Tahu Nuva stood in the icy slopes of Ko-Wahi, buried up to his knees in compact snow, with thin layers of ice slowly forming on his shoulder pads. Never had the Toa of Fire felt so agitated as now, as an icy wind swept without warning across the ground and kicked up eddies of snow into his face. Feeling anger well up inside of him, he must have subconsciously let off an elemental heat, for the snow on his face instantly melted and the frosty fluff around his legs began to slag and soften.
Tahu rose his Magma Sword into the air, but then a drastic wind slammed into his arm and almost smashed the side of the blade into his mask with enough force to knock him out. Once again cursing the impossible weathers of these mountains, he averted his torso and then gouged his sword into the dense snow. It dug in and stuck there, and he felt an icy wind billowing through the outer layers of his armor.
"It's no wonder…" Tahu grumbled angrily, despite having his voice lost over the howling wind, "I dislike Kopaka so much…"
Clenching his teeth, Tahu summoned upon the power of his Kanohi Hau, Mask of Shielding, erecting a transparent sphere of force around himself. The howls of wind that replicated the sounds of a demented Rahi's scream ceased abruptly, cut off from the shield of force, and the pressure that once battered against him was gone. The hellish winds smashed against the shield and then detoured around it, and Tahu watched crystals of flying snow reflect off of it.
Tahu sighed, thankful to get away from the devastating weather, if at least temporarily. He still despised the idea of climbing these treacherous mountains, especially since now was supposed to be a time of celebration. Not more than a while ago, he remembered fighting the Bahrag and then suddenly knocking out … only to reemerge as a powerful Toa Nuva. That was a time of pride and great relief, but then a new threat, called the Bohrok-Kal, had awoken and stolen the Toa's Nuva Symbols, great symbols of power that were essential if the Toa were to wield their elements. Of course, in the end, the Toa had overcome this threat. But all of them knew they couldn't have made it without the wisdom of Toa Gali. Now was a time of great celebration, and the Turaga would be doing just that by holding a major Kolhii Tournament. Of course, that wasn't until next drift. Now, the Nuva had free time to spend how they pleased, which was very rare.
Gali… Tahu thought, as he rested in the cold snow under his force field. The Toa of Water.
He remembered when he'd first met her, just at the foothills of these icy mountains, near the Mangai volcano. He'd met Onua first, who would've clawed a nice wound into the side of his head had the Earth Toa not caught himself, and then… Tahu could never forget that day. That was the day he had first seen Gali, and when the beautiful Toa of Water had captured his heart. He could never forget the sensation he'd felt when first laid eyes on her, and the jealousy when he saw Lewa accompanying her. Of course, as he got to know her, he brushed this off as a foolish crush, and got more relaxed in her presence. He'd never felt that way when he'd seen her again after that day.
Tahu let his thoughts drift off to after they became Toa Nuva. He'd bickered with Gali and the others, and part ways with them, only to realize what a daft mistake that was. Now, he knew, that to stay united with the others was best. But there was more to it … a yearning to be closer to her, to Gali.
Tahu's reverie was interrupted by the a sudden, dull tapping sound on the outside of the force shield. The Toa of Fire turned around to see Kopaka on the other side of the streaking purple lines of energy contouring the force field; Ice Shield held over the Ice Toa's forearm. Tahu also noticed another thing: the wind and snow had stopped outside. Courtesy, he guessed, of Kopaka's powers over winter.
Tahu dismissed the force field and stood. He also noticed the amount of snow on the ground had decreased. "Never thought I'd be happy to see you." Tahu grumbled. "I appreciate your help – thought I was going to freeze over in this weather."
"You're in no position to climb this mountain," Kopaka said tersely. "Not even the Ko-Matoran dare venture to this part of Ko-Wahi. And I was just doing my job; if I had not come to help, you would have died."
"Very blunt of you to say," Tahu replied gruffly. "Vakama sent me up here. You wouldn't think he'd be trying to kill you, do you?"
"I cannot see why not," Kopaka said almost too quiet for Tahu to hear. But the Fire Toa did. Just as Tahu was about to spit out an angry retort, Kopaka said, "You were in a dazzled state in your rest, brother… you looked as if you were daydreaming." Kopaka said as he strapped the shield to his back. "Hard to do in a blizzard like this. You must have been heavily distracted by something."
Tahu flustered, remembering he was thinking about Gali. "It was- nothing in particular, no." He said, forgetting his anger by the embarrassed feeling Kopaka's comment had aroused. Then he gestured with one of his Magma Swords to a tall cliff less than a kio in the distance. "That is where I was headed. Vakama told me I would find something… mysterious there. Worth a look."
"Worth your life?" Kopaka remarked.
Ignoring the comment, Tahu asked, "So what are you doing out here?"
"I am to meet Gali by the peak." Kopaka answered. "Why?"
Tahu felt fire rouse in his veins. "G-Gali?" He stuttered. Kopaka gave him an odd glance, then said,
"Yes. I am to be there by dawn. Why?"
"It- it's nothing. Sorry." Tahu said.
Kopaka flinched, and Tahu knew why. He had just apologized. Him. And to Kopaka, especially. Tahu felt so humiliated right now he could peel off his mask and melt it into slag.
"Well then, I will be headed off. I have secured the weather for you so you don't end up in any fatal accidents." Kopaka said, then threw his shield onto the snow, hopped onto it, and surfed away by the force of raging, moving snow jets created by his elemental power. He disappeared around the slopes of the mountain almost instantly.
Tahu watched him go, and then looked back to the cliff that was his destination. He felt something jerking in his gut, some kind of feeling that kicked in the back of his mind. It told him to follow Kopaka, to go to Gali… it was a feeling of … jealousy.
He found an inner debate raging against the fringes of his mind. Should he continue his quest… or follow Kopaka? Ultimately, he found he could not fight the feeling of jealousy that battered within him, and he walked right past the cliff he was supposed to go to and began to follow where Kopaka had gone. It took him a while to get to the peak of the mountain, but he came upon the vast clearing soon enough. It was at least half a dozen square kios large, with icy trees littered everywhere.
Tahu remembered Kopaka saying near the peak, so that meant not exactly on it. He crossed the clearing with haste, and at the other side found a canyon of towering black cliffs tracing down the mountain, separating into several different routes and paths partitioned by the cliffs. Tahu began to ponder which route Kopaka could and would have taken, when something caught his eye. He looked to the left, and found an array of ice-white, rounded huts built into the side of one of the cliffs. And he noticed another thing: Kopaka's Ice Shield hung off the side of one of the huts.
Suddenly, the door to the hut slid open, and Tahu crouched instinctively behind a boulder to hide. What am I doing? He thought. This is foolish. Why am I following them around?
It was fear, he decided. Fear that Kopaka might take Gali from him. Fear that Gali would go into the arms of the Toa of Ice without ever knowing that he was the one who truly cared for her. Tahu felt his heart clench, and suddenly a storm of feelings and emotions raged inside of him. He sat in the deep snow, oblivious of the sensation around him, only what he was feeling inside. He suddenly relived what he had experienced the first time he'd seen Gali, that feeling of desire and warmth, only more intensely.
His breath caught in his lungs, and his heart felt heavy. He felt a tear form in his eye, but quickly evaporated into steam by his elemental fire.
He took a breath, knowing this feeling, though he had felt it never before.
He knew what it meant.
He was in love with Gali.
The door to the hut Kopaka was presumably in slid open, and the Ice Toa stepped out, looking pleased, followed by Gali. Kopaka slid his arm around her shoulders and they walked down the path, exchanging words and conversation Tahu could not make out. He watched them jealously, noting how close they seemed with each other. Gali never acted that way with him. She was never so open, so happy, so comfortable in his presence. She was always so cold, so concealed.
Suddenly, just as Gali and Kopaka were about the disappear down the icy passageway, they turned to face each other. Gali embraced the Ice Toa tightly, and Tahu's heart throbbed.
After she was done, she turned, threw the board made of her combined Aqua Axes into the snow, and glided off.
Tahu had had enough, and he stood, both saddened and angry, and walked off.
#
Lewa, Toa Nuva of Air, was content.
The Bohrok-Kal were defeated, the island of Mata Nui was free of danger in the time being, and now was a time for celebration. In all the branches of Le-Koro, revelries and festivals were being held celebrating the Toa Nuva's achievements. Normally, Lewa was like a starved Muaka tiger when it came to festivals, but right now, he just wanted to clear his head. Telling Turaga Matau that he would be gone for some time, Lewa had prepped his Air Katana and glided off to the fringes of Le-Wahi when the Mangai was closer than ever. Here, no one would bother him, and the rustling of leaves as Rahi snaked by and birds soaring overhead were the only sounds. Sunlight peaked through the dense canopy of the jungle leaves, and Lewa took a breath of the fresh, thin air.
Securing his Air Katana in the crook of a branch, Lewa began to run along the giant limb of wood looking for the densest array of vines that he could swing around on. It took him quite a while and he actually managed to get to the end of the giant branch before he found one: hanging from the jungle ceiling, a nice, looping, curving, twisting group of bland vines that looked sturdy enough for him to stunt on. Swinging and hanging always rejuvenated Lewa's mind and left him in a good mood. No reason it wouldn't work now.
Smiling mightily, the Toa of Air crouched, flexed his fingers, and then sprung from the gnarled hide of the branch. He did a series of mid-flips in the air, yelled at the top of his lungs with joy and excitement, and spread out his arms. He was only a bio away from the nearest vine, when suddenly Lewa noticed something. Kopaka?
Led by his reactions, Lewa glanced down foolishly, to indeed see that the white speck below was the Toa of Ice. Bad mistake. Without that split-second concentration, Lewa's hands brushed easily off of the vine and, his momentum used up, he began a descent. It seemed Lewa was given something to really scream about.
The Toa Nuva of Air tumbled head-over-heels in a freefall, wrenching through tangles of tattered vines, battering against the barks of trees and bouncing off; ripping through the tough skins of giant leaves as he fell closer and closer to the jungle floor. Unfortunately, with the speed of his fall and the impact of the wind against his body and ultimately his thoughts, he was unable to summon the use of his Mask of Levitation in the chaos. And there were only three words going through his mind right now: what a rip.
…Down below, Kopaka noticed the Toa of Air as the emerald figure fell from what would, in all probability, be the sky, screaming and smashing into so many different objects Kopaka couldn't keep track. It seemed Lewa was helpless to use his mask power, and so Kopaka had to do something to save him, otherwise Mata Nui would have one less Toa – and the ironic thing was, there weren't even any foes right now!
Kopaka leapt from the fallen log he stood on onto another giant body of wood that jutted up from the marsh ground of the jungle; ran along a series of leaves extending from the stem of a very large flower, considering how small the ones in Ga-Wahi and the other places were; and reached back into the section of his mind that bridged him to his powers, both elemental and Kanohi-wise, and accessed the Kanohi Miru Nuva, Mask of Levitation. The good thing about Nuva Masks was that the user was able to share its power with whoever happened to be around. In this case: Lewa.
The power of the Mask of Levitation did its bit well, as Lewa suddenly halted in mid-air, barely half a kio above the ground. The Toa of Air twisted in his floating position and looked at Kopaka. Then he frowned and said, "I sense-thought I quick-saw you."
Kopaka blinked. "What were you doing so close to the jungle canopy?"
Lewa gestured to the Toa of Ice that he didn't need shared Kanohi power any more, as he could now use his own Miru. He floated down to the flower bearing the leaf that Kopaka stood on, and landed on one of its bright pink petals at the top.
"I was vine-swinging." The Toa of Air explained. "But that is ever-natural for an air-spirit. The question is: what are you doing here?"
Kopaka clenched his teeth. "I came here to…" he looked down to the murky waters below. "Lewa, I need to speak with you."
"Judging by the sound-tone of your voice, I'd guess it's urgent." Lewa said. "You usually don't have any emotion when you speak."
Kopaka glared at him, and the Toa of Air shrugged, before doing a back-flip down to the leaf Kopaka stood on. "I'm all ears." He laughed. "Do you get it? Because I'm a Toa of Air, and "ear" rhymes with "air"."
Kopaka stared at him brusquely. Lewa immediately stopped laughing and leaned against the stem. "I guess it's not that happyfunny. What do you want to talk about?"
"I…" Kopaka sighed. "Lewa, have you ever loved someone?"
"Sure," Lewa said, and Kopaka found no hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I've loved my people, the Le-Matoran. I love my Turaga, for he is happy-cheer and a good song-singer. I love the jungle. I love my Toa-brothers. Surely you do, too, Kopaka. Why do you ask?"
"No, I mean-" Kopaka didn't finish his sentence. He knew Lewa wouldn't get it. Instead, he tried a different approach. "Lewa, I … I think I'm … I think I'm in love with Gali."
Lewa looked shocked at first, but then he let out a loud, hearty chuckle. "Ha, ha! Of course, brother. I love her, too. She is an ever-good friend, and…"
"That's not what I mean!" Kopaka shouted. "I don't mean that I love her as a friend, or as a comrade, or a Toa! I'm trying to tell you, I'm… I'm in love with her." Kopaka felt a tear form in his eye, and he blinked it away quickly . "I … I want to be with her."
This time, Lewa must have understood. He leaned off of the stem, and stepped forward. "I'm… sorry, brother. I didn't know." He sighed. "You're … reallly … in love with her?"
"I am," Kopaka admitted, but something in the back of his mind told him that he was being foolish, opening up like this. "But I don't want to – I don't want to get in her way. Because I think… I think Tahu loves her too. And I think she… I think she…" this time, he did not hold back. Kopaka burst into tears. He doubled over, crying, and collapsed onto the leaf. Lewa rushed to help him, comforting the Ice Toa and lifting him back up to his feet.
"You truly love her." Lewa remarked. Kopaka nodded. Lewa thought for a bit. "I will… I will talk to her, and to Tahu, and I will quick-tell you what they say."
Kopaka almost gasped. "But you can't- you can't tell them what I told you! You just – can't!"
Lewa smiled. "Heartassure."
#
Tahu sat in his hut, thinking. He wasn't sure what he was thinking about. His mind was blank and void of focus, but yet loud and crowded. He was thinking about what to think about. What to think about, indeed?
Suddenly, a rap on the door interrupted his obscure thoughts, and Tahu simply said, "Enter."
The door opened on the type of stone hinges that Po-Matoran were now constructing. This door was a special kind of door, for it had to be large enough to fit a Toa through, and so it required three of the hinges to make up for the size. A wooden padlock on the inside could lock the door by sliding into a slot if Tahu wished privacy, but other than that it could always be opened; like now.
Standing on the other side of the threshold was Gali.
Tahu felt his heartlight skip a flash, and he flustered with nervous feelings. Then he remembered what had happened between her and Kopaka back on the mountain in Ko-Wahi and anger quickly replaced his nervousness. He frowned. "Yes?"
"Tahu," Gali said, her voice timid, as if she herself were uneasy. As if, Tahu thought, all she could be to me is cold and blunt. Unlike when she's with Kopaka… yes, she favors Kopaka more, doesn't she? I don't know what she sees in him that I don't have. "I want to speak to you about something," Gali continued. Tahu blinked. "What is it?"
"Me and Kopaka…" Tahu immediately, and quite noticeably as well, flinched, and Gali stopped.
"What is it?" she asked. Tahu waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing. It's…. continue."
"All right," she said. "Me and Kopaka have found… no, that's not right…"
Tahu leaned forward. "What's wrong? Continue."
"I think that I…" she stopped again. "I… I… never mind." Quickly, and in an embarrassed type of way, she stood up and shuffled out of the hut.
"Wait!" Tahu called, getting to his feet and running after her. Gali turned, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Gali, I…" Tahu began, but didn't finish the sentence, and Gali turned and ran off, leaving Ta-Koro. He didn't finish his sentence, but the words resonated in his mind like a Kolhii ball of sound: I love you.
#
"Love is a sorry-bad thing, Lewa," Matau said in a deep, concerned voice. "I once loved Nokama, but… we never ended up in happycheer. Some times, things may well-work out, but other times, only sad-depression ensues."
Lewa nodded, not sure what to say. All this talk about love was honestly freaking him out. But he'd do anything to protect Kopaka and his feelings. He'd never seen the Toa of Ice so … broken, before. He wanted, and needed, to help him.
"You say you're in love with Gali?" Matau asked. Lewa blushed behind his mask, hoping Matau did not see. That was an untruth he had told Turaga Matau, saying that he was the one who loved Gali instead of Kopaka. But he knew Kopaka didn't want anyone to know about his feelings, not even the Turaga.
"Y-yes, Turaga Matau." Lewa said. "I've had this deep-feeling for an ever-while, now. I think I…" he couldn't utter the words. He couldn't. "I think I… love… I …" as much as it embarrassed him to say it, he had to, for Kopaka's sake. Trying not to gag, Lewa said, "I love her."
"But you ever-believe that she is in love with Tahu?" Matau asked. Lewa nodded, unable to speak after uttering those words. "Well, it is wrong-bad to pursue someone who loves another. Remember, you cannot control Gali's feelings – only she can. If she does not love you, then she does not. But my word-advice to you, Lewa, is that you do the good-best you can to win her heart. But do not press too tough-hard. Remember my words: you cannot make her love you."
"I … I understand, Turaga," Lewa said, wanting to curl up into a ball and weep endlessly on the inside. He'd said he loved Gali without even meaning it. It was a horrible feeling to bear inside.
Then, as Matau began to walk off, Lewa called to him, "Turaga?"
Matau turned. "Yes?"
"Please do not speak-tell the others." Lewa said in a weak voice. The Toa of Air noticed a flash of smirk behind Matau's Mahiki, but then it disappeared. "Of course, Toa Lewa."
Lewa stayed there for a while in stillness to make sure Matau was gone. He used the Akaku Nuva he'd acquired in his adventures to spot the Turaga right through the bark of the tree that one branch of Le-Koro was built on. When he was assured that nobody was around to see him, he rolled his eyes to the back of his head and fell over backwards.
#
At first, Tahu had spent a couple of minutes inside his hut, sulking. Then he'd decided to follow Gali and confess his true feelings to her. It took a bit of debate, but he eventually concluded that it was now or never, and with haste, he left the city of Ta-Koro to follow her. Being late as he was, he could only read the spoors she left behind to track her, for she was long gone from visual.
She was heading into the Le-Wahi jungle. He wondered why.
#
Gali ran through the dense foliage, crying. Back in Ko-Wahi, Kopaka had told her that he would be coming here to talk with Lewa, though he'd sounded like he was hiding some kind of secret when he said it. But she didn't care. She wanted to see him. She wanted to talk to him. Inside her heart, emotions raged, unclear emotions, ones she couldn't read. She'd went to Tahu to tell him that she was in love with Kopaka, but when she'd arrived there, she stumbled and collapsed, unable to utter the words to him. Why was that? Something prevented her from saying those things to Tahu, some kind of emotion that got in the way. She wanted to tell him that she loved Kopaka, but couldn't. Why couldn't she? Was it because it wasn't true or … no, she thought, don't think that. I…
She didn't know what to think, only that she needed to see Kopaka. Through her tears, her vision was blurry, and so she had a hard time getting through the floor of the jungle of Le-Wahi. The trees towered high above her, and several plants and Rahi scattered and varied all around her. Normally, this type of scenery would make her calm, and soothe her, but not right now. No, not right now.
From the landmarks of the jungle around her, she could tell she was getting closer to Le-Koro. She could see Matoran flinging from vine to vine up near the branches of the giant trees, and the gardens of specially-tended giant plants that the Le-Matoran loved to stare down at from their vantage point atop the elevated village of Le-Koro.
Kopaka should be around here somewhere, she knew, and she kept running, kept searching.
The better part of an hour passed, and Gali was out of breath. She stopped in her tracks, her breathing heavy and in ragged gasps, and she leaned against the stem of a large plant. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she looked around. Several condensed batches of scrub surrounded her that were next to impossible to traverse through, but in front of her, there was a wide pond of murky green water, broken only by two giant logs and a giant lily with leaves that were big enough to each fit a hut or even two. And standing on one of those leaves, she noticed, was the Toa of Ice.
"Kopaka!" She yelled, running straight through the water, never mind their murk, to get to the plant. The Ice Toa noticed her and shrunk back, surprised and unable to react. She leapt onto the lowest leaf of the giant lily and then climbed the rest of the leaves like a staircase until she got to where Kopaka was, even as the thick water from the murky pond dripped off of her legs, making puddles on the leaf. Tears slid down her mask, and she began crying, but she didn't say a word.
"Gali," Kopaka said, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know what to do," Gali cried, before suddenly hugging Kopaka tightly and leaning her face into his shoulder. He was utterly stupefied at first, but then folded his arms around her and began to stroke her back. Then he felt a heat rise in his chest, and a sudden urge bulleted his mind, and urge to tell her…
He leaned forward so that his mouth was by her ear and then whispered, "I love you, Gali."
Just then, she pulled her face up from hs shoulder and looked deeply into his eyes. What he'd said was true; she could tell. Gali suddenly felt much better, and she leaned closer towards him, and her mask met his, and she kissed him.
Kopaka jolted, shocked at first, but then grew easy with the feeling and returned the kiss, embracing her tightly, the feeling of the two of them together, now, in this wonderful moment, spreading through him.
It was at that time when the two of them heard a loud splashing sound that was disturbingly close to them, and then the sound of a blade snapping through wood. They pulled guiltily away from each other and turned, to see Tahu standing on the second log in the murky pond, his mouth agape, tears in his eyes and his heartlight flashing rapidly.
One of his Magma Swords were gouged into the bark of the log and the other had fallen into the murky water- obviously the splash and snapping sounds they had heard.
For a long while, the three of them stood there in an awkward silence. It was Tahu who said the first thing, and it wasn't much. "Gali… you…"
"Tahu," she said. "I… I wanted to tell you that…" her voice died off in stutters, and she didn't dare finish.
Tahu dropped to his knees on the log, tears rapidly sliding down his mask. "I… thought you…" without another word, the Toa of Fire turned, got to his feet, and ran off into the jungle, not even bothering to retrieve his Magma Swords. Gali immediately broke out of Kopaka's arms and began to run after him. "Tahu! I'm sorry! I-" she crossed the murky pond and reached the land again, but it was too late: he was already gone.
Gali knew there was no sense in pursuing any further. She let a tear roll down her mask, and turned back to Kopaka, who had a sad look on his face.
"Kopaka…" she said quietly.
"I'm sorry, Gali," he interrupted her. "You… you can't love both of us. You have to make up your mind." He looked away. "I'm sorry, but until you decide, I'm afraid I can't … see you anymore…"
And with that, he turned and ran off as well, leaving Gali by herself in the depths of the jungle.
The Toa of Water dropped to her knees. "Tahu… Kopaka…" she put her head in her hands and wept. "No… what have I done…?"