GW: Fair warning… I have no idea where this story came from. Really. Also, the Bionicle people are humans.
Hahli stood in front the large vat of Anti-dermis. Her eyes reflected the sickly green glow. An annoyed frown was pasted on her delicate face. Navy blue hair was palastered to the top of her head. It you had known her a couple of months ago, you wouldn't have recognized her. Still petite however, the girl would have towered over her tiny friends… if they were could see her. No one knew that the Toa-Spirit was here. Not her brothers, not the diminutive Matoran-Elf villagers. No one, except Zak.
Zak had caught her when she had tripped off of a steep cliff. At first, Hahli had thought him to be an enemy. His voice was a vibrant hiss that seemed to come from all directions at once. His eyes were slit like a snake's. A mat of greasy black hair was pulled back into a long ponytail. And there was an air about the man. Something vile. At first, Hahli thought that Zak would drive his triple pronged blade into her heart. But he didn't. Instead, he had offered to take her to his home. Weak and bruised from the fall, she had nodded in consent. Zak's "home" turned out to be a large stronghold. He had said that there were five other beings that lived there, but they were temporarily not at home. Hahli thought she heard screaming on one part of the island.
"So, you're new here?" Zak had asked.
"Yes," Hahli had responded. "My brothers and I came from Metru-Nui."
Zak scratched his chin. "You look like new Toa-Spirit, Hahli."
The girl had nodded. "We, my brothers and I, were Matoran-Elves when we left Metru Nui. We found some Toa Cocoons (A/N: These are Cocoons, not canisters.) and floated here. Then when we landed, there was a burning smell and energy entered my body. After my screaming subsided, I looked down and saw I had become a Toa-Spirit! Don't you find that weird?"
Zak had agreed with her. Hahli had left then. Respecting her new friend's wishes, she did not tell her brothers, or anyone else for that matter. Every night, the young Toa would sneak off and met with Zak. Usually they would just talk. Talk about what you wonder? Life. Their separate quests. Diversions for the next day's battle. That stuff. It went well until Jaller started suspecting something. He decided to take night duty instead of Hahli. The girl had protested wildly, finally leaving the camp in tears. Luckily, Zak had been spying nearby. He snuck her inside the stronghold and into the anti-dermis chamber. Hahli, still sobbing uncontrollably, raged about her incompetent brothers, how they couldn't even fathom her troubles for love. She cried about not having the simple life of a Matoran-Elf, where all she had to do was to listen to the stories that the elders of the villages told. Upon hearing that, Zak had made a suggestion. The very one that Hahli was pondering about right this very moment.
"So, you're saying that you, Zaktan, have an artifact that will make me Matoran-Elf again?" she inquired.
"Not exactly," replied Zak. "It creates an illusion around you. It is very similar to the Great Mask of Illusion. You can act, look, even speak like a Matoran-Elf; but at heart, you will be a Toa-Spirit. There is no possible way for you to become a Matoran-Elf again. Besides, why would you want to become one of those whining creeps again anyway?"
Hahli frowned. This wasn't a subject she eagerly talked about. "Well, the truth is… I never wanted the role of 'hero'," she said.
Zak nodded understandingly. "What of your brothers?" he inquired. "Surely they will miss you. Even need you, if battling my gang is required."
The water spirit sneered. "They were all heroes back on Mata Nui. Jaller was captain of the Ta-Koro guard and died temporarily. Kongu helped rid Le-Koro of the Krana infection. Nuparu has invented countless machines that have greatly helped us. Hewkii blocked a rock headed straight for his lover, Macku. And Matoro has bravely kept all the Turaga's secrets. What have I done? Nothing. Only listened to stories and recorded them. I'm not even good at that!" she raged. "Besides, I want as far away as possible from the Makuta-forsaken island. There is too much death. And these darn headaches!"
Zak laughed at that. "But those headaches indicate whether or not he Mask of Life is near or not," he said.
"I don't care," Hahli stated. "Just give me the Mano crystal."
Zak smiled his hideous grin. "Alright," he sneered. He opened his clutched hand. Resting on his palm was an emerald-green crystal in the shape of a tear.
Hahli smile maliciously. She reached for the gem, and then quickly pulled her hand back. "What's the catch?" she inquired.
With that, Zak walked over to her and began to fasten the Mano crystal to the navy blue chocker around her neck. As his fingers flew, the Air Demon spoke to Hahli. "The catch? Oh, that's simple indeed. You have to take me with you back to Metru Nui."
Hahli smiled at him. "Of course I'll take you Zak!" she said. "But you must stay hidden at all times. I don't think that my fellows will be as accepting of you as I have been."
Zak swept low in a mock bow. "Of course, m' lady." Suddenly, the stronghold shuddered violently. Zaktan's sensitive ears picked up the sound of someone coming. "Quick!" he said, pushing Hahli behind the glowing green pillar of anti-dermis. "You have to hide!" As soon as he had Hahli securely hidden from view, the door burst open and Vezok stalked in.
"They're here!" the Water Demon raged. "And you would know that if you didn't have you rahi-hide hidden in here all the time!"
Zaktan sneered. "Patience, Vezok," he mocked. "Lead the Toa in here."
Vezok nodded in consent then turned around and stalked out of the room, muttering something about ripping of the head of a certain Demon-Piraka who didn't know the meaning of "work".
"What's going on?" came Hahli's voice.
"Your brothers are here," grumbled Zaktan. "Start powering up the crystal. It has a special teleportation device stored in it."
"How do I do that?" whimpered the Water Spirit.
"Umm… I think you have to think of something pleasant."
"Okay. I'll think about you."
"Wha?" Zaktan began but was interrupted by the entrance of his fellows. The demons all looked battle hungry and angry.
"The pests are but a few minutes away," said Avak. Avak was a genius by all measures. He himself had invented the deadly zamor launchers. The Stone Demon was still upset that his greatest creation had been stolen. Little did the cola-brown haired Demon-Piraka know that his Mano crystal was in the hands of a small Toa, barely a yard away from him.
"And maybe they wouldn't even be here if someone hadn't thrown a boulder the size of Mt. Valami at them," continued the fiery Hakann. His brown read-streaked hair was almost on fire as the Flame Demon's anger bubbled in his soul like a long overdue cauldron of soup.
"Well, I wouldn't have thrown the rock if a certain Ice Demon hadn't tripped and alerted that darn Air Toa's attention," said an irritated Reidak. Even though his midnight hair shrouded his dark face, an angry pair of glowing red eyes showed thru.
"HEY!" screamed Thok. His spiked white hair bristled in anger. "I wouldn't have tripped if he hadn't tried to kill me!" he raged. All eyes turned to Vezok, who had yet to explain his role in this disaster.
The blond Water Demon shrugged. "He as annoying me," Vezok said simply. "And instead of bickering, we should have been preparing for battle. That creepy Ice Spirit should have found us and reported back to his friends by now."
"And you're right, Vezok," said a voice. In the doorway stood five Toa Spirits, each with a weapon and ready for battle. The Demon-Piraka smiled maliciously and charged. Weapons clanged against each other and cries of battle called out. All the while, Hahli watched from behind the glowing pillar that stood in one corner of the room.
Matoro faced off against Hakann. He dodged a series of lava bullets, and with suprising agility, touched his sword to the surprised Fire Demon, freezing him solid. The Ice Spirit then turned on his heel and stuck in the side by a water dagger. The Toa-Spirit of Ice dropped to his knees before the sneering Vezok, hand at his side in a vain attempt to stop the blood flow. Vezok raised his harpoon to finish the kill, but was blasted to the other side of the room by an electrified wind arrow. Kongu kneeled beside his fallen friend and casted a weak healing spell to stop the blood. Water was the true healer, but Air knew enough about it to stop the flow of lifeblood. The two friends surveyed the battle scene. Reidak and Thok were unconscious, most likely Nuparu's work. Avak had Hewkii and Jaller imprisoned in a globe of shadow and was moving towards the fallen Nuparu who was still unused to his ability to fly and crashed into a wall. Matoro decided to fix that. He launched a stream of ice, specially coated with a layer of lightning, at the unfortunate Stone Demon. Avak's screams of pain as electricity raced thru his system were muffled by a thick coat of ice. That left only one Demon-Piraka left to deal with.
All eyes turned to Zaktan. The Air Demon, seeing his minions so easily defeated, was inching toward the door. A hand of earth, ice, and stone rose from the ground and snatched up Zaktan. The Demon gritted his teeth as sparks of electricity danced over him.
"Where's Hahli?" demanded Jaller.
"Who?" asked Zaktan, feigning innocence.
Kongu closed his eyes and a glowing symbol of an eye appeared on his forehead. Zaktan knew what that was. It was a soul symbol. The eye represented Mind-Reading. This was a problem. "He's lying," said Kongu. "Hahli's here… somewhere. I think she's imprisoned. Maybe even dead."
Zak grinned. The only way to counter the mind-reading effect was to lie in your mind. Zaktan happened to be a professional at lying.
"Where is she!" screamed Jaller.
Zaktan forced his eyes not to look over at the Anti-dermis pillar. "I took care of her," he sneered.
Jaller howled with rage. He turned to Kongu. "Kill him," the Fire Spirit demanded.
Kongu raised his energy crossbow and aimed it at Zaktan's heart. He placed his finger on the trigger.
Time seemed to slow for Hahli then. A wave of emotion passed over her. The Mano crystal glowed brighter than ever. Her mouth opened and screamed her lover's name. A harpoon of pure energy formed in her hand.
Kongu screamed in pain as Hahli's harpoon ripped thru his chest. The green haired Spirit swayed and fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming around his mangled form. He twitched once, twice, and fell still. Hahli raced from her hiding spot, grabbed Zaktan's hand, took one last look at her now former friends, and the two disappeared into the portal.
By now, all the Piraka-Demons were either conscious or defrosted. All, both Toa-Spirit and Piraka-Demon alike, gaped at the sight. Avak started raging about Zaktan stealing his crystal and giving it to a (please insert profane word describing a girl here). Thok looked at the shocked Toa-Spirits, and then his eyes fell to the one lying on the ground. A though arose in his dark mind.
"How about a truce?" he suggested. Everyone gaped at him. "Temporarily. Spirits, look at your friend on the ground. By the looks of it, he has little time left. But we Demons have the necessary supplies to cure him. But in turn, you must serve our every whim and need. A member of each of our groups has betrayed us and the two traitors have disappeared to Makuta knows where. We have need of each other right now. Deal?" The Ice Demon held out his hand to the Fire Spirit's. Jaller took a look at his dying friend, and extended his own hand. Thok smiled. The new leader of the Demon-Piraka turned and began issuing his fellows to bring in the healing supplies. However, he stopped Avak and whispered a "special" ingredient in the Stone Demon's ear. Avak grinned evilly and went to retrieve the in item.
Zaktan's body lurched forward. His arms found the body of the screaming Hahli and eagerly latched on. The petite Water Spirit wrapped her arms around Zak's waist, her head buried in his muscled chest. Suddenly, everything grew calm. The two just floated in space. The world seemed to spin slowly around them. Zak suddenly had a strange urge over him. His face somehow found the back of Hahli's neck. He heard the girl giggle and quickly brought his head up. Hahli was blushing wildly. A broad grin covered her face. Their faces moved closer for the kiss. Then, they landed on a hard piece of earth. The crystal's illusion power was automatically activated. Zaktan quickly dispersed his body into various, yet acceptable, places on Hahli's body. Two words echoed thru his mind that Hahli said as she struggled to sit up: "We're home."