DiabloCat: Ah, finally, another chapter. I know the script's all messed up, but there's at least one original line in there. The rest I just fudged. But I think the general meaning's the same.
Nightbug08 – Don't worry, she's heading off with Jaller and Takua all right. No way I'd miss out on that action! As for hints…hmm, she'd have to be careful. Thanks again!
Tahalli – I bring you…dun dun duuuuun…CHAPTER 6!!!
Goldenrod – I'm working on it. Very, very slowly, but I'm working on it.
Gijinka – I agree, the world needs more book-lovers. Too many kids groan about having to read. It's tragic.
Shadowed Suit – Yep, you were right. It is spelt Kohli. However, I am far too lazy to go and change it, so if you can bear having it spelt wrong, that'd be great. Thanks for the enormous review, it was very amusing, and might even have given me a few ideas…I don't think Makuta knows yet, but he'll definitely find out. Heh heh heh…
CHAPTER 6: BEWARE OF ACTIVE VOLCANOES
I rolled my shoulders and yawned. Finally, after travelling for several days, we had arrived. I could feel the heat radiating from the fiery mountain of Ta-Koro from where I was standing.
Gali, who we had met up with while we travelled, muttered something to Pohatu, who laughed.
Before I could ask what was so funny, we were greeted enthusiastically by various Ta-Matorans and, of course, Vakama, the Turaga of the village.
"Welcome, welcome," he cried. "Welcome to our fellow Toa Nuva, Turagas, Matorans and, of course, our ally Carleigh."
I grinned nervously. No matter how many times you do this kind of stuff, being a hero takes a lot of getting used to.
We all exchanged mutual greetings, which took a while. There were a lot of Bionicle there. The village people were all quite friendly with one another, and usually knew at least one person from a different village.
We then all split up into groups. Toa went with Toa to swap details on general life. Turaga went with Turaga to do the same. The Matorans clumped together, excitedly discussing the upcoming match. I wandered off into Ta-Koro to see if I could spot anyone I knew.
I strolled along amiably, taking in the sights, returning smiles and friendly hellos. I loved this little village, as much as I loved all the others. They each had there own little charm. The cool sereneness of Ga-Koro, the calm darkness of Onu-Koro, the frozen beauty of Ko-Koro and so on.
"Takuuuuuuuuuuuua?"
I froze, a chill running down my spine. That one word signalled the start of a lot of hard work. I sighed, shook my head ruefully, and trotted over to where the shout had come from.
Jaller was wandering about, hand cupped around his mouth, yelling his friend's name. I waved casually at the young Captain of the Guard, who waved back enthusiastically.
"Hey Jaller. Whatcha doing?" Okay, so I knew exactly what he was doing, but I usually prefer to keep that little fact to myself.
Jaller huffed impatiently. "Have you seen that idiot Takua? The match starts soon, and I can't find him anywhere."
I rubbed the back of my neck, pretending to think hard. "Hmm. Have you tried the lava caves?"
Jaller shook his head. "No, I was just about to."
I grinned. "Let's go then."
I let Jaller lead the way. He knew this place a lot better than me. Well, he did live here.
As we went deeper into the caves, it began to get hotter and hotter. I swiped the sweat out of my eyes and concentrated on keeping up with the energetic Matoran. Despite the fact he was a fair bit shorter than me, he seemed to have boundless energy.
Jaller halted suddenly. "Well, there's Pewku." Pewku was Takua's Ussel Crab, a very friendly and dog-like crustacean. She'd even lick your face if you got too close.
"And there's Takua," I said, nodding in his direction. The Chronicler was intent on investigating a stone totem, and was unaware of us. Jaller soon made him well aware.
"Takua! What are you doing down here alone?"
Takua jerked up in surprise, swivelling around to stare at us. His face lit up in recognition. "Just exploring."
Jaller scowled. "Turaga Vakama would have a fit if he knew. You're not supposed to come down here alone! And what about the Koli match?"
Takua practically clapped a hand to his forehead. "The match! I completely forgot…"
"Takua, when are you going to take responsibility for yourself? You need to settle down, stop dashing off everywhere, and find your destiny."
"Jaller, I don't think I HAVE a destiny."
"Only cos you won't stay in one place long enough to find one!"
"Yeah, well, you know me. Always different."
Jaller rolled his eyes. "Just hurry up. We'll be late!"
"Just give me a second!" Takua swung round, grabbing the stone totem he'd been examining. I shivered in anticipation, and just a little anxiousness.
Inside that totem was the Mask of Light.
As Takua walked back towards the stepping stones that would get him across the lava, I shuddered again. But it wasn't just me that was shuddering – it was the whole place!
Jaller stumbled, landing against me, and I braced myself on Pewku. But poor Takua had no one and nothing to grip, and fell over, dropping the totem as he did so. The cylindrical lump of rock rolled down, despite Takua's frantic clutching, and landed with a plop in the lava.
He gave a groan of dismay, and scrambled down to where it had submerged. Suddenly, in a dramatic blinding blaze of light, something re-emerged. Takua's eyes widened and he reached down and cautiously scooped it up.
If you guessed it was the Mask of Light, give yourself a pat on the back.
Takua juggled the Mask for a few seconds. If I'd tried to pick it up, I would have scorched my hands badly. Takua hardly seemed to notice the fact the Mask had just come out of boiling hot lava. I suppose that comes from being a fire Matoran.
Jaller's jaw dropped, and even I was impressed. Things look so much cooler in real life. No amount of computer graphics could capture the Mask's stunning glow.
There was another low rumble, and a few chips of rock fell from the ceiling.
"Takua," shouted Jaller. "Hurry up!"
Takua clambered to his feet, snapped out of his study of the Mask. He began to hastily hop across the rocks.
Yet another rumble sounded out, louder and more menacing this time. I could see by the looks on Jaller's and Takua's faces that they knew what this meant. And, thanks to the movie, so did I.
Lava tsunami.
Takua, typical Chronicler that he is, threw the Mask over to Jaller to make sure it was safe. Just in time too.
The lava wave surged around the corner. And, unlike the movie, it wasn't just heading for Takua; it was heading for ALL of us. Damn Demon and his little quirks. And, just to make it worse, it was huge!
"Holy sh-," I began. Thankfully the roaring of the lava drowned out the rest of my sentence, so this can remain a relatively G-rated story.
Takua was understandably petrified too. I heard him yell. "Ah…Jaller!"
I lunged over next to Pewku, grabbing Jaller by the collar and yanking him unceremoniously over next to me. Without further ado, I stabbed my sword in the ground, triggering the force field and holding it in place through sheer force of will.
It isn't as easy as it sounds, believe me.
I glanced up just before the lava enveloped us, and saw a flash or red dart by where Takua was. Good, Tahu was on the ball and Takua was safe.
For the next few seconds, we were greeted with the bizarre sight of lava everywhere. It would have been fascinating, had I not been struggling to keep the force field up and terrified it would fail.
When the flow finally subsided, I let the field drop with a sigh of relief and collapsed down on the ground. Pewku licked me on the face a few times, and I tried half-heartedly to fend her off.
Jaller was staring at the place where Takua had been in horror. "Mata Nui," he whispered. "Takua…"
I took pity on him and raised one hand wearily. "Don't worry; he's fine."
The Captain swivelled round to look at me. "What?"
"He's fine, don't worry. Just wait for a bit."
Jaller nodded uncertainly and sat down next to me. I was glad to see he still clasped the Mask.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, Tahu appeared. Jaller immediately jumped to his feet eagerly. "Toa Tahu? Is Takua…?"
The Matoran poked his head over Tahu's shoulder and grinned. Jaller looked immensely relieved, and then covered the moment by making a jibe at his friend.
"Idiot! You could have been lava-bones!"
Takua jumped down. "Could have been…but I'm not."
Tahu laughed, and they all began to talk. I drowned it out. I already knew pretty much what was going on. Tahu was noticing the Mask, telling Jaller to show Vakama after the match. Then he was telling them to go win the match.
Like I said, I drowned it out. I was too busy focusing on this other though that had popped into my head.
Around about now, Makuta would be realising what has happened. He would be talking to his slumbering brother in the manner of slightly insane bad guys. He'd be reciting old history, and considering his options.
And soon he would be releasing the Rahkshi.
DiabloCat: Phew. Finally got that done. And now, I have some terrible news.
School is starting again for me. (For those this statement confuses, Australians have different school years to others.) And I'll be in grade 11 – the worst of them all. That means the next chapter probably won't come out for AGES!!! I'm really, really sorry. I'd much rather write than go back to school.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I made it nice and long and didn't end on too much of a cliff-hanger for you. (Hey, I could have ended it where the lava was coming!) I'll round to working on it as soon as possible, but for now, adios!