Yet another very long chapter, and not much time each day to work on this story. Depite these problems, I still managed to finish the next chapter.
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Chapter 33
Betrayed
When Takua woke up, he noticed something seemed different. He soon realized that his backpack was no longer on the floor nearby, but was a little further away and its contents were scattered across the floor near it. He sighed as he got up and walked to his backpack. There was nothing in the backpack. Everything was on the floor. He put back into the backpack his lavaboard, his flute, his lightstone, his heatstone, and the throwing disk he had received from Onepu. He was relieved to know that he hadn't lost anything.
Suddenly, Takua remembered that Matoro had put the Energy Stone in his backpack before they went to sleep, and he didn't see that along with the rest of his things. He dumped the contents of his backpack onto the icy floor. All five of the items he had were there, but no Energy Stone. He shook the backpack some more and looked inside, which was completely empty. The Energy Stone was indeed missing.
Takua knew that he had to immediately tell the others about this. “Everyone! Wake up! Wake up!” he shouted. Everyone in the icy cavern woke up, some of them complaining about being woken up so early. “The Energy Stone! It's gone!”
“Gone!? What do you mean it's gone!?” exclaimed Littlefoot.
Ruby looked around. “The Energy Stone is not all that's missing,” she said. “My brother is missing, too!”
At first, everyone was unsure about how this could have happened. However, it didn't take long for Cera to realize what had really happened. “I don't believe it!” she exclaimed angrily.
“What are you talking about?” asked Takua.
“Isn't it obvious!? Ruby's brother stole the Energy Stone and ran off with it!”
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Although it wasn't the same place they had entered the ice caves and tunnels, the group quickly made it outside onto the slopes of the White Mountain. The snowy floor of the icy tunnels had made it easy to see where Ruby's brother had gone. Indeed, he didn't know which way to go to get out, as he seemed to have gone in circles many times. By bypassing these circles, they knew they would be able to catch up with him more quickly. Of course, wherever the floor wasn't snowy, they had to rely on Chomper, who could accurately follow the scent.
Now that they were outside, they noticed that the storm from yesterday had indeed passed and the sky was now clear. Although the snow on the ground was fresh, the trail of footprints made it obvious that Ruby's brother had gone in this direction. It was soon obvious why the footprints were so fresh. They were actually able to see him and he was still walking down the slope.
“There he is!” exclaimed Takua, pointing at Ruby's brother, who was about halfway down the slope.
“Let's get him!” shouted Cera. She then charged down the slope towards Ruby's brother.
“Cera! Wait! Don't hurt him!” exclaimed Ruby as she began to run after her.
No one else bothered to move from the cave entrance. “We have to do something!” exclaimed Littlefoot.
After making sure no one was watching them, Matoro and Kopeke gave a silent nod to each other. Kopeke then reached into Takua's backpack and pulled out the throwing disk. Kopeke then jumped into the air, held the disk underneath himself, and slid down the slope using the disk as a sled. He slid down the slope so quickly that he easily passed Ruby and Cera in only a few seconds. He was now getting very close to Ruby's brother. Using the momentum to his advantage, he leaped into the air and tackled Ruby's brother, sending them both into the snow.
Ruby's brother quickly unburied himself and, to his horror, realized he was no longer holding the Energy Stone. He frantically searched through the snow to find it. He was relieved when he did find it a few seconds later. He turned to resume his trip down the mountain when he collided into something. He looked up to see an angry-looking Kopeke standing in his way.
Kopeke held out his hand and said in a cold voice, “The Energy Stone.”
“No!” exclaimed Ruby's brother in a panicked voice. “I can't give it to you!”
Kopeke remained standing there in the same position. His facial expression remained unchanged.
“Cera, don't hurt him! Don't hurt him, Cera!” shouted Ruby. Ruby's brother looked up the slope to see Cera and Ruby coming down and were now only a few meters away. The rest of the group was further away, but they were also coming down the slope.
Cera slid through the snow to a stop. Ruby stopped and stood next to her. “Alright, what do you think you're doing running off with the Energy Stone like that!?” exclaimed Cera, angrily.
“But you don't understand! I need it!” exclaimed Ruby's brother, who was clearly panicked.
“What could you possibly do with the Energy Stone!?”
“I'm not the one who wants it! Makuta is!”
“Makuta!? What we're trying to do is not let him have the Energy Stones!”
“But if I don't give this Energy Stone to him, he said he'll kill my whole family!”
The rest of the group had arrived just in time to hear this. Now Ruby was just as panicked as her younger brother was. “Our whole family!?” she asked.
“Yes! Our mommy, our daddy, our sister, you, even me! He'll kill us all!”
“In that case, we'll tell Jala to send some guards to find and protect them,” said Cera. “Now why don't you just hand over that Energy Stone so we can-”
“No! I can't let any of you have it!”
“Hand it over now! Don't make me have to rip it out of your hands!”
“Then try!”
Cera was about to charge at him when Ruby stepped in front of her and attempted to hold her back. Ruby's brother tried to sneak away, but Ruby told him to stay there.
As this argument was occurring, the rest of the group talked to each other about what should be done for this situation. True, they could ask Jala to send some guards to protect Ruby's family, but what if he didn't have any guards available? What if those guards couldn't find Ruby's family? For that matter, where was Ruby's family, anyway? As a result, they began arguing among themselves, as well.
Only the ever-so-quiet Kopeke was not involved in any of these arguments. It was obvious that all this arguing was getting nowhere fast. It was angering him. Finally, after a minute of hearing pointless arguing, he couldn't take it anymore. “ENOUGH!” he shouted. Everyone immediately stopped where they were and went silent. Kopeke's shout echoed across the mountain at least half a dozen times.
Soon after the echoing ceased, Takua said, “Okay, maybe we should stop arguing and let Kopeke decide what to do.”
Chomper then pointed at something further down the slope and said, “I see something we can all agree on: getting away from them!”
Everyone turned their attention to what Chomper was pointing at. Coming up the slope was Redclaw and the Fast-Biters Screech and Thud. “Them again!? Up here!?” exclaimed Takua. “I'm starting to get the feeling that they might be working for Makuta.”
“I told you he wants to kill us all!” exclaimed Ruby's brother.
“This is no time for arguing! We have to- Hey! What's Kopeke doing?”
Everyone turned to see Kopeke heading down the slope towards the quickly-approaching Fast-Biters. Nobody was sure what he was planning to do. However, Kopeke knew what he was doing. He had a plan. He pulled out two pieces of ice that he had collected in the ice caves yesterday. He had also used his skills in ice crafting to shape them for a unique purpose. He threw the ice pieces at both of the Fast-Biters. The ice pieces shattered as they each hit a Fast-Biter in the head, knocking out both of them without even giving them minor scratches.
Fast-Biters were one thing, but a big Sharptooth like Redclaw was very different. Throwing ice chunks wouldn't work, but Kopeke knew something that would. He approached Redclaw by moving down the slope. Soon, they were at the same level on the slope. As they continued to approach each other, Kopeke slipped on an icy spot, just what he was looking for. Now he began to back up. Redclaw was soon one step away from grabbing Kopeke. He took that step and slipped on the icy spot. He fell and hit the ground with enough force to knock him out. The impact also shook a good amount of the mountainside.
With the danger dealt with, Kopeke headed back up the slope and returned to the group. Again, he stood in front of Ruby's brother with a look of anger on his face. Again, he held out his hand and said in a cold voice, “The Energy Stone. Now.”
The young fast runner's response was still the same. “No! I can't let you have it!”
This is where Kopeke decided to draw the line. “You have been warned enough,” he simply said. Suddenly, he grabbed the young Fast-Runner's wrists with his left hand tightly, causing Ruby's brother to yell in pain. Kopeke then ripped the Energy Stone out of his hands and shoved him backwards into the snowy ground. About a few seconds later, Kopeke simply said, “Come with me.” He then turned around and headed down the slope.
Ruby helped her brother up and checked to make sure he wasn't hurt too badly. Physically, he was fine. Emotionally, not so good. Neither of them knew what to do now.
“We better do what he says,” said Takua, as he put the throwing disk Kopeke had used back into his backpack. “He is holding the Energy Stone, after all. Besides, I don't think I've ever seen Kopeke like this before.”
Matoro simply shrugged and said, “Desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose.” Matoro then followed Kopeke down the slope. Everyone else soon followed, most of them reluctantly. Wherever they were going, only Kopeke would know.
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About an hour later, the group was still following Kopeke, and were now traveling through what seemed to be an unknown part of the Mysterious Beyond. However, Kopeke seemed to know where he was going. The same couldn't be said for most of the others.
However, Chomper soon began to realize that the terrain was starting to look familiar to him. “Does anyone notice something familiar about this place?” he asked.
“Rocks, trees, dirt, typical stuff in the dinosaur universe,” replied Takua.
“Actually, now that you mention it, Chomper, this place does seem familiar,” said Ruby. “But I can't seem to remember what it is that's familiar about this place.”
Everyone soon found themselves following Kopeke up a small rocky mountain. They soon reached the highest point on the mountain they could go, which was a large flat area. At one end of the flat area was a large rock that was angled so far towards the area that it seemed to be hanging over them. Suddenly, Ducky remembered a place similar to this. “Is this Hanging Rock?” she asked.
As soon as she heard that name, Ruby immediately knew where they were. “It is! This is Hanging Rock!” she exclaimed.
“You mean the place where you last met your family?” asked Littlefoot. “But why did we come here?”
Takua turned to Kopeke and asked, “Is this our destination?”
Kopeke nodded.
“Then can I have the Energy Stone back, now?” asked Ruby's brother.
“No,” said Kopeke.
“I'd like to know why we're here,” said Cera. “What's so important about being right here right now?”
Kopeke then looked over the edge that was opposite from the one the group had come over. “They are coming,” he said.
“Who are you talking about? Who's coming?” asked Takua as he approached the edge and also looked down. He saw three Fast-Runners coming up the mountain: two adults and one child. Based on the skin coloration, he determined that one of the adults was male and the other adult and the child were female. The two adults seemed relatively old, while the child was around the same age as Ruby's brother. Based on the descriptions he had heard, he realized that this could be Ruby's family. When those Fast-Runners looked up and saw him and Kopeke, Takua knew Ruby's presence would be a good thing to have. He turned to her and asked, “Hey Ruby, is that your family down there?”
Ruby approached the edge and looked down. She was very pleasantly surprised by what she saw. “It is! It is my family! They are here! Here they are!” she exclaimed.
The Fast-Runners quickly came up the mountain. They soon reached the flat area, where they met the group of Matoran and young dinosaurs, even though they didn't know that the strange-looking creatures were Matoran.
Ruby's brother rushed to his parents and exclaimed, “Mommy! Daddy! I'm so glad you're okay!”
His mother picked him up in her hands. “Of course we are alright,” she said, calmly. “As far as we know, we are not in any danger. Are you okay?”
“I'm not hurt or sick, but I'm not okay. Our whole family is now in big trouble!”
“What do you mean?”
“Allow me to explain everything,” said Matoro.
Ruby's father looked at him. “Do you happen to be a Matoran?” he asked. “I have recently heard of the sudden appearance of such creatures in the Great Valley, and someone like yourself seems to fit the description.”
“I guess word spreads fast among the Fast-Runners,” said Takua to his friends, chuckling.
“Indeed, I am a Matoran. I'm a Ko-Matoran, and my name is Matoro. Before I can tell you of the situation you and your family are in now, are you aware of who Makuta is?”
“Indeed we are. In fact, we have just heard of him earlier today. We are still quite shocked to hear that such a being is actually somewhere in the Great Valley right now.”
“Yes, but it's not Makuta himself that we're facing in the Great Valley. It's the everyday threat of attacks from Rahi that are controlled by Makuta through infected masks. To stop the attacks, we need to deal with Makuta, and the only known way to get him out of the Great Valley is by finding the Stones of Elemental Energy. Kopeke, over there, is currently holding one of them, the Energy Stone of Ice. For some reason, Makuta wants those Energy Stones. It seems he is so desperate to have those stones that he threatened your son to give the Energy Stone to him, or he would kill him and the rest of his family.”
“So you're saying that if Makuta doesn't get that stone... he is going to kill us?”
“Apparently so. Of course, the deadly threat would likely be shown with Rahi attacks. I may not know how you manage to survive Sharptooth attacks, but I do know that Rahi under the control of Makuta are far more dangerous. If you wish to have the best chance of surviving against Makuta, then I suggest that you come with us to the Great Valley, where Matoran guards would be able to protect you from the dangers they see every day.”
Ruby's parents quietly talked to each other to think about it. True, they had always thought about visiting the Great Valley themselves one day, but they had felt unsure of it, considering that their kind might not be very welcome. Although it was likely that most of the Rahi attacks would occur in the Great Valley, it was also likely that the Matoran, the only ones who would at least try to protect them, would not be willing to leave the valley. Considering the risks, their decision was clear.
“We have talked about it, and it is clear what we must do,” said Ruby's father. “For our own safety, we will all have to go to the Great Valley, but only for as long as the threat from Makuta exists.”
“Well, at least we won't have to worry about that problem anymore,” said Takua. “Now let's head back to the Great Valley.” Everyone agreed with him, and they began to climb down the mountain from Hanging Rock.
Soon after they had reach the bottom of the slope, Kopeke gave the Energy Stone to Matoro, knowing that he would give it to Nuju to keep it safe. Both Takua and Littlefoot noticed this. Takua didn't mind it, but a thought suddenly occurred to Littlefoot.
“Something doesn't make sense to me,” said Littlefoot, quietly enough so that only Takua would hear him.
“What do you mean?” asked Takua.
“It's mostly about Kopeke. He took the Energy Stone back from Ruby's brother and made us follow him to Hanging Rock, where we found Ruby's family so that they could come with us to the Great Valley, where they will be safe. As far as I know, the only ones who had been to Hanging Rock besides Ruby and her family are Chomper, Ducky, and Spike. You didn't even know that it existed until we told you about it in one of our adventures, and I don't think that any other Matoran would have heard of it at all. So how can Kopeke know about Hanging Rock, know exactly how to get there from the White Mountain, and even know that Ruby's family would be there at the same time we would arrive?”
“You're right, that doesn't make sense at all. Only one way to find out why.” Takua then turned his attention to Kopeke. “Hey Kopeke, how did you know the way to Hanging Rock when none of us even told you about it?”
Kopeke was silent for a few seconds before he replied, “Ask Matoro.”
“Matoro?” asked Takua, surprised. Most of the traveling group turned their attention to Matoro.
At first, Matoro didn't say anything. After thinking about it for a few seconds, he replied, “Well... I suppose I don't see a reason to keep it secret anymore. Alright, for those of you who have just met me, I am the translator for Turaga Nuju, the elder of Ko-Koro, where I live. Although he understands what everyone says, he refuses to speak the same language, so he needs a translator with him for most of the time. He spends most of his time in the Sanctum studying the prophecies written on the walls of it in order to understand the future, and since he works there, I have to work there as well. A few days ago, we deciphered a series of prophecies that told us of the major events that would occur yesterday and today. That's why I didn't let Ruby's brother hold the Energy Stone last night, because I knew he was going to run off with it. However, Turaga Nuju and I agreed that Kopeke would be a better choice than me to ensure that most of the events occur correctly. I told him everything he needed to know, even how to get to Hanging Rock, on the day before yesterday. He promised to do his part and to keep the knowledge a secret.”
“So you're saying that you knew everything that was going to happen before any of it happened?” asked Ruby.
“Basically, yes.”
“I'm still confused about one thing,” said Littlefoot. “If you knew Ruby's brother was going to steal the Energy Stone, why didn't you do anything that could have kept him from doing it while we were sleeping?”
“There was nothing we could have done to prevent that. No matter where we could have put the Energy Stone, he was watching us and would know where we put it, therefore he still would try to take it and run off with it. I was convinced that, since he was unfamiliar with those ice caves, he would easily get lost and not find a way out. That belief turned out to be almost true. Although he was definitely lost for some time, he still managed to find a way out. I had originally planned for us to intercept him in the ice caves, but fortunately for us, Kopeke had a back-up plan which allowed us to stop him on the slope.”
“Me find it confusing,” commented Petrie.
“That's why I don't like Ko-Matoran,” said Cera. “I just think predicting the future is a big waste of time.”
About a few minutes later, Ruby's father noticed something odd about Ruby. From what he saw, her attention was mostly on Matoro instead of on her surroundings. Something wasn't right and he wondered if she was aware of it. “Ruby, are you feeling alright?” he asked.
“I'm... I'm not sure,” replied Ruby. “For some reason, I can't stop thinking about Matoro, and I can't seem to be able to think of anything that isn't Matoro.”
Ruby's father thought about this. He knew what such feelings usually meant, but Ruby seemed too young to have such feelings. Besides, Matoro was a Matoran, and although he hadn't heard much about Matoran, he was aware of the fact that Matoran were created differently than dinosaurs. Therefore, the odds of such feelings among Matoran would be very unlikely. Still, being her father, he knew he needed to give her a believable explanation for her strange thoughts. “Well, you're probably just thankful for all the great things he has done for us recently. I'll admit that if it wasn't for him, the situation for us right now probably wouldn't be very good. I am sure that by tomorrow, when he returns to his work and you are elsewhere, those feelings will pass and won't bother you again.”
“Thank you, dad. That is good to know. Good to know that is.”
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The group arrived at the Great Valley by late afternoon. While Matoro and Kopeke returned to Ko-Koro, the gang decided to introduce Ruby's family to everyone in the valley and describe the reason for them being here. Fortunately, it didn't take long to gather everyone and to tell them their story. Once that was done, the Great Valley dinosaurs eventually agreed to let Ruby's family stay in the valley as long as the threat of Makuta existed. Ruby's family were rather surprised by the hospitality shown to them by the leaf-eaters. They had believed that, since they didn't eat leaves, they would not be welcomed at all. Because of this, they decided that, from now on, they would be more skeptical of rumors from meat-eaters than rumors from leaf-eaters.
Littlefoot's grandparents questioned why Ruby's family were not willing to stay in the valley once the threat of Makuta had passed. They said that it just wasn't their home. Besides, they wanted to take the lesson of unity that had been in the valley for so long and spread it to other herds in the Mysterious Beyond. When they found out that unity happened to be one of the three virtues valued by the Matoran, they knew their temporary stay in the valley would be worth it.
Once the meeting was over, it was time for everyone to get some rest for the night. Ruby's family decided to sleep in the same cave Ruby and Chomper slept in, since they knew they wouldn't be staying for a long time.
It had been quite a challenge, but at least the Energy Stone of Ice had been found and was now in safe hands.
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Read and review, as always. Hopefully, the next chapter will be shorter, and thus should be finished in less time.
