Destiny's Divide

by Joey245

After the battle of Atlas, Team RWBY's fall into the void brings them to a world far unlike theirs, where biomechanical beings fight to survive their own immortal lord of darkness. Will they find healing and a way back to Remnant by allying with the powerful Toa? Or will they succumb to the shadows of despair, be they Makuta's or their own? (A BionicleXRWBY crossover. Post V8.)

9. The Growing Storm

(A/N): So…I know that I promised shorter chapters, but once I started writing this one I couldn't stop and before I realized it the chapter had grown to 19k words and every single one of them is necessary. Might wanna get comfy while reading this one, I guarantee it's gonna be a ride!

Also, I hope y'all like underwater scenes, cause this one has a ton! It's only natural, considering we're dealing with the aftermath of the attack on Ga-Koro…

---

"Whoa…that is incredible!"

Takua chuckled as he watched Penny gasp with childlike wonder, pulling her head away from the base of the telescope to stare at the blue expanse of sky ahead of her. Then she looked through the lens of the pedestal-mounted machine again, watching as the stars twinkled against a black backdrop. She swung the crystal mounted on the other end of the mechanical arm back and forth, giggling with delight at the million points of light rushing across her field of view. The Matoran had already taken a look before - he knew exactly what she was seeing even though he himself wasn't looking.

"Pretty cool, huh?" he said as he leaned against the stone pedestal. "No idea what all it all means, but it's really neat."

"It is so beautiful!" squealed the freckled girl. "Papa and I used to watch the stars back on Remnant during the night. He would point out all his favorite constellations, like the Nuckelavee and the Sea Feilong. My favorite was the wandering Wyvern - depending on the time of year, it looks like it is eating the North Star!"

Takua raised an eyebrow behind his mask. "You know…you've told me a lot about the Grimm back on Remnant. Makes this place seem like a paradise in comparison. I think I'll take my chances here instead of your home."

"Oh, it is not all that bad," said Penny as she swung the arm around again. "We have Dust!"

"...which you use to fight the Grimm."

"And Aura!"

"...which you also use to fight the Grimm."

"We also have the Huntsmen Academies!"

"Which are dedicated to teaching people how to fight the Grimm." Takua sighed. "Do you have anything in your world that isn't related to fighting shadow monsters?"

Penny hummed. "We have penguins."

The Matoran shrugged, then fell silent as he let the freckled girl watch the stars in peace. He cast his gaze across the side of the mountainous cliff that the stony telescope rested on, feeling a vague sense of anxiety that he couldn't quite describe. To his left he could see a large sandpit with white and black statues arranged like Mata Nui and Makuta in Vakama's tale, the Great Spirit and his treacherous brother carved out of polished granite and obsidian. To his right was a long and steep set of stairs, which he was dreading going down for the return journey. And behind him sat the telescope, with a main body similar to Toa Tahu's sword arm but ending with a hook that held a green jewel in its grasp. Takua wasn't sure how such a strange machine allowed the user to stare at stars in broad daylight, but he was glad that Penny was enjoying herself at least.

With a sigh he reached into his rucksack and pulled out the parting gift that Vakama had given the pair before they left Ta-Koro: a polished stone about the size of his hand that glowed with its own inner light at his touch. The fiery Turaga had called it a "lightstone," and told the amnesiac Matoran that this one in particular was very special. Whether that was supposed to be a clue about his missing memories or it was just the village elder playing a practical joke, Takua couldn't say. All he knew was that holding the lightstone seemed to be what activated it, allowing it to shine bright enough to illuminate any nearby shadows but not so bright that it hurt to look at.

Why would Vakama give this to me? he thought to himself as he toyed with the lightstone, watching shadows dance in the shifting rays. Why won't he just tell me what I can't remember? I know he said that I'd have to figure it out on my own, but…if it's so important, shouldn't I know about it?

Takua leaned his head back as he closed his eyes, listening to the whistling wind and the distant crashing waves. These were noises that should have brought comfort, but instead they brought its opposite. Each time he cracked an eye open to look at the sandbar far below, a surge of intense anxiety shot through him - again, for reasons he couldn't explain.

There's so much I don't know, he concluded with a sigh. So much that I feel like I should know. Like this place - I can't shake the feeling that there's something important about it. Something that's just out of reach, right on the tip of my mask...but the more I try to focus on it, the farther away it gets. What is wrong with me?

"Wait...is that…?"

His existential musings were interrupted by Penny speaking in an awed whisper, and he looked up to see that she was no longer looking through the telescope. Instead, she was focused on a long red scythe that had buried itself into the mountainside, its blade stuck in a rocky cliff that extended outwards and tapered to a narrow point. Takua had no idea what it was or why it was important, but he felt a sudden sense of severe dread at the sight of it.

And that dread only intensified when Penny started moving towards it.

"Penny, wait!" he called out, trying to follow her but found his feet rooted in place. Nothing might have physically bound him, but his own fear made any restraints unnecessary. He could only watch helplessly as the girl made her way across the stretch of stone, shuffling and stretching her arms out to stay balanced.

"It is alright, Takua," she said with confidence in her voice. "I will be fine. But this…this is important. I cannot believe I did not see this immediately…I must get it now."

The Matoran couldn't take his eyes away from Penny as she carefully reached the scythe, which was precariously perched into the extended clifftop at an awkward angle. She took a deep breath to steady herself, then grabbed the handle with both hands and started pulling. It took a little bit of wiggling and shifting, and it almost seemed like she would slip right over the edge once, but at last the blade of the weapon was pried loose of the stone and dirt. Takua let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding as Penny turned back and smiled at him, shuffling back over to solid ground before running over to him.

"Please don't do that again," he groaned as she approached. Then he tilted his head as he looked at the scythe, which was far more mechanically complex than it looked at a distance. "What is that?"

"It is Crescent Rose!" Penny said breathlessly. "This is Ruby's weapon - a long scythe combined with a customizable high-caliber sniper rifle!"

"A what?"

The girl flipped a lever near the handle, and the entire thing seemed to fold in on itself into a smaller, more compact form. Where once it was a long scythe, it was now a red metal rectangle with a long body in the back and a short barrel at the front.

"...it is also a gun."

"Oh." Takua blinked. "What's a gun?"

"Um…" Penny hummed thoughtfully, biting her lower lips. "Perhaps Ruby can better explain. I hope that we can find her…she will clearly want her weapon back…"

Takua found it strange, the way that Penny was now hugging the so-called "gun", but he didn't say anything. He wanted to reunite the girl with her friends, and judging by how she smiled anytime she talked about Ruby, it made him suspect that their friendship was a very special one to Penny. He couldn't wait to see how bright her smile would get when they met one another again.

I just hope that she's not gonna mask-handle me like Yang did.

---

"...arrogant…stuck-up…Kohlii-headed fire-spitters! Pardon my treespeak."

Ruby hugged her knees to her chest as she sat in the drifting boat, curling up in the midday sun and watching as Macku paced angrily from bow to stern. She hadn't been with the Ga-Matoran when she went to meet with Jaller - she was trying and failing to rest and recover her shattered Aura - but from the way that she was stomping the length of the deck, she could only guess it didn't go well.

"So much for the unmatched bravery of the Ta-Koronan Guard," spat Macku. "'Greatest warriors in Mata Nui' my foot. Oh, sure, they look brave and tough, what with how they parade around their big fancy walls with their big fancy sticks, but the minute one of the other villages is in actual danger it's all 'we don't have anyone who knows how to swim' or 'we need to stay on guard in case the Rahi attack.' Unity, Duty, and Destiny, ha! More like 'Selfishness, Fear, and Laziness!'"

The silver-eyed Huntress curled up just a little tighter, not wanting to say anything that might direct Macku's anger onto her. Not that said anger wasn't justified - if Ruby's entire people was trapped in a hut at the bottom of the bay, she'd be upset that no one else wanted to help as well. At the same time, every minute that Macku spent throwing a tantrum was a wasted one, and with how little air was in the Tidebreaker, there weren't many minutes to waste.

"So…what happens now?" she finally asked timidly, once it seemed that Macku had gotten it out of her system.

The sailor looked over at Ruby, and her gaze softened as she sighed. "Honestly? At this point, I don't know. The pump system was set up and installed by an Onu-Matoran engineer named Nuparu, who wanted to help us reinforce and fortify our village defenses. He's the one who built it, so he might know how to fix it. But his village is underground, inaccessible by sea, and by the time we finally get there and find him my people could already be unconscious or…"

She shook her head as she forced herself to abandon that line of thinking. "No. I can't give up. I can't…they need me."

They needed me, too. And I failed them. What can you do?

Again the dark thoughts of Ruby's mind cut deep into her mental armor, drawing anguish like blood from an artery. As if the situation wasn't dire enough, the weight of her failure clung fast to her like a stone tied around her neck, and she was afraid that if she fell into the water again she'd just instantly drown. Pair that with a shattered Aura, no weapon, and a lack of confidence in her swimming skills, and Ruby felt just as helpless as the Ga-Matoran that slammed her fist against the side of the boat in frustration.

"Hmm…no. Maybe what they need is a Toa."

Ruby's head tilted up as she watched the gears in Macku's head turn. "You think we should try to find Gali?"

"It's our only real option at this point," said the Ga-Matoran. "If Gali set out last night to start looking for the Kanohi, she couldn't have gotten that far. They'd all be somewhere on the island. Did she say where she wanted to look first before she left?"

"Y-yeah," answered Ruby, furrowing her brow as she tried to remember the conversation between Nokama and Gali. "I think she said something about…Voriki Island? Not sure if I'm pronouncing that right…"

Macku hummed. "I think I know what you mean. It's an islet just a few kios east of here, out at sea. Shouldn't take long to find her, if we hurry."

Ruby knew she should be excited, but all she could feel was exhaustion. The Ga-Matoran seemed to notice that something was off, as she looked at her with a tilt of her head.

"Sorry…just…tired," she groaned. "Aura's broken…not much good without it…might as well be dead weight."

The dark thought slipped out of her mouth this time, and part of her was surprised the mental filter hadn't caught it. Macku gave another hum, then walked across the deck and opened up one of the portside panels, rummaging around a bit before pulling out what Ruby could only describe as a huge blackberry missing half its seeds. She threw it to the Huntress, who caught it with a curious gasp.

"What's this?"

"It's a Vuata Maca berry," said Macku as she slammed the panel shut again. "It's one of the most energy-efficient fruits that can grow on the island. We Matoran scarf them down whenever we're low on power and need a quick charge - I don't know if it'll help you with your Aura, but it can't hurt to try."

With a shrug, Ruby took a tentative bite out of the fruit...and almost immediately regretted it. While the berry had a somewhat sweet, savory taste to it, the flavor was ruined by the sheer amount of juice that erupted into her mouth, which burned her throat like acid. It almost felt like biting into a can of energy drink, complete with the aluminum container itself acting like the "skin" of the berry. Yet despite the assault on her taste buds and the lingering bitterness of metal in her gums, her stomach grumbled and hungered for more, and she didn't stop until one of the big black "seeds" was bitten down to the core.

The results were instantaneous. A surge of power shot right into Ruby, like she was having her Aura unlocked for the first time. She quickly checked her Scroll to confirm that yes, her Aura level was on the rise, and yes, it was climbing back into the green zone within seconds. A soft laugh escaped her lips before she even realized it was there.

"Whoa…" she breathed.

Macku watched as the red sheen rippled across Ruby, who seemed to stand a little straighter. "Well? How do you feel?"

Ruby grinned for the first time in…a while. "Like I could race around the entire island twice and not even feel tired. Thanks, Macku!"

"No problem," she said with a nod. "Might wanna hold on to the rest of that, though - Vuata Maca berries are rare, especially since Makuta seems to enjoy targeting the trees that grow them…in any case, let's head for the Telescope. It's not far from here, and from there it's a straight shot to Voriki Island. Hang on."

The silver-eyed Huntress nodded and uncurled from her spot, leaning against the edge of the boat as it raced across the water. She stashed the energy-packed fruit into one of her many pockets, making a careful note of which one she picked. Moments later a beach came into view, one that led to a tall cliff with a strange-looking stone machine at the top. She could only guess that this was the "Telescope" that Macku mentioned, though it didn't look anything like the tubes of glass lenses she was familiar with back on Remnant.

But what caught Ruby's attention wasn't the telescope itself. Rather, she was focused on the two figures that stood near the device - one of which had long orange hair and a pink bow that she recognized even from hundreds of feet away.

It can't be.

For a moment, she wondered if she was just seeing things. There was no way that her dear friend - once a robot, now a human - was here on Mata Nui. But when she pulled out her Scroll and used the zoom function on her camera to look closer, there was no denying the facts.

"Penny!"

Macku looked up from the boat controls. "Hmm? What is it? Do you see something?"

"I sure do!" Ruby grinned as she stood up. "Keep the boat steady - I'll be right back!"

Before the Ga-Matoran could even yell out in shock, Ruby had already kicked off and was surging towards the Telescope in a rush of red rose petals.

Things have gone so wrong, so often lately. She smiled to herself. Maybe this is a sign that things will finally go right!

---

"Penny! Get down!"

The freckled girl did not heed Takua's panicked advice. Instead, she stood taller and opened up her arms, welcoming the high-velocity hug that she knew was coming. Sure enough, the mass of crimson reformed into Ruby Rose and tackled her, sending them both sprawling to the cliffside plateau in a pile of tangled limbs and girlish giggles.

"Salutations, Ruby!" She cried, hugging the girl that pinned her to the mountaintop and squeezing tightly. "Oh, Ruby...my friend...I am so glad to see you!"

"Me too Penny!" Ruby laughed and nuzzled foreheads with the former gynoid, a sensation that made both girls feel warm inside. "Wow, I...you're here! And you found Crescent Rose! I have so many questions!"

Penny's chest felt suddenly tight, and she knew it wasn't from the silver-eyed Huntress's arms wrapped around it. Before she could draw breath to voice the uncomfortable truth, Ruby suddenly withdrew and shook her head as she stood up, her signature weapon back in her arms.

"...actually, you know what? You can tell me later. I'm glad I found you - we need your help! Er, well, Ga-Koro needs your help. Come on! I'll Semblance us both back to Macku's boat!"

Her eyes shot wide as Ruby leaned down and took her hand.

"WAIT!"

The hyperballistic Huntress deflated somewhat, and she let go of Penny's hand with concern in her eyes. Although it hurt to yell at her friend, she had a good reason - she got to her feet and looked down at the Matoran, who was currently staring at them with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

"...I request that you bring Takua as well," she said quickly. "He can also help!"

Ruby looked down at the red, blue, and yellow figure. "He can?"

"I can?" echoed Takua.

"He will," stressed Penny. "Ruby, do you think your Semblance can carry a Matoran as well as me?"

"I'm...not sure," admitted Ruby. Then she drew a breath and puffed out her chest. "But we're gonna find out!"

"Wait, find out what? Penny, what are you roping me into this - !?"

But Takua's cry was silenced as both he and Penny were absorbed into a spiral of red rose petals, which were joined by green and blue as Ruby propelled herself and her friends towards the beach. Soon all three of them reformed with a solid THUMP back in the boat, startling the all-blue Matoran standing nearby.

"Whoa! Ruby, what - "

"Macku! I found help!" Ruby's grin was infectious, and Penny couldn't help but smile as well. Gods...it felt so nice to be reunited with the first girl who called her "friend" so long ago. Now that she and Ruby were together again, she couldn't help but feel like everything was going to be just fine.

"Yes, we can help you, Ruby!" Penny paused, then added, "...what are we helping with?"

---

It did not take long for Ruby and Macku to fill Penny and Takua in on what had happened in Ga-Koro, and the plight of Turaga Nokama and the other Ga-Matoran. The former Maiden was not sure what she could do to lift an entire sunken hut, especially since she no longer had her magic, but she was certain that she could figure out the pump mechanism that kept it afloat. She agreed to help without a second's hesitation; Takua, by virtue of needing to be next to her at all times, also agreed to help.

So a plan was formed. Ruby, Penny, and Takua would take the boat back to Ga-Koro, while Macku departed to find Gali herself. The Toa of Water was on a nearby islet, and Ruby was sure that she would drop her quest for the masks to help her village in need. Privately, Penny hoped that Gali was much nicer than Tahu - the way the Toa of Fire had treated Yang was very rude, and Ruby deserved a much better treatment.

The boat ride back to Ga-Koro was long and terse. Penny loved feeling the wind in her hair and the feeling of seafoam splashing onto her skin, but she could tell that the others were not as happy. Ruby seemed anxious about getting to the village as fast as possible, while Takua paced the length of the craft with careful steps. The Huntress busied her hands by field-stripping and cleaning Crescent Rose, while the Matoran ran his fingers over the lightstone's smoothly cut surfaces. Neither of them spoke much, and when the boat finally pulled into the ocean the only sounds were the splashing waves and the humming motor of the craft.

After a few moments of racing across the sea, even the last sound was replaced by something new.

Penny let out a yelp and grabbed the boat as it suddenly jerked and spasmed, filling the air with the sound of sputtering and the smell of burning sulfur. She looked over to the stern of their little craft and saw a thick pillar of smoke rising out of the back, which only grew stronger once Ruby threw open the engine cover to assess the damage. Bitter fumes assault the freckled girl's senses, and no matter how much the silver-eyed Huntress fanned the burning mechanism, it only seemed to fuel the fire.

"Oh that's not good," said Takua as the motor heaved a final deathly sigh, their ride drifting to a stop on the bobbing waves. "Um...either of you know how to fix a boat, by any chance?"

Penny slowly shook her head. Ruby didn't even answer; she just walked away from the engine, curled up into a ball near the bow, and threw her hood over her face. Both the Matoran and the former Maiden shared a look, and ignored the engine for a moment to approach the wilting young rose.

"Ruby…" she said quietly, reaching out a hand. "It will be okay. It is just a broken motor, I am sure that once we fix it we will - "

"It's not just the motor, Penny," wailed Ruby hopelessly. "It's…everything. Us being here, everything in Atlas, everything leading up to Atlas…everything's broken. What's even the point in trying to fix it anymore?..."

That made the freckled girl frown sharply. Ruby was always the most positive, hopeful person that she knew. She had not seen this side of her very first friend before, and she quickly decided that she did not like it. But she did not know what to say. She did not know what she could say. She looked down at Takua helplessly.

The Matoran nodded, pulling the slab of blue steel out of his backpack and showing it to Ruby. "I've got this thing," he said. "It's called a lavaboard, apparently. Think we could ride this to the village?"

Ruby took one look at the board and shook her head. "Too heavy," she muttered. "It looks like it's made to float on molten stone. Anything less dense than that, and it'll just sink like a rock."

"Okay, what if we use it as a paddle?"

"Same problem."

"...what if we use my mask as a paddle?"

"Too many holes."

"What if we use - "

"A paddle's not gonna work! We're still gonna be too late!"

Takua stepped back. "Hey, don't yell at me, I'm just trying to help! Maybe we could…"

Penny stopped paying attention to the argument between Ruby and Takua, for she had suddenly picked up a new voice. One that seemed to come from…

The engine itself?

She tilted her head in curiosity, walking to the rear of the boat and peering through the open cover. A block of metal and pistons greeted her, and something bid her to put both hands against the sputtering, smoking mechanism. Her fingers began to glow with green and teal light as ephemeral strings spooled out of her palms, and the voice suddenly grew louder when the threads flowed into the motor and disappeared from sight.

Penny blinked slowly as the inner workings of the machine flowed into her mind, allowing her to look at dizzying arrays of gears and pulleys with eyes that were not her own. While the voice was little more than static buzzing in her ear, she understood it all the same. She cast the strange, out-of-body gaze into the interior of the boat, studying it carefully; her familiarity with machinery let her spot the problem after just seconds of staring.

I see… she mused. There is kelp stuck in the gearbox designed to intake water. Perhaps if we reversed the rotation, it would dislodge the debris?

Instinctively she raised one hand, pulling on a few threads and tugging lightly. As soon as she made the motion the engine buckled under her touch, the camshafts visible under the chassis spinning in the opposite direction. Almost instantly the boat jerked backwards, sending Takua to the floor and nearly pitching Ruby overboard. Though no one was paying attention, a long chewed-up mass of rotted green shot out from underneath the craft before unceremoniously sinking into the depths.

"Ow! What was…" Ruby held onto the edge of the boat, then turned to look at Penny in awe. "...wait. What did you do? Penny, what did you do?"

The freckled redhead looked down at the emerald strings wound around her fingers and at the engine - which purred happily under her touch - then back at her friend.

"I fixed the boat."

"How?" Takua asked as he pulled himself back up. "You just told us you didn't know how to do that. And what's with the wires? How are you doing that?"

Penny chewed her lip as she tried to think of a reasonable explanation, then shrugged and decided to be honest. "I...talked to it?"

"You talked to it?" Ruby blinked in confusion, looking down at the hands that still glowed with a faint teal and green light as they pressed against the side of the motor. "...oh. Oh, I think I get it now. You must have interfaced with it, like you did back when we were infiltrating Atlas Command. You had the software to do that kind of thing back then, right? That's what your strings did?"

The confused redhead nodded slowly. "Yes. That is how I was able to operate Floating Array, as well as how I was able to get us to Amity's activation terminal."

"Right. You must have done something like that, just now." Ruby furrowed her brow as the gears turned in her head. "Except...you're not a robot anymore. You're human now, like me - no zeroes or ones, just flesh and blood and Aura. So you shouldn't be able to just...do that. Unless..."

And just like that, something clicked in the mind of Penny's first friend.

"Ruby?"

Silver eyes suddenly went quite wide as she gasped, her somber frown stretching into a delighted grin. "Penny. Penny! Do you realize what this means?!"

At the sight of Penny slowly shaking her head, Ruby laughed and darted in for a hug.

"It means you're a technopath! That's gotta be your Semblance - you can talk to machines!"

Penny blinked a few times as the news washed over her. "My...Semblance?"

Every Huntsman and Huntress had a Semblance, a special power that was unique only to them and their Aura. There were certain archetypes that manifested in different ways between individuals, such as Semblances that increased the speed or strength of the user, or ones that gave them control over a certain aspect of the world. But Penny Polendina had, for a long time, believed that she was incapable of developing one for herself, which was why she relied so heavily on her weapons and upgrades - and later, the magic granted by the Winter Maiden powers - to compensate for her lack of one.

Except...now it seemed that would no longer be the case.

"My Semblance!" she finally said with a delighted grin, returning the hug and laughing. "I have a Semblance! I finally have a Semblance!"

"Yeah you do!" giggled Ruby as she rocked back and forth with her friend in her arms. She finally pulled away and started dashing around the boat excitedly, talking very quickly between bursts of rose petals as her own glee took over. Takua just looked more confused than ever, and seemed to accept that he would not get an explanation anytime soon - especially not from the hyperactive Huntress who was currently thinking out loud.

"Wow! Oh man, this is so cool! It explains so much, and yet it raises so many more questions! No wonder you never found your Semblance when you were a robot - you never needed it when you could just use your cool robot stuff! But did Doctor Polendina know you could develop it? Was it his Semblance originally, and you inherited it? Or is it an extension of you and your own soul? Wait, doesn't matter...still, though. This...this is huge! You can control technology! You can manipulate machinery! This island, and all its mechanical bits and doodads and all its stuff...who knows what other kinds of cool things you can do with a power like this? The sky's the limit! The world is your oyster! Augh this is so exciting! Penny! You should be excited!"

Penny tried to keep up with Ruby's mile-a-minute thought process, but she understood very clearly when her first friend reappeared before her and clasped their hands together. "I am very excited!" she answered with a grin.

Ruby screamed in delight. Penny screamed too. Then they both screamed. Takua covered his ears and silently wished for death.

"That's great and all, but do you think we could go now?" He finally said after the girls paused for breath. "And maybe you can, oh I dunno…not ring the dinner bell for every Rahi in the sea?!"

The mirth faded from Ruby's eyes, but she still squeezed Penny one more time before pulling back.

"We are absolutely celebrating this later," promised the red-cloaked Huntress as she slammed down the engine cover and pushed forward on the lever. The boat roared to life once again, and the trio were once again moving across the open sea!

---

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Nokama looked up from her carving to stare once more through the window, catching another glimpse of the Tarakava pounding relentlessly against the Tidebreaker's walls. The glowing red eyes perfectly stood out against the dark waters, staring right back at the Turaga with anticipation in its twisted gaze. While the punches failed to do more than make the reinforced hut shudder and shake, it was still effective at rattling the two dozen Ga-Matoran huddling in the shelter.

The sound of the Rahi pummeling the walls was the only noise that filled the hut. Nobody spoke, in an effort to make the thinning air last a little longer. Some Ga-Matoran chose to meditate with shallow breaths. Others tinkered with tools they'd brought with them in the wake of the attack. Still others chose to sleep, hoping the nightmare would be over when they woke up.

It wouldn't, of course. But it was still a comforting sentiment.

Unfortunately, Nokama knew full well what the Tarakava were doing. They were not normally intelligent creatures, but the being who corrupted them and twisted them to his will was a compulsive schemer. It didn't matter if they couldn't get into the Tidebreaker. They didn't need to.

They just needed to push it over the edge, and let gravity and oceanic pressure do it for them.

She knew that their shelter sat on the precipice between Lake Naho and the seas around Mata Nui, on the last of the relative shallows before the seafloor dropped off sharply and harshly. Their foundation was one of shifting sand, where only the slightest amount of force was enough to make them teeter on the razors edge between safety and death. The Tidebreaker was not buoyant enough to float on its own; it needed the support of an external pump in order to do so. By some miracle, the massive cord that kept their hut tethered to the mechanism above was still intact, ignored by the Tarakava and untouched by wandering schools of Ruki. While was a blessing, it was also a hollow one. If the hut sank into the open sea, there would be nothing stopping it from tearing away and disappearing into the darkness, along with nearly every single Ga-Matoran who ever lived on the island of Mata Nui.

So there were two possible fates that awaited them. Either they would suffocate inside the Tidebreaker, or the mounting pressure of the open sea would crush them when they sank further down.

Either way, Makuta would get what he wanted.

---

For all the damage to Ga-Koro, Ruby was relieved that the pump mechanism itself was still mostly intact.

At least, it looked fine from the outside. The big block of metal that was at least ten feet wide and five feet tall had a few scuff marks and dents from the Tarakava's initial punch, but it certainly looked better than the torn-up half of a hut that once concealed it. The insides, on the other hand, must have been an absolute mess if the expression on Penny's face was any indication - the freckled girl had her eyes squeezed shut and her lips pursed in concentration as she used newly discovered Semblance to assess the damage and try to fix it. Her hands moved like those of an expert weaver, pulling on the threads that connected her to the pump in complex motions.

"...reconnect the linkages…" she murmured softly under her breath, "...untangle the pulleys...oh my, where did that come from?..."

In an attempt to keep themselves busy, Ruby and Takua elected to study the outside of the pump mechanism. The silver-eyed Huntress was startled to find a surprisingly robust array of secondary features, from a lever-operated winch that could retract or unspool the Tidebreaker's cord to four metal support beams that kept the entire structure rooted in place. A quick peek under the surface revealed that what she assumed were just walkways connecting the village's lily pads were actually lined with steel wiring underneath, forming a network of flexible and lightweight yet strong connections between the platforms that acted like a spiderweb - with the machine and its fixed mounting in the bay floor itself. She realized that this seemingly unassuming hut was more than just the external pump control for the Tidebreaker; it was the central anchor for the entire village of Ga-Koro. Without it, the whole settlement might have drifted out to sea long ago.

The technology they have here is so simple, yet so elegant at the same time, Ruby thought as she paced the water's edge. How did they figure all this out?

"Ruby! Takua! Please come here! I have finished the repairs!"

The red-hooded reaper darted back to her friend's side, as did Takua (though he hadn't strayed very far in the first place, for some reason). Penny dusted off her hands and wiped the grease onto her skirt, beaming happily at Ruby as the ephemeral threads of her Technopathy withdrew.

"Well? Would you like to turn it on?"

Ruby blinked, pointing to herself. When Penny nodded, she swallowed the lump in her throat, prayed silently, and slammed her fist against the big red button on the front.

Whirr, click.

Nothing happened.

Despair gripped her chest as she hit the button again, to the same effect. Then again. And again. And again and again and again. She'd heard it said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing and expecting different results. By that standard, she might as well have pulled on a straightjacket and committed herself after the machine failed to do anything for a seventh time.

"It's...it's not working…" She finally gave up and slumped to her knees, pounding her fists against the machine as tears formed in her eyes. "Why isn't it working?!"

"Please do not be mad at the pump!" Penny cried. "Let me look at it. Perhaps I missed something…"

The freckled girl put her hand against the casing again, though this time the other hand trailed down and rubbed the back of Ruby's neck. It brought some small measure of comfort, but the dark thoughts kept swirling in her mind. After a long uncomfortable moment of navigating the ghostly wires, Penny finally hummed in recognition.

"Oh! This is not an issue! It is only a missing gear!"

She looked up and saw Penny pointing to a gearbox in the upper-left corner of the machine, singling out a drive train with a rather conspicuous gap. "See? This is the primary driving shift, and it should be turning the gear right here! Except it is not there. It must have gotten knocked loose when the Rahi attacked! This should be easy to fix!"

Ruby wiped her eyes. "You mean...we just find that gear, and it'll work again?"

"Absolutely!"

"But we didn't see any gears when we looked around," said Takua pointedly. "If the Tarakava punched it out, it would have landed nearby right? So the only other place it could have gone would be if it landed in the…"

Three sets of eyes slowly turned to look at the surface of the bay, which rippled and bobbed softly.

"...you've gotta be kidding me," groaned Ruby.

"'Kidding' implies that we are telling you something that is untrue to make you or ourselves laugh," said Penny. "I do not think this is the case. If you did not see it on the lily pad, it is likely that the gear did indeed fall into the water."

The silver-eyed Huntress threw her hands into the air. "Water! Always water! That's all it's ever been since I landed on this stupid island! Why couldn't I have dropped into the desert or something?! At least there I'd be able to do cool stuff like run across sand dunes and make tornados and not get held back by the fact that I can barely even swim!"

"Ruby, come on, it's not that big a deal," said Takua as he peered into the depths. "It doesn't even look all that deep here, just about...five bios? Six? I think that's about ten or twelve of your feet. Even if you're not a great swimmer you should be able to make that easily. It could be worse."

"Of course it could be worse!" Ruby cried. "It could always be worse! Cinder Fall could come out of the sky and nuke us all where we stand! A huge tidal wave could suddenly rush in and wipe us out! Some kind of giant octopus could reach out with its arms and grab us and drag us into the depths! Things could always get worse - and they always do!"

As if on cue, the pump began to creak, and everyone inside the hut could feel it slowly lurch to one side.

"...is it supposed to do that?" Takua asked.

"Most certainly not…" Penny hummed and pressed her hands against the machine, before she gasped. "Oh no!"

Ruby whirled on the spot. "What is it?"

"The Tidebreaker is falling!"

Silver eyes went wide as their owner realized what it meant. Takua, on the other hand, just tilted his head.

"It's falling?" He scratched his head. "I thought it was underwater. How can it - "

"It's on the edge of the bay!" Ruby snapped, panic in her voice. "Right between where the shallows meets the drop-off into the ocean! If it tips over, it'll sink right into the open sea, where there's no telling where it'll go! The Ga-Matoran won't be able to survive that. Nothing could. And since the pump's an anchor for the whole village…"

"...it'll drag Ga-Koro right along with it!" Takua finished, eyes finally widening in alarm.

"We cannot let that happen!" Penny pressed her palms against the pump, glowing threads practically shimmering in her hands. "The winch still works, and the gears are strong enough to crack a Cowrie shell. Takua, hurry! Get on the lever and pull it back to activate! Maybe we can reel the Tidebreaker back far enough to keep it from falling!"

"On it!" Takua shouted, quickly scrambling to the winch's lever and yanking back as hard as he could. The gears and pulleys deep within the assembly groaned and strained, but nonetheless complied, working against the tension and reeling the Tidebreaker back in. He groaned as the lever and the winch fought him, but the little Matoran was stronger than he looked - he dug his heels into the lily pad and locked his arms in place, keeping the winch in "retract" mode.

Ruby had to admire his courage, but she also knew it wouldn't matter if they couldn't get the Tidebreaker to float again.

"We've gotta find that gear!" said Ruby. "Penny! Can you help me get it?"

The freckled-girl froze, then shook her head. "I...cannot swim."

"Takua?"

"If I let go of this, the hut's gone!" he grunted.

The silver-eyed huntress whimpered. Did she really have to go down into the deep, dark water all by herself again…?

"Ruby. Look at me."

Penny took two trembling hands into her own, staring into silver with eyes of emerald radiance.

"I know you are scared. I know you do not believe in yourself. But I do. I believe in you, Ruby Rose. You can do this!"

Ruby's fingers curled involuntarily around Penny's hands. She didn't want to let go. She didn't want to go down there. She didn't want to drown. She didn't want to face the shadows of her mind by herself. Even so, the joy and faith radiating from her friend helped dispel the darkness, if only a little bit. She took solace in that.

She swallowed the lump in her throat before forcing a smile and nodding. "I know you do, Penny. I'll be right back!"

"We will hold it for as long as we can!" Penny announced with a salute. Then she turned and moved to help Takua with the lever, pulling back with all her might.

Ruby turned to face the water, her chest already aching and her legs already shaking despite not even touching it yet. The darkness and the voices in her mind seemed to roar in her ears now, leaving her paralyzed as she stared at her reflection. How could Penny believe in her when she didn't even think she could do this?

It'll be fine, she told herself, trying to get her breathing under control. Totally fine. Just gotta go for a nice swim - a nice fast swim - find a gear, and bring it back. It's just like those pool games you used to play, where Dad would throw those little ring thingies into the deep end and you and Yang would have to see who got the most on one breath. Except they're not brightly colored. And it's more than five feet deep. And the fate of an entire village is counting on you.

…okay, so maybe it wasn't like those dive ring games after all. Probably for the best - Yang was always better at those.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts, clenching her fist as she willed her hands to stop trembling. Taking a breath that was long enough to steel her nerves and fill her lungs, Ruby finally shed her cape and dove into the water again.

SPLASHHHHH!

The cold salty sea bit into her face as it rushed past her, punishing her for daring to open her eyes underwater. Not that doing so helped much with seeing - what had looked clear and inviting above the surface was dark and clouded down below. Ruby let out a little bit of air to clear her face before kicking and pushing through the water with both arms, diving deeper into the bay as the world around her went silent.

Just like Takua had guessed, this part of Lake Naho wasn't as deep as she feared it was. Compared to the where the Tidebreaker had landed, the waters surrounding Ga-Koro might as well have been a shallow little kiddie pool. But even a short distance like ten feet straight down made everything at the bottom dimmer and murkier, and the pressure pushing down on Ruby forced her to pinch her nose and blow until her ears popped - which wasted even more air and time.

Not that she had much air to begin with. Even with a full set of lungs she could already feel her chest ache and hunger for the surface, and she had to actively concentrate to keep from darting right back up at the first sign of discomfort. She willed herself to stay underwater at the bottom of the bay, sifting through piles of rocks and debris in search of the missing gear. The only comfort was that a fresh breath of air was just a dash with her Semblance away, and she had more than enough Aura to fuel it if she needed it.

The air in my lungs'll have to be enough for now, she thought to herself as her hands searched a large rock formation. I don't know how long they'll be able to hold the hut...I can't afford to just go up for a breath whenever I feel like it. Gotta find the gear. Gotta...save...Ga-Koro...

After checking what felt like the same pile for a third time, she grunted in frustration. She needed air, and she needed light. One of those she had time to get.

Ruby pulled out her Scroll and expanded it, peering at the hard light screen and trying to figure out which of the blurry shapes activated the built-in flashlight. The light from the display might have been bright enough on the surface, but down here it barely even penetrated the shadows around her, and the faint glow barely even shone on her as she swiped and searched uselessly. Bubbles spilled out of her pursed lips as she tried to decipher the device, like an archeologist studying an ancient mural.

Knew I should have asked Penny's dad to put a "water mode" on the new Scrolls, she thought with an annoyed bubbly huff.

She was so focused on the Scroll that she never even noticed the strand of kelp that drifted towards her with a mind of its own - and by the time she did, it was far too late.

"Mmmgh!"

Her cry was consumed by the water as the plant suddenly shot forward with the speed and force of a whip, latching onto her wrist and knocking the Scroll out of her grasp. She reached to draw Crescent Rose off its holster, only to find her other hand ensnared as well. Ruby tried to kick back for the surface, but another pair of tendrils bound themselves around her boots and pulled her back down. And when she tried to concentrate on activating her Semblance, a final strand wrapped around her stomach and squeezed like a vice grip. The sudden pressure on her abdomen threatened to crush her like an empty soda can, quickly growing strong enough to break her ribs - and any attempt to focus on dashing to safety on a cloud of rushing rose petals.

I...I can't...get...free! She grit her teeth and strained against her bonds, fighting the urge to exhale just as fiercely as she struggled against the forces holding her down.

Unfortunately, it was clear that she couldn't win either of those battles.

The silver-eyed Huntress struggled and thrashed, trying to worm her way out of the killer seaweed that had chosen now of all times to attack her. But no matter which way she jerked, or how hard she tried to keep her mouth closed, the plants won out in the end. The kelp around her waist gave one more squeeze, expelling everything that was in her lungs against her will. A huge deluge of air rushed past her lips, and with it went her fighting spirit. Ruby whimpered as her head grew light and darkness encroached on the edges of her vision, feeling her limbs grow limp and heavy as the tendrils dragged her further down.

This...isn't normal, her air-starved brain managed to think as she stared wistfully at the surface far out of reach. This is...it has to be the work of Makuta himself!

Sadly, the revelation alone wasn't enough to save her as she passed out in the depths.

---

"Penny! I need you to use that power of yours! Reinforce the winch motors!"

The freckled girl released the lever and did as Takua asked, leaning down and placing her palms against the lily pad platform. She closed her eyes and listened for the whispers of machinery and mechanisms, tuning out the world around her and searching with little threads of power. When she found a source underneath the green leafy floor she tapped into it, finding the straining gears and focusing on them.

"The motors are already overloaded!" she said after a moment of observing the screaming mechanisms. "The strain is too much - they cannot pull any more! Any more pressure, and the mechanism will tear itself apart!"

"Got it! Don't do that, then. Can you try to turn the pump yourself? Move the main shaft that powers it?"

"I tried that already!" Penny gasped as she withdrew her Semblance. "It nearly drained my Aura just trying to turn it a quarter of a degree! I am not strong enough to operate the central pump - we need that gear!"

Takua grunted in annoyance, shifting his grip on the lever and keeping it drawn back. "Well then we'd better hope your friend finds it soon! What's taking her so long anyways?"

Penny did not know. She looked over to the water, looking for any sign of her friend. The churning surface made it impossible to see what was happening underneath, so she had no idea why Ruby had not come up for air yet. All she knew was that there were a lot of bubbles rising from the depths, disturbing the bay even more as they popped and broke the surface.

And then the bubbles stopped entirely.

Oh no.

Ruby was in trouble. That was the only explanation for why she had not come back up. And even if she was not, she was struggling to find the part, pushing herself too hard for the sake of others.

She does not know where the piece is, realized Penny. It is dark down there, too dark for her to see. But if she had light, then perhaps…

Penny looked back at Takua, staring at the rucksack and the inactive lightstone sitting in its depths. The odd little gift was ordinarily a dull gold in its dimmed state, but when either she or the equally-strange Matoran held it, it would glow with a brilliant yellow. Not only that, but she also knew that there was a lavaboard inside, one that Ruby said was too heavy to float in the water...

A plan formed in her mind.

I cannot wait for Ruby to come up for air again, and the Ga-Matoran do not have time to waste, she thought to herself. Throwing it into the water will be too inefficient of a method of giving it to her. I must get her the lightstone, and I must get her attention. If she is not in trouble, it will help. And if she is...then I must save her.

Her course of action clear, she yanked off her dress and blouse, leaving her only in a pale green tank top and tiny black shorts. Penny shivered as her freckled arms and shoulders were suddenly exposed for the world to see, but she did not care about modesty. Right now all she cared about was Ruby, which was why she ran over to Takua and yanked the bag off his frame with one smooth motion.

"Wha-hey!" protested the suddenly-packless Takua, "Penny! What are you - "

"I am sorry, Takua!" She pulled the lightstone out of the rucksack just to make absolutely certain that it glowed at her touch. Thankfully, it did. "I must do this! For Ruby, and for the Ga-Matoran!"

"Do what?" He grunted as the lever almost slipped out of his grip again. "What are you going to do?"

"This!"

Hefting the rest of the bag over her shoulder, Penny ran to the edge of the water and pinched her nose as she jumped in with a deep breath.

"Penny!"

Takua's cry disappeared in a deafening splash.

She had been underwater before. As the world's first fully artificial Huntress, she had sometimes been assigned missions in flooded Solitas caves where most other Huntsmen needed specialized equipment to fight effectively. Her rocket boots and Floating Array had served her well for moving in such environments, as did the fact that she technically did not need to breathe. It made her special. It made her useful. And she rather did enjoy the sensation of being completely suspended in liquid - there was something oddly comforting about it, even if she could not feel it.

But that was when she was a gynoid. She was a human now, and she did not have rocket boots or wire-controlled swords to help her navigate. She did not have an internal Dust engine that kept her insides from freezing in the cold water. And she most certainly did have to breathe. Her first experience of being underwater as a human was not a pleasant one - she was cold, she was sinking, and she had no idea how long she could hold her breath. But she did not let any of those facts stop her from opening her eyes as she descended, letting the weight of the heavy bag pull her down as her other hand waved the lightstone through the water.

It did not take long to find her friend. And it took even less time to realize her predicament, as tendrils of shadow wrapped around her torso, wrists, and ankles. Ruby's silver eyes were more of a dull shade of gray as they stared straight ahead into nothing, and her mouth hung open slightly as tiny bubbles spilled past her lips. She was not moving.

"Ruby!" she shouted in big bursts of air, almost immediately regretting the action. Salt water flooded her mouth and nose, making her throat and nostrils burn with pain. But the danger of her very first friend drowning was more pressing than her own discomfort - when the bag finally hit the sandy floor of the bay, she dug her bare feet into the ground and trudged along the bottom, grunting and gritting her teeth as she dragged the pack behind her and held out the lightstone to push back against the dark.

It was hard to move through the water. It seemed to push back against her every move, like she was walking through a pool filled with molasses. She managed, however. The weight of Takua's bag kept her anchored to the bottom, and her own natural strength allowed her to pull it along like her own personal ball and chain. Bubbles spilled out of her mouth with each step she took, and each movement made the strain in her lungs and the pressure in her chest grow stronger and more painful to bear. But she did not go up for air. She could not go up for air. Her friend needed her light.

Her friend needed her.

Penny stared hard at the shadowy snares keeping Ruby bound to the bottom as she approached, and her mind raced furiously to come up with a plan to cut or untie them. She never got a chance to use it, however - as soon as she shone the lightstone onto the dark tendrils, they seemed to wither away and retreat until they were out of sight. She did not understand why, nor did she grasp the larger implications of this. All she knew was that the silver-eyed Huntress was safe and free, and that was what mattered to her.

Except...she was still not moving.

"Ruby!"

She finally let go of the bag and clumsily kicked her way over to the dull-eyed Huntress, grabbing her bare arms and shaking her violently. Her own chest ached from the lack of air, and she had to tighten her throat to keep the seawater from spilling down into her lungs. Penny did not stop shouting, though, despite how painful it was. She needed to get her friend's attention. She needed her to wake up.

Not to mention that if she does not wake up, then I will drown too, she thought desperately. I cannot get back to the surface without her...

"Ruby! Ruby? Wake up! Please, wake up! Ruby!"

It took screaming away nearly every ounce of air she still had, but at last the silver-eyed huntress jolted awake. Ruby let out a muffled grunt as she clutched her throat, looking around in a wild panic. Fighting her own urge to inhale, Penny grabbed the little rose's face, turning it gently towards hers as she smiled through puffy cheeks. Then another ripple of bubbles burst through her lips, and the freckled girl pointed upwards sheepishly. Her friend nodded and grabbed her wrist before pulsing her Semblance, sending them both back to the surface in a swirl of red and green rose petals.

When they finally broke through to the world above, Penny finally let herself breathe again even though it hurt.

"Ruby!" The redhead sputtered, coughing up a mouthful of water. "Ruby are you -?"

"Penny! What are you doing out here?" Ruby gasped and coughed violently, trying to tread water for the both of them. "You just told me you couldn't swim!"

"I cannot, but I was worried about you!" She nearly sank back under the surface, and it was only Ruby's arm around her waist that kept her head above water. "I-I thought you were struggling to find the piece, so I came to give you the lightstone, but youblblbl - !"

The rest of her words disappeared as Penny's face suddenly dipped underwater. She became acutely aware of just how difficult it was for two people to have a conversation while out at sea, especially when one of them could barely swim and the other could not even do that. Ruby seemed to realize it too, because when she pulled her friend back up, she did not question further.

"Alright," rasped the little rose, "Alright...okay. Thank you, Penny. Just...hand it over. I'll get you back to the platform!"

Penny nodded with a cough, reaching over with the lightstone that was still in her hand. Ruby took it with a thankful nod…only to stare in disappointment as it suddenly grew dim.

That is odd, she thought with a frown. She reached to grab it again, putting her hand over Ruby's, and the lightstone came alive once more. Removing her hand just darkened it again.

"...it only glows when Takua or I touch it, apparently," she said quietly. "I am sorry."

The silver-eyed Huntress groaned, then shook her head. "Okay...this is okay. I guess this means we'll just have to find it together. I'll swim, you hold the light. Take a deep breath, Penny - and you let me know the minute you need another one, okay?"

She nodded tightly, drawing as much air into her lungs as her chest would allow. On her side Ruby did the same, and after they shared another nod, the pair slipped under the waves once more with sealed lips and tight throats.

The world descended into cold darkness once again, bubbles rushing past her face as they plunged downwards into the depths. Ruby kicked hard against the water with one arm tucked around Penny's back, pulling her along until the seafloor came into view. Penny pointed to Takua's bag, then at Ruby, who nodded; she slung the rucksack's strap across her bare shoulder and held it close to her chest, letting the weight keep them at the bottom with no risk of suddenly floating back up.

I do hope that Takua will not be mad at me, thought the former Maiden to herself. And that lavaboards do not rust in the sea.

Penny shifted her grip and clung tightly to Ruby's arm as the Huntress pulled her along, guiding her through the water with Semblance-enhanced bursts of speed. Her other hand stretched out to shine the lightstone into the darkness, sweeping the glowing crystal over piles of debris and rocks. Surprisingly, she did not feel her heart stop beating or her life begin to fade despite her lifeline being on the surface above, at a far enough distance that would usually trigger another encounter with death.

It must be because I am holding the lightstone, she realized as they searched the depths. Is that why Turaga Vakama said it was special? Can it...extend our connection, somehow? Or act as a secondary source? I will need to investigate this later...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden spasm of pain in her chest, a ripple of bubbles tearing past her lips as her stomach felt like it was twisting itself into knots. She doubled over and clutched her side, an involuntary action that instantly got Ruby's attention. Silver eyes looked over at her in concern, shimmering in the lightstone's glow; Penny just shook her head and gave a thumbs-up, even giving her best attempt at a reassuring smile through puffed cheeks. Ruby nodded slowly and warily, clearing her nose with another burst of air and turning back to her search. The freckled girl did the same, waving the lightstone over the dark floor like she was a living spotlight.

It was hard to focus from the lack of air. Her head felt dizzy and light, like she was about to faint at any moment. Her skin felt clammy and cold, not helped by the bitter chill that came from the sea itself. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode and her throat trembled and quivered, and even Ruby at her side seemed to struggle to hold her own breath. But Penny ignored the sensations. She pushed them out of her mind, letting out a few tiny bubbles every few seconds to ease some of the tension.

She would not go back up for another breath until they found the part.

And one agonizing moment later, they did.

It almost went unnoticed, even with the glowing stone. Penny paused as a flash of silver lit up the corner of her eyes, and for a moment she wondered if her air-starved mind was just imagining things. But she double checked and turned back to look straight at the pile of dark stones, focusing the lightstone's gaze and her own onto the scenery. Sure enough, when the rays of yellow passed over the clumps of gray, shimmers of reflective metal shone right back to reveal a multi-toothed gear sitting among the rocks - one that was just the right size to fit into the broken pump.

The freckled girl burst into a delighted smile, tugging frantically on her friend's arm. "Ruby!" she burbled excitedly. "Found it! Found the - glub! - the gear!"

Ruby's eyes widened with concern and alarm at her friend shouting away what little air she still had, then she looked where the green-eyed girl was eagerly pointing. Her own face seemed to light up as she realized what Penny had found. Despite her own lungs threatening to cave under the water pressure, she kicked forward with her Semblance and rush over to the pile in a haze of red. The silver-eyed Huntress wasted no time in scooping up her prize, holding it close to her chest with a muted sigh of relief and a triumphant grin.

Penny was so happy for Ruby that she finally let out the breath she'd been holding, releasing the last of her air and closing her eyes as she sank.

---

The burst of bubbles on the surface confirmed Takua's worst fears, but thankfully they didn't last long.

Ruby emerged in a shrieking gasp, hugging the rucksack close to her chest in one arm and pulling an unconscious Penny along with the other. She hacked and coughed up seawater while she struggled to tread water, and it was only by Mata Nui's grace that she was able to launch herself with her Semblance back onto the pump's lily pad. The silver-eyed stranger flopped onto the deck like a Ruki fish out of water, barely taking a moment to wheeze before proudly pulling her prize out of the drenched bag.

"Got the - got the gear!" she panted.

Takua nodded, an action that almost made him lose his balance and his grip on the creaking lever. "Okay, good! Now put it back in the gearbox like Penny said and hit the button! Hurry!"

With a soaked nod, Ruby rushed over to the mechanism in a burst of rose petals, analyzing the complex array of gears and scanning over them. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she quickly yet methodically slotted the missing gear into its proper place, her thin fingers easily maneuvering the tight spaces between the teeth. The piece clicked and locked onto its gear shaft without any tools or other adhesives, which was good. There really wasn't time to screw around with something so small, especially when the Tidebreaker was hanging by a (nearly literal) thread.

"Fixed it!" she declared, taking a breath to steel herself. "Here goes everything!"

The wandering Matoran braced himself as he heard Ruby's palm slam down on the big red button.

Click. Clack. Brrrr.

Thunkathunkathunkathunkathunkathunka…

Takua nearly stumbled back over his own heels as the pressure on the other side of the winch lever suddenly disappeared. The connecting tube, once taut with tension, went slack and rigid as the pump's valves pushed air through the cable and into the Tidebreaker's ballasts far below. He felt the entire leafy platform shake and shudder in sync with the ocean, as something very large - and very fast - shook the waters above it as it moved up. Ruby just about collapsed into a pile of drenched limbs and nervous relief, and Takua nearly did the same. They did it. They actually did it.

After a moment of relief, they both looked at the still body of their mutual friend. Panic immediately set in once more.

"Penny!"

They both dove to the middle of the platform to help the soaked girl, with Takua grabbing both her hands and Ruby kneeling over her. The silver-eyed stranger began doing some strange gesture on Penny, pressing both her palms against her chest firmly and forcefully over and over again. He watched in fascination and confusion as the girl spasmed and shook under the force of Ruby's pushes - what was she hoping to accomplish with this?

"...fourteen, fifteen, sixteen...come on, Penny, breathe," muttered Ruby under her breath as she repeated the motion. "Breathe, please...I can't lose you again...twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. Alright, here goes..."

She took a deep breath and, to Takua's abject horror, she pressed her lips right over Penny's mouth.

"Agh! Gah! Mata Nui!" he cried, covering his eyes in revulsion as the two fleshy maskless faces touched. "What do you call that?!"

Ruby didn't answer as she drew back with a gasp, but clearly the ordeal of having her personal space violated in such a way was terrible enough to finally wake Penny up. Takua lowered his hands just in time to watch the orange-haired girl roll onto her side with a pained groan, vomiting an alarming amount of seawater onto the platform and over his feet. Somehow, this sensation felt less disgusting than the act he'd just witnessed.

"Hah..." panted the silver-eyed human with a slight cough, "...good thing Dad taught both me and Yang CPR before we went to Beacon. And here I thought he was just being paranoid..."

Takua didn't know what "CPR" was, but he could only guess it was an acronym for "creepy, painful, and repulsive." He decided to ask later, as the freckled girl gasped and rolled onto her back to look up at her friend with a slight smile that radiated gratitude.

"Ugh...Ruby…" Penny coughed, water dribbling past her lips with each breath. "...thank you..."

The other girl almost sobbed in relief. "Penny…" she whispered with a shake of her head. "Why didn't you tell me you needed air? I could have sped back to the surface with you, and then dove down again to get the gear…"

Penny laughed weakly. "There was no time...I needed to...show you where I saw it...so you could save everyone...you are...very good at that…"

Ruby nearly wept, but for a different reason. "...you really think so?"

The freckled girl raised her hand weakly to cup her friend's cheek, guiding her down to touch foreheads. "I know so. You are incredible, Ruby Rose...please do not let yourself think otherwise."

That was apparently enough to make the dam break, as water burst from silver eyes. Ruby choked, both on the seawater and on her own emotions. "Th-thank you. And thank you for saving me...Makuta would have drowned me for sure if you hadn't been there."

"Anytime, my friend..." Penny smiled weakly. "Anytime."

The two girls shared a deep, meaningful silence, with the only sounds being the humming of the pump, the crashing of waves, and their own quiet sobs. Takua sighed in relief as he re-secured his rucksack (after pouring the water out of the inside, of course).

"You nearly gave me a heartstone attack, you know," said the Matoran. "I thought for sure that you were water bones, being that far away from me."

Green eyes widened slightly as Penny wheezed. "Oh. That is the other thing. Takua...I know why Vakama said this lightstone was special...by holding it, I…"

Her words were cut short by a shot of pain in her ribs and a violent cough, making her roll over and clutch her side. Ruby patted her friend on the back and helped her clear her throat, running her fingers through long soaked orange curls. Takua didn't understand why, but just the feeling of having her hair touched seemed to relax Penny; she smiled with her eyes and hummed happily, her chest rising and falling with each much-needed breath.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Takua said as he put a hand on her head. "You can tell me later, alright? Just focus on breathing for now...we'll talk more when you're feeling better."

The orange-haired girl nodded, then sucked in air through her teeth. "Okay...okay. Ow...I have not felt that sensation before...I do not enjoy it."

Ruby let out a choked laugh. "That's called drowning, Penny. Nobody enjoys it."

"I can see why. It is...very painful..."

A loud splash got everyone's attention, and all three pairs of eyes turned to see a massive hut rise out of the water. Seafoam dribbled down and clung to the numerous dents in the wall, a length of stray kelp covered the platform around it, and one of the windows had a hairline fracture in the glass. But that didn't matter to the people inside, who immediately opened the door and began pouring out with loud gasps and long sighs of relief.

Ruby's eyes brightened with delight, then she looked down at Penny with a guilty expression. Her eyes flicked back and forth between her friend and the villagers, both of whom were enjoying the simple act of breathing.

"Go on," said Takua with a nod. "Help the other Matoran. I'll keep an eye on her."

The silver-eyed Huntress nodded reluctantly, then after giving Penny's hand one more squeeze, she stood up and ran over to the people who needed her more. Takua let himself sit down as the weight of the world fell off his shoulders, keeping one hand on his tall hero's head and mirroring what he'd seen Ruby do with her hair.

Thanks to their combined efforts, the Tidebreaker had finally risen.

And with it, the Ga-Matoran were safe.

---

The Ga-Matoran were not safe.

They watched the giant hut from beneath the water's surface, glowing red eyes gleaming against the darkness. Each subtle bob and lean of the building sent ripples across the sea, ripples that turned into waves which turned into storms to their heightened senses. Despite the best efforts of their master, the strange maskless figures had managed to fix the machine that let the building float, letting the annoying little Villagers and that stubborn old Turaga breathe easy once more.

This simply would not do.

A cry echoed out from deep beneath the sea, and they headed it as they darted towards the surface. The people of Ga-Koro needed another reminder of the power and danger of the sea, and they would be the ones to deliver it. Just as they had done for a thousand years, and just as they would do so for a thousand more. This island, this universe...it rightfully belonged to the Makuta, and all that lived here would recognize his rule or perish.

Yet for all their hyper awareness within the water, they never noticed a wave surging towards the village at high speed.

It was an oversight they would come to regret.

---

"Ruby! You did it! You saved us! Oh, I knew you could do it!"

The little rose laughed as Hahli practically leapt at her, catching the Ga-Matoran and spinning her around before setting her down with a joyous giggle. Similar congratulations and thanks were given by other villagers as they passed her by, with some even offering gifts or services as rewards. A Matoran in a dark-blue helmeted mask swore to build her a boat of her very own, another in a bird-like mask offered a lifetime discount at her shop, and a third vowed to catch the biggest fish that Ruby had ever seen. She politely declined all the accolades - the warmth in her chest was more than reward enough.

Maybe I'm not as useless as I thought I was.

Eventually, after the last Matoran exited the Tidebreaker, Ruby watched as Nokama finally took a few shaky steps forward. She set Hahli down and darted to the elder's side, taking the Turaga's trembling hand in her own and guiding her out of the hut and into the sunlight.

"Is everyone okay?" asked the Huntress with a worried expression as she walked alongside Nokama. "Did everyone make it out alive?"

"It was a close call, but yes," the Turaga intoned between deep wheezing, "My people will be fine, now that they can breathe easy. In every sense of the word."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, then looked at the ground. "I'm sorry...if I'd paid a little more attention, you wouldn't have even been trapped down there in the first place."

"Oh, there is no need for apologies, Ruby Rose." Nokama laid one of her hands over Ruby's, grasping it softly. "We owe you a debt that we cannot possibly repay. Thank you...on behalf of the entire village, thank you. I see now why Gali was drawn to one such as you - truly, you are as brave and noble as the Toa themselves."

The hero of the hour nervously scratched a nonexistent itch on the back of her neck. "Hey, I can't take all the credit here. I wouldn't have been able to get help so fast if Macku hadn't found me. And I couldn't have done it without these guys!" She looked over at Penny and Takua, the former of whom was still coughing up water while the latter waved timidly.

"I can see that," Nokama said with a slow nod and a soft chuckle. "Truly, Unity can be found in the most unlikely of places. And I suspected that Macku had gotten away...how ironic that her wanderlust would lead to our salvation this time."

Then the village elder sighed and shook her head. "Unfortunately, this storm is yet to pass. We have merely sailed into its eye for a moment of solace. But the danger is not over."

At this, Ruby's smile fell. "What do you mean?"

"Makuta sent the Tarakava to threaten us, but not destroy us," intoned the Turaga. "He wanted us in a vulnerable position, one that he could leverage and use to his advantage. He controls not just the Rahi, but the very elements of the island itself...its waves, its plants, its sand and sky."

The silver-eyed Huntress nodded. "Yeah...while I was looking for the gear to fix the pump, I got attacked by some kind of plant. Kept me underwater until I passed out. That must have been his doing, cause I'm pretty sure seaweed can't just do that."

"Then you are familiar with his obsession for control," answered Nokama gravely with a nod of her own. "I suspect that, had you not been able to rescue us, he would have appeared at the last moment to offer salvation himself - albeit with the condition that we serve him in 'gratitude' for his great deeds. Not that we would ever accept, of course...every Ga-Matoran in that hut would sooner suffocate or drown than ever willingly wear an infected mask."

Infected...mask? Ruby thought back to the strange mask worn by the Tarakava she fought, the one she almost drowned trying to pry off. Was that how Makuta controlled the Rahi? Could they have served as relays for his orders?

"But now that we are no longer trapped, he will send his beasts against us once more," finished Nokama. "And I fear that next time they come, they will not be so...merciful."

KREEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Sure enough, a dozen splashes sprayed water and seafoam everywhere as the mechanical eels emerged from the sea, circling around the Tidebreaker and surrounding the newly-freed Ga-Matoran. The villagers, once cheering and enjoying their freedom seconds earlier, groaned and whimpered and backpedaled towards the hut they'd just escaped. Nokama spread her arms to put herself between her people and the monsters, while Takua looked on in horror even as Penny sat up to get a better view.

The only one who didn't flinch at the Tarakava's return was Ruby Rose.

"Then neither will I," she said fiercely as she unlimbered Crescent Rose, letting it expand into a nine-foot-long scythe. "I'm done jumping at shadows - it's time to show Makuta that this little rose has thorns."

"We will protect the pump!" Penny declared, already grabbing a nearby harpoon.

"Really wish you'd stop volunteering me for dangerous things…" grumbled Takua, though he raised his arms as well.

"And I will guard the Matoran," added Nokama. "I am sorry that we must trouble you to protect us once again."

Ruby gave a confident smirk that wouldn't have looked out of place on her older sister.

"Don't worry. I won't let you down this time!"

With that promise filling her heart Ruby pulled the trigger and fired the gun part of her weapon behind her, letting the recoil propel her into mid-air. She activated her Semblance as she spun to become a whirling buzzsaw of red roses, one that cleaved through the front arms of the lead Tarakava with one stroke. The beast shrieked in pain as the scythe tore through solid metal, which only gave Ruby an opening to whirl around and shove Crescent Rose's barrel down its throat, firing three times and silencing the creature forever.

She leapt back as the dead Tarakava slumped forward onto the Tidebreaker's platform, eliciting awed gasps and cheers from the Ga-Matoran. Ruby grinned and twirled her weapon in a flourish and holding it behind her as she jumped to an open lily pad, staring down at the monsters that sniffed the corpse before following her across the waves. The mighty lizards hissed and wailed as they circled around their brother's killer, crawling onto the leafy battleground and failing to intimidate the little red reaper.

The darkness that clouded her mind was gone.

Ruby Rose was back.

""Come on!" she taunted, widening her stance as her weapon became little more than a spinning red blur behind her. "Let's try this again! Here, fishy fishy!"

With a chorus of shrieks eleven Tarakava met her challenge with their own, launching an assault of flying fists and lunging tackles. The silver-eyed Huntress dodged and weaved between the attacks, spinning Crescent Rose to deflect the punches and slashing at the eels that passed her by. One charging Rahi missed by a country mile. She took the opportunity to hook her blade onto the tank treads along its body, yanking the tracks free with the pull of a trigger. Another one tried to corner and overpower her with a flurry of jabs. She retaliated by splitting the arm right down the middle, then lopping off its lower jaw before it could even cry out in shock. A third monster crashed into her unguarded back and dragged her down into the water. She held her breath and triggered her Semblance to appear behind it before flowing into a spinning underwater slash, filling the sea with dark fluid when the lizard was cut in half.

As the recently-bifurcated Tarakava sank to the bottom of the bay, Ruby kicked off the dead Rahi and got ready to dart back to the surface in a burst of rose petals. Unfortunately she never got a chance - another mighty lizard slammed into her and pinned her against an underwater boulder with its forearms, knocking the wind out of her in a thick cloud of bubbles. With no air in her lungs she clamped her mouth shut and tried to swipe with her scythe, but the Tarakava leaned to turn a fatal blow into a glancing one. Then the beast opened its jaw to bite down on her head, and Ruby raised her arms to brace for the attack.

An attack that never came.

"Mmmbl?"

She lowered her guard in confusion, eyes slowly widening as she realized what happened. Sure enough, Ruby saw a streamlined blue figure swimming in circles around the teal-green Tarakava, forming a water spout with both her speed and her control over the sea. When the swirling current reached its greatest power the Toa of Water raised both arms, launching the lizard out of the sea and into the sky. Gali looked over to Ruby, who grinned and cheered to celebrate her arrival - before the silver-eyed Huntress suddenly remembered where she was, and sheepishly rocketed towards the surface in a swirl of rose petals, bubbles, and gratitude.

SPLASH!

Ruby launched herself out of the water and landed back onto the lily pad, shifting her weapon into its hip-fire mode and loosing a few shots to get the attention of the Tarakava who chose to focus on the Ga-Matoran in her absence. They hissed and screamed as they surged towards the Huntress, unaware of the Toa of Water leaping to touch down behind her. Gali's hands glowed with azure light as the sea shaped to her will, forming into massive chains and sharpened hooks that reached out of the surface like the arms of the damned. The watery implements grabbed two distant Rahi that still chose to harass her people instead of fight; they let out one final screech before they were dragged down into the briny depths, never to be seen again.

"You sure took your time getting here, huh?" Ruby said teasingly as she looked up at the Toa behind her with a grin.

Gali returned it beneath her mask. "I would have been here sooner, if I had the Mask of Speed. Sadly, I was rudely interrupted in my search for the Kanohi by a most persistent Matoran…"

That got a giggle out of the young Huntress. She looked back to the gathered Ga-Matoran just in time to catch a glimpse of Hahli and Kotu fishing an exhausted, waterlogged Macku out of the bay. The sailor's yellow eyes spiraled in their sockets and water poured out of her mask, but she otherwise looked fine.

"Well, don't worry," assured Ruby with a smirk. "With you here, we should be done soon enough so you can get back to it." She looked over to the five Tarakava that surged towards them. "You wouldn't happen to have any weapons besides water, would you? These things have some tough armor, too tough for me to punch through with a wooden spear. Got anything sharp and pointy like my sweetheart here?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," answered the blue-armored hero. "Will these suffice?"

The Toa of Water flicked her wrists, and soon the sound of mechanical whirring filled the air. Her forearms opened up and her hands rotated out of sight, flipping out of the way and making room for a pair of sharpened steel hooks as big as Ruby's head to take their place. Their cobalt finish and intricate detailing seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, and in less than a second Gali readied her new weapons as the panels on her arms snapped shut once more.

Silver eyes widened so much they were nearly lost in Ruby's pupils. "...that is seriously the coolest thing ever," she cooed in an awed whisper.

"So says the human with a shape-shifting scythe," remarked Gali with a soft laugh. "Fight as you normally would; I will support you."

With a nod Ruby spun Crescent Rose to shift it back into a scythe, darting to one side before lunging to the other and slashing at a Tarakava's flank. Gali leapt forward and began swiping and swinging with her hooks, blocking the punches of the mechanical monsters and digging her weapons into sections of armor to retaliate. The four smaller Rahi tried to bring down the warrior women, but soon fell to their combined efforts despite outnumbering them. One was divided down the middle with a scythe, another was flipped into the water and carried away by a summoned undertow. A third lizard had its head removed and its body filled with Dust ammo, and the fourth had its metal plates ripped apart by the hooked blades of the Toa of Water.

The final Tarakava, the same massive one that had struck the pump, loomed over them both. Ruby and Gali stood back-to-back as they stared up at their last opponent, who finally shrieked and released a powerful punch towards the pair. They dodged in opposite directions as the fist struck the platform where they once stood, tearing a hole into the lily pad as it started taking on water.

Huntress and Toa both nodded before fleeing their sinking ground and circling around the Tarakava while attacking in their own ways. Ruby fired round after round from her rifle at its left flank, while Gali summoned a swirling orb of water between her hooks and blasted a high-pressure stream at the monster's right. Neither barrage seemed to leave much more than a scratch on the lead Rahi's armor; if anything, it looked annoyed as it slithered into the sea to pursue them. Not even a whirlpool conjured by the Toa of Water seemed to do much more than slow down the monster, though it did buy the pair time to swim back across to the Tidebreaker's platform.

"It would seem this one is tougher than the rest," mused Gali as she pulled Ruby back out of the water, putting herself between the struggling beast and the gathered crowd of Ga-Matoran. "Do you have any ideas, little one?"

Ruby hummed thoughtfully, biting her lower lip as her mind raced. She thought back to everything she'd learned about the Tarakava, every possible way for them to end the fight quickly. Eventually, the answer stared her right in the face - literally, as the empty gaze of rust-rimmed eye holes in a darkened steel wedge met her own.

"The mask! We've gotta get that mask off its face!"

Once again her mind flashed back to the initial attack, recalling how the Tarakava she tried to pull the mask from had suddenly reacted violently. Ruby knew she wasn't strong enough to pry it off now, and she also didn't have the lungpower to survive the death roll of the mighty lizard. But Gali's hooked blades seemed perfect for yanking it right off its perch, and she now knew that the Toa beside her had the ability to breathe underwater thanks to her Kanohi Kaukau. If anyone had a chance of doing it, it was her.

The Toa of Water looked to the infected mask, then to her ally. "You are certain this will work?"

"Yeah," Ruby said simply. "I'll get its attention, you go for the mask. Careful, though - he'll try and drag you under as soon as you start pulling."

"That will not be an issue," said Gali as she narrowed her eyes. "Be careful, Ruby."

She nodded meaningfully as the giant Tarakava finally freed itself from the whirlpool and surged towards the Tidebreaker. "You too, Gali. Let's do this!"

And with that the silver-eyed Huntress launched herself into the fray once more, spinning and slashing against the massive lizard as it crawled onto the platform and slithered on its treads. While even Crescent Rose's sharpened blade couldn't pierce its thick armor, she at least succeeded in keeping the Rahi's focus on her and her alone. Ruby dodged and ducked between the punches it threw at her, which she knew from experience were strong enough to shatter her Aura in one hit. She fought cautiously and carefully, always staying on the move and never leaving herself open.

While Ruby danced and dashed around the beast, Gali dove into the water and pooled it around her body in a whirling vortex, preparing to launch herself at the most opportune moment. That moment came when the little rose diverted a punch meant for her face into the Tidebreaker's walls, allowing her to pin the fist in place with her scythe and lock the Tarakava's arm in an extended position. The Toa of Water released the stored pressure with a wave of her hooks, soaring out of the sea and latching onto the Rahi's spine. She dug one hook into a gap between the armored plates to anchor herself; the other slipped under the edge of the infected mask and started prying back forcefully.

Just as she was warned, as soon as she started pulling the Tarakava reacted violently.

The mighty beast let out a howling scream and moved with a sudden second wind, yanking its stuck arm back and hitting the Huntress with a backhanded blow. Ruby yelped as the flailing arm just barely grazed her, slamming her back against the Tidebreaker's walls with a pained groan. Her Aura flickered once in warning, a clear sign that it was running low, but she wasn't concerned about that. She was more worried about the fact that the Rahi was thrashing and bucking and trying to throw Gali off, before it revved up the motors in its tail and zoomed off the edge of the platform. The Toa of Water kept her hooks firmly in place despite the danger, disappearing with the mighty Tarakava beneath the waves.

A storm of bubbles broke the surface as the pair fought fiercely under the cover of water, like the bay itself was a giant pot of boiling soup. Ruby clutched her side as she limped over to the edge, trying to peer into the depths to find some indication that Gali was winning, but all she could see was the waves kicked up in the wake of their struggle. Nokama and several other Ga-Matoran joined her, matching her gaze as she finally sank to her knees. Part of her wanted to dive in and help, but the rest of her knew that getting between the two oceanic opponents would be suicide. So she waited with bated breath, clutching tightly to Crescent Rose just in case the Tarakava came up first in victory.

After what felt like an eternity, the surface of Lake Naho finally stilled as the unseen struggle ceased. Then the waves parted...and a massive reptilian frame emerged from the water.

No…

Ruby pulled herself to her feet. Nokama brandished her trident. Even some of the Ga-Matoran took up arms as they prepared to fight the same beast that had vanquished their protector.

But it was all unnecessary, as the giant Tarakava flopped onto the platform with a heavy groan, revealing the true victor - Toa Gali, standing on the water's surface, clutching an infected mask in her hook.

The entire village collectively let out a sigh of relief, before erupting into cheers.

Ruby stowed Crescent Rose and turned to face Penny, who was already running over to reward her with a tackling hug. Several of the Ga-Matoran embraced one another, while Kotu went to check on the semi-conscious beast. Even when her view was partially blocked by the mass of orange hair, Ruby could see that the Tarakava showed no signs of aggression towards the villager approaching it. Maybe...maybe now that it was free of Makuta's influence, it could be tamed. Maybe this meant there was a better way of fighting the Rahi instead of just...killing them.

But those were all thoughts for future Ruby. Present Ruby was focused on one thing and one thing only.

The clear sky above her, now that the storm was finally over.

---

Compared to that entire ordeal, the rest of Ruby's second day on Mata Nui was rather boring.

It didn't take very long for the villagers to get back to work, as though nothing had even happened. Materials from the bay floor were scavenged, huts were patched up, and the foundations of bamboo fences were laid down around the village perimeter. Gali had offered to stay and defend Ga-Koro for a few more days, just in case the Rahi came back. Nokama turned down the offer, saying that her quest for the masks mattered more - and she also believed that Makuta would not bother them for a good long while.

"We know the key to disarming his Rahi now," the Turaga had said. "You have shown us that it is possible. At this point, he will surely think twice before sending more of his servants against us, lest he lose control of them too."

Nevertheless, the Toa of Water had chosen to remain for the rest of the day, using her power over water to undo some of the flood damage caused to the huts (and fetching Ruby's scroll from the bottom of the bay). Despite the Turaga's protests that she'd already done enough to help, Ruby had spent the afternoon making flax alongside Hahli, even getting a chance to lay it down alongside the Ga-Matoran. Penny and Takua also decided to stay and assist, though they planned to remain in Ga-Koro for at least a few more days. Partly because the former Maiden wanted to develop her newfound Technopathy powers in a safe and secure location, and also because Takua had managed to "persuade" her into taking swimming lessons.

Ruby was almost sorry she was going to miss those, but her decision had been made.

When Gali left Ga-Koro again to return to her quest the next morning, she was going with her.

So at the end of the day Ruby found herself in the same place where she'd started it: sitting on the edge of a lily pad, her soaked clothes drying next to her, bare legs dangling in the water. She watched as the sun sank lower towards the horizon, painting the sky as red as her namesakes. Unlike earlier in the morning, she was oddly at peace, for reasons even she couldn't fully explain. Her best guess was that her new mood was a side effect of actually winning a decisive battle and making a clear difference, which served to silence the part of herself that berated her for past failures.

Sure, the voice and the thoughts were still there, but they weren't quite as loud as they'd been before. Her heart felt lighter, her mind felt clearer, and despite almost drowning multiple times in one day it didn't hurt to breathe anymore. Even the distant waves along the horizon didn't seem nearly as imposing as they once did. Instead, they felt...nice. Tranquil. Serene.

Gentle.

"Ruby! Look what I made with my Technopathy!"

She turned and looked at Penny approaching her with a smile, holding an eighteen-inch metal rod with a perpendicular grip in her right hand. It was the same teal-green color as some of the Tarakava that attacked earlier - which wasn't a surprise, as the parts used to make it were clearly scavenged from the fallen Rahi. Her left arm had a massive gauntlet mounted to her forearm, although this device was primarily black and dark gray, with the only teal parts being the ones that formed the outer shell.

"Oh, very nice!" Ruby praised. Then she tilted her head. "What are they?"

"My new Huntress weapons!" Penny said with a grin. "Watch this - the one on the left can expand into a shield…"

Ruby watched intently as the teal panels on the left gauntlet unfolded into a wide sheet, one large enough for her to curl up and hide behind. Then she stood back up and raised the right device, firing the hydraulic pistons along the metal rod with the pull of a trigger. After a hiss of steam the weapon sprang from her grip and nearly tripled in length, expanding into a six-foot-long polearm that Penny caught in mid-air - just as a bladed hook, one yanked right from a fallen Tarakava's mouth, popped out of one end.

"...and the one on the right extends from a tonfa into a spear!" finished the freckled girl. "Thanks to my Technopathy I can control both weapons remotely, which means I am able to pull them back into my hands after throwing them!" She looked quite pleased with herself. "The hook is sharpened on both the top and the bottom, so I can use it to both stab and hook things. It almost looks a little bit like one of Gali's hooks, does it not?"

A little bit of Ruby's heart broke as a realization washed over her. Whether Penny knew it or not, these new weapons were almost a match for Milo and Akuo, the spear and shield once wielded by Pyrrha Nikos. She wasn't sure if it was a deliberate reference to the fallen member of Team JNPR, or if it was just a coincidence. Either way, Ruby was sure that the new weapons would serve the former Maiden well, especially with her newly-discovered powers.

"Aw man that's so cool!" She cheered aloud and applauded with her best attempt at a warm smile. "Although…I'm kinda surprised you didn't just try and recreate Floating Array again."

Penny laughed and collapsed the weapons again, the shield folding back up and the spear hissing as it telescoped back into a handheld tonfa. "I thought about doing that at first, but I eventually decided that I wanted to do something different. I figured that since I was in a new world with new technology, I should try to make something equally new instead of reusing what I am already familiar with." Then she put her hands behind her back sheepishly. "Also, I could not find any sword parts on the Tarakava…"

The little rose giggled. "Fair enough. One more question, though - have you thought of a name yet? That's the most important part in making a new weapon."

Her friend nodded, lifting first the shield then the tonfa-spear hybrid. "Vita and Luce. They are words from an old language that Papa used to tell me about, words that mean 'life' and 'light' respectively. I wish to carry both of them forward as I grow and learn as a Huntress...just like my friends, who helped me realize the meaning of those words in the first place."

She could feel the tears welling up already as her heart broke even more. "Aw...Penny…"

Ruby sniffled and pulled herself up, running over to the friend and hugging her tightly. The freckled girl gently set her weapons down before she returned it with equal force, wrapping both arms around her waist and sighing contentedly as the little rose ran her hands through burnt-orange hair. They stood there in the sunset for a little while, no words exchanged between them. Just the warmth that came from a loving embrace, one that filled both their souls and melted their hearts.

"Hah...Ruby…" murmured Penny softly. "...I do not want to let go…"

"Me neither," Ruby admitted quietly into her friend's shoulder. "You sure you don't wanna come with me and Gali? We could hug each other as much as you want, then."

That got a gentle laugh out of the green-eyed girl. "That is a tempting offer...but I must decline. Takua needs me...and I need him. In...multiple senses of the word."

Ruby finally drew back and blinked, shocked to find a frown on her friend's face. "What do you mean? Is everything alright?"

"I…" Penny buried her face into her hands, pressing her palms against her eyes. "I do not want to say it...but I must...I cannot lie to you too…"

Gently shushing her friend, Ruby took Penny's hands in both of hers, just like she did the day she first discovered the little freckled girl was actually a robot. "Here. Why don't we sit by the water? You can tell me everything that happened…anything you want. And I won't be mad at you, okay? I promise."

Penny sniffled, rubbing her nose on her sleeve. "Okay…ew, that is disgusting…"

That got a choked laugh out of Ruby. "Welcome to being human. You get to have gross boogers whenever you cry. Now, come here…let's talk."

And so the little rose led her friend to the water's edge and sat her down, the pair dipping their legs into the bay as Penny tearfully told her everything. How Cinder had mortally wounded her to get the Winter Maiden power. How she bled out in Emerald's arms. How she woke up on a beach outside Ta-Koro next to Takua, and started dying again whenever they weren't next to each other. How she found Yang and lied to spare her feelings, only to hurt them more with the truth. Ruby tried to be brave as she absorbed every word, tried to keep the shadowy thoughts at bay, and she nearly failed at both. She was on the verge of collapsing into a sobbing wreck by the time the former Maiden finally finished her tale.

"I do not know for certain if Weiss and Emerald are here," she finished as she wiped a few more tears away, "but I can only assume that if my body fell, then they did too."

Ruby nodded slowly, absorbing the information and impressed that she wasn't breaking down crying herself. "Okay. I...wow. That's a lot to take in..."

"It is," agreed her friend sadly.

"You...you died."

"Yes."

"Cinder got away with both relics."

"Most likely."

"You almost lost the Winter Maiden powers."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"And the only reason you're alive right now is because of Takua?"

"He is also the only reason I remain alive."

Silver eyes looked over at the little Matoran who was sitting a few feet away and dangling his own yellow legs in the water, though he had his back turned towards them to give them at least a little privacy. Panic welled up in the little rose's chest as questions flowed out of her mouth.

"Is that why you can't come with me and Gali? You have to stay next to him all the time now? How far away can you be? How long does it take for you to start dying again? Shouldn't you be next to him? Oh gods am I killing you right now?!"

Penny laughed softly, putting her hands on Ruby's bare shoulders and squeezing gently. "Please relax. I will be fine, sitting here with you. Takua and I did some testing today, after the attack. We discovered that there is a 'buffer zone' of approximately ten feet around me, where my heart can sustain itself so long as he remains within a twenty-foot diameter. If I get too far from him, I have...anywhere from a minute to ten seconds before my heart fails, depending on my mental state. At that point, he must make contact with me to reestablish a connection - it is the only reliable way he has been able to restart my heart."

Ruby frowned. "That...doesn't sound pleasant to try and nail down."

"It was not."

She grabbed the hands that held to her shoulders, gently massaging the palms with her own. After a moment of silent comfort, Penny withdrew her hands again, staring into the sunset. A thought suddenly occurred to Ruby, one that shone as bright as the odd stone she held during their search.

"What about that thing you had earlier?" she asked. "You weren't dying when we were underwater...at least, not until you started drowning. So you should be fine as long as you hold onto that…glowstone, right?"

"Lightstone," corrected Penny with a choked laugh. "And yes, we tested with that as well. The good news is that it can indeed keep me alive as Takua's presence does, if he is not within my buffer zone. The bad news is it can only do so for about ten minutes. After that, I must return to his side again, or else I die...I do not know if he can revive me again once I well and truly pass, and I am afraid to find out."

The former maiden pulled her legs out of the bay and hugged her knees to her chest, green eyes staring into an unseen abyss. "I...I do not want to die anymore, Ruby. I have...it has happened so many times, and each time it gets worse. It is...scary. And cold. And empty. And then...there is nothing."

Ruby bit her lower lip and put one hand on her friend's back, tracing small circles between her shoulders. At the same time her other hand tightened its grip on the edge of the lily pad, clenching so hard her knuckles turned white.

"So turning you human with the Staff of Creation to remove the virus...it just made it easier for Cinder to kill you. For anything to kill you." She stared down into the water and shook her head, guilt and sorrow rising like bile in her throat. "I'm so…so sorry, Penny. This was my fault. It was my mistake, a risk I took on your behalf that ended up backfiring in the worst possible way. Just like every single thing I did during the siege, it was the wrong call to -"

"No."

The sudden conviction in the former Maiden's voice was surprising, and it shocked her enough to snap her out of the dark cloud that once again threatened to invade her mind. Ruby looked up to see Penny staring hard at her, shimmering emerald gazing into bloodshot silver.

"No, Ruby," she intoned firmly. "Please do not…please do not ever blame yourself for what happened to me. I have lost some things, yes, and I am not as strong or powerful as I once was…but I have gained so much more. The battle for Atlas was not perfect, and you did make mistakes - we all did - but bringing me to the Winter Maiden Vault and asking Ambrosius to remove my robot parts was not one of them. Do you understand? My fate was not your fault."

Ruby felt tears pool and blur her vision, even as her friend never broke eye contact. "But…but you died. You bled to death because of my stupid - !"

" - because of a choice that I made," interrupted Penny, reaching up to wipe away a tear forming amidst silver. "I chose to go back and fight alongside you after Yang fell, because I wanted to save people. I wanted to save my friends. I wanted to be the Winter Maiden that Fria believed I could be…that you believed I could be. I did not believe in myself…but you did. And that was all that mattered to me. That was why I came back. That was why I did not follow the plan. Because I could not leave you. I could not leave any of you."

She paused and finally stared down at Ruby's hands, moving to trace her fingers along the worn scars and creases that lined her friend's palms. "When I was under the effects of the virus, all I wanted was death," she admitted, her voice breaking slightly. "I wanted to die again, so that the power and responsibility would go to someone else. Anyone else. I…I begged you to kill me. I begged others to kill me. But you did not. You did not give me what I wanted. You gave me what I needed instead. You gave me life, Ruby Rose. Do you even realize just how incredible of a gift that is?"

The freckled girl dipped her legs back into the water and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and sighing meaningfully. "I could not feel anything before. It was all just…data to me. Sensors feeding me information that I knew to be true, but could never truly experience myself. But now…now I can feel everything. The wind in my hair…the water on my skin…the ground beneath my feet…and the warmth of a hug. There is so much I want to experience, so much I want to feel…and thanks to you, I have a chance to do all of it."

Penny's eyes opened once again, and emerald warmth stared back at the little rose with an almost-pleading gaze. "So please. Do not think that you killed me. Do not ever think that. You have done the exact opposite - you have made me feel alive. Just like you have always done, Ruby...from the very first moment you called me a friend. And no matter what happens...I will always be thankful to you for that."

For a long moment, Ruby didn't know what to say. What could she say? Penny endless gratitude and unwavering faith in her had been exactly what she needed to hear, exactly what she wanted someone to say to her but was too afraid to ask for. Tears welled in her eyes once again - or maybe they were the same tears that had been building in her chest ever since she fell out of Remnant. She didn't know anymore. She didn't care.

Emotion swelled in her chest as the realization washed over her like a cool refreshing rain. Ruby realized that she had been so focused on her failures, on the battles she'd lost and the mistakes she'd made, that she had blinded herself to the good within the bad. Overlooked the beauty that came from pain. Forgotten that dawn always followed the darkest nights. The realization didn't completely absolve her of her sins, but it gave her the hope that one day she could forgive herself for the people she failed. That she could learn to live with the weight of her sorrows and failings, instead of letting them consume her and drag her into the depths.

And despite everything, despite all that had happened, Penny was still herself. Her same wonderful and radiant self that brought joy to everyone when they needed it. Most importantly, she was alive. Really, truly, alive. And now she had a chance to live that life all on her own, in a realm safe from Salem's machinations and Cinder's thirst for power. Even though this new life was tied to Takua's, that alone seemed to be enough for Penny.

And maybe…maybe that would be enough for Ruby as well.

The exhausted and emotional little Huntress tipped forward, leaned into her friend for another embrace, and finally let herself cry.

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(A/N): Maan...you ever make yourself cry with your own writing? I sure did when I was writing the end of this chapter. If there's one thing I wish for in RWBY V9, it's that some variant of the above conversation happens. Come on, RT, let Penny be alive and happy! Is that too much to ask?!

Anyways, thanks for reading this colossal update! I definitely don't plan on having any updates of this size in the future...but then again, I've made that promise before and failed to keep it. So I guess I just need to make sure that I keep myself in check from here on out.

The inspiration for Penny's Semblance - Technopathy - comes of course from her being an allusion to Pinocchio, the famous wooden puppet who wished to become a real boy. I've always liked the idea of a character who could manipulate technology by "wiring" themselves into a system; with Penny and her strings motif, I saw the perfect opportunity to do just that for this story. Her weapons, as explained, are the Italian words for "life" and "light" according to Google Translate, named so because the original tale of Pinocchio comes from Italy. I also didn't want to just give her Floating Array again because as much as I love the concept of flying swords and lasers, I wanted to do something a little different for everyone's favorite (former) robot girl.

Thanks again for reading! See you next week, where we take a bit of a detour into a sandy desert and reunite with both new and familiar faces...and I'm not talking about Vacuo.