Caustizer: Don't worry if you didn't understand many of the names in that chapter, because chances are that that'll be the only chapter where many of those names even appear. However, your constant reminders are starting to help me understand what it is you are saying, so hopefully I'll get it right soon.
Pangaea: I suppose dropping the gang right in the middle of the 10 year long Bionicle storyline does make explaining things a little tricky, especially because 2006 (the storyline year I'm currently at in this fanfic) was when the Bionicle Universe started to get complicated. (Previously, the Bionicle Universe had been nothing but the island of Mata Nui, with the addition of the island city of Metru Nui at the end of 2003) Thanks to your advice, only now do I realize how difficult it could really be to write this story. Still, there is evidence that some Bionicle fans have read this story, so I'm honestly not sure where to draw the line.
Here's the next chapter, it answers questions, raises new ones, and has a very surprising ending.
-------
Chapter 10
The Search BeginsThe gang didn't waste any time to begin searching for the Mask of Life. They immediately split up and began searching in every place they imagined the mask could be hidden. However, some of them didn't have much of an imagination and weren't searching as hard as others.
Petrie pushed aside a small rock and discovered a small hollow in the ground. “Hello? Mask of Life? You in there?” he called. A small Rahi then emerged, chirped angrily at him for a few seconds, and then pulled the rock back over its shelter. “Sorry,” said Petrie.
Spike had gotten distracted from his search by yet another bush to snack on. He did not have any regrets about deciding to search just the Green Belt. As he took yet another bite, he bit down on something hard. He then noticed the bush shake a bit as he heard something growl. Clearly, he had just upset some Rahi he wasn't aware of, and he did not want to cause any trouble. Spike decided to back away, deciding to not take another bite from
that bush again.
The gang had made no set plans on where to search, or who would work together. Groups would frequently split up and then join others in separate groups as they continued to search the island.
Encountering Chomper, Cera walked up to him and asked, “Any luck finding that mask?”
Chomper was currently busy chewing on some bugs. “No, but I did find something to eat,” he said with his mouth full.
Cera, with a disgusted look on her face, looked away and said, “Well, keep looking.”
Meanwhile, Ducky decided to ask Ruby for advice on where to find the mask. “Where do you think the Mask of Life is hiding, Ruby?” asked Ducky.
“Hmm, if I wanted to hide a very important mask on this island, where would I hide it?” thought Ruby aloud. “Well, I certainly wouldn't want guys like the Piraka to steal it, so I would want to hide it somewhere where they couldn't get it. Somewhere they couldn't get it and maybe never even thought of finding it. Definitely somewhere underground, or maybe... maybe even buried
in the ground.”
“Are you saying we have to dig to find the Mask of Life?”
“I don't know if that's where it's hidden, but that's where I would hide it. Of course, we can't dig through rock like this.” She scratched at the rocky ground with her foot. “I guess we should go back to the Green Belt and try looking there again. The only other place I can think of is inside the volcano, and the Piraka are already looking for the Mask of Life inside the volcano.”
As Ruby and Ducky changed direction, Cera climbed atop a small mountain that offered a view of a large portion of the island. Seeing how much land there was to cover, she came to one simple conclusion. “This is going to take a while.”
________
The day passed by and, although it was hard to tell through all the storm clouds, the sun was beginning to set. Littlefoot was currently walking along the inner coast of the island. Despite the harsh, rocky terrain, he concluded that it was a better option to search first than the icy outer coast. He had no idea if the mask was hidden here, but he knew he had to look in as many places as possible. Yet, he knew the efforts of him and his friends might not be enough. In his mind, the only thing that would give him the absolute confidence that he and his friends would find the Mask of Life would be the assurance of getting help from a powerful being, like a Toa. Since he had not heard from the Toa Nuva for some time now, he wondered about who else he could turn to.
“ëFind him,’ he says! Where are we supposed to look?”
Littlefoot immediately stopped when he heard that voice. Before he could figure out who it belonged to, he heard another voice.
“Reidak, there is this new pastime called ëthinking’ ó you really should try it.”
Littlefoot, trying the stay hidden behind a rock, peeked around the rock and saw the ebon-armored Piraka, Reidak, and the white-armored Piraka, Thok, walking nearby. He silently gasped in surprise. If these Piraka were out here with seemingly no signs of having been in a battle... then something must have happened to the Toa Nuva.
“The Matoran never saw Vezon, or they would have mentioned him when we got here,” continued Thok to Reidak. “That means his canister had to wash up far away from anyplace the Matoran would roam.” As he scanned the coast, something caught his eye. “Like here!”
Littlefoot looked closely at what Thok had spotted. Resting on the shore was a large, round, metallic object. One end of it was shredded, as if somebody had ripped it open to get at something inside... or maybe for someone inside to get out.
“Well I'll be a Muaka's dinner...” said Reidak in awe at this discovery.
“With any luck at all, yes,” retorted Thok. “Now we track him right to where he's hiding. Follow, Reidak, and try not to break anything.”
“How about if I just break you?”
Littlefoot had listened carefully to the conversation between the two Piraka. At first, he thought they had misspoken Vezok's name, but they had talked as if this “Vezon” was a different being ó one the Matoran had apparently never encountered.
I wonder who this “Vezon” is, thought Littlefoot.
Is he another Piraka? If so, why haven't we seen him yet?His thoughts were interrupted by a loud, sharp crack. The Piraka also quickly turned their heads to the source of the noise.
“What wasó” started Thok, before another loud crack was heard. Suddenly, the ground beneath the two Piraka began to split open. “Look out!” shouted Thok, but it was too late. Neither of them managed to get away from the widening split in the ground quickly enough to avoid falling in.
Littlefoot was surprised by what had just happened. When he saw the Piraka fall, he was actually hoping they had fallen to their deaths. His hopes were quickly disproved when he noticed two pairs of armored hands holding onto the edge of the crevice.
“What did I say? ëSmash the island into rubble,’ I said,” said Reidak in frustration.
Thok grunted as he tried to pull himself out. “We don't need any Toa to fight us ó this island is already doing a good job of it!” exclaimed Thok.
As he heard the Piraka speak, Littlefoot noticed a large figure approaching them. He was a little taller than the Toa Nuva, but the huge muscles beneath his red and silver armor showed that he was far stronger. He wore a mask, like a Toa, but this silver mask was unlike any kind Littlefoot had seen before. The detail that caught Littlefoot's attention was the weapon this figure carried: a massive axe that looked powerful enough to slice through stone with ease. It was this weapon that made Littlefoot realize who this figure was.
It's the guy with the axe! thought Littlefoot.
The same guy who saved me and Balta by digging an escape tunnel for us! I wonder what he's doing here.The massive figure arrived at the location of the struggling Piraka and stuck his axe in the ground. “You'll smash... nothing,” said the figure as he reached down and grabbed both Piraka by their waists in his massive hands. “This island holds nothing for you but pain and despair. I have known your kind before, Piraka. For more than a thousand centuries, I have looked into the face of evil again and again. It sickens me.
You sicken me!” He then slammed the Piraka's heads together and threw them to the ground as if they were worthless sticks. “Leave this island,” he threatened. “Give up your mad dreams, or suffer the consequences.”
Thok had recovered enough to raise his head and say, “I'll give you ëconsequences,’ youó” He then attempted to use his vision powers against this new foe.
The large figure quickly grabbed his axe and held it between him and Thok, preventing the Piraka's spellbinder vision power from affecting him. “Six Piraka together are a dangerous threat, but two are just exercise,” he commented.
Reidak had also recovered, and was now lifting a massive rock. “You're about to be out of shape, stranger ó as in flattened!” he taunted.
“You have five seconds to put that down and end this battle in one piece, Piraka,” threatened the massive figure as he raised his axe. “One... two... five!” He then threw his axe at the rock, completely shattering it and sending Reidak flying back from the force of the impact.
Littlefoot watched the battle in awe. This stranger was clearly showing that he disapproved of the Piraka's actions, and was willing to fight to stop them. He was clearly a powerful being, maybe even more so than the Toa. Littlefoot was now very curious about who this stranger was.
Thok was also wondering the same thing. “What are you?” asked Thok. “You don't smell like a Toa.”
Then, as if to demonstrate more of his incredible powers, the massive figure made his large axe return directly to his hand. “My name is Axonn,” he said as he raised his axe above his head. “I was placed on this island as a guardian of the Mask of Life, one of many. All of my power ó and my very life ó is dedicated to keeping it out of the hands of trash like you.”
This statement made Littlefoot smile. As far as he could tell, Axonn was the most powerful being on all of Voya Nui, and his job was to protect the Mask of Life.
Maybe after he's finished with those Piraka, I can talk to him and maybe he will help me find the Mask of Life, thought Littefoot with hope.
“Fine, keep your mask,” said Thok. “We just want to find our old friend Vezon. We heard he came this way.”
“Point us toward him,” added Reidak, “and we won't have to shove that axe downó”
“Quiet!” Clearly, Thok was not going to take any more chances against such a powerful being. Reidak, however, wasn't thinking the same thing.
“Vezon serves the mask now,” replied Axonn. “You won't find him, and you don't want to.”
“Then I guess we don't need you anymore, do we?” questioned Reidak.
Axonn then raised his axe and prepared to strike at the Piraka. “I will clean you off this island, Piraka, like the foul plague you are!”
Before Axonn could make a move, he was suddenly struck in the back by a powerful attack. The attack was so powerful that when he hit the ground, he appeared to be unconscious.
The attacker then stepped forward to reveal himself. He was even taller than Axonn. His armor was blue and gold and he wore a strange, gold mask. Despite not having quite as much muscle as Axonn, he still appeared to be rather strong. In his hand, he held a double-ended blade.
“Oh, I wouldn't say that,” gloated the attacker as he stood victorious over the fallen Axonn. “You always did rush into things without thinking, Axonn, my old friend. But then, you always had me to guard your back before. No more. From this day forward, true power on this island belongs to me: Brutaka!”
As Brutaka walked away in triumph, Reidak scoffed and grumbled, “Show off.”
“You're not the only one who despises Zaktan's new ally,” said Thok as the two Piraka followed Brutaka. “Still, it helps to stay on his good side. After all, we did see him did take down six Matoran and six Toa with one swing of that blade.”
Despite not getting caught, Littlefoot was crushed by the recent turn of events. First, his only hope for a powerful ally had been defeated by an even more powerful being, who turned out to have sided with the Piraka. Then, even worse, he found out that this powerful ally of the Piraka was responsible for not only defeating the free Matoran and the Toa Nuva, but also did it very quickly. With this new information, Littlefoot concluded that Garan's words now held more true than ever: Littlefoot and his friends were now Mata Nui's last hope.
Despite the painful truth, Littlefoot knew he had to take the opportunity to talk to Axonn, now that the Piraka were gone. If Axonn couldn't protect them, then perhaps he could at least tell them where to find the Mask of Life. As he walked up to the downed figure, Littlefoot asked, “Axonn? Are you okay?”
Axonn was a powerful being, so he didn't stay unconscious for long. He raised his head to see the young Longneck standing before him.
“I saw everything that just happened,” continued Littlefoot. “I also heard them say the Toa Nuva had been defeated. Does that mean my friends and I are Mata Nui's last hope?”
“I fear that may be true,” replied Axonn as he got back up.
Littlefoot sighed. “So what do we do?” he asked. “How can we hope to save him? The way I see it, the only way would be for you to tell me where to find that mask.”
Axonn shook his head in disapproval. “It's not that simple, Littlefoot. Even if I did tell you where to find it, I doubt that you and your friends would get it. It's not as simple as walking into a cave and grabbing it. There are many guardians of the mask, and I am merely the first line of defense.”
“But we have to get that mask! There's no one else left but us!”
Axonn sighed. “To tell you the truth, only a Toa possesses the kind of power needed to reach the mask, but I have a feeling you will simply ignore my warnings.”
“As long as it will help save Mata Nui, then yes, I will.”
“Very well. If you wish to continue to find the mask, I shall not stop you.” Axonn then began to walk away. “I have a more important issue to deal with. Brutaka used to be my best friend, but now he has chosen to walk the path of shadows. I must bring him back to our side before he causes irreversible damage to this universe.”
Littlefoot was about to ask Axonn again about where to find the Mask of Life, but he was forced to admit that he wouldn't be getting any help from him, either.
As Axonn walked away, Littlefoot thought about whether or not he should tell his friends about everything he had just learned. Despite how painful to truth may be, his friends deserved to hear all of it. Quietly leaving the area, Littlefoot hoped that he or one of his friends would find that mask soon.
________
After many hours of searching, the gang finally decided to regroup. None of them had had any luck finding the Mask of Life. After Littlefoot told them about what he had witnessed and heard, the gang now had more determination than ever to find the mask. Despite how late at night it was, they continued their search by looking along the icy outer coast. Some of them were getting tired, but Littlefoot encouraged them to keep going.
“How much longer do we have to keep looking?” asked Chomper.
“I don't know,” replied Littlefoot, “but we can't stop until we find that mask.”
“I wonder how many places there are left to look. I do, I do,” said Ducky.
“Even I can't answer that question,” admitted Ruby. “At this point, I'm starting to forget which places we have looked and which places we have not looked.”
Yet another loud clap of thunder from the skies brought the gang to a halt. “Is this storm ever going to go away?” wondered Cera. And just like that, the rainfall finally began. “Don't say anything.”
Petrie moaned in disappointment and said, “Us never gonna quick-find Mask of Life. Us not even gonna slow-find Mask of Life.”
“We have to keep trying,” urged Littlefoot. “Come on.” After taking just a few steps, he slipped on the ice and began to slide down an icy slope. The gang tried to see where he was going, but they too slipped and followed him down the slope.
Eventually, they all reached the bottom of the slope and came to a stop without crashing into anything. “That wasn't so bad,” remarked Chomper. “I think our luck might be changing.”
“I just hope that your hope for good luck comes true,” added Ruby as she stood up with the rest of the gang.
After getting back up, Littlefoot looked back and realized they were now right along the treacherous icy coast itself. The crashing of the waves along the frozen coast showed that this was not a place one should stay for long. However, there was something very unusual that had just washed up on the shore that caught Littlefoot's attention.
“Guys, look!” exclaimed Littlefoot, gesturing at what he had seen. The gang turned around and saw, resting on the shoreline, six large, round, metallic objects. One notable feature on them was a series of yellow lights that gradually blinked on and off. All of these objects were lying in the same direction. The ends that were aimed inland looked like they could be removed, but they appeared to be stuck on the objects tightly.
Recalling what he had seen and heard earlier, Littlefoot had a good guess of what these strange objects were. “I think... I think they're canisters,” said Littlefoot.
“Canisters?”asked Cera. “You mean like what the Toa had to use to get here?”
“Yes, but I don't think these ones are open. There might be someone inside each of them.”
“Like who?” asked Chomper.
Before Littlefoot could reply, a particularly powerful bolt of lightning shot from the Red Star and split into six bolts, striking each of the six canisters. The strange but powerful lightning strike frightened the gang, causing them to jump behind a nearby icy outcropping. They then peeked around the outcropping to see what had happened to the canisters. The blinking lights were gone ó no doubt blown up by the massive amount of energy from the lightning ó and large sparks danced across the surfaces of the canisters for a few seconds before eventually fading away.
“What just happened?” asked Ducky in fear.
“I don't know,” admitted Littlefoot.
Then, with a loud hiss, the lid of one of the canisters slowly rotated and came off. “Look! They opening!” Petrie quietly gasped as the same thing happened to the other canisters.
The gang watched silently as tall, armored figures crawled out of the canisters and stood up to their full height, comparable to a Toa. Suddenly, a flame blazed from the hand of one of those figures, illuminating the area enough to see their details more clearly. Although the orange flame distorted the colors, the slight differences in their armor showed that they each represented a different element. Each of these figures also held a large weapon, and their masks were far unlike anything the gang had ever seen before.
Then the six figures held out their weapons until they were all in contact. Small bolts of lightning arced between the weapons until they reached the point where they all touched, causing a larger bolt of lightning to fire straight up into the sky. Once it reached a certain height, the end of the bolt exploded, throwing six new stars into the only part of the sky that wasn't obscured by the clouds.
The gang had watched this strange event in awe and wonder. “What was that all about?” asked Cera.
“I remember Matoro once told me about Toa stars,” replied Ruby. “Here in the Matoran universe, there is one part of the sky where each star represents a living Toa. If there are six new stars in the sky, that means there are six new Toa in the Matoran universe. Since these strangers are the ones who put those new Toa stars into the sky, then that can only mean that these strangers are those new Toa.”
“New Toa?” asked Chomper. “You mean like they just hatched?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, if they are new Toa, then we have to convince them to fight on our side,” declared Littlefoot, before walking out from behind the outcropping and approaching the new Toa. His friends followed closely behind. “Um, excuse me?”
The Toa turned their attention towards the gang.
“Sorry to bother you, but we could really use your help. I'mó”
“We know who you are, Littlefoot, along with the rest of your friends,” interrupted one of the Toa, who then made the flame in his hand go away.
The gang was suddenly confused. “How did you know my name?” asked Littlefoot. “Who are you?”
The Toa looked at one another and nodded to each other. One by one, the six Toa said their names:
Jaller, Hahli, Kongu, Matoro, Hewkii, and Nuparu
-------
Read and review, as always. For those of you who haven't read the previous story, those six names at the end of this chapter are the names of some of the Matoran the gang had befriended in the previous story. Don't worry, many things will be explained in the next chapter.
Here are the images of the characters first seen in this chapter:
AxonnBrutaka(I'll wait until the next chapter to show you the new Toa)