A/N: I appologize for the first time you read the chapter. I could not get the edit thing to work on FF... It kept booting me out of my account for some reason. Anyways, here is the New Chapter!
Thank you sooooooo much to LokaCola and Shatter Dave for reviewing.
These two are also the master minds behind the new Ice and Earth Characters! Thankyouthankyouthankyou so so so so much guys!
On another note, if anyone has ideas for the next part of the story, please feel free to leave a suggestion!
And, as always, I don't own
and
Please Review
****Previously****
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, and 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 the sight of Katie, wrapped in a towel, hair dripping with shampoo faced, swearing at two 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 the 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.
****Now****
Brianne stepped forward, planting her feet firmly. Eyes glowing bright orange, she brought her arms up and crossed in front of her face, like a shield and with a rumbling groan, a wall of stone sprang out of the ground at the three girl's feet. The ice shards shattered against the rock with the sound of breaking glass. Lizzy rested a hand on Katie's shoulder, causing the girl to look at her. The three girls shared a glance and nodded. Lizzy backed up a step, then nodded to Brianne, who stood one hand outstretched to support the wall. She turned to Lizzy and with her other hand motioned upwards. A column of stone shot out of the ground, launching the Light Powered teen into the sky. Katie, towel wrapped securely around her, dropped her things and ran to the edge of the wall. Concentrating hard, she gestured with her hands, catching Lizzy in a stream of water that deposited her on the opposite shore line. Lizzy hit the ground running. Her sword flashed in her hand. The Ice Powered boy charged forward, his staff splitting into two small tomahawks, the handles retracting to a manageable length. Lizzy dodged a wild swing from the Earth teen, and then spun around to avoid a chop from the Ice. Her attacks rang out, metal on metal, as her sword glanced off the side of Earth's ax. The ground around all three teens' feet rumbled threateningly while the temperature dropped significantly. Lizzy jumped to the side, dodging ice shards; Brianne ran around her wall and threw one end of her weapon. The Kama wrapped around one of the Ice boy's Tomahawks giving Brianne the chance to jerk the chain and drag the teen backward and off balanced. The boy spun around and launched himself at the girl. Brianne set her stance and met the boy head on. Lizzy staggered a few steps back; the Earth powered teen's blows were much harder to block than she anticipated. She dodged around, dancing out of the boy's range. She kept moving, aiming to tire out her more heavily armed opponent. Earth watched Lizzy's movements, reading the pattern of her steps. Suddenly he lunged forward, swinging his ax faster than Lizzy thought possible for a weapon of that size; the flat of his blade struck Lizzy on her side, sending the teen flying. Lizzy gasped in pain when she landed, pain exploding in her side. She swore loudly and jumped to her feet. She charged her opponent, swinging her sword, her movements slightly staccato while her face was screwed up in pain. Brianne kept her Kamas in defensive position, her strikes and moves merely deflecting her opponent's swings and blows away from herself, using his own momentum against him. She struggled to use her usual level of defensiveness, because Ice struck quickly, his movements snapping out then recoiling quickly. Soon Brianne found her weapons locked against the Ice teens. It became a power struggle, each trying to overpower the other by strength alone.
During the fight, Katie tried to do what she could, but found she could do little wrapped in a beach towel, and trying to preserve her modesty and dignity. She ducked behind Brianne's wall and quickly threw on the first clothes she laid hands on. As it turned out, she grabbed a blue green tank top and a pair of denim shorts. She pulled them on and, ignoring her shoes, ran back to the fight. She found Lizzy fighting recklessly, blinded by pain, the Earth teen struggling to match her wild blows. Katie then saw Brianne behind the warring Light and Earth, locked in combat against a boy dressed in white and silver.
"Please, everyone stop! Guys! Come one…. Stop!" Called Katie trying to get everyone's attention. The warring teens paid her no mind, not hearing her soft voice.
"HEY! Everyone… please! Stop!" Katie tried again, raising her voice. She found that her voice still shook from her ordeal within her memories. The Water powered teen steeled herself. Suddenly, from within herself, she felt a power, different from her water powers. It called to her and told her what to do; she closed her eyes, trying to hear it over the sounds of the battle before her. She took a deep breath. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, glowing yellowish, and around her face flickered the glowing blue-green image of a Mask of Power.
"ENOUGH!" She yelled, "STOP FIGHTING!" The four warring teens froze; Lizzy had her sword against Earth's neck, while his ax was against her side (the injured side), Brianne and Ice again had their weapons locked. "You have to stop fighting. Everyone, back off and calm down. Take a seat." Katie said, struggling to control her temper. Nobody moved a muscle, but they were all surrounded by a faint glow. Lizzy and the Ice Boy suddenly understood what was happening and started to struggle, trying to escape. Lizzy's mask re-appeared and glowed bright as she tried to shield herself, but the mask's grip on her was strong.
"SIT! NOW!" Katie yelled, losing what little control over her temper that she had remaining. The teens were forced back from each other and landed on their backs, hard against the unforgiving ground.
"I don't know how you got that power, Girly..." Growled Ice, struggling to his feet, "But I won't let you use it on me again." He took a single step toward Katie, but stopped when he hit a glowing gold wall. Lizzy and Brianne struggled to their own feet, Brianne coughing up dust and shivering, while Lizzy was limping, her right hand pressed against her side in an attempt to stave off the pain, the other hand stretched in front of her, keeping the wall of light in place. Brianne warily watched the newcomers, her Kamas hanging loosely from her grip, the chain coiled around her wrist.
"Look… I'm sorry I threw the pond at you… I over reacted. But do you really need to fight with us? We are on the same team… I think. Can we just stop and talk this over?" Katie said, mask glittering dangerously in contrast with her soft apologetic voice. Lizzy opened her mouth to say something, when Brianne burst out.
"Wait just a minute here! Hold on… Mark? Is that you?"
The Earth powered teen looked at Brianne and recognition flashed across his face.
"Brianne! Wow, I didn't recognize you, you looked so fierce… not your usual cheerful self; though you do look substantially smaller without your pads on."
The Earth boy strode forward at the same time as Brianne. The two grabbed each others arm in a rough handshake. Brianne turned to her companions, smiling once more.
"Girls, I'd like you to meet Mark Johnson. He was one of my best friends. The Star Quarterback of my high school football team and the only guy on our team who didn't mind plowing me over during practice."
Katie waved hello, still looking apologetic. Lizzy, though, dropped her left hand (the one holding up the light wall in front of the Ice boy), and fell to her knees, moaning in pain. She looked up at Mark, smiling slightly.
"Yeah, hi Mark, nice to meet you… I think I met the dull edge of your ax." Lizzy panted, clutching at her side. Katie knelt next to Lizzy, trying to see what was wrong. She moved Lizzy's hand off the girl's injured side. Lizzy hissed in pain, trying not to yell and swear at her friend who was only trying to help. Katie's eye's widened when she saw the damage; the whole side of Lizzy's right rib cage was mottled purple, green and blue already. She gently pressed against it, trying to determine the extent of the damage. Lizzy howled in pain, swatting Katie's hands away, swearing at the top of her lungs. Katie tried to hold the struggling girl still so she could do something to help. Brianne's orange covered arms hooked themselves under Lizzy's arms, holding the thrashing girl steady. Lizzy suddenly felt a pair of cooler hands join Katie's as the Ice boy gently probed the injury.
"She's got at least one, maybe two broken ribs there. Do you guys have a camp that we could take her to?" He asked. Katie nodded and pointed towards the girls' camp, visible in the distance. Tanma and Solek, having heard the commotion, finally showed up.
"Whoa… What happened here?" Solek asked, looking around. There were columns and walls of Stone pegged with shards of Ice and splashed with residual Light, and the Water from the oasis was not in the oasis anymore; rather it was thrown every which-way. The water glistened in the light of the twin suns in the trees, and on the ground for yards in every direction. Mark mentioned how nice it looked; Brianne agreed but said it was too bad that she couldn't take a bath later. Katie stood and walked away, towards the empty Oasis. With a swift, fluid motion, almost like a dance, Katie pulled all the water off the trees and out of the sand. The droplets hung in the air, like thousands of shiny gemstones. The others watched, fascinated as Katie, still dancing, brought all the water back over the empty waterbed. Lizzy noticed the ice boy smirking, and saw him wave his hand in the direction of the water. Katie gasped as she felt her control over the water slip. The now frozen beads of ice rained down into the dry bed, filling it with a musical clattering sound. The ice boy gestured again and the ice melted into water again. Katie turned, giving the ice boy a small glare for ruining her fun, but still laughed and bowed at the others' applause. Katie approached the ice boy, who still sat next to Lizzy, though Lizzy was not paying attention to much, rather focusing on staying conscious.
"What is your name?" Katie asked, genuinely curious. The boy looked at her and at the others.
"My name is Dave, Dave Shatterfate."
"Long time, no see, Dave." Lizzy muttered, blinking rapidly. "Surprised you're here. The Bionicle Universe seems to be a bit out of your usual realm of fiction."
"Actually, I've been into Bionicle for a long time now. I'm just not as outgoing with my interests as you are, Elizabeth." Brianne laughed at the expression on Lizzy's face.
"Lizzy, please David. I can't stand my full name; sounds too mature, and Mata Nui, I am nothing but mature." Lizzy said, causing Dave to grumble about her use of his full name (the other teens distinctly heard "I am not a bible hero!" in Dave's muttering).
"So you do know him?" Katie said loudly, over Brianne and Solek's chuckles.
"Can we add this to the list of things to talk about later? I'm in a lot of mother effing pain right now." Lizzy growled, trying not to move and glaring at the water powered teen. Katie dithered, trying to figure out how to get Lizzy back to camp without hurting her more, and jumped slightly, when Lizzy snarled at her, saying "Would you get over here and heal me already, Katie?"
"I can heal?"
The boys looked at Lizzy for an explanation, the two Matoren remaining silent, watching with fascination the interaction between the out-worlders, until Brianne piped up.
"Didn't Vizshola tell you that earlier, Katie? While Lizzy was talking to Takaena."
"Oh…she did?" Katie said, thinking back to the conversation she had with the ancient Water Toa while they were playing with the water. "Oh yeeeah, she did… that's right. So um… how do I do this?" Lizzy sighed and gestured to the water, but quickly rethought the movement when the pain in her side got worse.
"Ahh Ouch… ok don't do that." She mumbled, then looking at Katie she said, "It's part of your water powers. Just think about what you need to do."
"But I'm not sure what's wrong with you!" Katie cried out. Dave put a hand on her shoulder.
"Not to worry, Miss," He said, smiling slightly. "I do."
"How so?" Brianne asked, tilting her head to the side while Lizzy continued to glare at Katie.
"Dave's been a volunteer firefighter for a couple of years and his mom is an emergency room nurse." Lizzy said not taking her eyes off of the girl in front of her.
"Ah, ok… well let's get started then. Mark, come 'ere and help me hold Lizzy still. I'm not sure if this'll hurt her or not while Katie tries to heal her." Lizzy groaned at the thought, allowing her head to thud on the ground.
"Um, Liz? Was that you passing out?" Brianne asked, causing Katie and Dave to look over from their little powwow, worried.
"Nope, just not relishing the thought of more pain to get better. Wish I had passed out though." Came the response.
Dave explained how Lizzy had at least one rib broken and possibly a few fractures. He then explained how first the bones needed to be knit back together and then the swelling and bruising around the break needed to be addressed. Katie came back over, still worried and not sure of herself. Over Lizzy's prone form, Mark and Brianne were discussing first how best to hold Lizzy down, but then the conversation turned to football injuries they had seen, sustained or caused, treatment for said injuries and how many kids on their high school team were planning on trying to go professional. Mark soon had Brianne laughing over one story that apparently Bri didn't have her facts straight on. Lizzy thought that it would be hard to have all your facts straight about what had happened at the line of scrimmage when one was halfway down the field, out running the entire defense's backfield for a game winning touchdown. The injured girl mentioned this and the two above her laughed and agreed. Katie, who had been sitting quietly, mentally preparing herself, finally spoke up, issuing orders. Dave stood behind her, looking around the landscape, suspicious about something. Katie sent Solek back to the camp for something to pillow Lizzy's head, and sent Tanma to the Oasis to get some water forgetting for the moment that she could create the water for herself. She wasn't sure they would need it or not, but she had a hunch that she would need it for the actual healing. The water teen had the Stone and Earth teens focus on holding Lizzy's arms and legs if need be. When the two Matoren came back, Katie took a deep breath and held her hands about an inch above Lizzy's injury.
Brianne, Mark, Tanma, Solek and Dave watched as water flowed from the bucket to pool over Katie's hands. The water glowed softly. Lizzy gasped in pain and gritted her teeth as months of healing sped up to fit into a few minutes. Somehow, while she healed Lizzy, Katie could see the damage; almost like an infrared screen. She saw the broken bone show up as red, the fractures yellow and the bruising and swelling as green against the blue of the rest of Lizzy's body. Katie focused on healing the breaks and most of the fractures, and lessened the swelling. Lizzy let out a sigh of relief as the glow around Katie's fingers faded away. Katie sat back on her heels, exhausted but proud of herself.
"How come it's still purple and blue?" Brianne asked.
"Too tired." Katie said, yawning. Carefully Lizzy sat up, wincing slightly, but thankful that the pain was so much less.
"Thanks Katie." She said, hugging the blond. Katie mumbled something, then Lizzy felt her go limp. A soft snore emanated from Katie's head resting on Lizzy's shoulder; she had fallen asleep. Brianne laughed softly, then turned to the newest additions to their growing team. The boys were talking to and examining the two Matoren with interest. Solek was happy; explaining Bionicle to Mark, whose only knowledge had come from Brianne's re-telling of Lizzy's stories. Brianne waited for a lull in the conversation.
"Pardon the interruption but we should get back to our camp. Did you guys bring anything when you came through the portal?"
Mark nodded, while Dave answered her.
"Yeah, we dropped our stuff in the bushes on the other side of the Oasis, before all the… well before everything happened." Brianne nodded, then looked at Lizzy, who was trying to wake Katie enough to walk back to the camp and laydown and sleep there.
"I'm gonna get her back to the camp, Bri. You want to wait for them and show them where to go?" Lizzy asked.
"Sure, no problem." Brianne, grinning once more, let the boys lead the way to their stuff, while Lizzy helped the half asleep Katie back to the camp.
Not long after, the whole group was back at the girl's camp, sitting around the blackened pit that had been their campfire the night before. Brianne was happily chatting, (more like monologing) with Mark while digging through her stuff getting ready for a bath later, while Dave was going through his bag, looking for something. Lizzy sat leaning up against her stuff, staring at the charred fuel.
"Hey, Liz? What's wrong?" Brianne asked, noticing her friend's silence. Lizzy shook herself out of her reverie and looked up at Brianne.
"Hmm? What?"
"What is wrong?" Brianne repeated.
"Oh… just thinking. You realize that it was only early this morning that we fought off Makuta? Kind of a long busy day and it's only mid-afternoon. I'm kind if worried about what else we are going to run into. And I am especially worried about the others. We are still missing Fire and Air…" Lizzy trailed off, remembering something that Makuta had said that morning. She hung her head, her shoulders shaking slightly. When Brianne tried to pat her on the back, Lizzy shook her hand off and jumped to her feet, walking off a short ways away from the others, past Katie who woke up. The others watched the Light powered teen, who seemed to be thinking about a great deal more than just the missing Destiny Heroes. Lizzy stared at the Coliseum, which was barely visible in the distance. Tanma and Solek looked first at Lizzy, then at the others. Dave got up and walked over and stood just behind Lizzy.
"What is it, Elizabeth?"
Lizzy sighed, refusing to let him get her upset.
"It's something that Makuta said this morning. Something that set me off; got me so mad I might have hurt someone if it hadn't been directed at Makuta only." Behind her, Brianne and Katie got to their feet and came over, Mark only a step behind them.
"Somewhere in that City," Lizzy turned around to face the others, her tear-stained face grim. "Somewhere in there, is my little sister, Evangeline."
Dave, Katie and Mark were taken aback. They didn't know that Lizzy had a younger sister, and Brianne, though this didn't faze her, had only known as long as Lizzy had.
"You have a younger sister?" Katie asked, unbelieving. Lizzy nodded morosely.
"I had forgotten her, because we were separated when I was only three and she was almost one. My parents died only about 6 months after my encounter with Makuta, though my encounter wasn't as bad as yours was, Katie. Anyways, we both were sent to foster care but I ended up at an Orphanage. I didn't see Eva for a couple years until she came to the orphanage. Makuta said something about her during the fight last night."
"Wait a moment. You all had an encounter as a child with Makuta too?" Dave interrupted. Brianne, Katie, Lizzy and Mark all nodded. Brianne looked at Mark, curiosity coloring her smile. Mark shook his head meaning I'll tell you later, let Dave finish. Lizzy led them back to where Tanma and Solek were sitting, and they all sat back down.
"Why?" Tanma asked, having heard the conversation. "Why would Makuta care about organics?"
"Who knows why Tanma. But I think we all had similar encounters with Makuta as young kids." Lizzy said, shrugging at Tanma's questions. "I'm surprised though, Makuta didn't recognize us three last night, I don't think, and I'm curious to know why we all had Makuta show up in our childhood at all unless he knew about us being called to be the 'Destiny Heroes' as Solek says the Turaga call us."
"What happened to you girls?" said Dave, and Brianne launched into a recount of her experience, explaining that while she did have some fear of Makuta, the majority of her emotion, when it came to the Master of Shadows, was anger, because he had taunted her as a child and she still remembered the shrieking of the wind, carrying screams and tortured voices. Then Katie explained her encounter, and fear that she still felt and struggled with, the nightmares she still had; but she was happy to share what she remembered of Gali and how the blue Toa Nuva had treated her like a mother should. This comment from Katie had Brianne pipe up and talk about Pohatu, and how much like her father, he had been. Then they all looked at Lizzy expectantly. She shook her head, saying that she would talk later, but if they were going to swap stories, the group should at least pack up and head into the city and look for their missing members. The others agreed, but Brianne and Katie both demanded that the group wait a little bit while they went to the Oasis and cleaned themselves up.
"I need a proper bath, since my other one was interrupted and cold." Katie said, glowering mockingly in Dave's direction. Lizzy relented and let them go, going with them to wash her face and hands. She warned the other girls that it might be sometime before they found another source of water to bathe in. Katie shuddered at the thought, while Brianne only shrugged. Lizzy refilled her camel-back and her water bottles, told the girls to hurry up and headed back to the boys. She arrived to find Dave talking about the topography of the city with Tanma, while Mark stood next to them, a confused look on his face.
"What's up with Mark, Solek?" She asked.
"I'm not sure, Lizzy. I've tried to talk to him but it's like he can't understand me. Maybe something is wrong! Maybe I'm not speaking Matoren anymore! Maybe … um maybe… " Solek answered, waving his arms around wildly. Lizzy laughed at his antics, calmed the Av-Matoren down and then turned to Mark.
"What's up, Mark? Solek says that he thinks you are having a hard time understanding him."
Mark looked at Lizzy, a confused and worried look on his face. "Why are you all talking in a different language now?" He asked. "I tried to listen to Dave and the green one but I can't understand a word. Did I miss something? And how come you're necklace glowed when you were talking to the white one?" Lizzy had no problem understanding Mark, but she was curious as to why he thought she was speaking a different language. She fingered the thin chain of her Heartlight necklace, wondering what was going on.
"Hey Dave?"
The Ice powered boy looked up from the map he and Tanma were working on. "Yeah?"
"Did you have a problem talking with Mark on your way here?"
"Not really, no. Why do you ask?" Dave handed his pen to Tanma and stood up. The green Av-Matoran stared at the pen, fascinated.
"Well Solek says that he's been trying to talk to Mark, but Mark doesn't understand a word he's saying. And I just asked Mark why and he doesn't understand me." Lizzy explained.
"Well you all were talking in some weird language before Brianne, Katie and yourself went to the Oasis, Lizzy. Maybe it has something to do with that. I mean, you're speaking perfectly good Matoren now." Tanma said. Lizzy looked at him, thinking quickly.
"Lizzy? Why are you using your powers?" Asked Katie, as she walked back into the camp, Brianne trailing behind her. Brianne's hair was dripping, her beads glistening, the rest hanging out of its usual bandana, said bandana hanging loose from her hand, while Katie's was up in an elegant bun, her bangs tucked up in a few clips, but still hanging loose a bit. Lizzy quickly explained what was going on, and theorized that her Heartlight Necklace had something to do about it. Dave joined the conversation and the theories started to fly, especially when Katie noticed that their necklaces had stopped flashing dimly. Brianne then asked Dave what his necklace was, and he showed them. It was a rather large snowflake made of ice, perfectly round and perfectly symmetrical. The chain that it had hung on was extremely thin, contrasting with Lizzy's slightly thicker chain, Katie's braided ribbon, and Brianne's silver wire chains. Each necklace had etched into it the corresponding Nuva Symbol for their element. While they were discussing the validity of some of their theories, Tanma walked up to Mark, who was fiddling with something in his pocket.
"So you can't understand a word I'm saying, Toa of Earth?" The green Av-Matoren asked, expecting the boy to give him an odd look.
"No, I can understand you just fine, now. Have you been listening to the others? They have got some pretty crazy ideas." Mark replied, surprised that he could understand the figure in front of him. Katie heard him speaking, but she did not hear English.
"Hey Guys? Mark isn't speaking English!" She whispered.
"What?" Lizzy and the others whisper-shouted, shocked. They all turned to Mark and listened; Tanma, too, seemed to be speaking in a different tongue. But the longer they listened, the more and more Mark and Tanma made sense. They could understand them as if they were speaking English.
"I don't understand" Lizzy said, "How can we understand them now?"
Solek provided the answer. "Your necklaces are glowing again!" Lizzy looked at the others and saw that they were glowing faintly, as if they were using their powers. Dave spoke up with an explanation.
'Ah, I think I get it now! The necklaces-"
"Heartlight" corrected Brianne.
"Heartlight? Ok whatever… the Heartlights act as translators. The Atriz said that the Heartlights are the source of our power…" Lizzy winced at that, remembering what Takaena had told her. "So part of our power must be a translation power, we automatically know it, because the Atriz know it!"
"That makes sense!" Katie said enthusiastically.
You're close to the truth Dave. Lizzy thought, her shoulders sagging slightly as the weight of Takaena's words returned to her. Lizzy still had not decided how to tell the others, but knew that she would have to wait until the whole team was together. But for the moment, Lizzy had to deal with the matter at hand. The group still couldn't figure out a reason or a solution to Mark's communication problem. Eventually, Lizzy was able to convince them that they would be able to discuss the problem more, while they were walking.
"Come on guys, we need to get moving. It seems that we all came out in our respective districts, so we don't have to trek through Ko-Metru and Onu-Metru. If we head to the City Center and to the Coliseum, we should be able to find the last three members of our team there." Lizzy explained, hoisting her bag (her backpack was stored inside her other bag) and moving toward the rough track that headed straight for the City. The two boys grabbed their bags, which were much smaller in comparison to Katie's, and only slightly smaller that Brianne's or Lizzy's. Brianne hoisted her bag and joined Lizzy. Katie, though, struggled to drag her two bags. Brianne sighed and walked back over to Katie. Brianne grabbed the heavier of the two bags, while Katie, sheepishly, picked up the other, not meeting the others eyes. Lizzy and the boys stared as the two walked past, Brianne rolling her eyes to Lizzy, with Katie meekly following her. Lizzy shook her head in amusement and strode forward, taking the lead position. Behind her, the others resumed their conversation about Mark's dilemma. Every now and then, Tanma would chime in with a well thought theory, but after translating it for Mark and discussing it, they would all agree that it didn't quite fit. Sometimes Solek would give an idea or some input but for the most part he was content to watch and listen. In his mind, he had become the unofficial Chronicler for this adventure. Finally Katie thought of something. She stopped in the middle of the path and turned to Mark. Everyone, save Lizzy who had zoned out of the conversation, halted, wondering why Katie had stopped.
"Mark… where is your Heartlight?" She asked. Ahead, on the trail, Lizzy, who had been thinking about how she and the rest of the team looked like Power Rangers, what with the color choices of their clothing, froze, hearing Katie's question. (A/N: No, Seriously, I just realized this connection and I feel so stupid… the color coordinated clothing might not last much longer.) At that moment, everything clicked.
"What? My wha… oh." Mark went from confused to comprehension. Lizzy walked back to the group.
"That's the problem," Katie exclaimed, "That's why he can't understand Matoren."
"But then how can he understand them sometimes?" Brianne asked. Dave shrugged, his eyes narrowing as he thought back to his short trip with the Earth boy, trekking across the Onu-Metru cityscape.
**flashback***
"Look!" Mark said, pointing "The building look shorter over there. Didn't you say that the next … um what was it again… Metru? Yeah, the next Metru over is Po-Metru and that it's mostly desert? Dave? Hey Dave? Dude?"
"Huh? Oh…" Dave shook himself and slapped himself mentally. He had been staring at the odd black leather bracelet wrapped around Marks wrist.
*** end flashback***
"Mark, where is that bracelet you had? You were wearing it when we were fighting at the Oasis."
Mark dug into his pocket and pulled out the leather string. Hanging from it was a tiny glass vial that was full of what looked like dirt.
"It that ground pepper in there?" Katie asked, squinting at it. Brianne smacked the back of her head.
"It's dirt, Katie… you know, earth."
"Oh r-right, I knew that."
"He could understand them every now and then because he had his hands in his pockets, fingering the necklace." Dave explained.
"That is why you are having a hard time, Mark. You are not wearing your Heartlight." Lizzy murmured.
Mark looked at Lizzy questioningly. Lizzy pulled her yellow t-shirt's collar down slightly, revealing her Heartlight. Beside her, Brianne yanked her collar out of the way, showing her stone Heartlight.
"Mine give a whole new meaning to a 'stone-cold Heart', except mine is warm not cold." Brianne laughed. Dave unbuttoned the top button of his shirt so Mark could see the snowflake glittering with silver light. Katie unzipped the hoodie she was wearing to reveal her water drop shaped Heartlight.
"Karda Ahvokii" - Heart Light
Katie had said it in Matoran.
"You have to wear it, in order for it to work correctly." Lizzy said. Mark nodded and dropped his bag on the ground. He reached behind his head and tied the ends of the necklace together. There was a flash of white edged black light. A voice called out.
Child of Earth, remember your strength; Your power, unruly, is a matter of faith.
Remember you past and all of the others'; Lest the light and the rest, flicker and fade.
When the light died down, Mark stood, rubbing his neck where the leather strap had affixed itself. The glass vial had flattened into a square-ish piece of glass with the dirt at the center, in the shape of The Onu-Nuva's Element Symbol. Katie set her bag down, ran over and gave a surprised Mark a hug. Brianne clapped him on the back, the same as Dave. Lizzy stood in front of him, a serious look on her face. The others quieted and looked at her, worried. She grinned and held out her hand.
"Welcome, officially, to the team." She said, shaking his hand. The whole group laughed a little then gathered their dropped bags and set off, once more to the city.
The group walked for about 4 hours and finally reached the outskirts of the City's Center. Along the way, they had talked a lot about the different stories that Lizzy knew and had listen to Tanma and Solek tell their tale about what had happened at Karda Nui, only, by the Matoren's count, three weeks previous. Lizzy then had a quiet discussion with Dave about what was probable happening to Mata Nui right then, and the two of them figured that the Mask of Life had yet to arrive at Bara Magna. Lizzy was quiet for the rest of the trip, worrying about what Mata Nui and Takaena Atriz had said when she had arrived in the Bionicle Universe. If the Toa Nuva were missing, then she and her friends had a limited amount of time before Makuta would gain an upper-hand on the Island of Mata Nui. The Matoren and the Turaga would be in danger and the Destiny Heroes would fail. Lizzy knew she would have to figure things out with the team, and reminded herself that she was not the Leader, no matter how much she wanted to be. Brianne over heard her talking to herself about this, and laughed saying that the only way Lizzy would not be the leader would be if the Fire-powered Destiny Hero was a bigger Bionicle Geek than she was. Lizzy smiled, while Katie and Solek laughed. During the trip, the group figured out that Mark wasn't much for talking, though he would and when he did, he usually had something profound or very wise to say. But they did get him to talk about some things, especially when they were comparing descriptions of their families.
When the group finally reached the city, the suns were just reaching the horizon. Lizzy mentioned that they needed to check out the Coliseum but that it should wait until morning, as the place was notorious for causing problems for full Toa Teams. The other's agreed, though Brianne had to explain to Mark and Katie the reasoning behind it. Lizzy then said that they should find somewhere to set up camp for the night, and the group trekked slowly through the city looking for a good place. It was Katie who found a good place, walled in on three sides with rubble, an overhang that would serve as a shelter from rain, and enough clear space for a campfire with room to sleep around it. As the group began setting up the camp, the boys collecting things that Solek pointed out would burn and the girls getting blankets and sleeping bags out, Tanma grabbed Lizzy and the two went hunting. Lizzy was surprised that the green Av-Matoran was being so helpful; he had seemed kind of hostile to her and the girls before. When she returned to the camp with him, and the green Matoran set about preparing the food, she mentioned this to the others. The two boys looked at each other with knowing smirks and waved off Lizzy's concerns.
"It's probably nothing, Lizzy" Dave said, "He's probably just relieved that he doesn't have to hang out with only girls anymore." Mark nodded, while the three girls looked at each other in disbelief, then walked off. It made sense but it hurt their pride. Soon they were laughing about it until Katie soon felt a nearby water source and the three girls decided to check it out. It turned out to be a small fountain set into the side of a crumbling wall. Around it was a large mural with the written Matoran Language at the bottom. While the other two refilled the water bottles, Lizzy stared up that the mural, mentally translating the Mural. It was a depiction of the Toa Metru's defeat of the Morbuzaka. Though the colors were worn and part of it was missing, it still inspired a certain sense of awe in the teen. Here was a part of the Legacy of the Toa; a legacy that Lizzy felt she and her friends would be a part of, though they were not the normal type for Toa. Then again, Lizzy thought turning her gaze to the clear skies above, neither are the Glatorians.
When the girls returned, and told the boys where to go refill their own water bottles, Lizzy made her way over to the two Matoren, watching them prepare the small rabbit-like Rahi for dinner. Lizzy was surprised to find out that there were some Rahi that were more organic than robotic and that these species were prolific around Metru Nui. (A/N: Yeah, I know that these Rahi don't exist, but how else are these guys going to eat? I had to tweak my version of the Bionicle Universe to accommodate Humans and their need to eat. Besides, it's not for much longer. Once the Destiny Heroes officially become the Toa Rahini, they won't need to eat the same way anymore.) Soon the meat was roasting over the fire and everyone was ready to eat.
By the time they had finished eating and cleaning up the conversation turned back to the past experiences. Everyone was interested in what had happened to Dave, Mark and Lizzy. Lizzy told her story very simply, mostly because there was not much to tell.
"I was about two when I had my encounter with Makuta. All I remember is that my parents, my baby sister and I had just gotten home from somewhere and I was getting out of the car and walking through the garage to the door, but the door slammed shut, and I heard this creepy voice calling me. I remember turning around and falling down, then seeing his creepy red eyes and getting scared. He was about to grab me when there was this flash of bright light behind me and Takanuva appeared. His light drove the Shadows away, and he gave me my necklace… not really as bad as either of the girls' or as bad as you guys' probably were. I just got really scared, especially when the light of the afternoon sun coming through the windows was blocked out. What about you, Dave? What happened to you?"
"I don't remember it too well but here's what I do remember…"
***Flashback***
Three-year-old Dave looked up from the dining room table where he was working on a coloring book that his Mom had given him. He saw his older sister trudging through the snow outside, to the mailbox to get the day's mail. Deciding that he was getting cold just from watching her, Dave pushed his chair away from the table and dropped to the floor.
"Where are you going, Dave?" His mom asked, walking into the room. She was four months pregnant with number four and five (twins), and it showed now.
"I'm cold," said the toddler, "gonna go get another sweater." His mother nodded, and the boy ran off. He climbed up the stairs, and decided to make a detour to his older brother's room. The seven year old boy was working on his math, feverishly writing down simple equations. Dave snuck into his room and poked the boy, scampering out of the room at lightning speed.
"DAVE!" Thundered his brother, "Quit poking me when you come up stairs!"
"Then don't leave your door open in the middle of a poke war!" Dave yelled back. His brother slammed the door shut and Dave heard something scrape across the floor; he assumed his brother had moved his dresser in front of the door. The younger boy cackled to himself, heading to his own room. On the way, he passed his six year old sister and the two engaged in a quick rapid fire round of poking. Finally Dave called for mercy and his sister walked away, smirking; she always won against Dave. Dave ran to his room and closed the door behind him, panting. Poke-fighting his sister took a lot out of him. The little boy ran to his dresser and pulled open the bottom drawer. He dug around looking for a shirt with longer sleeves. Finding none, he went to his closet and grabbed a shirt. When it didn't come down immediately, he yanked up and down on it. Finally it came free, and Dave pulled it over his head. Suddenly, the room went dark. Down the hall, Dave heard his brother yell, saying that the circuit must have tripped again. Dave felt his way to the closed door, but stopped when his hand met something slimy. He jerked backwards in surprise and looked up. Above him were two glowing red eyes. Dave scrambled to his feet and took a step back. Above his head came the sound of laughter, the kind of laughter Dave thought sounded like bad guys on TV, but much nastier and more fear inspiring.
"Hello little one… welcome to the Shadows"
Said a voice that made little Dave shiver with fear. The boy gasped when he felt a cold, slimy something grab his arm. He yelled in fear, trying to get his arm away. The voice continued to laugh at him, while Dave began to feel tears run down his face. He called to his brother for help, but received no answer.
"He can't hear you…"
Said the voice, grabbing the front of the boy's shirt. Dave growled, thrashing around trying to get loose, then called for his brother again, calling him names, and trying to get his attention. Suddenly, from behind the boy came a blast of cold air.
"Drop him." Said a voice that snapped like a fallen icicle. The voice above Dave growled, saying something that Dave didn't understand. There was no response, only the sound of the winter wind whistling. The temperature in the room dropped like a stone, and Dave felt the slimy hand freeze up, cracking when the whatever-it-was tried to move. The voice behind him, growled low, then something white and silver shot into Dave's line of sight. The darkness in front of him shifted as spider-webs of frost spread over it. Dave felt something grab him by the back of his shirt and yank him away from the frozen hand that had trapped him. The white being dropped the boy unceremoniously behind his towering form.
"Watch and learn." The big being said, glancing over his shoulder at the boy staring up at him. With a swift movement, the white being swung a double bladed staff up and touched the point to the chest if the shadowy, slimy whatever. The thing froze solid, but not before hissing in some other language.
"Save it, I've never like the sound of your grating voice." The White one said in English, bringing his staff down on the things head, shattering it in to millions of pieces. Amazed, Dave looked around his room, watching the tiny pieces go flying. He was surprised to find that his roomed looked like it had been outside for a couple of weeks in the middle of winter. Icicles hung in the corners and drifts of snow lay white and soft looking over his things. The white being that had saved him, gave the boy one last look, then tossed something to him. The boy caught it. It was a large snowflake, about an inch and a half across hung on a chain that was thinner that a piece of thread. The being turned back away from the boy and his form began to fade away. Dave jumped to his feet, calling to the being.
"Hey, Mister! Wait!" The being paused a moment, half gone and turned his head back to the boy.
"Thanks!" Said the boy, "What's your name?"
The being shifted slightly, then said "Kopaka." And faded quickly away.
A moment later, Dave's brother burst through the door.
"David! Why on earth is your window wide open? It's cold and snowing outside!" Dave only sighed, knowing his brother wasn't looking for an answer, only someone to yell at. The little boy was only surprised that the snow built up in his room had vanished, and the only remaining snow was the stuff by his open window.
****End Flashback****
Dave was quiet after finishing his story, the flames from the fire casting shifting shadows across his face. Lizzy stared at the fire, thinking. Finally Brianne broke the silence.
"So you weren't scared by Makuta, like Katie or Lizzy… that's different."
"I was more disgusted by him… he looked like some kind of swamp monster that had fallen into a giant blender with a zombie… sort of scary, but more vomit inducing." Dave said, sighing and running a hand over his face and through his hair. Katie looked scared again, so Brianne scooted over and slung an arm over her shoulder. The water teen smiled at the stone, cheering up quickly. It was hard to be scared around friends who look out for you.
"That's pretty unique… though Kopaka said more than I thought he would have. How many sibling do you have, Dave?" Tanma asked, curious
"Two older and three younger, the twins and another girl. Six total." Dave replied. Lizzy whistled in amazement, then turned to Mark.
"What about you, Mark? What happened to you?"
The teen shook his head, nervous. Brianne and Katie pressed him, wanting to know, but the more they asked, the more visibly upset Mark got. Lizzy finally stepped in.
"Hey! Chill girls! If he doesn't want to talk about it, there's no sense in forcing it out of him. He will tell us when he is ready." Mark looked at Lizzy, gratitude showing in his eyes. Lizzy nodded once in return.
In the silence that followed two things happened: Lizzy shivered, feeling the presence of Shadow close by, and the whole group heard the shouts of two voices. Lizzy jumped to her feet, turning from her place at the fire to stare out into the city. The Shadow felt close, but she knew that she could not trust the feeling. It could be closer or it could be farther, than she thought. The voices started yelling out again. Lizzy looked to her group, and they all ran out of their camp, towards the voices, which could be understood now.
"HURRY! It's getting closer!" One voice called.
"This has got to be a nightmare!" The other yelled, panting with exertion, "There is no way this is real. OH HOLY CRAP!"
"WATCH OUT!" The first voice cried followed by the rumble of falling debris.
Shouting, Lizzy skidded to a halt and threw her hand upwards, sending a ball of light up in the air. The area was flooded with light, as bright as day. Two figures running towards them, winced in the sudden light and barreled right in to the group. Mark and Brianne caught them. Katie ran up to the one that Mark had caught, trying to calm him down.
"You have to hurry, its coming! We don't have much time here!" The boy cried, struggling to get away. Katie drew on her mask, ordering the boy to calm down. While he did, Katie took note that the boy was dressed in green, a leaf-shaped Heartlight showing under his jacket. They had found their missing Air. Katie quickly explained what was going on, and though the boy had enough sense to stay with the group, he was still obviously scared.
Lizzy stared down the street. Coming from there were the sounds of multiple things heading their way, while her feeling of approaching Shadow got stronger and stronger.
"No more running, no more fear." Lizzy said, clenching her fists. She turned to Tanma and Solek, who stood right behind her.
"Tanma! Solek! You two need to go back to the camp. This will be a fight, I know it will, and I don't want you guys to get hurt. Build up the fire and move our gear to the back of the camp, against the wall. Stay there until we come back, alright?"
"But we know how to fight!" Solek protested. He wanted to stay so he knew what was going on in the fight. He wanted to be a Chronicler, even if he was afraid.
"With veteran Toa as your teammates. I know from the stories that fights with rookie Toa tend to get messy… a lot of excess elemental energy getting thrown around." Lizzy said, "Now go, we don't have much time."
Tanma yanked on Solek, and the two started to run off.
"Oh, Tanma? At dawn, I want you two to head back to your village. Get ready to evacuate the City. I think after this Metru Nui is going to get a lot more dangerous." Lizzy called after them. Tanma nodded and then the two Av-Matoren ran off, Tanma lighting their way.
Lizzy turned back to the group. The other boy was still fighting Brianne, and now both she and Mark were struggling to keep the boy from hurting himself or the others. Brianne was wincing in pain.
"This kid is burning up… I think he's Fire." Brianne said to Lizzy. Lizzy narrowed her eyes and walked up to the boy. He was dressed in dark jeans, a white t-shirt and a red button-up shirt. Around his neck was a glowing stone-like necklace, a coal, which flickered with an inner fire. The boy was thrashing around, yelling about being stuck in a hallucination.
Lizzy, fed up with his yells, smacked him across the face. The boy froze, not expecting the blow.
"That is enough! Quit acting like a brat. There is a fight coming and you are going to be a part of it. You're here because you got a tablet and walked through the vortex! You answered Destiny's call! You met the Toa Atriz! This is no dream, this is reality! You are the Fire Hero! Fire Heroes are the leaders, but until you get you head in the game, I will lead this fight! Now quit your bitching and get ready to fight!" Lizzy raged at the boy, shoving him backwards. He stumbled back until he was next to Katie, who had a determined look on her face. Lizzy strode forward and stood at the front of the group.
She glanced back at the nearly fully assembled team, then back at the entrance to the street. The sounds of the approaching enemy were getting closer. Lizzy reached over her shoulder and drew her sword, which blazed with light and energy. Taking their cue, the others drew their weapons. Dave drew his double Tomahawks and fit them together, the handles elongating to form a double ended staff. Mark swung his ax, assuring himself that he had enough room to fight while Brianne coiled the chain to her Kamas loosely around her wrists. Katie took a deep breath and reached back for her weapons. She drew out two small knife looking things. She turned them over in her hands; they looked like polished wood but felt like metal. Noticing a button on the side, she pressed it and the knife sprang open, it's catch released, to reveal…
"A fan… a fan-"*presses the button again* *Swish* "Oh cool… a fan with blades along the top." Katie whispered, awed. She pressed the button on the other fan and out came its hidden blades. The weapons fit her hand perfectly and she instinctively knew how to hold them and how to fight. Next to her, the Fire teen looked over at the Air teen, who stood on Katie's other side. The Air teen shrugged and pulled out his own weapon. It looked like a smaller version of Kongu Inika's Energy Crossbow, only the edges were sharper and it could be wielded like a sword. The fire boy, still freaked out, reached behind him and pulled out two swords, exact replicas of Tahu Mata's Fire Swords, albeit a little shorter. The swords blazed with leaping flames, and the Fire Boy smiled. He could do this, dream or not.
At the front of the group, Lizzy scanned the end of the street, looking for some sort of movement. Behind her, she could hear the others' heavy breathing and their shifting stances as they waited. Suddenly there was movement.
Lizzy gulped a breath…
…
…
…
Makuta had brought friends…
…
…
…
Rahkshi
…
…
…
…
"Oh Crap."
Please Review! I need the encouragement! Or if you are hopelessly confused, please ask questions!
Edit 3/5: okay so I realize I screwed up when I first posted this, Sorry. And one other thing I think I should mention: yes all the Toa Rahini know each other, with the exception of Lizzy knowing Mark. Brianne brought Mark up to speed.