Chapter 5

It was shortly before dawn when the Nahi Nui Navy arrived at the location given to them by Skriv. It was right on the edge of the western Great Barrier and indeed there was a large factory filling the entirety of the small island. The landmass was only about the size of a metru and the facility was pumping out black smog into the air. Boats were docked in all of the visible ports and beings of at least a dozen different species lined the shore, exchanging crates between the vessels and factory. Some of the crates were marked with the same symbol Skriv wore which was Onarax's sigil. Others had a different marking.

"Well what do you know?" said Hafu. "Skriv came through for us."

"I told you he would," said Hata. "I knew it would be safe to release him."

"You lucked out this time, old-timer," said Quurza. "Doesn't mean it was the right thing to do."

"But it did work out this time," said Takanuva. "So right now, that's all that matters."

"Let's come up with a plan," said Jaller.

"Well, we need to get in there and see what information they have on the northern continent," said Lhikan. "So why don't we just send Potan and Nidhiki in, using their masks of course…" He glared at the Toa of Air. "… They can just sneak in and out without anyone knowing."

"I'd be down for it," said Potan.

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan," said Takanuva. "Except, what if we did something more?"

"Like what?" Gravon asked.

"What if we destroy the whole factory? I don't know what they make here, but it must be important. It would be a large disruption to Onarax's supply chain."

Lhikan took a deep breath. "I suppose there's no dissuading you on this?"

Takanuva smiled. "Not today."

"So let's open up with the Madu Cabolo catapults," said Macku, indicating the devices on the larger boats. "We'll hit the docks and scatter everyone."

"And we'll smash-bomb the factory from the air," said Kongu.

"All right," said Jaller. "I'll prepare the assault."

A half-hour later and everyone was ready to go. Takanuva stood on the back of a Gukko and surveyed everything. Everyone seemed to be in position. The catapults were loaded, the Gukko Force was ready to fly, and the Boxors and Ussal were in the sea, waiting for the order. Lhikan stood on his board with Reymar while Nidhiki and Rurtua, a young Toa of Fire, were readying their tools for flight, and Quurza and Gravon were standing ready as well. The rest of the Toa rode on top of Gukko or in the arms of Nui-Rama.

"Is everyone ready?" Takanuva asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be," said Lhikan.

"Let's get some!" shouted Malohi enthusiastically.

"Catapults… fire!" said Takanuva.

The boats' catapults launched all along the armada, each one launching a dozen Madu Cabolo in the direction of the island. Takanuva estimated that about a quarter of the fruit landed harmlessly in the water but the majority of them landed on the boats or docks, sending supplies and beings flying. A warning horn was blown and Takanuva took that as a signal to begin the next phase of the plan. "Catapults, reload and fire again, wind-flyers, take off!"

The Gukko Force rose into the air and the Mounted and Mechanized Division began to swim toward shore. Gravon manipulated gravity to levitate into the air and Quurza activated his Mask of Flight. Rurtua jetted into the air, followed closely by Nidhiki and Lhikan. Takanuva held on tight as Boreas entered into a steep climb. Once or twice he almost slipped off but he managed to maintain his hold.

"You tight-gripped back there, Takanuva?" Boreas called.

"Oh yeah!" Takanuva called back in a strained voice. "I'm holding on as if my life depended on it!"

Boreas leveled out and flew over the factory. "Bombs away!" The Le-Matoran pulled a lever that moved a mechanism under his Gukko bird. Beneath the Rahi, a large wooden cage was suspended. The lever opened it and released two dozen Madu Cabolo. They rained down on the factory, creating a bunch of little explosions along the structure.

Takanuva grimaced at the sight. "Boreas, we need to watch the damage we do to the factory! We need to search it for information!"

"Relax, Takanuva!" shouted Boreas. "We need to weak-soften it up first!"

"I just hope there's a factory left afterward," Takanuva muttered to himself. He turned and saw a squad of Kahu led by Kongu swooping down on the docks, disks shooting at the hapless troops on the ground. As Boreas brought his mount into a steep turn and dive, Takanuva saw the Toa disembarking from their rides and charging the factory, the Matoran right behind them. Rurtua landed and pulled his twin flamethrowers off his feet and created a wall of fire to keep back a trio of Kumopak that looked ready to join the fight. Reymar jumped off Lhikan's board right into the middle of a fight, swords reflecting the morning sun. Nidhiki, Quurza, and Lhikan remained in the air, drawing the fire of the turrets that were just getting mounted. Takanuva was pretty sure that Nidhiki had called them Zamor launchers.

Boreas's Gukko alighted on the ground and Takanuva jumped off. "Thanks, Boreas! Go reload and rejoin the fight! Just watch how much damage you do the factory!" The Le-Matoran nodded and took off again. Takanuva turned to the battle going on around him. The Boxors were on the island now and making for the biggest enemies. The Ussal also swarmed all around, Onepu at the lead, seeking out any weakened or distracted enemies. And right in their midst was Takua atop Pewku, showing no trace of fear.

Kanoka disks and Zamor spheres flew everywhere, tearing out chunks of ground and factory. It was complete chaos. He saw Jaller and some of his top guardsmen trying to rally the Matoran into an organized attack but all semblance of coordination had been completely lost. Gravon barely grabbed a Matoran and pulled her out of the way before a blast from a weapon disintegrated the ground she had just been standing on. Another Matoran was struck by an arrow and fell to the ground clutching his shoulder as Vamkoda moved in to cover him. The only thing that was on Nahi Nui's side was that they had taken the island's forces by surprise. But it wouldn't last.

Takanuva sprinted for the gates of the factory. "Potan, Mateku, with me!" he called, firing a blast of light at a Skakdi that was aiming at a Matoran. A Zamor sphere turret on the factory wall turned to face Takanuva and fired multiple spheres at him. Potan sent up a flurry of rocks at the spheres, shattering them and releasing their contents harmlessly into the air. Takanuva created a shield of hard light on his arm just as a disk came flying at him. It harmlessly ricocheted off into the dirt. Takanuva slid next to the wall and looked up, making sure he was out of range of the turrets.

Potan appeared next to him, deactivating his Huna. "How do you want to do this?" he asked.

"I was hoping Mateku could get the door for us."

"On it!" shouted the Toa of Plantlife. He summoned large vines that smashed into the doors of the factory. They didn't yield at first, but after repeated hammering, the doors finally gave way.

"Back me up!" shouted Takanuva as he moved inside the courtyard. He had barely made it through the door when he saw something large and white to his right move toward him. It swung a large hammer, striking Takanuva's hard light shield. It shattered but it took most of the impact, sending Takanuva flying back, relatively uninjured. "Zike!" he shouted after he shook his head. The giant Tranthorn was standing a few bio away from him, growling hungrily.

"I'll crush tiny Toa!" Zike roared, raising his massive war hammer.

Rurtua let out a determined cry and smashed into Zike's neck, barely holding onto it as he almost rolled off. He straddled on top of the long appendage and tried to burn through Zike's armor, but it proved to be too thick. Zike hissed and began swinging his hammer at the Toa of Fire, trying to dislodge him. Rurtua kept ducking, always staying just out of reach of the weapon. "You got to have a weak spot somewhere," Rurtua growled.

Takanuva watched as Rurtua managed to slip his fingers into a gap in Zike's neck armor and unleashed small jets of flames from his fingertips that singed the Tranthorn's flesh. Zike roared in pain and thrashed wildly. He shook himself violently until he succeeded in dislodging the Toa of Fire. Zike turned to smash him but before he could, he was bombarded by bamboo disks and forced to retreat.

Lhikan flew into the gates, leading several squads of Ussal and Matoran into the fray. The other five Shadow Hunters appeared in the courtyard, firing energy blasts in all directions. Takanuva fired a blast of light at one of Garsh's shadow attacks, canceling it out. "What are you guys doing here?" Takanuva asked the Shadow Hunters.

Dartick lumbered into the battle. Takanuva noticed that his left horn was broken. "This is our new job, Toa," growled Dartick with what Takanuva sounded like some bitterness. "Onarax is our new employer."

"Is that so?" asked Takanuva. "I wondered how he got his hands on the Kanoka Nuva of Stone. So that's it, huh? You just handed it over to him?"

"That's not exactly how I would describe it," spat Dartick. "But I'm not really in the mood to discuss how we got here. I'm more in the mood to kill you." Electricity began to build up in his horns that he then fired at Takanuva. However, only one arc lanced in his direction; the arc from the broken horn just discharged wildly in all directions. Lariska had to jump out of the way onto a crate to avoid being zapped.

"Watch it, Dartick!" she snapped.

Dartick shut down his lightning and swore. "It's not my fault!" he spat.

"Oh yeah?" said Garsh. "Someone else making you shoot electricity?"

Reymar jumped forward and slashed at Garsh, gouging his torso armor. She then launched a torrent of water that sent the Toa of Shadow into a wall. Nidhiki landed next to her and swung his air scythe at Arrouick's legs, pulling them out from under him. He then twirled his tool and aimed it at Zike, picking up the Tranthorn in a whirlwind and throwing him into Hunjul.

Takanuva glanced over and caught Lhikan's gaze. "Get in there and see what you can find! We'll keep them distracted out here!"

Lhikan nodded. He searched the crowd. "Reymar, let's go!"

"I'm coming too," said Vamkoda.

"Me three!" said Malohi excitedly.

A few others moved with them toward the back of the courtyard as Lhikan found Nidhiki. "You coming? I figured this was up your alley."

"I'd love to but I don't think I'm going to be free," said the Toa of Air, not looking at Lhikan. "I think I've got a date with my ex."

Lhikan followed Nidhiki's line of sight and saw him glaring into Lariska's eyes. There was a contempt mingled with pleading in those dark blue orbs. Lhikan clapped his hand on Nidhiki's shoulder. "Good luck. Glad I'm not you, brother." Then Lhikan was gone and Takanuva had to duck under an energy blast from Hunjul. Takanuva rolled to dodge another blast from the Crad and took cover behind a crate, hoping there was nothing explosive inside it. He peaked out to see Hunjul leaping at him, a giant orange sphere of energy between his hands, large enough to swallow the crate and everything within a bio radius of it whole. Takanuva leaped out of the way just in time. He glanced back at the burning crater and fired a ray of light at Hunjul's eyes, blinding him.

He looked over to see Nidhiki and Lariska now engaged in combat, scythe and daggers flashing in the light. "You're in over your head, Nidhiki," said Lariska.

"I think I could say the same about you," replied the Toa of Air with the ghost of a smile. "You allowed Onarax to draw you into his battalion against your will. Now you are little better than slaves. Here you are at the beck and call of a powerful being, just like the Shadowed One all over again. I thought you left that all behind? I guess old habits die hard."

"Look who's talking," spat Lariska, trying to stab Nidhiki in the side but being deflected off course. "You're enslaved to being a hero and being praised by others. I thought you were different but you're just as stupid as the rest of your species."

Nidhiki came up short in his swing and took a few steps backward. "When I tried to get Roodaka to get me off Odina all those years ago, I knew you wouldn't understand my reasons… but somehow I thought you still would…"

"But I know you, Nidhiki," Lariska pressed on. "You can fight it, leave that weakness behind."

Nidhiki shook his head. "You're so naïve, and it shows how far-gone your heart is. The feeling of selfless heroics is not something to be fought, it's something to hold onto at all costs, especially when the storm comes and tries to dislodge you. That's what Lhikan has reminded me of."

Lariska growled and threw a dagger at Nidhiki, the hilt just skimming his mask. "Lhikan," she said as if it was a curse. "A foolish Toa of Fire who doesn't realize when his time has passed."

Nidhiki summoned a great wind that lifted Lariska off her feet. The Mormua dug her mechanical arm into the wall to anchor herself. "Don't ever talk ill of Lhikan," said Nidhiki in a dangerous tone. "He is my friend and brother-in-arms. And he is a better person than you or I could ever hope to be."

At that same moment, Lhikan was wishing that he was a better xeno-biologist. If he was, he would be able to better guess enemy attacks if he knew what abilities they had. A Skakdi extended his hand and a chunk of the wall flew at him, nearly taking his head off. He cursed himself for forgetting that Skakdi had an ability in addition to their elemental powers. To his left, Reymar jumped over a Mormua and shot a torrent of water at his wrist to disarm him. Vamkoda and Malohi were able to attack the Mormua's legs, taking him down.

"Watch out!" shouted Takua on the back of Pewku. The Ussal thundered down the narrow hall, forcing Lhikan to hug the side to let her pass. "Straight for the grinning monster, Pewku!" he shouted, brandishing a bident.

"Watch yourself, Takua!" Lhikan warned.

The Skakdi's eyes flashed crimson and Pewku suddenly stopped in her tracks. The crab then began to shake violently, knocking Takua off her back. The Av-Matoran landed on the ground and backed away fearfully as Pewku began to snap her claws at him. Lhikan cursed himself again for forgetting that Skakdi also had a vision power. How many abilities did they need?

"What's gotten into Pewku?" Vamkoda shouted.

"It's the Skakdi," replied Lhikan. "He must be controlling her."

"Then let's stop it at the source!" said Nuhrii, aiming his disk launcher. He fired a Kanoka that streaked through the air and struck the Skakdi. The being grew to twice his height, crashing through the ceiling. "Oh crud!" gasped Nuhrii. "I thought that was a shrink disk!"

"Then use one now!" Lhikan shouted.

Nuhrii dug frantically through his pack. "I must have forgotten to pick it up outside!"

"Great," growled Lhikan.

"Sorry!" Nuhrii squeaked.

"Quick-forget it!" shouted Orkahm as he leaped onto Pewku's back and helped Takua on. The Ussal seemed to have recovered from the Skakdi's attack as he was currently trying to adjust to his new size. His comrades were trying to avoid being stepped on. "Quick-charge, Pewku!" ordered Orkahm.

The Ussal launched forward, zipping around the giant Skakdi's leg and bowling over another one. Reymar followed, slashing at an Ihaugafe as she passed. Nuhrii was still rooting through his pack when Piruk seized his arm. "Come on, Nuhrii, get moving before you get stepped on." The Le-Matoran dragged Nuhrii after the others as Lhikan singed the large Skakdi's foot to get by. He looked back to see Vamkoda get by unscathed but Malohi was about to be stepped on by the giant's foot as he trotted along.

"Malohi!" he cried. "Watch out!"

Vamkoda turned and saw the danger to his friend. "Malohi!"

The Le-Matoran looked up and screeched in fear as the foot came down. Hata wedged himself between Matoran and foot, his tectonic shield taking the impact as he held the massive limb back. "You better run along, little one," said the Toa of Earth. Malohi nodded eagerly and hurried off to join Vamkoda and Lhikan. With a great cry, Hata stood up and upended the Skakdi, causing him to topple over. Satisfied, he walked over to Lhikan who was waiting for him. "And that is why a shield comes in handy," he said.

Lhikan put his hands up defensively. "I'm not one of the ones that ever said that. That's why I've got a Hau and a shield myself."

The two Toa ran along the hall until they found the others inside some sort of administrative office. "What do we got?" asked Lhikan as he entered.

Orkahm looked up from the desk he was standing at. "Well, it seems that this factory forge-produces defensive armaments."

"Like what?" Lhikan asked.

"Armor plating, ramparts, barricades, anything of the sort," said Orkahm. "It's boss-managed by someone named Fehau. It ever-looks that his office is a few corridors down. That's probably where knowledge-info on the Kanoka Nuva is place-located."

"Then let's get to it," said Vamkoda. "No point standing around."

The small infiltration group cautiously moved deeper into the factory. The Le-Matoran were getting more and more jumpy, uncomfortable with the enclosed space. Hata on the other hand was getting more confident and soon found himself at the front of the group. He stopped at one point and knelt down, touching the ground with his fingers. "I feel vibrations," he said after a moment. "Very rhythmic… too rhythmic for a living thing. It must be the machinery of this place."

"Churning out their instruments of war," said Piruk.

"Where's it coming from?" asked Reymar.

"Down at the end of this next corridor I believe," said Hata as he pointed to the right of the intersection before them. They moved a little faster and soon arrived at a door. It was fairly nondescript except that it was twice as wide as a normal door and about ten feet tall.

"How big do you need a door to be?" asked Reymar as she opened it and stepped into the office.

"Remember the village on Visorak?" Piruk asked as he nervously followed her. "Those were pretty big doors too. Maybe this Fehau is a pretty large being."

Lhikan didn't bother expressing his thoughts. His vision was transfixed by the large window looking at a giant foundry that rivaled some in Ta-Metru. He stepped over to the window and watched the giant machines silently pounding away at metal, transforming it into desired shapes. Giant cauldrons poured molten protodermis into molds and various beings took care of fine-tuning. "Here it is," said Lhikan. "Hata, take the Ta-Matoran down there and find a way to start sabotaging it. Takua, you can go with them, you lived in Ta-Koro long enough to build up a heat resistance."

"That's not how it works, but okay," muttered Takua as he shuffled over to the door. "Hey, with all of that machinery going off, you'd think we would be able to hear it from in here."

"Must be silence Kanoka in the walls and doors," replied Nuhrii.

Takua reached up and grabbed the doorknob. He pulled it open and was greeted by the loud cacophony of a foundry hard at work. "Yup," he said, wincing. "That must be what it is." He glanced out at the catwalk steps leading down to the foundry floor. "It'll be too hard for Pewku to negotiate these stairs. She'll have to stay up here with you guys."

"Don't fear-worry," said Orkahm, placing a hand on the Ussal crab's shell. "She'll be ever-safe with me. It'll be just like my life-dawn days."

"Come on, you three," said Hata, stepping out into the sweltering heat. "Let's try and keep this quiet."

"Hey, it's us," said Takua, following the elderly Toa.

Lhikan turned to see Reymar and Piruk already scanning the room for anything on the Kanoka Nuva. Orkahm was moving away from Pewku to join them. Malohi meanwhile was rifling through a filing cabinet and throwing the stone tablets on the floor, causing them to shatter. "What the Karzahni are you doing?" Lhikan asked.

Malohi looked back with a faux shocked face that betrayed all the mischievousness going on in his mind. "I'm just trying to ruin his day. Imagine, Onarax will ask him about his correspondence with… someone named Goju and he won't be able forward it because it will be in tiny pieces on his office floor." Malohi punctuated this by dropping the tablet which promptly shattered.

"I think destroying his factory will be enough," said Lhikan.

"But this is really fun," said Malohi as he pulled out another tablet. He prepared to drop it when a voice stopped him.

"If the Le-Matoran wants to draw in more air to join that empty void between his ears, he'll set down that tablet nice and gently."

Author's Notes: It will be a little bit before I probably post the next chapter. Things will be pretty busy at my job for the next few weeks but then I'll be back to it. I also wanted to respond to the reviews:

Jason: I am working on character profiles for the OCs so once I get those finished I will post those somewhere.

TFAN: There is a connection between the Kanoka Nuva and Kanohi Nuva, think of the connection between Kanoka and Kanohi ;)