He was floating in an endless void, a sea of white encompassing his vision.
"Cedrak?"
As he heard a voice in the void, his feet touched what felt like solid ground. The Skakdi turned this way and that, looking for the source.
"Cedrak?"
The voice sounded more beautiful than anything he had ever head in his life. It filled him with a warmth so intense, he felt like his heartlight would fracture.
"Cedrak?"
Finally, he saw something appearing out of the void. At first, too faint to make out, as it came closer, its form became unmistakable.
"Lestra!" cried Cedrak, as he broke into a run.
The Lightning Toa rushed towards her Vhalentain. She laughed aloud as he swept her up and twirled her around. Still holding her, he pressed his lips to hers.
"Cedrak, you're alright," she said, a tear appearing in her eye.
"I am now," said the Skakdi.
He reached up to brush the tear from her eye, and as he did so, she caught his hand and brought it to her face. Resting her cheek on his palm, she smiled.
"You know this is a dream," she murmured.
"Your point?" he asked.
She caught one of the spines on his neck and pulled him closer, planting another kiss on his lips.
"Cedrak," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I love you."
"I love you, too," he said, kissing her cheek and drawing her closer.
Now, the pair simply stood there. It could have been seconds, days, or years, but time has no meaning in the realm of slumber. Finally, Lestra leaned back.
"It's time," she said.
Reluctantly, the Skakdi released the Toa who began to back away.
"Cedrak, we're going to get you out of there!" she called, as she grew fainter.
"I know you will!" he called in return.
The endless void dissolved in an instant, and the dream faded from memory as a pair of hands pulled him roughly from his cot and forced him onto his knees, on the cold hard floor.
"It's your lucky day," said one of the guards, as another pair restrained each of the inmates. "You won't be interrogated today. The prison master wants you healed up for something extra special," he added with a sadistic grin.
All three prisoners' faces fell as the organic tissue on their arms was punctured by needles that injected their daily dosage of Vorzhic venom. The guards left a tray of food on the floor, before pulling the door behind them. Cedrak reached for one of the small clumps that sat in a pile on it. He stared at it for a moment, trying to remember his dream. It had all faded, except for a few bits; all he could recall was Lestra's face and the feeling of peace that had surrounded him. Finally, he shook it off and tossed the clump to Koth.
"They don't even give us the pleasure of eating," grumbled the Toa of Stone.
The food stuffs given to them on a daily basis contained all the energy they needed to survive, but, as they found out the hard way, they tasted like the underside of a Kane-Ra's hoof, leaving them to simply absorb the sticky masses.
"Well, what do you expect?" asked Taiyu, as he picked one up himself. "This is a prison."
Koth sighed as the food in his hand was sucked in.
"At least we get a day where we aren't – what the?"
The others turned to see the Stone Toa holding out his hand. Where a colorless mass had been a moment before, there sat a small, thin tablet.
"It was inside my food," he said.
Looking closely, he saw, etched into the tablet, were light carvings.
"It's…a message," he said, trying to make out what it said. "'Replaced venom, do not…escape, wait for signal.'"
The others looked up in unison and immediately tried to use their powers. A small pebble leapt from the floor and swept towards Koth, a forcefield appeared in Cedrak's hand, and a layer of ice formed over Taiyu's food.
"Our powers are back," whispered Cedrak.
He closed his eyes, and a smile spread over his face.
Taiyu turned to Koth.
"Does that thing say what the signal will be?" he asked.
Koth peered closer.
"All it has is a big circle on the bottom," he said, "and the way it's drawn, it looks like it's shining."
"Somehow, I think we'll know it when we see it," Cedrak said.
"So, what now?" asked Koth. "Do we just sit here, waiting for our rescuers?"
Taiyu gasped.
"What?" asked Cedrak.
"I just had a brilliant idea!" said the Ice Toa.
"Well, don't keep us in the dark!" said Koth.
"Okay, here's what we do…"
* * *
Lestra's eyes opened slowly as dawn's first rays fell over her face. She smiled as she recalled what little of her dream she could. Cedrak was safe, at least for now. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. As her eyes travelled around the female barracks, she realized she was one of the first ones awake. After a moment of puzzling, she chuckled.
"Of course, it's Sahterday," she thought.
She rolled out of bed and made her way to the MERAH's cafeteria. After selecting a few items, she moved to a table near the doorway. Only a few other beings were up at this point, but Lestra had always been an early riser, unless, of course, the day before had been long or hard. She bit into a Madu fruit as her thoughts turned to her Vhalentain.
"I wonder how he's fairing," she thought, her thoughts dampening her mood slightly.
"Hello, Lestra," said a voice.
The Toa of Lightning looked up to see Tivari standing next to her, and Nerugin next to him.
"Do you mind if we sit wit' you?" asked the female Menirun.
"Oh, not at all."
Lestra moved over, allowing the others more room.
"What has you up this early?" asked Lestra. "Don't Menirun usually take Sahterday off?"
Nerugin chuckled.
"'Usually,' is de key word dere," she said. "I got a call a few hours ago to fix one of de portals, and I got Tivari up to help me. De portal had shut down by itself and clipped off a soldier's heel."
Lestra gasped and covered her mouth.
"Oh my, was he hurt?" she asked.
Tivari shook his head.
"It just got the edge of his armor," he said, "though I'd hate to think what might have happened if he were a second or two late."
Both females just sat for a moment, rather unpleasant images playing in their mind.
"So anyway," said Nerugin, "I'm very impressed by your brother here, Lestra. When I was showing him de big gate last night, he was actually pointing out ways to maximize power, minimize dimensional flux, among other things. Where did you learn so much?" she asked the Gravity Toa. "Did you go to a university?"
Tivari smiled.
"Actually, I've only been off Tedra Nui a few times. Those kinds of things just come naturally to me."
"Well, I was seriously impressed. Maybe once we get de portal working again, I could show you some t'eories I've been working on," she added.
"I'd like that," he said.
Lestra eyebrow rose for a moment. She was about to speak when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked, she saw no one there.
"Odd," she thought.
Just around the corner, another figure stood, listening to the other beings' conversation. He had almost gone in but, upon seeing the female Menirun, had quickly backpedaled. He released a breath he did not realize he was holding as he leaned against the wall just outside the doorway. He jumped at the sound of laughter.
"So Tivari, did you become a Toa wit' the rest of your team, or were you all separate?"
That voice. He had heard it in his sleep for years, as long as she had been a part of the resistance. It was as soothing as a babbling brook and gentle as a summer's breeze. And yet, as he listened, his heart was wrenched by that very voice. There he stood for a full five minutes. Over and over, he heard the same name, Tivari.
Rhenton swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he finally tore himself from the wall and walked down the hallway. Tears formed in his eyes as his hands began to quiver. He knew that some of his friends and fellow soldiers were aware of his attraction to the pretty technician, but even those closest to him did not know his true feelings.
"Before I met her," he thought, "I t'ought love at first sight was a joke, a Matoran's tale."
He stopped and leaned against a wall, watching his tears drop to the floor.
"I was dead wrong."
He remembered the the day she had first come into his store. He had been struck by how pretty she looked, and though it had not been the first time a female had caught his eye, something felt different. In less than a decade, she had risen from a low class engineerer to heading the resistance's tech devision, and during that time, the two had become good friends. She had never seen him as anything more than a friend, and he had been content with that, for a while.
"If only I could tell her how much I care about her," he thought. "I can't count de number of times I've tried to tell her how I feel, but it's too late now. She wants…dat Toa. If only I'd known!"
He slammed his fist against the metal wall.
"How was I supposed to know she'd fall for him!"
He stood there, leaning on the wall, his emotions whirling like a maelstrom. Finally, he straightened up and wiped his eyes, trying to regain his composure. He swallowed again.
"I guess…as long as she's happy, dat's good enough for me," he thought.
He himself knew he did not mean it, but he would never hurt her, not for anything. With tears still glistening on his face, he slowly walked back to the barracks.
"G'mornin' tae…ye."
Rhenton did not even look up as he passed the Toa of Ice. Tsonclad looked at the Menirun and then looked at where he had come from.
"What on…?" he wondered. "What's gotten intae him?"