Onua and Emilee started down into Onu-Metru. Emilee was still looking around, trying to see some of the Matoran in the area. None were to be seen, but the shops seemed to be lively.
"Onua, why aren't we seeing any Matoran around here?" Emilee asked the Toa of Earth. He paused and looked at her, then pointed to the twin suns. "Oh…. It's pretty bright out here now that you mention it.."
"Thats why Matoran of this Metru don't usually come out here, the twin sun's too bright for them. Me especially…" Onua said, squinting a little. Emilee nodded, thinking of the benefits of having the two sun's. It definitely brightened the whole island, but it could make someone go blind if they looked too long at the long at them. But it was kinda nerve racking to see that almost no one was on the street. Onua noticed her discomfort. "Its normal for this to happen on really sunny days. You'll get used to it eventually when you patrol here." He told the female Toa of Fire. She shrugged slightly at him, but kept walking beside the Toa Nuva of Earth.
Whenua was walking around the Archives as he tried to figure out both how he got there and how he had been turned back into a Toa. While he could see how he could have gotten back to Onu-Metru, the fact that he had reverted back into a Toa, something that had happened long before, and the fact that he gave up his power to save the Matoran back on Mata-Nui, was confusing. As he rounded the corner and began going closer to the surface, he began to hear soft footsteps start to approach him. Realizing that he had nothing to defend himself with, Whenua looked around frantically for something, anything to use as a weapon. As the footsteps were almost upon him, he spotted an old Guurahk staff sticking in the ground. Bending down to pick it up, he quickly twirled it around to test its durability, then patted it in his hand.
"Guess this will have to do." He muttered to himself, then a thought hit him: Why would a Rahkshi ever abandon their staff? As he mulled this over, he heard a low growl from behind him. Slowly turning around, Whenua found himself face to face with a Muaka. As the cat-like Rahi prepared to pounce, Whenua said only one thing:
"Ah, Mana-food." The cat pounced, only for a small ball of flame to smack it in the face.
"Did I hit it?" Asked a feminine voice, clearly sounding nervous. Whenua did answer, because the Muaka had gotten back up and hissed at the offender that threw the flame. "Oh-boy." The female said, and the Rahi again lunged, but not at Whenua.
"That was a bad idea, Emilee.." Whenua recognised the other voice as the Toa Nuva of Earth.
"Ya think!" Shouted 'Emilee', diving to avoid the Muaka's lunging head. "And is this thing fire-proof or something?!" The female yelped, throwing more handfuls of fire at the Muaka.
"Perhaps a little more firepower?" Onua asked as he used his blades to deflect the Muaka's claws. Whenua looked around, then decided to help the two out with the cat Rahi. Lifting the staff up, he focused a burst of energy into the staff and a blast shot at the ground's floor, causing for the Muaka to roar as it fell deeper into the Archives. Whenua lifted his new weapon over his shoulder and turned to face the other two Toa. Onua was looking from the newly made hole, then back to him. The female, which he presumed her name was Emilee was looking down the hole, clearly surprised by the effect of the staff.
"Wooow….. never seen anything like that before." Emilee said, looking up at Whenua with bright blue-green eyes. "Syd definitely would have loved to see this at work." Onua nodded and turned to the Toa Metru of Earth.
"Are you hurt?" He asked him.
"Nah, I'm fine." Whenua said, then stretched to double-check. "Yeah, I'm all good!" Emilee chuckled.
"I like you, you're optimistic." She admitted standing up straight, still looking down the hole. "I wonder how the others are doing with their search." She turned to Onua, who shrugged at her statement.
"Pohatu and Sydney I don't think had a problem. It's just Lewa, Mark, Takanuva and Amanda I'm worried about…" Onua responded, shaking his head. Whenua perked up.
"The others are looking for the rest of us?" He asked Onua. Seeing the Toa Nuva nod, he relaxed. "Lets get out of here before anything else finds us." He said. Onua and Emilee were happy to leave the underground labyrinth.
Tahu looked happily around his home, seeing as how well the repairs where going. Many of the Matoran were able to start up jobs in the forges, so smoke rose from the once silent chimneys. The one thing he wasn't to impressed about right then was the fact the Toa of Shadow had to be paired up with him. Michael had stayed quiet for a good portion of the chute ride, other than chatting friendly like to the Matoran. He still put Tahu at unease. As the two Toa entered the protodermis reclamation yard, he noticed that Michael began to be more interested in the various Kanohi masks that were littered around the area.
"Like the masks here?" He asked gruffly. Michael nodded, looking at the masks with deep interest.
"It's always been one of the biggest things I like about this place, to be honest." Michael said as he picked up a blue Kanohi Huna with a crack in it, then turned to Tahu. "Hey, do you think that if there's any time, Vakama might be able to give a few pointers about Kanohi crafting? I mean, he was a mask crafter as a Matoran."
"He might, heck, from what I could tell, he could give Sydney a couple of pointers for crafting some trinkets." He said, pointing to small pieces of jewelry and decorative objects. Michael nodded, remembering the little earrings and necklaces that she wore at school. The human then frowned as a thought occurred to him, then he turned to face Tahu.
"So, do you have any idea for where Vakama might be?" Michael asked the Toa of Fire. Tahu snorted, then he quipped back at Michael, "Funny. I thought you were the 'expert' on our world."
"Well," Michael began as they exited the yard and continued deeper into Ta-Metru. "Not a complete 'expert'... but I have a few ideas."
Vakama stared in awe at the Great Furnace. It had been a long time since he had been there. And he wasn't liking it one bit. Morbuzakh was back, along with a small Vohtarak patrol, eagerly snapping their pincers as they advanced towards the group of Matoran pinned by the wall.
"Leave them alone!" He cried out, desperately trying to escape the vines that held him.
"I think not, Vakama." A voice said as it reverberated through the Morbuzakh's vines. Vakama still struggled, he didn't want the same thing that happened to him to happen to the Matoran. "Stay still."
"Like I'd do that!" Vakama said as he broke his left arm free and shot a blast of fire at the Vohtarak. The red Visorak turned to him and hissed angrily, not affected by the flame and heat. Vakama still continued to throw fireballs at the Vohtarak, in hope to draw them away from the sacred Matoran. It worked, but now he was still trapped, with some very angry Vohtarak heading towards him, and he still hadn't escaped yet. They angrily snapped their pincers again, venom dripping. As he finally got his right arm free, the lead Visorak pounced on him and sunk its fangs into his shoulder. Vakama screamed out in pain as he felt the venom course through his body. He finally managed to break of the vines that held him. Panting slightly, he glared at the patrol, glaring hotly at them. Its now or never. He thought. "Go!" He yelled out to the Matoran. "Go find help!" The Matoran quickly booked it out of the area. Vakama only hoped that they managed to find help. He also hoped that he wouldn't once again succumb to his inner beast.
Tahu and Michael navigated through the Ta-Metru underground. Michael realised that it was getting pretty hot as they went further down.
"Geez… Didn't realise how hot it got down here…" Michael said, looking around the working furnaces.
"We Ta-Matoran and Toa don't really notice it." Tahu replied, looking over his shoulder a little, smiling a little.
"Yeah, well, you guys were built for this kind of environment." Michael retorted, glaring hotly at the Toa Nuva of Fire. Tahu laughed at Michael's facial out of the corner of that was at the end of the hall, came a group of petrified Matoran. "Tahu…. Matoran aren't supposed to be down here… Right?" Michael said, seeing that the Matoran had seen them. Tahu nodded, turning to face the breathless Matoran.
"What are you five doing down here? It's far too dangerous for any Matoran to be down here." Tahu told them, then suddenly realised that they seemed scared, and that something had clearly happened. "... What happened?"
"W-w-we were w-working in the forges when we were ambushed b-b-by some spider Rahi and chased into the Great Furnace," A red Ta-Matoran with a black Kanohi Hau stuttered. "A-a-and when we were pinned against the wall, there was another Ta-Toa trapped in these- these vines who distracted the Rahi away for us, and-" A sudden roar echoed down the hall. All the Matoran stiffened and turned to look. Michael finally processed what the Matoran had said.
"Wait, did you say vines? And another Ta-Toa?" He asked them, and all five of the Matoran nodded.
"Get to safety, we'll handle this." Tahu said, pointing to the way out. Quickly, the Matoran ran as Tahu watched them leave. "At least… I hope we can.." He muttered and turned to Michael. "What's so important about the vines?"
"You HAVE heard of what the Toa Metru faced first, right?" Michael asked Tahu. The Toa of Fire nodded, then his eyes dilated as he realized what Michael meant. Michael nodded as he saw Tahu's expression. "Add the fact that there's most likely a Ta-Hordika there and some Vohtarak, and we won't most likely have an easy time ahead of us." Michael said, and the two picked up their pace, heading towards the Great Furnace.
Vakama barely dodged one of the roots, which creaked the floor once it had hit the ground. He growled at the sentient plant life as it struck with three of its vines again. Leaping out of the way, he was about to be crushed by a fourth vine when a black Rhotuka spinner struck it and the tentacle slowly disappeared. Startled, he looked over his shoulder, seeing the Toa of Shadow and Tahu run into the room. Moving quickly, he dashed towards them, avoiding the vines as best he could. Tahu stopped as he looked at the Hordika of Fire, then turned to the Kra-Toa.
"THAT'S Vakama?" The Ta-Toa exclaimed as Vakama dodged another tentacle.
"What did you expect, a 10-foot tall lumbering beast?" Michael quipped back as he readied his Kanoka launcher and loaded it with a freeze disk. Vakama rolled his eyes as he retorted.
"Guess this is what I get for playing hero…" He said, quickly reaching the two Toa's side.
"So… Now what?" Tahu asked the Hordika.
"What I remember is that we used the Great disks to stop it. Unfortunately…. I used them to make the Vahi…." Vakama said, seeing that the Morbuzakh was again making attempts to crush them. Tahu frowned at the problem in front of them, then turned to Michael.
"How do we beat it now? Well, almighty genius," Tahu said with a drawl in his tone. Both Michael and Vakama frowned at Tahu's tone, then Michael crossed his arms.
"Well, I'm not entirely how we can beat it, since most of our little group uses attacks that, when used directly, will do much against it." Michael said as a tentacle slammed down near them.
"Try reaching out. Sydney might be able to pick it up." Vakama suggested, charging his Rhotuka. Tahu noticed that his eyes seemed to be changing color slightly. He shivered, thinking of the small snippets of the Turaga's tale about their time as Hordika.
"If it's all we've got, we should give it a shot." Tahu said, glaring at the main root. Michael stopped staring at the root, and shook his head and looked at Vakama.
"Sydney and the others are on the way." He said as the group prepared to attack the plant. "Unfortunately, Matau was apparently infected with Visorak venom as well, so it will be some time before they get here." He then handed his Kanoka launcher over to Vakama.
"Think you can still shoot it?" He asked as the Fire Hordika examined the launcher, then nodded.
"It'll be hard, but I can do it." He said, looking at his mutated arm.
"Well, it will have to do." Tahu said, then pointed his fire sword at the Morbuzakh. "Move out!" The three of them charged, dodging and attacking the roots that attempted to imprison them, as well as the Visorak acting like antibodies for it and launching Rhotuka spinners at the Toa and Hordika. It was going well, but one misstep, one mistake, and they would be trapped in the crushing vines.
Tahu growled as he cut through a vine and shot a series of fireballs at the nearby Vohtarak, causing for them to be launched head over claws. Vakama gave an animalistic yelp, a vine grappling him around the ankle. Panicked, he checked his launcher, then realised that there were no more freeze disks inside of it. Or any left that Michael had given him. Turning his head to see Michael jump over a vine and disintegrate it with a Rhotuka spinner, Vakama shouted at the Kra-Toa, "Michael, I could use some more disks!"
"Or a helping hand." Came a voice, and a green Rhotuka shot past his head, striking the vine that held him. Startled at this, and the fact that he was frozen in mid-air and slowly descending. Looking over to the entrance, Tahu gave a sigh of relief, seeing that help had finally arrived. "Bulls-eye!" Amanda crowed, looking pleased. Matau, surprisingly, was with them, looking hotly at the vines.
"Fire-spitter, you alright?" Matau asked Vakama, whom Sydney had brought safely to the ground.
"Better than I was before. Thanks for the save." Vakama stated, looking at the physic Toa.
"No biggie. And that is the scariest thing I've seen in my life." She admitted, looking nervously at the Morbuzakh.
"I thought you hated the Visorak." Jessica said, tilting her head at her shorter friend.
"'Hate' is a very strong word, I prefer, 'strongly dislike'." Sydney said, shrugging, but continued to look at the root.
"And is that a giant plant?" Jessica asked. A vine snapped forward, scattering them. Onewa made a mad grab for Amanda, who was frozen stiff, looking wide eyed at the writhing vines.
"Kid, you've got to pay attention." He scolded the Vo-Toa. Amanda nodded, speechless.
"How do we attack-fight this thing?!" Lewa called out, flying around the attacking vines.
"It doesn't like the cold!" Sydney said, ducking from a vine that tried to swipe at her head. Jessica took the liberty to start to disintegrate the vines that held her. "Or Jessie could do that." She muttered, again ducking to avoid the same vine.
"Jessica! Michael! Emilee! Mark! Move!" Vakama shouted as the Morbuzakh became even more aggressive and began thrashing, as if it had noticed the other people there. Emilee hollered, several vines attempting to pin her down.
"Ah, kinda busy here!" Emilee yelped, attempting to escape the vines. Sydney attempted to reach her friend, only to get a gut "punch" by another vine and was soon ensnared alongside Emilee. "Great! Just great!" Emilee said, her voice sounding strained. Sydney wiggled to escape, but then gave a strangled cry. Tahu suddenly realised what it was doing.
"Little, foolish Toa." The Morbuzakh hissed, squeezing the two imprisoned teens. Jessica looked at Michael. They nodded and Jessica quickly started to move. Michael called out to it.
"Hey! Down here!" He shouted, and the roots began focusing on him. As he dodged a series of strikes and took out three with his Rhotuka spinners, and ducked. Jessica worked her way around the deady roots, hoping that she didn't get caught. She could hear the voice of the giant plant, but shrugged it off. Getting her friends out was top on her list at that point. Jessica looked towards the others. The two Hordika were holding out good, blasting the roots and vines away from them. The Toa Metru seemed to back the Toa Nuva up, and the rest of them were dodging and ducking around the vines.
"What have they done for you, little one? You're not from this world." The root asked Jessica as she neared the giant plant. "You have no purpose here, just a mere toy for a higher being."
"For your information, I am no one's puppet!" Jessica yelled as she shot a trio of temporal blasts at the plant, causing for it to start to shrivel. "You're nowhere near smart enough to be a 'higher being'! And you're sure as hell not! GONNA! TAKE! MY! FRIENDS!" Jessica's body emitted a powerful blast, and the plant shriveled to a small seedling, dropping the Toa of Fire and Psonics. Sydney was shaking, panting from the lack of air.
"That… was…. the most…. coolest thing…. ever!" She said, sitting down. Amanda raced over to her friends and started to fret over them. Mark also came over, clearly checking to see if any broken ribs. Sydney and Emilee didn't enjoy being the center of attention at that point. Jessica looked over to Michael, who had walked up to her side.
"Nice job with taking that overgrown triffid down!" Michael said as Jessica turned to him.
"Never thought I had that much power in me. To be honest.." She replied. "Thanks for distracting it for me, helped a bunch." Michael shrugged, but clapped her on the back.
"Wonder what else we have in store?" He said, looking at the seedling. Jessica frowned at it.
"Got anymore of those freeze disks or something?" She asked him, looking hopeful. Michael checked what he had left, and frowned.
"Sorry, used the last one…." He said, shaking his head. Jessica looked at the seedling again, then sighed. Once again, her powers were needed.
Nuju looked around the cave that he was in. It was all coming back to him, and what had happened at the meeting. A teenage human had entered, and….. nothing. Now he was in the same cave that so long ago, he and the others of his team had met Keetongu as the Toa Hordika. But something was different this time, he could tell. When he first came here, it felt like a peaceful place. Now it had a dark presence to it, and it felt as though corruption was in the air itself. Nuju knew that he had to be on his guard. As he began to go deeper into the cave, he began to feel something. He gulped, hoping that it wasn't what he thought it was. Coming around the corner, he came to the room with the 'pound' in the middle of it. The feeling of corruption was stronger in here. Nuju had a horrible feeling about this.
Kasey shivered as they climbed one of the many mountains of Ko-Metru. Though she and the others lived in Maine, the halfway point of the equator and the North pole(a little trivia point Sydney had told her, smart girl). Cold winters and hot summers, she lived through it her whole life. But the cold there, didn't compare to how cold it was in Ko-Metru.
"How much further do we have to go?" Kasey called up to the Toa Nuva of Ice.
"We still have a little ways to go. Have you ever heard of Keetongu?" He asked.
"Key-mango?" Kasey said, raising an eyebrow. Kopaka face-palmed.
"Kee-ton-gu. He's a Rahi who cured the Toa Metru when they were Hordika." Kopaka corrected the brownish-red haired teen. Kasey frowned, remembering Syd had mentioned something about 'Hordika' before.
"Well, wherever we are going, is it warm?" She couldn't help but ask. Kopaka turned his head to her.
"Depends on your definition of 'warm'." He said, turning his head back forward and continued to walk further into the icy Metru. Kasey groaned, more in disappointment, but continuing following the Toa of Ice.
"Hate the cold… Now I know how it feels to be freezing in an arctic environment…" After a while of walking, Kasey saw the strangest, but most amazing ice structure. "It…. It looks like a dome….. that reaches the sky.." Kasey said, eyes wide at the structure. Kopaka chuckled.
"We check in there." He said, gently pushing the flabbergasted teen towards it. But once entering, a sudden crash sounded, causing the two to flinch. Kasey looked to Kopaka. "That better not be who I think it is." He grumbled, and took out his sword and prepared to fight whatever made that sound.
"Wait! What did make that sound!" Kasey called out to the Toa, who started to run ahead. No answer, and Kasey huffed. "No fair, no one tells me anything." She said as she ran after Kopaka.
Kopaka ran into the chamber, only to find a yellow being standing over an unconscious white Toa. Kopaka stiffened, taking in the sight. A slight bump and a squeak sounded behind him. Kasey had caught up to him.
"Why'd you- OH!" She said, eyes wide. "Is that Keetongu?" The yellow being turned to the two, and it's singular eye soon focused on the two beings in the doorway. Kopaka suddenly noticed the feeling of evil. He looked to Kasey, and saw that she was shaking slightly. "W-what is that? I thought you said he helped the Toa Metru?!" She said, taking a step back. Kopaka readied his sword and shield.
"Get ready to move. Grab Nuju and get out of here." He said, keeping his eyes on the Rahi. Kasey blinked and made a sound that was probably going to form a sentence, but changed her mind. She nodded instead.
"Intruders detected."The yellow Rahi said, then his chest opened up to show a yellow spinning light. "Eliminating intruders." Kasey suddenly flinched, wondering why the 'peaceful' Rahi was attacking them.
"Now!" Kopaka said, charging at Keetongu, and Kasey stuck to the sides, hoping to avoid the fight. The two beings clashed, and Kasey had reached the Toa Metru of Ice, who was still out cold. He groaned a little as Kasey lifted him up by the armpits. Geez! These guys are heavy! She thought, as she partly carried and partly dragged across the ground away from the battle. Kasey looked at Kopaka, and saw that he wasn't faring all that well against the giant Rahi. She winced as Kopaka was sent flying to a wall. I have to help him, but only after I get Nuju to safety first… Kasey thought as she continued her half dragging carry. Nuju groaned and opened his eyes. The Toa Metru of Ice realised that he was being 'carried' away from the battle. Nuju looked up to see Kasey, who realised that he was now awake, and was looking at him with big eyes.
"Ahhh…. Hi?" She said, looking a little nervous at him. The Toa stared at her for a few seconds, then blinked.
"When did you get here?" He asked her calmly.
"A little while ago, and Keetongu is going nuts…" Kasey replied, looking back up at the battle. "And Kopaka needs help badly." Nuju looked up just in time to see Kopaka dodge the hammer that Keetongu wielded.
"Well, he won't 'wake up' that easily." A voice said, then the shadows near Kasey and Nuju writhed for a few seconds, and Ruunaja stepped out with a launcher with glowing green spheres inside of it. Kasey's eyes widened.
"You…" She hissed, glaring at the Makuta. He grinned.
"Nice to see you too, Toa of Sound. And might I say that this is nice to see you again." He said, studying the girls stance. Kasey didn't say anything to him, but Nuju did.
"What did you do to Keetongu?!" Nuju demanded.
"Oh, nothing a little antidermis couldn't help with." Ruunaja smirked, and fiddled with is launcher.
"And what's in those?" Nuju said, pointing to the spheres.
"Oh, these?" He said, smirk growing wider. "Something… 'special' I whipped up." Nuju pushed the teen behind him and took a step back himself. "Ohh, come on. It's not that bad." He said, still fiddling with the launcher. "Well, maybe a little bad, but you've got to admit." He grinned widened as he gestured to the battle. "Look at the chaos that I've started." Nuju growled, while Kasey pondered at what the Makuta had called her.
"Toa of Sound…" Kasey muttered, then looked at Ruunaja. Maybe…. She thought, then grinned as she figured out a plan to injure the Makuta. "Hey Ruunaja." The Makuta looked at her, looking a little confused. "Beat this." Kasey clapped her hands hard at him, and a sudden sound thundered in the cave. Ruunaja covered his ears in pain. "Shouldn't have said anything!" Kasey told him, smiling.
"Guess not. But it won't matter." The Makuta growled at her. "Keetongu is bound to finish you three off." He then turned to the ancient Rahi, who had just blocked an attack by Kopaka with his shield, and shouted out at the Rahi. "Keetongu, stop holding back and eliminate these pests!"
"Affirmative, master." Keetongu said, then slammed his blade claw into Kopaka's side, thus knocking the Toa fly into the far wall. Kasey flinched, hearing the ice crack on Kopaka's impact. Groaning, Kopaka attempted to get up, but fell again. Nuju looked at Keetongu, then at Ruunaja.
"How do we beat him?" He growled at him.
"Now that would be cheating, wouldn't it?" Ruunaja responded, shaking his head. He smiled. "And I won't have to deal with you three any more." He sneered, green eyes narrowing slightly at the two.
"Sister, we need to grab Kopaka and get out of here." Nuju whispered as Keetongu started to walk towards them. Kasey nodded.
"But what about him? He might prevent us from escaping!" Kasey whispered back, looking at Kopaka, then the entrance.
"We have to try." Nuju told her. Kasey looked worriedly at him, then but on her best brave face. They both bolted, avoiding the brainwashed Rahi and Kasey ran over to Kopaka, he wasn't doing so well. Once again, Kasey lifted the now unconscious Toa to drag him away from the battle.
"You aren't getting away that easily!" Ruunaja yelled, then aimed his launcher at Kasey. "Prepare to join our side, Toa." Before he could shoot, a snowball beaned him in the side of the face. Kasey blinked, confused, but then snorted, holding back a giggle. A couple of more snowballs flew out of nowhere and hit the bamboozled Makuta, who was looking around wildly for the source.
"You suck at dodging… You know that?" Michael pointed out from the shadows, shooting a disk at Ruunaja. Anger briefly flashed on Ruunaja's face, then he recollected himself and grinned.
"Well, if it isn't the failure." Ruunaja drawled as he reached around to his back and pulled out a pronged staff. More snowballs came at him, only for the Makuta to deflect them. "And by Krazaka, I will make whoever is throwing those regret that they threw them!" Another snowball to the face answered him.
"You know Syd's having a field day throwing those? Cause I think she's trying very hard to not giggle." Michael said, shooting more of his disks at Ruunaja, forcing the Makuta to attempt to dodge all of the flying projectiles coming at him. More battle cries sounded, and the cavalry had arrived. Jessica, Mark and Emilee came out of nowhere, attacking Ruunaja with swords, what looked like spiked brass knuckles, and a scythe. Amanda backed Sydney up(wherever she was) by helping her throw the snowballs. Two creatures of some sort came over and helped Kasey out to pull Kopaka out of the way. Kasey starred in awe at them, confused of their appearance.
"What? Never seen Hordika-beast before?" The green one snapped, causing her to flinch.
"Thats rude." Kasey retorted.
"So is staring." He shot back, causing the red one to growl and slap him upside the head.
"Enough, Matau." The red one said, then looked over at Keetongu, who was trying to hit the various projectiles thrown at him as well. "We have other things to worry about." Kasey's jaw dropped.
"Vakama?!" She asked, studying the red one. Vakama nodded, then pulled out a fire welder and got into a fighting stance.
"Wait here with Kopaka, if he wakes up, and make sure he doesn't move." He told Kasey, and him and Matau charged at the Rahi, who was fighting the Toa Nuva and the rest of the Toa Metru. Kasey turned her head to see how the others were faring against Ruunaja. Mark somehow got a hold of a large icicle, smashing it across the Makuta's head. He shot around wildly, and Sydney squeaked, coming into view as she avoided a sphere.
"You." Ruunaja snarled as he realized who was chucking the snowballs at him. The Toa of Psonics paled. He lunged, grabbing the girl by the hair. Sydney cried out, going limp slightly, trying to fight his grip. "By Krazaka, my father was right about you, you little snake." He hissed at the whimpering girl.
"Let go! It hurts!" Sydney yelled, more icicles striking her captor on the head. Vakama growled as he looked over and saw this. The Toa Nuva and Metru paused their fighting to look as well.
"Leave her alone!" Jessica screamed at Ruunaja, racing towards the two. "You and your family already caused her enough pain!"
"And what are you going to do about it?" Ruunaja simpered at Jessica as he changed his grip to be around Sydney's neck, then noticed Michael was staring at the ground. He sent a small wall of shadow to block Jessica's advance and spoke; "Aww, is wittle Michael scawed?" Michael growled, then lifted his head up to look at the Makuta with a cold glare and his mask began to glow.
"Let her GO!" He shouted, then flung his arms out. When he did this, the ground burst open and a white beetle burst out of the ground with two of its legs rotting and its left eye dangling out of its socket. Suddenly, all eyes were on him and the beetle.
"Dude…. Is that a zombie bug?" Jessica asked quietly, peering from around the wall of shadow. Emilee took Amanda and backed away from the bizarre sight. Mark even looked a bit stupefied at it. Ruunaja, only smirked.
"Another reason why the Toa won't accept you." He seethed at the Shadow Toa.
"We will!" Sydney gasped, and Ruunaja glared at her. "He's a really good friend… Better…. than you…" She gasped.
"I've heard enough out of you." He hissed at the teen in his hand, and squeezed. As Sydney struggled for air, Michael began to become more feral in appearance, then flicked his arms and twin falchions with chains attached snapped into place.
"Tear his arms out." He ordered, and the beetle let out a loud screech as began charging at the Makuta with Michael hot in pursuit. Ruunaja realized that Michael was really going to tear him to pieces.
"Fine!" He snapped, throwing the Psonic Toa aside, and vanished. "But this isn't over, Michael." And he was gone. Michael stopped charging and shouted out, the beetle halting as well.
"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME! YOU COWARD!"
"Michael! He's gone! We have to stop Key-to-mango!" Jessica yelled as she dashed over to the enraged Michael. Kasey looked horrified at the bug, then to Michael. Why did he react that way? I know Sydney defended him when Tahu gave him crap, but… Kasey thought, stupefied by Michael's actions.
"Michael… are you ok?" Jessica asked, cautiously approaching him. Michael began to calm down as he realized that his target wasn't around any more, he took a deep breath and turned to look at the beetle, who was awaiting orders.
"Return to your eternal slumber." Michael said, and like a puppet with it's strings cut, the beetle collapsed and laid still. Jessica looked at him, and asked her question again.
"Are you ok?" Michael looked at Jessica.
"I don't know…. But for now, lets get Keetongu back to himself again." Michael said, changing the subject quickly. Kasey looked over at Sydney, who lay there shivering and gasping. She then ran over to her, lifted her up by the arm and helped her over to Kopaka. Kasey then looked over at the battle now resumed.
"I'll be right back you two, I just gotta help the others fight this Rahi." Kasey told the two of them quietly. Kopaka didn't stir, but Sydney looked at Kasey sadly. "It's ok Syd, don't give me that long face." Kasey said stubbornly, Sydney didn't say anything, only curled up and shivered.
Tahu didn't know what the Makuta did to Keetongu or Kopaka, but he sure wasn't enjoying it. The Rahi wasn't even holding back on his strength, and all of the Toa were fighting him. Kasey finally joined in on the fight, but even with her added effort, Keetongu wasn't going down. How strong IS he? He wondered as he watched Keetongu catch a boulder the size of a Nui-Jaga and throw it back at Onua. Jessica had teamed up with Amanda and they both charged at him, trying to distract him. Mark then attacked at his joints, only to get swatted aside.
"OHFF!" Mark grunted as he made impact with the wall. Nokama raced over to him to check that he was ok, and Lewa and Takanuva attacked again, alongside Kasey and Pohatu. However, this proved to be futile as Keetongu back-handed them away. Kasey and Pohatu went headlong into each other and lay there motionless for a second before Kasey sat up, dazed.
"We're not getting any head way through this…." Jessica muttered, pulling Amanda out of harms way. Michael seemed to be trying to figure something out. "What do you think of this, Mike?"
"Well, whatever's affecting him, it's making him follow commands without any hesitation." Michael said as he watched Keetongu grab Lewa's leg as he flew past and slammed him into the ground. "It's almost like…" Michael's face paled, then he turned to Kasey.
"Kasey, did Ruin-a-jar, at any point, tell you what was in his launcher?" He asked desperately.
"He said something about anti-something…. Antidermis, I think." Kasey answered him. "Is that stuff bad?" Michael swore as Kasey answered his question, then turned to the other Toa, who were preparing to charge once again at Keetongu.
"Everyone, we need to fall back, NOW!" He shouted as he shot a non-elemental Rhotuka spinner above Keetongu, causing for part of the ceiling to break off and bury Keetongu in a pile of snow and ice. Tahu and the other Toa Nuva and Metru looked at him mortified.
"First you bring a dead Rahi to life, now your telling us to run! From the only thing that can cure Matau and Vakama?!" Tahu hollered, glaring daggers at him.
"Right now, he'd be more likely to marry Roodaka than cure them." Michael said as he gestured at Keetongu. "From what I can understand, he's been immersed in antidermis, which means that he'll only listen the Makuta. Unless we've got some energized protodermis nearby, it's pointless to try and get him to cure Matua and Vakama." There were a couple of ew's at the Roodaka comment. Jessica nodded, agreeing with Michael.
"I agree with him, and also, I don't want anymore of us hurt." Jessica said, dashing over to where Sydney and Kopaka lay. Amanda looked at Tahu with a hard look and followed Jess. Tahu snorted as one by one, they left the cave with Keetongu chasing them for a little bit, then stopped as the last of them exited the temple-like cave.
Kopaka groaned, Nuju and Onua carrying him. Sydney had settled herself near Vakama and Michael, now able to walk now but she was shivering badly from the cold. Vakama looked at the others, who were stealing glances at the Toa of Shadows. Nokama then looked over at the three of them, who were lagging behind slightly, and sighed.
"Sydney… I think it might be better-"
"I don't want to appear to be dead weight. I can walk." Sydney said stubbornly, looking up at the Toa Metru of Water, a look of determination on her face. Jessica chuckled and shook her head. The girl was being stubborn like an ox. It wasn't easy to persuade the teen, well, maybe a little to easy. But Sydney had a determined look on her face, wanting to show that she wasn't a weakling. And the Toa Nuva knew one thing, that Sydney sometimes refused help on things. Nokama then gave Sydney a hard look. "The answer is still no."
"Oh, for the love of-" Michael started, face palming. Sydney looked at him with a confused look on her face. Mark and Emilee turned to see what the commotion was about. "Syd, it's hurt you to have a piggy-back ride!"
"I'm not a baby! I can walk!" She retorted, looking at Michael. Michael sighed, then walked over to Sydney. "Wait, what are you-!" Michael picked her up by her waist, then set her down on Vakama's back.
"Sydney, you're freezing and injured, so if you won't take a piggy-back ride, would you at least be taken on a Hordika-back ride?" Michael asked jokingly. Sydney owlishly blinked, but said nothing and cuddled to Vakama, mumbling something that sounded like warm. Pohatu looked at Jessica.
"I thought you guys were used to the cold." He said, and Emilee laughed.
"We are! Just because we're used to it doesn't mean we like it!" Emilee said laughing.
"And Syd's just one of those few who just plain can't stay warm really." Jessica said, grinning at the Toa of Stone. Onewa couldn't help but to chuckle at this. Whenua looked over at Vakama.
"Enjoying your new friend?" He asked him. Vakama only gave a look at his teammate, but then said.
"She's not as heavy as I thought she would be.." He replied. Tahu didn't even join in on the conversation that was starting up, he only continued forward towards Ko-Metru.
"What's up with Tahu anywho? It's not fair that he has to judge people like that.." Kasey said, watching the Toa Nuva of Fire walk away from them. Jessica looked towards Michael.
"Tell me if I'm wrong….. but it's about the dead beetle, isn't it?" She asked Michael. "And what happened back there? You sorta freaked out there for a minute."
"Well, I can understand the part about the undead, since the mask power, necromancy, is considered immoral. As for the rest, well…" Michael sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."
"The undead beetle was cool!" Sydney piped up. "Sorta like those mutant bugs from the Resident Evil series!" Everyone turned heads at her. "...What? I can't watch zombie movies or play the games?"
"When we get back home, no more Resident Evil movies for you." Jessica said firmly. "They put funny things in your brain." Everyone laughed at that, even though the Toa had no idea what "Resident Evil" was.
"I didn't know you watched those kind of movies." Michael admitted.
"I like good horror movies like that." Syd said grinning slightly. Kasey and Amanda made faces.
"I don't see how you like those movies Syd, and I never will." Kasey muttered, shaking her head.
"Well, that makes two of you." Michael said, then looked at Sydney. "Have you seen '28 Days Later' yet?" Sydney paused and thought about it.
"No, but my older brother has. He said it was a good movie." She replied.
"Yeah, I have to agree with him. The main difference between it and normal zombie movies is that-"
"No spoilers!" Sydney blurted, then made a face. "Oh no….." She frantically began to look around, and ended up falling off of Vakama in a frenzy. "Its gone…. It's gone!"
"What's gone?" Pohatu asked. Sydney looked at them all with a horrified face.
"My grandmother's rosary….. it's gone…" Jessica, Amanda, Kasey and Emilee froze. Gali paused, remembering seeing a strange type of necklace that Sydney had in her pocket. She pulled out a white beaded necklace with a cross on the end of it. Sydney saw this and her eyes widened, reaching out to it. Gali, now confused, gave it back to Sydney, which she clung to it like a Ta-Matoran gets a little too clingy his tools. Jessica motioned for Michael and Gali over away from the group.
"Jessica, why is Sydney acting like that?" Gali asked, concerned.
"I've never seen her act like that either. What happened?" Michael asked. Jessica bit her lip.
"Sydney lost her grandmother two months ago, I think now that we're here…. that's all she's got left of her. From what I could tell, and from what Sydney told me….. The two of them were really attached to each other." Jessica told them. Gali gave a small gasp, and covered her mouth. Michael looked a little awe struck. "I'm surprised that she didn't tell you Michael…" Jessica added.
"I can understand why she didn't tell me." Michael said as he stared off into the distance for a little bit before looking back at Jessica. "After all, she has her privacy, and if she doesn't want to tell me, then I won't ask about it." Jessica smiled.
"Understandable….. But Syd told all of us, I thought she told you as well…." Jessica paused then, and looked back at the others. "Suppose we should get goin' before we all freeze." Jessica stated, and as Gali left she spoke directly to Michael. "And…. If, if you are ready to talk about. I'm all ears." Michael nodded, then began walking back to the group.
Toa-of-Spirit:... Another chapter done…. omgwtfbbq! How many pages is this?! 1...4… O^O 14 pages!? For cereal!
Nuju: For the record…. 'For cereal' is not a phrase.
Thanatos's Scribe: And what does 'bbq' even mean?! I can understand 'omg' and 'wtf', but really, what DOES 'bbq' mean.
Toa-of-Spirit: Barbecue…. or something like that…. I pick things up ok? Don't judge me..
Vakama: Where do you learn this stuff? :|
Toa-of-Spirit: Internet.
Thanatos's Scribe: Ah, the internet. Home to many things, from facts about gaming to the common shippings with fandoms. It's also home to many other things not worth mentioning, also.
Toa-of-Spirit: Many unspeakable things on the internet, and not to mention America invented the internet! :D
Nuju: Still…. for cereal is not a phrase I've heard.
Thanatos's Scribe: It's an abbreviated version of 'for seriously', like how 'Hinny' stands for Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, and 'Nokatau'... *chuckles* Welll, I'll let you figure that one out yourself.
Toa-of-Spirit: *snickers* I know that one 8D
Vakama&Nuju: :| really?
Both: Whaaaaat? *grin innocently*
(other characters stand by and watch Nuju and Vakama chase the two authors)
Sydney: Should we help them?
Jessica: naaw. Let the two have their fun. Anyways, leave a fav/review if you enjoyed this chapter! Toa-of-Spirit likes the feedback on this! Bye now!