What I'm about to tell you is a true story. I was on a Boy Scout summer camp. I was sitting near the campfire. It was evening. A small moth fluttered past my ear and made a wide curve. It flew back toward me, without planning its course properly. It flew through the flames, and now the cool part begins. As it flew through, it ignited, and the resulting fireball landed on the large stone in front of me, and as soon as it landed, the flame went out, and the moth disintegrated into ash

XXX

Hahli crept from one of the cramped compartments of the Ussanui after Takanuva had arrived. She had stowed away on board the craft, because she was the new Chronicler, thereby needing to witness this and record it. She entered the furnace, and began to run from the vines that had started following her. She could not escape, however, and was dragged away.

XXX

Hahli woke in the great furnace. She let out a cry of fear, but it was muffled by the vine around her mask's mouthpiece.

"Ahhhh, I wasssss wondering when you would come to. I wasssss about to choke you to death out of impatience," a voice hissed. Hahli guessed it to be the King Root of the Morbuzakh. Her entire body was bound except her head, and a vine had assumed a gag position over her mouth.

"Now you will sssssssee your friendssssss die when they arrive, and then, you yourssssssself will sssssssuffer a sssssssimilar fate. They no longer have the Great Disssssssskssssss to help them, and thussssss cannot defeat me."

"They have ways," Hahli tried to say, but all that came out was a muffled, "Mmmpf mmf mmmsf!"

"Sssssssilence, little foolisssssh one! They are approaching!"

Sure enough, the now 14 Toa appeared in the doorway. Kopaka's sharp eyes instantly spied Hahli, and he gasped and pointed at her. The other Toa followed his gaze, and were likewise surprised.

"Vakama!" hissed the Morbuzakh. "You have returned? But you cannot defeat me thissssss time! I cannot be stopped!"

"Think again!" shouted Tahu.

"No, don't do…" shouted Vakama, too late.

Tahu had already launched a ball of fire at the Morbuzakh. The Morbuzakh's King Root wiggled and leaned toward the blast.

"Yessssss," sighed the Morbuzakh. "More! More flame!"

"…that," finished Vakama. "The Morbuzakh lives off flame, remember?"

"Oh, right," said Tahu, clearly angry with himself. "Then what do we do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Gali. "None of us can defeat it with elemental strength. We need to use our masks and tools."

"Light hasn't been tested on it," said Takanuva. He readied a blast of light and fired. The Morbuzakh did not dodge, wondering what would happen. The ball of light impacted near the edge and ripped away a piece of the King Root. The Toa then heard a sound like none the Toa Nuva had heard before, and one the Toa Metru had hoped never to hear again: the scream of a plant.

It began to attack. The vines began to wave around, and it was all the Toa could do to keep from being ensnared.

Nuju began clicking and whistling. Nokama activated her mask and started translating.

"'Perhaps Takanuva is doing the right thing here. It could take the heat of one Toa of Fire, but would it take three?' I think Nuju might be right. Remember what happened to Makuta?"

"Of course," said Lhikan. "What works on Makuta will work on his servants as well. Fire!"

All three fire Toa launched bursts of fire. The Morbuzakh bent into the way of the blasts, but when they hit, it shrieked.

"Water!" yelled Nokama.

"Air!" shouted Matau.

"Earth!" bellowed Whenua.

"Stone!" barked Onewa.

Nuju chirped and tweeted, and Kopaka took that to be the signal.

The platinum beam incorporated the bursts of flame from the fire Toa, and Takanuva added a burst from his staff. The beam cut like a knife through the heart of the Morbuzakh King Root, and it started to weaken. The Toa crumpled, exhausted. Hahli struggled to see what was going on. The Wall of History needs this information, she thought.

The King Root began to harden, and the hardness spread through the vines. When the entire plant had solidified, it began to slowly crumble away into dust. Hahli looked on in amazement. Suddenly, she began feeling her bonds crumble. Looking down at the lava of the furnace, she screamed as she began to fall towards it. She blacked out.

Lhikan rose, just in time to see Hahli fall. He heard her scream, and joined his swords into their hover board form. As she fell, he threw it. It swooped down under her and she landed on it. As the board soared to the other side of the room, the other Toa began to rise. Kopaka and Nuju froze over the surface of the lava pool, and the Toa dashed across to Hahli. Gali lifted Hahli's limp form in her arms, and the long journey back to the Coliseum began.

XXX

Next chapter: The end of Hahli?

By the way, thanks for the sudden surge of reviews. It makes me feel good to know that SOMEONE in this world appreciates my work.