He'ula entered Makuta Vidaraz's chamber. He looked around the room nervously. He never did like coming in here, and began to wonder why his kind ever joined forces with Vidaraz.
"What is it, He'ula?" the Makuta asked in a bored tone. "Have you any new information from your spies in Gundaru Nui? Does anyone there know anything of our plans?"
"No, Makuta. Our plans appear to have remained secret to the city's inhabitants. However, many of my spies are now dead. Those who are still alive have discovered the corpses of some of their fellows, and they all report the same details, leading us to believe that all of them were killed by the same being."
"How could one being have killed so many of your spies?" Vidaraz asked in amazement.
"I do not know, Makuta," He'ula admitted. "However, one of my spies reported that the wounds on the corpse he discovered appear to be from a gigantic bladed weapon. We were unable to obtain any further information from him, because we lost his communication signal. It has been assumed that he has been killed in the same manner as the others."
"Do you know anything else about the killer?"
"Nothing except what I have already told you, Makuta Vidaraz. This killer is extremely efficient. All we know is that he uses a weapon with a large blade, most likely a spear of some sort."
The last remark caught Vidaraz off guard. The details that He'ula was giving reminded him of somebody. "A giant spear? Could it be…?" he thought, and then pushed the idea aside. "No, that's impossible. He died thousands of years ago."
Vidaraz scratched at his chin as he thought for a few seconds. "He'ula, how many Ba'aru are required to create a portal?"
"Five at each end of the portal, Makuta," He'ula replied.
"And how many of your spies on Gundaru Nui are still alive."
He'ula's eyes widened in comprehension. Had he had lips instead of mandibles, they would have been contorted into a sinister grin. "Five, Makuta."
"Perfect," Vidaraz said, evidently pleased. "Tell them to rendezvous at the old factory. We're going to open a portal to Gundaru Nui."
"What do we plan to send through the portal, Makuta Vidaraz?" He'ula asked.
"We're going to send a little... surprise present for the Toa Rukua," the Makuta replied. "I hope they enjoy it as much as I will."
Jakorak landed hard on the floor of the sparring area outside the Toa Rukua's headquarters. He was soaked from head to toe from Pronak's water blasts. He jumped to his feet and swiped at Pronak with his armblade, but she blocked with her dagger. A sphere of water formed in her hands, and she launched the sphere into the Toa of Light's chest. He grunted as the wind was knocked out of him. As he tried to breathe in, another ball of water materialized around his head, and he choked as he inhaled water. His lungs crying out for air and his vision blurred by the water, he struck out desperately with his foot. He connected with Pronak's leg, breaking her concentration. He gulped down air as the water around his head splashed to the ground. He charged towards her and thrust his right blade forward. She blocked the weapon with an upward swipe of a dagger. Before he could slash at her with his left arm, her other dagger was at his throat. The two of them stood there for a couple seconds, unmoving.
"Alright, you win," said Jakorak, exhaling. He hadn't realized he had been holding his breath. "You've been practicing a lot, haven't you?"
"Yep!" Pronak beamed as she sheathed her daggers. "I've been using my Mask of Duplication to spar against myself. It gets really tiring, but it's a great workout! I feel like I could beat Buna right now!"
Jakorak smiled. "Let's go inside right now, and you can challenge him." He put away his armblades, letting them fall into place in the sheaths on his back. He was quite proud of those sheaths. He had designed them himself, adding little catches that kept his Toa tools in place and could be only be unlocked by his own elemental Light energy.
Pronak punched Jakorak's arm playfully. "I was exaggerating and you know it! I could never beat Buna."
He laughed and put his golden arm around her shoulder and they headed toward the door.