beach. Gali, look for the villagers. Stay alert everyone, we don't know where the third one is. Maku, stay hidden. Everyone got that?" They all nodded, and Maku crouched lower behind the log. "Hey, look! The hut's rising!" Lewa suddenly said. Sure enough, it was rising out of the water. The door dropped, and Nokama accompanied by many Tohunga emerged. Gali became visibly relieved upon seeing this. But, that didn't last long. "I think we've found the third Tarakava," Lewa muttered. Kopaka swore viciously. It had just come up from the water right in front of the Ga-Koreans. They were in big trouble if they didn't do something now... "Gali, you know what to do." She nodded. "Okay everyone... GO! NOW!" They leapt from their hiding place, and raced to save the Tohunga and Turaga. 'Let the mayhem begin,' Kopaka thought with mild annoyance. It was another bad day. Chapter 7 The water of Lake Naho was incredibly calm. So calm in fact, that only one who knew of the submergible hut would have known that it existed, and thankfully the Tarakava did not. But, during the attack on Ga-Koro, the operating system for controlling the hut had been damaged. And Nokama, and her Ga-Korian Tohunga, were now trapped. Nokama leaned back against the door and looked at her Tohunga. They mostly wore blue Kakama replicas, mainly because they represented the free-going spirit of the village. She wondered why, after the coming of Gali, they had not all switched to Kaukau s. But it didn't really matter. "I hope Miku's okay," one of the Tohunga said quietly. "She will be Wai," Nokama replied. "Be patient everyone, that Tohunga will have us out soon." The hut fell into silence again. She certainly hoped that they would be out soon. With any luck, Toa Gali would turn up and make sure that the Tarakava were gone, but... She thought that Gali was heading for Po-Koro. However, Mata Nui could turn events... She could still come. There was a sudden jerk, and the hut began to rise. Nokama chuckled as a cheer went up. The Tohunga had fixed the machine... Now they could escape! There was another jerk, and the hut stopped. The door dropped, and they all ran out to thank their savoir. But none of them expected a blue Tarakava to rise out of the water before them. Nokama quickly stopped and put out a her long arms to stop the other Tohunga. She brandished her trident, and hoped that it would back off... But it didn't. It did quite the opposite. With a beastie roar, it lunged forward and threw one of it's arms forward. Nokama watched in terror as she saw her own death coming for her... "GO! NOW!" The shout came from the trees, and out leapt a blue blur. It flew straight towards them, and landed next to the Tohunga and Turaga. The yell must have effected the Rahi, for it's aim went slightly off. But, Nokama could not have wished for anything more. Gali, the Toa of Water, shot in front of the Tarakava and crossed her hooks, absorbing the impact of the inaccurate blow. It reared up, and regarded this new opponent. For a few moments, they stared at each other. The Rahi made no movement, but Gali narrowed her eyes slightly. This thing had attacked her people... It would pay. The Makuta's beast let lose with a flurry of blows, all of which Gali skilfully dodged or blocked. Letting her self-defence instincts take over, she backed away and let her opponent use up it's energy. But she hadn't seen the hut behind her... And with sudden horror as she felt it behind her, she realized that she had no where to go. And the creature was rearing up with a powerful blow... In desperation she fell back on her agility and span her hooks around. She hit them into the roof of the hut and jumped, causing her to slowly back flip in the air. The attack just missed her, but as she landed on the roof another came. She instantly leapt again, and landed on the Rahi' s back. Using her hooks to stay on the wildly thrashing Tarakava, she went with it as it shot off into the water. The Ga-Koreans gathered around the edge of the platform, and watched the now chaotic splashing surface. Nokama could not believe that she had appeared... and with such timing! A moment more and... Well, she didn't want to think about it. Then, the surface broke but it was not Gali that emerged. The Tarakava moved forward onto the platform, and looked rather dazed. But, more noticeable than that, was the complete lack of the mask on it's nose... It collapsed, revealing the Toa of Water who now stepped up onto the platform herself. She raised her left hook to reveal the blue Kanohi Ruru to the Ga-Koreans... The Ruru with patches of rust on... The infected Kanohi Ruru. ------------------------------ Kopaka ducked under the Tarakava' s attack, and then dodged to the side. This was a tough one. So far, it had kept him on the defensive, and he had been unable to make a decent counter attack... To be honest, this was really starting to bug him. He dropped and rolled to the side as it tried to charge him. As he got back to his feet he turned to face it, noting that it was now some distance away. Behind the Rahi, he could see Gali's target collapse... Good. That was one down. The creature roared at him. He made a 'come on then' gesture with his shield. A duel. Kopaka loved duels. It roared again, then charged. He took on a fighting stance, body sideways, shield facing his opponent, and his sword raised and ready for use. The Rahi got closer.. Closer... Closer... As it was about to strike him, he made a sharp side-step to the right. It's arm shot out, but missed him... And he took the chance. With all of his strength, Kopaka span as it passed and brought his sword down on the Tarakava' s weak point... It's neck. It made a loud screech and fell backwards. Kopaka watched as the glow left it's eyes... It was dead. Good riddance. Two down, one to go. He looked over to Ga-Koro. Only a few buildings had been destroyed, and the Tohunga looked unharmed. Maku had left cover and was now running over to them. Good, she was okay... Gali looked fine, and was now talking to Nokama. That just left Lewa... Then a mask suddenly fell at his feet. "There you go boss!" He looked down at it... An infected Pakari. "Well done Lewa." Lewa dropped down next to him and looked around. He stopped when he saw the mutilated Tarakava. "Whoa! You- you... You KILLED it!" "I know." "But... Why?!?" "Because it tried to kill me." Lewa stared at him in disbelief. "What?" Kopaka growled. "'It' didn't try to kill you, Makuta did! Makuta controls creatures that wear infected masks!" They looked at each other for a while longer. "Y'know Kopaka? You really need to talk to Gali, she know's all about it." "Be quiet Lewa. What I do and why I do it does not concern you." "Yes it does! We're a team! What we do affects each of us!" "I'm not a team player." "Yeah, I can tell." "Watch your mouth Lewa." "Why? 'Afraid I'm gonna outsmart you?" Kopaka had had enough. He didn't need this. He didn't need to explain himself to an inferior being. He simply turned away and walked towards Ga-Koro. "*@#$! You are so annoying!" Lewa shouted after him. "Language, Lewa," Kopaka returned quietly. Lewa took one last look at the dead Tarakava. Yes, he would have to talk to Gali about this. She would know what to do. He followed his leader slowly. Kopaka wasn't as great as he thought he was... He killed, just like Tahu. But at least he didn't blame him for everything. Chapter 8 Onua was bored. The three of them, Tahu, Pohatu, and himself had stayed together so far, though Onua was unsure that things would stay like this, because, well, things were tense. Very tense. It had been a good two days since Kopaka, Gali and Lewa had left them, and they had still not reached Po-Koro. Tahu was definitely the most affected, and this combined with losing much of the other Toa's respect thanks to an ice being, had put him on edge. Onua had been talking quietly to Pohatu- well, Pohatu had been talking to him actually, he just added the odd comment (he had never been one for conversation). Tahu had exploded on them, yelling about how annoying they were, how stupid they were, how dirty and scratched their masks were, and worst of all in Onua's opinion, how traitorous they were. That had stung. The other pathetic insults had not bothered him in the slightest, but the branding of being a traitor had. He had looked at Pohatu after Tahu had stopped yelling, and he could see the hurt in his eyes too. They had both known why had said that. Because they had gone with Kopaka's plan over his. They were not traitorous, if anything Tahu was. Had they not done the right thing? Gali and Kopaka would have been dead now if they had stayed with them, and Lewa would be well on the way. If they hadn't spoken in support of the Toa of Ice... their numbers would have been nearly halved. Now, if one of then said the wrong thing, another fight would break out. They were all hot (not that that mattered for Tahu) and tired, and Onua was praying to Mata Nui that they would be at Po-Koro soon. At least they would be able to rest there for a bit. They continued on in silence for a while. As they went, the land became rockier, and soon strange stone formations were littering the area. It was a great relief to all of them when they came to what looked like a footpath. "To get to Po-Koro, we must follow this path to the east." Pohatu said. "Then that's what we'll do, isn't it?" Tahu replied in an offensive tone. Pohatu and Onua looked at each other. Tahu walked away down the path, and they slowly followed. "Shoulda gone with Kopaka," Pohatu said quietly. Onua nodded in agreement. "It's going to be one of those days." ------------------------------ Tahu, Pohatu and Onua carried on down the path towards Po-Koro. The surrounding area became more and more built up until the path went in-between six giant Tohunga heads. Three were on either side and faced each other, creating the illusion of a canyon. At the end was a very large stone wall with another Tohunga head carved into it. The path went into it's 'mouth' and disappeared into darkness. "We're here," Pohatu muttered. "About time too! I told you I'd find it!" Tahu shouted as he looked around. Pohatu and Onua looked at each other again. Had Pohatu not known the way, they would have been lost long ago... But Tahu would never admit to it, he was too proud. Onua was really becoming sick of Tahu. He was headstrong, temperamental, and downright mean. If he had the choice, he would have gone with Kopaka, but he had no intention of leaving Pohatu alone with the Toa of Fire. Kopaka appeared selfish and cold, but at least he didn't insult those who he was supposed to work with. They carried on, and entered the tunnel. Inside, there were more statues of Tohunga heads, though much smaller than before. Voices could now be heard, and as they emerged back into the light, they entered the desert town of Po-Koro. They had made it. Onua looked around the area. It was surrounded by high walls. The buildings were all square- shaped, very different to the domed homes in Onu-Koro, his elemental town. The ground was sand and rock, and in the centre was a single well. A crowd began to gather around the three Toa, all of them looking at them in wonder. Tahu glared at them, Pohatu winked at them, and Onua waved in greeting. It was his first visit to Po-Koro, and he wanted to make a good impression. But apparently, Tahu didn't. He shoved past them and marched towards the biggest hut in the town, Onewa's. Onua and Pohatu shot a vicious look at his back, and then moved to help the Tohunga which he had knocked over back up. He looked quite shaken. "Are you alright kiddo?" Pohatu asked. The Po-Korian looked up at him and appeared to forget Tahu. "Uh, yes Pohatu! Thank you!" "Ah, that's okay. Say, could you get my friend and I some water from the well?" The little Tohunga looked at Onua for a moment, and his eyes lit up. "Sure!" "What's you name?" "Uh, Puehu, Great Toa." "Thank you ." As he turned and ran off in the direction of the well, Pohatu turned to Onua. "You're held in high regard here. The Tohunga appear to love you." The dark Toa said. Pohatu chuckled. "You've just got to know how to talk to them." "So what's that over there?" Onua asked, and pointed over to a small stadium. "Oh, that's the Koli field. The Tohunga play there and have competitions. It's quite fun." "Really? Perhaps we should have a game... So what's that?" "That's the market. You can get some real bargains here. I guarantee that you won't find a cheaper Mata Nui statue anywhere else!" "Hmm, been talking to the trader's?" "Well, there is a really good one. There he is," Pohatu pointed to one of the Tohunga who was standing in the middle of a pile of rocks. "He sells Koli balls, and the new deluxe Koli balls. They're all the rage." "Those are Koli balls? Pohatu, they look like rocks." "They are rocks! But -what- rocks! They are specially made, repeatedly wiped with water to create a softer outer shell, aerodynamically designed. They are quality rocks!" Onua looked at Pohatu. "C'mon, let's go and see Onewa. " "Yeah, let's. Hopefully Tahu hasn't killed him yet." ------------------------------ Tahu was going to kill Onewa. "Why?!?" "Tahu! I will NOT tell you about the mask until the other Toa arrive! And there are more important things going on in Po-Koro at the moment!" "More important them a mask? My masks are far more important then the goings on in a tiny desert village!" "And who said it was one of your masks? From what we saw it was a mask for Onua, and the lives of every Tohunga in the area are more voluble. I will not allow an impatient Toa to kill us all!" Tahu was about to reply, but the sound of footsteps and following voice stopped him. "Onewa? Is... Everything okay?" "Yes Pohatu," the Turaga replied. Despite his words, the relief in his voice was obvious. Pohatu and Onua entered the room, only to meet the distaining looks from Tahu. They ignored him. "So Onewa, what's this about the mask?" the Toa of Stone asked. "Well-" He stopped abruptly when Tahu interrupted. "Oh, sure, you tell him, but you won't tell me!" "Tahu, be quiet! You're all here now, so I can tell you!" "We aren't all here, there are only three of us." "Kopaka, Gali and Lewa are in Ga-Koro. I received a psychic message from Nokama yesterday, she told me that they had saved the village from a pack of infected Tarakava. They are not going to turn up anytime soon, nor do they need to." Tahu mumbled something, but they all ignored him. "So, what's up?" Pohatu asked again. "Well, yes, we have spotted a mask on Mount Taoratia, and from what we saw it is a black Kanohi Hau, meaning that it belongs to Onua." "Great! Let's go and get it!" "But, Pohatu, more important things have to be addressed. Have you noticed that the village is quieter than usual?" "Well... I guess that it's odd how no-one was playing Koli." "There is a plague going around. Many Tohunga are already affected. Huki in particular is very ill. If they are not cured, they will die, and more will soon follow." The hut fell silent. Pohatu and Onua looked at each other, and Tahu stared at the floor. Then Onewa added, "A Tohunga stopped by and showed me a Koli ball. It had been infected... And it had been bought from that Koli salesman. I have my suspicions about him... The Tohunga said he would check him out and left in the direction of the Stone Quarry. He hasn't returned yet... And I'm becoming worried for his safety." Pohatu spoke up. "I'll go and make sure he is okay. Is that okay Tahu?" "Yes..." The Toa of Fire replied. "Right. See you all back here." Pohatu walked out of the hut, and passed a Tohunga who was carrying a bucket as he went. "See you later Puehu!" He said as he disappeared out the door. The Tohunga looked out the door for a moment before setting the bucket of water down in the middle of the room. "Who's thirsty?" he said cheerfully. They all gave him a dry look. Chapter 9 The Po-Korian Quarry was a strange location. Onewa had told Pohatu that the lack of any digging was because of what the Po-Korians had dug up... Strange, giant statues of the six Great Kanohi Masks. They weren't stone, they were an organic material, the same stuff that the Ussal Crabs were made from. It was a wonder of Mata Nui, and for that reason, Onewa had condemned mining here. The stone was now bought from Onu-Koro, which had opened up trade between the two towns. They were now the closest linked areas in all of Mata Nui. Pohatu sighed as he looked around the area. It was... Empty. That was the best word for it. It was, essentially, a big hole in the ground with a tunnel leading into it. It was deathly silent... and... spooky. The place seemed dead, and Pohatu could only wish that he was somewhere else. 'Well, that Tohunga, is certainly brave', he thought. Pohatu looked around at the masks. 'Akaku... Kakama... Kaukau... Pakari-' He stopped abruptly when he saw the statue of the Pakari. There was a... tunnel going underneath it. 'He must be-' and for the second time, he was cut out of his thoughts when a cry came out of the entrance. "Hang on!" Pohatu shouted. He ran for the passage and into the darkness. More cries came out as he went down the stairs which descended into the depths of Mata Nui. Suddenly, he burst into a large cavern and ground to a halt. There, just across the room from him, was a Nui-Jaga. The area was littered with Koli balls, which were obviously infected. The Tohunga stood close to him, and looked terrified. But, most frightening and worrying of all, was the Infected Kanohi Hau on the wall. So that was how the balls were infected! Thinking back to the salesman, he remembered the Black Rau replica he wore, the replica of Turaga Nokama' s mask... He enhanced the image in his mind. He focused on the mask... It did not seem infected... Strange. He would have to sort this out when he returned to Po-Koro... But right now, he had more to worry about. And, was he not trying to remember the salesman, maybe he would have noticed the Nui-Jaga rearing up and letting lose with a ball of... Slime. It hit Pohatu in the face, and to his horror, he found that he couldn't see. "Frell!" He shouted. "Adventurer!" The Tohunga looked up at the now temporarily blinded Toa. "The scorpion has blinded me for the moment, it will be some time before my sight returns!" The Tohunga' s eyes widened. "Tell me where to kick the ball, and together we can destroy the Nui-Jaga' s nest!" Though he could not see it, he could feel the adventurer's eyes light up with excitement. And the battle began. ------------------------------ As Pohatu fought, his vision slowly began to return, and as it did, the Tohunga's plan became clear... And frell, was it a good one! He was directing the Toa to hit the cave supports, and whilst this risked killing the Rahi (which he hated to do), it had to be done. It would destroy a collection of infected masks, and rid Po-Koro of the plague. Then, everything became clear. He flicked up one of the Koli balls, and did a sequence of spectacular kick-ups, before bringing it perfectly to his side... perfect... He jumped, and with all his strength, kicked it towards the last pillar... A direct hit. Perfect. The Nui-Jaga hissed at the Tohunga and the Toa, and retreated further back into the nest. That was fine, as far as Pohatu was concerned. The cave had begun to rumble, and already rocks were falling from the ceiling. "Let's get out of here!" he shouted to his small ally. He nodded back, and was scooped up by the Toa of Stone. With that, he ran for the stairs with the Tohunga sitting on his shoulders. They bolted up the passage and raced for the light. But it was clear that they would not make it... Which left Pohatu with just one option. He concentrated... thought of speed... thought of the energy... Speed... Speed. Speed! The image of the Kanohi Kakama filled his mind's eye, and a red haze appeared around him. He felt himself going faster... And he was enjoying it. The haze blurred, there was a flash... and with just a trail of dust in his wake, Pohatu and the Adventurer were gone. ------------------------------ Po-Wahi was silent. Around the quarry, nothing moved, which was typical of the area... And no one would have guessed the chaos happening beneath them. There was a sudden puff of smoke from the cave beneath the Pakari statue, a flash... And Pohatu appeared above the quarry on the edge of the pit. The red haze around him faded, and he once again was at his normal state. He let out a long breath and dropped the Tohunga next to him. "Excellent, my friend! We make a good team, and my sight has returned to me!" the Toa of Stone said. "This was an evil plan, indeed. Onewa was right to call upon me." The Tohunga nodded. "That was an infected mask, set beside the Koli balls..." He remembered Gali speaking of them. Whatever they made contact with would be controlled by the Makuta, which was why the Rahi fought against Mata Nui. "But who left them there, and placed the balls beside it? Though Po-Koro will be safe now, we have uncovered an even greater mystery. I fear the Makuta's influence may extend beyond the Rahi, now..." The Tohunga once again looked scared. Pohatu chuckled quietly. He looked so... innocent... "I will take this news back to Po-Koro, and help them carry the infected Koli balls into the sea. My mask of Power will let me get to the village quickly enough, I think, to save even Huki." Pohatu looked down at the adventurer, and spoke directly to him. "You are a cunning ally, friend, and brave. I hope that we shall meet again, someday." With that, the Toa of Stone turned and strode away into the desert. The Tohunga watched in awe as Pohatu activated the Kanohi Kakama once again... And was gone. ------------------------------ A few hours after the fight, Pohatu had finished taking the balls to the sea. The Koli salesman had disappeared... And that incriminated him further. There was something about that Tohunga. In fact, Pohatu wasn't even sure if it was a Tohunga. "And WHAM! The ball hit the Nui-Jaga dead on the nose!" Onua gave his friend a probing look. They shared a unique relationship. Pohatu was a noble character around anyone but the Toa, in which case he acted in an all around big brother style. Onua never really talked to anyone else, because despite his awesome strength and hunched over stature, he was very shy. He only talked openly to Pohatu because of his friendly and goofy attitude, It made him feel comfortable. "So... Blinded, both hands and legs tied up, and with a very small Koli ball, you caused a one-hit knockout on a Rahi. Right..." Pohatu held his hands out. "Honest!" Onua stared at him some more. "No lie!" He kept staring. "Oh okay, maybe I had some help." "That's better," the Toa of Earth said. "Now, what really happened?" Pohatu was about to reply when they came to Onewa's hut. The Toa of Stone could sense that Onewa had something to tell them... Something important... "Something up," he said. Onua followed his friend into the hut, and saw a worried looking Onewa. "Onewa, what's the matter?" "I'm not sure... But something is happening in Le-Koro." "Well... What?" "Like I said, I don't now for sure, but I think you should check it out." "Won't Lewa be able to handle it?" "No, this is something big... I thank you Pohatu, you too Onua, you and Tahu have saved Po-Koro." "Uh..." the Toa of Earth spoke up. "I didn't do anything..." "But your presence here has inspired the Tohunga to carry on! Thank you both, and tell Tahu when you see him." "Yeah, that reminds me, where is Tahu?" Pohatu asked. "I saw him near the Koli field..." the Turaga replied. "The... Koli field?!?" The Toa gave each other worried looks. "We'd better make sure he hasn't killed anyone yet. Thanks Onewa, see you soon!" ------------------------------ Onua and Pohatu raced outside and over to the Koli field, all the while hoping that the Toa of Fire wasn't still in a bad mood... "There he is," Onua said and pointed at a large figure in the middle of a group of Tohunga. The figure kicked something, and the crowd began to cheer. Pohatu's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh... Onua? Is Tahu... Playing... Koli?" "Pohatu... I think he is!" They looked in wonder as their leader played with the Tohunga. He looked like he was really enjoying himself... But what would he do if he knew they were watching? They decided to find out. "Tahu!" Pohatu shouted. The Toa of Fire looked at them in panic, and quickly ran of the field. "What do you want?" He said in a put on rude style. "Were you-" "NO! I was not playing Koli!" "Uh... Then how do you know what it is?" The Toa of Fire paused. They hadn't told him what it was... "Uh... It doesn't matter!" "Bu-" "It doesn't matter!" he Tahu shouted. They were all quiet as the Toa of Fire walked over to them. "What's up?" he growled. "Onewa said there was some trouble in Le-Koro..." "Then let's go!" he said quickly, and walked to the town entrance. He stopped suddenly, and turned to look at his two allies. "Where is Le-Koro?" Pohatu and Onua sighed. They would have to travel through Onu-Koro. It was the fastest way. Onua just hoped that the highway was finished. Chapter 10 "Kopaka." ".........." Kopaka refused to look at them. He was in the forest, a short distance from Ga-Koro, just practicing with his sword and shield. He didn't need to... but he wanted to. He enjoyed fighting, he lived to fight. And it cleared his head. He needed that right now. After his fight with Lewa, they had both set on him. They had tried to 'bring out his heart'. He hated that. He didn't have or need one. A heart made things complicated, made you think about killing... And killing was what he did best. But there was something else... Something deeper than just that. Something which he could almost remember... But could not. So he wasn't even going to try. "Kopaka," the voice came again. He ignored it. He carried on twisting, turning, slashing... And thinking. The two other Toa had started by asking why he was so cold. They had progressed onto why he killed Rahi, and all hell had broken lose. In the end, he had just walked away... and here he was. Why wouldn't they leave him alone? "Kopaka, we don't want to lose you." "And what makes you say that, Gali?" He replied for the first time. He stopped fighting his invisible opponent and turned to face her and Lewa, weapons still drawn. She sighed. "We don't want to lose our leader." "I'm not the leader." "You are at the moment." "Leave me alone Gali." She didn't. "What makes you like this?" "I have my reasons," he said coldly. "And what are they?" she pressed. He paused. He didn't know, but they were there... But what were they? "Is there a point to this?" "Yes. We want to know more about you." "There is nothing to know." "Uh, guys?" Lewa spoke up. "I think there is. There has to be a reason for your attitude." "Guys?" "There is no reason." "Guys!" "What!?!" Kopaka snapped at the younger Toa, but he seemed unfazed. "I've, um, just got a message... I think." "From who?" Gali asked. "Well, I saw Matau. He asked me to come to Le-Koro... and then he disappeared." Gali looked to Kopaka. "Trouble." He nodded. "Well?" "What?" "Are we going?" "If you want." "Kopaka, if you are going to lead us, then at least act like it." "I'm not doing to lead you!" "Guys!" Lewa interrupted. "Can we just go?" Kopaka sighed. "Yeah. Lets go," he said as he strapped his sword and shield to his back. ------------------------------ A day later, they arrived in Le-Wahi. It was a tropical jungle, and the only one of the group who seemed to be enjoying himself was Lewa. Gali and Kopaka were doing their best to get along, but things were very tense. But then for Kopaka, that was perfectly normal. "Welcome to Le-Wahi! Trees, bugs, and banging' music a speciality!" Lewa called happily whilst hanging above the other two Toa. "Banging' music?" Gali questioned. "Well... Not quite banging', but I like it!" Gali chuckled. "I would like to hear it, Lewa. Are we nearly at Le-Koro?" "Does it matter?" Kopaka interrupted. "We will get there eventually." Lewa looked at the Toa of ice. He seemed really aggressive today. Or was that normal for him? He hoped not. "What's the matter, Kopaka?" He asked. "None of your business, boy," he coldly replied. "You're in a real mood. C'mon, maybe we can help." Kopaka slowly looked up at him. "Okay Lewa. You want to know? Well I'll tell you. The problem is that we aren't finding any masks. It's all well and good travelling around towns and saving them from all sorts of trouble, but it isn't getting us very far, is it?" Lewa looked back at him from his branch up in the trees. "So how many do you have?" "Two. Just two, my Akaku and a Hau from Mount Ihu." "Well, that's better than me." "What?" "That's better than me. I only have my Miru." "You're joking." Lewa began to get nervous. "Uh... No, I only have one..." "Right. Great. Lewa, you have one day to find a mask." "Huh?" "You have one day to find a mask. One day, and if you do not come back here without one, then you are off the team. Do I make myself clear?" "Kopaka!" Gali shouted, but the Toa of Ice ignored her. "Go. Now." Lewa looked back at him. Was he serious? Him? Look for a mask alone? He didn't know where to start! "GO!!!" Kopaka suddenly screamed at him. Lewa jerked back. He gave one look to Gali, and leapt off into the trees. He didn't look back. ------------------------------ "You idiot!" Gali shouted, and once again hit Kopaka with the back of her hook. "What were you thinking? Do you want us all to be split up? Well!?!" "I know," Kopaka returned quietly. "I'm going to go and look for him. You stay here and see if he comes back, and you had better hope he's alright." "Sure," He whispered. Gali soon disappeared, and Kopaka sank down at the base of a tree, realising what an idiot he had been. How could he have done that? It wasn't Lewa's fault... How was he going to make this up to him. He couldn't exactly give him a... birthday party, could he? But... he could help the younger Toa look for a mask... Yes, that is what he would do. He would look for a mask with Lewa. But he hated to do things for others... And he hated to admit it, but... He did have a heart. And he hated that too. Why did Gali have to keep bugging him about it? He didn't want to be sympathetic, or nice, or anything like that. He handed making life complicated. He didn't care about the masks. He really didn't. That was just an excuse... And that made things worse. And why did it have to be Gali? And why was he even thinking that? Kopaka hated life. ------------------------------ Hours later, Lewa swung through the trees, and tried to clear his head. Why had Kopaka been so mean? He couldn't help not having any masks... But he would find more. He had to, he didn't want to be kicked out of the team. And if getting a mask was what it took, then that was what he would do. No matter what it took. Then, there was a flash... In the trees... A Rahi? He stopped, and dropped to the ground. He worked his way through the foliage in the direction of what had caught his attention, and came across a stone wall... And on the wall, was a black Kanohi Miru. It looked fairly worn, but hey, it was a mask. 'Well... Kopaka didn't say whose mask... This must belong to Onua,' he thought. Lewa moved forward and grabbed it. Suddenly, hundreds of voices seemed to fill his head. He couldn't concentrate, he couldn't hear, he couldn't drop it... 'An infected mask!' In this state, there was no way that he could have seen the large Nui-Rama coming. It swiped at him with one of it's four claws, and easily dislodged his mask. Then, the mask in his hand seemed to leap at him. It stuck to his face... And Lewa's mind went blank. Chapter 11 "It's no good, he's gone," Gali said as she approached Kopaka. He slowly stood up, but refused to meet gaze. He knew that she was staring at him... And that hurt. But he didn't know why. "He will turn up," he said with false confidence. "We might as well head for Le-Koro, Lewa would go there and see Matau if he needed to know where there was a mask." "Agreed," Gali replied. Neither of them moved. Gali stopped looking at him and brought her vision to the floor. Then, Kopaka found himself saying something that he thought he never would. "I'm sorry." Gali looked at him again. Neither of them were expecting that. "Say that to Lewa. He deserves it more. I should be sorry for pressing you on your attitude. If you want to be like that, then that's fine with me." They looked at each other for a while. Kopaka once again broke the silence. "Thank you." "That's okay, just try to be a bit nicer. We should get going." "Yeah. Lets go," he said sharply. They quickly walked away into the trees. ------------------------------ "Frell! Where the hell is Le-Koro!" Kopaka snapped. "Calm down Kopaka. Lewa mentioned that it was in the trees, so all we have to do is look up." "At least it will be hard for the Rahi to find too." They had been searching for Le-Koro for hours, and nothing had even given a hint or where it was. Simply 'looking up' had not helped at all, because after all there was a lot of forest to 'look up' in. "Well," Gali replied, "There should be some sign of Le-Korian life here." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Like those lifts, for example." Kopaka looked in the same direction and saw two hanging green pods. "Those are lifts?" he questioned. "I think so. Lifts done Le-Korian style." "Ah." They walked closer, but it soon became apparent that there was another, minor problem. "Oh no," Kopaka growled. "Indeed. I expected them to be a bit, well, bigger." The lifts were perfect for Tohunga, but apparently the builders didn't have Toa in mind when they built it. They were easily twice as tall as the pods. There was no way that the cables would support them either. "Great." "Ditto." "Well, you can climb up there Gali. I'll wait down here." "All right. See you soon Kopaka." He nodded, and watched as she began to use her hooks to climb up one of the trees nearby. Higher and higher she went... And he soon found himself unable to look away. Strange... ------------------------------ Gali quickly claimed up the tree, not for the necessity of getting into Le-Koro, but just to get away from Kopaka for a while. They had been talking a lot whilst walking through the trees, and she had really begun to get on well with him. It was beginning to scare her... But there ware more important things right now. As she got higher, the underneath of Le-Koro began to come into view. It was a platform built into the tree, with rope bridges connecting to similar structures. She used her hooks to swing underneath the platform, and then flipped herself onto the top. She looked around. The village was deserted. Not quiet, or calm, but... Completely empty. "Hello?" she called. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then Tohunga heads started popping out of bushes, trees, and other areas. One of them, a green Tohunga who wore a Kanohi Miru replica, swung down on a vine and landed in front of her. "You! You Toa of water!" He said. "Yes, hello... Er..." "I Kongu, Tohunga of Le-Koro," he said. "Hello Kongu," Gali said politely. "Have you seen Lewa?" "No, we not see Toa of Air. Matau was taken by big Rama, and disappear. Lewa on quest, we hope he comes!" "Matatu's where? Kongu, start from the beginning." ------------------------------ Night had fallen by the time Gali returned. Kopaka was once again sitting at the base of a tree, only lightly sleeping this time. There was a thud as Gali dropped down in front of him, and he snapped awake. "There's trouble here. Big trouble." "Like what?" Kopaka said as he came to his senses. "Matau has been kidnapped, and the Le-Koreans think he is in the Nui Rama nest to the south," Gali replied and held out a hook to help him up. He took it without thinking. It struck them both as strange that he had done so, he would have ignored anyone else's offer. Gali seemed to be able to talk to him in a way which the other Toa could not. He hated it, he really did, but... He liked her. He couldn't believe it! He actually liked someone! After it happened, he had refused to like anyone... After what happened? Why had he thought that? What-? What was going on? Why was he getting these half-memories? What were they? He hated them, they were confusing... Why him? Maybe he should ask Gali... After all, she was the wisest of them all... But it could wait. "We should check it out." She nodded. "Let's go." With that, they once again set off into the forest, but were stopped when a loud rumbling came from a nearby rock face... ------------------------------ "Come on Onua! Are we nearly there?" "It takes time to dig, Tahu," Pohatu answered for him. "Yeah, but this is taking ages!" "We'll be there soon," Onua spoke up in his rough voice. "See?" Tahu shot him a glare, and returned to pacing back and forth. They had gone to Onu-Koro, where they had spoken to Whenua about the unknown Le-Koro problem. He had said that Matau had not replied from any psychic messages and he was becoming quite worried. So, they had set off down an old protodermis mineshaft in the general direction of the town. And they had come to a dead end. So, Onua was now digging a makeshift tunnel to Le- Koro, and it was taking a long, long time. "If this is Lewa's fault... Then I'll kill him," Tahu said. "Well, he is with Kopaka and Gali, so I doubt that it has anything to do with him," Pohatu replied. "It had better not," He said darkly. Pohatu was about to reply, when there was a loud rumbling. The cave wall which Onua was clawing at fell in, and light filled the tunnel. "Here we- are..." Onua trailed off, when he saw something totally unexpected. "Onua? What's up?" Pohatu asked as he moved up behind his friend. Tahu pushed past him, and stepped outside. "Kopaka..." he growled when he saw the Toa of Ice staring back at him from the trees. "Tahu..." his rival ground back. Chapter 12 The Toa arrived at the Nui-Rama nest a while later. It resembled a giant bee hive, and even from outside the bussing of the Rahi could be heard. But the noise of the nest was nothing to the events that had taken place a while ago. When Gali and had told Tahu, Pohatu and Onua about what had happened, they had all taken turns in having a go at Kopaka. He simply stood there and looked at them. He didn't say a word. And that had got them madder. Gali had to admit that it was quite funny to see the three Toa shout and yell at him, whilst he just looked at them in the eye. He didn't even flinch. But, when they had all finished, and were glaring at him, he simply replied with one word. "Finished?" It had almost been enough to make Gali completely lose her composure. Tahu, Pohatu and Onua had stared at Kopaka, utterly dumfounded. "Good. Now, I suggest we make a plan to find Matau and Lewa." And here they were. "Right, now we have to get in. Onua?" "Yes, Tahu?" "Can you get us in?" "Yes." "Then do it." Onua moved to some empty ground, and began to claw at it. "Hey, can't we just go through the wall?" "No. It is too hard." "Really?" "Yes." Tahu sighed, and was visibly frustrated. "Get on with it then," He snapped. Onua quickly turned back to the floor, and once again began to claw at it. "So," Gali spoke up. "Do we have a plan?" "Yeah. Everyone take a Rahi. Onua is first in, so he searches for and protects Matau, whilst we get the real fun!" "Fun? Fighting Rahi is fun?" "Hey, they're only Nui-Rama!" "Don't be so confident Tahu," Kopaka said quietly. "I have fought one of these, and they are very, very quick. Don't underestimate them." Tahu snorted. "Yeah, well that was you. I am a far superior warrior, and I have more masks than you." "That is irrelevant. I am telling you this, because we all need to be alive for our quest to succeed. You know that, remember the incident in Po-Wahi?" "Yeah, I remember. I remember that you ran off because you couldn't take the heat!" "I 'ran off' with Lewa and Gali to save all our lives. And you might also remember that everyone supported my proposal." "I didn't!" "You were the exception." "Guys, guys!" Pohatu said as he walked in between them and held his hands out. "We don't want to fight until we get inside! Save it for the Rahi!" The Toas of Fire and Ice glared at each other for a moment, until Kopaka spoke again. "Yes, you are correct Pohatu. Let's save it... For the Rahi." "Just keep out of my way, Kopaka," Tahu growled. ------------------------------ "We're nearly in," Onua called. The other four Toa resembled soldiers in a landing craft as they stood ready to enter the nest, two on either side of the cave. "Alright, everyone get ready!" Tahu shouted. "Frell, Tahu, do you have to be so loud?" Pohatu grumbled. "Drop it Pohatu, concentrate on the task at hand," Gali said. "...like she said," the Toa of Fire muttered. They moved up closer behind Onua, when the Toa of Earth called up. "Here we go!" With that, a loud rumbling overtook them. The stone wall ahead fell down, and the inside of the Nui-Rama nest was revealed. It looked like an enormous dome, the walls were made of a waxy substance which was built up in hexagonal segments. The area was lit up by torches towards the bottom of the walls. Le-Korian Tohunga looked at them, and small bug-like creatures, Kofo-Jaga, stopped to see what was going on. Then, at the rim of the hole which they had made, a pair of green feet appeared, followed by a green axe which dug into the rocky ground. "Lewa!" Gali gasped. He was watching something above and behind them, but suddenly, he looked down at them, and the mask came into view. It was a Kanohi Miru, but it wasn't the bright green of his body... It was the rusty colour of an infected mask. Something appeared to move behind his eyes, making them a dull mucky colour. His head hung and turned slightly to the side... And it was clear that the Makuta was controlling him. And just to make things worse, a Nui-Rama Kaita hovered next to him. It was holding Lewa's Kanohi Miru. "Oh frell..." Pohatu cursed. "Onua! Take the mask!" Tahu shouted. Kopaka had to admit that that was a wise move, Onua was easily the strongest of them. He had the best chance. "GO!" Tahu shouted again, and the Toa all poured out of the tunnel. And the battle was joined. ------------------------------ Tahu, Kopaka, Pohatu, and Gali all shot out of the hole and charged off in different directions, leaving Onua to face the infected Lewa. He brandished his claws whilst Lewa stared at him unfazed. Then, all hell broke lose. Lewa leapt into the air, and activated his Miru, allowing him to glide high. With incredible speed and skill, he moved straight towards the Toa of Earth with his axe raised, ready to deliver a crushing blow. Knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to defend against such an attack, Onua went for the best option available... White lines appeared around the edge of his Kanohi Pakari, and it seemed to move away from his face. It rapidly faded and disappeared, only to reveal the black, Kanohi Hau. He activated it, and time seemed to slow as a green light burst out from him. Lewa went straight into it... And was thrown back a good twenty metres into the hive wall. The infected Toa shook his head and looked around. "What... What's happening to me?" Lewa shouted. "My body... Not my own..." he continued as he looked down at himself. But then, his hand came before his face, and he shrieked, "My mind... Get out of MY MIND!" Then, again, something passed behind his eyes, and his left hand slowly moved away from his face. He got up, and leapt for Onua, who had changed back to his Pakari. There, in the middle of the nest, the two Toa fought. Onua was reluctant to go all out because of the risk of hurting Lewa. The infected Lewa, unfortunately, didn't have the same view, and was madly swinging at him. They jumped over and ducked under attacks, kicked, punched, slashed, and performed moves with unnatural speed and skill. They stayed like that for a while, but it became obvious that Onua was losing. He began to get pushed back, slowly at first, but soon Lewa made a clear kick to Onua's head, causing him to fly back and collide with he wall. He made a good sized hole, and had to pull himself forwards to be able to see his opponent. Lewa stood a distance from him, but looked ready to give the killing blow. Fir the first time, Onua was pleased about his greater experience over the younger Toa. He switched masks again, this time to a pitch black Matatu. He used it's Telekenetic power to raise a bundle of rocks, and a small Kofo-Jaga which had happened to get in the way. They flew at Lewa, who successfully destroyed all the rocks with his axe... but not the small Rahi. It collided with his infected mask and dislodged it easily. The mask flew far into the distance. Kopaka, who was busy duelling a Nui-Rama nearby, flicked his sword at it as it passed, and it exploded in a bright white light. Then, a certain green Turaga came into view. "Get his mask!" Matau shouted, whilst pointing at the Nui-Rama Kaita. Onua focused on the giant Rahi who was holding the Kanohi Miru. He yanked at the mask, and it flew form the creature's grip straight to Lewa. The confused Toa of Air looked at it for a moment, then grabbed it and placed it back on his face. The infection was gone. Lewa shook his head, and looked at Onua. He had known of the Tohunga who had been enslaved by the Makuta in here, but he had been unable to do anything about it. He had seen what he was doing... But he couldn't control his body. But now he could... And he would make up for it. "Lewa!" Matau shouted as he removed his mask. It began to shine a bright green, and he pulled something from it... The green Kanohi Komau. The Turaga threw it to him, and Lewa caught it. He quickly took off his mask, and put the Komau on... and saw it in his mind. There was a buzzing in his ears, and the image faded... Into the Miru. "Thanks, Matau!" Lewa shouted back. He then switched to the Komau, and projected his mind at the Nui-Rama Kaita... And took control of it. He leapt onto it's back, and flew around fighting airborne Nui-Rama. Onua, as instructed by Tahu earlier, fought any Rahi which moved near Matau and the captured Le-Korian Tohunga. Kopaka, Gali, Tahu and Pohatu meanwhile, fought Nui-Jaga left, right, and centre. But with the six Toa united once again, the Rahi really didn't have a chance. Mata Nui's forces easily won. Chapter 13 After the battle, the Toa had all caught a now non-infected Nui-Rama and flown on it back to Le-Koro. The Tohunga and Turaga had come along too, and now everyone was safely back at the village. It was a beautiful day, and the Tohunga had thrown a celebration for being freed. It was quite a show. Tohunga played instruments on a stage in the centre of the tree-top village, and come waved great tree branches covered in foliage. Matau watched with a joyous gleam in his eyes, whilst Lewa joined in with the dancing. He really was enjoying himself. Tahu stood near the band with disgust evident in his glowing eyes. He watched Lewa and the Tohunga dance, and did his best to look annoyed... But it sure looked fun. Gali chatted with the Kongu and another Tohunga which she had talked to before the battle. She cast occasional glances to the other Toa, and only Kopaka really didn't seem to care. Tahu tried to look the same, but didn't do too good a job of it. Pohatu was attempting to teach a group of Tohunga how to play Koli, and they looked like they were learning well. He had even begun to play with some of them, but he wasn't using his full strength... If he did, it was likely that he would blow them away... Literally. Onua was watching the dancing, seemingly with amusement. He looked over to Kopaka, and moved towards him. Kopaka was standing off to the side, at the edge of the town square. He was leaning against one of the taller huts, and staring at the floor. That wasn't really unusual for him, but then... He had a lot to think about. A lot. "Penny for your thoughts?" "Shut up Onua," Kopaka replied flatly. He held his hands up, and went silent. They stayed like that for a long time. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" "No." "Right." ".........." ".........." ".........." "...I thought I would never find someone quieter than me." ".........." "You are very quiet." ".........." "Very quiet-" "Is there a point to this?" Kopaka interrupted. "No... I just wanted to talk to you. I haven't really had the chance yet." "Well, you've talked to me now." "Yeah." Kopaka looked up at him. "Leave me alone, Onua," he said coldly.. Onua nodded, and walked away, leaving Kopaka with his thoughts. A lot had happened recently. He had those thoughts about Gail, and those half memories from something... past... And there was Lewa. During the battle in the Nui-Rama nest, Kopaka had watched him fight. He had the brashness of youth, and an obvious self-taught fighting style, but he had potential. A lot of potential. He had begun to consider teaching him to fight... Before he had caught himself, and realised what he was doing. He was getting soft. And he hated it. Then, much to his dismay, he was brought out of his thoughts again by one of the objects of his turmoil. "Hello Lewa," he growled without even looking up. He knew it was him... He could feel it. "Hi Kopaka," He replied quietly. Kopaka found this odd. He sounded... Guilty? "What's up?" he asked before he was able to stop himself. "I'm sorry for putting on that mask... I didn't mean to, it just looked like one of Onua's, and I thought-" "I know, your forgiven. It wasn't your fault," Kopaka replied, a hint of warmth in his voice. He cut it out quickly. "And I want to apologise for yelling at you. I was just... on edge. I have been... confused lately." Lewa seemed to brighten. "Thanks Kopaka," he said happily. "You were a good fighter back there, you know." Lewa began to fidget. "Yeah, but... That wasn't me..." "It was you underneath, Lewa. It wasn't your mind, but it was your skills." Lewa looked at him again, but didn't appear to believe him. "Tell you what, let's see what you can do. Why don't we do some sparring?" Lewa's eyes went wide. "R-really?" he stammered in disbelief. "Yes, but I think it might have to wait," Kopaka said whilst looking over Lewa's shoulder. The younger Toa turned to see what he was looking at, and came face to face with Tahu. He jumped in shock. "Um... hello Tahu," he said whilst backing away slightly. "We're splitting up again," the Toa of Fire said. "Why?" Kopaka asked. "Me, Pohatu and Onua are going to look for the mask Onewa spoke of. You can do what you want." Lewa and Kopaka glanced at each other. "Sure," Lewa said cheerfully. Kopaka just looked at his rival. "Very well," he said coldly." Tahu turned and left in search of Onua and Pohatu, leaving the Toa's of Ice and Air alone. "Well kid, it looks like we have some time on our hands." Kopaka said. Lewa looked at him. "So what will we do?" "I don't know." He turned and looked at the green Toa. "Maybe we should find you a mask. And test your skills... Apprentice." Lewa made a mock salute. "Yes sir!" Chapter 14 Tahu ordered impatiently, "Lets get this over with. Move it, now!" "Fine, let's go. Where is Pohatu?" Asked Onua. Pohatu was already walking past them. Tahu and Onua quickly caught up. "Get behind me!" Tahu told Pohatu. "Why?" "Well...because I said so! I don't need you to mess around, listen to your leader!" Tahu angrily sliced his sword into the earth below, causing the dirt to liquefy and bubble. "No need to get angry, I'll listen," Pohatu slowly moved behind Tahu. Pohatu asked Tahu, "Do we really have to leave? You know parties are fun, you can loosen up and you can eve...." "NO! WE ARE LEAVING AND GETTING THIS OVER WITH!" Tahu screamed. "Temper, temper." Tahu took his sword and placed it on Pohatu's neck. "I didn't want to have to resort to this..." "TAHU!" Onua exclaimed, "We're on the same team -- remember?" "Fine, this is your last chance. I am the leader and YOU will listen to ME? Understand?" "O-ok," Pohatu stammered, "W-well lets g-go." Pohatu was still shaken from the close-to-death experience. "Of to Taoratia. NOW," Tahu was ready to go. From far away, the group looked like a colourful formation. It was sort of a triangular shape with Tahu in the front and Onua and Pohatu trailing, both on opposite sides. They finally were at the base of MT. Taoratia. A dark cave could be seen up ahead with a rock about 100 yards away. "You both know what I have to do, right?" Tahu sighed. Pohatu ran straight to the rock with his right leg back. CRACK! The rock went soaring straight into the cave. "GOAL!!!" Pohatu shouted, obviously excited. "Hey guys....guys...GUYS! Where'd you go?" Pohatu finally spotted them, already making their way up the mountain. "You shoulda seen it! I was like 'BAM' and the ball flew straight into the goal. Pohatu, 1. Cave, 0. That's right, I WO..." "SHUT UP! I don't care about your silly game," Tahu said, clearly angry, "The sooner we find the mask, the sooner we can leave." "Ya know what? I kinda like it here. Ya know, lotsa rocks and everything," Pohatu said. "Ya know what? I don't care! Look up, what do you see?" Tahu asked. "Umm...the sun" "No, lower!" "Umm...clouds" "LOWER!" "Umm...shiny white stuff" "Do you know what that white stuff is?" "Why, snow o' course" "Now do you know why I'm angry?" "Nope, why?" "The snow, dimwit!" "Oooh I get it!" "Lets get this over with, we must move quickly. I have a feeling you'll slow us down," Tahu said coldly. Tahu wasn't looking while he was walking and BAM. He smacked his face right against a pair of rocks at least 10 kios tall! His red Hau flew right off of his head and all the way down the mountain! "I'll get it," said Onua "Ok, then get it!" Tahu snapped. 'Maybe Onua isn't so bad after all,' Tahu thought to himself, 'he is a good servant'. Tahu silently snickered as his eyes grew warmer. "Here you go," Onua plopped the mask in Tahu's hands. "Thank you," Tahu said in a low voice, as if he was embarrassed to be thankful. "No problem." "Now we have to deal with this rock problem," Tahu sighed. "Problem solved!" Pohatu exclaimed as he shattered the rocks to pieces. Tahu muttered silently, "He's kinda useful... Well, only to myself of course." Tahu was reassured, at least he wasn't travelling with total idiots. "C'mon, lets go," Pohatu said. They started their trudge up the mountain. The ground morphed from a midnight black to a wet grey and finally to icy snow. Tahu was the most uncomfortable out of the bunch. "AHHH!!!" Tahu screamed as he shivered, "too...cold...need...heat...hate...ice...fire...need...fire." Tahu collapsed right on the ground. "Tahu, wake up!" Pohatu shouted. "Oh-oh," Onua said with amazement. Pohatu screamed "AVALANCHE!" Chapter 15 With a flash of white and green, the two weapons clashed with a loud clang. The green, an axe, drew quickly away and span to build up strength. It shot forward in a downward arc, only to be deflected by a white shield. The shield then swiped at the green figure, and hit it across the face with a backhanded blow. He staggered, and the white used the opportunity. It slashed it's white sword... And stopped it an inch from the green's neck. Kopaka lowered his weapon. "That was good," he said, whilst looking Lewa in the eye. "Yeah, but... I lost." "I am far more experienced than you, Lewa, that is why. You lost because you swung your weapon too far and lost your balance. Against a Nui-Rama, or a Tarakava, you would have won, but you need to cut it out if you are to defeat our more powerful foes. Why do you do those large swings, anyway?" Lewa looked down at the floor. "Well... They look good, I guess. I thought I would impress you..." "You don't need to. Just get the job done." "Uh, okay boss." "Master," he corrected. It was the traditional lingo for an apprentice, he called his teacher 'Master'. Kopaka briefly wondered if Lewa would ever get used to it. "Yeah, Master. That's what I meant." They had been duelling in Le-Koro, on one of the platforms at the edge of the town. Matau had had an area cleared for them, saying, 'Our Toa need to be at their best!' Whilst they had battled, a crowd of Tohunga had gathered, and as the party was still in full swing, the band had begun to play matching music. Kopaka assumed that that was one of the reasons for Lewa's wild style... The adrenalin. "So, want to try again?" He asked his apprentice. Lewa's eyes lit up. "Sure!" They got into a fighting stance at either side of the platform, Kopaka with his body sideways, shield towards the enemy and sword raised behind him, whilst lewa did his best to match it, though without the shield. He just held his left arm out. They stood like that for a while, before Lewa span his axe in a way designed to confuse his opponent -it worked with Rahi- but Kopaka wasn't an ordinary opponent. As Lewa did this, he charged, and brought the axe down in a crushing blow. Kopaka didn't even try to stop it. He skilfully span out of the way, and hit Lewa with his shield as he went. Lewa learned from last time, and did his best to deflect the blow. He turned, and parried a sword strike from his Master. They moved around the platform, striking and parrying at each other, until their weapons became locked together. Kopaka spun his sword, taking the axe with it, and then used the axe head to pull on the weapon with his sword. The axe sailed away, and stuck into the ground a distance from the two. Kopaka slowly pointed his weapon at Lewa's throat. The Le-Koreans stood mesmerised around the edge of the platform, and remained hat way until Gali, who had been standing on the ramp which led to the makeshift arena, began to clap with her hooks. The Tohunga and Matau soon joined in. "Better. You are improving." "Uh, thanks... I think." "Don't worry about losing. That was just to show the dangers of fighting with a hatchet. In time, you will work around it." "Okay, thanks Kopaka." "Well," Gali said as she walked up to them. "That was very impressive, both of you." "Kopaka can fight better than that, he was just being easy on me. Weren't you?" he asked his mentor. ".........." "Well, he was," Lewa answered for him. "I saw him fight that Tarakava at Ga-Koro, and wow! That was incredible! And in the Nui-Rama nest he fought-" "And killed," Kopaka interrupted. "-hundreds of... Killed?" "Yes, I still kill." "Aw, man..." Lewa moaned. "I thought you didn't do that anymore!" "Not as much as I used to. But I still do." "Well... He's still the coolest," The younger Toa said to Gali. Gali chuckled. "It looks like you have a fan, Kopaka," she said. "Great," he said flatly. "Well," she said brightly, in an attempt to pull Kopaka out of his almost constant bad mood, "The music is still on. Do you want to dance?" She held out a hook to him. He looked at the hook for a moment, before simply saying, "I don't dance." She almost looked disappointed, but turned to Lewa and held the hook out in the same way. He took it. Kopaka watched them walk to the dance floor and 'get groovy', as Lewa would have put it. The band changed to another group, this time with a singer. He wore no mask, but instead he had odd darkening devices over his eyes. His band was in the same style. Kopaka stood back the hut he was at earlier, and half listened to the music. It sounded odd, not really like anything he had heard before. It was quite catchy too. He only really took in the chorus:- "Our hut, In the middle of our tree, Our hut, In the middle of our..." Then, the village Turaga walked up to him. "It is a good job you stayed here," Matau said. "We have matters to discuss." "Which are...?" Kopaka prompted. "Masks of course!" he replied in his light hearted tone. ------------------------------ "So, how many masks have you got Gali?" Kopaka asked. The three Toa were in Matatu's hut, with the Turaga watching them. "I have... a Kanohi Kakama, a Kanohi Akaku, and a Kanohi Kaukau," she replied after a moment of thought. "Good. I have a Kanohi Hau and Akaku, and Lewa has a Kanohi Miru and Komau. Now, after all the recent chaos, I think we need to catch up. So, I propose that we look for more, starting with Lewa's Kanohi." "I agree," Gali said. "Really?" Lewa piped up. "Yes, it is the best option. We are in Le-Wahi anyway, so we are more likely to find a green mask here." "That is a good idea, Toa Kopaka," Matau said. "Why Kopaka, we didn't know you cared," Gali joked. The air became noticeably colder, and Gali realised that that was a bad move. He fell silent. "Yes, well," Matau spoke up to avoid any agreements. I know where there is likely to be a green Kanohi, but it is quite a distance..." he said whilst pulling a map out of the corner of the hut. "Really? Where?" Lewa asked, the excitement in his voice was obvious. "Well, east of Ga-Koro there is a very, very small island. Very small, around 40 bios across, but it has great air and water mana..." "Mana?" "Mana is what gives masks their power, that is why Kanohi masks are only found around areas of great elemental force. Mana is just another word for elemental force." He looked up at the Toa. "And it sounds good." "Right..." Lewa replied. "So we have to go to an island east of Ga-Koro. Great. Gali is the only one of us who can swim." Kopaka growled. "Well, I have an idea..." She said. Chapter 16 It was cold. Very cold. Pohatu looked down and saw Onua's face sticking out of the snow. "Have you seen Tahu?" Pohatu asked Onua, clearly worried. Onua jumped out of the snow, causing it to fly everywhere. The Toa of Earth shivered. "I haven't seen him anywhere, I'm getting a bit worry... Wait! I think I see him," Onua said as he pointed to a hole in the snow. Both of the Toa ran to the spot. Sure enough, Tahu was at the bottom of the hole. "He doesn't look too good," Pohatu said, "His eyes have stopped glowing." "We have to get him out," Onua said "How can we? That hole is at least 20 bio deep. He melted all of the snow!" "I have an idea." "What?" "You'll see," Onua said with a smug look. Onua walked around the hole (with snow up to his knees) until he found a solid patch. "Time to dig." Onua began to burrow towards Tahu. Pohatu finally saw Onua reach the bottom and grabbed the Toa of fire. "Got him!" "Good, bring him up," Pohatu said. Onua emerged from the tunnel with snow all over him. He laid Tahu out on the ground. "He looks like a dead fish," Onua said grimly. "I don't think he'll ever recuperate unless we get him out of this horrible weather. C'mon, lets go!" Onua and Pohatu each grabbed Tahu and hoisted him in the air. They slowly took him down to the level of rocks where it was nice and hot. The glow returned to Tahu's eyes. "Get OFF of me!" Tahu screamed, clearly upset. "You passed out after the avalanche, you could've died! We had to carry you back down so that it wouldn't be so cold," Pohatu said calmly. "Well, fine then, you didn't do something too wrong," Tahu said, lightening up a bit. "We still need the mask," Onua said. Pohatu said, "Onua, go get the mask, I'll stay down here and take care of Tahu..." "I don't NEED anyone to take care of ME," Tahu said in a rude tone. "Fine, but you can't go in that snow again." Tahu went silent. --- Onua began to climb to the top again. His claws made it easy for him to hang on the mountain. Finally, he was at the peak. He stepped on something unusually hard, so he looked down. There was a slate of stone with a picture on it. The picture of him, dead, drawn in blood. Onua shivered. "I don't like the looks of this," he muttered. Up ahead was the black Hau. It didn't look right to Onua. He picked it up and examined it. There were streaks of brown on it. Onua realized what it was. "An infected mask!" Onua exclaimed. Onua decided that if he brought it back, the Turaga could study it. He picked it up and held it as far away from his face as possible. He ran down the mountain, still worried about both the mask and the picture. --- "Onua, what's wrong?" Pohatu asked. "Mask...me...dead...blood...picture...infected!" Onua replied. "Where's the mask?" Tahu asked, a bit ticked off. "Shhh, Tahu, lets here the story. Onua try again a bit slower." "Ok," Onua said a bit calmer, "I got to the top of the mountain and there was a picture with me dead in it! I found the mask, but..." "Give me that mask!" Tahu shouted. Tahu snatched the mask. He brought it to his face and... ...looked at it. "That looks like an infected mask to me," Tahu informed the other two Toa. "You had me worried for a second," Onua said, "I was about to tell you that. Let's go see Whenua, he can study it." "No," Tahu said, "Vakama can and will study it better. We'll bring it to Vakama." "Fine," Onua said, mildly upset, "We'll go see Vakama." The three Toa walked away. Chapter 17 "Well... We're back in Ga-Koro," Lewa said tiredly. They had been travelling since yesterday, and he was exhausted. "Don't worry, Lewa. You can rest for a bit here if you want," Gali offered. Lewa looked from her to Kopaka, who was standing a distance away, arms crossed, looking out to sea. Gali watched the young Toa. "But won't he be mad?" he asked. She sighed. "If you want to impress him, then you should say what you think. That is really what does it. He respects intelligence, and those who offer their opinions he... likes. And anyway, you're his apprentice." "Uh, okay." Kopaka turned and walked over to them. "Gali, how are we going to get to this island?" She gave him a humorous look. "Simple. We use the souvenirs from our last visit. But first... Lewa has something to tell you." Kopaka looked at his apprentice, who began to fight under his gaze. "I don't want to annoy you but... I'm kinda tired" "We will rest here then." Lewa blinked, clearly surprised, causing Gali to chuckle. "That's good of you, Kopaka," she said. He shrugged and looked back out to sea. "We need to be at our best. And these souvenirs are...?" "The Tarakava. I asked Nokama to tame them before we left." "We have Tarakava! Cool!!!" Lewa exclaimed. "I suggest that if you are to rest, you do so Lewa. We leave for the island at dawn." "Sure," the other two Toa said at the same time. "Jinx!" the Toa of Air suddenly burst, whilst pointing at Gali. Kopaka groaned. ------------------------------ Yes Gali, they are in here," Nokama said as she lead Gali, Kopaka and Lewa into a large green hut. "Ah, Turaga Gali!" The Tohunga inside said quickly, and stood to attention. "You know you don't need to do that Wai," the Turaga said. "Oh, uh, sure... So what do you need?" "Our Toa here need the Tarakava for a while." "Oh! Sure!" Wai said, obviously excited about meeting three Toa. "They're right over here," she said, and gestured behind her. The Toa looked over her, and saw the two tamed Rahi. "Wow!" Lewa shouted, and moved over to one of them. It was a bright blue, like Gali. "What's his name?" "We called this one Tai. The other is a girl named Otinga," she said and pointed to the other Tarakava, which was a Turquoise colour. "Aw, he's so cute!" Lewa said, whilst patting Tai on the head. "Don't be so unprofessional Lewa," Kopaka said coldly, but he too was patting the Tarakava on the head. "Shall we go?" Gali asked. "As you wish." They walked outside, with Wai and another Tohunga bringing out the Tarakava. "How do we ride 'em?" Lewa asked Gali and Kopaka. "On the neck. They flatten themselves out when they swim, it makes them faster. Nokama?" "Yes Gali?" "Are the saddles ready?" "We are putting them on now," Nokama replied and pointed to the two Tarakava who had Tohunga strapping something to their long necks. "Er... There are only two saddles..." Lewa said. "Gali, can you hold on without a saddle?" Kopaka spoke up. "Of course, Kopaka." "Good. Lewa, Gali, take Otinga. I'll ride on Tai." "Yes Master." "Yes, Kopaka." Kopaka felt a glimmer of... pride? Perhaps it was pride... That would be a first. Sure, they were annoying and a liability, but he was beginning to like these Toa. And he wouldn't mind staying with them... He wouldn't mind at all. ------------------------------ Two hours later, they were racing across the waves, heading east in search of the tiny island. Lewa sat upon Otinga, whilst Gali used her hooks to hold onto the back of his head. Kopaka sat upon Tai, and was getting bored. The Tarakava swam higher in the water then usual to accommodate their riders, so the Toa only found themselves wet at the knees. It had surprised Lewa when Kopaka had stopped in the water on the beach where they had mounted the Rahi, because the water around him had begun to solidify into ice. Gali had just laughed. "See anything?" Gali shouted to him. He shook his head in response. "No, but I'll use my mask..." "Good idea! We can zoom in then!" Her Kanohi Kaukau suddenly became outlined with white lines and seemed to fade, to reveal the familiar Kanohi Akaku, only in a bright ultramarine blue. Kopaka found it momentarily amusing that he hadn't needed to use his Kanohi Hau yet. Still, the thought of having it was reassuring. He used his mask to zoom his vision on the horizon. He slowly scanned the area, until... "There!" He shouted as he pointed to a dot on the horizon. Gali zoomed on it too. "That must be it!" She shouted back, and turned to look at Lewa. She spoke quietly to him, and he soon pulled on the reins, turning the aquatic Rahi towards the island. Kopaka did the same. In a short time, they arrived at the island. It was small, covered with foliage, and had a large rock formation rising from the centre. They all dismounted quickly, and the Tarakava both lay down on the beach to rest. "Gali, look after the Tarakava. We will be back soon." "Sure," she said, and walked over to the two creatures. She gently used a hook to tickle the neck of Otinga, and she rolled over to give the Toa of Water greater access. "Aww, isn't that cute, Master?" Lewa said warmly. "Come on," Kopaka sighed and turned to the trees. He strode towards them, Lewa tagging along behind him. They walked for a minute into the undergrowth. It was a thick jungle, in which Kopaka felt somewhat confined. Lewa couldn't have been happier. "So, where do you think the mask will be?" "I found my Hau at the summit of Mount Ihu, so maybe it's up there." He pointed to the rock formation. Lewa whistled in awe. "Frell... That's too high to jump." "Language. We'll have to climb then." "Alright, Master." They moved forward and began to look for footholds. Kopaka went first, and Lewa followed. Kopaka hated climbing. It was too slow, and besides- climbing Mount Ihu was enough to put anyone off. Eventually they arrived at the top, only to see the mountain go a bit higher up a large, wide path. They followed it up, and came to a stone stairway which ascended right to the top. They walked side-by-side up the steps... And stopped abruptly at the top. "What the hell is that!?!" Lewa said in shock. It was a very large statue of a bull. It's back legs were replaced by a thin caterpillar track, and it's front legs ended in enormous hooves. It had a pair of black Kanohi Huna's on either shoulder, and a very, very large head. Horns came out on either side, and jagged teeth criss-crossed at the front of it's mouth. But worst of all was the green Kanohi Kaukau, which was fixed on it's nose. "Damn!" Lewa shouted. Kopaka knew he was scared, but this was probably a test. He had been tested to get the Hau through commitance to the task. This one must be for courage. "It's alright Lewa," he said. "It won't come alive and bite you, just take the mask and we can leave." "Uh, um... Ah man..." "Don't be scared. Be strong. I can't get it for you, so you must be courageous." Taken in Kopaka's once in a lifetime inspiring words, Lewa started forwards towards it. He just concentrated on the mask, not the bull... The mask... Before he knew it, he was in arms reach of the mask. He leaned forward, and stretched his arm out... He snatched it, turned, and held it up triumphantly. "Well done Lewa," Kopaka said simply. "Thank you Master!" Lewa all but shouted, and jogged up to him. Neither of them noticed a small piece of grey flake off the statue, revealing a red eye which looked up at them. "Well, are you going to put it on?" Kopaka asked Lewa, who was now studying the Kaukau. "Oh, um, sure!" he said, and took of his Miru. He put on the Kaukau, and it began to glow a bright green. When the light went, the Miru was once again on his head. "Whoa..." he said, looking around. "I couldn't agree more. You know what happened...?" "Yeah, Pohatu explained it all to me... But it wasn't that bad with the Komau." "It probably wasn't as powerful as that mask... Come on, Gali will be waiting." "Yes Master." They walked to the stairs, and Lewa once again spoke up. "Can I practice a bit with it?" "Yes, you will need to. We all... have......to..." He slowed and stopped, as did Lewa. They were both looking at each other, but were both wondering what the rumbling sound which had just appeared was. At the same time, they turned and looked at the statue. It wasn't a statue anymore. The rumbling was from the grey covering falling from the bull. Underneath, it was completely black. It's eyes and horns were a blood red, and it was looking directly at them. "Frell..." Lewa whispered. It reared up on the caterpillar track, and roared at the sky. It came back down onto it's hooves, and lowered, ready to pounce. "Um... Master?" "Arm yourself." They both drew their weapons, and Kopaka once again gave an order. "Run." The two Toa turned and ran, and the beast's head shot forward, jaws wide. It was about to hit Lewa, but Kopaka stepped behind his apprentice and deflected the head with his shield. He turned back and continued to run. "GO! LEWA, RUN!" He yelled as he dodged the Rahi' s head repeatedly as he went. They bolted down the hill with the bull in hot pursuit. Then they reached the cliff edge. They were trapped. "Master? Uh... What do we do?" Lewa panted. He was terrified. Kopaka looked at him. "The only thing we can do." "Not..." Kopaka nodded. With another road, the creature charged with it's jaws ready to tear into them. Kopaka looked to Lewa, grabbed him, and just as the bull was about to take them, they jumped. For a moment, everything seemed to go in slow motion. The bull stopped and watched them fall, then turned away and disappeared. But Kopaka wasn't watching it. "MIRU LEWA! MIRU!!!" Lewa used his mask's power, and their rate of decent rapidly slowed. They touched the ground with no more than a scratch. "Don't ever do that again!" Lewa cried, still looking terrified. "Be angry later. We have to go now!" They ran for the beach, still concerned that the Rahi might catch them. They burst out of the trees, and looked around. Gali waved to them from where the Tarakava lay, and jogged over to them. Kopaka put his sword and shield onto his back, and Lewa quickly followed suit with his axe. "Are you two alright? You look exhausted." "We... It... Chase..." Lewa spluttered, unable to get the words out. "What?" "We got chased be a large, red and black creature." Kopaka answered. "Red horns, red eyes... Do you know what it is?" Gali suddenly looked very frightened. "Kane-Ra..." She whispered. "What?" "It sounds like Kane Ra. Does it's head shoot forward?" "Yes. It nearly caught Lewa by doing that." "We should go now. When Kane-Ra picks a target, he never gives up until he kills it." "It was right at the top of the cliff..." "It can .......climb....." The sound of a snort caused the three of them to turn and look towards the trees. It was there... and it was looking at them. "RUN!" Kopaka yelled again, and they fled from the giant bull down the beach. The Tarakava rose as they got near, and they leapt onto them. The tamed Rahi jumped into the water, and swam from the beach. Kopaka looked back at Kane-Ra. It snorted at them again, and went back into the trees. They had escaped... just. Just. Chapter 18 For perhaps the first time ever, Kopaka was mildly cheerful. Having escaped Kane-Ra and leaving it on the island, they had all returned to Nokama. She had congratulated Lewa on getting his first mask, and told them of another she had heard about. Apparently, there was a white Kakama in a cave upon the Ko-Wahi snow plains. So, much to the Toa of Ice's delight, they were returning to his region. Lewa however was not taking it so well. "Man! It is so cold here!" Lewa looked at Kopaka, who ignored him. "Master, how do you survive up here? "Because I am one with the ice." "…okay…" There was a short pause before the Toa of Air spoke again. "Gali, how does he survive up here?" She winked at him. "Because he is one with the ice." "Oh. Yeah. That's what I thought." Gali chuckled, and looked at the leader of the group. "So Kopaka, where are these ice plains?" "We're on them." "Oh great!" Lewa exclaimed, excitement in his eyes. "We nearly have another mask! I bet we have more than the others now!" "It's not a race Lewa. Not that I would mind collecting all of my Kanohi before Tahu…" Kopaka said. Both of his companions suddenly stopped and looked at him. He took another step before stopping as well, and turning round to face them. They were looking at him as if he were a ghost. "What?" "You- you- you… You told a JOKE!" Lewa stammered, in utter disbelief. "AND it was a funny joke!" Gali added. Kopaka gave them both a cold stare, which easily covered up his own surprise. He had told a joke… Now that had to be a first. "What, would you prefer I never said anything 'funny'? "No Kopaka, we are just… surprised, that's all. You have never told a joke before." Kopaka was silent for a moment, then shrugged and carried on walking. "Come on, we still have some distance to travel." The other two Toa gave each other pleased looks, and followed him. ------------------------- "There it is," Kopaka said as he pointed to a pile of large rocks which were partially covered in snow. "The cave? Where?" Gali asked. They got closer, and the cave entrance came into view. It appeared to have been partially covered up by someone, probably by whoever found the mask in there. Kopaka moved ahead of his two companions and looked down at the small hole. "Must have been a little Tohunga to fit through there…" Kopaka muttered. Then suddenly, to his horror, a grey-blue head poked out and looked directly up at him. "Oh no," was all the Toa of Ice said as he recognised who the head belonged to. "Hiya KP!" Matoro said cheerfully. "My name is KOPAKA Matoro, not KP!" "Who is this Master?" Lewa asked, and looked down at the little white and blue Tohunga. Kopaka sighed. "Lewa, meet Matoro, Matoro meet Lewa." "Wow! Another Toa! I bet he isn't as strong as you though KP." "A feisty Ko-Korian… Now that has to be a first," Gali said, also looking down at him. "Another Toa! Cool! Three Toa at once!" Kopaka sighed, and spoke again. "No Gali, he just appears to be like this when I'm around. Otherwise he is like any other Ko-Korian." "That's probably because you are the Toa of Ice, and he is a Tohunga of Ice." "Hmm, lucky me." "He's my hero too! He saved me from a Nui-Rama!" Matoro exclaimed. "…really? Kopaka the hero!" "Yeah! AND he liked my joke!" "Cool, I love jokes!" Lewa said. "Can I hear it?" "Sure! Okay, uh, what do you call a three headed Tohunga?" Matoro said with great enthusiasm. Gali looked at Kopaka, and noted with amusement that he was holding his head in his hands. She thought Matoro was a nice Tohunga… Annoying, but nice. -------------------------- After a 'hilarious' sharing of jokes, Kopaka managed to escape that line of endless torture by saying that they were short on time. The three Toa were following Matoro through the caves towards where he said the mask was, constantly on the look out for any Rahi. Kopaka had noticed earlier that Matoro was well prepared- he was carrying an ice pick (though it was somewhat smaller than Nuju's), a heat stone, a rope, a disk, and even had a sword strapped to his back. Last time he had seen the Tohunga, he had nothing but a disk with him, so either he has gotten smarter due to the happenings of the previous engagement or he was imitating the Toa of Ice. Either way, it was interesting, and at least he could now defend himself. "How far to the mask?" Lewa asked. "Not far," Matoro replied. "We have to go to the end of this tunnel where we come into a large cavern. The mask is in there. "Great! Then we can get back to warmer climates!" "Huh? Aren't you gonna see Nuju before you go?" "I would like to," Gali spoke. "I need to ask if he has heard anything of Pirihi." "Pirihi? He left Ko-Koro about three weeks ago, with a Ta and Ga-Korian. They were heading for… Po-Koro, I think." Gali's eyes brightened, showing that she was pleased. "What does that mean Gali?" Lewa asked. "Nothing we need to worry about Lewa. But for now, we should concentrate on the mask." "Stop," Kopaka abruptly said. They all did so, except for Matoro who carried on walking. They were right at the entrance to the cavern. "Matoro!" the Toa of Ice hissed. "What?" the Tohunga replied. "What's wrong? I don't see anything." Kopaka glared at him in fury, wondering why the last time a Rahi attacked him he hadn't learned to listen to him. There was a Rahi very close to them, he could feel it… It was underground. It was digging. Suddenly, there was a rumbling. Without a second thought, Kopaka dashed forwards, and shoved Matoro onwards. He followed through, and both of them fell into the cavern just as a wall of snow and ice fell where they had previously been standing. Gali and Lewa were left looking at the snow. "Uh, Gali? What do we do?" Gali stood still for a moment, before running to the block in the tunnel. "Dig!" She cried. Lewa shrugged, and ran to help her. ------------------------- "When I say stop, you stop!" "Sorry Kopaka! I just thought that we were wasting time!" Kopaka forced himself to calm down. He didn't want to hurt the young Tohunga, but by Mata Nui, he deserved it! However, there were more important things to attend to. "Uh, why did you want to stop?" Matoro asked. "Because there is a Rahi around here. A big one." "What?!?!" Matoro cried. Kopaka drew his sword and shield. "Where is it?" the Tohunga asked, quickly looking around. "There," Kopaka said calmly and pointed his sword at it. Matoro looked in the same direction, and almost had a heard attack. "IT'S A MANAS!" he yelled. Kopaka studied the thing. It was a large crab-like creature. It has vicious looking yellow pincers and nasty white 'fangs'. It moved on caterpillar tracks, and atop the centre of the body, two beady eyes stared at them. "…and? What's special about a Manas?" "Nuju told me about them once, they are like very big Usual Crabs, but faster and far more powerful. Their claws shoot out very far, and even if it didn't have infected masks on it is a violent creature. No one has ever fought one and lived, never mind tamed one! There are two on Mata Nui, and it is said that they guard the Makuta. Only the Toa Kaita can defeat them!" "What are the Toa Kaita?" "I dunno, ask Nuju! But you have got to save us first!" Kopaka took on his fighting stance, and slowly advanced on the massive creature. It stayed still, but was obviously watching them both very carefully. It has caused that cave in, so it was definitely hunting them. He turned to look at the Tohunga for a moment. "Matoro, do you know anything else about it? Before he could answer, Matoro began to point franticly at the Manas, which Kopaka was foolishly not watching. He turned just in time to see the Manas' claw snap into the ground and flick up a cloud of dust into his face. He raised his shield to save his vision, and quickly moved it to where he anticipated the next strike. Sure enough, he knocked away a claw, and found himself being forced back under a relentless onslaught. He used both sword and shield to block attacks, until both became locked with the pincers. The Manas shot forward and rammed into him, making Kopaka fall backwards. He went with his momentum, rolling on the floor and getting back to his feet. The Manas punched a pincer into the wall behind him, causing some rocks to fall. Kopaka kicked away from the wall, rolling again, then quickly hit the giant Rahi across the 'head' with shield, then sword. The attack didn't even scratch it. Once again, the Manas forced itself forwards snapping at him. Matoro watched in awe and horror -Kopaka held both their lives in the balance- and prayed to Mata Nui that the Toa of Ice would think of something. "Matoro!" Kopaka suddenly yelled. "Where is the mask?!" "Over there!" he called back, pointing at a stone alter. On top, mounted on a stone Toa head, was the white Kakama. Kopaka risked a look in the direction Matoro had indicated, and moved quickly to be in front of it. The Manas continued to attack, and managed to grab the Toa of Ice's shield. It's claw actually stuck into the shield, and as it pulled back the shield was taken with it. The giant crab dropped the shield on the floor, and pressed it's advantage. Kopaka was now in deep trouble. He had only his sword to defend himself and Matoro. But thankfully his plan didn't require it. However, the unexpected loss of the tool caused him to hesitate, and the Manas quickly swiped just above the floor. Kopaka was thrown to the ground and away from the Rahi from the sweep attack. The Manas was now confident of it's victory, and began to snap at Kopaka. He used his sword to deflect attacks as best he could, but was franticly trying to think of a plan. He looked at the Manas… And had an idea. For the first time, his Kanohi Akaku moved forward from his face and faded, revealing the harsh and frightening features of the Kanohi Hau. All he had to do was wait for a chance to act… The Manas suddenly stopped punching as a small stone hit it on the head. "Over here you brute!" Matoro shouted, as he waived his arms back and forth. It was then that Kopaka became thankful for the Tohunga's presence. Matoro had got over his fear, and no matter how small his attack, it provided Kopaka with the chance he so desperately needed. He shot a beam of ice at the ceiling where a large bolder-like rock was about to fall. The beam struck it and caused it to break lose, and it fell freely towards him. The Toa of Ice moved his head away from the Manas, so the bolder would land around his chest area. He hoped that his calculations were correct… And the mask worked… As the bolder was about to hit him, green light shot in all directions from the white Kanohi Hau. The bolder was deflected by the magic shield, and flew directly at the Manas. The beast was unable to move in time, and the bolder smashed into it. It let out a loud screech, and fell back by a good 30 metres. Kopaka quickly got to his feet and grabbed his shield, then turned and ran for the Kanohi Kakama. He reached it, and quickly put it on. As soon as it had merged with the other two masks he owned, he switched to it. It was a strange mask, and he briefly wondered how Pohatu could wear it so often. But he didn't have time for that. Using the new mask's power, he turned and ran for Matoro. In an instant he was there -so that was why Pohatu wore it- and grabbed the little Tohunga. He sat him on his shoulders and ran for where they had entered the chamber. When he arrived, he was surprised to see the tunnel was once again open, with Gali and Lewa staring at him in surprise. Again. "Nice moves!" Lewa exclaimed, and tried to high-five with the Toa of Ice. He was somewhat disappointed when Kopaka made no move back to him. "Let's go!" Kopaka shouted, as his mask switched back to the Kanohi Akaku. The other Toa ran into the tunnel ahead, as he brought up the rear. Another close escape. Kopaka hoped that this wasn't becoming a habit of his…. Because it has ruined his mildly cheerful mood. Matoro appeared scared to death. Again. But he had proved himself today. He had saved his Toa's life, and for that he was grateful. Matoro was indeed a good Tohunga. Provided, of course, that he didn't tell that joke anymore. Chapter 19 Ta-Koro was a militaristic town. Many things made it so- the famous Ta-Korian Guard, for example, conscripted Tohunga from the village and gave them training in the art of combat. Every member of Ta-Koro was, therefore, a warrior, ex-warrior or a young to be warrior, commonly called a Scout. One such Scout was busy in the burned dead forest, which lay like a black scar between the town of fire and the sea, ‘practising’ as he put it. He was a keen Tohunga, and was planning to make a career in the Guard, with a goal to become the Captain, one day. His name was Kapura, and he was bored. For quite a while, he had been practising his fighting skills, and trying to become at peace in his mind, for he believed that only a calm Tohunga is a good Tohunga; and, perhaps, he may be honoured enough to come in contact with the spirits of old (Turaga Achillius, perhaps) but no luck had come his way. So he had trained physically for a while, and in doing so he had worn himself out. So, he sat under a tree, too tired to move and unwilling to sleep. Boredom had taken him as a result. He gave a yawn, looked up at the trees, and began to amuse himself by making faces in the branches. A Hau… A Miru… He blinked with a start, and looked around. With annoyance, he noticed that the sun was setting- he had fallen asleep. He let out an angry cry, closed his eyes, and forced the bad feeling out, and a sudden horror took him as he heard a sound. Crack He leapt to his feet and looked in the direction of the sound. Silently, he crept towards it, and soon came to the crest of a small mound. He gasped at what he saw. In a clearing under the canopy of dead trees, stood a brown figure, looking around for something. It spoke, annoyance plain in it’s warm voice. “Where are they? I can’t believe I lost them again!” Kapura moved forwards, trying to get a better view of the creature. Unfortunately for him, he leant on a loose rock, and before he could stop himself, he was tumbling down the mound, and finished up at the feet of the large figure. It looked down at him with shining orange eyes. “What the-?” It said. Kapura stared at it in terror, which rapidly changed to relief and joy upon recognising what it was. It was Pohatu, Toa of Stone. “Toa Pohatu!” Kapura cried, and leapt to his leg and hugged it tightly. “Um… Hi,” Pohatu said, clearly surprised by the red Tohunga. “Oh wow oh wow oh wow!” Kapura continued, “I was so scared! I thought that you were a Rahi! But no, bang! Right out of the blue! I see a Toa! Sure, you aren’t as good a Toa as Tahu, but you are a Toa!” “Uh huh.” “So, what’s happening Mr. Pohatu? I heard you say you had lost someone,” the Tohunga said as he let go of his leg. “Well, I have been travelling with some of my buddies, but I keep losing them in the darkness… Vision isn’t my speciality. Trust fate to give vision to a Toa who never comes here… Anyway, you wouldn’t happen to know how to get to Ta-Koro from here, would you, uh…” “Kapura.” “Kapura.” “Oh yeah, it’s to the west. Take the fifty-second rock on your left, then carry on till you get to a volcano. You can’t miss it.” Pohatu blinked. “Uh, could you take me there?” “Sure! I’d be honoured, Toa Pohatu!” Soon, they came to a gate built into a volcano. A pair of Tohunga Guards stood in front of it, but had their attention elsewhere. Pohatu followed their line of sight, and much to his relief, a red and a black Toa were walking towards them. “Ah, there you are!” the Toa of Stone called to them. Onua waved, but Tahu just glared. Kapura, at Pohatu’s feet, gave a squeak of excitement. “It’s Tahu!” the Tohunga cried, and ran off to the feet of the red Toa. Tahu looked blatantly annoyed, and fingered the eyeholes of the infected Hau he was holding. Pohatu soon joined them. “Uh, sorry people, I got lost,” he said. Tahu was about to say something unpleasant to the Toa of Stone, but the small Tohunga interrupted him. “Wow! Tahu! I knew I’d meet you again!” Tahu looked at him. “Hello,” he said, and he kneeled down to be face to face with the Tohunga. “It’s Kapura, isn’t it?” Kapura’s eyes gleamed. Pohatu and Onua exchanged confused looks. Tahu wasn’t acting… normally. Normally for him, at least. “Still practising?” Tahu asked the Tohunga. “Yeah, like you said I should! What’s going on? Why are you back here?” “We’ve come to see Vakama, is he around?” “Sure, follow me!” Tahu and Kapura walked off towards Ta-Koro, leaving a very puzzled Pohatu and Onua behind. “Um… Was that a nice Tahu, or is it just me?” Pohatu said, looking at the pair. “I think it was. Weird. There is more to Tahu than meets the eye.” They looked at each other for a moment, before both turning and shouting, “Wait up, Tahu!” The Toa of Fire ignored them. -------------------------- “So, an infected mask?” Turaga Vakama said, studying the thing intensely. “Where did you find it?” “The top of Mount Taoratia. Onewa told us of it. Obviously the Po-Korians are not so smart- they led us to this… But an infected piece of rust.” “No… this seems to be more than ‘an infected piece of rust’ to me. It has great dark power. It seems more than just a mask… It is a potent piece of evil. A very powerful item. We are lucky that the Po-Korians found it, and not a Rahi…” “Uh, Vakama, what do you mean?” Pohatu asked, looking at the thing intensely. “This is no ordinary infected mask. It is much more- a relic, perhaps, of an ancient time. It could possess the mind of even a Turaga, I expect.” The three Toa exchanged glances, whiles Kapura warmed his hands by the fire. “If it is so powerful…” Tahu said, “Then why don’t we use it? Why not use its power?” “No,” Vakama said firmly. “We cannot harness it and remain uncorrupted.” “You, perhaps, but a Toa? And one of a strong will?” Tahu persisted. “You cannot wear it and win. None can. Makuta is powerful, and his influence reaches far. And do not argue! Tahu, you have not trod the land of Mata Nui for hundreds of years. You have no knowledge of this evil; do not pretend you do.” The beings of fire glared at each other. The air in the room became tense, and the other two Toa looked at the leader, a tint of sadness in their eyes at how hot headed he could be. If not for that… If he acted to the Toa and Turaga like he did to Kapura… He would be a great leader. They would readily follow him into the gates of Makuta’s realm, but alas… “Vakama, we are tired,” Onua said in his always-calm voice. “Let us rest… We can continue to talk tomorrow. Vakama nodded at him. Yes, he said, As always Onua, you ideas are wise. We will talk tomorrow. You can rest in the inn, the beds are warm and comfortable there. Tahu stormed out, and the other Toa followed him. Kapura watched them, surprised by Tahu’s performance. Don’t worry, Vakama said to the Tohunga. He will get over it. Kapura, could you help me move this filthy mask? Kapura did so, and the last he heard of the Toa was Pohatu wondering out loud if the bed would be able to support his weight. Chapter 20 “He is a fool. I can see that now,” Tahu said with disgust. Pohatu sighed, and looked over to Onua, who sat on a bed watching the red Toa. They had arrived at the inn a few minutes ago, and had quickly been given a room by a very enthusiastic Tohunga. Thankfully, it had a high roof (by Tohunga standards at least), and Tahu, being the tallest Toa in the party, was just able to stand up straight. But, upon reaching the room, Tahu had immediately set to pacing and fuming. “Vakama is not a fool,” Pohatu snapped back. “He is a Turaga priest of Mata Nui, and also he is your Turaga. You should treat him with the utmost respect.” Tahu shot him a look that would melt steel. “Are you blind too? You are pathetic if you cannot see. That mask is powerful. Extremely powerful. I could feel it when I was holding it. It was incredible… I would not be surprised if that mask contained all the powers of all the Kanohi, maybe more.” “But it is evil! Makuta created it! It is no more than an infected mask, wearing it would reduce you to a slave of his will.” “A Turaga perhaps!” Tahu shouted. “But we are not Turaga! We are Toa, Mata Nui’s greatest warriors!” Onua took this moment to voice his opinion. “But Tahu, we could not hold against something that a Turaga could not. Yes, we are more powerful warriors than the Turaga, but we do not have minds like they do. They have a will stronger than us. They hold all the knowledge and lore of the world. If they could be corrupted by a mask, than so could we.” “You, perhaps, but not me. I am Tahu, the Toa of fire. I am the oldest among the Toa. And I, am the leader of the Toa.” Pohatu sat on one of the beds, and there was a sudden crunch as it collapsed under his weight. He quickly stood up again, and gave a look to the now ruined bed. He turned back to Tahu, and could no longer hold back his anger for the Toa of Fire. “Why do you act this way, Tahu? Why do you blame your allies, and threaten us? Are we not on your side? If indeed you are our leader, then you would not try to rule us by fear! Kopaka was right. You are a bad leader. I wish I was with him, Gali, and Lewa too, because at least then I wouldn’t be yelling at a child having a tantrum and instead would be contributing towards out quest!” The room became noticeably warmer. Onua looked at his claws and braced himself. “Are you questioning my authority, Pohatu?” Tahu asked, his voice quiet. His eyes were smouldering with fire. “You bet I am! Why are you leader, anyway? What makes you better than the rest of us?” “I could easily defeat you in combat-” Tahu began, but Pohatu, now in full swing, interrupted him. “Yeah, you could, but you are not a friend of us. You are alone because of how you act, and I hardly think that you could beat the other five of us! I am sick of you!” Tahu stared at Pohatu, and was about to reply when he realised that he didn’t have anything to say. So, he shot a glare at Onua, and asked, “And what do you think? Do you question me?” Onua fidgeted under the gaze. He didn’t like fighting, despite how strong he was. This was worse. This was infighting. “I… I don’t know. Tahu, you could be a great leader… But you aren’t. You are nasty to us. You do not trust us. We saved your life on Mount Taoratia. And do you respect that? No, instead you yelled at us. And… I think that Kopaka would have been a better leader for us.” Flames were in Tahu’s eyes. “Traitors…” he seethed. “If anything, you are the traitor, Tahu,” Pohatu replied. He turned, and walked to the door. “Come on Onua,” he continued, “Let’s go to where we are appreciated. Nokama should know where Kopaka’s team is.” Pohatu bent down and went out of the door. Onua gave a last look to Tahu, who stood still in disbelief. But, in Onua’s eyes, Tahu saw… Sadness? That was all that Tahu could think of as Onua left the room. Tahu sat on the third bed, quiet and deep in thought. They were fools… All of them. He was leader, by the will of Mata Nui. He was the most powerful. He would redeem himself… He blinked, briefly wondering what he meant by that thought. Redeem himself? For what? He cast the thought aside, and rose from the bed. Yes, he would prove them all wrong. He would make them fear and respect him. He would be the champion of the island. He would have revenge. And Kopaka would pay. -------------------------- It was not until morning that the full extent of what had happened was realized by Vakama. He had heard about an argument between the Toa from the innkeeper, but he had never considered it dangerous… Until he had found the infected mask and Tahu missing. Immediately, he had sent out a search party for the Toa of Fire, but he had not been found. And, unfortunately for all of Mata Nui, he had escaped Ta-Wahi, and now stood in the southern region of Ga-Wahi, looking at the infected mask. It was a Hau. Well, it had been Hau, but it seemed to have been warped… It did not have a round ‘mouth’, but instead it moved further outwards, resembling a muzzle. It’s jaw dropped slightly, and teeth came down in vicious spikes. Put simply, it looked like the head of a wolf. Tahu felt a strange attraction to it. Rust and scratches covered it, but there was an undeniable power to it. More than a normal Kanohi… He had found a while ago that it was attractive. He couldn’t put it down. He hadn’t moved for two hours, he just stood, looking at it… and the longer he held it, the louder the voices became, and the greater the need he felt to put it on. Yes, he heard voices now when he held it. They were clear, in a language that he did not understand… But one thing was crystal clear in his mind; that he could use the mask. He was strong willed. He surely had a stronger will than an inanimate object! He removed his red Hau, and dropped it to the forest floor, forgotten. His bright red eyes once again fixed upon the mask. He turned it in his hands, and slowly raised it to his face. The voice became louder. It was chanting. “VESTRUM VOLUNTAS VIDELICET MEI!” Tahu couldn’t stop himself. In one, clean, fast motion, he put it on. It was an amazing feeling when he did so. For a brief moment, time slowed… It was like how many have described death. He saw his brief life on Mata Nui… And then something before. A previous life? Yes! He saw things… he saw events… He could remember! It was all clear. He knew all. He knew why he disliked the Toa… he knew why he hated everything, and even why he hated himself. Kaiwera… How he had failed the poor Tohunga. How he had failed his team. How he hated his position as leader. Images of The Four entered his mind. How the Toa and he had eventually defeated them, and what it had taken to do so. Such a cost… A terrible cost. His eyes dulled, and became moist. A great sadness took him. He felt awful… Like a failure. A pathetic failure. And, now that he had the knowledge of who he was and why he was this way, he hated what he had become. He was a fool to think he could control an infected mask. His mind was clear, and no longer clouded by the failures of the past. He was once again the real Tahu, the Toa of Fire, leader of the Toa. He knew his allies… The young Lewa, the friendly Pohatu, the shy Onua, the wise Gali, and the reliable Kopaka. And, as his will and sanity fled, he could only scream the name of his one and true best friend. “KOPAKA!” Chapter 21 “You know,” Lewa said as they were walking down the slopes from Ko-Koro back towards Ga-Koro, “It seems odd that Nuju didn’t know of any masks. Isn’t it his job to know where they are?” “Not really,” Gali replied. “We are supposed to look for them rather than be told where they are.” The last few days had taken their toll on the three Toa. Lewa was noticeably lagging and slowing the party down, and the other two were becoming too tired to keep going, never mind fight Rahi. However, being on the lower slopes now meant that they were in a forest, and it wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been. This, combined with the sun high above them, was refreshing enough to keep them walking. “Really? So why are we going back to Nokama?” “She is the closest Turaga to us, and it’s worth asking her if it makes finding a mask quicker. Besides, I need a swim.” “Fair enough. As long as I get back to some trees, I’ll be happy. But I suppose I could do some swimming… I haven’t used my Kaukau much yet.” Kopaka took this opportunity to interrupt. “We have been doing a lot of mask hunting recently… How about we stay in Ga-Koro for a few days?” “Yes, I agree. We could all use a rest,” Gali said. Lewa perked up, and began to walk a bit quicker. “That’s what I wanted to hear!” he said happily, but upon finishing his sentence his eyes widened slightly. “Something’s coming!” Kopaka briefly wondered what he meant, before he too picked up the sound of something walking towards them. Quickly, the team split up into the undergrowth around the immediate area, and hid in the hope of avoiding conflict. However, all of them brought their weapons to the ready. As the creature got closer, a number of things became clear. Firstly, there were two of the beings rather than one. Secondly, they were obviously not skilled in moving quietly through the forest. And lastly, one of them appeared to have a great interest in Koli. “So you see,” it was saying, “Koli is more than a game. It’s an obsession-“ “Yeah, I can tell,” the other interrupted. “No really, it’s an obsession in a good way! There is so much in the game… The roar of the crowd, watching your every move, willing you to make that shot into the opponent’s goal! The feel of the ball at your feet! The tactics of the game! It has everything!” By now the two were in sight. And there were only two who could be the way that they were… Pohatu and Onua. With a sigh, Kopaka rose from his place behind a log and walked towards them. Lewa and Gali saw him do so, and followed his lead. “What are you two doing here?” Kopaka said as he strode towards them. They stopped and turned to him, a glint of relief in Onua’s deep green eyes. “Ah! We found you!” Pohatu said. “We’ve been looking for you for a few days now. Nokama said you were up Mount Ihu, so we were on our way. Where are Gali and Lewa?” “Here,” Gali said from behind him, causing the Toa of Stone to jump. She and Lewa laughed as they walked over to where Kopaka stood, looking at Pohatu and Onua intensely. “Where’s Tahu?” he asked. “Ah, well you see, that’s the problem.” Gali became suddenly very concerned. “What do you mean?” she asked. Pohatu didn’t answer- instead he seemed to shrink under Kopaka’s gaze. Onua spoke for him. “Well, it’s a long story. We had some problems though… Strange events are happening.” “You two had better tell us what happened,” Gali said. -------------------------- “So we left him in Ta-Koro and came after you,” Pohatu finished. They were all silent for a few moments, and Pohatu soon realized that Kopaka was once again staring at him. The Toa of Ice spoke. “Despite how much I agree with what you said, you shouldn’t have left him like that. I have a very bad feeling about this.” “Yes… His temper will make him very unstable. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took that mask. We should go to Ta-Koro to make sure everything is okay,” Gali said gravely. And so, the five of them set off again towards Ga-Koro, where they would catch a boat to Ta-Wahi. Soon, they came to a worn path through the trees, and as it went in the direction of their destination, they followed it. The Toa all talked together as they went, though Kopaka rarely joined in. He was more concerned about what was going on around him, and about half an hour after they set out he saw an incredibly frightening sight. He stopped, and looked at something unseen by the others through the eyeholes of his Kanohi Akaku. He gasped, and a feeling shot through him… One he couldn’t fully describe. Could it be… Fear? He came out of his trance to realize that the other Toa had stopped and were talking to him. “Kopaka? What’s wrong?” Gali asked. Kopaka looked back to the object in the woods. “Wait here,” he said, and walked a short distance into the trees. He stopped, and crouched, totally focused on something hidden in the ground. Slowly, he raised his hands to his face. Confused, Lewa walked over to his master. The other Toa watched as he looked over the Toa of Ice’s shoulder, and nearly fell over in surprise. Lewa looked back at the Toa in panic, then said in horror, “It can’t be-!” “Lewa,” Kopaka said calmly, “Go back to the other Toa.” Shaking, Lewa complied, though no matter what the Toa asked him of he would not speak. Then, finally, Kopaka moved. He reached down, picked up something, and then slowly stood up. He looked back at the Toa, then lifted the object so that they could see it. A Red Kanohi Hau. For a while, utterly nothing happened. All sound from the undergrowth seemed to disappear. The Toa stared at the mask, the one that was the image of Tahu. It was Tahu’s Kanohi… He wouldn’t just drop it… “We are too late,” Gali said. “He must have taken that infected mask.” “That very powerful infected mask,” Pohatu added. Kopaka held the mask in both hands, and looked down at it. For some reason… He felt an enormous sense of loss. Like he had lost a comrade… But Tahu? He hated Tahu, he should be glad about this! But… He wasn’t. Taking a deep breath, Kopaka calmed himself and tossed the mask over to the four Toa on the path. Onua caught it, and much to his surprise pointed just over the Toa of Ice’s shoulder. “Look out!” he yelled. Kopaka didn’t think about it, he just let himself fall to one side and roll away, drawing his sword and shield as he did so. Not a moment too soon either, for immediately after he had hit the ground a red flame imbedded itself into the floor where he had been standing. Kopaka leapt to his feet, falling back to the path, to see what had just attacked him. He nearly dropped his tools when he saw it. A Toa-like being strode from the jungle, straight towards where Kopaka stood. It was red as flame, tall, and frightening. It wore a Kanohi that only Pohatu and Onua had seen before; a mask that resembled the Hau though had a muzzle and teeth much like the head of a wolf. Rust and scratches covered the mask, as well as the corrupted arms and legs. Yellowish green eyes shone out from the head, and bored into the Toa of Ice with hatred and loathing. In it’s right hand was a flaming red sword, the same that had almost sliced Kopaka in two. It was undoubtedly evil… But it was also undeniably Tahu. Or at least it had been. Lewa let out a squeak of horror. This was indeed a powerful mask. It had not only taken his mind, but it had transformed his body. They could feel the power emitting from it. Kopaka stood his ground. He knew he wouldn’t be able to defeat this thing now… But the way it had moved meant that he had to go past it to reach the other Toa. So, there was only one thing he could do. “Mata Nui!” he yelled, and charged. This appeared to take the Tahu-thing by surprise, because for a moment it hesitated, allowing Kopaka to leap over it. He executed a flip in the air, twisting as he did so, and landed facing the monster. It turned to face him. A furious, but brief, combat ensured. Kopaka allowed himself to fall back, whilst desperately telling the other Toa to run. They did so, and when he thought that they were far enough away he switched his mask to his newly acquired Kanohi Kakama, and ran from Tahu. He didn’t turn back, but they all heard him howl like a beast on the hunt. They soon arrived out of breath, and in shock, at Ga-Koro. ------------------------- It was midnight in Ga-Koro, and all in the floating village were asleep, apart from six souls. The Toa sat with Turaga Nokama in her hut, in a circle, and cross-legged. “And so we ran,” Kopaka said, as an ending to the story of recent events. Nokama took a deep breath. “So Tahu has been corrupted… This is a great loss.” “Is there anything we can do?” Pohatu asked. “He might be a jerk, but he doesn’t deserve to be that… Thing.” Nokama sighed. “Pohatu, Tahu does appear to have reason for his short temper.” “Yes,” Gali said, “He has a background. We all do. We just can’t remember it, but it does affect us.” The other Toa looked at her in confusion. “Tell me,” she continued, “Have any of you experienced half memories, or done something that seemed familiar? I did, and it intrigued me… I have been researching it when we stayed at villages. It appears that this is not the first time we have been on this world.” Kopaka was surprised that he was not the only one who had been confused by these memories. “Gali is correct,” Nokama said. “There are many interesting things that you are unaware of. But, given time, you will remember.” Kopaka looked Gali in the eye. “I have had a lot of these memories,” he said bluntly, “And you are in many of them. Is there a reason for this?” “Yes. You see, Kopaka, our elements are so closely linked that we are allies on a level above other warriors. Onua and Pohatu’s strong friendship is likely to be from a similar reason.” “Um… What about me? Am I linked to anyone?” Lewa asked. “You might say that… You and Tahu are linked in different ways. Tahu is an earth elemental, you might say, as are both Onua and Pohatu. He is, therefore, linked to them, but not on a similar level. To achieve a level of brotherhood like them, he relies on friendship. You do the same with Kopaka and myself. That is why Kopaka is a suitable teacher for you.” “Uh,” Pohatu interrupted, “Tahu relying on friendship? I find that hard to believe…” “He did. In out previous lives, Tahu was very different. He was a brilliant leader. However… Well, I think Nokama should explain what happened at the end of the life and why we were there.” “Very well,” the blue Tohunga said. “When the world was created, there were ten base elements. Mata Nui formed the Toa out of six of these, but Makuta took the rest and made his own Toa. We do not know much of these, and they are only known as ‘The Four’. All records of them are sketchy and rare, but we believe this is what happened. “The Four were awakened by Makuta from their temples deep within Mata Nui. They attacked the villages, which in those days were known in a somewhat different language. They came one at a time. Firstly, odd Tohunga disappeared, but soon big events began. Ko-Kiris, now Ko-Koro, was destroyed by one of them.” Upon hearing the mention of this, Kopaka saw a flash of insight- for a moment, he saw a putrid green looking Toa, who wielded a large spear like weapon. He blinked and the vision was gone, but one word remained in his head. Pestilence. Nokama continued. “Eventually, the four were brought to battle at the peak of Mount Ihu. Not even all of you could defeat them at first… Then, six Tohunga, one from each village came to help you. The The Four killed them all. However, their sacrifices allowed your victory. They died as heroes. “However, you all felt grief stricken at the loss of them. So, before you returned to the heavens, you begged Mata Nui to honour them all. They became legendary, and known as The Chosen. “Tahu was worst affected by the loss. He felt like a failure, a useless leader, and he began to hate himself. His only real desire was to be forgiven by the Tohunga, but they never got chance to do so before he was forced to leave the world. That, we think, is why he is this way.” Onua and Pohatu looked at each other. That explained why Tahu spoke the way he did to Kapura, why he played Koli, and why he wanted to use the mask… To defeat Makuta and redeem himself. Kopaka sighed. “So that’s it?” he asked. “Not quite,” Gali said. “You and Tahu were… well, best friends you might say.” Kopaka blinked. He did not expect that. He looked around the room, and found that only the Ga-Korians were the only ones who weren’t in a similar state as him. “Best friends?” he said, completely confused. “How?” “You two are the best warriors among us, and though you are natural enemies your differences made you stronger,” Gali continued. “Because of this, you both formed a relationship like brothers. You were a fellowship, allies, comrades.” She became vaguely amused at the gleam in Kopaka’s eyes. He was still shocked to hear this… But he believed it. Finally, she spoke again in conclusion of their findings, and of what they all knew needed to be done to save Tahu. “The best word to describe it?” Silence. “Camaradeire.” TO BE Continued........