Disclaimer: Bionicle isn't mine, nor is the word frell. (do you believe that i'm still trying to find out whether it is a "real" word or not?)

Beneath the Surface

Ushuy pressed her ear against the roof of the hut. No doubt, the singing that could be heard until a second ago was gone. Ushuy cursed herself for having forgotten her tools. Although the others all knew how to open doors and windows with a simple piece of metal, Ushuy had never learned how to do it. And now, she had no idea of what had happened inside Nokama's hut.

But maybe she could at least find out what that creature was.

Slowly, she crawled to the edge of the roof and peeked down, just in time to see something open the door and walk out, looking around silently to make sure nobody was looking. Ushuy bent over the edge, trying to get a better glance at the creature, but the twin suns had set completely, and the creature stood well hidden in the shadows of the hut. The only thing Ushuy could recognize was the sleek head and the shocking purple eyes. Carefully, she bent further, and as she did so, the creature turned around and stared straight at her.

Ushuy gasped and jumped away from the edge, just in time to see a beam of purple light hit the place where she had been lying a second before, as silent as the creature's movements.

Even though she had no idea what the effects of the beam were, Ushuy decided it was best to disappear. Quietly, she slid down the hut's roof and jumped to the ground. But before she could stand up, the creature had ran around the hut and was pointing its staff at the poor Matoran. Ushuy screamed and jumped to her feet, running away as fast as she could. Once again, the violet beam barely missed.

Running as fast as she could, Ushuy sped to the dark water and jumped in, pleading that the creature wouldn't know how to swim. Noticing how the creature came nearer, she dove beneath the surface and hid behind the path, waiting.

But the creature didn't come. Ushuy waited until she could no longer hold her breath, then risked a look. To her surprise, the creature was heading away from Ga-Koro, not caring at all that the little spy had escaped.

XXXXX

The Toa Nuva proceeded silently through the thick jungle, thinking about the fates of their old friends, the Ihar. It didn't seem normal to be walking through Miko Nui without having them by their side, occasionally shooting a completely useless comment about the color of the trees or bickering at each other about who's powers were stronger.

"I can't believe all this really happened," said Pohatu quietly.

"Nor can I," whispered Gali. "Hoti and Thau dead, Sirkul and Nairof missing, Kishro mutilated, and Kal..." her voice broke off and died.

"And all this by the hand of someone who pretends to be us," added Pohatu.

For a while, they walked in silence again, then Onua took word. "You know, that's exactly what doesn't fit. The Leehar are five, not seven. And as far as I know, we're the only group of seven Toa around."

"I know!" shouted Tahu, smashing his fist against a nearby tree. When he took it away, there was a deep scorch mark on the bark of the tree. It looked as if he had kept his anger suppressed for all this time. "And maybe you also realized that Takanuva is the only Toa of Light known! There's no way they could've been mistake for us this time!" He shouted, turning to Onua. Then his hands dropped and he added, quietly. "Not by our friends."

"But then, how..." started Gali.

"I don't know!" said Tahu, voice raising again. "But I'll find out, don't worry. I'll find out who it was, and how they did it. And then, they're gonna pay for it!" He said, smashing his fist against another tree to underline his statement.

"But we still don't know who it was," said Kopaka coldly. "And we have other things to think about."

"We have a lot of other things to think about," Lewa pointed out.

"Then we'd better concentrate on one," retorted Kopaka, sending the Toa of Air an icy stare.

"I think it would be best if we went looking for the missing Matoran," said Takanuva. "If we find them dead, we would have done everything for nothing. But maybe we could pay Kishro or Kal a visit..."

"No," said Kopaka. "The more we wait, the riskier it becomes for everyone. Our duty is to the Matoran, not to the Ihar."

"Do you even care that two of our brotherfriends went dark-sleep?" asked Lewa with a poisonous voice the Toa had never heard before. Kopaka shot him an expressionless glance and didn't answer.

"We're not visiting the Ihar," said Tahu. "We don't know how they might react. Don't forget we're merciless killers here."

"Where are we going then?" asked Pohatu.

"Onu-Kavi," said Tahu. "There must be a reason so many Onu-Ihar disappeared."

-Right, and maybe you can tell us what it is?- asked a quick, hissy voice. The Toa looked up to see many pairs of lime-green and yellow eyes staring down at them from the trees.

"What the-" started Tahu, but the Le-Ihar were already jumping down at them. Three of them landed on the red Toa, digging their claws and teeth in any part they could find without an armor. Tahu screamed in pain and grabbed one of the cats, tossing him away from himself. But like any other feline, the Ihar landed safely on his feet and charged again.

"Get off!" snapped Tahu. "Get off before I have to hurt you!"

-Don't make me laugh!- said the Ihar, scratching Tahu's mask all the way from the top to the bottom. Tahu howled in pain and threw the Ihar off his face. The cat flew in a neat arc and slammed against a tree, collapsing to the ground, unconscious. Tahu doubted that the Ihar was badly hurt, but he didn't go and check. Instead, he started absorbing the heat around him to raise his body temperature just enough to burn the cats' paws. It didn't take long.

-Aagh! What are you doing?- asked one of the Ihar.

"Just guess," answered Tahu.

-Oh fine, then I'll just make sure I won't touch you for too long- answered the cat. And before Tahu could understand what the Ihar meant, a blur of pure speed was attacking him from every side, not giving him any time to react. Tahu turned around, trying to hit the green blur, but the Ihar shot between his feet, making him stumble and fall. Before he knew what was happening, the Ihar was on top of him and ready to strike. Instinctually, Tahu spun around and threw the cat off his back, sending a ball of flames at him at the same time. The cat screeched and barely managed to dodge it.

"Tahu! Tahu use your mask, quick!" cried Lewa in that moment. Tahu had no idea of what was going on around him, but did so anyway. There was an angry hiss, then the typical sound of claws trying to make their way through the shield. When he turned around, he realized Gali was on the ground not far from him, bleeding from at least four wounds. The other Toa didn't look much better, and Tahu could feel blood dripping from the scratch on the side of his mask.

"We have to go away," said Pohatu. "If we stay here someone's going to get hurt seriously! And I'm not saying which side."

-Right.- said one of the Le-Ihar -Flee! Run away from us, you cowards! Afraid, now that you finally get to feel how we really are?-

Tahu growled and went for his swords, but Gali placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Ignore him," she said. "You're not the coward. That's the one who really did all this, the one who's pretending to be you!"

-Ignore him!- said another Ihar, mimicking Gali. -Does the truth hurt? Because you know it's the truth. You kill and torture and then hide yourself, just like thieves!-

At the word 'thieves', Gail's hand clutched Tahu's shoulders a bit more tightly. The Ihar's accuse of being cowards might have been directed to someone else, but with the comparison to a thief, the Ihar had hurt Gali more than they knew.

"Tahu, let's go!" said Lewa, he too suddenly looked pale.

-Tahu, let's go! I'm so...-

The Ihar that had been trying to taunt the Toa further was cut off by a sharp hiss. Tahu looked first at the cats, then at his fellow Toa, and forced himself to remember that they were doing this for the sake of the Ihar, not for themselves.

"Fine," said Tahu, standing up. The Ihar looked at each other and got ready to block their retreat, but thankfully didn't try to taunt them further. Tahu bent down to help Gali up.

"Do you think you can flush away some Ihar without hurting them too much?" he asked, so that – or at least hoped – the Ihar wouldn't hear. Gali nodded silently. "Good, 'cause I don't want to regret this."

Tahu stepped away from Gali and deactivated the shield. Immediately, the Ihar closed up on them again, ready to pounce. With a quick movement, Gali extracted her aqua axes and pointed them at the Ihar, just as these jumped up at her. But before she could do anything, a cold ripple of energy spread through the jungle, and the Ihar dropped to the ground as frozen statues.

"No!" exclaimed Lewa.

"Why did you do that?" Pohatu bellowed at Kopaka. The Toa of Ice calmly put his sword away and looked up at the Toa of Stone.

"I just did the same thing I did to Tahu when he went berserk," he said simply. "And he seems still alive to me."

"That was not necessary!" snapped Tahu. "We're not trying to give them proof that we're behind all this!"

"Whatever," said Kopaka with a shrug. "Let's leave."

And he walked away without another word, leaving the other Toa no chance but follow. Takanuva made to walk after the others, but suddenly realized Gali wasn't moving. He frowned and walked up to her.

"Come on," he said. "We don't want to be left behind."

"Thieves don't torture just for fun," said Gali through gritted teeth. "Thieves don't kill just for pleasure!"

"I know," said Takanuva softly. "And the others know that too. Don't worry."

Gali shook her head, but followed quietly. She just hoped Kal thought it the same way, because somehow, she doubted it. After all, if what the PO-Ihar had said was true – and she was sure it was true -- she was supposed to have killed her whole family...

But Kal didn't have a family!

"Take," said Gali softly. "Do you think the reason Kal went insane is because of Utah?"

"What do you mean?" asked Takanuva.

"The PO-Ihar we asked said 'Thanks to the one she believed her friend'," said Gali. "It's because she protected me that Utah killed her whole family. Maybe..."

"I don't think so," said Takanuva. "She never thought you were responsible, remember? And she isn't one that would lie just to make one feel better."

"Are you sure?" asked Gali.

"Yes," said Takanuva, smiling. "It's definitely not your fault if it happened. Don't worry."

Takanuva's words should've been ones of comfort, but their effect was exactly the opposite. In that moment, Gali would've given anything for Takanuva to be wrong, even though it meant that she was, if even indirectly, the reason why Kal had lost her mind. Because she didn't even want to think about the other possibility.

XXXXX

Vakama gazed out of the window, thinking over the Leehar's proposal. There was apparently nothing they would regret. No trick, no hidden meaning... and that was exactly what worried him. This was not the way of the Leehar, doing something for nothing in change. Well, there actually was something, the Ilsao. But Akapok had clearly said that the stones were useless without elemental powers, and in fact, it seemed to be true. The stones had been strangely silent over the last 26 years, unless one of the Toa triggered them. It was as if they were... empty. Maybe the stones were only containers that could absorb and pass various forms of energy. Maybe it really was like Akapok had said.

But then why did everybody want them?

Vakama sighed. He was too tired to think about it, he was going to talk over it with the other Turaga the next day. One of them had to know more about the small stones.

He had barely turned away from the window, when a black knife came flying towards him, aiming straight at his heartlight.

There was no time to dodge, the knife flew straight at him... and passed right through his body. Vakama gasped and looked down at himself. There was no sign he had ever even been scratched by a knife, let alone trespassed by one. Slowly, he looked up, and found that he wasn't alone anymore. In front of him was a tall figure, staring down at him with an unbelievable expression. But before he could do anything, several images passed before his eyes. Images of death, battles, and one that kept coming back to him: his own staff falling to the ground and shattering

When it was over, Vakama found himself kneeling on the ground, panting heavily. A long time had passed since he last had had a vision, and now it had passed so quickly before his eyes he hadn't even really seen it. Instead, he had heard the screams. Lots of screams. Of anger and fear, hatred and pain, and screams that were actually the howls of wild creatures...

Vakama brought a hand to his forehead. In all his life, he had never heard them so clearly. His visions were normally silent, and if they did have a message, it was a single, meaningless phrase. But he had never heard screams before. Never.

He needed some rest, he decided. He would go crazy if he didn't get some. Still shaken from his sudden vision, he crawled into his bed and fell asleep.

The second it was sure Vakama wasn't sleeping anymore, the purple eyed-creature entered the room, completely unaware it was being watched by a member of a very special group.

XXXXX

"Here we are," said Tahu. "The Onu-Kavi tunnels."

The entrance to the Onu-Ihar's realm stood before them, dark and gloomy. To find it, they had traveled to the volcano where Thaukon used to live. Here, they had found another strange thing. Although the ground was warm and the volcano emanated a hot aura, a cold breeze blew around the place, so that it felt as if they were on Mount Ihu, rather than on a volcano.

On their way here, the Toa had been attacked once more -- by Ta-Ihar, this time -- and they had barely managed to get away before it got too serious. Still, the Ihar had nearly managed to drag away Lewa, and Onua had only just avoided having his throat bitten.

"About time," muttered Pohatu. "Let's go in, I'm freezing!"

"Make way, Takanuva," said Tahu. The golden Toa nodded and walked in, raising his staff as he did so. The tunnel was lit by a warm, golden light, and the Toa followed him.

For a while, nothing happened, and they just walked on, then Pohatu realized Lewa kept falling behind. He stopped to wait for him, and as Lewa came nearer, he realized that the green Toa was limping. During the previous battle, one of the Ihar had dug his teeth into his ankle firmly, and hace even started dragging away before Onua could jump in to help him, risking on his side to find the Ihar at his neck. Lewa had then claimed it was nothing serious, but Pohatu had his doubts now.

"Everything alright, Lewa?" he asked.

"Don't worryfret," answered the green Toa. "It's just a fang-bite."

"Yeah, but you'd better hurry up," Pohatu pointed out. "The tunnels still haven't split, but we don't know how long that'll keep up."

Lewa looked up at him and tried to walk quicker, but after a few steps his face contorted with pain and he slowed down again.

"Just lean on me," offered Pohatu. "We can ask for a rest when we reach the others..." his expression suddenly changed to one of shock. "Hey, were'd they go?"

Lewa looked up, alarmed. A golden glow could be seen at the end of the tunnel, probably coming from Takanuva, but the Toa themselves were nowhere to be seen.

"There's a bend-turn up there," Lewa said. "Our brotherfriends walk fast, they probably simply already passed it."

"Yeah, it must be that," said Pohatu. "But we'd better hurry up."

But no matter how fast they walked, then never seemed to catch up, and then suddenly, the light of Takanuva's staff disappeared, like it had been turned off.

"Frell," cursed Pohatu, speeding up and dragging Lewa with him. The Toa of Air's grimaced as a sharp pain came from his ankle, but he didn't say anything. Barely five bios later, right after a bend, came something Pohatu had dreaded from the first moment he had lost the others from view: the way split in two. Pohatu cursed with a worse word.

"There's a light down there," said Lewa, pointing down the right tunnel. "It might come from Takanuva's light-staff."

"Or from a lightstone," added Pohatu.

"There aren't any lightstones on Miko Nui,"

"Right... let's go then,"

This time, the light source became gradually larger and more intense, and the two Toa sped up a bit, thinking that their brothers and sister had realized they were missing and stopped to wait for them. But as they came nearer, Pohatu started feeling like something was wrong, the stone around him suddenly seemed to be cut off a few bios ahead, and then he saw something that made his eyes go wide.

"No way!" he exclaimed, letting go of Lewa and running down the tunnel. The Toa of Air staggered a bit and then limped after Pohatu as fast as he could, doing his best to ignore his hurting ankle. Luckily, Pohatu didn't go far. He stopped barely half a kio later, gaping at the tunnel wall. When Lewa finally caught up, he saw why.

"Lightstones?" he asked in disbelief. The whole tunnel wall and ceiling was covered with the softly glowing stones, diffusing a fairly intense light throughout the tunnel.

"Not only that," said Pohatu, clapping his hand against a wall. A loud CLANG! echoed through the hall. "Metal. These walls are covered with metal!"

Lewa looked at him and wanted to say something, but before he got a chance to, a heavy metal door slid shut behind them.

To my surprise, I recived only one death menace after the last chapter. Heck, i even got love reviews! O.O Now I'M getting scared. -slowly backs away from readers-

So, you think I'm gonna kill off someone, huh? -takes out notebook- Wanna bet someone? Who's gonna be a corpse at the end of the ficcy?

Characters: -glare-

No, let's do this more interesting -evil grin- This time, there are clues all around the story that can lead you to finding out what's going on. In fact, there are so many I lost track of them, and gonna spend the week-end reading the story all over again and writing them down along with their meaning. (no, this is not a joke) Some of them are in Heroes of the Past, but most of them are here.

So what? Well, if you have an idea of what might happen, PM it to me along with an explanation. If any of you strucks gold... you're getting a pairing of choice in the next fanfic. (he he he)

Now, to my... oh right, that's forbidden now, and I have two anon. Reviews. Do i really have to run after you to answer? (by the way, Hoti-Fan, yes, i can imagine who you are, and I'm still waiting for that PM :)

Why can't i simply do the old thing: to Magdalene-Saiyan-Toa, it doesn't matter, don't worry. keep up your death guesses! (movie?)

Huh? Why not? Seriously, what's the point of forbidding to answer reviews?

We'll probably never find out.