Chapter 6

Fighting Back

The group of free Matoran and young dinosaurs soon reached higher ground above where the Piraka stood. Two of the Piraka — Hakann and the ebon-armored Piraka, Reidak — had already left the area for reasons unknown to the group. None of them bothered to question those reasons, anyway. The less Piraka to deal with, the better.

Garan observed the actions of the four remaining Piraka. "Vezok just put his launcher down," said Garan. "Balta, get down there and grab it. If you can't, at least make sure you get one of those spheres that are with those launchers. My guess is they have something to do with what happened to our friends. If we can capture one, maybe we can figure out what it is and how to undo what it's done."

Balta nodded and silently descended down the slope. Garan then mentally began counting the seconds. He had already explained to everyone what his plan was and everyone agreed to go with it. If everything went as planned, Balta would accomplish his task and be back in little time. If something went wrong, the odds of Balta surviving at all would be very slim.

Cera looked around and immediately noticed something was wrong. "Wait, where's Littlefoot?" she asked.

"He was just with us," said Chomper. "Where did he go?"

"We'll worry about him later," said Dalu. "Right now, Balta is depending on us."

"Thirty seconds," said Garan, stating that it was time to move into action. "Get in position. We'll see if Velika was right about that pebble."

"Garan, look!" said Kazi, pointing off into the distance. "To the west — are those fire bolts?"

Cera looked in the direction Kazi was pointing and, sure enough, she saw bolts of flame being fired off in the distance, although nobody could tell who was firing those bolts. "It's probably just Hakann killing more random Rahi," said Cera.

Nobody bothered to question Cera's belief, nor did they have the time to do so anyway. They had a plan to follow, and whatever was going on over there didn't matter to them.


Meanwhile, Littlefoot silently descended down the slope towards the Piraka. He knew he was taking a big risk, but he strongly believed that his idea would work. The Piraka were powerful, but there had to be some weaknesses among them. If he could listen in on the Piraka's conversations, he might be able to find out about such weaknesses.

Littlefoot knew his friends would be wondering where he went, but he had to leave without telling them. If he had told them what he was going to do, they would all have decided to come with him. As much as he hated to go against his friends like this, he knew it was best they didn't come with him. Spying was best done alone.

Finally, Littlefoot reached an excellent location. He sat behind a large boulder that was just 20 bio away from the Piraka. As long as he stayed silent and didn't expose himself too much, his efforts just might prove successful. He was very hopeful that he would discover some valuable information as he began to listen.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" asked one of the Piraka.

Littlefoot carefully peered around the boulder to see the emerald-armored Piraka, Zaktan, was looking off into the distance, where fire bolts could easily be seen flying through the air. At first, he thought it was Hakann, but then he remembered something. Hakann is a Piraka, thought Littlefoot. His elemental powers work only in combination with a Piraka of a different element. He can't control pure flame, but that's what those fire bolts are made of. So if Hakann's not the one firing them, who is?

Littlefoot looked back at the Piraka and noticed that Avak's eyes were glowing, just like Hakann's did when he was about to use his heat vision power. However, Avak possessed no such power. Instead, he was looking at the source of the fire bolts as if he could look through all of the obstructions. That must be his vision power, thought Littlefoot. Looking through things and at faraway places.

After a minute, Avak's eyes stopped glowing and he shook his head in disappointment. "You're not going to like it," reported Avak to the other Piraka. "We have company, and thanks to Reidak being careless about where he throws his boulders, they know we're here."

"Toa," spat Zaktan with absolute disgust.

"About time," said the blue-armored Piraka, Vezok. "I was beginning to think we were never going to get any action around here."

Toa? thought Littlefoot. Could there really be real Toa here? If that's true, then they might be able to stop the Piraka! Looks like they're already dealing with Reidak and Hakann, since those two aren't here.

Littlefoot was interrupted from his thoughts by a rumbling noise up the slope. A lightning bolt flashed across the sky, its light revealing a massive rockslide coming down the slope. Oh no! thought Littlefoot. That must be the trap my friends set, and I'm right in its way!

Littlefoot saw the first of the boulders bounce off of a nearby outcropping and head straight towards Zaktan. Zaktan's body separated into the trillions of pieces it was made of, each flying away from where he had stood so that the boulder simply passed right though. When his body reformed, the expression on his face was one of intense anger.

"Scatter!" ordered Zaktan.

Despite seeing Zaktan use the ability that made him so terrifying, Littlefoot didn't waste any time getting out of the way. Fortunately, the Piraka were too occupied with diving for cover to notice him. Once he was clear of the path of the rockslide, he hid behind another large boulder.

From there, Littlefoot saw Balta charging into the path of the rockslide. Balta soon managed to grab Vezok's launcher, but Vezok immediately caught him in the act. "Hey!" shouted Vezok as he began to charge at the Ta-Matoran.

Balta quickly dropped the launcher and instead grabbed the green sphere that was loaded in it. He then ran out of the torchlight and back up the slope. Vezok began to chase after him, but then cursed and headed back to retrieve his launcher. By the time he got it, Balta had already disappeared into the night.

"Toa and little Matoran thieves," said Vezok to himself. "Now this is more like it!"

The rockslide eventually passed. Littlefoot had stayed hidden behind the boulder, still hopeful that there was more he could learn.

The Piraka regrouped, but it wasn't to last. "More trouble," reported Vezok. "A Matoran just ran off with one of the Zamor spheres."

Zaktan was now furious. "Thok, you and Vezok go after that Matoran and recover that sphere." ordered Zaktan. "Avak, you stay here and make sure the Matoran slaves keep working. I'll help Hakann and Reidak deal with those Toa over there."

The other Piraka didn't hesitate to follow Zaktan's orders. Vezok and the white-armored Piraka, Thok, quickly headed in the direction Balta had gone, while Zaktan headed west to deal with the Toa.

Littlefoot was amazed by how obedient the other Piraka were to Zaktan. However, he soon found out that Zaktan's authority was questioned by some of the other Piraka. "Two of us for one Matoran?" complained Vezok. "The fight is down below, not up here."

Littlefoot didn't catch the rest of the conversation between Thok and Vezok. He remained hidden behind the boulder to think about what he had found out. Okay, the Piraka don't seem to like working together, so that might help us. Then again, there might actually be real Toa here to fight them. If there's anything my friends need to know about, it's those Toa.

For a moment, Littlefoot tried to decide on what he should do next. Either he could follow Balta and try to find his friends to tell them what he now knew, or he could follow Zaktan and find out who exactly these Toa were. Ultimately, he decided to find his friends. He was confident that the Toa could handle the Piraka.


The rest of the group reached a rocky overhang and decided to take refuge beneath it while they waited for Balta to return. As they had climbed up the slope, they were able to hear shouting at the place where they saw the fire bolts, as if a battle was going on over there. After the bolts of fire — in addition to bolts of ice — ceased, a strange glow appeared at the site of the assumed battle. Now, the glow was gone, but the shouts could still be heard.

"I wonder what's going on down there," said Chomper.

"It definitely sound like there's a fight going on," said Dalu.

"Maybe they had an argument and are now battling each other," suggested Piruk.

"That should be good for us and good for Balta," commented Ruby. "If they are fighting each other, they'll be too busy fighting each other to even notice Balta trying to steal something. Not to mention they also had to deal with that big rockslide we started."

"Two distractions at once, I like that," added Cera.

"I just hope Littlefoot is okay," said Ducky. "I do, I do."

"Whoa! Is that Reidak?" exclaimed Kazi, pointing at the site of the battle.

Petrie looked in that direction and, to his surprise, he saw a black figure — definitely Reidak — standing on a large chunk of rock and they were both flying straight up into the air. "He can fly?" asked Petrie.

Chomper looked just in time to see Reidak's ascent end and he began to fall. "No, he's falling," replied Chomper. "He must have been thrown really high up, but how?"

Unfortunately, nobody else saw this strange event, and by the time they decided to look, it had already passed.

"What are you talking about?" asked Cera. "I don't see him anywhere."

"And besides, none of the Piraka can fly," stated Dalu.

"Well, something had to throw him that high up," said Chomper, still convinced that what he saw was real.

After that, everyone stayed silent while they waited for Balta to return. The gang didn't like not knowing what happened to Littlefoot or where he might be. Garan had promised them that they would look for him once Balta returned, but as the minutes passed, they were getting more and more anxious. Suddenly, the group heard a noise that sounded like metal striking a rock. The sound repeated many times, getting closer each time.

"It's one of them," said Piruk. "It has to be!"

Garan readied his tools and signaled the others to hide among the rocks. If one of the Piraka had found them, they would have no choice but to fight. He then saw a figure. He was about to fire a pulse bolt when he heard a familiar voice.

"Where are you guys? It's me!"

It was Balta. Everyone came out of their hiding places and ran to greet him. Balta quickly shook them off and said, "There's no time. Thok and Vezok are right behind me. Take this sphere and head for safety." He then handed the green sphere to Garan.

"Aren't you coming?" asked Dalu.

"Someone has to lead them away from you. I know these rocks. I can lose them and then circle back and find you again."

"While you're at it, try to find Littlefoot," said Cera. "We don't know where he went."

Balta nodded and said, "I'll do my best."

"Be careful," said Garan. "We'll be heading for—"

"Don't tell me."

Garan didn't understand it at first, but then he realized that if Balta were to be captured by the Piraka, they would try to force answers from him, so it was best that he didn't know where they were going. The two of them shook hands. Balta then climbed back up the slope and disappeared into the night. Garan then headed in the opposite direction with the rest of the group following him. Ruby noticed Dalu was frequently looking back in the direction Balta had gone, but decided it was best not to mention it to anyone.


"How long does it take to track one Matoran?" asked Thok.

"Too long," replied Vezok. "There's too many places for one to hide. I say we go back, grab one of the others, and give him to Zaktan. I doubt he can tell one of the little creeps from another."

The two Piraka then noticed a small shower of pebbles coming down the slope to their right. This was a clear sign that someone, possibly that pesky Matoran, was climbing the slope somewhere nearby. Thok gestured for Vezok to go right while he went left.

Thok sneaked around a large rock and, on the slope above him, he saw something quite unexpected. So Hakann was right, he thought. The small, four-legged, long-necked creature he saw was completely organic and had virtually no armor at all. I bet I can kill him with one punch. Smirking at the thought, he decided to put that theory to the test. "Hey, pest!" shouted Thok.

Littlefoot looked back and, to his horror, realized that one of the Piraka had spotted him. He saw Thok's eyes start to glow. He didn't know what to expect, since he had no idea what this Piraka's vision powers were. Littlefoot then felt the world begin to spin around him. He knew what it was like to feel dizzy, but he had never experienced something this intense. He quickly lost his balance and tumbled down the rocky slope.

Fortunately, Littlefoot quickly stopped falling and suffered only a few minor bruises. By the time he recovered his bearings, Thok was already standing above him.

"Say goodnight!" taunted Thok as he raised a fist.

Littlefoot gasped and braced for impact. However, before the blow landed, a pair of tools was crossed between them. When Thok struck the tools, he was sent flying backwards as if he had been punched in the face. Realizing that he had been saved, Littlefoot looked up and saw that Balta had used his Repellers to deflect the impact.

"Follow me!" exclaimed Balta as he quickly headed back up the slope. Littlefoot didn't waste any time doing as he was told. They soon reached a cave and entered it in hopes that they could hide in there until the Piraka gave up the chase.

Unfortunately, Vezok had spotted them going into the cave. "You're not getting away that easily!" shouted Vezok as he ran up the slope and entered the cave.

When Balta and Littlefoot realized they were followed into the cave, they hid in one of the small tunnels that branched off.

"What do we do now?" whispered Littlefoot.

Balta gestured to let Littlefoot know that they had to stay silent. He then gestured with his tools to tell Littlefoot about how they would ambush the Piraka. When Vezok would walk by, they would push over the large rock nearby to pin down the Piraka, hopefully long enough to allow them to escape.

Littlefoot nodded in agreement.

Vezok quickly searched the cave, but never entered the tunnel they were hiding in. He was clearly frustrated by the time he had searched the entire place. After thinking for a moment, he said to himself, "Direct approach works best." He then left the cave.

"What's he doing?" whispered Littlefoot.

Outside of the cave, Vezok found a boulder that was just large enough to do the job. He may have not been as strong as Reidak, but he was able to roll the large boulder until it completely blocked the entrance to the cave. There, thought Vezok. This won't give Zaktan what he wants, but at least now we won't have to worry about these particular pests ever again. Maybe Thok and I can make a little wager. Will the Matoran suffocate before he starves, or starve before he suffocates? And just how long does it take for a Matoran to die? As for that weird pest, I'll bet that if he's not a carnivore, he'll be the first one to go.