Almost forgot – I DON'T own Bionicle, just the main characters and some of the islands. Enjoy chapter two!

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Chapter 2 – Goodbyes, Farewells, Training and Lessons

"Promise me you'll come back in one piece? Or is that too much to ask?" Izerix looked too angry for words, but Zerrafitz knew he meant well, a mask of telepathy should be able to tell the bearer so much at the very least.

"I will, have no fear, my brother," Zerrafitz replied, "And, no, it is not too much to ask." He took his pack – of which he had suspended in midair with his powers – and turned to leave.

"Thanks for walking out on us," Krix said under his breath. Zerrafitz turned to him and the young Plant-Life Toa froze, expecting to be pinned to the ground under the crushing force of Zerrafitz's power.

"One last thing - I almost forgot this. Krix, I've got something for you." He balanced his pack in midair again, and from it took a long, thin parcel, wrapped in the huge leaves that grew on some of the island's trees. "Here you go. I thought you'd need something like this whilst I'm gone."

Krix took the parcel and removed the leaves, revealing a leaf-green and bark-brown axe. It's was impossibly beautiful for a weapon, and Krix felt his eyes fill up and his throat close up.

But he got over that quickly, and then the young Toa's mouth fell open in shock as he realised what he held. "It's- I- Zerr, I couldn't acc- Why? I mean, I've been horrible to you over the past few days, and now this?"

Zerrafitz laughed, "You need a weapon. You lost yours before you came here, after all."

"True…" Memories of the past flooded Krix's mind. He shook them away. "Thank you, brother."

"Don't mention it." The Toa turned and walked along the dock to the boat awaiting him. Several other Toa were onboard, all from other islands. A Toa of Water waved to Zerrafitz as he climbed aboard.

"A friend of his, do you suppose?" Drehx asked, his eyes scanning the many females on the boat. "Do you think she'd introduce me to the pretty yellow one at the back? They seem to know each other." The pretty blue Toa had sat herself and Zerrafitz down next to a yellow-armoured female who whispered something to the blue Toa, making her giggle and blush furiously.

"I don't think she's a Toa. I've never seen a gal in all-yellow armour. And she's gotta be at least nine feet tall," Krix said, also taking interest in the women. "And, are those wings on her back?"

"A Toa Horidka maybe?" Ro'Dae suggested, not really knowing why he was also comparing the women.

Drehx shrugged, "Look, their moving on now. Let's wave for the last time and head home." Zerrafitz waved to them, an expression of sadness and regret covering his mask. The other four waved back, waited until he was too far away to see, then headed home.

***

"Why d'you have to go?" Kyra pouted, stamping her small yellowy-gold foot.

"Duty, as always…" Socah sighed, "I'm sorry I have to go, but I'll be back before you know it. I want you to listen to Xirrea, Kyra. Learn from her and become a great and powerful Toa like she is. Here, look what I made for you." He handed her a pair of glimmering sai. Each one had a single topaz in either side of the pommel. Matoran glyphs were engraved into the central prong that read "Unity, Duty, Destiny" on one and "The lessons we learn will guide us through life" on the other.

"Oh my- Did you make those?" Xirrea asked, dubious about whether he had or not. Socah raised on eyebrow at his disbelieving sister.

"Yes, any other questions before I leave on a perilous journey to lands unknown and to face dangers unnumbered?" Xirrea rolled her eyes at her brother.

"No, and stop exaggerating! You're going to Metru Nui to aid in a war. Not uncharted islands in the unknown regions of the world or whatever!" Kyra had started playing with her new sai, gaining Xirrea's attention. "Don't cut yourself, whatever you do."

"I won't! I'm not as clumsy as you seem to believe, Xi!" she said. Kyra then turned towards the grassy plains behind them to see the Kavinika Socah had healed racing up to them.

"Kava! Come to see Socah off with me?" the young Toa cried out happily, throwing her arms around the beast's neck.

""Kava"? You named that beast? And careful, don't cut yourself on him, either."

"Calm down, Xi. Let her have her fun and if she gets hurt, well, she'll learn from her mistakes." They turned to the ocean to see a boat was pulling up to the jetty they were stood by.

"Your ride, I assume?" Xirrea said grimly.

"Yeah, looks like they've roped quite a few Toa in already."

Xirrea perked up, "Yeah, loads. Maybe they don't really need you?" Socah laughed at his sister.

"It's best to be sure, wouldn't you say? An extra pair of hands wouldn't hurt," he said, sadly. Xirrea began to tear up. "Oh, Xi, come on, not now. Look, I'll be back before you know it. It'll be like was never gone because this'll be over so quick." She snorted and turned to Kyra, who was once again being licked by the Kavinika.

Socah looked at his sisters for what would be the last time in his life, turned on his heel and walked up to the ship.

"Farewell, Xirrea. Farewell, Kyra."

"Goodbye, Socah."

"Goodbye, brother."

***

"I still don't think he needed to go." Izerix had been pacing in his hut, shouting and cursing ever since Zerrafitz had left. Krix was sat on his bed.

"I don't either, but, well, he did go, and it's too late to go and drag him back now. They'll be three or four islands north by now." The Toa of Plant Life lay on his back, willing vines of flowers to grow across the ceiling of the hut, much to Izerix's annoyance.

"Would you please cut that out? If they take route in the walls and roof the whole building might come down on me!" Krix didn't stop, however. He continued to will them to grow until they bloomed, spraying a purple cloud of pollen throughout the room.

Izerix coughed in annoyance, then again because he'd breathed in some of the pollen, then he began to feel very happy.

"Sorry, Izzy, I had to risk your house collapsing just to get you to calm down. The pollen you just inhaled should be making you feel very euphoric," the Toa said without much concern at all.

"No problem… I think I'll… just faint here… on the floor now." Izerix fell, and Krix suddenly began to look worried and crawled to the end of the bed to get a better look at his brother.

Had I grown the wrong flower? No, those purple ones with the black dots are defiantly the one I wanted. So why'd he faint? Wait, if I know Izerix he'll be-

Izerix shot back up shouting "boo" at Krix, who did a neat back flip threw the window in panic. Izerix began to roll around on the floor in fits of laughter.

"That wasn't very nice," Krix's voice came from outside. "I nearly landed on some of the Matoran!" Izerix just laughed harder.

"Maybe you shouldn't have leapt through the window?" he said through the giggles.

"I shall make my exit any way I wish," Krix said proudly as he climbed, clumsily, back in through the window. He landed on the bed with a thump, lost his balance and rolled off. Izerix continued to laugh.

"And your entrances, it would seem." Izerix began to regain control and held back the laughter so he could stand up, a huge grin still on his face. "Are you going to get rid of those flowers now? Or are you going to rebuild my hut for me?"

"Heh, no chance, silver… but, yeah, I'll remove the flowers." He looked up at the ceiling, pushed his will forth, and willed the plants to age until they died. "I hate doing that," the Toa said, glumly, "I love plants too much to find it fun to kill them."

"I don't really think about it, but plants don't mean as much to me as they do you, I suppose." Izerix leapt onto his bed and pulled the dead flowers down, causing a mess of dead and brown leaves and petals to fall onto the sheets. "Oh, great. Krix, sort this out for me, will you?"

"Oh, I'd be delighted to do your bidding, your majesty! May I be of service in any other way this evening?" Krix said mockingly, jumping around the room pretending to clean everything in sight.

He wiped his hand along a dusty shelf and looked at his now gray hand. "Actually, this place could use a clean…"

"Well, I doubt that you'regonna do it for me, but you could help by getting – or growing - some of those feathery leaves the Matoran use to dust their homes," Izerix said, looking at his brother in a way that said "you know you want to clean my hut" despite the fact that he knew full well that no look in existence could get Krix to do something he'd call a "waste of time".

"I'll think about the leaves, but, right now, I feel like training with my new axe." He swung the axe over his shoulder so the haft rested on his shoulder with the blade stuck out a few inches into the air. "I'll be down by the mines with Drehx; shall I bring you a pretty crystal to make your hut glow just that little bit brighter, my dear brother?" Krix ducked and ran out of the door as Izerix used his magnetism powers to throw one of his many throwing daggers at him.

***

"No, Kyra! Listen to me! If you're gonna have those then you're gonna have to let me show you how to use them without cutting yourself!" Xirrea came forward and grabbed her sister's slightly blood-covered forearms. She had very shallow cuts – little more than grazes for the most part - all the way up her arms from failed attempts at learning to use her new sai properly.

"Ouch! That stings!" Kyra tried to pull her arms free, but her older sister was far too strong for her.

"It won't sting if you let me look without squirming!" Xirrea snapped. Kyra shrank back, looking absolutely terrified.

"Did Socah leave because I'm too much trouble?" Xirrea stopped, and looked at the tiny heartbroken Toa.

"No… no, of course he didn't! What makes you think that, little one?" Xirrea forced herself to calm down and to care for her baby sister.

"Masol… the Lightning Matoran who teaches me about being polite and how to behave around older and more superior Toa… she said "No wonder Socah was so eager to leave – this girl's a nightmare!" after I accidently knocked some of her bookshelves over with my mask power…"

"Ok, first: mask power? You managed to use it? Second: she WHAT?!?"

"Yes, I managed to use my mask power, and I think it is telekinesis, and she said Socah left because I was a nightmare," she said innocently, beginning to cry.

"Oh, Ky, please don't cry! You're turning into me!" Xirrea cried,

"Isn't that what everyone wants?" Xirrea was stunned. She hadn't realised that everyone looked up to Xirrea and Socah in a way that meant they felt all of their island's future Toa should be like them. Tears began to roll down Xirrea's mask, too, as she contemplated this, but she wiped them away and bent down to throw her arms around her little sister in order to give her a warm, comforting hug.

"I don't want you to grow up to be like me, Kyra. You are your own person, you always have been and I hope that you always will be. Don't try to be like me, be yourself. Promise me that much."

Kyra sniffed and brushed away her tears, "O-ok, I pr-promise I'll be myself."

"Now, shall we go a have a chat with Masol? Or would you prefer to go down to the lake for some relaxation time?"

"Relaxation time, please," the little Toa said, smiling broadly.

One thing is for sure, Xirrea thought, she's one bright kid.

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please review!