Unearthed Secrets

by Forestfirekid

Vakama has long since gotten use to not trusting others other than the members of her Province. When the darkest secrets of her past cause the much lighter ones to surface, what will the reactions of the other Elders be? The Guardians? The Ta-Matoran have long been secretive in order to protect themselves, but will the other Provinces understand the reason why?

1. Chapter 1

AN:Hey guys.

Yes, I'm posting another story. That does not mean that I've stopped working on the others. I'm almost done with the second chapter of my Pokémon fic – Hidden in Plain Sight – and I'm working on the second chapters for my Ghost Hunt fic, my Xenoblade Chronicles fic, my Harry Potter fic, and my Vampire Knight fic, the later of the four being the second closest to being finished, though I'm still struggling with the flow of things.

Bionicle was one of the first things I started coming up with ideas for fanfiction for, alongside Ghost Hunt and Naruto. Because of this, these three are the only ones which I can easily come up with new ideas for. This fic for Bionicle isn't actually my first idea but my third. It's just that the flow and start of the plot came to me far easier than that of the other two. The ideas for my plots tend to be near the halfway point of a story when they hit me, which is why I have difficulties keeping constant updates. It's why I like Bionicle so much; you can literally pick a point in the plot-line and change things as you wish. It's fanfiction gold!

Anyway, for the first time I have definitions that need to be read due to the fact that I've turned the characters in a human like species – I've done a similar thing to the various other creatures as well – so keep referring to what I write before the first Line Break. Some things are explained in the text. Feel free to PM me if you have questions

Forestfirekid

Definitions:

Matoran – the citizens of the provinces/lands/island. The difference between the Matoran, the Toa, and the Turaga was rather distinct in the books and the few movies, but in this fic the term Matoran covers all the members of the province – including the Toa and the Turaga.

Guardians – these are the Toa. I felt that if I was going to change other things, the name should be changed too. The distinction between the Guardians and the regular citizens is the Gem of Power that dangles between their eyes above their nose and the fact that they tend to always be dressed in battle garb. They are just what their name implies; Guardians of the Island that live in the same province/land that the citizens linked to their element do. A talisman which indicates their position is always on their person, normally hanging along the side of their faces, tied to a lock of hair. They are normally the offensive force.

Elders – these are the Turaga. I changed this for the same reason as I changed Toa to Guardians. Just like the Guardians, the distinction between the Elders and the regular citizens is the Gem of Power that dangles between their eyes above their noses, though Elders rarely dress for battle. They have still have their talismans from their time as Guardians, but don't wear them unless they need to. The can still fight, except that normally they defend their peoples form Rahi and other threats. They come into the position of Elders by sacrificing a certain amount of Inner Energy in order to power new unmarked initiates into Guardians or by sacrificing that same amount of Inner Energy for a good cause. The amount varies from Guardian to Guardian.

Initiates – those put forward to become Guardians. Marked initiates are born with the rune of their corresponding element somewhere on their person and don't need a Guardian to provide the Inner Energy to fulfill the initiation. Unmarked initiates need a Guardian to provide the Inner Energy. A talisman is required in both cases and the source site is either the Temple/Shrine to the Great Spirit or in some cases the Great Lady. A Guardian can provide Inner Energy for at least two Guardians in a certain period of time without having to give up their own position. A full team normally causes them to have to give up the position and become Elders.

Inner Energy – energy present in all Matoran. Each Matoran is born with a certain amount and can increase it through training, though this knowledge has been lost over time. Becoming a Guardian gives a Matoran a rather large boost in Power and an Elder has far more difficulties increasing their stores than other Matoran While the Guardians have a slightly easier time than Matoran at doing so.

(insert here)-Koro – Lands of (insert here)

(insert here)- Metru – Province of (insert here)

Great Lady – the youngest daughter of the Great Spirit. Most don't know anything about her.

Gem of Power – replacement of the Masks of Power. A Guardian/Elder only has the one, but the can absorb others from from certain Power Crystals. The powers that are absorbed aren't as strong as the original power which the Gem holds.

Lifespan – I'm not certain about much other than the fact that the Matoran have extremely long lifespans. Short lifespans would make the story rather pointless. It's the entire reason why I have the Matoran being similar to humans – I can play with the life span but the readers can picture the how the characters look based on their discriptions

Talisman – an indicator of a Guardian. Identifies their elemental inclinations and their title. Used to channel Inner Energy and manipulate the wearers element.

Vo-Metru – Province of Light

Vo-Matoran – Citizens of the Province of Light

– Line Break –

A figure dressed in a gold tunic with black embroidery along the bottom edges and a pair of light brown pants and hiking boots reached the end of the path that led to a grassy ledge that overlooked the Province of Fire from the single mountain that existed in the province. Short and naturally messy sunny blond hair dancing around his face due to the wind and caused a pure black talisman that had a rune that represented 'light' done in gold on both sides that was tied with Visorak web cord to a lock of hair that framed his face to sway this way and that. His sky blue eyes fell onto the figure of what was obviously a female who was sitting down with her knees to her chest as she gazed out over the Province, dressed in something that would cause those who were not familiar with the dress of Ta-Matoran to stare.

Dressed in a top that only covered her decently endowed – though still geared to the athletic build that Ta-Matoran were genetically predisposed to – chest but had a covering of white metal with protection runes inscribed in red all over it, that was obviously meant to take damage along with a battle skirt made of leather – with four reinforced tassets that were attached to another piece of leather that protected her torso between her hips and her bellybutton, three belts keeping it secure – and a pair of biker shorts underneath, the woman looked like a warrior. A pair of metal bracers that were made out of the same material as her armored top graced her arms and along with the knee high combat boots and her waist length soot black hair which was up in a high tail held up by two braids made her look as much as a noble as she did a warrior. As pencil straight as the hair was though, the ends fell in small ringlets except for the shorter strands that framed her face along with her bangs. The shade of her skin, which looked as though it was naturally tanned, only added to her beauty. He walked until he was standing right behind her. She must have heard him approach as the moment he stopped walking she leaned back slightly against his shins.

"Nuhrii told me this was your favorite place in the Province outside of your forge. I can understand why," the figure dressed in gold murmured, running a hand through his hair and causing light to gleam off of one of the bracers which he wore on both arms.

The reason why she would consider this place as one of her favorite locations in Ta-Metru was obvious. Even from where he stood, he could see the entirety of the Province of Fire and even a good portion of the other two Provinces – Vo-Metru and Ri-Metru – which were the only provinces not connected to the Colosseum grounds – they were instead connected to Ta-Metru's landmass via a land bridges and due to its distance, the Vo-Matoran and Ri-Matoran used the Province of Fire as their only way to get to the center of Metru Nui. The Bay of Three Provinces was easily visible, and the sea could be seen off further in the distance, the sunlight glittering off the water's surface.

The woman hummed in acknowledgment, but didn't say anything, just continuing to gaze towards the distance. Both just looked on in silence, enjoying the comfortable atmosphere between them. As much as both had been upset with Nuhrii for locking them in one of the underground storerooms because he was fed up with them tip-toeing around each other, they both had to admit that the man's actions had probably caused for far more progress in their relationship than the relationship would have seen if the two of them had been left to their own devices. They didn't blame the man for his actions either, as his wife had been removed from active duty as the only Fire Guardian due to the fact that she was expecting their first child and he had been stressed enough already without having to deal with the two of them and their weird – at the time – relationship.

"Why are you up here," the male asked, moving his gaze to the female.

"I'm worried about Corona," was the simple reply.

The male let a pause take over as he thought over the response and what it could mean. One of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place was that her answers could have more than one meaning. The trip with her to Voya Nui way back on Elder Dume's insistence had shown him that she knew a lot more about what went on around the world than she'd let those she wasn't close to see, even if she was confused over what she knew and what it could mean. Something that had always been a downside when it came to Vo-Matoran who were born with the gift of Sight, a gift that had been thought to have been going to its grave when the Light Province noble and royal, Vana, had left Metru Nui and had taken her gift with her without passing her bloodline on to a child of her own. The gift itself ran in bloodlines and Vana had been the last of not only her own bloodline who could properly use it but also the last of the Matoran who had the full gift of Sight. It had come as a shock to all the members of Vo-Metru when one of their record keepers had returned from a routine check on the Archive files with the information that Vana had mothered a child with a Ta-Matoran and that the child had volunteered to help with the testing on Visorak venom. He himself hadn't known who exactly the child had been until after he had fallen head over heels in love with her.

"You saw something."

It wasn't a question. Ever since the Province of Fire had closed itself off from everyone except for Vo-Metru and Ri-Metru, the woman hadn't worried as much about what took place inside of the Province as she did for what took place outside of it. While she had worried for Corona while she had been preforming her duties as Guardian, Corona had been on medical leave for a few months already due to her being with child and as a result shouldn't be in much danger.

"The venom the Rahkshi had used did something. I worried for both her and the child she carries. The Vision was blurry."

"Dume's given me leave of my duties to make sure that Corona's health doesn't falter; he doesn't want to bring in a new Fire Guardian any more than you and the rest of the Ta-Matoran. Corona will be fine, and the child will have a life where it will be loved and cared for."

She looked up at him, violet eyes that were unique to the House of Kanna and identified her as a member of the Vo-Matoran Royal House looking at him with agony clearly visible.

"Is it truly a life worth living if we have to hide our natures from everyone outside of the Province, even if it is for our own safety?"

– Line Break –

"Mo– Vakama," a voice called out quietly in the silence of her forge, snapping Vakama out of her remembrance of the past as she had let her mind wander while she had been using her Inner Energy and tools to craft an item in her forge.

Looking at the entry-way that connected the front section of her quarters – the decently sized forge that was the only one in existence in Ta-Koro, the Lands of Fire – to the main square of the rather small village that the Ta-Matoran lived in, Vakama spotted the Guardian of Fire, Tahu, glancing in with an air of unease, her specially crafted Magma Board having been disassembled into its dual great sword state and currently strapped to her back. The fact that the young Fire Guardian could wield not only one, but two identical and heavy great swords at the same time was a show of strength that none of the rest of the Guardians seemed to realize the importance of. That was ignoring the fact that no one outside of Ta-Matoran knew that she was female – it had long been custom for female Ta-Matoran to dress as males outside of the village and since no-one outside of the villagers themselves were allowed admittance, keeping the knowledge of just who was female secret was not difficult. Though Vakama had noticed that the current Guardian of Water had her suspicions about Tahu's gender which most likely stemmed from the fact that the Guardians of Ice and Air, Kopaka and Lewa respectively, constantly acted like they were pulling at the pigtails of a girl which they liked when they were around Tahu – a subconscious action on both their parts, Vakama had noted with amusement, remaining oblivious to the fact that Onewa, Matau, and Nuju had done the same to her back in the past all the Elders shared and that almost all the Matoran, outside of the those from the Land of Fire, no longer remembered. Something that they still did, though it was far subtler.

"What's wrong Tahu? And what have I told you about what you call me while we're inside the village?" Vakama called out, getting up and making her way to the only Guardian she knew who had managed to lead their team when they had absolutely no confidence in their own abilities.

Even Jaller – who had a legitimate reason to be as unconfident as she was in her skills, though she really didn't need to be – had more confidence in her own abilities than Tahu, and the mute young adult – who was also a Marked Guardian Initiate that Vakama had been teaching the ropes to since the young Ta-Matoran had been a child – was constantly begging Vakama to remove her as head of the Guard Force with the belief that she was holding them back from their full potential. It was really unwarranted – the fact that the rest of the Guard members were constantly coming to Vakama and practically demanding that Vakama keep Jaller in her position was rather telling that the girl was doing a good job. Vakama was pretty sure that Tahu's lack of confidence came from the fact that she remembered her life prior to the empty transportation pod – that was originally meant to carry her to Mata Nui from Magna Nui, except that the girl's older sister had dropped her off physically back when Tahu was ten – washing up on the shore of the border between Ga-koro and Ta-koro, something that none of the other Guardian's did and often complained about, if what Vakama had heard was true. Tahu's actions reminded Vakama of herself back when Lhikan had first started courting her; the issues that arose due to her extremely dysfunctional relationship with her family had played a huge part on her self-depreciation. Vakama reminded herself yet again – she had been doing so since her eldest daughter had dropped Tahu off in Ta-koro before heading back to Metru Nui to keep an eye on Ta-Metru and to play protection detail for Elder Dume once he was found by the Nuurakh – to physically beat some sense into her twin brother the next time they crossed paths; what sane person had extremely young children go through the Guardian Ritual, Marked Initiate or not.

Tahu shifted on her feet, looking completely lost and on the verge of tears. As Vakama walked toward the extremely young Fire Guardian, she saw the tell tail signs of Tahu's 'sixth sense' having acted up – her blue eyes holding massive amounts of violet – and she couldn't help but wonder just how long it had been doing so if the Fire Guardian looked as though she was going to burst into tears. Vakama quickly helped Tahu to the living space that Nuhrii had insisted in being attached to the Forge when they had first settled on the island – giving her a look of amusement that was shared with several other Ta-Matoran when she shot him a betrayed look and had insisted that she could make her way from the Forge to a home further away – and to the third bedroom that had been added when Tahu had been dropped off. She sat Tahu down on the bed before she sat down herself and started to rub soothing circles on the Fire Guardian's back while humming a lullaby that she hadn't sung since before having to send Tahu and her eldest to her brother for their safety – the side effects that had come about from that decision were making her wonder if she should have gone about the situation differently, no matter the fact that it had been the best decision that she could have made at the time.

"Tahu," Vakama asked once the Fire Guardian had relaxed into her side. "What did you sense?"

Tahu didn't move from the position she was in but Vakama still made out the phrase that was uttered by the youngest of the six Guardians.

"Something bad is going to happen soon. Really soon."

Vakama's hold tightened around the Guardian of Fire; her youngest child, her youngest daughter. Of all the things to inherit, her children had had to inherit her abilities over time – something she had hoped that they wouldn't, even if it was unlikely for that hope to be true. Both had inherited the specific skill, though it was obvious that Tahu wasn't prone to be struck by visions; unlike her sister who had the ability to look into the past for information – it had been downright awkward raising a child who would ask questions about incidents that had been sworn by all parties involved to be forgotten due to how embarrassing and awkward they were. Tahu had gained a vague but extremely precise sixth sense that served to warn her about upcoming events and their natures. That didn't mean that things wouldn't change as both children got older; Vakama could testify that she had gained more abilities as she aged and that even now she occasionally gained a new ability.

As Vakama opened her mouth in order to try and calm Tahu down again as she had gotten worked up due to the Fire Elder's own reaction, Vakama's vision went black.

A talisman she recognized as one of the ones she had made back on Metru Nui, long before the Great Quake that had rendered Voya Nui unreachable, before the Vo-Matoran had sailed to Voya Nui for their own safety due to her urging, before Vo-Metru and Ri-Metru sunk to the bottom of the Great Sea – she had left them in the storage section of the forge, knowing that with Lhikan's continued presence, there would at least be the chance of another Guardian of Light alongside Takua when she came of age...

The entirety of Onu-Koro's main city – its stone-carved buildings destroyed, laying there in rubble, as Matoran ran for shelter; the Guardians fighting off the Rhakshi as the Elders led the various Matoran races into the tunnels...

Ta-Koro; her alone, protecting the twins – Hohna and Vashni – from wave upon wave of Rhakshi; her tight control over the internals of the volcano which they had created their settlement inside of slipping slightly as the amount of Inner Energy she had started to drop, allowing for a few large pillars of magma to shoot up around her as well as underneath a Rhakshi she was fighting just as it stabbed it's venom coated spear through one of her lungs; the feeling of hundreds of Matoran of all the Lands making their way to the sound of the fighting, including the rest of the Elders and the Guardians...

Ta-Koro again, though after the battle; every Matoran quickly making their way towards the mountain tunnels that led to the shrine for the Great Lady through Onu-Koro, Takua holding a Talisman with Jaller at her side; the village empty of anything important, the Matoran having obviously been warned of the attack prior to it happening, even if none of them were actually there when it happened...

Makuta, facing off against both her and surprisingly Takua, who was dressed in the garb of a male Light Guardian, the Talisman which had been shown earlier dangling down, tied to a lock of hair that framed her face as the rest of her short blond hair blew about ...

Tahu straining to keep up the barrier made of light that was preventing molten lava from reaching them and the Matoran of all six of the Lands as the rest of the Guardians and Elders ushered them into a side tunnel that looked to have been warded against the lava that Tahu was preventing as she and Takua fought Makuta, meaning that the battle would be taking place somewhere under Ta-Koro and that she would release her control of the volcano and that it would go through with the eruption it should have gone through just over four hundred years prior, five years after they had originally settled the island ...

Vakama opened her eyes – which she had closed automatically at some point during the vision – to see Tahu looking at her worriedly with sky blue eyes from the Fire Guardian's position at her side. The last time that Tahu's sixth sense had coincided with her Sight had been just before the Bohrok swarms were released, and she had almost lost Tahu to the hoard due to the fact that she hadn't had the time to warn her about it.

Vakama stood up, Tahu following her lead, and strode out of Tahu's room and into her own. The Fire Elder grabbed a satchel from the hooks on the wall and placed it on the desk before taking the picture that Nuhrii had taken when Tahu had first shown up on Mata Nui – a hundred years before the other Guardians had arrived – and placed it inside the satchel before grabbing another object. Tahu watched on in confusion as her mother and Elder started packing everything of importance that was in the room.

"Go tell Nuhrii to make an announcement," she told Tahu as she placed a small case into the satchel. "We need to start moving anything important or unreplaceable and sentimental out of the village and to the safe zone. See if the Tahnok are willing to help with the moving. Every Ta-Matoran is to get as much training in as possible within the days leading to the Kolhii tournament."

Tahu looked at her mother, feeling her mother's fear over the bond that Ta-Matoran naturally had with family members. "Why?"

"Tell him," Vakama paused for a moment before continuing. "Tell him that Makuta is setting Rahkshi upon us."

– Line Break –

Vakama sighed as she walked out of the one village that the Ta-Matoran had set up and towards the meeting hall that had been built just outside of it for the Elders to meet for the meetings which they held twice a year. Each time, they would meet in one of the six Lands, cycling through them. Vakama was relieved that she didn't need to make the trek to Ko-Koro for this meeting – she had never been able to handle the cold and she remembered the only time she had ever tried to visit the Knowledge Towers in Ko-Metru; it hadn't ended well and she had remained pale as snow and somewhat blue for weeks, ignoring the fact that she had continued to remain bed ridden for months afterwards. Ko-Koro wasn't as bad since the constant use of her Inner Energy to keep herself warm actually worked to a degree, but she'd still continue to shiver for weeks after a visit.

Tugging briefly at the tight braid her waist length hair had been tied back into, Vakama let her hands to drift to the loose red tunic that she was wearing and tugged at the goldish-yellow embroidered hem as she walked into the building. It had been a while since she had worn a tunic and she had forgotten what it felt like. The large white half helmet that was customary for all Ta-Matoran to wear when preparing for battle in order to protect part of backs and tops of their heads was in place – her long braid trailing out of the bottom like it always did and would for any Ta-Matoran with long hair –, as it always was when she or any other Ta-Matoran left the village, even if it was for only a minute. Her white bracers were also on her arms, both it and the half helmet covered in enough red protective rune-script that they looked red if not looked at closely, and her white greaves were on her shines over top of dark brown leggings, covered in the same amount of red protective rune-script. Her chest was wrapped with bandages, insuring that her chest would not give away the fact that she was female – this was helped along with the fact that most Ta-Matoran, like Vo-Matoran and surprisingly enough Le-Matoran, were always rather petite and lithe, not matter how much effort they put into gaining muscle mass which complemented the athletic build that all three Matoran races were predisposed to.

"You took your time," a low rumbling voice noted, and Vakama turned her head slightly as she let the furs over the entrance fall back into place behind her to look at Whenua, who had his arms crossed across his chest, over top his black tunic.

"I was busy," she responded to the curious looks she got as she sat down. "Tahu needed help with something and I lost track of time."

She didn't expand nor clarify what she meant by what she said, and it disappointed her somewhat that the others didn't prod her further about what she meant. It was as though they assumed that the isolationist position that the Ta-Matoran had taken after the Great Awakening was due to how long they had separated themselves from the other Matoran prior to waking up on the small island continent of Mata Nui. The other Elders hadn't tried to find out the reason why and while Vakama had hoped that they would make some attempt at doing so, they hadn't even tried shoving past her barriers.

She shoved those thoughts aside as she placed her elbows on the table in the center of the room and weaved her fingers together, placing her head on top of her joined fingers.

"What news do each of us bring to the table to discuss?" she voiced out, starting the meeting.

– Line Break –

Vakama let her bangs shadow her eyes as the other Elders argued in such a way that they didn't realize that they were putting her down just as much as they were defending her position, removing any clarity that had been present about the direction the meeting would take the moment they had started the argument. When all of them had finished explaining the basics of what was going on in their respective Lands, Vakama had quietly brought forward the idea of telling the six Guardians about their own pasts, giving them information on what could happen, regardless of the fact that Tahu had not been old enough to have many memories prior to being dropped off by her elder sister in Ta-Koro and that Vakama herself had told the Fire Guardian, who also had the minor domain over Light – currently, there was a major chance that said domain would eventually become as strong as that which Tahu held over Fire, especially if she practiced – about some of the events of the past. They had each brought forward a story of why they thought their respective Guardians should be told – providing the rest of the Elders with signs of how the Team had matured and how they worked together. Vakama hadn't told her own tale – though she had briefly thought of interrupting Nuju's tale as she had been present while Nuju had only heard of the event through Kopaka but had decided against it – and it seemed as though she wouldn't have the chance with the rest of the Elders arguing.

Vakama couldn't help the brief glance she shot at Matoro, who looked lost as the other Elders weren't giving him a chance to translate what his Elder was saying – it was rather easy to guess what Nuju was saying, even if the rest of the Elders didn't understand the old Vo-Matoran dialect that he was speaking in. Just because she had gotten use to the derogatory remarks that the others had shot at her during their rather short time as Guardians, it didn't mean that the remarks didn't hurt. It reminded her of the reason why she rarely socialized with those outside of the rather small population that the Ta-Matoran of Metru Nui consisted of.

Vakama stood up with both hands on the table, pushing her chair back as she did so and catching the attention of the rest of the Elders. Her eyes still shadowed by her bangs, Vakama just stood there as she tried to remain calm. As the silence stretched, Vakama slowly brought her hands, clenched into fists, to her sides and walked around the setting arrangement that had been set up, briskly making her way to the door.

"Vakama?" Onewa called out in question, preventing the worry that had risen within him due to her abrupt movements from drifting into his voice.

The Fire Elder looked over her shoulder, violet eyes holding massive amounts of toxic green that caused the other Elders to reel back in their seats as they recognized the tell-tale signs of Visorak venom in one's system; venom which they had thought had long since been filtered out of all of their systems. The fact that the Ta-Matoran Elder looked to be just a small step away from going fully Hordika didn't sit well with them; they cringed mentally as they wondered just how the venom had gotten back into Vakama's system and why they hadn't noticed until this moment that it was present.

"I know when my presence is not wanted," she stated softly before continuing to make her way to the doorway which would lead outside.

The other Elders all physically flinched as they realized that, with the argument going on full swing, they had relapsed back to their habits from their early time as Guardians – which meant that they had tossed in an insult towards Ta-Matoran in general between every few sentences. As Vakama made her way to the exit to the Meeting Hall, none noticed Matoro's blue ringed white eyes glaze over and go unfocused.

"Is it that your presence is not wanted or that no one knows how to go about talking to you," he murmured in sync with the woman in the memories he suddenly had access to, a woman who looked identical to the Elder of Fire except for the way her hair was tied back and what she was wearing; he wouldn't even have noticed the difference there seemed to be in gender if it weren't for the clothes that the woman was wearing.

The rest of the Elders looked at the Ko-Matoran translator with wide eyes as his eyes refocused, missing the fact that Vakama had frozen half way out the entryway as her hand was pushing the furs that covered it to the side at the statement.

"Tha–," Vakama started as she tilted her head back slightly to look at Matoro, gaining the attention of the other Elders who's eyes widened even more at the upward quirk that that they could see on the edges of Vakama's mouth and the quiet laughter that escaped from her, her eyes far less green than they had been just moments ago. "You're throwing my words back at me Matoro."

The translator's eyes widened slightly as something clicked into place in his mind causing confusion due to the lack of memories from before the Great Awakening. "Your words? ...what..."

The smile that had come to Vakama's face when she had looked at Matoro gained a sad edge to it, one that caused Matoro to make to get out of his seat and the other Elders to gain confused yet worried looks. "The situation you were in is far different from this one Matoro," she told him turning around to face him fully and letting the furs drop back over the entryway. "You should talk to Nuparu; he–"

"Vakama!"

The shout of panic cut Vakama off from what she was about to say and caused her to turn to face the entryway just as Tahu barreled inside. Quickly stepping aside, the Elder of Fire darted her arm out quickly and grabbed her daughter by the collar of the male Guardian tunic she was wearing as she entered the building, preventing Tahu from crashing into Whenua who had taken the seat closest to the door. Tahu's eyes widened as she stared at those in the room from her spot in the grip of the Fire Elder, looking very much like a startled Saber Cat. Vakama set Tahu down the moment the Fire Guardian had stilled in her grip. Silence followed as the Fire Guardian shifted in a mix of nervousness and panic, not knowing whether or not she should speak up in front of the others.

"Tahu," Vakama prompted letting her eyes take in the rumpled form of the red traditional Guardian tunic with almost skin tight black shorts that came down to below her knees.

The girl's Magma Board – which when disassembled served as dual Great Swords – was nowhere in sight even though the strappings that were meant to hold them were still in place, but strapped to her waist was a pair of twin daggers and the handles of several throwing daggers could just be seen from inside one of the pouches that were strapped to her upper thighs. While Vakama only glanced over the extra weapons and the lack of the dual Great Swords on Tahu's person – Ta-Matoran were a warrior race; they generally had far more weapons on them than was considered normal by the other types of Matoran, and what Vakama had catalogued was only the weapons that were visible; Vakama was certain that Tahu had far more on her than just the two sets of daggers and the pouch of throwing daggers – the others in the room just stared. The only ones who had properly seen Tahu before were Matau and Nokama, and even now they were still taken aback by how much the Fire Guardian looked like Lhikan. There was still the feeling that the Fire Guadian resembled someone else that they knew, but those who had seen Tahu before – and even those who were just seeing the Guardian in person for their first time – brushed it aside as the Guardian of Fire looking far too much like Lhikan for her to not be related to the late Guardian. The Guardian's looks were half the reason for their staring; the other half was due to the amount of weapons the Guardian had on her. Vakama let her eyes glance at her fellow Elders briefly before withholding a sigh. With the lack of contact the other races of Matoran had had with Ta-Matoran over the several thousand centuries, none of them knew that it was normal for Ta-Matoran to have more weapons on their person than even a Guardian.

Tahu was quick to ignore the rest of the people in the room, turning to Vakama and switching to one of the more basic Ta-Matoran dialects. "Takua and Jaller have gone missing and Nuhrii is getting worried. The Matoran in the village are saying that there was a wailing sound coming from inside the volcano and the two went inside to investigate."

The Elders looked at the two Ta-Matoran as Tahu started talking in a language they didn't understand. Matoro's eyes widened as he understood what was said word for word and he couldn't help the worry that engulfed him when he heard that his two friends had gone missing.

"Which tunnels did they use," Vakama asked Tahu sharply as her eyes narrowed, not noticing as the eyes of the other Elders widened at the fact that she wasn't speaking Common.

"Your Crystal tunnels," Tahu replied quickly. "I was helping the Tahnok and some of the Guard with the with the Rahi traps, which was why I didn't notice when they left the village proper." The Guardian gave Vakama a hopeful look as she diverted off topic briefly at the mention of the traps. "Can we go eel fishing soon?"

Vakama allowed her eyes to soften and let out a soft laugh at the fact that the young Ta-Matoran could still act her age. Placing her hand on Tahu's head Vakama ruffled the Fire Guardian's short black locks, causing the Guardian Talisman that not only marked Tahu as a Guardian but also indicated the elements which she could control, use, and form using her Inner Energy – if looked at correctly – to swing from where it was hanging from a lock of hair by the Visorak web cord due to the disruption. The Elders watched as Tahu smiled shyly back up at Vakama, who was just a few inches taller than the Fire Guardian and all of them wondered at the family like dynamic that surrounded the two. They didn't really make much of it, even if they were curious about the relationship that the two shared, as they had learned – back when they had still been Guardians – that Vakama and Lhikan were rather close. Though the fact that the Fire Guardian was showing more emotion than he normally would made them curious.

"Nuhrii's back," Vakama suddenly asked in the Ta-Matoran dialect, eyes glancing upwards briefly before coming back to rest on Tahu. "I thought that he had gone to pray at the Shrine we'd set up in the cliffs near the Ga-Koro border; that's a few days travel, ignoring the detours he'd normally make on the way back in order to get me supplies for the Forge and to hunt for food."

Tahu shifted. "That's part of the reason why I was in such a panic," the Fire Guardian admitted, her hands twitching for her daggers as she closed her eyes briefly. "He said he didn't even make it half way to the Shrine when he saw something that caused him to turn back. He didn't tell me what he saw, but it set off my sixth sense in a bad way."

Vakama froze, eyes widening slightly. "Not now. Damn it; I thought that we would have more time," she murmured, panic in her eyes, before she turned on her heel and bolted out of the Meeting Hall, Tahu hot on her heels once she felt the panic that was coming off of the older Ta-Matoran.

The other Elders shared worried looks as they watched the two Ta-Matoran leave.

"Did anyone understand a word that was said," Whenua asked, letting his eyes glance at the others before they returned to the doorway.

Everyone shook their heads negatively, eyes fixed on the doorway that the two Ta-Matoran had gone through.

"Takua and Jaller have gone missing and Nuhrii is worried about something," Matoro answered absentmindedly as his gaze narrowed in both thought and worry, still fixed on the door. "Whatever he's worried about, he didn't tell Tahu, and Tahu came here in a panic because his sixth sense reacted badly to whatever Nuhrii is worried about. Elder Vakama seemed to have an idea as to why and panicked. Tahu also asked if they could go eel fishing."

Everyone turned to look at Matoro, eyes wide and they were quick to notice that the translator hadn't even realized what he had said. Nuju said something, bringing Matoro's attention back to those in the room as he answered the question the Ko-Koro Elder had asked and thus making it clear to the others what the question had been.

"They spoke one of the more common Ta-Matoran dialects," he told the Elder of Ice, before adding on in afterthought. "I hadn't even realized that I knew any of those dialects – Ta-Matoran don't part well with their culture; they're like various Rahi species when they have young to take care of. That is to say that they are protectively possessive about their way of life."

He didn't dare mention the memory – of the same female that he had had a flash back to earlier – which had come to the forefront of his mind again, except that this time she was teaching him the basics of the dialect along with two other Matoran whom he recognized as Nuparu and Hali. He didn't know what it meant, but he had all intentions of tracking Nuparu down to get some answers; answers that, according to Vakama, Nuparu had.

The Elders exchanged slightly amused looks of agreement to the last part of Matoro's statement. As much as they were upset with themselves over their recent actions towards Vakama, they all had learned through experience that trying to get a Ta-Matoran to talk about their culture was like trying to forbid a Ga-Matoran or an Onu-Matoran from going near water or going underground respectively; it wasn't likely to happen.

"Wait a minute," Onewa said suddenly, fixing his gaze on Matoro. "Did you say Nuhrii?"

Matoro looked at him in confusion, not knowing exactly where the Po-Matoran Elder was going with his question, but still nodding in confirmation. "Yes, why?"

Onewa reeled back with wide eyes, not answering the Ko-Matoran's question.

"I didn't know that he'd survived," Whenua mused. "Has anyone even seen their respective Matoran from that mission?"

"I haven't seen Vhisola at all," Nokama said as she shook her head negatively in response.

"Have you asked Hali," Matoro asked before any of the other elders could answer Whenua's question, recognizing not only the name but also the few memories that were associated to it, his memories from before the Great Awakening slowly coming back to him in small snapshots.

Nokama looked at the translator in confusion at the question, her fellow Elders adopting similar expressions. "Why would I ask Hali?"

"Vhisola's her mother," Matoro informed them, more memories and even a few words and terms he hadn't even known he had forgotten flashing through his head. "She used to escort us younger Matoran to Ta-Metru with Nuparu when she'd visit. Actually, I think she spent around half her time in the Province of Fire if not more; the Ta-Matoran were rather familiar with her from what I can remember."

He didn't mention that they had been familiar with him, Hali, and Nuparu either – the former of which could be guessed at based on the information that he had just given about Vhisola. Nor did he mention that Kongu and Hewkii had been present in Ta-Metru as well.

The wide eyed looks he received from the Elders tuned him into the fact that he was missing something; that or he had said something that he wasn't supposed to.

Nuju demanded something that, even though the other Elders couldn't understand a word of it, they still knew what he was asking.

Matoro shifted uncomfortably. "Not much; it's coming back in small flashes at varying speeds, so I'm not entirely sure what happened and when it happened. I–"

Matoro stopped mid-speech and the Elders realized that he was remembering something when his eyes glazed over. It didn't take long for Matoro's eyes to refocus, but when they did he had a look in his eyes that could only be described as being protectively determined.

"I– It's not my place to tell you," he told them quietly, stumbling briefly over the words. "Even if I did remember everything; I made a promise."

The Elders looked at him and it looked as though Matau and Onewa wanted to force it out of him, but Whenua – recognizing the looks in the eyes of his two fellow Elders from back during their time as Guardians – was quick to take control of the situation.

"Matau. Onewa," he stated sternly as he let his eyes rest on them as he said their names. "If Matoro doesn't want to tell us, then that's his choice. It isn't as though we've been any more forthcoming to the Matoran about our pasts as he is being with what little he does remember."

It suddenly stuck Whenua that without Vakama's presence, the position of leader had defaulted to him. If the solemn looks on Nokama and Nuju's faces were anything to go by when he glanced at them briefly, they had realized this as well.

Seeing that Matau had opened his mouth to shoot out a retort, Whenua felt his patience snap. "No Matau. We've caused enough damage over the years when it comes to Vakama and I seriously doubt that you can say that we didn't just make it worse with this meeting alone. We didn't even give Vakama a chance to tell us his tale to see how Tahu has matured and if what little we've seen today is anything to go by, then the Ta-Matoran have seamlessly enveloped Tahu into their society and culture. We've all seen what Vakama can do when he's angered. Do you really want to chance getting on his wrong side again by trying to force Matoro to talk when he doesn't want to?"

Matau's mouth clicked shut at Whenua's words as he realized that with how familiar Vakama had acted with Matoro just a few minutes before – no matter the fact that prior to now Vakama had acted like he only knew the Ko-Matoran in passing – it was highly likely that Vakama would seek out retribution if they tried to force out anything from the translator without him being willing to part with the information. Silence stretched during which all of the Elders noticed that Matoro's eyes continued to go in and out of focus as he remembered things that he had forgotten.

"The Kolhii tournament finals in a few days' time," Nokama spoke up, causing everyone to look at her. "The arena's large enough to hold three full provinces, right? We could have all of the Lands attend; leave half of the population to take care of the villages while the other half comes to watch."

Whenua shot her a calculating look, something that caused all the others in the room to shiver. It wasn't well known to those outside of the six Elders, but Whenua's ability to strategize and come up with tactics was only second to Vakama when he put effort into it, and the skill both had when it came to strategy had a way of unsettling the other four every time they saw it in action. As such they all knew that Whenua had a good idea as to why Nokama had proposed this idea and was already coming up with a few plans on how to go about implementing it.

"It would be the best spot to catch Vakama and apologize," Whenua agreed with her, noticing that at the mention of Vakama, Matoro had snapped his head around to look at them. "And it would allow us to see in person how much the Guardians get along. It would also be the best time to ask Vakama if he's Seen anything; his reaction to what Tahu said was far too similar to the times where he had visions when we were a team."

Everyone nodded and Nuju murmured something. The other four Elders looked at Matoro for the translation, causing the translator to roll his eyes, even though he answered them anyway.

"He says that you guys can also use that time to ask Vakama about how he got Visorak venom in his system again," he told them, before suddenly looking to the side and muttering quietly, though the Elders still heard him clearly. "Nuparu is an idiot. What Matron tries to play fetch with a Hordika in a tunnel system?"

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Whenua demanded, slightly worried at the fact that Nuparu might have somehow gotten his hands on Visorak venom.

Matoro snorted. "I don't know what happened while the lot of you were Guardians – and don't look at me like that, the majority of the Matoran have managed to connect the fact that Guardians become Elders at some point during their lives; your Gems of Power make that quite clear – but from what I've managed to gather over the years of attending these meetings, none of you know Vakama all that well."

The Elders looked at Matoro in wide eyed confusion, though none of them denied either fact; they would never go about denying that they had been Guardians for a certain amount of time and all of them had long since known that the later fact was the truth of their situation when it came to Vakama. While Vakama had been extremely willing to try and get to know them when they had all just become Guardians, none of them had been willing to take the metaphorical hand that the newly appointed Fire Guardian had extended towards them. By the time they had realized just what Vakama meant to them – both as a team-mate and as a person – they had lost Vakama during their free fall from the Webs, and when they had seen the Fire Guardian again he had gone Hordika and was fully under the influence of the venom.

After Keetongu had helped speed up the pace at which their immune systems were purging the venom and none of them were under even the slightest influence of said venom, Vakama had not even tried reaching out in response to them reaching towards him and it was obvious to them that whatever trust that he had been willing to give them at the start of their rather short tenure as Guardians was farther out of reach then it had been when they had first fled the island with six of the statis pods. They had regretted their actions every single day and tried to put in some effort every time they met with the Fire Elder to try an repair the bond that they had so easily broken and cast to the side, but it was tough going. With the amount of Matoran they had to look after, lead, and protect because there had been no Guardians to do so, none of them had the time to just meet up outside of the meetings they held twice a year in order to keep each other updated. The meetings themselves didn't leave much time for chatter outside of respective province news and even when the Guardians had arrived as Vakama had foretold that day before they had woken up all the Matoran, the Elders hadn't been able to even try and give those duties fully to the Guardians due to Makuta's sudden attempts at killing them. They could only hope that things would be far calmer now. It didn't dawn on them that the Matoro's statement about Hordika might be referencing Vakama.

Onewa was the one who broke the confused silence. "We should probably start going back to our respective Lands so that we can tell the Matoran about the change in tournament arrangements."

"Who go-tell Fire-brother," Matau asked, reminding them all of the fact that Vakama wasn't there.

"I'll do it," Matoro stated as he stood up. "I have something I need to ask Takua and Jaller anyway, so I might as well inform Vakama and the rest of the Ta-Matoran of the changes that you all have decided on."

Nuju looked as though he wanted to protest, but he didn't say anything as Matoro walked to the exit as he and the other Elders got up out of their seats, stretching out their limbs after having sat down for a few hours without having gotten up once.

"Matoro," Nokama spoke up just as the translator pushed the furs over the doorway to the side, causing him to pause. "Whose place is it to tell us what you remember, if you've made a promise not to?"

Matoro let at a quiet laugh at the question. "You'd have to ask Vakama," he told them, not even looking behind himself as he left.

If he had, he'd have seen the wide eyes of all five of the Elders looking at where he had been standing, all of them feeling unsettled at the fact that a Ko-Matoran who none of them had really known prior to the Great Awakening had more of Vakama's trust than they had ever had, or currently did, themselves.

– Line Break –

Jaller couldn't help but shift from one foot to the other as she watched her older sister slowly make her way from one pointed rock to another in order to cross to river of molten lava in an attempt to reach what was dangling from a ceiling stone. They had come down to this area due to the rather quiet crying sound that everyone had heard echoing through the tunnels, but Jaller couldn't blame Takua for being distracted by the small circular shaped object that was dangling from where it was attached to the ceiling, as it did look familiar.

'Hurry up Takua,' Jaller called out by changing a section of the patterns of her Inner Energy. 'We've been gone for a while and the others are probably getting worried. I wouldn't be surprised if Tahu went and got aunt Vakama when she came back and realized that we were gone. Someone would have told her where we went.'

"You worry too much sis," Takua called back. "And besides, the noise is coming from above whatever is dangling, so I'm also finding the source of that crying sound."

'Yes, but you're not fire-proof like Vakama; you're a Light Guardian initiate. You've never been good at fire manipulation past the basics. If you fall –'

"Jaller," Takua called back at her with a soothing voice. "You're panicking. Remember what happens when you panic?"

Jaller quickly froze and started to take deep breaths in order to calm herself, knowing that if she didn't the lava would react to her panic and she herself could end up being the danger to Takua. She had a much closer connection with her Inner Energy than the majority of Matoran who had become Guardians due to the fact that she used it to communicate – something that all of the other Ta-Matoran had picked up so that they could use for emergency communications. Due to this, her Inner Energy was quick to react to her emotions. Far quicker than it normally would be, which was why Vakama had her concentrate on meditation in order to keep her emotions under control so that she'd not have to worry about her abilities acting out. It wasn't only her though who had a close connection with their Inner Energy, as all the Ta-Matoran had been quick to learn her method of communication in order to be able to not only understand her but also in order to talk to each other when even the smallest of sounds could get them killed. It was just that she was the only one who had to use it constantly and thus had developed the far closer connection which continued to get even closer as years passed.

Jaller had just managed to calm herself down when she heard Takua cry out in panic, causing her to look up in time to see something small with arms and legs fall from the ceiling onto Takua just as she grabbed the dangling object, causing her to lose her footing on the side of a rather large outcropping and fall towards the river of lava.

'Takua!'

Jaller's sudden increase of panic resulted in a large wave of magma to rise in an attempt to catch Takua, something that would have worked for the majority of Ta-Matoran – at least to a certain degree – but would not in any way work when it came to Takua due to the fact that she had barely any talent with the element of Fire.

"Throw the board Tahu!"

Jaller's head snapped in the direction of the shout to see her father, Nuhrii, alongside Vakama and Tahu running towards them, Tahu throwing her assembled Magma Board like a javelin towards the wave of lave as Vakama sped up slightly before she jumped into the air, landing on the board as it passed underneath her. The moment she landed on the board, the board itself glowed slightly red, showing that Vakama was channeling her Inner Energy through the item which could also double as a weapon so that she could use it to its full potential.

Vakama's eyes narrowed as she took full advantage of her knowledge of how Tahu's weapon worked – she had made it, just as she had made the rest of the Guardian weaponry that the various island nations used – in order to reach Takua before she hit the lava. Channeling more of her Inner Energy into the lava around her, she manipulated it so that a depression formed underneath where Takua was falling and so that the angle of the wave she herself was riding would increase and thus cause her to speed up. Her manipulation was spot on, as she easily caught Takua before being forced into the air due to the speed and the depression in the lava. Bringing up pillars of lava, Vakama manipulated Tahu's Magma Board so that the end of her decent would be a few feet away from Jaller. As she neared solid ground, Vakama maneuvered Takua so that she and what she was holding could hold onto her back before she placed a hand on the edge of the board and stopped channeling Inner Energy to it. She landed as gently as she could on her feet with the extra weight on her back, the Magma Board held securely in her hand.

"Takua! You know better than to do something this dangerous. What would you have done if the three of us hadn't gotten here in time?!" Vakama scolded once she placed Takua down and had turned to face the younger Ta-Matoran.

Takua visibly wilted, the creature that had fallen onto her still in her arms, curled into a small ball. "I thought that I'd be fine," she mumbled.

Vakama sighed as she gave the Magma Board back to Tahu as she and Nuhrii reached them. "As much as you haven't been a child for a good few thousand years Takua, you alongside your sister, Tahu, Vonashi, and Hohna are not only some of the youngest of our population but also some of the few of our remaining females. I didn't stop you from becoming a Chronicler because I know that you can protect yourself – not to mention it would be hypocritical since I had the same role back when we were still on Metru Nui – but you need to learn to weigh all the possibilities before taking a course of action. You should have asked for someone else who didn't have your weakness to fire to come and help. You're lucky that your father decided to come back before getting halfway towards reaching the shrine and that Tahu came to fetch me when she came back and the others told her where the two of you had gone."

Takua was quick to nod in acknowledgment as she placed the creature in her arms onto the ground, just in time to prevent it from being squished as Jaller launched herself into her older sister's arms and gave her a bone breaking hug. Vakama was quick to notice that while the back Jaller's right hand was still wrapped with bandages, Takua's forehead was bare; showing of the Guardian Initiate mark – the rune for Light that basically stated that she would be a Light Guardian when she went through the initiation – on her forehead, gold in color. The creature had curled up on itself tighter, even though those standing around it weren't paying it much attention. Vakama tilted her head slightly as she got a message from a Ta-Matoran on the surface.

"We'll continue this later," Vakama told Takua as she turned her attention to include Jaller as well. "Matoro is at the gates with the information that I missed because I had to leave the meeting early and the two of you need to get some last minute training in before the Kolhii Tournament Finals that begin in a few days. And Takua, you might want to tie a new piece of cloth around your forehead; you seem to have lost the one you were wearing"

The two sisters' eyes widened at the realization that they had most probably caused their godmother to leave the Elders' meeting before it had finished – Takua's hands also came to feel her forehead only for her to realize that Vakama was right, she had lost the piece of cloth that covered the mark that showed that she was a Guardian Initiate – before they both darted back towards the entrance to the tunnel that would lead them back to the village proper.

Nuhrii sighed in aggravation, a hand in the loose strands of his long soot black hair which was tied back into a high tail. "May the Great Lady have mercy; Takua's going to be the death of me."

Vakama giggled in amusement. "It's in her nature as an Initiate; Corona acted much the same before she took her position as a Guardian of Fire. The fact that Takua should have gone through the initiation back when we were still on Metru Nui means that the need to wander around and protect other Matoran has continued to get worse. I'm amazed that Jaller isn't just as bad considering that, just like Takua, she is at least several thousand years old without having gone through her initiation. Hohna and Vashni are the only ones under four hundred, thus they won't have to worry about their status as Marked Initiates influencing them for a few thousand years still, and Tahu herself is just over the age that all Ta-Matoran are considered to be adults at four hundred and fifteen, thus will never have the issue that Takua and I have. Vonashi won't have those problems either, considering she had been of age for a few hundred years before my brother had her and Tahu go through the Initiation Ceremony within the few years that they were with him."

Tahu looked between both her mother and her godfather in curiosity. "If Jaller and Takua were supposed to be Guardian's then why haven't they gone through with the initiation?" she asked.

Vakama sighed, glancing at Tahu. "By the time they were old enough – or Takua at least – their mother had died under suspicious circumstances along with the dozen Fire Guardians that she had sacrificed her position as a Guardian to help initiate. A third of the Vo-Matoran population had been killed as well. None of us wanted to risk any more of either population until we could figure out why not even a single member of the two teams of six had survived more than a week when they had been well enough trained, as regular Matoran, to be able to take on a few Rahkshi or Visorak without much difficulty. Especially after the Vo-Matoran left and the Great Quake hit the Island."

"Did you?" Tahu asked, slightly alarmed that so many had died so quickly.

Tahu had lived with her mother for her whole life – if one didn't consider her first ten years, which she had spent with her uncle and sister – and as a result she had quickly learned how Ta-Matoran society worked, thanks in part to her young age. They weren't like the other Matoran societies that only concentrated on one avenue of expertise; Ta-Matoran had their hands in everything and spent an equal amount of time working as they did training; and considering that Ta-Matoran were a Warrior-race, most could fight Rahi without much difficulty – unlike the Matoran from the other Lands.

Vakama's face twisted into a grimace, but she didn't respond. Instead she turned her gaze to the creature that Takua had placed onto the stone floor of the chamber before crouching down.

"The weapons they had been given were made of a weak metal and weren't designed to channel Inner Energy," Nuhrii answered Tahu's question as is mid-back length hair drifted to the side slightly due to a slight movement of the warm air in the chamber, his gaze remaining on Vakama and what she was doing. "And considering the fact that it was your mother that made all the weapons for the Island as well as all the Guardian weapons for all the island nations, it means that someone had switched the ones that were received by the Fire Guardians with the originals after Elder Dume had placed them in the Guardian Weapon Storage Vault in the Great Temple."

The sudden whimper that came from the creature as it uncurled itself and looked at Vakama caused all of them to look at the infant Rahi in shock. It didn't seem to notice as it launched itself at Vakama and clung to her as it whimpered in relief, its head nuzzling the skin where Vakama's neck met her shoulders.

"Nuhrii," Vakama started out, panic barely hidden in her voice as she unconsciously tried to sooth the infant. "What exactly caused you to turn around rather than continue to the shrine?"

Tahu couldn't really blame her mother at asking the question as she herself could feel dread settle in her stomach and her sixth sense start to act up again. The Rahi in Vakama's protective hold – a hold which, Tahu noted in faint amusement, her mother had yet to notice – brought the fears that the Ta-Matoran had all been feeling since Vakama had told Nuhrii part of her Vision into being. For in Vakama's arms, now looking up at Vakama with a look in its eyes that showed that it had imprinted on the Fire Elder as it's parent figure or caretaker, was a silver Rahkshi infant.

– Line Break –

"Hey Nuhrii," Matoro called out, bring the attention of everyone else towards him as he saw the Ta-Matoran exit from trees that surrounded the Stadium.

"Matoro," Nuhrii greeted with a small smile and a nod of his head, his mid-back length pencil straight black hair tied back into high tail.

The Elders just stared at the Ta-Matoran that they hadn't realized was still alive until a few days prior. Right after the meeting, the rest of them had gone about searching for the Matoran who had helped them find the Crystals that they had use to defeat the Morbuzhak after informing a few key members of the news grape-vine about the change in plans in regards to the Tournament, but none of them had had much luck. Nokama had told them that she had decided to wait until after the Tournament to question Hali about the location of her mother, not wanting to distract the female Ga-Matoran from her training for the upcoming match. Onewa had been the only one who had managed to get around to asking after one of the Matoran they were looking for properly and while he had been able to determine that he had been living within Po-Koro, Ahkmou had been missing for just over a year and no one knew where he had gone – not that many were concerned about his absence, as it seemed that he would only spend a few weeks with the other Po-Matoran before going off for prolonged periods of time. They also mentioned that he seemed to have a thing for flowers – a fact that Onewa had no idea what to make of when he heard it.

"Where's Vakama," Nuparu called out, causing the Elders to flick their gazes to him momentarily before they focused back on the rather small contingent of Ta-Matoran.

None of them had forgotten the mentions made towards the Onu-Matoran inventor from both Vakama and Matoro during the meeting just a week earlier, but Whenua hadn't had the time to ask his fellow Matoran any of the question that the Elders all had about his relationship with the two others.

Nuhrii visibly twitched – as did a good majority of the Ta-Matoran – at Nuparu's question, the action catching the gazes of not only the Elders but also the five Guardians with them and a good chunk of the other Matoran. "Vakama has," Nuhrii started slowly, and it was obvious that he was struggling on how to phrase what he wanted to say. "How do I put it – gone on an excursion?"

Nuparu grinned knowingly. "You mean that Vakama's gone on another crafting spree."

Nuhrii sighed and looked at the Onu-Matoran in annoyance. "Yes, Vakama's gone on another crafting spree. Not that we need any more weapons. Or buildings. Or tools. Or ships."

"Ships," a voice piped in in amusement, and the Elders turned to see Hali, who had dropped off her things in the Ga-Matoran team rooms, had made her way to the gathering. "When did Vakama get around to making ships?"

The Guardians, who were all present, were watching the exchange with confusion. They were all standing with their Elders and all had noticed that Tahu hadn't even made an attempt to join them but was instead watching the conversation going on with barely concealed amusement. Gali looked at the leader of her team and noticed the extra weapons on the Fire Guardian's person and, from the glance she shared with Kopaka, she knew that he had noticed it to. She wasn't well versed in Ta-Matoran culture, but from the little that she did know – and she was certain that the knowledge was from before she and the others had washed up on the shores of Mata Nui – Gali was certain that Tahu actually went around with far less weaponry than he normally would when he was with them, which showed that he trusted them to cover his back. Not to mention that she was at least ninety percent certain that Tahu was actually female, if the small distinctions that Gali had made between the few Ta-Matoran that she had had contact with was anything to go by.

Nuhrii twitched again before he turned to glare at a tree, looking as though he badly wanted to take one of the daggers off his belt and slash at it. "Not even ten years after the Great Awakening. It's safer for everyone involved to just let things take their course when Vakama starts showing signs of having sat still for too long; no need to worry about various Rahi species if Vakama is in the Forge."

Tahu snickered at that. "No need for a repeat of the Lava Eel incident."

Nuhrii and a good chunk of the Ta-Matoran twitched with a shudder, though only Nuhrii turned to level the Fire Guardian with a glare, his hair falling over his shoulder at the movement. The others just looked at Tahu with amusement, though it was obvious that they had found that event somewhat terrifying.

"What did I miss during the past two centuries that I've been unable to come visit," Nuparu asked gleefully, causing Nuhrii's glare to turn to him.

The gathered Matoran of all the Lands were looking at the exchange with varying levels of amusement and curiosity. This was the most open that they'd ever seen any of Ta-Matoran, not that they saw any of the Ta-Matoran often.

Nuhrii huffed, but his glare didn't lessen. "I'll tell you after the tournament," he told Nuparu before turning to two Ta-Matoran, one of who everyone recognized as the Chronicler Takua. "Takua, Jaller. Go get ready. We're already the last ones here, no point holding off the game longer than necessary."

Both Ta-Matoran nodded before darting towards the team rooms in order to drop their things off and change. Seeing as the game would be starting soon, the rest of the Matoran made their way towards the stands, the Ta-Matoran blending into the crowd. That didn't stop the Guardians nor the Elders from noticing the massive amounts of weapons each Ta-Matoran had on their person. Exchanging looks, none of them could help the feeling of dread that settled in the pits of their stomachs.

– Line Break –

As the game came started to near its end, Gali couldn't help but glance at Tahu, something that she had been doing every few minutes since the start of the game. The Guardian of Fire had been on edge since all the Guardians had made it to the section of the stands that had been set aside for them, the Ta-Matoran Nuhrii joining the Elders in Vakama's steed. She wasn't the only one to have noticed, as both Onua and Kopaka had both had to hold her back from asking Tahu what was wrong. Lewa and Pohatu hadn't seemed to notice, both of them far too absorbed and fascinated with the game to even pay attention to what was going on around them. Seeing that Tahu had moved his gaze from the stadium exit that led to Ta-koro back to Nuhrii for the tenth time that game, Gali felt the unease that she had been feeling since all the Matoran had made their way to their seats increase. She looked at Kopaka and Onua and noticed that both had their gazes fixed on Tahu and that both had worry visible on their faces – which really meant something as both were absurdly in control of the emotions which they portrayed, especially Kopaka.

The game ended after what felt like hours later to the three Guardians who were worried about their companion, the Ga-Koro team winning by a slim margin. As the crowd cheered and started to make their way down from the stands, the ground shook hard. Before confusion could even start to run rampant among the Matoran, Tahu had leapt off the high box where the Guardians were situated, pulling out one of his Great Swords and stabbing it into the stadium wall in order to slow down his fall while throwing the other to Nuhrii, who had also jumped, so that he could do the same.

"Jaller, Takua, Grab your things. We're going back home," Nuhrii called out as he threw the great sword back to Tahu, before darting after Tahu – who had bolted out of the arena as soon as he had his weapon back – as well as several of the other Ta-Matoran who had already darted off.

Gali exchanged glances with Onua and Kopaka before glancing at the Elders. Lewa and Pohatu had been quick to join them, though they kept their gazes locked onto the direction in which Tahu had gone. The Elders themselves were quick to jump over the rails and onto the balcony that the Guardians had watched the game from.

"Tahu's been tense since the game started," Gali reported as she watched Takua and Jaller both dart out of the team rooms.

"Nuhrii was as well," Whenua said, causing her to look at him. "As were the rest of the Ta-Matoran. Jaller and Takua didn't even seem to be paying attention to what they were doing as they played."

"Young water-swimmer going with Ta-Matoran. Same with translator, machine-maker, and two other Matoran," Lewa interrupted as he watched the five Matoran follow the Matoran that he only knew as Chronicler and his Ta-Matoran team-mate.

The nine others on the balcony to look at the direction he was pointing at just in time to see the five Matoran Lewa was pointing out dart off towards Ta-Koro, leaving the other Matoran looking confused as no-one outside of the Ta-Matoran had yet to leave.

Whenua cursed. "Let's gather up the Matoran and have five Matoran go to their respective lands so that the villages have enough warning to activate the defensive measures. We might as well see what in the world is going on; the smoke coming from the volcano doesn't make me feel safe, especially since I'm pretty sure that the Ta-Matoran have actually set up a village within it."

A quick nod and everyone darted off to gather the Matoran before they all headed over to Ta-Koro.

– Line Break –

"I can understand Nuparu and Matoro, considering the fact that Vakama considers them friends," Onewa said flatly to Whenua who was running beside him at the front of the mass of Matoran a few minutes later, paying no mind that Gali and Kopaka – who were also running up front to help with forward defense – had turned their attention to him when he had started to speak. "But why are Kongu, Hali, and Hewkii heading towards Ta-Koro. Even we have issues coming into the Lands of Fire for the meetings we hold twice a year due to how closed off the Ta-Matoran are. Who in the name of the Great Spirit do they know well enough that they aren't worried about spears being thrown at them?"

"Matoro mentioned that Vhisola used to lead "us younger Matoran to the Province of Fire" at the meeting," Whenua answered, thinking back to the few days prior. "He also said that not only did the Ta-Matoran seem at ease in Vhisola's presence but also that Hali was her daughter. Maybe Hali is the connection."

"Province of Fire," Gali questioned.

She and the others only knew of the Land of Fire – Ta-Koro. The fact that the two Elders seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, discussing some other location made her curious as to whether or not the lack of memories the Matoran had about anything prior to four hundred and five years ago had anything to do with the Elders themselves.

Both Onewa and Whenua stumbled at her question before they regained their balance.

Whenua sighed as he continued to run. "I promise that we'll explain later; it might actually be best if we let Vakama explain. He always did have a way with words. As it is we have bigger things to worry about."

Kopaka and Gali exchanged looks before Kopaka spoke up. "Who exactly is Vakama? You've all mentioned him several times, but none of us have a face to put to the name."

Both Elders that were with them stared at them with wide eyes as they continued to run.

"What do you mean by that," Onewa sputtered catching the attention of the few Matoran who were close enough to hear them. "He was with all of you when the six of you had to battle the Rahi Nui!"

"Violet eyes and long black hair in a braid?" Kopaka asked, in an attempt to make sure that they meant the Matoran that he thought they meant.

"Yes," Whenua responded, glancing sideways towards the two Guardians.

Suddenly the ground shook again, though this time it was far more violent than the first time. The earthquake distracted both the Elders from the conversation that they had been having with the two Guardians, causing them to speed up slightly due to their worry for their fellow Elder.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Kopaka said quietly to Gali as both of them sped up, causing those behind them to do so as well. "But wasn't the violet eyed Ta-Matoran with long black hair female?"

Gali nodded and responded just as quietly. "And her hair was up in a high tail when we first saw her. Though she was dressed as a male when we saw her the second time."

Both of them shared a glance and made a note to discuss the sudden information with their fellow Guardians. They were missing something, especially if their five Elders were under the impression that the newly identified – at least for Gali and the other Guardians – Elder of Fire was male.

AN: Hope you guys enjoyed it. I figured that this was the best spot to end it as it leaves one wondering what will happen next but also gives the reader some idea of what will come to pass. I will eventually stop with switching between 'he' and 'she' for those who I've identified as female, but I won't do so until it becomes common knowledge among the other characters. This chapter is a total of 12'718 words in length, which is just over 20 pages on Microsoft Word.

PM me if you have any questions or if you notice a mistake. If you're going to leave a review on the way out of this page, make sure that it's a type of review that will help me improve at writing or improve the story. I have a general idea of where I'm going with this, for those of you who might wish for it to go in a certain direction, so I'm apologizing ahead of time if it doesn't end up the way you want it to.

Forestfirekid