(A/N): Hey, welcome to 2025! Glad you made it, and that the last chapter wasn't enough to drive you away! To kick off Act 2 and the new year, we've got a loose adaptation of one of the Bohrok saga comics! There's a bit of a twist on how it plays out, as usual, but I hope you enjoy all the same!
The air within Turaga Dume's office was heavy and tense.
Axonn's optics narrowed further with each word out of Helryx's mouth, hands slowly tightening around the handle of his axe. Brutaka paced by his side, pretending to be bored and uninterested by their leader's report, but his occasional glances betrayed his curiosity. Botar stood behind the ancient Toa with damaged armor and a sullen scowl, grinding his teeth in irritation and pain. And Dume sat utterly silent behind his desk, hands folded together as he stared into every shadow within the room.
After the ancient Toa had finished speaking, after a silence that was almost deafening, Brutaka was the first to speak.
"So the human finally snapped, huh?" The golden-armored titan chuckled humorlessly. "Can't say I'm surprised - I clocked her as weak-willed the second we dragged her down here. Not sure if I should be annoyed she made us go this far to keep her quiet…or impressed that she managed to give Botar a good thrashing on the way out."
A snarl sounded off from the very beat-up Caryxon.
"Oh, get over it. You should appreciate the exercise. If you managed to get beat up by a tiny little human, clearly you need it."
Helryx glared daggers at the flippant Order member. "My patience for your disparaging remarks runs especially thin today, Brutaka. Fall in line, or fall silent."
Axonn's partner rolled his optics. "And what are you gonna do if I don't, hmm? Grab another Krana from the Archives and put it on my face? Send me up there to break mountains and chop down trees with the rest of those bugs?"
"If I must, then I will."
The old Toa's words were colder than any water she could summon. Brutaka said nothing, for once, opting instead to level an irritated glare at the Order leader - one she was more than happy to return. Hoping to steer the conversation in a more productive direction, Axonn spoke next.
"I find it…curious that Penny would take such risks to defend the Matoran on the island," he mused. "Fighting Botar in response to finding out that he put a Seal on her portal abilities, that much I understand - she was lashing out in response to what she perceived as a betrayal. But to directly argue and defy you, Helryx, when so far she had been compliant…to take such a firm moral stand against your notion to sacrifice the remaining Matoran of Metru Nui…it bears questioning, does it not?"
"It seems straightforward enough to me," answered Helryx. "Upon learning the truth, her past trauma and her emotions clouded her judgment, making her lose sight of what the Order hopes to accomplish. Perhaps her time with the Krana will give her clarity of mind - perhaps it will help her realize that the Bohrok's work must be finished, be it today or in a thousand years from now. Her power will certainly be a boon to the Bahrag in their efforts, if nothing else."
"Perhaps it will, but remember that she was given such power by the Great Spirit himself," countered the silver-armored titan. "She has a deeper connection with Mata Nui than any of us, for she was the first to hear his voice in a thousand years. I can't help but wonder if she knows something about the Bohrok's awakening that we don't. Something we've missed or forgotten -"
"Will you be the next to doubt my judgment today, Axonn?"
Now that same icy intonation was targeting him, along with those colorless optics that had seen too much horror for one lifetime. He furrowed his brow behind his mask. Curious, too, that Helryx was so adamant that her actions hours earlier were necessary…had Penny truly gotten under her armor during their argument of ethics? Did the young human's faith and hope remind her too much of the Toa she used to be, before time and Destiny took their toll on her? Or was she really that eager to bring about the Order's ultimate goal, if only to drop the chains of commanding?
Axonn usually followed Helryx through whatever hell she led the Order into, with faith that she would lead them back out, yet this didn't sit right with his soul. Taking away the autonomy of another living being…it made something twist within his heartstone, sparking a fire of doubt he'd long since snuffed out. Not that the act itself was too horrific to ponder - the Order had done far worse to its enemies before, after all, and he'd meted out more than a few of those punishments himself. But such methods were usually reserved for monstrous Makuta or Dark Hunters who got too greedy, not clever little aliens who just wanted to do as much good as possible within their short lives. Was Penny really such a threat, that this was the most preferable outcome?
He wasn't sure. He certainly had his doubts. But he also rather enjoyed having a head on his shoulders, so he merely opted to stay silent in the face of Helryx's cold fury. That seemed to satisfy her, as she began pacing once more. Something she had done often in recent centuries, Axonn noted.
"Botar has already taken her to the island and set her loose," intoned the ancient Toa. "The scouting team will keep an eye on her, to ensure that she's helping the Bohrok and that the Krana remains in control. For now, your orders are to continue fixing the city with Toa Pyrrha and the Rahaga. Tell them whatever you think they need to hear, in order to explain Penny's absence - but only if they question you first."
"Gonna take a lot longer to get things done without that fancy trick of hers," grumbled Brutaka.
"Then work faster. I want Metru Nui fully operational before the last stone on that island crumbles." Helryx turned her gaze to Dume. "And what about you, Turaga? Do you have anything to add?"
He expected the former Toa of Fire to grouse or complain as he always did, to declare himself too old for all this skullduggery despite being the youngest in the room. Yet Dume stayed just as silent as he'd been throughout the entire meeting, just glaring at everything and nothing with a distant look behind his mask. He didn't even give an indication that he'd heard Helryx. Didn't even turn to face her. That, more than anything, spoke volumes about his feelings on the matter - feelings that usually got people sent to the Pit, if voiced loud enough for Botar to hear.
After waiting for a moment only to be fed more silence, Helryx nodded. "Very well, then. I leave Metru Nui to you. Botar."
The wounded Caryxon clamped a claw around her shoulder, and then they were both gone.
"Guess we'd better go figure out a good excuse to tell the little freaks running around the city," rumbled Brutaka as he stomped his way out the door. "And the Rahaga too, I guess."
After watching his oldest friend storm off with more irritation than usual, Axonn faced Dume with some pity in his gaze. "I know that it must be difficult, to know that the Order would allow the deaths of your former constituents…but remember our mission. Remember our Duty. If such things are the will of Mata Nui, then they must be followed."
Dume didn't look at him, either, but his words were barely more than a whisper as Axonn turned to leave.
"And how can we be so certain, then, that it's Mata Nui's will we follow?"
Axonn didn't have an answer…at least, not one he himself could believe in.
There weren't many things that Nora liked about the Bohrok, but the way they crumpled and shattered was definitely one of them.
Her latest victim went flying and crashed against the cavern wall with a heavy thud, joining the rest of the mangled Krana-less wrecks. She let out a yell and leapt to bring Magnhild down on another blue-plated Gahlok, the sound of the impact echoing alongside her war cry. To her delight, the mechanical insect practically folded in on itself where she struck, even deforming around the hammer's head like it was giving the weapon a much-needed hug.
The two remaining land-bound Gahlok turned away from the huge flooded pit to face her with menacing clicks. Rather than rip her maul free to deal with them, Nora just swung Magnhild like a baseball bat with all the extra mass and weight, bashing both of the Bohrok with the wreck of their fallen swarm-mate. One of them had an arm and leg sheared off by ramming force alone. The other was hit hard enough to crack two faceplates in a single blow. A pull of a trigger and an explosion of Dust finally freed her hammer, with the added benefit of reducing two Bohrok to scrap metal with just one grenade.
"I'll be taking that!" chirped Nora as she pulled one candy-orange Krana free from its twisted tray, then snatched up the other before it could slither away. "Ah, and this one too! And y'know what, maybe I'll take that one while I'm here…"
Her eyes trailed to the last combatant, only to narrow as she noticed it limping back toward the water.
"Oh no you don't! Did I say you could swim away?! I don't think I did!"
She stuffed the two claimed Krana in a leafy satchel (man these Ga-Matoran made some cool bags, not to mention cute!) and ran at the Bohrok amputee, which shrieked and started levitating when it realized it couldn't crawl faster than she could run. She shifted Magnhild into a grenade launcher and fired a few explosive salvos, all of which were shot off-course by bursts of water from the remaining handshield. Growling, she stowed her weapon and leapt at the Gahlok just as it hovered over the flooded pit, tackling it in mid-air and sending both of them tumbling and splashing into the dark depths.
As soon as they were underwater the Gahlok immediately thrashed and spun with its remaining limbs, intending to drown her or tear her apart in a death roll. But Nora had lungs full of air and a tight grip on her target, so she just rode out the robot bug's tantrum with a bubbly grin. When it finally stopped, she pulsed her Aura to activate the Lightning Dust Weave in her belt - just enough of a shock to trigger her Semblance, not enough to electrify the water around her - and felt a surge of strength flow through her, which she used to deliver a kick strong enough to stun it and knock it away. She swam back down and grabbed it with both hands, reared back, and delivered the mother of all headbutts to shatter its faceplate.
The Gahlok's last shriek echoed through the deep waters, and the Krana immediately began trying to float away. She just grabbed it with a triumphant burst of bubbles, then peered into the depths of the very, very, very deep flooded pit. From this distance she couldn't see much, but she saw glints of emerald light swimming up to meet her - and eventually, the glow from the lightstone on her hip revealed a ten-foot-tall figure in pure ebony armor and a golden mask.
She shot a big thumbs-up to Onua, then gestured for the surface with puffed-up cheeks. Her partner Toa nodded and watched as she kicked upward with both legs, making her way back up before following her himself.
"Pwah! Buh!" Nora broke the surface and spit out a stream of water, then grinned as her companion emerged behind her. "Hey Onua! Done down there already, huh? Didya get all the Gahlok?"
"Not as many as I had hoped, but yes," rumbled the Toa of Earth. "The rest of the pod fled deeper into the tunnel branches, deeper than I dare follow even with the Mask of Water-Breathing. Their Krana will have to remain unclaimed for the moment."
"Ah, we'll get 'em eventually!" she chirped as she treaded water, keeping the Krana in her fist at an arm's length. "I took care of the ones up here, and snagged four of their Krana to boot! Let's see what we got!"
Onua nodded and clawed his way to the side of the pit, pulling himself out before helping Nora herself out of the water. She smiled in thanks before shaking herself dry, then ripped the tentacles right off her latest Krana and watched its squirming and squealing finally stop.
"Let's see…this one's a Vu, I think," she said as she hummed thoughtfully, rummaging through her bag and pulling out Krana (and their tentacles) as she spoke. "That one's a Yo, this one's a Ja, and the last one is…oh, it's another Yo. Man, duplicates are always so disappointing."
Onua nodded tersely as he looked over his own prizes. "Indeed. Of the seven that I extracted, I believe the only new ones are a Bo and a Za. The rest are ones you have already claimed just now, which hardly seems a coincidence - with so many Krana gifted in tunneling, radar, telepathy, and enhanced vision, this pod was likely tasked with expanding the flooded tunnel network."
Nora grinned. "Hey, that's still pretty good! Since we stopped most of 'em, they won't be doing much digging around here. Plus, you know what this means?"
She pulled out her Scroll and opened up the Krana Tracker, excitedly tapping the icons and making an entire row light up in orange. "That's five new ones on our end. If we add these to the ones that Ruby and Gali got from that battle in Onu-Koro, which included one of those swarm commanders…it looks like we've got a full set from the water guys now! Heck yeah! High five, buddy!"
The thunderous teenager raised her hand. Onua did not return the gesture, merely turning and looking at the flooded chamber. Tilting her head, Nora stowed her Scroll and stood up, walking up next to the Toa of Earth.
"Hey, you good big guy? I'm not…annoying you, am I?"
Onua shook his head. "No, no, you are fine Nora. I merely…mourn for this place, is all. This is…this was…the Great Mine of Onu-Koro. For a thousand years my people dug here for treasures of the earth, building a life for themselves with these subterranean gifts. To see it flooded like this is a sobering sight, a reminder that even were we to stop the Bohrok…some things will never be the same."
That was a feeling Nora understood a little too well, prompting her to hug the Toa's arm and rest her cheek against protodermic plating.
"Yeah…I get that," she said quietly. "Sometimes home never really feels like home again, even if you fix it back up."
The pair were silent for a solemn moment, with Onua bowing his head and closing his eyes sorrowfully. Nora couldn't think of any other comforting words, so she settled for giving more gentle squeezes and a few affectionate nuzzles. She still wasn't sure if the Toa felt her touch through that metal skin, but it was clear the gesture was appreciated - especially when Onua eventually pulled his arm free and patted her head gently with his claw.
"Thank you, Nora," he rumbled softly, clearly smiling behind his mask and his sadness. "I…do not think I could bear such sights alone."
She nodded and leaned into the headpats. "Good thing you're not alone, then. Take all the time you need, big guy. Now that we've got a full Gahlok set, we can afford to slow down a bit."
Of course, as soon as she said that, her Scroll came alive with a poppy, upbeat ringtone.
I think, oh whoa, what am I to do?
I didn't know that I would fall in love with you…
"Man, I gotta change my ringtone at some point, that song is ancient." Nora giggled and shook her head, ignoring the pit in her heart and answering the call with a genuine smile. "Ruby! Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby! What's up?"
The silver-eyed Huntress on the screen chuckled softly. "Hey, Nora. You and Onua are still near Onu-Koro, right? "
"Indeed," said the Toa of Earth behind her. "Why do you ask?"
"Because Gali just got in touch with me about an incomplete flooded tunnel the Gahlok planned to use in the region, and Pohatu said that he and Neo spotted the Tahnok horde regrouping and making their way over to Tiro Canyon." Ruby gave a sly smirk. "How would you guys like to help us wash those hotheads away for good?"
Nora gave a dangerous grin of her own. "Say no more…we're on our way."
A few hours and one crazy plan later, Ruby found herself sitting in the back of an Ussal-pulled cart, one with toothed metal tracks instead of wheels and metal benches instead of seats. It wasn't the fastest or most comfortable thing she'd ever ridden, but it was still quicker than it looked - the Matoran driver clearly knew how to coax the most effort out of the island's giant robotic crabs, guiding his steed with gestures and reins and near-constant praise. Despite the uneven terrain in this part of Mata Nui, despite the abundance of cliffs and mesas and stony hills and valleys, the Ussal pulling them along never slowed or veered off-course.
I can see why Penny swears by Ussal cart now, for long rides like this, she thought with a small smile. This must be how she and the Chronicler's Company felt, when they were heading to Kini-Nui to help us…
The thought of her missing friend made her heart sink, so she immediately pivoted and tried to focus on something else. It'd worked so far, after all. She looked up at Nora sitting across from her, who was squinting and blinking and trying to cover her eyes.
"First time back up here in a while, huh?" she asked with a light laugh.
Nora blinked again, then looked vaguely in her direction. "It's so bright…and so open. I think I get why the Onu-Matoran never go outside, except for our driver. I know I'm not gonna fall into the sky, but it sure feels like I might!"
That got another laugh from Ruby, prompting her to pull a pair of dark glasses from her pouch. One of Yang's old aviators, kept on hand for emergencies. "Here, you wanna try these? They should help your eyes adjust, since you were underground for so long. Plus you'd look great!"
"Don't mind if I do!" The thunderous teenager took the offering and slipped it over her eyes, grinning brighter than the sun she was trying to deal with. "Ooh, that's a lot better! Thanks, Rubes!"
"Heh, anything to help my sugar rush buddy." Ruby smiled a moment longer, then hummed as she looked around at the varied stony horizon. This area of Mata Nui seemed to bridge the gap between the sandy deserts of Po-Wahi and the rocky bluffs of Papa Nihu Reef, a slow gradient from one elemental domain to another. While it wasn't as special to her as the shores of Lake Naho, or as visually spectacular as the slopes of the Mangai volcano, or as significant as Kini-Nui, it still had a beauty all on its own, a place where high-climbing Rahi could make their nests and raise their young.
And if the Bohrok have their way, it'll be gone just like everything else.
That dark thought was interrupted before she could dwell on it, by a shadow on the sun passing over them. It should have been an omen of bad things, but Ruby could only smile. Nora looked up with a grin of her own, waving at the glowing hawk flying overhead.
"You can stop the cart here, Midak," she said to their driver. "Get back to Onu-Koro, before things get too dangerous."
The Onu-Matoran blinked as he looked back, nonetheless tugging on the reins. "Huh? Why here? Tiro Canyon is still kios away, how are you gonna get there -"
KREEEEE! KREEEEE! A massive mechanical hawk constructed of icy-blue energy touched down in front of them, tucking its wings into its side and standing proud on its talons.
"…oh. That's how." Midak chuckled and saluted the Huntresses as they climbed out of the cart. "Good luck out there, friends! May you help make this island a safer place for everyone, my little friends included."
Ruby snapped a salute back even as she rushed up the side of the summoned Kahu, zipping behind its crest and nearly tackling the rider with an affectionate hug. Weiss rolled her eyes but twisted around all the same, wrapping her arms around the eager little rose and giggling as Ruby showered her face and neck in sloppy kisses. Warmth flooded through her and soothed the ever-present fatigue with every moment of contact, every little gasp of delight, every finger running through her messy black-red hair. Gods, she'd missed this. She'd missed her.
"Alright, flying first class!" Nora laughed as she pulled herself onto the Summon's back. "Heya, Weiss! Hope you weren't expecting me to kiss ya."
"I-I think I'll be fine," sputtered Weiss, blushing as her partner's lips graced her clavicle. "Mmnh, Rubyyy…c'mon, Nora's right there."
Ruby sheepishly pulled back, though she kept her hands on Weiss's shoulders. "Sorry, I just…really missed you, is all. The last few days have been hard on my own…what's a knight without a crown to serve, after all?"
Weiss's expression softened as she pulled Ruby in for another kiss, this one long and deep and right on the lips. The little rose let out a desperate, hungry moan as she leaned into the sensation, as she let herself melt into the gloved fingers tilting her up by the chin and trailing down to her waist. Few were the moments these days when the Toa and their partners crossed paths during their Krana hunts, so she was determined to savor every taste, every shared breath, every moment she got with her beautiful queen.
Maybe memories like these would make the darker hours a little easier.
Sooner than either of them would've liked, Weiss gently pushed her back and reluctantly opened her eyes. "I missed you too, Ruby…" she whispered softly with a burning blush. "But we…"
"I know, we gotta go." She gave her best smile and looked over her shoulder. "You holding on tight back there, Nora?"
The thunderous teenager nodded tightly, though there was a bit of wistfulness in her eyes that broke Ruby's heart all over again. Weiss seemed to notice this too, because she gestured for her to come forward.
"It's better to ride on the neck of a Kahu like the Matoran do, instead of grabbing onto their back armor plates," said the heiress as she twisted back around. "Might be a tight squeeze with the three of us…but I'm sure that won't be a problem, right?"
Ever the cuddlebug, Nora's eyes instantly lit up as she moved to hug Ruby from behind, even as Ruby herself did the same with Weiss. Once all three girls were holding onto each other the spectral bird rose into the sky once more, soaring and rushing across the terrain with one destination in sight. Cold winds assaulted them as they flew, but the cuddle pile kept them warm and happy throughout the entire flight, and all too soon their destination appeared on the horizon.
Ruby had heard Blake and Emerald talk about Tiro Canyon during their last adventure in Mata Nui, but those tales really didn't do the size of the place justice. A hundred feet wide and nearly three times as deep, the massive ravine cut a winding gash through the land that stretched as far as the eye could see. Whatever river had carved up the terrain had long dried up, however, leaving only arid sandstone and dusty cliffs behind. Layers of exposed rock dyed with reds, browns, and yellows along the wall detailed a history long forgotten, and the sheer scale made the little rose feel smaller than she already did.
The only feature that didn't belong was a truck-sized hole in the west wall, plugged up with a chunk of ice.
"Looks like Kopaka and the other Toa got their parts done already," noted Ruby as she squeezed Weiss just a little more tightly.
Her partner nodded. "I see Neo and Pohatu down there, too. Hang on tight, I'm bringing us down."
She didn't need a command to hold onto Weiss with all her strength, and neither did Nora need encouraging to squeeze hard enough to make her ribs wince. Thankfully for her spine, the Kahu descended quickly toward a pair of figures - one silvery-white, the other plated in bronze - and touched down with all the grace and lightness of its real-life counterpart. The Summon disappeared in a shower of snowflakes just as the girls discounted, ready to be called again when its master needed it.
Pohatu turned away from the canyon's edge to greet the newcomers with a smile. "Ah, there they are! The heroes of the island grace us once more!"
Ruby didn't feel much like a hero these days, but she laughed and waved anyway. "Hey Pohatu. Kopaka. And -"
WHUMP. An invisible figure crashed into her from behind, nearly knocking her over. She just laughed and twisted around to return the embrace, squeezing her unlikely friend as her Illusion dissolved around her. It pained her heart to see that Neo still had bandages wrapped around her neck, hands, and chest…but other than that, she was a lot more cheerful and happy than she'd been the last time they met face-to-face.
"Heh. Hey to you too, Neo." She ruffled a pink-brown bob cut for a moment, then pulled back. "Is everything ready, then?"
"Everything's in place except the Tahnok themselves," chortled the Toa of Stone. "Onua and Gali are down there waiting in that tunnel they made, which stretches from here all the way to the Western Ocean. Thanks to our icy friend plugging it shut, it should be full of seawater by now - when our fiery foes arrive and I break the wall to flood the canyon, they should be dropped right into the swarm as it gets washed away."
"We know that the Tahnok don't like water very much," noted Weiss. "Hopefully a flood like that will at least slow them down a little bit, enough to grab as many of their Krana as we can."
"And the rest of us'll stay up here as a lookout, to make sure nothing else comes to bail them out," finished Nora. "Do I got that right?"
"More or less!" Ruby grinned with a nod. "Me and Weiss will go down there as soon as it's clear the Tahnok are stunned, to help Gali and Onua grab their Krana."
Pohatu tilted his head, his good cheer fading somewhat. "That part, admittedly, still worries me. Ruby, are you certain it's a good idea for you to join them? It'll be a perilous swim, and hot - the Tahnok won't simply be content to bob and float in the flood, they're almost guaranteed to fight back however they can. Weiss still has her mask powers to breathe down there, but you…"
Her own gut twisted up at the unspoken reminder. Kopaka seemed to pick up on that, as he turned his icy glare from the horizon to the Toa of Stone. "Do you doubt her competence, brother?"
The other Toa raised his hands defensively. "Far from it, Kopaka. I'm just saying there's no shame in having Ruby stay up here, while I go down there instead. There's no sense in you Huntresses needlessly risking your lives just to win our battles."
Ruby concealed a pained look in her eye, then shook her head. "It's not a needless risk. I'm a better swimmer than you, Pohatu, and I can handle the heat better than Kopaka. We'll need to be fast when it comes to de-braining the Tahnok - you said it yourself, even with the flood they won't be stunned for long. I can hold my breath long enough to get this done, and come up for air if I need a quick breather…if I stay down there so long that I need the Kaukau, it'll already be too late for me. There's only so much Aura can do against getting boiled alive, after all."
Neo and Nora exchanged uneasy looks. Weiss bit her lower lip. Pohatu gave a small hum. None of them looked particularly convinced.
"…look, I know it's probably a bad idea for us to go down there," she finally said with a sigh. "But I'm sick of getting left behind while Gali and the other Toa put their lives on the line or get themselves into trouble. This island's important to us too, you know, and I can't just sit back and wait anymore. I have to do something -"
"Then far be it from me to dissuade you any further." Pohatu stepped forward and laid two hands on her shoulders, giving a warm smile behind his golden Kakama. "If there's anyone I trust to keep my sister and brother safe during this dangerous dive, it's you and your bond-mate. Just make certain you come back with all of them, alright? We'll watch your rear, make sure nothing follows you down there."
Biting back a sniffle and a sob yearning to escape, Ruby gave her best attempt at a smile as she leaned into the Toa of Stone's surprisingly gentle touches. Now she could see why Neo liked him so much…as if it wasn't already obvious, of course.
"And I won't leave her side for a second," promised Weiss, giving her palm a reassuring squeeze. "We'll keep an eye on each other, and pull Krana out of the Tahnok together." She blushed faintly. "Maybe we can even do that air-sharing thing we tried in Lake Naho, if you need another breath."
Heat rose to Ruby's ears. "I, uh…dunno if we'll have time down there for that, Weiss. Let's save it for later, okay?"
Weiss sighed wistfully and rested her head against her shoulder. Nora and Pohatu blinked while tilting their heads in confusion. Neopolitan made a dry-heaving motion. Ruby just laughed and bumped foreheads with her partner, drinking in the quiet calm before the storm.
The calm didn't last very long, though.
Kopaka's gaze swept back to the horizon, optics narrowing behind his lenses. "They're coming. Get ready, everyone."
Those five words were enough to make all of them draw their weapons and widen their stances. A sudden shift in the ambient temperature and a rumbling ground were the only other warnings they had, as a tidal wave of red-armored insects rolled into sight and tumbled into the canyon. The sight of so many Bohrok moving all at once, all coordinated and controlled and in perfect unison…it almost reminded Ruby of an entire ant colony marching off to war, guided by a singular purpose. Only the ants were the size of small cars, rolled around in perfect spheres, and left trails of ash and plumes of smoke in their wake. In other words, it was even more horrifying.
And of course, with the massing Bohrok came their familiar clicking.
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT…
Pohatu narrowed his optics. "Is it just me, or are there…more of them than there were when they attacked Po-Koro?"
"It's not just you," intoned Kopaka. "If I had to guess, they had reinforcements from the nest come up to join with the main horde, to make sure that their next target burns to the ground without resistance. At least this trap won't lack for prey."
Weiss's nails dug just a little deeper into Ruby's palm. Neopolitan looked as white as a ghost, silently wheezing with a thousand-yard-stare, and it was only Nora's hand on her shoulder that kept her from collapsing or fleeing completely. Every inch of the little rose wanted to bring down the flood early, to wipe all those fiery bugs off the face of Mata Nui, but she knew she needed to wait a little longer. Just long enough for the entire horde to settle into the canyon, just long enough for them to get closer to the tunnel.
When the last of the swarm trickled into the ravine, and the head of the horde passed the ice wall, she knew she'd waited long enough.
"Now, Pohatu!" she shouted. "Bring down the sea!"
"With pleasure!" The Toa of Stone stomped the ground with one bronze boot, raising a chunk of rock as big as his torso and grabbing it between both fists. Orange light spilled from his hands as he channeled his elemental power for a few seconds, charging up the rock with power waiting to burst. As soon as he was content he tossed it into the air and leapt to kick it with both feet, sending it careening across the canyon and smashing into the wall of ice. Both the missile and the barrier shattered on impact, exploding with a deafening boom that echoed across the ravine.
And then the floods came.
CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT!
The Tahnok shrieked in alarm as ocean waves crashed down on them, sweeping them away and snuffing out their flames. The waters quickly flowed and spread out to cover the canyon floor, then began to fill it with surprising speed until they rose high enough to submerge an entire skyscraper. Ruby caught a glimpse of two gold-masked figures falling into the pool amidst showers of seafoam, plunging below the surface and disappearing into the depths.
"There's Gali and Onua." Weiss let go of her partner to navigate her Scroll and pull up the mask powers, drawing Myrtenaster with the other hand. "Ready, Ruby?"
She put on her best grin as she snapped her goggles into place over silver eyes. "Let's dive in, Weiss!"
The pair ran at full sprint toward the canyon edge and leapt together, falling for over a hundred feet in perfect swan dives. Despite the tickle in Ruby's stomach from being in freefall, a pit formed at the sight of the approaching surface - not because of how fast it was coming, but because of how much it was bubbling. Wisps of cloudy steam rose from the waves and swirled up the ravine, clear signs that the water was already starting to boil. Had the Tahnok even been stunned at all?...
Well, no turning back now, she thought as she sucked in as deep a breath as possible, filling her lungs and throat just before she and Weiss plunged into the depths.
If the surface already looked bad from above, it felt even worse below. Ruby's skin prickled and her nose burned as hot water rushed past her, lacking all the comfort and coolness of fresh seawater. Thousands of glowing red forms swirled and sloshed around like dying embers, drifting motionlessly through the makeshift pool. Bubbles of air and steam rose from each stunned Bohrok, adding to the rising heat and the shifting currents that made diving down difficult. While the water wasn't scathingly hot - not yet, at least - it was clear that the Tahnok had wasted no time in firing up their elemental powers, in making things difficult for the Toa and Huntresses alike.
Jeez…already feels like we're swimming through a big pot of soup! The little rose narrowed her eyes behind her goggles. Better grab the Krana before we become part of the recipe, then.
And so, after taking Weiss's hand tightly in her own, Ruby dove down to meet Gali and Onua and get started on doing just that.
Nora tapped her foot anxiously as she stood in the sweltering sun, trying not to glance at the churning flood in the canyon below. She instead looked at Kopaka, who stood at the edge of the ravine with more confidence than she'd ever have, lenses focused on the Toa and Huntresses too far away to see otherwise. Pohatu paced while keeping his gaze level with the horizon, watching for any threats that might approach from the plains. And Neo had perched herself on a small rock with Hush set up like a beach umbrella, giving her shade from the light shining down on her.
How long had it been since Ruby and Weiss jumped into that swirling mess? A minute? Five minutes? An hour? Seventeen days? She willed herself to calm down. No, it couldn't have been that long. It wouldn't take that long. Would it? They'd be fine. Right?
Maybe I should jump in, too, thought Nora after a restless moment. Just to make sure they're okay. I can handle a little swim, right? Yeah. Yeah, I'll just take a quick dip to check on them.
She peered over the edge and watched as a boiling wave crashed against the stone wall, the sight bringing a dark memory in a darker tunnel to mind. Her throat reflexively tightened alongside her chest.
…ooooooor maybe I'll just stay right here, nice and far away from all that water. Yep. Yep, that sounds like a much better idea.
"I didn't realize you were so afraid of the water, little one."
Nora looked up to see Pohatu standing behind her, concern clear behind his mask. She was tempted to laugh off his comment, to disregard his worry, but caught herself and her remark before it left her mouth. Onua had said that it was fine to let her walls down around people she trusted. This seemed like a good time to practice.
"I'm usually not, no," she said with a sigh. "I'm the kinda gal who sees a lake and jumps into it first chance I get, clothes and all. Hell, I tackled a Gahlok into a flooded mine this morning without even thinking twice about it. But after almost drowning when those Gahlok things flooded all the tunnels…well. Let's just say I don't plan on swimming in any currents that are stronger or faster than me. Not anytime soon, at least."
The Toa of Stone nodded in understanding, casting his own gaze down into the flooded ravine. "A wise enough strategy. In a way, I'm almost grateful that Ruby and Weiss decided to join my fellow Toa down there, and leave me up here. All my worst nightmares these days are right there in one place - the flames of the Tahnok, and the usual fear Stone has of crashing waves."
She tilted her head. "Huh. I didn't think you guys could be afraid…the way Ruby and Yang and everyone else talked about this place back home, they made it sound like you were these bigger-than-life badasses who weren't scared of anything."
That got a laugh out of Pohatu. "Then I'm flattered Pebble and her friends speak so highly of us. But we're no more immune to fear than you…no more immune than any living creature. That's not a bad thing, though - what meaning would valor have, without fear to define it?"
"Yeah…guess so." Nora took a deep breath as she digested the words, before letting a not-completely-forced smile grace her lips. "Thanks, Pohatu."
He grinned and ruffled her hair. "Anytime, Nora. Now we'd best get back to lookout duty, before Kopaka notices we're slacking off."
"Too late," deadpanned the Toa of Ice.
"Hah! Nothing gets past you, eh brother?"
"It's a gift and a curse."
Nora giggled and stood a little straighter than before as she adjusted the aviators, turning her gaze back to the horizon and taking it all in. Distant mountains…rolling dust clouds…Penny flying across the sky…
Wait, what?
She blinked twice and shook her head, even rubbing the dust off the tinted lenses to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. When she looked again, there was no mistaking it - a comet with a flaming green tail, one that grew bigger with each passing second, was definitely cutting across the sapphire sky. The thunderous teenager almost choked on her own laugh. It was her! It was her!
"Hey! Hey guys, look! Penny's back! She's alright! She's here!" Nora started waving her hands and jumping to get the incoming Maiden's attention. "Heeeeey, Penny! Penny Penny Pen Pen! Over here, girl!"
Neopolitan's eyes lit up hopefully as she hopped off her perch. The streak of green came closer and flew even faster than before. Even Kopaka seemed happy for a second. Pohatu smiled behind his mask, but his elation faded with a tilt of his head.
"Strange…" mused the Toa of Stone. "Even when she does that 'flying hug' ritual of hers, she at least slows down a little bit to avoid breaking herself - and her friend - upon impact. But it doesn't look like she's slowing down. If anything, it looks like she's getting faster."
A sudden pit formed in Nora's stomach. "Maybe she's just really happy to see us?" she offered.
Or maybe there's something else going on, signed Neo with a small frown.
"Perhaps," hummed Pohatu, narrowing his orange optics and gazing at Kopaka. "Can you see anything from this distance, brother? Your Akaku still has its visor, after all."
The Toa of Ice nodded and focused the lenses of his mask onto the emerald streak. "Something's definitely off," he agreed in an icy tone. "She keeps veering and drifting back and forth, like she's forgotten how to fly. Her arms are raised, there's fire in her palms, and she's wearing something on her…"
His optics widened. "Pohatu, we need cover! Now!"
It must have been a rare occasion for Kopaka to lose his cool like that, because the Toa of Stone followed his command without question. He had just enough time to raise his fists before Penny flew overhead and bathed the canyon lip in emerald flames, held at bay only by a well-timed wall of stone. Pohatu's arms shook as he strained to hold back the heat and fire, only for a burst of air to shatter the barricade and send everyone else flying back. He turned to counter, only to open himself up to a diving kick to the head - a blow hard enough to stagger him and to almost break the foot doing the kicking. The Maiden barely even flinched in pain as she spun around and slammed her palm into the stunned Toa's skull, teal light spilling from her fingers as the ten-foot-tall warrior suddenly seized up. He still stood when the flames finally died down…but standing was all he did as green sparks coursed through his armor.
Kopaka moved faster than the eye could follow, sword already drawn and glowing with chilling light that crystallized into salvos of icy blasts. But Penny just jerked back and forth to avoid the bolts of power, lunging forward like a broken marionette and crashing against the Toa's shield. He managed to knock her away before she could lock him down like she did Pohatu, but that clearly wasn't the Maiden's intention - with a snap of her arms a column of pure flame rose up from under his feet, fierce and hot enough to make him scream in pain. Two more burning emerald lances that exploded inside his chest sent him sprawling across the rocky ground, armor scorched and heartlight pulsing dimly.
All in all, it took less than four seconds.
"Penny!" cried Nora in shock, as she and Neo finally scrambled back to their feet. "What are you doing?!"
"The only thing that matters," replied Penny monotonously, finally turning to face her horrified friends. "The only thing that has ever mattered. The will of the swarm."
Her breath died in her lungs. "No…Penny…"
It was indeed Penny, and yet not her at the same time. In any other circumstance, Nora would have been overjoyed to see her freckled friend - to see her long red hair, her lovely olive green dress, her long bare arms with shoulder spots and longer legs that ended in dainty little feet. But all of that was undermined by the ugly green parasite that clung to her face, moving her mouth and her limbs against her will…and instead of warmth and joy in those emerald eyes, now they were utterly empty as they stared through angled slits.
A Krana had stolen the Maiden of Mata Nui. Their Maiden of Mata Nui.
"Another disruption…another mess." Penny's words - no, the Krana's words - were emotionless and stilted, as if speaking was a lost art being relearned. "This cannot continue - the island must be cleaned, and these delays are becoming too numerous. The Bahrag queens have sent this unit to eliminate hostile obstacles, then aid the Tahnok in vaporizing the flood and melting the cliffs. All obstacles must be removed. All obstacles will be removed."
"You can't do this, Penny!" cried Nora, shaking her head fervently. "Whatever that thing's making you do, you have to fight it! You need to break free, before we have to fight you! It's just a part of you right now - don't forget about the rest!"
There was no recognition, no light in her eyes. No indication that her words were reaching the Maiden behind the Krana. It just made her hover over the battlefield and raise her arms, tapping into magic it didn't deserve to create blades of glass and crystal. Unlike whenever Penny made new copies of Floating Array, there was no artistry or elegance to the shapes. Just slabs of sharpened stone and barbed maces, brutal and efficient.
"If you insist on being an obstacle…" intoned the Krana in a stolen voice, "then you, too, will be removed."
Nora hesitated for the briefest of moments. Neo didn't.
The former assassin leapt with Hush's blade extended, clearly aiming to slash the tendrils tethering the Krana to Penny's face. But with one wave of a twitching arm, Pohatu was dragged around to intercept the blow instead, then he was forced to counter with a rising kick. Neo's eyes widened as she let an Illusion take the hit instead of her, watching it shatter like glass as she touched back down. She barely moved quickly enough to avoid flaming lances lobbed by the possessed Maiden, then retreated further as the Toa of Stone rained down more blows.
That thing's not only got control of Penny, it's using her Semblance to make Pohatu into a puppet too! Nora's tear-filled eyes narrowed. I have to break her Aura…or distract her…or something!
Steeling herself as best she could, she shifted Magnhild into a launcher and fired salvos of grenades at Penny's stolen frame, all of which were slashed apart by whirling glass blades. The explosions might not have reached her, but they kept the Krana occupied long enough for Nora to rush in with a shoulder check - only for her foe to drift out of the way just before she could hit. With a low growl she changed her weapon back into a hammer and let loose a series of wild swings, only to keep whiffing as the Maiden wove between her attacks. It countered with slashes and bashes from its own weapons, and it was all she could do but block blades of glass, smash the stony maces, or endure hits from both with her Aura.
The creature fought like Penny, dodged like Penny, even fired blasts of flame and ice like Penny, but everything felt wrong. It kept dragging her around with jerky movements, never giving her body time to rest or recover between relentless attacks, and always seemed to keep Nora on the back foot during their one-on-one battle. Of course, it didn't help that the thunderous teenager's hands shook with each swing, or that she failed to keep Magnhild's head on-course, or that her eyes were stinging with tears and dust. Part of her screamed that this wasn't Penny, that this was just another enemy trying to hurt her and everyone she cared about. The rest of her kept holding back - kept trying to fall apart.
No! she screamed at herself with grit teeth. I have to end this now! I have to bring her back! For Ruby, and her dad, and everyone! We're not losing her again!
A feral scream ripped free of her throat as she pulled a trigger on Magnhild, sending arcs of pink electricity down the warhammer shaft. Her scars came alive in a near white-hot glow as her eyes shone with power and rage, and she leapt to deliver the mightiest two-handed blow she could muster. The Krana just willed a shield of stone into existence and blocked the slam easily. Too easily. It stared at her in the aftermath of denying her strongest attack, eyes burning with magic and nothing else.
"You seem…hesitant," the Krana made Penny intone. "Uncertain, even. A far cry from what this host remembers. Could it be that the current situation brings back memories? Memories that are…unpleasant?"
Nora's eyes widened as the visage of a red-eyed Penny Polendina filled her mind. "How did you know about -?"
The rest of her question was lost as a fist of solid ice connected with her chin, sending her flying backward and out of control. She tried to get her bearings, tried to fire Magnhild to right herself, but the Krana was faster - it soared up to intercept her flight path, then slammed all its remaining weapons into her back with enough force to cleave a mountain. Nora rocketed back to earth at something resembling the speed of sound, slamming into the ground with enough force to completely shatter her Aura…and maybe a few ribs, too. She bounced a few times before coming to a painful landing at the very edge of the cliff, groaning and clutching her bruised side and shoulder.
"This unit has the designation of Krana Za oh-four-five-one," intoned the Maiden as her captor made her float downward menacingly. "All Krana have telepathic abilities for communicating with other units, but the mental capabilities of a Za-type are far more robust. This one can read the mind of its host, speak and understand its language…and read the minds of others as though they, too, are Bohrok. Your thoughts…"
A hard kick sent her sprawling farther away from the edge, breaking a few more ribs for good measure.
"…your memories…"
Magnhild was yanked away by a whip of water, flung over the canyon lip and into the boiling pool below.
"…even your very next move…"
Nora tried scrambling to her feet, but a barbed mace slammed between her shoulders and forced her back down with a pained scream and a splatter of crimson.
"…it knows them all, even before you do."
The Krana made Penny reach down and grab the bloodied, bruised Nora by the neck and lift her into the air, fingers tightening around her throat.
"And though your ideas of glory and honor mean nothing to this unit…surely it has found favor in the eyes of the Bahrag queens, to have been granted such a powerful host."
The best word to describe Neopolitan's current mindset was panic.
It was bad enough when Penny came back with an interesting choice of facewear. It got worse when the brain-stealing parasite used her power to neutralize two Toa at once. And then it somehow got even worse when Penny's Technopathy turned Neo's best friend into a mindless puppet, his gears and servos moving against his will and forcing him to fight for the wrong team.
Dodging his lunging kicks and slamming fists was easy enough. Finding ways or moments to counter them was harder. The flat of Shusano and the parasol of Hush helped with deflecting attacks that were too close for comfort, but she couldn't turn those weapons against Pohatu. Not without hurting the Toa of Stone.
She could only wonder how terrifying it was from the other side, as Pohatu was made to silently attack her over and over again.
But that was a mental exercise she didn't have time for. Right now, she needed to survive. A bronze boot slammed down where she'd been a second earlier; she took a chance to plunge Hush's hidden blade through a panel gap, in an attempt to pin one foot in place. He just reared back with his other leg and damn near kicked her head off, shattering and decapitating the Illusion left behind as she just narrowly dodged. She rolled underneath his outstretched leg and leapt onto his back, trying to use Shusano's edge to pry his mask off from behind. Pohatu responded by whipping around and trying to buck her off like a wild horse, almost breaking his own spine with the force of his thrashes.
At least that Krana wasn't using his elemental powers. Neo still had scars from the last time she and Pohatu had fought, and she definitely didn't want to relive the experience. Still, she knew she couldn't dodge forever. She needed to free her friend from whatever was controlling him, and fast.
She looked over at Nora, hoping to signal her for aid, but that hope died as soon as she saw Penny - no, the monster controlling her - hoisting the other redhead up by the throat.
Mouthing a silent apology to her freckled friend, Neo leapt off Pohatu and flung her throwing disk with all her might. She knew that Semblances like hers and Penny's took active concentration to maintain, and she also knew that ten inches of alien steel crashing into the skull were very good at disrupting said concentration. The Krana must have sensed the attack coming, however, because it forced Penny to juke left to avoid Shusano's flight - but it wasn't so lucky against the frozen spear that slammed into its host's gut, knocking it away from Nora and sending the Maiden reeling.
Her gaze snapped to the fallen Kopaka as she touched down lightly, noting that he'd rolled around and aimed his sword like a sniper lying in a grassy hill. He looked triumphant for one brief moment before slumping back down, breathing laboriously. It must've taken all his strength to fire that one blast of ice, after the Maiden's magic had nearly cooked him alive.
Pohatu's optics snapped back to awareness with the sound of an electrical surge. "Urgh…finally back in control of myself. Pebble? Penny?" He looked over at the burnt Toa in alarm. "Brother!"
"I'll be fine," gasped Kopaka, not even strong enough to push himself up. "Stop Penny…get that thing off her. Protect the girls…until everyone else comes back…"
Much as the Toa of Stone clearly wanted to help his fallen brother, he nodded all the same as he pulled Hush free and tossed it back to Neo. She met his glance with a nod of her own and ran toward the dazed Maiden, retracting the hidden blade and swinging her folded-up parasol like a club. Penny's Krana just intercepted her swing with more of those glass weapons as it rose to its feet, then countered with more geokinetic swipes punctuated by blasts of fire. Her heart threatened to leap into her throat as emerald flames whizzed past her, but she forced her terrified organ back where it belonged.
She couldn't afford to be afraid of fire, to let the trauma from the battle of Po-Koro take over her mind. Not right now.
Pohatu stayed at a distance and slammed his fists against the ground, intent on supporting Neo's melee with arms of stone rather than get close enough for the Krana to control him again. As she bashed through crystal maces and leapt to avoid cleaving blades, she noticed a glint of sunlight bouncing off metal as Shusano finally circled back around to her like a boomerang. She rolled away and caught the disk in mid-air, then flung it back at the controlled Maiden in one smooth motion. The Krana just used Penny's wrist to slap away the disk like it was nothing, nearly fracturing her wrist in the process - but it was distracted enough for two massive rock hands to surge up and grab onto Penny with force like a vice grip.
"Enough of this, parasite!" Pohatu glared at the Krana clinging to the Maiden like an ugly tumor. "We can remove you the easy way or the hard way! Will you release your hold on our friend willingly? Or do we need to pry you off ourselves?"
The Krana made its answer known with a clench of its stolen fists, making Penny summon a burst of emerald flames hot enough to melt the stone bonds.
"Hard way it is, then." The Toa of Stone widened his stance and narrowed his optics. "Be ready, Pebble!"
Compared to the last time Ruby had been underwater, this was practically a leisurely swim.
A muffled grunt escaped her lips as Crescent Rose thumped yet again, launching a harpoon into the flank of a Tahnok drifting near the surface. With the tug of a trigger the attached cable reeled the wreck in, bringing it close enough for Weiss to drive Myrtenaster under its faceplate like a crowbar and pry it open. The ugly blue Krana floated out of its tray with flailing tendrils, unable to swim away fast enough before Ruby grabbed it. She held it at arm's length as her partner checked her Scroll with a bubbly hum, narrowing her eyes before slicing it in half with one swift slash.
Another duplicate…ugh. How annoying.
She swallowed her annoyance and pulled the harpoon free, letting the barbed spear snap back into the crimson-plated barrel. Her eyes trailed to the surface a few yards away, before she shook her head - she still had plenty of air in her lungs, and Weiss probably still had lots of Aura to channel her mask powers. Instead, she fired off another high-pressure blast and speared one more Tahnok right in the chest to repeat the process. This time, when she pulled it in and grabbed the Krana, her partner's eyes brightened in delight. One slash from Myrtenaster removed the tentacles and took the fight out of the miserable creature, and into the satchel it went with its new friends.
This is almost too easy, thought Ruby with a bubbly grin as she yanked her weapon free once more, only to frown as its claw mindlessly swiped at her in the robotic equivalent of a death twitch. Hey…I said almost.
"Mmgh!"
Surprisingly, the muffled squeak came from Weiss, instead of her. Ruby looked over to see Weiss with a sudden panic in her eyes and lips sealed a second too late, kicking wildly and making a slashing motion across her throat. She wasted no time in grabbing her partner and pulsing her Semblance, sending them both rocketing out of the boiling pool and onto a small rocky alcove that had gone untouched by the water.
"You okay, Weiss?" asked Ruby as she held the coughing, drenched heiress in her arms. "That low on Aura already?"
"Thought it'd last longer," sputtered the white-haired Huntress with a sharp wheeze. "But the heat's rising too fast for me to handle, so I had to use more Aura to protect myself…and that, combined with the drain of channeling, made me hit the auto-cutoff point faster than I realized. I don't…" Another cough and heave to clear her throat. "I don't think I can go down anymore. I'm sorry."
"That's alright," Ruby said encouragingly, rubbing her girlfriend's back and spooling sopping wet locks of white through her fingers. "You did great, Weiss. We still got three new Krana, and I only had to come up for air twice - which means we must've gotten all that done in less than ten minutes. I'd call that a win, eh?"
Weiss finally had the breath to let out a laugh, pressing her forehead to Ruby's and stealing a hot little kiss. "Yeah…I agree. Let's just hope that Gali and Onua have better luck than us down there…"
CLANG!
The intimate moment was interrupted by something heavy and metallic landing right next to them, just narrowly missing Ruby's head by a few inches. At first she whirled around with Crescent Rose extended to deal with whatever threat dropped down on the pair, but her eyes softened as soon as she saw the culprit. A silver warhammer as long as Ruby was tall, with a pink heart painted on the side of the grenade drum. A weapon she was quite familiar with.
"What's Magnhild doing down here?" asked Weiss with a frown. "Nora wouldn't just throw it away like that, unless she was trying to play fetch with an Ursa Major."
Ruby matched her partner's expression as she pulled it out, looking up at the distant ravine mouth with a furrowed brow. "I don't know…something must be happening up there. Call Gali and tell her and Onua to bail with whatever Krana they've got - I'm heading up to check on the others."
Weiss nodded as she pulled out her Scroll once more. "Okay. Be careful, Ruby."
"Love you too!"
And with that she pulsed her Semblance and shot into the sky like a scarlet rocket, leaving rose petals in her wake as she ran up the canyon wall. It would've been easier and quicker if she had the Mask of Speed…or a trail of glyphs from Weiss…but those were luxuries she didn't have right now. The recoil of Crescent Rose firing behind her, along with her own stamina, would have to be enough. Would have to be fast enough.
It almost wasn't.
She leapt and cleared the edge of the ravine just in time to witness the face of defeat. Nora, laying sprawled out with bruises and cuts and so many tears. Neopolitan, curled up in a pool of her own blood, bandages and clothes uselessly stained red. Pohatu, collapsed in a heap with servos sparking and joints nearly falling apart. Kopaka, facedown with dark optics and silvery armor burnt to a charred crisp.
And hovering over them all, bearing a sickly green Krana on her face, was the first and last person Ruby wanted to see.
"...Penny?"
The word escaped her lips like ground glass as she sank to her knees, tears welling up in trembling silver eyes. "No…no. They got you…"
Emerald eyes ablaze with flame trailed lifelessly - almost robotically - over to face the new challenger, and the array of crystalline weapons twitched and prepared to attack. But something happened in that moment, as Penny's form suddenly flinched and spasmed in a way the Krana hadn't caused, sending all the blades and maces flying away with a cry of pain and a snap of a fractured arm. For a brief moment hope swelled in Ruby's shattered heart, only for it to be quelled as the seizing and struggling stopped, replaced only with the cold stare of the enemy.
She was barely aware of two Toa landing heavily behind her, of her partner touching down next to her with a gasp, of all three of them suppressing their shock and readying weapons and elemental powers. The Krana just looked at them, then at the defeated warriors, then back again, analyzing its chances of victory with detached logic and reason. If Penny was still fighting against its control, it had won that battle - and decided that this one, for the moment, was over.
"This mess will be cleaned later," droned the Krana in a monotonous, stolen voice, before taking off and disappearing on an emerald jet of flame.
"Penny, wait!" Ruby reached vainly at the fleeing form of her friend, tears spilling freely at this point. She was just about to pulse her Semblance, just about to chase after her, but a metal hand on her shoulder kept her in place. "Gali, let me go! She needs my help!"
"I know, little one," intoned the Toa of Water with a pained expression behind her mask. "And we will help her, in time. But for now, the others have a greater need for us and our aid. The Vuata Maca berries, quickly. We must help them heal."
Everything seemed to disappear in a haze as Ruby numbly complied, tearing her eyes away from the Maiden flying away and handing a few black orbs over to Gali. The Toa of Water nodded and went over to Neo's side, while Onua rushed to help put his fallen brother back together. Weiss ran to Kopaka and laid a glowing glove on his side, pulsing her icy Dust Weave to chill her partner Toa's scorched frame and restore some of his lost energy. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Ruby herself finally moved to Nora's side and squeezed some bitter juices into her open mouth, offering a prayer of thanks when her friend gasped and choked on the fluids.
"I know, I know it tastes awful," said Ruby with an empathetic frown, "but it'll restore your Aura, I promise -"
Nora just curled into a ball and clung to Ruby, blood and tears staining her vest. "We…" she choked, her words muffled and broken up with violent sobs. "Ruby, we…we made her human so she couldn't get yanked around by someone else. So she could be free. So she could be Penny. And now she's…she's…why her?"
It was a question Ruby didn't have an answer for, other than to keep feeding her the berry and holding her for dear life.
Pohatu's optics eventually flickered back to life, glowing a tired shade of orange as Onua helped lift him back onto unsteady legs. "That was…unpleasant," groaned the Toa of Stone. "Pebble, Nora, are you alright?"
Neo gave a tired thumbs up, then went back to hanging limply in Gali's arms. Nora just sobbed even harder into Ruby's vest.
"Fair enough," he said with a sigh. "Weiss? How is Kopaka?"
"He's badly burnt and completely out of elemental energy," she said with a shake of her head. "I'll have to take him back to Ko-Koro right away to recharge - I can't cool him off fast enough here, even with my Dust." Ice-blue eyes looked sadly over to the heartbroken little rose. "Ruby…"
"It's okay," lied Ruby, putting on her best smile. "Go take care of him. We'll be okay. I'll be okay."
Weiss clearly wanted to rush over and give her a hug and kiss goodbye, but both of them knew there wasn't time. So she summoned a spectral Kahu and took flight with the Toa of Ice gently clutched in its talons, taking a piece of Ruby's heart with her into the sky. What little remained, anyway.
Onua narrowed his eyes as he looked back at the canyon, which had steam rising in clouds so thick it could have come from a volcanic spring. "I can feel the Tahnok melting handholds into the stone to climb their way out…I suggest that we are not here when they finally escape the flood. We have what we came here for - there is little else we can do against the full swarm, especially with half our number wounded."
Much as Ruby wanted to reduce every single one of those bugs to scrap metal for daring to steal her friend, she nodded and handed the wounded Nora off to Gali. "…yeah. Let's fall back and get everyone else patched up. We're done here."
As she climbed onto her partner Toa's back, holding on tight as Gali prepared to activate her Mask of Speed alongside her brothers, Ruby found herself wishing they'd never come here at all.
As difficult as the day had been, the evening felt even worse.
The gathered warriors fled the dry, barren lands and eventually came to rest in the grassy hills of outer Ga-Wahi. While Onua tended to the severely wounded Huntresses and made beds for them out of soft leaves, Ruby had the unenviable task of delivering the bad news to the rest of her friends over Scroll. Gali and a fully-repaired Pohatu did most of the talking, for which she was grateful - the pair of Toa were holding it together better than she was, probably because unlike her they couldn't cry their eyes out. Still, she made it a point to be there for each call, to offer some words of comfort that felt hollow on her own lips, for all the good it did.
Needless to say, the news was not well-received by anyone.
Lewa and Ren didn't stay on the line for very long and didn't say much, but Ruby could see a thousand-yard-stare in the former and boiling rage badly hidden in the latter. Tahu was far less emotionally composed; before Qrow could even open his mouth to complain, the Toa of Fire was roaring so fiercely that flames belched through every hole in his Kanohi. Takua did his best to remain optimistic and composed, even as the light of hope left his optics. And upon hearing his daughter had been stolen away yet again, Doctor Polendina fell into a coughing, sobbing, inconsolable mess, with only Onewa and Nokama by his side to give whatever comfort they could muster.
Only when that last call was finished, when a father's wails echoed in the night air, did Ruby finally let herself sink to her knees with puffy red eyes and a defeated sob.
"Oh, Ruby…" Gali knelt next to her and laid a hand on her shuddering back, eventually pulling her into a cradling hug.
Pohatu, meanwhile, threaded a complete set of ugly blue brain-faces onto a coil of rope. "Despite the…difficult revelations, today was still a victory in this war. You and your friends gathered every Krana from the Tahnok that Pebble and I hadn't yet gotten; thanks to Nora and Onua's hunt this morning and Tahu's work in his own home realm, we are now halfway to stopping this threat at its very source. And though she is in our enemy's hands for the moment, we now know for certain that Penny is alive and in good health." He dropped a huge stone on the duplicate Krana with a sharp chortle. "She's certainly in good enough health to kick us around like Koli balls."
Ruby could tell he was trying to crack a joke, but she didn't feel much like laughing. The Toa of Stone picked up on this with a hum, then knelt to lay a hand on the glum little rose.
"I assure you, Ruby, that Penny is as dear to us as any brother or sister Toa. We will do all we can to save her, just as my brother did for Lewa during our quest for the masks. And if she won't come back to us before we gather all the Krana…then we will have some choice words with these 'Bahrag queens' she mentioned, and make them release her."
It was all she could do but lean against the two Toa trying to make her feel better, and ignore the fact that they were failing miserably.
(A/N): Man, these girls just need all the hugs, huh?
Anyway, thanks for reading! See you all in two weeks, where we check back in on Remnant and see something I know a lot of people have been waiting for! I can't promise that it'll be that much happier, though…the angst train has officially left the station, folks!