Wow, almost three months since the last update... I apologize.
I swear, I'm still alive.
9
If only I'd been... stronger.
Hahli sat on the rough ground, her back against a cold, sheer rock face. She stared out at the blue sea, darkened by night, but gently lit here and there by the stars and moon. The vast body of water should have felt familiar, a friendly presence in a strange world.
She only felt anger. At the army who'd gotten in their way then captured her brothers. At herself, for not doing more to save them.
She thought back to that moment: looking on down where Kongu's wounded form had been. He'd disappeared into the army of specialized Fire Nation troops, lost to her.
This sea was not too far away, she thought. I could have reached a little further, drawn more strength, and…
And what? Put the full force of a body of water that large behind a massive push? Her control would not have been so fine as she would have liked. She pushed away Kongu with what she'd done. With more power, how would she keep from pushing them all away?
And yet... there had to have been a way to save her brothers. There was always a way.
She looked to her left and saw Hewkii working to clear out a small cave in which they would spend the night. Jaller was gone. Going to do some reconnaissance on the army, he'd said. Try to figure out where they're going. His plan was to follow the army at a distance, then strike when the time was right to free Kongu and Nuparu.
While Jaller and Hewkii seemed plenty confident in the plan, Hahli had her doubts. What if that man leading the army—called Xeng, if she'd heard correctly—decided not to take his prisoners alive?
Hahli's light green eyes turned to the darkened sea once more. Such power... She'd felt it before. When she and the others had been in Mahri Nui, the underwater village they were named for, she'd felt the weight of the ocean around her. The raw power it offered her.
I could sweep them all away, she thought. Strike while they're asleep, avoiding the spot where Kongu and Nuparu are. Or perhaps I could strike more silently, place bubbles around their heads and—
No. Not like that. All these thoughts... they were wrong. Toa did not kill. Toa were protectors. You couldn't kill and protect…
Could you?
Hahli drew her knees up and clutched her mask in her hands, groaning. She thought she should be feeling more sorrow, more sadness at the loss of her brothers. But every time she thought of the situation, she felt only rage. Rage and a hate that demanded release.
A part of her basked in the dark rays of those emotions. It hurt less to hate than to be sad.
Hahli sobbed gently under the stars.
Jaller crouched behind behind a small crop of rock, watching the army in the distance. His legs ached from the earlier battle and from being cramped beneath him. His left one was starting to feel fuzzy.
He came to the conclusion that he would come to no conclusions tonight. For now, he could only assume that the army would be moving in the morning. He would just have to wait it out and get some sleep.
If he could tame the wild thoughts rampaging in his mind.
How would things have turned out if we'd gone with my plan first? he wondered. They would have had the element of surprise, felt more prepared, and wouldn't have had those lost those precious moments at the beginning of the battle. If only they had listened…
And why hadn't they? He was the team leader. Why shouldn't he be able to exert more control over them? If he had, they may never gotten into this mess. All five of them could be here now. Instead, he'd allowed the others to take the lead. He went along with their plan, despite his feelings that it was all wrong. How naive he had been…
As he began walking back towards where he and the others would camp for the night, he thought back to their time in Mahri Nui, when Matoro had donned the Kanohi Ignika and sacrificed his life to revive Mata Nui.
Look at all the good it did. Mata Nui awakens, saves the world, then goes right back to sleep. Talk about ungrateful. His citizens worked hard for centuries to ensure his survival and awakening and what does he do? Takes another long nap. We can't do that. Toa don't get to rest. I guess the more power you have, the less you have to do.
Jaller chided himself for such thoughts. He was grateful for the things Mata Nui had done in his final days. He knew he shouldn't be resentful towards the Great Spirit, but it was hard not to be bitter over him leaving them so quickly.
That was when I made that promise. I would never allow someone I loved to be lost, Not after losing Matoro. How far I have fallen from keeping that promise…
Could he risk failing again? He'd always wanted to listen to his teammates, but now he wasn't so sure. He had chosen to trust them, and now two of them were captured, maybe dead, all because they'd listened to Kongu instead of Jaller.
I could have saved them. Arrogant, perhaps, but true.
He turned to look out over the dark sea. Somewhere out there lay the Fire Nation, the place he wanted to go. It was the home of the evil in this world, and he planned to put a stop to it. That was what heroes did. He was a bringer of justice, a deliverer of peace. Peace through superior power.
Is this truly my destiny? To save this land? If he was honest with himself, he would admit that when Makuta had been defeated, he'd hoped to never have to do any world-saving again. Now this happened to him.
He couldn't just stop now, though. Regardless of whether he wanted to be here or not, he was determined to defend this world.
It was his duty.
Hewkii brushed his hand along the wall of the cave he had created in the rock face. Smooth, just as intended. The artificial space was roomy enough for him, Jaller, and Hahli to each lay down comfortably.
How odd it had been, not being able to use his powers. Hewkii had only been a Toa for a matter of months, but he already felt that his elemental abilities were a part of who he was. To be stripped of them, even for just a few hours, was disturbing to say the least.
Must have been those darts, he thought. The small projectiles had seemed to sap his strength for a moment when they had impacted his body. Of course, it had been his control over stone that was really disappearing. By now, he had regained that control, the effects of the dart having long worn off. The knowledge that there was still something out there that could it from him again was haunting.
Jaller arrived and stepped into the cave. "Nice work with this," he said.
"Thanks," Hewkii said. "Just glad I'm still able to do it."
Jaller nodded knowingly. "How's the arm?"
"Getting better, but I won't be playing kohlii with it any time soon."
The Toa of fire chuckled. "Sometimes I forget that you still play."
"Who would I be without kolhii?"
"Probably just some grumpy carver who refuses to talk to anyone. Like Hafu."
"Mata Nui... Please kill me if I ever become like Hafu." They shared a short-lived laugh. "Pretty chilly in here. Do you mind...?"
"Not at all." The cave began to heat up, Jaller having focused his power into the air inside.
Hahli stumbled in, eyes downcast, and sat down. "Cozy," she said, face showing a sorrow her words did not match.
No one spoke for a while. They simply sat, thinking and listening to the wind and waves outside.
"All right," Hewkii said. "What's the plan?"
Jaller sighed. They had to talk about it eventually. "We check the army in the morning, see where they're headed, and follow at a distance."
"That's it?" Hahli said, some energy seeming to come to her.
"Yes, that is the extent of my plan. It seems the safest option."
"And if they don't take prisoners? Or if, by the time we're ready to strike, they're in a fortified position?"
"We'll deal with it."
"Like we dealt with getting to the Pass?"
"That was a special situation,and it could have been avoided! We weren't ready for what happened."
Hewkii sighed. This was going nowhere quickly. "Brother, sister!" he interrupted. "It's obvious that we're all going through a hard time. I'm sure we all wish we were at home on Spherus Magna, but we aren't. Squabbling like petty Rahi will get us nowhere."
"You agree with him!?" Hahli said.
"I never said—"
"I can't believe you two! Our brothers' lives are in danger, and you just want to wait things out!"
"Hahli," Hewkii said, hands forward in what he hoped was a calming gesture. "Jaller's doing the best he knows how. Maybe he's right, and maybe you're right. There's really no way to know for sure. Jaller just wants to do what seems rational."
Hahli crossed her arms. "Maybe that's not good enough." She stood up and left the cave.
"Should we go after her?" Hewkii asked.
"No," Jaller said. "She just needs time to think."
"Hahli doesn't think like you do. You're all logic; she tends to act on her emotions"
"She'll come around," Jaller insisted.
"We'll see." Hewkii lay down, resting his head on the stone ground. "You know, my mask makes this really uncomfortable."
