The Battle on the Mountain
The fog had lifted over the peak of the nameless mountain, where, years before, the thief and her friends had disappeared, and Thaukon could see everything that was happening.
He saw how Utahop laid his foot over Gali's body and pressed slightly. Just enough for her to have a hard time breathing, enough for her "ghost", back in the past, to feel it, to gasp for air, and yet, not seeing what was happening.
All this made Thau sick. Utahop could have crushed the Ga-Matoran whenever he wanted. He could have erased her just by laying a bit more weight on her, nothing more. But he didn't.
It could have looked as if Utahop wanted to give Gali a chance to wake up, to fight, maybe to survive, but Thau knew better. Utahop wanted Gali to wake up to hear her scream and plead for mercy, while he lowered his foot more and more, crushing her little body.
But what was worse, was that they couldn't do anything to help. They, the Ihar, had fought bravely to protect their friends, and had lost.
It was partly his fault. He hadn't heard Kal's bark, and when he had woken up, it was too late. The Toa Leehar had already arrived, and Uhat had made sure he wouldn't be in the way. Then, Uhat had held his blade at Thau's throat, threatening the others to kill him if they didn't surrender. Only that he hadn't thought that Thau had the power of shielding. A short fight had followed, but Thau was already taken, and all he could do was stare helpless at how his friends fought, at how Kal was taken by Awel, who pressed his poison staff on her throat, when she tried to protect Gali. See how all his friends were caught or knocked unconscious, and especially, how the Ilsao had been taken away, and how the Matoran, still in trance, had been gathered in a group, under Ilag's control.
The only ones that could have done something now, were Sirkul, with the power of Telekinesis, and Hoti, with the power of Mind Control. But the first was lying unconcious, if not even dead, somewhere on the mountainside, and Auno had such a tight grip around Hoti that he could barely breath. Without counting that it would have been a too great risk.
Now what? he asked himself, trying to ignore Kal's screams, who was begging Utahop to leave Gali. Now what?
XXXXX
Gali gasped for breath as the weight over her lightened. What was happening? She looked at the others, they all looked normal. None of them seemed to feel as if they were being squashed...
Again she felt that weight, pounding on her chest and pressing the air out of her lungs. She struggled to breath. Why, why was she...
Then it came to her. Something was happening in the present, right now! She had to get back, they all had to!
"Gali?" asked Takua, worry in his voice.
"I..." she mouthed, but stopped, as the pressure was growing.
"Gali, what's happening?"
"Something... in the present..." she said, struggling with the words. "Have... to get back..."
"What?" insisted Takua. "What's happening?"
"Don't know... have to get back..."
Gali let out a suffocated scream as the heaviness grew even more, then it lifted again. "Concentrate!" she shrieked, "Concentrate on the present! Concentr..."
The weight on her chest came back. She had to get back, fast! She tried to concentrate herself on getting back to the present. But that weight...
NO! Concentrate! she ordered herself. She closed her eyes, trying to picture things from her time. Metru Nui, Nokama and the other Turaga, Kal...
-No, not Gali! Leave her! Please! Take me instead-
Huh? Kal?
Gali opened her eyes to see Utahop's foot over her. Taken by surprise, she let out a high-pitched scream that was heard by everyone on the mountain. Utahop raised his foot slightly and looked at her, grinning."Oh, sorry," he said. "I didn't see you."
Gali took a quick look around, she couldn't see much, as Utahop was in the way, but she could still get the idea of the situation. She felt anger rise in her like never before. and then, to her own, great surprise, Gali heard herself shout things at Utahop that he couldn't have heard before. She saw Thau's mouth drop open, and Utahop's grin disappear.
"So, Toa Meditate is gone, Thief Rudeness is back," he growled. But Gali didn't care, she could see Awel holding Kal, his Rahkshi Staff lying on the rocks, her brothers, or friends or whatever they were, in a group, under Ilag's control, who had her Rahkshi staff drawn. She couldn't see anthing else, because Utahop was in the way, but she could imagine it. A hate like she had never felt before rose into her, and before she could stop herself, she was shouting as loudly as she could.
"YES, AND I REMEMBER! WE ALL REMEMBER!" she shrieked. Utahop stared at her.
"You know, Gali." he said, quietly. "The only reason you aren't dead yet, is that I didn't have any proof that you were the thief. But now, now that you've so kindly told me, I'll erase you from this place." And with that, he raised his foot to step on her.
Thinking fast, Gali reached her throat to get the Shilara. She had just thought of something Tahu had said, about her managing to shoot jets of waters with it. Maybe she could still do it, if it wasn't for...
"The Ilsao!" she gasped. The Shilara was gone. Her scream was followed by a couple of shouts, probably she wasn't the only one who had managed to get back. Utahop grinned.
"Did you really think we would let you keep them?" he asked. Then he lowered his foot.
This time Gali didn't stop to think. She rolled away from under Utahop's foot and ran off as fast as she could. Where were the Ilsao? Where were... suddenly, she crashed into some sort of pillar.
Pillar?
Looking up, she saw Utahop tower over her. Oh yeah, right. Mask of Speed.
A strong kick made her fly towards the other Toa-Matoran. She crashed into a rock, feeling a sharp pain spread in all her body, without knowing clearly where she was. Utahop had kicked her hard enough to get dazed, but so that she didn't lose conciousness.
She felt how once again, a foot was lain over her, and she heard Utahop mutter something about finally winning. But everything was so confused... so confused...
"...and now, right under the eyes of her companions, the end of the thief," was the last thing he said. Then, he raised his foot again and let it fall on the Ga-Matoran.
Gali instinctly raised her hands and covered her head, when suddenly, an electric bolt went through her body. Screaming, she tried to get away, but she couldn't move. She had no idea of what was happening, but whatever it was, it made Utahop jump away from her.
She could here gasps around here, telepathic and not, Utahop was staring at her with a mixture of horror and hate. Awel was bending to check something on the ground, and she could hear Kal howl in joy. She raised a hook and...
Hook?
HOOK!
As fast as it had come, the electric bolt stopped. Gali looked behind herself. She was leaning against the suva, and more precisely, on her symbol. She placed her hand on the strange stone.
Only that it wasn't a hand anymore.
Utahop laughed loudly. Then he walked back up to her and stared down at her.
"Toa or Matoran, I'll still defeat you," he sneered.
So it was true. She was a Toa again! There was only one tiny problem...
Utahop closed his hand into a fist and tried to punch her, but she was too fast. With a quick move, she hung her hook around Utahop's shoulder and pulled herself over him.
Surprised by what she had just done, Gali looked around fast. Her companions were under Ilag's control, on the edge of a cliff. All the Ihar were either caught or unconcious, and there was also a bag, apparently lying around for no reason. Utahop was already running at her again, so she tried to summon some water to wash him away, only that it didn't work. The Suva had turned her into a Toa, but not into a Nuva, and it hadn't given her powers back. She jumped over Utahop just in time.
"Just wait until I get you!" roared Utahop, turning around and aiming a kick at her. Gali avoided his kick and ran towards the bag, but she had just reached it, when Awel grabbed his Lehrahk staff from the ground and placed it against Kal's throat. Gali froze.
"Touch that sack," he whispered. "And Kal is dead, poisoned."
"No," whispered Gali.
"Then get away from that bag!" growled Awel.
Mind racing, Gali started retreating, away from the bag. But that short glance inside it had been enough for her to know what was in it: the Ilsao, and some Kanohi Nuva.
Lewa stared as Gali retreated from the bag, eyes locked on Awel, who was still holding his staff at Kal's throat. He hoped Gali would come up with some great idea, because if it went on like this, the chnces for them to survive were quite bad.
Suddenly, Gali bumped into Utahop, who was standing behind her, lost her balance and fell forwards, just a hand span from the sack.
"Get up!" growled Utahop.
"Fine! No need to shout!" snapped the blue Toa, standing up. It was strange seeing her again as normal Toa, not as a Nuva. It looked as if things weren't going to settle back completely after all.
As Gali stood up, she "accidentally" knocked over the bag, before being dragged away from Utahop. Something rolled out of the sack, but Lewa couldn't quite see what it was. Then, as Utahop picked it up and stuffed it back into the sack, he recognized it. His eyes widened, it was his own Miru Nuva Mask! Looking up again, he felt Gali's eyes on him, and knew what she had in mind. Nothing special, just distract Awel so that Kal could get free and she could get the bag.
Just like back in Metru Nui, thought Lewa, grinning. Then he started looking at the sky, as if he had just seen something.
"RAMA!" he shouted, pointing to the sky. Awel turned around and looked up.
"Where?" he asked.
"There!" shouted Lewa. "It just went in that cloud! Or.. Hang on! There!" he said, pointing to a completely different direction. "There, it's cloudsneaking! Oooh, lucky him! Today must be my hardluck day, I'm treebound and trapped by some ugly, dim-brained, evil, krenos called Toa Leehar!"
Tahu was staring at him as if he had just said he had a boyfriend named Orwaldo, but it did the trick. Awel let go of Kal and grabbed Lewa, pulling him up from the ground. And as soon as he did this, Kal jumped at his throat, forcing him to release Lewa. Then there was the sound of a kick, a grunt, and Utahop crupled to the ground.
Now both Gali and Kal had to act fast, all Hoti, Thau and the Toa-Matoran were still in the hands of the Toa Leehar, and in great danger. Hoti in particular was being squeezed by Auno, so that he couldn't breath.
Letting go of Awel, Kal jumped on Auno with a strong leap, biting hard in his arm. Auno howled in pain and tried to shoo away the blue Ihar with one hand, releasing his grip enough for Hoti to twist around and scratch his Kanohi.
In the meanwhile, Gali was having a bit more trouble, especially because of her hooks. She wasn't as confident with them as she used to be, and she felt uncomfortably clumsy with them. She tried to grab the sack quickly, but couldn't do it anymore. Fiddling with the cloth, she finally managed to get a firm grip on it. But before she could run off to her friends, a punch hit the side of her mask hard, making her stagger and fall.
"You're not going to escape, you filthy aki..." started Utahop, but Gali kicked his legs, making him fly to the ground. Then she stood up and jumped on Uhat with a graceful leap, so that he fell on Akapok and released Thau. While she did this, both Hoti and Kal were making sure Awel and Ilag didn't hurt the others. Gali ran towards her friends, and had nearly reached them, when she tripped over a leg and crashed to the ground.
"Sorry," said Ilag, an evil grin on her pretty face. Then she jumped back from Gali, shortly followed by Awel. The two Ihar ran after them. The next second, a flame lit up between Gali and the others, and started moving slowly towards the blue Toa.
Waves of heat hit Gali, and everything began to spin around her. She tried to stand up and get away from the fire, but her arms and legs seemed made of rubber, and she fell back down. When she tried it again, Utahop jumped next to her, pushing her back down onto the hard rock, then he snatched the bag and threw it away, scattering masks and Ilsao all over the place. The Matoran immediately ran after them.
Utahop was now standing over Gali, who, already weakened by the fire, couldn't fight him off. He closed a hand around her neck, and pulled her up slowly.
"I've finally got you, thief," he said with an evil smile, tightening his grip around Gali's neck.
Gali grabbed Utahop's hand and tried to open it, but she couldn't do much with her hooks. There was a strange sound, like the crackling of electricity, followed by a scream, but it didn't distract Utahop. Trying desperately to breath, Gali started kicking the air, hoping to get Utahop, but he was too far away. Red and black stars popped in front of her eyes, and her movements her getting weaker and weaker. Utahop tightened his grip a bit more, smiling.
The black and red stars spread over her eyes, and everything got darker and darker. With a last effort, she tried to free herself, but without success.
Suddenly, Utahop let go of her. Gali let herself fall to the ground, where she stayed, sucking air into her lungs. She felt a hand lay on her shoulder and tug.
"Come on," said a voice, which Gali recognized as Lewa's. "There are still five Leehar out there to battlefight against."
Gali sat up and asked in a hoarse voice, "What happened to..." she cleared her throat. "What happened to Utahop?"
"He's enjoying windflying," said Lewa with a smile, he too wasn't a Toa Nuva yet, but it seemed as though he, at least had his powers. "Come on," he added, helping Gali up.
It wasn't only Gali and Lewa that were Toa: Tahu Nuva was shooting a flame at Akapok, and Pohatu was making rocks and other things fly around with powerful kicks, back in his Toa Nuva body.
Suddenly, Auno rammed Tahu hard against the suva, which cracked. There was once again the crackling noise, some groaning, and Onua, holding the Ringlu in his hand, grew from a Matoran to a Toa. He winked at Auno once, who was staring at him with a dull expression, and then the Leehar disappeared in a hole in the ground. Tahu had barely managed stand back up again, when the Suva behind him exploded.
"Tahu!" screamed Gali as the Toa flew through the air. Shortly afterwards, Utahop appeared.
"Kakama Nuva," muttered Lewa.
"YOU!" snapped Utahop pointing at Lewa. "You're gonna pay for wha..."
He didn't get any further, something hit him from the back and the next second he was frozen. A Ko-Matoran appeared from behind him.
"The Suva shattered," he explained simply.
Gali turned to Lewa. "Sirkul, Kishro and Auno are hurt, we've got to find them."
The green Toa nodded, then both of them ran down the mountain in different directions, calling the Ihars' names. Kopaka stayed up to help the others, who were having problems. It was Gali, who found Sirkul.
"Sirkul! Oh no, Sirkul!"
The white Ihar was lying between two rocks, eyes closed, there was a deep gash down his side, and one of his legs was bent in an unnatural way. The glowing spot on his front had turned from its usual bright blue to a dull greyish color, and his heartlight was flickering.
Gali kneeled next to him and picked him up, trying not to touch the wound, then she picked one direction and ran away. She didn't know where she was going, she just wanted bring Sirkul away from the battle. She had been running for about an hour, when she heard someone call her name. She turned around to see the others run towards her, staring at her through serious eyes.
"There you are! We thought you had left us alone!" said Pohatu happily. But there was an undertone it in a way he said it that told Gali that he really believed it. Luckily, he spotted Sirkul. "Mata Nui! What happened to him?"
"I don't know," said Gali. "I was trying to bring him somewhere safe."
"Yes, yes, give him to me," said Pohatu, grabbing the Ihar. He barely had him in his arms, when Tahu stepped forwards, grabbed Gali's arms and twisted them behind her back.
"Ouch! Hey! What are you doing?" she snapped at him. Tahu ignored her and tied her hooks together.
"What. The. Heck. Are. You. Doing?"
"Sorry, Gali," said Onua. Gali gave him a questioning look, but he suddenly seemed very interested in one of his claws.
"What's going on?" she asked again. She looked at her friends one by one, but all of them turned their head so they didn't have to see her. A terrible suspect made its way through her mind, she turned to Tahu, but he was busy knotting the rope. When he had finished, he looked up at her.
"Tahu, is this some kind of bad joke?"
"No, Gali. It's the truth." he said. Gali stared at him in horror.
"You mean..."
"You're a thief, Gali. We can't trust you. We just can't."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! 20th chapter! Yay! Okay, the mystery is over, in the next chapters, the Toa will just have to fight against the Toa Leehar, and Gali will have to regain her friends' trust. The last two chapters will explain why there are Matoran and Vahki on the island (because I was too stupid to think the Vahki and Matoran would be gone), what will happen with the thief, and maybe why Lhikan is still alive.
Okay, now to my reviewers:
fred: The "murderer" is Utahop, Kal calls him so. Yeah, the Ihar are still faithful to their "master-friends" (Le-Iharish treespeak, another version of treespeak), especially Kal.
Regrem Erutaerc: Maybe it's better if I explain what relationship Gali and Tahu have/had. Everybody agrees? Yes. There's no one who wants me to explain it in the last two chapters? No. Okay. Tahu used to be a guard. Not a guard like Jaller, he just made sure nobody stole the newly-made Kanohi Masks. That's also the reason why he hates thieves. So, Tahu's and Gali's friendship is something special. There's a bit more, but that's for the last chapter.
ceestar: Oooooh! Hope you aren't ripped up yet. Yeah... poor Gali (Her fault! She shouldn't have become a thief! Tahu's Note)
ToaMaster: No, there's no place in this fanfic, but there is in Crazy Adventure. I promise I won't torture him too much! Thanks for answering me!
