Chapter Two: Touchdown

Lewa inhaled and opened his eyes with a start. He had not been having a good night. A bunch of dreams had been incoherent enough to be uncontrollable, the distant sounds of Bohrok had flooded his ears, and to top it off, he had had a nightmare. A divinatory one, he considered. The details were a bit foggy, but from what he could make of it, he had fought to save a city from a shadow monster with the "help" of some "titans." Before he could get in an effective blow, a Toa (of Shadow? of Twilight, as Taka had briefly labeled himself?) had outed him for being a "traitor", and an attempt to sass the monster had led to him being thrown off a building and killed. He shuddered at the thought. What a way to go.

A knock sounded at his hut's door. It seemed its source had been there for a while. The Toa didn't want to leave it waiting any longer, so he quickly called, "Come in!"

A blue-armoured Agori scampered in. "Oh, Toa Lewa!" He sighed. "You'd been out for a while. I thought somethin' bad had happened to you in your sleep. Looks like you were just being lazy, as always…"

Lewa pouted. "I'm not lazy, Berix. My mind just works so fast that I end up having no motivation to do anything." Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Forgive the none-lack of tree-speak. I've been seek-reviewing a recent-dream."

Pulling a cardboard box out of his pack, Berix frowned. "A nightmare. I'd figured. You were trashing about quite a bit back there, Mr. 'I'm not an enemy.' What exactly happened?"

The Toa of Air sat up in his bed. "A future-dream. Battle-fought a shadow-monster, got attack-jumped by titans, sass-snarked the monster and kill-died."

Berix handed the box to Lewa. "My… It would be more interesting if I could understand your slang." He returned to his pack to zip it up. "By the way, have you talked to Toa Tahu, Glatorian Ackar, or Kiina lately? I wouldn't want them to hear of the stuff I've borrowed off them."

Ughhh. That was Berix for you. The Agori loved to nitpick others' actions, and he loved stealing their stuff later on. This wouldn't infuriate Lewa so much if he hadn't constantly chided him for referring to it as such. For him, it was "borrowing;" nothing more, nothing less. Then again, the Toa supposed, he was an Agori, so scavenging and foraging was probably in his nature. The Great Beings really win-succeeded with our act-personalities, he noted in relief.

"It's not slang, you dolt. It's a dialect. Get it right." He smiled slyly. "No… I haven't meet-seen Ackar or Kiina recently; sure would like to speak-talk to Kiina, though. Actually, I did meet Tahu-brother, if you were think-wondering; I'm pretty sure he knows about the 'Toa Nuva Toys' thing, unfortunately. You'll probably have to hide-avoid him for the next few days."

Berix punched his palm with a fist. "Drat! I have to be more sneaky next time…" He briefly sulked before brightening up. "There's your meal, Toa Lewa. I believe the others will be here shortly. Take… care, I suppose." He walked out of the hut and closed the door behind him, leaving the Toa to eat and languish in bed for a few hours.

Consuming some Thornax stew, Lewa frowned. Why had Berix been so… tough with him? And for that matter, what was with Tahu's cheery attitude the other day? So many inconsistencies! He was sure it had at least something to do with his recent nightmare, for better or for worse. Given the severe warping of important characters, though, he knew something bad would be happening very soon.

Koryand'r descended closer to the alien ground, letting her feet lightly brush the sands that rolled over it. She appeared to be in a desert, bright blue skies giving way to long, unforgiving stretches of dunes. Nearby, she spotted the beginnings of a vast jungle, and over the horizon, she sighted a city and some mountains. Intending to obtain the aid of others in her quest, the princess decided to journey to the city and recruit some people.

The trek, as she had expected, was long; the days, however, seemed to accommodate for this and it was shortly before nightfall that the outskirts of the city came into view. Before she could take another step, though, she overheard some heated bickering…

The Stormtrooper touched down on the surface of Spherus Magna, large jets spewing sand into the sky. It seemed to have landed on the fringes a jungle, gigantic saplings blocking parts of the sky from view. Besides said jungle appearing towards the south, there was nothing that could be seen anywhere else. Knowing quite well that this was not usually the case, Lieutenant H'ssiah chose to look deeper, going into the brush with some troops to find anybody who knew what had happened to the Rutan'gah.

The journey was tedious, but the contingent eventually found some possible suspects. Their homes were made in the tree lining around a large lake, being build on the ends of their branches. The suspects themselves were shown to be stocky, organic creatures with a few mechanical implants; Agori, some of the smarter soldiers knew. The Agori looked down on the group, scowled menacingly, and jumped out of their treehouses to confront them, spears at the ready.

H'ssiah obviously had no intention on fighting these little weaklings. Did they really think they could take on a hero of the Gordanian-Yeerk Battle? Hah! Quite likely. He needed only to pick up one Agori by the collar of his armor and the rest either moved in closer or retreated back. Sneering even more menacingly, the Lieutenant decided to interrogate him himself. "What do you know about the Rutan'gah?"

The Agori, quite obviously, could not respond, given the language difference. It was able to make out, however, that the reptilian creature confronting it was not interested in offering goods or services at all. The Toa… he mentally frowned, not wanting the creature to know of his shame… Turaga, and Glatorian would have to know about this. Elbowing the reptile in the mouth, he immediately clobbered him with his spear, running off to get a hold of the others of his tribe.

H' screamed. "I hate those things!" He turned to his other men. "Guards. Follow that Agori. See what he requires. I will head for a settlement, if one exists, and notify its hypothetical residents of the threat the Rutan'gah proposes. Understood?"

The other Gordanians nodded. "Sure thing, boss," one replied.

"I said," H'ssiah said, now incensed, "UNDERSTOOD?"

Every soldier stiffened, jolting into position. "Sir, yes sir!" They quickly marched off, taking after the Agori's trail. Frowning at his troop's apathy (or was it nervousness?) he stomped off to look for a metropolis.

"I can't believe I've been forced to traverse this accursed landscape with you!"

Akhmou, a wily Po-Matoran con artist, and Malum, an Tajun-hailing Glatorian assigned to be his guard, had been travelling to the White Quartz Mountains on orders of Turaga Dume. Dume seemed to be incriminating the Matoran for his misdeeds: during the Rahi Wars, he had infected a large portion of Po-Koro with an illness using Kohlii balls; when the Toa Nuva and a group of Matoran (now the Toa Mahri) had left Metru Nui to awaken the Great Spirit, he had exploited their departure to gain money, and in the heat of Makuta's reign, he served as one of the shadow's leftenants. Obviously the crone thought Akhmou deserved a little punishment to "drain" his inner darkness out of him. Like that would ever happen.

"You'll just have to deal with it," Malum replied. "I've been told that any missteps you commit can be punished with death. I do hope you're not looking to stoop to that level?"

The Po-Matoran scowled up at him, keeping his head firmly away from the Glatorian. It was going to be a long trip for sure. He was sure he would die not too far inland; even closer if the warrior acted as harsh as he made himself out to be. If only there was a sign, some way he could get out of-

Wait- another traveler?

Yes, Akhmou could confirm this, even with his slightly below average senses (brainpower took up a lot of space.) A humanoid being had been walking through the sands as well and approached them, an apathetic glare on its face. It seemed to be organic, although it was wearing quite a bit of armor- another form of Glatorian, perhaps? The con artist was just about to discuss this with Malum when the being yelled incoherently and put out a hand, quickly silencing them. (Correction. It was a glowing hand. What had Mata Nui done here?) Running up to Malum, it reached up and kissed him on the lips. Confused, the Glatorian pushed it away, only to find out he could suddenly understand its gruntings.

"Stop bickering," it growled. Its voice was feminine, with a warrioresque tone; Akhmou assumed she had come in from Tajun (although he couldn't imagine how.) "I wish to find a location to rest. Take me to one if there is any." Frightened beyond belief, the Matoran began whimpering. Malum groaned and facepalmed.

He took in the being's appearance and frowned. "I don't know of any settlements that would better your condition," he responded. The nearest that I know of is Tajun, and that is miles away. Perhaps my Matoran friend," he glowered at Akhmou, who was now hugging his left knee, "has an idea?"

Barely able to get out a coherent statement, Akhmou gave the best response that he could. "Th-th-there's no space in New Atero at the m-m-moment, but I have recently… um… d-d-d-discovered a cave in the me-e-esa nearby. Why-why-why do you ask?"

The warrior frowned. "I do not need to give you a reason, for it does not 'better' you. That does not happen with my people." Jumping into the air and beginning to fly, she turned around and added, "You will take me there now."

Akhmou, now fully petrified, ran beside her. "U-u-uh… s-s-sure t-thing, m-missy! W-w-whatever you s-s-ay!" Before he could take another step, Malum grabbed his shoulder and glared at him. "Are you crazy? Would you really let her know of your secrets at the flicker of an energy bolt?"

"Y-yes," Akhmou breathed.

The Glatorian scowled. "I think is why your Turaga assigned me to accompany you on your quest." He turned to the being. "Why should we just help you? How do we know you won't storm into New Atero and try and hurt someone?"

The being sighed and put a hand in her armour, obviously searching for something. Appearing to have found what she was looking for, she pulled it out forcefully and smiled grimly. "I am Koryand'r and I give you my word as Princess of the Royal House of Tamaran… oh..." She gasped. "I thought I had it with me… Nevermind. It does not matter. My appearance should be enough to tell you that I am of regal blood."

Akhmou stared at her. "Y-y-you seem m-much t-too p-pretty to b-be so." Malum groaned and put a fist in his mouth. "Akhmou is being a bit… lewd… but he is right. We can't really tell that you're on top of the world like that… and I can't say that I've ever heard of Tamaran before."

Koryand'r gaped. "'Ever heard of Tamaran?' How can you say this? I…"She smirked. "I do not care; it is not as if I trust you either. I shall find this cave of which you speak of myself. Farewell, Akhmou and warrior." And with that she was off.

Matoran and Glatoran looked on in awe. The bigger being turned to his tinier counterpart. "You ever seen anything like that in that Matoran robot of yours?"

Akhmou frowned in concentration. "No. You Glatorian are the first organic humanoids I have met… Wait! Should we not go back to New Atero and prevent her from causing damage?"

The question seemed to have stopped Malum completely. "No." He picked the Po-Matoran up and slung him over his shoulders. "I am not to turn back towards the capital at any time. We'll just have to keep going and hope that the Toa and other Glatorian can take care of her."

The con artist sighed. "Some hope that'll turn out to be."

"Can it, Akhmou. I'll freaking kill you if I have to." Shaking himself off, he began to walk again, feet sinking into the desert sands.

Lewa sighed to himself and perused through The Glatorian's Guide to Bara Magna, eyes widening at the spectacularly detailed descriptions of various animals. He would never normally read a book when cooped up, instead preferring to stretch or practice fighting (the last was usually confined to Lewa's huts only.) The impending meeting, however, was making him very nervous, and keeping himself fully occupied was usually a good way to sate the emotion… or so he thought. In truth, the other Nuva had not shown up yet, and the Toa was worried that they would come in and see him out of bed, sprawled on the floor and reading a Le-Metrunan comic. Their reunion had to be perfect. It wouldn't do to be improper; he gulped at that. Pleasing siblings was hard work.

He had just turned to page 143, on the Ignum Desert Rider, when a knock sounded at his was the Toa! Hardening his posture, he got out of bed and waddled over to the door. What was he going to do?

The knock sounded again, louder and faster. Lewa could not open it. He didn't want to be caught off guard; the others would think he wasn't excited to see them again.

He heard some muffled arguing outside before another knock nearly cleaved the door. "Lewa!" someone yelled. It was probably Tahu, since he had met him before, but given the tone of voice, it was very possible this was Kopaka at his door. Leaving someone like him waiting wasn't proper at all… He inhaled and reached out to the door, before steeling himself and grasping it with a hand.

"Brother!" the voice bellowed. "Open this door right now or I will-"

"Shut your mouth, Kopaka," Lewa snapped. "I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it!" Glowering and billowing out steam, he turned the knob.

The Toa of Air frowned. Why would he assume it was Kopaka screaming at him? That was jumping to conclusions, something he had explicitly sworn not to do anymore… Was he infected by this personality-sickness as well?

Before he could think on his hypothesis further, the door slammed open, pinning Lewa behind it, and some robotic bodies streamed in. A deep voice, probably Pohatu, rumbled, "Brother! We are here!" Peeking out from his space behind the door, Lewa confirmed this, only to get swept up in a rib-crushing hug. Oh, that was Pohatu, all right.

"It is great to see you again!" the Toa of Stone cheered. "We had feared you were engrossed in the scenery of that jungle planet for a while back there… Good to know you got out of it without Onua's help, huh?"

Lewa groaned at the joke. He knew it was all in good fun, as always, but the Toa of Air had thought that he was able to solve his problems on his own. He took solace in the fact that the others probably did not think the same way… oh wait. He couldn't. Someone had offered their hand, large and gunmetal, in a Toa fistbump… Onua! He gladly returned the gesture and pulled him into a kiss.

"Nice to know you still care, brother," Onua quipped as he pulled out of Lewa's grip. "How have you been? Has the new environment treated you well?"

The Toa beamed. "Sure has, earth-brother! Got into a bit of a snarl-journey after I went search-looking for Artakha, but I think-managed to get out of it sure-better…" He grinned at his response. "How have you been, Onua?"

Onua opened his mouth to answer, but a blue-armoured hand quickly covered it. "Sorry, brother," a lighter voice intoned. That had to be Gali. "Hello, Lewa. I hope I wasn't disturbing your conversation."

Lewa smiled. "Not at all, sister," he replied. "Why were you lone-surveying the Endless Ocean? I thought you were present-big on unity. Did Tahu love-change any of that?"

Gali glared angrily, quickly suppressing Lewa's grin. So he has told him! Tahu and Gali had gotten into a relationship shortly after the Battle of Bara Magna, and the Water Toa had then thought that Lewa, at that point journeying through the former Bota Magna, would not know and would not need to know. Guess Tahu liked the fact that Lewa had become romantically involved too. Sigh.

"Not enough that you need to worry about it," she retorted. Changing the subject, she asked, "What was the deal back there at your door?"

A raspy voice answered her question for her. "He was too sleep-addled to perform the simplest of tasks." And that was obviously Kopaka. Lewa winced; he hadn't intended to hurt the Toa like that. He was right, of course, he was sleep-addled, but he was too consumed by his anxiety to care… or so he thought. The Toa of Ice had nitpicked him again. Dang it.

"Hello-hi to you too, Kopaka-brother," Lewa smirked. "How was the Red Star? And for that matter, how goes the sport-teaching?"

"Fine. Fine again."

The Toa of Air sighed. Leave it to Kopaka to speak with as little detail as possible. Trying to get another response out of him, he decided to probe a little further. "What was it like up there in that light-star? Karz, it must've been so heart-pretty. I have ever-wanted to see-visit one."

"Trust me. It wasn't pretty." Sighing, Kopaka continued, "Not like you have the right to talk anyway."

"Wait… I don't have the talk-right? Why?"
"You were in just as bad of a situation as me, maybe even worse. I think you'll need a bit more practice before you can even think about visiting."

Pohatu frowned, concerned for his friends. "Kopaka…"

Lewa was very incensed, but decided not to reply. It wasn't worth it to lash out at him so aggressively; this was a happy event, after all. "Whatever you say, ice-brother," he simply responded.

Tahu was the last to arrive. Perusing the floors of Lewa's hut, he smiled. "I see you took my advice, Lewa."

"Why wouldn't I? I've been trying to uphold Valise's instructions, after all." The Toa frowned. That wasn't like him, to sass Tahu like that… He paled. Something was definitely happening now, no doubt about it.

If the team leader had any reaction to this, he obviously didn't make it known. "I am sure you are." He clasped his wrists. "Now, then! Since we have all had the chance to meet and talk together again, I feel it is best that we talk about something very, very important…"

Gali groaned. "Tell me you're not, brother…"

"Yes. I have to, Gali…"

Pohatu sighed. "Really, Tahu? Now? When everyone is indulging in happiness and cheer?"

"Brother."

Kopaka glowered at Tahu. "You wouldn't dare."

"Brother."

Lewa fumed, beginning to get infuriated. "What? What's so large-important that everyone's becomin' mask-cracked over it?"
The others looked at him, confused gazes on their masks. "Brother!"

Onua just stared.

Tahu frowned. Clearing his throat, he took a moment to sit down at a table, offering the other Toa a chance to as well. "It is best that I do so, brothers. Lewa… I know that this will displease you of all people, but as leader I feel it is imperative that I tell you now… the state of the team."

The indicated Toa looked at Tahu blankly. "W… what?"

"The future of the Toa Nuva, Lewa," Gali sighed.

Lieutenant H'ssiah stopped at the end of a sand dune. Spotting the beginnings of a large town, he smiled to himself. The planet had been a lot larger than his ancestors had said it would be, but the conditions were the same; empty, but full when necessary. He was surprised to note that things seemed a lot… fresher; it was like the place had been given new life, in a way. He still couldn't believe that one Mata Nui, if the tribe of Skrall he had encountered was correct, had reformed Spherus Magna after a furious battle with a Teridax. It didn't make any sense to him and he didn't want it to.

He was just about to end his scenic viewing session when a familiar noise permeated out of his eommunicator. Beep… beep… beep… beep…

Oh no. His lackeys had found something. Praying to Zorg it was something of importance, he pulled it out of his sash and pressed an indicated button. An image appeared, showing two soldiers holding a… Matoran and a Glatorian by force.

"Speak," ssiah intoned.

"Uhh… yeah, boss," a soldier talked back. "We, uh, just found these two dimwits journeyin' through the brush. Said they was headin' towards some White Quartz Mountains. Think they know anythin'?"

Akhmou scowled. "We were not 'journeyin'!' We're on an important quest-" Malum apologized and quickly shut him up.

H''s face displayed a similar emotion to the Matoran's. "What do you think, idiots? Why haven't you asked them?"

"Uhh… I thought I told youse. They was… uh… questin'. Yeah. That work for youse, pipsqueak?" The Po-Matoran sighed and nodded.

The Lieutenant fumed. "SILENCE! I do not care about their exploits! We are looking for the Rutan'gah!" He directed his attention to Malum. "My apologies, Glatorian. The soldiers I command can get a little… ditzy sometimes."

Malum nodded. "I see what you mean. The new recruit I'm working with… Hey! What's the big idea, sending these two goons to come and tie us up?"

H'ssiah sighed. "We are looking for a… how do you call this in your tongue? Slave? Ah, yes." He cleared his throat. "Excuse me. We have… come to this planet to search for… one of our own… that has escaped our ship and is presumed to have reached these surfaces. Do you know anything about her?" He put the communicator closer to his face. "Anything at all?"

Malum frowned. "Can't say I do... I met a warrior earlier today, though. Said something about needing a place to stay. You reckon she's the one you're looking for?" He grinned. "Seemed too beautiful to be the same species as you."

ssiah groaned. "If you intend to insult her, it is not working. I think my crew do that job quite well." He frowned and scrunched his brow in concentration. "Wait… you said she needed a place to stay. Where, exactly, is it? I assume you've given it to her already."

Akhmou broke free of the Glatorian's iron grip and gasped for breath. "The town! She's gone to a cave near the town-" Any further noise out of him was muffled to an extreme.

"The town of Ironside," Malum finished. "By Devil's Tower, if you're wondering."

H' tapped a claw to his snout. "Devil's Tower? Interesting." He pulled back from the communicator and gave covert orders to the soldiers. "Interesting, that is to say, if you weren't completely wrong." Their grip on their hostages tightened. Malum gasped. "Oh, don't play coy with me, Glatorian. I'm on the outskirts of a city right now. I know she's gone there."

"But- how-"

The Lieutenant grinned. "I obviously wouldn't leave my slave alone without some form of tracking," he said, holding up a jewel. "My conversation with you has only confirmed my suspicions. Giving more orders to his troops, he began walking towards New Atero. "Thank you kindly. Gordania shall pay you with good reward." He switched off his communicator and laughed evilly, seeing how he had played the fools so easily. Glatorian were not as smart as he had originally heard.

In the grip of the mafia soldier, Akhmou simmered. "Knew it. Knew it! Someone that pretty can't be that good at heart. It was the same thing with the Ga-Matoran and it was the same thing here."

Malum screamed internally. "Yeah. Okay. Whatever. Take solace in the fact that your 'inner darkness' indirectly caused an alien invasion." He frowned. "Didn't I ask you to shut up earlier?"

Here's Chapter Two! A few comments:

1. Lewa was injured in battle. I'm not sure why and it doesn't really matter.

2. I'm pretty sure I didn't get Berix right.

3. Hey, Kory's on Spherus Magna! That... won't be good, I can assure you. (She was looking for a royal heirloom, if it helps.)

4. Malum and Akhmou are traveling together because a) I feel they'd have great chemistry, and b) both of their characters needed a bit more expansion. Being "evil" isn't really enough. Also I don't think I got them down pat either (Akhmou has a thing for Starfire? Who knew?)

5. Lewa seems like the type to read a lot (when others aren't looking, anyway) and be a bit self-conscious. I imagined him to be both very excited and a bit unnerved by the Nuva's sudden arrival, and thus a bit awkward. The other Nuva are a bit awkward as well, unadjusted to this new planet and everything that's happened... That whole scene didn't flow very well, didn't it?

6. currentlyunknown's stories (Frustration and Adaptions) are both canon in this crossover because they are really really good. You should go read them.

7. The Gordanians, or more specifically H'ssiah, are freakin' WILY. Poor Agori. Those guys were the ones who took in Lewa too.

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