A long, drawn out sigh escaped him as seventeen year old Jaller stood on Ta-Koro's fortress-like wall, his gaze roaming idly in the direction of Ga-Koro. It had been a week since Takua came back from the floating village, and he still hadn't been told anything about how the visit went. Granted, no news when Takua was involved was likely good news on its own, but the fact that the adventurous Chronicler hadn't shared with anyone but Turaga Vakama was, perhaps, a little irksome. After all, Jaller and Takua had grown up together, did almost everything together, and as such shared pretty much everything from clothes, to stories, to even footwear a couple times.

It then occurred to him that, perhaps, he really didn't want to know what happened. If Takua had gotten himself into big enough trouble that he didn't want to talk about it, not knowing was likely safer than finding out. Yes, that was likely how it would be. The more he thought about it, the more relieved he was that he really didn't have a clue what Takua had gotten himself into. Besides, it could really just be something as mundane as Takua accidentally seeing one of the Ga-Matoran in an awkward way to be seen.

Jaller's face went pink as this possibility came to mind and he quickly shook his head. No, he really didn't want to hear about anything like that. At all. Ever.

"Hey Jaller!"

The young man blinked and turned toward the voice, finding himself looking at the blond-haired, blue-eyed misfit he had just been wondering about. It didn't take long for Jaller to recognize the energetic gleam and desire for adventure that lit the Chronicler's eyes like lightstones. "Oh boy..."

"Aw come on Jaller!" Takua pleaded excitedly. "It's gonna be fun! Besides, the Kolhii match is tonight and you gotta loosen up a bit!"

"Takua," the guard remarked with a small frown, loosely crossing his arms as he spoke. "remember the last time you wanted me to go on an adventure?"

"Yeah?"

"And you had to get Toa Pohatu to get me out of the kofu-jaga nest because I fell in when the ground dropped out from under us?"

"Yeah?"

"Because I wound up having to make a split-second decision to try and save one of us so we didn't both fall in?"

"Yeah?"

"No."

"Aw!" The Chronicler pouted outright for a couple moments. "Come on, Jaller! This won't be nearly as dangerous as last time!"

"You always say that, yet it never changes."

"It'll be different this time!"

"I've heard that before too."

"But-!"

"Enough!" Jaller exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm not going, Takua! And wherever it is, you shouldn't go there either!" He shook his head and paused to take a deep breath, sighing loudly as he more or less reined in his brief outburst. "You said already that the tournament match was tonight, and it's the biggest game in the whole event. We trained so long for this, and we're so close to finally winning. Not only that, but we know who we're playing against too, and aside from Hahli they're all older than us by at least two years. Hafu is twenty-three for Mata Nui's sake! Not to mention he's had that much more time to play than we have, and he always plays with Hewkii. Those two won't even have to speak to know what the other is planning to do. If we spend our energy on an adventure now, we'll never last against them, or Ga-Koro. And we'll be playing against both of them at once."

The guard hesitated again, running a hand through his hair and mussing it up before speaking again, his voice calm and subtly pleading. "If we're going to prove why we're the best, we have to be ready to put every ounce of ourselves into winning this game. Please, Takua, save the adventure for when we win the tournament, okay?"

The Chronicler's shoulders sagged and expression fell as he slowly, reluctantly, nodded. "Fine, we won't go together then. I'll do something on my own for now so you can get your head in the game." He paused before smiling a bit, some of his previous energy returning to his eyes. "I'm sure Pewku and I can find something fun. Bye Jaller!"

Before the guard could even do or say anything else, his adopted brother waved and ran off out of sight, leaving Jaller to wonder just how much trouble he may have inadvertently caused. "Mata Nui help whoever he pesters now..."

It was some considerable amount of time later that found Jaller watching at the gate while visitors from Po-Koro and Ga-Koro arrived. Standing on the wall – his vigilance refused his desire to actively search for Hahli – and observing the goings on from above, the seventeen year old couldn't help but lean over the side a little, hoping to catch even just a glimpse of his favorite Ga-Matoran. Of course, his scrutiny and focus meant he wasn't really paying attention to whoever else may have been nearby.

"Looking for what you know will stop you from seeing what you should."

With a yelp of alarm that likely could have been heard by those below, Jaller spun around to face whoever had spoken, his wide eyes quickly focusing on the tall, well-built, twenty-four year old that now stood watching him. Black, unruly hair adorned his head, stray segments hanging almost haphazardly in his face and nearly long enough to be an obstruction for his golden yellow eyes. His outfit was fairly similar to Jaller's, comprised of cloth and lightweight metal plates for protection, though the armor he wore was copper colored instead of gold like the younger guard's, indicating his role as the captain. A bemused smile was also blatantly obvious on his face.

"K-Kapura!" Jaller sputtered loudly, his face quickly reddening as he recovered from the minor scare. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

The older Matoran chuckled. "Was I sneaking? Or were you not observing? Point of view changes a story's course. Just as misleading words can change a wayward wanderer's path."

Jaller blinked in confused bewilderment. This wasn't the first time Kapura had said something that was at least somewhat baffling, and whenever he did it was likely that he was trying to convey a point that required deeper thought than a simple first impression. "... Why am I getting the feeling that I'm missing something?"

"You might be missing something." Kapura mused absently. "Or you may simply have forgotten the ways of those around you." He shrugged. "Whatever the case may be, however, there is a small problem."

"Oh?"

"Takua is missing."

"Wh-what?!"

Jaller was dumbstruck. Purely, utterly, dumbstruck. Takua was missing? How?! Apparently his shock at the news was easy to read, because Kapura remarked. "Is it truly that surprising? Takua wanders like a wayward wind, no true direction save its own whims and fancies. Tell me Jaller, did you talk to him earlier today?"

"Well, yeah." The seventeen year old replied awkwardly, not entirely sure where this was going. "Takua and I talk all the time. But how does that relate to his disappearance?"

The guard captain chuckled quietly and shook his head. "It relates to nothing, and still relates to everything. You focus too much on the words, and too little on their meaning. Reflect on your words, and his words; I think the answer you're looking for is hidden in the meaning."

Jaller frowned as he mulled it over, his gaze roaming back over the wall as he tried to remember what had been said earlier that day. "Hm... well, he said he wanted to investigate something but I told him I didn't want to go on an adventure because we need to reserve our strength for the Kolhii match..." He shook his head and frowned a bit more. "Takua said we didn't have to and that he'd do something on his own with... Pewku... Oh no. Kapura, he went off on an adventure by hims-huh?"

It seemed that somehow during his brief moment of contemplation, Jaller had completely missed the fact that Kapura had managed to slip away, apparently with as much ease and skill as he had demonstrated in his sudden and rather stealthy arrival.

"How did he...?" Jaller stammered quietly, looking around in utmost confusion. "Nothing ever gets past me!"

He didn't spend much time contemplating, however; Takua wasn't going to find himself, and if Jaller wanted to save them from tournament failure – and village-wide embarrassment – the Chronicler had to be retrieved. "If I was Takua on a presumed short adventure, where would I run off to?"

That truly was the biggest problem with trying to find Takua. A 'short adventure' inevitably, without any chance of failure or deviation, evolved into an island-wide exploration campaign, regardless of its humble beginnings. And if it was going to be something with potential like that, it had to start somewhere Takua wasn't supposed to be. And the closest place that was labeled off limits was...

"The volcano."

Jaller groaned as he grabbed his spear and shield from nearby. Of course Takua would go there, alone no less! "Uncle Vakama is going to kill me for not stopping him!"

In moments he was racing down the steps to the street below, his shield and spear slung across his back as he sped along. How much time did he even have before they would be disqualified? How soon would the tournament even start? And perhaps a little more worrisome, how soon would the Turaga find out that Takua was poking around in an area that everyone knew was strictly off-limits to anyone that wasn't a Toa or village elder?

Whatever his time limits were, fortune seemed willing to smile on Jaller at present, as he was able to reach the volcano's access tunnels in record time, with nobody there to try and stop him. But now the real test began. Now he had to find Takua, retrieve Takua, AND not get lost in the process. As it was, Jaller had only been down in the tunnels a couple times, and even then it was only a little ways in with his uncle so they could completely avoid any possible prying ears. "Uncle Vakama is so going to kill us both by the time this is over..."

The further he went, the more Jaller questioned why he didn't just tell his uncle and be done with it. Every step he took only increased his concerns about the situation, every shout calling Takua's name leading the seventeen year old to further frustration and annoyance. "Uhg... he's got more rocks in his head than a Po-Matoran! On a good day!"

He was about to call out again when he heard the familiar, bark-like chattering that betrayed the nearness of Pewku, and where Pewku was, Takua was nearby. "Gotcha."

The chittering and barking led Jaller into a vast tunnel with a high ceiling and a wide lava river flowing through it. Several large, flat stones jutted up from the river, spaced relatively evenly apart and just close enough to each other that a brave – or foolish – person could jump along them to reach the far side, on which a pedestal with a fairly mundane and weathered totem stone sat.

What Jaller was really looking for, however, was halfway across the 'stepping stones', happily chattering to himself whenever he wasn't jumping. The guard groaned quietly. Of course this would be the situation; if it wasn't life threatening, why bother? Jaller had finally had enough.

"Takua!"