AN: OHOHOHOH Two in one day! An accident because I posted it in Ch.5. o3o Okay enjoy.

Chapter VI - Tyorin

Nokama's eyes fluttered open. How long had it been since her capture, one day? Two? She was still in this pesthole, and even the dream she had was a sweet escape from what she faced right now.

Tyorin was the one who had struck her into oblivion, and he now had her locked in a different room, this time sparsely furnished. He used his reptilian servants, which Nokama found were called "Rahkshi", to send food in three times a day. Her sleeping pallet was decent, and there was only a faded rug and wobbly table to keep her company in the dismal, gray room.

I think I had a soccer game today... Nokama thought, fingering the tangles in her blue hair. She looked at her uneaten breakfast, still steaming. She just didn't feel hungry.

"Can I come in?"

Nokama jumped. She wasn't expecting any visitors.

Like I'd have any, she thought bitterly.

"Sure..." Nokama replied. "Good luck getting in, though. The place is locked." She sat back down on her bed and crossed her arms. The lock clicked, Nokama braced herself.

The door swung open and the purple-haired man stood there, again in his beaked mask. He sat down on the bed next to Nokama and handed her a brush.

"Your hair is very messy." He said nonchalantly. "I hate it when girls don't take care of their appearances."

Nokama's eyes flared. "You're the one who's keeping me in such a place. I can't take a shower, I miss my friends and family, and I can't even brush my teeth!" She snatched the brush from the masked man and turned away, undoing her ponytail. The tangled, wavy, locks fell down her back. "Why did you come here, anyway?"

"I have a little... Story to tell you."

"Oh, really?"

"My name is Tyorin. The Butterfly Makuta." The masked man delicately lifted off the beaked mask. His eyes glowed a fierce red. "I have existed long before the Kingdom of Metru Nui."

"Slow down." Nokama said. "What are you talking about? What's a Makuta? What is Metru Nui?"

"All in due time," Tyorin replied lightly. "I wanted control of the Kingdom of Metru Nui, but one... No, six, individuals stood in my way." He stood up suddenly and pointed at Nokama. "You." He hissed, all traces of whatever sweetness he possessed gone. "The Queen. You and your court stopped my advances, sacrificing yourselves and your kingdom just before I could gain control of it. The first time, you killed the whole kingdom."

"I... What?" Nokama gaped.

"The second time was my own mistake." Tyorin lowered his arm and sat back down. "I killed you all before you could reinstate the kingdom. But the third time, it will work out. You are to realize your true potential and gather your court. Already, I know the names and locations of three others."

"Who?"

"Your friend and his cousin." Said Tyorin. "And that poor little twit in the hospital."

"Matau and Onewa..." Nokama bit her lip. If she was incarcerated and they were being tracked, the three of them were going to be so very screwed. And heaven save that poor guy in the hospital, whoever he was.

"Vakama. His name is Vakama. Ingrid." Tyorin said, picking up a lock of Nokama's bright blue hair. "Hit by a car."

"I see." Nokama said solemnly. "Why are you telling me all this? I am not royalty. I'm just a random schoolgirl."

"You are not." Tyorin flicked the hair past Nokama's face. "Tell me, what did you see when you touched the Energized Protodermis?"

Nokama immediately remembered the acidic silver substance in the empty room. "I saw... I was... A robot. Who could feel pain and emotions. That's not possible, is it?"

"That's because you weren't a robot. You were a Toa, a Biomechanical being."

"Okay, so I was a Toa. A blue one. In a beautiful castle. And Matau was there, and so were several others. All Toa, of different colors. White, black, red, green, and brown. We were going to play hide-and-seek. And I was a queen of some sort, and I had to wear a blue cape and a silver crown." Vivid images of her dream flashed through Nokama's mind. "What does this all mean?"

"You are simply realizing your past." Tyorin stated. His tone soon turned grim and serious. "Find those you saw in your dream. Nuju, Whenua, Vakama, Matau, and Onewa. Realize your destiny and the kingdom will rise again." He touched Nokama on the forehead and she fell asleep.

Nuju sat alone in the corner of the cafeteria, eating a lunch he had made himself. All he could think about was Whenua and Vakama. He was anxious for the meeting that would take place tonight, where questions would be answered and history would be blown open to reveal the past of the city.

What is up with this city, anyway? Nuju thought, chewing on an egg noodle. Too many questions, he decided. And not enough answers.

In another part of the city, Onewa had just escaped from the chaos that was a lunch line with his lunch barely intact. Tenth grade lunch was insane.

Unfortunately, he had been in that dastardly lunch line long enough for his regular table to get filled up, so he had to sit somewhere else. He spotted a blond kid with multiple rings and studs adorning his ears reading a thick book. Onewa recognized him from his English class. Next to him was an open seat.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" Onewa asked smoothly, hooking a few of his dark brown dreadlocks behind his ear.

"Nngh? Sure." The blondie mumbled, looking up at Onewa quizzically with eyes of deep green. He soon reverted back to his book, though. Onewa sat down and stabbed a plastic fork into his chicken fingers.

"What are you reading, blondie?" He asked.

"A book." The blond-haired kid said. "And my name's not 'blondie', it's Whenua. Whenua Wingley."

"I'm Onewa. What kind of book?"

"History. Trying to make sense of something for a friend." Whenua flipped a page. All he could think about was Metru Nui and his meeting with Nuju and Vakama. His eyes widened. Those names, along with his and Onewa's, had been printed in the book! He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was a trick of his mind. A woodblock illustration of six tall robot-like figures laughing and playing decorated the page and a caption under it read, The queen and her courtiers were very close.

"Onewa, look." Whenua pointed to the main text under the picture and its caption.

Within Queen Nokama's court were five others, a Toa from each Metru. All of them were, to her, more than mere footmen, but true companions of hers. The queen and her courtiers were very close. Toa Vakama of Ta-Metru, Toa Matau of Le-Metru, Toa Whenua of Onu-Metru, Toa Nuju of Ko-Metru, and Toa Onewa of Po-Metru all commanded the respective elements of their districts and served Toa Nokama, who originated from Ga-Metru.

"I know a girl named Nokama. She's friends with my cousin Matau." Onewa said in shock.

"And I know somebody named Nuju, who knows somebody named Vakama." Whenua replied, as shocked as Onewa. "Where did you get your name?" He asked. "It's pretty common for people to have exotic names in this area, but I want to know where yours came from."

"I was named after a past person in a legend."

"So was I! Which legend?" Whenua sounded almost desperate now. His emerald eyes were wide open to the point of almost being scary.

"One about a sweet and kind queen who was best friends with her courtiers." Onewa looked at Whenua, almost scared.

"Me too!" Whenua exclaimed. "Oh my gosh!"

"Calm down, spaz." Onewa said. "So we have the same name as a pair of legendary figures and we know people who do as well. What's your point?"

"My point is this." Whenua flipped to a marked page and thrust the book in front of Onewa.

The kingdom has fallen twice: Once by a malevolent evil who misjudged his own power to send the kingdom spiraling into demise, and again by the same malevolent evil who misjudged his timing. Historians who have researched this subject believe that the kingdom is set to rise again, under the rule of the same six who have been reborn under the same names.

"That could be us!" Whenua yelped. Looking around, he realized that people were staring and lowered his tone. "I think this requires further discussion. Let's get together sometime."

"Lunch is almost over and I know you're in my English class," Onewa stabbed his fork into the tray to prepare it for disposal. "I'll talk to you then."

"Right back at ya."

Onewa got up to throw away his refuse. That was weird.

Nokama woke up in the comfort and safety of her own bed in her own house. She could hear her mother making lunch downstairs. Nokama got up and ran to the kitchen and hugged her mom.

"Mom!" She squealed.

"Are you feeling better, sweetheart?"

Nokama looked at her mother as if she had grown a second head. "What do you mean?"

"After Matau and Onewa brought you home, you appeared to have caught a cold. So I let you stay home from school today."

Nokama gaped. That was not what had happened, not even close. She remembered being captured by some strange force, and that violet-haired man Tyorin.

"You slept all day and had a fever."

But everything felt so real. It couldn't have been a dream. She remembered Tyorin flicking her hair, and the burning of the Energized Protodermis...

"Okay. I feel better now." Nokama tried to smile sincerely, but all she could manage was a weak, flaky, grin. She ran back upstairs, remembering that her "Happy Face" T-shirt, which she recalled had a particular stain on the back from sitting on ketchup, should be missing if what she had gone though was true. The shirt was sitting on the chair of her desk, but the giant dark red blotch on the back was gone. A small slip of paper fluttered to the floor as she unfolded it.

I can tell you obviously like this shirt. It's improper for a queen to go around wearing stained clothing. I washed this for you. -Tyorin

Nokama sighed. She wasn't going crazy. But why did her mom think she was sick when she had been missing for the last day? It was almost as confusing as that strange illusion she saw on TV once. A man had demonstrated hypnosis on an audience member during a late-night TV show. The audience member had thought he was walking in the park with his girlfriend and...

That's it! Nokama realized. Hypnosis! He had my mom under some kind of illusion!

She picked up her phone and sent a text message to the one person who would believe her.