Author's note: This story is completely full of original characters. However, it is set in the Bionicle universe. Constructive criticism is greatly welcome. This first chapter, more of a prologue, is merely to introduce the main good guy characters. The plot begins with the next chapter where I introduce the main bad guy.
Chapter 1
"Well, what now?" a bored looking Ikiku, Toa of Stone, asked an equally bored looking, and fidgeting, Toa of Air.
Lynx shrugged and looked at the ceiling, putting his hand behind his head. With his other hand, he threw an imaginary dart at the ceiling. He felt someone elbow him in the ribcage of his armor. He looked at Tyoama, Toa of Water, in annoyance. That was the third time she had elbowed him, and they had only been there for fifteen minutes. She gave him a dissaproving look and shook her head. Lynx made a loud, annoying noise sounding like a mix betwen a sigh and a groan. With more force this time, she elbowed him again.
"Will you behave?" she hissed.
"Why do you always insist on coming to these Toa meetings so early?" Lynx shot back. The green Toa looked around, trying to find something to amuse himself. He locked eyes on Ikiku, who was just leaning back in his chair and putting his feet on the table. Lynx grinned to himself. He silently picked up his curved bow, which had been leaning on the back of his chair. Then he took advantage of its curvature to poke Ikiku hard on his other side.
Startled, the Toa of Stone looked around. Seeing Lynx's grin, he gave the green Toa a look.
Tyoama elbowed the Air Toa again. "Will you please behave?"
"Yes, dear," Lynx said, a mocking look on his Miru, Great Mask of Levitation.
Tyoama was about to elbow him again when Ray, Toa of Ice, entered. They did not see him enter, but the sudden temperature drop in the room betrayed his presence. She turned around to face the doorway but did not see him. Suddenly there was a loud bang infront of her. She leaped out of her seat, instinctively crouching to a fighting stance. Then she straightened. She scowled at the Ice Toa, who stood infront of her, a small grin on his Kaukau, his sword on the table where he had slammed it, and a grate in his other hand, like the one that should have been on the drain in the room.
"Why did you come through the drain?" she asked, truly curious but still annoyed. She noticed a foul odor about him. "The sewer from the smell of it too."
"I was working," he said simply. "I swam through the sewage system. I would have been late otherwise. Got here on time, did not I?"
Tyoama could here Lynx snickering. She turned to look at him and saw that the two Toa were trying not to laugh. She turned back to Ray, who had not moved. "The sewer? What work would you, a Toa of Ice, have in the sewer?"
Ray did not answer, but instead turned around and put the grate back on the drain pipe. He took a seat next to Tyoama around the table. He stared straight ahead, ignoring that he had even heard her question.
"You're being rude."
"Am I?" he asked, looking innocent. He glanced down at himself. "Oh. The smell. I am sorry for that, though I have never heard a smell called rude."
Tyoama sat down in frustration. Ray's mind seemed to be detached from his body sometimes. She had stopped trying to pursue questions that he would not answer because it would end in nothing but confusion on her part. He was intelligent, but his bahavior patterns were like a maze to her.
Four Turaga entered the room, discussing things in quiet tones. Each sat next to their perspective Toa, but one had to sit next to an empty chair since his Toa had not arrived yet. Turaga Taia and Toa Lynx greeted each other enthusiatically. Turaga Shataea sat down next to Tyoama. She sniffed the air and looked past Tyoama to the white Toa. She questionably raised an eyebrow of her Noble Mahiki, Mask of Illusion, to Tyoama. Tyoama shook her head exasperatedly, rolling her eyes.
Turaga Lant stopped before sitting next to Ray. He looked at Ray harshly. The two began arguing in a foreign language. Unlike other regions of Ahira, many of Ko-Ahira's inhabitants were not native to the island but had migrated long ago. These migrants spoke a different Matoran dialect, and the result was that every Ko-Ahiran fluently spoke both the language of Ahira and of the migrants' native land. This was slightly annoying to the other Ahirans, because they had never had to learn this new language. They thought it rude when Ko-Ahirans would converse in this language infront of those who did not know the language. Nevertheless, the basic context of what Lant and Ray were saying was clear by the Turaga's harsh tone and the Toa's excusing and placating tone. Lant sat down next to Ray, though he moved his chair away from the smelly Toa.
Turaga Twichm of Earth sat near the head of the table, where the Toa of Earth and leader of the Ahira team would sit when he arrived.
Two loud voices could be heard down the hall. Though their voices were muffled, the conversation could be clearly understood, easily identifying the Toa and Turaga of Fire.
"That makes no sense!" one shouted.
"Will you just listen?" came the other, not as loudly, more reserved.
"I will when you make sense!"
"Calm down," the other snapped.
"I am calm!"
The two entered. Toa Vicant's last statement rung in their ears because of his booming voice and echoing quality of the room. The two stopped arguing and sat down in silence, neither looking at the other.
Turaga Shataea shook her head in disapproval at the Toa of Fire. "You should not yell at your elders," she scolded.
Vicant crossed his arms and glared at the ground, but remained silent.
Turaga Hattit nodded and said, "Yes, if you would just be quiet and listen - "
"I was listening," the irritated Fire Toa muttered through clenched teeth.
"There you go again," Hattit said, throwing his hand up in an exasperated gesture. "You never wait for me to finish - "
"Because when I do, it still doesn't make sense," Vicant shot back.
"Vicant. Be quiet," said Toa Titasami, striding into the room with his usual frown on his Kakama. The Toa of Fire shut up immediately. No one crossed the Toa of Earth. He had been a Toa longer than any of the present Toa, and even had been a Toa before a few of the present Turaga. His leadership was unchallenged because of his experience and ability to keep order.
A brown Turaga and a blue and green Toa followed Titasami. Toa Kappa smiled slightly at the other Toa before resuming his serious demeanor. He sat down between the Water Toa and Air Turaga. Turaga Silam of Earth took his seat next to Toa Ikiku. The two stone elemetals nodded in greeting.
They all looked at Toa Titasami. He sat down, signalling the the Toa meeting had come to order. Nothing of importance was really accomplished at these meetings. The meetings were Titasami's way of keeping the Toa in contact with each other and keeping them informed of events. Basically, the Turaga talked to each other about problems and afterwards some of the Toa would stick around and be social.
"I have an announcement," Titasami said, surprising them. The Toa, even Titasami, rarely spoke at these meetings, and an announcement by their leader had to be important. Titasami paused before continuing, looking around to make sure he had everyone's attention. "I've been the leader of this team for, well, a long time. I've decided to pick a second in command to replace me when I die or when I become a Turaga so you all are not fighting each other and destroying things to be the leader." Titasami glanced meaningfully at Vicant, Lynx, and Ikiku. "I have chosen Toa Kappa of Air and Water to be the second in command."
They all looked at the young Toa in surprise. He was the youngest and most inexperienced of the team. Kappa was looking at his lap, fidgeting with his hands. He did not appear surprised by this announcement, only nervous.
The Turaga all nodded their approval.
"That aside," the Earth Toa said brusquely, turning the conversation back over to the Turaga, "Turaga Silam, how is the harvest going?"
The brown Turaga nodded. "Fine. Remember, everyone is invited to the Harvest Feast. It seems that I always say this every year yet no one comes," he said, an annoyed look on his Kanohi Rau, Mask of Translation.
"I'll come," Lynx said excitedly.
Silam gave him a look. "You said that last year."
Lynx looked gave him a nervous grin. "Oh."
Vicant, who had been leaning on the back legs of his chair, suddenly lost his balance and fell backwards. Metal armor and stone make a very loud noise, especially in such a quiet atmosphere. Vicant's orange Kanohi began turning red. He slammed the chair back upright and sat down.
"Stop rocking in a chair that is not meant for rocking," the Fire Turaga whispered admonishingly.
"Stop telling me not to rock and I won't rock," he whispered back rebelliously.
"Your attitude is entirely uncalled for," Hattit snapped.
"Whatever," the Fire Toa said sharply, folding his arms across his chest and leaning his chair back again.
Hattit scowled and slammed his fist at Vicant's chair, making it go back on all four legs.
Vicant glared angrily at the Turaga. Heat began emanating from him, dangerously high.
Titasami stood up, glowering at the two fire elementals. "Everyone is dismissed except the Ta-Ahiran representatives," he said in a flat, even paced tone. A few winced. They certainly did not want to be in either Vicant or Hattit's place. Titasami only used big, official words and that tone when he was angry. No one wanted to cross Titasami when he was angry. The others left quietly.
"Kappa, you stay too," Titasami said, gesturing to the new Second.
Kappa nervously walked to the Toa of Earth's side.
Looking at Kappa, Titasami stepped back and gestured to the seated pair. Kappa looked shocked and hoped that he misinterpreted Titasami's gesture. Oh no, he doesn't want me to talk to them, does he? he thought, suddenly not wanting his new role. But Titasami said nothing to the red pair and did not even look at them. His expectant gaze was fixed on the young Toa only. Kappa looked at Toa Vicant and Turaga Hattit, both of which had disciplined him at one time or another in the past years. Toa Vicant looked angry. Turaga Hattit appeared to have calmed down and was watching him expectantly as well, waiting to see what Kappa would say.
"Well, what is your problem?" he asked them, masking his nervousness with his usual serious expression.
Vicant looked taken aback by the question. He began spluttering and pointing at Hattit. "He - I don't - what can- "
"You cannot blame it wholly on Turaga Hattit, though he did provoke you," he said as sternly as he could despite his nervousness. "Have you ever wondered why the Ta-Ahirans have been so unruly? Have you ever thought that it is because they are following their Toa's example? You are responsible for them, not just for their physical safety. They look up to you." He pointed his finger at Vicant for emphasis. "They admire you and want to imitate you. Also, here in this room, you represent your people. What image have you shown the other Toa for your Matoran?"
"And you, Turaga Hattit," he began, more nervous at the task of admonishing a Turaga, "you are responsible for Toa Vicant."
Hattit looked pensive and attentive.
"You were once a Toa of Fire. You know what your duties were. It is your responsibility to train him. You are his example. When he sees you lose your temper, won't he follow? If he sees that you think that your temper outbursts are fine, then he probably will not find your teaching him not to lose his temper as a, um, something that he must do." His mind began to draw a blank, quelling under the Turaga's steady gaze. But he kept talking, hoping that he made sense. "I know that I struggled with that when you would train me. You would tell me to be calm and reasonable, yet I would see you yelling at Toa Vicant over, well, nothing. It made no sense to me. Though Vicant probably won't admit it, it most likely doesn't make sense to him either."
Kappa stopped, finished. He waited anxiously for their responses.
Vicant looked at Hattit grudgingly. "Sure, whatever, I'm sorry. Are we done?" he mumbled.
Hattit looked at Titasami by instinct to see if he had his approval for dismissal. He turned his gaze to Kappa, waiting for a response.
"Yeah, I guess," the green and blue Toa said, feeling discouraged. "That's all I can think of. I hope you keep that in mind."
The two left without saying any more to him. Kappa swallowed uneasily. He did not want to face Titasami. He felt as though he had failed. With his head down, he turned to Titasami. He glanced up, expecting admonition or disapproval, or even removal of his new position. Titasami's face showed no emotion.
"Good enough," he said. The two started to leave the room.
A shout echoed down the halls. "That twerp just scolded me to my face! Who knew the kid had guts to do that?"
Laughter echoed back.