The thunderous cheering and applause was enough to make his heart race as Pohatu watched the Kolhii teams step out onto the field, positively beaming with pride as Hewkii and Hafu confidently strode into view. By now, he and the other Toa present – Tahu and Gali – had already been introduced and cheered for, something Pohatu enjoyed the fanfare of but didn't fully get the point of. Sure, he and the other Toa Nuva had saved the island repeatedly by now, but it didn't feel right to let all the praise go to them. The final battles were theirs, but all along the way there had been Matoran playing equally important parts, and while these Matoran had been honored to an extent, it was always the Toa who got the Muaka's share of the glory.
The twenty-eight year old grimaced slightly as he looked between Tahu and Gali. All the praise and glory had gone to Tahu's already swelled head, and that in turn had driven Gali to start practically loathing her Brother's company. So much so that she herself had grown blind to her own, less pronounced ego. In fact, all the Toa were being affected by the peace and showering of appreciation. Lewa now spent more time partying with his own people than he did checking in on the others. Tahu and Gali could barely stand being near each other without starting an argument or pointless debate. Kopaka had become reclusive to everyone – more so than usual, at least - , aside from Pohatu if the Stone Toa went up Mt. Ihu for a visit. Even Pohatu had changed, finding himself more and more bored with the constant lack of danger.
In truth, the only one who scarce seemed different was Onua. While he spent most of his time underground, he alone seemed as calm and cheerful as the day he'd met everyone else, albeit a bit more wise and mature. Pohatu hated admitting it to himself, but Onua and Kopaka were the only members on his team that he didn't bother finding a reason to visit these days.
As he sat there between Gali and Tahu – who by now had devolved into petty insults about whose team was better – while waiting for the first ball to launch, Pohatu couldn't help but wonder how things had gotten this bad. They had changed from undefeatable heroes to disjointed acquaintances at a speed that even Pohatu could hardly fathom. "Must you two spoil such a joyous occasion with your squabbles and debates?" He asked finally, putting an arm around their shoulders to try and find even a shred of the Unity they used to share. "We're here to enjoy a Kolhii match like none other, not bicker like children."
Gali rolled her eyes as she brushed Pohatu's arm off. "I'll enjoy watching Ga-Koro crush their opposition, Brother. Tahu just wants to deny the inevitable."
"Gali is just trying to hide from the truth that my team is better than hers." Tahu remarked, his tone so pompous that Pohatu withdrew his arm purely out of disgust. "She's nothing but steam. Hot air, as they say."
The Stone Toa tried to speak, but Gali beat him to it. "Hot water, Tahu. Steam is hot water. You're so pathetic you can't even insult me properly."
Pohatu groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. "Why couldn't Ko-Koro and Onu-Koro have won instead?" He mumbled wearily. "At least that way I wouldn't be stuck listening to you two argue."
The blare of a horn drowned out any rebuttals as the first Kolhii ball launched, and Pohatu took this moment to move and stand near the rail of the viewing box, determined to lose himself in the game and ignore his Siblings entirely. He could almost imagine that he was down on the field as he leaned forward a little, hands lightly gripping the guard rail in excited anticipation. Each player was remarkably skilled, there was no doubt of that, and with every change of direction the game took, Pohatu's adrenaline rush pounded ever stronger. He took to quietly saying the name of whoever had the Kolhii ball, grinning broadly at each exchange. "Hewkii, Takua, Hahli, Hewkii, Hahli... huh." Something wasn't right about that pattern. Pohatu knew Takua was a stronger player than that; why was he performing at less than the top of his game now? "Hey Tahu," he asked absently. "is Takua feeling alright? Something seems a bit off."
No answer.
Confused by this, Pohatu glanced behind him and discovered that both Tahu and Gali were glaring at him. "Sheesh, forget I even asked..."
The match's first score went to Ga-Koro, something that Pohatu smiled at. This was Hahli's first year of playing Kolhii seriously, and while it had initially come as a surprise to everyone, Pohatu was thrilled that Hahli had made it this far. In fact, he was fairly certain that, were egos not running rampant, Tahu may have even been a little proud of the girl's success too. Pohatu decided he'd try to have a chat with Hahli after the match to congratulate her, regardless of how the game ended. At least that way she'd know that one of the Toa wasn't hanging their pride on the match's outcome. Yes, that's what he'd do. Maybe he'd talk to all the players, just for good measure. Nothing said encouraging like being told they played well, especially from a diehard player who probably would've tried joining the tournament if he'd been allowed to.
Pohatu's concern about Takua's playing only grew stronger as the match progressed. By the time Ga-Koro and Po-Koro were both one point from victory, he still hadn't been able to score a goal, something practically unheard of for him through the entire tournament. "Tahu," Pohatu tried again. "is Takua okay? I've never seen him play like this before, and I've watched every match in this tournament."
"Maybe he heard your comment from before the match started." The Fire Toa remarked snappishly, though he joined his brother at the rail all the same.
Pohatu shook his head, deciding not to take the blatantly obvious bait. "I think he's distracted by something, actually. I've seen him glance around a few times as if he was looking for someone in the stands. He's never done that in the other games." He looked at Tahu and frowned mildly. "Something has him spooked, and I don't think it's any of us."
The anger in Tahu's eyes receded a little as he watched Takua, realization flashing across his face when he saw Pohatu's observation was correct. "He is off a bit..." He reluctantly admitted. "But I have no idea why. He did find some sort of strange crown in the volcano just before the match, but something like that should've made him play better, not worse."
"Unless he didn't tell anyone the full story." Gali put in as she joined her Brothers. "Turaga Nokama said he encountered something when he was visiting Ga-Koro, but she didn't tell me what it was."
"Something or someone?" Pohatu asked suddenly, pointing across the arena to where a shrouded figure stood, their face hidden by darkness as they presumably watched the tournament playing out. "Look!"
Mere seconds after Pohatu pointed the stranger out, however, they faded into the shadows. Not fast enough to avoid being spotted, but definitely fast enough to offer no chance of reaching them. Gali frowned as she stared at the spot. "Who in the world was that?"
"I don't know," Tahu replied, his voice holding a low growl. "but I can only think of one person with power like that."
"Whoa!"
The announcer's voice suddenly drew attention to the rogue Kolhii ball that Takua had accidentally sent careening into the Turaga's box, a loud crash and the groan that followed betraying that the ball had not only hit the wall, but also who sounded to be Vakama.
The announcer barely held back his own laugh as he remarked. "Can't say we've ever seen a move like that before! But unfortunately that will not earn any bonus points for style or hitting the Turaga!"
Tahu, Pohatu, and Gali, all blinked and looked at each other, though eventually Pohatu shrugged in defeat. "Guess Takua decided to make history again?" As Tahu and Gali both cracked small grins and laughed, Pohatu grinned a bit himself. Perhaps there was hope for his Siblings after all.
^v^v^v^v^v^
The end of the match came about shortly after the well-timed accident, with Hahli scoring the final goal against Jaller and claiming victory for Ga-Koro. Predictably, Tahu was as sour about this outcome as a fresh lemon, but thankfully Gali had enough grace to not rub it in. On the contrary – and much to Pohatu's relief – she admitted she wanted a rematch when Takua was back to normal, and Tahu was eager to accept the challenge. But as the award ceremony took place, the strange crown Takua had found tumbled out of his backpack – which he'd insisted on retrieving for reasons unknown – and onto the ground in front of Jaller, who pushed it over to Takua with his feat. The chronicler apparently panicked and pushed it back, though instead of sliding as smoothly as it had before, it got caught on something and tilted... utterly bathing Jaller in a blindingly bright light. A chorus of startled gasps washed over the arena, and even as the Turaga approached Takua and Jaller, Pohatu glanced almost warily at Tahu. "I take it that's the thing Takua found in the volcano?"
The Toa of Fire nodded, his expression uncertain. "Yes, but it never did that before. Why?"
Pohatu bit his lip, hesitating before saying grimly. "I was talking with Kopaka the other day, and he said Turaga Nuju had read something in the stars. He couldn't make sense of what the Turaga said, not fully at least, but apparently he said something like 'the brightest crown reveals the darkest king'. I doubt it's referring to Jaller here, but I can't help but wonder..."
Tahu snorted indignantly. "Some part of you thinks that Jaller is a dark lord? His father may have been a Shadow Toa but I doubt Jaller followed that."
The Stone Toa shook his head. "I don't think Jaller is a dark omen, no. But that figure we saw earlier might be."
Gali looked concerned. "Do you think the Makuta is coming back?"
"I don't know, but I do know this; whoever this threat is, they picked an opportune time to make an appearance. I just hope we can be ready faster than they are. If we can't..."
"Then I think we're doomed."
