b ONE-1 b

Once again, Gali was fighting for her life. And for the first time ever, she was fighting another Toa.

Her attacker grinned malevolently at her. His name was Toa Kovos, and his element was electricity.

" 'Better to give up now, Toa of Raindrops,' " he said in a mocking tone. "I believe it was Gorast who said that back in Karda Nui, wasn't it?"

"How could you know that? You weren't there!" Gali panted, dodging a bolt of chain lightning.

"And why couldn't I have been there?" Kovos breathed. "We, as a team, were the first to find the Mask of Life, and helped decide where to hide it later. During that time, Exiri, the one fighting with the Toa of Air, was the leader of our team. He was known as Jovan then. After we sought out the Ignika, he became a Turaga, and then was reborn as a completely new being after being presumed dead (he was the Turaga of Voya Nui, you see), who we called Exiri. Since then, Toa Ruban has led our team."

"But then- you all would be centuries old!" gasped Gali, still trying to take in this super fast flow of information as she deflected a swing from one of Kovos' Lightning Prongs.

"Millennia, actually." Kovos stood still with his Prongs crossed over his chest. "I think it's time to end this," he said in a bland, bored tone.

"But wha-?" A massive shock went through Gali's body.

"As you know, Gali, water is an excellent conductor of electricity," Kovos finished, as Gali hit the floor.

As she fell, she remembered what had led up to this fight, and why, and she couldn't help reflecting…

b FLASHBACK-1 b

"Who else deep-hates this job?" muttered Lewa.

Nobody else spoke. Lewa raised his voice. "I said, who else deep-hates th-"

"We all heard you, Lewa," Strakk said, a nasty sneer playing around his face. "Just like we heard you the last 136 times or so." Strakk turned and looked behind him, at Kongu of the Toa Mahri. "Well? I'mgetting real sick of this idiot!" Strakk said angrily.

"Ah, close-shut it, Strakk. We've been slow-walking for 20 minutes and you're already dull-bored?"

"Yes I am!" snapped Strakk, glaring at him. "I mean, look around you! Do you see anything to do!?"

Gali knew it was true. Strakk, along with a handful of other Glatorian and the Toa Tahu, Lewa, Onua, Pohatu, Kopaka, Takanuva, Kongu, Hewkii, Nuparu, Hahli, Jaller, and herself, were walking through a narrow, dimly lit tunnel, with smooth stone walls and not a Rahi or a carving to be seen. They had been treated to an Instant Transport by Mata Nui, and had been told they would instantly return home when their job was finished. Then, just like that, they were here.

"Oh, leave them alone, Strakk." It was Hahli, who seemed to be the only one who could calm Strakk down, or at least, the only one who could without getting his Crystal Ax impaled in the wall half an inch from their face.

"Calm down," Strakk muttered mutinously, though Gali could see his muscles were starting to relax. "It's always, 'calm down, Strakk, or you'll scare the Nui-Jaga! Calm down, Strakk, or you'll get the villagers in trouble! It never changes." He shook his head disgustedly.

"And why did Mata Nui send us on this stupid mission anyway?" Strakk suddenly yelled, making everyone nearly jump out of their armor.

"As you should know, we're going after the Society of Remembrance's leaders so we can persuade them, one way or another, to stop sending in their agents," hissed Tahu, who was leading the expedition. "Now keep quiet, we're nearing a chamber."

"I've known Strakk for a reeeaaallly long time, much longer than any of you Toa," said Ackar, one of the other Glatorian, as Strakk gave a very audible harrumph. "and the Strakk I know has always had a hard time trying to stop complaining." He winked at Strakk. He shot him a filthy look.

"Be quiet and pay attention, would you? We're here!" Takanuva said excitedly as he pushed past the two and walked out into the chamber that lay ahead.

Gali gasped. The chamber was filled with a rushing, chattering sound and a soft blue glow, but this was not surprising, as most of the room was filled with bright blue water, except the small ledge of light-colored stone about 5 feet thick that they were standing on. On the opposite side of the room they could see another archway. About 50 feet above them all, a small waterfall of more blue water cascaded out of a giant carved frog head's mouth.

"Oooh, it looks so refreshing!" said Hahli, rushing to the edge to check the depth. "It's about 7 bio deep, and clear as the canals! I think I'll have a quick dip, then we can keep going."

"I'm so with you !" said a Glatorian, Kiina, running to the edge, only to slip and almost fall into the water. "Ow! Watch your step."

"Neither of you touch it!" Gali suddenly said, suddenly urgent. She wasn't the Toa of Water for nothing. Something had just niggled at her memory, something Turaga Nokama had once said.

"Never dive into unknown waters," the village elder had told her. "Know if the water is friendly, before you enter its home."

Then she remembered that, during their ordeal in Karda Nui, Onua said he had found the swamp water was mutagenic. He had pushed a Nui-Kopen, a huge bug-like rahi, into it and it had mutated into a scorpion-like creature with barbed wings before his eyes.

These thoughts in mind, she walked quickly and carefully up to the water's edge. "Get away from there, and don't touch it!" she said again.

"What's wrong, Toa Gali?" Hahli asked.

"Only that we do not know what secrets these waters may hold," said Gali, giving her a small smile. "We do not know what will happen if it touches a living thing."

She looked around and quickly spotted a Rahi amphibian, the first living thing other than themselves they had seen so far. Snatching it up, she held it out over the water. She smiled grimly as Hahli said, "Don't hurt it!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't have much choice," she said. "Do you see another way to test the water?"

Taking a deep breath, she dropped the Rahi into the pool.

There was a loud, nasty hissing sound. The Rahi squealed and tried to flee, but it was changing already. It sprouted short wings, a long, spiked tail, and a third eye. Even as their eyes beheld this, it started to break apart, turned to a small pile of silt, and was swept into a tiny hole in the wall.

For a long moment, everyone was silent, and all that could be heard was more of the deadly water, pouring into the pool as a waterfall.

"Wow. That was weird," Nuparu finally said.

"What's in that water?" said Tahu, already reaching for his pack. "Gali, having some of that could be useful. Could you could use your elemental power to get some for us?"

"I'm not sure that would be wise," said Kopaka, speaking for the first time for the whole journey. "What use would we have for it? And what would happen if it were to leak?"

"We'll have to take the risk," said another Glatorian, Gresh. "I also think it could be useful."

Shrugging, Gali closed her eyes. Then she raised her twin Aqua Axes into the air, concentrating. Nothing happened.

"Well, I suppose that means we'd better move along," Gali said, a little let down, lowering her tools. They exited the chamber at the far side and continued walking.

After a while, they came to a split in the tunnel. It went in three directions: one to the left, one to the right, and one to the side of the tunnel they had just come from, leading down.

"We should probably split up," said Hewkii and Jaller at about the same time. They looked at each other, confused.

"We call right," said Pohatu quickly, remembering a story Turaga Vakama had once told him, where a Toa had gone left for a change of pace and almost got fried by a dragon/serpent creature.

Onua nodded. "All right, we'll take the right tunnel. Who wants left?"

"We'll take it," said Gresh, stepping forward.

"So that leaves the Toa Mahri with the one that goes… down," said Pohatu, nodding to them.

Each team went their separate way. But only one among each party knew what terrors waited in the perpetual dark…