Lego owns Bionicle, along with the names Ketongu and Jala, and Hasbro owns transformers. Everything else in this story is mine.

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Chapter 20: Back at the zoo

After yet another two or more long hours on the road, Green had managed to get himself out of his regret filled state of mind. Probably because he had decided to take a ride inside of his yellow two seater alone. Or at least he WOULD'VE been riding alone if said two seater wasn't really a Toabot in disguise. Better yet a Toabot he knew pretty well as one who would normally make a wisecrack or two upon seeing him as regretful as he was.

But despite the urges to do the opposite in whatever hilarious way he could think of, Ketongu had decided to let Green have a moment alone. If there was one think Ketongu knew he had other than his sense of humor, it was also his observant sense of compassion. After all Green had done and been through (Even if some of it WAS by accident), getting Angela involved, getting Golden involved and keeping knowledge of the Sphere from Angela (Which he was sure that Angela couldn't have been TOO happy with). But the one thing Ketongu knew HAD to have hurt Green was knowing the fact that he might have been guarded for nothing. No way he was going to tease him while he was going through all THAT.

This matter quickly became less important as he and the other Toabots then pulled into the dirt road on his right, leading back into Greens zoo. Upon then realizing where they were, Green snapped out of his state, in which he was caught up in once he noticed Angela sitting in the EW ahead of them (Rack). This obsession with his best friend was getting worse, he was CONVINCED it was. Not only was he getting worse at keeping said obsession a secret, NOW he could barely go a few seconds without WANTING to look at her. And all of her bodily details... AGH! Bad thoughts! BAD! Go away!

Seeing as that was what he had already told himself almost every time today, still without ANY success, it didn't really make a difference. His mind was STILL in a bit of a romance novel of which he did NOT want it to be at this point. Especially not considering what was at stake. For now he'd have to swallow up all of his feelings and think none of setting them free until this matter was over and done with. Regardless of how much he wanted to tell her, he did NOT want to become a source of drama in the middle of all THIS.

And for once, he thought he had finally managed said task once Ketongu and all of the other Toabots parked in random places around the wooden mansion. A few seconds later, he looked over to the wheel in front of him, seeing all the monitors behind it turn themselves off. Then looking to his left side to see the door open by itself, he felt a short wave of fear go through him as he immediately hoped that he still had what they were looking for. Should the answer be no, nothing they could ever say to him would be as bad as what he knew he would feel should said relic not still be in his possession.

Deciding to push this matter aside, he exited the open door, smiling back at Ketongus car form as he said: "Thanks Key"., and gently closed it back, then stepping back as Ketongu transformed back into Toa mode, then looking down at him with a smile in return.

"You're welcome Green"., Ketongu said.

Just then, Green tried running inside, thinking that this would all end better if he got the answer to his and everyone else's growing curiosity as soon as he possibly could. But Green was stopped by a hand that almost immediately grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Wait"., Ketongu told him. "I'm going in with you".

Green looked back behind himself, then looking up into Ketongu's one eye as he asked: "Really"?

"Green, I'm your guardian"., Ketongu told him. "What do you THINK I'm gonna do with you in a situation like this"?

Green turned back to the mansion, his eyes immediately moving back to Racks parked form as angela and Golden both exited through an open right door as he then said: "Well, you don't need to guard me 24-7, OK man"?

"Yes I do Green"., Ketongu answered. "Now that you know of us in the way of which you do, you WILL be hunted by the Makutacons at what can easily be assumed as all times". "After what happened here earlier, you should know that better than anyone". "And regardless, I WILL continue to protect you at all costs".

Green looked at the grass below himself then, asking him: "How CAN you"? "How can you protect ANY of us after... after EVERYTHING"?

Of course Ketongu was a little surprised to hear what Green had just asked, seeing as how it had at first sounded like he was questioning his ability to protect him. But once he heard after... EVERYTHING, he instantly knew what Green was talking about. Sure everybody could agree that what the Turaga had done was wrong (Had everybody actually KNOWN about this), but as Paradox had often said back home, what they did was NOT unforgivable. And this was making Ketongu wonder if Green even UNDERSTOOD how to willingly forgive. Sure, after everything ELSE (Else meaning, other than this) Ketongu couldn't blame Green for getting angry, but had he even given a THOUGHT to forgiveness? Forgiveness towards ANYONE who had wronged him? If the answer was no, then immediately Ketongu would become as worried over this as he was for Green's current safety.

Then kneeling down to eye level and gently taking Green by the shoulder and turning him around, Ketongu told him: "Because what happened, was an act of not only your, but also OUR, ancestors". "Not you, Ok"? "Don't blame yourself for something you never had any participation in". "And don't blame yourself if you don't have the Sphere either, it's not worth it". "All that matters at this point is if we even get the sphere at all, & are able to keep it from Makutacon hands".

"Why"?, Green asked still.

Ketongu just gave Green an honest friendly smile, responding: "So that the future holds no reckoning from the past"., before then getting back up and slowly walking to the entrance of the mansion.

Green followed, watching as Golden quickly rushed next to him and looked up at him. Whether Golden was wanting to ask Ketongu yet another few hundred questions or just look at his cannons, he wasn't sure. And he had never really gotten to find the answer to that question once he immediately turned to the sound of running feet to his left, seeing Angela running towards him. Whether Angela was running to talk, scold or possibly hit hit, he didn't care. If it was something like those last two, he deserved it. Or at least, that was how he felt.

But instead of giving him a well deserved smack to the face, he saw her stop right next to him, on his left side, then giving him a simple: "Hey".

Green just gave her a simpler nod in return, thinking in his head: How is she not giving me a beat down of some sort?! Don't females USUALLY get like REALLY ticked off if they find out a friend of theirs is keeping a secret from them? If so, then what was the difference here? No doubt, she was MAD at him to a certain extent, but then again, if she was then why wasn't she showing it?! Was it prehaps a possibility that she WASN'T mad. If so, not that he wanted to know, then just what did it take to make her MAD?

"So, are you really sure that you have this thing, cause I'm not sure how these things would take it if you don't"., Angela told him.

"Yeah, I guess that'd be nice to know"., Green jokingly told her.

Angela cracked a smile, before then looking up at him and saying: "But seriously, do you"?

Green was silent for a second, trying to consider telling her at all. With if this was one of those trick conversations that would lead into a conversation that would start after he was called a liar. He sure FELT like a liar, and not in the good way. But regardless, he was going to answer her question as honestly as he could. For all that he knew, it was definitely better to be honest with her now then never. He had told her two lies too many, and if it was going to make up for all the lying he had already done on both subjects, he would, like previously stated, try his best to be honest.

"Well, unless my dad has it, I'm pretty sure I do"., Green told her.

"Why would your dad have it"?, Angela asked him. "Isn't he like, a Turaga now"?

"When I found it, my dad caught me with it and told me to keep it hidden". "I kinda doubt he has it due to him basically telling me he trusted me". "But if it's NOT the Sphere, then at least we'll have SOMETHING".

"Yeah"., Angela agreed, then looking back down to the ground in thought as she felt her light race.

So this was why he kept this thing from me., Angela thought. All because his dad told him too. But wouldn't that mean that Jala knew what this thing was too? And just HOW had Jala told Green to keep this a secret? Did he tell him to keep it from his friends as well. It was indeed a possibility since Green had found this thing years before he met her. But to put her thoughts in full clarity, she guessed she really couldn't blame Green from keeping this a secret from her. In a way, she guessed it was smart of him. For all he knew, ANYTHING could've happened if he told him. To EITHER of them. And for all SHE now knew, it probably would've gotten them involved in this war a lot sooner.

But a short glance back up at Green's face told Angela something she was already worried would be true: He regretted it. And he regretted it BAD. The sorrow-filled face he was giving to the ground was almost too much for Angela to handle at that point. And when she said too much to handle, she meant that she felt like she was about to cry. Oh COME ON!, Angela thought to herself. You're gonna cry over a FACIAL EXPRESSION!? Yeah, that'd put a good image in Greens head, seeing as he was already filled with regret., Angela thought, then mentally glaring at herself.

Green looked back over to Angela as she looked down at the grass in the way she did, then quickly looking forward as he saw Angela's head start to come up. Green nearly let out a grunt as he almost immediately felt a surge of pain go through his chest. Upon immediately recovering, he wondered to himself: Just WHAT, was THAT? Sure he had felt a small but brief pain go through his light when he would look at Angela, but until now, it had never really been this bad. But maybe that was due to the regret he still felt for keeping the Sphere from her.

And now that he thought back to it, how COULD he? She was more than trustworthy, until now he had never realized what would've happened should he have decided to tell her, a massive part of him knew he knew he loved her (which he guessed ADDED to the pain quite a bit) and most of all, he NEVER wanted to make her feel hurt. As if things between them shouldn't have been bad enough, he KNEW he didn't deserve her kindness. Not while he had done too much to.

Immediately seeing his face in the pain it was in, she actually DID feel a tear slide down her mask. Crap!, A part of her thought. At least he hadn't seen it, or she probably would've gotten a blush red enough to compete with a red star. But another part of her didn't care. Green was probably in more pain than Angela had originally realized. And it hurt a part of her even worse. Oh how much she wished they were somewhere else now. And under different circumstances.

"I'm sorry"., Green told her.

Angela stopped dead in her tracks.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you, I know it was wrong and I regret it".

Angela quickly turned to Green, then wrapping him in a tight hug that took Green completely by surprise.

"Don't be"., Angela told him. "It wasn't my business and I didn't need to know".

Green hugged her back, responding: "No Ange, you deserved to know more than the rest".

Angela shut her eyes as tight as she could, silently begging: please don't make me cry in front of you. Just hold me and don't say anything else. And for a while, Green did nothing but that. For it seemed to give him some powerful set of confidence in himself. One that seemed to charge like a battery, getting stronger and stronger as he continued hugging her, almost completely forgetting about their current race against time until Ketongu suddenly spoke from the entrance of the mansion, making them both jump.

"Hey guys, come on"!, Ketongu told them.

Both broke off their hug and ran to him, the emotions on both of their faces speaking so loudly to him that Ketongu almost started to regret being the one to ruin the moment. You know, despite being the one to cause at least a couple others. But as much as he wanted to see these two finally admit their feelings for each other, there was still a battle to be won if there was ever to be a moment like this again. No matter how much they needed it, they could NOT lose the Sphere again, much as Ketongu hated to admit it.

"We're coming"!, Green yelled.

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Upon reaching and then passing the entrance, Green ran as quickly as his feet would allow him to up the large set of stairs. He still remembered where he had hid this thing, but he still couldn't help but feel like something was going to go wrong if he didn't get up there as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would've failed his new found friends. And THAT was something he was not willing to go through. He felt he made ENOUGH regretful fails today already.

Upon finally reaching the wooden door to his home office, he quickly turned the metal doorknob, then pushing it open as he dashed to a spot in the floor. Come on., Green thought. Where WAS it? Green immediately felt like an idiot once he figured out that he forgot to turn the light out once he looked behind himself, seeing the still turned on computer display the time. 1: 34 AM. Gracious, it was dark outside, could you NOT have thought about turning on the light sooner?, Green naggingly thought to himself as he looked back down at the wooden floor, deciding not waste any more time than the few precious seconds he already had.

But Green became so caught up in finding the spot in the floor, frantically feeling around for the rug that he actually screamed when a light clicked on behind him, giving him quite the jump-scare. Green quickly turned back to the door behind him, seeing Ketongu with an amused look on his face and a LED light on his right arm, pointed straight at the spot where Green had been looking. Green blushed then, realizing that he made a scream similar to that of a little girl. Even KETONGU had started to look like he was resisting the urge to laugh as he spoke then.

"Calm down Green, I was trying to save you the time and electricity while you tried to re-find this thing"., Ketongu told him.

"Well... thanks then"?, Green said.

"Don't mention it"., Ketongu responded.

Immediately, Green turned back to where the light was pointed as he heard Angela and Golden's footsteps get closer to the room. No WAY he was going to let them see him with that blush on his face after how he had just screamed. But regardless, once Angela had reached said room, she asked a question that just made Greens blush burn redder.

"Since when did little girls decide to start getting lost up here"?

Ketongu just let out a short chuckle, responding: "Golden's the only little one here Angela, Green was the one screaming".

Golden started laughing and Angela tried desperately to control herself, unwilling to embarrass him any further than he probably already was. But Green ignored his little brothers uproar of laughter and kept his eyes on the lit up area in the floor, realizing then and there that what he was looking for was just a few feet away from him, underneath a closed window. It was a mat that his mother had decided to get him for his birthday one time. From the way of which he had seen his mom record him with the camera she had, she had probably wanted to be one of those parents online who got a recorded and funny reaction from her son for getting him a bad present. Instead, Green had actually appreciated it. Hey, it was good to at least have SOMETHING rather than nothing at all.

But with all of that being besides the point, Green quickly crawled to said mat and slid it away from what Angela, Golden and Ketongu now saw in full clarity was a slot in the floor that could be easily slid open via pulling right on a finger sized hole. And what seemed to make Ketongus eye light up as Green looked back at him, was an immediately visible glow that shone from said hold, making a ray of light that reached all the way up to the ceiling.

Greens eyes instantly shifted to Angela as she asked: "THIS is where you've kept it all this time"?

"Yep"., Green answered as he quickly opened the slot in the floor, revealing a purple marble-like ball half the size of himself. "For the past seventeen years".

Ketongu instantly showed a face of overjoyed recognition as he let out a laugh of exitement.

"At long last, we've found it"!, Ketongu exclaimed, then lowering his head to make a greatful prayer of thanks.

Green looked wide eyed back down at the Sphere in the floor, almost unable to believe that this crisis was almost over. At the same time, it made Green a little sad knowing that this was almost over, but to be truly honest, this probably couldn't have come at any better time. Actually, now that he thought of it, WHY should he have been a little sad? Surely these Toabots weren't leaving yet. Even though they now had the chance to bring their planet back, they would still need a way off of THIS one. Well at least it wasn't over in THAT sort of way.

"It's beautiful for an ancient relic"., Green heard Angela comment.

Now that he really took the time to look at it, he guessed it WAS magnificent in detail. The way this mostly purple ball also seemed to contain several colors that seemed to flow through it like small rivers also added to the beauty quite a bit. But it also put many questions in his head. Such as Who created this, or how could this thing as small as it was, contain so much power? At the same time though, Green knew he would wasting theirs if he didn't snatch this thing up as quickly as possible, which he then attempted. But as his hand touched the surface...

Wait... WHAT?!, Green thought, fear immediately coursing through him. Instead of gripping it like Green was expecting himself to, his hand passed through it. Ketongu, Angela and Golden all instantly shared this fear as Green tried again and again to pick it up, his hand still passing through. Just what WAS all of this madness?!, Green thought. Suddenly they were all able to figure this out as the Sphere suddenly glitched like a messed up computer screen before then disappearing into thin air, revealing a holographic device to be underneath of it this entire time.

"What in the...", was all Green could manage to say as the fear quickly changed into anger.

Anger at both his dad and himself. His dad had just TRICKED him! It had to have been him! He was the only other person from the time of discovery who knew about it! Did he perhaps know that the Toabots would be LOOKING for this thing before he had decided to take it. And if THAT was indeed the case, then wouldn't that also mean that Green was just a pawn this entire time? Shame on him! Absolute SHAME! And that was just the NICEST way Green could put it.

But then, there was the anger he felt against himself, which had immediately started to increase with each passing second. As bad as what his dad did truly was, how couldn't he have seen this earlier?! He knew darn well that the powerful Energy Signature had been picked up at a heavily armed storage, almost more than enough of a hint that this thing was there! And wouldn't that be EXACTLY where Jala would've put it, now being a member of the Turaga council?! Green lowered his head then, completely disappointed in himself.

Angela looked up at Ketongu then, upon hearing him cock his cannon.

"What's wrong"?, Angela asked him.

Ketongu looked down at Angela, responding: "A distress call from the others". "Stay here and don't move, you understand"?

Angela nodded and Ketongu quickly ran out of the room and down the hall that lead to the stairs. Golden started to exit the room as well.

"Golden"., Angela told him.

Golden looked back at her, saying: "I'm just going to wait outside".

"OK, you promise"?, Angela asked him.

"Yes ma'am"., Golden responded, then exiting the room and sitting down in a space in the hallway and snoring away into sleep.

Angela got up and took a peek outside the door, making sure Golden wasn't faking falling asleep and really sneaking downstairs. Much to her relief Golden actually WAS asleep, his back to the wall and his head down as he continued snoring. Angela actually let out a sigh in said relief. Everybody knew how mischievous children could be when they got the chance.

Then deciding to take her mind off of Golden (Who she could only HOPE was trust worthy at this point) for a while, she looked back at Greens still form. Knees to the floor, head to the ground. Both of these were NOT good signs from him. Even Angela knew this, and it already worried her worse than than she could admit. She couldn't even do as much as take her eyes off of him. Not even though she felt her light hurt upon seeing him in this state of mind.

Green instantly swung a fist at the floor, quietly shouting: "Why"?! Then more quietly: "Why did this have to happen... and TODAY"? "I've... I've just failed them". "I...", At this point, Green wasn't even gonna TRY to finish that sentence.

All that was thanks to the fact that Green had practically wasted everyone's time, when there wasn't MUCH to be spared. He knew how important this was to the Toabots. Heck, he couldn't even IMAGINE how much they wanted their old home back. Now that chance could've been gone, all because Green hadn't seen this coming. Not like he SHOULD'VE. THAT, and the chance of keeping the whole world safe from the racist clutches of the Makutacons. How he felt like a failure right now.

Suddenly, Green felt two warm arms wrap around him from behind. Green looked slowly at one of these blue arms, immediately wondering how it was that Angela could still consider him worth something after all he had done.

"You haven't failed ANYONE Green".,Angela told him as she squeezed tighter against him. "You will still have a ton of opportunities to help them".

Green had remained silent for a few long seconds before then turning around enough to face her and asked: "How do you know that for sure"? "Better yet, how could I help them NOW"?

Another deafening silence passed them by then as they both thought of all that had happened before this. From the time of which Green had purchased that two seater, all the way to now. To Green it had all seemed like he had been doing nothing but bad from there, running from fights, messing up constantly and keeping secrets that never needed to be kept. He wouldn't blame the Toabots if they turned Makutacon at this point. Not that he WANTED that, he really didn't. But if they did, all due to his mistakes, he could also never forgive himself. Not that he could NOW anyways but still.

But all Angela saw in him right now was sorrow, and it hurt her more than Green could realize right now. To Angela, it was as if the still somewhat happy and flirtatious Le-matoran she had always known and grown to love, was slowly dying right in front of her and being replaced with one that was nothing but silent and sorrowful. Not only did it hurt her now to look at him, but it also horrified her. There was no way this could've been described as healthy behavior, this would probably kill him if this went on any longer. Or worse, it would kill her. Least that was how SHE thought of it.

Green's facial expression changed to that of concern when he saw a tear slide down her own mask. What reason did SHE of all matoran have to be as sad as this? Was she perhaps THAT concerned for him?

"If you still want to help them find it, that's all you have to do"., Angela told him. "ALL you can do NOW, is TRY"! "So STOP blaming yourself for all of this"! "Because regardless of what you might think, we are NOT DONE"! Even if we HAD found that thing here, there would still be a battle to fight and you're not helping them by just sitting here and acting like you have nothing to live for"! "Cause it's bull". "You HEAR me Green, it's bull"! "And I for one am NOT going to let you drag yourself down like this"! "Not after all the times we've spent together"! "And not after everything you've done FOR me"! "Whether you like it or not, I NEED YOU".

Green was silent for a while, being truly unsure how to respond. For one thing, he didn't know if it'd be WISE to respond to her. She had just yelled at him a few times, like she was REALLY ticked off. And like she really... cared about him. The fact that she had told him she wasn't going to let him drag himself down was one of the many hints he had gotten from that. But now he was filled with even more concern as he looked closer into her eyes. He HAD to, they WERE in the dark.

But he suddenly had close to no time to once Angela rushed forward, hugging him again and sobbing loudly against him. Green hugged back, putting one hand on her body and another on her head, putting his own head down, resting his left cheek on the top of her kanohii Rau. And for a while they both just stayed this way. No longer had Green been feeling like a worthless matoran, having Angela to prove that to him. But then he remembered hearing her tell him that she needed him. Needed him? For WHAT?

They broke the hug then, still holding each other as Green looked down into her eyes and asked her: "What do you mean you need me".

Angela cracked a smile and rolled her eyes with a loud sigh. How much she REALLY hated it when Green was clueless! She almost started to wonder if she could help him. On matters other than this one. Angela looked back at Green for a second then, almost wanting to laugh at the way his eyes looked when he was, again, clueless. Then resting her head back on his chest and hearing the fast beats of his light, she felt her own light beat at the same speed.

"Because I lo-".

The rest of Angela's sentence was sounded out suddenly, by the sound of gunfire. And from the utmost sound, Green could tell that it wasn't too far away. As Green looked back down at Angela then, her face filled with the same curiosity as his, silently promising to finish this conversation later, he let go of her, placing her back on the wooden floor as gently as he could.

"Please stay here, OK"?, Green told her, looking into her eyes as he told her this.

Angela forced herself to nod.

"I promise, I will be back for you"., Green told her before then running out the door.

Angela watched him until he was gone, making sure she still couldn't hear him on this floor as she then got up and walked to Green's computer desk, opening that one drawer she SWORE she had seen him open yesterday. There was something she felt she had to know.

Immediately, she saw a small wooden box with a hinge on the front of it. The box she had ALSO seen Green putting into that drawer. Just what was in here that he didn't want her to see? Would she even like the answer to that question? Was there money in it? If there WAS, there was no way she was going to take it from him so that couldn't have been it. Being unable to hold in her curiosity any longer, she slowly pulled the lid open and looked closely inside.

To say the most, Angela was quite flattered by what she had found inside. It was a photo (Which she had found a bit funny since the box had a lot more room in it) of her from her third week at High School. She remembered the day it was actually TOKEN like it had just happened yesterday. When they had both been talking with each other and eating lunch outside at the football field, Green had snapped a picture of her, and to her, it was almost completely by surprise. She said almost because though she hadn't expected it, she HAD caught him.

It was lucky for BOTH of them that no one inside had caught what happened next. Or if anyone DID, they never spoke of it. What ended up happening was Angela told him to delete that picture, threatening to throw him off the balcony. Green took off running, she chased after him and she tackled him onto the football field, trying her hardest to keep him pinned down. Green tickled her, managing to get her off for three seconds before being thrown off of his feet yet again. And it continued like this until Green had finally agreed to delete it, doing it in front of her. She could've sworn that he had actually mailed it to himself and until now, she had never been sure.

She put the picture on the desk then, smiling and quietly swearing that if they ever got out of this alive, she'd HAVE to tackle him again. Jerk.

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That's right guys. I'm not ending this story yet. There's still a bunch of other stuff that needs to happen before I get to the final battle. And yes, romantic tensions are slowly increasing between Green and Angela. Hahaha. On both sides. Mwahahahahahaha! Ahem! Anyways, like the story so far? Anything you'd like me to put in it dialogue or action wise? Please feel free to tell me in the form of a review or PM and please be sure to click the follow link in the story section if you want to be kept up to date on this story, or click the follow link in the author section if you want to be kept to date on the stories I post in general (Again, there's at least 53 more stories that I plan to post after this one, all taking place in the same universe). Again, thank you for reading and please have a God-blessed day! :0)