Author's note: So, it's been a while. I haven't forgotten this story yet. I do plan on keeping this story going until the Toa defeat Makuta and the Bohrok saga starts. But the rest of this story probably won't be a day by day chronicle like it has been up to this point. As much as I love portraying every waking moment of my favorite Toa's life, it gets to be a bit of a drag. I hope to get the chapters done faster this way too. I haven't finished all the chapters yet though. So if you have any sort of head canon concerning Kopaka that wouldn't contradict what I have already written, I'd love to hear it and possibly add it to the story. And finally, I apologize for the bad tree-speak. Now go read.
Chapter 11
He passed the same two guards that he saw on his first visit to Ko-Koro. They saluted, snow falling off them at the movement. Kopaka nodded to them and continued on his way to the Temple, where he was sure he would find Nuju. He entered the Temple and found that soft music was coming from somewhere and several Matoran were all around, quietly studying the writing covering the walls. He found Nuju and Matoro in the back of the solemn sanctuary. Looking up at his approach, Matoro saluted the Toa. Nuju began making noises and gestures.
Matoro began interpreting. "Turaga Nuju asks why the Toa have split up."
Kopaka was surprised that Nuju even knew that the Toa had teamed up. "Tahu and Lewa were fighting," Kopaka commented bluntly.
"Turaga Nuju says that you have found your Pakari and Ruru."
Kopaka nodded, handing the Ruru to Nuju. "Do you know where another mask is?" Kopaka asked, hoping that it wouldn't be another riddle.
"Turaga Nuju says it's 'in the nest of many voices'." Matoro said after Nuju made some more of his weird noises.
Kopaka nodded. "Thanks." He turned to go, clenching his jaw in frustration. He already speaks a strange language and yet he still has to give me puzzles? Kopaka thought in irritation. "In the nest of many voices." He turned the phrase over and over in his mind as he left Ko-Koro. He was certain that the riddle did not involve the quiet village, and most likely, not Ko-Wahi either. He decided that the nest in the riddle was referencing birds, and the Toa of Air came to his mind. He remembered Lewa talking about the Rahi of his region, many of which were birds. He made it to Le-Wahi's border at noon without any set-backs.
Kopaka paused at the fringe of the trees that indicated the beginning of the Le-Wahi jungle and the end of cold Ko-Wahi. He could hear the many birds, amphibians, and other Rahi make their quarrelsome noises. He could hear running water and smell a rancid swamp. He could see an assortment of colorful flowers with bright bugs hovering around them.
Kopaka thought about the riddle. "In the nest of many voices." What does that mean? Kopaka asked himself. What has many voices and lives in a nest?
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he switched to his Hau. With a roar, a Tarakava launched itself from the darkness. It bounced off his shield. After roaring at the Toa of Ice, it began retreating. Kopaka narrowed his eyes in suspicion. This was an infected Rahi. Why was it retreating?
"Watch out!"
Kopaka jumped and spun around to find that another Tarakava had been sneaking up behind him. A flash of green whipped by Kopaka's face. Lewa's axe caught the infected mask's eyeholes and he yanked it off. The Rahi screeched and started retreating. The first Tarakava leaped at Kopaka again with a snarl, only to find itself trapped in a prison of ice a moment later. Kopaka turned to face Lewa and watched as the energetic Toa hopped up and down, yelling strings of his complex talk, trying to shake the infected mask off his axe. It was stuck but Lewa seemed determined not to touch it. He began swinging his axe up and down faster and faster until the mask rocketed off, flying straight up into the air. A strong wind, summoned by Lewa, picked it up and blew the dirty mask away.
Lewa turned around and jumped at the sight of Kopaka. "Oh! Sorry-oops, I mind-lost you were there."
Short memory, Kopaka thought. The Ice Toa turned back to the jungle, attempting to Lewa. The Toa of Air kept on trying to get his fellow Toa's attention. When words would not work, Lewa knocked on Kopaka's head.
"Hello, Toa brother home?" he asked in his singsong voice.
Kopaka spun his head around and glared icily at Lewa. "What do you want?"
Lewa smiled. "I asked you first."
Kopaka turned back around and started walking away.
"Hey, wait!" Lewa yelled, jumping in front of Kopaka. "I was just wondering if you can help-aid me in a small task-problem." Kopaka stopped and stared at Lewa, letting him continue. "I was wondering if you could help-aid me to find-locate a mask around here, an Akaku. Since you already have-own an Akaku Mask, I thought-hoped it might go quicker if you could help-aid me."
Kopaka sighed inwardly. He really didn't want to, but perhaps if he helped Lewa, the Toa of Air would help him as well. The cacophony of the jungle was already getting on his nerves, and he had yet to enter its depths. He nodded, agreeing to assist the Toa of Air's mission.
"Great!" Lewa exclaimed joyfully. He made to place an arm around the white and grey Toa's shoulders, but Kopaka shrugged him off with a look of impatience. "You see, my Akaku Mask is somewhere in this jungle area," he gestured a section of the jungle to the side, "and I do not want to search the ground-swamp for it. So could you use-lend your Akaku Mask to seek-find it?"
Kopaka said nothing but activated his Akaku and scanned the area. Le-Wahi was not just a jungle of trees and plants; it was a jungle of more details than Kopaka thought could possibly be crammed so tightly together. The numerous features of Lewa's Wahi were distracting, and the Toa of Ice found himself working on his ability to concentrate. It was not difficult so much as it was different. He was used to the simplicity of Ko-Wahi, where there was little life and snow was the main element. Air was the only thing similar in any part of the jungle.
"Have you seen-spotted anything yet?" Lewa asked every few seconds as they walked leisurely through the thick tropical forest. Not waiting for an answer to any question he posed to the silent Toa, he chattered on about what he did from morning until he found Kopaka. When he finished with that, which he did rather quickly, he began talking about seemingly random topics and sharing stories.
Kopaka finally spotted the Kanohi in a fallen tree not too far away, but he stayed silent. Lewa was in the middle of telling Kopaka about the ugliest lizard he'd ever seen when he abruptly asked, "Have you seen-spotted it yet?" Kopaka nodded. Lewa looked surprised. "Why didn't you speak-say anything?"
"I was waiting for you to be quiet," Kopaka answered coldly. For once, he added to himself.
"Oh," Lewa said, which sounded like 'ew' the way he said it. "Well, where is it?"
Kopaka started walking towards it, Lewa in tow. The Air Toa started jabbering on about how much he hated swamps and mud. When they were passing a bubbling mud bog a big bubble burst and splattered Lewa slightly. "Eww! Icky-yuck!" he squealed and brushed the mud off himself quickly.
Kopaka stopped. The log with the Kanohi Akaku in it was lying in the midst of the swamp with no footholds near it, not even any tree limbs above it.
Lewa looked around with a confused expression. "Why did you stop-halt here?" he asked.
Kopaka pointed at the log. "It's in there," he replied.
Lewa sighed deeply and began muttering things under his breath. Then he raised his axe and a strong wind carried him over to the log. Gracefully landing on the log with a soft thud, Lewa walked across the log to a jagged hole in it. A droning buzz filled the air before he reached his Kanohi, and the next instant a small swarm of Nui-Rama appeared.
Lewa shouted in dismay and nearly lost his balance as one swooped towards him. A swift wind erupted from where Lewa stood, scattering the Nui-Ramas and bashing them against trees. Under normal circumstances, the Rahi would have fled in agony, but the infected Rahi continued their attack. Kopaka raised his sword and took careful aim at the zigzagging Rahi. One by one ice block Rahi fell into the swamp, floating in the muck.
The Toa of Air swung at one with his axe. His aim was true and he hit the infected Rahi's head with a powerful blow. The Nui-Rama, even though infected, reeled back in pain and clutched his left eye which was now cut open, shrieking in agony. Lewa jumped up and grabbed the Rahi by the infected masks. His weight was enough to tear off the horrid masks. Lewa dropped the masks as he fell and they disappeared into the murky swamp. A quick wind carried Lewa back to the log before he too landed in the swamp. The now free, injured Rahi fled.
Kopaka froze the last one and it splashed into the bog. With all the frozen Rahi falling into the bog its murky waters rose and small waves buffeted the log Lewa was on. Lewa shouted as the Rahi plopped into the bog next to him, the force causing Lewa to lose his balance and fall into the muddy water.
"Ew!" Lewa shrieked as he scrambled back onto the log. "Icky-yuck bog-swamp, sick-gross slime-puddle, dark poison-pit, blucky mud-balls!"
Kopaka would not admit that the scene amused him. Lewa began wiping the muck off him as he reached into the hole with the Akaku in it. Lewa slapped the Kanohi on his face and summoned a strong wind to carry him back to the soggy, though solid, earth that made up the ground of Le-Wahi. Lewa began to furiously wipe the sludge off with a big leaf while muttering quietly. Kopaka looked at Lewa, or rather, Lewa's Akaku. He found it looked funny on the bright green Toa. When Lewa was sure that there wasn't any more mud on him he turned his attention back to Kopaka.
