It was a strange sensation, being part of a team again. The initial fear that he would be the death of them was starting to ebb away, and the utter lack of dark whispers in his mind was such a foreign concept that it was actually unsettling. But despite the unease, anxiety, and still-rampant emotions, Mihkoro had to admit that there was a measure of peace slowly starting to settle into his spirit. Sure, it did nothing to soothe the burning agony of Jaller's death, but it was to be expected and while he wanted to simply curl up and die, the restored Toa knew he could not. There were too many things that had to be done, too many things in motion that had to be confronted. Even if he wanted to take Kopaka up on his offer of taking time to grieve, such a luxury simply could not be afforded. The Makuta knew Mihkoro was free – how could he not after what happened? – and that only meant stage two of the operation would be put in action.

Stage two could not be allowed to succeed.

"Everyone," the thirty-nine year old said grimly, turning to look at the Toa he had practically watched grow up. "as much as being on the right side of this is a relief, there is still a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it. There was a plan in place to deal with any incursions should I die or sway back where I belong before the Makuta could stop Takua from becoming a Toa. That plan is the eradication of every Toa and turaga on the island, starting with you. He wants to crush any chance of rebellion he can and that means knocking down the only people the matoran could easily be rallied by." He gestured around them. "The fact every Toa is here will be both a blessing and a risk; he will throw whatever he feels is necessary at us to wipe us off the map. However! He will also know by now that he failed to stop the Seventh Toa, and that means he knows we have the power to stop him in his tracks. He will try to put an end to this at every chance he can get to make sure Takua cannot reach him, which means Kini Nui is on the verge of being the new hotspot for all things dark and murderous. Ironically, we are also incredibly close to the Makuta's front door."

Tahu frowned at the report. "Why would he put the entry to his lair here? This is the worst place for it!"

"That logic is exactly why he would do that." Mihkoro explained. "Are you familiar with the phrase 'keep your friends close and enemies closer'? What better place for it to be than right near the very place you all gather to share information when something serious is going on? I know I took advantage of it before, and you can bet he did the same; nobody expects a spy in their place of safety."

Onua spoke next, his expression showing curiosity. "So we all just go say hello and stop the Makuta before he has a chance to swarm us with problems? Seems simple enough."

"That's too predictable and far too dangerous." The eldest Toa replied grimly. "The moment everyone was in shadow would be the moment everyone died. As much as I dislike the situation we will have to split the party; the six Toa Nuva will have to stay out here, where your powers will be able to fully move without running the risk of hitting each other. Meanwhile, Takua and I will go confront the Makuta. Between our assault and his distraction of trying to kill everyone else, we should be able to pull this off."

Pohatu uttered an awkward 'uh' sound before clearing his throat quietly and saying. "I hate to sound like I doubt this idea, but… well, you haven't exactly had the best track record when it comes to fighting the big bad. You sure this is a good idea?"

Judging by the expressions on the other Toa's faces, they all had varying levels of similar sentiment, though none of them had quite been bold enough to voice it to Mihkoro's face. Regardless of that, however, the restored Toa cracked an amused little smirk. "Back then it was the Makuta against an idiot. This time it'll be one idiot and one person who makes unconventional a lifestyle. Between Takua's methods and my familiarity with his tactics, the Makuta will be unable to stop us, especially if his focus is divided by trying to kill you too."

Gali seemed unsure. "And you're certain that will be enough?"

"Yes." Mihkoro replied firmly. "The Makuta is a chess player; he plans ahead and moves pieces to preemptively stop uprisings. But in his arrogance and trust in his own planning, he's become very bad at playing dodgeball. That is what we will capitalize on." He turned to Takua. "I wish we had more time to train you, but as it stands we're going to be doing this on the fly. Lucky for us, we've got a weapon you can work with."

"I hardly call a kohlii stick a viable weapon…" Takua mumbled, shaking his head. "Even when you were crazy you called me out on that."

Mihkoro snorted a laugh as he moved to retrieve both his glaive and the kohlii stick. "Then it's a good thing you aren't the one using it."

"Huh?"

The older Toa smirked faintly as he turned and held out his glaive. "Take it; I have a feeling it will serve you better than it ever served me."

Takua stared at him in nothing short of shock. "B-but what about you?"

Mihkoro shook his head and smiled. "I've never been one for conventional. Besides, my story is almost over; yours has only just begun. I can't think of anyone better to entrust it to."

The seventeen year old hesitated at that. What did Mihkoro mean about his story almost being over? Did he know something the others didn't? He seemed so sure of himself, so calm in the face of what was sure to be the single most terrifying battle Mata Nui had ever seen. It was an unsettling sort of confidence that Takua found himself complying with whether he wanted to or not, and as he reached out to accept the offered glaive he understood.

Mihkoro could feel that his Destiny was at hand. His time as a Toa would be fulfilled, regardless of how it ended for him, and giving Takua his weapon was the first step in passing the torch.

The new Toa's fingers closed tight around the glaive shaft, a spark of confidence igniting in his heart as the weapon shimmered and changed in his hands, warping to suit his size and balancing its weight to match. Takua couldn't help but grin a little, turning away from Mihkoro as he stepped back and giving his new weapon a few test swings. It would take some getting used to, but he had to admit it just felt… right. He looked back to the others. "I guess this is it, huh? We're… we're actually doing this." He shivered as the brief excitement over a new weapon was immediately replaced by dread of what was to come. He was on the brink of squaring off with the single most powerful being on the island, in a battle to determine the fate of everyone he cared about, if not the whole world. One seventeen year old trouble-seeker up against the biggest bad anyone ever had the misfortune of crossing.

Honestly he was not a fan of this.

A firm hand on his shoulder drew Takua from his thoughts and he looked up, finding Mihkoro as the cause. He seemed grim, but reassuring, and as he spoke he began guiding Takua toward a nondescript slab of stone a little ways away. "You were chosen for a reason, Takua." He said gently, his tone reminiscent to Vakama any time he offered advice. "Destiny would not have chosen you to fail. This may not be easy, but you can do this. We can do this. You probably don't need me of all people to tell you this, but Unity is the first Virtue for a reason. It took me twenty years and a lot of bad choices to learn that, and during this whole gukko chase around the island I've seen your Unity tested time and time again, sometimes because of my own actions. But each time you came out stronger for it, and that Unity will carry you even further still. It was that very Unity that brought you out here in the first place, and because of that you could uphold your Duty and face your Destiny. And if it could bring you this far, it can bring you through this too." He stopped once they reached the stone slab and turned to face Takua fully. "You may be the only one who can stop the Makuta for good, but you are never alone in that fight. Never forget that."

Takua bit his lip. "How are you so sure I can even do this? Why couldn't Jaller or someone else more capable than me be the Seventh Toa? What if I'm not good enough?"

"Destiny doesn't choose people based on how they stack up to others, Takua." The restored Toa replied with a small shake of his head. "If it chose a person based on their skill in battle, our world would be a much darker place. A world ruled by might is exactly the type of world we stand against, and that is why Destiny chooses people like you. Trust yourself and your allies, and nothing can stop you." He left that statement for Takua to think through as he turned his attention back to the slab of rock, a faint smirk on his face as he looked it over. "A solid and unbreakable stone… until you tell yourself it isn't real." He reached out and watched as his own hand faded into the rock wall. "A flawless façade to anyone that doesn't know what to look for." He looked to Takua, laughing as he saw the confused shock on his face. "Best not to question it; I don't understand how it works either. C'mon, let's get in there and get this done; Destiny awaits."

Takua could only stare as he watched Mihkoro walk through seemingly solid stone, the Toa of Light hesitantly reaching out toward the slab and blinking as his hand pressed against solid stone. Was this really a fake wall? It felt real and very much like rock should. Was Mihkoro mocking him?

He gasped when he saw the older Toa's hand reach back through the rock and poke at his wrist before pulling back into the slab and vanishing.

No real stone could do that.

The thought had scarcely crossed his mind before Takua's hand quite suddenly vanished into the wall, all solidity beneath it utterly gone. Immediately the 'missing' limb was grabbed and pulled, drawing the seventeen year old through the fake wall and into a very dark passage, lit only by the small fireball that now hovered over Mihkoro's unoccupied hand. The older Toa was grinning. "I told you not to question it, kid. Sometimes a Toa just has to move ahead without questioning the weird stuff. We don't always get the time to question how things work before we dive headlong into them." He let go of Takua's wrist and set off down the passage, fireball held aloft to shed more light. "Weirdest thing I ever had to just roll with was being half-snake for a while. Thank Mata Nui that was short-lived."

"Wait, you were what?"

Before Takua could get his answer, however, the tunnel began to shake, the loud grinding of stone against stone echoing around them even as the pair stumbled forward. Two pairs of eyes turned to the mouth of the passage, just in time to see a very real wall of stone slide into place and seal them inside. Takua shuddered. "That's… not a fake wall is it."

"Nope."

"So we're stuck in here."

"Yep."

"Lovely."

Takua, admittedly, felt like he was one small scare away from a panic attack, but there was little that could be done about that now. It was move forward or give up, and the latter option wasn't about to happen any time soon. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, shuddering as he willed himself to glow and shed more light for them. "a-and you're sure you know how to find the Makuta?"

Mihkoro gave him a vaguely amused look. "If I didn't, would I even tell you?" He shook his head as he continued walking. "But yes, I do know where we're going. Just keep up, stick close, and leave the rest to me."

They walked in silence for what felt like several minutes before Takua finally spoke again. "Mihkoro… outside you said your story was coming to a close. How do you know?"

The older Toa smiled at the question. "I've been at this Toa thing since I was six." He said calmly. "My entire childhood was dedicated to training and furthering the will of the Makuta, and once I was nineteen I rebelled against it. I fought to be a hero for seven years and lost my entire team in the process before I was beaten back into submission. And now, thirteen years later, I am helping the one person who can make all of that suffering worth it. Every struggle, every shadow, every risk in the attempt to try and help." The thirty-nine year old smiled almost wistfully. "I know my Destiny is almost at fruition because I can feel it. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am going in the direction I was meant to, and it's like nothing can stop me." He glanced to Takua and smiled a little more. "I used to think I should be someone everybody knew the name of, like the Toa I once opposed, but if the last twenty years taught me anything, it's that not everyone needs to be in the limelight to make a difference. And now I can be that background difference that helps save the world one last time. It's not about how memorable we are in history; it's how we ensure there is history to remember."

They came to a stop before a large stone door, its surface patterned with green, dimly flickering lightstones, and as they stood there Takua took a moment to think about everything he had just been told. He knew it was little more than a brief overview of Mihkoro's life, and a very vague one at that, but even so it told a thousand possible stories, each supporting every word he said. It was no surprise that the restored Toa was so relieved that the end of his journey was so close, and it made Takua wonder just what else may lie in wait in his own path through life. Would he live through it all and see his Destiny fulfilled? Or would he be one of the people who died before that could happen? It was almost as daunting to think about as the fight he now faced, but before he could say anything else on the topic…

The door before them slid open, a thick and heavy fog beckoning them toward the end of it all.