Chapter Six - The Secret Temple
The Toa returned to the Great Temple, the new Toa trailing at the back with the Toa of Time. They arrived to see Turaga Nuju standing at the entrance. "Toa, we are missing a Ta-Matoran, Jaller." Takanuva started. Jaller was his best friend. Could there be another Rahvok, one that took Jaller during the battle? He turned to the other Toa in worry. The other Toa, however, were looking at Kopaka, who put up a hand to silence all talk. "Do not fear brothers, he is not lost." He turned to Turataga, then pointed at the new Toa. "There he is." Turaga Nuju followed the finger's direction, then gasped, calling for the other Turaga. Vakama stepped forward, not daring to believe his eyes. "Toa Lhikan!" The Toa smiled. "Ah, Vakama. It seems I'm back." Takanuva was now more worried. "Jaller?" Lhikan turned. "I am both Lhikan and Jaller." "How?" Tahu asked.
Vakama looked at Tahu. "Already you have forgotten the tales? When we arrived at Mata Nui with all the Matoran we could spare, Jaller's mask was damaged. I replaced it with Turaga Lhikan's mask." Turataga nodded. "All I did was turn back the clock on Jaller's mask, and the previous user was reborn, so to speak. I didn't know if it would work." Takanuva stepped up to Turataga. "What about Jaller!" Turataga was surprised at the tone, but answered calmly, "Jaller is well aware of what has happened. Both have each other's memories, but they do not think the same way. Toa Lhikan is in control when both of them feel he needs to be. It's a mutual agreement, it appears. When they both agree, either Toa or Matoran will take control, and I believe their forms will change accordingly. But that has never been tested. This is the first time such a thing has been attempted."
Onewa stopped all talk by walking forward. "Then let's test that theory. Lhikan, let Jaller take control." Lhikan nodded, then closed his eyes. His mask glowed, as if accessing the mask's powers. The Toa's whole body glowed, then shrank. In seconds, Jaller was staring at his body, then began jumping in joy. "I'm back! I'm back! That was the wierdest thing I've ever done." Takanuva rushed to him. "Not to sound selfish, but I'm glad it wasn't a permanent transformation with Toa Lhikan in total control." "So am I," Jaller replied, smiling at his long-time best friend.
Jaller then said, "Toa Lhikan has something he says is important he needs to talk to you about." He then transformed into Lhikan, who glanced at each of the Toa and Turaga in turn. "During my time as a Toa, a thousand years ago, I discovered another temple, near the center of the city. I don't think anyone else knows about it. It contains legends that pertain to this time. I must show you. All of you. Right away." He turned to lead the others to the temple, but Pohatu stopped him. "What about the Matoran?" Lhikan turned. "If I'm correct, the Matoran won't need protection. The Rahvok will come for us." With that, Lhikan continued walking. The Toa shrugged, and they accompanied the Turaga, following Lhikan's lead.
They walked for over an hour, walking around the clutter of destroyed buildings, ever alert for a possible Rahvok attack. They arrived at a seemingly dead end. The center of Metru Nui was a mass of transport chutes, crisscrossing the skyline, and even going underground to some of the chute stations around Onu-Metru and many Archive entrances. Lhikan turned to make sure everyone was still following him, and he walked into the mass of chutes. The others simply looked around for a moment, then followed. In the center of the chutes, there was a hole in the ground. Nearby were gears, and Whenua activated his Mask of Illumination. Down about four feet was a platform, with more gears, and there were tracks on the walls, which allowed the platform to move vertically along the shaft.
Lhikan got on, followed by the rest. When all were aboard, Lhikan grabbed a chain pulley, and began moving the platform down. They decended about a hundred yards or so, and the shaft opened up to a great chasm, with spotlights of few lightstones every thirty yards, allowing some lumination, but not enough to avoid tripping and slipping on chunks of solid protodermis from the ceiling of the cavern. Lhikan himself slipped more than once, commenting on the fact that one thousand years could change the geography of the chasm. They approached another large cavern, and a blue glow emanated from the far end. As they got closer, Gali gasped. "We're underwater!"
It was true. Above and around, liquid protodermis swirled around in a beautiful myriad of various shades of blue. Between it and them, what appeared to be glass or transparent solid protodermis kept the fluid from filling the cave. In yet another cave room, the water above them covered the whole room, from the entrance to the building on the other side. They reached the building and Lhikan identified as the temple he had found. It featured a strange mask. Lhikan, however, recognized it, as did Turataga. "Toa Makura," they said in unison.
Onua remembered the name. "Okay, we've heard a lot about this 'Toa' Just who is he?" Turataga and Lhikan laughed. "It is about time you knew," the Time Toa said. Lhikan nodded in agreement. "It makes no sense to fight an enemy you don't know. The story may seem a bit confusing, but its true as far as we know."