"Everyone will be so happy to see you!" Tamaru said as she bounced down the path. "We were all worried sick!"

Zaekura walked a few steps behind her, flanked by Charla, Antroz, and Emsar. "Yeah, dealing with Atero wasn't exactly easy, but we managed. I'm hoping it'll go a little smoother when we have to take the fight to them."

Tamaru hummed. "That'd be nice...you controlling Atero. Ah, here we are!"

They arrived in a clearing lined with scores of people: Matoran, Toa, Glatorian, and Agori of all kinds, some on solid ground while others perched in the surrounding trees, creating a circular wall of eyes all trained on the visitors. Zaekura felt like she was trying to walk underwater.

"Okay, everyone's here! Go on, Zaekura."

"Right, of course. Um…"

She found herself unable to recall the words she had prepared. Charla set a hand on her shoulder then, reminding her to breathe, and she was able to relax a little.

"First of all," Zaekura said, "I'd like to thank you all for welcoming us. It isn't lost on me how out of the ordinary this gesture is, nor the implicit risk my being here carries. My name is Zaekura. Up until recently, I lived a very quiet life...but now, the Great Beings have it out for me, since I'm one of the rare few who possess the same potential as them. I've had to fight to defend myself, and it's been…quite an adjustment. But now I realize this isn't just about me. Countless lives have been destroyed by the Great Beings, and countless more live in constant fear of them. And I want that to end. So now, we're fighting to stop the Great Beings and take control of Spherus Magna, to reform it into a place where nobody has to live in fear."

Quiet murmurings rippled through the crowd. To Zaekura, it was nearly deafening.

"I know that I can't do something like this on my own, so I'm asking for help from anyone who'll listen. We've approached you because we think Bota Magna's natural resources would be a big help to our cause, but if anyone wants to join the fight, we'll gladly take you. No matter what, though, I want you all to know this: you are welcome any time. Even if I go back empty-handed, each and every one of you will be free to come and go from my territory as you please, and we'll fight just as hard to defend you. I don't need anything in return for that."

The chattering grew louder. Kiina emerged from the crowd then, saying, "You say you'll defend us? How do you plan to do that? You're provoking the Great Beings, fighting nonstop against an insurmountable enemy. That doesn't sound safe in the slightest."

Zaekura breathed. "I understand your concern. There will absolutely be risk, I won't deny that. Our current forces include several Makuta, a few hundred Rahkshi, the militia of both Xia and Mahri-Nui, and a large number of Vorox under the command of the Sand Lord. Several individuals have already requested to be part of a team dedicated to protecting Bota Magna, if you'll have them."

Kiina grumbled—not a very clear response, but it was the only one she offered. Taipu was next to emerge, waving and calling, "Hey, Zaekura! Did you get a chance to try out Nuparu's invention yet?"

She smiled. "I was able to take a look at it and test it out. That's one impressive machine! We're still working to reproduce and install them, but we should be using it in a matter of days. Thanks again, Nuparu."

Taipu shook Nuparu, who tried to hide his grin. Zaekura waited while the chatter continued. Soon, Takua came forward, saying, "I can't speak for everyone, but...I think you make a pretty good case, Zaekura. The fact is, we are living in fear—I don't think that'll change much whether we stay here or come back to the city. Being that close to the fight is definitely scary, so I understand why someone might prefer to stay here. But, a chance to change things, to make a future where we don't feel like we have to hide...that sounds pretty good too. If you show me a team that I'm convinced can keep Bota Magna safe, I'll be willing to fight alongside you."

New energy rushed into Zaekura. "Thank you! I'll bring them out to meet with you as soon as possible!"

The Le-Koronans talked amongst themselves. Taipu and Nuparu came into the clearing, the former saying, "We're definitely coming back with you! This is so exciting!"

Gradually, more and more Le-Koronans followed suite. One of them, a Toa of Earth with weathered black and purple armor, came up to Zaekura and smiled at her.

"I can tell that you have a good heart, dear," she said. "I'm a bit too attached to these woods to leave now, but I want to offer you what help I can."

"Oh, thank you very much, uh…"

"The name's Korgot, dear. I've become very familiar with the lay of the land here, so if you're looking for spots to mine or to log, I've got a few in mind. Just promise me you won't overdo it. The people are important, but we have to take care of the jungle itself, too."

"Korgot. Yes, I promise. Thank you so much!"

They briefly discussed when would be a good time to send a mining team, and then Zaekura answered the questions of a few more Le-Koronans until it seemed everyone's decision had been made. She gazed over them all, ultimately turning to Charla.

"I'd say this went well."

Charla giggled. "I'm inclined to agree. Is there anything more you wanted to add, or do we just have that final matter?"

Zaekura glanced back at Emsar, and the Vortixx came to her side. Turning back towards the Le-Koronans remaining behind, she said, "There's one last thing before we go. I wanted to let you know that Emsar here is venturing deeper into Bota Magna; she'll be fine on her own, I just didn't want anyone to be surprised if they saw her."

Takua looked up at Emsar. "Alright. Where's she headed, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Valwahi."

The clearing grew eerily still. Quietly, Takua repeated, "Valwahi?"

Zaekura nodded. "Like I said, I'm asking anyone who'll listen."

"Do you think they will? The Valwahans aren't exactly the most understanding bunch."

"I have to try. Even if we can't become allies, maybe I can at least make peace with them—that'd be one huge load off my plate when getting things in order once this is all over. Though, I could be thinking a little far ahead with that..."

"Heh...I guess a little optimism doesn't have to hurt." Facing Emsar, Takua said, "Good luck, then. Don't hesitate to ask for help if things go wrong."

"Much appreciated, but you needn't worry about me," Emsar said. "I'm quite prepared should events take a dire turn."

The Le-Koronans began to scatter, as did Emsar. Antroz said, "Emsar. Please do be careful."

She grinned back at her. "You too, Makuta? I thought you of all people would know better. Your lack of faith in me is demoralizing."

"It is precisely because I have faith in you that I'm letting you go alone. This is something that only you can do."

Emsar paused, then turned away. "Hmhm...you're still no fun." She disappeared before anything else could be said.

Zaekura turned back to her party, now far larger than the one she had entered with. "Alright. Let's get everyone back to Xia!"

"Um…"

She realized Tamaru had come up behind her. "What's up?"

Tamaru fidgeted, eyes scanning back and forth over the dirt. "I, uh...I've been giving it a lot of thought...I didn't say anything before because I hadn't really decided, but now, I…" She shut her eyes tight. "I-I want to come with you!"

"Really? If you need more time to think, that's okay."

Tamaru shook her head. "No...I need to go before I lose my nerve. I mean, I am nervous, but...if I can really be myself around everyone...I guess I feel like I just have to know."

Zaekura nodded. "I'll do whatever I can to help. Are you ready to go?"

After taking one last look back into the jungle, Tamaru nodded. "Yeah. Let's go!"

Hewkii raced down the field, battling for control of the ball with a Toa of Earth. He pulled back his kolhii stick; the Toa of Earth, expecting him to knock the ball forward, shifted his weight to block. Hewkii then swung his stick around, hit the ball back the way they had come, and immediately leapt back to scoop it up.

"The Hydruka's Hewkii has finally wrested the ball away from Dosne! He's headed right for Kazi, and the Iconox Iron Wolves' goalie sure doesn't look ready for him!"

Hewkii carefully observed the Toa of Ice he needed to aim around. Kazi was laser-focused, but stiff in his movements. He could hear Dosne approaching—at the last second, he threw the ball with all the force he could muster, and it sailed just past Kazi to the cheers of the crowd.

In a special balcony high up the arena's wall, Ekimu laughed at the spectacle. "That Hewkii's pretty good! Maybe I shouldn't kill him after all."

Standing next to him, Ahkmou chuckled. He busied himself jotting down notes for an article, but his thoughts were elsewhere. This is the opposite of what I wanted. The tournament was supposed to distract these common idiots from the rebellion, but everyone's heard that Hewkii's defected—with him center stage, I'm sure it's all they're thinking about!

He joined Ekimu's cheer as another ball was set into play.

Sure, no one's stupid enough to speak out while Lord Ekimu is right here, but that's ignoring the bigger picture. This is long-term, delicate work. If I don't think of something fast, it's all going to go right down the drain…

Hewkii leapt in to intercept Dosne's shot. Swinging around, he then sent the ball flying back across the court, catching Kazi completely by surprise. The crowd roared.

"Incredible!" the announcer cried. "The Mahri-Nui Hydruka have won by a landslide! Looks like they'll be moving onto the next round, folks! I know I don't want to be the team unlucky enough to go up against them!"

Ekimu applauded with the crowd, but his hands steadily fell still. "Alright, game's over. You can come out now."

Ahkmou looked over his shoulder, expecting to see one of the Makuta coming to join them. But he couldn't quite make out what he was looking at. The shadows in the balcony moved strangely, almost as if they had a will of their own, refusing to surrender the visitor to the light; all Ahkmou could see clearly was an organic purple face with numerous ridges over where a nose and mouth should have been. Confused and terrified at the sight, Ahkmou could only remain silent.

"Forgive the intrusion, Lord Ekimu," the face said. "We wanted to consult with you, to clarify our orders before acting."

Ekimu continued to watch the field as the two teams exited. "Who are you?"

"I am Eliminator, of Odina. The Keeper's realized that the operatives sent previously failed to carry out Lord Heremus's orders, so my partner and I have been dispatched to rectify the situation."

"So that's it. You want Hewkii, I take it?"

Eliminator's face moved, the shadows moving with it. "He seemed like a good place to start...but, since you haven't intervened thus far, we suspected you had another plan."

"I wouldn't say that. I just don't want the kolhii tournament interrupted. Once his team's done, take him if you want."

Ahkmou jumped as a sudden burst of energy appeared in the space next to Eliminator. The energy grew into a swirling portal, and out of it stepped another being: he was tall, at least twice the height of a Matoran, clad in blue and gold armor that shone through the darkness that clung to his companion. Ahkmou didn't recognize the gold mask he wore, but he found his eyes more drawn to the enormous double blade he carried.

Kneeling, he said, "If I may, Lord Ekimu. I think there is a much more fruitful route we can take."

Ekimu grunted.

"Once the tournament has concluded, we will see that Hewkii and his team remain here in Civitas Magna...and be sure that the whole planet knows it. I have heard that Zaekura is quite the bleeding heart, and I am certain that if she knows one of her allies is being held here, she will march in an effort to save him. Once we have lured her in, Eliminator and I will capture her and bring her to Lord Heremus—what happens to her associates will be no concern of ours then."

"So we bait her out. What was your name?"

The being grinned. "I am Brutaka, my lord."

At this, Ekimu finally turned around. After staring at Brutaka for a few moments, he said, "I thought you sounded familiar. Good. If you're here, then the Keeper must be done messing around."

The crowd began to cheer as new teams took the field.

"Go ahead," Ekimu said as he turned back to watch. "As long as you don't make a move before the tournament's over, I couldn't care less."

Brutaka nodded. "Of course, Lord Ekimu. If you'll excuse us."

Another portal opened, and Brutaka disappeared into it. Eliminator was already gone by the time Ahkmou turned to look. Facing the field once again, the Toa thought, Odinans...and they're going to draw Zaekura here...how am I going to cover that up? Can our public opinion survive something like this? If we lose control of the people…

"Ahkmou."

The Toa started. "Y-Yes, my lord?"

"You're nervous."

"Ah...I was just shaken by such a sudden arrival. I'm sorry, my lord: I'll focus on my job."

"Good."

Ahkmou watched as two new teams met in the center of the field. If we lose control of the people...then that means I failed to do what the Great Beings asked. What will happen to me then?

Outside the stadium, Gaaki and Tarduk regrouped near the south entrance. Flipping through her notes, Gaaki said, "Well, that should be enough of a sample size. Any favorites among the people you asked?"

Tarduk squatted next to the wall with a sigh. "The Hydruka are the talk of the town, surprise surprise. Remains to be seen if Ahkmou will even let us publish all this."

"Same on my end. A couple of die-hards for the other teams, but they hardly have enough to say to fill a feature. A full day's work and we're probably going to end up with a block under the horoscopes…"

Tarduk craned his neck. A particularly dense section of crowd had gathered on the other side of the street, thick enough that he couldn't see exactly what had drawn them. He went to push his way closer, Gaaki following for lack of any other distraction, but the Ga-Matoran soon began to fall behind. Glancing back at her, Tarduk saw that her eyes had gone wide.

"What's the matter?" Tarduk asked.

"You mean you don't…" She shook her head. "Er, right, you can't see from here. Come on!"

Gaaki dove into the crowd. Tarduk began to have second thoughts, but, figuring it was too late now, went in after her. At the epicenter was a Toa of Stone wearing a Komau, with various stone carvings laid out before him on a blanket. The sign behind him made the Agori stiffen: "CARVINGS FOR SALE! ALL PROFITS HELP NYNRAHN REFUGEES!"

"Gaaki," Tarduk said, grabbing her by the arm.

"I'm just looking," she said, picking up a small carving.

"With your hands?"

"Yes."

The Toa of Stone turned towards them. "Anything you're interested in?"

Gaaki set the carving down. "Just browsing. This is impressive work, uh…"

"Onewa."

"Onewa...oh, you made the statue they added to District 2458's historical center!"

"So someone does remember! Maybe that commission was worth it after all." He turned away for a moment to make a sale.

"What brings you here?" Tarduk asked.

"I'm an old friend of one of the players in the tourney. You know Hewkii?"

Tarduk stiffened further. "...I've heard quite a lot about him."

"We go way back. Though, I ended up not being able to get a ticket...but, at least I have a chance to sell some of this work. We need all the help we can get."

Gaaki prepared to ask something. Tarduk tugged on her arm. She debated continuing anyway, but then the crowd began to quiet, and they both turned to see why. Their spines turned to ice at the sight of Vamprah cutting through the masses.

"Ah," Onewa said, climbing to his feet, "that took longer than expected. Not the Makuta I was prepared for, either."

Vamprah stalked forward without a word. Just as Onewa was about to say something more, the Makuta snatched him up in his claws and hurled him against the arena wall. Total stillness fell over the crowd. Turning to the remaining carvings, Vamprah waved one hand and unleashed a burst of Plasma, melting them in a matter of seconds. Then, he turned around to see Onewa slowly getting to his feet.

"Heh...you live up to your reputation," the Toa said. Blood could be seen dripping from the gashes left in his armor. "Guess that's what I get for pushing my luck, huh?"

Vamprah advanced towards him again. Tarduk struggled to keep Gaaki still.

"But...I'm not gonna make it that easy for you." Onewa took something in his hand, a pellet of some kind, and grinned as he crushed it. In the next instant, he was gone.

Vamprah froze. He scanned his surroundings, but saw no trace of his target. Giving one last look to the crowd, Vamprah unfurled his wings and took to the skies, slowly coasting towards the inner city. Gradually, the crowd scattered, while Gaaki just stood staring at the still-warm slag that had been beautiful carvings mere seconds ago.

"He got out," Tarduk said.

"Yeah...this time. But with Vamprah hunting the Nynrahns, their chances look pretty bleak, don't they?"

Tarduk sighed. "What can we actually do, Gaaki? If we step out of line, we're going to disappear just like Kodan."

"I know!" Gaaki turned and rubbed her temples. After a bit of thought, she said, "Tarduk...don't tell Ahkmou we were here to see this."

The Agori raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Gaaki locked eyes with him. "Please, just don't. He can't know. If he does...then nobody else will."

It took Tarduk a long time to decide on his answer. "Alright. But there's nothing else I can do to help you, Gaaki. Terrible as things are getting, I just don't see an opening yet…"

Gaaki nodded. They parted ways then, Tarduk heading into the stadium while Gaaki found a secluded bench to rest on. She glanced around, making sure no one was looking, and then pulled at the corner of her breastplate, opening it just long enough to remove a small crystal she quickly tucked into her bag.

A few witnesses are easy to dismiss. But if everyone sees what happened, then at the very least they'll have to work a lot harder to lie. I'll need to be careful about exactly what footage I use...but by this time tomorrow, I'll make sure everyone can see the truth.

ADDENDUM:

-The Le-Koronans not having any sort of leadership is proving...tricky. My first draft of that scene was such a mess I had to just throw the whole thing out. In any event, Zaekura's expanded her sphere of influence, and I'm excited to have Nuparu on-hand. Korgot also keeps the G2 train rolling: since Elements weren't gender-locked in G2, it provides a few characters who can show up here as trans Toa, though I don't want to just throw them all in solely for the sake of having them, whether I think I can do them justice or not. Korgot's always been one of my favorites, though. She gets first dibs.

-I'll get into details about Valwahi soon. Like, a handful of chapters soon, if my current outline is to be believed. Have I explained the name before? I don't remember...but if not, I might as well: it's intended to be a mix of the Matoran words "Valmai", which means "cursed place", and "Wahi", meaning "region." Basically just "this entire region is cursed", abbreviated because "Valmai-Wahi" didn't sound quite as smooth.

-For simplicity's sake, I'm only going to use Toa on the kolhii teams here. Figuring out how the game would work amongst players with wildly different heights would be...difficult. But also for simplicity's sake, Elemental Powers are banned, and they have to wear powerless Kanohi on the field.

-I don't know enough about sports to write an extended kolhii sequence (let alone multiple), so I'm kinda skirting around that as best I can. Besides, I think it's much more exciting to reveal our new pair of Odinans! Narrowing the list took some doing, but in the prime universe Eliminator takes over the jobs other Dark Hunters fail, so he was a natural choice, and Brutaka...well, if you want an Order of Mata Nui member to fill an antagonistic role, who better than the Piraka's playmate himself?

-Onewa was shown when Antroz visited Nynrah way back in the first chapter, so I really wanted to bring him back now that I had the chance. (The number of the District his statue was made for is his Turaga set number backwards.) He escaped thanks to the help of a Rahkshi of Teleportation: Nik (he/him), who is able to produce pellets that others can crush in order to be teleported right back to his side. (Name derived from "panic", since these pellets are basically a panic button.)