Unearthed Secrets

by Forestfirekid

Vakama has long since gotten use to not trusting others other than the members of her Province. When the darkest secrets of her past cause the much lighter ones to surface, what will the reactions of the other Elders be? The Guardians? The Ta-Matoran have long been secretive in order to protect themselves, but will the other Provinces understand the reason why?

2. Chapter 2

AN: Hi people! Long time no write.

So here is the second chapter of this story, that has been finished for months and that I managed to forget to post. For those of you who have read the story before, check back to the previous chapter as I'm reposting that as well. I'm not entirely sure which draft was the one that was originally posted, but I went through the last draft I did and changed a few things based off of what I did in this chapter and what I have already done for the next one.

Also, I'm starting to cross-post my stories on AO3. Not all of the stories will be there right away, but the ones that will will be the ones that I'm not currently looking at an iron wall road-block for. At the moment, this fanfic will be the only story posted, but I'm hopeful that my Pokémon fic will be up there soon.

I'm also planning to start dedicating 1-2 hours a day to writing my fanfics so that I'll have chapters up more often than only once a year.

Enjoy,

Forestfirekid

– Line Break –

Definitions:

Matoran – the citizens of the provinces/lands/island. The difference between the Matoran, the Toa, and the Turaga was rather distinct in the books and the few movies, but in this fic the term Matoran covers all the members of the province – including the Toa and the Turaga.

Guardians – these are the Toa. I felt that if I was going to change other things, the name should be changed too. The distinction between the Guardians and the regular citizens is the Gem of Power that dangles between their eyes above their nose and the fact that they tend to always be dressed in battle garb. They are just what their name implies; Guardians of the Island that live in the same province/land that the citizens linked to their element do. A talisman which indicates their position is always on their person, normally hanging along the side of their faces, tied to a lock of hair. They are normally the offensive force.

Elders – these are the Turaga. I changed this for the same reason as I changed Toa to Guardians. Just like the Guardians, the distinction between the Elders and the regular citizens is the Gem of Power that dangles between their eyes above their noses, though Elders rarely dress for battle. They have still have their talismans from their time as Guardians, but don't wear them unless they need to. The can still fight, except that normally they defend their peoples form Rahi and other threats. They come into the position of Elders by sacrificing a certain amount of Inner Energy in order to power new unmarked initiates into Guardians or by sacrificing that same amount of Inner Energy for a good cause. The amount varies from Guardian to Guardian.

Initiates – those put forward to become Guardians. Marked initiates are born with the rune of their corresponding element somewhere on their person and don't need a Guardian to provide the Inner Energy to fulfill the initiation. Unmarked initiates need a Guardian to provide the Inner Energy. A talisman is required in both cases and the source site is either the Temple/Shrine to the Great Spirit or in some cases the Great Lady. A Guardian can provide Inner Energy for at least two Guardians in a certain period of time without having to give up their own position. A full team normally causes them to have to give up the position and become Elders.

Inner Energy – energy present in all Matoran. Each Matoran is born with a certain amount and can increase it through training, though this knowledge has been lost over time. Becoming a Guardian gives a Matoran a rather large boost in Power and an Elder has far more difficulties increasing their stores than other Matoran While the Guardians have a slightly easier time than Matoran at doing so.

(insert here)-Koro – Lands of (insert here)

(insert here)- Metru – Province of (insert here)

Great Lady – the youngest daughter of the Great Spirit. Most don't know anything about her.

Gem of Power – replacement of the Masks of Power. A Guardian/Elder only has the one, but the can absorb others from from certain Power Crystals. The powers that are absorbed aren't as strong as the original power which the Gem holds.

Lifespan – I'm not certain about much other than the fact that the Matoran have extremely long lifespans. Short lifespans would make the story rather pointless. It's the entire reason why I have the Matoran being similar to humans – I can play with the life span but the readers can picture the how the characters look based on their discriptions

Talisman – an indicator of a Guardian. Identifies their elemental inclinations and their title. Used to channel Inner Energy and manipulate the wearers element.

Vo-Metru – Province of Light

Vo-Matoran – Citizens of the Province of Light

– Line Break –

"What are you doing?"

The question caused the violet eyed Ta-Matoran to look up from her work as arms wrapped around her waist. Looking up to see the sky blue eyes of the man that was courting her, she gave him a small smile filled with warmth.

"Shaping Crystals and metals into weapons and tools," she reminded him, a slight teasing note to her voice at having to do so again. "Elder Dume pays me to make them for the Guardians and I have contacts in the other provinces whom I deliver the tools to so that they can distribute within their Province. Isolation may protect and strengthen us Ta-Matoran, but it also weakens the other Provinces."

"Contacts?" he asked, watching as her hands lit up with her Inner Energy as she returned to her work.

"Um hum," she hummed positively rather than verbally replying to the question as she chipped a piece off of a Crystal and placed it onto a heat-resistant worktable before she manipulated some of the molten lava from the heat-resistant metal lined trench that had been built into the floor so that it could flow through the Forge. "They are Marked Initiates, though it seems like no one outside of Ta-Metru knows how to identify a Marked Initiate anymore. Hali is more of a rebel within the Province of Water; she practices with a pair of dual daggers whenever she can, and that is ignoring the fact that she is at least half Ta-Matoran."

He didn't answer right away, watching as she practically melted the small shard of the Crystal with the lava she was manipulating before she began placing small pieces of different metals into onto it and continued the process, melding the shard with the metals. Every time he saw her work in the Forge he saw the talent she had for the craft and the fact that her skill improved which each weapon, tool, or piece of armor she forged. Watching her craft the weapons and tools that were used all over Metru Nui always rendered him into a state of awe, the knowledge that she was the only Ta-Matoran who had continued to work in the Forge reaffirming itself each time. His eyes glanced to her own Initiate Marks, a rune for Fire one the back of her right hand and a rune for Light on the back of her left, along with the runes for Time and Shadow on her forehead, the rune for Time being above that for Shadow. She was the first that he had seen that had each of her domains be just as powerful as the other, though he knew that Time would leave her vulnerable. How she had ended up with the domain of Shadow being as strong as it was – especially considering the fact that her father did his best to ignore the fact that he was part Ri-Matoran – was actually quite funny when one looked back on it, and he couldn't help but wonder if Makuta had even realized what he had actually done with the interrupted ritual.

Either way, he had seen the results of Marked Initiates who didn't become Guardian's within the first two thousand years of their lives; they had the constant urge to travel and to protect the Matoran. It was probably one of the reasons that Elder Dume had named her Chronicler. His team mate, Corona, still had the random urge to move, though at first he had mistaken that for her nature as a Ta-Matoran as they were a warrior-race even if they had been delegated to the forges before the Province closed itself off from the rest of the Island.

He glanced at the weapons that were mounted on the walls briefly before speaking. "Those dual daggers on the wall are meant for her. You've Seen her Initiation."

It wasn't a question. He knew how much she tried to shove her visions out, but occasionally she'd See something, something that she couldn't and wouldn't ignore. If she was making weapons for the contacts she had in the other Provinces, each of whom just happened to be Marked Initiates, then she had seen something of importance.

She paused briefly in her crafting, before she spoke barely above a whisper. "They swear by the Great Lady," she said in a voice he could barely hear, causing him to pull back slightly in shock and allowed her to turn and look at him for the first time during the conversation. "All five of them. They don't swear by the Great Spirit. They swear their oaths as Guardians to his youngest daughter."

– Line Break –

Vakama cursed as she rolled under a blow from a Rahkshi before blocking two more as she stood up, one with her bracers and another with a small light shield formed from her Inner Energy. Not for the first time she wished that she wasn't both stopping the Volcano in Ta-Koro from erupting along with supporting the entirety of Metru Nui through her Talisman with her Inner Energy. Pulling out four throwing daggers from the pouch on her leg with her right hand, she propelled herself up into the air using another light shield with her left before throwing all four at different targets with a swift flick of her wrist, hitting all four in the in the small gap in between their natural armour plating around the neck, killing them instantly. Not pausing for an instant, she pulled her dual sabers from the sheath on her back before flipping through the air to slow down her landing slightly. Landing, she swung her both blades in an arc, spinning herself in a circle as she sliced through the hoard of Rahkshi.

As she continued to fight she kept three small parts of her conscious concentrated on separate things. One was concentrating on keeping the Volcano's eruption suppressed so that it wouldn't go off, while another was keeping an eye on her Inner Energy levels. The final part was concentrating on maintaining the Light Barrier she had around Hohna and Vashni up so that the Rahkshi wouldn't have the opportunity to use the two as hostages in order to get her to cooperate.

Slicing through another enemy, she felt her control on the Volcano falter briefly – like it had when she had a few minutes earlier – causing not only another earthquake but also a pillar of lava to blast upward behind her. Cursing her slip as she regained control, even if the slip had taken out four Rahkshi, Vakama prayed as she felt a large mass of Matoran approaching slightly behind the much smaller group of Ta-Matoran. She had already been fighting for a while, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up without having to relinquish her control over the volcano

'Let them get here in time.'

– Line Break –

The pillar of lava that followed the second much stronger earthquake had easily seen by the rear of the massive crowd of Matoran that were following the Ta-Matoran, causing everyone to speed up more out of alarm. By the time the Matoran of the other Lands had reached the destroyed entrance of the Volcano village of Ta-Koro, the Ta-Matoran were holding their own over a group of enemies that held three times their numbers. The Elders and Guardians moved to the front of their massive group, keeping the Matoran who had come with them behind them for safety reasons, and gazed through the destroyed section of the volcano's side cautiously.

"Like Pit," Onua breathed. "They fight better than we do."

No one denied what he said, eyes fixed at what was slowly becoming a one-sided battle against the Rahkshi; one sided in favour of the Ta-Matoran who were clearly outnumbered if the number of Rahkshi corpses that already littered the ground were anything to go by.

"Is that Hali," Gali choked out, causing everyone to look at the Matoran her gaze was fixed on who could, to a certain degree, be easily be picked out from the Ta-Matoran due to her dark blue, almost black, hair.

"She always was odd for a Ga-Matoran," Nokama stated absentmindedly as she saw her fellow Ga-Matoran easily hold her own as she fought back to back with a Ta-Matoran that the Water Elder easily recognized as Nuhrii.

"If she's participating in the fight the we can assume that the others are as we–"

"Tahu! Get the twins out of here!"

Onewa's comment was cut off at the yell, catching everyone's attention and causing quite a few of the Matoran behind the Guardians and Elders to come forward to see what was going on. The Elder's and Guardians, recognizing the voice, turned towards it to see the Elder of Fire throw one of the sabers in his hands at a Rahkshi that had been getting close to a barrier – one that the other Elders easily recognized from back when they had been simple Matoran and Guardian Likhan had used his powers to protect the citizens of Metru Nui from attacks – before leaping into the air and throwing the one in his other hand at another while removing what looked to be a staff from his back. All of them choked as they saw Vakama channel Inner Energy into the 'staff', causing a long chain with a kunai attached to it to come out of the bottom while a wickedly sharp pointed blade came out of the top. Without a moment's pause, the Fire Elder wielded the spear with ease, taking out a Rahkshi with a stab while using the chain to drag another close enough in order to cut through its exposed flesh with one of the edges of the blade.

"Are the lot of you going to help or are you just going to stand there?"

The cold and emotionless voice caused all of them to flinch back in surprise, especially since that same voice had portrayed a lot more emotion earlier that day than it usually did. Turning, all the Matoran who could get a clear view saw the Guardian of Fire gazing at his fellow Guardians and the Elders with emotionless eyes, two identical infants with dark blue hair and amber eyes in his arms. The Guardians all looked at each other before they gazed at the Matoran behind them and then the Elders. Tahu, noticing where their gazes were first directed to, narrowed her eyes. Placing the twin infants onto the ground, she ushered them behind the five Elders before she let her eyes dart over the fighting Ta-Matoran and Rahkshi. Spotting the Matoran that she was looking for, she took out eight throwing daggers, four in each hand between her fingers, so that she'd be able to help the Matoran in question exit the fray of battle in order to help.

"Takua!" Tahu barked out as she started throwing the daggers in her hands, causing everyone near her to jump before looking at her.

Takua's head jolted up at her name and she quickly leaped out of the way of a Rahkshi corpse before running her own dagger through the one that was attempting to sneak up on her as she darted out of the fray.

"You called Tahu," the blond haired Ta-Matoran questioned after coming to a stop at the Fire Guardian's side, no longer on the battlefield.

"Combo Alpha Four. And stay out of the fray. Your multi-tasking is as bad as a Nuhrii and Hali's inability to see what is in front of them."

A brief moment of confused silence reigned only broken by the sounds of the ongoing battle, before Takua let out a small laugh.

"I'll have you know that anyone with even a small amount of Ta-Matoran in their ancestry for around four generations is oblivious to attraction if it involves them. If I recall what father said correctly, your parents had to be locked in one of the Ta-Metru underground storage rooms because the two drove the rest of the three Provinces mad with their tip-toeing around each other."

Tahu shot Takua an irritated glare – indicating that now wasn't the time to have that conversation and one of the only emotions that she normally let show around outsiders – that quickly had the blond Ta-Matoran closing her eyes in order to concentrate. Within seconds there was a massive shield made out of light barriers around the entire group of Matoran who had followed the Elders and Guardians from the arena, also enveloping the two infants whom Tahu had removed from the battlefield. The Elders looked at the barrier in wide eyed shock, while the Guardians and Matoran looked at it in curiosity.

"Manipulation over light," Gali commented quietly as she let her fingers brush over the barrier.

Tahu shrugged noncommittedly before letting out a slow breath as she felt the erected shield of light take a small, continuous amount of her Inner energy as she pitched in in its creation and stability, catching everyone's attention. "Takua and my sister are better at it than I am. Then again both are at least a thousand years older than me."

The startled looks that gained from everyone was ignored by the Guardian of Fire, who quickly turned away from the group and leaped back into the fray.

"Fire-brother remembers," Lewa questioned in confusion quietly.

"Tahu never forgot," Takua answered, eyes remaining closed to show that while she was paying attention to her surroundings she was still concentrating mostly on maintaining the barrier. "If the lot of you are planning to help then please do so. I'd rather not be helping maintain the barrier if the lot of you are just going to stand there."

That startled all of them into movement, causing them to dart towards the fray of battle.

"Avoid getting struck by the spears," Whenua cautioned the Guardians as he stayed by their sides for a moment longer than the other Elders, who had all rushed into the fray with such a ferocity that had taken the Guardians aback mentally. "Just the slightest amount of the venom that the Rahkshi coat their spears with can wreak havoc on all of a person's systems, not just one aspect, when it gets into a wound."

With the warning given, Whenua darted after his fellow Elders in order to help. The five Guardians took his warning to heart as the fought, blocking strikes with their gantlets and protecting each other's backs from the Rahkshi. They made a note to ask the Elders what Rahkshi were, as they hadn't come across the breed before. At least, not that they remembered. Soon enough, the Guardians were fighting beside the Elders, the Ta-Matoran that had been identified to them as Nuhrii, and the five Matoran who had followed the Ta-Matoran to the battle.

"Makes you think of old times, doesn't it Nuhrii," Hewkii called out cheerfully as he sliced through a Rahkshi with claw shaped weapons that he was holding in either hand, before gutting another.

"You sound like my late wife," Nuhrii muttered back, loud enough to be heard by all of those in the group as he stabbed his great sword into the ground and used it to support himself as he kicked a Rahkshi away before pulling it out.

"That doesn't mean that Guardian Corona didn't know what it meant to have fun," Hali called back with a cackle as she bended back practically all the way to the ground in order to avoid being stabbed before she used the momentum to kick the Rahkshi into the air while doing a one hand hand-stand, both dual daggers in the hand not on the ground.

"Guardian Corona?" The Elders and Guardians questioned at the same time, though they didn't let themselves be properly distracted from the ongoing fight.

"Guardian Corona was one of Guardian Likhan's teammates," Nuparu answered the question after giving a brief glance at Nuhrii who had decided to ignore the question. "Longest surviving Fire Guardian and Elder aside from Vakama and Tahu. The dozen initiates that she gave up her position for in between her transition from Guardian to Elder and Vakama's own Guardian-hood didn't really last all that long and neither did the other dozen that went through the initiation after the death of the first group."

"Wait a minute," Onewa sputtered out. "I don't remember any Fire Guardians aside from Lihkan."

"Lihkan was a Vo-Matoran and Light Guardian," Matoro corrected the Stone Elder's assumption absently as he ran the long double-edged blade in his hands through two Rahkshi with a swing. "And Corona was more of an offensive combative type of Guardian compared to Lihkan who was more oriented towards defensive combat than offensive combat, though he had figured out how to do both eventually."

The Guardians pushed their confusion about what was being discussed to the side, knowing that they'd be able to ask the Elders what they were talking about later, when they weren't fighting for their lives. It didn't matter either as whatever conversation that would have continued would have been interrupted by the sudden appearance of pillars of lava in multiple locations of the battlefield and the twin cries of rage, one of which caused all of the Guardians to flinch and hesitantly turn towards the source. The Elders and the other five Matoran, noticing the flinch, turned to look in the direction that the Guardians were looking in only to see Tahu cutting through four enemies in a single swing before moving on to another group of enemies, a small silver blur practically at his side darting from Rahkshi to Rahkshi and apparently clawing their eyes out.

"Dammit Vakama," Nuhrii muttered out with a groan. "One major fight. Is it too much to ask? Just one. Why, oh why, does almost every Pit damned fight have to end the same way"

The Guardians shared a brief glance, the fighting having finally turned tides as practically everyone watched Tahu and the small silver blur take out the remaining Rahkshi in what could basically amount to a massacre, before Gali spoke up. "So you're saying it's normal for Elder Vakama to get skewered?"

The Elders whipped their heads to look at Gali from where their gazes were locked on Tahu, eyes wide. "Wha–"

Onewa didn't manage to even fully start his question before he was interrupted by Nuhrii who shot the Guardian of Water a considering look. "Come across her in the aftermath of a fight before, have you?" he asked them, taking note of the wide eyed looks the Elders were giving him and the looks of confirmation that briefly crossed the Guardians of Ice and Water's faces.

Lewa shuddered. "Last time Fire-brother this angry, Po-Matoran got turned to ash."

Hewkii snorted as he started to move past the group towards the direction Tahu was going in. "I told Ahkmou sixteen centuries ago that his attempt at courting wouldn't go over well, especially considering the fact that it was a Ta-Matoran he was intending to court."

The startled looks that the Five Elders shared at that comment went unnoticed.

"Pit be damned," Hali complained, gaining their attention. "And here I'd bet that Jaller would have been the first to snap."

Nuhrii and Nuparu snorted whilst briefly giving her a look of disbelief. "I have no idea why you bet that my youngest would be the first to snap at the idiot Po-Matoran's attempt at courting," Nuhrii commented as he began to follow Hewkii, causing the others to follow.

"Jaller has the patience of a Saint," Nuparu agreed.

"Jaller's your child," Whenua asked curiously.

Nuhrii nodded absently. "Youngest of two and rather calm, considering."

"Considering what?" Onewa asked.

"How the rest of the Marked turned out," a Ta-Matoran stated cheerfully as he bounded towards the group, the two dark blue haired and amber eyed infants in his arms. "Name's Tonra, First Lieutenant of the Ta-Matoran Guard."

"Shouldn't you have left the twins with Takua and the other Matoran," Nuhrii asked as he took one in his arms when they reached out to him, not giving the Elders or Guardians a chance to ask what Tonra meant by 'Marked' nor about the young infants that looked to be just out of toddler hood that were obviously Ga-Matoran if the colour of their hair was anything to go by.

"Yes, well, your eldest was getting antsy once the fighting moved away from the entrance and even with the barrier up it didn't take the twins much effort in getting out in order to try and pull the exoskeletons off of the Rahkshi corpses."

Nuhrii just stared at his fellow Ta Matoran for a few moments. "I don't know whether I should be proud of Vakama or cursing her at the fact that she managed to get them to do something other than sit and stare blankly at the wall."

"Look at it this way," Tonra said, still just as cheerful as he had been at the start of the conversation. "At least they're not trying to take part in combat. Remember Vonashi; twenty-five years old and the kid was always found in the Training Fields. Drove Vakama up the wall."

Nuhrii shuddered at that. "I see your point," he conceded. "I hadn't realized how lucky we were that we had missed out on the entirety of Vakama's childhood by the time she washed ashore on Ta-Metru. The questions the kid asked before reaching the halfway point to adulthood was disturbing."

"Imagine how Vakama felt. She was the one who had to give the brat the Talk before the kid even hit eighty."

"So we weren't just imagining the fact that Elder Vakama was female," Gali questioned at the same time that Onewa asked "What do you mean by she?"

The two Ta-Matoran stared at the Elders and Guardians as the two groups exchanged startled looks at what the member of the opposite group had said. Some of the other Ta-Matoran who had joined them as they walked looked at them as well.

"I don't know what that says about team dynamics if Vakama trusts Guardians she never properly met over her own teammates," a Ta-Matoran close by muttered loud enough to be heard.

"Tahu talks," Nuhrii pointed out, causing the Guardians to look at him with wide eyes. "And Vakama is rather protective of the kid."

"No need to remind us of that," another Ta-Matoran stated with a shiver, which was copied by several of the other Ta-Matoran who had been listening to the conversation. "Forget about the incident when the Bohrok hoards first showed up, the one involving five of the Bohrok Kal makes how we found her after the Massacre of Vo-Metru look tame."

"Yes, well, when some idiot's been drugging you through your talisman for at least three hundred years, you'd be rather slow to react too."

Everyone looked up at the pain filled voice and the Guardians and Elders looked at the Elder of Fire with wide eyes from where she was pinned to the rock face via a Rahkshi spear, Tahu and a silver ball shaped being – the later of the two being only glanced over – at her sides.

"What do you mean by 'drugged'," Nuhrii asked sharply.

Vakama glanced over at Nuhrii as her eyes bled toxic green and tribal marks in the same colour started to spread across her skin, causing the Elders and Guardians to take a step back, the former out of fear and the later out of surprise. "I mean exactly that. If Ahkmou wasn't a pile of ash already I'd be using him for target practice," she snarled, bringing a hand that was glowing with red and toxic green Inner Energy to the segment of the spear in front of her and melting it off.

Everyone watched as Vakama heaved herself off of the spear now that the blade was gone. Falling to the ground on her knees, she brought the same hand to the wound that the spear had left behind, having gone straight through her left lung, while the other helped support her weight from its place on the ground. The toxic green tribal marks continued to spread much to the hidden fear of the Elders who remembered the last time that Vakama had truly been under the influence of Visorak venom. The silver ball took this time to creep closer to Vakama, causing those who weren't Ta-Matoran to look, wide eyed, at what they realized was an infant Rahkshi that had a hand on Vakama's thigh, looking at her in concern.

"Oh shush little one; I'm fine," Vakama responded when the young Rahkshi made a worried cooing sound.

Nuhrii snorts out loud as he placed the twin in his arms down, who scurried over to Vakama's side. "Of course you're fine. You're mothering tendencies are still fully functional," he muttered, though everyone heard him clearly. "Anyone happen to know where Jaller is?"

A flare of Inner Energy caused everyone to turn to face its source; a Ta-Matoran with a Battle Ax held over their shoulders behind her neck and another strapped to their back, a pouch of throwing daggers visible on their leg. "She's on her way," the Ta-Matoran said, their voice soft as lava red eyes gazed at them. "She's near the front gates, so it will take a few minutes."

"Who are you," Onua asked.

The Ta-Matoran blushed. "Ah… well… um…"

Tonra huffed in amusement as he watched the Ta-Matoran stumble their words fondly. "This is Yakri, my bonded– er," he paused as he realized something before turning to face Nuhrii with a questioning look on his face. "Do the other provinces refer to it the same way we do, or do they call it something else?"

"Wife. Yakri is Tonra's wife and head archer," Vakama answered in both Onua's question as well as Tonra's as Jaller rushed towards them. "She also shouldn't have been on the field of battle, considering that she's expecting."

Everyone felt Inner Energy flare as Jaller knelt down at Vakama's side and hit the hand Vakama was using to heal herself to the side before placing her own over the wound. It took a few moments to realize that not only were the flares coming from Jaller but that each flare somehow had a different pattern to it minus a constant hum that remain constant in the background. As much as they were concentrating on the different flare patterns of Jaller's Inner Energy, they weren't so unaware that they wouldn't be able to hear if someone spoke up. As a result, the Elders and Guardians of the other five lands were startled when Vakama spoke up, answering a question that they hadn't heard.

"That wasn't my fault and you know it. Ignoring the fact that I was expecting any day, I'd been refusing to leave my forge for months. Though you have to admit that Makuta's kidnapping attempt helped us tighten up the boarders to the point where even Dume had issues getting into the Province."

The Elders and Guardians watched on, gaping slightly as the Ta-Matoran seemed to forget that they were there, something that had been happening frequently since they'd shown up to help fight against the Rahkshi. They were still confused at whose question Vakama was answering, as no one had voiced anything. Gali's eyes widened slightly as she shared a glance with the Elder of Water, whose eyes were equally wide, both having made the connection between Vakama's current answer and the conversation that Tonra and Nuhrii had been having earlier.

"Not that it stopped Makuta from getting in after impersonating him so that he could attempt to get you to forge a weapon to control time," Nuhrii pointed out.

"Yes well," Vakama drawled out as she shifted backwards so that she was sitting on the ground, making it easier for Jaller's Inner Energy covered hands to reach the open wound which The Elders and Guardians noticed was healing over. "Time artifacts belong solely to the Vo-Matoran Royal House and can only be forged and/or used by outsiders with permission from the Head of House. Not happening."

The Guardians all gained sharp looks at that statement, remembering how Vakama had seemed to know exactly what the Rahi Nui was about to do before it had acted.

"Wait, wait. Back-step a second. What do you mean by 'Makuta's kidnapping attempt'?" Matau interrupted, eyes wide.

Vakama let her eyes glance over to them, causing all of the other Elders to flinch – much to the confusion of the Guardians – as they noticed that there were barely any flecks of violet in the Fire Elder's eyes. The tribal tattoos were spread everywhere on her skin, indicating the level of influence that the Visorak venom was having.

"Makuta's been trying to kidnap me since I was a child and – aside from that one memorable occasion which ended up involving my elder half-brother, a Visorak, four Nuurahk, a lava eel, and a botched binding ritual – he hasn't come anywhere close to succeeding. Nuparu, if you throw that stick I'll make what I did to the Archive tunnels seem like a minor tunnel collapse," Vakama said, the last sentence coming out flatter than the rest.

Everyone turned to see Nuparu slowly putting the stick he had picked up from somewhere back onto the ground, a pout visible on his face. Hali and Hewkii snickered at his expression and the realization of what he had been intending to do.

Matoro heaved an exasperated sigh as his palm met his forehead. "I thought you learned what would happen the last time you did that. Why would you do it again?"

"It's fun," Nuparu said with a shrug, pout still on his face. "And the archivists banned me from keeping pets."

"Of course they banned you from pet-keeping," Kongu shot at him. "You're worse than Corona and Takua and have the tendencies of a Le-Matoran. I wouldn't trust you as far as I could lift-throw you."

"Vakama," Nokama asked hesitantly before anyone else could say anything, though she did glance briefly at the five Matoran who were responsible for those who had attended the Tournament being in Ta-Koro.

"Hmm," Vakama responded as she pushed herself up, Jaller having finished healing the wound just as Vakama had inadvertently told Nuparu to put the stick he had been about to throw down.

"Are you alright?"

Vakama snorted and tilted her head slightly to look at the Elder of Water with toxic green eyes as a small smirk started to cross her face, ignoring the flinch that was gained as a result. "Aside from being stabbed you mean? I've never had much issues with Visorak venom – that incident with the hoards was just a lucky chance on Rudaka's part and has no chance of being repeated – and my immune system is dealing with the Rahkshi venom."

"The first thing that Rahkshi venom destroys is the immune system."

"What immune system? You don't have a single white blood cell."

Whenua and Nuhrii both spoke at the same time, but it was Nuhrii's off-hand comment that caught the attention of the Elders and Guardians.

Vakama huffed as she brushed herself down to make sure that she had no other wounds, shooting a glare at Nuhrii for giving them more information to ask questions about. "Damn this to the Pit. Give me a half hour; I need to change and make sure that we don't have dead that we need to hold ceremony for. I'm not answering anything before then."

She didn't wait for a response, picking up the blue haired infant that had been keeping a strong grip on her tunic leggings before stalking away as the volcano gave another shake. Onewa made to stop her, but a hand on his shoulder and an arm in front of him stopped him from taking more than a step. Glancing to the side before looking behind him, Onewa saw that Tahu was the one who had extended the arm in front of him while Whenua was the one who had placed a hand on his shoulder, the latter of the two shaking his head from side to side.

"It would be best to let shiya calm down," Tahu told the Elder of Stone, eyes fixed on the direction that Vakama had left in. "She's upset enough as it is."

"If you think that Tahu's bad when angry, you don't want to see Vakama angry," Hali agreed with a shudder that was shared with everyone who heard her and knew of Vakama's temper. "She makes the worst volcanic eruptions seem tame."

– Line Break –

Vakama sighed as she stared at the few outfits she had left to change into, grabbing one while grumbling. She had thought that she had at least one more tunic that was in good enough condition for her to wear, but it looked like she'd have to make a few more. Of course, the majority of the damaged tunics could be taken apart and used to either – hopefully – make new tunics or other cloth materials. If the couldn't then there were other things that the cloth that the tunics were made out of could be used for. Either way, she was stuck wearing a sleeveless top that came down to just below her chest and a pair of tight shorts that came down to just above her knees after having removed her tunic and leggings as well as her chest wrappings. Over top of the top she strapped on the armoured plating that covered the same area as the top along with a leather battle skirt with reinforced tassets over top of the shorts. Using a little bit of her Inner Energy – which was refilling at a decent rate considering the fact that she was supporting the entirety of Metru Nui as well as preventing the volcano on Mata-Nui from going of – Vakama made sure that neither of the two sections of the armour would fall off if the straps came apart by activating both sets of paired runes.

Thinking back to the battle, Vakama knew that they were lucky that they hadn't lost any Matoran, though several had a few scratches here and there. As much as she had wanted to help Jaller with healing the others Vakama kept herself from doing so, knowing that it would lower her Inner Energy to the point where she wouldn't be able to hold back the eruption of the volcano; she had been struggling to heal her own wounds after having been skewered to the volcano wall by a Rahkshi spear without letting go of her control over the volcano. As it was, Vakama was glad that she had set up a Healing class. The arts that had long been lost on Ta-Metru when the Ta-Matoran had all taken to working in the forges – and thus forgetting parts of their culture and what distinguished them as Ta-Matoran – had long since made a come-back, though it had eventually resulted in the isolationist policy that the Ta-Matoran of Metru Nui had adopted.

Knowing that no one had died and that she wouldn't be of much help remaining out and amongst the rest of the Ta-Matoran, Vakama had gone to change into a different tunic only to find that she had none left that hadn't been packed into one of the bunks on the ships that had been tied down to the docks that were down at the beach. Looking around, Vakama tossed to two remaining sets of clothes – identical to what she was now wearing – as well as the torn tunic and leggings into the remaining satchel in her home before strapping her bracers back on and putting on her combat boots. The Ta-Matoran had been lucky that the Island could provide them with a good portion of the materials that they had made use of on Metru-Nui. Leather was easily one of the most common materials, as they were made of the hides of the Rahi that they caught for food. Another one of the common materials – though one that wasn't exactly commonly used by the Ta-Matoran for clothing – was furs. Like the hides that were used for the leathers, furs were gotten off of the Rahi that they caught for food. Back on Ta-Metru, the only form of clothing that they had been used for had been for winter wear, and winter wear for Ta-Matoran had always been fairly light. Of course, the rest of Metru Nui – aside from Vo-Metru and Ri-Metru – had far colder winters than Ta-Metru would ever have, but Ta-Matoran rarely left their home province and when they did, they were able to use their Inner Energy to keep themselves adequately warm. It was the reason why all Ta-Matoran had Inner Energy stores that were on par to active Guardians.

On Mata Nui, however, Ta-koro – though the warmest of the six lands by far – was far colder than Ta-Metru had ever gotten, even inside an active volcano that was literally being kept a few minutes from erupting. The rest of the Lands were only slightly colder than Ta-Koro, except for the Land of Ice which – as it's name suggested – was the coldest of all the lands. As it was Ko-Koro was far warmer than Ko-Metru ever had been. It was due to this temperature discrepancy between Ta-Metru and Ta-Koro, and thanks to the way the people of Fire were built genetically, that all of the Ta-Matoran dedicated a good chunk of their internal energy to keeping themselves at the temperature that they needed in order for their body systems to keep functioning. Since having come to Mata-Nui, the Ta-Matoran had had to constantly use their Inner Energy to keep themselves warm. This had resulted in their Inner Energy stores to grow by leaps and bounds.

Vakama shook her head to disperse her thoughts. It wasn't the time to think about what had been or what was. Makuta's presence was like a poised shadow and she was honestly surprised that none of the other Elders had noticed the darkness that engulfed the Island when they had first arrived. Not that she had at first either, but that could be placed on the fact that she had just lost her bonded mate when they had first found and explored the place. It hadn't help that not long after the bond she had shared with her brother had snapped.

Taking one last glance at the room which had served as her bedroom for around four hundred years. As much as she had grown fond of the space, it hadn't been home. 'Home,' Vakama couldn't help but think as she walked through the doorway for what she instinctively knew would be the last time. 'Home has always been Ta-Metru. Though Bara-Magna and Magna Nui come in at a close second and third.'

Not that she'd ever willingly tell the rest of the Ta-Matoran where she'd spent all but fifty years of her childhood. She did not wish to be on the receiving end of one of Nuhrii's lectures again.

– Line Break –

All the Matoran – Ta-Matoran or otherwise – had gathered outside of Ta-Koro's volcano city as they waited for Vakama to join them. Those who weren't Ta-Matoran were watching Jaller and a few of the other Ta-Matoran heal those who had gotten injured, the small Rahkshi pitching in on occasion with an odd clear liquid. None of the watching Guardians and Elders understood where the little critter was getting it from, and they were somewhat confused at how the Ta-Matoran were all at ease with infant Rahkshi's presence.

"I wonder if those techniques would work for non-Fire citizens," Gali couldn't help but murmur as she kept her gaze focused on Jaller's hands as the glowed with Inner Energy.

Kopaka let his eyes glance over to her before letting his gaze move to where the Water Guardian's gaze was centered, holding back the urge to run a hand through his hair. The feeling that their lives would be filled with chaos for the next few days was strong. They'd just finished dealing with the Bohrok Kal and he was seriously wondering if they were going to be getting a break anytime soon. It had been event after event since they had first shown up on the Island and the lack of memories he and the others had of their lives prior to their arrival wasn't helping tone down their paranoia. The sudden knowledge that Tahu had never forgotten made him wonder about the reason as to why the memories of the Fire Guardian hadn't been forgotten.

"It depends on who's doing the healing and their skill at it," a familiar voice spoke out and everyone turned to look at it's source, Hali. "Vakama most certainly can, as can Jaller."

Before anyone could question her about what she meant, a blue blur tackled the Ga-Matoran's legs in a hug. The sight of the infant that Vakama had taken with her when she went to get changed caused everyone to look in the direction the child had come from, only for all the non-Ta-Matoran to choke on air at what the Elder of Fire was wearing – though the reaction of the Guardians wasn't as strong as that of others.

"What in the name of the Great Spirit are you wearing," Whenua asked in startled shock, the sight of his recently-discovered-to-be-female teammate in such revealing clothing derailing his thought process from the question he had originally meant to ask.

Vakama gazed down at her clothes, before gazing at them, irritation visible on her face, though whether it was directed at Whenua or her clothing was questionable. "Traditional female Ta-Matoran wear," she answered stiffly.

"Run out of tunics," Takua asked as she walked up alongside her father.

Vakama nodded reluctantly. "I thought I had at least half a dozen left, but it seems like I was wrong."

That answered the question Whenua was about to ask after Vakama's answer, though now that the shock of what the Fire Elder was wearing had worn off, he was left feeling awkward curiosity at why he and the others had never seen her – or any Ta-Matoran for that matter – wear the outfit she currently was. He also noticed that while the tribal tattoos had receded, Vakama's eyes were still heavily flecked with toxic green, though it also seemed to be receding even if it was at a much slower pace.

"If female clothing traditional, then why are other Fire-dwellers not wearing it," Lewa asked out of curiosity.

"No one else is wearing it because it is also traditional for female Ta-Matoran to not give out their gender to outsiders unless said outsiders are trusted," Nuhrii answered, taking in the flinching of the elders with a small amount of vindictiveness.

He remembered how they had treated not only him but Vakama as well back on Metru-Nui when they had been searching for the Great Crystals. The fact that they hadn't even trusted their teammate to at least cover their backs had left a bad taste in his mouth, especially since Vakama herself had been so willing – a clear indication that they were trustworthy as she had always been the most cautious of the Matoran from not only Ta-Metru, but also Vo-Metru and Ri-Metru. Glancing at Tahu's Guardian teammates, he noticed that they seemed far less surprised than the Elders and the rest of the Matoran from the other lands.

"You five don't seem as surprised as the others," Nuhrii shot at them.

The five Guardians looked at each other before Gali answered, shrugging. "We've seen her wearing it before. Not entirely sure why she was there, but Tahu went into a rage. He seemed to have been rather ticked off that the Po-Matoran was even there."

Nuhrii let his gaze move to Vakama, who was a few meters away and seemed to be ignoring the conversation he was having with the Guardians and Elders in favor of talking to his eldest, as he absently stated, "Kid's too young to go into a proper Ta-Matoran Rage."

Eyes furrowed, and gaze focused on Vakama and Takua, he didn't notice the startled glances shared by the Guardians and Elders at his statement as Tahu darted over to her mother's side in order to avoid the questions that she knew would be asked if she remained. It was her sudden inhale and Vakama's choking on air that caused everyone's attention to focus on the group of three.

"Vakama! What…" Nuhrii started, making to move to her side before freezing where he stood as he trailed off the moment his eyes fell on what was held in his eldest child's hands.

He wasn't the only one who reacted in such a way, as all the Ta-Matoran nearby froze at what they saw in their fellow Ta-Matoran's hands, eyes wide. The Elders and Guardians moved forward, curious to see what had garnered the reaction from the Ta-Matoran only to go wide eyed at what they saw. Sitting innocently in Takua's cupped hands was a Talisman, one that was blank except for the light yellow colour that indicated that it was meant for those who's dominant type of Inner Energy was that of Light.

All right everyone! :)

That is the most recent Chapter of this fic. Remember to check back once Chapter 3 is posted as some parts my be changed to make the newer parts fit. This chapter totaled a total of 7'548 words, which is 14 ½ pages on Microsoft word.

For those who are wondering if the various questions that the story brought to mind will be answered: they will be, just not right away. Vakama has trust issues that don't stem solely from her time as a Guardian. Her issues with trust are rooted deeply into her childhood, which we have been given clues about. I will be going into her childhood at some point during the story, but it will take a while.

Remember to leave comments on the way out.

Hope you all enjoyed the Chapter,

Forestfirekid