Chapter Five:
"Your mission, should you choose to accept it..."

Gali ran through the jungle as fast as her long legs could carry her. She used her glaive to slash down and overgrowth that got in her way.

The events of yesterday had left the Toa far too exhausted to try out their new bodies. But the rain had stopped early that morning and the clouds had left leaving the now energetic Toa wanting to see just what these new bodies could do.

Gali smiled to herself and used the staff of her glaive to pole-vault over a small jungle bog.

She laughed and continued on her run throughout the dense foliage.

It felt so good to be herself again!

She wasn't weak anymore and it felt wonderful just to be outside after last nights lovely storm.

She put her glaive back in the holder she had strapped to her back and caught onto a loose vine that hung from the canopy. She climbed up the vine with ease and came to rest on a rather large branch.

But she didn't stop there.

She ran along the branch and leapt off it to land in another tree. She slid down the vines that hung from this tree and landed on the forest floor in a controlled crouch. She got to her feet and took off again towards Le-Koro.

She ran towards a rock outcropping she knew of. She ran up the shelf of rock and leapt off the end of it. She flew over a small stream and landed at least twenty feet away from it. She brought out her glaive again and used it to pole-vault and flip over a boulder.

This put her right at the base of the Le-Koro tree.

She put her glaive away, grabbed onto the lift cable and climbed her way up to Le-Koro. She made it to the village in a few minutes.

Once there she raced through the crowds of happy tohunga. She tore through the village square past Onua who was speaking with all the Turaga and past Pohatu who was practicing koli.

"Whoa!" she heard the brown Toa say. "Was that what I think it was?"

She raced up to where the villages Kahu birds took off from. Once there, and without a second thought, she threw herself over the edge of the platform.

She cried out with joy as her adrenaline took over. she smiled when she saw a large, wild, Kahu flying directly below her. She grabbed onto the bird and rode it. The bird, noticing it's new cargo, screeched and thrashed about a bit.

Gali, not afraid, smacked the bird at the base of it's neck. The Kahu immediately became obedient.

She directed the bird back up to the platform where it landed and allowed her to hop off. She came down to the cheers and applause of the inhabitants of the village.

She smiled and bowed.

Gali turned to the bird and put her arm into the air. She snapped her wrist slightly. The Kahu screeched and took off. This caused more cheers to erupt from the crowd.

"hell Gali!" Pohatu cried as he ran over to her. "That was the most insane showboating stunt I have ever seen! You go girl!"

Gali laughed and smiled as Onua joined them.

"I too am pleased with your sudden strength and courage." He said quietly.

Gali blushed and scratched the back of her head.

"Aw please guys." She said. " I haven't even opened her up yet."

Both Toa's jaws dropped.

"What do you mean?" Pohatu asked.

"That was nothing." Gali said. "Just a practice run to see if this body can handle things like that."

"Oh my…" Onua said. "You've gone insane."

Gali just smiled.

"Hey you guys!"

They turned to see Lewa running toward them.

"Did you see Gali tear through here!"

They smiled at him and looked at Gali, who shrugged.

Lewa looked at her.

"oh, Hi Gali." He chuckled. "That was so totally awesome!"
"It was nothing." She said. "I think I'm gonna head out again."

Lewa looked at her in shock.

"Are you nuts?!" he said. " What more could you do?"

"A lot more apparently." Onua said.

"Why haven't you guys practiced at all?" Gali asked.

"We have." Pohatu said. "Just not as recklessly as you, Tahu and, Kopaka have."

"You should try it." Gali said. "It's so much fun!"

"If you say so." Onua said.

Gali shrugged and walked past them. She broke into a run and flipped down onto the main platform of the village. With that she raced off again.

"Yeah man!" Lewa cried when he saw this. " You got it going on girl!"

~*~

Kopaka raced through the trees.

He and Tahu had been playing a pointless game of cat and mouse for the past hour now.

It was getting annoying.

The whole thing had started this morning during breakfast when Kopaka had been watching Gali and Maku.

The blue Toa seemed a lot stronger. She was laughing and cracking jokes. She and Maku were having the time of their lives just being together at the table. Nokama had eventually joined them and that set them off. The three of them were crazy together. They were like teenage girls.

As he watched the three, he felt someone glaring at him. He looked to find himself staring into the angry golden eyes of Tahu.

"What do you want oh fearless annoying one?" Kopaka asked without humor.

"Shut up ice boy." Tahu said. " Now would you mind telling me why you keep staring at my woman.?"

"Your woman?"

"Yes, Gali is my woman."

"Last time I checked Tahu, Gali belonged to herself and no one else."

Tahu laughed.

"You're forgetting Kopaka." He said. " I'm the leader and the strongest. Thus I get the girl."

Kopaka glared at him, his eyes colder than ice.

"I beg to differ Tahu." He said. "It's Gali's choice not yours. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't love any of us."

"I thought I told you to shut up."

"Like I'd listen to you."

Tahu growled and grabbed the collar of Kopaka's shirt.

"I'm telling you now ice boy." He said. " Don't go there."

Kopaka removed Tahu's hand from his shirt.

"Listen Tahu, you don't scare me." He said. " you never have, you never will."

This just got Tahu even madder.

"Fine." He said. " Well see who gets the girl. We'll see who can last longer."

Kopaka was about to turn him down but Tahu was already gone.

And that was exactly how he had gotten into this situation.

He growled.

Man, this bit badly.

It was then that something blue and fast shot past him.

Kopaka stood there in shock.

"Was that Gali?" he asked himself.

He shook his head and gave chase.

~*~

Gali knew she was being followed. She also knew that it was Kopaka.

She smiled at the fact that it wasn't Tahu.

She took a sharp turn around a tree and changed direction. But she didn't shake him.

She skidded to a halt and was about to say something when he collided with her, knocking them both to the ground. When they landed in a soft patch of moss they realized their awkward position.

Kopaka lay on top of her, pressed rather tightly against her body.

Gali blushed furiously. Kopaka promptly followed her example.

He gently crawled off her.

"Sorry." He whispered.

"Don't be." Gali said as she got to her feet. " It was my fault."

Kopaka was about to say something when a loud horn sounded throughout the forest.

"I take it that that's our signal to head back." Gali said.

Kopaka nodded.

~*~

The Toa sat with their Turaga in Matau's hut.

Tahu had been glaring at Kopaka ever since he had arrived. The red Toa had seen Kopaka and Gali's little "episode" in the jungle.

"Why did you call us Turaga?" Lewa asked innocently of Matau.

"We have a special quest for you" The Turaga said.

Gali and Kopaka looked at each other then looked at Matau. Something like excitement flashed through their eyes briefly.

Nuju stepped forward.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, it the reawakening of Mata Nui through the Avatar."

"Who is the Avatar?" Pohatu asked.

"We do not yet know."

"So how do we do this?" Onua asked.

"Well," Nokama said as she stepped forward. " You must first gather the shards of the Onite crystal. The crystal is the key to the deepest temple of Mata Nui."

The Toa gazed at her in wonder.

"Where do we find these pieces?" Kopaka asked.

"You must find that out for yourselves." Whenua said.

No one said anything for awhile.

"I saw we do it." Gali said suddenly.

Everyone looked at her.

"What do you think?"

The Toa nodded.

"And guys." She said. " Let's stick together this time."