Chapter 11
The next night, Kopaka and Torbran peered over a sand dune on Huna Nui's southern coast and saw Sidorak's base sailing straight for the shore. Under normal circumstances, they probably would have been worried by the sight, but this night was anything but ordinary. Beneath the surface, Gali, with a dozen Kortano all under Ziran's control, were pulling the ship closer to shore. By now, it had stopped about 200 bio from shore.
"Time for Phase Two," thought the Ice Toa.
He formed an icicle in his hand and looked at Torbran who nodded. With that, Kopaka hefted the icicle toward a small dune closer to the shore, landing it square in the middle of his target.
After a few moments, the dune sank into the surrounding sand, revealing the Toa of Earth and Stone. As quickly and quietly as possible, the two of them made for the battleship. Upon reaching the water's edge, they were joined by Gali, who emerged from the surf, and Ziran, who appeared next to them.
"Ready?" asked the small creature.
The others nodded. With that, the four of them turned their attention to the huge mass of metal in front of them. Pohatu slammed his foot on the ground, while Onua dug his claws into the sand. Combining their powers, they extended the island. A ring of rock pillars rose out of the water, surrounding the ship, while at the same time, a huge mound of silt formed under the ship, holding it firmly in place.
And with all this activity beneath the water, not a sound was to be heard. Gali, with her feet in the water, kept the water as smooth as polished crystal, not letting so much as one drop leave the ocean's surface.
At the same time, Ziran was throwing every ounce of mental energy toward his task. Combining his powers, he simultaneously read the minds of every creature on the ship and erased any thought regarding their activity.
Within minutes, their job was done. Ziran threw one last burst of energy at the ship.
"Until morning, no one will notice their position," he said. "Let's go meet up with the others.
The four beings moved inland to a small clearing where Torbran and the other Toa had a small fire blazing.
"Is everything ready?" asked Torbran.
"Absolutely," replied Pohatu.
"Good," answered Tahu, "Everyone, take your positions and get what sleep you can. Tomorrow, we strike."
As the others walked off into the night, Gali lay down near the fire with the rest of her team. As she drifted into the realm of sleep, she knew this battle would decide the fate of her island, and as she slept, she dreamed of another fateful battle in the Aquaton war.
* * *
"Toa," said Makuta Antroz to the gathered heroes, "I could not be more honored than I am today, fighting alongside such brave heroes. You have all made great sacrifices in this war, through loss of life and limb. But today, your sacrifices will be rewarded. The Aquaton depend on a single supply line, deep beneath the ocean. If we can block it off, the tide will turn in our favor. Be brave, be strong, and remember your fallen comrades as we fight today for their sake!"
A rousing cheer arose on the beach as the Toa splashed through the waves and jumped into the sub pods that were moored offshore. As the pods shot out to sea and dove beneath the surface, the pod containing Lewa, Narthex, and three other Toa took the lead, followed closely by Makuta Antroz, who had shapeshifted into a form more conducive to the environment. Narthex, being the only Toa with a Kanohi Elda, was responsible for finding the undersea base and supply route. Within moments, he knew just where to go.
"Dive deeper and follow that trench," he said to Lewa, who was piloting the craft. Lewa made for the trench, and the other subs followed suit. Sea Rahi scattered before the fleet as they entered the gorge at the bottom of the sea.
Lewa turned to one of the other Toa, "Quick-tell the others to be on the lookout, Vakai." The Toa of Fire nodded, and activating his Kanohi Suletu, he sent a mental message to the other Toa.
Within moments, the fleet was out of the trench and on the open sea floor. Lewa pulled his vessel left, steering it along the cliff wall. As the other vessels followed suit, their destination appeared before them.
On the sea bed, tucked against the cliff, was the Aquaton's base camp. Crafts of various sizes lay around the camp while Aquaton milled about between hastily constructed buildings, oblivious to the force about to move in upon them.
"Ready weapons, Kanohi, and waterbreathers!" said Lewa, whose message was conveyed by Vakai. The Matoran of Ga-Huna had supplied each Toa with a waterbreather, a safety device kept by each of the Ga-Matoran in the event that their sub pod should sink. As its name implied, they allowed surface dwellers to survive underwater for a few hours. And while the Matoran made an effort to not use them, the Toa knew that, today, these devices would be invaluable.
The Toa were almost upon the base when the Aquaton noticed the approaching fleet and scrambled to prepare for battle. They had placed no guard, thinking that the surface dwellers would never find them out here, and the Toa fleet swept over the base, dropping scores of Toa on the Aquaton.
The battle quickly became one-sided. While the Aquaton were more accustomed to undersea fighting, the Toa's long ranged abilities, along with the help of energy blasts from the circling sub pods, gave them a distinct edge. The Toa of Sonics, Lighting, and Water, made more powerful by the environment, proved to be the most efficient against the Aquaton's infantry, and the troops that swam up to meet them were quickly taken care of. Most of the Toa of Fire and Air, made weaker by their watery surroundings, stayed in the sub pods and peppered the camp with energy bolts. The rest of the Toa set to work destroying the Aquaton's camp, then turned on the enemies themselves. Antroz joined in the fray, hurling a thousand different energies into the oncoming forces, as giddy as a Ga-Matoran on her first day of school.
As the battle raged at the Aquaton camp, a few subs slipped away, carrying several Toa, mostly of Earth, Stone, and Gravity. Lewa and Narthex's pod pulled into the lead again; this time, they were following the distinct signs on the ocean floor that showed where the Aquaton supply route lay.
"Are you sure this will quick-work?" asked Lewa.
"Sure it will," replied a Toa of Stone named Ferrar. "As an old friend of mine would put it, 'The Takea strikes for it knows it is feared, but strike back, and it flees in terror."
"Hmm, what was your friend's name?" asked Narthex.
"Velika," said Ferrar.
As the pods continued on, they saw a chain of mountains rising from the sea floor, as well as the weak point that Amphibax had told them about: a pass through the mountains. The pilots steered their vehicles to the top of the cliff wall over the pass. Two dozen Toa dropped from the crafts and began filling the pass with rubble.
"We need to hurry," said Ferrar as he chucked another boulder over the edge. "They'll be driving the Aquaton here within a few minutes."
Back at the Aquaton's base, things were going badly for the Aquaton, it was becoming evident that they were fighting a losing battle.
"Retreat!" cried one of them, "Fall back to the mountains."
As the Aquaton took off, the Toa followed, hurling elemental blasts at their retreating foes. Within minutes, both forces had reached the mountain pass, and the Aquaton were trapped. A few tried to swim up and over the Toa, but a few stone fists and increasings of gravity quickly changed their minds.
As the Aquaton stood as still as stones, Antroz approached them and said, "By rights, I could kill you all. You have invaded another land without reason and killed its inhabitants. You are no better than the scum beneath your feet. But, I won't. You will be allowed to return to your own lands, on the condition that you never leave that land again. And also, that you give me your king."
The creatures moved as one and dragged one of their number to the front. The astonished creature looked back at his subjects, unable to speak. Before he could move, Antroz grabbed him with one hand as his other hand began to crackle with energy. The power grew and grew until it became a solid sphere of power. The Makuta raised his hand and brought it down on the ruler's neck with a resounding crack.
* * *
Gali awoke to a loud crack nearby. Sitting up, she saw Onua break a large branch in half and feed it to the fire. Kopaka was sitting nearby.
"It's almost dawn, sister," he said. "Better get ready. We start soon."
* * *
Bionicle and related characters (c) LEGO
Huna Nui and related characters (c) me