ULTIMATE BIONICLE

Chapter 34: Whenua's Promise

"How are we gonna get back up there?" Nokama wondered aloud. Whenua sighed. "It looks like we're gonna have to climb back up." He said with impatience.

Suddenly, as they stared up at the clouds, they noticed a figure break through them. "Who is that?" Nokama asked. "Is it Grievous?"

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Onewa yelled at the top of his lungs. Whenua and Nokama's eyes widened urgently as they darted out of the way as fast as they could. Onewa landed on the ground with an enormous crash, causing dust and debris to fly everywhere.

Onewa walked out of his crater with Vakama and Matau over his shoulders; a smile on his face. Whenua and Nokama looked at him with irritation. "Did you really have to make such a big entrance?" Whenua asked. Onewa laughed uneasily in response.

"That doesn't matter," Nokama said. "I suggest we leave right now." Her voice was a little demanding, like she knew something they didn't, but they followed her lead and ran off to where the rest of the Legion of Toa were.

&&&&&&&&

"This is bad." Tahu said, pacing back and forth inside the room. "They've been gone far too long."

Takanuva nodded in agreement. "However, we can't just go looking for them. They might come back, and find us gone, then what?" The Toa of Light said.

Tahu groaned with frustration. "Then maybe we should send a group to go look for them. I'm sick of just waiting!" Tahu looked around and waited for someone to agree, but no one did, making him madder. "So what, you all just want to sit here!"

"Have a little faith, Tahu." Gali said uneasily, trying to calm him down. "I'm sure they'll pull through. It just might be taking them longer than we expected."

"Spare me your little pep talks, Gali. You can't always sit back and expect everything to go how you want it to. If life were that way, then Nuju will still be with us and…" Tahu suddenly stopped, realizing he had said too much. Gali stared down at the floor, a hurt expression on her face.

Onua was about to intervene, but much to his surprise, Kopaka did instead. "Why don't you lay off Tahu? Things have been bad enough for her without you going and making an ass of yourself." He said coldly.

Tahu returned a provoked expression. "Why don't you can it, Kopaka, before I get mad and decide to melt ya?" He said with a fiery look in his eyes.

Kopaka made an impatient expression and shook his head, "Cool your flame fire-spitter, before I do it for you. Just because you're bored doesn't mean we want to hear you complain about it."

Tehutti leaned over and whispered into Vhisola's ear. "Wow, they argue more than the Toa Metru do. It almost looks like they hate each other." She whispered back, "I know, they are siblings after all. Well, that's what they say anyways. But I think they don't look anything like each other." They both shrugged their shoulders and turned back to the argument.

"Well I hate just waiting here like sitting Rahi!" Tahu retorted. Tahu and Kopaka were now more in each others faces as they continued to argue. The other Toa Nuva stood there and just watched; they had seen it all before. Gali didn't even bother to do anything this time, not after what Tahu said.

"What's wrong Tahu? You don't like being left out?" Kopaka said in a mocking tone. Tahu's clenched fist started to shake with anger. "I just don't like the idea of sitting here while others are doing the fighting!" Tahu argued.

"See! What did I tell you! You don't like being left out!" Kopaka retaliated. Kopaka grinned triumphantly, sensing his victory in the verbal onslaught.

Tahu pushed Kopaka's shoulder aggressively, "No! I just don't like sitting here, not know if someone is going to attack. If others are fighting you are under the impression that all of your enemies are far away, but what you don't realize is there might be someone just waiting to take your head off! How do you think Matau bit it? He was so careless he didn't see it coming!" Tahu said.

Suddenly the wall that faced the outside was smashed inward. All the Toa Nuva quickly forgot the argument and readied their weapons. As the dust settled they saw a black, beastly reptilian creature, carrying twin Jackhammers on its back. It was breathing hard and staring Tahu dead in the face.

It walked up to Tahu and picked him up by the armour with its larger arm. "I don't want to hear a negative comment about Matau's death come out of your mouth ever again." It said with a serious and hard expression on its face. "Do you get me?"

"Whenua, that's enough!" Nokama yelled, appearing through the hole, followed by Onewa, who was holding Vakama and Matau. Whenua let Tahu drop back to his feet. Tahu retained a shocked expression.

The Toa Nuva and Matoran stared at the Toa Hordika with disbelief. "What the heck happened to you guys!" Lewa said.

"We're not so sure ourselves." Nokama answered. "But whatever happened to us, it's made us a lot stronger." She then looked over at Whenua angrily. "Did you really have to wreck another wall in my home, Whenua?"

Whenua looked embarrassed, "Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Could you let me down please, Onewa?" Vakama asked impatiently. "Huh?" Onewa said in realization. "Oh! How long have you been awake?" Onewa asked.

"About thirty seconds, now please let me down!" Vakama demanded. Onewa lowered him down. Vakama got back up to his feet and brushed himself off. "Yes it has made us a lot stronger…but like the Rahaga explained, there is a darker side to it."

"What do you mean a darker side?" Pohatu asked. Vakama shook his head, dismissing the idea. "We'll save that for later." Vakama said. "Right now we need to revive Matau."

"What's a Rahaga?" Lewa asked. No one answered him however.

Onewa placed Matau down and they all gathered around him. Nokama pulled out the Amana Volo stone, which she had been storing in a small bag. It glowed with a brilliant white light.

As Lewa stared down at Matau, a big smirk suddenly appeared on his face. Gali noticed and immediately asked, "What is it now?"

Lewa chuckled once and then looked at her. "I can't wait to see the look on Matau's face when he comes back. He's gonna freak when he sees himself."

Gali put a hand on her forehead uncomfortably. "This is going to be interesting." She said lowly. She started to feel frustrated over what was about to happen.

Nokama placed the Amana Volo stone on Matau's chest. As they all watched expectantly, the stone started to glow until it became so bright that they all had to shield their eyes. When the light dissipated, the stone lost its lustre, and no longer glowed.

They watched as Matau's eyes slowly started to open, showing their bright red glow once more. As his vision became clear his eyes widened with surprise and alarm. "Ahhh! Monsters!" He yelled, getting up with a start and backing up quickly to the other end of the room. "Get away from me!" He said, pulling out his Fang Blades.

"Matau let us explain…" Onewa said, trying to calm him down. "I said, get away!" Matau said, pointing one of his blades at them.

"Matau please calm down." Nokama said. "It's us Matau, your friends." Matau stared at Nokama and started to calm down. "Nokama?" He said, his breathing slowing down. "What the heck happened to you guys?"

"Try turning around." Lewa said with a big grin. On the wall behind Matau was a mirror.

Matau turned around suspiciously, and then gasped when he saw his reflection. "What the heck happened to me!" He yelled, nearly smashing his face into the mirror. "My face! My mask! My handsome Toa-self! What the hell happened!"

The Toa Hordika all shifted uncomfortably. Matau beamed at them angrily with a demanding look on his face. "You don't know what happened…because you died, Matau. Nuju killed you at the Coliseum. And we went through a lot to bring you back." Vakama explained.

Matau had a shocked expression. "Nuju killed me! Why the heck did he kill me! What did I ever do to him!"

Nokama walked up to Matau and put a hand on his shoulder. "We don't know why he did it." She suddenly hugged Matau tightly. "We're just happy to see you alive again."

A big smile appeared on Matau's face as Nokama hugged him. "Maybe I should die more often." Nokama let go and smiled at him. "It's good to have you back."

Matau looked at all the other Toa Hordika. "I guess it's not so bad…" He said reluctantly. "It had better have made me stronger!"

"It sure has made you uglier." Lewa teased. Matau looked at him angrily. "I'll show you who's ugly!" Matau ran at Lewa with his Fang Blades and Lewa pulled out his Air Katanas and they began to fight right in the middle of the room.

Whenua made a small smile, "Some things never change, do they?" He murmured. He then looked over at Nokama and a bothered expression appeared on his face.

&&&&&&&&

Nokama sat meditating on top of the building. The roof had a number of rectangular bunkers on it, all for different uses. The sky was clear and the afternoon sun shined down brightly, surrounding her body with warmth.

She was projecting her mind all throughout Metru Nui. The transformation had exponentially increased her telepathic abilities. She could not only sense beings, but surrounding areas and the nature of things. She also found that she could now read the thoughts of others, with little concentration needed. However, that's not to say that she had begun snooping around in people's minds. She still maintained an ethical point of view in that regard.

"Hello, Onua." She said. Her statement had caught him off guard, since he had been almost certain that Nokama could not have heard him coming. He sat down next to her. "How are things?" He asked.

Nokama got out of her meditative position, and sat properly, hanging her legs over the edge of the building. "I'm in a very good mood, actually." She said cheerfully. "We just got Matau back, and Whenua has agreed to stop fighting with you."

"Really?" Onua asked with surprise. "So you finally got him off my back eh? What did you say?" He asked curiously.

Nokama made a slow smile and blushed slightly. "I told him…I told him how much I like you…and that I would like it if he stopped fighting with you so that I could still be friends with him."

Onua shifted nervously where he sat. He was quite taken off guard by her comment. He wondered; had she just admitted feelings for him? What should he say? Slowly Onua became more nervous, as the silence went on.

Nokama smiled at him, "I'm telepathic, Onua. I know how you feel…" As they stared into each others eyes a soft feeling squirmed through their stomachs. Their faces slowly started to get closer together.

"No fair…" Onua said. "You shouldn't…read my mind like that."

"What do you think of how I have changed?" She asked curiously. Their faces were inches away from each other. Onua smiled fondly at her. "You look just as beautiful." He answered. Their mouths met and they began to kiss passionately.

While Nokama and Onua expressed their feelings for each other, the Toa Hordika, Whenua, stood at the very far end of the roof, behind one of the bunkers; his back leaned against the wall, his arms folded and his eyes closed. He was not sleeping however. He had crawled inside himself, lost in a sea of thought. This was his method of meditation.

A door was next to him, which led back down to the lower levels. The door slowly opened. Whenua immediately caught its fragrance; the pleasant smell of seawater and a type flower he assumed grew in water. He found it amazing that she was able to maintain that smell, being so far away from her home. "What's up, Gali?" He asked, not opening his eyes.

She stepped out of the door and stood next to Whenua, overlooking the horizon. She could see the many Ga-Matoran scholars heading off to different lectures and small boats making their way through a bay farther off in the distance. The district was shining and the sun glistened off the water. "It's beautiful…" Gali said with a smile.

Whenua grunted, "I wouldn't know, I'm not looking." He said gruffly. Gali turned to Whenua, giving him a concerned look. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Whenua slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. She gasped slightly. "You look awful…" She said.

"That's a little harsh." Whenua said. "I like this new face, and I don't find it to be that bad at all." He turned back to the horizon, keeping his eyes open.

"That's not what I meant…" Gali said, walking in front of him and looking up into his eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder warmly. Whenua stared blankly back at her. "What happened?" Gali asked.

"Nothing, now would you please leave me alone!" Whenua protested, pushing away Gali's hand. He stepped past her and towards the edge of the roof and stood there, overlooking everything.

She stepped beside him again. "It has to do with Nokama, doesn't it?" She asked. Whenua sighed deeply. "Yeah…" He replied lowly. "I've promised…to stop fighting with Onua."

Gali returned a confused and frustrated look. "That's what's bothering you? Promising not to get in anymore petty arguments?" She asked with bewilderment, putting her hands on her hips. Whenua didn't answer at first. "That surprises me, Whenua. I would've expected more maturity from you." Gali turned around and started to walk away, disappointed in him.

"There is a deeper meaning to that promise than it would lead you to believe, Gali." Whenua said. Gali stopped. "What do you mean?" She asked curiously, turning back to face him once more.

Whenua was still facing the edge of the building. "When Nokama asked me to stop fighting with Onua I…I almost told her everything. But then it dawned on me…that even if I said all that, it wouldn't change anything. She had just admitted strong feelings for Onua to me, and that wouldn't suddenly change just because I admitted mine to her." Whenua sighed, as Gali looked up at him sadly.

Whenua continued, "It had become painfully clear that Nokama has no interest in being close to me at all. So by promising to stop fighting Onua, I've promised to stop trying. Why do you think I kept fighting with him? I don't hate his guts that much."

"Whenua…" Gali said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry…" Gali had never before realized what Whenua had been going through. He had almost been killed, just for searching for Nokama. He had been willing to get tortured for hours, just so she wouldn't have to go through it all over again. And he had stood between Nuju and her, when Nuju had snapped. And though Gali didn't know it, he had also recently taken a fall off a Knowledge Tower for her, despite the outcome. And yet, Nokama fell for someone else, whom she hadn't known nearly as long.

"Don't be sorry, Gali. It's no one's fault but mine it turned out like this. I guess I'll just have to live without her." Whenua said with anguish.

"You can't just give up like that, Whenua." Gali said reassuringly. "I've never know you as someone to give up. So why give up on something you want so much?"

"Because she is happy with Onua…who am I to take that away from her?" Whenua closed his eyes and sighed. "I suppose I was right. All I've got left is my pride and my honour. The path of a Toa-warrior is one I always knew I was destined to take, but I had hoped that I wouldn't have to walk that path alone. I guess I was wrong."

"You won't be alone…" Gali said. Suddenly Whenua started to back up. "What are you doing?" Gali asked.

"I haven't slept since the battle in the canyon. It's about time I got some rest." Whenua ran forward and leapt across the roofs of a few buildings and then leapt toward a much taller one. Gali watched him slowly get smaller, until he reached the side of the building and began to climb to the top.

Whenua lay down at the very top of the tower. He was so high up that all he could hear was soft wind blowing. He lay back and relaxed, putting his hands behind his head. "I guess I'll start training Tehutti when I wake up…" He said.

As he stared up at the blue sky, his eyes started to feel heavy. He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

Gali continued to stare at the building Whenua had climbed. "You'll always have your friends by your side, Whenua. Don't ever forget that." She said, before heading back through the door, to join the rest of the Legion of Toa.