-Yes, it's finally updated! Thank you everyone for reviewing and being so patient. I'd also like to thank Whale Shark 7 for helping me edit this chapter.-
Chapter 11 – Part 2
The structure at the top of the Coliseum held a wonderful view of the City of Legends, but Matau was more interested in the view inside the structure. The Toa of Air turned in a circle as he walked, looking for any flashes of red that would tell him where Vakama was hiding. Where is he? I could have sworn I saw him move-walk in this direction. He paused in the middle of the area, listening for any signs of his friend, but he only heard his own heavy breathing.
"Vakama!" He called, almost not wanting an answer. He was nervous, afraid even, of what his friend had become. Vakama had gone from determined Toa to evil Hordika. He had also burned the Great Temple, captured the Rahaga, and had tried to kill Matau. What was to stop him from killing Matau now? Even the color of Vakama's eyes had changed, from their usual golden glow, to a poisonous green. Matau turned around once again, but still saw nothing, until his keen Hordika hearing caught a sound coming from behind. Glancing behind him, he yelped, rolled to the left and scarcely managed to evade Vakama's burning claw as it crashed to the ground. Quickly recovering from his roll, Matau crouched low and readied his own claw, amazed at his near escape. Vakama started to circle the green Toa, growling, like some sort of Muaka cat.
"What has happened to you?" Matau asked, looking at his changed friend. "Well, you know, outside the obvious." Oops.
Vakama leapt forward with a vengeance and the Toa of Air barely dodged. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Matau scolded himself each time he jumped back from the red Hordika's attacks. He then swung at Vakama, hoping to slow his opponent down long enough to say something. But the red Hordika dodged and when the green Toa aimed a kick, Vakama grabbed his foot, flipped him, and rammed the green Toa into the wall. Matau heard his body slam into the wall and felt the pain, like lightning, course through his head. When his vision cleared, Matau blocked Vakama's oncoming claw with one hand and tried to strike with his own, only to have Vakama block that and put them both in a dead lock.
"Please," Matau panted, "I don't want to battle-fight you!"
"Why?" the red Hordika laughed. "Afraid you'll lose?" He then shoved Matau against the wall again and threw him across the room and prepared to fire his Rhotuka spinner. Matau saw this and panicked.
"No, Vakama don-" but his plea was cut off as the spinner hit the floor at his feet. The force sent Matau flying backwards toward the edge of the tower. "No! Nononononono!" he cried as his hands clawed at the floor desperately trying to stop himself. But his hands found nothing as he went over the edge.
Vakama straightened, and walked towards where the green Toa had fallen. Much to his annoyance, he found Matau still clinging to the edge, his hand shaking with the effort of not letting go. Time to end this, Vakama thought as he stepped on Matau's shaking hand.
The green Toa cried out as pain coursed through his fingers as the red Hordika of Fire stepped on his hand and ground it into the stone. He could feel his fingers crushing beneath Vakama's foot as the red Hordika kneeled down to bring the two closer to eye level.
"Humiliated, dangling above his doom, the only one who can save the great Matau is the cross-wired fire-spitter. Who's stronger now?" Vakama asked. Matau didn't answer. "Admit it, brother, you are weak."
Matau flinched at the way Vakama said 'brother'. The word could have been an insult the way he said it. "You're right, Vakama, I am weak," he finally answered, looking away from the Hordika's eyes. Just move-go with it, he thought.
Vakama smiled. "So, in the end you see the truth."
"All the Toa are weak, Vakama, including you."
"What?" Vakama growled, standing and increasing pressure on Matau's hand.
"Augh! L-let me explain!" Matau cried through the pain.
"No!" Vakama said, "No, let me explain something to you, Toa Matau: I'm stronger now, more that I've ever been. You looked down upon me when I was weak, but now that I'm strong, I'm looking down upon you."
"I never looked down upon you, Vakama. Mad-glared at you, yes, but never looked down upon," the green Toa insisted.
"Then what would you call constantly pointing out my faults? What would you call criticizing my plans and calling me crazy?"
"I'd call them mistakes."
"Oh, you'd know all about mistakes, wouldn't you Matau? You constantly reminded me of mine!" Vakama snarled, anger burning in his eyes. "I never did a single thing you thought right. If anything went wrong, it was my fault! Well, now it's you who's made the mistake. You should have run off while you had the chance."
"We all make mistakes, Vakama. That's what happens when you're brave enough to make decisions. I understand that now."
"You couldn't concern yourself with understanding then, could you?"
"I'm sorry, for doubting you. I didn't realize how much we needed you," Matau said, glancing nervously over his shoulder at the distant ground.
"I don't believe that coming from you!" Vakama shouted, his claw ablaze and ready to strike.
"Well you didn't believe it coming from Nokama either!"
Vakama paused, then slowly lowered his claw. "What do you mean?"
"Before she left, she asked you to come with her, to come and be with the Toa again. She told you how much we needed you, but you didn't believe her. Don't you past-remember?"
Vakama remembered, he could recall the exact conversation he had with Nokama: "Why don't you come with me? We need you, Vakama. The Toa are nothing without a leader."
"One of the others would accept the duty, I'm sure."
"No they wouldn't. We all want you back."
"Why didn't you run-escape with her? Why didn't you come back?" the green Toa asked with a trace of dejection in his voice. "If it was all the mad-angry things I said, I'm sorry."
"No, you're not sorry. You got me to leave. You got Nokama all to yourself."
"Are you really cross-wired, Vakama?" he asked. "Nokama doesn't love me! She loves you. Or did you miss all the obvious hint-signs?" His fingers were becoming numb with pain now, and he doubted he could hold on for much longer.
"No she doesn't! If she does, then why didn't she stay with me? Why did she choose you?" the red Hordika asked.
"She didn't choice-pick me. She went-left because she knew what the Visorak are doing is evil-wrong. Nokama knew her duty to the Matoran. The same Matoran you swore to save-rescue."
"It's not that I wouldn't be happy with you—I would." Nokama had said. "It's just, doesn't this feel wrong to you? Working for the dark side, I mean. Can't you feel how it's wrong?" Vakama remembered now.
"She came back to save-rescue you! You, Vakama, not the beast you've become. She fell in love with the leader of the Toa, not the tyrant of the Visorak Horde."
Slowly, Vakama took his foot off of Matau's hand, a million things running through his head. 'How could have I forgotten about the Matoran? And what about the others? The Visorak could have killed them by now! And Nokama . . . does she really love me?Matau's right, what have I turned into?'
Matau could feel himself slipping. Glancing at the ground far below, he continued with what time he had left. "You know, our leader, I considered him my best friend. I came here to rescue that Toa. And if there's any of the Vakama I know left, he'll know what to do next." Then, the last of his strength spent, Matau let go of the edge.
"No! Matau!" Vakama yelled, throwing himself to the floor, trying to grab Matau's hand, too late, watching in horror as his friend began to fall to his death.
-So . . . what do you think? Please review.-
