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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Old story Topic: http://www.bzpower.c...howtopic=332474

Chapter One: Banishment.

Toa Tolok stood in the center of Turaga Kwiau's chamber. This was not the first time he had found himself here under these circumstances. In the back of the room, some of the Matoran villagers were watching him, wondering how the Turaga would punish the Toa of Fire this time.

The Turaga, along with Mongo Koro's three other Toa, were outside of the chamber, talking among themselves about Tolok's recent actions. They had been talking for about thirty minutes. To Tolok, it felt like they had been talking for hours.

He let out a annoyed sigh. His weapons had been taken from him by the other three Toa, just like in the previous times he had been here. He was lucky that they let him keep his Kanohi Mask of Strength. The Toa of Fire just didn't understand what he did wrong this time.

When a group of Tarakava had attacked Mongo Koro the day before, Tolok did what any other Toa would've done: defend his village and its inhabitants. The village, located in the center of a small island a couple miles off the coast of the Southern Continent, had very few Rahi living on it. Those that did live on it were usually peaceful and didn't cause Mongo Koro much trouble.

However, there were exceptions to this, and the Tarakava were one of them.

Tolok knew that the majority of Rahi hated fire, so he tried to use fire bolts to scare the attacking Rahi away. The other Toa used their powers too. Unfortunately, their efforts only made the Rahi back away momentarily before they stormed back into the village, destroying everything within their grasp.

It was at this point that Tolok came up with another one of his brilliant plans. Believing that a huge fire would scare the aquatic Rahi away, he fired a fire bolt at the Matoran hut closest to the creatures. By the time the other Toa realized what he was doing, it was too late. The structure was ablaze in seconds, sending out huge waves of heat, light, and flames into the sky.

The good news was that the sudden appearance of the flames succeeded in scaring the Rahi out of the village. Tolok gave chase after them, hurling more fire bolts at them to ensure that all of them ran back into the ocean. The bad news was that the flames from the burning hut spread to other huts faster than anyone could've predicted. Being made out of very dry wood and grass, the huts were extremely flammable. By the time Tolok returned, half the village had burned to the ground.

Had one of the other Toa, a Toa of Earth, not used his powers to bury the flames, the whole village might've been engulfed by the flames, leaving all its inhabitants without homes.

It was because of this incident that Tolok now stood in the Turaga's chamber, awaiting punishment for his actions. Tolok wasn't too worried though. Usually, the only punishment Kwiau gave the Toa was a stern speech about his actions or something like that.

Turaga Kwiau and the three other Toa entered the chamber. All the Matoran stood up as soon as they entered. The Turaga waved his hand, motioning for them to take their seats.

"We have come to a verdict." The elder said to Tolok as he approached his seat in the front of the room. He sat down, his displeased look never leaving his face. The other Toa stood behind the Turaga. They had the same look on their faces as well.

"What is my punishment this time, wise one?" Tolok asked, more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Another long speech?"

The Turaga shook his head. "Your actions yesterday were those of a fool, Tolok. It will take weeks to rebuild the homes some of our Matoran have lost."

"So?" Tolok said. "We have spent weeks rebuilding homes before. We can do it again."

"Do you not care about what could've happened?" One of the other Toa said angrily. "You put the Matoran in danger! What if one of them had still been in his hut before it was consumed by flames? What if you had killed someone?"

"I didn't kill anyone." Tolok said calmly. "I succeeded in saving Mongo Koro from those monsters. I don't see how I should be punished for that."

"But you could've killed someone." Turaga Kwiau explained, speaking to Tolok as if he were a child. "Now, had this been the first time you had come into my chambers because of your actions, I might've let you off with a warning."

In his mind, Tolok smiled. He was now sure that the Turaga would only give him a warning, though the Toa didn't think he needed even that. He had saved the village, after all.

"But this isn't your first time here under these kind of circumstances." Kwiau continued. "In fact, I can't recall how many times you have stood before me because of your careless actions."

"Careless?" Tolok exclaimed, surprised by the Turaga's choice of words. "I wasn't..."

"Therefore," Kwiau said, cutting the Toa off. "you leave me no choice but to banish you from Mongo Koro."

A look of pure shock appeared on Tolok's face. He took a step back, almost as if he was going to faint. The other Toa reached for their weapons. Knowing that their 'ally' usually acted before he thought, they had no idea how he would react to the Turaga's decision, and they weren't going to take any chances.

"Why?" Tolok stammered. "My plan worked! No one was killed! Why am I being punished for that?"

"All your plans 'work,' Tolok." Kwiau explained. "But not only do they cost the villagers their food and homes, they also put their lives in unnecessary danger."

The Turaga rose from his seat. "I know for a fact if you keeping acting like you do now, someone is going to be killed, and I'm not going to wait for that day to come."

The elder turned to the Toa behind him. "Give Tolok his weapons and escort him out of the village. I want him gone by nightfall."

"You can't do this to me!" Tolok shouted. "I saved this village yesterday from those Rahi!"

"I'm saving this village from something worse than them, Tolok." Kwiau said. "I'm saving it from you."

With that, the Turaga turned and headed for the exit. The Matoran, the majority of them shocked by what they had just witnessed, started to leave as well.

"Wait!" Tolok cried, taking a few steps forward as he said it. Only the sight of the other Toa pulling out their weapons kept the Toa of Fire from reaching the elder.

The Turaga stopped and looked over his shoulder. "What, Toa?"

"There has to be a way for me to be accepted back into the village!" Tolok pleaded. "What must I do to overturn your ruling. Name it. I'll do anything you ask!"

The Turaga gazed down at the floor, as if he was contemplating the Toa's words. After a few moments, he looked back up to the disgraced Toa of Fire, a look of curiosity on his face. "Anything?"

"Anything." Tolok replied. "Just tell me what to do."

The Turaga looked at the now banished Toa. He then glanced at the other Toa, then back at Tolok. He let out a sigh.

"There is something you could do." The Turaga finally said. "Come with me."

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 21 2011 - 02:37 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter two: The Plan for Redemption

In the center of Mongo Koro, there was a Toa Shrine. It was at least the size of ten Matoran huts put together. The villages four Toa kept their spare Kanohi Masks in this shrine, along with other items such as weapons, armor, and rare goods.

But today, the Toa Shrine was where Turaga Kwiau wanted to talk to Toa Tolok about revoking his banishment.

The Toa sat on a bench in front of the shrine. His weapons were still being held by the other Toa. The Turaga had entered the structure a hour ago. He had told Tolok to wait outside until he called for him.

Tolok look around at his surroundings to pass the time. Occasionally, a Matoran would walk by him. Tolok would say hello to each of them, but all of them would just ignore him and continue on their way. The Toa didn't understand why the villagers were treating him this way. He had saved Mongo Koro from danger the day before. Even though he was now unjustly banished from the village, the Matoran should have still loved him for his actions.

After a while, the Toa found himself becoming more impatient by the minute.

"Come on!" He thought bitterly. "What in Mata Nui's name is taking Kwiau so long?"

"I heard what happened to you." Someone said to the banished Toa. Tolok turned and saw his good friend Bokla, a Le-Matoran, standing next to him. He and Tolok had been friends for as long as both of them could remember. Back when the Toa of Fire had been a Matoran, he and Bokla went on countless adventures together, spanning from Mongo Koro to other nearby islands. Their friendship had never weakened over the years, even after Tolok became a Toa.

"I surprised you weren't there to see it for yourself." Tolok said to the Le-Matoran. "Why weren't you there?"

"I was busy helping the unit clean out some of the rubble from the burned huts, as requested by the Turaga." Bokla replied. "I do wish I could've been there though."

Tolok wasn't surprised by his friend's answer. Bokla was part of Mongo Koro's Matoran Defense Unit. Whenever the Toa were defending the village from a threat, it was the job of these Matoran to make sure everyone in the village was out of harms way. They were also well-trained for combat and sometimes assisted the Toa in defending the village from enemies, if needed.

Bokla looked at the shrine, then to Tolok. The Toa could easily see the unspoken question in his friend's eyes.

"Turaga Kwiau brought me here." The Toa of Fire said before Bokla could ask his question. "He is going to talk to me about how I can become un-banished and resume my rightful duties. That is, if he ever comes out of that shrine."

"That's great!" Bokla said excitedly.

"We'll have to see about that, Bokla." The response came from Turaga Kwiau, who was standing in the entrance to the Toa Shrine. He didn't look too pleased to see Bokla talking with Tolok.

He turned to the Toa of Fire. "Tolok, come inside with me. We will discuss what you will do to redeem yourself." He then turned to Bokla. "Go back to your duties, young Matoran. Your friends could use your help."

Bokla nodded. He gave Tolok a quick smile of encouragement before running off to do what the Turaga asked of him. Tolok then got up and followed Kwiau into the Shrine.

"Why did I have to wait outside for a hour before you called me in here?" The Toa asked as he entered the room.

"You're banished." Kwiau said simply. "You shouldn't be in here at all. But that is not the reason I had you wait outside."

The Turaga pointed to a table next to the wall. Thanks to the lights coming from the few lightstones in the room, Tolok could barely make out something lying on that table. Kwiau walked over to the table and picked up the object. It kind of looked like a tablet of some sort.

"This is the reason you waited outside." He said. "Until today, no one else in this village besides me knew that this was here. Now you know of its existence as well."

"What is that?" Tolok asked curiously.

"This is a map of sorts" Kwiau said quietly. "It is a map to a place few have ever been to."

"So I waited outside just so you could find that map?" Tolok asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"This is no ordinary map, Tolok. It is a map that shows routes through the Southern Islands." Kwiau explained.

Tolok gave the Turaga a skeptical stare. The Southern Islands were arguably the most mysterious islands in the known universe. Nearly all of them were unsettled thanks to the highly dangerous Rahi that lived on them. Only a few beings had willingly explored them, and only a couple of them returned to tell their tales through them.

"As you know, my Toa team was the first Toa team to ever explore the Southern Islands." Turaga Kwiau continued. "We journeyed there when the universe was new, and..."

"I've heard the story before, elder." Tolok interrupted. "Your team went to a particular island, found some mysterious treasures, and were then attacked by monstrous Rahi, in which only you made it out alive."

The Turaga sighed. Though everything Tolok said had been correct, there was more the tale than that. The treasure, filled with golden armor, swords, shields, and the like, was located on one of the Southern Islands. This particular island was the farthest one from any civilization, making it one of the most dangerous islands in the chain.

"It would do you well to hear this story once more, Tolok." Kwiau said. "For that island where my team died is where you have to go to be redeemed."

Tolok's eyes narrowed. "Wait, you want me to go to that island and get the treasure that your team failed to obtain?"

"Not exactly." Kwiau said, his voice almost in a whisper. "You see, all the times I told this tale to the villagers, I left out one detail."

He let out a sigh, as if what he was about to say was going to removed a great burden from his shoulders. And then, he said slowly, "I saw the Staff of the Great Beings on that island."

Tolok stared at Kwiau for a couple of seconds, processing what the Turaga had told him. The Staff of the Great Beings was said to be the weapon used by the Great Beings themselves to bring forth trees and others plants into the universe. Rumor had it that once the Great Beings has used the staff, they left it on one of the Southern Islands for some unknown reason. Some beings believed this event actually occurred. Others believed that this event was only a legend.

Tolok, who fell in with the unbelievers, burst out laughing.

"You saw the Staff of the Great Beings? Are you joking?" Tolok said, barely getting the words out over his laughter. "That object is nothing more than a myth that originated from Stelt!"

"It is no myth, Tolok!" Kwiau said angrily. "I saw it with my own eyes. I was even close enough to grasp it in my hand!"

"Then why didn't you?" Tolok asked, regaining his composure.

"A powerful Rahi hindered me from getting it." Kwiau replied. "But where I failed, you will have to succeed. Especially if you want to continue to 'protect the village.'"

"So you want me to go the Southern Islands, the most dangerous place known to the Matoran, to find a staff that many beings consider to be a myth?" Tolok asked. "That is how I will be redeemed?"

"Yes, that is what you must do to get your redemption." Kwiau answered.

Tolok shrugged his shoulders. "What if I don't do it? What if I did something else? Something so great that the villagers would demand that you revoke my banishment?"

"Don't try it." Kwiau warned. "Aside from Bokla, all the Matoran in the village have complained to me about your actions. They are tired of your 'help' and have started to hate you greatly."

"No one in this village..." Tolok started to say, but he stopped mid-sentence. He remembered how the Matoran he saw outside minutes ago treated him. How they ignored him as if he were a dead Visorak. Would everyone in Mongo Koro treated him like this? Did everyone here really hate him, even though he had done nothing wrong?

A horrible feeling began to grow inside him. It was the feeling of being betrayed, rejected, and being forced to be outcast, all over a misunderstanding. It made him feel terrible. He had to fix this. He had to show the villagers that he was worthy of defending their village, the only home he had ever known, even though they apparently hated him for some reason that he couldn't think of. If fixing his situation meant going to the Southern Islands, so be it.

"Alright." The Toa of Fire said quietly after a few moments. "I'll go."

The Turaga smiled and handed him the tablet. "This will lead you to the island that houses the staff. Don't lose it."

Tolok took it and examined it. After a few minutes, he realized that he couldn't understand the language on the map.

"I can't read it." He said. "It is written in a language that I don't know." He turned to Kwiau, wondering if the elder had the answer.

"Not my problem." The Turaga said simply.

"And where will I acquire a boat to travel to this island?" Tolok asked as well.

"Again, not my problem." Kwiau repeated. "Now go to the other Toa and retrieve your weapons. Then leave Mongo Koro. If you come back with the Staff of the Great Beings, I'll take away your banishment."

Tolok slowly nodded, turned, and headed for the exit.

"Toa." Kwiau called out before he left the shrine. Tolok stopped and turned to the elder.

"Don't come back to Mongo Koro without that staff." Kwiau said. "If you so much as set one foot inside the village without it..."

"What? You'll have me killed?" Tolok said, almost sarcastically.

"No." Kwiau replied. "But I will have the other Toa make you leave...with a limp."

Staring at the Turaga for a moment, Tolok turned and resumed his walking, mentally preparing himself for the journey ahead of him.

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 21 2011 - 02:38 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Three: The Journey Begins

Like many of the villages in the universe, Mongo Koro needed to trade with other villages on other islands to obtain items they couldn't get otherwise. Traders traveled on boats from the island that housed Mongo Koro to villages on the Southern Continent, other villages on nearby islands, and even Xia. All of these civilizations benefited from their trades with each other, in one way or another.

On this day, one of these boats was also benefiting Toa Tolok. One day had passed since Turaga Kwiau had banished him from Mongo Koro. He had approached the Ga-Matoran captain of this particular boat for a ride off the island, despite the fact that Tolok had nothing to pay the captain for her troubles. The captain, not knowing that Tolok had been banished from his village, agreed to give him a free ride to her next destination, but no further than that.

The Toa of Fire was staring out at the sea, watching the island he had lived on for thousands of years shrink into the distance. In the past, he would have felt sadden to leave his village without his presence. He still felt sad now as he watched his home fade into the horizon. But he also had another feeling, one he couldn't shake off: Despair.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll see our home again." Bokla said, doing his best to comfort his depressed friend.

Tolok looked down as his friend. After he had retrieved his Flame Blade and Fire Shield from the other Toa of Mongo Koro, Tolok left the village as Turaga Kwiau requested of him. When the twin suns went down and nighttime began, Bokla left the village as well and came to Tolok. The Le-Matoran wanted to go with the Toa on his quest. Tolok protested to this, but Bokla insisted on going. Failing to convince the Matoran to change his mind, Tolok finally agreed to let him come along.

"I hope your right." The Toa said to his friend. "But even if we did return, it wouldn't matter unless we have that staff."

He stared at the map that Kwiau had given him. "And our only way of finding it is written in a unreadable language."

"We'll find a way." Bokla said. The Matoran sounded confident, but Tolok could tell something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Bokla looked up at the Toa, a hint of nervousness in his eyes. "Are you sure we are starting our journey in the right place?"

Tolok nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I know Stelt isn't the best island to visit in the universe, but I know for a fact that we can acquire what we need for our journey there."

"And why couldn't we acquire these items on the Southern Continent?" Bokla asked. "Or on another island?"

"We need a boat, supplies, and a crew willing to go to the Southern Islands." Tolok explained. "And while we could obtain the first two elsewhere, we probably wouldn't be able to find anyone insane enough to go to the islands anywhere else. And we need to have a crew, Bokla. We won't last a day if we try to get the staff by ourselves."

"But what makes you think that the natives of Stelt will be more willing to go to their possible deaths than beings from another place?"

Tolok smiled. "Because almost all of them are greedy."

Bokla gave his friend a skeptical look.

"We will tell anyone who will listen about the golden treasures that are on the island that houses the staff." Tolok explained. "We'll tell them that we are going after the treasure, and that we'll split the profits with anyone who comes with us. We will definitely get a few recruits if we ask the right people."

"Sounds like another one of your plans." Bokla said, almost jokingly. "But how are we going to get a boat and the supplies we need when we have nothing to trade for them?"

He then pointed to the tablet in Tolok's hand. "And how are we going to translate our map?"

"Let's get our crew first." Tolok replied. "Then we'll worry about everything else."

*****

Half an hour passed before the trading boat arrived at its destination. The Ga-Matoran captain let Tolok and Bokla off, wishing them well with their business here. The two travelers looked at their surroundings. There were very few structures standing, and those were mostly trader's houses. A coliseum of sorts could be seen in the distance. It had cracks running down its walls, but it still looked really sturdy.

Bokla glanced around at all the destroyed buildings. It put an uneasy feeling in his chest.

"Oh yes, this is a great place to start our adventure." he thought sarcastically to himself. "A Muaka's lair would probably be safer than this entire island."

"We need to find an inn." Tolok told Bokla. "That is where we'll start recruiting."

"According to some of the stories I've heard, I believe that there is only one inn on this part of Stelt." Bokla said. "The next nearest one is about eight miles away."

"Then that inn is where we'll start." Tolok said as he began walking away from the docks. Bokla followed him. After a few minutes, they found the inn that Bokla spoke of. It was at least twice the size of the Toa Shrine back in Mongo Koro. From the cracks running down its walls, Bokla was puzzled as to how the inn was standing.

The Toa and Le-Matoran approached the inn's entrance. They almost made inside when a one-eyed native of Stelt emerged from the building. He was bulky, wearing blue and white armor, and had what looked like a Kanoka Disk Launcher attached to his shoulder. He held out his hand, stopping Tolok and Bokla from entering the inn.

"You must pay five widgets to enter here." The native said.

"We can't pay that." Tolok said. "But we have urgent business to attend to in there. So if you could let us in..."

"You must pay first." The native insisted.

"Maybe we should go to another inn, Tolok." Bokla suggested.

"No, we don't have time to travel eight miles to another inn." Tolok replied. He then turned to the Steltian. "Listen, just let us though. We will pay you once our business here is done."

The being's eye narrowed. "Krekka isn't a dummy." The being said before he lashed out with his arm, sending both Toa and Matoran flying into the air. They crashed into the sandy ground, dazed by the blow.

Bokla pulled his head out of the sand. The world was spinning around him. "I feel like I just got hit by a Kane-Ra." He mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.

Tolok jumped to his feet, angered by Krekka's attack. The Toa of Fire threw a white-hot fire ball at the Steltian. The sphere of fire hit Krekka square in the chest, scorching his chest armor.

"You gonna pay for that!" Krekka bellowed. He charged towards the natives of Mongo Koro. Tolok pulled out his weapons and prepared himself for Krekka's attack. The Steltian was in front of the Toa in seconds. The Toa dodged the Steltian's first two blows and managed to hit him in the back with his shield.

Krekka responded by lashing out with his leg. Tolok activated his Mask of Strength and raised his shield, preparing himself for the blow. But even with the added power of his Kanohi, Krekka's blow still knocked Tolok back a few steps when it connected.

Bokla was now back on his feet. He saw Tolok swinging his sword at Krekka, keeping the titan at bay. The Le-Matoran pulled out his Ax and ran towards the Steltian. He swung the flat side of his blade at Krekka's knees, causing him to lose his balance for a moment.

This gave Tolok a chance to advance on Krekka. The Toa swung his sword at the Steltian, forcing him to block the blows with this own weapons. Bokla joined in on the fray, swinging his own weapon at Krekka along with Tolok.

Krekka blocked both of their attacks, locking their weapons with his own. He then began to press his strength on them. Both Tolok and Bokla's legs began to tremble under the pressure that was being put on them.

"You can't beat me!" Krekka declared confidently.

"We'll see about that." Tolok said as he angled the tip of his sword towards Krekka's head. A fire bolt then flew out of the blade, striking Krekka directly in the face. He stumbled back a few steps, screaming in pain from the sudden blast.

Bokla then rushed forward and struck Krekka behind his legs, knocking the titan to the ground. Parts of his body became submerged in the sand from his landing. Noticing this,Tolok called upon his power once more. Using beams of fire, he turned all the sand around and on Krekka into hard glass, trapping him where he lay.

"I don't think that will hold him for long." Bokla said to Tolok.

"No, it won't." Tolok agreed. He pointed to the inn. "But it should hold him long enough for us to get a few recruits."

The Toa and Le-Matoran walked towards the entrance to the inn. They almost made it inside when the sound of braking glass stopped them. They turned to see Krekka, now free from his glass prison, floating in the air. He then flew at full speed towards the surprised Toa and Matoran.

Before either of them could do anything, Krekka slammed into them. Both Tolok and Bokla went flying into the inn, crashing into a nearby table and splitting it in two. The other beings in the building gasped at the sight, unsure of what was going on.

"Or not." Tolok said weakly.

Krekka stormed into the room. His now burnt face held a very angry expression. He flew towards the dazed Toa and Matoran, landed on the ground, and grabbed both of them by their throats. He then lifted them off their feet and held them in the air.

"Like I said. You can't beat me." Krekka said as his grip on their throats began to tighten.

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 21 2011 - 02:39 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Four: A Friend Found

The world spun around Tolok. It had taken everything he had not to fall unconscious from Krekka's blow. He could feel his attacker's grip tightening around his neck. He could see Bokla trying in vain to brake free, but the Toa knew that he wouldn't succeed by himself. Krekka smiled as he continued to choke the life out of his captives.

A million ideas ran through his dazed mind. He didn't have enough time to concentrate to activate his mask or summon his power of fire.

"But what about heat?" he suddenly thought.

Knowing he only had seconds left before he and Bokla suffocated, the Toa of fire placed his left hand on Krekka's right arm and his right hand on Krekka's left arm. He then sent waves of heat into the armor on the Steltian's arms, causing their temperature to rise into the thousands. Yelling out a scream of pain, Krekka released his grip on them.

Tolok and Bokla backed away from their foe as soon as their feet hit the ground. They paused only to retrieve their weapons, which had slipped out of their grip when Krekka picked them up moments before. They moved slowly, taking in deep breaths to recover from Krekka's suffocating grip.

Tolok quickly looked around the entire room. The other natives, which consisted of beings that were Krekka's species, tall beings with snout-like faces, and other kinds of beings that he didn't know, were now all moving towards the two of them. They all had war-stained weapons in their hands and excited looks on their faces.

"Why do they look happy to see us?" Bokla asked his friend as he raised his Ax in front of him.

"I think they want to fight us." Tolok replied, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He wished his Hau-shaped Pakari really was a Mask of Shielding so that he could defend Bokla and himself from the forming mob.

"But its the two of us versus four dozen of them!" Bokla cried. "That's not fair!"

The mob formed a circle around their captives, preventing them from escaping.

"Since when has life ever been fair?" Tolok replied. He ignited his sword and swung it at the approaching mob, causing a few of them to back away. Bokla held his Ax in the air, as if he was daring someone to attack him.

Krekka emerged from the crowd. He had an even madder look on his face.

"You two are trespassing." he said, aiming his shoulder weapon at them. "We don't take nicely to trespassers."

The other beings raised their weapons and started to close in on the Toa and Le-Matoran. Both of them raised their own weapons, preparing for what was undoubtedly going to be their last battle.

No one could've predicted what happened next. Krekka made the first move towards Tolok and Bokla. All of a sudden, a small spherical projectile flew out of the crowd and struck him. As soon as it made impact, it exploded and sent a huge column of smoke into the inn.

The smoke was blinding. Everyone in the room had to cover their eyes to keep the flumes out of them. Tolok, quickly deciding to take advantage of the strange situation, picked up Bokla with his free arm and tried to rush into the crowd. He hoped to somehow slip by his distracted attackers. A clawed hand grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.

"This way! Quickly!" a voice said to him. Tolok squinted, trying to see the being who had spoken those words. But the smoke was too thick for him to see anything.

The being then began to pull Tolok through another section of the crowd. Not seeing any reason to object to this, the Toa followed the being's lead. A few members of the mob began to swing their weapons blinding into the air at anything that moved around them. Both Tolok and his new ally had duck to keep from being struck.

The three of them made it unharmed to one of the inn's walls. Bokla could barely see the huge cracks running down it, but even he could tell that it was going to take more than one of Tolok's fire bolts to bring it down.

"We're at a dead end!" He exclaimed.

"A dead end, you say?" Their mysterious helper asked. He pointed his left arm at the wall. A projectile flew off it and struck the wall, causing an explosion that filled the room with more smoke and sent debris flying everywhere. When the smoke from the explosion cleared up, Bokla could see a huge hole in the wall. Bright sunlight was now shinning into the room.

"What dead end?" The being said sarcastically as he resumed his running and dashed out of the new opening in the inn. Tolok followed, setting Bokla down as soon as they made it outside. Together, the three beings ran as fast as their legs could take them away from the inn. None of them looked behind them to see if they were being pursued.

Once the inn was out of sight, the three of them dove behind a couple of huge rocks and collasped to the ground. They all breathed heavily as they got their breaths back.

"That was close." Bokla said.

"Too close." The newcomer agreed.

The Le-Matoran looked at his rescuer. The being was about five feet tall, had what looked like burnt orange armor on his torso and arms, and wore a powerless Kanohi Mask of Night Vision. He had a rocket launcher fused to his left arm and three wicked looking blades fused to his right. His silver legs made up almost half of his height and looked almost mechanical.

"Who, and what, are you?" Bokla asked him.

"And why did you saved us?" Tolok added.

The being turned to Bokla first. "My name is Carvun. I'm a mechanic of sorts."

He then turned to the Toa. "And I saved you because Toa and Matoran don't come around these parts unless necessity calls for it."

He got to his feet and smiled. "And what kind of Matoran would I be if I let an innocent Toa and Matoran die at the hands of those maniacs."

Tolok gave Carvun a surprised look. "You're a Matoran?"

"I used to be." Carvun corrected.

"What happen to you?" Bokla asked.

Carvun shrugged. "Its a long story that I don't feel like sharing right now."

Tolok sighed and got to his feet. "Well, we thank you for saving us back there."

"No problem." Carvun said. "But if you don't mind me asking, what in the name of Mata Nui made you two go to that inn in the first place?"

Tolok briefly explained to him what had happened to the Toa in Mongo Koro, and what he had to do to redeem himself. He also told him about treasure hidden in the Southern Islands, making sure to leave out any part that had to do with the Staff of the Great Beings.

"I never thought I'd meet a banished Toa." Carvun said when Tolok finished. "What did you do to achieve that dishonor?"

"My job." Tolok said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He was still very sensitive about being wrongfully banished, and Bokla could see it in his friend's eyes.

"Fine. We can all keep our pasts a secret from one another." Carvun said simply. "But for your information, I happen to know a lot about the Southern Islands."

"How much?" Tolok asked curiously.

"Oh, just about every myth and story that ever originated from it." Carvun proudly replied. "I've even heard of the treasure you speak of. But how do you plan on getting it?"

Tolok pulled out the tablet that Turaga Kwiau had given him and handed it to Carvun. "With this."

Carvun took the tablet and began to examine it. He ran his hand over it, admiring the drawing and letters on the object.

"Its written in a language that we don't know." Bokla explained.

"I know it." Carvun said quietly.

Tolok's eyes widened. "You know this language?"

"Yep." Carvun replied. "I know it very well. I can even help translate it for you, if you want."

"That would be wonderful!" Bokla said happily.

A feeling of joy swept through Tolok's body. The first true obstacle in his journey was now overcome. He was now one step closer to redeeming himself. He was now one step closer to being a Toa of Mongo Koro once more.

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 21 2011 - 02:40 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Five: The Crew Assembled

A half an hour had passed since Carvun had saved Tolok and Bokla from the natives of Stelt. The 'former Matoran' led the Toa and Le-Matoran to his hideout, which happened to be the basement of one of the destroyed buildings in the area.

Carvun opened the door to his place, allowing his guests to go first down the stairs to his home. The room was filled with all kinds of different items. From weapons, Kanohi Mask, and even rare jewels. It didn't take a genius to determine that Carvun had a very good life on Stelt.

"So, what does the tablet say?" Tolok asked Carvun as he admired the artifacts in the room.

Carvun shrugged as he closed the door behind him. "How would I know?"

"You said that you knew the language on it." The Toa said, a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Yes, I do know it." Carvun said as he walked past the Tolok and Bokla. "But I never said I could read it."

Both Tolok and Bokla stared at Carvun, looks of disbelief and shock in their facial features.

"But you said you could translate it!" Bokla said, almost shouting the words as he said them.

"I can translate it. Just not personally." Carvun corrected. He sat on a box next to a pair of Kanohi Masks. Seeing the questioning looks on his house guests, he decided to explain himself.

"The language on your tablet is a very old form of Steltian language, used way back when the universe was still young." He explained. "It was one of the many languages that died out before the Barraki rebelled against Mata Nui. I haven't seen anything written in it for thousands of years, to be honest with you."

Tolok gave him a skeptical look, then look down at the tablet. After a few moments, he looked back to Carvun.

"So if this is written in an old Steltian language, that means that someone here would be able to translate it, right?"

Carvun smiled. "Oh, I bet there's someone on this island who would know the language."

Tolok turned to Bokla. "We have to go find someone who knows how to read the tablet."

"Agreed." Bokla said. "But I recommend we wait until tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Well, the suns are about to go down, for one thing." Bokla replied. "And I think we could use a good night sleep. I'm still kind of sore from our brawl with that one-eyed brute and his buddies back at the inn."

Tolok sighed. "I suppose you're right. A good night's sleep would be helpful. But I feel like we're wasting time."

The Toa lowered his head and crossed his arms. "Mongo Koro is not as safe as it can be if I'm not there." He said these words silently, as if he was speaking more to himself than to Bokla.

"You two can spend the night here." Carvun said. "And while you two sleep, I will relieve a couple of your burdens for your shoulders."

"What do you mean?" Tolok asked, skepticism in his voice.

"Well, you guys will need a boat to travel through the Southern Islands, no?" Carvun replied. "I just so happen to own a boat. A huge one, if I might add. We could use it to get to the island with the treasure."

"We?" Bokla asked curiously.

"What, you didn't think that you could tell me that you are going after this magnificent treasure and aspect me not to join you on your quest, did you?" Carvun said, almost sarcastically. "And besides, only yours truly drives my boat. No one else."

"What good is a boat if we don't know where we're going?" Tolok asked his new 'ally,' holding up the tablet as he said it.

"I have an...associate...that can find someone who knows this language." Carvun said, obviously choosing his words carefully. "He can bring this being to us and have him translate the tablet. Then we will be all set to go."

Bokla narrowed his eyes at Carvun. "How do we know that you are not lying to us again?"

"I didn't lie to you before." Carvun replied. "You two just misunderstood me, which is really your faults, by the way."

Tolok couldn't help but smile at Carvun's reply. Though this being acted strange and looked weird, his resources would be very useful to the Toa of Fire on his mission.

"Alright. Your in." He said. "How long will it take for you to 'relieve our burdens'?"

"I can have them done overnight." Carvun replied. "If everything goes according to my schedule, we can set sail tomorrow afternoon."

"That can't be soon enough." Tolok said, relief in his voice.

Carvun nodded. "Get some sleep then, my friends. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

*****
Sunlight covered the docks on the shore of Stelt. Tolok could feel it on his armor as he, Bokla, and Carvun made their way to the latter's boat. He had some trouble sleeping the night before. He had no idea why. Perhaps it was the excitement of finally going to his true destination that kept him awake. Or maybe it was something else? He wasn't sure, but for the moment, he didn't care.

After a few minutes of walking, Carvun stopped and gestured to the boat in front of them.

"And here she is!" He exclaimed. The boat in front of them was indeed huge, as Carvun had said. It was roughly three fourths the size of the inn Tolok and Bokla had been in the previous day. It had three Cordak Blasters on each of its sizes. On the side of the boat was its name, which happen to be 'Death of Rahi.'

"Odd name for a boat." Bokla said sarcastically.

Carvun shot him a look of annoyance. "Hey, it may not be the best name in the universe, but it is an accurate one."

Tolok glanced around the dock, looking for Carvun's 'associate' and the translator. Carvun had told him on the way here that the two beings would meet them on the docks in front of the boat.

"Where are they?" Tolok said impatiently.

"Not everyone can stay on a schedule sometimes." Carvun replied. "Give them a few minutes. They'll be here."

Five minutes later, the two beings finally arrived. One of them was a blue Skakdi, with blue spikes running down his back and what looked like a harpoon in his hand. The other was a tall Steltian with purple and black armor. He looked beaten up, as if he had been tackled by a Kikanalo. He also had chains around his arms, and the Skakdi was forcefully pulling him along. Carvun ran out to meet them.

"Sorry we're late." The Skakdi said when Carvun reached them. "I had a little trouble finding your translator."

"Why do you have him bound?" Carvun asked, surprise in his voice.

"Well, every time I took my eyes off him, he bolted on me." The Skakdi explained. "And so I..."

He stopped talking when he noticed Tolok and Bokla approaching the group. He promptly pulled out his harpoon and aimed it at them.

"What are a Toa and a Matoran doing here?" He asked Carvun, not even attempting to hide the hatred in his voice. Tolok and Bokla pulled out their own weapons, not sure what the Skakdi was up to.

"Calm down, Vezok. They're with me." Carvun replied. He turned to the perplexed Toa of Fire and Le-Matoran, motioning for them to lower their weapons.

"Tolok, Bokla, this is Vezok." He said to them. "He is my associate. The one I told you about earlier."

"I assumed that's who he was." Tolok said. "But why is he aiming his weapon at us?"

"I'm not a fan of Toa." Vezok replied, slowly lowering his weapon. He then looked at Bokla. "Or Matoran."

"Have you made the arrangements?" Carvun asked Vezok, trying to change the subject before a fight broke out.

Vezok nodded. "Your terms have been accepted."

"What is he talking about?" Bokla asked.

"He is coming with us on our voyage." Carvun replied. "His skills will be useful to us."

Tolok walked up to Vezok, keeping his eyes on him in case he made a move. He then pointed his Flame blade at the Steltian. "And this is our translator, correct?"

Vezok simply nodded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The Steltian stammered. To say that he looked and sounded terrified would have been an understatement.

"Well, you are going to translate..." Tolok was then interrupted by the sound of multiple beings shouting in the distance. All five of them turned as one to see what it was making the shouts.

Over a dozen natives of Stelt could be seen flying towards the group. They were all armed with swords, axes, and other unrecognizable weapons. And leading this group of barbarians was none other than the one-eyed Steltian that Tolok and Bokla had fought the day before.

Krekka.

"Come on, guys!" He shouted to his companions. "Lets tear these outsiders to shreds!"

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 21 2011 - 02:40 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Six: The Voyage Begins

Krekka and his allies flew towards their prey, ready to crush them into atoms. Tolok, Bokla, Carvun, and Vezok all pulled out their weapons, preparing themselves for the coming battle. The translator was so terrified that he could barely stay on his feet.

"We don't stand a chance against all of them." Bokla said nervously. "Tolok and I barely held our ground against one of them. How are we going to stop over a dozen of them?"

Tolok's eyes widened. This usually meant he had come up with another one of his 'great' plans.

"I have an idea." He said as he aimed his Flame Blade at their incoming foes. Concentrating, the Toa created a wall of fire in front of the group. He then attempted to expand the fire around them, but they simply flew over it. Tolok quickly tried a second time, but it ended with the same result.

"What are you trying to do? Stop them with an obstacle course?" Carvun fearfully asked Tolok.

"I'm trying to form a cage of fire around them." The Toa replied, ignoring Carvun's sarcastic remark. "But its taking too long for me to make it."

"It won't if I help." Vezok quickly said to him. "Hit me with a lukewarm fire bolt.

"What are you..."

"There's no time to explain! Just do it!" Vezok cried. Krekka's and his Steltians were seconds away from attacking the group.

Unsure if the Skakdi had lost his insane mind, Tolok complied and hit him in the chest with a lukewarm fire bolt. Vezok ignored the slight burn left by the blast and activated his ability to copy the powers of others used on him. Fire erupted from his hands, much to the shock of everyone except Carvun.

"How did you do that?" Bokla asked him.

"Later." Vezok growled. "Toa, create another fire wall! Fast!"

Tolok threw up another wall of fire in front of their attackers. Vezok then used his newfound fire powers on the wall, helping Tolok expand it like before. This time, the process went twice as fast. Before Krekka or any members of his group could escape, they were all trapped in a fire cage.

Tolok then increased the temperature of the flames into the hundreds. The now super hot fires consumed all the air in the cage as well as around it. Everyone in Krekka's group dropped their weapons and grabbed their throats as they began to suffocate. After a minute, all of them pasted out and fell to the ground. Tolok and Vezok then cut off their powers, allowing the cage of fire to fade away.

"Are they still alive?" The frightened translator asked.

Tolok nodded. "Yes, they are still alive. Though we better not be in the area when they come to. I have a feeling they'll be in a bad mood."

"Then lets get our voyage going, shall we?" Carvun suggested. Everyone except the translator nodded. They then walked to the 'Death of Rahi' and boarded her.

"I see you made good use of the Cordak Blasters I got you on my last assignment." Vezok remarked to Carvun as the Skakdi boarded the boat. Bokla, who was in front of him, overheard this. This ran through his along with Vezok's other comment about 'terms' he had made moments ago.

Putting two and two together, Bokla suddenly realized Vezok's true occupation. But before he said anything, he noticed Vezok pulling the translator by his chains onto the boat along with everyone else.

"Why are you bringing him aboard?" The Le-Matoran asked him.

Carvun walked up to him. "He needs to come with us, my friend. I know these Steltian types. If we have...um, Vezok, what's his name?"

"Optui." The Skakdi replied.

"Yes, Optui." Carvun said. "Well, if we have him translate the tablet, then let him go, he'll go to the beings that are looking for us and tell them where we are going."

"How do you know that?" Tolok asked.

"Steltians keep grudges." Carvun replied. "And besides, Krekka will most certainly put a prize on all our heads for our actions against him."

Vezok walked over the large pole in the center of the boat, pulling Optui with him. The pole held up the boat's sails, allowing the winds to blow it in any direction necessary. Vezok tied the loose ends of Optui's chains to the pole, making sure the knot was tight. He just got done checking it when he noticed Bokla approaching him, an angry look on his face.

"I know who you are." The Matoran said angrily. Vezok's only response was a puzzled look.

Bokla then pulled out his Ax and aimed it at the Skakdi. "You're a Dark Hunter!"

Tolok and Carvun saw what the Le-Matoran was doing and rushed over, surprised by his actions.

"Bokla, what are you doing?" Tolok asked his friend.

"He is a Dark Hunter! I know it!" Bokla replied.

"What makes you say that?" Vezok asked. "What have I done that makes you think I'm one of them?"

Bokla pointed with his free hand to one of the nearby Cordak Blasters. "I've heard lots of information in my lifetime. I know that one of the few places that makes Cordak Blasters is Xia. And you, Vezok, just said a moment ago that you got these for Carvun."

"So what if I got them from Xia for Carvun?" Vezok questioned. "What about that makes you think I'm a Dark Hunter?"

"I've also heard about Skakdi." Bokla replied. "They are filled with anger, hatred, and a distaste for Toa and Matoran. So I highly doubt that a lone Skakdi would take orders, or 'assignments,' from a deformed Matoran. Not to mention that you also said that Carvun's terms 'had been accepted' a couple minutes ago."

Vezok opened his mouth to respond, but Carvun held up his hand to silence him.

"Alright, he's a Dark Hunter." He confirmed. "Now can you put the Ax down?"

Bokla then gave a nasty glare at Carvun. "And you. Why didn't you tell us he was a Dark Hunter? Afraid Tolok and I wouldn't let you two come with us if we knew?"

Tolok looked at Vezok, then at Carvun, then back to Vezok, unsure what to think. Dark Hunters were some of the most evil beings in the universe. They would steal items, vandalize villages, even murder innocent beings, if the price was right. Carvun wasn't looking like a good guy at the moment either. He had kept Vezok's true occupation a secret from him, after all.

But for some strange reason, Tolok found himself not caring about Vezok being a Dark Hunter or of Carvun's secrecy about it. All he could think about was the Staff of the Great Beings, and how it would give his life back to him. If working with a Dark Hunter was the way to get it, so be it.

He walked over to Bokla and placed his hand on his friend's Ax, making him lower it. Bokla gave him a perplexed look.

"Normally, I'd be just as angry as you about this, Bokla." Tolok said. "But we don't have time for another fight. And Vezok, despite being a Dark Hunter, has proven his worth."

Bokla gave his best friend a shocked look. He was expecting Tolok to side with him. How could we willingly want to work with Vezok?

Tolok turned to Carvun. "Get the ship going and sail south." Carvun nodded and walked to the boat's wheel. Vezok started to follow, but paused momentarily next to Optui.

"If you so much as weaken this knot, I'll cut off your hands." The Dark Hunter threatened to the frightened Steltian as he followed Carvun.

Bokla put his weapon away and stormed off. He glanced over his shoulder at Tolok, giving him a look of hurt mixed with confusion and disappointment.

"Bokla, wait!" Tolok called out as he pursued his friend. Vezok watched him go, then turned to Carvun.

"You know, you never told me that you owned a boat." He said to his employer.

Carvun simply shrugged. "I don't."

Vezok slowly nodded. "And the items on the boat?"

"Oh, they're mine. Just the boat itself doesn't belong to me."

"This is Krekka's boat, isn't it?"

Carvun simply looked ahead, not even looking at the Skakdi. His silence gave Vezok his answer.

"And do the Toa and Matoran know this?" Vezok questioned, not even trying to hide the smile on his face.

Carvun shrugged again. "What they don't know won't hurt them."

*****

Within ten minutes, the 'Death of Rahi' was sailing away from the island of Stelt. It moved over the calm sea like a Phrase Dragon running full speed on land. It would only be a matter of time before Stelt would be nothing but a speck in the distance.

Tolok, however, wasn't even thinking about this. He was concerned for Bokla. The Toa had no idea what his friend's problem was, but he was going to find out.

After searching the entire boat, Tolok finally found Bokla on the boat's back end. He was sitting in a corner, head down, as if he was lost in thought. Tolok walked slowly up to him. Bokla looked up at his friend, frustration in his eyes.

"I never thought I'd see the day where a Toa willingly agreed to work with a Dark Hunter." Bokla said quietly. "I thought it could never happen. But I guess I was wrong."

"We need him, Bokla." Tolok said. "Just as we need Carvun and Optui."

Why should I trust your judgment on this?" Bokla asked. "Why should I trust your judgment at all?"

"What are you talking about?" Tolok asked, confusion in his voice.

Bokla got to his feet glared at his friend. "All of your decisions lately have only made situations worse. Like burning down half of Mongo Koro the other day!"

"Its not my fault the wood on our home island is unusually dry." Tolok responded. "And if I recall correctly, my 'actions' that day scared off the Rahi and got no one killed. I'd call that a success."

"And what about our throw down with Krekka yesterday?" Bokla asked bitterly. "You trapped his body in glass and expected it to pin him down. What kind of judgment call was that?"

Tolok was speechless for a moment. "Well, I admit, that wasn't my best idea. But you didn't complain about it, if I recall."

"That's because I trusted your judgment!" Bokla cried. "But now, because of your 'judgment calls,' we're working with the most vile organization in the known universe!"

Bokla threw his hands into the air. "What next? Are we going to become Barraki and invade the Southern Continent?"

"Hold it right there, Bokla." Tolok said. "If we made Vezok leave, he would've gone to the leader of the Dark Hunters and told him what we're doing. Then we would've had a bunch of Dark Hunters coming after us. That would've been just another distraction in an adventure that will be filled of them."

"That might be true," Bokla said as he began to walk away. "But at least we would be standing against them, and not working with one of them."

Tolok watched his friend go, wondering if their friendship had been too damaged to be saved.

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 21 2011 - 02:41 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Seven: And Here They Come

The Death of Rahi sailed over the calm, open seas. Nothing could be seen in the horizon except for a couple small clouds and the twin suns. Every now and again, a gentle breeze swept over the boat, bringing cool relief to those on board that were feeling the heat from the suns. Everyone on board should've been enjoying the peace that had come to them since leaving Stelt four days ago.

But the knowledge of where they were going, the Southern Islands, drove these feelings out of them as they neared that dreaded part of the universe.

Other problems were also added to this fear of uncertainly. One of them had to do with Optui. Vezok told the others that the Steltian was a well-known scholar. He had studied many of the previous events in the universe and had learned many of the languages that were now extinct.

"That was how I was able to find him." Vezok had said. "Few Steltians know as many languages as he does, so that made tracking him down pretty easy."

Even though Optui was a self-professing coward, that didn't mean he wasn't smart. He knew that if he translated all of his captor's tablet at one time, they wouldn't have an use for him and most likely dispose of him in some awful way. Optui wasn't expecting the Toa or Le-Matoran to prevent something like this from happening to him. They were working with a Dark Hunter, after all.

So Optui told Tolok and Vezok that he would only translate the tablet in parts, only telling them about certain sections when the time called for it. Vezok, angered by this proposal, threaten to beat up the Steltian, but Tolok stopped him.

"As long as he gives us the right directions at the right time, it shouldn't be a problem." Tolok explained.

Vezok's only reaction to this was him storming off, mumbling under his breath that Toa didn't have the nerves to do what was necessary in life.

The other problem plaguing the ship was the strain between Tolok and Bokla. Neither of them had spoken more than five words to each other since leaving Stelt. Carvun guessed they had some sort of disagreement about of Tolok's actions over the last few days. Tolok had spent most of the trip so far by himself, only talking to Carvun, Vezok, and sometimes Optui for a few minutes a day. Bokla mostly talked with with Carvun, though the deformed Matoran had no idea why the Le-Matoran was doing this.

"So why has Tolok kept to himself for most of the voyage?" Carvun asked Bokla out of the blue one day. The Matoran simply looked at him, not really surprised by the question.

"How am I suppose to know?" He replied. "I'm not his guardian. In fact, I don't know what I am to him. Our friendship has become a ruined mess, just like you."

Carvun gave him a puzzled look. "What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means that you obviously don't look like a typical Matoran, if that is even what you are." Bokla said bitterly.

"Hey, you think I chose to look like this?" Carvun said, a hint of anger in his voice. "I didn't. I was forced to look like this."

"By who?"

"The Nynrah Ghosts, of whom I was one." Carvun replied. "I was one of two Matoran they did experiments on, trying to make a 'hero' to keep them safe. But we didn't turn out the way they wanted us to. So like Kanohi with minors cracks, they tossed us out."

Bokla, not expecting such a horrible back story from the Nynrah Ghost, slowly nodded his head. "I'm...sorry that happened to you."

Carvun shrugged. "Yeah, I am too. But now I'm free to do whatever I want. Which isn't too bad, I guess."

"What happened to the other Nynrah Ghost?"

"Well, I heard he went into Vezok's occupation." Carvun answered. "But I think that is only a rumor."

*****

It didn't take long for the Death of Rahi to reach the entrance to the Southern Islands. To everyone's surprise, this 'entrance' was nothing more than open sea. Tolok was concerned that they were going in the wrong direction, but Optui assured him that they were on the right course.

Carvun steered the boat through the waters. There were no signs of Rahi in the sea or islands in the distance. After a while, he began to wonder if he, Tolok, Vezok, Bokla, and Optui were the only living beings out here in this dangerous territory. He brushed off that thought at first, but as they sailed on, with no signs of life to be seen anywhere, he began to wonder if this thought was indeed true.

It was half a day after the boat and its crew entered the Southern Islands when Bokla finally spotted the first landmass he had seen in days. It looked like a tiny island, about a tenth of the size of the island that housed Mongo Koro. No one on the Death of Rahi could remember seeing an island so small.

Bokla starred at the island as the boat got closer to it, wondering why there wasn't any Rahi or plant life on it.

"Why does it look so...barren?" He asked no one in particular. No one could give him the answer to his question.

"Hey! There is another island over there!" Vezok shouted, pointing towards the northeast.

"And there's one over there!" Tolok shouted as well, pointing to the northwest.

Before any of them knew it, the entire ocean in front of the boat was filled with miniature islands, more than any of them could count. All of them were triangular in shape, with little to no life on them.

"What kind of islands are these?" Vezok asked.

"I don't think these are islands." Carvun said as he turned the boat's wheel, driving the boat away from one of the structures. "I think these are mountaintops."

"What?" Bokla said, confusion in his voice.

"Its simple." Optui called out. "What we are traveling through now is an underwater mountain range. It's kind of like the mountains one would see in Po-Metru on Metru-Nui. Except we are only seeing the tops of these."

"I've never heard of such a thing." Vezok said.

"Well, I guess there is a first for everything, Dark Hunter." Tolok said to him. He then turned to Carvun. "How long will it take you to get us through this?"

"I don't know." He replied. "It depends on how long this range is. I can get us through it safely though. You can count on that."

The words had barely left Carvun's mouth when Optui gasped and pointed towards one of the mountaintops. The others turned to look at what had startled the Steltian, and were shocked by what they saw.

There, hanging upside down on the mountaintop, was another ship. It was at least twice the size of the Death of Rahi. The majority of it looked burned, as if it had been ablaze. The ship also looked as though it was about to be split in half. But what was most disturbing was that the ship's dead crewmembers were hanging from its ropes. Many of the Matoran, Toa, Steltian, and other specie's corpses were missing arms, legs, and their heads. What was left of them looked beaten, burned, and sliced beyond recognition. Everyone, even Vezok, was sickened by the horrendous sight.

"Mata Nui." Tolok whispered under his breath, stunned by the sight before him.

"What...happened to them?" Optui said in a weeping tone.

"I don't know." Vezok replied quietly.

"Who would?" Bokla said.

Then they heard it. The loud, screeching sound that made them cover their hears. They all turned and saw them, over a dozen of them, running across the mountaintops with simple breeze. They were armed with weapons one couldn't begin to describe. Their faces were filled with pure hatred. They moved with never increasing speed, heading straight towards the Death of Rahi.

None of the crew could speak. For a moment, none of them knew what to do. For none of them knew what the monsters approaching them were. None of them except Carvun. But his knowing of them only made his fear that much greater. In fact, it made him wish that his earlier thoughts about he and his crew mates being all alone in this place had been true. He was so stunned by this sudden turn of events that he could only say one word, and that was the name of the monsters that were about to kill them all.

"Zyglak."

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 21 2011 - 02:42 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Eight: The Taste of Defeat

Optui wasn't having the best week of his life. First, he had been kidnapped by a Dark Hunter. Then he had been chained up and held hostage by said Dark Hunter, along with a apparently deranged Toa, Le-Matoran, and ex-Nynrah Ghost. And now? A group of monsters were about to storm onto his captor's boat. He began to wonder if the Great Spirit was trying to kill him in the worst possible way.

"What...are those creatures?" Bokla asked as he equipped his Ax.

"Zyglak." Carvun replied quietly. "I'm not sure who or what created them, but they are very strong and hate Toa, Matoran, and anyone who speaks the Matoran language with a passion."

"And that includes all of us." Bokla said bluntly. "Great."

Tolok pulled out his sword and ran to the side of the boat. The Zyglak were seconds away from boarding the ship.

"They look like Rahi to me." Tolok said. "And I know how to deal with Rahi."

The Toa created twin walls of fire right in front of the creatures. He expected them to stop and run away, like the Tarakava had back in Mongo Koro a week ago. But to his surprise, the Zyglak simply ran through the walls, seemingly unfazed by the flames.

"How the...?" Tolok began to say.

"They're immune to elemental attacks!" Carvun said as he ran towards Tolok, grabbed his arms, and pulled him away from the railing of the boat. "We'll have to try something else!"

The first Zyglak reached the boat and scaled up its side with frightening speed. It reached the top of the boat and charged towards Tolok and Carvun. The latter aimed his rocket launcher at the beast and fired a projectile at it. The resulting blast stunned the Zyglak. Before it could get its bearings, Vezok hit it with a few blasts of his impact vision, knocking it out for good.

The victory was short-lived, though, for now the other Zyglak had scaled up the boat and made it to the top. Before anyone could react, the monsters were on the boat and charging towards their foes. After a few seconds, the boat's occupants found themselves in the fight of their lives.

Tolok held his own against two Zyglak. Each one was stronger than he was, but the Toa kept the creatures on edge with his skills with a sword and shield. The Toa increased the temperature of his blade into the thousands as he swung it at his attackers.

"They may be immune to my flames, but not to the power of heat itself!" He thought to himself. "I hope."

The Toa blocked one Zyglak with his shield as another charged at him from his right. Calling upon his Kanohi Pakari, he slammed his shield into the first Zyglak, lifted it off the ground, then threw it off the boat. It landed into a nearby mountaintop and its unconscious body slipped into the ocean.

He then turned his attention to the one charging towards him. He swung his super-hot weapon at it, forcing it to stop in its tracks. Tolok followed this up with a kick that sent the creature flying. Tolok congratulated himself on defeating his foes and wondered what the Matoran of Mongo Koro would think of him when they learned of this. Those thoughts were driven out of his mind when he saw three more Zyglak approaching him. Each one just as strong as the last two...

On the other side of the boat, Vezok and Bokla were doing everything they could to protect Optui from the remaining Zyglak. The largest Zyglak, who was about a foot taller than the others, slammed into Vezok. The blow sent the Dark Hunter sliding into the pole that Optui was chained to. He got to his feet and fired his impact vision at the Zyglak's legs. The blasts hit their mark, forcing the creature to its knees. Another Zyglak rushed past it and ran towards Vezok, weapon held high into the air.

"And people say I have an ugly face." Vezok muttered under his breath as he block the creature's blows with his harpoon and saw its facial expressions. He then headbutted his enemy and forced it back.

"Come on, creature!" Vezok taunted. "You'll find that Skakdi don't brake as easily as Toa!"

Meanwhile, Bokla was holding his own against two Zyglak. His training from being on the Mongo Koro Defense Unit was the only thing keeping him alive and fighting. He tripped one of the beasts and managed to land a blow with his Ax onto the other's right arm.

He was about to follow up his attack with another Ax blow when the Zyglak he tripped lashed out and kicked him in the back. The Le-Matoran crashed onto the floor and skid forward a few feet. The Zyglak walked towards the downed Matoran, claws extended, ready to finish him off for good.

Carvun, who was busy fight a Zyglak near the railing the boat, saw Bokla's predicament. He punched the Zyglak in the face with his tri-claw arm, stunning the monster. He then dove for the nearest Cordak Blaster on the boat's side. He turned it around and opened fire on the Zyglak approaching Bokla, striking it square in the back and killing it instantly.

The former Nynrah Ghost then unloaded on the Zyglak that were fighting Vezok. They scattered as they dodged his projectiles. Vezok took advantage of this and fired his harpoon at one of the panicking Zyglak. The sharp blade struck it in the back of the head, nearing splitting its head in two as its dead body fell to the floor.

The large Zyglak, the one Vezok fought seconds ago, then attempted to reach Carvun and his Cordak Blaster. The deformed Matoran saw it coming and tried to fire more missiles at it, but then realized that his blaster was out of ammo.

"Oh, Makuta bones!" Carvun yelled as he tried to move, but it was too late. The Zyglak reached him and swung its weapon, slashing through the blaster and hitting Carvun. He went flying into the air. The Zyglak then grabbed his left leg and threw him down, slamming him hard into the medal floor.

"Carvun! No!" Bokla cried. He tried to get up, but another Zyglak promptly stepped on him, pinning him down. He cried out as the pain increased on his back. The creature ripped his Ax out of his hand and threw it aside.

Tolok was the next to fall. The three Zyglak overpowered him and slammed him repeatedly into one of the Death of Rahi's walls, quickly wearing the Toa out. A few more punches and he was out.

Vezok managed to knock another Zyglak out before he realized that he was the only one left in the fight. He began to contemplate on how he was going to win this fight alone when the large Zyglak threw one of the destroyed parts of Carvun's Cordak Blaster at him. It struck him in the head, stunning him long enough for the other Zyglak to bring him down.

The Zyglak took both Tolok's and Vezok's weapons and dragged them towards the center of the boat. The Zyglak pinning Bokla then took its foot off him, picked him up, and also made its way to the center of the boat.

"I...won't...let it...end like this!" Tolok stammered as he struggled weakly against the Zyglak pulling him along. "I can't let my...people down. I can't..."

He was cut off when one of the Zyglak punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Seeing this, Optui began to freak out. He pulled against the chains on his arms, trying in vain to get free. One Zyglak, seeing that he was no threat but still an annoyance, walked over to him and slammed his head into the pole he was chained to. The Steltian slumped to the floor, dazed by the blow.

Tolok, Vezok, Carvun, and Bokla were herded into the center of the boat. The Zyglak surrounded them, pointing their weapons at them.

"This reminds me of that incident in the inn back on Stelt." Bokla joked weakly. "Except this is far worse."

Tolok threw a fire bolt at one of the Zyglak, striking it in the face. The blast did no damage whatsoever to the monster. The strange sound escaped from its lips. It took the Toa a few seconds to realize that the Zyglak was laughing at him.

"I told you elemental powers don't work on these guys." Carvun said to him.

"I know." Tolok replied. "I just don't know what else to do."

The large Zyglak made a few sounds of its own at the others of its kind. Once it was finished, two Zyglak approached the group of four. They then began to try to grab Bokla.

"Hey! Back off." The Matoran growled as he avoided their attempts. Tolok and Carvun tried to come to their friend's aid, but other Zyglak intervened, hitting them in their chests and backs. One even kicked Vezok in the back, though he wasn't trying to stop them.

The two Zyglak got their hands on Bokla and brought him to the large one. It looked at the Le-Matoran for a moment, then raised its weapon above his head. Everyone could tell exactly what the creature was about to do.

Tolok's eyes widened in horror. Bokla was one of his closest friends. No, he was his closest friend, and probably the only one he had left from Mongo Koro. He had volunteered to come with Tolok on his quest to redeem himself. He had come on this journey, ignoring Turaga Kwiau's assignment to help out in his village with the Mongo Koro Defense Unit, to support his friend. And now he was about to lose his life because of it.

He closed his eyes, for he couldn't bear to watch his friend be executed in front of him.

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Nine: The Fallen Hero

The Zyglak raised its weapon above Bokla's head. The two other Zyglak that were holding the Le-Matoran tighten their grips on his arms. Bokla closed his eyes, wondering if the beating sun on his forehead would be the last thing he felt before he died. He regretted snapping at Tolok in his anger days ago. He wished he had one more chance to talk to his friend so they could work things out between them. But he knew that it was too late for that. In five seconds, he wouldn't be alive to have these regrets.

"What to we do?" Carvun asked quietly to Tolok and Vezok.

"I don't know." Tolok said. From the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was barely keeping it together.

"I don't see a way out of this." Vezok mumbled. "We don't have the strength to fight all of them. Even if we saved the Matoran...wait, do you hear that?"

Vezok suddenly looked over to the other side of the Death of Rahi. The side that all the Zyglak had their backs turned to.

"What is it?" Tolok asked.

Vezok didn't have to respond. Now all three of them could hear it as well. It sounded like something flying over the ocean waves. It was getting louder as the seconds slowly went by. Though none of them could tell what it was, there was one thing that was certain about it.

It was heading towards the Death of Rahi.

Just as the Zyglak heard the sound, the mysterious object making the sounds reached the boat and flew up its side. It then shot off the boat's side and into the air. The strange object fired three projectiles as it stopped and floated in midair. One of them hit the large Zyglak, forcing it to take a couple steps back. The other two hit the Zyglak holding Bokla. The blasts stunned the monsters, allowing the Matoran to slip out of their grips.

Carvun looked up at the object floating above them. It looked like some sort of silver sea sled, with three metal legs. It also had two black propellers on its front and what appeared to be a Cordak Blaster mounted on top of it. But what was most surprising was that he could make out a green figure sitting on this 'sea sled.'

The other Zyglak surrounding Tolok, Vezok, and Carvun broke off their circle around them and turned their attention to the newcomer. The sea sled then shot off at incredible speeds, aiming for the Zyglak. Before any of the creatures could react, the green being on the turned the sled sideways and slammed it into them, sending them all flying.

Bokla ran as fast as his weakened legs could take them to his allies. He looked over at the green being, unsure of what to think about him.

"Who, or what, is that guy?" He asked. "And what is that contraption he's riding?"

"That being is a Toa." Vezok spat. "Trust me, I know one when I see one."

"And he's riding a sea sled, to answer your second question." Carvun added.

The Zyglak advanced on the newcomer. All of them looked enraged that he had intervened in their conquest of this ship. The green being, who was indeed a Toa, raised his hands.

"Mata Nui might have been merciful to you monsters when you were created," He said in a calm tone. Suddenly, a hurricane force wind struck the Zyglak, sending them all flying off the ship and into the ocean. The Toa walked towards the side of the boat. He raised his hands again.

"But I won't be." He finished as he called upon his powers once more. A waterspout erupted from the spot where the Zyglak had landed a moment ago. It rose from the ocean, ripping the dazed Zyglak out of the ocean in the process. The Toa then slammed the waterspout, with the Zyglak in it, into the nearest mountaintop, shredding the aged rock into pebbles. It was clear to all that those particular Zyglak wouldn't bothering anyone else ever again.

The Toa turned to the boat's remaining occupants. Tolok, Vezok, Bokla, and Carvun all defensively raised their weapons, unsure what this Green Toa's intentions were with them.

"It's okay." The green Toa said to them." I'm not going to hurt you."

"What is your name?" Tolok asked him as he lowered his Flame Blade.

"I am Lesovikk." The being replied. "I saw that you were in trouble, so I came to help you."

"Thanks for that." Bokla said as he and Carvun went to check on Optui, who was still knocked out.

Vezok lowered his harpoon and gave Lesovikk and skeptical stare. "What are you doing out here?"

Lesovikk glanced over at the mountaintop he had just destroyed. "Those monsters I was rid our universe of have been murdering innocent Matoran and other beings that travel near the edge of the entrance to this place."

He looked Vezok directly in his eyes. "There were no better than weeds, so I decided to rip them out of the ground."

Vezok's eyes widened slightly. "But you are a Toa, and they are too weak to kill anyone. Even if they deserve it. So how could bring yourself to kill those Zyglak?"

Lesovikk's eyes narrowed. "I was a Toa, Skakdi. I'm not anymore. I'm now a wonderer."

Tolok eyes widened. "Wait, you mean that you don't live in a village and protect it?"

"Correct."

"What happened?" Tolok asked. The hints of worry and curiosity could clearly be heard in his voice.

"I...made a mistake, and it cost me almost everything." Lesovikk said quietly. Vezok could tell that the Toa was a little annoyed that Tolok was questioning him on this subject.

"What did you do?" Tolok pressed. "Did you do something wrong? Or were you..."

"Optui is doing okay." Bokla interrupted. He had overheard what Lesovikk that told Tolok and Vezok and could also tell that the Toa didn't want to go into details about his past.

Lesovikk looked down at the Le-Matoran, then to the others. "You know why I'm here now. But why are all of you here?"

Bokla quickly told him about the treasure they were seeking on one of the islands in this place. He left out any part that had to do with the Staff of the Great Beings, as Tolok had done when he told Carvun this information back on Stelt. Lesovikk didn't say a word until he was finished.

"I've heard of that story." He said when Bokla was done.

"You know, we could use someone with your talents to help up find it." Carvun said to him. "We could pay you a great share of it."

Lesovikk shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't chase after myths that are born from Stelt."

"This is no myth, Lesovikk." Tolok said. "I personally know someone who has seen the treasure itself."

"One being's testimony doesn't make it true." Lesovikk replied. "And even if it was true, somebody probably already got the treasure long ago."

Lesovikk turned and walked away from the group and headed for his sea sled. "Your journey here is nothing more than a lost cause. If I were any of you, I'd turn back now. This myth isn't worth losing your lives."

Tolok shook his head. "I trust the word of the being who told me about it. It is here somewhere in the Southern Islands, and I will find it."

Lesovikk simply shrugged. "To each his own."

He then got on his sea sled. It began to float in the air once more as its legs contracted.

"Where are you going?" Bokla asked him.

"I have business on the Southern Continent to attend to." He replied. "May Mata Nui help us all on our quests."

With that, he flew off on his sea sled. He headed north, going the way the Death of Rahi had come through minutes ago.

Tolok turned to Bokla, Carvun, and Vezok. "He's wrong. That treasure is still where the tablet said it is. I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right, Toa." Bokla said calmly as he walked away.

Carvun and Vezok turned and looked up at the wrecked ship that hung from mountaintop over them. It still gave them an eerie feeling.

"We were fortunate." Vezok said.

"Why so?" Carvun asked.

"Look what the Zyglak did to them." Vezok replied, pointing to the wrecked ship. "That could've easily been us had Lesovikk not showed up."

Carvun let out a sharp laugh. "No, my associate. That ship's demise wasn't caused by the hands of the Zyglak. If it was, dead bodies wouldn't be hanging from it."

Vezok gave him a perplexed look. "But if it wasn't them, then who..."

"I don't know." Carvun answered, interrupting the Dark Hunter because he already knew the question. "But whatever it was, lets hope we don't meet it."

*****

A being stood on one of the mountaintops, half a mile away from the Death of Rahi. Using his Kanohi Akaku, he watched the boat began to resume its voyage. The Zyglak had apparently failed to kill them. He growled under his breath at this.

He turned his head. The green being, the one who had defeated the Zyglak, was zooming away from the boat on some machine he didn't recognize. This being was smart, for he was going the right way. Yes, the right way indeed.

"But the fools on that boat are not!" The being thought. "They continue on, ignoring the warning I put there to scare off travelers!"

The being slammed his fist into the rock. He hated beings that went where they shouldn't go. These moronic beings were venturing into his land. It belonged to no one else, and he didn't want others here messing things up.

The being sighed, bringing his anger down. Acting like a enraged Rahi wasn't going to stop these intruders.

"They broke the rules. My rules." He thought. "Now they must pay."

He then flew off, already thinking of new ways to kill someone.

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Edited by The Smoke Monster, Oct 23 2011 - 01:46 PM.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Ten: Taken

Tolok walked casually down the path. He didn't know his destination. He couldn't see anything ahead of him, or anything around him, for that matter. He was surrounded by cold, never-ending darkness.

He tried to recall how he came here, but the memories just weren't coming to him. He remembered being on the Death of Rahi, with Bokla and the others. He thought about calling out to them, but he somehow knew that they wouldn't come.

"Where am I?" Tolok thought nervously. "And where is Bokla, Carvun, and the others?"

Suddenly, the darkness around him faded away, revealing the surroundings to the Toa. His eyes widened as he realized that he was back on the island that housed Mongo Koro. Before he had anytime to ponder as to how he came to be here, he noticed a bright light in the distance. One he knew all too well.

It was the light Matoran Huts gave off when they were burning.

"Oh no." Tolok said out loud to himself. "Mongo Koro is in danger!"

He ran towards the burning huts, not even bothering to wonder how he knew it was his village was burning. After a couple of minutes, he came close enough to see that Mongo Koro was ablaze. Rahi, Steltians, Skakdi, Zyglak, and other monsters were rampaging through the village, slaying any Matoran that got in their way. Mongo Koro's three remaining Toa were struggling to stop the invaders. The Matoran Defense Unit, despite their best efforts, were not very successful with helping the Toa with their mission.

Tolok raced forward, knowing that only he could stop these attackers. He almost got to the village's entrance when metal bars suddenly materialized in front of him. He slammed into them at his full running speed, knocking the wind out of his lungs. He then noticed that a metal cage had somehow formed around him. It was barely big enough for him to take a single step forward.

"Where did all of them come from?" He thought as he reached for his sword, only to realize that it wasn't with him. The blade, along with his shield, mad mysteriously vanished from his back. Deciding to figure out where his weapons went later, he tried to melt the bars with blasts of fire and heat. Either of them had any affect on the bars.

As a last ditch effort, he activated his mask and began to punch the bars with all his strength. His blows didn't even bent the bars. He looked up and saw to his dismay that half of the village's occupants were dead. He could see the bodies of Turaga Kwiau and two of the three Toa being carried off by a group of Zyglak, while the other creatures finished off the remaining members of the Matoran Defense Unit.

One of the last surviving Matoran weakly dragged himself to Tolok. He glanced up at the Toa, a look of despair and resentment on his face.

"Why did you fail us, Tolok?" The Matoran asked him. "Why did you let us all die?"

"I didn't!" Tolok protested, getting on his knees to be at eye level with the Matoran. "I'm trapped in his cage. I couldn't do a thing to stop this disaster!"

"Toa don't make excuses." The Matoran said. "They save lives, just as the Great Spirit made them to do. But you have failed us, Tolok. You didn't save us this time because you're not actually here."

The Matoran looked behind him. A large Steltian that looked a lot like Krekka was walking over towards him. He was carrying a huge war-hammer. Tolok reached out with his hand to the Matoran, but he was too far away to be grabbed.

The Matoran looked back at Tolok and gave him a saddened look. "We all will die because of this failure, Tolok, and your name will cursed forever because of it."

It was at that moment that the Steltian raised his war-hammer and brought it down onto the Matoran's skull.

"NO!" Tolok screamed at his threw himself forward. He then landed face first onto the ground. He looked up and saw...the railing for the right side of the Death of Rahi. He looked around to get his bearings. Mongo Koro, the villagers, and the attackers were all gone, replaced by the objects that were on the boat. He could see the boat's steering wheel, Optui and the pole he was still chained to, and the opening to the ship's lower floor, where Vezok, Carvun, and Bokla had decided to sleep.

"Another dream." He thought as he got to his feet. "And this one was the worst one yet."

He tried to push his latest dream out of his head as he let his eyes get better adjusted to the darkness around. It was nighttime, and Tolok was suppose to be on guard duty. Carvun had stopped the ship with its anchor as soon as they had left the mountaintops where they were attacked by the Zyglak. Tolok protested to this, but everyone else said that sailing at night in this dangerous place was too risky to attempt.

Tolok tried to ignore the fact that he had fallen asleep, which was easier to do than he thought. For he just couldn't stop thinking about his dream. He had been having similar dreams ever since the night before he and the others left Stelt. Each one was darker than the last, and Tolok couldn't get any of them out of his head.

"Is everything alright?"

Tolok turned and saw Bokla approaching him. He had a look of concern on his face. "I heard you scream a moment ago."

"It...was nothing." Tolok said. The Toa noticed that the Le-Matoran was carrying the tablet that showed what island the Staff of the Great Beings was hidden on.

"Why do you have the tablet?" He asked.

"There is a Dark Hunter aboard the boat." Bokla replied in a sarcastic tone, putting the object in his pack as he said it. "You may trust him, but I don't. So I'm going to keep an eye on it until this quest is over."

Tolok slowly nodded his head. "I guess that makes sense."

Bokla took a few steps towards the Toa. "Listen, I think we need to talk about our 'disagreement' last week."

Tolok turned to his friend. "It sounded more like an 'argument' to me."

"Okay, maybe it was that." Bokla said. "But just hear me out. I know that, deep down, that you truly care for all our friends back in Mongo Koro. I know you would do anything to protect them. I don't agree with some of your 'methods' for defending us, but I know that you do them for the right reasons. I shouldn't have snapped at you for that."

"You weren't entirely wrong, you know." Tolok said. "You do have the right to question me if you ever think I did something wrong, and you did just that. It just wasn't in a polite manner."

Bokla smiled slightly at that remark. He then held out his hand to Tolok. "Will you forgive me for my outburst, Tolok, so that I can call you my friend again?"

Tolok got down to his knees. "I remember when we first met, Bokla. Back when I was that trouble-making Ta-Matoran. I remember when I buried your hut in a rockslide, and you were so mad that you threatened to throw me off the nearest cliff for my actions."

Tolok then shook Bokla's hand. "But you forgave me for that mistake, and now we have our friendship. So yes, Bokla, I do forgive you."

Bokla smiled. 'I'm glad this argument didn't last a whole month like that one did."

Tolok smiled too, filled with relief that he had restored his friendship with his best friend. He was about to continue talking to his friend when he noticed something in the background behind Bokla.

Bokla saw Tolok narrow his eyes and and realized that he was now looking behind him. The Matoran turned around and also saw something. It was a good 200 feet away from the Death of Rahi. From the bright moonlight enveloping the area, Tolok and Bokla could barely see what looked like a bird with four wings heading towards the boat.

Then the bird vanished into thin air. A second later, it reappeared.

On the left side of the boat.

Before either of them could get a good look at the creature, Bokla then let out a scream. Tolok turned and saw that his friend's body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Bokla! What's wrong?" Tolok said, surprised by what was going on.

The Le-Matoran then lost consciousness and fell to the floor. His body then faded out of existence, as if he had been teleported somehow.

Tolok glared at the creature, knowing that it was responsible for this. It was at least 14 feet tall, with a huge wingspan and large, deadly looking talons. It was covered with black and purple armor and, most surprisingly, was wearing a Kanohi Mask.

Bokla's body reappeared in the talons of the great bird. Tolok saw this and ran towards the creature, pulling out his weapons as he did so. The bird responded to this by unleashing an unbearable scream that stopped Tolok in his tracks. He dropped his weapons as he covered his ears, trying in vain to block out the horrible sound.

The Toa was so distracted by the sound that he never saw the beam of shadow that the bird fired at him. It struck him, sending him flying. He slammed back first into the railing on the boat's right side, flipping over it and falling out of view.

Seeing that the Toa was gone and no longer a threat, the bird turned and began to fly away, carrying the unconscious Bokla with him. The remaining beings on the boat would meet a similar fate to that foolish Toa.

"And it starts with this little one." The 'bird' thought as it looked down at the Matoran. "He and his friends will regret the day they decided to enter the land ruled by the great Makuta Xukol!"

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Eleven: The Search Is On

Vezok was awakened by an ear-splitting scream. It didn't like anything he had ever heard before. He jumped to his feet, pointing his harpoon into the cold, empty air as he looked around for whatever made that horrible sound. All he saw was Carvun, who was also awakened by the scream, walking quickly towards him.

"Put that down before you hurt someone. Preferably me." The deformed Matoran said, motioning to the Skakdi's weapon as he approached him. Vezok slowly lowered his weapon, not convinced that it was the right thing to do.

"Where did that scream come from?" Vezok asked.

"It sounded like it came from above us." Carvun replied. "Maybe a nocturnal Rahi messed with Tolok and he taught it a lesson."

Vezok looked around, noticing that the other being that was suppose to be in the room was absent.

"Where's the Le-Matoran?" Vezok asked.

"I guess he went up onto the deck with Tolok." Carvun replied. "I say we find out."

Moving quickly, the two of them walked to the ladder that led to the top deck. Carvun climbed up it first, peaking only the top of his head out of the opening to see what was going on. He saw Tolok's sword and shield lying on the floor. Tolok himself, who was suppose to be on guard duty, was nowhere to be found.

"What do you see?" Vezok asked him impatiently.

"Tolok's gone." Carvun replied grimly. "I don't see Bokla anywhere either."

The top deck wasn't completely deserted though. Carvun looked to his left and saw that Optui, who was awake as well, was still chained to the pole. He looked beyond frightened.

"On the bright side, our guide is still here." Carvun said as emerged from the opening, followed by Vezok. They then walked over to the Steltian, wondering if he had the answers to their questions. Optui looked at them as they approached, an expression of joy on his face. This was the first time Carvun and Vezok had seen him smile since the voyage had begun.

"I never thought I would say this, but I'm glad to see you two!" Optui said cheerfully. "Especially after what just happened."

"What exactly happened?" Carvun asked him. "And where are Tolok and Bokla?"

"Well, for starters, I was awakened by that horrible scream that likely woke the two of you up." Optui explained. "After a couple of seconds, I looked up and saw this winged creature. I guess it was a Rahi. I'm not entirely sure. I then froze in terror."

"And what about the Toa and Matoran?" Vezok asked.

"I can...answer that."

Carvun, Vezok, and Optui all looked in the direction that the statement came from. They then saw Tolok pulling himself over the boat's railing back onto the boat. He then collapsed to the floor. He looked like he had been attacked by a Nui-Rama swarm.

Carvun and Vezok ran over to him. They got to him and helped him to his feet. The Toa had sustained minor damage to his chest armor. It was obvious that it had come from an energy blast.

"What happened?" Carvun asked him.

Tolok quickly told them about the winged Rahi and how it had subdued both him and Bokla. Carvun listened to him as he described the creature's appearance, noting all the details Tolok managed to notice in the brief moments that he saw it.

"I've heard of many kinds of Rahi that are rumored to live in the Southern Islands." Carvun said when Tolok finished. "But I've never heard of one that wore a Kanohi Mask."

"We have to go after it." Tolok said weakly. "We have to find where it took Bokla and rescue him."

"We can't do that, Toa." Vezok protested. "That would most likely take us off the path that is on the tablet. I don't want to get lost in this place, for that would lead to certain death for all of us."

Tolok glared at the Dark Hunter. "Bokla had the tablet, Vezok!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Bokla didn't trust you, Dark Hunter, so he kept the tablet in his pack, just in case you tried something." Tolok answered. "And Bokla had his pack on him when that monster took him!"

Vezok cursed and slammed his fist angrily into the floor, putting a slight dent in it. Carvun simply shook his head, knowing now what they have to do.

"Tolok is right." Carvun said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "We have to go after that monster. We'll never find the treasure without that tablet."

"Maybe not." Vezok said, forcing his anger down. "Toa, you said the other day to Lesovikk that you knew someone who saw the treasure before. Maybe if you went to this being again, you could get another tablet that shows where it is."

"I'm...not allowed to go back there." Tolok said quietly, remembering the threat Turaga Kwiau came him before he left Mongo Koro. "And besides, even if I could, I wouldn't go back there because that would lead to Bokla's death."

Tolok took a few steps forward and picked up his weapons. "And I'm not going to let that happen."

Carvun nodded his head. "It's decided then. We will rescue Bokla and get the tablet back."

"I have a bad feeling about this." Vezok mumbled under his breath.

"But where do we start looking?" Carvun wondered out loud. "None of us saw which direction it went as it escaped."

"I did." Optui called out, raising his hands to get the others attention.

"I thought you said you 'froze in terror' when you saw that creature?" Vezok questioned.

"Well, I did, but I recovered from it." Optui replied. "And I saw it fly that way."

He pointed with his finger to the east. There was nothing but ocean as far as the eye could see in that direction.

"Then that is the direction we will go." Tolok said confidently. He turned to Carvun. "And we have to go now."

"We can't sail around in this place while it is still night." Carvun protested. "Sure, I could see where I'm going, but we're more vulnerable to Rahi attacks and other threats. We've have to wait until morning before we start our pursuit."

"But..." Tolok began to say.

"Listen to him." Optui interrupted. "We can't save your friend if we're all dead."

Tolok looked at the Steltian, then to Carvun. Deep down, he knew that it was pointless to fight them on this. He knew they were right.

"Morning, please come quickly." He thought. "We have to get that tablet back...and Bokla too."

*****

Morning came three hours after Bokla had been taken. The Death of Rahi set sail in the direction that Optui claimed the Rahi flew into the night before. They sailed for an hour, not seeing any monstrous flying Rahi or any islands that they could have lived on.

"You know," Vezok said after a while. "just because Optui saw this Rahi flying east doesn't mean it kept going east. What if it changed directions?"

"Where was that line of thinking an hour ago?" Carvun growled in annoyance. He didn't like being off course from the map on the absent tablet.

"It's the only lead we have, Vezok." Tolok said. "So its the lead we will follow."

It took another half an hour of sailing before Tolok saw something in the horizon. It looked like an island with a huge mountain in the center of it. Deciding that this island was the best place to start looking for Bokla, Carvun steered the vessel towards it.

As the Death of Rahi got closer to the island, its occupants saw a fortress-like structure on the mountainside. Its metal walls looked as if they were somehow fused into the rock that made the mountain. It also looked well-kept, which was odd since any built structures that were rumored to be in the Southern Islands were usually said to be destroyed or rotting.

"Bokla and the tablet have to be in there." Tolok said.

"How do you know that?" Vezok said skeptically. "For all we know, this Rahi could've taken him back to Stelt."

"How do you know it's not?" Tolok shot back. "This is the first island we've come to since that creature attacked me. It also looks like a great place for a Rahi of its nature to live. I bet my mask that we will find what we seek on that island!"

Vezok shrugged, giving up on arguing further with the Toa. Carvun looked over at Tolok, a look of worry behind his powerless Kanohi Mask.

"Say you're right, Tolok." Carvun said to the Toa. "Say that Bokla is on that island. That means that the monster is too. How exactly are we going to stop a Rahi that can teleport beings to different places, has sonic screams, and can shoot shadow beams?"

Carvun gestured to the boat's crew. "How can a Toa of Fire, a mutated former Nynrah Ghost, a Skakdi, and a Steltian stop a creature with all those powers?"

"Assuming it doesn't have other powers." Vezok added bluntly.

Tolok looked up at the structure on the mountain. He noticed that the shadow of the mountain was covering it. He wondered if that was a sign of the events to come.

"I don't know." He replied as he felt a cold feeling grab his heart. "But we have to find a way. If we don't, the rest of our journey will be doomed."

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Twelve: An Enemy Revealed

Bokla slowly opened his eyes as conscience returned to him. His whole body felt extremely weak, as if his energy had been drained from him. He moaned as he tried to look around, but his vision was too blurry for him to see anything.

The last thing he remembered was when he was on the Death of Rahi, standing next to Tolok, as a huge flying Rahi appeared in front of them. He wondered if the Toa of Fire had managed to scare the creature off and keep him safe. But as he vision became clearer, he realized that he wasn't on the Death of Rahi.

From the light illuminating from the few lightstones scattered around, he could tell that he was in a room filled with rubble. The walls, which looked to be several centuries old, had cracks running down them. Kanohi Masks were hanging from one of the better kept walls to his right. There were a couple of holes in the ceiling, as well as a huge opening in the wall to his left.

"Where am I?" Bokla thought as he tried to get up. His limbs, however, gave in and he fell back down. He then looked around for his Ax, intending to use it like a cane to help him stay on his feet. But it wasn't with him or anywhere else in the room as far as he could tell.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention. They were coming from the other side of the room. Bokla turned just in time to notice an entrance into the room that he didn't see moments ago and a being emerge from it. He was about twelve feet tall, with purple and black armor, a Kanohi Mask on his face, and a sword with two blades on its handle hanging from his back.

"Oh good, you're awake." The being said, excitement in his voice. "I was afraid you were doomed to sleep forever."

"Who are you?" Bokla weakly asked.

The being smiled. "I'm the great Makuta Xukol, ruler of all the islands in this region."

A feeling of surprise rippled through Bokla, restoring some of his lost energy. He had heard stories of the Makuta, or the "creators of Rahi," as they were known in Mongo Koro. They were mysterious beings who had many different powers. They were good guys, for they did the will of Mata Nui for the Matoran.

Bokla attempted to get to his feet again. This time he succeeded, though it took them a few seconds to get his balance.

"Where am I?" He asked Xukol. "Am I still in the Southern Islands?"

"You're on my island." The Makuta replied. "And if you call my region 'the Southern Islands,' then yes, you are still in them."

Bokla walked over to the opening in the room's left wall. When he got to it, he saw that the room he was in was on the side of a mountain. Down below, he could see the ruins of a village that must have existed a long time ago.

"This is my fortress." Xukol explained as he walked over to the Matoran and stood next to him. "It's foundation is on a tall mountain, so don't think about jumping. It used to have a bunch of annoying people living in it. The same people who lived in that village down there. But I took care of them a while ago."

Bokla gave the Makuta a perplexed look. He had a bad feeling about this particular being.

"Under what circumstances did you bring me here?" Bokla asked, ignoring Xukol's last statement.

The Makuta shrugged. "I knocked you out and brought you here. Simple as that."

"What you do mean?" The Matoran questioned. "My friend and I were attacked by a Rahi, not by you."

"No you weren't." Xukol said. Then, before Bokla's startled eyes, the Makuta's body morphed into the form of the Rahi that confronted him the night before. The Le-Matoran gasped at the Makuta's shocking power.

"See, I took you in this form." Xukol said. He them morphed back into his original form. "Not in this form."

Bokla stared at the Makuta, fearing building inside of him as he tried to comprehend what he just witnessed. He took a few steps back from Xukol, unsure of what else to do.

"But...but why did you kidnap me?" Bokla stammered. "What did I do to you?"

"You broke my rules." Xukol said in a eerie, casual tone.

"What rules?"

"My rules for my region!" Xukol suddenly snapped. "I don't want beings like you running around in it, yet you and others just keep coming, despite the fact that I don't want or need you here!"

"Your region?" Bokla said questionably. "Who made you ruler of this place? The Brotherhood of Makuta?"

No sooner had the words left Bokla's mouth when he was promptly pulled by an invisible force into the wall behind him. He slammed back first into it, stunning the still recovering Matoran.

"Don't you DARE speak that name!" Xukol shouted, deactivating his magnetism powers and allowing Bokla to fall to the floor.

Despite the hard blow, Bokla was still conscience. He got to his feet and instinctively reached for his Ax, only to remember that it was gone. It was at this moment that he realized that his bag was missing, and along with it...

"The tablet!" Bokla abruptly remembered. He had forgotten that he was carrying it when he was kidnapped by this maniac.

"What...did you do with my bag and my weapon?" Bokla asked.

You don't care about your bag, Matoran of air." Xukol said stiffly. He lifted up his right hand, revealing that he was carrying the tablet in his clawed hand. "You care about its weird but interesting contents."

The Makuta then gestured towards the opening in the wall. "As for you weapon, I put it in that dead village down there. Don't ask why, for you will know soon."

Bokla took a step forward. He eyed the tablet in Xukol's hand. Bokla speculated that his flying into the wall a moment ago was caused by one of Xukol's powers, but he had no idea what other powers the Makuta had. He doubted he would stand a chance against one in a fight, even if he had his weapon.

Xukol moved his sight off of Bokla and onto the tablet in his hand. It looked kind of like a map of some sort to his region. It has words written in an old language on it, a language that he didn't know. That frustrated him.

"I need that back." Bokla said as he watched Xukol look over the tablet.

Xukol looked back at him. "Not for much longer, my dear Matoran."

Xukol then looked out at the view from the opening. After a few seconds, he spotted a boat heading towards his island. Using his Kanohi Akaku, he zoomed in on it. It was the same boat that he had taken Bokla off of the night before.

"Well, look at this!" Xukol said, activating his magnetism powers once more to pull Bokla towards him. The Makuta grabbed the Matoran by the neck with his left hand and set his gaze out onto the sea.

"Your friends are coming to get you, Matoran!" Xukol said excitedly. "Just as I thought they would."

The Makuta then dropped Bokla and walked over to the wall that his other Kanohi Masks were hanging from. He removed his Kanohi Akaku from his face and replaced it with one Bokla didn't recognize.

"My friends won't be happy that you kidnapped me last night." Bokla said angrily. "They will definitely fight you to get me and that tablet back, and they will win. I guarantee it."

"Unless they can fight from the grave, I doubt that." Xukol replied.

Seeing Bokla's perplexed looks, Xukol continued talking. "You see, this island of mine is home to a dangerous hoard of Rahi. They have wiped out all other kinds of Rahi on this piece of rock. In fact, I'm the only being here that is stronger than them. That is why they don't mess with me."

"You are talking about a Visorak hoard, right?" Bokla asked, nervousness entering his voice.

"No, they were all killed off too." Xukol replied. "But my point is, these Rahi are still here. So when your friends land on my island, they will no doubt get the attention of them. After all, they get so tired from eating each other."

Bokla looked to the floor. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't fight against this being. He doubted that he could even get the tablet back and escape. He was in a hopeless situation.

"But there is good news, Matoran." Xukol said. "I hid your weapon in a place that your friends will most likely find it easily. But the bad news is that soon after they do, they will be eaten alive by the Rahi I spoke of earlier."

The Makuta then walked over to Bokla and placed his left hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't let them eat you. You want to know why?"

Bokla simply glared into Xukol's eyes, debating if he should try to jab them out with his fingers.

The Makuta then smiled darkly. "Because I have an even worse death planned for you."

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Thirteen: The Dead Village

"Are you sure we should've brought him along?" Vezok asked Carvun, pointing to Optui as he, the Steltian, Carvun, and Tolok walked cautiously through the apparently lifeless village.

"I'm sure, Vezok." Carvun said once again. "I don't think it would have been a good idea to leave him alone on the Death of Rahi. He could've gotten free and tried to desert us here."

"But I don't know how to sail!" Optui protested.

"You say you don't." Carvun shot back to him.

It had been a hour-and-a-half since the four travelers had discovered the island. Tolok, somehow convinced that Bokla and the tablet were on this island, pushed heavily that they should come here and search for them. Carvun complied, but he didn't sail to any ports on the island. Instead, he sailed into a bay and dropped anchor in the middle of it.

"We don't know who or what lives here." Carvun said when the others questioned his actions. "I don't want to risk the boat being taken by someone else. It will be safer here."

Seeing that the former Nynrah Ghost was right, Tolok suggested that they all swim to shore and began searching. Carvun then made his own suggestion and said that Optui should go with him. Vezok protested to this, stating the Steltian could try to escape. But Carvun said that he wouldn't try to get away on an island like this.

"And we could use another pair of eyes to find the tablet and Bokla." Tolok added.

So Optui was freed from his chains. It was at that moment that the Steltian revealed another fact about himself to the others: he didn't know how to swim. So when everyone jumped into the water and began swimming, Vezok had to help the cowardly Steltian stay afloat. This did not improve the Dark Hunter's mood.

Once they got ashore, they began moving inland. It didn't take long for them to get to this dead village. Many of the structures had sustained damage from some sort of major event that happened long ago. Corpses that looked thousands of years old could be seen lying on ground, inside the buildings, and hanging on walls. Carvun stated that there used to be villages all over the Southern Islands, though the majority of their residents had migrated to out of them long ago.

"What do the stories say about those that didn't leave?" Vezok asked.

Carvun simply pointed to one of the nearby corpses. "Nothing good."

Tolok was in front of the group, leading them through the village. He, along with the others, had their weapons out, just in case something tried to attack them. The Toa was leading them down a street filled with rubble, glass, and who knew what else.

"How are we going to search this entire village for the Le-Matoran?" Optui asked as they walked. "It could take days to find him."

"We're not going to search this village." Tolok replied. He then pointed his sword upward. "We're going to search there."

Optui looked to where Tolok was pointing. The Toa was pointing at the fortress lodged into the mountain ahead of them. It looked even bigger now that they were closer to it.

"That makes sense." Carvun said, nodding his head. "Since this was a flying Rahi, it would most likely build its nest somewhere high off the ground. If it is here, that is where it will be."

"And where Bokla and the tablet will be as well." Tolok added.

Vezok shook his head. "I doubt the Matoran is still alive, Toa."

Tolok stopped walking and turned to look at the Skakdi. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it." Vezok explained. "That creature took him last night. No doubt it wanted him to be a meal. At best, we'll find the tablet and the Le-Matoran's half eaten corpse in that fortress."

Tolok started to reply, but was cut off by Optui, who grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. The Steltian then pointed to ahead. Where, in what looked like the center of the village, was a weapon. It was in an opening space, sticking out of the ground as if someone had tried to plant it there. This took a moment for Tolok to realize that he had seen this weapon before.

"Bokla's Ax!" Tolok said joyfully as he rushed forward. The others followed him. Once they got to it, Tolok pulled it out of the ground.

"How did that get here?" Vezok asked no one in particular.

"I don't know." Tolok replied. "But if this is here, that means Bokla and the tablet are here too."

The sound of glass braking caught their attention. It was so light that it could barely be heard. Tolok, Carvun, and Vezok raised their weapons in the direction that the sound came from. Another sound them came from behind them. Then another came from the right. Soon, the sounds were coming from all around them.

"What's making those noises?" Optui asked fearfully.

The response came in the form of a loud shriek that nearly destroyed the group's audio receptors. Seeing something moved out of the corner of his eye, Carvun turned and saw a creature covered in what looked like fog jumping off the roof of a nearby building and landing thirty feet from the group.

"Guys, look!" Carvun warned, pointing towards the creature. The others turned and saw it too. Then another one of the creatures appeared to the left of them. In seconds, the two creatures were joined by six more of the monsters. They formed into a group and began to slowly approach Tolok, Vezok, Optui, and Carvun.

None of the Death of Rahi's occupants could see many details on these mysterious creatures, thanks to the fog coming off their bodies. What they could observe, however, was that each of these creatures had four legs, a long tail, and a jaw filled with razor-sharp teeth. But the one other detail they could see in these creatures was the one that terrified them the most.

They looked hungry.

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Fourteen: Survival

Makuta Xukol looked out at the dead village from the opening in his fortress. Its residents, when they were alive, were a savage people. They made Stelt and Odina look as peaceful as Metru Nui. Of course, when Xukol came to the island, the residents didn't want to follow him. They refused to. So he had no choice but to kill them all. Disobedient beings could never be useful.

He then thought about his former life. Back when he was in the Brotherhood of Makuta. His memory was fuzzy about his time there. Some days, he remembered being one of the top Makuta, second only to Makuta Miserix. Other days, he recalled being the lowest member, cleaning up the messes left by Makuta Chirox, Mutran, and others. Either way, he was banished from the Brotherhood. He didn't remember why, nor did he care. He then recalled coming to this place, an area that other beings called the 'Southern Islands.' He didn't know how long he had been in this place, but he knew that his time here had changed him greatly.

"I have a question."

Xukol turned and looked at Bokla. The Makuta had trapped him between a wall and a huge slab of the ceiling that had broken off from the roof. The object had him pinned just enough to keep him from escaping, but not enough to cut off his breathing.

"And what is that, Matoran?" Xukol asked.

"You say that you want no one in your region." Bokla began. "If that is true, why didn't you put up a sign saying 'Don't come here' or something like that to warn people?"

"I did put such a sign up." Xukol said. "In fact, I made it out of the last ship that tried to enter these waters. But you and your buddies just sailed on past it, as if it didn't exist."

Bokla started to say that he didn't know what the Makuta was talking about when he stopped, suddenly remembering the destroyed ship that he and the others saw back in the underwater mountain range.

"Xukol destroyed that ship!" The Le-Matoran realized in horror. "It wasn't the Zyglak or something else. It was him! He did it!"

"You're talking about that ship in the mountain range!" Bokla said slowly. "You killed all those beings, only because they entered this region that you didn't want to share!"

Xukol smiled and resumed looking of the opening in the wall. "I'm glad you finally get what I'm talking about."

"But...I thought Makuta were good guys." Bokla stammered. "I thought they did the will of Mata Nui?"

"I do the will of Mata Nui." Xukol said. "It is his will for me to rule this land and keep everyone out of it. If I have to kill every living thing that enters this place to do that, so be it."

Bokla lowered his head, shocked by what he just learned. How could Tolok and the others stand a chance against someone who could lodge a ship into a mountain?

Bokla's eyes narrowed at this thought. He looked back up at Xukol, who still had his back turned to him.

"Wait, why didn't you do to my boat what you did to the ship in the mountain range?" Bokla asked. "Why did you let me and my friends live if you could destroy us in seconds?"

"There is a simple explanation for it, Matoran." Xukol said, not even turning to look at him. "You see, I was planning on killing you all, like I have done to others before. But then I realized that despite all the deaths, beings just keep coming. No matter what I do, they just keep coming. It took some time, but I realized that there must be something in this place that is drawing people here. Something that they want so badly that they would risk getting killed by me to get it."

Xukol stopped speaking for a moment when he noticed fog raising from the center of the village. This meant that the Rahi he spoke of earlier, which he personally called Fog Monsters, had found their prey. It wouldn't be long before the Matoran's friends were nothing more than shredded corpses.

He then turned to Bokla. "So that is why you are here, Matoran. You will tell me what you seek in this place. You will tell me what you are looking for, so that I can find it and destroyed it."

"My friends will save me before you get the chance to question me." Bokla said angrily. "They're already on the island, searching for me."

Xukol smiled. "Your friends will be dead in a few minutes. And when I'm done with you, you'll be joining them in it."

*****

The Rahi charged towards Tolok and his group. They moved extremely fast, reaching their prey in seconds. In moments, a huge battle between the Rahi and Tolok's group was in motion.

Carvun slammed his tri-blade hand into the face of one of the Rahi. It growled in pain and took a few steps back. The former Nynrah Ghost then kicked another with his mechanical legs. A third monster got him off guard with its tail, hitting him in his back and knocking them to the ground. The Rahi then tried to jumped onto Carvun to finish him off, but it was struck by twin beams of fire in mid-jump. The blasts sent it crashing into the ground. Carvun got to his feet and saw Tolok coming to his aid.

"We are not going last long against these creatures." Carvun said as he fired his rocket launcher at one of the creatures. The projectile hit its mark, but it did very little damage to it.

"We have to get past them!" Tolok said as he unleashed fire bolts on the Rahi Carvun attacked a moment ago. They, too, did little damage to it.

"We need a plan. Fast!" Carvun cried.

Nearby, Optui and Vezok were holding off four of the creatures. Optui was running all over the place, dodging the creatures as they tried to leap on him. He picked up whatever he could lift and threw it at the beasts, hoping to scare them off. The Rahi weren't even fazed by his attempts. Vezok wasn't faring much better than the Steltian. His impact vision, harpoon projectiles, and physical blows had done little damage to the creatures. Vezok barely dodged a tail swipe from one of the creatures as he made his way towards Optui.

"We're going to die!" Optui cried as he ran towards the Dark Hunter. We're going to die! We're going to die!"

"Quiet!" Vezok shouted to him as he got to his side. "Your complaining isn't going to help us get out of this!"

The Skakdi then tried firing another harpoon at one of their attackers. It caught the projectile with its jaws and promptly ate it as it continued to advance on them.

"These Rahi are indestructible!" Vezok thought hopelessly. He looked over and saw that Tolok and Carvun were having similar troubles. "None of us can apparently harm these creatures, so how are we going to defeat them?"

Tolok was wondering the same thing when he noticed that it was getting harder to see his surroundings. He knew that his vision wasn't failing him, so what was causing this?

"Why am I having a hard time seeing things around me?" Tolok wondered out loud to himself.

"Its the fog coming off the creatures!" Carvun explained. "They're trying to fill the area with the fog so that they can ambush us!"

"Why would they do that when they could just kill us now?"

"It must be their hunting instincts." Carvun replied. "But whatever it is, we need to think of a way out of this now!"

Tolok's eyes suddenly widened. "I just might have one. We need to get to Vezok and Optui."

The two of them then bolted towards their allies. One of the Rahi tried to attack the Toa head-on, but Tolok blocked its blow with his shield. He then grabbed the creature by its front legs, activated his Kanohi Mask of Strength, and threw it towards three others of its kind. It slammed into them, stunning them momentarily.

"What are we going to do?" Optui asked them when they reached him and Vezok.

Tolok ignored him and turned to Carvun. "Do you have any more of those smoke projectiles like the one you used in that inn on Stelt?"

"Yes, I do." Carvun replied, unsure what the Toa was thinking.

"Use one on the Rahi!" Tolok ordered. "Use it now!"

"Why?" Carvun asked. "It wouldn't fare any better than our other attacks."

The Rahi regrouped together and began charging towards the Death of Rahi's crew. Even Optui could tell that they were moving in for the kill.

"Here they come!" Vezok warned.

"Just do it!" Tolok shouted.

Still unsure what the Toa was planning to do, Carvun loaded the spherical smoke projectile into his launcher arm and fired it at the Rahi. The Rahi at the head of the group tried to slashed through it with its claws, but the projectile exploded when it made contact. Smoke went everywhere. This sudden event made the Rahi stop in their tracks as they choke on the flumes.

Once they recovered from the surprise attack, they advanced towards their prey again. They only took a few steps, though, before stopping once more. The spot where the four beings had been standing was now vacant.

Their prey had seemingly vanished into thin air.

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Fifteen: A Way Into The Mountain

The Fog Monsters began searching the area for their prey. Being expert hunters, they knew that they couldn't have escaped so easy. Two of them ran down the path their prey had walked on minutes ago to see if they had retraced their steps. Others began shifting through rubble, looking for any signs as to where their prey escaped to.

So busy were they in their search that they didn't think to search in the crumbling buildings. If they had, they would've discovered Tolok, Carvun, Vezok, and Optui hiding in one of them, staying low to the ground as they hoped that the Fog Monsters didn't have a sense of smell.

Tolok rose cautiously and peaked out of the window that was next to him. He could see the creatures hunting for them. None of them seem to know that he and his allies were in this building.

"Using my smoke missile as a distraction for us to hide in here was a good idea, Tolok." Carvun said in a whispered tone. "But its only a matter of time before they find out that we are in here."

"We have to head back to the ship." Optui said. He was barely keeping his composure. "We don't stand a chance against these monsters."

"We can't go back without the tablet." Vezok protested. "Without it, we can't find the treasure!"

"We won't find the treasure if we're dead!" Optui shot back.

The sound of one of the creatures jumping onto the roof interrupted their argument. Dust fell from the ceiling as they heard the creature's footsteps on the roof. Tolok tightened his grip on his sword, preparing himself for the creature to burst through the ceiling.

They heard the creature give out a growl, then it jumped off the roof and onto the roof of the building next door. This didn't comfort any of them though, for they knew that they possibly only had seconds to act.

"Vezok is right." Tolok said quietly. "We have to get to the fortress."

Optui gave him a nervous look. "But how are we going to get up to it, especially with these creatures hunting us?"

"I bet the beings who built this village also built that fortress." Carvun said. "Since it is on that mountain, they must have had some way to get up to it."

"Then we'll have to find that way." Tolok said. "Now lets go."

Tolok got to his hands and knees and began to crawl towards the back of the building. Carvun, Optui, and Vezok followed him in the same fashion. Once they got to the back of the building, they discovered a door that led outside. Tolok crawled to it and grabbed its doorknob, which then dissolved into atoms at his touch. Ignoring this, Tolok pulled the door open. It opened to a narrow ally, largely covered by the shadows of the buildings that created it.

Tolok slowly crept out of the building and into the ally. He looked down both directions and then to the roofs of the buildings. He did not see any of the creatures, but he could hear them nearby.

"The coast is clear." Tolok whispered to the others. "Lets go."

Tolok then turned left and started walking in that direction, keeping as low to the ground as he could. Carvun quickly followed him out, then Optui and Vezok. Optui, being the tallest in the group, had to stay on his hands and knees as he moved, so that the creatures wouldn't see him.

"Ouch!" Optui said in a slightly louder tone. "All this rubble is scratching my hands and legs!"

"Quiet!" Vezok growled harshly to him. "Do you want those beasts to hear you?"

Giving the Skakdi a frightened look, Optui began crawling faster, trying his best to ignore the scratches he was getting from the rubble.

The group moved from one darkened ally to another as they looked for a way out of the village. They only had to stop one time, and that was when five of the creatures were jumping from the roofs above them. They pressed themselves into the walls to stay hidden until they passed, then they resumed their search.

A hour passed before they got out of the village safely. They ventured into a forest with nothing but burned trees. They then picked up the pace as they moved towards the mountain with the fortress. They finally reached their destination a half-hour later. All of them felt exhausted from their battle with the Fog Monsters combined with all their running. But they all knew that they had to keep moving.

Vezok looked up at the fortress looming over him. He didn't see any visible way to get to it from here. No stairs, no lifts, no teleporting devices. Nothing.

"So how do we get up there?" Vezok asked Carvun.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Carvun replied. "I guess we could either look around the whole mountain for a way or just do some old-fashion rock climbing."

"I hope we don't do the latter." Optui muttered, holding up his bruised hands. "I'm scratched enough as it is."

Tolok walked away from the group, staring at the rock wall as he tried to find a way to the fortress. He had walked about one hundred feet before he found something.

"Guys, over here!" He shouted to the others. The three other beings ran up to him. The Toa then pointed to an opening carved into the wall. Inside it was a lift. It had two, old-looking ropes holding it in place. It looked like it hadn't been used in ages.

"This is our way into the fortress." Tolok said confidently.

"I don't know, Toa." Vezok said. "That thing looks too old to be used."

"More like 'ancient' if you ask me." Carvun added.

Tolok shook his head. "This is the only way to the fortress, guys. We don't have time to find another, if there is one."

"You don't know if this is the only way." Vezok protested. "There could be..."

"I will not lose that tablet and my friend because we couldn't find another way to the fortress." Tolok interrupted rudely.

"Assuming this does take us to it." Carvun mumbled to himself.

A loud growl suddenly came from behind them. They turned and saw three of the monster that had attacked them in the village racing at full speed towards. They looked even hungrier than before.

"I say we use the lift!" Optui shouted as he ran into the opening and onto the lift.

"What he said!" Carvun cried as he and Tolok followed the Steltian into the opening. Reluctantly, Vezok followed after them. Fortunately, the lift was big enough for the four of them to fit on it. Unfortunately, one of the Fog Monsters reached the opening before the group could pull themselves up. Tolok activated his Kanohi Pakari and kicked the creature in the face as it tried to attack them. It went flying out of the opening, slamming into the other Fog Monsters outside and stunning them.

"Everyone, pull!" Tolok shouted. He and Optui pulled the rope on one side as Vezok and Carvun pulled on the other. The light faded as they made their way up the mountain. Soon, they could only see each others heartlights in the darkness. It felt like forever before Optui finally saw light at the top.

"We're almost to the top!" The Steltian said happily.

"I knew this lift would work." Tolok said.

That was when the rope that Vezok and Carvun were pulling snapped, sending their side of the lift sliding downward. They barely kept their heads from hitting the rock wall in front of them as they regained their balance.

Tolok, knowing what had happened, formed a fireball in his hand and use it as a light to check on the rope that he and Optui were pulling. It, too, was about to snap.

"Grab onto the walls!" Tolok shouted as he let go of the rope and jumped onto the wall in front of him. The others did the same just as the other rope snapped, sending the lift falling back down the shaft in free fall. A few seconds later, a loud crashing sound could be heard from below them.

"And I knew this would happen." Vezok said tauntingly to Tolok.

"This isn't a setback, Vezok." The Toa of Fire said. "We can climb up the rest of the way."

"But how are we going to get back down?" Optui asked.

"Let's find Bokla and the tablet first, then we'll worry about that." Tolok said to the Steltian.

After a few minutes of climbing, the group managed to get to the top of the shaft. They all laid on the ground, resting their taxed bodies. Carvun was the first to get to his feet. He saw what looked like a hallway in front of him. He took a few steps into it, noticing that it had many different doorways on both sides of its walls. It also had a exit at the end of it.

"This place makes exploring the Metru Nui Archives sound easy." The former Nynrah Ghost thought to himself.

Vezok, Tolok, and Optui joined him and were just as amazed by the complexity of this place as he was.

"We could use a map to this place." Carvun said.

"Hey, look as this!" Tolok said, pointing to a nearby wall. On it was what looked like a map of some sort. It had an unknown language written in random places on it.

"Optui, can you translate this writing?" Tolok asked.

The Steltian looked at the language. After a moment, he nodded his head. "Yes, I can translate it. It is an old Matoran language that died out a few centuries ago. I haven't study it in years, but I think I know what this says."

"And what does it say?" Vezok asked him.

"It says that this is a map to the fortress." Optui replied. "According to this, all the doorways in this hallway lead to dead ends. Only the doorway at the end of this hallway leads further into the structure. Past that door is one large room and several medium sized rooms."

"Oh great, the four of us are about to go on a huge scavenger hunt." Carvun said sarcastically.

"I can search all the rooms in this hallway." Vezok offered. "The rest of you can search the larger rooms."

"I don't know if that is necessary." Carvun said. "Since we're looking for a huge flying Rahi, I'll bet it probably has a big nest somewhere in this fortress. It would most likely be in a room that would be big enough to house it."

"That may be true, Carvun, but I want all of these rooms checked, just to be safe." Tolok said. He then turned to Vezok and blasted him in the chest with a lukewarm fire bolt.

"Just in case you need it." Tolok said before Vezok could say anything. The Dark Hunter nodded, understanding what Tolok's intentions were, and ran off to start searching through the rooms. Tolok, Carvun, and Optui ran through the hallway and through the door at the end of it.

"How do we know that the Skakdi won't go back to the boat and abandon us here?" Optui asked Carvun.

Carvun simply smiled. "Lone wolves don't last long in the Southern Islands, my friend."

It didn't take long for the three of them to find the entrances to the larger rooms. Tolok suggested that they started with the largest one, then search the others if it was empty. Optui led them to the entrance of the largest room. There was no nest of any kind in it. Only huge amounts of rubble and Kanohi Masks oddly hanging from one of the walls.

"It doesn't look like the creature is in this room." Carvun said. "Maybe its in another one?"

"Tolok? Carvun? Are you there?"

The three of them gasped. That was Bokla's voice! Vezok had been wrong. He was still alive!

"Bokla, where are you?" Tolok shouted to his friend.

"Over here." Bokla weakly called out.

They found the Le-Matoran pinned between a wall and a huge piece of the ceiling. He looked weakened, as if something had attacked him, but it didn't look like he had any serious injuries.

"I knew you were alive!" Tolok said joyfully as he, Carvun, and Optui ran towards their friend. Suddenly, Bokla shouted a warning and pointed to the left of them. But it was too late. An invisible force struck the Toa of Fire, deformed Matoran, and Steltian, sending them all flying into a nearby wall.

Deactivating his chameleon power, Makuta Xukol appeared in the far corner of the room. He walked forward, eyeing the newcomers with interest. A dark smile then formed on his face.

"Oh, this is going to be fun." The Makuta said as shadow energy began to gather in his right hand.

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Sixteen: Interrogation

Tolok got to his hands and knees. The blow that sent him crashing into the crumbling wall was not hard enough to stun him. But after everything he had been through in the last few hours, he felt like it hurt a lot more than it should have.

He, along with Carvun and Optui, pulled themselves to their feet to face their attacker. Carvun noticed that the being was wearing a Kanohi Mask that looked like a Crast, the Kanohi Mask of Repulsion. The Nynrah Ghost assumed that the opposing being had use it to attack him and his allies seconds ago.

"I thought the Fog Monsters would've taken care of all of you." The being said darkly to him. "After all, I'm the only one here that can stand against them and live. But I guess they can't kill those who flee from their sight."

"Who are you?" Tolok asked angrily, pointing his sword at the mysterious being.

"I'm the great Makuta Xukol, ruler of these lands." The being replied in what sounded like a chipper tone.

"Your a Makuta?!" Optui gasped, fear entering his voice. "What in the name of Mata Nui is one of your kind doing in this forsaken place?"

"I've already talked about my past, being." Xukol said. "I don't feel like telling it again."

"He's the one that kidnapped me!" Bokla suddenly shouted to his friends. "He somehow shape shifted into the Rahi that took me last night. He brought me here so that he could..."

"Silence!" Xukol shouted, waving his hand at the pinned Matoran. Within seconds, Bokla's body faded from view as he disappeared into thin air.

Tolok's eyes widened in shock. "What happened to him?"

Carvun quickly grabbed the Toa's shoulder to get his attention. "He must've used his teleportation power to send Bokla to another place."

The fact that a Makuta was standing in front of them, a Makuta that had taken one of their own in the night and had openly attacked the group, was too much for Optui to take. The cowardly Steltian bolted past Tolok and Carvun, screaming in terror as he used what energy he had left to make a break for the room's exit. Seeing this, Xukol rushed forward, moving so fast that Optui didn't even see him until the Makuta was standing in front of him. The Makuta then blasted Optui with chain lightning, sending him flying across the room.

"I didn't give you permission to leave." Xukol growled darkly. "No one leaves unless I say they can!"

"I thought the Makuta were good guys?" Carvun said as he raised his clawed hand, preparing himself in case the Makuta turned his attention to him.

"I don't care if they are or not. This one isn't!" Tolok cried as he charged towards Xukol. The Makuta responded to this by using his magnetism powers, sending Tolok flying backwards and straight into Carvun. The two of them slid halfway across the room before they came to a stop.

Optui and Carvun were too weak to get back up, but Tolok wasn't out of the fight yet. He jumped to his feet and created two fire walls on Xukol's left and right sides. The Makuta was caught off guard by sudden attack. The Toa of Fire smiled. All he needed to do now was quickly come up with a brilliant plan to bring down his enemy, and then he could go find Bokla and the tablet.

Tolok was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Xukol looking straight at him. Suddenly, Tolok's concentration was shattered as dozens of images flooded into his mind. The fire walls around Xukol disappeared as Tolok was driven to his knees by the sheer pain spreading through his head.

"The ability to read minds." Xukol said proudly. "Its great when you want to put thoughts into one's mind. It can also extract thoughts from one's foes too. Isn't that great?"

The Makuta cut off his mental attack. Tolok fell to the ground, but he quickly rose to his feet again.

"He's too strong, Tolok!" Carvun said weakly to him. "You don't stand a chance against him alone."

"I...will not...let my name go down in legends...as a quitter!" Tolok snapped back.

Xukol smiled, as if he didn't even care that the Toa was still standing. "Another great thing mind reading, you know, is that you can learn about what your enemies want. For example, I now know what you truly want, and it is this."

The Makuta held up a tablet in his left hand. No, not just any tablet. The tablet. The tablet that Kwiau had given Tolok days ago. The tablet that led to the Staff of the Great Beings. The tablet that would revoke his banishment.

"Give that back!" Tolok shouted angrily to his foe. "That doesn't belong to you!"

"It does now." Xukol simply said. "But I'm curious as to why you want this so badly."

Xukol's eyes narrowed. "Lets find out."

Tolok then felt the Makuta enter his mind with his mental powers, probing through his thoughts and memories as if they were fruit in a Matoran fruit stand. Tolok tried to push him out, but he was too mentally weak to stop him.

"Lets see." Xukol said out loud. "You have 'accidentally' deserted the Turaga of your village on a barren island...buried your best friend's house in a rockslide...burned down half your village to the ground...nearly got your best friend and yourself killed in some fight at an inn...oh, you are a piece of work, Toa."

"Get OUT of my head!" Tolok cried, shaking his head as he tried to kick Xukol out of his mind. "You have no right to be in there!"

The Makuta ignored him. Then he smiled. "Oh, you are a banished Toa!"

"ENOUGH!" Tolok shouted as two beams of fire shot out of his hands. Xukol then switched powers, going from his mind reading power to his dodge power. He easily maneuvered around the beams as they flew past him. He then activated his slow power on Tolok, only allowing the Toa to move at a snail's pace.

"That is why you want this tablet." Xukol said, as if Tolok's latest attack hadn't even happened. "You want it to redeem yourself, to get back the honor you 'so rightly deserve'."

The Makuta then walked over the Toa and placed his right hand on his shoulder. "In fact, this is all your thinking of. It has been for the last few days. You want this tablet back so badly that you are not even thinking about where I sent the green Matoran."

"That...is not true." Tolok stammered. Thanks to Xukol's hold on him, he could barely get the words out of his mouth. "Bokla is my best friend. I would die for him...before I let anything bad happen to him!"

"That's not what I got from your mind, Toa of Fire." Xukol said darkly. "All I got was your obsession with this weird yet fancy tablet."

Xukol then lowered himself so that he was face to face with Tolok. "But I'm not surprised out by this. You see, I was banished from the Brotherhood of Makuta, so I know what banishment does to someone. It changes you, makes you move your priorities around. So much so that the things that were once important to you are suddenly not."

Xukol then held up the tablet in front of Tolok, only inches from the Toa's face. Tolok tried to make a move to grab it, but Xukol's hold on him was still too strong. He couldn't even raise his fingers to touch it.

"You believe this piece of rock is your ticket to get to where you think you belong." Xukol went on. "You think that your village 'needs' you to survive. Without you, their doomed. Well, let me tell you this. They don't need you. No one needs you. In fact, no one needs anyone. This tablet won't save what you want it to save."

"You're...wrong" was all Tolok could say. His frustration could clearly be heard in his weakened voice.

Xukol got up and walked away from Tolok. "Your village won't take you back, Tolok. No matter what you do for them, no matter how many times you save them from threats and whatnot. You know why?"

The Makuta turned and stared at Tolok. "Because you're becoming like me. Its fascinating and a shame at the same time. If I could've let you live, the residents of this universe would've come to call us brothers, simply because we've would've been so much alike. It fills me with joy to think about it, really."

The Makuta then released Tolok from his slow power. The Toa, who had been struggling to free himself for the whole time, unintentionally threw himself forward and landed hard on the ground. Even though he mentally yelled at himself to get back up, his taxed body just wouldn't listen.

"But sadly, you and your comrades broke my rules." Xukol said. Shadow energy gathered in his hands. "That is punishable only by death."

Makuta Xukol then aimed his hands at Tolok. "Goodbye, my would-be brother."

*****

The events over the last day had not been good for Bokla. He had been kidnapped by a evil Makuta, held hostage, and pinned under rubble. Now he had been teleported into some strange hallway filled with multiple doorways. Some of the doors had opened, but most of them were still closed. A strange piece of art that looked like a map was on one of the walls.

The Le-Matoran got to his feet. He assumed that he had been sent to another part of the fortress, thought he didn't know where exactly in the fortress he was. He felt weird not having his Ax in his hands. He would feel more at ease if he had it with them now.

He then pushed those thoughts out of his head. He had to find the room that Tolok and the others were fighting Xukol. Even though he was weaponless, he could still help somehow...

"Wait a second." Bokla thought suddenly. "Tolok, Carvun, and Optui were there to rescue me. But where was Vezok?"

Bokla nervously gulped. Had Vezok betrayed the others in some way? Or maybe he had fallen to the Fog Monsters? Was he still alive?

The sound of a table being overturned got his attention. It had come from one of rooms ahead. One had that its door open.

Bokla walked slowly towards the door. He peaked inside the room, only to see Vezok searching through the room. The Skakdi was looking through everything, as if he was on a desperate mission. Bokla then entered the room and called out to him.

Vezok turned to see who had spoken to him. His eyes widened in surprise as they gazed upon the Le-Matoran.

A second later, the Dark Hunter aimed his Harpoon at Bokla's head and fired.

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Seventeen: Escape!

The projectile fired from Vezok's Harpoon flew towards Bokla's skull. The Le-Matoran didn't have time to duck his head, hit the ground, or close his eyes. He didn't even have time to think about what to do. By the time he saw the projectile flying towards him, it was too late to do anything. All he expected was that his death would be quick.

What he didn't expect to happen was for the projectile to fly past his head, only scratching the upper right corner of his mask. A second later, he heard what sounded like a Rahi roar in pain behind him. He whirled around and saw a huge Rahi covered in fog standing behind him, trying in vain to get the projectile out of its leg.

"Get away from that monster, Matoran!" Vezok shouted angrily to Bokla.

Realizing that Vezok had been aiming at the Rahi all along and not at him, the Matoran complied and ran to the Skakdi's side.

"What is that creature?" Bokla asked Vezok, even though he had a feeling that this was one of the Rahi Xukol spoke of earlier.

"I don't know." The Dark Hunter replied. "A group of these monster attacked us in the village down below. I guess it climbed up the shaft that housed the rift we used to get up here."

The Fog Monster successfully pulled the projectile out of its leg and began to advance on them. Vezok, using his ability to copy powers used on him, threw up a wall of fire in front of it. Even though the Rahi was apparently immune to fire, its natural fear of the flames themselves made it halt its advance.

"Follow me!" Vezok shouted to Bokla as he grabbed the Matoran by the arm and began running towards the sidewall of the room. Having been through hundreds of years of decay and erosion, the stone walls had become considerably weak. Because of this, Vezok and Bokla easily smashed through it and got into the neighboring room. They ran through two more walls before entering the main hallway and making a dash for the door that Tolok and the others had gone through minutes ago.

As they ran, Vezok glanced behind him. He could see that two more Fog Monsters had joined with the one that had attacked them first, and now all three were chasing them. The Skakdi knew that if he and Bokla were going to live through another battle with these Rahi, they would need Tolok, Carvun, and Optui's help.

It was at that moment that a thought entered Vezok's head. A thought that puzzled him.

"There were more than three of these Rahi attacking us earlier." He thought. "So if we're being chased by these three, where are the others?"

*****

Tolok glared angrily up at Xukol. The Makuta was gathering shadow energy in his hands. The Toa of Fire knew that he could be back on his feet once he had a few seconds to rest his body, but he doubted that Xukol would give him the time he needed for this.

Nearby, Carvun and Optui were slowly getting to their feet. Xukol didn't seem to notice that they were still conscious, but it didn't matter because neither of them by themselves could have stopped the Makuta even if they tried.

Xukol aimed the palm of his right hand at Tolok, intending to blast him with shadow energy, when a loud roar echoed through the room. The Makuta turned to see a Fog Monster rushing straight towards him. Before he could even think of what to do, the beast jumped on him, pinning the 'great' Makuta to the floor. The tablet he was holding went flying out of his hand on impact, sliding across the floor before it stopped near Optui.

Carvun quickly glanced towards the opening in the room that led outside. He could see four more Fog Monsters entering the room and rushing towards Xukol. The Nynrah Ghost wouldn't have guess that these creatures were mountain climbers.

Seeing that Xukol was now busy defending himself from the Rahi, Carvun ran as fast as he could to Tolok and began to carry him away from the new fight braking out in the room.

Optui was back on his feet too. He quickly grabbed the tablet and rushed forward to help Carvun carry Tolok. The fearful look he had earlier was still on his face.

"Why are those Rahi only attacking the Makuta, and not us?" He asked Carvun.

"I don't know." He replied. "But let's not wait around and found out."

Tolok had now recovered enough to stand on his own. Together, he, Carvun, and Optui made their way to the room's exit. They had just left the room when two running beings came from the hallway's entrance and almost crashed into them. Once they stopped, though, Tolok immediately recognized who the two beings were.

"Bokla!" Tolok cried joyfully. "You're alive! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Its going to take more than a Makuta to get rid of me." Bokla joked weakly.

"I'm happy to see you too, Toa." Vezok said sarcastically. "Now we have to...wait, why are you talking about a Makuta?"

"We can play catch up later." Carvun said quickly. "We got the tablet back and found Bokla, so now we just need to find a way out of this place!"

"Wherever that is, we need to find it now." Bokla said, pointing behind him. "Three monstrous Rahi are following us, so we have to go now!"

"Lets check the other large rooms." Optui suggested. "Maybe there is a way out in one of them?"

The roars of the Fog Monsters coming from the hallway behind them silenced any objections to the Steltian's idea. The group bolted in the direction of the next biggest room. They entered it, finding that it was in the same shape as Xukol's room next door. They quickly began searching through the room for a safe exit out of the fortress. They all knew it was a matter of time before the Fog Monsters or Xukol began looking for them, and none of them were in any condition to be in another fight.

"There isn't anything in here that can help us escape." Optui complained after a few minutes of searching. "We're doomed!"

"Keep looking, Steltian!" Vezok snapped at him. "That lift couldn't have been the only way into this fortress. The villagers that built this place must've had another way to get into it!"

The sounds of battle could be heard in the next room. They could hear the roar of the Fog Monsters, the sounds of lightning and shadow blasts hitting walls, and the Makuta taunting the Rahi. They all knew the battle wouldn't last forever. Whoever won the fight would surely come for them next.

"I think I found our way out!" Carvun shouted to the others. The others ran over to him and saw that he was looking out a window pointing outside. This wall of the fortress faced a side of the mountain that wasn't very steep. In fact, its angle looked straight enough for them to dash safely to the ground far below.

"We can easily make it down to the bottom without braking our necks." Carvun explained. "We just have to make sure we don't run too fast."

"Are you sure this is the only way?" Optui asked.

The sound of an explosion came from the room where Makuta Xukol and the Rahi were fighting. Their battle was seconds away from being over.

"This is the only way!" Tolok said to the Steltian. "And we're taking it!"

The combination of Tolok's elemental powers, Vezok's impact vision, and Carvun Tri-Claw brought the wall down in seconds. The group then made their way down the mountain, making sure they didn't move too quickly. After what felt like hours but was actually minutes in really, the group finally reached the bottom. They all collapsed to the ground as soon as they hit it, exhausted from their sprint from the fortress.

"I need a vacation." Vezok gasped weakly.

"You and me both." Carvun agreed.

Tolok, who laying next to Bokla, looked over at his friend. He was happy that the Matoran wasn't dead. He reached into his pack, pulled out Bokla's Ax, and handed it to him.

The Le-Matoran took his weapon, smiling at the Toa. "I'm glad to have this back. I thought I lost it for good."

Tolok didn't respond. After a couple of seconds, Bokla looked over at the Toa of Fire. He was staring at ground, seemingly lost in thought. There was a look in his eyes that Bokla had never seen before. It sent a slight chill down his back.

"Are you okay?" He asked Tolok.

The detracted Toa simply looked over at him. "I don't know."

Carvun looked up and noticed that the twin suns were now setting in the distance. They would be gone in no less than a hour.

"We'd better get back to the Death of Rahi." He said. "As dangerous as this place is in the day, I'd hate to be here at night."

Agreeing with the Nynrah Ghost, the others pulled themselves to their feet and began moving towards the bay that the Death of Rahi was floating in. They were all tired, beaten, and hoping that this was the last true struggle they would face on their voyage. What none of them could predict was that the worst was yet to come.

*****

Using his Kanohi Akaku, Xukol watched Tolok, Bokla, and the others make their way towards their boat. He knew they would make it. After all, he was the only remaining threat on the island. With all the Fog Monsters now nothing more than dead corpses, the beings wouldn't have to worry about them ever again.

Of course, Xukol could've attacked them himself and finished them off just as easily as he did to the Fog Monsters. He could've killed them all in seconds.

But he decided against this action. It didn't matter that the beings were leaving his island alive. He now had something else, something far more important, to do before he killed them.

Even though he didn't get a chance to question the Le-Matoran as to what had brought he and his comrades to his lands, he knew what island they were heading to. Thanks to his quick studying of the invader's tablet, he figured out the exact island that his enemies were going to resume sailing to. He couldn't help but smile at the thought.

His new plan was simple. He would go to this island and search for the answer to his question. Whether it would be treasure or something else, he would find it and then destroy it.

But that wasn't the greatest part of his plan. No, that title belong to the fact that he knew that the Toa, two Matoran, Skakdi, and Steltian would be heading towards that island soon. He knew that they wouldn't turn around and leave his lands. They wouldn't give up now on founding the object of their desires.

"But they won't find what they seek on that island." Makuta Xukol thought darkly. "Instead, they will find me."

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[Toa Smoke Monster]

Chapter Eighteen: Losing It

Carvun steered the Death of Rahi in a northeastern direction. According to Optui, the tablet stated that this direction would take them to a sea route that would lead straight to the island with the treasure. Carvun couldn't help but smile at the thought that, in a few days, his boat would filled to the brim with golden loot.

Two days had passed since the group had escaped from Xukol's island. During this time, there had been no sign of the Makuta, dangerous Rahi, or any other threats that could've bothered them. All disputes between the group had been settled for now. The voyage had become peaceful, which allowed the boat's occupants to recover from their fierce battles days ago. It was as if Mata Nui had decided to give them a much deserved break from the harsh conditions of the Southern Islands, which made everyone happy.

There was one thing, however, that concerned Carvun. The tablet, their map to the treasure, had a couple of cracks on its sides and one long crack down the center of it. It had also become extremely fragile. Some of its corner pieces had already fallen off and turned into dust. The tablet wasn't like this the day before Xukol kidnapped Bokla, so the former Nynrah Ghost speculated that the Makuta must've somehow been responsible for its condition. Did the Makuta use one of his powers on it, or did he just handle it badly? He hadn't the slightest idea.

This worried Carvun and others because if the tablet broke and turned into dust, it would be that much harder to find the island with the treasure. Bokla suggested that they simply have Optui translate the whole thing before it dissolved, but the Steltian refused to do it, saying again that they wouldn't have a use for him afterwards and would dispose of him if he did.

Carvun knew that it was only a matter of time before the tablet broke into pieces on its own. He hoped that they would make to the island before that happened. If they didn't, this whole journey and everything they had been through would've been for nothing.

*****

Bokla stood on the side of the Death of Rahi, watching the waves crash against the side of the vessel. They reminded him of the shoreline on the island that housed Mongo Koro. He missed his friends back home. He wondered how they would react when he told them about this adventure. Like how he and the others had fought against the Steltians, the Zyglak, and a mad Makuta that had kidnapped him. Or how he was working with a deformed Nynrah Ghost and a Dark Hunter.

"I doubt they would believe me." The Matoran thought. "I bet even Turaga Kwiau would have trouble believing some the events that occurred already during this voyage."

The sound of rattling chains made Bokla look over his shoulder. He saw Optui struggling against the chains bound to his hands and legs. The Steltian was not happy to be chained once more to the pole in the center of the boat, and he was making sure everyone knew about it.

"He has to stay locked up."

Bokla turned and saw Vezok approaching him. The Skakdi stopped beside the Le-Matoran, keeping his frightening gaze on Optui.

"He tried to run away from the Makuta when we came to find you and the tablet." Vezok went on. "We can't risk him trying to escape again."

"And why are you telling me this?" Bokla asked the Dark Hunter.

The Skakdi shrugged. "I don't want you getting any ideas about freeing him. We need him to translate the tablet, after all."

"Oh." Bokla said. "I thought you just being friendly."

"Me? Being friendly? HA!" Vezok laughed as he began to walk away.

"Well, if that's not the case, why did you save me?" Bokla said in a confronting tone.

Vezok turned back to the Matoran. "What do you mean?"

"Back on that Makuta's island." Bokla explained. "You know, when you fired your harpoon at that fog-covered Rahi and save me from it. Why did you do that?"

"I wasn't 'saving' you, Matoran." Vezok protested. "You just happened to be in the way."

"And after that, you told me to get away from it." Bokla went on. "Sounds like you wanted me to live, which is weird for you. Especially since you think I'm useless to the group."

Vezok walked right up to Bokla and brought his face only inches away from the Matoran's mask. Before Bokla could even think about backing away, the Skakdi grabbed him by the arm.

"You're an anchor." Vezok whispered to him.

"What are you...?" Bokla began to say.

"Listen." Vezok interrupted. "Carvun told me shortly after we left Stelt that the Toa was banished from his village, and that he needs to find the treasure to get back into his village."

"And how does that make me an anchor?" Bokla asked sarcastically.

Vezok eyes narrowed. "I've come to believe that your Toa friend is going mad, Matoran."

Bokla barely kept himself from bursting out into laughter. "Where in Mata Nui's name did you come up with that theory?"

"Listen, Matoran." Vezok growled. "Before I became a Dark Hunter, I lived on Zakaz, along with all the other Skakdi in the universe. All of us, myself included, have been lost to madness in one way or another. I can tell when someone is going mad because I watched all my brethren lose themselves into it. All I have to do is look into their eyes to tell."

The Dark Hunter put his hand on Bokla's shoulder. "The same madness that I saw in them I now see forming in the Toa's eyes. That is why I saved you, because you are the only thing that is keeping him from completely losing it. You are his 'anchor' to sanity. Your presence is what has kept him from becoming like that Makuta."

Bokla pushed the Skakdi's hand off his shoulder. "I don't believe you. I don't care what you see in his eyes. Tolok is not going mad."

"Think about it." Vezok went on. "He agreed to come here, to the Southern Islands, the most dangerous place in the known universe, just so he can get back into his precious village. Not only that, he agreed to work with me, a Dark Hunter, and allow Optui to be chained up like a criminal. What sane Toa would do all these things just to get back into his village?"

"None of those actions mean that Tolok is going mad." Bokla said angrily. "He simply does what he has to do to get the job required of him done."

"And that just might turn him into our worst enemy." Vezok said heavily as he walked away from the Matoran.

*****

Tolok sat at the back of the boat, in the same place where he and Bokla had started their argument right after leaving Stelt. If anyone had been watching him, they would've thought he was staring out into the sea, looking for Rahi or possibly other boats. Though he hadn't spoken very much since he and the others had rescued Bokla, he still looked rather peaceful.

But the thoughts running through his head were anything but peaceful.

He thought about Turaga Kwiau, and how he had unjustly banished Tolok from Mongo Koro. Tolok knew he had done nothing wrong. No one had died. Turaga Kwiau had to have a reason for his actions. Tolok recalled what Kwiau had said on that day.

"I'm saving this village from something worse than them, Tolok. I'm saving it from you."

"But why was he saving it from me?" Tolok thought. "I'm no threat to them. Why would I even hurt anyone there?"

Tolok clenched his fist in anger. Kwiau was a moron. After all, another enemy would surely come to threaten Mongo Koro's safely. The other Toa there wouldn't be able to stop it. His dreams had shown him that.

He also thought about Lesovikk, and how he had become a wonderer. Tolok didn't know why Lesovikk wasn't living in a village and defending it. He must have done something bad, or at least, other beings thought he had done something bad. Tolok wondered how that Toa of Air could even live with himself. It had to be hard for him to live on with his life without a title to defend.

Tolok just couldn't see himself living as a wonderer, an outcast, or a banished Toa. He needed to get the Staff of the Great Beings and return to Mongo Koro to redeem his own title. He had to.

It was at this point that another statement from Turaga Kwiau entered his mind.

"Aside from Bokla, all the Matoran in the village have complained to me about your actions. They are tired of your 'help' and have started to hate you greatly."

Tolok eyes narrowed. Did the residents of Mongo Koro even want Tolok to come back? They didn't look too happy with him on his last day in the village, despite the fact that he had saved them from harm the day before.

"Was Kwiau right? Do they really hate me?" Tolok thought sadly.

Makuta Xukol's words from a few days ago then sprang into his thoughts.

"Your village won't take you back, Tolok. No matter what you do for them, no matter how many times you save them from threats and whatnot."

Tolok shook his head, trying to get the Makuta's words out of his head. But they just wouldn't go away.

"You think that your village 'needs' you to survive. Without you, their doomed. Well, let me tell you this. They don't need you. No one needs you. In fact, no one needs anyone."

"That is a lie!" Tolok thought darkly as he rose to his feet. "Kwiau and Xukol are wrong! I am needed in Mongo Koro! Without me, it is destined to be destroyed! My dreams have taught me..."

It was at that moment that it all made sense. The horrible feeling that had been growing inside of him since his last day in Mongo Koro. All the nightmares that he had been having since starting this voyage. It all came together for him, as if it had just clicked in his mind.

In all of his nightmares, Mongo Koro had somehow been destroyed. In each dream, it had been in a different way, and Tolok was the only Toa left to save the village. But just as he tried to do his job, an obstacle appeared that stopped them entirely from saving the village. He had no idea what any of this meant before.

"But I do now." Tolok thought happily. "They can't be 'nightmares.' They must be visions given to me by the Great Spirit Mata Nui! He must be trying to tell me that since I'm not in the village, it will not survive the next attack it gets from an enemy. Also, I have that horrible feeling inside me because I'm being forced to not do the job he gave me. And Turaga Kwiau is the 'obstacle' preventing me from saving the village!"

Tolok looked joyfully up into the sky. He vowed that he wouldn't become like Lesovikk. He wouldn't have the term 'Toa' ripped out of his name. He would not have his name cursed for years to come! He wouldn't become an outcast! He would find the Staff of the Great Beings and return to Mongo Koro. He would throw Kwiau out of power and resume his job as the Toa of Mongo Koro. It didn't matter if the villagers hated him or not. They needed him, and that outweighed any feelings they might've had towards him.

"That Matoran in my dream was right." Tolok thought. "Toa don't make excuses. I can't use the excuse of the villagers hating me to not go back to Mongo Koro and do my job. My right is to use my name, my title, to defend the innocent, and I will do just that. And no Makuta, Zyglak, Rahi, or even the Great Spirit himself, is going stop me!"

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