A/N: Ok… Finally got this chapter finished. Thought I never would. I'm going to try and keep this short.
Thanks to Shatter Dave for reviewing. Yeah, you would think Makuta would now the standard rules to threatening people. Here's the new chapter. Hope you like it.
And to LokaCola. Thank you so much for the review. I hope this chapter holds to your expectations!
And to Andonexus Knight of the Damned for the review and the advice. The chapter is twice as long as the last one, like you asked… and I am going to take your advice. See the end A/N (not now, though. Read the chapter first)
And thanks to pencils are nice for reviewing… I think. Seriously, go read his/her review… I don't know whether to be insulted or not.
You should see the Reply I sent him/her via PM… I was not really happy. If you want to see what I said, let me know and I will show you.
Ok, so if this chapter confuses you, please let me know and I will do my best to explain. The ending pretty much just wrote itself so it might be a little weird.
Oh yeah, and this is the chapter that the 'T' rating comes to play…the Toa like to swear… me too so… yeah… sorry for any typos.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shit… well I own a lot of shit but not this… just the disaster that is my room.
Dawn in Metru Nui is a fascinating thing. The twin suns rose at the same time, casting dual shadows behind everything their light touched, the brilliance of the light is clear and unadulterated. And the light is not harsh, but crisp and clear. And even though there is twice the sunlight than there is on Earth, the temperature is barely different. The Matoren, Toa and Turaga enjoy very much the same temperatures as Humans do, albeit their seasons are not as drastic as ours. The light from the twin suns, especially in the morning and in the evening, gives a slight orange coloring to everything. It is rare for the light of the twin suns to be over powered. In the past there has been only one exception: Takanuva, the Toa of Light. Now there are two exceptions; the second being Lizzy Toren, who is about to realize that there is more to her abilities than just being able to control light and chase away the Shadows.
Lizzy stepped down off the rock she had landed on, and carefully made her way back to her friends. The battle field was strewn with rocks and rubble, a scorch mark emanating from where Lizzy had blasted Makuta, the sand fused into glass from the heat of the concentrated light. Lizzy looked around. After the darkness of the night and the utter blackness and despair that Makuta Teridax had brought with him, the light of dawn was bright to her and the light of the suns and Lizzy's own light were nearly blinding to Brianne, Tanma and Solek, who squinted and shielded their eyes, trying to see Lizzy who stood in front of them, curious as to why they looked like they were being blinded.
"Are you all ok?" Lizzy asked. She saw them nod, but continue to shield their eyes.
"Why are you all acting like you're caught in a search light?"
"Because your face is glowing like one!" Brianne said, awe apparent in her voice.
"What?"
"We can't see, Lizzy. I'm an Av-Matoren, and even I'm having a hard time seeing. Can you try and bring the light intensity down a bit?" Solek said. Lizzy nodded, noticing the drain on her energy that the output of power and concentrated. Slowly the light began to fade and diminish. After a matter of minutes, the light had dimmed down to a low glow. Lizzy looked at the others and they nodded, finally able to see without being blinded. Tanma and Solek were shocked by the mask on Lizzy's face; Brianne also. Lizzy ignored them, having not noticed the mask, and she went to Katie, who was still crying softly, curled into a terrified ball.
"Katie… It's okay… He's gone… It's alright, you can trust me." Lizzy whispered softly, rubbing the young girl's back, trying to coax her out of her ball like position. Katie whimpered, shaking her head, lost in her own world. Lizzy reached over to gently pet the girl's head, in hopes of calming her down, but as soon as she touched her head, her mask flared with light. Brianne, darted forward, sensing that something was about to happen, and grabbed Lizzy's arm. As she did so, a bubble of light expanded outwards, encasing the three girls, leaving Tanma and Solek on the outside. Solek cried out, trying to force his way into the bubble. Tanma merely rolled his eyes and sat down again.
With all the seriously strange things that have happened, why am I not surprised that this is happening…? He thought then said to Solek, "Might as well relax for a bit there, Solek. This might take a while, knowing Lizzy."
"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Solek said, still trying to fight his way through the shield.
"No" Tanma said, "And I really don't care… though they will probably tell us when it's over." Solek calmed down enough to see the sense in Tanma's words, and then sat down, staring at the shield, which started to glow blue in addition to the gold color it started with.
"Is this going to happen a lot?" The Matoren asked in unison, of each other.
*******Inside the Shield/Bubble thing*******
Lizzy looked around. Her surroundings were dark, bleak, a barren landscape dotted with, what appeared to be ruined buildings. The sky overhead was grey and cloudless; whatever was in the distance, fuzzy and indistinct. The whole picture was lifeless.
"Well this is depressing." Lizzy said.
"You can say that again." A voice came from behind. Lizzy turned to see Brianne behind her, hands shoved into the pockets of her brown cargo pants. Making simultaneous movements, the two girls each raised their right hand and gave each other a high five which flowed into the practiced, yet complicated movements of their "secret handshake" that they had come up with as children. When they finished, Brianne grinned lazily and stood still, slouched to the side, completely relaxed and looking around. Lizzy, a bit more on edge, also looked around, though her whole bearing showed that she was on alert. She turned around, staring off into the distance, trying to figure out an odd tingly feeling she had.
"Glad to see you haven't changed a bit, Bri." She said, not turning to look at the other girl behind her, still staring into the distance. "You've still got your hair caught up in those beads… though I don't think there were that many last time I saw you. Are you still living with your aunt? Or did the courts finally convince her to actually read your parents' will?"
"Ah, yeah… Aunt finally caved once the CPA showed up." Brianne laughed, "I've been happily living on my own, in an apartment complex. CPA checks on me every other week now, but they don't do much except send me the monthly check and pay my utilities, which aren't that much anyways."
"That's good"
"Yeah… bit of a shock at first. But hey, you taught me to keep myself grounded, to keep on truckin' and not let anything bother me too much and let stuff roll off my back, so that's what I do. As for my hair, there definitely are more beads than last time we saw each other. I've been adding them more and more in recent months; each bead represents someone special to me. " Brianne grinned.
"Ok, first off, I never taught you anything… It's not my fault you interpreted my stories in a weird way. I just told 'em, you took something away from them. You truly are a weird person in that respect. And second, I know the story behind the beads. I was the one who gave you the idea, remember? Sheesh, you are weird and forgetful… though I am glad you have more people in your life now. You used to be so closed off and suspicious of everything and everyone." Lizzy retorted, laughing. She saw Brianne as a sister, and they treated each other as such; good natured teasing and ribbing included. Brianne shoved Lizzy slightly, causing the other girl to stumble backward. Recovering her balance, Lizzy pushed back, making Brianne step back. The two girls laughed a moment, and then fell silent as a faint voice stuttered.
"L-Lizzy? Brianne?"
Around them, their surroundings swirled with color and fuzzy images before resolving back to the way they had been before. Lizzy and Brianne spun around; eyes flashing gold and orange respectively, as they unconsciously accessed their power, looking for the source of the voice. Behind them, in the doorway of one of the ruined buildings, stood a figure, shrouded in shadow, the pale face bright against the darkness.
"Katie!" Lizzy cried, running for the figure.
"N-no, no, no! Stay back!" The figure shrieked, stumbling backwards into the ruin.
"Wait, Lizzy… no Wait!"Brianne yelled. Ignoring her, Lizzy charged forward, and felt as if she passed through a draft of air. Around her the scene changed, as if she had stepped into a different room. Inside she saw Katie staring at the scene before her, tears running down her face.
A child sat on the floor of her playroom, slowly stacking the colorful wooden blocks, one on top of another, and then slowly she knocked them down, again and again. Usually, the girl would read books and stare out the window, ignoring all the toys that lay in pristine rows on the shelves, save one. Clutched to the four-year-Old's side was a large stuffed animal, a dolphin, colored with blues, silvers and greens. The toy was worn from use and the child never let it go even when it got her in trouble. Her nanny, watching from the corner of the rom, was worried; the only time the girl would play with a toy was when she knew her parents were coming. In fact, the girl's parents were due for a visit that day, requiring that the toddler had to be dressed as well as possible, meaning the frilly pink and mauve dress that she hated. Her nanny felt sorry for the girl, but there was nothing she could do to help her. The nanny finally gave up, unnerved by the silence and left the nursery, walking down the hall to chat with the other servants, knowing the child would stay in the room until it was time to see her parents. Gently she shut the door and walked away. Inside, the young girl looked up from her tower of blocks at the door and then looked out the big bay window at the lake behind the house. Sighing softly, she knocked down the tower once more, and then gently stacked the blocks back in the box that she had gotten them from. She set down the stuffed dolphin and got to her feet, picking up the box of blocks. As she walked over to the shelves to put the box away, the sky outside the windows darkened suddenly. The young child turned from the shelves, confused as to why the light had gone from the room. She walked over to the window as quickly as the hated dress would allow her, pressing her face against the panes of glass, trying to see out. The darkness was absolute; she could not see anything, not the lake, or the back yard, not even her swing set by the deck.
Suddenly there was movement outside the window. The girl jumped back, surprised. The darkness swirled outside, and then seeped through the glass. Shocked the child skittered backwards. When she reached her dolphin toy, she grabbed it, holding it tightly and protectively. The darkness swirled inside, coalescing into a hazy form, spirals of darkness branching off and reaching, grasping, much taller than the girl. She whimpered, frightened, backing away slowly. A voice whispered throughout the room, chilling and evil.
"There you are… come child… let me see your fear…"
The child cried out, still backing away. Suddenly she backed into something hard. She turned, terrified, to find another figure, this one solid, colored blue and silver, still taller than her, though not as tall as the shadowy figure in front of her; the blue being seemed to be made of metal, wearing silver armor, yellowish eyes flashing from behind a blue mask.
"Stand behind me, little one," said a soft voice from the blue being. The child stared at the blue one, and then glanced back at the shadow, which took a step forward, an evil chuckle hissing from it. The girl squeaked in fear and jumped behind the blue being, clinging to its legs and staring at the other figure. The blue being smiled maternally down at the girl, but when it looked at the shadowy figure, the expression on its mask could only be described as livid.
"How fucking dare you come here and frighten her, you bastard!" The blue being hissed at the shadow, in another language. The young girl looked up at her, uncomprehendingly, not understanding what the blue being was saying. The shadow being hissed a laugh.
"Wouldn't your brothers be shocked to hear you using such language, O Toa of Water?" It said using the same language as the blue being, "It surprises me that so gentle seeming an element can also be quite vicious." The shadow being laughed again, causing the Toa to shiver slightly, and the child to shudder and hug her legs harder.
"Come child… I only want to keep you from her power… nothing bad will happen…"
The voice called to the young girl. The Toa shifted her stance slightly, hiding the girl behind her even more protectively. Unnoticed behind her, a tendril of shadow inched closer and closer to the child. It snared her around her middle and dragged her away from the Toa's legs. She screamed once, loud, shattering the silence and dropped her stuffed animal. The Toa leaped to grab her, missing by a fraction of an inch, and coming up swearing.
Locked in the grip of the shadows, the child cried in terror, the touch of the shadow causing her to see nightmare images and hear the evil voice calling to her, saying frightening things to her. She thrashed, trying to free herself, but the shadows merely constricted around her.
Suddenly, there was a shockwave of blue light, cutting through the darkness and a silver bladed ax broke through the shadow's grip on the girl, glowing faintly with blue light. The Toa caught her and rolled away to relative safety, the shadow being thrashing in pain, a second silver ax stuck in its shoulder.
"I will return!" the voice snarled, attempting to grab the child again. The Toa lifted a hand and from it emanated a powerful jet of glowing water, which tore through the shadow being, causing it to vanish. An unearthly shriek sounded, causing the child to cry out in alarm again then hid her face against the Toa's chest. Then there was silence and all was still.
The Toa knelt, cradling the child close.
"Are you alright, little one?" she asked, worry creasing her mask. The child, sniffling, nodded and hugged herself closer to the Toa's warm heart-light. The Toa smiled gently, allowing the child to calm herself down, holding her gently so as not to hurt her with the metal claws that made up her armored hands. When the child pulled away and tried to sit up, the Toa shifted her careful grip and set her on her feet.
"W-what is you n-name?" The child asked timidly.
"Gali" the Toa responded in a soft comforting voice, "I am a Toa. What is your name, little one?
"I'm K-Katie… n-nice to m-meet you, Miss Gali." The child said shyly. Gali smiled reassuringly.
"Will you do me a favor, Katie?" The Toa of Water asked, handing the girl her dolphin back. When the girl nodded, hugging the dolphin as hard as she could, Gali continued. "I want you to have something… It will help keep that scary thing from coming back and hurting you."
Gali reached into her subspace pocket and pulled out a necklace with a charm shaped like a drop of water, clear and hollow; holding blue colored water that softly glowed. Gali held it out to the young girl, who reached a timid hand out and touched it. When nothing happened, Katie gently took the charm and held it, studying it closely.
"Don't lose this. It will help you someday." Katie nodded, smiling slightly, hugging the necklace close with her stuffed dolphin. Behind them, the door burst open, revealing Katie's nanny, and one of the butlers breathing heavily, a heavy bar stool in his hands. The nanny had heard the child's screams but had been unable to get the doors open. She and the butler had been using the bar stool as battering ram. The girl ran to the nanny, holding out the necklace to show her. The nanny picked the child up, thinking that she was frightened; but aside from a tear-stained face, the child was fine.
"Dahlia! Dahlia! Look at what I have!" Katie said, showing the glowing necklace hanging from her hand.
"It's beautiful… where did you get it, Miss?" Dahlia asked, shocked. Katie turned to point at Gali. But when she turned, the Toa of Water was gone. Katie wiggled down from Dahlia's arms and ran back to where the Toa had stood, looking for some evidence that the Toa had been there. All that was left was a damp impression on the floor.
As the scene in front of her faded and the scenery faded to grey, Lizzy walked over to where Katie knelt on the floor and crouched down next to her. She hugged Katie, who leaned her head on Lizzy's shoulder, her tears dry.
"That was… well that was something else…" Lizzy said hoarsely, trying to chuckle and lighten the mood, but only succeeding in a weak cough. Katie sniffled. Lizzy squeezed her hug tighter for a moment and then let go, rubbing her eyes and standing up. Around the two girls, the shadows swirled; other fractured images and darkened colors floating by. Lizzy suddenly understood where she was.
"These are your thoughts, aren't they, Katie?"
"I-I think so… I only get this way when I am reminded of that day. I still have nightmares from when that shadow grabbed me…"
"Dream-sharing… ok, not your typical Light Toa power but I can deal with it… or would you call this though sharing? … Oh well, whatever it is… we can fix this… we can figure this out." Lizzy mumbled to herself, watching other memories drift past. She looked down at Katie who was sitting hugging her knees, while the darkness of her own mind pressed around her.
"Katie…" Lizzy said. Katie looked up and saw Lizzy crouching down next to her. "You don't have to be afraid any more… Yeah, Makuta is here, but now you have the ability to fight him yourself now. Sure there is still fear to deal with. Hell, I was terrified last night when he showed up, but I knew I could beat him. You just have to find your own way to fight him." Lizzy rose to her feet and stretched a hand down for Katie to take. "I'll teach you what I can but the rest is up to you. You are a lot stronger and braver than you think; you just have to realize it." Katie just continued to look at her. Lizzy beckoned her fingers encouragingly. Katie hesitated, then reached her own hand out, grasping the other girl's. Lizzy stepped back and pulled Katie to her feet, then hugged her. "Don't worry, alright? We are here for you… Brianne and I… oh crap…Where's Brianne?" Lizzy turned around searching for her best friend. Katie looked around.
"I don't see her. Hey Lizzy? Why is your face glowing?"
"What?"
"Your face… it's glowing."
"Can we worry about my glowing face later? My best friend is missing. I was talking to her right before we found you… where'd she go?" Lizzy was getting frantic. If Brianne was lost inside Katie's mind, something bad could happen, (She wasn't sure what but something bad would most likely happen).
"Katie… can you feel Brianne anywhere in your head?" Lizzy asked, but Katie shook her head negative. Suddenly from somewhere else, they heard Brianne calling for help. Lizzy and Katie glanced at each other, and then sprinted forward, not sure where the sound was coming from, but instinct taking over.
As they ran forward, Lizzy felt something change, like they had crossed some sort of invisible boundary
***Outside the light shield***
Tanma was dozing, while Solek stared at the shield, bored out of his mind. Suddenly, the shield flared with light, brighter and brighter, the blue tint changing and shifting to more of a brown and an orange, and then the light dimmed down to its original intensity.
***Inside the light shield***
Katie stopped running a couple of steps ahead of Lizzy, who stood frozen. When the two girls had crossed the invisible boundary that she had felt, their surroundings had gone from grey to brown and resolved into a modest house. It was two stories high, brick façade with siding on the back and sides. The front garden was well tended and full of pale flowers. The attached garage was closed, the door painted brown. On the second story, one of the windows had orange curtains hanging, blowing in the non-existent wind. Katie looked at Lizzy, who was staring at the house like she was seeing a ghost.
"Lizzy? Are you alright?" Lizzy only shook her head then ran forward toward the house, beckoning for Katie to follow her. At the second story window was a familiar shadowy figure.
No no no no no! Lizzy thought, she's remembering too. This is not good. She thundered through the door, up the stairs and burst into one of the smaller bedrooms.
Brianne stood next to her younger self, plastered against the wall, staring wide-eyed at the figure in her window, her mouth open in a silent scream, wind whipping her hair into a frenzy, belongings thrown against the walls as the Shadow grew larger. Lizzy ran forward, glowing like a light bulb, and grabbed Brianne by the shoulders.
"Bri! BRI! Snap out of it! It's just a memory! It's not real!" Lizzy yelled, shaking her best friend by the shoulders, ignoring the sobs of Brianne's younger self. Brianne (the teenage version) gasped, eyes going from glazed over with fear and remembrance to alert. Around them, everything froze. Papers, clothing, knick-knacks and other personal items hung in the air; time seemed to be frozen. Lizzy let go of Brianne's shoulders and taking a step back, as the orange-clad girl shook her head to clear it, the beads in her hair clattering together. Brianne looked at Lizzy, eyes wary and still afraid.
"Bri? Are you alright?" Lizzy asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Katie stood in the doorway poking a scarf that hung in front of her face, caught, suspended in the air by the time-stoppage.
Brianne sighed. "I guessed what was happening to Katie, and I thought that if she could face her past I should too, so it doesn't bother me anymore." She explained, "I don't want to freeze up or over react like I did last night again. And I thought I could handle the memory by myself." Brianne refused to make eye contact; instead she glared at the shadow in the window. Katie ducked under the scarf and slowly made her way into the room, carefully dodging objects, until she was standing beside Lizzy and across from Brianne.
"I've been struggling with that memory for years. It took another person's pain and willingness to help me before I could understand that I can get through it and change how Makuta affects me." Katie said softly. Lizzy looked at her, an incredulous look on her face.
"Another person's pain? Whaddya mean by… eh, never mind. I'll ask you about that later."
"Well, while you were in my head and seeing my memory…"
"I SAID I would ask later… now is not exactly the best time. We need to focus on Brianne right now." Lizzy said gesturing to her best friend.
"There's really not much to tell. I was about two and a half years old at the time, so this was just before my parents died." Brianne said, preparing herself to relive her past. "I was just playing quietly with the rock collection my dad had gotten for me, you know, the polished quartz you can get from museums? Yeah I had some of those. Then all of a sudden this happened." She gestured to the disaster that had been her childhood room. "You might want to step back. If I remember correctly, it gets pretty crowded in here." As Lizzy and Katie stepped back, Brianne took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Around her, the memory began again.
Brianne tried to back farther from the dark thing that was trying to get through her window. She was scared, though she didn't know why; she also didn't know why this was happening. Around her, on the floor, the polished stones that her daddy had gotten for her rattled and rolled around, knocking against her feet. The Shadow in the window cried out in a different language, the words grating against her ears, as the wind shrieked around the room. The shrieks of the wind sounded like people screaming, causing the little girl to cringe and cover her ears.
""Top it!" She cried, thinking that the screams were from really people. Her mom had always taught her to help others, even if she was scared. ""Top Hurting Dem! Weave Dem Awone!" (Translation: Stop it, Stop hurting them. Leave them alone)
The Shadow laughed at her, the wind scrabbling at her clothes, tugging at her, trying to bring her closer to the shadows.
"Now why would I do that? I like hearing people scream… Fear is a wonderful delicious thing."
Brianne didn't understand what the voice meant, but she did recognize that it wouldn't stop hurting whoever it was that it was hurting. She grabbed the polished rocks at her feet and threw them, one by one at the shadow. The first couple missed, rebounding off the wall, then a few flew through the Shadow. She realized that she could do nothing to stop the Shadow. It laughed at her. A thick stream of Shadow shot out to grab the girl. There was a blur of brown and silver and Brianne found herself flying through the Shadow and out the window. She laugh, despite her fear, at the sheer recklessness of it all, as she flipped and twisted, losing all sense of up or down. Above her, she heard a deep voice laughing with her.
"That was mighty brave of you, little warrior. Why don't you let me take care of this?" The deep voice chuckled, sounding like the ground rumbling, and making little Brianne think of the clattering noise that rocks made when they are dumped out. She nodded, and found herself sitting on the ground, right side up, watching as the big brown something stood in front of her.
"Why do you protect her, Toa? When she is useless to you? Such a small weak child is hardly worth your time. She can offer you nothing, and no one listens to her anyways… it is pointless to protect someone so worthless to you… give her to me…"
Brianne growled adorably when she heard the voice, but at the same time, she was scared that the big brown something would believe the 'scary mean' voice and leave her alone, by herself.
Sensing her distress, the brown and silver Toa looked over his shoulder and smiled at her.
"Don't you worry, little warrior. I've heard it before and I didn't believe it then and I certainly don't believe it now!" Brianne smiled at the Toa, as his warm voice reassured her. The Toa reminded her of her daddy, always happy no matter what was going on.
"Now as for you, you big stinking dust cloud." The Toa growled in his native tongue, holding his Climbing Claws at the ready. "I suggest you clear up and clear out. I have half a mind to turn you into a tornado and send you shooting into the sky. She doesn't deserve to hear your voice in her head anymore that she deserves to be frightened or upset."
The Shadow chuckled, the sound hissing through the air. It paused, as if to respond, then, in a blur of movement, swooped down, heading for the child. The Toa moved with unnatural speed and grace for someone of his stature, faster than the shadow, and placing himself in front of the girl, spun around like a ballerina, causing the Shadow to be caught up in a cyclone, the girl laughing at the Toa. The Toa stepped out of the tornado grinning and watched as it traveled away, carrying the cursing Shadow being away. The Toa turned to the girl. She struggled to her feet and looked up at the Toa.
"Dat bad pwerson is a big Meany to make awll dose people cwy wike dat." She pouted an adorable scowl on her face. (Translation: That bad person is a big Meany to make all those people cry like that).
"Well little warrior, perhaps someday you will make sure that he doesn't hurt them anymore, ok? Until then you have to keep yourself safe until then." Said the brown Toa, gently ruffling her hair. Brianne, peeking out from under his hand [which was almost bigger than her entire head], grinned up at him.
"Oh Wight! Momma says it's powite to tewl people my name when dey hewp me. I'm Bwianne! What's your name?" The toddler asked, studying the Claws hanging loosely from the Toa's hands. (Translation: Oh right! Momma says it's polite to tell people my name when they help me. I'm Brianne! What's your name?)
"I'm called Pohatu." Laughed the Toa, after a moment of deciphering what Brianne had said. He stowed his Claws in his subspace pocket. He noticed something on the ground near his foot and bent down to pick it up.
"Ah, perfect. Brianne?"
"Yes Poo-Hatoo?" the girl giggled in reply.
"Um… it's PO-Hatu, silly girl. Anyways, I have something for you, to help keep you safe." The big brown teddy bear of a Toa said, kneeling down to the girl's level. He held out his hand, one of Brianne's stones resting on the palm of his hand.
"Oooh pwetty… Hey dat's mine innit?" Brianne asked, holding onto the side of his hand. (Translation: Oh pretty… hey that's mine isn't it?)
"Yes it is; I just changed it a bit for you. Now you can wear it around your neck." Pohatu explained.
"It's awll gwowy now. Tanks Po-Hatoo. I wike it." (Translation: It's all glowey now. Thanks Pohatu. I like it.)
The scene faded, leaving Brianne standing where the 2-year-old memory version of her had stood looking at the stone the Toa had placed in her hand. Katie and Lizzy looked at each other, trying to suppress their laughter. When Brianne turned, the two girls burst into peals of laughter, Katie holding her stomach while Lizzy was on her hands and knees, banging on the floor. Brianne looked at them, smiling but confused.
"Why are you two laughing?" She asked in a calm voice, much different than her younger self. Hearing her voice the other two laughed all the harder. After about 5 minutes, Katie finally calmed downed enough to explain.
"You were just so cute and your lisp was so adorable, but Lizzy said something about possibly needing subtitles to understand, and then it looked like Pohatu was having a hard time understanding too… and now that I think about it, it's not really that funny, but in the moment… Man…" Katie panted, still giggling now and then. On the ground, Lizzy rolled onto her back, choking slightly, still giggling.
"Sorry Bri… It's just that, I remembered when you came to St. Dom's and you spoke with perfect elocution. It just made me laugh."
Brianne rolled her eyes. Around them, the brown and orange swirls faded until the three girls were standing, surrounded by nothing but whiteness. Lizzy scrambled to her feet, remembering this was where she met the Atriz. Before the three appeared three other figures; one gold, one blue and one brown. The three human girls shared a look and stood, Lizzy moving forward, almost protectively, with Brianne on her right, a step behind, and Katie on Lizzy's left, two steps behind. The three figures were soon close enough to be recognized; it was three of the Toa Atriz, the ones who had given the girls their power. The three Toa neared the three girls and stopped about six paces away, seemingly impassive. Lizzy narrowed her eyes and shifted her stance ever so slightly. In front of her, the gold colored Toa suddenly grinned.
At Ease, little one. Takaena said, we only wish to speak with you. Her first words causing Lizzy to snap to attention, and then stand with her hands behind her back in a very military esque pose. The other two Toa looked at the gold Toa, then back at their respective teens. Lizzy gave Takaena a wry smile and relaxed. Her training as a Cadet in the Civil Air Patrol had kicked in for a moment at Takaena's words. Behind her, Brianne grinned at the brown Toa, while Katie gave the blue, a timid smile.
"Yo, Amix! What's up, my brown Toa friend?" Brianne cheerfully said. Lizzy chuckled at her friend's attempt at slang, and shook her head in amusement.
Not much, Brianne. Takaena, here wanted to talk to Elizabeth here and me and Vizshola decided to tag along. Amix said, gesturing to his two teammates. Brianne bobbed her head in understanding and clapped Lizzy on the back.
"A team of Toa you don't know… and they use your full first name. Harsh reality there, huh Liz?" Lizzy just grimaced slightly at the orange teen. Lizzy liked to think she knew everything about the Bionicle universe. She also hated it when people used her full name. Brianne knew this and could not resist messing with her friend. Lizzy turned back to the Toa.
"You wanted to speak with me?" She asked. Not saying a word, the gold Toa beckoned for her to follow. Lizzy shrugged, gave the other two a look that said stay here; if I need you I'll signal, and allowed Takaena to lead her a little ways of the others. Once they were out of earshot, the Atriz of Light concentrated very hard. Lizzy looked at her, concerned for the Toa. Then the old Toa spoke. Not with her mind, as Lizzy expected, but actually spoke.
"Elizabeth…" The Toa said.
"Whoa! You can talk? Like, with your mouth and stuff? Cool!"
"Yes, Little one." The old Toa smiling gently, said. "I needed to come and explain something's to you, now that you are learning more about your powers and gathering your team. And I did not wish my brother and sister to overhear." Lizzy nodded in understanding. Takaena then proceeded to explain many different things to the teen. Especially about the teens abilities and how it pertained to the Atriz.
Back with Brianne and Katie, the two girls were still faced with their Toa counterparts. Brianne was chatting amicably with Amix, but Katie was standing slightly behind her, a little afraid of the Water Toa. Vizshola understood; the girl she had chosen to receive her power was very much like herself: shy and thoughtful. But Vizshola also knew how to coax the water powered teen out of her shell. The Toa looked at her hand and willed a small sphere of water to appear. Katie watched with interest. Vizshola, not paying the girl any attention, but still watching her from the corners of her mask, gently manipulated the water into a thin stream, which swirled around and tied its self in knots. Katie slowly took a step forward, out from behind Brianne. Vizshola was turned partially away from her, so Katie thought that she could not see her. Very slowly, Katie crept forward. She reached out her hand and called to the water. Some of the water separated from the rest and flowed over to twist and turn over Katie's outstretched hands. Vizshola's eyes followed the water when it broke away, her eyes flickering up to Katie's face and then back to the water. Katie giggled softly and sent her water chasing the Toa's. Vizshola smiled and soon the two were talking quietly. Across from them, Brianne and Amix were playing soccer with a rock, bouncing it off of their legs and chests, basically showing off.
A little later, the two light powered beings rejoined the others. Takaena smiled at her teammates. They said farewell and faded away. Lizzy absentmindedly bid the three Atriz goodbye, her mind filled with what Takaena had told her. Brianne and Katie shared a look then approached the other girl.
"Soooo… what's eating you?" Brianne asked, leaning on Lizzy's shoulder.
"Just… stuff." Lizzy explained lamely. "I'm still trying to process everything she told me."
"What did she tell you?" Katie asked, still contorting the water into fantastic shapes.
"Ah… nothing"
"Lizzy…" Brianne and Katie said in unison, folding their arms at the same time.
"I mean… nothing that I feel like sharing at the moment… it's not really important."
"Riiight… Whatever." The other two replied. "What did she tell you?"
"Ummm… oh she told me where to find the next two members of our team! Apparently the Earth powered kid has met up with the ice powered teen and they are heading our way… actually, they should be here in about 20 minutes."
"What!"Katie burst out, "There are new people coming?"
"Yeah didn't I just say that? Twenty minutes tops." Lizzy said.
"Ugh… a little warning would be nice! I'm a mess right now and am in no condition to meet new people! I need a shower and I have to do my hair, and my makeup. Plus I need to change clothes and wash the dirty ones. Oh man, oh man oh man… How do we get out of here? Lizzy!" Katie exploded, going on and on, while Brianne laughed and Lizzy just looked at her like she was crazy.
"Lizzy! You have to get us out of here!" Katie nearly screeched.
"Okay, okay. Calm down, girl! Sheesh. Takaena explained that this is part of the original Mask of Light's powers."
"What do you mean 'original Mask of Light'?" Brianne asked, knowing the stories almost as well as Lizzy.
"Oh yeah… apparently, Takanuva has the second version, like the newer model… and he doesn't even know half of the powers, according to Takaena." Lizzy explained.
"Hmm that's kinda interesting… I wonder if-" Brianne started to say but she was cut off by a frantic Katie.
"GIRLS!"
"Oh right… hang on." Lizzy said, screwing up her face in concentration. Across her face flickered her mask and the whiteness around them vanished.
***Outside the Light Shield***
Tanma lay on his back, sleeping, soaking up the sunlight. Solek was leafing through Lizzy's art book, intensely interested. Suddenly the light shield dissipated. Katie shook herself free of Lizzy's arms, dashed to her bag, grabbed it and took off at a run for the Oasis. Lizzy and Brianne laughed. Tanma cracked an eye open, and looked at the two remaining girls.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"Ah, just learning some interesting things about my teammates." Lizzy said.
"And talking to the Toa who gave us our powers." Brianne added, "Apparently though sharing is an ability of Lizzy's mask."
"Whatever" Tanma said, "what's got the blue one in a tizzy?"
Oh, well apparently two more members of our team are arriving today. They should be here soon." Brianne said, as Lizzy walked over to Solek.
"Find anything you like, Solek?" She asked, tapping the page he was looking at. The Av-Matoren looked up at her, grinning.
"You have some pretty neat stuff in here, Lizzy. " He said.
"Ah it's all pretty crappy. Brianne is better than I am and so is Katie, think… ask them later about it."
Solek agreed, closing the pad and handing it back to its owner. Lizzy smiled and stashed it back in her bag, then grabbed a fruit and tossed it to Brianne, getting one for herself.
"I wonder what these new kids are going to be like." Brianne said, taking a bite of the fruit.
"I'm not sure, but Takaena hinted that I know them, at least a little." Lizzy replied, wiping fruit juice off her chin.
"Yeah, Amix said something similar. He said I would definitely know the Earth kid… I wonder who it is." Brianne mused.
Lizzy opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly, they heard Katie scream. The girls stared at each other, both thinking oh no, not again, then scrambling to their feet and sprinting to the Oasis, Lizzy pulling out her sword, while Brianne her chain Kama's. When they burst through the bushes, and skidded to a halt, they were met with Katie, wrapped in a towel, hair dripping with shampoo faced, swearing at to figures on the other side. The water in the Oasis had risen up and shot like daggers at the two on the other side, but had frozen at the touch of one of the figures. Lizzy and Brianne understood why Katie had screamed and reacted the way she had; both of the newcomers were boys. The one who had frozen he water, quickly turned to the newly come girls, spinning what looked like the Bionicle equivalent of a Bo-Staff, save that it had two long blades attached to the ends. The other person jumped forward swinging a huge ax. The figure brought the ax down shattering the ice, which the other boy redirected at the girls; hundreds of high speed ice shards bore down on the girls.
A/N: Ok so please review and all that jazz… and this:
I need some help… I was going through the Character descriptions I wrote for the new guys I introduced this chapter (the Ice and Earth teens) and I'm really not happy with how I wrote them.
Here's where YOU… yes, YOU, my wonderful readers, come in!
I need to re-write the characters' descriptions, and I would love to see what you guys come up with. Please post a review that give a description of the character's looks and then kind of like a brief synopsis of their life before this story. Use the template below. Don't worry about mask powers or how they look as Bionicles, I've got that covered, but I still need help with the rest. Also I haven't decided whether or not to keep the Bionicle names I've given them or not. The Next Chapter can't go up until I have their character descriptions. You can see the descriptions for Lizzy, Brianne and Katie on my profile… in addition to links to my deviant art page to see what Lizzy and Katie look like. (Please excuse my horrible art work… I'm still learning to use my tablet and Photoshop Elements)
OC applicant
Human Name:
Bionicle Name:
Nickname(s):
Power Set: Ice or Earth
Age:
Height:
Eye color:
Hair Color:
Fighting Style:
Love Interest (if any [it can be a Matoren or a Toa]):
Description:
Below are the descriptions I originally had. Feel free to use parts of it for your OCs.
Human Name: Gregory Miner
Bionicle Name: Hakey Rahini (Pronounced: Hah-Kai)
Nickname(s): Greg, The Scholar, Wise boy
Power Set: Earth
Age: 17
Height: 6'4" (Lizzy hate's that he so much taller than her)
Eye color: Black
Hair Color: Jet black
Fighting Style: Strength based
Love Interest (if any [it can be a Matoren or a Toa]): Unknown
Necklace Description: a small vial of dirt hanging from a leather cord. Usually keeps it in his pocket.
Description: Greg grew up among books. His Father is a professor of History and his Mom of Literature at a small College in the Midwest. Greg grew up sitting in on his parents' classes, even though much of the information and conversations were over his head. Because he grew up on a college campus, Greg is the most book smart of the Rahini. Greg was the last of the Rahini to encounter Makuta as a kid, being almost 8 at the time. This meant that while he remembered it better than the others, he just though it was a crazy dream. What he did remember of Onua was that the Black Earth Toa said only a few words, but was very wise. Greg is very much the same. He is the tallest of the Rahini and is very big, very muscular (think defensive back in professional football). But despite his imposing physique, Greg is gentle and understanding, preferring scholarly pursuits to brute strength and sports. But he is in no way a softy. When he arrived in the Bionicle Universe, it took him a long while to actually believe what happened to him. But when he did, he developed an avid interest in in Bionicle History and Legend. Greg has the best vision of the Rahini and is also considered the wisest in non-Bionicle matters.
Human Name: Joshua Stevenson
Bionicle Name: Jarik Rahini
Nickname(s): Josh, Frostbite, Cold Snap
Power Set: Ice
Age: 16
Height: 6' 0"
Eye color: Ice blue
Hair Color: Human: Dark Blond; Bionicle: Silver
Fighting Style: Merciless
Love Interest (if any [it can be a Matoren or a Toa]): None
Necklace description: A shard of ice that has never melted, hangs on a chain.
Description: Josh is very much a lone Wolf. All the Rahini know about him is that he is the youngest of his family and that his family is slightly dysfunctional. Josh choses to keep his past secret (He's not evil, just not a very sharing person). Josh had his run in with Makuta at about five years old, but it had no effect on him. Kopaka did little aside from getting rid of Makuta and tossing Josh's necklace to the boy. Josh thinks with cool logic and doesn't sugar coat the facts. He also has a strict sense of justice and is thought, by Katie, Brianne and Evangeline at least, to be emotionless. Josh also holds little respect for other Toa, save Kopaka, who he regards as potentially dangerous and he respects him, though barley, and his namesake, Jarik Atriz. Jarik is the Rahini's best Strategist.
Ok so please help me out here, guys! And Please review. Tell me how I'm doing and what I need to fix.