Quest for the Energy Stones

[The Chronicler]

A little note: for each of the next six chapters, two or three Matoran will be introduced. Every one of them will eventually play a noticeable role in the story. The first of them that will be introduced will be Ta-Matoran, in this next chapter.

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Chapter 9
Ta-Koro, the Village of Fire

It was now a little before mid-morning. After finishing their breakfast, the gang met up with Takua to begin visiting the Matoran villages. The first village they would visit would be Takua's home village, Ta-Koro. Everyone wanted to know what that place was like, so Takua briefly described it as something that resembled a fortress built on a tall, rocky island in the middle of a lake of lava. They weren't sure about it, but knowing that it had been Takua's home for nearly a thousand years assured them that it might not be that dangerous.

They were now walking through a forest of burnt trees. A recent lava flow had set these trees on fire a few days ago, but at least the fire hadn't spread much further. This place reminded Takua of the Charred Forest that was just outside of Ta-Koro, back on Mata Nui.

As they walked, Littlefoot noticed something. He looked to his right and saw a Matoran. “Hey, look! There's a Matoran over there!” he exclaimed. Everyone turned to see what he was looking at. This Matoran's armor was bright red on all parts of his body, indicating that he was a Ta-Matoran. The strange thing about this Matoran was that he was pacing back and forth very slowly. Everyone decided to walk up to this Matoran to find out why he was doing this.

At yesterday's meeting, the gang had learned that the different mask shapes had their own names. Takua's mask was called a Pakari. The mask this Matoran wore was a Ruru, which was bright red like the rest of his armor. Despite everyone nearby, the Ta-Matoran continued his strangely slow pacing. “Who are you?” asked Littlefoot, hoping to get his attention.

“I am Kapura,” he replied. He didn't stop his slow pacing, but just continued. He didn't even look in a different direction as he said this.

Curious about Kapura's slow pacing, Cera asked, “What are you doing?”

“I am practicing.”

“Practicing? Practicing what?”

“Vakama says that although I am slow, I may be faster than all the others, and travel very far. He says I must practice. The others think I am just being silly. I practice often.”

“What are you talking about?” Cera was starting to get confused and annoyed.

“You are where you are. If I practice, I can be where I am not. I think I can feel it. It is hot where I am, but where I am not is cold, and I think I can feel it. I must practice more.”

“Okay... can we go to Ta-Koro now?” asked Cera to Takua. Kapura seemed very weird to Cera, and she didn't want to be near him anymore.

For an obviously different reason, Takua agreed, and headed in the direction of Ta-Koro. The others followed him.

After walking a good distance, Cera said, “That guy is so weird. He says he's slow, but also fast. I don't see how that's possible.”

“He does seem unusual for a Ta-Matoran, but Turaga Vakama has great confidence in him, for some reason.” said Takua.

“How do you know that?”

“He is entitled Vakama's Left Hand, the second-highest honor any Matoran of Ta-Koro can have.”

“Second-highest? Then what's the highest honor?”

“Being entitled Vakama's Right Hand. That title belongs to Jala, who I know very well. He's the closest I've ever had to a friend, before I met you guys. I'll introduce you to him when we get to Ta-Koro.”

After walking further through the burnt forest, they reached the base of the Smoking Mountain. There was an open gateway in the side of the mountain. They entered the gateway and saw a giant lake of lava inside the volcanic mountain. In the middle of the lava lake was an island that was as high above the lava as the pathway they stood on. Built on that island was a fortress-like village.

“There it is, Ta-Koro,” announced Takua.

Everyone looked around, but they couldn't see a way to actually get into the village. “How do we get over there?” asked Littlefoot. “I don't see a safe way across.”

“Don't worry, there's a bridge that can be lowered into or raised up out of the lava. They should be raising the bridge any time now.”

A few seconds passed. The gang then heard a low rumbling. Then they saw large columns of rock rise up out of the fire-lake, one by one. The columns were in such positions that, at full height, they formed a rocky bridge with no gaps straight to the main gate.

“Come on, let's go,” said Takua, gesturing them to follow him into the village.

The gang followed him across the bridge and through the main gate. As they entered the village, they were amazed at all the activity. Some Ta-Matoran stood on guard atop the walls that surrounded the village. Other Ta-Matoran were hauling carts full of cooled lava to various places in the village. The gang was very curious about what the Ta-Matoran were doing.

“What are all these Matoran doing?” asked Littlefoot.

“Everyone has a job to do.” replied Takua. “The Ta-Matoran are always dedicated to their duty, and for most of them, it's doing their job. Turaga Vakama should tell you more about the jobs they do. I'll take you to him.” Takua led them to a large hut. Inside stood Turaga Vakama, who was looking into the giant fire in the middle of the hut. “Turaga Vakama, my new friends here would like to know more about this village.”

Vakama turned to them. They saw his mask, the orange Noble Huna, and the Firestaff he held. He bowed in respect and said, “Welcome, fellow visitors, to Ta-Koro. If there is anything you wish to ask me, feel free to do so.”

“Turaga, they would like to know what the various jobs of the Ta-Matoran are.”

Vakama nodded in agreement and began speaking. “Most Ta-Matoran are Lava Farmers. They farm the lava fields and bring in the cooled lava to be crafted into tools or used to build structures in this village. Many others are Lava Surfers, who ride the lava rapids for sport. The more well-known Ta-Matoran are the ones in the Ta-Koro Guard. You may speak with the Captain, Jala, if you wish to know about the Guard. Is there anything more you would like to ask me?”

“Tell them of Toa Tahu.” The others were a little confused as Takua said this.

“As you all know, legends foretell the arrival of the six Toa to our island home. Each of them represent the six elements. Tahu is the Toa of Fire, protector of the Ta-Matoran. He is the leader of the Toa, and is the most courageous of them all. He possesses the ability to control heat and flame. The Fire Sword he wields allows him to send forth fire at his opponents. He wears the Great Kanohi Hau, the Great Mask of Shielding, which protects him from any physical attack.”

Most of the gang was awed by the description of this legendary hero. Cera, however, wasn't believing in it as much. She thought it was nothing more than just a legend, but she knew it was probably best to say nothing of this.

“Thank you for your wisdom, Turaga.” said Takua, bowing before him in respect. “We shall speak with Jala before we leave.” Takua left the hut with the others following him. Vakama turned back towards the fire.

Takua knew where to find Jala, so the others simply had to follow him. As they walked, two Lava Farmers walked by and noticed Takua. “What are you doing here?” asked one of them. “I thought you decided to live with those friends of yours.”

“Forget about it, he's just one of the visitors,” said the other. They both continued on with their work.

“What was that all about?” asked Cera.

“Most of the Matoran in this village don't trust me.” replied Takua.

“Why not? Did you do something bad?” asked Ducky.

“No, it's just who I am. I like to travel a lot, and they don't. I guess such a difference has persisted for so long that they've been losing trust in me.” The gang wasn't sure if this was true, but they accepted it. “At least Jala is one of few Ta-Matoran who actually accepts having me here.”

They soon arrived at an open doorway in one of the village walls, with a large room inside. They walked inside and saw two Ta-Matoran talking to each other. One of them was another guardsman, who held a two-pronged spear like the other guards did. The second seemed more important-looking. He had bright red armor on his arms and torso, and yellow armor on his feet and legs. The mask he wore was a yellow Hau.

“Captain, many of us are restless about this,” said the guardsman. “We ask for permission to establish a patrol to see how dangerous the so-called 'Mysterious Beyond' really is.”

“You heard the Turaga's orders,” said the Captain. “No Matoran is to leave the valley for any reason. We have no idea how great the dangers out there truly are.”

“That's what the Turaga said about everything outside of Ta-Koro about two days ago.”

“I know, but this time it's different. The Turaga gathered information from the residents of this valley, and they confirm that the land outside the valley is very dangerous. I'm not sure how dangerous, but I'm not going to take any chances. I'll only grant permission for such a patrol when I believe it becomes necessary. Now return to your post, guardsman.”

“Yes, Captain,” said the guardsman, saluting him. He then walked past the gang and left the room.

The Captain sighed and shook his head. “Some guardsmen know nothing but bravery. They don't understand that a good plan is just as necessary as courage.” He then noticed Takua and the others. “These must be your new friends, Takua. I assume they're visiting to learn more about this village.”

“Yes, we already spoke with Vakama,” replied Takua. “Perhaps you could introduce yourself to them and tell them what you do.”

“That's just what I was planning to do.” He turned his attention to Littlefoot and the others. “I am Jala, Captain of the Guard, and Right Hand of Turaga Vakama. As Captain of the Guard, it is my duty to defend Ta-Koro, as well as the other villages when necessary. Due to recent events, my duty of protection now extends to everyone inside the Great Valley. If any threat or danger ever arrives, the Guard will be there to fight it off, and we are not afraid to challenge anything.”

The gang was very pleased to hear that there were some Matoran who would always be willing to defend their home. The fact that the Ta-Koro Guard was fearless and had faced far greater dangers only encouraged the feeling of protection they now had.

“Currently, I've sent most of my patrols to survey every square-bio of the Great Valley, so that I can be familiar with the terrain and therefore organize my patrols more effectively. Once that is done, I'll establish a few patrols along the Great Wall. I might even send a few to survey the land outside the valley, just to see how great the dangers out there truly are.”

“You seem very determined to follow your duty,” commented Littlefoot.

“Yes, I am very dedicated to my duty. Of the three virtues, Ta-Matoran value duty the most. Everyone has a duty, you just need to know what yours is. Anyway, I need to get back to my duty, so you may leave now.”

“Thanks, Jala,” said Takua. “Let's go.” He led them out of the room and headed for the main gate.

“Is there anything more to see here?” asked Chomper.

“I could show you how skilled I am at lava surfing,” replied Takua. “But I don't think we have time for that today. We'll visit another village.”

“Which village will that be?” asked Ducky.

“Ga-Koro, the village of water. It's near the waterfall that you call the Thundering Falls.” The gang followed Takua out of Ta-Koro and across the rocky bridge. They then began heading north towards Ga-Koro.
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One thing I should mention, a 'bio' is the Matoran unit of measurement (one bio equals about 4.5 feet or 1.37 meters). Again, read and review as always.

[Kor]

It was very interesting to read this and the characters seemed fleshed out.   It was interesting to see the village in a bit more detail.

[The Chronicler]

Despite all kinds of setbacks, I've finally got this next chapter finished. Here it is.

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Chapter 10
Ga-Koro, the Village of Water

The gang, along with Takua, now headed for Ga-Koro. Takua had said that it was near the Thundering Falls, so they knew where to go. They remembered hearing at yesterday's meeting that all Ga-Matoran were female, while all the other kinds of Matoran were all male. Since Matoran were not created the way dinosaurs were and were simply brought into being, it would make sense if all Matoran were just one gender. Only the Great Spirit himself would know why there were male and female Matoran.

They soon reached the Thundering Falls and the giant lake that had formed beneath it. Floating atop that lake was what had to be Ga-Koro. It was a large group of giant lily pads with huts made of seaweed built on top of them. The lily pads were connected by causeways that were also made of seaweed.

There was only one causeway from the village to the shore, so the gang headed for that causeway. There was a stone gateway on the shore end of the causeway, which was currently open. As they walked across the causeways and lily pads, they noticed that this village was actually floating on the water. It felt kind of strange to them, but at least it seemed more welcoming than Ta-Koro.

They soon reached the center of the village, where they saw Turaga Nokama, who wore a light blue Noble Rau and held her Trident staff, speaking with a Ga-Matoran. This Ga-Matoran had light blue armor on her arms and torso, medium blue armor on her feet and legs, and wore a medium blue Rau.

The Ga-Matoran noticed Takua and his dinosaur friends, so she finished her conversation with Nokama and greeted them. “Welcome to Ga-Koro. I'm Kotu, Left Hand of Turaga Nokama.”

Nokama walked up to them and said to Kotu, “It is nice of you to introduce yourself to them, Kotu, but perhaps it is best that I tell them what they would like to know.” Kotu nodded in agreement and walked away. Nokama then turned her attention back to them. “It is always good to have visitors to Ga-Koro, such as yourselves. Your eyes are filled with questions about the ways of the Matoran. I can offer as much knowledge as I can in the short time you have to stay here today.”

“They would like to know about the various jobs of the Ga-Matoran,” said Takua. “I also think you should tell them about the Toa of this village. After that, we'll take a look around this village before we leave.”

Nokama nodded in agreement and began speaking. “Most Ga-Matoran spend their days creating materials that are of good use to us, such as rope and sailcloth for boats. Everyone must work together so that this village remains strong. That is why we value the virtue of unity most of all. Many Ga-Matoran are sailors, who travel across the vast seas surrounding our island home. Now that Ga-Koro resides in a lake instead of on the coast, the tasks the sailors can do will now be very limited. As for the Toa of this village, Gali is the Toa of Water. She is wise, and agile, and quick. She is the protector of the sea, and of the lakes and rivers that feed it. Her Great Kanohi Kaukau, the Great Mask of Water Breathing, allows her to breathe freely beneath the waves. Is there anything more you wish to know?”

“No, that will be all,” replied Takua. Nokama nodded and walked back to her hut. Takua then followed his friends as they began exploring the floating village.

They passed the shipyard, which was full of docked boats that had nowhere to go in a lake like this. As they began to leave the shipyard, Ducky noticed a Ga-Matoran riding in a small boat. “Look! There is a Ga-Matoran over there! There is, there is!” she exclaimed. Everyone turned to look in the direction she was pointing.

The Ga-Matoran had light blue armor on her arms and torso, medium blue armor on her feet and legs, and wore a medium blue Huna. She was paddling her canoe back to the shipyard when she noticed the young dinosaurs looking at her. She paddled until she was close enough to them to be able to speak with them. “You must be the visitors,” she said. “I'm quite amazed that creatures like yourselves are actually real.”

“Who are you?” asked Ducky.

“I'm Maku, Right Hand of Turaga Nokama.”

“What are you doing in that boat?” asked Littlefoot.

“I have always patrolled the seas near Ga-Koro. I just decided to do the same around this entire lake. By the way, if you haven't visited Po-Koro yet, I suggest that you visit that village next. It's not that far away from here.”

“Thanks, Maku,” said Takua. “Come on, let's go.”

Everyone followed Takua out of the village. Before they got even halfway there, however, Ruby noticed a Ga-Matoran was struggling to pull something out of the water. This Ga-Matoran had light blue armor on her arms and torso, dark blue armor on her feet and legs, and wore a blue Kaukau. Ruby decided to help the Ga-Matoran, so she walked up to her and asked, “Can I help you with your problem?”

“Sure,” replied the Ga-Matoran. “Grab that side of the net.” Ruby did as she was told and began pulling the net. They soon managed to pull the net, which was full of fish, onto the lily pad they stood on. As the completely organic fish flopped around in the net, the Ga-Matoran sighed and said, “I don't know if I'll ever get used to catching fish that are like this, but I guess I have to try if we're going to be here for a while.”

“Is this what you do all day?” asked Ruby.

“No, I do all kinds of various chores around Ga-Koro.”

“Chores?”

“Tasks that I have to do every day. It's to make sure that the whole village is working together.”

Ruby nodded, understanding what the Ga-Matoran said. “So who are you?”

“I'm Hahli.”

“Nice to meet you, Hahli. I'm Ruby, a Fast-Runner.” Ruby looked a little to the side and noticed that her friends were already at the stone gateway and were waiting for her. “Sorry, I need to leave now. If you would like any help with your chores, I can come and help you tomorrow.”

“That would be great, Ruby. Try to come as early as possible.”

“I will,” said Ruby as she left and quickly headed for the stone gateway where her friends were.

When Ruby arrived, Cera asked, “What were you doing?”

“I was only offering some help, because it looked like she needed some help,” replied Ruby.

“Well now that you're here, we can now go to Po-Koro,” said Takua. “It's a little to the north in the desert area of this valley.”

Everyone followed Takua as he began heading in that direction. As they left, they each took one more look back at Ga-Koro. Although it was only the second village they had seen, they believed that it was probably the most welcoming of all six villages, probably even worth visiting a few more times.
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Read and Review, I'd like to see more than one reviewer.

[The Chronicler]

I know, the last chapter seemed kind of short, but that was only because it was one of very few parts of this story that I have not put much thought into. I have put more thought into this next chapter and I hope it's good enough.

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Chapter 11
Po-Koro, the Village of Stone

“How could it get this hot so quickly?” complained Cera. She wasn't the only one who felt the hot, arid climate. It was strange to walk into another area and quickly feel such a change. At least there was a rocky pathway in this ocean of sand so they wouldn't get lost.

“I'm thirsty,” said Chomper.

“Don't count on finding any water in Po-Koro,” said Takua. “If there's anything a Po-Matoran hates more than anything else, it's water.”

“Why do they hate water so much?” asked Ducky, who could hardly believe such a fact.

“Simple, they can't swim and they'll just sink like a stone.”

They continued down the pathway. They were now approaching a fork in the road, but at that crossroads they saw someone. As they got closer, they noticed that it was a Po-Matoran and a few large rocks. Eventually, they saw that there were three large rocks. One was a block of stone, another was a carved way-sign, and the third was being carved into something by the Po-Matoran.

This Po-Matoran had tan armor on his arms and torso, black armor on his feet and legs, and wore a black Ruru. Using the small pickax in his right hand, he carved away at the stone in front of him. He was so focused on carving that he didn't notice Takua and the others until they actually arrived at the fork in the road.

As they approached, he looked at them and said in a proud voice, “Ah, you must be the visitors. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Hafu, Left Hand of Turaga Onewa and best stone-carver in all of Po-Koro.”

“Stone-carver? What's a stone-carver?” asked Littlefoot.

“Of course! How foolish of me to forget! You're unfamiliar with the art of stone-carving. Us stone-carvers use fine carving tools to cut and shape stone into beautiful works of art. I am currently carving the way-signs for this new pathway. I have finished one and I am now working on the second one. If you wish to see my best masterpiece, just walk down the Path of Prophecies that's just outside the gateway into Po-Koro. Which, by the way, is in that direction.” He pointed towards the path to their right and then resumed his stone-carving.

They thanked him and headed down that path. Once they were far enough away, Cera couldn't help but shake her head and say in a sarcastic tone, “And I thought my dad had too much pride for himself.”

They soon saw Po-Koro. From the outside, it looked like a large cliff-side that had a giant carving of a Matoran head with a gateway at the mouth of the carving. Just outside the gateway were six giant statues shaped like Matoran heads, three on each side of the path that led to the gateway. As they passed these statues, they were amazed at the sheer size of them and how lifelike they seemed to be.

They soon entered the village and saw how different it was from the outside. The huts were made of stone, most of them carved right from the cliffs that surrounded the village. The air was filled with the sounds of bartering and domestic creatures, sounds that were unfamiliar to the gang.

“What are all those Po-Matoran doing?” asked Littlefoot, gesturing towards the area that was the source of the sounds.

“They're bartering,” replied Takua. “That's what they do at the Bazaar there. When you barter, you have to give something in order to get anything there that you want, and the items that are traded have to be accepted by both you and the one you're trading with. You really need to know what you're doing when you barter.”

Such a concept seemed very complicated to them. Then again, it seemed like the kind of thing a grown-up would able to do, so they chose to ignore this for now. As they walked further into the village, they faintly heard different sounds. Sounds like shouting and cheering.

“What's that sound?” asked Ruby.

Takua listened to the faint sounds for a few seconds. He then replied, “Sounds like there's a Koli match today. Come on, the Koli field is this way.” Everyone followed Takua as he headed for another part of the village.

They soon arrived at what had to be the Koli field. Blocks of stone were arranged in such a way that they formed the outline of a large square on the ground. In place of each of the four corners was a large gap with two upright stone blocks on each side of it, as if to show that this was a goal. Surrounding the square-shaped field were stone seats that were packed full of cheering and shouting Po-Matoran. Whatever was going on here must have been some kind of popular game.

In front of each of the four goals was a Po-Matoran. These four Po-Matoran were kicking what looked like large rocks back and forth between each other. Occasionally, a rock would fly past one of the four Po-Matoran and through the goal behind them.

One Po-Matoran, however, seemed to be so good at this game that none of these rocks ever made it past him and into his goal. This Po-Matoran had tan armor on his arms and torso, dull orange armor on his feet and legs, and wore a dull orange Kakama. In this game he was playing, he always managed to kick away any rocks that came in his direction. The other three players were having a hard time trying to match this player's amazing skills.

Within the crowd of Po-Matoran was Turaga Onewa, who wore his tan Noble Komau and held his Stone Hammer staff. Currently, he was the referee of this Koli match. He soon stood up and called time by raising his staff. The four players immediately stopped kicking the rocks around. As Onewa approached the Po-Matoran with the Kakama, he said, “Another well-played game of Koli by all! Once again, the winner of today's match is Huki, the Koli champion!”

The crowd cheered as Huki, the Po-Matoran with the Kakama, held his arms high to accept the cheering. Onewa then noticed Takua with his dinosaur friends, who were wondering what was happening here. Onewa raised his staff to silence the crowd. Once all was silent, he said, “Return to your jobs, fellow Po-Matoran. The visitors have arrived, and I wish to speak with them.” Everyone did as they were told and began leaving the Koli field. Huki, however, stayed behind because he knew that the visitors had watched him playing out there and would likely have questions for him.

Once every Po-Matoran had left, Takua and his dinosaur friends approached Onewa and Huki. “Welcome to Po-Koro,” greeted Onewa. “I assume you have been watching the last few minutes of today's Koli match.”

“Koli? Is that what those Po-Matoran were playing?” asked Littlefoot.

“Yes it is,” replied Huki. “Koli is the most popular sport in all of Mata Nui, our island home. As you already know, I'm Huki, the Koli champion. I am also Right Hand of Turaga Onewa.”

Littlefoot thought that he and his friends could try playing Koli sometime, so he asked, “How do you play Koli?”

“The rules are simple, but it takes a lot of skill to be a good player at it. As you can see, we are currently standing in a Koli field, but all you need is four goals, one at each corner of a square. There are four players, one for each goal. To win, you have to kick Koli balls into any of the other three goals, while at the same time stopping the other players from kicking their Koli balls into your goal. The winner is the player who made the most goals by the end of a time limit.”

“That sounds like a fun game to play! It does, it does!” exclaimed Ducky.

“Me think it sound fun, too,” said Petrie.

“If you want to try it, then you'll need a few Koli balls,” said Takua. “I'd like to get you some, but I don't have anything that's worth trading for them at the Bazaar.”

Huki picked up a Koli ball that was on the ground nearby and said, “Don't worry, you can have this one.” He tossed it to Takua, who caught it. “If you need any more, I've got plenty in my hut.” Takua thanked Huki, who then left to return home.

Turaga Onewa turned his attention back to Takua's dinosaur friends and asked, “Are there any questions you like to ask me before you leave?”

“Just one thing, who is the Toa of this village?” asked Littlefoot.

“That would be Pohatu, the Toa of Stone. His great strength can fell even mountains. He wears the Great Kanohi Kakama, the Great Mask of Speed, which grants him speed greater than any creature known to exist.”

“Thank you, Turaga Onewa,” said Takua. “Now that we have seen everything in this village, we will now leave and go to the next village.” Onewa nodded in agreement as Takua and his friends headed for the gateway of the village.

They left the village, walked past the Path of Prophecies again, and arrived at the crossroads where Hafu was just finishing carving the way-sign. As soon they arrived, Hafu finished the last detail on the carving. He proudly held his pickax over his shoulder and said proudly, “Another Hafu original!”

Everyone took a moment to admire his work. This way-sign looked just like the other one. The middle was carved into what looked like the smooth stone used to represent the Great Spirit, Mata Nui. On either side of it was a block of stone that was adjacent to the path it was next to. Carved onto those blocks were Matoran letters that spelled out the names of the places that each path led to. The one on the left said “Ga-Koro,” and the one on the right said “Onu-Koro.”

“Not bad,” commented Petrie.

Hafu was proud to hear such good comments. He then said, “And now to begin carving the third and final way-sign.” He approached the uncarved block of stone and began carving.

Most of the gang began to head down the left path. This confused Takua, who then asked, “Where are you going? We already went to Ga-Koro.”

“I know,” replied Littlefoot. “But I think we need to stop for a while to get some lunch.” his friends agreed with him.

Takua decided to agree with them, so he said, “Alright, we'll take a break so you can get something to eat. After that, we'll head down the other path and go to Onu-Koro. Besides, I don't want to carry around this Koli ball all day.” Everyone agreed with him and continued heading down the path that would lead them to the lake beneath the thundering falls. They had now visited three villages, and now had three more left to visit.
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Read and review, as always. I really want to see more readers reviewing this story.

[The Chronicler]

Time to see the next village!

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Chapter 12
Onu-Koro, the Village of Earth

After taking a break to get a drink and something to eat, the gang was ready to see the next village. Takua led them back down the rocky pathway and further west down the path that led to Onu-Koro. Along the path, the terrain changed from a sandy desert to a rocky region. Eventually, they reached the end of the path at a tunnel entrance.

“Onu-Koro is built in a giant underground cavern, so the only way to get there is to go down that tunnel,” said Takua.

“You want us to go down there?” asked Cera.

“It very dark down there,” commented Petrie with fear in his voice.

“That's why I have this,” replied Takua as he pulled his lightstone out of his backpack.

“Your lightstone,” said Littlefoot with a smile. “I forgot about that.”

Takua started walking down the tunnel as everyone followed him. It was comforting to have a source of light illuminating the path they were traveling on. Not wanting to get lost in this tunnel, everyone stayed close to Takua and his lightstone.

The tunnel wasn't very long. They soon arrived at a massive underground cavern. This cavern was illuminated by hundreds of lightstones. The light from them showed that there were huts made of earth in this cavern. This had to be the village of Onu-Koro.

As they walked through the heart of the village, they crossed the small bridge that crossed over the small stream that ran through the middle of the village. They arrived at a large hut on the other side of the village. Outside of that hut stood Turaga Whenua, who wore his dark gray Noble Ruru and held his Drill staff.

Whenua approached them and said, “Welcome to Onu-Koro. I have been expecting your arrival, and I am certain that you have questions that you wish to ask me.”

“We would like to know what Onu-Matoran do for their jobs,” replied Littlefoot. “We would also like to know about the Toa of this village.”

Whenua nodded in agreement and began speaking. “Most Onu-Matoran are miners, working all day in the Great Mine to dig up all kinds of useful minerals. Stone is dug up and traded to Po-Koro to be used in carvings. Protodermis, the stuff of life, is brought from deposits within the earth and traded amongst the Matoran. Lightstones and other precious resources are also mined in the Great Mine. Some Onu-Matoran are traders at the Great Market, here in this village. Others are engineers, who build all kinds of machinery that are often used to improve mining. The protector of this village is Onua, the Toa of Earth. He can quickly dig tunnels with his own claws and he is very wise. He wears the Great Kanohi Pakari, the Great Mask of Strength, which grants him far greater strength.”

“Thank you, Turaga Whenua,” said Takua. “That's all the questions we have. We will explore this village a bit before we leave.” Takua, followed by the others, turned around and headed for another part of Onu-Koro.

They were now walking in a part of Onu-Koro where some strange creatures were kept. To the gang, they resembled Sand Creepers, but much bigger and had bio-mechanical bodies, like Matoran. “What are these things?” asked Chomper.

Suddenly, one of these creatures came rushing up to them. Sitting on its back was an Onu-Matoran. This Onu-Matoran had black armor on his arms and torso, purple armor on his feet and legs, and wore a purple Pakari. When the creature stopped, the Onu-Matoran dismounted and answered Chomper's question. “They're Ussal Crabs. They are creatures we have tamed and they are very useful. Some of them help with mining. Others are used in the defense force of Onu-Koro, the Ussalry. However, many of them are often used for racing. Every Onu-Matoran enjoys a good Ussal race.”

“Who are you?” asked Littlefoot.

“I'm Onepu, Right Hand of Turaga Whenua and Captain of the Ussalry.”

“That Ussal you were riding is very fast,” commented Ducky.

“That's Puku. Of all the Ussals I own, she's the fastest. Thanks to her, I've won many races. She's now on the verge of retirement, but still very fast.” Onepu mounted and said, “It was nice talking to you, but I need to get back to my duty.” Puku then galloped off with Onepu on her back.

After a few seconds, Takua suggested, “Do you want to see the Great Mine?” Everyone agreed and followed him.

They soon reached another tunnel. Carved into the rock above the tunnel entrance were Matoran letters that read “Great Mine”. After a short walk, they arrived at the other end of the tunnel. The gang was amazed at what they saw. The mine shaft they saw, one of many in the Great Mine, was huge! It looked as if a massive column of earth had been removed. The walls of the massive mine shaft were circular, and there appeared to be no bottom to it. Scattered around the many levels of this mine shaft were Onu-Matoran miners, hard at work. Their digging areas were illuminated by lightstones, which seemed to the gang like stars in this underground sky.

While they were taking in the awe of the Great Mine, Takua asked for directions from a miner who passed by. After receiving the directions he wanted, Takua thanked him and returned to his friends. “Come on, there's one miner I know who I'm sure would like to meet you.”

The gang followed Takua to an elevator. The elevator wasn't very big, but it was big enough for all of them to fit inside. Once everyone was in the elevator, Takua pulled the lever down, causing the elevator to go down. The gang was amazed at how such a thing worked as they descended past many levels. The elevator soon came to a stop. Everyone got out and followed Takua.

They walked into a short tunnel and saw an Onu-Matoran hard at work on the other end. This Onu-Matoran had tan armor on his arms and torso, black armor on his feet and legs, and wore a black Pakari. He was digging at the rock with his large pickax.

Takua asked for his attention. The Onu-Matoran turned around and, when he saw Takua's friends, had a smile on his face. “You must be the visitors,” he said, putting down his pickax. “When I heard that you would be coming today, I wanted to greet you right at entrance of the village, but nobody told me when you would visit. At least it was nice of you to come see me here.”

“Who are you?” asked Littlefoot.

“I'm Taipu, Left Hand of Turaga Whenua and strongest of the Onu-Matoran.”

“You're the strongest Onu-Matoran?” asked Cera. “Prove it!”

Taipu accepted the challenge and walked to a nearby cart that was clearly overflowing with rocks. Taipu pushed the cart with such ease that it seem as if the cart was empty. He pushed it up to Cera and asked her to try to push it. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't even get the cart to budge. Not even when she asked Takua to help. Finally, Cera admitted that Taipu was indeed very strong for someone of his size.

Taipu then changed the subject by asking, “You guys have been on many adventures before, right?” Everyone confirmed this fact. “Let me know when you go on another one. I'd like to join you. I've always wanted to go on an adventure. The only thing that ever prevented me from doing so was my loyalty to Onu-Koro, which is why I dig in the Great Mine all day.”

“Don't worry, Taipu,” assured Takua. “I promise we'll let you join us on an adventure sometime. For now, we must leave. It was nice talking to you.” Taipu said his goodbyes to them and resumed digging.

The ride back up the elevator was just as amazing as the ride down was. When they got back up to the entrance to the Great Mine, the gang wanted to know how the elevator worked. “I don't know,” replied Takua. “You'll need to ask an engineer. There's a lot of them here in Onu-Koro. We just need to find one.”

When they got back to the village, they tried to find where an engineer would work. Shortly after they began searching, they heard a loud crash behind them. They turned around and saw that an Onu-Matoran had dropped a box full of used machine parts. This Onu-Matoran had black armor on his arms and torso, gray armor on his feet and legs, and wore an orange Pakari. The Onu-Matoran moaned in frustration and said, “I knew it wasn't such a good idea to put it all in one box.” He sighed and began putting the parts back into the box.

Takua decided to help the Onu-Matoran pick up all the parts. Once all the parts were back in the box, Takua helped the Onu-Matoran carry the box. The gang had no choice but to follow them. They soon arrived to a place where all kinds of machine parts were stored. Takua and the Onu-Matoran put the box on the ground. “Thanks for the help,” said the Onu-Matoran.

“No problem,” replied Takua. Curious, he then asked “Who are you?”

“I'm Nuparu, Tunnel Engineer 2nd Class, Marn Tunnel 12, Section 4.”

“An engineer! Just the kind of Matoran we were looking for.”

“Yes, I'm an engineer. However, I'd like to think of myself as more of an inventor. Allow me to explain it to your dinosaur friends. An inventor is someone who creates a new type of machine that has never been made before.”

“What are you trying to invent now?” asked Littlefoot, who was curious about what Nuparu does as an inventor.

“For a long time, I've been trying to invent something that would allow the Matoran to protect themselves from any kind of danger. I've had a lot of ideas, but none of them could be created because of one problem I've always had. I just don't have access to proper materials. The best parts I can get are used ones that I usually find in a scrap yard, like this one. Many of these parts barely even work at all, but it's all I can usually get. Anyway, I think it's time for you to leave. I'm sure you still have other villages to visit, and I have a lot of work do right now.”

“Okay, Nuparu, we'll see you another time,” said Takua. He then headed for the exit of the village, his friends following him.

As they were heading back up the tunnel that led to the surface, Petrie couldn't help but complain about being underground. “Me hate tunnels. It always so dark,” he grumbled.

“You don't like being underground?” asked Takua. “Don't worry. The next village we'll visit will be in the other direction, above the ground. Le-Koro is built high up in the treetops, and I think you will like it there.”

They soon reached the surface. After being underground, the bright daylight was almost blinding. After waiting a minute for their eyes to adjust, they were ready to visit the next village. Takua led the way south to the village of Le-Koro.
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Just two more villages to go. I'm guessing there aren't many reviewers because this is still the introductory part of the story. Hopefully, the story will actually get going by chapter 16, so be patient for now.

[Kor]

It was interesting.  I liked the part you added to Petrie not liking being underground.  Pretty natural for a flyer, and I don't think any of the gang liked dark places, least of all Petrie.

[The Chronicler]

Time for the next chapter-update!

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Chapter 13
Le-Koro, the Village of Air

The gang was now following Takua through the dense jungle of the southern side of the Great Valley. It was difficult to avoid all the plant life of the jungle floor. “Why would anyone want to live in a place like this?” grumbled Cera.

“Not even the Le-Matoran would want to live here on the jungle floor,” replied Takua. “They prefer to live up in the trees. Now where's that elevator?” After looking around for a few minutes, they found the elevator, near a large tree in a swamp, that would presumably take them up to the village of Le-Koro. It was a large carved-out pod attached to a long vine that went all the way up to the highest branches of the tree above it.

This elevator was smaller than the one in the Great Mine, so it was a tight fit. Once everyone was inside, Takua activated the three levers that caused the elevator to go up. As they ascended, Takua said, “Don't worry if you don't understand what the Le-Matoran are saying. Even I sometimes have a hard time understanding what they say. It's because they speak in a unique slang called tree-speak. It's sort of a way to confuse their enemies, although even they sometimes get confused by it themselves.”

The elevator soon arrived at the treetops. As they got out, the gang was amazed to see an entire village built so high up in the trees. The huts were made of various tree parts, and access between each of them was across either a large branch or a wood and rope bridge. In some places, the top part of a large tree was cut off, creating a large central area in those places. This had to be the village of Le-Koro. The sounds of Le-Matoran playing music was heard all over the village.

Takua led the gang to the largest hut. Before entering, Takua warned, “Be careful around Turaga Matau. You wouldn't want to fall for one of his practical jokes.” They entered the hut and saw Turaga Matau standing inside. He wore his light-green Noble Mahiki and held his Kau Kau Staff, a staff with a circular saw on the end of it and was named so for the sound it made.

Matau greeted them. “Welcome to tree-bright Le-Koro. Long is the ground-path you must have taken today. You are welcome to stay for as long as you wish. Hey, Threehorn, look left!” Cera looked to her left, but saw nothing. What she didn't know was that one of the floorboards was loose, and Matau had left it that way intentionally so that when he slammed his staff onto it, the other end of the board came up and smacked her in the chin. Matau then burst out laughing.

Cera couldn't believe it, she had fallen for one of Matau's practical jokes. Takua could easily tell that she was furious, so he tried to calm her down by saying, “Let it go, Cera. After all, I did warn you.”

Cera sighed and said, “Fine, but I won't fall for another one!”

Matau calmed himself down and said, “We'll see about that, hot-head Threehorn, we'll see. Alright, time for serious-talk. Any information you wish to seek-find that I can offer?”

“Yes,” replied Littlefoot. “Tells us about what Le-Matoran in this village do, and tell us about the Toa of this village.”

Matau nodded. “Most Le-Matoran are musicians. They play happy-cheer music all day long. Of course, we have faced many Rahi attacks, so a defense force was needed. That defense force is the Gukko Force. They have always been of great help in any defense. You may speak with the Captain if you wish to seek-find more information. The Toa-hero of Le-Koro is Lewa, Toa of Air. He controls the wind and air, and he wields a large Axe. He wears the Great Kanohi Miru, the Great Mask of Levitation, which allows him to hover in the air and land softly.”

“Thank you, Turaga Matau,” said Takua. “We will stay for a few minutes to see the rest of this village.” Takua and his friends then left the hut.

The gang followed Takua as he headed for another part of the village. They were walking across one of the cut-off trees when a Le-Matoran suddenly leaped from the nearby branches and landed right in front of them, startling them. This Le-Matoran had teal armor on his arms and torso, lime green armor on his feet and legs, and wore a lime green Rau.

The Le-Matoran greeted them by cheerfully saying, “Hi, I'm Tamaru! High-fly Vines-man, deep-wood Way-finder, Left Hand of Matau!” He spoke in such a fast pace that they hardly understood a word he said.

“What did he say?” asked Chomper. Takua, however, was used to hearing tree-speak, so he understood what Tamaru had just said. He repeated Tamaru's words in a slower pace so the others could understand what he had just said.

When Takua was finished, Ruby asked Tamaru, “Could you talk at a slower speed so that we can understand what you are saying?”

Tamaru just laughed and exclaimed, “Slow-talk tree-speak? Never!”

“Could you at least tell us where the Captain of the Gukko Force is?” asked Littlefoot. Takua had said they were going to speak with him before they left Le-Koro.

“No hard-luck for you today! He has just returned from patrol! You'll seek-find him that way!” Tamaru pointed towards his left.

Takua thanked him, but Littlefoot was curious about something. “Are you a member of the Gukko Force?” he asked.

Strangely, Tamaru's expression went from cheerful to ashamed. “I wish to be Gukko Force pilot, but... I fly not.”

“You no fly?” asked Petrie. “Why?”

Tamaru looked around and then said quietly to them, “I fear heights.”

“You? Afraid of Heights?” asked Cera.

Tamaru slowly nodded his head. He had a good reason to feel ashamed of this. He was a Le-Matoran, one of the last beings you would expect to be afraid of heights.

“Do not worry, Tamaru,” said Ducky. “Everyone is afraid of something. You should not feel bad about yourself. No, no, no.”

These words comforted Tamaru at least a little bit. “Thanks for the spirit-lift, little Swimmer.” Tamaru then spoke in his cheerful mood again. “You probably don't have long to stay, so I shall now quick-leave!” Tamaru then leaped off of the tree, grabbed onto a vine, and swung on it until he disappeared from view behind some branches.

Takua and his friends then headed in the direction Tamaru had pointed out. They soon arrived at a place where some strange creatures were kept. These creatures resembled large Flyers, but had four wings instead of two, and had bio-mechanical bodies. They then saw one of these creatures take to the sky with a Le-Matoran on its back.

They then saw another Le-Matoran standing nearby where the creature had taken off. This Le-Matoran had light green armor on his arms and torso, teal armor on his feet and legs, and wore a teal Miru. As Takua and his friends approached, the Le-Matoran turned his attention to them and said, “Visitors, lucky you are not past-late to speak with me. I must soon quick-leave for my next patrol, so I have little time for talk. I am Kongu, Captain of the Gukko Force, fastest Leaf-Runner, Ever-quick pilot, weaver, mapmaker, and Right Hand of Turaga Matau.”

“Why do you have to leave soon?” asked Chomper.

“This universe is oak-new to us, so Way-finders must record the terrain for our advantage. The most rapid-quick way of completing such a task is from the sky. Therefore, all Way-finders must be accompanied by Wind-rider Gukko Force pilots.”

“What are these strange Flyers?” asked Littlefoot.

“They are Gukko birds. They are hard to tame, but once tamed, they are a great advantage. Wind-riders ride them though the skies and sometimes are faced with battle-flight from high-flying Rahi. Sorry, young ones, but I must now leave on patrol.” Kongu then mounted one of the Gukko birds and took to the skies on its back.

Takua then noticed that it was already late in the afternoon, and they had only one village left to visit. He said to his friends, “Come on. We've got one more village left to visit, and not much time left.” The gang followed him back to the elevator.

After they descended and got out of the elevator, Petrie said, “Me like Le-Koro. In fact, me want to visit again tomorrow so me can learn tree-speak.”

“You want to learn how to talk tree-speak?” asked Ducky.

“Why would you want to do that?” asked Cera.

Petrie shrugged and simply replied, “Me no know. Me like tree-speak.”

Cera then said in a sarcastic tone, “Great, now it's going to be even harder for us to understand what he says.”

“Me heard that!” shouted Petrie.

Takua and his friends were now heading to the frigid western part of the Great Valley, where they would find the village of Ko-Koro, the only village they had not yet visited.
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Read and review. Just one more village left.

[The Chronicler]

I haven't had this much free time in a while, so here's the next chapter.

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Chapter 14
Ko-Koro, the Village of Ice

“I can't believe it could possibly be this cold!” exclaimed Cera. Everyone was feeling the cold, even Takua. It was unbelievable how this area could remain so cold when the nearby lands were so much warmer. At yesterday's meeting, the gang had learned simpler terms that Matoran used. For instance, they had learned that hard water was called ice, and the softer form of hard water was called snow.

After walking through the cold snow for a few minutes, they arrived at the entrance of an ice tunnel. “Ko-Koro is on the other side of this passage,” said Takua.

The gang followed him through the tunnel. It wasn't long until they reached a small ice cavern. Inside this cavern was a Ko-Matoran who was facing one of the walls. This Ko-Matoran had white armor on his arms and torso, sand blue armor on his feet and legs, and wore a sand blue Komau. The Ko-Matoran was observing various locations from the numerous reflections in ice surfaces he was looking at.

Littlefoot decided to ask this Ko-Matoran a few questions. “Hey, who are you?” he asked. The Ko-Matoran didn't even seem to notice him. He asked his question again. The Ko-Matoran turned around, but said nothing. After repeating the question a third time, he finally replied.

“Kopeke,” he said.

“What are you doing?” asked Littlefoot.

“I do not wish to be questioned,” replied Kopeke. “If you seek answers, do so in Ko-Koro.” he then turned around and continued his observation.

Takua suggested that they should keep going. Reluctantly, Littlefoot agreed. He had wanted to learn more about this Ko-Matoran than just his name. “What's with him?” asked Cera.

“He doesn't like talking,” replied Takua. “He prefers solitude.”

“You mean he would rather want to just stand there by himself instead of talking to anyone?” asked Ruby.

“Basically, yes. He's more aloof than most Ko-Matoran. Typically, Ko-Matoran are antisocial, but Kopeke is just shy. By the way, I won't expect you'll learn about the Ko-Matoran by asking them, so I'll tell you instead.”

“You already know everything about Ko-Matoran?” asked Chomper.

“Of course I do. In fact, I already knew everything that you all learned today. I just thought it would be better for you to learn it directly from them. But in this case, like I said, you can ask me to tell you about what Ko-Matoran do and who the Toa of Ice is.”

“Okay, Takua, tell us,” said Petrie.

“Most Ko-Matoran spend most of their time working in the Sanctum. Written upon the walls of the Sanctum are many prophecies. Most of the Ko-Matoran who work in the Sanctum take part in the seeking, studying the prophecies and trying to understand them in an attempt to know the future. This is because they value the virtue of destiny the most. The Toa of Ice is Kopaka. Using his Ice Sword, he can freeze anything and create powerful snow storms. He wears the Great Kanohi Akaku, the Great Mask of X-Ray Vision, which allows him to see though any solid objects.”

They soon reached the end of the ice tunnel and stepped outside. They were now standing at the edge of a huge crevasse. Spanning the crevasse was an ice bridge. On the other side of the bridge was a small valley between two glaciers. There were no huts, but there were dwellings carved into the icy sides of this valley. This had to be the village of Ko-Koro.

As they crossed the ice bridge, Takua said, “Oh, I forgot to mention something. Kopeke is the Left Hand Matoran of Turaga Nuju.”

“Who is the Right Hand Matoran?” asked Ducky.

“We'll meet him in the Sanctum. It's that big structure in the middle of the village.”

The Sanctum was indeed big. It resembled a large mountain made of ice, but it had a few windows and a large doorway. Before they entered the Sanctum, Takua said, “When we're in the Sanctum, we have to be as quiet as possible. Ko-Matoran especially hate being interrupted from their work.”

They then entered the Sanctum. As they walked through it, they saw Ko-Matoran reading the prophecies written on all of the walls. Remembering to keep quiet, Cera whispered, “This is what they do all day?”

Takua also whispered his reply. “They know it takes years of patience to understand even some of these prophecies, so they dedicate their entire lives to being seers.”

They soon arrived at the other side of the Sanctum, where Turaga Nuju, who wore his light gray Noble Matatu and held his Ice Pick staff, and a Ko-Matoran were studying the prophecies on the wall. When they approached them, Nuju turned around to face them.

“Do you wish to tell us something, Turaga Nuju?” asked Takua.

Nuju had not spoken a word at yesterday's meeting, so the gang didn't know what he was like. They were somewhat surprised when he replied with a series of clicks, whistles, and gestures.

Nuju's language did not make any sense to them. “What did he say?” asked Littlefoot.

Again, Nuju replied with a series of clicks, whistles, and gestures.

However, most of those gestures were towards the Ko-Matoran to his right, who was still studying the Wall of Prophecies. This Ko-Matoran had white armor on his arms and torso, sand blue armor on his feet and legs, and wore a sand blue Akaku. The Ko-Matoran looked back and noticed that Takua and the others were looking in his direction. He turned around and said, “He says that if you wish to speak with him, you'll need me to translate his wisdom.”

“Who are you?” asked Ruby.

“I'm Matoro, Right Hand of Turaga Nuju. I am also the only one who fully understands his language, so I am his translator.”

“Wait a minute!” exclaimed Cera. “If Nuju can understand what we're saying, why doesn't he just talk like the rest of us?”

Nuju replied with a series of clicks, whistles, and gestures. Matoro translated, “He says that his philosophy is that if one does not have the patience to hear him speak, then they are not worth talking to.”

The gang didn't quite understand what he meant by this. Before they could say anything, Nuju made more of his unusual sounds and gestures. Again, Matoro translated, “He knows that Littlefoot would like to ask him a question.”

“I do?” asked Littlefoot.

“I'll tell you something to help you remember. It involves something that dinosaurs call a sleep-story.”

Littlefoot thought for a moment. Then he remembered that he had had a very strange sleep-story on the night before yesterday's meeting. He said, “Yes, I do want to ask you something, Turaga Nuju. I had a strange sleep-story, and I was wondering if you could tell me what it means.”

“Describe it to him and he will try to determine its meaning.”

Littlefoot described his sleep-story as best as he could. As he described it, everyone listened. It didn't seem to make any sense to his friends, and Takua was just as confused as well.

When Littlefoot was finished, Nuju made more of his unusual sounds and gestures. Matoro translated, “He says that your dream seems to represent events that have happened in the past and events that are to happen in the future. At this time, he cannot make any sense of its meaning, but he will look into it.”

“Thank you, Turaga Nuju,” said Takua. “It's getting late now, so we'll be leaving right now.” Everyone said goodbye to Matoro before following Takua out of the Sanctum and Ko-Koro.

By the time they had left the cold region, it was starting to get dark. Now that they were done visiting all of the villages, everyone headed back to their nests.

Littlefoot noticed that Takua was heading towards Ta-Koro. He remembered hearing that Takua wasn't trusted in that village, so it didn't seem fair for him to spend the night there. “Where are you going, Takua?” he asked.

“I'm going back to Ta-Koro,” replied Takua. “It's my home.”

“Don't you want to sleep at my nest? I don't think you should sleep at a place where you are not accepted.”

Takua thought about it for a moment. Littlefoot was right. He wasn't really accepted in Ta-Koro. However, his new friends were more than willing to let him stay with them. “Alright, I'll sleep at your place tonight.”

Takua then followed Littlefoot to his nest. Again, Takua decided to sleep at the base of the same tree as he did last night. They said goodnight to each other and soon fell asleep.
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Finally, I'm finished these introductory chapters. I had to do some research to get correct information for these last six chapters. Hopefully, after I post the next chapter or two, I should start to see more replies.

[The Chronicler]

Despite homework problems, I actually managed to have enough time to post the next chapter right now.

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Chapter 15
Banished

After visiting the six Matoran villages the previous day, everyone had different opinions on each of those villages. Littlefoot was intrigued by everything that all of the Matoran did, and found each of the villages equally fascinating. Cera wasn't fond of many Matoran, such as Kapura, Hafu, Taipu, Le-Matoran, and Ko-Matoran. However, she was quite amazed at how each of the villages actually managed to even exist. Ducky loved Ga-Koro, but didn't find Po-Koro really acceptable simply because Po-Matoran had a strong hatred and fear of water. Petrie didn't like Onu-Koro, but loved Le-Koro so much that he wanted to learn the dialect of the Le-Matoran. Spike didn't have much of an opinion, but he did find villages like Ga-Koro and Le-Koro more acceptable than villages like Ta-Koro and Ko-Koro. Chomper was just as amazed at the Matoran and their villages as Littlefoot was. Ruby was intrigued by how dedicated the Matoran were to their three virtues, as well as how they used those virtues to guide them in their daily lives.

The gang met up with each other in the morning to discuss their thoughts and feelings about the Matoran and their villages. There were some minor arguments, but nothing too serious. When they were done, Petrie left for Le-Koro so he could learn how to talk tree-speak. At the same time, Ruby left for Ga-Koro because she had promised to help Hahli with her chores. The others decided to try playing a game of Koli. They decided to use seeds, like the kind they used in toss-the-seed, instead of the Koli ball Takua got from Huki the previous day.

The four players were Littlefoot, Cera, Spike, and Takua. Chomper and Ducky would be the referees. Thanks to Huki, everyone knew how to play and how to win the game. Not long after they began playing, Takua realized that dinosaurs had an unfair advantage in Koli: they had tails.

Halfway into the game, Takua was exhausted and just gave up. He knew he was going to lose miserably. “They should create a different version of Koli for dinosaurs to play,” he commented. Everyone couldn't help but laugh at this comment.
________

Meanwhile, Ruby had just arrived in Ga-Koro and was helping Hahli with her daily chores. At the moment, she was helping her repair a net. “I wonder where Maku is,” she wondered aloud. “I did not see her in any of the places I would expect to see her.”

“She's probably visiting Huki again,” replied Hahli.

“The Koli champion in Po-Koro?”

“Yes. Ever since they first met, Maku has always been sneaking out of the village to be with him.”

“It sounds like they love each other.”

“Indeed they do.”

Ruby was having a little difficulty with repairing the net. “Uh, how do I...”

“Here, let me show you.” Hahli demonstrated what Ruby was having difficulty with.

Ruby soon managed to get it right. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” Hahli then continued the conversation. “Being Matoran, the relationship between Huki and Maku is already as far as it will ever be. Is it true that such a relationship between dinosaurs can go further?”

“Of course it is true. Such a relationship needs to go further than that because it is needed to create new dinosaurs. I may not know how it is done, but I would prefer not to think about it.”

“So do I.” After a few seconds, Hahli decided to change the subject. “I noticed that one of your friends is a Sharptooth, is that correct?”

“Yes, Chomper is a good friend. He would never hurt anybody. He is barely more than a hatchling, so someone has to take care him. That somebody who takes care of him is me.”

“You're his caretaker? I suppose you are already aware of the fact that someone like him can never have permanent residence in a place like this.”

“I have been aware of that ever since the day we first came here. But at least now his stay can be a little longer, thanks to the ways Ga-Matoran catch these creatures that you call fish.”

“Yes, that's true. Fish are bigger than bugs. But it still won't be enough for him when he is fully grown.”

Ruby sighed. “I guess there are some destinies we can't avoid, even if we want to avoid them.”

“For now, you should worry about your duty, and that's to take care of him while he is still little.”
________

By the time Ruby had finished helping Hahli, it was already late afternoon. She decided to spend the rest of the day with her friends. Shortly after she rejoined her friends, Petrie returned from Le-Koro. He had learned some tree-speak words, but still needed practice. Since he was at an unfair disadvantage in Koli with his friends, Takua volunteered to be referee for every game of Koli they would play.

Right now, a game between Littlefoot, Cera, Spike, and Ruby had just finished. Littlefoot had barely won, with the other three close behind. They were about to start another game, when Ducky noticed someone was approaching them. “Jala? What are you doing here?” she asked.

Takua turned around and saw Jala standing nearby.

“What are you doing?” asked Jala to Takua.

“Uh... just playing with my friends,” replied Takua.

Jala was silent for a few seconds. “Then I hope, for your sake, they remain your friends for a long time. I'm here to tell you something.”

“What is it, Jala?”

“The Ta-Matoran are not going to tolerate you anymore. You're banished from Ta-Koro.”

“Banished?”

“Wait a minute!” exclaimed Cera. “What did Takua ever do to get banished?”

“I agree,” commented Ruby. “I doubt that his love of traveling would be the only reason for him to be banished.”

“Don't tell me you still haven't realized the truth yet, Takua.” said Jala

“What do you mean?” asked Littlefoot.

Jala then turned his attention to the others. “He always wanders off every chance he gets. He refuses to do any work he is told to do. He would much rather travel somewhere than to do the duty of a Ta-Matoran. He may resemble a Ta-Matoran, he may be considered a Ta-Matoran, but, somehow, he's not really a Ta-Matoran.”

Takua felt terrible about himself. His closest friend had just told him that he had been banished from the only place he ever considered a home. And worse, he now knew every reason why this was so.

Before leaving, Jala comforted Takua by saying, “I'll be honest with you, Takua, if the decision was mine to make, you wouldn't be banished.”

“Thanks,” said Takua in a noticeably sad voice. Jala turned around and headed back to Ta-Koro.

Depressed, Takua just sat down on the ground where he stood.

Littlefoot could tell something was troubling Takua. “Takua? Are you alright?” he asked.

Takua just sighed and said, “Ta-Koro was the only place I ever considered a home. I knew I was different, but I never thought I was different enough to eventually get banished. I... I just don't know what I'm going to do now.”

“Do not worry, Takua,” assured Ducky. “You are always welcome to be with us. You are, you are.”

“Just because the Ta-Matoran don't like you doesn't mean that nobody will like you,” commented Ruby.

“Besides, you already have a place to sleep, and that's at my nest,” said Littlefoot.

Takua felt comforted by these comments. He may had been banished from Ta-Koro, but he now had friends who were always willing to be there for him, no matter what. With more confidence in his voice, he said, “Thanks, you guys are the best.”

Nightfall soon arrived, and everyone headed back to their sleeping places. Takua followed Littlefoot to what he now considered his new home. As they got into their sleeping places, Takua said, “Thanks again for letting me stay here, Littlefoot.”

“You're welcome,” replied Littlefoot. “You needed a place to stay, so I offered one. Goodnight, Takua.”

“Goodnight, Littlefoot.” The two of them soon fell asleep. A new life for both of them had just begun.
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Some of you readers probably don't post a reply, but I'd like to know how many people are actually reading this. I'll be happy if every reader were to post a reply at least once in this entire topic. And I assure you, the story will really get going by the next chapter.

[The Chronicler]

Here's the next chapter!

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Chapter 16
Rahi Attack!

It had now been many days since Takua was banished from Ta-Koro. Takua was now so close to his new friends, they actually considered him one of them. Also, Petrie was now talking excellent tree-speak in combination with his old form of talking, which, of course, made it very difficult for his words to be understood.

The dinosaurs of the Great Valley and the Matoran were getting along quite well, by now. There were still minor disagreements, but they were willing to put up with it. After all, the Matoran wouldn't be staying in the valley forever. As soon as a way back to Mata Nui was discovered, the Matoran would return there as soon as possible. In the meantime, they would spend this time enjoying the kind of peace they never had since before Makuta had started his spread of darkness.

Today, the gang wanted to play a game of Koli. As always, Takua would be the referee. Unfortunately, he had wandered off, yet again. Because of this, they now had to find him.

“This is stupid!” exclaimed Cera. “Why does he always keep wandering off like this?”

“I guess he really does like to travel around a lot,” commented Chomper.

“But where we seek-find him?” asked Petrie. “We no know where he wander off to.”

“Do not worry, Petrie,” replied Ducky. “I am sure we will find him. Yep, yep, yep.”

They searched for nearly an hour longer, and they still had not found Takua.

“Takua!” called Littlefoot. “Takua! Where are you?”

“I do wonder why he always wanders off without even telling anyone where he wanders off to,” wondered Ruby.

“If we find him, I'll make sure he doesn't try to wander off again,” said Cera.

“I sure hope we find him soon. I do, I do,” said Ducky.

Suddenly, they saw someone fly out from behind some nearby trees and crash-land in front of them on its back. They soon noticed that it was Takua who had just been thrown to them.

“Takua!” exclaimed Littlefoot as he ran up to him.

“Are you alright, Takua?” asked Ducky.

Takua got up, readjusted his mask, and replied, “I'm fine, but I suggest we get out of here now!”

“Why do you say that?” asked Ruby.

Suddenly, a large creature appeared from behind the trees. It was a lizard-like creature that stood on its hind legs and was more than twice as tall as any of them. It had powerful forearms, and had a bio-mechanical body, indicating that it must have come from the island of Mata Nui. Takua was the only one to notice that this creature wore a mask that covered a part of its face, and that mask appeared rusted and pitted.

“That,” replied Takua, pointing at the creature.

The creature roared at them and thrust one of its forearms at them, attempting to hit one of them. The punch was aimed at Ruby, who managed to jump out of the way in time.

“Run!” shouted Takua. Everyone did as he said, and ran from the creature as fast as they could. The creature quickly chased them.

They continued to run from the creature. Littlefoot then tripped over a small rock, causing him to fall forward. He quickly turned around to find himself face-to-face with the creature. It roared again and prepared to thrust one of its powerful forearms at him.

Suddenly, a circular object flew through the air and struck the creature in the head. The object landed near Littlefoot, who noticed that it was a throwing disk, the primary ranged weapon of any Matoran defense force. He then heard someone shout, “Charge!” Suddenly, half a dozen Ta-Matoran guardsmen, who held their two-pronged spears, shouted and charged at the creature and surrounded it. There had to have been more guardsmen nearby because, occasionally, a throwing disk would fly out from behind the trees and hit the creature.

The creature tried to fight back. It thrust its forearms forward, missing one guardsman but hitting another one, sending him flying backwards. One guardsman then turned to face Littlefoot and shouted, “Get out of here, kid! We'll handle this!” Littlefoot did as he was told and ran off to rejoin his friends, who had stopped running not too far from where he was.

Everyone waited a minute to catch their breath. “What was that thing?” asked Chomper.

“Tarakava,” replied Takua. “One of the dangerous kinds of Rahi, and by dangerous I mean the kind of Rahi Makuta used to attack the Matoran.”

“Why would it attack us like that?” asked Littlefoot.

“Did you notice the mask it was wearing? It was an infected mask. Any creature that wears an infected mask is placed under the control of Makuta.”

“So you're saying that Makuta can control anyone just by having them wear an infected mask?” asked Cera.

“Exactly, and that can only mean one thing: Makuta must be here in the dinosaur universe. I wouldn't even be surprised if he was here in the Great Valley.”

“Evil-bad Makuta here in Great Valley!?” exclaimed Petrie.

“What are we going to do?” asked Ducky.

“I'm certain that Tarakava won't be the only Rahi attack. There's no doubt the Turaga will call for a meeting, and I suggest that we go there too.”

“And where will that meeting be?” asked Littlefoot.

“The Kini-Nui temple, where else?” Takua began heading to the Kini-Nui, with his friends following him. Something terrible was happening, and they wanted to find out what they should do.
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Read and review, please. Now that I'm actually writing the story, I should start posting chapters more often.

[Kor]

It is an interesting read.  We've learned quiet a bit about the villages and cultures of those who have appeared so suddenly.

[The Chronicler]

Next chapter!

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Chapter 17
The Shadows Return

By the time Takua and his friends arrived at Kini-Nui, a large crowd of dinosaurs had already gathered around the temple. There were a lot of discussions going on among the crowd. They managed to reach the front of the crowd to see the six Turaga standing atop the temple, quietly talking among themselves. They also noticed Jala, Kongu, and Onepu were also present. They were the captains of their defense forces, so this meeting had to be about something serious for them to be here.

One Ta-Matoran guardsman walked up to Jala and spoke to him. The gang couldn't hear what they were saying, but they guessed that guardsman was confirming another Rahi attack to the Captain of the Ta-Koro Guard. The guardsman finished and headed back to where he came from.

Finally, the Turaga were ready to begin the meeting. Vakama called for the attention of the crowd by saying, “Fellow dinosaurs of the Great Valley, we have called this meeting here today to discuss our current situation.”

“I'll tell you what the current situation is, we're being attacked!” exclaimed Cera's father. “These... things... are attacking everyone in the valley, and they only started appearing just today!” Most of the crowd agreed with him. Some, however, were not so aggressive on the subject, like Littlefoot's grandparents.

Vakama replied, “Mr. Threehorn, I assure you that Rahi, no matter how dangerous they may be, do not attack without purpose.”

“Then what are the intentions of these Rahi that have attacked us?” asked Littlefoot's grandfather.

“I'll answer that,” replied Jala as he stepped forward and crossed his arms. “Based on the reports Onepu, Kongu, and I have received, all of the Rahi that attacked have one thing in common: they are wearing infected masks. For those of you who don't know, any creature that wears an infected mask is placed under the control of Makuta. This can only indicate one thing: Makuta has somehow followed us here to the dinosaur universe.”

The crowd gasped and began talking among themselves again. Where they came from, Matoran feared Makuta more than anything else. If Makuta was here in this universe, the dinosaurs of the Great Valley would have good reason to be afraid. After all, if such a being was feared so greatly, then he must be capable of doing terrifying things.

Littlefoot's grandfather called for silence. Once the crowd had quieted down, he turned to Jala and asked, “You Matoran say that you have dealt with dangers from Makuta for nearly a thousand years. Can you assure us that you will be just as willing to protect the Great Valley from these same dangers?”

Jala sighed and was silent for a second. He replied, “I can guarantee that we will do our best to fight off these dangers, but I can't guarantee that we'll be able to keep everyone safe. Before we came to the Great Valley, our status on Mata Nui wasn't looking very good. The Rahi had gotten tougher to fight off in the last few days, so we were beginning to fall back. True, a millennium worth of fighting had taken its toll on the guards, but I fear that the Rahi were never really attacking us until just recently. I doubt that even the few days worth of peace that we've had will be enough to allow us to continuously hold back the Rahi. If the Rahi are going to step-up their offense at this time, then this could mean that there is something in this universe that Makuta wants. That's only a theory of mine, but we can't take any chances.”

Jala decided to continue to explain the situation, hoping to provide confidence and, thus, prevent the dinosaurs from blaming the Matoran for the Rahi attacks. “The Guard, the Ussalry, and the Gukko Force have spent the last few days surveying the land within, and just beyond, the Great Valley, and it was a good thing we did. Although we are still a little unfamiliar with this land, Makuta and the Rahi are barely familiar at all, and this gives us one advantage. Overall, however, I fear we may be at a disadvantage against the Rahi. Despite this, we must all do what we can to prevail! No matter what the odds, as long as we stand, we shall not fail! Even if we are doomed to fall, we shall not go down without a fight! The Matoran are determined to defeat the Rahi for good, and I'm sure that the dinosaurs of the Great Valley will be willing to protect their home! If we work together, we will stand our best chance at defeating the Rahi!”

The crowd cheered as Jala finished his speech. He may have been small, being a Matoran, but he was full of courage. It was this kind of courage that would help everyone in this time of crisis that had recently arrived. Jala had succeeded in providing great confidence to the dinosaurs of the Great Valley.

Once the cheering had died down, Onepu stepped forward and stated, “If any of you wish to help us fight off the Rahi, you will need as much knowledge about the Rahi as we can provide you with.”

The crowd agreed on this, so they asked for useful information on all the different kinds of dangerous Rahi. Jala, Kongu, and Onepu provided the information. They described the different kinds of Rahi, where they were found, how they attacked, and they best way to defeat them.

They spoke of many different kinds of Rahi. Tarakava were lizard-like creatures that dwelled in shallow water and attacked using their powerful forearms to stun their prey with powerful punches. Nui-Jaga were large scorpion creatures that were often found in desert regions and attacked using their strong claws and powerful, sometimes deadly, stingers. Nui-Rama were large flying insects that were often found in jungle regions and attacked in very large swarms. That was to name only a few of them.

Now that they knew what they would be fighting, the dinosaurs wanted to know what they could do to help the Matoran. The Turaga had already decided where each kind of dinosaur would be most helpful. For all of the dinosaurs that wanted to help fight the Rahi, all fliers would join the Gukko Force, all who wouldn't mind carrying Matoran on their backs would join the Ussalry, and everyone else would join the Guard.

The Matoran would also do their part to protect their new home, the Great Valley. Patrols would be set up at vital locations across the valley. Patrols would also be set up along the Great Wall. Sharpteeth were not as dangerous as Rahi, but they were still a threat that should continuously be watched. Also, to ensure that none of the children would be in danger from the Rahi, a few guardsmen would stand guard near them at all times. Those guardsmen would probably consider themselves unlucky to have “babysitting duties,” as they would probably call it.

Now that everyone knew what their duties would be during this time of Rahi attacks, the meeting was over. Many dinosaurs followed either Jala, Onepu, or Kongu, so that they could begin training to fight off Rahi. As the Turaga began to leave, the gang talked to each other about what this would all mean to them.

“What's going to happen now?” asked Chomper.

“Looks like we'll be running from the same kind of dangers I've been running from for the last thousand years,” replied Takua.

“I do wonder why Makuta would even want to come here in the first place,” wondered Ruby.

“Jala did suggest that maybe Makuta is looking for something in this universe,” commented Littlefoot.

“You think that true, Takua?” asked Petrie.

“I don't know, Petrie,” replied Takua. “I honestly don't know.”
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Read and review, please.

[jedi472]

This story's freakin awesome, man! Hope to see more.

[The Chronicler]

Thanks for the reply, new guy. I hope that you're actually someone who regularly replies. Anyway, I just finished the next chapter, which actually took less time than I thought it would.

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Chapter 18
Into the Mysterious Beyond

“Takua.”

Takua turned around to see Matoro standing behind him. “Matoro,” he said, startled. “Sorry, I didn't even notice you were here.”

“I'm Turaga Nuju's translator. Everywhere he goes, I have to go with him.”

“Hey, did Turaga Nuju manage to figure out what my strange sleep-story means?” asked Littlefoot.

“No, he's still working on that. But I do have something to give you.”

“What is it?” asked Ruby.

Matoro handed Takua a small stone tablet. “A deciphered prophecy.”

Takua looked at the writing on the tablet, written in Matoran letters. Takua read the words. “'The answers lie beyond.' What does that mean?” he asked.

“I am forbidden to tell you the full meaning,” replied Matoro. “You'll need to figure that out for yourselves.” He then turned around and followed Nuju back to Ko-Koro.

Takua then walked up to the Kini-Nui and sat on one of the steps at the base of the temple. He repeated the words on the tablet. He then said, “Let's think about what each part of this prophecy means. First, the answers. What kind of problem will those answers solve?”

Everyone thought for a moment. Then Littlefoot came up with something. He replied, “Maybe those answers would help send Makuta back to where he came from.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Cera, who thought that it was just a random comment.

“Think about it, why is Makuta here? The best reason we have for now is that he's looking for something. What kind of something would he be looking for? It would make sense if it was something that could be used to stop him. If we could find it before he does, we could actually stop him. That something must be the answer.”

“But the prophecy says 'answers', so whatever that something is, there must be more than one of that something,” commented Ruby.

“Alright, so now we know we need to find some items that we can use to defeat Makuta,” stated Takua. “But where will we find them?” He read the words on the tablet again. “'The answers lie beyond.' Beyond where?”

Again, everyone thought for a moment. As he was thinking, Takua looked at the Great Wall in the distance. He stared at it for a few seconds. He got an idea. “Hey, guys, how many times have you been in the Mysterious Beyond?” he asked.

“I don't know,” replied Littlefoot. “I've lost count by now.”

“Really? In that case, I'd say we get going now.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Cera.

“I'm sure you won't mind going on another adventure in the Mysterious Beyond, only this time...” Takua put the tablet in his backpack and put his backpack on. “I'll be coming with you.”

The gang wasn't sure about this, but what choice did they have? Besides, this did make that prophecy make sense. They agreed with Takua's plan, and headed for the exit of the Great Valley.
________

Takua didn't need to go very far into the Mysterious Beyond to realize why the Great Valley was a more preferable place to live. This place was a barren wasteland with jagged mountains. Even the most desolate places in the valley were more welcoming than this place. They were currently walking on a narrow pathway along the side of a cliff.

“So what exactly are we looking for?” asked Chomper.

“I don't know,” replied Takua. “All I know is that it is something that we need to find, and we'll find it somewhere out here.”

“I bet we'll find nothing out here!” exclaimed Cera. “What makes you think we're actually going to find something?”

“Matoro offered us help, and I say we should accept every bit of help we can get.”

“But Matoro didn't even tell us what those words really meant. How can that be help?”

“Matoro said that he was forbidden to tell us what that prophecy meant, so maybe we were supposed to figure out on our own what that prophecy meant,” replied Ruby.

“What makes you say that?”

“I just believe that it is a part of our destiny.”

“When did you become such a big believer in destiny?”

“Ever since I first went to Ko-Koro.”

Cera wanted to say something, but decided to end the conversation instead. For her, this was getting nowhere.

“If we need to find something in the Mysterious Beyond, where exactly are we going to find it?” asked Littlefoot.

“I don't know,” replied Takua. “We'll just need to keep looking.”

Petrie moaned in frustration and exclaimed, “Us gonna be lost-wandering!”

“Don't worry, Petrie, I'd never let that happen. At least, not without realizing it.”

Suddenly, everyone heard a faint roar. “What was that?” asked Takua.

“That was a Fast-Biter,” replied Chomper. “They're not as big as the big Sharpteeth, but still very dangerous.”

Everyone then heard another roar. “That roar sounded like it was close by,” commented Takua. “I wonder where that Fast-Biter is.”

"Down there," replied Cera, who was looking over the edge of the cliff. Everyone looked over the edge and saw a pack of Fast-Biters standing far beneath them.

“Well at least we are up here and they are down there,” commented Ruby.

“That is a good thing. It is, it is,” said Ducky.

Spike nodded in agreement.

“Come on, let's keep going,” said Takua. He had barely moved a few steps when, suddenly, the rock beneath him crumbled away, causing him to fall off the edge. He couldn't react quick enough to grab onto another part of the ledge.

“Takua!” shouted Littlefoot.

As Takua fell, he hit some rocks on the cliff a few times before finally hitting the ground. Since a Matoran body was not entirely organic, it wasn't as painful to him as it would have been for any of the others. He groaned in pain and looked up to see the pack of Fast-Biters slowly approaching him. Uh-oh, this isn't going to be good, he thought to himself.
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Read and review, as always. I hope this story turns out great as it progresses.

[jedi472]

So Takua and the gang are heading off into the mysterious beyond? Sweet. I always liked the original Bionicle stuff better than the new things. Keep it up!

[Kor]

quite a post and quite a predicament he is in by the looks of it.  Though if his race is not organic or not fully his fists may be able to function like brass knuckles and his skin like armor to an extant.

[The Chronicler]

This is a first, two replies for one chapter! I'm definitely now encouraged to keep up this story. Here's the next chapter!

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Chapter 19
A Strange Discovery

Takua was too terrified to move. He knew he needed get up and run away, but his body wouldn't respond. As the pack of Fast-Biters slowly approached him, he knew he was going to die. Suddenly, one of the Fast-Biters rushed to him and used his foot to hold down Takua's head.

Littlefoot and the others were watching from atop the cliff above. They could hardly believe what was happening, and they knew what was going to happen. Petrie covered his eyes and said, “Me no look!”

Takua knew what would come next. The Fast-Biter bit down on Takua's neck as hard as he could. Strangely, Takua felt pressure, but no pain on his neck. What happened next was even more strange. The Fast-Biter let go of Takua's neck and squealed in pain. What just happened? thought Takua.

Up on the cliff, Chomper was the first one to notice what had happened. “Takua is alright!” he exclaimed.

“How do you know?” asked Littlefoot.

“That Fast-Biter broke all of his teeth trying to bite Takua's neck. He says that Takua's neck is tougher than a rock.”

Takua looked up to see the Fast-Biter shaking his head around, apparently, in pain. The pack then said a few things to themselves in their Sharptooth language. After that, they all ran off to find better food. Takua then stood up and felt his neck. He barely felt any scratches at all!

“Takua!” shouted Littlefoot. “Are you alright, Takua?”

Takua looked up to see the others staring at him in disbelief. “Surprisingly, yes,” he replied. “I barely felt anything at all.”

Cera then remembered that Takua's body, like those of other Matoran, was covered almost entirely in some kind of armor. “What's your armor made of, Takua?” she asked.

“Protodermis,” he replied. “That's why it's called the stuff of life, because every creature is made up of it. At least, in the Matoran universe.” Takua now realized that if those Fast-Biters had such a weak bite, then dinosaur bodies must be very fragile compared to Matoran bodies.

Takua then looked at the cliff he had fallen from. Seeing all the rocks he must have hit, he was actually glad that he was the one to fall instead of one of his friends. Although there were many rocks, the cliff seemed too steep for him to climb up. Besides, he didn't even have proper climbing equipment. “Well, I guess climbing back up is out of the question,” he said to his friends.

He looked to the left and noticed a small cave opening at the bottom of the cliff. He then said to his friends, “I see a cave over there! I'm going in there to see if it's a way back up there.” Before anyone could protest, Takua headed right towards the cave entrance.

As Takua took his lightstone out of his backpack, Littlefoot asked, “Are you sure about this?”

“Not really,” replied Takua. “But it's the only plan I can come up with. Besides, I think I see the other end of the cave up there to your right.” Everyone looked right and, sure enough, there was another cave entrance. “You guys head down that cave and I'll head up this one. Hopefully, we'll meet up somewhere in the middle.” Takua then walked into the cave.

Everyone then looked into the cave they would have to go into. Petrie was uncertain about going underground, as expected. “We have to go down there?” he asked.

“Like we have a choice,” replied Cera, sarcastically, before heading into the cave. Everyone else soon followed.

“I don't know about this,” said Chomper, nervously. “We don't even have a lightstone.”

“Do not worry, Chomper,” assured Ducky. “Takua has his lightstone, so when we find him, he will get us out of here safely. He will, he will.”

“Me hope Takua seek-finds us before something else does,” said Petrie, nervously.
________

Takua had been walking through the cave for a few minutes. His hopes weren't looking too good. He was going forward a lot, but hardly going up, which was the direction he wanted to go. Maybe he was taking a few wrong turns.

Suddenly, he heard a quiet hiss. Takua turned to his right and, thanks to the light from his lightstone, saw an underground river. He had heard about what kind of creatures could be lurking in such waters in this universe, and he knew they were usually not good. He then noticed the water ripple a little, so he aimed his lightstone at where the ripples came from.

After a few seconds of eerie silence, a large jaw full of sharp teeth sprang forth from the water. Takua jumped back and the jaw snapped shut at where he stood only a second ago. The glow from his lightstone revealed what this creature was. Based on the descriptions he had heard, he knew what this creature was: a Belly-Dragger.

Takua quickly looked back and noticed a small cliff that he could climb up onto. Without considering alternatives, Takua quickly turned around and scrambled up the cliff. Fortunately, the climb wasn't too difficult, and his panicked state allowed him to get up there quickly. Once he was atop the cliff, he looked down to see the Belly-Dragger hissing angrily at him. Since the Belly-Dragger couldn't get to him, Takua couldn't help but chuckle and say, “Tough luck, Belly-Dragger!” Takua then turned to his left and continued on into the cave.

The next few minutes saw better luck for Takua. He was now heading up almost as much as he was heading forward. The ground soon leveled off as he continued on forward. At the moment, there wasn't a cave wall to his right, but a massive cavern that stretched so far out and so far down that his lightstone couldn't pierce the darkness. If he walked too far to the right, he would fall down a steep slope, and who knew how far he would fall? He then noticed the entrance to a small cavern on his left. He decided to enter it to see what was inside.

As soon as he walked inside, Takua saw something amazing. Sitting on a pedestal at the other end of the cavern was a stone tablet. A hole in the ceiling allowed sunlight to enter the cavern and shine directly onto the tablet. Although he didn't know how this tablet came to be here, he knew it must be something of great importance, so he decided to bring it with him.

Takua walked up to the tablet and picked it up. Suddenly, the pedestal sunk into the ground and he felt the ground start to shake. Uh-oh, that can't be good, he thought. Large rocks began to fall from the ceiling. He knew that if he didn't get out of there fast, he would surely get crushed by all these rocks. He rushed to the cavern entrance while dodging all of the falling rocks. He managed to get out just before a large rock came down and blocked the entrance. Then, as suddenly as it began, the quaking stopped.

Now that things had calmed down, Takua decided to read what was written on the tablet. Despite having his lightstone, he couldn't figure out what the words meant. It was written in an ancient language that he couldn't read. Perhaps the Turaga might be able to make some sense of it. He put the tablet in his backpack and continued on through the cave.

Unfortunately, the recent tremors had weakened the rock of the cave floor so much that Takua didn't go far before the rock crumbled away, sending him and a small rock-slide down the slope. Takua decided to ride atop one of the larger rocks, hoping to avoid as much injury as possible. He then noticed a large rock jutting out of the slope, and he was headed right for it. Just as he expected, his rock hit the other rock and the impact caused him to get launched into the air. He was launched so high into the air that he didn't think he would start falling for quite a while.
________

Littlefoot and the others had been walking down the cave for many minutes by now. To their left was, instead of a cave wall, a massive cavern that stretched endlessly out and down, and the slope down it was clearly too steep to be able to climb back up. Suddenly, they felt a small earth-shake which abruptly ended only a few seconds after it started. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of rocks falling. They then noticed a light emerging from the dark cavern, along with the sound of someone screaming in terror.

What happened next happened unbelievably fast. By the time the light revealed what the screaming object was, it was only a fraction of a second away from them. The being slammed head-first into Cera, knocking the wind out of her as she was slammed aside. The being then slammed into the cave wall, upside-down, and fell to the ground on his back.

They soon realized that the being was Takua. “Hi, guys,” he said, weakly. “I just thought I'd drop in.”

“Are you alright, Takua?” asked Ducky.

“I'll be fine,” he replied as he managed to stand up and readjust his mask.

Cera had also recovered from the hard impact. “Alright, Takua, what happened?” she asked, a little irritated.

“Not much. I got chased up a cliff by a belly-dragger, I nearly got crushed by a hail of rocks, I got dragged down a slope by a rock-slide, launched into the air, and slammed head-first into you. Oh, and did I mention that I found something interesting?”

“What is it?” asked Ruby.

“This,” replied Takua, as he took the tablet out of his backpack and set it on the ground for everyone to see. Everyone was filled with awe and wonder as they looked at the tablet and writing etched onto it.

“What does it say?” asked Littlefoot.

“I don't know. It's too ancient for me to understand it. I was thinking that we should take it back to the Great Valley and have the Turaga take a look at it.”

“You actually want to go home now?” asked Cera, a little confused.

“Like I said, we came out here to find something of importance, and I think this tablet might be that. Now let's head back the way you came so we can get back home.” Everyone agreed with him. After Takua put the tablet back into his backpack, they turned around and headed back in the direction the gang had come from.

However, they didn't go far when, suddenly, the ceiling of the cave ahead of them collapsed, blocking off their intended path with a wall of rocks. Apparently, the earth-shake had weakened the rock that made up the ceiling of the cave. The rocks were clearly too large to move.

“Too bad we don't have Taipu with us,” commented Takua. “He would be able to move these rocks aside as if they were pebbles.”

“What are we going to do now?” asked Chomper.

“I guess we'll just have to go the other way, and hope that it's a way out of here.” Takua then turned around and headed in the opposite direction through the cave. The others followed him, having no other choice.

After a few minutes, they actually managed to find a way out of the cave system without encountering any dangers, but not where they wanted to end up. They were now at the same cave entrance that Takua had originally entered. Despite this, they still wanted to find a way to get back to the Great Valley. After Takua put away his lightstone, they turned left and headed in what they hoped was the right direction.
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Read and review, as always.

[jedi472]

Great Update! wonder what's on that tablet? I can't believe Takua got beaten up that badly and still survived!

[Kor]

I enjoyed reading the chapter, it had action and a bit of comedy as well, always a good thing, to me at least, if used in the right amount and the right spots.

[The Chronicler]

I haven't had as much time this week to work on this story as I had hoped, but at least I now have the next chapter finished.

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Chapter 20
An Old Enemy

Takua and his friends were now walking along the floor of a barren canyon. They had recently lost sight of the path they had originally taken, so they now had to actually find a way to get back into the Great Valley. So far, things weren't looking too good.

“How much further do we have to go?” asked Chomper.

“Hopefully, it won't be much further,” replied Takua.

“I seriously doubt that we'll find a way home anytime soon,” said Cera.

Petrie moaned in frustration and exclaimed, “Us lost-wandering!”

“Look on the bright side, Petrie,” commented Ruby. “At least we are only lost and not in any danger.”

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard throughout the canyon. “What was that?” asked Takua, a little panicked.

“That's Redclaw,” replied Chomper. “He's the biggest and meanest Sharptooth in the Mysterious Beyond.”

Then the roars of two Fast-Biters were heard from behind them. Those two Fast-Biters then appeared from behind one of the cliffs of the canyon behind the gang. “That's Screech and Thud. Those Fast-Biters are often with Redclaw,” stated Chomper.

Takua started bravely walking towards the Fast-Biters and said, “Stand aside, I'll deal with them.”

Suddenly, Redclaw appeared from behind the cliff and stood behind Screech and Thud. Redclaw then let out a mighty roar, terrifying everyone.

Takua stopped in his tracks and said in a nervous tone, “Okay, Fast-Biters are one thing, but that big guy... yeah, now I'm terrified.” Takua then turned around and ran away, screaming. Everyone else did likewise. Redclaw and the Fast-Biters quickly gave chase.

The gang was chased through the canyon a good distance. Littlefoot then noticed a large rock to the left that would be able to hide them all. “Over here!” he shouted as he quickly turned left to hide behind the rock. Everyone followed and hid behind the rock.

Redclaw and the Fast-Biters soon arrived at the area. They had now lost sight of the gang and their strange new companion. They began sniffing the air to find any of their scents.

Chomper had not told anyone yet, but ever since he first met Takua, he had noticed that Matoran have a unique scent. Not a bad one, but unique. He knew that if Takua was with him and his friends, Redclaw would find them more quickly than usual. He had to think of a way to convince Takua to get away from them.

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to worry about that, because Takua began climbing up the large rock they were hiding behind. “What are you doing?” asked Littlefoot.

“Get out of here, guys. I'll distract him,” replied Takua.

“Are you sure about this?” asked Ducky.

Takua stopped climbing for a second to look at them. “Not at all!” he replied without hesitation. He then resumed climbing, leaving his friends very confused. He soon reached the top of the large rock. He noticed a few small rocks there, so he grabbed one and threw it at Redclaw, hitting him in the side of the face. “Hey, ugly! Over here!” he shouted. He then threw another rock at him, hitting him near the eye.

Redclaw responded by charging towards the rock and attempting to bite Takua. However, Takua jumped away just in time. He tried to grab onto the canyon wall, but he lost his grip and slid down it until he hit the ground. Dazed, he slowly shook his head and stood up. When he looked back towards the rock, he was shocked to see his friends were still hiding in the same place behind the rock. “I thought I told you to run!” he exclaimed.

Suddenly, Redclaw appeared from behind the rock and roared loudly at them. “Perhaps now would be a good time to run!” exclaimed Ruby. Everyone agreed and, once again, ran away from Redclaw, screaming. Again, Redclaw and the Fast-Biters gave chase.

Takua was falling behind, but he was doing this intentionally. He wanted to distract Redclaw, so his friends could escape. But if his friends knew this, they would try to stay with him, so he had to get away without being noticed. It worked, but not as he expected. His friends ran off, unknowingly, without him, but Screech and Thud ran past him and went after them. Redclaw, however, focused on him.

Takua knew that if he was going to do something, he would have to do it fast. He quickly rushed to the canyon wall and began climbing. He had no plan, he was making it up as he progressed. Redclaw tried to bite Takua, but missed. However, the impact on the canyon wall was enough to cause Takua to lose his grip and fall off. Thinking fast, he grabbed onto Redclaw's left arm, swung from it like a vine, then let go and did a mid-air back-flip, and focused the impact of his fall directly onto Redclaw's right foot. The impact-landing was enough to cause him to bounce off the foot a little and land on the ground nearby. He stumbled a little before continuing his run. Just as Takua had hoped, his impact had caused Redclaw some noticeable pain. He roared in pain and hopped around a little on his uninjured foot. It didn't last long. Redclaw ignored the pain and continued the chase.

Takua quickly rushed forward to catch up with his friends. He came around a corner to see Screech and Thud, but his friends were nowhere to be found. The two Fast-Biters noticed him, and began charging at him. Takua looked back to see Redclaw closing in on him fast. Seeing that he was trapped, he knew that he had no choice. He would have to fight his way out of this.

Gathering up all the courage he could, Takua charged at the Fast-Biters, yelling the whole way. He shoulder-rammed into Screech. The impact was hard enough to knock the Fast-Biter unconscious and sent flying back a little. Thud then charged at Takua. He responded with a good punch across the face, knocking out the other Fast-Biter. Redclaw continued his charge towards Takua. Although he easily dealt with Screech and Thud, Takua knew he wouldn't stand a chance against someone like Redclaw.

Takua then noticed a small cave entrance in the canyon wall, just large enough for him to fit through. Without second thoughts, Takua leaped into the cave as Redclaw's massive jaw snapped shut at his former location. Takua had not noticed that the cave went downhill, so his initial leap had caused him to tumble down the cave uncontrollably. He finally stopped when he collided with a cave wall where the cave leveled off and turned sharply in one direction.

Takua regained his senses within a few seconds. He was suddenly surprised to see all of his friends standing right next to him. Apparently, they had run into this cave for safety. “Takua! You're alright!” exclaimed Littlefoot. Takua could tell they were all pleased to see him here.

Petrie then flew in front of Takua and exclaimed, “Rock-head! You could've been Sharptooth-bones!”

“Could've been, but I'm not,” replied Takua with a smile on his face. He then stood up and readjusted his mask. “Okay, unless we want to get eaten, it looks like we only have one way to go, and that's to go further into this cave.” Takua headed down the cave with the others following him.

“I hope this cave leads us right to Great Valley,” said Cera, frustrated. “I'm getting sick and tired of making so many unexpected changes in direction.”

“How can you say that? That's what's so great about an adventure. You never know what's going to happen.”

“It may be great for you, but not for me.”

“That's because you don't wander around as much as Takua,” stated Chomper. The others couldn't help but laugh at this statement.

After a few minutes of walking, the gang arrived at the exit of the cave, where a Ta-Matoran guardsman was standing guard. This meant that they had finally arrived back in the Great Valley. The guard noticed them and exclaimed, “What are you doing over here!? Don't you know it's dangerous for children like yourselves to be anywhere without a proper escort!?”

“Don't worry, we were able to make it home safely,” assured Takua, hoping to not get himself and his friends in trouble.

“What were you even doing out there in the Mysterious Beyond, anyway?”

Takua thought for a moment. He couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse. His friends also tried to think of such an excuse, but with no luck.

The guardsman just sighed and said, “I should report you to the Captain, but from what I've heard about your group in particular, you always somehow end up in the Mysterious Beyond. I'd say you're just as bad as Takua, here. I'll let you go this time, but when somebody actually gets injured, I will be reporting.”

The gang thanked him and walked back into the valley. “Now that we're back in the Great Valley, what are we going to do?” asked Littlefoot.

“I did say that we should show that tablet I found to the Turaga,” replied Takua. “Usually, I would go to Turaga Vakama for advice, but I can't because I'm now banished from Ta-Koro. I think we should show it to Turaga Nuju. I'm sure he'll be able to figure out if it means anything important.”

Everyone agreed with him and began heading for Ko-Koro. One way or another, they were going to find out what was written on the tablet.
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Read and review. The writing on the tablet will be revealed in next chapter.