Chapter 7: Heart-promise.
"Here we are now" Onua said, looking at Po-Koro's afternoon landscape.
"Oh, we are taking very long…" Gali lamented. "Pohatu will die…"
"No, he won't" Kopaka said. "But we'll have to explain what happened…"
"Toa," Turaga Onewa was surprised "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be looking for the cure?"
"We had some mishaps" Tahu said.
"Okay…AHHH! Why does Lewa have a Muaka in his arms?" Onewa asked stunned.
"He is my new pet. His name is Leewen!" Lewa explained.
"But it is…"
"He knows it" Lewa's brothers said in chorus.
"Can we go to see Pohatu?" Gali asked.
"He's resting, but you can go if you want"
"Hey…" Pohatu said weakly when he saw his brothers coming to see him. "Did you find the cure?"
"No…" Kopaka said "Not yet. We'll find it soon"
There was an awkward silence.
"I'm gonna die, aren't I?
"No, no" Gali said trying to be serene. "You'll live"
"Don't talk about that" Tahu said softly. "Did you have fun here?"
"Not so much." He said trying to make his voice not to sound too weak, but it harmed his throat "Onewa made me drink Muaka's urine"
"Yeak!" His five brothers said.
"Why?" Onua asked
"He said it was to keep me strong"
They laughed.
"Talking about Muaka, look at this! He is Leewen!" Lewa said, and showed him his pet.
"Whoa! Where did you find it?" Pohatu asked.
"I was peeing and…"
"Okay, I understand" Pohatu laughed and let his head fall into the pillow. He couldn't hold his head up, he was very weak.
His friends smiled at him.
"You'll be fine soon, hearth-promise" Lewa said.
"I hope so"
"And once you get up, we will train Leewen together" Kopaka promised
"It would be nice"
"Well, brother" Tahu said "We must continue our mission"
"Okay, bye, it was nice to see you"
They were about to leave when Pohatu called them.
"Hey…"
"What's wrong?" Tahu asked
"Promise me something…"
"What?" Gali asked.
"If I die… protect my Matoran for me"
Pohatu's brothers couldn't help it. They felt a like knot on their throats.
"Heart-promise" They said smiling sadly. Then they left.
It was night when they reached to Onu-Koro. They were too tired, they had no option, and they would have to rest there till tomorrow. They were very sad, their brother was dying and all they could do was wait till the next day.
"Toa" Taipu said "What are you doing here? One, two, three, four, five… Where is Toa Pohatu?"
Kopaka was about to answer but Whenua approached them too.
"Toa!" He said "Where is Toa Pohatu?"
"He's ill" Kopaka muttered. He had to accept it. His brother and best friend was ill and dying.
"What?" All the Onu-Matoran exclaimed.
"We are going to Ko-Wahi to find the cure" Onua said.
"Mata Nui, help him…" Whenua said sadly. "Why is he ill?"
"A yellow Rahi with big black eyes and a mouth like a needle bite him" Gali said.
"Oh, no…" Whenua said. "The Tamkar…Is back"
The Onua Matoran frightened.
"And you are looking for the cure which is a red plant in Ko-Koro…" Whenua continued.
"Yes"
"You must wait till tomorrow…"
"NO." Kopaka said suddenly "We are going to continue now"
"Where did you come from?" Nuparu asked.
"From Po-Koro" Tahu answered.
"You've walked too much, you need to rest" Onepu said.
"No, we are going to continue" Kopaka snapped.
"The Toa are right, they must continue" Whenua said "When I and the other Turaga were Toa, Nokama fell very ill, and we didn't rest till find the cure." He looked at the Toa and smiled "Go on"