Notes: AFTER 5000 YEARS I RETURN

ahem. Yes. Don't mind the long-ass length of time between chapters, it probably won't take me another 20 years to finish this fic. Probably.

Today's story: It's a sunny day at a Ga-Metru beach, but there are things in the water that don't like Matoran very much anymore...

"Hey, Jaller! Catch!"

Jaller looks up in alarm as a disk whistles towards him, but it's just brightly painted bamboo. He snatches it out of the air and tosses it back at Takua, then settles back against the tree he's using for shade and sighs.

The twin suns shine down on the Ga-Metru beach they're at, on a rare day off where they can just relax and visit friends. Takua's splashing around at the edge of the water with Macku and Kotu like his blue mask makes him half-Ga-Matoran. Jaller's not exactly going to wade in and stop him, but he's not going to join him either.

Someone puts a hand on his arm. He glances over and there's Hahli, smiling shyly. "Are you going to hold up that tree all day?" she asks.

"I don't know, maybe," he says casually. "It's a nice tree."

"It's a Madu tree," she says, gently tugging at his arm. "Imagine what Takua could do with a disk if he wanted to."

Jaller looks up at the greenish fruits dangling from the tree and winces. "You know what, you're right. Maybe I'll sit somewhere else."

Hahli tugs at his arm again, and this time he lets her pull him, at least until he realizes she's taking him to the water. "I don't think so," he says, stopping. "I said I'd come to the beach, not that I'd go for a swim."

"Takua's not swimming," Hahli points out.

Takua, because he's Takua, laughs at something Macku says and promptly flops backwards into the water and floats there. "That looks kind of like swimming," Jaller says. "When did he even— actually, I can guess."

Hahli giggles. "I meant, you could just dip your feet in."

Jaller grimaces, but this is Hahli. He likes Hahli, and she doesn't have nearly as many bad ideas as Takua. "... Yeah, all right."

She pulls him the rest of the way down the beach, but doesn't make him go any further. He hesitates, frowning at the water, then takes one last step.

It's not actually that bad. A little chilly, but just his feet isn't terrible. He takes another, bigger step, and then there's a rapid splashing and he barely turns in time to see Takua rushing for him.

They both go down in a wave of water. Jaller splutters; Takua grins down at him. "Hi!"

Jaller shoves him off and sits up. "I was trying to go slowly," he snaps.

Takua keeps grinning. "It's a beach! What's the point of a beach if you don't get in the water?"

"Disk toss?" Jaller suggests, gesturing at Macku and Kotu doing just that. "Fresh air? Meeting friends? Sandcastles? And I was getting in the water, I was just taking my time."

Takua huffs. "Well, fine. Disk toss? You too, Hahli, if you want."

Jaller glowers at him briefly, then sighs. "Yeah, disk toss."

Hahli helps Jaller to his feet and they head off to join Macku and Kotu in throwing a bamboo disk back and forth.

It's safer than Kanoka Toss, but everyone flinches away from a disk headed for them at high speed at least once, and a few times one of the Ga-Matoran has to fetch the disk from deeper water than Jaller or Takua are willing to brave. Sometimes someone overbalances and falls into the shallow water, but no one gets hurt.

At least, not until Takua falls again and something hidden in the sand yanks him into deeper water. Kotu swears, but it's Jaller who plunges under water to grab Takua's leg.

He didn't think to take a breath. He can't swim, he doesn't know what he's doing, but he'll be damned if he lets some Rahi drown his friend. Jaller yanks on Takua, and when that doesn't get the thing to let go he clumsily pulls himself forward and starts yanking at the sand-yellow tentacles wrapped around Takua's chest.

He can't breathe. This thing won't let go. He yanks, and yanks, and finally manages to get a tentacle to release, and there are stars in his vision and he really needs to take a breath but Takua is still being dragged away from him and that just— won't— do.

He slams a hand down on another tentacle and it retracts too, and then something grabs him from behind and he can't kick to get it to let go and no no no no no—

Something blue grabs Takua and very nearly kicks Jaller in the face as it rockets upward, and then he's being dragged up too and air hits him in the face and he takes a deep, shuddering breath and turns to see who or what pulled him to the surface.

It's Hahli, kicking hard to keep them both afloat. Macku's carrying a coughing Takua, and Kotu's in the water too, paddling in place and frowning down at the sand below. "Must have been a Sand Octopus or something," she says. "I don't know why it was so aggressive—"

"Let's get back to shore," Macku interrupts, and she and Hahli get Jaller and Takua back to dry land.

Takua scrambles a good few few away from the water and glares at it. "Nobody told me there would be Rahi trying to drown me at this beach party."

"There shouldn't have been," says Kotu. "Sand Octopuses aren't aggressive, they're usually scared of Matoran—"

Macku puts a hand on her friend's arm. "Kotu. We need to tell someone about this. Rahi attacks are serious."

Kotu sighs. "Yeah, all right."

They head off to intercept the approaching lifeguard. Jaller ignores their conversation to ask Takua, "How are you?"

"I nearly drowned, how do you think?" he snaps, and then he sighs. "Thanks for saving me. That was you jumping in even though you can't swim, right?"

Jaller rubs the back of his head. "I did do that, didn't I."

Takua snickers. "Thank you, oh brave Toa Jaller. And you, Hahli, for saving him."

Hahli smiles shyly and nods at him.

Soon Kotu and Macku come back. "The beach is closing so the lifeguards can do a sweep for more dangerous Rahi," Macku says. "Sorry about your day off, you guys."

"I'll go bother Nixie," Takua says cheerfully. "See if I can sit in on one of her stargazing classes properly this time."

Jaller frowns thoughtfully. "Hahli, what do you want to do?"

Hahli blinks at him, then says, "I haven't had a chance to go on an Archives tour in a while..."

Takua grins. "That's a good idea. You two should do that."

Macku and Kotu gather their things from where they lie slightly scattered on the beach, and then they all head out to the nearest chute station a little ahead of the disgruntled crowd of mostly Ga-Matoran.

Takua, Macku, and Kotu take one chute, and then it's just Jaller and Hahli. "Which way is fastest for the Archives?" he asks her.

"That chute," she says, pointing, and they head off too.

Notes: Morbuzakh next chapter, pinky promise. I just wanted to have another tale in Metru Nui before we get to my favorite island on the Matoran Universe's face.

My fanfic can also be found on the Archive of Our Own, AKA AO3.