Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle.
A Vision from the Past
"Kopaka!" screamed Gali, searching the hole in the ice for a sign of him. But all she saw was the last of the avalanche flow in the water.
"Kal! Can you get down there?" she asked the blue Ihar. Kal nodded and shot down a trail that brought down to the icy lake, shortly followed by the other Ihar.
As soon as they reached the bottom of the cliff, Gali jumped off Kal and ran to the shore of the lake, still hoping to see Kopaka. But in front of her was only the icy surface of the lake.
"No," she whispered. But the next second her sadness turned into anger, and she turned around to face Sirkul.
"You! Why didn't you pull him out of that avalanche? Why?" she shouted. Sirkul stared at her, but did not answer.
"Why?" repeated Gali. Sirkul lowered his head.
-I can't tell you- was the answer.
"What!" yelled Pohatu.
-I can't tell you- repeated Sirkul quietly, this time staring straigth at Pohatu.
There was a splashing sound behind them. Gali twirled around to see Kopaka's head break the surface, and then the Ko-Matoran struggling to keep his head over the surface, his frozen arm wasn't of help.
"Kopaka!" she shouted, running over to him. But she had barely gone a few steps over the ice when she heard a crack. The avalanche had broken half of the ice, and weakened the rest, so that there was no way to reach the center of the lake.
Gali stared at Kopaka, who was trying desperately to get on the ice. But every time he tried to push himself up, the ice broke under his weight, and he fell back in the water, or else it tilted to the side and Kopaka slipped off. All Gali could do was stare, knowing perfectly well that every second that passed the chances increased that he disappeared forever under the surface of the lake. Suddenly, she just ran over the ice, dodging cracks and searching for the most solid trails, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she had to swim.
On shore, Pohatu stared at what Gali was doing, wishing he could somehow help. He had never felt so useless, and he wished there was something he could do. But what? His weight wouldn't have brought him far, and if he fell in he would just have been in the way.
Sirkul, he thought suddenly. He turned around to face the white Ihar.
"Get him out," he ordered. Sirkul stared at him in surprise, he was an Ashra, and used to giving orders, not following them.
"Get him out!" repeated Pohatu, this time louder. Sirkul hesitated, and Pohatu could see that being a "chief" didn't have anything to do with it.
There was a bark from Kal and a low sound from Hoti. Sirkul stared at them, and Kal barked again, two times. Pohatu wondered what they were talking about.
A crack followed by a shout made him turn around. Gali was now dangerously far from the shore, but still too far to help Kopaka. The Ko-Matoran was still fighting to survive, but his movements were more tired, and his head disappeared more and more often under the surface. Pohatu hoped Sirkul would finally pull him out, before Gali came to the idea of jumping in.
Finally, Sirkul did what he had been told, and a second later Kopaka was lying in front of him, panting. He was still clutching the Ilsao.
"You alright, brother?" asked Pohatu. Kopaka nodded slightly, then he hung the Ilsao around his neck.
-We have to go- muttered Sirkul. -Hotiku, where is the Puneko-
-My name is Hoti- answered the Po-Ihar. -And shouldn't they find out where it is?- he asked, pointing to the Matoran.
"How?" asked Pohatu. "We don't even know where to start!"
Kal smiled, then she explained to Kopaka what he had to do. Kopaka listened carefully, and didn't say a word until Kal had finished.
"How can I concentrate on something I have never seen?" he asked.
-Think of a stone- answered Hoti, only half jokingly.
Kopaka shook his head, but tried it all the same, and to his surprise the Heerole did start to "pull"... and ended pointing to the sky.
"What's it doing?" asked Gali, who had just reached them. Pohatu and Hoti burst into laugher.
-Of course, the Ilsao doesn't always obey- added Kal, amused. Gali looked first at Kal, then at Kopaka.
"Did I miss something?" she asked.
-Let's go to the desert first- said Sirkul. -Maybe it'll help.-
XXXXX
It took them a day to reach the desert and another two to find the Puneko, which turned out to be hidden between the ruins where they had played Kolhii the first day the had met. The reason was that the Heerole kept pointing to casual directions, and Hoti wouldn't tell them where it was hidden. Finally, the Heerole started pointing only to the ruins, and Pohatu was able to retrieve the Puneko without many problems.
"Did it have to be hidden behind the waterfall?" growled Pohatu.
"It wasn't that bad!" said Gali, rolling her eyes.
"For you maybe, but I'm a Po-Matoran. Remember? And searching for a rock while water is trickling over me isn't exactly my favorite hobby!"
"I thought you liked looking for rocks," teased him Gali.
"Just as long as they are dry," he answered. "And at least I've got my Ilsao."
-Will you two stop that- hissed Kal. The long march under the sun, away from the water, had weakened her, and she got angry easily. That was why they had stopped there, something that neither Pohatu or Hoti minded. In fact, Hoti couldn't have asked for more, since all his Kolhii balls were there. Now Pohatu and Gali were resting after an exciting match, Kopaka was already sleeping next to Sirkul.
Pohatu laid down and started playing with the Puneko. The reason it had taken him so much to find it was that it looked like a perfect normal rock. It wasn't even smooth or pointy. in fact, it looked as if it had been chucked off one of the columns.
He was sitting next to a fire, next to him was Onua, laughing. He somehow looked younger.
Behind him, was a brown Ihar, but it wasn't Hoti, it was someone else. Suddenly, Onua turned around, smiling.
"There you are, Hoti!" he said. Pohatu turned around to see Hoti, and saw a young cat running towards him.
-Hi, you rascal- he heard the brown Ihar say. -Where have you been-
-I was just playing Koli, dad-
"What?" shouted Pohatu, sitting up. Gali turned to him.
"What?" she asked.
"It's..." then he shot a glance to Kal, who was listening to every word. "Wake up Kopaka," he said in a lower tone. "We have to talk."
Gali nodded and walked over to Kopaka, trying not to wake Sirkul and Hoti. Then she came back followed by the Ko-Matoran.
"What is it?" asked Kopaka, slightly annoyed that he had been waked.
"Kal, mind going away?" he asked. Kal shook her head and went away to lie nearer to the river.
After he was sure nobody was listening, Pohatu quickly told them about the visions he had had ever since he had reached the island. The more he went on, the more Gali's face darkened, and when he finished telling them about his last, she turned around and stomped towards Kal.
"Why didn't you tell us?" she asked, hands closed into fists.
-What- asked Kal, blinking.
"That Pohatu and Onua were already on this island!" she said, raising her tone slightly.
-They have?-
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," snapped Gali. Kal barked, waking the other two Ihar.
-Hey, Hoti, why didn't you tell Pohatu and Onua they already have been here?- she asked.
-What? I guess I forgot...- he said sleepily. Then he seemed to realize what Kal had just said. -What? They've already been here? I didn't know-
"You can stop lying," hissed Kopaka. "We know everything."
-That's where you are wrong- answered Sirkul. -You can't even imagine how much you don't know.-
"Then tell us!" snapped Gali.
-Why don't you ask yourself why Lhikan is still alive instead?- asked Sirkul.
"What do you mean?" asked Pohatu.
-Don't you know?- asked Kal.
"What?"
-Lhikan was killed by Makuta.- explained Hoti.
"WHAT?"
-Didn't the Turaga tell you?-
"No, they only told us up to the point where they met that Turaga with a helmet," answered Pohatu. "Then they mentioned that they had been following the wrong trail and a couple of other things, but they kept saying they'd tell us on Metru Nui."
Sirkul shook his head.
-No wonder,- he muttered. -No wonder...- Then he told them what had happened on Metru Nui. After he had finished, nobody said a word. All three Matoran were asking themselves the same thing: What's going on on Metru Nui? Pohatu was the first to break the silence.
"But then..." he started.
"No, Makuta wouldn't use the same trick two times," answered Kopaka.
-Yes- agreed Kal. -But now sleep, we still have an Ilsao to find.-
"How did you know all that about Metru Nui?" asked Gali.
-The thief- answered the blue Ihar. Then she cocked her head to the right.
-What? Who? Where?- she asked.
"What is it?" asked Pohatu.
-It's Kida, she's been trying to contact me for a while...- she started. -But don't worry. Sleep.- and with that she curled up and closed her eyes.
XXXXX
The next morning, Kal woke them up quite early. During the night, she had received another message from Kida, who had told her she wanted to meet her. But Kal hadn't said where, she just told them they had to go there anyway.. Then they had walked towards the jungle that grew on the other side of the small river.
They had been walking through the jungle for a while, when a young Ga-Ihar, followed by Thau, Nairof and Kishro, ran towards them. Kal immediately ran to greet her, forgetting that Gali was still on her back, so that the Ga-Matoran was thrown off. After some time of barks and meows, Pohatu asked them where Tahu and the others were.
-Oh, yeah- said the other Ga-Ihar. -I was forgetting, go down that trail, don't leave it and you'll come to a river. They are waiting for you there.-
"Which trail?" asked Kopaka. The Ga-Ihar, Kida, smiled at him. Now that she and her sister were next to each other, Kopaka could easily tell the difference between them. Kal was a wild Ihar, big and strong, and of a darker blue, while Kida was slim, smaller, and had more beauty and grace then her sister. Kopaka also noticed how Thau kept shooting glances at her.
-Just follow the broken plants- she said. Kopaka nodded and set off down the trail.
It wasn't hard finding it, or following it, the Ihar had broken a lot of plants. Kopaka was on the lead, Pohatu and Gali followed behind, talking cheerfully. But Kopaka couldn't help thinking that there was something that he didn't get. He barely realized they had walked out of the forest. It was only when Gali let out a long whistle that he looked up.
They were on the top of a slope, and at the bottom of it, was the wildest river he had ever seen.
"There you are! I thought you lost yourselves in the jungle!" came Tahu's voice. He and the others were already there, standing on a small beach next to the river, that Pohatu recognized as the river he had seen when he had first reched Miko Nui. He waved at Tahu and ran down to meet Onua and the others.
"Not the case as you see!" he laughed. Onua smiled, then he turned serious again and told them about the message.
"That doesn't make any sense," said Kopaka. But Gali was frowning. Pohatu shrugged and told the others about his visions.
"If you ask me, you walked too much under the sun," said Tahu after he had finished.
"But what if they were real?" asked Gali. "Remember about Vakama?"
"This time it's different," said Onua. "I can't remember being on this place, even though I know how all the Ilsao look. But haven't you thought that to be on this island as Matoran, we had to be Matoran? Before we were Toa."
They hadn't thought about that, Onua was right, it didn't make much sense. But Lewa had to think about knowing the way all aroung the Island, and Tahu about the Ta-Matoran that looked like him, and Kopaka about his own Matoran voice. Their thoughts were interrupted by someone calling them.
"Tahu! Finally! I thought you were all dead!"
Tahu spun around and groaned. Running towards them was Uhat, followed by the other Toa Leehar.
"Yeah, we're alright. You've come too late. We've all gone through our near-to-death adventures. We only need to find the Ilsao of Water," snapped Tahu. Uhat looked down at him.
"You don't look happy to see us," he said.
"Who says we are?" snapped Tahu. Thau looked at the others nervously.
"Did we do something wrong?" asked Ilag softly. Tahu hesitated, was it their fault if Utahop and Gali didn't like each other? Ilag was okay, at least.
"No," he said. Ilag smiled, and Tahu couldn't help thinking how pretty she was. Gali didn't seem to think it the same way, but she stayed quite.
"Come on, we are bringing you back to Metru Nui," said Uhat.
"But, what about the Shilara?" asked Gali.
"I don't really mind if you stay a Matoran for the rest of your life," mentioned Utahop.
"I'm not moving until I'll get the Shilara," hissed Gali.
"Fine, then we are leaving you here," said Utahop with a shrug.
"How do you know how it's called anyway?" asked Awel.
"I just know it,"
Uhat opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. He was staring at a point behind Lewa, who turned around to see Thaukon, who was staring back at Uhat.
"That's a friend of us," said Lewa. Uhat stared at him.
"Friend? FRIEND?" he asked.
"Yep, one of the Ihar that..." started Pohatu.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" shouted Uhat, taking everyone by surprise.
"Now that you mention it, that could actually be," joked Takua. Uhat didn't find it funny.
"What do you think you are doing? Hanging around with that filth?" he snapped.
"Hey, slow down," said Pohatu. "They might be hiding something from us, but they..."
"Something? SOMETHING?" he shouted. "They work for Makuta! It's a miracle you are still alive!"
Sorry if it took me so much, and if my chapters are so long or confused. But I've got a problem. Most of my stories are connected to the real one, even though it might not seem so at the beginning, they fit together only at the end. Sometimes I change the ending of the last book, or comic or movie a bit, but nothing else. Anyway, all of my stories are written so that whatever I find out, they still fit, somehow. So what's the problem? You see, if Lhikan's death would have been the reason the Vahki stopped following Dume. It would have been okay. If Lhikan's death is the reason some Matoran are still on the Ilsand: okay. If Lhikan was killed by throwing him in a large chopper and cutting him into thousand pieces...yeah, well, then I guess I would have a problem too. If Lhikan's death is the reason Nokama isn't a three headed monster. Okay. If Lhikan's death is the reason Jaller has a mask, that's not okay. Great huh? My ideas are no more worth because of a mask! The reason ism I have to change the story after Lhikan's heartlight has turned off, so I have to pull him apart to find the switch. You know what I mean. If you have some idea, tell me.
Regrem Erutaerc: I said not really. There is something actually, but I can't tell you or I'd spoil everything. Yeah, that helps.
Fred: The Ihar are hiding a lot from the Toa, I can tell you that. There is also something like you said in there, but the Toa have to find the Ilsao to turn back into Toa. I said that in one of the previous chapters.
Slythergrl2004: Thanks. I tried the "highly recommend story to others" thingy to get more people to review your story. I wonder if it works, because I haven't been reading many fanfics in this period. As for my e-mail, the problem isn't only me, it's my parents. But I'll think about it.
Tahalli: Thanks, I'll keep on reading. (I didn't copy for the next chapter title)
ToaMaster: Okay, thanks. Does that go for CA too? 'Cause I don't think I'll be putting him here.
Next chapter: Friends or Foes?
