"Stohn. Have you ever thought about how forceful those new Toa are?"
Witchdoctor looked over to his buddy from where he was. Which happened to be a large tree where he was tied. Beneath a fire burned, tickling his feet. Stalagmites pointing up from the ground were so sharp if he tried to wiggle or move, he would be pricked.
"Do you think you aren't deserving of this? Do you want more pain?"
"I'm fine with this right now. But being knocked out TWICE? Seems a bit extreme to me."
"Oh. I see. You'd rather we kill you. It would fit after all. Considering all the damage that the avalanche caused. Current counts go to 15 matoran dead and almost our entire rope up the Glacier destroyed. You're lucky if the Toa kill you before the matoran."
Some bickering went on before Hoei came up to the two. "Lopek can drill through the ice."
Stohn was interested, "Oh? I thought it made him dizzy?"
"It does. But we already have one tunnel to the top that matoran can walk up."
"Oh, that's perfect!" Witchdoctor said gleamingly, "Now you all can walk up the Glacier. I always knew that the climbing idea was too primitive. I mean… it's not you could have just flown Gukkos up there or anything."
Hoei whacked Witchdoctor with his hammer, moving Witchdoctor into the pointy tip of a stalagmite. "Shut it. I'll go back to the Glacier. I think Nekora wants to dig a tunnel with his claws."
"Alright. I should come with you." Stohn said as the two walked off. Witchdoctor asked to come with but both said no in unison.
A crowd of matoran were around the hole Lopek had dug. Some were even climbing in and walking up. Another crowd was around Nekora, who had given up idea. It was simply too difficult for simple arms and a claw. Nothing could beat a drill.
"Hey there Stohn!" Nekora said, standing up. The matoran parted as waves and Nekora walked through to the Turaga. "Cas and Gawae are up top already making sure nothing goes wrong up there."
Stohn looked up at the imposing Glacier. "Good idea. Bohrok don't wake up on their own."
A pause started. Hoei and Nekora stood there thinking about what Stohn said.
"You… you think that Lord guy Witchdoctor mentioned woke up the Bohrok?"
"Maybe. We only know their name. It's hard to tell what they're planning to do." Stohn turned around and looked over at the Matoran camps. Just small tents made in a hurry. A real bad storm could cause severe damage. Even if the tide gets a bit too extreme a catastrophe could happen. And with the Glacier nearing closer and closer to the shore, there wouldn't be enough land for the matoran to hide if bohrok attacked.
"Hoei, Nekora. Get the matoran to start moving the tents. We migrate up."
"You got it."
Lopek was taking a breather, lying face down on the ice. "If I break my mask into pieces do you think anyone who wears a shard can spin?"
Cas looked over at her winded friend, "I don't think your mask has a refund policy."
"Heh… yeah. So anything new with that Ko-Matoran"
"I think his name is Solurae"
"Hmm, that's an old name."
"Everyone knows he's old. Probably older than Stohn."
"Not what I meant," Lopek said, looking over at Cas, "That's an OLD name. Frozen sleet. It's a nearly direct translation. Newer names aren't like that. The meaning is a bit more muddled with Gawae or Tadan."
Cas was shocked, who knew Lopek was such an etymologist? "So… how old are we talking?"
"Hard to tell right now. All the texts we have are frozen over."
"Once this glacier is gone, you get me an answer."
"Why wait so long? Ask him yourself."
It wasn't long before the first few matoran reached the summit. The vast plain of ice amazed them. This Glacier was longer than the eye could see. Lopek looked over the edge and saw the tiny matoran taking tents down, doing their job. Lopek had a job to do, and he got to it, spinning all the way down.
"Toa of Fire. You come alone." Witchdoctor stared at Tadan walking towards him. "What secrets do you want? Immortality?"
"Self-implosion."
"Oh. Your ancestor."
"Takan, Tadan, it's too similar"
"Would it be better if I told you he had a Mask of Shielding and a sword made of fire?"
"He turned against his friends. Why?"
"He was mad."
"Be more specific."
"Evil. Diseased. Poisoned so as to lose his mind. Insane."
"You?"
"Takan was a good Toa. Friends with all, even myself. He would stomp out every evil to touch Barordak with the Toa Nebula. Then he was disfigured and transformed into a half-scorpion half-toa beast. All brawn, no brain."
"Takan turned into a Rahi beast?"
"Worse, but that's the basics of it. It took a lot of power to get Takan back to normal. The Nebula even called me in for help. None of it worked."
"Then how-"
"SILENCE! Geez, let an old man have some time to talk. It kind of worked, we got Takan back for a split second, then he went feral and ran off. Toa of Ice Koey used his teleportation to track down Takan to a cave. There they had a one-on-one talk."
"Koey got the beast out of Takan's mind."
"Bingo! You aren't so dumb after all. Now with Takan back to normal, what happened next?"
"Shouldn't you be telling me?"
"Take a guess."
"Hmm. It probably didn't work all the way. The beast came back out."
"Ooh. So close. The beast never left, that is correct. Because it became a part of Takan and his personality."
"So this evil Takan killed everyone. Not the beast?"
"Yep."
"That… doesn't help."
"You think you're going to become Takan? Do you think this world is all just one big circle? That it's really just one big repetition?"
"In some ways… yes."
"Ugh. You matoran like Mata Nui, don't you? What three things did he give you?"
"The Three Virtues. Unity, Duty, and Destiny."
"Takan lost sight of those. He severed the bond between him and his friends and shirked his duty to protect the Matoran."
"What about his destiny? Did he follow that?"
"I'm a witch doctor. I tried to divine the Toa's destinies. Most were to die at Takan's hands. But Stohn's and Koey's were to live. When I tried to see Toa Takan's destiny, it cut off. His destiny didn't exist. He didn't have an end goal."
"What? Are you saying Takan had no destiny?"
"Maybe so, maybe not. Maybe Takan's destiny was a choice. You have that choice. We all have that choice. The choice to keep going, to keep living, or the choice to give up and die."
"So I have a choice. A choice to keep my friendship alive. A choice to be a greater Toa than Takan ever was! YES!"
"Ah!" The scream came from nearby and Tadan looked over to see a Ko-matoran trip over a tent stake and land face first on the dusty ground.
"It's you." Witchdoctor said in a low growl, scowling at the Ko-matoran.
He stood up and brushed himself off. "I could say the same to you, kidnapper!"
Tadan looked at both of them a few times in confusion. "You know this guy, matoran?"
That's when Cas showed up and called the matoran Solurae.
"Yes uh, that's me. Terribly sorry Toa of Fire for spying on your conversation. I wanted to talk to this scum but you beat me to it."
"Cas. Why are you here?" Tadan looked over
"I wanted to ask Solurae some questions"
Witchdoctor laughed "Questions questions questions. That's all you people think about! Back in my day-"
He was cut off by Solurae, "Back in your day you were beaten senseless because you THOUGHT your maniacal ideas were helpful,"
"Maniacal? Every spell I cast worked wonders!"
"The drain of Takan's poison? You say that worked wonders?"
"I tried my best. Everyone knows that! Even Takan before he croaked!"
"The Great Archive had numerous texts about purging Rahi poison! You let none of our doctors near Takan!"
"Your Takan slaughtered any matoran he saw!"
"But all 5 remaining Toa Nebula couldn't restrain him for a simple Protodermis-letting procedure? I have smelled your lies for years Witchdoctor. This is retribution for all the damage you have caused."
Cas' question had been answered. Solurae mentioned the Toa Nebula. He was around when Stohn was a Toa! "Solurae! I have a question for you."
"A knowledgeable Toa of Ice. Good to see things haven't changed. What is your question?"
"The name of the Toa Nebula of Earth,"
"Are you implying that I am a fake matoran? Every Rahi knows that title belongs to Toa Stohn!"
Suspicions confirmed. Solurae was old. Cas wondered what reaction he would have to see the great Toa Stohn diminished to a Turaga.
"Solurae. Stohn is a Turaga now."
"I am not daft. Takan died, Koey left Barordak, and Stohn became a Turaga. I call Stohn a Toa because no one has replaced him."
Tadan looked at Cas, "Is it just me or has Stohn been keeping a lot of secrets,"
Cas looked back, "Why don't we remember any of this?"
"That would be my doing." Witchdoctor butted in and all the others looked with shock. "Yeah. Back then a certain friend tasked me with a mass mind wipe. Every matoran would forget what had happened before and would begin life with a clean slate."
Tadan grabbed Witchdoctor's throat and choked him, "WHO. WHO TOLD YOU TO DO THIS!"
"I… It was… Takan…. End chapter…."
