I do not own any of the bionicle characters. The character Shadow belongs to shadow dragon04. The rest of the characters are mine.

Dimensions Apart: Chapter 14

Swimming Problems

Wow, it's dark down here… Toru thought, his silver tail twitching slightly.

The young half-demon had decided to go for a walk in the tunnels of Onu-Wahi. The problem was he hadn't told anybody where he was. That and he had no clue where he was. He also had no clue how to get back.

"Nice going Toru…" he muttered to himself. "You could have asked Onua to go with you but noooo you had to go off by yourself…"

He came to a fork-in-the-road and looked for left to right, trying to decide what would be his best bet. Then he saw a light in the left side of the fork.

That could be Onu-Koro! He thought to himself.

He ran down the tunnel, praying to a god he didn't believe in that this was the way back to the underground village. He came into a large cavern, lit by light-stones. He didn't recognize it, but knew one thing: this wasn't Onu-Koro. Suddenly, he heard the sound of something scuttling behind him. He turned around, and saw two large crab-like creatures, and he knew that they weren't Ussal crabs. He wondered what they were, than remembered Turaga Whenua's description of something that resembled them.

Manas! He thought with panic. I am so damn dead!

Not knowing what else to do, Toru broke into a run. He could hear the two creatures skittering after him, but he didn't dare look behind him to see for far behind him they were. He could hear them getting closer, that much he knew. He could hear something up ahead as well. It sounded like water…

An underground river! He thought, feeling even more fear then he had before.

He didn't know what was worse, the Manas, or the river. Toru couldn't swim, and was also afraid of water.

Wait a minute, he thought, a plan coming to mind. If I can lure those two to the river, and maybe somehow get them to fall in, I can get rid of them once and for all.

Toru smiled, hoping that the plan would work. Finally he made it to the river. Turns out, the river was 100-feet or so beneath a cliff.

Well, here goes… Toru thought as the Manas got closer.

As soon as the Manas were close enough to tackle him, Toru leapt out of the way and the crab-like creatures skidded off the edge. Toru stood up and sighed with relief. Suddenly, he felt a pincer grab onto his ankle, and he felt himself falling of the cliff.

Shit! He thought in panic.

He felt himself hit the water and was under in a second. Toru thrashed wildly, feeling his worst fear well up inside him. In his panic, the young fox opens his mouth, air leaving his lungs and being replaced by water. He felt himself get pushed up to the surface by the current, only to be pulled back down by the undertow.

"ONUA!" Toru screamed when the current pushed him back up.

Then Toru felt his head smash into a rock and he blacked out.

"ONUA!" the Earth Toa heard his partner scream.

The Earth Toa had gone looking for Toru after searching the village. Now hearing Toru's scream he quickened his running, praying to Mata-Nui that he'd make it in time. Soon he came upon an underground river. Suddenly he saw a familiar shape float through the water.

Toru! Onua's mind screamed.

From where the Earth Toa was standing it looked like the young boy appeared to be unconscious. Onua's eyes widened when the young half-demon sunk beneath the water. He quickly dove in after his partner. Onua swam toward Toru's limp body and pulled back up to the surface. As soon as he hauled the boy onto dry land, Toru began to cough up water. The boy opened his eyes and sat up, only to wince and clutch his head.

"Ow…" the boy groaned, still clutching his head.

"You ok?" Onua asked.

"I think so." Toru replied. Suddenly his face lit up and he said, "I got those Manas to fall into the river! I'll bet that's the last we'll see of them!"

"Um, Toru?"

"Yeah?"

"Manas know how to swim…"

Toru groaned and began mentally slapping himself again while Onua tried to keep a straight face.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to get outta bed… Toru thought.

To be continued…