Disclaimer: I do not own Bionicle or any material related to Greg Farshtey or Lego in any way or form.
A/N: Inspired (once again) by Nikira12's work. I decided to snoop through some words of the Maori, and found out that the word "whenua" in Te Reo (the language of the Maori) means "land" or "country." Lastly, I rarely see any stories involving the stone or earth Toa as the main characters, so I decided to write one. Enjoy!
It was dark in… wherever she was. She could feel her small confines being tossed and turned, feel the dull impacts of something heavy and forceful as she slumbered, only half-aware of whatever surroundings were outside her small compartment. Pain crept into her mind as the sounds of chaos grew, a cry for help echoing in the madness, tormenting her sensitive ears, and she came to realize that the swirling and rushing noises outside came from what she assumed was some sort of liquid. Suddenly, something slammed into her confines and her eyes snapped open fully for the first time in millennia. Violet eyes took in the pale light seeping into her prison from a crack just inches from her head, as well as the liquid that trickled in. There was another slam, and she stared at the crack, now gushing water, and she covered her ears against the cacophony it added to the clamoring outside. The pain was getting worse; it felt like her head was about to split open, and in her agony, she screamed.
Whenua wasn't quite sure what had happened. One minute he was shoving Mavrah out of the way of one of the rahi's tentacles, and the next he found himself swirling in a whirlpool of protodermis and monsters with no way to tell which way was up or down. He cried out as one of the rahi spotted him, opening its maw wide to swallow him, and Whenua shut his eyes, prepared for the pain. Belatedly, he mentally hit himself for letting go of the last breath of air he would ever have in this life, but instead of the rahi's bite, he felt something tug on his arm as he and his rescuer rocketed for what he assumed was the surface, leaving a stunned rahi at the bottom of the lake. Whenua watched, horrified, as the other monsters fell upon the helpless beast, and he turned his face away, pleading with the Great Spirits that whoever or whatever had rescued him wasn't planning on having him for dinner as well.
Seconds later, Whenua found himself flying through the air before landing hard on another body. The Onu-Matoran gratefully took a deep breath, coughing out what little water had managed to flood his lungs.
"Whenua! Are you all right?" cried Onepu and Mavrah, rushing over to help their fellow Archivist sit up. After making sure Whenua was still alive and breathing, they helped him over toward his rescuer, only to freeze in shock at what they saw. It was a young female lying curled up on her side, coughing harshly and moaning as she covered her ears. Her hair was a dark brown, almost black, and her clothes were a silvery grey, darkened by the water. Whenua blinked and walked over to her, crouching beside her as he tried to help her sit up. The young woman groaned softly, opening her eyes to look up at him briefly. The Archivist gasped as he saw her brilliant violet irises before she shut her eyes, falling into unconsciousness. His emerald eyes caught a glint of something silver, and he pushed her dripping hair aside to see the choker she wore around her neck. Onepu and Mavrah crept closer, bodies crowding around the unconscious female, and they realized what the charm on the choker meant. It was Mavrah who broke the silence among them.
"A… Toa?"