A/N: Ok so this chapter preludes a lot of information that may take time to reveal. And I really don't know where most of this came from; the damn plot bunnies won't leave me alone.
Thanks to Shatter Dave for Favoriting/Story Alert-ing (is that even a word) this story. It is gratefully appreciated. Sorry for the spoiler, but I felt you deserved it.
And thanks to Andonexus Knight of the Damned for also reviewing.
It means a lot guys, thanks!
If this chapter confuses you, review or PM me and I will do my best to set thing straight for you. As it stands though… this chapter is longer than the last.
Disclaimer: *sarcastically* Oh hell yeah I own Bionicle… Really people I have to remind you every time that I don't? Oy-vey.
Please review
Katie felt lost, confused and completely forgotten. Her new- found friend seemed to completely forget about her and the two Matoren, as she chatted with the brown clad girl who had saved them from the Ash-Bear. Apparently, Lizzy knew this new girl very well, they had been friends at the orphanage that Lizzy was from. Katie left the two friends by the fire and made her way to the Oasis. She had noticed that the water made her calmer, even during the Ash-Bear fight, and she wanted to test a theory. When she reached the side of the water, she watched the stars reflected in the water, which rippled slightly at the light wind that blew through the night, feeling as if the water was filling her with serenity and, even though she was frustrated with Lizzy for forgetting about her, the young water-powered teen felt as if she understood, to a degree, why. Katie sank to her knees and stripped off her shoes and socks and set them by the side of the water. She then slipped quietly into the water, reveling in the soothing feeling. She gently lifted her arms, the water rising to follow her motions.
Behind her, she heard the slight whirring of gears. She turned, heartlight-necklace glowing with power.
"Whoa, sorry." Yelped the figure. Katie relaxed and dropped her arms, the water sliding back down into the Oasis. It was Solek.
"Sorry." He said. "I just noticed you were gone and I thought you might want some company."
"Yeah… um, no offense, Solek. But I'm still not comfortable with the whole idea of talking to a robot. I'm still not sure I totally believe that this isn't a dream." Katie said, looking at the water at her feet.
"It's ok." Said the easy going Av-Matoran. "I still can believe that I've meet now three pure organics. I mean, I've heard a lot about Turaga Vakama's visions and how they come true, but I never would have guessed that when he said the Destiny Heroes would be from out of this world, He really meant it."
Katie looked at the Matoran curiously. "Who are you talking about?" She asked.
"Oh, you've never heard of the Turaga?" Solek asked. Katie shook her head, climbing out of the water and sitting down next to the Matoran, who sat down himself. "Well now that I think about it, I have heard of one of the Turaga, I think." Katie corrected herself. "I've heard of Turaga Nokama. Is she like Turaga Vakama?"
"Yeah, she's Vakama's sister. You see the Turaga were this city's last Toa, the Toa Metru. They saved the Matoren from Makuta Teridax the first time. They sacrificed their powers to wake up the Matoren who had been put in a Shadow sleep. They are now the elders of the six villages, and teachers and advisers to the Toa Nuva."
"What is a Makuta Teridax?" Katie asked. Around them the wind picked up slightly, a cool edge to it beginning to bite.
"well we try not to talk about him because he's everywhere, right now but…"
"He is the evil of this world, the big baddie, kinda like the opposite of my element. He controls Shadows, and the infected masks and all that kinda stuff. He is the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, or at least he was. But most of the Brotherhood died in Karda Nui, and I think the rest hate Teridax because of that, if there are any left. The Makuta have something to do with why we are here but I do know that it is not our part to defeat Teridax. I'm pretty sure that we are not even going to deal with Teridax." Said Lizzy, walking up behind the two, Brianne right behind her. Brianne smiled friendly-like at Katie, who returned the grin. Solek froze, hearing Lizzy's explanation.
"We are so dead." Solek muttered, eyes flashing all around, watching the shadows around him.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Tanma yelled at Lizzy, walking up to the group. "Saying his name that often? He's going to come now! He's everywhere and he hears everything. Why do you think that the Av-Matoren are the only ones left here?"
"So it's like saying Voldemort?" Katie asked. Lizzy shrugged.
"Let's get back to the fire then, alright? The light will help to keep him back." She said, turning and walking to the fire. The others followed, Tanma still freaking out and Solek plainly worried. Lizzy seemed only slightly worried, but mostly confident, Katie was seriously confused, and Brianne, who had stood silently by, was calm and smiling serenely, unfazed by Tanma's outburst. Lizzy sat down on her backpack, and took out her survival knife and started whittling a stick. Katie sat to her left, staring at the fire, completely zoned out. Brianne sat to Lizzy's right, stretched out on a blanket, eyes closed, seemingly asleep. Tanma was still muttering under his breath, while Solek was still glancing around, waiting for a shadowy hand to reach out and grab him.
"Hey ya'll get some sleep, alright? I'll keep watch for a bit, and then wake one of you up." Lizzy said, after the silence became uncomfortable. Katie nodded and pulled out her own blanket, spread it out and lay down. Ami merely mumbled a sleepy, cheery "Good Night" and rolled over. Tanma and Solek just lay down and 'closed' their eyes.
Good thing that it's still pretty warm out here. Katie thought, as she curled up. Though the wind might get worse and then we would be miserable.
Katie felt herself fall to the edge of sleep. She dozed, the sound of the fire and Lizzy's soft singing lulling her. When she finally fell asleep, her dreams were dark. Nightmarish shapes flitted around the edges and a voice echoed in another language. Shivering slightly, Katie recognized the voice as one of fear from her childhood. Darkness crowded the edges of her vision, as she saw then another voice broke through the dream.
Power of water flows through your veins; forget not you duty, else all is in vain,
You bring the calmness of the lake and the river; but forget not the strength the ocean can deliver
"Katie? Katie! Wake up!"
Katie jolted back to awareness at the voice. Brianne crouched next to her gently shaking Katie's shoulder, concern written across her face. Katie looked up at the brown haired girl, trying to blink the sleep from her eyes. Randomly she noticed that Brianne's bangs were caught up in multiple stone beads that clicked together every time she moved her head.
"You looked like you were having a bad dream. I'm sorry. I wanted to help."
"It's okay. I wasn't too thrilled with the dream either. What's going on? Where's Lizzy?" Katie said, yawning.
"Lizzy went to sleep about two hours ago. Do you mind keeping an eye out so I can get some sleep? Just wake me up when you can't stay awake any longer." Said Brianne, smiling once again.
Katie nodded and sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking at the fire, still crackling merrily. Brianne crawled over to her blanket and soon fell asleep, snoring softly. Behind her, Lizzy was stretched out on the soft sand, away from the fire, one hand resting on her heart-light-necklace, her eyes flickering behind her eyelids as she lay dreaming, muttering in her sleep. Katie looked over at the two Matoren, who were seemingly asleep, their eyes thin lines, behind their masks; Solek curled up on his side and Tanma sitting up, arms crossed, head bowed. That can't be comfortable, she thought, giggling slightly. Looking away from her companions, Katie stared off into the distance, listening to the sounds of the Metru Nui night, hearing the nocturnal Rahi calling to each other. One cry sounded close by, causing Katie to jump a foot in the air, surprised by the sound. A moment later, the slinking form of a Muaka Cat became visible around the edges of the light of the fire. Katie noticed that the Rahi had a dark color to its mechanical parts but along its face plate and on its sides were what looked like streaks of brighter color. The Muaka came closer, slowly. Katie watched it warily, unsure what to do. The Muaka stopped near Lizzy and sniffed gently. The big cat Rahi began to purr gently and the gleam in its eyes was more kind and thankful then wild and untamed. The Muaka looked at Katie, who sat frozen, watching it; the Rahi snorted softly at the teen, turned away and padded into the night. Katie watched it disappear into the night.
An hour later, Katie startled herself back to watchfulness. She had unintentionally dozed off, waking only when she had started to fall over. Around her, the breeze picked up, the temperature dropping rapidly. A voice was heard on the wind, dark and dreadful. The voice was soon loud enough to be understood plainly; a hoarse, dark voice that seemed to drip with evil and venom. Katie shivered, not from the chill wind, but from the voice, a voice that still haunted her dreams, a voice she had hoped to forget. The voice ignited her worst fears and brought to mind a horrid memory. The young teen cried out in fear.
At the sound of her teammate's cry, Lizzy's eyes flashed open, and she leapt to her feet. Brianne woke and sat up, inching closer to Katie, trying to comfort her. On the other side of the fire, Tanma and Solek woke with a start as the wind whipped into a frenzy, cold and biting.
"It's him!" Tanma cried. Solek merely whimpered and inched closer to the green Av-Matoran. Katie sobbed in fear, trapped in her memory. Brianne hugged the girl, and looked at Lizzy's silhouetted form.
"Can you do something about this wind?" She called. Lizzy shook her head.
"Light isn't much of a shield against a physical element!" She called back, "If the wind was caused by shadow, probably and if I had a better understanding of my powers. I've just been going off of instinct so far." Lizzy staggered as a gust of wind ripped through the camp, extinguishing the fire.
"Let me see what I can do, then." Brianne shouted, closing her eyes and concentrating on the mental image of a stone bubble around her and her friends. The ground around the group rumbled and, erupting around them, rose stone walls that shielded them from the worst of the wind. Lizzy and the two Matoren sighed in relief; Brianne was grinning smugly, proud of herself. Lizzy clapped her on the shoulder with a "Great Job, Bri". Tanma dragged Solek over, scowling at Lizzy.
"Now you see why we don't say that name. And we haven't even seen the worst of it. Just wait. He might decide to show up himself."
I have decided to come, little light bug. Came the voice on the wind, shrieking over top of the stone walls. Solek screamed in fear, in unison with Katie, who was shaking. Brianne adjusted her grip around the girl's shoulders, and looked up at Lizzy, for once not smiling, her face blank. Lizzy knew it was Brianne's way of showing fear. Lizzy herself was struggling to choke down on her own fear, sparked by the memory from her childhood (A/N: see chapter two).
I thought I sensed Toa in Metru Nui again, but I must say, the Great Spirit must have run out of options when he chose you…. Full organics? Brother, you must be joking. The voice laughed sinisterly. Lizzy shuddered at the voice. Below her, Katie sobbed, terrified. Lizzy looked at the young girl, and then looked up, her expression one of determination.
Outside the wall, footsteps thundered, as if some huge being was making its way closer. Tanma and Solek crowded around Brianne and Katie, peeking out from behind Lizzy in the direction of the sounds.
They waited.
The wind died down and all was silent
…
…
…
…
*Fa-BOOOOOM* the stone walls protecting them shuddered under a heavy blow. Brianne grimaced, trying to keep the walls up. Outside the wall, the girls and the Matoren heard a sinister chuckle.
Your fear is most appetizing…the voice said. It makes the shadows all the darker.
There was another blow to the walls. Cracks formed, spider-webbing their way across the surface.
"Liz… I can't… keep it up… much longer." Brianne panted, hands resting flat on the ground. Lizzy looked at her, then back at the wall.
"Just try to keep the debris from hitting us." She whispered. Brianne nodded, her brown eyes flashing orange as she focused her power again.
Lizzy stepped forward, distancing herself from the others, but still between them and whatever was on the other side of the wall. She reached her right hand over her shoulder. A handle materialized out of nowhere floating just to the left of her right shoulder-blade. She gripped the handle and pulled up and out, revealing a sword: Her energy sword. Lizzy swung it around, assuring herself that she had enough room, then placing her left hand below her right on the grip, put her left foot back, taking a stance and waited.
*Fa-BOOOOM*
*CRAAAACK*
*CRAAAAAAAAAASH*
"!"
Under the next blow, the wall shuddered, crack then fell. Lizzy braced herself, expecting the debris to hit her, but all the falling stones swerved away from her and fell to the ground. When the dust settled, the group was in a half fallen semi-circle of a wall, while at the entrance stood a nightmare figure. Lizzy stiffened, recognizing the form. It was Teridax's form from the end of the second Bionicle movie: Legends of Metru Nui. Nurrahk's wings spread from his back, while components of Niddiki and Krehka were mixed together with Makuta's original parts. Only this time around, Makuta had increased his size at least three-fold. Wisps of smoke curled from the figure, while pure fear emanated from him in sickening waves. He towered over them, blocking out the stars in the sky.
Katie whimpered again. Brianne put her arms back around the younger girl's shoulder, glaring at Makuta, like she wanted to castrate him with a dull knife, film it and then show it to him over and over and over again. Tamna and Solek crouched behind her, trying to stay out of sight, but still see Lizzy. Lizzy stood in front of them, still wielding her sword, still waiting for the first move to be made.
The ground around them rumbled as stone the size of a small car flew into the air. Solek gasped at the sight, causing Brianne to look at him. The white Av-Matoren gasped in shock again, this time at Brianne, whose eyes were glowing a bright orange, along with the stone charm that made up her heartlight-necklace, which glowed from under the jacket she wore. Assured that Solek was unharmed, Brianne turned her attention back to the scene in front of her. The rocks, floating in the air, wavered a moment, then shot themselves at Makuta. The Master of Shadows batted each stone away, a Staff appearing in his hands. Brianne eventually ran out of rocks and ceased her barrage. Lizzy looked at Makuta hoping that the attack had done any sort of damage, but her enemy was not affected.
Makuta laughed again, his voice tearing through their heads. Katie cried out again, as Shadows swirled around them and obscured their vision. The only things still visible were Makuta's blood red eyes. Your attacks are worthless. Do you really think that mere stones can injure one such as me? It was mere chance that allowed you to defeat the Ash-Bear and the Nui-Jaga that you faced. There is nothing you can do to harm me. You are weak. Noting you do helps. No one believes you or trusts you, and why should they? You are just a girl who lost her parents. Do you think it matters? Does anything you think matter? Brianne looked troubled, beyond troubled. Lizzy growled. There was very little that would unsettle Brianne, but this guy was hitting a lot of the right marks. Brianne would crack soon and Lizzy knew what would happen then. Brianne's eyes and heartlight-necklace began to dim and filled with a manic depression.
"ENOUGH!" She bellowed. Around her, the air began to hum with power. Her own eyes and heartlight began to glow. "Bri, don't listen to him. Remember what I used to tell the kids: Makuta relies of fear and darkness to control and weaken people. That's what he does. But if you refuse to listen to him, if you prove him wrong he has no power over you." The red eyes seemed to regard the young girl in front of them.
And you, Elizabeth, what of you? You know everything don't you? Are you sure? You know nothing. You are no Toa. You don't belong here. You're just an orphan who cannot even find her sister, let alone save people. Oh you did not know? Lizzy looked stricken. Yes your sister, the younger one. Makuta snickered. How can you hope to do anything useful if you cannot even remember your own sister? Your parents would be most disappointed. And to think, I might gain an ally from that girl. Why she is even more traumatized that Brianne, over there, was when you first met her. You do remember her, don't you? You used to rock her to sleep at night, in the first few months when she arrived at the orphanage. Shall I show you her today? Lizzy felt her power slipping as Shadows coalesced and glowed darkly. An image appeared. A young girl, surrounded by Shadows, struggling to fight off a Rakkshi. Lizzy choked a cry.
"Eva..?"
Makuta chuckled darkly once more. She will make a fine puppet. Lizzy glared at him, livid. The air around her began to crackle as power built up again.
"You keep your filthy claws off my little sister." She snarled. There was a burst of light, pure golden light that exploded outwards, clearing any remnant of Shadow. Makuta staggered, hiding his eyes from the light. When he could see again, Lizzy had leaped into the air with Toa speed and strength and was bearing down on him. The Master of Shadows had no time to react. Lizzy struck him head on with her sword, which pulsed with light energy. The blade sliced through him as Lizzy's forward momentum carried her forward. She landed behind Makuta, stood and turned back around toward her foe.. Teridax shrieked once in agony, and exploded into slivers of shadow that quickly dissipated in the light of Lizzy. Behind her, the Twin Suns of the Bionicle World rose in a glorious sunrise. Her companions gasped. Over Lizzy's face, glowing in its own light was the Mask of Light.
Well that happened… let me know what you guys think.
Sorry about the spelling on some of the Bionicle stuff but it's late, I'm tired and I have a ton and a half of math to do. Oh and I realized that I have not really described my characters that well so keep an eye on my profile for complete descriptions.
Review…. Please?