Chapter 7: Protect a Friend

"Ah, nothing like the sight of a flustered star gazer."

Nuju turned around from his seat next to Laney. He saw four of the teams: Ronin and Whenua, Matau and Keika, Onewa and Shane, Keyok and Cairos and Vakama.

"Be quiet, librarian." muttered Nuju.

"Nuju? Flustered?" Laney was somehow oblivious to Nuju's crush on her. "Nothing flusters the powerful Toa of Ice." She lightly punched him in the shoulder, like she did with her fellow Keerahk. It was meant as a friendly gesture, but it made Nuju's heartlight race.

"I… have to check on someone! New scholars!" Nuju got up and almost tripped, but quickly straightened himself out and dashed off.

Shane sat down on Laney's left and held her hand. "Mmm, you're all warmed up now." Laney pretended to shiver again just so her boyfriend would cuddle up closer.

"She's faking it." Ronin whispered, barely loud enough for the others to hear. "But that's typical. Laney and Shane, the sweetest couple on Metru Nui."

"I ship them!" Cairos joked.

Matau looked offended. "Hey! What about me and my love-dear Nokama?"

Keika rolled her eyes. "Nokama hasn't said anything about a relationship since the last time she saved you from drowning."

"It's hard to be this ever-handsome..." Matau looked off in the distance, clearly stuck in a daydream.

Keyok just had to say something snarky. "It's harder for you to come down from your fantasy."

"Uh, speaking of Nokama, do you think she's all right?" asked Vakama. He had a crush on her too, contributing to an unfriendly rivalry with Matau.

"She's with Haidie in Ga-Metru. They're looking for the sixth set of gems." said Keika.

"Once that's done, we're at the halfway point." said Cairos.

Haidie and Nokama normally worked well together. Nokama had been a fixture in the Chase family's life since the three kids were babies, helping Aislina with the seemingly endless tasks of motherhood. As time went on, Nokama taught the kids foreign languages, along with how to swim. She also resolved multiple cases of sibling rivalry.

But sometimes, Nokama had a hard time realizing that the kids she once baby-sat were grown up. This was one of those times.

"Haidie, this street is busy." warned Nokama.

"I know," Haidie rolled her eyes, "I chased Keyok here all the time when I was training."

Nokama tried to hide her horror at the mental image of Haidie and Keyok running around in the street. "Well you won't be chasing your siblings in the street now. We're looking for the gems."

"Tin staffs, Nokama!" snapped Haidie. "I'm not a little kid anymore! I know what we're looking for, and I can protect myself!" She wrenched her arm out of Nokama's grip and ran off.

"Haidie!" called Nokama. "Haidie, come back! We have to work together!" By now, Haidie was well out of earshot. Added to the fact that Nokama was a swimmer, not a runner, it was hopeless to find Haidie.

The rhyme was simpler than some of the others. Haidie remembered it well. She mumbled it as she walked at the edge of the canals, trying to think.

Success in the quest will surely end

Unless you succeed to protect a friend.

"Not that Nokama's my friend. She can't get out of her babysitter role." grumbled Haidie. But when she looked at her reflection in the slow-moving canals, she realized how young she appeared. Long pigtails, big eyes, rounded face, and barely any curves. No wonder Nokama wanted to protect her - she still looked like a child.

But at the same time, she knew that there was more to her than that. She wore the dolphin insignia of a Bordahk Kerai on her jumpsuit, representing her command over six squadrons in Ga-Metru. She carried gleaming silver stun staffs, and she had the authority to uphold the laws of Metru Nui.

Normally this would have reassured Haidie, and she would have gone about with her day. But for some reason it didn't. In more ways than one, she felt indebted to Nokama.

"This is... complicated." she said to nobody in particular. Suddenly, her communication unit went off. Haidie picked it up, expecting a prank from Matau.

"Kerai Haidiaque." announced the voice on the other end. Definitely not Matau. The voice sounded unfamiliar, maybe even dangerous.

"Who are you?" asked Haidie. "How did you get my number?"

"That's not important. Do you know what is important?"

Haidiaque was pissed off. "I don't have time for games! Get to the point!" She was about to say something else. But the voice on the other end interrupted…

"Toa Nokama is in danger."

—-

Nokama's eyes slowly opened and regained their amber glow. Her head hurt like the time she dove into a swimming pool and hit her head on the bottom. At least that was for a good cause; she did it to rescue an LC trainee who had no business in the deep end…

"Oh, she's awake." The same voice that had called Haidiaque echoed through the darkness.

Nokama cursed under her breath, a habit she had picked up from Laney. Not that the single-heart Keerahk would be of any help at the moment. There was one person who could help… but Nokama had probably broken that relationship beyond repair.

I was wrong, Haidie. The thought wasn't voiced, but a tear spilled down her cheek anyway. She tried to wipe it, but her wrists were bound above her head.

You can save me, but you don't have to forgive me. Because no matter how much I see you as a vulnerable child, you are a full-fledged chaser. I'm sorry, Haidie…

Meanwhile, Haidie snuck past the guards. She had heard Nokama's voice in her mind, and hastened her steps. She responded telepathically, so the guards wouldn't hear her.

Nokama, I'm guilty too. I should have stayed with you because we're working as a team. We have to find these gems…

The only problem with communicating through thought is that it takes a lot of focus. This inevitably meant Haidie wasn't completely focused on other important things. Including the location of the laser trip wire…

BEEP BEEP BEEP "Intruder Alert!" BEEP BEEP BEEP "Intruder Alert!" BEEP BEEP BEEP...

Haidie began to back away, but her round crystal-blue eyes met a set of narrow light-orange eyes. A rogue Bordahk, Haidie realized.

"State your intention!" ordered the rogue Bordahk, brandishing a single - and admittedly over-sized - stun staff. The edges crackled with electricity. As if that wasn't enough, something seemed off about her voice. It was entirely too digital, like a phone's voice directed assistant.

"Hey, I'm a Bordahk just like you are. Can't we have a reasonable discussion? Preferably without the involvement of weapons."

The rogue Bordahk snarled. Clearly she was beyond reasonable discussion. But her arm trembled, as if the staff was too heavy.

"Allow me to relieve you of that weight," Haidie grasped the rogue Bordahk's arm, right above the wrist, and pushed her thumb into a pressure point. The rogue Bordahk dropped her stun staff. It hit the floor and shorted out.

"I don't want to fight you." said Haidie. She silently thanked Nokama for instructing the "de-escalating a situation" courses in Secondary Training.

"That's too bad." said the rogue Bordahk. "At this point you have two options: surrender or run."

Haidie knew that the Vahki squadrons as a whole had given up that particular concept long ago. But when it came to rogues, you just had to play their game until the right time.

"If you show me where you're keeping Nokama hostage, I'll go with you. That's surrender."

The rogue Bordahk paused, considering the option. Then she grabbed Haidie by the wrist and pulled her along.

Haidie looked around. She saw multiple empty cells. Then a tall blue figure, slumped over with her hands tied above her.

"Nokama! Visitor!"

Nokama's head slowly lowered at the sound of the rogue Bordahk's voice. But the glow in her amber eyes held the brilliance of a binary sunrise. Haidie could tell that Nokama was using a classic strategy: pretend the enemy has you beaten, then strike.

The rogue Bordahk made the mistake of turning her back and leaving. She figured (incorrectly) that Haidie was just a young trainee. No sooner had she done this than Nokama slid out of the bonds and grabbed her hydro blades. "Haidie, the rhyme…"

Haidie recited the rhyme: "Success in the quest will surely end, unless you succeed to protect a friend."

Nokama took a deep breath. "Haidie, from this day forth, I'm no longer your babysitter or teacher. I'm your friend."

"And I'm your friend too." said Haidie, clanking Nokama's fist. "Let's get out of here and find those gems."

Back at the surface, Nokama breathed in the fresh air of Ga-Metru. She smiled at Haidie, who smiled back. The relationship had since been repaired, and they were ready to work together again…

"WHOA!" Nokama tripped over an uneven nano-cobblestone in the street. Haidie went to help the Toa of Water up. Her expression of concern soon turned to one of joy. "Nice find, Nokama!"

"What do you… oh! It's the gems!" Nokama stood up. There were two glowing silver clusters. Haidie took one and Nokama took the other.

Back in Ko-Metru, the teams reunited. Each elemental pair sat together.

"Six down, six to go." said Keika. "But we can't get excited just yet. I was just summoned to the palace, where Termina gave me the next half of the mission."

"What's the plan?" asked Shane.

"The last six clusters are hidden far beneath the city," said Keika. She noticed how Matau rolled his eyes. He hated going underground. "Also, we can't split into teams like we did earlier. Now we have to travel as one group. So if everyone gets along, it should be fine."

One thought passed through everyone's head at once...

"Easier said than done."