Disclaimer: I don't owe Bionicle but I do owe the story.
Hopes
"I don't think you'll ever see Gali alive again..."
Those words echoed in Tahu's head. Gali? Dead? It all didn't make sense. Gali couldn't be dead... she just couldn't! He turned to Thau, who just stared at him through sad eyes. It wasn't a bad joke of some kind, Kal had said the truth.
Tahu sank to the floor, looking at the others. Nearly everybody looked just as shocked as him, everybody except Kopaka, whose eyes had become colder than usual.
What's up with that guy? Tahu thought. Seeing Kopaka standing there, as if he didn't care or anything made him angry. Didn't he realize that their sister was dead? That they'd never see her again? Or if that if they did see her, they'd only find her body?
Tahu turned to Kal. She looked really sad, as if her best friend had just died. Too sad, Tahu couldn't help to think. It's not her sister that died, after all. What if... Tahu shook that thought away from his mind, if there was any chance, even one, to find Gali alive again, he had to trust her.
"Are you sure Gali doesn't have any chance to survive?" he asked.
Kal looked at him thoughtfully.
-Well, maybe...- she started, then she stopped.
"Maybe...?" asked Pohatu, hope flickering in his eyes.
Kal looked at Thau, then she turned back to the Matoran. -Maybe one chance. But I doubt it. No one ever survived this island apart...- she stopped. But Tahu already wasn't listening anymore, he jumped on his feet and looked at the others.
"What are we waiting for? If there is a chance, then we have to find her!" he said. Kal jumped in front of him.
-I think you didn't get the situation. Even if Gali was alive, before you'd find her she'd be dead! This island is dangerous, you can't just walk through it as if it was nothing!- she snapped at him. Tahu stared up at her, he didn't say what he was thinking of only because the others were there, and he didn't want to waste time.
"We have to find her." he repeated. Kal stared at him.
-Yes, but we can't just run through the island calling for her, we have to know where to search- said Nairof.
"Do you have any ideas?" Takua asked. Nairof nodded.
-Yes, she can't be in the original Onu-Kavi, because I found you alone there, and she also can't be in the original Ko-Kavi or Le-Kavi, because that's where your friends appeared. What about the original Ta-Kavi, Thau?- he asked. Thau shook his head.
-No, it's no use looking there, if she was zapped there then she'd be dead. The volcano erupted just before I got in trouble with the Kofo-Jaga- he said.
-So I was right about the Kofo-Jaga- said Kishro, eyes twinkling. Thau growled at him, but Hoti put himself between them before it got more serious.
-This isn't time to fight- he snapped at them. Then he cocked his head to one side, as if trying to remember something. -The good news is that we don't have to search in the original Po-Kavi, the Tikohl sent a couple of rocks here, but no Ga-Matoran. I'm sure about that, I was hoping it would send a new Kolhii ball, this one is falling to pieces-
"And, what's the bad news?" Lewa asked.
-The bad news is- answered Sirkul, -That nobody knows where the original Ga-Kavi is-
"Then what helps us know where we have to look for Gali if we don't know where this place is?" growled Tahu. "We've already lost too much time, I'm going."
-Where?- Kal asked.
"I don't know, but I can't just stand here without doing anything," he snapped.
-Getting killed won't bring you far either.- Kal said.
Tahu clenched his fists, Kal stared at him as if daring him to do anything.
He lowered his hands, "Listen," he said, "If I'm alive, it's thanks to Gali, I can't just let her..." his voice trailed off.
-What do you think about us?- Thau asked. -But first we'd have to find the Tikohl, we know that it is in the original Ga-Kavi, but we don't know where the original Ga-Kavi is. Our only hint is: water, great huh?-
"Wet water." murmured Lewa. Everybody stared at him. "Never mind, I was just talking to myself."
"This isn't time to say things without sense," growled Tahu. But Kal seemed interested, her eyes kept travelling from Lewa to the river behind them, growling things that they couldn't understand. Then, all of a sudden, she turned around and shot in one direction, Thau barked after her, but she didn't stop.
"What's up with her?" Takua asked.
-I don't know, she just mumbled something about water and that it must be wet and set off-
"Something like, 'Wet is good, because water must be wet'?" Kopaka asked. Everbody looked at him.
-Yes, something like that, but how...- Thau asked.
"I remembered something I heard long ago. But I don't know when or from who" he said with a shrug.
Kishro wore a thoughtful look, but didn't say anything. Takua kept looking from one Ihat to the other, he was sure they were hiding something. But it wasn't only that, he had the feeling that there was something that he had forgotten, but he had no idea what it could be.
"Are we going to stay here thinking about what Kal said?" Tahu snapped. "We are just losing time!"
-Listen,- said Sirkul. -You've got to face the truth, you are not going to find Gali in time, if you want to help, stay out of the way.- Tahu stared at him.
"You know where Kal went, don't you?" he asked. "And you probably know where Gali is too"
Sirkul didn't answer immediately, he looked annoyed, as if he wished to be somewhere else instead of talking with this nervous Ta-Matoran.
-No- he answered. Then he turned around and walked down to the river to drink, as if nothing had happened.
Tahu suddenly saw something glow at the hight of his chest, he looked down, it was the Anjai. He slipped it over his head and stared at it. The small rock kept glowing brighter and brighter, and remembering what had happened the last time, he let it fall. The second it reached the ground, it stopped. Tahu looked up and saw that Thau was looking at it in interest.
"I- We found it in the transporter cave," Tahu said.
"And we found another one," said Onua showing Tahu his stone. Tahu stared at it without much interest, then he picked up the Anjai and gave it to Takua.
"If this is really the Ilsao of light, then you should take it," he said.
-What makes you think that that is not the Ilsao of light?- Thau asked. Tahu shrugged
"It's so... normal," he said. Thau seemed to laugh.
-I know. But normal things are good, where nothing is normal,-
Takua stared at him, interested. He didn't understand what Thau meant, but those words opened a memory in his mind. Something about a group of Matoran, a group where nothing was normal. He tried to picture the Matoran in his mind, but everything faded away, everything except the laugher of a young Ga-Matoran. But that reminded him of why they had searched for the cave in first place, if they were stuck on this island, they might as well try to find 'her', and hope that Kal would find Gali.
"Thau," he started. Thau turned his red eyes in his direction.
-Yes?-
"When we came here, we were looking for a thief..." Takua quickly explained the story. When he finished, he realized that everybody except Kopaka were looking at him. He looked to the ground, he knew how it must have sounded, as if he didn't care for Gali. But Sirkul was right, they weren't going to find Gali in time, and Kal knew the island better then them. If someone could find Gali, it was one of the Ihar. But it wasn't only that, he had the feeling that finding this thief was way more important then it seemed. He looked back up at Thau, trying to ignore the looks of his friends, he expected to see Thau confused, maybe surprised, but he looked nervous, as if he didn't know what to answer.
-Yes,- he finally said. -I know the thief of Ga-Metru, but I don't know what happened to her-
"What do you mean?" Lewa asked.
-You have to sleep,- interrupted Hoti, -You must be tired-
It was true, they were all tired, but none of them felt like sleeping, all wanted to know whether Gali had made it, and what had happened to 'her'. Finally though, the tiredness took over, and they decided to try and sleep. Looking around, Lewa realized once again how familiar this place looked, but how could this be possible, if they had never been there?
Tahu, on his side, still had doubts about the Ihar. They were hiding something, and he was sure that it had something to do with Gali. But he would have thought about that when he was awake.
That night, Tahu dreamed once again of the Ta-Matoran.
He was a Toa again, and he was following the Ta-Matoran, who had tried to escape him by surfing. He didn't know why he was following this Matoran, he just kept surfing after him, but somehow never got nearer. Then he started to shrink, and all of a sudden, he was a Ta-Matoran too. The other Matoran jumped off the surf and started running down a narrow ledge. A wrong step, and he would have fallen into the lava river. Tahu ran after him until they reached a large cave. Now the Matoran was trapped. Tahu ran forwards and grabbed the Matoran by his shoulder. The Matoran turned around immediately and stared straight into Tahu's eyes...
"No!" Tahu screamed. The Matoran kept staring at him.
"NO!"
"Tahu wake up!"
Tahu opened his eyes and found himself looking at Lewa. He wanted to ask what was happening, but Lewa pulled him on his feet and started dragging him away.
"Come on! We have to quickspeed to some place, Kal can't hold him back for long!"
"Hey! Wait a second!" shouted Tahu and freed himself from Lewa. "What's happening?"
"Kal didn't find the Tikohl, but she found trouble."
"Is she all right?"
"She is all right as you can be when a Muaka is attacking you!"
Sorry if it took me so much! But first I had a writer's block, then fanfiction. net stopped posting stories. (compliments for putting everything back in order) Anyway, I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible and get on with this search for the Ilsao. Without counting the whole stuff about who sent the Toa there. Oh, and since you are here, I recommend you to read 'A Change in the Wind'. It's really good.
Regrem Erutaerc: Thanks for the information, I though that my computer was going wacko or something. (it would have been the third time)
fred: Good. Read the next chapter to see what happened to Gali.
Slythergrl2004: Hehe, don't worry, there are gonna be chapters of CA until the Toa reach Metru Nui or until everyone starts hating it. (or until I'll run out of ideas)
