(A/N): Not gonna lie…this chapter was one that gave me an immense amount of trouble, probably more than the opening ten chapters of Dutiful Destruction combined.

I knew I wanted to adapt the 2002 Bohrok Animations from the official BIONICLE website back in the day for this story, but for the longest time I struggled to come up with a twist on the opening two episodes (which were all about Po-Koro trying to survive an attack from the Tahnok). After bashing my head against a metaphorical wall plumbing my mind for ideas, and wondering if it was even worth trying to adapt that event in the first place, I finally settled on a plan that more or less became the chapter you're about to read. And on top of all that, once I finally had an outline I was satisfied with, one that was coherent and meaty enough to start writing this chapter in advance…a lone rogue wisdom tooth decided that the end of October would be the PERFECT time to pick a fight with the back of my molar, starting a war that basically made everything painful for months - including writing.

All in all, it's a good thing I gave myself such a huge backlog at the start of the fic, because I desperately NEEDED it for this one.

Enjoy the fruits of my suffering.

(Also, sorry in advance that there's no check-in with Penny and Pyrrha this time - I wanted to keep the scope of this one firmly placed on the action in Po-Koro, which meant I couldn't reasonably include a Metru Nui scene without derailing things. We'll see them soon, though, don't worry!)

"Wait. Onewa, you're evacuating Po-Koro already?"

Ruby's words of disbelief filtered out of Neopolitan's Scroll, loudly enough for everyone gathered on the wall of the sandy village to hear. Hewkii didn't completely understand the strange little device or how it worked, but he at least understood that they were speaking to both Turaga Nokama and Vakama across great distances - their Noble Kanohi flickered faintly on the tiny little screen, obscuring their own reactions to Onewa's declaration. Two confused Huntresses and a frosty-looking Toa crowded around the Turaga of Water, while a single human in a robotic chair sat behind Vakama with a pensive frown. The faces surrounding him weren't much happier: Pohatu looked as exhausted as his smaller friend, Hafu seemed indignant, and Onewa himself struggled to hide his own stress.

Not that Hewkii could blame his village chief. It was hard to keep his own panic in check, especially when the skies themselves were going dark with smoke in the middle of the day.

"I fear we have no other option," intoned the Turaga of Stone, gazing out at the burning orange horizon. "The Tahnok are swiftly moving to turn our ocean of sand into a field of glass; if we stay here, the same will happen to us when they arrive."

"Pebble and I have spent the last several days fighting them off, trying to route them away from the village." Pohatu heaved a tired sigh. "Sadly, all we've managed to do is wear ourselves down. These Bohrok show no signs of stopping, and even less sign of finding a new target."

"Such is the way of the Tahnok horde," said Vakama morosely. "As one who nearly lost his own village to the Bohrok, I empathize. If you have need of a new shelter, Onewa, know that Ta-Koro's gates are always open to you."

Onewa smiled slightly beneath his tan Komau, then regretfully shook his head. "The offer is appreciated, old friend, but I must decline. My people would never survive a journey to Tren Krom Break on foot, especially not with these damned insects swarming the island and combing the sands of the Motara Desert. And the Nuhvok activity around Onu-Koro makes using the Great Highway a risky endeavor…the distance through enemy territory, above and below, is simply far too great."

"I understand. Where will you go, then?"

"We will cut across the seas to Ga-Koro, if our fair lady would have us," explained the stony Turaga. "We have emergency transports that can make the voyage, moored along the docks at the mouth of Leva Bay. The Tahnok fear few things, but water is chief among them - we of stone may have a dislike for it, but it will provide us safety from their flames and fury. You say that the Gahlok have made no moves on your shores?"

Nokama nodded sagely. "It is safe, for the moment…and we would have you gladly, Onewa. I shall assemble a fleet of boats and sailors to escort your transports, and send them to meet you at the edge of the sea. If your people can make it to the water, mine will guide you to our village."

One of the humans - a white-haired Huntress by the name of Weiss - frowned and gave a thoughtful hum. "How exactly are you guys getting out, anyway? You said that there's only one entrance to Po-Koro - if these Tahnok are smart, that's where they'll gather in force to attack. You'd run right into them, if the main gate's the only way out."

"True, but it is also the only way in," noted Onewa. "Our plan is to barricade the main entrance and keep the Tahnok at bay for as long as possible, long enough for Pohatu to create a backdoor for us in the village walls. This hollowed-out husk of an ancient mesa kept us safe from Makuta's beasts for a thousand years, yet against this threat it serves well as our prison. With Onua and his ally occupied in his own domain, it falls to our patron Toa to break that seal and secure our escape."

The bronze-armored Toa gave a resolved nod. "This wall is almost as strong and tough as the material used to construct Kini-Nui, so it'll take me some time to safely carve a new path for everyone. I'm no digger, not like my brother, but if there's one thing I know it's rocks and stone. I'll need to be careful, though - if I work too fast and carelessly, I risk bringing a landslide down on the head of my people. And if I work too slowly…"

"…then the Tahnok will have time to get in, and everyone will burn anyway," finished Vakama with a furrowed brow.

Ruby's silver eyes narrowed. "Then we'll do what we can to buy you time. Weiss, you've still got that Kahu Summon, right? How fast do you think we'll be able to get over there and help?"

"About an hour, if we take off now."

"We'll be there in an hour, then. Kopaka, you're the only one here with unlimited water-breathing, so we'll need you to go find Gali out in the sea. Get her up to speed on what's going on, then get to Po-Koro as soon as possible - the more hands we have on deck for this, the better."

"Understood," intoned the Toa of Ice.

The other human, the one next to Vakama, hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm…it's a pity we have to send one Toa to fetch another…being scattered like this is necessary, I realize, but it certainly makes coordinating a needless hassle. Dust is more efficient here, right? Maybe I can take some of the Hard Light Dust stores I keep for my cannons, and use them to make new Scrolls for the Toa themselves…"

"We can talk about that after the Po-Matoran are safe," said Ruby decisively. "Onewa, is there anything else you need from us?"

"Just your prayers," intoned the Turaga remorsefully. "With them and your aid, we may yet survive this."

"You will. I'll make sure of it."

And with that, the side of the screen showing Ga-Koro disappeared. After Vakama and Onewa bowed and exchanged blessings, Neopolitan snapped the device closed and stowed it on her hip with a sour frown. She looked up at Pohatu with a wordless glance, who seemed to understand her and her gestures instantly.

"I agree, Pebble…this plan is a long shot," sighed the Toa of Stone. "It's risky, and relies on a lot of luck…and yet, what other choice do we have?"

"We should get to work as soon as possible," intoned Onewa. "Our first step is to fortify the main gate. We will need a way to slow the Tahnok's advance, and to keep them from charging into the village while you work. But how best to do so…?"

The gathered party atop the walls started searching their surroundings and racking their brains. Hewkii trained his eyes across both sides of the main gate to Po-Koro, orange optics narrowing behind his sand-brown Kakama. Inside the village, he could see Epena and Ally working to set up a blockade over the tunnel exit, which despite being carved of the finest stone would only buy a few seconds of time against the frenzy of flames. The outside wasn't much better, in terms of options - the only thing between the carved mouth that served as an entrance were a dozen similar statues along the Path of Prophecies, all of which were over several bios tall and shaped like maskless Matoran heads…

Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

"Turaga?"

"I see it too, Hewkii," noted the chieftain with a nod. "Perhaps…the statues…"

"Each one is solid stone to its core," appraised Pohatu with a thoughtful hum. "Together they can make a hardy bulwark, if felled in time. But who would be best for such a task, while I'm making our exit?…"

Turaga, Matoran, and Toa alike all looked down at Hafu, who desperately tried to avoid the truth staring him right in the mask.

"…no."

"Hafu…"

"Absolutely not."

"Hafu, come on -"

"I can't just topple my own creations!" protested the carver, snapping a glare up to Onewa. "There must be another way!"

Neopolitan rolled her eyes and gave a silent huff. Pohatu chided her with a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"There is none, and you are the only one with the skill to do it." The Turaga's words were harsh, but not unsympathetic. "I understand the pain you feel at such a task - well do I remember the centuries we spent poring over the Path of Prophecies, chiseling out every statue to perfection as your skill at carving swiftly exceeded my own. But there are only two options before us: you can either sacrifice your creations by your own hand…or you can watch it burn at the claws of the Bohrok, along with everyone and everything else you hold dear."

Hewkii could tell that as much as Hafu's mind agreed with Onewa, his heartstone was still violently protesting. Accepting the resigned sigh as an affirmation, the Turaga turned and hobbled back towards the village.

"Should we survive, I will help you remake them greater and grander than before," he promised. "For now, however, I must ask the impossible of you. I will gather a company to escort you - warriors to protect you and watch for danger."

"Pebble says that she'll join Hafu as well," translated Pohatu for the human, who was making a strange series of hand gestures and mouthing silent words. "She's…looking forward to actually knocking down statues this time?"

"Don't ask," growled the surly carver. Neopolitan just winked at him.

"Her aid will surely be a boon to our safety," intoned Onewa with a relieved sigh. "Hafu, I will send you out alongside the company when Ruby and Weiss arrive in an hour's time. Steel yourself however you must, but be ready to go at a moment's notice. Now, Pohatu, I must ask that you come with me…I will show you where the stone is weakest, so that you may begin your work."

As soon as Onewa took his leave, with Toa and Huntress in tow, Hafu turned and gave a pleading look to the star Koli player. In the moons since the defeat of Makuta and the battle at Kini-Nui, Hewkii had noticed a change within the obstinate, egotistical carver; whereas before he'd been content to shape stone for weeks on end all by himself, now he made an effort to be kinder and gentler and more willing to engage with his fellow Matoran. Perhaps his time with the Chronicler's Company and the Maiden of Mata Nui had softened his heartstone…or perhaps he was trying to be a better person to impress a certain Rahi Trapper in Ga-Koro. Either way, Hewkii counted himself lucky to be among those Hafu considered a friend, someone he trusted enough to handle his own mask.

Which made the glance he gave him through a coal-black Pakari even more soul-shattering.

"I'm sorry about this, Hafu," said Hewkii with a sigh. "I don't like this, either…I hate the idea of abandoning Po-Koro entirely. But you heard the Turaga - we don't have any other options right now. And personally, I'd rather survive to rebuild than die in the fires. Wouldn't you?"

Hafu looked back to his creations, and heaved another wistful sigh. "I suppose so…still, to think that I need to ruin my own works, with the human that once fooled me no less…"

"Well, let it never be said that the Great Spirit doesn't have a sense of humor." He gave his friend a bump on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll go to Turaga Onewa and volunteer to lead the company. I won't let anything happen to you out there - count on it."

And with that, he and his friend moved to get ready…or as ready as one can ever be to abandon their home.

Neopolitan was no stranger to leaving in a hurry.

Whether it was sprinting on six-year-old little legs to dive through an open Bullhead door just as it took off and left the estate, or helping Roman hurriedly stuff Dust and Lien into sacks before abandoning their warehouse amidst flashing red and blue, much of her life had been spent on the move. Staying in one place for too long was dangerous - not because it made it easier for the law to catch up, but because it bred familiarity. Comfort. Complacency. Criminals who were comfortable and complacent usually ended up behind bars or six feet underground, and neither option was ever particularly appealing to the silent swindler with a rap sheet almost as long as her surrogate father's. Of course, that had all been in a past life…before the universe had torn the rug out from under her, before she'd found her footing again with Ruby and her friends. But that urge to be transient and mobile still gnawed away at her, always compelling her to stay on her feet ready to run at any moment.

So being forced to sit and wait was agonizing.

It'd been thirty-eight minutes and twenty-seven seconds since Ruby's call (not that she was watching the time as a way to ease her nerves, most certainly not), and Po-Koro barely looked like it was ready to be evacuated. Sand-brown robotic villagers moved with some amount of haste, but what they were actually doing was varied and unorganized. Some of them pulled on the reins of two-legged mechanical birds, while others tried to wrangle steel goats and hitch them to carts. Still others tried loading rocky balls into packs, shuffling along with all the equipment needed for their favorite sport. A handful of them, including the guy from the wall - Hewkii? - were slotting disks into their backs and selecting warhammers from a rack of weapons, though even they were slow in making their choices.

Neo tapped her foot impatiently. Come on, come on…didn't these Matoran realize that if they stayed here for too long, they would die?

Then again, it's not like there was anywhere to go yet - Pohatu wasn't anywhere close to being done with his emergency exit.

She cast a look back towards her favorite Toa, disappointed to see that his backside hadn't gotten any further away from her since the last time she checked. He was still standing there at the edge of a sandy sports field, hands glowing with amber light as he pried and pulled at the ancient stone within the wall. The mesa shifted a little bit with each motion, like a brick rotating along an axis, but it wasn't fast enough. Not for Neo's peace of mind, at least.

Onewa hobbled over to her with a tired sigh. "I see that the evacuation is going well. Good…we will need this level of haste for when we are crossing the open sands."

Neo balked at the Turaga, gestured to all the chaos around her, then cast a skeptical stare at the village elder once again.

"Be patient with them," chided Onewa gently. "By their nature, Po-Matoran are as firm and stalwart as stone itself. This makes them reliable and dependable, certainly, but it also makes them slow to change and adapt. This has been their sanctuary for a thousand years, and I am asking them to abandon it by the day's end. Leaving one's home is always a difficult task, regardless of urgency."

Not for me, she signed with a bitter frown. I ran away from my old house when I was little, soon as I got the chance, and I turned out fine. Well…mostly fine.

The Turaga of Stone raised an eyebrow in response. "Was it truly your home, then, if it was so easy to flee?"

She wanted to point out that running from her crime lord parents had been anything but easy, what with the obscene amount of money they spent on hired help to find her, but she understood Onewa's point all the same. Neo hadn't looked back when she had a chance to escape. She never remembered her mother and father as anything other than abusive monsters. Hell, she hadn't even blinked twice when she and Roman took a job that wanted her old family estate burned to the ground - she'd lit the match herself, just to make sure the entire place was nothing but ash come morning. She never had any love for that manor…or that family.

Not like she did for the people she found after leaving.

…I guess not, she admitted with a small sigh.

The Turaga chuckled humorlessly. "You should go and find Hafu, Neopolitan. Likely he is still on the wall, brooding about the task I have assigned him. I will convene with Hewkii and make sure the company is ready to depart. Do not worry about being misunderstood - Pohatu has seen fit to teach all of us your alphabet, just in case of your return."

Because of course he did. Even when she wasn't here, the Toa of Stone was still looking out for her. Neo smiled, curtseyed to Onewa, then made her way up a stone ladder to mount the wall overlooking the desert yet again. Sure enough, standing on the forty-foot-tall ring of solid stone, was Hafu looking ponderously over the edge.

She stepped over to the carver and gave him a small nudge. Hey, she typed onto her Scroll. Are you ready?

"Not in the least," groaned Hafu once she showed him the message. "All that work…all that stone…it's not exactly something I'm looking forward to wasting. I understand why it needs to be done, but that doesn't mean I like it."

I can see why. They are pretty nice…though I still like the one you did of me and Pohatu inside the village :P

The carver let out a humorless chuckle. "Of course you would. Vanity's a universal vice."

Neo was about to write up a witty reply when she smelled something foul and thick in the wind.

Smoke.

Her mismatched eyes immediately snapped down to the gate leading into Po-Koro, only to widen as she saw the sand turn orange like molten glass. A dozen burning holes seemed to burst open with waves of embers - and like demons crawling out of hell, the Tahnok launched themselves through the pits with infernal shrieks. Red balls of steel and spite rolled to a stop in front of the statues, unfolding into their familiar insectoid forms with handshields already primed to fire.

"A sneak attack?!" Hafu exclaimed, his optics widening behind his mask. "Those damned monsters…they're at the gates now!"

Even with the horns blaring around her, as the guards instantly spotted the attacking Bohrok and alerted the Matoran within the walls, Neo knew in her heart of hearts that it was too late. The company that Onewa gathered couldn't move fast enough to intercept the Tahnok. Ruby and Weiss couldn't fly fast enough to save the day. Not even Pohatu could help, as he was still deep in concentration - if he released his elemental grip on the wall now, it could collapse and kill everyone anyway.

Nobody was fast enough to save the day.

Nobody but her, that is.

With a wordless glance between the two, the silent Huntress and the proud carver sprung into action.

Hafu leapt from the wall with his chisel in hand, trusting Neo to catch him and channel her Miru before both of them splattered against the sands. When she did just that, the pair floated down towards the Tahnok marching on the gate, locking their gazes on the trio of insects burning away the meager barricade. Neo threw Hafu to one side and swapped to her Mask of Strength in mid-air, which allowed her to come down on the center Tahnok with a kick strong enough to shatter its faceplate. It screamed and tried to launch its newly-exposed Krana at her, but a quick slash with Shusano carved its tentacled brain in two. Before the second Bohrok could even react she was already on the move, rushing with the Mask of Speed to assault the insect with a flurry of blows. Between the battering bashes and the high-speed hits, the Tahnok's armor crumbled quickly, and gave her a chance to drive the parasol's hidden sword straight through its Krana.

No time to check and see which Krana was sitting in their skulls. No point in collecting them when she wasn't even sure she'd live to hand them off. Just clean, ruthless kills. Just like always.

The third fiery insect chittered and brought up its handshields to burn her while Hush's blade was still halfway through the second victim's head -

CRUNCH.

- only to find itself crushed under the weight of a falling statue, one that perfectly blocked the gate's open mouth. Neo looked over to the carver, who was staring at his handiwork with his chisel buried into a now-empty pedestal.

"Another Hafu original…" he muttered to himself, then he locked eyes with her. "One fallen statue won't be enough to block these beasts! Push the ones on the left, the right side's mine!"

She nodded and doubled back towards a huge carved head, casting an Illusion to distract the Tahnok reinforcements as they emerged into the burning battlefield. One tap of her Scroll was all it took to trigger the Pakari, allowing superhuman strength to flow through her arms and legs once more. Even with the channeled mask power, it still took a forceful shove to push the statue off its mount…but eventually, it too toppled over and piled onto its fallen counterpart, doubling the amount of stone the Tahnok would need to burn through to get inside.

Hafu felled a third statue with a single strike of his chisel, a pinpoint chip in the stone that made the entire base crumble and fall forward. He ducked to avoid a blast of flame from a Tahnok behind him, then ducked again as Shusano flew straight and true to strike the Bohrok in the glassy dome. While Neo worked to topple a fourth carving, the Po-Matoran ran at the would-be ambusher, leapt on top of its head while it was stunned, and brought his tool down right on the weakened faceplate. The glass shell shattered under his mighty swing, and the Krana within squealed as six inches of honed metal stabbed between its empty eye holes. Hafu just pulled his chisel back out and wiped the goop off the point, then knocked over a fifth statue as if nothing had happened.

The pair worked with surprising synergy, despite their differences. Hafu kept watch while Neo worked to push over a statue, and she did the same whenever he needed a second to topple another of his creations. Each fallen stone marker made the blockade stronger, and created more material for the Tahnok to try and clear away if they wanted to enter the village itself. Much to the duo's delight, the statues held up remarkably well against the flames - another trio had only managed to melt halfway through a single head before Neo could dispatch them, a feat matched only by the mesa's own ability to resist heat.

Finally, the last statue fell with a deafening thud, and Neo stood with Hafu between the Tahnok and their makeshift barricade.

"Well…that's that, then," panted the carver. "Now to get back into the village - we obviously can't use the main gate right now, and if we try climbing the Tahnok'll have an easy chance to burn us on the spot. Got any Aura left for those mask powers?"

Neo nodded and sucked down a breath of her own, pulling out her Scroll and swiping for the Kanohi menu. A quick tap on Pohatu's mask should give her the speed to -

"LOOK OUT!"

A concentrated gout of flame flew like a sniper's bullet, aiming for where her head used to be a second earlier - but in her hasty dodge, the hand holding her Scroll wasn't so fortunate.

Searing heat and pain bled through her dwindling Aura as the shot grazed her wrist, her nerves feeling like she was burning down to the bone. Even though she looked down and saw that her hand wasn't actually on fire, it certainly felt like it was - yet even the agony took a backseat as she noticed that her charred palm was conspicuously empty. The blast must've knocked the Scroll out of her grip…she whirled around and spotted it a few feet away, leapt to grab it -

But another blast of flame was faster, turning the little glowing rectangle into a smoldering, molten pile of plastic and Dust.

The bottom of her heart fell out, and the rest of it sank into her gut. Her Scroll…her link to Pohatu's mask powers, her direct line of contact to Ruby's friends, and one of the precious few things she still had from her days with Roman Torchwick…gone, reduced to cinders right in front of her. While the rational part of her mind reasoned that it was better than letting the rest of her burn, it still felt like watching part of herself die.

And without the powers granted by her dear friend's Kanohi, the rest of her would follow suit.

More and more Tahnok emerged from their infernal holes, unfolding and preparing to melt through anything standing in their way. While that included the barricade, it also included a stubborn carver and a heartbroken Huntress. Even with over a dozen stone markers blocking the way, it wouldn't hold back the gathering swarm forever. With the number of fiery insects joining the fray, it wouldn't even last long enough for Po-Koro to evacuate…and neither would Hafu and Neo.

"Well…seems that the artist is doomed to fall alongside his works," grunted the Po-Matoran as he raised his chisel in vain. "Unless you have any other tricks that can save us?"

Neo bit her lower lip, looking down at her smaller companion with a frown. Then she looked down at the smoky, burnt-out husk of a Scroll, which sparked faintly with embers and scorched plastic. Finally she narrowed her gaze, stuffed the smoldering little piece of trash into her pocket, twirled Hush over her shoulder, and gave a small wave with her burnt hand that sent an easily-understood, if silent, command.

Stand back.

Hafu got the message loud and clear, doubling back to the statues and hiding behind the corner of one head in the pile. Once he was clear the Huntress slammed Hush into the ground with a soundless scream, channeling every ounce of Aura she still had along the parasol's shaft. There was no point in being conservative or careful. If she didn't use everything in the tank now, it'd just go to waste. She'd seen Weiss summon an army of fallen foes out of nothing but soul energy before…time to take a page out of her playbook.

Illusions of glass and light formed around her, at first resembling dozens of perfect copies of herself. Then they charged forward while shimmering with pink triangles, transforming into Grimm and Rahi as they ran towards the Tahnok. Beowolves and Ursai bounded on all fours alongside charging Kikanalo and scurrying Nui-Jaga, while Nevermores and Lancers took flight alongside insectoid Nui-Rama and hawk-like Gukko birds. At first the Bohrok held their fire, believing the charging army to just be tricks of light…but when a Kikanalo horn gored a Tahnok right through the faceplate, all hell broke loose in a near-literal sense.

Bohrok chittered and waged war against her army of glass soldiers, firing blasts of heat and flame that sheared off chunks of prismatic mass. Despite losing arms, legs, or even heads, Neo's army kept fighting and tackling and dive-bombing the Tahnok with reckless abandon. When they finally fell to the concentrated barrages, they shattered and exploded into showers of crystalline knives, which rained down on the fiery insects and further scattered chaos among the horde.

Neo ducked in and out of her own Illusions during the battle, appearing only long enough to cleave with Shusano or stab with Hush. Each slashed and pierced Krana erupted into showers of blue goop, staining her weapons and her clothes with alien blood, and that served only to fuel the fire burning with her. Her hit-and-run tactics served her well, especially with her army drawing the ire of the flaming metallic insects. With each Tahnok that fell, either by her hand or by one of her constructs, a faint hope blossomed in her chest. Maybe she would survive. Maybe she would win. Maybe she would hold the horde back long enough for help to come, for the Po-Matoran to escape their village, for these stupid Bohrok to take the hint and bug off.

If only she was that lucky.

Still, she pressed on. More illusions. More constructs. More stabs and slashes and kicks and leaps. She could feel her Aura reaching dangerously low limits, the strain on her mind and her muscles growing with each new soldier she willed into existence, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. It didn't matter that she couldn't protect herself, if she never allowed herself to get hit. Duck under each fireball. Weave between gouts of flame. Flip over fissures of burning sand. Slide underneath sweeping claws and counter by cutting off the offending limb with a protosteel disk. Thrust. Lunge. Run. Repeat.

But not even Neopolitan could dodge forever.

After what felt like an eternity of fighting, a powerful headbutt from a Tahnok below caught her in mid-air, slamming its jaws into her side without warning. With her Aura already strained to manifest her army, the sudden strike proved too much - it shattered and dissolved like sprinkles around her, and with it went every construct on the field. Rahi and Grimm alike vanished in showers of pink triangles, and the Bohrok they were harassing turned to the now-powerless Huntress who landed hard on the sands. One by one at first, then en masse, they started marching towards her and encircled her, all while that damned chittering filled the air.

CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT-CHIKT…

It was suicide to try and fight them without an Aura, without a Semblance, without backup.

Neopolitan got up and, without thinking, lunged at the nearest Bohrok with a killing blow.

That was all the horde needed to swarm her, to launch blasts of flame from their shields and Krana from their faceplates. She leapt and flipped to avoid the former, and kicked the latter away. Hush's parasol served as an admirable shield, even as fires started to singe its cloth and melt its steel. Shusano held up far better, shattering glassy Bohrok shells with precise throws, but the illusions left behind by each impact were quickly blasted before they could do anything. Her muscles ached. Her chest strained for breath. Ash and smoke and rage clouded her vision. She could not fall. She would not fall.

And yet…she had to fall eventually.

Death by a thousand cuts. Neopolitan fought like a woman possessed against the Tahnok as they rushed in, but every strike and fiery blast that slipped past her guard wore her down and slowed her enough for another strike. A headbutt to the side. A handshield slash to the cheek. A gout of flame to the leg. A shard of glassy shrapnel to the gut. The burns and bruises and bleeding gashes started to pile up, until a final explosion of fire sent her flying with a painful landing, one that made every injury flare up in pain.

After trying one more time to rise on trembling arms, the silent Huntress finally collapsed.

"Neo!"

Hafu's cry was deafened by the hot blood flowing into her ears. The world was a blurry mess around her, everything overpowered by the taste of sand and iron in her mouth. She was vaguely aware of the Tahnok swarm once more taking deliberate steps toward her, handshields warming up to finally incinerate her.

Neo didn't even have time to offer a prayer before flames shot forward to eat her alive…

And suddenly she was underwater.

A ripple of bubbles tore out of her lips as she hastily clamped her mouth and plugged her nose, blinking to try and make sense of her new surroundings. She found herself suspended in some kind of crimson fluid, a rushing wave of red that washed across the battlefield and sent Tahnok flying. The water itself was oddly warm…and energetic…and tasted vaguely like roses…

Wait a minute.

Sure enough, Ruby reformed and slid to a halt in front of the barricade. One arm already had Crescent Rose braced against her shoulder and planted into the ground, ready to fire at the crowd of Tahnok turning their attention on her. The other hand held onto the scorched, wounded Huntress, shaking her back into awareness and out of the encroaching veil of sleep.

"Sorry for making you wait," she panted with a breathy sigh, "and for giving you the dunk tank treatment. You okay?"

Even if she could speak words of gratitude, Neo would've still chosen to do what she did anyway: greet her savior with a tight hug and a choked sigh of relief.

"Heh…" Ruby gave a goofy grin as she returned the embrace. "Not sure if that's supposed to be a 'yes' or a 'no'…but I'm glad we got here in time, all the same."

The sound of ethereal humming told Neo that the little rose wasn't the only one joining the fray.

A spectral mechanical hawk raced towards the barricaded gates of Po-Koro, which split into a dozen smaller ravens with icy feathers as soon as Weiss leapt off its back. The heiress wielded Myrtenaster like a magic wand, directing her murder of miniature Nevermores to descend upon the Tahnok and keep them from advancing. Then with just a nod to her partner she conjured several concentric glyphs in the air that pointed towards the swarm; Ruby aimed Crescent Rose and fired salvos of bullets with practiced ease through the rings, her bullets blossoming into crystals of frost as they sailed through the runes and struck mechanical insects in their joints.

The Tahnok shrieked and roared as they kept trying to push forward, blasting down summons and melting the icy prisons forming around their kin - or just trampling over them completely to keep advancing. But a distant boom gave everyone pause for just a moment, a sound like ancient stone finally cracking under intense pressure. Half a heartbeat later a bronze blur started tearing through the ranks of the Bohrok, massive boulders floating behind the rushing Toa of Stone to crush, batter, or knock away the flaming fighters.

Pohatu finally came to a stop in front of the trio of Huntresses, eyes narrowed behind his golden Kakama.

"Touch one more hair on any of their heads, monsters…" growled the Toa in rare anger, "and you will answer to me."

"No. You'll answer to us."

A cold wind suddenly swept across the battlefield, bringing a bitter chill that felt welcome after so much heat and flame. Clearly the Tahnok didn't feel that same sense of relief, as they all shrieked and turned to the icy wave rushing towards them. The surging tide carried two more Toa as it raced across the desert - one was using his shield as a makeshift surfboard, while the other was standing on the water's surface itself. Gali lowered her raised arms and allowed the flood to crash through the ranks of the fiery Bohrok, at which point Kopaka froze the water with a swing of his sword. Before the Tahnok could start to melt their prison, the pair of elemental warriors slid down the solid surface with speed and grace, using their Masks of Strength to shatter embrittled faceplates with powerful sword swipes and fatal hook swings.

"Gali! Kopaka!" cried Ruby in delight. "You guys made it!"

"We did," intoned the Toa of Water, looking down at both Neo and Hafu. "Are you well, little ones?"

"Well, I'm not a pile of ashes, so…I'd say I'll live," said Hafu gruffly.

"You were both extremely valiant today," said Pohatu with praise behind his every word. "Now it's our turn. It seems these Tahnok are just as ill fond of ice as they are of water - what a pity for them that masters of both are here."

Gali nodded resolutely. "There is moisture in the air, even in this arid place…and where there is moisture, I can make a flood."

"Let's route these Bohrok, so your people can get to safety." Kopaka's lenses clicked as he raised his sword. "Ruby, get Neo and Hafu back on the walls - it'll be safer for them up there than down here."

"I'll give you guys some fire support from up there, too!" she called back as she already started gathering her passengers.

Much as Neopolitan wanted to stay awake and watch the Toa clean house, fatigue from all the fighting and burning and losing blood finally caught up to her again, and she passed out in Ruby's arms just as the little rose took off running.

Clean it all. It must be cleaned.

Those words rang in its mind, urging it forward to fight and struggle and shoot fiery blasts at the ones defending the target. Others got frozen all around it. Krana were slashed apart and pierced through and reduced to cold, silent piles of goop. Shells were swept away by surging waves, or crushed under massive chunks of stone, or mangled by unfamiliar beasts. The Tahnok Va scurrying around through the swarm slotted fresh new Krana into salvageable frames as quickly as they could, but it wasn't enough to replenish their numbers.

Yet the will of the queens demanded forward progress, so that was what the Tahnok continued to do. Continue to push. Continue to burn. Continue to clean.

All obstacles must be removed.

All obstacles must be -

A whizzing shot of metal and frost crashed into its faceplate, nearly blasting apart the very valuable Krana it held. A Krana Xa. The Krana of a swarm commander. The Krana of a leader.

It was not afraid, for Bohrok were incapable of fear…but it had awareness enough to see that the swarm was at a clear tactical disadvantage. Trying to clean this obstruction at the moment would cost many resources, take up too much time, and too many Krana would be lost. The structure could be demolished under these circumstances, yes, but it would be costly. Wasteful. Inefficient.

And while failure was untenable among the Bohrok, inefficiency was far worse.

Few were allowed to speak back to the voices that guided the hordes, yet when it pushed back against the thoughts with meager ideas of its own…the queens paused.

…retreat? Again? One voice sounded disappointed. Infuriated. Annoyed.

It would be wise… admitted the other, this one far calmer and certain.

The first was still adamant. But the obstacle -

- must be removed, yes, soothed the second. And it will. But not yet.

After an instant of pure silence, the first voice relented. This mess will be cleaned up later.

Yes, later, promised the second. Just like the other incident. It all will be cleaned later.

Send the signal to disperse the swarm, Xa-seven-five-two-four. Find other obstacles to remove for now. Be ready to converge again on our signal.

Clean it all. It must be cleaned.

It must be cleaned.

With the order accepted and received it chittered and chirped with a shrill cry to the Tahnok, pulsing new commands through the web of mental connections. At first only a few under its lead responded. Then a dozen. Then a hundred. Finally, thousands of them tucked themselves into balls and rolled like dead weeds in the wind, scattering across the desert and leaving the central target alone.

For now.

Hours after the Tahnok finally retreated, Pohatu found himself standing on the shores of Po-Wahi as the sun began to sink into the sea.

The Toa of Stone kept his gaze on the group of bronze-masked villagers traveling in rows and columns towards the sea, heading for boxy-looking boats with reluctant gazes and dragged feet. Over three dozen stony Matoran sullenly followed the guidance of their Turaga, whose sharp and clear voice barked out orders and commands to keep them moving forward. Though their heartstones ached and their fears of the sea were strong, his people pressed on and boarded the docked transports. With luck, they would find sanctuary in the village of Ga-Koro…for however long the Bohrok ignored it and the rest of Lake Naho.

After watching his people for a moment longer, he turned back to the sea itself and watched the figures wading in its shallows. Gali stood waist-deep in the water with the Huntresses - all three of whom were wearing less than they usually did - and gently cradled a now-awake Neopolitan by the arms, immersing her in the waves and keeping her face poking out of the surface. Weiss and Ruby were on either side of their wounded friend, soaking strips of cloth in seawater and wrapping them around the many, many burns and gashes. Given how many patches of discolored, darkened flesh marked Neo's frame, he could only imagine how much pain his little friend was in…yet the pink-and-brown-haired Huntress gave no silent whimpers or other signs of discomfort. If anything, she seemed calm and at peace, content to simply float and let the chill of the sea wash over her as her friends tended her wounds.

It was the least she deserved, after spending so long in the fire today.

"Excuse me…Toa Pohatu?"

The Toa of Stone looked down to see the other hero of the hour approaching him, coal-black Pakari coated in dust and soot.

"Ah, Hafu," he greeted with a small smile. "Shouldn't you be boarding the transports alongside everyone else?"

"We're not all going to Ga-Koro," answered the carver. "Some of us are gonna stay here in the desert, to fortify the Great Highway entrance. Not all of us have what it takes to live out on the water with the Ga-Matoran, so I'm spearheading a company of my own for those folks. We'll use our knowledge of stone and sculpting to help the Ussalry carve barricades, should something try using the tunnels as entry points into Onu-Koro. It'll also let us keep an eye on the Tahnok in the region - as soon as they start swarming again, we'll send word about where they're going and what they're targeting."

"Having a garrison and a lookout at the gates of Whenua's village does seem a solid strategy," mused Pohatu. "Although…you're certain of this? Once those ships depart, it may be a while before you see your fellow Matoran."

"Eh, I've always spent moons outside the village carving away by myself." Hafu shrugged. "This won't be too different, I'll just be chipping away at rock for different reasons. Besides, I'll see 'em all again…when you and the other Toa stop these damned bugs once and for all."

"The vote of confidence is quite appreciated." Pohatu gave a small grin as he looked back at his human friend, who reflexively kicked a spray of seafoam into Ruby's face when she tried to bandage her leg. "From both of us, I mean."

Hafu nodded, then looked uncharacteristically shy. "Speaking of which…do you think you could pass something along to her? On my behalf? Just in case you leave before we do."

The Toa of Stone turned back to the carver with a curious tilt of his head. "Depends on what I'm passing along. What have you got?"

He watched as Hafu seemed to have some kind of mental debate within himself, all while staring at some small object hidden within his palm. Eventually he sighed and reached up as high as he could, handing it over to Pohatu and depositing it in the taller Toa's palm. It was a little stone disk, barely larger than a Toa's glowing eye, but it was smooth and symmetrical and polished to absolute perfection. One side was blank and featureless, while the other bore three lines curving away from a central point in a circular pattern. The Toa of Stone recognized it as the same symbol that decorated Shusano's painted center - it was Neopolitan's own personal emblem, her mark as a Huntress.

"Just a small charm I've been working on this afternoon, ever since the attack," explained Hafu. "I don't usually make pieces for just anyone, but…after what your friend did for us today - for me - I figured that giving her some token of my thanks is the least I can do. The stone came from one of the statues we toppled over; I'd originally grabbed one of the loose chunks of rubble for sentimental reasons, but…this feels right, giving it away like this. Thanks to her, I've got a chance to carve again. Not sure I'd be able to say the same if she and her friends hadn't fallen outta the sky all those moons ago."

Pohatu stared at the charm with full understanding in his gaze, and nodded. "I don't think any of us could say the same without them, Hafu. Thank you. I'll be sure she receives it, once she's recovered and rested. Go in Mata Nui's light, my little friend - may the Great Spirit bless every stroke of your chisel in the days to come."

Satisfied with the answer, Hafu snapped a salute to the Toa of Stone, then spun on his heel and marched back to the other Po-Matoran. A handful of awed villagers waited for him with praise and congratulations, with Hewkii at the front of the company bearing the biggest smile of them all. After a moment of words Pohatu was too far away to hear, the pair of stony villagers clasped hands, bumped shoulders, butted masks, then went in separate directions. Some of the admirers followed the carver, while others reluctantly went with the star Koli player onto the boats.

"Seems my little Pebble's not the only one making new friends," muttered Pohatu with an amused chortle. "Speaking of which…"

He set Hafu's gift next to the pile of clothes he was moderately sure belonged to Neo, then started wading into the sea to meet with his sister Toa and the other humans. He was greeted with the sounds of snickering and splashing, as Ruby shielded herself from another wave kicked up by Neopolitan - who was almost certainly doing that on purpose now. Clearly, the intense medical care was swiftly turning into a game between the patient and the caregivers…or one of them, at any least.

"Ack! Blegh! C'mooooon, Neo! You've got a nasty burn on your thigh, I can't bandage it up if you keep kicking me in the face!"

The little human gave no reply as she floated in Gali's arms, save for sticking out her tongue in Ruby's general direction.

"Oh, it's on now! Weiss, with me! We're gonna have to hold her leg down if we wanna get that wound! Submarine mission time!"

"Why must you two always drag me into your childish games?"

The red-haired human grinned and snapped a pair of glass lenses over her eyes, oblivious to her girlfriend's grousing. "Open the ballasts! Man the helms! Dive! Dive!"

Ruby took a deep exaggerated breath as she dipped underwater with a bubbly giggle, which Weiss watched with a roll of her eyes before moving to do the same. Neo and Gali both watched curiously as two blurry figures approached from beneath the surface, each one carrying strips of white cloth in their hands as they swam. A moment later the pink-haired human gasped and went red in the face, flailing her legs even harder in response to whatever Ruby and Weiss were doing. The mostly-playful struggle continued for a few seconds before the submerged pair drifted back and broke through the waves, one coughing furiously while the other had a giddy grin.

"Pwah! Ptah! Ahaha! Mission accomplished!" declared Ruby with a breathy cheer. "See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Weiss clearly didn't share in her partner's enthusiasm. "Ugh…gods," she sputtered while clutching her face, the holes above her mouth dripping with crimson fluid. "I think you clocked me down there with your heel, right on the nose. I've got blood and seawater all the way in my sinuses now - everything tastes and smells like iron and salt and misery and it's all your fault Neopolitan. You are officially the worst trauma patient. Ever. Of all time."

Neo just winked at the flustered Huntress, which got another laugh from Ruby - and eventually, a small giggle from Weiss as well.

"Someone's certainly feeling a little more awake now," declared Pohatu as he ventured closer, quelling his natural unease when he felt the waves lapping at his chest. "Is the treatment helping any, Pebble?"

The wounded warrior looked over and gave him a shallow attempt at a smile, raising her non-burnt hand and giving a thumbs up. Then she frowned and inverted the gesture, before eventually shrugging and waving her hand noncommittally.

"Her wounds are already looking better after a few hours in the sea," noted Gali. "Especially thanks to the Vuata Maca berries that Ruby provided her."

"You can thank Nokama for that," said Ruby as she checked a floating seaweed satchel, pulling out another linen strip and dunking it into the ocean. "She's the one who gave me the stash she'd been building up since our fight with Makuta, even when I tried protesting at first. It's not much, but it's good for emergencies like this one…Neo's burns would be a lot worse without her Aura to help heal them after the fact."

Right…Pohatu remembered the discovery the girls had made during their last journey on Mata Nui. Their Aura was used to heal themselves, to shield their bodies from harm, and to power their unique abilities - yet it had a finite amount and was slow to recover when drained completely. Thankfully, the rare and potent Vuata Maca berries could be used to restore a lost Aura in a pinch, although the humans often complained about the taste…which was a small price to pay for a quick, immediate boost in healing and strength. He didn't know how bad of a shape Neo would be in right now without that mystical soul energy mending her flesh, and he'd rather not find out.

"Still, Aura can't fix everything right away." added Weiss, frowning as she pulled her cloth out of the sea. "It was Gali's idea to soak her out here while we treat the bigger injuries, to make sure they heal correctly. Normally it's a bad idea in our world to expose open burns and cuts to ocean water, because of all the bacteria and nasty things floating around that could infect them…but I guess you guys don't really have that problem here."

"And my amazing girlfriend brought bandages all the way from Remnant!" piped Ruby.

Weiss let out a small sigh, though she still blushed faintly. "Yes…I did. Although I really wish I'd decided to bring the aloe vera after all…where's Kopaka with that seaweed?"

As if on cue, a silvery figure with a golden mask breached the surface with hardly a splash, gripping a handful of slimy green plant matter. He made his way over to the others and found his footing along the shallow shore, passing it along to Weiss. After she and Gali inspected it for a moment, the white-haired Huntress pressed it against a rather large burn on Neo's hand before she and Ruby tied soaked strips tightly around her palm. The silent woman winced and whimpered soundlessly in pain for a moment, but eventually she relaxed and willingly went limp in the Toa of Water's grip.

"Hope that was the right kind of kelp," intoned the Toa of Ice. "It's hard to see down there, and I can't use the Masks of Vision and Water-Breathing at the same time."

Gali let out a soft laugh. "Yes, that was the correct plant we needed. Thank you, Kopaka. This salve should help Neopolitan's burns heal more quickly, and provide comfort as she recovers."

Pohatu smiled for a moment, then watched as the Huntresses and Gali finished patching up Neopolitan. The women withdrew after a moment and gave their friend some space, who instinctively started paddling and kicking to keep herself afloat under her own power. Though her limbs moved without issue, and it obviously didn't hurt to breathe, it was soon clear Neopolitan was too tired to tread water. Before she could start sinking, however, the Toa of Stone stepped over with two steady hands that lifted her up under the bare shoulders, which she clung to like a lifeline in the storm.

"Hmm…" hummed the Toa of Stone. "Perhaps you're overdue for some swimming lessons, Pebble, courtesy of our sister."

Neo gave a feigned look of horror and started splashing petulantly, which made Ruby giggle as Weiss laughed softly.

"She certainly would not be my worst student," said Gali with a soft chuckle. "Truly, she would be easier to teach than you, brother."

"Hey, I can't help it if I sink like a stone!" protested Pohatu. "It's in my nature!"

"That just sounds like an excuse not to try," shot back Kopaka with a small smile of his own.

Coming from the Toa of Ice, it was so unexpected that everyone laughed.

The moment of levity was cut short by the sounds of motors roaring across the waves. Six tired warriors looked out to see a small fleet of green boats approaching the docks, all of them bearing blue-armored sailors with disks slung across their backs and spears in their hands. It almost looked like a raiding party cutting across the ocean, but Pohatu knew better - as did the Po-Matoran, many of whom raced to the edges of their ship's decks to wave at their friends from across the waters.

"Looks like the fleet Nokama promised finally came to escort them," said Ruby with a small relieved smile. "Think the Po-Matoran will be okay?"

"They've endured much in the desert," answered Pohatu. "Difficult as it may be to flee their home, I'm certain they'll find a way to adapt to their new way of life. It's who they are, at their core - whether on a sea of water or sand, they are as unchanging as stone itself."

"I'm glad you have faith in your people," said Weiss, who seemed to sink lower into the water. "Wish I could say the same about mine…"

Ruby paddled over to her partner's side instantly, wrapping bare arms around her exposed waist and planting a kiss on her cheek. "Aw…sweetie…"

"I know." The white-haired Huntress sobbed and buried her face into Ruby's shoulder. "I'm alright. This just…hits a little too close to home. I am…so tired of leaving places in ashes."

"It will be rebuilt," said Gali, her voice as soothing as the waves that washed over the group. "Just as my people have endured the ocean's rage, so too have the Matoran of Stone weathered the desert. The fires of the Tahnok may burn hot now, but they will fade to embers eventually…and when they do, the mesa will still be standing to welcome back her people."

"Then let us be certain to stop the Bohrok, so that it may keep standing." Pohatu turned to his fellow Toa as a sudden thought struck him. "You were tracking the Gahlok when Ruby last saw you…did you happen to see where they went, before you came here?"

The Toa of Water shook her head sadly. "They disappeared into Gaaki's Ravine, using the shadows to slip through passages where even I could not follow. I fear that wherever they are now, it is beyond anyone's reach at the moment."

"So they've just been leading us on a wild goose chase," muttered Ruby darkly, swimming away from Weiss to turn and look at the distant horizon. "Maybe that was their plan all along - to waste our time and distract us, so that the other Bohrok could start messing things up all over the island. If that's the case…then these things are smarter than they look."

"Not to mention how they targeted Pebble's Scroll, to keep her from using my Kanohi powers," added Pohatu. "No Rahi was cunning enough to try that, even under Makuta's guidance."

Weiss ran her hands through her soaked hair with a grim sigh. "Looks like we'll need to ask Doctor Polendina for one more Scroll - if he manages to figure out how to make more of them with what we have here."

"He can't replace the Kanohi channeling app, though." Ruby's face started sinking into the sea dejectedly. "Or all her files, unless the memory stick happened to survive somehow. I'm sorry, Neo. I know how important stuff from those days is to you. If we'd gotten there sooner…if I hadn't been selfish and wanted to go swimming with Weiss…maybe none of this would've happened…"

Neo frowned for a moment, then nudged Pohatu and urged him to bring her closer to Ruby. After he waded a little deeper she started signing with her bandaged hands, trying to speak despite how much they trembled in pain.

It's fine, urged Neopolitan. Don't blame yourself for my slip-ups. I can fight without mask powers, just like you've been doing. I survived this long without them, and I'll continue to do that until Doctor P figures the program out. And don't worry about my Scroll - it was all just old memories on there, anyway. Photos and videos I should have deleted a long time ago. That life is behind me now. This one is what counts.

That seemed to lift Ruby's spirits, who stopped blowing little bubbles of self-pity and raised her face to reveal a small smile. "Then I'm glad we were there to save you, so you can keep living it."

So am I, answered Neopolitan with a smile of her own. Thank you for saving me, Ruby. Just like you always do.

Weiss finally swam over and pulled her girlfriend into a hug just as tight as the one she'd received, kissing her eyes and forehead before capturing her lips in her own. Ruby squeaked softly for a moment, then moaned as she tipped forward and leaned against her partner, letting gentle waves and softer hands caress and hold her. Part of Pohatu felt embarrassed enough to walk in the opposite direction, but Neopolitan surprised him by paddling out of his grip and floundering towards the pair, trusting them to catch her and support her before she grew too tired to tread water again. Her trust was well-placed, as both Ruby and Weiss broke the kiss just in time to pull her into the hug, each wrapping an arm around her and drawing her close. A contented sigh escaped the silent woman, one that was matched by her friends who gladly shared their warmth with one that used to be their enemy.

It made Pohatu's heartstone glow with pride, seeing his little pebble be so welcomed and loved…despite her sordid history with Ruby and the others.

After watching the Huntresses embrace for a moment longer, Kopaka narrowed his gaze and looked off into the distance. "We should go, Weiss," he said in a clipped yet kind tone. "Let's grab your clothes and head back to Mount Ihu, before the sun gets too low."

Weiss looked like she wanted to protest, but nodded numbly and withdrew from the hug with great reluctance. Before she left she took a moment to clasp hands with Neopolitan, who let Pohatu pick her up yet again, and to exchange a soft, lingering, soulful kiss with Ruby. After they parted one more time, after silver and ice-blue eyes promised things they were too choked up to say, the white-haired human finally turned and swam back to her Toa. Kopaka laid a hand on her shoulder in comfort and support, holding her close before he took off in a silvery blur. After nodding to Pohatu and Neopolitan in gratitude, Gali moved to do the same with her silver-eyed companion, racing back to the shore in a flash of blue before departing on a rising wave that took them further into the sea.

The Toa of Stone looked down at Neopolitan as she floated passively in his hands, smiling behind his mask. "You did exceptionally well today, Pebble. All of Po-Koro owes you a great debt for your bravery and resolve -"

But that was all he managed to say before the woman twisted around and hugged him tightly around the neck, crying tears of stress and fear and fatigue into his armor. If Pohatu had to guess, he'd reason that the shock of almost dying, almost burning alive, finally hit Neopolitan all at once…and as much as he wanted to continue heaping praises onto her, he could tell that wasn't what she needed right now. What she wanted.

So he let the silence and the waves speak for both of them as he returned the embrace, holding his dear little Huntress protectively in arms as strong as stone.