ULTIMATE BIONICLE
Chapter 14: Toa Fugitives?
It is early morning in the Charred forest. It's a forest just outside the walls of Ta-Koro, full of burnt trees and ash. Lying asleep among the dirt and ash are two Toa Metru and a Matoran.
Nuju stirred and woke up to the musical sound of someone humming. The tone was definitely female. "Hmmm?" He said, groaning tiredly. He looked to see that Matau and Ehrye were still asleep. "Who's making that noise?" He whispered to himself.
Nuju got up and put his weapons on his back. Quietly the Toa Metru of Ice followed the humming; curious of whom it was coming from. Nuju noticed steam rising off in the distance.
As the noise got louder he could see where it was coming from. A blue Toa was walking up a path. Nuju crouched behind a bush. "I wonder who that is." He said observing the feminine Toa.
Nuju followed her for a time, which he had trouble keeping track of. Watching her gave him a strange feeling. He was mystified by the very sight of her. He found it so hard to take his eyes off of her that he was not even sure how far he was from Matau and Ehrye.
She stopped at the edge of a hot spring. She started to remove her armor. Nuju's eye's widened in awe.
She stepped into the hot spring and put her head back and relaxed. Nuju's eyes were still wide open. "She's beautiful…"
"Who's beautiful?" a voice asked. Nuju jumped up in surprise. "Matau what are you doing here?" Nuju whispered. "I should be asking you the same question." Matau said suspiciously. "Now who's so beau-?" Matau stopped because he noticed Gali in the hot spring.
Matau looked at Nuju, but didn't say anything. "I'm going in." Matau said, half emerging from the bushes. Nuju yanked him back in, and pinned him against a tree. "No you're not." Nuju said with a serious expression.
"Oh yeah? Why not?" Matau asked, crossing his arms.
"Because I think she is one of those fake Toa that guy Atukam warned us about." Nuju argued.
Matau raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. "Fine. Let's go then. But why do I have a feeling that's not the only reason you don't want be to go in?" Matau asked.
As they walked back Matau wouldn't shut up about it. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!" Nuju thought, getting progressively angrier.
About half way back Nuju couldn't take it any longer. He tapped Matau on the shoulder.
"And that's-…what?" Matau asked feeling rudely interrupted. Nuju gave Matau an irritated look.
"Well?" Matau asked impatiently.
Without warning Nuju punched him in the face, knocking him out cold. Nuju lifted Matau over his shoulders. He let out a sigh of relief, "Much better."
&&&&&&&&
Pohatu ran across Motara Desert, on his way back to Po-Koro. He had been knocked out the evening before, and was eager to get home and think over what had happened. As he got closer to the village he saw a big commotion. They were all crowded around Turaga Onewa. When he got there, every Po-Matoran rushed at him, bombarding him with questions he could not interpret.
Pohatu's head looked back and forth in confusion of what was going on. "Quiet!" He yelled. They all went silent. "Where is Hewkii?" He asked.
"Right here Toa Pohatu!" Hewkii said, stepping forward out of the crowd. Pohatu looked back to the crowd, noticing they were looking at him expectantly.
"Uh…ask Turaga Onewa." Pohatu said, shrugging his shoulders. They all rushed back to
the stone Turaga. Pohatu let out a sigh.
"So, Hewkii how are things going between you and Macku?" Pohatu asked kindly. "Um…ok I guess but…"
"What's all that about anyways?" Pohatu said interrupting him.
"Well I was just about to say…" Hewkii continued.
"It's really weird that they would act like that…" Pohatu said, ignoring him.
"POHATU!" Hewkii yelled at the top of his lungs. "What is it Hewkii?" Pohatu asked, as if he hadn't yelled at all.
"Two Matoran are dead." Hewkii said with a serious expression.
Pohatu's face turned to a look of surprise, then seriousness. "Show me."
Hewkii showed him to a spot about two miles away from Po-Koro. There was a large hole in the ground and a strange path on the ground, starting from the edge of the hole. It stretched out farther than Pohatu could see.
"Down here." Hewkii said, pointing into the hole. Pohatu and Hewkii jumped in. As soon as they landed Pohatu smelt a rank odor.
"What in the name of Mata Nui is that smell?" Pohatu said, waving his hand in front of his mask. Hewkii pointed to a body lying on the cave floor. Well half of it anyway.
Pohatu crouched before it. It was the bottom half of its torso. "Where's the top half?" Pohatu asked, sounding hurt. Hewkii pointed to the wall. It had been smashed into the wall, indented into it. Pohatu observed the body. "Hmm."
"The place where it has been torn was not a clean cut. Marks on his shoulder, look like claw marks. Whatever did this ripped him in half with its bare hands." Pohatu thought.
"What is it Pohatu?" Hewkii asked, curiously.
"Who was this?" Pohatu asked with a hard tone. "Horkii." Hewkii replied.
"Where is his mask?" Pohatu replied. Of all the things that were odd about this death, it was the absence of the Kanohi mask. A Rahi does not take masks. So he wanted to be sure it was still in the chamber.
"It's right here Pohatu." Hewkii said, gesturing to the ground.
Pohatu walked over and crouched in front of it. It was a Kakama. It looked…odd. Its colour was all faded. He poked it with one of his weapons. It crumbled and turned to dust. "What in the…?" Pohatu said in awe. "The mask…it's dead…"
"Where's the other body?" Pohatu asked, looking back at Hewkii.
"Follow me" Hewkii yelled, telling Pohatu to come out of the hole. Hewkii pointed at the strange path in the sand. It looked like something had either been dragged, or pushed really hard through it.
Pohatu looked off into the distance. It stretched farther than the horizon. "I'll be right back." He said, before bursting off into the distance. Hewkii just stood there wide eyed. "I wish I could do that."
Pohatu ran for a long time, never taking his eyes off of the path. As he got further, a trail of blood became more and more evident. The very idea of this disturbed him deeper and deeper the more he thought about it. What could have done this to these Matoran, and why?
Pohatu finally stopped at the end of the trail and saw the Matoran's body. It was in a horrible state from being pushed that far. Then it hit him. He had just run half of the Motara Desert. Something plowed this poor Matoran across half of the desert.
Pohatu noticed a similarity once again. The mask was not on the wearer, but about five feet away, and it was in the same state as the previous one. "Something messed up is going on here. Half across an entire desert… That suggests two things; whatever did this is savage, and whatever did this…enjoyed doing it."
&&&&&&&&
"So what do we do now?" Onewa asked, leaning against the cave wall. Whenua sat cross-legged across from him, Vakama sat in front of the fire, along with the four Matoran; Tehutti, Ehrye, Vhisola and Orkham. Nuju was leaning against the wall at the end of the cave. The cave was not too long so he could hear what they were saying.
"You could let me down from here!" Matau yelled from outside. He was tied up by vines and hung upside-down in a tree.
"I told you I would make things unpleasant for you Matau!" Whenua yelled back to him laughing. "Sorry but I'm not usually one to break a promise!"
"Cut him down Whenua." Vakama said impatiently. "He'll just attract attention up there."
"With pleasure." Whenua said, getting up.
"So uh, what do we do now?" Onewa repeated patiently. A shout and a loud thump was heard outside. Whenua and Matau entered the cave. Matau did not look happy at all. Whenua had an amused smile on his face.
"What we should be doing is looking for Nokama." Whenua said impatiently, sitting back down.
"We shouldn't risk going out in the open right now Whenua. It's very likely that she will find us considering her gift, but if not then we will search tomorrow." Vakama concluded.
"Alright, if that's how it's going to be I'll go myself then." Whenua said getting up.
"But we don't know anything about this island yet. We shouldn't risk it until we have a plan." Vakama argued.
Whenua ignored Vakama's statement and continued to exit the cave. Tehutti got up and ran towards Whenua. "Let me come too!" Tehutti said excitedly.
"No Tehutti. I will go by myself this time. You stay here and continue your training." Whenua looked at the other Toa Metru. "Give me twenty-four hours." Whenua said before leaving the cave.
Vakama was about to go after him. "Just let him go Vakama." Nuju said. "He will be back."
"Why do you think he wants to look for Nokama so bad though?" Vakama wondered.
"Well that's obvious." Matau said, folding his arms and closing his eyes intellectually. The other Toa Metru and Matoran looked at him. "Whenua probably does want to find Nokama. However, I think the real reason is simple. He wants to fight again."
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Arkam sat on the steps of the Meeting Temple. The Temple which had held the first meeting of the Toa and the Turaga and where they had first met Nuhvok. Strangely, the Toa thought it would be best that Arkam did not hear what they were discussing.
Arkam leaned back and stared at the clouds. He let out a long sigh of boredom. "I don't understand why they won't just let me in. They let me in when we found those ships. What's so bad now?" He thought out-loud to himself.
Suddenly Arkam's attention was directed to the horizon, where five unknown beings were marching up the hill towards him.
&&&&&&&&
"What ever killed those Matoran must have been big." Lewa declared.
"It was probably Bohrok! We are still around you know!" Nuhvok argued. "A Bohrok is fully capable of committing that. We should exterminate them from the source!"
"What about those 'Toa' that you and Pohatu saw Onua?" Tahu questioned.
"Well their intentions don't seem pure so it's very possible. But they didn't exactly look like any Toa to me either." Onua remembered that Toa. He would never forget that face. He was the one who killed Vorahk. Whose death was rightfully his. Onua was gonna make him pay for stealing that from him. Pay with his life.
"No it couldn't be them. Whatever killed those two had claws…big claws. And it is very odd what it did to their masks remember?" Pohatu reminded.
"This is very perplexing." Gali said, holding her head in frustration.
The doors to the temple were kicked open by five figures.
The Toa Nuva and Nuhvok all pulled out their weapons, and got ready to fight.
"Who the hell are you!" Kopaka yelled at the intrusion.
The five of them were strange creatures. They each had long heads with huge pincers. Each of them carried a large weapon in each of their hands, except for one. The black one only carried one in his left hand; his other arm held no weapon. It was just a large silver claw. They were all clad in silver armor as well.
"Lower your weapons Toa. We have no quarrel with you." The red one stated.
The Toa Nuva complied, but did drop their guard. It was not every day a random group of five strange beings burst through the door.
"You didn't answer my question. What are you?" Kopaka asked impatiently.
"We are the five of the six elite Vahki chiefs of the Vahki law-enforcement squads of Metru Nui. We have come here to warn you all of six fugitive Toa and four Matoran accomplices that are currently at large on you island. The absence of one of our team is because we have already apprehended the fugitive of water. In the name of the great Turaga Dume, we implore that if you encounter them at all, that you do not interfere. No questions asked." The black one explained.
"What the heck is a Vahki?" Lewa said, scratching his head in confusion.
The black stepped forward. "I am Rorzakh, leader of the Onu-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.
The brown then stepped forward. "I am Zadakh, leader of the Po-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.
The green stepped next. "I am Vorzakh, leader of the Le-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.
The white stepped then stepped up. "I am Keerakh, leader of the Ko-Metru law enforcement squad." He stepped back.
Finally the red one stepped forward. "And I am Nuurakh, leader of the Ta-Metru law enforcement squad.
"We suggest that you don't get in out way. We want to make it perfectly clear; if you do not comply with our instructions you will be considered a threat to the operation. They are ours and ours alone to deal with. Non-compliance once again, will not be tolerated."
"You can't just—." Tahu started, when a shout was heard outside.
"Help me!" Arkam's voice was heard.
All twelve of them burst out the doors of the temple. A black creature had grabbed Arkam and was sprinting down the hill.
The Toa Nuva and Nuhvok burst off after it.
The Vahki all looked at each other. "Is it any of our concern?" Vorzakh asked.
"No it isn't. At least not yet it isn't. We will have to look further into the matter to confirm. We have prior engagements in the meantime." Rorzakh explained.
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Lewa was alone, running through the jungle. They had all split up to try and find Arkam. In the distance Lewa heard his cries for help.
"Don't worry Arkam! I'm coming to get ya!" Lewa yelled, running toward the sound.
Lewa ran through the jungle frantically. It didn't sound like he was moving any farther away. It was as if Arkam was being held in one spot.
Lewa made it to where the creature stood.
Its right hand was outstretched, holding a terrified and mask less Arkam. In its left hand was Arkam's Huna, mask of concealment. It looked like the mask's energy was flowing out of it and into the creature's hand.
Lewa looked at the creature in awe. "Impossible…I thought you were dead!" Lewa yelled at it.
Arkam was quivering with fear. The expression on his face made Lewa want to cry. There was no way he was gonna let him die. Not like this.
The creature's face turned to a nasty expression. "Why does everybody keep confusing me with someone else!"
"Let Arkam go now!" Lewa demanded. Lewa's words were brave, but the feeling in his gut was that of terror. He could sense great evil intentions in this creature, as well as great power.
The energy finished transferring. The creature simply let the mask drop. It burst into dust when it hit the ground.
"Fine." It said without protest. But he did not let go. Instead energy started to form in his hand behind Arkam.
Arkam was now reduced to tears, feeling the heat of the energy on his back. He started to struggle but to no avail. "Lewa help me!" He yelled desperately.
Lewa dashed at the creature. "No!" he yelled. In a blur the creature was gone. "What the..." Lewa said, looking around.
Lewa turned around. It had moved behind him.
"Too late!" The creature started to laugh maniacally. It released the energy from its hand. It ripped through Arkam's chest and sent him crashing into a tree.
"Arkam no!" Lewa yelled, running towards his friend. He crouched in front of him. It was obvious that he was dead. Lewa was now breathing hard with rage. He looked up at the creature. It was still laughing. It didn't care. It didn't care at all.
"You…you bastard!" Lewa yelled, dashing at the creature. It darted out of the way at an incredible speed. Due to his rage, Lewa clumsily tripped when striking at nothing. He was on his knees. He looked back at the creature.
It did a taunting wave goodbye before turning completely invisible and fleeing.
The other Toa Nuva and Nuhvok arrived at the scene. Lewa was sobbing in frustration, smashing his fists on the ground.
The others could plainly see that Arkam's disfigured body was dead.
Gali put a sympathetic hand on Lewa's shoulder and crouched to his level. "Lewa…" She started. "What did this?"