Lewa Defies Gravity Options

[GaliGee]

Thanks, dhik nuva!

Lewa Defies Gravity

Chapter 1: Lewa Crawls

The tall green being held the mask at arm’s length and studied its smooth curves. “I’m going to be wearing a big metal grin, all the time,” he laughed. The echoes of his own laughter off the canopy of trees surprised him, and he looked around until the ringing had died down. He liked the sound.

He fitted the mask to his face. He stretched his arms high above his head, then flexed his legs and jumped. But instead of falling back to the ground, he hovered above it. He removed the mask, and he dropped back onto the sand. Without it, he felt strange, incomplete, and vaguely dizzy. He quickly put it back on. By the force of his will, he realized, he was able to activate and de-activate it, so that he could hover and float in the air. As he levitated, he twisted around and looked at the empty canister from which his parts had just tumbled. He gazed out over the expanse of blue ocean, and then back at the jungle that crowded close to the water’s edge. He dropped back to the ground and picked up the green axe that had been in the canister with him and apparently belonged to him.

The creature walked to the water, leaned over, and put his hand in it. It was heavy and wet. He walked into the surf up to his knees, and then he dove in. Immediately he popped back up, spluttering. “Well, this choice is going to be easy,” he coughed distastefully. He leaped out of the water, shaking himself off, and jumped across the narrow strip of beach into the jungle.

He stood at the base of the trees and looked up. “That’s where I belong,” he smiled to himself. He hefted the axe in his hand and tried the blade on a branch. It sliced cleanly through the wood. “Yes, I’m built for this.” He reached for a vine that hung next to him, and he swung himself up into the tree and sat, looking around. Birds were chirping and insects buzzing everywhere. He heard larger creatures rustling in the underbrush below. The sounds blended into a pleasant harmony of cheerful activity. The sunlight filtered down through the treetops, and beautiful, brightly colored flowers stood out against the rich green of the leaves. He sighed and smelled the scents of ripe fruit and moist earth. “Paradise.” He listened to an orange and silver bird singing in the next tree, and he found himself mimicking its tune. The bird stopped and looked at him, then whistled back. He replied with a similar sound, and then laughed as the creature hopped up and down on the branch. “Maybe I offended it,” he chuckled.

But the green being wasn’t still for long. He put his axe on his back and gripped another vine. Soon he had figured out how to use the vines to travel through the treetops. He found he was able to turn flips in the air before grabbing the next vine. Thrilled with his discovery, he tried more and more challenging acrobatic tricks—forward and back flips, double flips, even a triple flip after a few tries. Gaining in confidence, and reassured by the levitation power of his mask, he moved faster and faster inland. He came to a wide, shallow river, and he cut down several trees with his axe. He used the trunks to form bridges between the scattered boulders in the current. He walked across to the other side, balancing carefully so he wouldn’t get wet. Soon he was swinging over a swamp, its murky water bubbling with strange life forms. And then he was back in the dense forest again.

After a while he stopped to rest and look around. A large bird shrieked as it flew overhead. He admired the way it rode on the wind currents, then flapped to accelerate and turn. “Ah,” he sighed. “To have that power...”

His daydream of flight was interrupted by a buzzing noise. He turned his head to see a huge insect swooping toward him. “Another way to fly,” he smiled. “Not as pretty to watch, but--” Suddenly he realized the creature was not going to stop. He stood to leap onto a lower branch, but it was too late. The insect hit him squarely in the back, and he fell from his perch in the tree. Desperately, he grasped at the foliage, but it was his mask power that kept him from slamming into the ground. He landed gently on his feet. Breathless, he stood and looked up through the trees at the creature as its drone faded into the distance.

Vague fragments of a dream began to come to the forefront of his consciousness. “There are evil things in this place,” he frowned. “I think I’m supposed to fight them.” He studied his axe. It looked like it would serve as a weapon as well as a tool. He swung it hard through the air, and was surprised to see how the plants in front of it were blown flat, as by a strong wind. He tried it again. “I AM creating a wind!” he grinned. He directed a blast of air at a melon hanging from a vine above, and it fell from the stem and split open on the forest floor. Then he used all his strength to send the air into a spin. The powerful vortex ripped trees from their roots and sent leaves and branches flying in all directions. He crouched behind a boulder to avoid the swirling debris. Animals scattered, and after the wreckage stopped falling, the jungle was silent for a moment. The green creature laughed with joy. “I control the wind!” he shouted, turning a back flip.

A movement in the bushes startled him, and he spun to see a huge animal with large jaws lunging at him. He gripped his axe tightly and struck the side of the beast’s head. It roared and backed up, then snapped at him again. He leaped backwards to dodge its teeth. Then he blew a blast of air at it. It shook its head, momentarily confused, but as the green being danced around it, it followed him with its gaze. He did a flip over the animal, not realizing how far it could extend its neck—and it caught him.

He yelled with pain as the creature squeezed his ribs with its powerful jaws. Twisting around, he hit the animal’s eye with his axe, and it dropped him. He immediately scrambled to the top of a tall tree. The beast stretched its claws up the trunk and shook the tree, but the green being clung tightly to the branches. He directed a gust of wind at it, and it winced and recoiled. Finally it growled and turned away, lumbering into the forest. “I think I’m safer up here,” he said to himself. “I’ll just have to watch out for those big bugs.”

In the distance, he saw a great white peak on the left, glittering with snow, and a massive rocky mountain on the right, with dark smoke rising from its summit. He planned to explore them both later, but for now he stayed in the trees, moving between the two peaks. When the vegetative cover thinned, he walked over the rocky pass, but soon he was relieved to be back in the trees on the other side. He heard the rushing sound of a river. He followed it downstream, sometimes moving up the bank out of sight of the channel but staying within earshot of the flowing water, until he reached a wide delta, and the tree cover thinned out. And then he sat to rest for a moment. He looked out over the sea, remembering more of his dreams. “I think I’m on an island, and I’ve just crossed it.”

Something just under the surface of the bay caught his eye. It was a more intense shade of blue than the water, and it was swimming rapidly toward the shore. He could just make out a form like his own. “Another creature like me!” he smiled. “I wonder if it’s friendly.” He dropped to a lower branch and waited for it to come out of the water.

It crawled out and stood up, and the green being caught his breath. Water ran down its dark and light blue body, shorter and slimmer than his. Its hands were shaped like hooks, and its mask covered its face entirely, but the part in front of the eyes was translucent. When it turned its face toward him, he saw its gold eyes scanning him.

“Hello!” he called. The blue creature jumped at the sound.

“Hello,” it answered. “Who are you?” Its voice was high and melodious, as fluid as its movements. He decided the blue creature must be female.

“Good question,” he replied. “But you seem to be the same sort of thing as I am. Do you have a name?” He dropped lightly to the ground and slowly approached her. She seemed wary, standing her ground a dozen paces away with her knees bent and hooks forward. Then she smiled.

“If I do, I don’t know what it is. Do you like to swim?”

“No way!” he laughed. “But I can tell you do.”

“I love it,” she agreed. “What do you like to do?”

“This!” He jumped and hovered in the air, then caught a vine with his hand. He swung himself back into the tree.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“Again, a good question,” he shrugged. “I think it has something to do with these vicious animals I keep running into. And I feel like I’m supposed to protect someone.” Since she seemed more fragile than he was, he added, “Maybe it’s you.”

“I know what you mean,” she replied. “I’ve run into a really ferocious sea monster, too. But I think we are supposed to be protecting someone smaller and less powerful. Water people. I had a dream about some water people who were in trouble.”

“Really,” he said, leaning forward as forgotten images flooded his mind. “I had dreams of little people living in trees, being dive-bombed by giant insects.” He smiled as he realized she would probably be an ally in this fight against evil. He already liked being around her. Patting the branch next to him, he suggested, “But why don’t you come up here with me, so I can hear you better?”

She looked up, flexed her legs, and jumped. She flew into the air and flipped backwards. He grabbed her hook as she passed the branch and pulled her onto it.

“Thanks,” she said cautiously, looking at his eyes. “So water is my element, and air must be yours.”

“She’s agile, and she’s smart,” he grinned to himself. Aloud, he answered, “Yes. But you’re pretty good in the air, too.”

“I didn’t know I could do that,” she laughed. “What else can you teach me?”

“Follow me,” he invited her, leaping down to a lower branch. “Hold onto this vine.”

He showed her how to use the jungle vines to travel high in the treetops. At first she was hesitant and careful, but she learned quickly. He used his axe to chop though brush and vines as he went, so her path was clear. His heart was light as he led the way through the beautiful forest with this lovely creature following him. He wondered what she was capable of doing with her element. Soon he was lost in a daydream, and they were standing together, fending off attacks from snarling beasts with blasts of air and water.

He heard a little cry and snapped his head around to see her falling. “She must have slipped!” he thought with alarm. He swung under her, catching her by the waist, and carried her to a fork in a tree. For a moment she was sitting in his lap, her arms around his neck, looking at him. His eyes widened as he inhaled her breath, like a fresh breeze off the sea. He started to pull her closer, but she quickly let go and scrambled backwards to a branch higher in the tree.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Are you all right?”

“Sure,” she replied. “Thanks for catching me. I just felt--funny for a moment.”

“Me, too.” He added to himself, “But not in a bad way.” He realized with disappointment that being so close to him had made her uncomfortable. But maybe she was just being cautious. After all, they had just met each other, and perhaps she didn’t fully trust him yet.

After a few minutes of uneasy silence, he spoke again. “So, in my dream there were more beings like us. Do you think we should try to find them?”

She nodded. “We need to find someone to explain things to us. I don’t like this not knowing.”

He gestured toward the snow-capped peak in the distance. “Let’s go to that mountain. From there we may be able to see if there are others.”

“That sounds like a good idea. You lead the way.”

He grinned as he stood up. “Be careful, now, or I’ll have to catch you again.”

“I can think of worse things,” she laughed. “Like falling!”

He glanced back at her before he swung off the branch. “I hope the others are like her!” he thought. “Facing evil creatures won’t be so bad with friends like this.” They glided under the tree canopy in silence. “Did you come out of a big canister, too?” he asked after a while.

“Yes, I did. Apparently it fell into the sea and washed up on shore. It burst open, and my parts flew out onto the beach.”

“Me, too. And then I put myself together. So, what kind of things can you do with your water powers?”

“I can draw water from the air and shoot it at things,” she replied, slightly out of breath behind him. “I can control waves, too. And I suspect I can summon rainstorms.”

“Really? I can call up the wind. I wonder what kind of weather we could make if we combined our powers!”

“Let’s try it,” she suggested.

He stopped on a high branch and waited for her to catch up. “I’ll start a whirlwind, and you add some rain, all right?”

She nodded and watched as he waved his axe. The forest creatures fell silent as a strong wind began to pick up. Leaves and dirt were swept up as the roar grew louder. She raised her hooks. Dark thunderclouds massed, and a bolt of lightning darted from the sky. Then sheets of rain fell, soaking the top layer of foliage. The heavy drops made their way through the canopy and fell to the forest floor. “Wow! That’s amazing!” she exclaimed over the noise.

“It is! But I’m getting wet,” he protested. He held up his axe and the wind stopped.

She looked at him sideways through the rain. “You don’t like water?”

“No! I think that’s enough now!”

A sly grin spread across her face as she shot a splash of water at him. Then she waved her hook, and the rain stopped. “Shall we go now?” she asked sweetly.

“Let’s go,” he agreed. He launched into a flip and landed behind her, making her laugh. They set off for the white mountain again. Finally, they arrived in the foothills, and the landscape changed from jungle to conifers. They dropped to the ground and hiked up the side of the peak. Above the treeline, the air became thin and chilly. They sat down to rest on an icy bluff and looked around. They could see the whole island--its golden deserts, frosty glaciers, lush jungles, glowing lava flows, rocky cliffs--and the sparkling sea all around.

“Look,” she said, pointing. “There’s a red creature like us!”

He squinted at the distant dot and made out a walking figure. “So that makes three. I seem to remember that there were supposed to be six of us,” he remarked. Soon the red being had climbed up to the ledge, and they stood to meet him. He was holding a sword whose blade looked like twisted flames. He looked at the blue one and said, “You are Gali.”

“Ah, thank you,” she replied simply. She smiled at the green creature. “So that’s my name. Gali.” But the red one continued to watch her. She glanced at him again and stepped back, away from the waves of heat rising from his body. “Your element must be fire.”

“Yes,” he replied, lowering his temperature. “My name is Tahu.”

“Who am I?” asked the green being, slightly annoyed at being ignored.

The ground began to shake. Chunks of soil burst from the ground next to him, and a hunched black creature with clawed hands emerged from the hole. The newcomer blew dust out of the holes in his mask and brushed the dirt off his bulky arms.

The sound of footsteps made them all look up, and they saw a white individual standing on the crag above them. He was holding a sword and shield. “You are Lewa, Toa of Air,” he answered. “My Turaga told me about all of you. The people here have been expecting us.” He alighted on a rock next to the others. He was followed by a brown Toa with powerful-looking legs and feet, who landed with a thud that shook the mountain and sent masses of snow sliding downhill.

The white Toa pointed his blade at the moving snow, and it froze in place. “I am Kopaka, Toa of Ice. This is Pohatu, Toa of Stone.” Pointing at the black Toa, he continued, “And you must be Onua, Toa of Earth.”

“I am Tahu, Toa of Fire,” added Tahu quickly. “And this is Gali, Toa of Water.”

“Pleased to meet you,” said Pohatu. The other Toa nodded their greetings. Lewa repeated the names to himself. The elements were easy enough to remember, as they corresponded well to the Toa’s colors. But what was a Turaga? And how did the people know to expect them? And why was Gali the only female? Lewa’s head was full of questions.

Tahu took a deep breath. “We are as yet strangers to one another. But we know that we share an important destiny, protecting this island and its people. I have had a glimpse of what our enemy can do, and it will be a challenging task. I see that we are well equipped for it.”

“Who is this enemy?” asked Lewa.

“Our enemy is the powerful evil spirit Makuta,” replied Tahu. “He has intimidated the people by fitting infected masks to the wild beasts of the island, so that they will attack the villages.”

Suddenly Lewa understood the behavior of the huge insect, and the large creature that had treed him. He remembered seeing masks that seemed foul and pitted. “They must have been under Makuta’s influence!” he thought.

“Defeating him will not be easy,” remarked Kopaka. “Like us, he controls the elements, as well as the infection that turns the animals against us. We must collect the Great Masks of Power before we can confront him.”

Tahu glanced at Kopaka and continued. “These Kanohi, which resemble those we all have, are scattered across Mata Nui. Each one gives the wearer a new power. The Turaga know many of their locations, but we will have to hunt for others.”

“When you find a mask, place it over your original one,” explained Kopaka. “The masks will merge. And then you can switch at will from one to the other. Like this.” Kopaka’s mask changed shape, turning into a white version of Tahu’s mask. Then Kopaka changed back to his first mask.

“And when you find one, a replica of the new mask will appear on your Suva, in your village, where you will go to receive your Golden Kanohi when you have all six,” finished Tahu.

“The Turaga must be the leaders of the people,” Lewa concluded. “But Great Masks of Power? Suva? Golden Kanohi?” His head was spinning with all this strange, though vaguely familiar, information.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one. Gali spoke hesitatingly. “And then… we will be ready to fight this Makuta?”

Onua nodded. “And then we will fight Makuta. What are the powers of your masks? Mine, the Pakari, is the Great Mask of Strength.”

Finally Lewa knew the answer to something. “Mine lets me levitate,” he said proudly, lifting himself about a bio off the ground.

“It’s called the Miru, Lewa,” said Tahu. Lewa groaned to himself at Tahu’s display of knowledge as the red Toa continued. “Mine is the Hau, the mask of Shielding. But you have to see the attack coming.”

“Perhaps you can use mine to help with that,” said Kopaka. “The Akaku, which gives the power to see through solid objects.”

Pohatu pointed to his mask. “The Kakama is the Great Mask of Speed.”

“And mine?” Gali asked, looking around. Lewa wished he knew, but naturally Tahu did. “Yours is the Kaukau. It allows you to breathe underwater.”

“Oh, that would explain--” Gali smiled shyly. “I see.”

Tahu finally took his eyes off her and summarized their mission. “So, we must find these masks, while defending our villagers and learning as much as we can to prepare for our battle with Makuta. There are also six Noble Masks, like the Turaga wear, which have useful powers as well. Shall we meet again after we have each found a few?”

“I’d really rather work alone,” said Kopaka. “I say we meet again after we find them all.” Lewa nodded in agreement.

Onua shook his head. “I have a feeling we’ll need to work together sometimes, and keep an eye on each other. But I think we can start off by returning to our villages, and using the knowledge of our Turaga to find as many Kanohi as we can.”

Lewa put his hand on Gali’s shoulder. “If you find any masks up high, I can get them for you, until you get your Miru,” he offered. “And if I find any underwater, you know I’ll call on you to--” Lewa glanced at Tahu and stopped. Once again, the Toa of Fire was heating up. Lewa took his hand off Gali and backed up a step. “On second thought,” he continued, looking warily at Tahu, “maybe I’ll just learn to swim.”

Pohatu spoke, relieving the tension. “If we need to meet, I can act as a messenger,” he volunteered. “I can cross the island in the time it takes a stone to hit the bottom of this canyon.” He kicked a small rock off the edge of the cliff.

“Then we’ll get together again whenever we have something to communicate to the others,” concluded Tahu. “Until then, may the Great Beings protect you all. And best of luck on your quest for the Kanohi.”

The others nodded, and the meeting broke up. Lewa was looking forward to getting back to the jungle, away from the others. “I won’t mind working with Gali,” he thought, “but I’m not sure I’ll get to very much, with that fiery fellow acting the way he does.”

Onua walked up to Lewa as the others headed for their villages. “You haven’t met your Turaga or villagers yet, have you?”

“Well, no,” replied the Toa of Air, looking down at the black Toa.

“If you have any questions, I’d be happy to help,” Onua went on.

“Actually, I do,” said Lewa. “Where is my village?”

“In the treetops, near Lake Kanae. If you head straight south, you should run into it. You might also follow any Matorans you see riding birds. They will be returning there.”

“In the treetops? Riding birds? This village sounds interesting.”

“Just like mine is to me, with its tunnels and mines,” smiled Onua.

Lewa imagined being underground and frowned. “I suppose it must be,” he shrugged. “Well, thanks, and good luck.”

“You, too.” Onua dove back into the hole from which he had emerged.

“He’s nice enough, I suppose,” thought Lewa. “But that’s all the help I’ll need. It sounds like we each have our own territory to protect, anyway. I’m going to go meet these tree people.”

He watched Gali climb down the cliff face with her hooks. She was heading toward the sea, probably to swim to her village. As soon as he saw that Tahu had disappeared into the pine forest, Lewa decided to follow Gali and make sure she made it safely to the shore. He caught up with her as she swung through the last trees before the beach, smiling with pride that he had taught her well.

But when she dropped from a vine into an estuary to swim to her new home, the waters began to bubble. Her eyes widened with alarm as she was pulled downward. Lewa swooped after her and grabbed her hooks, lifting her into a tree.

“Now you see why I hate water. You should be more careful, Gali,” he advised. “Next time, I might not be here to save you.”

“Thank you, Lewa, but I can look after myself. The waters are normally my ally. But these… these seem so… strange, so angry.”

Lewa laughed. “Water can’t be angry. It can’t be anything but wet. I’ll stay in the treetops, well away from it.”

“Without water, there would be no trees,” Gali retorted. “Where are you going?”

“Up. So what do you think of the other Toa?”

“They are very noble and powerful,” she replied. “I regret that we will all be traveling our own paths, rather than working together.”

Lewa shook his head. “I don’t. I’m going to find the six Kanohi masks of power, as the legends say, and free this island from Makuta. The last thing I want is someone else slowing me down.”

Gali smiled. “Your dreams are as grand as these trees, Lewa. I hope they do not come crashing down around you.” But the Toa of Air had already sailed away into the green shadows.

After traveling through the woods for a while, Lewa arrived at a large body of still water and stopped. “This must be the lake Onua was talking about,” he thought. Then he saw a strange sight. A huge black and purple bird was gliding through the air, and mounted on its back was a small creature with a turquoise Miru. He watched the bird circle and land in a tree near the lakeshore a few hundred bios away. He sprang up from his perch and followed. Soon he saw a wooden platform in a treetop, with a string of multicolored flags waving in the breeze and several huts woven of plant fibers. More birds were lined up, surrounded by other mask-wearing bipedal creatures like the first rider. “My village!” cried Lewa joyfully. He swung himself onto the platform, landing gently with the help of his Kanohi.

The villagers swarmed around their Toa. They were about waist-high to him, and they were all various shades of green, many of them wearing masks that resembled those of the other Toa. “Toa Lewa is here!” they cried joyfully. He looked around and saw a ladder leading down to another, larger platform. More Matorans were scrambling from their huts, many carrying strange objects. They began to blow into or pound on these objects. The sweet melodies carried upward, and Lewa found himself smiling at the music. “Hello, everyone. I can tell this is going to be a great place to live!” he beamed.

The excited villagers led him down the ladder, where he saw a different-looking creature. He was slightly taller than the others, with a rounded yellow-green mask that had a square mouth. He carried a staff that had a saw-like blade, and he seemed to have an air of authority about him. “That must be the Turaga,” thought Lewa. Then a second, identical being stepped out from behind the first.

Lewa was puzzled. “Am I the only Toa whose village has two Turaga?” he asked. He reached out to the first one, and his hand passed through him. The Turaga shimmered and vanished. The remaining Turaga tipped his head back and laughed. He was joined by the villagers.

Lewa grinned and rolled his eyes. “Oh, that was funny.” He was glad his people had a sense of humor.

“Welcome to your highbranch home, Toa Lewa. I am Matau, Turaga of Le-Koro,” said the illusionist warmly, taking Lewa’s hand. “In this darktime, we have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

“Well, I’m glad to be here,” replied Lewa, slightly amused at his strange speech. “I guess you are going to tell me all about these prophecies and so on?”

“Of course. But perhaps you would like a walktour of our treebright village first. Kongu, would you please show Toa Lewa the ropes?”

“With great pleasure, Turaga,” said the Matoran with the Miru that Lewa had seen riding the bird.

“Kongu stands at my right hand,” explained the village elder. He pointed to a second Matoran in a yellow-green mask that had just jumped onto the platform from a pod-shaped elevator. “And Tamaru, who just came uptree, is at my left. When he’s not deepwood pretending to make maps.” He poked Tamaru in the ribs, and the villager squirmed away, laughing.

Kongu stepped forward. “You’ve seen the birdlaunch pad,” he said, gesturing at the upper platform. “That’s where we prepare for battleflight against the Nui-Rama.”

“Nui what?” asked Lewa.

“Nui-Rama, the highflying Rahi that buzzbomb our village, and smash our huts.”

“Oh, I think I ran into one of those earlier today,” remarked the Toa. “So, you fight those things on birdback?”

“Yes, we windride on the tamed Kahu and Kewa. The second sits behind the pilot and thows discs at them to knock off their infected Kanohi.”

“That sounds really fun,” remarked Lewa.

“It would be, except that the foulslime beasts are trying to kill us,” shrugged Matau, turning toward his hut.

Lewa followed Kongu all over the various platforms that made up the village. A group of Le-Koronans trailed behind them, chatting eagerly. All of the wooden platforms were anchored firmly to branches of the same giant tree. Different areas were reserved for cooking, wood carving, and music performance, and there were several clusters of huts for the villagers. Several huge huts housed the tamed birds. One platform held a large dome-shaped object. “That’s your Suva,” said Kongu, pointing. “Your Kanohi will be safestored there when you collect them.”

They returned to the main platform. The musicians stopped playing. Tamaru put down his mallets and stepped up to Lewa. Rapid words tumbled out of his mouth. “Would you like an instrument, Toa Lewa? We will carve anything you like. A flute, or a drum, or a xylophone, a lute... just name it!”

“Well, thanks,” replied Lewa slowly, “but I don’t know how to play anything.”

“We’d be happy to show you,” replied another musician. “Here’s a flute. Just blow into one end, and cover the holes to make different notes.”

Lewa took the wooden tube the Matoran was extending to him and blew into it. A low, beautiful, haunting sound came out. He put his fingers over the holes and blew again, making a higher note. Then he tried a few combinations. Soon he was playing a simple tune. The flute player pulled out another flute and piped in harmony. Another band member started tapping his foot. He added a drumbeat. Tamaru echoed the theme on his xylophone, and another began to strum a stringed instrument. The forest rang with the sounds, and the rest of the village gathered around to listen and dance.

Finally the musicians finished their song with a flourish, and the crowd clapped. Matau walked up to Lewa. “You are an everquick learner, Toa Lewa. That was fine fluteplaying indeed, even for an manyseason musician!”

Lewa laughed. “I don’t know what I did. The music just seemed to be in there, waiting to come out. All I did was open a path for it.”

“That’s how a trueheart musician does it,” remarked Tamaru.

Lewa handed the flute back to the villager who had given it to him. “Oh, no, please” replied the Le-Koronan, “I would be honored if you kept it! I hope we can play together again!”

“Thank you--what was your name?”

“Noli,” replied the flute player.

“Thanks, Noli, I hope so, too,” smiled Lewa.

Lewa spent the rest of the day learning about his new home. He visited the gardens, where the Le-Koronans gathered food and fiber for their daily needs. He learned of the plants, some bursting with healing juices and others with poison. He learned of the animals, some friendly and amusing, others vicious and deadly. He learned above all that to survive in Le-Wahi meant to be on one’s toes, that even while laughing one had to be alert for danger. Tamaru took him for a vine-swinging tour, explaining how to navigate in the woods. And after an evening of storytelling around the village fire, where the Turaga recounted the legend of Mata Nui, Lewa was tired indeed. He welcomed the peaceful oblivion of sleep.



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This post has been edited by GaliGee: Jun 23 2003, 11:45 AM

[GaliGee]

Chapter 2: Lewa Walks

The next morning, Lewa rose early. He was determined to be the first Toa to find all his Kanohi. "I'll go confront that evil spirit and free the island," he thought. "Then I can get back to exploring Mata Nui, and playing music with the villagers. It's really going to be great here when those infected animals are gone!"

Before Lewa left the village, he stopped by the Turaga's hut to ask for directions to the masks. Matau spent a few minutes expaining the location of his Hau. "Why didn't you just bring it back here, since you know where it is?" asked Lewa.

"Oh," smiled Matau, "I'm not sure it would be wise. The Great Masks are too powerladen for us to handle. And besides-well, you'll see when you huntfind them. They are in very hardreach locations."

"I see," said Lewa. "Well, I'm off, then." He set out to seek his Kanohi, humming to himself as he swung into the jungle. "Down the broadriver…across the bogswamp…" He turned Matau's directions into a song to make them easier to remember.

Soon he arrived at the the Fau Swamp. "Matau said it was inside the 'hollowcore bigtrunk'," mused Lewa as he hovered. "Maybe he means that big hollow log down there." He dropped into the muck. "Yecch!" He picked his way among the reeds toward the hollow log, his legs heavy with mud. "What's so hard to reach about this? Other than the fact that it's really slimy down here--"

Lewa felt something hit him in the back, and he sprawled forward onto the log. He turned his head to see a tall blue creature with powerful fists, poised to strike again. He rolled to the right as the Tarakava pounded the log. The wood splintered apart under the force of the blow. Lewa saw the edge of a gray mask inside. He groped for the Kanohi with his left hand, but the creature locked its jaws around his hand and rose to its full height, picking him up by the arm. Lewa swung his axe at its face and the Rahi let go, dropping him into the mud.

Spraying slime in all directions, the creature spun on its tracks. Lewa summoned all his strength to pull himself free of the mire and dive onto the log. He reached inside, grabbed the gray Kanohi, and slapped it over his Miru. "Tahu had better be right!" he thought grimly. Sitting up to face the enraged animal, he felt a strange vibration in his mask as the fist flew at him again. But it bounced away, blocked by the invisible shimmering shield formed by the Hau.

Lewa cringed instinctively as the monstrous beast tried to strike him again, but the defensive shield protected him well. The Tarakava finally turned away in frustration. Lewa lay on the log, panting. "Good thing it was the Hau. If it had been an Akaku… or a Kaukau…" He slowly stood and looked down at himself. His back ached, and he was covered from head to toe with malodorous slime. He lifted one foot from the sucking mud and took a step. "I guess this mask quest is going to be harder than I thought."

Lewa slogged toward the nearest tree and hauled himself wearily into the branches. The smell of the muck was really bothering him. As much as he hated to get wet, he realized the only way to be clean again was to immerse himself in water. He swung himself through the trees over the swamp, finally arriving at the wide, slow river. He took a deep breath and dropped in. The Toa of Air swam vigorously for a few minutes to loosen all the mud, and then he staggered out onto the bank.

A brief rest in the sunshine in the upper branches of a tall tree, with the help of the breeze he summoned, left Lewa dry and happy again. He switched from the Hau to the Miru and back, enjoying the sensation of the changing power on his face. "These masks are fantastic! I can't wait to get the Kakama… that one is really going to be great." He sailed back to his village and landed lightly on the birdlaunch platform, where Kongu was feeding his Kahu.

The Matoran ran over to Lewa. "Happy homereturn, Toa Lewa!"

"Thanks, Kongu. Look at this!" Lewa changed his mask to the Hau.

Kongu gasped. "You can facechange!"

Lewa laughed. "And it works, too. I just repelled an attack by a Tarakava. The rotten beast got me all muddy, though."

Matau climbed slowly up to the platform. "I saw the Hau appear on your Suva, Toa Lewa. Good searchfinding!"

The Toa of Air smiled. "Only four more to go, and then I can go beat Makuta."

"It may not be as quickeasy as that," chuckled the Turaga.

"Yes, I see why you haven't been getting the masks yourselves," nodded Lewa. "So, Kongu, do you suppose this bird could carry me?"

"Of course it can! My Kahu is the strongest windflyer in the jungle! Would you like a ride?"

"I sure would," replied Lewa. "That is, if you don't mind."

Kongu patted the bird's head, then jumped onto its back. He pointed to the spot behind him. "Come on up!"

Lewa leaped up and floated down onto the Kahu's back. He grinned in anticipation of his first flight. "Ready."

Kongu chirped a signal to his bird, and the great beast spread its wings. Green light appeared underneath as the creature powered up. Then it sprang off the platform and soared into the air. Lewa leaned his head back and laughed as he felt the wind against his face.

Kongu's control of the creature was amazing. They functioned almost as one being, a blend of strength and agility that swerved, looped, and dove, now banking into steep turns, now leveling out to skim the treetops. Lewa looked down, breathless with exhilaration. He watched the terrain change to conifer forest and then to brilliant, sparkling white glaciers as they sailed over the great Mount Ihu, then to rocky foothills and desert with stark cliffs. They swung out over the string of stony islets at the very northern tip of Mata Nui, then glided over the sheltered bay where Gali's floating village was anchored to the sea floor. Then the Kahu was flapping anxiously over the hot, fuming crater of the Mangai volcano, and finally they reached the temperate humidity of the jungle again as Kongu finished the tour of the island. It seemed to be hours later when the exhausted bird flopped itself onto the platform again.

Lewa jumped off and put his hand on Kongu's shoulder. "Thank you so much! That was outstanding!" Kongu nodded briefly to him, but he was focused on his animal. He brought it water and grain, and stroked the side of its neck, making strange warbling sounds. The Kahu nuzzled his mask, ate some feed, and then crawled into its hut for some rest.

"Sorry, Toa Lewa, I had to give him some restcare to reward him for his hard flywork," apologized the Matoran.

"No problem, I understand," smiled Lewa. "That was quite a long flight!"

"Yes, it was. And we were lucky we weren't divebombed by Rama." Kongu pointed to a tall earthen spire through the trees. "They have been less oftencoming lately. Sometimes they lay low for a while, but the buzzflying attacks always start up again."

Lewa looked at the giant pillar of hardened mud in the distance, which Matau had shown him the day before. He remembered the huge insect that had attacked him, and he shuddered with revulsion at the thought of a whole hive of them.

"But did you see that highbranch mask just as we were downlanding?" Kongu continued. "It was near the groundpath to the cavedark tunnelmouth."

"What?" asked the Toa. "You mean you saw a Kanohi in a tree?" Lewa was elated that his enjoyable trip had led to the discovery of a new mask. He would soon have half of them!

"Yes, but it's not for you. It's a Miru."

"Oh," said Lewa. "Then I suppose we should go tell one of the other Toa."

"I can windride on another bird, and go tell one of them," offered Kongu.

"Well, thanks, that would be great. How about Pohatu? It would be fun to watch him float in the air!" Lewa laughed at the thought of Pohatu levitating.

Kongu was already patting the beak of a Kewa as he untied it from the platform. "I'll be back in a wingbeat!" He jumped onto the bird and flew away.

Lewa vaulted over the edge of the platform and landed in the center of the village. "I'll go get the next mask is while Kongu is gone. And then I'll help Pohatu. I imagine he'll need it." He laughed to himself as he stepped toward Matau's hut.

Just as he approached the threshhold, a piece of the platform fell out from under his feet. Lewa yelped as he felt himself falling. Scraping against the branches, he quickly activated his Miru. It stopped his fall about halfway down the giant tree. He reached for a vine, scrambled back up toward the village, and called out, "Turaga Matau, something's wrong with--"

He stopped talking when he saw Matau leaning over the side of the platform, laughing. Lewa glanced at the underside of the wooden structure and saw a piece of it swinging by a large hinge. The Toa jumped up next to Matau and slapped him on the back. "You sure had me there," he laughed. "Good thing I have a Miru!"

"Well, I would never have trapdropped someone who didn't have one. At least, not without a ropenet underneath." Matau winked at him.

Lewa turned at the sound of the snickering villagers behind him. "Is it always like this around here?" he asked.

"Pretty much, Toa Lewa," giggled Noli.

"You're lucky, Toa Lewa," added Tamaru. "Sometimes we lateknowing villagers find ourselves covered in swampwater!"

Lewa winced at the memory of the foul-smelling mud. "I can sympathize!" He grinned as he watched Matau refasten the trap door and lay a piece of wood over the top of it. "Now that you're finished harassing me, Matau, can you tell me where the next mask is?"

"Of course. Come on in." Matau gestured toward his hut.

Lewa stepped cautiously inside. He sat down on a bench across from the Turaga's desk and looked carefully around the hut. "Maybe I can find a way to play a prank on HIM, for a change," he thought.

Matau told Lewa where to find his Huna. "Even though it's a noble mask, and you don't need it to get your Golden Kanohi, invisibility is a useful battletool," he remarked. "And when you put it over your mask, it won't blendfuse with your old one. The powers will be patterncopied for your use, but the mask will remain separate. And then you can bring it to me. We Turaga can use the Noble masks, unlike the Great Masks."

"All right, but you'd better not use it to play a trick on me!" laughed Lewa.

"Agreed," replied the grinning Turaga.

Again, Lewa followed Matau's singsong instructions. This time he found himself on a rocky cliff between his region and Ko-Wahi. As he hunted among the crevices in the boulders, he shivered from the cold wind blowing off the peak of nearby Mount Ihu. Then it occurred to him that he could reverse the wind, and bring it instead from Le-Wahi. So he searched in relative comfort until he saw the gray Huna in a crack in the rock. He reached in and tugged on the mask. But it was tightly wedged into the stone.

The Toa of Air heard a growling sound behind him. "Oh, no, here we go again," he thought as he spun on his heels. A Muaka thrice his size was crouching on the ledge below him, ready to pounce. Lewa activated his Hau and pulled the axe off his back. He braced himself, remembering how far its neck could extend from his last encounter with one of these Rahi.

The beast sprang at him, and the Hau performed its defensive function. But the creature began to paw at the ground in front of him. Lewa felt himself sliding down the slope toward it, and toward the cliff. He was determined not to let this Rahi keep him from his goal. He scrambled to his feet and swung his axe at it, knocking off one of its two infected masks. The Muaka reared back in confusion.

"That's it!" cried Lewa. "I just have to knock off the other one!" He gripped his weapon with both hands and threw his weight into the blow. It sent the other mask tumbling into the canyon below. The Muaka retreated back down the ledge. Lewa changed back to his Miru as he slid over the cliff. He hooked his axe under the edge of a boulder and pulled himself to safety.

Lewa sat for a moment and caught his breath. With his axe, he hacked at the rock around the Huna until it was loose. Then he put the mask on, and he felt the power being transferred into his own mask. The Huna fell back into his hand. He shrugged and put it on his back along with his tool. Alternately walking and leaping with his Miru, he traveled toward home.

As he descended through the foothills, he saw two Kane-Ra circling a clump of bushes. "Now, every time I've looked for a mask, there has been a Rahi nearby. I wonder if they are protecting one." He decided to try the Huna. As he crept cautiously toward the animals, they seemed not to notice him. "It must be working!"

As quietly as he could, he slipped between them. There, in the bushes, was a Matatu! He picked it up. But the Kane-Ra saw the movement of the mask, and they roared into action. Lewa ran as fast as he could, the beasts close behind him. He led them to the top of a steep hill and leaped, changing to his Miru. The animals tried in vain to stop, but they tumbled end over end down the rocky slope. Lewa landed safely and ran again until he was sure they were a comfortable distance behind him.

"So this Huna IS useful!" he smiled. "And now I think I'll use it to play a little trick on Matau."

The Toa of Air used his new Huna to slip into the village unnoticed. He sat on a branch just outside the window of the Turaga’s hut. Then, motionless and camouflaged, he changed to his Matatu and waited patiently.

Presently Matau walked into the hut and sat at his desk. He pulled some leaves with writing on them out of a box and set them on the work surface. Then he picked up a carved wooden pen, and, without looking up, he reached across the desk to dip it in a pot of ink.

Lewa concentrated on the ink pot. It slid a few inches across the desk. Matau began to write, but the pen made no mark. He glanced up at the pot and shrugged. Again, he reached toward it, and again Lewa moved it across the desk.

Matau set his pen down. He stared at the ink pot. With one quick motion, he grabbed it and examined it. Then he stepped out of the hut. “Lewa!” he yelled, looking around.

Lewa was ready. He had changed to his Huna and grasped a vine. As Matau called to Tamaru, “Has anyone seen Toa Lewa?” the invisible Toa of Air swung towards him and scooped him up. He carried Matau up to another branch.

“Aaaah!” shrieked Matau, grabbing at the tree. He looked at Lewa as he changed back to his Miru. The Turaga began to laugh heartily. The Le-Koronans, startled by his cry, had come out to see what was happening. As Tamaru explained Lewa’s prank, they joined his laughter.

Matau gasped for air. “Well done, Toa Lewa. Once again, you’re an everquick learner!”

Lewa smiled. “And here’s a little reward for your suffering.” He handed the two noble masks to Matau.

“Oh, thank you, Toa Lewa. Two of them? Great!” Matau put on each mask, and they blended with his Mahiki. He tried switching to them, and the villagers murmured in amazement as he disappeared and reappeared with the Huna. Then he changed to the Matatu and made a melon drop from an overhanging vine into his hand. He aimed it at Noli, then lowered his arm.

Noli ducked instinctively. “We’re never going to be tricksafe again.”

“Yes, this is a hardluck day for us villagers!” laughed Tamaru.

The next morning, the Turaga’s left-hand Matoran woke Lewa. “Toa Lewa, I was running overrock by the groundpath to the Onu-Koro tunnel. That is, I was near the groundmark where it will make lightbreak when it is finished,” Tamaru began. “And I saw Toa Pohatu! He was moving uptree as if he was seeksearching for something.”

“Oh, he’s looking for that Miru,” replied Lewa. “This is going to be good.” He jumped up and traveled through the treetops to the area where Kongu had seen the Kanohi. Sure enough, there was the Toa of Stone, halfway up a large tree. A wild Kewa was pecking at his mask, apparently in an attempt to protect its nearby nest.

Lewa stifled a laugh as he swung past. "Hello, Pohatu! Fancy meeting you here."

"Hi, Lewa!" called Pohatu as Lewa landed in a branch above his head. "I'm looking for a Miru up there."

"Yes, I see it," replied Lewa, looking up. "Here, let me get it for you."

"Oh, that would be wonderful. Would you, please?"

Lewa swung himself to the highest branches and snagged the Kanohi out of the leaves. "Here, catch!"

"Nooo!" moaned Pohatu, clinging more tightly to the tree as the Kewa jabbed at his face with its beak. "I can't move!"

"Just kidding, big guy," laughed Lewa. "I'll bring it down to you."

Pohatu smiled with relief. He looked up at Lewa, who was leaping to a lower branch. But then he yelled, "Look out, Lewa! Behind you!"

Lewa turned to see a Nui-Rama buzzing menacingly around his head. He ducked its razor-like claws as it zoomed over. Holding onto the branch with one hand, he tried to strike it with his axe. Then he heard a loud thud echoing through the jungle. As the infected insect came back for another attack, a boulder flew straight up from the ground and hit it. The Rahi plunged from the sky. Lewa heard the stone crash to the earth a short distance from the base of the tree. “Pohatu just kicked that huge rock all the way from the ground, and saved me from something that was flying in the air!” he realized. “That’s amazing!”

Lewa landed on the ground next to the Toa of Stone and handed him the Miru. "Thanks, Pohatu!"

"No, no, thank you," replied the Toa of Stone. "No offense, but tree-climbing is not my idea of a good time."

"You did look a little awkward up there," chuckled Lewa. "Hey, look at the rock you kicked. It has writing on it."

Pohatu leaned over the rock. Chiseled into the stone was a warning: "Wake one, you wake them all."

"I hope I didn't just wake them up, whatever they are." Pohatu put the Miru on over his Kakama. "I wonder what that means. Maybe the Turaga know. So, how does this thing work?"

"Just think light thoughts," replied Lewa, watching his friend rise off the ground. "And keep concentrating. If you fall, I have no intention of catching you."

Pohatu laughed as he spun in the air. "This is great! I can fly!"

"You're a natural," Lewa remarked with a wry smile.

"But I think I still prefer to be on the ground," said the Toa of Stone as he landed gently on the lush green forest floor.

"Have it your way. Well, I've got some masks to find myself. See you later!" Lewa flipped backwards into the tree again, grabbed a vine, and was off.

He smiled as he sailed back to his village. “Pohatu is all right,” he thought. “He can take a joke. I think I’m going to get along with him pretty well.”

Lewa landed on the birdlaunch platform and greeted Kongu, who was loading his saddle with flying discs. “The Rama are buzzflying again,” the Matoran commented quietly. “Just a few of them, but we must be alertready.”

“Yes, I just saw one near the Onu-Koro tunnel site,” replied the Toa.

"Toa Lewa!" shouted Matau from his hut. "Someone is here to see you."

"On my way," Lewa called back. He nodded to Kongu and turned toward the ladder. He saw Gali waiting on the lower platform. "Hi, Gali!" He leaped down to her level and walked toward her.

She returned his smile. "Hello, Lewa."

Suddenly he felt something catch against his lower legs. He lost his balance and fell forward--right into Gali's arms.

"Lewa! What are you doing?" she asked, startled. She pushed him back onto his feet.

"I'm sorry!" he stammered. "I don't know what--oh, yes I do!" He glared at Matau, who was holding one end of a vine. The other end was tied to a pole on the opposite side of the platform. Matau was doubled over with laughter.

"Matau, did Lewa put you up to this?" demanded Gali suspiciously.

"Yes, actually, he did." Matau laughed even harder.

"No, I didn't!" protested Lewa. "Don't believe him, Gali!"

Gali gave Lewa a sideways look. "Lewa, would you please help me with something?"

"Anything, Gali."

"Follow me, please." She led the way to the trunk of the big tree and dropped down onto a big branch.

"But I did kind of like it," Lewa confessed as he landed next to her.

Gali punched his arm. "Race you to the bottom!" she challenged with a grin.

"You're on!" replied Lewa, grabbing a vine and swinging down. He watched Gali scramble down the trunk with her hooks. When she was almost to the bottom, she leaped, turning a flip. The Toa of Air swung underneath her and grabbed her by the waist. He released the vine and landed gently using his Miru, setting her down in front of him.

Gali backed up a step. "Lewa?"

"Yes, Gali?"

"Can we get back to work now?"

"Of course," he replied. "I just thought, since Tahu wasn't here, we could play a little on the way."

"Tahu?" asked Gali, looking puzzled.

"You know. Red and orange Toa, almost my height, wears a Hau, carries a fire sword?"

Gali laughed. "What does he have to do with anything?"

Lewa shrugged. "I just figured that if he were here, I'd end up bursting into flames somehow."

"Well, I have no idea about that, but if you keep it up, you might get hit by a tidal wave." Gali smiled serenely.

"So, what was it you wanted me to help you with?" asked Lewa nervously.

"Some Rahi. I have a plan," she grinned. "This way."

Lewa followed her though the treetops. “And just when are you going to explain this mystery plan?” he asked impatiently.

“You remember the storm we made?”

“Yes, why?”

“Because I want you to help me do it again. There is a group of Tarakava living in a craggy rock. I’ve sent big waves against it, but this rock has been pounded by surf for eons, so they don’t have much effect.” Gali paused to catch her breath. “But if you and I create a cyclone, we can take out the whole rock. And then those beasts will stop tormenting my village.”

She resumed her journey through the woods, Lewa close behind. “All right,” he agreed, happy to be able to help.

As they emerged from the forest and dropped onto a sandy beach, Lewa moaned with dread. "You aren't going to make me swim, are you?"

"Yes, we're going to that island over there," replied Gali, pointing at a peak rising from the sea a few hundred bios offshore. "It's only about two hundred bios--"

"I should have known it! Why, you little--"

"Lewa?" asked Gali. "Are you in, or not?"

"Yes, Gali, I'm in," he answered, rolling his eyes.

"All right, then, listen up. Do you have your Kaukau yet?"

“No,” mumbled Lewa. “But can’t we just do it from here?”

“No, because first we’re going to rip off their infected masks. Otherwise, they’ll just come right back. Besides, it’s not far, anyway,” said Gali cheerfully. “Let’s go!”

Lewa sighed deeply. He watched Gali’s graceful arc into the water. He waded out a little ways and dove in to follow her.

The swim was agony for Lewa, who surfaced often to gasp for air, but soon he was climbing out onto the rock. “Look out!” yelled Gali. She jumped onto a Tarakava that was ready to strike him and wrestled it into the water. A moment later she emerged from the bubbling sea with an infected Ruru in her hook.

“Wow, she can fight!” smiled Lewa to himself. He activated his Hau as a second creature lunged at him. Soon his axe had sent its mask flying into the waves.

Three Tarakava later, the rock was quiet again. Gali and Lewa stood on the top of it and summoned a fierce storm. Then they jumped into the water as the vortex of their elements tore at the stone. Lewa stopped swimming and looked back. He quickly dove back underwater as chunks of jagged rock splashed around him. The next time he came up for air, the island was gone. In its place, was only a patch of turbulent sea. Above it, the storm was subsiding.

As they reached the shore, Lewa ran onto the beach. He did three handsprings to shake the water off himself. "Aaagh! Remind me never to touch that awful stuff again!"

Gali laughed. "You may not like my element, but you know you need it. If it weren't for the water in Le-Wahi, it would look just like the Po-Wahi desert, and you would hate that!"

"Oh, no, it's the tree lecture again," grumbled Lewa.

Gali furrowed her brow, raised her hooks, and shot a spray of water at his mask. Then she did a back flip, landing on a branch of the tree behind her. She used her hooks to climb to the top. "Yes, the tree lecture again."

Lewa shook his head, spluttering, and looked up at her. He pulled his axe off his back and hurled it toward the base of the branch on which she was sitting. As it sliced the branch cleanly off the tree, he jumped high and hovered in mid-air, catching the axe with one hand and Gali's hook with the other. She dangled from his hand as the branch crashed to the ground below them. "You may not like my Miru, but you know you need it," he grinned, floating them gently to the forest floor.

"That reminds me… I need to go find my Miru," Gali laughed. "Lewa, you won this time. But come find me when you're ready to race me in the water."

"It'll be a cold day in Ta-Wahi!"

"Thanks for your help with the Rahi, Lewa. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Any time, Gali," he smiled.

"See you later!" She turned and dove into the water to swim for home.

Lewa shook his head as he turned back toward the trees. He grabbed a vine and sighed. "I think I've done enough swimming in the last few days to last me a lifetime!"



Reply topic here.

[GaliGee]

Chapter 3: Lewa Runs

"It's underwater," said Matau.

"You have got to be kidding," Lewa groaned, burying his mask in his hands.

"Sorry, I wish I were. But if you want your Kakama, you're going to have to swimdive for it."

“Wait, how do you know it’s there? You’re not much of a swimmer, either,” said Lewa, looking suspiciously at his Turaga.

“Sunsoaring Lau watched a Rama fly into a wetcave at the upper end of Lake Kanae, and drop it into the deepwater.” He explained the exact location.

Lewa sighed and stood up. “It’s going to be worth it,” he reassured himself. He left Matau’s hut and traversed the treetops until he was at the northern tip of the lake, where the hot, acidic stormwater running off the Mangai hollowed great caves in the limestone. The area was home to a menagerie of peculiar life forms. Lewa watched the water bugs and bog snakes from his perch for a few minutes. With his axe he flicked away a Fikou that was creeping towards him.

“Underwater,” Lewa repeated. “The Mask of Speed is underwater. How incredibly… annoying.” He looked below him and saw a Nui-Jaga waiting for him to come down from the tree. “But it’s not a problem. I can handle it. A walk in a cavern… a swim in the water… a fast swim… And a very, very large monster.”

Lewa dropped to the ground. As the huge arachnid struck at him with its poisonous tail, he did a back flip. The stinger slammed harmlessly into the ground. “Ordinarily I’d love to stay and chat…” He chopped three large trees down at the base and used his air powers to blow them toward the Rahi. “But I can see you’re just buried.” The trees collapsed onto the scorpion with a loud crash.

“Gali would probably find this funny,” he muttered as he crept into the cavern. “The Toa of Air, forced to go into water, which he hates. Then again, maybe she’s somewhere climbing trees right now. Whoever hid these masks had a nasty sense of humor.” He clenched his jaw and jumped into the water.

He groped around in the dark, murky depths. “I’ll have to find the mask quickly, if I don’t want to run out of air, and--” Suddenly something caught his leg. “What--?” He tugged at the aquatic plants entangling his lower body. They seemed to grip tighter. He hacked at them with his axe. “I… will… be… free!” Finally he ripped himself loose and shot toward the surface. He bobbed out of the water, gasping for breath.

“Something doesn’t want me to find that mask,” he realized grimly. While his knowledge of water plants was scant, he suspected they didn’t ordinarily grab at passing swimmers. He plunged back into the greenish pool. “Well, ‘something’ is going to be disappointed.”

He swam for a few moments, avoiding the plants. Then he saw it--a Kakama was nestled among the anemones on a rock. “There!” he thought triumphantly. “So let’s see what it can do.” He placed the mask over his Miru and felt the power in his face, then throughout his whole body. He moved his hands, and the motion was so rapid, even in the dense water, that all he saw was a green blur. Then he kicked, and he was propelled rapidly toward the surface. “Hmmm… maybe it’s time to challenge Gali to a race!” His momentum made him shoot several bios out of the water, almost hitting his head on the ceiling of the cave.

Relieved to be out of the water, he scurried up a tree again and was soon on his way back to Le-Koro with his customary Miru, lost in daydreams as he traveled. But as he let go of one vine and sailed through the air towards another, he heard the buzzing too late. A Nui-Rama rammed him in the middle of his back. His Kanohi was knocked loose, and he plummeted through the branches.

The vertigo of falling helplessly, the confusion of losing his mask, and the pain in his head from hitting the ground were overwhelming. Lewa lay in shock on the forest floor, trying to focus his eyes. He saw a large shape rear up over him, and he instinctively rolled away as ferocious jaws snapped together just next to his head.

Lewa was so dizzy that he wasn’t sure whether the ground was really moving or not. But the sound reverberating through the forest was unmistakable. The massive beast was suddenly pulled down into the earth, roaring with rage. Lewa pushed himself up onto his knees and crawled for his mask, which was a few bios away. He looked up to see Onua standing above him, claws on his hips.

“Thanks,” said Lewa weakly as he replaced the Kanohi on his face.

“No problem, friend,” replied Onua. “Everyone needs a little help sometimes.” He pulled Lewa to his feet.

“I suppose so,” replied the Toa of Air, feeling his strength return. “I hope I can return the favor someday.” He jumped up into a tree. “Well, I’ve got some more masks to find. Thanks again, Onua.”

He swung away, wondering why Onua had been in Le-Koro in the first place. “He should be on his own quest. Well, maybe one of his masks is in the jungle somewhere. But it was nice of him to save me. I would have been Muaka food if he hadn’t shown up when he did.”

Soon thereafter, Onua did call on Lewa to help. The Toa of Earth had asked all the Toa to join him at his landing site. When all had arrived, Lewa noticed with satisfaction that Gali seemed to be avoiding Tahu, who had given her a ride to the meeting. But presently his attention turned back to the conversation.

Onua and Gali were trying to persuade the others to work together more often. Lewa was skeptical. “I don’t know. I’m still not much for teaming up.” But when a loud rumbling shook the forest, he turned to the others. “Then again, there’s nothing like a little togetherness.”

Onua’s eyes looked distant for a moment as he considered the vibrations coming through the earth. “That lava flow could destroy the entire island. You have the mask of speed,” he said to Lewa. “Can you get me there?”

“Sure, Onua,” replied Lewa. “But what are you going to do once we’re there?”

“Watch and learn.”

Lewa looked at Onua’s short, bulky form and then glanced at the boiling clouds of black smoke in the distance. “Climb on my back.”

The Toa of Air staggered a bit under Onua’s weight, then activated his Kakama. The mask sped them both to a fissure in the side of the Mangai. Magma was gushing out and spreading, flowing down the hillside in a wide, fiery sheet. It was headed straight for Ga-Wahi. Unchecked, it would completely cover the coastal plain, incinerating everything in its path.

“I thought Tahu was the expert of lava,” remarked Lewa, hovering above the ground to keep his feet cool.

“He is. But my people live underground. Molten rock is nothing new to me.” The Toa of Earth dug into the rock just below the fissure, wincing as he shook the glowing liquid off his claws. “Can you push me as I dig? We’ll create a trench to catch the lava flow so it doesn’t harm the island.”

Lewa stood behind Onua and put his hands on the dark Toa’s waist. He began to accelerate, watching in amazement as Onua dug faster and faster. He ducked his head to avoid the flying debris. They moved down the slope, outrunning the lava that rapidly filled the trench behind them. Finally they had cut a deep channel all the way to the beach between Ga-Koro and Ta-Koro. The molten rock poured into the sea, hissing and crackling as it cooled and hardened into a jagged jetty. The Toa stood back to admire their work.

“Wow!” exclaimed Lewa. “You can really dig!”

“Well, yes, it happens to be my specialty,” smiled Onua. “But thanks for the push. I could never have dug fast enough without your help.”

“Now all I need is a Pakari, so that I can pick you up without breaking my back,” grinned Lewa, crouching down to give Onua a ride again.

As Onua and Lewa rejoined the group, they saw Tahu falling from the grip of two Nui-Rama. Onua ran beneath him and waited with upturned claws.

“Too bad I haven’t found the Mask of Levitation yet,” lamented Tahu as he fell, “because the ground is a long way down! But perhaps… if I heat the air below me… it will slow my fall enough…”

“…that I can catch you with ease, Tahu,” finished Onua, as the Toa of Fire landed in his arms. “You should really seek out--”

“The Mask of Levitation. I know, I know,” said Tahu, rolling his eyes. “Thanks, that would have hurt.”

Onua smiled. “Makuta is proving my point for me.” They stood, ready to help if needed, as Gali summoned underground waters to blast two Nui-Jaga into the sea. Onua scraped up a huge ball of earth and threw it at several more Rama who were diving on the group. Then the scene was quiet again.

“Perhaps Makuta is discouraged by the way we are helping each other,” remarked Pohatu.

“For now, anyway,” replied Onua. “We have won our first battle… but there will be more.”

“We must be prepared to fight them, separately and together,” added Gali. “I had a vision of what we will become after we find the masks. We will combine our bodies and minds into two giant beings that personify the spirits of Wisdom and Valor. When the time comes, we will understand what to do.”

“That’s amazing,” marveled Pohatu. I almost feel sorry for Makuta, trying to take us all on.”

“I have no use for teams,” said Kopaka. “But I will assist when I’m needed.”

Lewa nodded. “Same here. The masks of power are as good as ours!”

Tahu stepped forward, holding up his sword. “Then let Makuta tremble this day--we stand together until Mata Nui is free!”

The other Toa raised their weapons in agreement.

“Let’s watch out for one another as we keep looking for the Kanohi,” said Onua. “We can summon each other quickly, now that many of us have the Kakama.”

Everyone nodded, and turned to continue his quest. Onua dug into the ground, and Pohatu vanished with a smile. Kopaka nodded to Gali and switched to his mask of speed, disappearing in a streak of light blue. Lewa grabbed a vine and swung away, changing to his Kakama to give himself some momentum.

He arrived to find a lively scene in his village. Kongu was playing discordant notes on a flute as Lau sang, “Treebound Tamaru! If you fall, we’ll catch you!” Tamaru was alternately grabbing at Kongu’s flute and trying to tackle Lau. Finally, he gave up and walked back to his hut in disgust.

Lewa ducked into the doorway after him. “Say, Tamaru, I have an idea.”

A few minutes later Kongu and Lau had tired of the song, with no victim to torment. “Let’s practice that formation we were working on,” suggested Lau. They climbed to the birdlaunch platform and mounted their two Kahu. On Kongu’s signal, they rose together into the air.

But as the birds went into a banked turn away from each other, they pulled tightly against a rope that tied their legs together. The Kahu shrieked and lost control. Kongu and Lau rode them down into the treetops, yelling curses as they fell.

The angry pilots flew back to the launch pad. Kongu hopped off his Kahu, pulling a leafy twig out of his Miru. His wingman had already dismounted and was looking around. “There he is!” He pointed to Tamaru, speechless with laughter on the lower platform. Lau nodded to Kongu. The grabbed Tamaru and hauled him up the ladder.

Lewa watched anxiously as the they took off, Lau holding Tamaru by the leg. “Treebound Tamaru…” he sang. He dropped the hapless Matoran, and Kongu swooped under him and caught him.

“…If you fall, we’ll catch you!” finished Kongu. He pushed Tamaru off his bird, and Lau flew underneath and seized him.

Lewa grabbed a vine and followed them. Sure enough, Kongu missed his next catch, but the Toa of Air was there. He scooped up the shaking Tamaru and returned to the village. The pilots followed.

Matau was standing on the main platform, arms crossed. One look at his frowning Mahiki told Lewa that the Turaga was not amused.

“To your huts! Now!” said the village elder sternly to the three pranksters. “The rest of us will sing a joysong that you reckless troublemakers are still alive.”

“It’s really my fault,” admitted Lewa. “I encouraged them.”

Matau looked up at his Toa. “Well, I’m not going to ground you, Toa Lewa, but you probably have realized that sometimes a trick can go overedge.”

“Yes, I can see that. I’m sorry.”

Matau returned to his hut. The musicians on the music platform started composing a new song about the joke. But the party stopped abruptly at the watchman’s cry: “Rama swarm! Scramble!”

The entire village mobilized for the Rahi attack. Matau sent Noli to retrieve Kongu and Lau. They joined the other pilots and their seconds on the launch platform, preparing their birds and discs. The Le-Koronans who didn’t fly put away the instruments, tools, and supplies lying around the village and latched the doors of all the huts and storage bins. Then they locked themselves inside. Except for the commands Kongu barked to his squadron, the town was eerily quiet.

Lewa glanced around. He decided he would be most useful defending the village from any Rama that made it past the Kahu-Force. He took a position in the highest branch of the big tree and waited.

The horrid insects boiled out of the distant hive like a massing thunder cloud. The sky darkened as they spread in all directions. But soon they were grouped together and heading for Le-Koro. Kongu turned to his companions and waved his hand. “Stay in formation until the everquick Rama get to the end of the biglake,” he yelled. “Treelaunch, now!”

The Kahu and Kewa zoomed into the sky. They were clearly far outnumbered by the huge horde of Nui-Rama. But individually, they were much more dangerous and agile than their adversaries, since each team had two intelligent minds, one instinctive mind, three pairs of eyes, and a copious supply of projectiles. Lewa watched with amazement as the determined little fighters downed one Rahi after another. One of Kongu’s battle groups went straight into the center of the swarm, furiously flinging disks in all directions. The other group picked off single Nui-Rama, lured them away from the throng, and knocked off their masks. The insects continued their relentless flight toward the village, but their numbers were dwindling.

Finally the remnants of the host of Nui-Rama approached Le-Koro, the Kahu-Force in hot pursuit. The deafening buzz grew even louder as they dove toward the large tree. Lewa shouted to Kongu, “Get away! I’m sending a wind!” The Matoran signaled his wingmen with a wave of his hand, and they dropped away from the swarm into the treetops. Then the Toa of Air summoned a powerful gale and watched with delight as the Rahi spun out of control, crashing into the swamp all around the village. When the wind subsided, the villagers poured out of their huts, cheering.

Matau and Lewa greeted the pilots as they landed. After a quick roll call by Kongu, four of the fighters flew their birds back into the forest to retrieve their fallen comrades. The launch platform was a swirl of activity, as the Le-Koronans cared for their animals and chattered excitedly about the battle. “Thanks, Lau, that highlifting green one almost had us,” one began. “Quicksoaring Rama found themselves in the slimewater from Toa Lewa’s windblast!” chuckled another. “That cloudsneaking orange Rahi buzzdove us while we were attacking another, but my second brought it downfalling fast!” There was a lot of laugher and back-slapping among the breathless fighters.

Soon the rescue teams returned, followed by the missing Kahu and their riders. “All windriders accounted for, and no casualties,” announced Kongu. The crowd cheered loudly.

“And this time there was no damage to the treebright village, thanks to Toa Lewa,” added Matau. “Well done, all. The Great Beings blessed us with a very successful battleflight.”

Lewa beamed, delighted he had been able to help. Apparently the Le-Koronans were used to doing a fair amount of repair work after a typical Rama attack.

After Matau had returned to his hut, Lewa asked him about the next mask. “Yes, there is one more powermask I know about,” replied the Turaga. “It’s the Kaukau, and it’s on a cliffside at the edge of Ko-Wahi.” He sketched a quick map on a leaf for Lewa.

“Thanks, Matau,” smiled Lewa. His spirits still high from the excitement of victory, he swung off into the jungle.

Soon he was leaving his temperate region and entering the chilly foothills of Mount Ihu. He scanned the horizon for the landmarks on Matau’s map. Recognizing a round rock outcrop, he ran up the slope with his Kakama. He stopped on a ledge under the outcrop. The mask was in plain sight, embedded in the rock about halfway up, perhaps a dozen bios off the ground. And then Lewa heard growling behind him. He spun quickly and found himself facing three Muaka.

Lewa yanked the axe off his back as the first Muaka lunged. He delivered a blow to its head, and it reeled backwards, but not fast enough to avoid his kick, which sent one of its masks flying off. The second Muaka was ready. While Lewa’s leg was still extended, it snapped at him, locking its jaws around his knee and lifting him upside down. He doubled himself up and struck its eye with his axe, and it shook its head, releasing him. He landed on his feet and sprang up, flipping over its head. As it turned, he knocked off one of its masks with his weapon.

The third beast closed its mouth around Lewa’s foot, and he fell on his face. He twisted himself around to blow a gust of wind at it. Suddenly it stopped moving. As he pulled his foot loose, he realized that the Rahi was completely covered in ice. So was were the other two.

Lewa sat up, puzzled. “Kopaka? Are you here somewhere?”

“Hello, Lewa,” came a voice from above him. Kopaka was standing on an ice staircase, pulling the Kaukau off the cliff face.

Lewa sighed with disappointment. “All that hard work, and he’s going to get the mask,” he grumbled to himself.

But Kopaka turned and tossed the Kanohi to Lewa, who caught it with both hands. “You were here first,” explained the Toa of Ice. He walked down the stairs and helped Lewa to his feet.

“Well, thanks,” replied Lewa. “And thanks for getting that last Muaka.”

Kopaka nodded. “Have a nice swim.” He blazed away in a blur of blue.

“That was nice of him,” thought Lewa. “But I’m not going to try this thing unless I absolutely have to.” He put the Kaukau on his face and leaned toward the smooth surface of the ice stairway. He laughed at his reflection. “I look like a big green Gali!” Switching back to his Miru, he put his axe on his back and headed for home.



Review topic here.

This post has been edited by GaliGee: Jul 8 2003, 11:38 AM

[GaliGee]

Chapter 4: Lewa Stumbles

Lewa’s smile disappeared as he landed on the birdlaunch platform. His thrill at finding his Akaku seemed trivial next to the devastation of Le-Koro. Branches and debris were everywhere, and huts were crushed or ripped open. Tools, food, and personal belongings were strewn all over the main platform, as if a tornado had hit the village. The Kahu-Force pilots were solemnly grooming their birds after the grueling battleflight.

Matau greeted him gravely. “As you can see, the Rama have wrecksmashed everything. You just missed them.”

Lewa hung his head. “I saw them swarming, and I came as fast as I could,” he apologized. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time.”

“It’s all right, Lewa, your searchquest to find the masks is the most important thing now, anyway. Otherwise, we will be doomed to suffer these buzzbomb attacks forever.” He turned to Kongu, who had just come down the ladder. “Are all your windriders accounted for?”

“Yes, Turaga,” replied the Matoran. “My second, Kelu, has a slight cutwound, but he will be all right.”

Matau began to check the huts one by one. When he was finished, he called out, “Has anyone seen Tamaru?”

Everyone shook his head. Matau sighed and looked toward the hive. “He may be downtree... or maybe he has been grabcarried and dropped by a Rama. Kongu, please set up--”

A Matoran with a green Hau stepped forward. “I’ll look for him, Turaga,” he volunteered.

“Thank you, Huta,” replied Matau.

“I’ll go with him,” said Lewa. He turned to the Matoran. “Let’s start at the base of the tree, in case he fell.” Huta’s face was grim at the thought, but he agreed that it was the logical place to start.

Lewa used his new Akaku to scan the forest carefully. Huta, a skilled tracker, examined earth, leaves, and fallen branches for signs of recent disturbance. After several hours of searching, the two returned, dejected, to the village, reporting no signs of the missing Matoran.

The campfire was quiet that night. Everyone was exhausted from the battle and the cleanup effort, and Tamaru’s disappearance weighed heavily on their minds. Kongu sat alone, lost in silent thought. Noli composed a song for Tamaru, and Lau hummed along sadly, leaning his green Kakama on one hand.

The next morning, Lewa left the subdued villagers to look for his last three masks, keeping an eye out for the lost Matoran as he hunted. As evening painted the sky with deep reds and purples, he stood on a crag at the edge of Ta-Wahi with his new Mahiki in hand. The Toa of Air looked up and saw the dark cloud boiling out of the hive. “I’m not going to let them down again!” he vowed, changing to his Kakama and racing home.

Lewa arrived at the same time as the swarm. Clenching his jaw with rage, he blasted the insects with all his strength. As before, the gale-force wind caused them to lose control, and they plunged to the ground around the village. The fighters landed, their birds exhausted. But at least this time they didn’t have to face a calamity at home.

Matau thanked Lewa. “Our highbranch village is not the only one to suffer lately. The other Turaga report that the everquick Rahi have been especially active in the last few days.”

Suddenly Kongu shouted from the birdlaunch platform. “He’s back!” A cheer broke out as the elevator pod rose and Tamaru and Huta stepped out. The Le-Koronans thronged around them. Kongu embraced Tamaru tightly. Matau tossed a few logs onto the fire and summoned everyone. All gathered and sat quietly as Tamaru recounted his story.

“A highflying Rama grabbed me right out of my hut,” he began. “It tore open the thatchroof. I tried to lowduck and avoid its claws, but it plucked me up, and soon I was sunsoaring over the forest.”

Kongu winced. “That must have been frightening,” he said sympathetically.

Tamaru nodded. “For a treebound fellow like me, it was.” He smiled at Kongu. “I almost fainted as we zoomdove into the top of the darkwet hive. Inside, they made me digwork for them, hollowing out more egg compartments. When I slowfaltered, they would send shockbugs to make me dig faster.”

“So, how did you breakfree?” asked Noli.

“I saw that the Rama were highlifting to attack the village again. I shadowsneaked into a darkquiet corner of the hive and used my pick to make a hole in the side. And I slipped out of that foulstench hive.” He turned to Lewa. “I saw a mask in there—a Komau.”

Lewa sat up straight. “Can you tell me where you got out, so I can sneak back in there and get it?”

“Sure, Toa Lewa,” Tamaru agreed.

Lau offered Tamaru a blanket. “You must be tired.”

“Like a Kuna that’s climbed the groundpath up Mount Ihu,” sighed the Matoran, stretching out next to the warm fire. “A Nui-Jaga struck me, and I lost my mask. But Huta found me, and he led me home.”

All eyes turned to Huta. He nodded modestly. “I couldn’t sleeprest, knowing he was alone out there,” he replied. “As good a deepwood wayfinder as he is, and as long as he’s been lost, I knew he was in danger.”

“You honor our village with your bravedeeds, Huta,” said Matau. “Even though you should have told me you were woodwandering to find him.” He patted the small hero on the back.

Tamaru told Lewa where he broke out of the hive. Too impatient to wait until morning, the Toa traveled quickly through the treetops to the insects’ nest. He dropped to the ground, switched to his Ruru, and approached cautiously in the dark. Soon he located the hole Tamaru had made in the side of the tall earthen structure. The rank smell of the insects drifted toward him as he enlarged the hole with his axe until he could fit through it. He slipped quietly inside.

The hive was one large open chamber, but Lewa found himself in a shadowy nook formed by a slight irregularity in the wall. The foul odor of the vermin and the infection was overwhelming, and their buzzing resonated ominously inside the structure. Lewa bent over and retched. He steadied himself against the hardened mud wall for a moment before he went on. Peering around the corner, he saw scores of Nui-Rama flying around. A few of the larger Nui-Kopen seemed to be watching over the activity of the others. The only light came from small glowing blue insects, probably the ones Tamaru had described as capable of giving an electric shock. Hexagonal egg chambers lined the room. And on the opposite side of the hive, he saw a Komau embedded in the mud wall.

Lewa smiled. He would use his Kakama to run over and grab it. Before the Rahi were aware of him, he would be out of this repugnant place. He switched to his mask of speed, but without his Ruru, he was barely able to see the mask. So he changed briefly back to the mask of night vision and memorized the location of the Komau so that he could run without looking.

Blazing past the Rahi, Lewa skidded to a stop below the Komau. He changed to his Miru and jumped to reach it. But the mask was stuck fast to the wall. “I sure wish I had a Pakari,” he grumbled, bracing his feet against the wall as he tugged unsuccessfully at the dark shape. “It figures, the only Kanohi I don’t have yet!” The Nui-Rama swarmed around him. “Oh, no,” he thought with alarm. “Should I drop it and run? But I’ve come this far...” Finally the mask came free, and he slapped it over his Miru and dropped to the floor.

Claws tore at his back and legs. “I think I just made a big mistake,” thought Lewa regretfully. He spun and shot a jet of high-pressure air at the insects. In the dark, he watched their glowing eyes recede and heard the impact as they were hurtled against the opposite wall. But more approached while he was regaining the energy for another blast. Several of them gripped his legs, throwing him down. And then they were all over him. Flat on his back, he groaned with pain and horror as he felt his mask being torn off and his axe pulled out of his hand.

“Well done, my dark servants,” a low voice echoed. “What a prize... a Toa, a so-called hero of Mata Nui!”

Lewa fought the fog of confusion from losing his mask and looked around for the source of the voice. He became aware of a huge, dark shape looming above him. It was a Nui-Kopen, but it was different from the others. It was completely black except for its red claws and blue eyes, which blazed brighter as it spoke.

“A talking Nui-Kopen,” moaned Lewa. “I must be crazy to have gotten myself into this.” He tried to kick at the insects, but they pinned him down harder. He felt his strength fading.

The black insect tossed Lewa’s now colorless Kanohi from one claw to the other. “Bring the mask,” it commanded. A second Nui-Kopen flew over with a gray Miru. In the dim light, Lewa could see blotchy patches. He gagged as he smelled the stench of infection. The black Rahi took the mask and fitted it to Lewa’s face.

A wave of nausea coursed through Lewa’s body. The revolting mask began to restore his energy, but at a terrible price. The Toa of Air felt his thoughts shift from escape to hatred. His head filled with visions of the islanders—the Le-Koronans, Matau, and the other Toa. “I must make them suffer,” he declared out loud. The Rahi released his arms and legs. One of them handed him his axe, and he stood up and took it.

“Now you will sleep, Toa of Air, until I have work for you to do,” continued the black Nui-Kopen. Lewa was suddenly overwhelmed by heaviness. He crumpled to the ground as blackness closed around him.

When Lewa woke, he could see a circle of daylight through the distant opening at the top of the hive, but inside the structure it was still dark and humid. The black Nui-Kopen was gone, and the other Rahi flew busily around, ignoring Lewa. As he sat up, several Matoran and Matau and crowded around him. He recognized Huta, Lau, and Kelu, Kongu’s discthrower, among them, along with an Onu-Koronan in a black Pakari. The Toa of Air stood up, and the Matorans cheered excitedly. But then he raised his axe and let the blade fall menacingly into the dirt at their feet. They recoiled in fear, scrambling back to their work as the blue electric bugs buzzed toward them.

Lewa threw back his head and laughed. “Look at them scurry. Pathetic little creatures.” He saw Lau sneaking toward the hole in the hive, and he walked over to the Matoran. Lewa shoved the cowering Matoran face-down onto the ground and kicked some dirt onto him. The others, who had been furtively watching, quickly turned back to their digging. Lewa chopped a large chunk honeycomb off the wall and blocked the hole with it.

Lewa approached the Onu-Koronan, malice on his mind. But then he noticed his face was itchy. He reached up to remove the mask, but then he stopped. He turned and saw Matau wearing the Komau, which had fallen to the floor during Lewa’s struggle with the Rahi. “Nice try, ,” growled Lewa, glaring at Matau and raising his axe. He circled the Turaga, who watched him nervously. As he brought down his weapon, Matau changed to his Huna and vanished. The blade struck the ground. “That little--I’ll get you!” Lewa snarled. He created a fierce whirlwind that picked up the Matorans--along with their tools, several Nui-Rama, and a lot of loose soil--and swirled them in the air. Lewa stood in the eye of the vortex, laughing maniacally at their fright.

Then he lowered his axe, and they all fell to the ground. Matau, visible again, jumped to his feet. Lewa lunged at him and picked him up. He saw the look of sheer terror in the Turaga’s eyes and smiled. He dropped Matau on the ground, put his foot on his chest, and raised his axe.

“No!” yelled Kelu. He ran toward Lewa, jumped, and grabbed the handle of the axe. Lewa lowered the weapon and kicked Kelu loose. The Matoran flew across the hive, his turquoise Kakama tumbling off as he struck the honeycomb egg chambers on the other side. Huta ran to help him. Matau rolled to the side, but Lewa soon pinned him again with his foot.

“On the other hand,” thought Lewa, “maybe I should let him live, so Makuta can infect him, too. Then he could help me.” He released the Turaga, who ran to the other side of the hive with Huta and Kelu.

Lewa saw the Matorans looking up, and he followed their gaze. A Kahu was flying down into the hive. The bird skidded to a stop, and Kongu and a multicolored Matoran jumped off. They ran to Matau and began to speak to him. Lewa ambled over to the stranger and dropped the head of his axe in the dirt. “Who is this little oddball?” he wondered. He leaned in for a closer look.

A loud rumbling sound echoed through the hive, and the ground began to shake. Earth and stones flew up as a dark shape emerged from the floor. Lewa watched Onua blow dust out of the holes in his Pakari.

“Ah, Onua the do-gooder,” scoffed Lewa. “Perfect timing, as usual, showing up and trying to help. Well, this time he’s going to be in for a surprise.” He sized up his fellow Toa. “So what if he’s strong. He’s short and slow-moving. I can take him, no problem.”

The Toa of Air leaped high, activating his infected Miru. But Onua switched to his Hau, and Lewa bounced off the invisible shield, skidding backwards into the honeycomb. He felt the mask disconnect slightly from his face. “What is happening to me?” asked Lewa, astonished to find himself facing his friend in anger. “My body… not my own! My mind! Get out of my mind!”

“Lewa! Take off the mask!” called Onua. But a surge of hostility flooded Lewa’s mind again as the link with the infected Kanohi was reestablished, and he attacked Onua with his axe. Onua blocked the blow, catching the handle with his claw, twisting it, and flipping Lewa over the weapon. But the agile Lewa landed on his feet and swung again. Onua jumped to the side, and the blade dented his shoulder.

Onua’s claws twitched. He feinted left, then lunged at Lewa’s head. “He’s after the mask,” thought Lewa with a wicked smile. “But there will be one for him in due time.” Lewa’s lightning reflex blocked the attack, and he gave Onua a roundhouse kick to the ribs. Onua staggered backwards, gasping. Lewa relished the sight of his suffering.

Onua and Lewa circled each other. Onua switched to his Miru and rose, and Lewa did likewise. But Lewa’s control of the mask was far superior to Onua’s, and he maneuvered around behind the dark Toa. Onua immediately switched back to the Hau and dropped. The axe bounced off, and again Lewa flipped and landed, ready for more. “All I have to do is wait, because he is wearing himself out.”

Changing to the Pakari, Onua took a claw full of earth and flung it at Lewa, who blew it in the other direction with gale force. It scattered all over the hive, raining in clods on the fearful Matorans huddled around Matau.

Onua held his claws together, focusing on the glowing green ball between them. “He must be trying some earth thing,” snickered Lewa. “But he’s not going to have time.” Onua groaned as the axe struck his back with full force. The ball dissipated in a green blur, and the entire hive rumbled and shook. Onua fell onto his face in the dirt. Lewa kicked him in the back of the head, and Onua stopped moving. “Ha! Now you’re mine…” Lewa loomed over Onua and raised his axe.

Onua rolled over, switched to his Hau, and slowly stood up. He kept his face turned toward the Toa of Air, who was pacing around him. Lewa was annoyed. “Again with the Hau. I’m getting tired of this game. It’s time to finish him off,” he frowned. He leaped high into the air and landed behind Onua, who spun on his heels and dropped. Onua switched to the Pakari and muttered, “Great Beings, give me strength!” He grabbed Lewa’s legs as the axe blade struck the dirt behind him, and Onua flung him backwards onto the ground. Incredibly, the Miru was still on Lewa’s face. Onua lunged with his claws, but Lewa brought up his legs and kicked. The Toa of Earth slid backwards against the honeycomb. Clods of dirt bounced onto him, and a blue electric bug buzzed onto his shoulder. He switched to his Matatu, and the bug flew across to Lewa and struck his mask with a blaze of blue and green light. The infected Miru tumbled to the floor. Lewa reeled backwards, dazed, as the horrible realization of what he had done filled his mind. “Did I—oh, no! I just tried to kill my friend!” he gasped. “Onua!”

“His mask! Get his mask!” It was Matau, yelling from the other side of the hive. Onua looked up and directed the power of the Matatu at the Nui-Kopen above Lewa, which was holding Lewa’s Miru in its claws. The mask dropped into Lewa’s hand. The Toa replaced the mask, which flooded with green color as the hive was lit with a brilliant green light. Lewa stood up straight as the power returned to his body. He shook his head, suppressing the feelings of shame and regret which were was beginning to be overwhelm him.

He looked up at the Nui-Kopen which had been holding his mask. “I wonder if the Komau...” He leaped onto the insect’s broad back. It thrashed and tried to throw him off, but he changed to his mask of mind control and focused on the beast. It became calm, hovering lower so that Matau could jump on. Kelu and a Matoran in a green Ruru climbed into the Rahi’s claws.

Kongu was loading his Kahu with Onua and the others. “Come on, Taipu,” called the multicolored Matoran. The Onu-Koronan climbed onto Onua’s shoulders, and the stranger sat behind them. Lau and Huta rode in the Kahu’s claws. They flew up out of the hive, which was half demolished from the fight.

During the flight, Lewa considered all the times Onua had sought him out. “He’s answered my questions, rescued me from a Muaka, teamed up with me to save the island, and now this,” he thought. “And I’ve pushed him away. Or tried to kill him. He has every right to resent my ingratitude. But he keeps coming back. What an incredible friend. I don’t deserve him at all.”

They landed on the platform, and the Le-Koronans thronged around them. Matau related the events in the hive to them. Lewa turned to Onua, but his voice caught in his throat. Finally he swallowed and spoke. “I can’t thank you enough, Onua You really put your life on the line for me in there.” Lewa hesitated, then he hugged Onua tightly.

“Aaaaaaaah!” cried Onua.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Lewa, releasing him.

“It’s OK, it’s just--well, you busted me up pretty bad. You’re one incredible fighter.”

“Thanks. You slammed me hard a couple times, too. But how did you know to come find me?”

Onua rubbed his back. “Your villagers told me Matau had been taken by a Nui-Rama, and no one had seen you in days. So I went to find Matau, hoping he could tell me where you were. I brought you this.” He pulled off a tattered backpack and removed a Pakari.

Lewa stumbled backwards. “I can’t believe it! You came to do me a favor, and I wanted to KILL you!”

“Don’t keep berating yourself, Lewa,” smiled Onua. “I’m sure you put up quite a fight when they came to infect you, and I want to hear all about it. But first, put on the Pakari. It’s your last mask, right?”

Lewa stared at his friend. “How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” groaned Onua.

Matau led the way to the Suva. Several villagers picked up palm leaves as a formation of Kewa flew overhead, forming the sign of Le-Koro with trails of smoke. As Lewa stepped onto the center platform, it descended, and the villagers lowered the leaves over the top. Lewa felt strange vibrations starting at his mask and then moving throughout his body. He felt as if the positive energy from the mask was cleansing his entire being of the residue of evil from the infected Kanohi. The warm humming of the mask finally became a flash of brilliant light, and the platform ascended again. The Le-Koronans parted the palm leaves, and Lewa emerged from the Suva with his radiant gold Miru. “Mission accomplished,” thought Lewa with relief.

The villagers hastened to their huts and returned with musical instruments. Soon the treetops were ringing with melodious rhythm. As Onua waved to the departing traveler, Lewa had an idea. “He should have the golden Kanohi, not me.” He stepped off the Suva, removed his mask, and handed it to Onua. “Take this,” he said. “You deserve it. I’ll find whatever masks you are missing.”

“Uh, well, thanks, but no. You’ve earned it. I only have one more to go anyway, the Kakama, and I’m sure I’ll find it soon. But thanks, anyway.”

Lewa put the Kanohi back on his face. “OK. Then I’ll help you find your Kakama.”

“I would appreciate that. So, how DID you get infected?”

Lewa sighed. “My own stupidity. There was a Matoran named Tamaru who was captured by the Rama and escaped. He found a crack in the wall, and slipped out during one of their raids when the hive was almost empty. He came and told me there was a Komau in the hive.”

“Tamaru? He was the one who told me Matau had been taken! Poor guy, he’s been through a lot.”

“Yeah, he’s a brave one. Anyway, I sneaked into the hive through the same crack and got the Komau. But it seems Makuta had been expecting me. I was ambushed immediately, and the foul creatures just kept pounding me until they knocked off my mask. Then they put on that infected Miru.” Lewa winced at the memory.

“I’m sure that was awful,” Onua frowned.

“You wouldn’t believe how awful,” replied Lewa. “The stench. The slimy feel of it. And the worst part is, I could feel my whole being shift its purpose to killing, and destroying, and corrupting. When they brought the Matorans in and put them to work, I smiled at their suffering and fear. And when you showed up, well, I just wanted to hack you up. Or better yet, to rip off your mask and watch you scream as they put on an infected one.”

Lewa was shaking. Onua put his claw on his arm. “It’s OK, Lewa. You’re yourself again.”

“Well, Onua, that’s just it. Obviously it was my own arrogance that got me into trouble in the first place. I should have gotten some help before I went in there, I knew there were scores of those Rama inside. I mean, look at you. You always seem to know when to team up, and when to work solo. I’ve seen you do it, over and over. How do I get wise like you? You must be the smartest creature on this island.”

“I hope for Mata Nui’s sake you’re wrong!” Onua laughed. “Lewa, I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time. Unless I’m in the ground, digging. Then I’m pretty confident. I’m just lucky the Great Beings have put me into a position to do some good once in a while.”

“Then being wise must have something to do with being humble,” Lewa smiled.

“It’s easy to be humble. Just attack a friend who is a better fighter than you!”

“Yeah, but you won, though.”

“That’s because Makuta gave you only one mask. If you had had any of the others, I would be a goner.” Onua ran his claw along the dent in his shoulder.

“Speaking of masks, do you know how everyone else’s quest is going?” asked Lewa.

“Gali needs a Kakama, too, last I heard. Tahu and Pohatu, and now you, have the golden Kanohi. I haven’t seen Kopaka yet, but I have a Pakari for him, too.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll be nicer to you than I was. You’ve had a pretty rough day.” sighed Lewa, patting his friend gently on the back. “But first, come on over and join the party. It looks like Taipu’s having a good time already!”

“Yeah, he is. And it looks like a great party. Thanks, but I’d better be going.”

“Well, Onua, I’m in awe of you. I’ll never forget what you did for me. You are a true hero.”

“Just doing my job, Lewa. Next time you’re outnumbered, call me. But I think it’s great that Makuta’s hatred has turned us into good friends. We get the last laugh, after all.”

“Let’s hope we’re still laughing after we fight Makuta!” Lewa watched Onua switch to his Miru and lower himself slowly to the tree trunk. “Try shifting the weight of your legs as you steer, you get a lot more control that way,” he called.

Onua tried this trick and found it helpful. “Thanks! See you later!” He disappeared into the underbrush.

Lewa watched him go. Then he turned back to his villagers. He apologized to each of the Matorans who had been in the hive, regretting that he had not spoken to the traveler before he left. They were all very forgiving, smiling at him and admiring his new mask. Then he sighed deeply and walked up to Matau.

“Matau…” he began.

“Toa Lewa, you don’t have to sorryspeak to me. You were in the hardgrip of strong evil. Your will was completely overtaken, and it’s not your fault.”

“I know, Matau, but it’s my fault I was infected in the first place. If I hadn’t been so arrogant, trying to get a mask out of a hive full of Rama in the dark by myself, none of it would have happened.”

Matau smiled. “Just sing a song of joythanks that Onua came along. And don’t let it get you down. That would be letting Makuta be the winvictor over your heart.” The Turaga turned back to the villagers.

Lewa sat on the edge of the platform. It was still hard for him to believe he had tried to hurt and kill those closest to him. But the stark truth burned in his mind. “It really was my own pride. Makuta set me up. He let me have some easy victories, and then he got me. He just magnified the vice that was already inside me. Ever since I came to this island, all I’ve done is chase after a few masks and get rescued by others. I’m not worthy to mingle with these good villagers, much less to be called a Toa.”

The music had died down, and Lewa became aware that the Le-Koronans were watching him. He stood and climbed up into the tree, out of sight.

“What’s the matter with Toa Lewa?” he heard Kongu ask.

“He wants to be alone for a bit,” replied Matau. “Throw some firewood in the stonepit, and let’s tell some songstories to remind us of what the Toa are doing for us.”

Lewa knew the Turaga had said this to cheer him up, but in his dark mood, it only made him feel like more of a fraud. He sat alone in the tree as the villagers prepared the fire for an evening of quiet storytelling.

A snapping sound above Lewa’s head made him look up. In a smooth reflex motion, he caught the melon which had just come loose from its vine and was falling toward his head. Lewa frowned at the fruit, then looked at the gathering around the fire. Matau was changing from his Matatu back to his Mahiki. He continued his story for the Le-Koronans.

A sly smile spread across Lewa’s face. He tossed the melon in the air and caught it. Then he gazed at Matau again. “He’s right,” thought the Toa. “Brooding alone is just giving in to Makuta’s evil. I’m going to join the party.” Lewa changed to his Komau.

The Turaga was telling the legend of Mata Nui, which the villagers knew well. But this time his version was slightly different. “Fortunately, the Great Beings heard the fearcry of the people. And to fight the evil, they sent six mighty melons down from the heavens, wielding awesome nutritional powers.”

The Le-Koronans glanced at each other. “Mighty melons?” whispered Kongu to Lau.

“Nutritional powers?” muttered Kelu.

Matau’s stern look silenced the Matoran. “These supreme gourds were assigned the task of searchfinding the Great Masks of Flowers. These masks were scattered across the island, some in locations no Matoran could reach, others guarded by fearsome Mukau.”

“Supreme gourds?” snickered Lau.

“Fearsome Mukau?” Tamaru suppressed a laugh. “What’s wrong with Turaga Matau?”

Matau stood up and declared, “But Makuta underestimated the power of Matoran unity. We stand together, until Mata Nui is fruity!” He jumped and turned a back flip. He landed, looking slightly confused. Then he did another flip, and another. He staggered a bit, then shouted, “LEWA!”

The Le-Koronans stood up and looked around. Lewa dropped from the tree above them, laughing as he changed back to his Miru. Matau steadied himself against Lewa’s leg, smiled broadly, and proclaimed, “Toa Lewa is back!”

The Matorans cheered. The instruments were pulled out again and the party revived. The music rang through the woods until late into the night. Kongu gave Taipu a ride back to the end of the tunnel to Onu-Koro. The Ghekula and night birds softly continued the song as the exhausted villagers stumbled into bed.



Review topic here.

[GaliGee]

Chapter 5: Lewa Sprints

Lewa woke up the next morning humming the one of the tunes he had composed the night before. He looked at his new instrument, which was nestled in a fork of the tree in which he was sleeping. The large wooden tube had a double row of holes and a flared end. He had carved it from a hollow branch during the party, using a Matoran instrument as a pattern, and, minutes later, he was playing complex melodies on it. His horn was much larger and lower in tone than the ones played by the villagers, who were unable to get more than a breathy whisper out of it. But Lewa, with his elemental power, could coax amazing sounds out of the polished tube. It gave the music of the Le-Koronan band a rich bass tone that it lacked before his arrival, and the villagers were thrilled at the new sound.

Lewa stretched and climbed to the very top of the tree. He watched the sun rise, filling the sky with delicate peach and rose colors. “It’s a new day,” he said to himself. “And I’m not going to waste what I’ve been given. I’m going to make my village proud.”

His gaze traversed the horizon, stopping on the Nui-Rama hive. He gagged at the mere sight of it as the memory of infection came back. A few of the winged Rahi were buzzing around the structure. “I bet they’re trying to repair all the damage Onua did,” he thought. “Then they’re going to start their buzzbomb attacks again. The first thing I’m going to do today is take out that hive.”

The Toa of Air descended from the treetop, putting the horn in a storage hut. Then he poked his head into Matau’s hut. “I’m going to go take down the foulslime Rama hive,” he said to his sleepy Turaga. “Please prepare the village, because they may be burningmad when they swarm out of there.” Matau nodded, and Lewa swung away into the woods. “Hmm… I’m starting to talk like my villagers!” he realized with amusement.

As he approached the mud structure, Lewa fought back another wave of nausea. He stopped in a tree close to the base, changed to his Huna, and crept closer to study the damage. Much of the back side of the hive was caved in. “Maybe I should take a lesson from Gali, and get their masks off first, so they won’t just go build a new hive and harass us again. But how am I going to do that to scores of Rama?” He scratched his head. “I have to think of a way to uninfect them all at once. Perhaps... fire?” He envisioned the wood-fiber linings of the egg chambers going up in flames. “Yes! That’s it! I’ll go get Tahu to help me.”

Lewa had never been to Ta-Koro, and he found it uncomfortably hot inside the great volcano. But he was impressed by the stark towers, and he watched with amusement as the villagers lava-surfed in the river of molten rock around their fortress home. “That looks like a fun sport, if you don’t mind the heat,” he smiled.

He was greeted by the guards. “Welcome, Toa Lewa,” they said, lowering their staffs. Lewa nodded to them and walked through the guard station. He stood across the moat from the village, wondering what to do, when stones rose up out of the lava, forming a bridge. “I suppose I’ve been invited in,” he thought. He stepped delicately across the stones, prepared to activate his Miru if he slipped, but he made it across without incident and walked into the compound.

Vakama met him at the entrance. “Hello, Lewa, Toa of Air,” he said with a low bow. “I am Vakama, Turaga of the Village of Fire. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?”

“Nice to meet you, Vakama. I’m looking for Tahu. I need his help with something. By the way, your village is very beautiful. Is it always this blazehot?”

“It gets hotter, when the great Mangai erupts,” smiled Vakama. “But we usually have plenty of warning. Toa Tahu isn’t here, but I think he will be back soon. You are welcome to wait for him.” He turned to a red Matoran in a Ruru. “Kapura, will you get some refreshments for our esteemed guest?”

“Thanks,” said Lewa, “but I don’t need anything.”

Just then he heard laughing, and Tahu walked distractedly through the gate, almost bumping into Lewa. “Oh, hello, Lewa. What brings you here?”

“I wonder what made Tahu laugh. He’s always so serious,” Lewa mused to himself. Aloud, he said, “Hello, Tahu. I have a favor to ask. I’d like your help with something.”

“All right,” replied the Toa of Fire. “How can I help?”

“Well, first I have to tell you what happened. I was looking for my Komau in a giant earthen Rama hive. And when I crept inside to get it, I was ambushed by Rahi. They put an infected Miru on me.”

Tahu gasped. “On YOU?”

“Yes, on me. And I became evil. A minion of Makuta. Luckily, Onua showed up to bring me a Pakari, and he fought me. We beat each other up pretty bad. Well, mostly I beat him up. But he won, because he fought smarter. He knocked off the infected mask with his Matatu, and made a Nui-Kopen drop mine into my hand. We escaped by air, and we took Matau and all the captured Matorans with us.”

“That’s abominable!” said Tahu. “Makuta has really gone over the top. Forcing Toa to fight each other.”

“Well, if you ask me, we have it in us to fight each other, with or without Makuta. He just pushes creatures over the edge of what their good judgment would prohibit.”

“It’s a good thing Onua showed up when he did,” said Tahu, shaking his head.

“Definitely,” Lewa agreed. “I owe him my life. And he really took a pounding to save me. The infected mask makes you crazy, desperate, vicious. I can’t believe what I did to him. He’s a real hero.”

“Yeah, he brought me a Pakari, too. That’s how I got my golden Kanohi.”

“Me, too!” exclaimed Lewa. “And he still doesn’t even have his own. He’s missing the Kakama.”

“I know. I’ve been looking for it.”

“I will, too, as soon as I take care of one thing, the thing for which I came to ask your help. That Rama hive is still full of infected bugs. Onua demolished part of the hive when we were fighting. And when we left, they were in disarray, so they stopped attacking for a while. But my village is still in danger. I want you to help me take that thing down.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Tahu smiled. “But why do you need me?”

“I could knock it down with a tornado, but then the Rama might make a new hive elsewhere. I think fire might be more effective, because it will burn away the infection,” Lewa explained.

“I see. Let’s go.” The two Toa changed to their Kakamas and ran to Le-Koro. When they stopped in a clearing in the jungle, Tahu pointed at the compacted mud spire in the distance. “That must be it?”

“Yes. Now, my plan is this. On the near side there’s a big hole at the base. I will cut down some trees and put the ends in the hole. You will set them ablaze. Then I’ll blow air into the fire, to direct the smoke into the hive and to make it burn hotter.”

“That’s brilliant,” said Tahu admiringly. “But aren’t the Rama going to fly out and attack Le-Koro?”

“The Le-Koronans are all hiding in safety.”

“Then start chopping!” suggested Tahu. Lewa felled three large trees with his axe, and the Toa, wearing their Pakaris, dragged them to the hive. Once again, Lewa felt sick to his stomach, but he kept working, and the feeling passed. As they approached, several Rama spotted them and began to dive on them.

“Keep working!” called Tahu. “I’ll cover you.” He fired blast after blast of flames at the creatures until Lewa had finished his task. Then the green Toa stepped back, and Tahu directed his elemental force at the trees. They ignited immediately. With his axe, Lewa aimed a powerful wind at the blaze. The ample oxygen caused the fire to burn fiercely, creating a strong draft. Smoke began to billow out of the top of the hive. The Nui-Rama swarmed out of the opening, confused and weakened. Waves of heat began to reach the Toa.

“It’s getting too hot for me!” yelled Lewa over the roar of the fire. He turned and ran from the hive. Tahu followed him. They crouched behind a boulder to avoid the Rahi and watch the spectacle.

The hive turned into a raging furnace. Air was rushing into the hole at the bottom with such force that branches, leaves, stones, and earth were being sucked in with it. And the black fumes pouring out of the spire became thick and oily. The overpowering stench of infection joined the acrid smell of burning green trees and wood-pulp honeycomb.

“That’s a thing of beauty,” smiled Lewa.

“Oh, it certainly is,” Tahu agreed. “Especially now, with the flames shooting out of the top.”

They stood and watched as the inferno blazed. The dazed insects had scattered in the forest, the infection burned off of their masks. Now the weakened structure began to lean. And with a mighty crash, the entire hive collapsed. A huge cloud of dust, flying mud clods, and hot coals rolled toward them. They ducked behind the rock again as it passed over. The remains of the hive smoldered still, but the fire was running out of fuel.

Lewa was overwhelmed by a feeling of relief. He stood, coughing. “Thanks, Tahu! That was fun!”

“Fun?” asked Tahu. “Why, yes, it was. I’m glad I got to see that.”

The Toa of Air laughed. “Without you, it wouldn’t have happened for anyone to see,” he grinned. “And now my village is safe again. I’ve got such great friends.”

“Me, too,” Tahu smiled. “I’m glad you like to work together once in a while, after all.”

Lewa turned toward his village. “Well, I’d better check on things back home. Thanks again, Tahu.”

“No problem, Lewa.” Tahu raised his sword in a salute. “Let’s help everyone else find their masks, so we can do the same to Makuta!” The Toa of Fire raced back toward Ta-Koro.

“Maybe I misjudged Tahu,” thought Lewa as he sailed through the tree canopy. “He’s pretty serious, but I suppose we all should be. After all, evil is a very serious thing.” He sighed. “Every one of the other Toa has been kind to me lately. I was wrong to think I could go it alone, and face such a powerful enemy by myself. And I was foolish to ignore such goodfriend allies. I’m going to find Onua’s Kakama. I owe it to him… and then some!” After checking in with Matau and finding the village safe, he traveled to an unexplored part of the jungle and switched to his mask of X-ray vision.

Lewa’s enthusiasm of that morning was beginning to wane after hours of unsuccessful searching. He headed back to the village. As he passed the gardens, he saw Noli and Tamaru frantically gathering fruits and vegetables.

“What’s the hurry?” he asked.

Noli looked up. “Kongu and Lau have seen many deepwood Rahi moving toward Le-Koro,” he said solemnly.

“Turaga Matau thinks they are preparing for attacks all over the island,” added Tamaru. “He told us to quickgather all the food we can, because we may be in for a siege. Makuta may know that the quest for the powermasks is nearfinished.”

Lewa nodded. He picked up a woven sack full of food. “I’ll carry it up to the village,” he volunteered. He shouldered the sack and jumped into a tree. As he climbed, he saw more Matorans coming to help with the emergency harvest.

Soon the food was safely stored in the large huts around the cooking platform. Lewa fastened the last door securely and called out to Matau. “I think we’ve got it all!”

Matau smiled. “Thank you, Toa Lewa. Your helpwork is always appreciated.”

Lewa started to walk across the wooden bridges that led to the Matoran huts and from there to the village square, when he noticed a new bridge that was suspended directly across the gap to the main platform. “How long has this been here?” he wondered. He stepped onto the structure and immediately felt himself falling. He activated his Kanohi and hung in the air, looking up. The bridge vanished with a shimmer.

“MATAU!” yelled Lewa as he dropped onto a lower branch. “You rascal!”

Matau grinned at Lewa. “I would never use a mask you gave me to slytrick you,” he smiled. “But I’ve had this one for many leafdawns before you showed up.”

“Very funny,” groaned the Toa of Air, lifting himself back onto the main platform. “I guess I should always watch my step. You never know what might not be real around here!” He laughed as he slapped the Turaga on the back. “Just checking if you’re really there.”

“Oh, I’m real, my friend. Now, everyone, let’s get organized. Tamaru, you go downtree to guard the village from--”

The cheerful noise of Le-Koronan activity ceased as an elevator pod ascended. Two Ta-Koronans, clearly members of the Guard, stepped out. Everyone gathered around them to hear the news.

“Greetings, Le-Koronans,” one guardsman began, bowing to Matau. “We come to bring wonderful news. The Toa have all earned their golden Kanohi, and it is time for them to face Makuta.”

The second turned to Lewa. “Great Toa Lewa, you Toa have our destiny in your hands. Go to the Kini-Nui to meet the others. May the Great Beings protect you all, so that you can deliver our island from this abominable darkness!”

Lewa smiled at the strangers, then turned to his villagers and Matau. He glanced from one Matoran mask to the next, and he saw the anxiety in their eyes. “I am going to do all in my power to blow that demon away,” he vowed. He put his hand on Matau’s shoulder. “I’ll see you soon, my friend.” Then he swung away into the jungle, his heart racing.

Lewa reached the clearing around the great temple and paused to admire its beautiful sculpted stone pillars. When he was in the jungle he called home, it was easy to shrug off Matau’s mysterious talk of prophecy and destiny. But whenever he was near the Kini-Nui, he was captivated by its silent majesty. He always had the feeling that whoever had carved it probably knew more about his fate than he did himself. And now he was about to face that destiny, the reason for which he had been created. He slowed his rapid breathing and dropped to the ground. He walked slowly to the magnificent structure and climbed the steps. Tahu and Pohatu were standing there, talking quietly. They stopped talking and smiled at him as he approached.

Soon the pale blue blur of Kopaka appeared out of the woods. Onua and Gali were the last to arrive, and the Toa of Earth was given a hero’s welcome for the help he had given the others. Lewa was glad to see that Onua no longer seemed to be in pain.

Just as Lewa was objecting that the Rahi might ambush the Toa from behind, the multicolored traveler arrived with a party of Matorans from every village. Lewa smiled knowingly at Tamaru. “I bet he jumped at the chance for adventure!” thought the Toa of Air. It was decided that the Matorans would guard the Kini-Nui from Rahi as the Toa descended to fight Makuta.

The heroes of Mata Nui took their positions on the platform. Lewa anxiously watched the other Toa descend into the center of the temple until it was his turn. He used his Miru to slow his fall, so that although he was not the last to drop, he was the last to land, touching down silently in the gloom. As the echoes of moving stone died down, he felt a wave of nausea from the proximity of infection and evil. He remembered the horrible black Nui-Kopen and shuddered at the thought of facing it again. But he swallowed hard and looked at Tahu. The Toa of Fire had ignited his sword and was pointing toward a narrow circular crack in the wall that was shining red.

“This must be the entrance to Makuta’s lair,” said Tahu. They could see the image of a monolithic creature carved on the door.

“We must form the Toa Kaita now!” urged Gali. “Kopaka, Lewa, you are with me.” Lewa stepped toward Gali, relieved that she seemed to know what to do.

Kopaka and Gali began to pull parts off themselves. Lewa’s momentary astonishment gave way to confident knowledge from some recess of his mind he had never known existed. He sat down and pulled off his legs and feet. Quietly, they took themselves apart, first with their hands, and then when their arms were removed, with their Matatus. Then, taking turns, they clicked their pieces together into a new and puzzling configuration, in a strange dance of moving parts. As the great creature neared completion, the powerful design became apparent. Lewa willed his head to be lifted high onto mighty shoulders, and as it slid onto the neck, he felt his neural connections link with those of the combined body. The Toa of Air felt a presence inside his own mind, as if suddenly the Toa of Ice was joining him there. Then the mind of the Toa of Water appeared inside the shared mind as well.

The three identities were separate, dwelling inside one head together. Lewa heard Gali’s voice as if it were inside his brain. “Lewa? Kopaka? I can feel you…Are you there?”

Lewa answered her, “Yes, Gali, here I am.”

Kopaka’s quiet response came next: “And I am here also.”

Lewa felt his mind opening up like an orchid, long-silent thoughts and memories finding a voice again. They mingled with Gali’s, and he saw through her eyes for a few moments, admiring the beauty of the enigmatic creatures in the depths of the ocean. He felt the surge of adrenaline as she tackled a Tarakava and wrested off its mask, a flush of gratitude toward Onua, who was handing her a mud-covered Matatu, and terror followed by relief as the Nui-Jaga before her burst into flames and Tahu appeared amidst the smoke. Then he heard her voice again, gently coaxing. “Kopaka… open up… we need you!” Suddenly his head was flooded with visions of Muaka tumbling off snowy cliffs, flickering lightstones inside a tunnel of carved ice with row upon row of arcane inscriptions, the thrill of skiing down a nearly vertical slope as the leading edge of a rumbling avalanche ticked his heels, and then the deafening silence as the mass of snow froze instantly at the command of his ice blade.

And then Lewa heard Kopaka say, “Gali! Did he hurt you?” as he saw Gali break free of Tahu’s embrace and run, panicked, into the woods. Gali spoke again. “No, Kopaka, he’s more than made it up to me. Let it go. We share one destiny, and we must not dwell on our differences.” Kopaka’s tension subsided into peace like ripples expanding on the surface of a pond.

From the depths of quiet strength came Kopaka’s voice. “Let us fulfill that destiny and destroy this destroyer! He cannot hold together against our unity.”

Lewa suddenly saw Makuta for what really was. “He’s not just a big, nasty monster to challenge our fighting skills. He threatens the very thing that drives us to work together and care for one another on this island—our brotherlove for each other. He wants to divide us so he can tear us apart!”

Gali’s voice was clear and melodious. “But our strength lies in knowing the truth, and we will prevail.” Lewa felt his mind melting into the others’, until there was only one mind, that of Wairuha, Toa Kaita of Wisdom. “Spirit of Wisdom--hear me!” he heard his own triple voice call out, in perfect unison.

Wairuha turned to his companion, Akamai, Toa Kaita of Valor, who looked fearsome indeed. He could see his own shining silver Miru reflected in Akamai’s gold Hau. “So, Wairuha, you are joined,” said Akamai. “Let us now choose a path and go into the darkness to face our destiny, be it good or ill.”

“Our way lies not together, Akamai. We must face whatever evils are before us alone. I choose this road. You take the other. With luck, we will come together again, at the gates of Mangaia!”

Wairuha strode into the blackness. He was surrounded by glowing yellow eyes. The huge, menacing crab-like Manas inched closer. Suddenly they lunged at him, and he spun, beating them back with the axe and ice blade in his right hand. Sparks flew in all directions. But then one of the creatures hit him in the back, and he stumbled. Another hit his chest, and Wairuha collapsed in pain. He staggered to his feet again.

But Akamai had turned around and come back. As one of the beasts jumped for Wairuha’s head, Akamai lunged in front of him and struck it away with his sword. It flew into one of the cylindrical towers lined up near the doorway, and its eyes dimmed. Akamai stood, his face solemn, and looked at the Manas, massing for another attack. “This then, is how it ends, Wairuha,” he said grimly.

“For these monsters also, Akamai,” replied Wairuha, remembering the truth of their destiny. “We will not go down without a price!” Then he noticed something. After Akamai had slammed one of the Manas into the tower, several of the creatures appeared disabled, not just the one who had been thrown.

“Wait, Wairuha. These strange towers… maybe…”

Wairuha was already swinging his weapons, cleaving the tower in half in a blaze of light and flying metal debris. Several of the Manas lurched to a halt, their yellow eyes extinguished. Akamai slashed another tower with his fire sword and watched more of the Rahi stop. Wairuha covered his back, whacking away the attacking creatures as Akamai destroyed the last of the towers. In the sudden silence they surveyed the damage.

“We have survived,” panted Akamai.

“For now. We were lucky,” smiled Wairuha.

“Wisdom provides only when valor is in its service,” remarked Akamai. “And vice versa.” Wairuha nodded, grateful to his brave friend for rescuing him.

The two combined Toa watched the circular door rise and stepped through the doorway. But they immediately felt the tug of bizarre forces on their bodies.

“I feel… strange,” said Akamai.

“Feels like—being torn apart!” Wairuha stumbled and fell to his knees.

The Kaita watched in amazement as their parts were pulled off and fell to the ground. Wairuha felt his mind disintegrate into three individuals, and then Lewa was aware of being alone in his own head again. He quickly willed his parts to recombine, snapping the last of them together with his hands.

“What has happened?” asked Tahu.

“The spirit of Makuta… is the spirit of destruction,” said Gali slowly. “This is his inner realm. The Toa Kaita cannot exist here.”

Pohatu’s usually serene face looked anxious. “The Manas nearly destroyed the Toa Kaita. And Makuta is ten times greater than they. What hope do we have?”

Gali spoke reassuringly. “The Toa Kaita merely gave physical form to the force of our unity. We still possess it, in our hearts.”

“But the Toa Kaita’s wisdom and valor were unmatched,” objected Lewa, shaking his head. He couldn’t imagine anything more powerful than the creatures of which he had been a part moments before. But his pessimistic thoughts were interrupted by Tahu.

“Where wisdom and valor fail,” said the Toa of Fire, “all that remains is faith. And it can overcome all. Gali is right. We must go on.”

The others nodded. Side by side, they strode into the lair. Overhead, they saw a powerful vortex of swirling parts. The strange wind that animated them made an eerie moaning noise. Tahu stepped forward. “Makuta!” he called in a loud, clear voice. “We have come!”

Lewa clenched his jaw, expecting the horrible Nui-Rama to swoop down from the ceiling. Or perhaps Makuta would take the shape of a different Rahi—maybe even one they had never encountered before. But from the dark recesses of the den, a strange, small figure emerged. It was a Matoran, wearing a Hau and covered with mottled patches of corrosion and infection.

Tahu recoiled. “What?!”

“I have been waiting for you,” said Makuta in a gravelly voice. Lewa flinched. It was the voice from the hive. He felt overwhelmed by a wave of fear. But he stood his ground, determined to put an end to the horrible curse this spirit had put on his beloved island.

“But you - you are—“ stammered Tahu.

“I am that which you have sworn to protect,” replied the Matoran.

Kopaka glanced at the Toa of Fire. “Tahu, it’s a trick! We must destroy him!” Lewa nodded vigorously.

“Destroy me?” laughed Makuta. “You cannot destroy me. No more than you can destroy the sea. Or the wind. Or the void.”

Gali glared at him angrily. “You are like the sea? The sea bears life! The sea bore us!”

“I bore you,” sneered Makuta. “For I am Nothing. And out of Nothing, you came. And it is into Nothing that you will go.”

“Nothing?” thought Lewa. He considered the creatures on Mata Nui, and the complex, beautiful systems that made them live, breathe, move, and love. “That’s nonsense! Something can’t come from nothing. There is life on this island, and it was put there on purpose. And our purpose is to defeat him.”

“I stand by Mata Nui, side by side. I am his brother,” continued the Spirit of Evil. “The people of the world are builders. But look into their hearts… and you will find that they have also the power to destroy. I am that power. I am destruction. And I WILL destroy you.” At this, his eyes narrowed to sinister slits.

Tahu was still confused. “But… you are but a Tohunga!”

“You expected something else?” snarled Makuta. “Something like THIS?” A massive cluster of dark tentacles emerged from the void and lifted his head high into the air. Then the long, powerful tentacles began to lunge at the Toa. Kopaka quickly switched to his Kakama and ran. But the enemy was faster, slamming the Toa of Ice to the ground. Onua’s Hau deflected the thick rope-like strands, but then they circled behind him and struck him. Pohatu and Gali tried to dodge the assault and were swept away. Lewa levitated above the tentacles, but they reached up for him and entwined around his legs, dragging him down. Tahu hacked at them with his sword, but like Onua, he was overcome by an attack from behind, and was thrown to the floor. The massive beast regrouped himself, his ominous laughter resonating against the dank walls of the lair.

The Toa jumped up and approached Makuta again. When they were all standing in a circle around the monster, Tahu called to the others above the roar. “Our only hope is to work together!” And he directed his fiercest flame straight at the heart of the creature. Next to him, Kopaka powered up and shot a blast of extreme cold. Gali discharged a powerful jet of water. Lewa fired a gale-force wind. Onua formed a glowing green ball between his claws and slammed it into the floor. Pohatu smashed his foot onto the ground. The Toa watched as four streams of elemental energy caused the strange head to bob and thrash. Then the two slower powers made their impact. Huge chunks of earth and stone erupted from the ground, battering the vicious monster. He uttered one more threat as his head spun from its body. “You cannot destroy me… for I am Nothing.” Disembodied parts rained down on the Toa. The echoes of the battle fell silent, and they stood looking at one another.

Lewa breathed at last. “Mission accomplished,” he whispered.

Then he saw Tahu’s body vibrate and turn white. One by one, the Toa began to disappear. He was lifted off the floor and transported away. He stumbled as his feet landed on something hard. Blinking in the bright daylight, he realized he was in the middle of the temple at Kini-Nui. The other Toa were standing around him, similarly dazed. A crowd of Matorans—the Chronicler’s party (except for Takua himself), along with most of the Ta-Koronan Guard, the Onu-Koronan Ussalry, and the Le-Koronan Kahu-Force, cheered and shouted and flung their discs into the air.

“We did it!” shouted Tahu, raising his sword. “We defeated Makuta! Mata Nui is safe again!”

“Hooray!” cheered Lewa as he launched into a back flip. At last the island was free, and he felt like celebrating.

“Praise the Great Beings!” yelled Pohatu, clasping Onua’s raised claw with his hand.

The Matorans ran over to the Toa and embraced their legs. The Toa sat amidst them and told them about the battle.

“Makuta thought he had us,” smiled Kopaka. “He thought we would fall for his lies. But now he is fallen.”

Lewa turned to Kopaka. “Thanks for seeing through his ruse. And thank you, Tahu, for leading us so bravely against him.” He nodded at the Toa of Fire, who smiled back.

The Toa were silent for a while, basking in the gentle sunlight and the peace that came with victory. Gali sat in the grass and put her arm around Maku. “I feel like it’s been a hundred years since the day my parts fell out of that canister.”

“Do you remember,” Lewa grinned, patting Tamaru’s head, “how much we learned that day?”

Pohatu smiled at Gali. “You have grown so much since then, in wisdom as well as skill. All of us have.”

“Sometimes,” said Tahu, “it was a trial by fire.”

Lewa smiled in agreement. “Don’t I know it.” He leaned back onto his elbows in the grass, suddenly realizing how tired he was. But he was content, because finally he felt as if he had really done his part. Just as the prophecies had said, the Toa had fulfilled their destiny. He wondered if it had really been his destiny to be infected. “It must have been,” he shrugged to himself. “As ashamed as I am of what I did, it’s over, and I learned something from it. Never again will I take my friends for granted.” And now there would be peace at last, to enjoy their company. He lay his head down, imagining the party they would have in Le-Koro. “There will be food, and music, and dancing, and playgames. I’ll invite Onua to come, and I’ll teach him a few acrobatic tricks!” he laughed. “And Gali, too--I’ll play my new song for her… Oh, I’ll invite all of them, for that matter.” He closed his eyes, and his daydreams turned into dreams under the rosy evening sky.



Review topic here.

This post has been edited by GaliGee: Sep 15 2003, 11:10 AM

[GaliGee]

Chapter 6: Lewa Staggers

The treetop was rocking. Lewa set down his horn for a moment and paused to soak in the resonant, wonderful sound from the best band ever assembled in Le-Koro. Along with the usual performers, the Toa had joined the celebration, along with several Matorans from the other villages. Onua was hunched over a set of drums, his claws moving almost too fast to see. Pohatu had rigged a larger drum with a foot pedal, and he was tapping a large metal plate and two bells with drumsticks at the same time. Kopaka was playing a xylophone, echoing his own elaborate melodies in a complicated, beautiful fugue. Tahu’s fingers moved rapidly over the frets of a lute, and the strings rang out with rich harmony. Gali was singing. Her clear voice reverberated off the tree canopy, and the birds stopped their own songs to listen in jealous awe. The Matorans played flutes and percussion, danced, and sang back-up to Gali’s fluid soprano vocals.

The Toa of Air picked up his other horn, a smaller instrument capable of a wide range of sounds, and began to harmonize with Kopaka’s theme, adding mordants and trills. But then he stopped playing. The platform was beginning to vibrate up and down ominously, resonating with the rhythm of the drummers. He tapped on Onua’s shoulder. “You and Pohatu need to tone it down. You’re starting to shake the whole bigtree.”

Onua looked up. “It’s not us.”

Lewa glanced at Tahu. Smoke was drifting out of his instrument, and the sky was darkening. “Tahu! You’re getting out of control,” warned Lewa. “Take it easy, you guys… if we keep it up, we’re going to wrecksmash the village!”

Tahu shrugged and kept playing. Lewa ran back to Onua. “If it’s not you… then what’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” replied the Toa of Earth. “Why don’t you wake up and help me figure that out?”

Lewa felt someone shaking him. His eyes snapped open to see Onua’s Pakari. The Toa of Air sat up, groggy, in the grass next to the Kini-Nui. The earth under him shuddered from time to time, distant trees crashed to the ground, and dark smoke rose on the horizon. Pohatu stood rubbing his eyes as he looked toward Ta-Wahi. Kopaka helped Gali up, and they walked over to the Toa of Stone. Onua and Lewa joined the others, and Tahu stumbled to his feet and stood behind them.

“What is happening?” Lewa muttered “I thought we had finished our quest!”

Kopaka shook his head. “Victory might have been an illusion, Lewa.” The green Toa’s heart sank. It had been such a pleasant illusion.

“Look!” called Pohatu. “It’s one of Tahu’s villagers!”

Tahu leaned over toward the Matoran who had just emerged, breathless, from the underbrush. “Speak,” he urged gently. “What brings you so far from Ta-Koro?”

The frightened villager whispered, “Bohrok… Bohrok… Bohrok… Bohrok…”

“What’s he saying, Tahu?” asked Gali.

“One word—over and over. ‘Bohrok’,” answered the Toa of Fire grimly. “I will return to Ta-Koro immediately.”

Gali put her hand on Tahu’s arm. “We shall all go, Tahu.”

“If there is a threat to your village, it is a threat to all our people,” added Onua. The Toa wasted no time. They switched to their Kakamas and raced toward Ta-Koro.

“I have just one question,” yelled Pohatu over the pounding of their foosteps.

“What’s that, Pohatu?” said Onua.

“What’s a Bohrok?”

They decelerated just outside the village. The sounds of destruction were deafening. Huge chunks of stone cascaded from the cliffs into the lava, and steam hissed as it rose from massive formations of ice. Acrid smoke floated above the village. Strange bug-like creatures of various colors were chipping at the rock all around. A crowd of white ones moved toward the Toa, making rhythmic clicking noises.

Lewa clenched his jaw. “I fear we have just found out.”

“Stay here,” Tahu warned the Ta-Koronan guardsmen who ran to greet the Toa. “We shall deal with this.”

“They don’t look like any Rahi I’ve ever seen,” remarked Lewa “Let’s see how they stand up to a cyclone.” He jumped, activating his Miru, and raised his axe. He sent the smoky air swirling into a vortex. But then he felt a cold sensation and began to drop. He looked down at himself and realized his lower body was completely encased in an immense block of ice.

“What? Ice! Making me too heavy to stay in the air... I’m--falling!” He abandoned his attempt to create a tornado and put as much energy as he could into his Kanohi, but the weight was too much. He crashed to the ground with a groan.

“Away from him, creatures!” shouted Tahu, brandishing his fire sword. The Bohrok retreated. Lewa winced as the wave of flame washed over him, but he felt the ice melting away. He changed to his Pakari and broke free of the remaining chunks.

Pohatu looked confused. “This is crazy. They aren’t harming the villagers. They even ignore us, until we get right in their way!”

“Then why all this chaos?” wondered Onua. “What can they hope to gain from it?” The Toa of Earth glanced up and saw a group of black creatures. “Pohatu! Their powers are causing an avalanche! MOVE!” He sprang toward Pohatu, slamming him out of the path of a giant mass of earth and rock.

Over the roar, Lewa heard Tahu’s voice. “Their strength lies in their numbers. Lewa! Gali! Combine your powers! The rest of us will hold them off.”

Lewa glanced at Gali, glad they had practiced this trick before. They invoked a mighty blast of their elements and watched them mingle and amplify each other’s force. “Together we can summon the might of the storm!” yelled the Toa of Water. Lightning flashed all around, and storm clouds boiled up, seemingly out of nowhere. Out of the corner of his eye, Lewa saw Kopaka freezing several brown Bohrok into an icy prison. Pohatu was kicking rocks into the middle of a swarm of black ones, and Onua hurled stones at some white creatures. Tahu sprayed a wall of flames around Gali and Lewa to protect them as they concentrated on their thunderstorm.

“They’re fleeing, Gali. It worked!” cheered Lewa. The noise finally died down, and the Toa surveyed the damage.

“They’re gone for now,” sighed Pohatu. He looked at a fallen brown being that lay at his feet, its head open. “They left us a prisoner, too. But what’s that in its head?” He leaned over, studying the small dark green object inside.

A voice spoke behind him. “I know the answers you seek, Toa of Stone, though I wish I did not.”

Pohatu turned, startled. “Turaga Vakama!”

The Turaga of the village of fire continued. “We have known the legends of the Bohrok for centuries, and we prayed they were only that: legends. But the Bohrok are real, all too real.”

The Toa gathered around Vakama. Lewa frowned as he listened. “The Turaga always have bad news for us,” he groaned to himself.

“It is said the Bohrok sleep an eternal sleep, waiting to hatch,” explained the Turaga. “Once awakened, the swarms are unstoppable... a force so powerful, they can reduce mountains to rubble... and turn life-giving rivers as dry as the desert sands!”

Lewa gasped. “The inscription on that rock Pohatu kicked... that’s what it meant!” He glanced at the Toa of Stone, who nodded knowingly.

“Worse,” Vakama went on, “these creatures do not work alone. Each Bohrok carries within it a krana, their greatest strength. Also their greatest weakness. Even the mightiest of the Bohrok can be humbled, if parted from their krana.” He described each of the six breeds of Bohrok, which wielded elemental powers just like those of the Toa. “Now that the swarms have awakened, only one hope remains. You must collect the eight breeds of krana from each Bohrok swarm. They will unlock the secret of their defeat.”

“Oh, great, another treasure hunt,” grumbled Lewa. “Except instead of being guarded by enemies, this time the treasures are INSIDE the enemies!”

Tahu was looking suspiciously at Vakama. “How do you know so much about these creatures, Turaga?” He picked up the green krana and looked at it intently.

“There will be time later to reveal all, Toa of Fire. But beware: when worn, the krana can steal the mind... and even the Toa might not be able to resist its power,” Vakama finished ominously.

Lewa shuddered. He remembered when the horrible black Nui-Kopen fitted the infected mask to his face, and the panic he felt at losing all control of his own thoughts. And he recalled his overwhelming remorse the moment Onua knocked the Kanohi off his face, when he realized the terrible treachery he had committed against his own people and the friend who had come to save him. He looked nervously at Onua. Onua put his claw on Lewa’s shoulder and squeezed gently.

Tahu, as usual, was taking control of the situation. “Return to your villages. If gathering these krana will save Mata Nui, then gather them we shall.”

“Let us hope they do not gather us first,” commented Kopaka solemnly. “Farewell.”

The Toa of Air ran until he reached the jungle. He scrambled up a trunk and began to travel through the trees. “Turaga Matau and the villagers are brave and resourceful... but still I pray the Bohrok haven’t reached Le-Koro.” He swung onto the main platform, into the midst of a gathering of villagers.

“Greetings, Lewa--Toa of Air.” “We have been waiting for you.”

It was Matau’s voice. But it wasn’t Matau’s face. In the place of his Mahiki, the Turaga wore a red krana. Lewa inhaled sharply as he looked around. All the villagers wore red krana. And they were surrounded by green Bohrok, and smaller creatures that resembled the Bohrok.

“Matau, if this is your idea of a joke,” Lewa began, backing away, “you’d better think again. Do you have any idea how dangerous those mindthieves are?” While he was talking, his mind was racing. “Those are Lehvak, the ones Vakama said were the most deadly kind. How can I free the villagers and Matau without falling prey to their acid?”

In a single rapid movement, he grabbed Matau with one arm and a vine with the other and swung off the platform. Landing in the fork of a tree, he yanked the krana off the struggling Turaga. “Where’s your mask, Matau?” he asked.

“I… I don’t know, but we don’t have time--”

Lewa looked up and saw the Lehvak jumping from branch to branch through the treetops. The villagers were swinging toward them on vines as well. “If I use my air powers, I’ll endanger the villagers,” he reasoned. “I’d better just get out of here.” He shifted Matau onto his back and reached for a vine. Suddenly he felt the limb beneath him give way, and he activated his Miru to keep from falling. He looked at the tree and saw strange green fumes rising from a fresh scar. “The acid! It ate through that branch--instantly!” He used his axe to push himself away from the trunk until he was able to grab another vine and sail into the jungle. But now he heard ominous creaking sounds, and the entire tree was falling. He sprang free of the branches as it crashed to the ground. Now he was on the ground, running. More Lehvak appeared in front of him. He switched to his Hau to deflect their acid streams, praying that his body would shield Matau. He wanted to use his Kakama, but abandoning the Hau seemed too risky. Suddenly several branches fell all around him, forming a cage. He changed to his Pakari and hacked through one of them with his axe. As he squirmed through the gap, he looked back at Matau to make sure he was still there. Then he turned his head, and he felt the impact of an object on his face. His mask tumbled off. In its place he felt a strange, cool, slimy object.

A terrible sensation, like needles penetrating his face, brought Lewa to his knees. First a roaring sound, then strange voices, echoed inside his head. “Now you belong to us, Lewa, Toa of Air,” they hissed. “You will serve the swarm.” He felt nauseous and weak.

Matau jumped off his back and ran in front of him. The Turaga grabbed at the krana, but Lewa watched in horror as his own hand struck the Turaga away. “They control my movements!” he realized. “I must override their--AAAH” Agonizing pain racked his entire body. “And they control what I feel, too…”

Lewa stumbled to his feet. “Capture the Turaga,” the voices commanded. He looked around and saw Matau, weak from losing his mask, disappearing into the woods. He easily overtook the village elder and scooped him up. “Hold him there,” whispered his captors. A Lehvak appeared and flipped its head case open. The krana flew at Matau’s face and stuck there. Lewa dropped him and staggered backwards. “I just betrayed my Turaga… again…”

“Cease this disloyal thought!” ordered the voices. Lewa’s body writhed in pain. He cleared his mind and took a deep breath.

Soon the Bohrok had Lewa hard at work, hacking down huge swaths of his beloved jungle. He groaned as he complied with the evil instructions, but every time he resisted, he was tortured with unspeakable pain. He glanced at Matau, clearing underbrush with his saw-like staff. Every now and then they tried to speak, but they immediately found themselves rolling on the forest floor in agony again. They resorted to silent glances to reassure each other. “One day soon,” Matau ventured, “someone will come overrock and free us from this paingrip.”

Lewa watched him squirm for a moment. Finally Matau added, “Kongu and Tamaru escaped by groundpath during the attack. Maybe they will find help.”

The Matoran were completely overwhelmed by the krana. Their wills weren’t strong enough to incur the punishment to which Lewa and Matau were often subjected. The days began to blur together for Lewa. He numbed his mind to the anguish of watching huge areas of the forest fall from his own axe strokes. And he suppressed thoughts of escape. To do otherwise was to invite paralyzing pain.

One day as Lewa worked at his destructive task by himself, he felt the earth move. Onua emerged from the ground, changed to his Akaku, and looked around. He reverted to his Pakari when he saw Lewa.

“Oh, good. Onua can free me from this thing. He can--” The Toa of Air doubled over in pain. He cleared his mind of dangerous thoughts and straightened his back. As Onua cautiously approached, Lewa felt his body tense and lunge at his fellow Toa. He watched his flying kick send Onua sailing backwards into a tree. “Onua, get away from here... please!” implored Lewa. “Flee, before I am forced to harm you!” He flinched as was tormented again for thoughts that were disloyal to the swarm.

“I believe I have a better idea.” Onua leaped to his feet and slammed his claws into the ground in front of him. “Now, let’s try this again.”

Lewa groaned. He didn’t want to fight Onua, but he knew that the swarm would force him to attack his friend. The voices in his head were increasing in volume. “Leave, while there’s still time!” he warned. “I can feel the power building. Even your strength won’t--”

“I know the krana controls your body, Lewa, but not your will. And I know you are stronger than this parasite.”

Lewa shuddered. Onua was right. But how could his mind prevail against something that controlled his every movement? He was both hoping and fearing that Onua would try to grab him and rip the creature off his face.

“If it is so strong that it can make you harm a friend, then go ahead,” Onua said quietly, his arms at his sides. “I will not defend myself. But I know you, Lewa. I have fought beside you.” He put his claw on Lewa’s axe. “You are a Toa. Prove yourself worthy of the name. My energies are yours, Toa of Air. Be free!”

Lewa’s axe shook. The voices were screaming for him to use it on Onua. But he focused his energy on his right arm and kept it from moving. Then he felt a new strength, one that was not subject to the effects of the krana. He quickly raised his left hand to his face and gripped the krana. “Yes,” mumbled Lewa. “Toa... my people... my friends! I will not harm Onua, creature!”

“You will,” replied one of the voices, deeper and more resonant than the others. “It is an obstacle. It is interfering with the mission.”

“I WILL NOT!” yelled Lewa. He ripped the krana off. It felt as if he had torn off his own face. Stabbing pains wracked his body, and he staggered to his knees. Finally the voices were silent. He swallowed and tried to focus his eyes.

“Easy. Here... you will need this.” Onua handed Lewa his Kanohi. “I took it away from a party of Lehvak Va. That is how I knew you were in danger.”

“More than danger,” panted Lewa, putting the mask back on his face. “I know now, Onua. I know why the Bohrok are here!”

“Perhaps for the same reason the Lehvak are charging us,” commented Onua. Lewa jumped to his feet, alarmed. “But not to worry,” continued the Toa of Earth. “I brought friends.”

Lewa gasped as he watched several strange machines emerge from the underbrush. They resembled oversized Bohrok, but they were piloted by Onu-Koronans. “What ARE those things?” The machines jabbed at the approaching Lehvak with hooked arms. The Bohrok backed up as they were surrounded.

“The Matoran have learned that the Bohrok do not truly live,” explained Onua. “They are artificial life... biomechanical creations. The villagers salvaged parts from fallen Bohrok to build the Boxor vehicles.”

“They will need them. When I wore the krana, I could hear the voices of the swarm. We must act now, Onua—or nothing will be left of Mata Nui!”

Onua nodded. “They are doing their best to level this place. And perhaps it was your destiny to wear a krana so that you can tell us why.”

Lewa sighed, amazed at the wisdom of his fellow Toa. “Leave it to you, Onua, to see a brightside to all this. I can’t believe what a wonderful friend you are. For the second time, you risked your own life to save me from myself.” He hung his head, overwhelmed by shame and horror. “I can’t believe I let myself be overtaken by evil, again.”

Onua smiled. “You did what we all did. We each went home to our village. But in your case, it looks like they were waiting for you. It’s not your fault.”

“Well, thanks for trying to make me feel better, but...”

Onua put his arm around Lewa’s shoulders. The Toa of Air lifted his head and looked into his emerald eyes. He embraced his dark friend and held him tightly.

“At least you didn’t break any of my ribs this time,” grinned Onua, releasing him. “Not that I minded Gali fussing over me. Come on, we’d better go find the other Toa. And bring that krana. You’ve paid dearly for it--we might as well use it to bring these monsters down!”

“We need to go to the Kini-Nui,” urged Lewa. “I heard the voices of the swarm talking about destroying it! But Matau and my villagers are all wearing krana, too…”

“The Boxor squad will free them,” replied Onua. “We Toa need to go to the root of the matter, and get rid of the Bohrok at the source.” He changed to his Kakama and began to run toward the Kini-Nui.

“Well, I agree with that,” nodded Lewa, falling into step beside him. “The krana are linked telepathically with two intelligent creatures. They call themselves the ‘Bahrag’—Cahdok and Gahdok. They are like the queens of an insect colony. I heard them instructing the Bohrok.”

“How creepy,” remarked Onua.

“Very. They live deep underground somewhere. I might be able to find it from the directions they’ve been giving the swarm.”

“So, Lewa, why ARE they trying to destroy Mata Nui?”

“Well, they keep talking about restoring the island to the Before-Time. Whatever that babbletalk means.”

“And they use the krana to control anyone who might want to stop them?”

“Yeah. It’s a really primitive sort of control, though. Not like the infected mask. The mask completely took over my will, and made me WANT to wrecksmash things and hurt others. But the krana just ran my body, like a machine. So my body was working for them, but I could still think my own thoughts. The only catch is, when you think thoughts against the swarm, they can hear those, and they make you feel torturepain.”

“Maybe that’s because the krana were designed to run Bohrok, which are more like machines than living creatures, and have no will of their own,” remarked Onua.

“I think you’re right. Is that why you decided to talk me into removing the krana myself?”

“I had no idea if it would work, Lewa. I just knew that last time I fought you, I got clobbered. And I thought that perhaps after the experience of being infected, you would have a stronger will than last time. It was a gamble.”

Lewa glanced at Onua as they ran. “Thanks for taking the chance on me.”

“You’re welcome. I had a feeling you would rise to the occasion.” They slowed down as the approached the great temple.

Lewa hopped up onto the central platform of the magnificent stone structure and looked around. “No one’s here. But I have a strange feeling. The entrance to the Bahrag’s lair is very close, I think.”

Onua put his claw on the ground and felt for vibrations. “And something else is, too.” He stood and changed to his Akaku. “A swarm of Pahrak.”

Pahrak began streaming out of the woods on all sides. “Take the far side,” suggested Onua. “I’ll get these over here. And be careful—it would be a tragedy if we damaged it ourselves, trying to defend it!”

Lewa jumped onto the grass on the opposite side of the temple. He focused a high-pressure jet of air at the first of the Bohrok. It rolled backwards into the three behind it. “I’ve got to turn them away from the temple,” he thought. He leaped over the first row of creatures into the middle of the swarm. They spun around and started to charge him. Then he did a back flip over the second row. As they crashed into each other in confusion, Lewa summoned a tornado, and very carefully directed it around the periphery of the swarm, picking them up in the swirling vortex. He brought it into the forest, and the wind churned up trees and soil until he stilled the air with a wave of his axe. The Bohrok fell to the ground, stunned. Lewa switched to his Hau and hacked open the head cases with his axe. After scanning for more enemies with his Akaku, he ran over to Onua’s side of the Kini-Nui, his arms full of dark green krana.

Onua was standing in the field, a pile of krana at his feet. Borhok lay scattered all around amidst clumps of earth and uprooted trees. The Toa of Air laughed heartily. “You made as big a battlemess as I did!”

“Yes, the temple is still standing, but we sure trashed the landscaping around it!” Onua grinned. He pulled a vine off one of the trees. The creatures writhed slowly as he threaded the vine through their eyeholes.

Lewa frowned with distate. “I can’t wait to use these things against their mistresses. However that’s going to work.”

Onua nodded. “Well, now we just have to find the others. I think we are nearing the end of the krana hunt. And with your knowledge of the Bahrag, we will have a better idea what to do next!”

A blue blur appeared at the edge of the field, and Kopaka emerged. “Hello, Kopaka!” called Onua.

Kopaka raised his sword in a salute. “It’s good to see you’re safe, Lewa.” He walked over to Onua and looked carefully at the krana on the vine slung over his shoulder. “Excellent. A Ja. Now we have all the Pahrak.”

Lewa smiled. “What’s left, Kopaka?”

“A Tahnok Xa, and four Lehvak. Tahu said he would get the Tahnok.”

“Well, we know where some Lehvak are,” said Onua, looking at Lewa. “They’re all over Le-Wahi.”

“And this mindthief was on my face, when Onua came and saved me,” added Lewa, holding up the red Za.

Kopaka looked intently at Lewa, and then at the krana. “Make that three Lehvak. You sure have a knack for getting into trouble, Toa of Air,” he said, shaking his head. “Good thing Onua’s keeping an eye on you.”

Lewa frowned. Did the others really consider him so irresponsible? But Onua was laughing. “Someone’s got to do it. Otherwise, how could Lewa keep risking his neck to learn so much about the enemy?”

Kopaka smiled. “Well, I’m going to go check on my village. Be careful.” He changed to his Kakama and vanished.

“Let’s get back to Le-Wahi,” suggested Onua.

“We should get those Lehvak krana off the faces of my villagers,” said Lewa. “I hate to leave them like that, anyway. Especially Matau.” They returned to the jungle. As they approached the base of the great tree, Lewa motioned for Onua to be quiet. He changed to his Huna and silently climbed the huge trunk.

Lewa’s heart skipped a beat as he peered over the edge of the platform. The village was almost completely destroyed. And the villagers were all gone. As he clung to the tree, horrified, he heard a loud whisper.

“Lewa! Get down here! Fast!”

Lewa wasted no time, dropping as fast as was safe with his Miru. Onua, in his Akaku, grabbed Lewa’s arm and pulled him into the forest. “They’re coming!”

From behind a clump of bushes, the Toa watched the swarm of Lehvak approach the tree. They began to fire acid at the base of the trunk.

“NO!” yelled Lewa, charging forward. Onua groaned and followed him. They stood back to back in their Haus, throwing each Bohrok to the ground and bashing it open.

When the swarm was immobilized, Onua turned to Lewa. “You realize how rash that was, don’t you?”

“Um, yes, I suppose it was,” replied Lewa sheepishly. “But we got them.”

“All right, let’s go look for the others again,” said Onua.

Lewa sighed. “We sure are getting a lot of exercise today.” They ran back to the Kini-Nui. No one was there, but they decided to rest for a few moments before trying the villages. Then Kopaka showed up again.

“Pohatu has gone to help Tahu with the last krana,” said the Toa of Ice. “We’re all going to gather in Ta-Wahi. I’ll go get Gali and meet you there.” He turned and blazed away again.

“What a relief,” sighed Onua. “Let’s go.” They changed to their Kakamas and ran toward the volcano. When they got to the village, they greeted the guards, who gestured for them to go inside. They saw Kopaka and Gali arriving at the gate behind them and paused to wave at them. Then Onua and Lewa went into the village and walked over to Vakama’s hut.

Onua knocked on the wall next to the door. “Tahu? I found Lewa. And the others joined us on the way. Have you gotten that Tahnok Xa yet?” He walked into the hut.

“Yes, I have,” replied Tahu. “It’s right here.”

“Then we have all the krana,” smiled Lewa as he stepped inside. “One of them is the Lehvak Za I was wearing until Onua saved me.”

Tahu held up the Tahnok Xa as he looked into Lewa’s eyes. For a moment they shared a memory of pain and horror.

“You, too?” asked the Toa of Air.

“Yes, for a few minutes,” replied Tahu. “I will never forget it.”

“Then let’s go rid Mata Nui of those villains forever,” said Onua. “The others are outside the gate.”

“Let’s go,” said Tahu. He nodded to Vakama. “May the Great Beings protect you.”

Vakama bowed. “And you also.”

Tahu led the way out of the village. Kopaka, Pohatu, and Gali were waiting outside, each holding a rope of krana. Kopaka said, “Follow me.”

“You know where the nest is?” asked Lewa.

“Yes, I’ve seen it. It’s near the Kini-Nui.”

“I thought so. We’ll follow you.”

Kopaka rolled his eyes. “Like I said…” He changed to his Kakama. The others did likewise, and they all ran toward the temple.

“This feels awfully familiar,” Lewa remarked to Onua. “Last time we all ran together, we were going to see what was causing all the destruction in the distance.”

Onua nodded. “This time we’re prepared, though.”

“I don’t know if we are or not,” warned Lewa. “There may be more going on underground than any of us realize.”

“There always is,” agreed Onua. “I should know!”

Lewa laughed. He found it ironic that the apparent source of all the evil on Mata Nui was also the home of his closest friend.



Review topic here.

This post has been edited by GaliGee: Jul 23 2003, 10:10 AM

[GaliGee]

Chapter 7: Lewa Flies

Kopaka led the other Toa to the entrance to the Bohrok lair. The giant hole in the ground seemed to extend forever into the blackness. Onua switched to his Miru and led the way with his superior night vision. The Toa soon landed in a wide, flat area.

“The Le-Matoran are free and safe... for now,” remarked Lewa. While they were running through the jungle to the lair, he had spotted a few of his villagers on birdback and breathed a sigh of relief. “But the Bohrok cannot be allowed to endanger our people any longer.”

“Then it’s decided,” replied Pohatu. “We will challenge the Bohrok in their nest.”

“No, the Bohrok are not the true enemy. It is the krana we must defeat,” Lewa argued. “They have a purpose, a mission—it’s why they exist!”

“Then they can tell us all about it... on their way off the island,” smiled Pohatu.

Lewa heard Tahu whispering to Onua. He caught a few words: “Keep an eye on Lewa.”

The Toa of Air crossed his arms. “They must think I’m some kind of riskthreat, since I wore the krana,” he muttered to himself. “But my loyalties were never affected by that thing—just my body. And why is Tahu questioning that? He wore a krana, too! But I suppose it wasn’t on him very long.” He glanced at Onua. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but he smiled as he realized, from Onua’s tone of voice, that the Toa of Earth was once again defending his green friend.

They changed to their Rurus to explore the darkness. Pohatu touched the walls of the cavern. “Have you noticed? This tunnel wall... it’s smooth. No Matoran dug this... or any Bohrok, for that matter.”

“Are you sure?” came Gali’s voice.

“Gali, if there’s one thing I know about, it’s stone. I think something is very wrong here.”

Lewa suddenly felt panic. “Maybe Tahu’s right to be wary of me,” he thought. “Maybe it’s BECAUSE he wore a krana, and he knows what they can do!” He turned to Kopaka. “I’m worried, Kopaka. What if the krana still controls me somehow? What if I try to stop you?”

Kopaka smiled grimly. “Don’t worry. You may try. You won’t succeed.”

This was reassuring, in a strange way. The five of them could obviously prevent him from sabotaging the mission. But Lewa wanted to be a full participant in the upcoming fight. The battle with Makuta had taught him that every one of the Toa needed to work together to defeat a strong enemy, just as the prophecies foretold.

Distracted by his thoughts, the Toa of Air stumbled, and Pohatu caught his arm. “Look,” said Lewa, gazing into the darkness below. “This is another shaft.”

Onua stepped next to him. “Bohrok pods! As far as I can see!”

The Toa of Fire dropped into the cavern to investigate. A hidden stone door suddenly began to move, closing off the chamber with Tahu inside it.

“We may be trapped up here!” shouted Pohatu over the rumble.

Lewa felt faraway vibrations as something else resonated with the moving stone. He groaned as he steadied himself, remembering that the krana voices had spoken of mighty, archaic machines. “We’re close now... close to the power... Armor, but more than armor. Power greater than we have ever known.”

Onua and Pohatu were clawing and kicking at the stone walls to no avail. The strange, smooth rock refused to yield. “If we can ever get to it, Lewa,” said Onua through clenched jaws. “With all our strength, we cannot produce even a crack in this slab!”

“It’s impossible,” Pohatu grumbled with frustration. “No stone is this strong!” As Kopaka froze a shield over their heads to protect them from falling lava, Pohatu continued to struggle. “What kind of stone is this? It takes our strongest blows and does not shatter!”

Lewa watched the two dark Toa pound at the wall. “Doesn’t shatter... doesn’t shatter...” he mumbled. “How can this be? Pohatu and Onua can break any stone! It must not be real stone.” The memory of a voice flashed into his mind. “Those fools are easily deceived, my sister...” And then he remembered Matau’s imaginary bridge. “Because... it isn’t there!” he cried suddenly.

“What?” demanded Pohatu incredulously.

The Toa of Air explained. “There’s nothing you and Onua can’t bring down. So if this wall is still standing, it cannot be real. Stop believing in it, and it disappears!” He swung his axe at the wall, and the blade passed through.

“How is that possible...” Gali began, but Kopaka pointed to the dripping ice shield. “Ask questions later, the lava IS real!”

Pohatu touched the wall with his hand, and it passed right through the illusion that he had pounded against with all his strength moments before. “Come on, Gali!”

As the Toa wondered what how they could free Tahu, the ground began to feel hot. “Everyone down—NOW!” yelled Kopaka. Pohatu dove for the floor. The walls of the cavern burst with a loud explosion, and Tahu shot through the partition separating him from the other Toa. Shards of stone and Bohrok pods flew everywhere. Tahu rolled and landed on his feet and looked around through the smoke and dust. The other Toa were getting up from the ground.

“Tahu! Are you all right?” asked Lewa.

“Used my sword... to heat the air... until the pressure blew the nest apart,” panted Tahu. “I went one way... the Bohrok the other. But they will be back.”

As the stone crumbled underneath their feet, the Toa used their Mirus to slowed their fall, and they landed on a round platform at the bottom of a stone well. “Where are we?” asked Tahu.

“Still in the realm of the Bohrok,” answered Kopaka. “These carvings in the floor match the krana we carry, and I think... yes, this is where the krana are meant to go.”

The stone floor with its krana-shaped niches triggered another memory for Lewa. The voices had said that the great machinery was hidden behind doors. “If they find a way to gather all the keys, we must keep them away from the locks,” they had said anxiously. Lewa put his krana in the indentations and listened to the shifting stone. “It’s begun! The end of the Bohrok!” cried Lewa.

“What are you talking about, Lewa?” asked Onua. “What do you know? It seems we’ve been invited in.” Huge stone doors groaned as they opened.

“Six doorways. Six of us,” remarked Tahu. “Everyone take a tunnel... and stay alert.” Lewa moved inside his tunnel and saw a hatch opening ahead of him.

More memories unfolded as Lewa swung himself up into the mighty suit of armor that waited inside. “These things have been waiting for us for eons,” he smiled. “Now the queens will know fear, for the first time!” The front panels closed around him, and he gripped the controls and strode down the passageway toward the light.

He was the first to run into a huge red creature, shaped somewhat like a flightless bird. She lunged at him. He stepped to the side as the massive teeth snapped together next to his head. Pivoting slightly, he leveled a blow at her head with the claw arm of his armor, sending her flying sideways. “Ha! I got you, you overgrown toothy fowl!”

A familiar voice resonated in his head. “Go ahead and gloat, Toa of Air. We are not so easily defeated as you think.” She sprang to her feet, moving faster than Lewa expected with her awkward-looking body.

The other Toa arrived, clad in their Exo-armor. Kopaka and Tahu drove the two enemies together. The Toa soon had them surrounded. But most of their blows were glancing off the Bahrag without harm.

“Fools!” taunted the queens of the swarms. “By bringing us together, you increase our power! Now Mata Nui will be as it was in the Before-Time!”

Lewa clenched his jaw. “The Before-Time,” he growled. “They want to turn the island into a bare rock, incapable of supporting life!” Lewa levitated slightly off the ground and raised his axe to blow a fierce wind at the creatures, but soon he fell, laden with ice. He tried to turn his head to see what the others were doing, but his neck was frozen. He changed to his Pakari and strained against his icy bonds. He finally broke one arm free.

Out of the noise, he heard Gali’s voice. “Onua! Pohatu! You are fighting shadows—and Tahu needs you!”

Lewa frowned. Illusions again! These foes were treacherous, indeed. But Gali’s warning must have worked, because soon he felt the ice melt away. Kopaka and Onua helped him to his feet. Then all three spun to face their attackers again.

Tahu yelled to the others. “All of you! Shed your armor! It hinders our elemental powers—and they are our only hope!”

“You dared challenge the Bohrok swarms?” hissed Cahdok. “You have no hope! The mission will proceed!”

Gahdok added, “You dared oppose your brothers! Therefore you must fall! Mata Nui will be cleansed!”

Lewa shook his head as he stepped out of his suit. “They think of us as we think of Makuta’s infection, something to be cleaned away,” he marveled. “They are wrong. All they want is destruction—the Bahrag are just like Makuta. But we want life! And we will survive!”

Tahu was shouting again. “Toa! Surround them! We must combine our powers!”

A premonition told Lewa that something strange would happen if they did. “But, the danger--”

“The safety of our people is worth any risk,” replied Gali. “If power is all these creatures understand, then we will show them power!”

The Toa took positions around their enemies and fired elemental energy at them. Instead of blasting the enemy to pieces, as they had done to Makuta, the combined beams of energy began to form a web of luminous fibers, imprisoning the Bahrag. The vicious queens shrieked and gnashed their horrible teeth. “Fools!” one scoffed, as the protodermis cage tightened around them. “You think you have won… but you cannot imagine what you have unleashed!”

The earth began to shake violently. Platforms supporting the Toa moved downward into the floor. Lewa slid into a tube, and it was filling with a strange, cool liquid. Horrified at the prospect of drowning, he tried to levitate, but his Miru was no longer working. There was no escaping the silvery fluid. He took a deep breath as his head went under and he was unable to see. Suspended in the liquid, dizzy and disoriented, he felt a sensation of warmth, beginning on his mask, his hands, and his chest, and then flowing through his whole body. Then the descent stopped, and he felt the floor under him begin to rise again. His head emerged and he gasped for air. The platform reached the floor level and halted.

Lewa looked the other Toa. They were wearing silver chest and shoulder armor, and their legs were longer and stronger. And their masks were changed, stretched into smooth, streamlined shapes. They had reverted from gold to the Toa’s elemental colors. But most notable was the change in their tools. Lewa looked down at the strange silver blades in his hands. “Katanas,” he said softly to himself.

“It is over,” said Tahu. His voice was the same, but it had a new, deeper resonance.

Onua tapped his chest armor. “Those chambers were filled with protodermis! It changed us--increased our power…”

Tahu felt the ground move again. “Let us worry about why it happened later,” he warned. “There are more important questions to answer.”

“Questions like these,” added Lewa. He no longer heard the taunting of the Bahrag, and he wondered if they had been crushed, or if they were still a threat somehow. “What happened to Cahdok and Gahdok? And how are we going to get out of here?”

Pohatu turned his face up. “Look out! That stone is falling right for us!”

“It’s no use,” Lewa groaned. “It’s too big, and there’s nowhere to run to!”

Lewa tried to switch to his Hau. But his mask no longer had the power of shielding. He saw Tahu’s shimmering protective field extend upward as the Toa of Fire pulled Gali close to him. The stones began to pound against the shield. And somehow they ricocheted away from all the Toa. “The Mask of Shielding protected us all!” cried Tahu. The last of the rocks tumbled harmlessly to the floor as he released Gali. “It could never do that before…!”

“And it never will again,” warned Kopaka, “if we do not escape! Lewa, Pohatu--combine the powers of your masks!”

“Sure, I see! The mask of speed gets us off the ground...” began Pohatu.

“And the mask of levitation keeps us in the air!” finished Lewa. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You would have, Lewa... eventually,” replied Kopaka. “If we had had the time to wait. But patience is no virtue when the ground begins to shake!”

Lewa rolled his eyes. He wished he could think of a witty comeback. But instead he focused on his Kanohi. Together, they levitated and ran through the collapsing tunnels, dodging confused Bohrok as they went. Finally the heroes of Mata Nui shot out of the ground as the last of the tremors shook the island.

“We did it!” rejoiced Kopaka. “The threat of Cahdok, Gahdok, and the swarms is ended! But at what price?”

The Toa tumbled to the ground and slowly stood up as the dust settled. “Nothing has been lost,” retorted Tahu. “The protodermis has given us the power to protect our people from any danger… and to heal this shattered land! Once we were Toa, but now we are far, far more… Now and forevermore, we are Toa Nuva!”

The Toa of Stone studied his new claws. “Just look at these new tools!” He kicked a rock and watched it fly far away until it fell with a distant thud. “What a difference!”

Lewa nodded. He levitated far above their heads. Then he extended his Miru power to Pohatu, lifting him as well. “Hey!” yelled Pohatu, snapping his claws at the laughing Lewa, who spun out of reach.

“Wow,” gasped the Toa of Air as they dropped to the ground. “When I send a wind against these brushblades...” He experimented with the wind on his swords and realized they could catch an air current and lift him up. “Does this mean...” Lewa was almost afraid to hope. But he scrambled to the top of a cliff with the help of his Miru, following Pohatu, who was using his new claws to grip the rock. Lewa put the tips of his katanas against his hips, took a deep breath, and jumped. He summoned a gust of wind, and it lifted him high into the sky. He was flying!

Lewa tilted his blades and found he could steer. He banked into a wide turn, as he had watched the birds do many times from his perch in the treetops. “I can fly!” he yelled, swerving to miss a rock outcrop. Then he lost his balance and tumbled from the sky. He caught himself with his Miru and floated to the ground, his heart pounding with excitement.

He looked at the other Toa, eager to share his new discovery. But Tahu and Kopaka were standing toe to toe, with Gali glancing nervously from one to the other.

“I propose a contest,” suggested Kopaka. “After we check in with our villages, why don’t we meet again and test our new powers against each other? It would be a good way to see how we have been enhanced.”

Tahu’s eyes narrowed. “Gladly.” The Toa all nodded and turned toward their villages.

Lewa sighed. “They look awfully serious. Oh, it’s just as well. I really want to see Matau and the villagers. They’re going to love this!”

Lewa soared over the forest, trying out his new wings. He learned how to roll, dive, and loop. He chased a flock of wild Kewa and laughed as they parted to let him through. He looped around a Rama until it bumbled dizzily into a treetop. But as he approached the village, he descended into the trees and traveled the last kio by vine-swinging. He landed on the birdlaunch platform. The villagers all left their repair tasks and ran up the ladder to greet him. There was much loud rejoicing.

“Toa Lewa! What sweetjoy to see you!” said Matau, flinging his arms around the Toa. After their horrible captivity together, Lewa was immensely relieved to see him with his mask again. He embraced the Turaga tightly. The Le-Matorans flocked around them both, cautiously touching Lewa’s new katanas and armor. “Go ahead, look me over!” he grinned. “We fell into the protodermis as we defeated the queens of the swarm. We all look strange now! But we have this great new armor and tools to defend you with.”

“Your powermask looks like a big leaf, Toa Lewa,” remarked Tamaru.

“Is this stuff strong?” asked Lau, pounding on Lewa’s chest. Lewa laughed.

“There’s going to be a fine storytelling tonight,” said Matau proudly.

“But first,” announced Lewa, motioning for them to step back, “allow me to present Lewa, Toa Nuva of Air!” He leaped off the platform and sailed into the sky, ascending slowly in an upward spiral. He could hear the Matorans gasping in amazement below. Then he dove toward the platform, screaming through the air, and watched them scatter for shelter. Just as he was about to hit the wood, he changed direction, swooping upwards. Then he leveled out and reversed the wind, bringing himself to a complete stop. He floated down and landed on the platform with his Miru. The villagers emerged from the branches, cheering.

“And today’s just the first day! I’m sure I’ll learn to do even more, after I practice a bit.”

“I bet you will,” said Matau. Then he reminded Lewa of the work to be done. “We’ve been training those deathbugs to clear their debris,” he explained. “And ours,” he added with a knowing look.

“Yes, I imagine they—and we—left the place a big battlemess,” said Lewa regretfully. “But... how do you train something like that?”

“Well, first we removed all the krana. And you know Kongu. He can tametrain anything!” laughed the Turaga. They watched as Kongu led a procession of Lehvak into the woods.

“As long as the krana are gone,” sighed Lewa. “Those things bring living death.”

The Turaga shook his head. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“Well, I’ll help for a bit. Then I’m going to meet the other Toa. We’re going to testprove our new powers on each other.”

Lewa helped Kongu and his unusual work crew for a few hours. Lewa and the Lehvak chopped the trunks of fallen trees into smaller pieces. His new blades sliced easily through the wood. He winced as he watched the Bohrok use their acid to do the same task, remembering how they had tried to bring down the great tree that supported Le-Koro. “But now they are working for us,” he reminded himself. The Bohrok carried the trunks and branches into a clearing, where Kongu set them on fire. Then Kongu harnessed the Lehvak together with ropes, and they pulled up the stumps. Soon a team of villagers would plant new seedlings here. Lewa smiled as he glanced at Kongu, who sang happily as he worked. Other teams were toiling all over the jungle, and Lewa watched the smoke rise from their fires. “Finally, smoke on the horizon means useful work is being done, instead of Tahnok destroying the landscape. And the Matorans are free from fear,” he thought. Lewa waved goodbye to Kongu and set off for the Kini-Nui again to meet the other Toa.

When everyone had arrived, Tahu suggested, “Let’s divide up into two teams. Gali, Pohatu, you come with me.”

Kopaka turned to Onua and Lewa. “Fine. We will go plan our attack.” They conferred briefly.

Lewa raised his blades, but before he could hit Gali with a gust of wind as planned, she shot a potent blast of water at him. He leaped to safety with his Miru Nuva. “Think what you like, Gali,” he laughed, “but you’ll have to be faster than that to stop me!”

“Did you say ‘faster’?” grinned Pohatu. “Let’s see you glide out of a tornado on those air katana ‘wings,’ Lewa!” He used his Kakama to speed around Lewa in a tight circle, entraining the air with him until it swirled into a powerful vortex. Lewa spun out of control, tumbling end over end until he landed in a clump of bushes. The Toa of Air untangled himself. “Oh, the indignity!” he moaned sarcastically.

“Now, Pohatu, my brother,” said Onua with a sly smile, “didn’t Turaga Onewa ever tell you? You always have to watch where you’re running—especially when Onua Nuva is near!” Pohatu was sent flying off the side of the hill. As he sailed through the air, grabbing at nothing, he yelled, “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” He landed with a thud in the brush.

“Is he all right?” wondered Lewa.

Tahu shrugged. “He’s pretty tough.”

“That leaves only you and I, Tahu Nuva,” remarked Kopaka.

“No. That leaves only me,” taunted Tahu. He raised his double sword and sent a ring of fierce flames to surround his challenger.

“A fire cage?” laughed Kopaka. “How amusing. That’s enough to imprison a mindless Rahi, perhaps… but not Kopaka Nuva.” The Toa of Ice countered by forming a sphere of ice around himself, which exploded into chunks that flew in all directions. He rested his gaze on Gali for a second, then turned back to the Toa of Fire. “You always were a little too confident, Tahu.”

Pohatu was chasing Onua back toward the others. The ground shook under their heavy footsteps. “Yeah, well, next time, it’s going to be YOUR turn to fly!” Pohatu snapped his protodermis claws menacingly behind Onua’s back.

“Oh, but you looked so stylish up there!” laughed Onua, jumping away.

Pohatu activated his Kakama just long enough to tackle his friend and throw him into the dirt. Then they stood, panting and laughing, and looked around. Their smiles disappeared as they saw the intense faces of their friends.

Lewa glanced at Gali, whose eyes were fixed on Tahu and Kopaka. He turned to Onua. “This is getting really personal.”

Onua shook his head. “Yeah. I have a bad feeling about this, Lewa.”

Tahu clenched his jaw, the tension evident in his voice. “Beware, brother. When I turn up the heat, even the Toa of Ice will melt.”

“Enough!” said Gali sharply, stepping between Tahu and Kopaka. “We have learned what we set out to learn. As Toa Nuva, we have greater power—and greater control over that power—than ever before! It is a shame we cannot control our tempers as well.”

Kopaka’s steely gaze was still locked onto Tahu’s fiery eyes. But the Toa of Ice lowered his blades and stepped back. The Toa of Fire looked at Gali, who was frowning at him. With a low growl he extinguished his magma swords.

The other Toa were uneasy. They grasped at explanations for their friends’ lack of restraint. “Perhaps we are all on edge, Gali,” ventured Pohatu. “The struggle with Cahdok and Gahdok… our transformation into the Toa Nuva…”

“Not to mention making sure the Bohrok swarms and Bohrok Va got put to work repairing the damage they did!” added Lewa.

Pohatu continued. “Maybe Tahu and Kopaka did get a little carried away, but--”

“No, Gali is right,” interrupted Tahu. “Maybe it would be best for us to go our separate ways. Our villages need us—more than we need each other.”

Kopaka nodded. “I agree. This alliance is no longer necessary.”

“The Turaga have said all along that we are six who share one destiny,” objected Gali. “Is this how we honor their wisdom? By splitting apart?”

Lewa sighed. “Now I remember why I wanted to work alone,” he thought. He leaped over a tree trunk. “Maybe the Turaga don’t know everything, Gali. If you want me, I’ll be helping to rebuild Le-Koro.”

He landed in the center of the the village, only to find it completely deserted. Then Matau walked out of his hut. He was wearing a red krana.

“NO!” yelled Lewa. He lunged for the Turaga, grabbed the back of his head with one hand and the krana with the other, and yanked it off his face. Lewa looked at the object in his hand and immediately realized he had been had. The krana was carved of wood and painted. “Oh, Matau, you old rascal!” he groaned.

The Le-Koronans poured out of their huts, laughing hysterically. Matau grinned and reached for his mask, which Kongu was holding out to him. “Just keeping you on your toes, highflying Toa.”

But Lewa was too fast for him. Switching quickly to his Matatu, he moved the mask away from Matau. It hovered in the air a bio away.

Matau glanced at Lewa, then walked toward the mask. Lewa moved it ahead of him until he was standing on the edge of the platform, the Kanohi suspended just out of reach. “That’s really funny, Toa Lewa. But can I have my mask back now?” The Turaga was looking a little woozy without his mask.

“Sure, Matau,” replied Lewa. The Mahiki slammed into his face, knocking Matau flat onto his back. Lewa changed back to his Miru.

“Thank you.” The Turaga stood and changed to his own Matatu. Lewa followed his eyes and spun around in time to be hit in the face with a large, very ripe melon. Juice and seeds dripped down his mask. He shook his head vigorously, slinging chunks of fruit onto Matau, who laughed as he jumped out of the way.

“Ahh,” smiled Lewa, wiping off his mask with a leaf. “It’s good to be home.”

The evening was perfectly splendid. Lewa told the whole story of the battle in the Bahrag lair in great detail. The Matorans asked many questions and made him repeat the most exciting parts. He listened to them tell their stories, especially Kongu and Tamaru, who had joined with Nuparu, Takua, and the Boxor squad to free the village. Despite the bedraggled appearance of the damaged huts, Le-Koro, under its hastily arranged decorations of flowers, vines, and lanterns, had never looked more festive. Music filled the air until late into the night.

The next morning Lewa woke and stretched. He listened to the birds and insects for a few moments. Then he rolled out of the tree and dropped to the platform below.

“What a sunbright day we’ve been given,” he marveled. A few of the Matorans were awake, and they gave him cheerful, if somewhat sleepy, greetings. He took a deep breath and let it out, enjoying the scents of the morning. But then he thought of the strife between the Toa the day before, and his smile disappeared. “I suppose we’re better off spending some time apart, visiting with our villagers and getting used to our new forms. But I sure hated to see Gali so sad.”

He sailed off the platform on his new wings, still astonished at how beautifully they worked. “Even though Gali doesn’t let me get too close to her, she still smiles a lot when we’re together. Maybe I can cheerlighten her up a little.”

Lewa found Gali in Ga-Wahi, swimming in the shallow water just off the Hura-Mafa delta. He waited for her to surface. “Gali!” he called, waving, She dove back under. “Oh, blast it, she’s ignoring me,” he thought. But then she emerged from the water and walked toward him.

“What is it, Lewa?” she asked quietly.

“Hi, Gali. Will you follow me, please?”

“Why?” she frowned.

“Just follow me, you’ll see,” he smiled. She shrugged and followed him through the reeds. After a few minutes of walking, they came to a cove. A rocky crag was protruding from the water a couple hundred bios from shore.

“We have a score to settle, Sister,” he grinned.

She looked at him blankly for a moment. Then he saw the hint of a smile. “Oh, I remember,” she replied. “Now you’re ready to race me in the water?”

“Well, you’ll be in the water. I’ll be in the air.” He flipped the handles of his katanas outward.

“But my fluid is much denser than yours,” she objected. “Still...” She looked at the aqua axes and propellers in her hands. “All right. You’re on.”

“If you win,” proposed Lewa, “we both swim back. If I win, we both highfly back.”

“Lewa, I don’t know how to, er, highfly.” Gali frowned again.

“Are you expecting to lose?”

“Well, no…”

“Then let's go. Are you ready?”

“Sure. On your mark...”

“Get set...”

“Go!” they said in unison. Gali dove into the water, sliding her axes onto her feet in the same smooth motion. Lewa jumped onto a boulder and leaped off, activating his Miru Nuva. He summoned a strong gust, and he felt himself being lifted up. He glided easily over the water, watching Gali’s dark shape move rapidly under the glittering surface. Every now and then the sunlight shining through the clear water reflected off her axes.

“Oh, no, she’s actually pulling ahead!” he gasped in disbelief. He directed more energy into the wind and less into his Kanohi, so that he was flying fast and low over the waves. He overtook Gali and landed, stumbling, on the crag, dropping his katanas and catching himself with his hands to avoid falling face-first onto the rock.

Gali tagged the rock and climbed out. Lewa was standing over her, hands on his hips. “Not bad, considering how dense your fluid is,” he chuckled.

“So you’ve proven your point. Can we get out of here now?” she sighed.

“Sure. And since you can’t highfly, I’ll give you a ride.”

Gali crossed her arms. “What kind of nasty prank are you planning to pull, Lewa? Are you going to drop me or something?”

“Don’t you trust me?” he asked, smiling sweetly. “Come on, I won’t drop you.” He climbed to the top of the rock and knelt down.

“I just know I’m going to regret this,” grumbled the Toa of Water as she climbed onto his back. Lewa stood and positioned his blades. “Ready?”

“I suppose.” She gripped his shoulders tensely, her legs wrapped around his waist.

Lewa jumped, and the air currents picked them up. He extended the power of his Miru to Gali, making her weightless. She relaxed her hold as they soared over the bay toward the shore.

“Ah, this is the high life,” thought Lewa. “Sunsoaring over a peaceful island paradise, with an angel on my back and the wind under my wings.” He glanced back at Gali and grinned. “Even if she is a grumpy angel.”

He tilted his katanas and went into a barrel roll, half expecting a kick in the ribs. But instead, Gali laughed. And she laughed again when he gained altitude and dove into a loop. They reached the shore, but he kept flying along the coast until they arrived at the delta where he had found her.

“All right if I drop you off here?” he asked.

Gali tightened her grip. “Hey, you promised not to drop me!”

“I’m just kidding!” He rotated his blades forward to slow down, and they landed gently on the moss at the water’s edge. Gali jumped off.

“Whew!” she smiled. “Thanks! That was great!”

“My pleasure, Gali.”

“Thanks for the laugh. I really needed that.” She put her hand on his arm. “Lewa, you defy gravity.”

Lewa smiled contentedly as she dove back into the water. He watched her disappear into the blue depths. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we Toa end up working together again someday,” he mused. “And that will be all right.” Then he turned and walked toward the woods. For old times’ sake, he jumped up, grabbed a vine, and swung through a few trees, finally stopping in the top of a tall one. Then he launched himself into flight, remembering the day he first saw a bird do the same thing. “It seemed like such a foolcrazy dream back then.”

But as he flew, his mind turned to more practical matters. “Now... what will I do to Matau next? I know! I’ll rig his hut with ropes and pulleys, and raise it really slowly, so that he doesn’t notice. No, wait! I’ll use the Miru Nuva on him so he won’t FEEL it rising, but when he looks out the window...” Lewa tipped back his head, and his laughter mingled with the song of the wind.


THE END



Review topic here.


Thanks to

pohatu jr
Kikua
Israeli Toa
xccj
Tovnu
King of the Toa
artemisfowl
Galikat
Gali Nuva 91


Thanks, Huriko!

This post has been edited by GaliGee: Jul 23 2003, 10:25 AM