Bionicle Book 1 Unity: Le Koro

[Avnuva]

Note Before Reading: This story has a completely different lore and setting compared to original bionicle. This story only uses characters and certain lore aspects from the original to craft a similar yet very different story. This will be a multi chapter topic. Please give me constructive criticism so my future writes are more competent and entertaining to read. Any lore in this story that is established will not change in future writes.

Summary of Book 1: The theme of this book is unity. This book is the most light hearted and comedic out of all the other books. This act’s main goal is to provide characters and lore that will be further developed in future 2 future books with the themes of duty and destiny. This book focuses more on the heroes. The main character of this book is Lewa. My main goal with this book is to combine the stories and lore of the years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

Prologue

In the time before time, there existed a great spirit; a being, a place, an idea. It’s name was Mata Nui. Mata Nui’s existence is a mystery, no one knows it’s creator, all that is known is it’s sheer power. Mata Nui, with the help of millions of it’s cells, could have the power to incinerate entire solar systems in the clap of its hands. It’s armor could theoretically withstand the impact of a supernova. And it’s brain could store information since the big bang.

Despite Mata Nui’s massive ability to influence, it was very humble. It would use it’s powers to study others and try to find the origins of its existence. A very tame organism Mata Nui was. It was very careful to let it’s body get damaged in any capacity, it cared for the millions of cells it bore. Mata Nui’s only weakness was it’s immune system, like any organism, Mata Nui could get sick. It would protect it from pathogens which would enter its body, yet one fateful moment would change Mata Nui’s life forever.

A powerful cancer grew in it’s brain. Mata Nui has faced diseases from within before, but this was no ordinary disease. The cancer would bind Mata Nui in a paralyzing state, which would lead him to collapse on a blue ocean planet far bigger than itself. Mata Nui would go on an emergency lock down, protecting it’s bair limbs, chest, and head from rearing the ocean surface. Veins from its body would burst into the ocean surface, spewing magma across Mata Nui’s exposed body parts, eventually forming a chain of islands. Mata Nui would then completely lock down its body into a dormit sleeping state. As this all happened, cells would leak from its body and inhabit the islands it had created. Mata Nui’s cells mixed with the water of the ocean planet, creating the elements of fire, air, water, and earth. Mata Nui would lock most of its life force in a mask, which would act as a defibrillator to the great spirit in times when it’s needed.

Yet the location of this mask remains a mystery.

Soldier Training

The sun awakens on a peaceful Le Koro morning. The orange light emanating from the sun rips the moisture straight from the ground, creating a sultry air across the whole island. Cool air mediates the temperatures of the coast line, creating a savannah like climate to Le Koro’s shores. The warm water crashing down on Le Koro’s golden beaches give the entire island a tropical climate. Logically, most le matoran live in the more mediated climate of the coasts, yet some brave and indigenous souls live more inland, where it rains much more and the climate is more akin to a tropical rainforest.

The morning begins, many le matoran wake up to the sounds of several taraga fretting the strings of their wooden instruments. Many of these matoran view these cute tunes as their alarms for another day in the fields, where they would work and earn money for their families. Just an ordinary day in Le Koro.

Yet, in the city of Le Nui. A strange figure, with a massive smile and an even bigger optimism, marches down the streets.

“Lewa, King of the know-nothings. What job is he pulling today?” One le matoran gossip.

“I’ve heard that he’s going to apply to the army again.”

“The army? I’m guessing Kongu’s prestige is getting to his head again. You know, they used to be best friends”

“No way! A war hero and a clown? Get real.”

Lewa isn’t deterred by the gossip and keeps marching forward, until he comes across a cool rahi on the sidewalk.

“Hey Lewa! What ya lookin at?” Some random le matoran asks.

Lewa: “Well I found this cool crab on the side of the road.”

“So what?”

Lewa: “I haven’t seen this crab before.”

“That’s why you stopped marching?”

Lewa: “Yup, it’s the Le Koro magic, you could always discover a new rahi species by simply walking down the street.”

Many le matoran laughed at Lewa’s strange comment.

“Bingo!” one matoran yelled, mocking the fact that many matoran in Le Nui have an imaginary bingo card in their heads, with all of the strange mannerisms they see Lewa do.

Lewa was undeterred by this laughter and simply marched on to the Le Nui capitol building, where he came across mayor Lesovikk.

Lewa: “Reporting for duty sir! I am ready to go to war sir! I will not be distracted by cool looking rahi sir!”

Lesovikk wipes his baggy face and sighs.

Lesovikk: “Lewa, you kill rahi on the battlefield.”

Lewa: “Oh… well, I’m still ready to go to fight in Ta Koro sir!”

Lesovikk: “Way ahead of you buddy. I’ve already ordered drill sergeant Jaller to pick you up from my office. Also, please don’t call me sir, it makes me feel like I have more responsibility than I’m comfortable with.”

Lewa: “Wait, so this isn’t the boot camp?”

Lesovikk: “No Lewa, it’s down the street.”

Lewa: “Really? I could walk there.”

Lesovikk: “No you couldn’t Lewa! Because it’s actually 20 miles inland from here in a dense tropical jungle.”

Lewa: “So why’d you say it was down the street?”

Lesovikk: “Because who on this island thinks that a boot camp resides in the Capitol building! You think politicians are soldiers or something?”

Lewa: “Well, there’s Vican who used to be a naval officer, Taiki who used to be leader of the Gucko defense team, don’t forget Vira who-”

Lewa is interrupted by Jallers entrance.

Jaller: “I’m assuming this is the Lewa you’re talking about?”

Lesovikk: “Yup, he’s all yours.”

Jaller: “Good morning, I’ve heard a lot of interesting things about you, but don’t worry, I’ll fix you up to be war ready.”

Lewa: “What do you mean by that?”

Lesovikk: “Well guys, I hate to break your greeting, but you guys are gonna need to get out of my office, I’ve got a busy day ahead of me.”

Lesovikk then grabs Jaller and whispers to him saying, “Don’t let the ride to boot camp kill ya.”

Lewa and Jaller leave the capitol building and ride in a chariot which is driven by two bull-like rahi called the Kane Ra. These powerful rahi pull the chariot across the crowded and third world city of Le Nui.

Jaller: “Okay… we’re gonna be on the road for a while, so I’m gonna ask you a few questions that you’ll need to answer before we begin basic training.”

Lewa: “We have to take a test?”

Jaller: “Kind of, but don’t think of it in that way. So, what motivates you to become a soldier?”

Lewa: “Well, my best friend Kongu is a soldier. Yes, I know, pretty cool huh?”

Jaller: “I won’t be impressed with you until you’re out in the battlefield, but that is indeed a pretty cool fact. What about him makes you want to fight?”

Lewa: “First off, I was thinking that joining the army would be fun. Hopefully I will get to fight alongside Kongu once I’m out on the front lines.”

Jaller: “So you’re not fighting for any moral reasons?”

Lewa: “Not really, I just kind of need a job.”

Jaller sighs.

Jaller: Okay. I personally don’t like that response, but it’s typical of le matoran such as yourself, so I don’t mind. Usually the army is the last resort when it comes to getting a job, so what have you worked in before?

Lewa: “Oh, I worked as a grass farmer, tree farmer, dish washer, zoo keeper, Husi breeder, camp counselor, fry cook, hall monitor, construction worker, matoran punishing bag, mask washer, professional Kohli player, bathroom monitor, mopper, mailer, shoe po-”

Jaller: “Mother of Mata Nui, you’ve had this many jobs?”

Lewa: “Yup! Here’s my resume-a”

Lewa gives Jaller a book of 60+ jobs, highly detailed, and with reasons on how he got fired from each job. Jaller read one reason after another after another.

‘Great attitude, lazy worker.’

‘Class clowned harder than the students!’

‘Terrible listener’

‘Flirted with every ga matoran in the workplace!’

‘Too sensitive.’

‘Never learns.’

‘Selfish.’

‘A little bit too honest about himself…’

‘Very optimistic type of worker.’

Jaller could sense the guilt oozing out of the pages. He could tell that every boss who left a note in the resume felt bad about it. Jaller gulps and wipes his sweaty mask with his hands.

Jaller: “I didn’t even know that some of these jobs existed. Did you take every job in Le Koro?”

Lewa: “Nope, There’s still a mining job that I could apply to, but that’s not gonna happen because I have a strong feeling that this soldier stuff is going to work out for me.”

Jaller: “I mean, yeah, keep telling yourself that. Which job have you had the longest?”

Lewa: “Hmm… My job as a camp counselor lasted a week. Do you wanna know the shortest job I had?”

Jaller: “pffh I think I’m good.”

Lewa: “When I was a sailor, I accidentally dropped the anchor on the dock, destroying the whole thing. That was only 15 minutes after I was hired and then I was relieved of duty!”

Jaller: “You’re proud of that?”

Lewa: “No, but I believe that we need to get to know each other better in order to get me to become the best soldier I could possibly be.”

Jaller: “Oh my, Lesovikk wasn’t kidding when he called you an ‘interesting character.”

They continue for another 2 hours before finally entering the base. Jaller rushes to the closest fan he could get to, his ta matoran body isn’t used to the intense heat and humidity of Le Koro’s interior jungles. Lewa rushes to where the rest of the other le matoran recruits are.

Airko: “Out of all the matoran out of all of Le Koro, it had to be Lewa who showed up. We really waited 2 hours in the hot humid sun, just so Jaller could give him a ride here.”

Tanma: “Cut him some slack, he doesn’t have his gucko bird license, so he can’t really fly here. And you know how ta matoran are afraid of heights, so it’s not like Jaller was gonna fly a gucko bird to pick up Lewa.”

Airko: “That’s so pathetic of Lewa. Everyone here has a flying license except him, and what’s crazier is that he doesn’t think anything of it. That’s so weird, you know how embarrassed I would be if I hadn’t gotten my flying license yet.

Tanma: “I’ve heard rumors that he’s failed his flying test over 20 times.”

Airko: “And he doesn’t feel bad about it? The other day while I was flying my gucko bird, I was stuck in air traffic. The whole sky was covered in gucko birds, it was as if every le matoran in le koro decided to fly that day. I looked at the ground and saw that only one matoran was walking that day, and you guessed it, it was Lewa. No, he wasn’t walking, he was skipping, like he didn’t care about the fact that he was the only person walking in all of le koro. Doesn’t that feel bad? Everyone he knows is in the skies and he’s on the ground. That’s not a good feeling.”

Tanma: “Maybe it was a good feeling, it certainly sounds better than getting stuck in air traffic.”

Airko: “Good point, but he should at least feel a little left out not knowing how to fly. It’s like he’s stuck in his own world, I have never seen a le matoran so smug. It also doesn’t help that his mask always looks like he’s smiling.”

Tanma: “You think there’s a problem with that?”

Airko: “Yes! That’s a very big problem. He exactly embodies every negative stereotype about us le matorans without having any positive traits. He makes us look bad! Just think about it, a le matoran who doesn’t know how to fly. What kind of nonsense is that. And then on top of that he’s loud, clownish, flirtatious, sensitive, lazy, childish, and always has his head stuck in the clouds. He has no redeeming qualities.”

Tanma: “I don’t know, I kind of like his personality. I can’t hate on him, it’s like hating on a spinax dog. It’ll do things that make you mad, but in the end that’s the price you pay to have something that brightens your day.”

Airko: “What are you talking about? Are you trying to sound like a taraga again? I hate it when you do that. You sound so pretentious. Like yeah I get it, you’re very spiritual and all that, but how are you gonna be a soldier with that mindset? We’re probably gonna be killing rahi and you’re out here thinking about what the taraga would think. Well, the taraga would think that killing rahi is immoral. How are you supposed to kill rahi with that mindset?”

Tanma: “I’ll get there when I get there”

Jaller: “Attention! Everyone, line up in single file rows of ten across this cursed field! If these rows aren’t perfect in 5 seconds I’ll personally kick all your gucko birds home and everyone will have to walk back to Le Nui”

All talking ends.

Jaller: “5!”

Everyone scrambles and trips over one another.

Jaller: “4!”

Outlines of 12 rows begin to appear across the field.

Jaller: “3!”

Lewa gets up after getting trampled on by multiple matoran.

Jaller: “2!”

11 perfect rows are created except 1, because Lewa is still processing the situation.

Jaller: “1!”

Airko: “C’mon Lewa!”

Lewa finds Airko’s row and charges straight for it.

Jaller: “0!”

Airko barely makes it to the row. The only sound audible by the matoran of that field are the rahi noises coming from the jungles and the footsteps of Jaller. Jaller purposefully halts his speech in order to create tension among the le matoran.

Jaller: “Good.”

Everyone takes a sigh of relief.

Lewa: “That was a close one.”

Airko: “Next time you do that I’ll feed you to takea sharks!”

Lewa: “But I-”

Airko: “Shut up!”

Jaller: “Who in the name of makuta dung said that!”

Jaller walks up to Airko.

Jaller: “Was it you?”

Airko: “Sir yes sir!”

Jaller: “Were you asking me to shut private?”

Airko: “No sir.”

Jaller: “Speak up private!”

Airko: “Sir yes sir!!!”

Jaller: “Then who were you speaking too?!”

Airko: “Lewa!”

Jaller then knees Airko in the stomach. Airko crumbles to the ground.

Jaller: “I didn’t tell you to get down private!”

Airko barely rises up holding his stomach in pain.

Jaller: “Only I get to shut matoran up in this facility, do you understand that private!”

Airko: “Sir yes sir.”

Jaller then returns to the front of the field facing all 12 rows. He’s accompanied by two other ta matoran at his side who fan him off and give him water.

Jaller: “My word is concrete in this facility, do y’all understand that?”

All 12 rows: “Sir yes sir!”

Jaller: “Good. Today we’ll only be performing one test to determine soldier viability among y’all. Those who won’t be able to complete this test will be immediately sent back to Le Nui. Does everyone here understand me!”

All 12 rows: “Sir yes sir!”

Jaller: “Now, as many of y’all know, le matoran aren’t the best fighters. From personal experience, every time us fire spitters saw y’all come off the boat from Le Koro, we would say the same phrase every time, ‘Well at least they aren’t ga matoran.’”

Both of the ta matoran beside Jaller laugh.

Jaller: “Thankfully, y’all got matoran like Kongu holding up the reputation of y’all vine swingas in the front lines of battle. Now, I’m here to correct y’all. By the end of today, y’all are gonna be less le matoran like, and more down to the soldier mindset. This brings us to the most prevalent stereotype among y’all airheads. That being your sensitivity. Us ta matoran would often find y’all le matoran soldiers chatting it up at lunch, then see y’all crying on the battlefield. That is a big no no. Which brings us to our test.”

Multiple chariots filled with cages of ghekula frogs appear behind Jaller.

Jaller: “Many of y’all already know what these things are, but for those who don’t know. These are ghekula frogs, they are native to Le Koro and are some of the most beautiful animals in Le Koro. Like any other rahi, sadly these creatures were invented by the makuta, more specifically, created by a makuta named Grekk. Yes, y’all heard me right, all it takes for these creatures to become savage killing machines is for makuta Grekk to set foot on this island and mind control them. Fortunately we have Ga Koro with it’s excellent navy protecting any unwanted makuta interventions on this island, but it’s always best to be prepared, because even the mighty Ga Koro navy can’t protect every island. Sadly many ta matorans live with this inconvenience everyday and have grown up to see rahi as the enemy, because in ta koro, the only way to survive is to kill any rahi you see, and that’s the lesson we’ll be learning here folks.”

Jaller gets a cage, rips the ghekula frog from the cage, and strangles it. Even the most hardened of le matorans watch in complete shock as the frogs’ colors begin to mutan.

Jaller: “And that’s what we’ll be doing today.”

Every le matoran walks up to the podium one at a time to complete their test. Jaller makes sure that whoever’s on the podium has all the le matoran on the field watch them kill a ghekula. Part of the lesson is to normalize the killing that is going on. The length of the test is determined on how long it takes for each le matoran to kill the ghekulas. The test automatically ends by sunset and whoever hasn’t killed a ghekula doesn’ get to become a soldier. Tanma finally walks up to the podium, he is visibly shaken by the process, but does a good job hiding it. He waits 3 seconds and whispers, “For the great spirit.” Before killing his ghekula. Airko congratulates him and goes next. Airko has little trouble killing his ghekula. Lewa is the last matoran to go. It is almost sunset, so Lewa only has a few minutes to kill his ghekula. Jaller hands Lewa the final ghekula. Lewa watches the small rahi play around in his hand, completely unaware that it’s going to die in a few minutes. Lewa stares into its eyes, notices it’s beautiful coloring. Lewa is brought back to a different time. He begins tearing up, then crying, then he starts to bawling.

Lewa: “I can’t do it.”

Jaller: “ahhh boo hoo, let me stage a funeral for it.”

Airko: “That thing can kill an entire family you know.”

Everyone around Lewa begins to cheer Lewa on.

Lewa: “I can’t kill el macho.”

Lewa starts rolling around on the floor crying.

Jaller: “El… what?”

Airko: “Oh yeah, that’s his old pet. When he was younger, he had a pet ghekula that he named ‘El Macho’ which died a few years ago. I don’t think he’ll be able to close this out, he still hasn’t gotten over that.”

The sun then begins to set on a beautiful and ungrateful Le Koro.

[rememberthekanohi]

Interesting twist and welcome to the ttv message boards

[Rhyla416]

ooooo very cool story!!
welcome

[Rukah]

ooh I quite like this
nice job

[Avnuva]

Kongu

Once again, the sun rises on the golden beaches of Le Koro, except this time, there’s no matoran more excited than Lewa. He bursts out of his home telling the whole world about Kongu’s visit back home.

Lewa: “Good morning Le Koro!”

He gathers every matoran and taraga he knows. Leading them all to Le Nui’s docks. Lewa’s optimism is contagious, many matoran in the crowd began cheering for Kongu’s return. Tanma, Jaller, Airko, and Lesovikk all gather to see what all the comotion is about. Jaller then confronts one of the taraga to ask them a question.

Jaller: “Taraga Iruini, Lewa and Kongu used to be friends, is that correct?”

Iruini: “Good friends indeed, back in mi toa days I would watch them boys create tree houses, tame wild pokawi birds, and swim in lake tekaka. Why do you ask, fire spitter?”

Jaller’s eyes open wide and his mask turns pale. He raises his hand in a threatening motion, before coming to grips with himself.

Jaller: “Woah woah woah, hold up. What’d ya call me?”

Iruini: “Fire spitter?”

Jaller: “Yup, you’re definitely the old fashioned kind of folk aren’t ya.”

Iruini: “Indeed, now may I ask again, why are you asking about Lewa?”

Jaller: “Well… you see, I’ve met Kongu on the battlefield before and not once has he mentioned Lewa. Ain’t that strange to you? He chats all about le koro; the climate, the friends, the culture. Yet not a word about Lewa. I have an itch that their friendship has some problems.”

Iruini: “I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Stop being so down fire spitter. Let’s just Focus on the now.”

Jaller: “Pffh, typical.”

Across the horizon lies a navy ship headed straight towards the city of Le Nui. Cheering becomes more rampant as the Kongu becomes visible from the shore. Lewa rhythmically shouts,

Lewa: “He’s hearere-”

Lewa then gets trampled by the crowd around him. When he gets back up, he finds himself at the backseat of a massive crowd. Kongu then rhythmically shouts,

Kongu: “I’m hoe-ome!”

The crowd explodes in cheer. Drums, guitars, trumpets, and flutes accompany Kongu’s grand return. Before jumping off the boat, he gives a ga matoran a massive second long kiss on the cheek before jumping off the boat.

Kongu: “Well well well, it looks like you’ve sincerely outdone yourselves Le Nui!”

A drowned out voice can barely be heard from the back of the crowd.

Lewa: “Kongu…”

Kongu walks down the crowd greeting people as he moves along.

Iruini: “It’s great to have you back mi boy.”

Kongu: “My pleasure to have your back taraga Iruini.”

Lewa: “I got your back too Kongu…”

Lesovikk: “Can I have your endorsement Kongu?”

Kongu: “Absolutely. Hey everyone, vote for mayor Lesovikk in the polls! Okay, there’s your 8th term as mayor.”

Lesovikk: “Thank you Kongu.”

Lewa: “I endorse you too Kongu…”

Airko: “Can I have your autograph Kongu?!”

Kongu: “Why sure, where shall I sign?”

Airko points to his gucko bird, where Kongu carves out his name on the rahi’s skin.

Lewa: “I have something for you Kongu…”

Jaller: “Kongu!”

Kongu: “Nah! Could that be? Oh I believe it is. How you doin brother!”

Kongu rushes over to give Jaller a large hug.

Jaller: “You’ve got a special guest waitin for ya.”

Kongu looks around.

Kongu: “Where is he?”

Without context, Jaller grabs Kongu by the hand and starts shoving through the crowd.

Jaller: “Aight boys, shows ova! let a vine swinga breathe some air!”

Jallers commanding presence echoes across the crowd. The crowd ‘aws’ and all the le matoran go back to their mundane lives, all except one, one le matoran keeps on clapping and cheering on Kongu after the crowd dissipates.

Lewa: “Woo hoo! Go Kongu!”

Jaller: “He’s all yours.”

Jaller pushes Kongu towards Lewa.

Lewa: “I got something for you, just give me a minute.”

Lewa shuffles around in his little backpack and grabs something.

Lewa: “Here you go!”

Kongu: “Wow, that’s amazing! Um… What is it?”

Lewa: “It’s a necklace you goofball. I’ve made it from fikou shells we used to collect alongside the beach when we were younger.”

Kongu: “Oh my, that was so long ago, you still remember?”

Lewa: “I’ll never forget till the day I die. C’mon.”

Lewa grabs Kongu’s hand and runs off.

Kongu: “Where are we going?”

Lewa: “To adventure, I’ve got a whole list of activities we can do!”

Kongu: “Don’t you think it’ll be easier if we fly?”

Lewa: “Now where’s the authenticity in that?”

Lewa and Kongu run across Le Nui causing a ruckus.

Lewa: “Do you remember the Takia’s Taco shop, all the good memories, old taraga Avnuva still works there. You want to see him?”

Kongu: “I was thinking that we should eat something more diverse, something more on the lines of Onu Koro quizine, like Kebabs. Are there kebab places around here?”

Lewa: “What’s a kebab?”

Kongu: “You have no idea what you’re missing out on, We are in downtown Le Nui, there’s gotta be at least one kebab place round here.”

Kongu begins scanning the streets.

Kongu: “Aha, there’s one.”

Kongu and Lewa then begin to charge towards a restaurant. It looked like it had opened a few days ago. The place was very strange to Lewa. The floors were laced with decorative carpets and every wall contained paintings of Onu Koro’s beautiful deserts. It was a restaurant with indoor bathrooms, something that Lewa viewed as a commodity. The smells of the restaurant were off. The air was dry and it contained an aroma of spices which choked Lewa’s nostrils. Kongu orders a special cuisine while Lewa orders what he believes to be a basic kebab. It was like Lewa had escaped Le Koro by simply entering the restaurant. Lewa and Kongu take a seat, they look at the overpriced menu. Lewa try’s making a conversation with Kongu, but Kongu gets tangled in a conversation with the waiter, which lasts way too long. By the time the food comes, Lewa realizes that there’s kofo jaga meat on his plate. He’s fine with eating it, but he’s not used to the strange texture of scorpion meat. He looks across to find Kongu devouring his meal, sucking up all sorts of strange rahi critters in his mouth.

Kongu: “What’s up?”

Lewa: “Nothing.”

They continue until Kongu completely finishes his meal.

Kongu: “Okay, I know I eat pretty fast, but there’s no way you eat this slow.”

Lewa: “What are you talking about? I’m almost done.”

Kongu: “That my friend, is not almost done. We’re sitting here till you finish all your food.”

Lewa: “What?!”

Kongu: “You heard what I said? Now Eat!”

The whole restaurant stares at Lewa and Kongu’s bickering.

Lewa: “Why’d you get all aggressive all of a sudden?”

Kongu: “Let’s just say that that food could be going to a lot of other places where it’s needed a whole lot more than here.”

The rest of that lunch was spent with Lewa awkwardly eating in front of Kongu. As soon as they left, things got significantly better. Kongu would walk around town introducing various matoran to his best friend Kongu. Kongu eventually lets his embarrassment get the better of him and asks,

Kongu: “Is there anything else you wanted to do?”

Lewa: “Of Course! Do you remember lake tekaka?”

Kongu: “Kind of.”

Lewa: “Well let’s go out for a swim!”

Lewa drags Kongu to lake tekaka.

Lewa: “I haven’t swam here in years.”

Lewa walks back, before jumping onto a vine next to a tree and swinging onto the water’s surface.

Lewa: “Woo hoo! Why aren’t you coming in?”

Kongu: “I wouldn’t swim there if I were you.”

Lewa: “Why not?”

Kongu then points to a factory in the distance. It’s hard to see what’s going on, but Kongu makes it clear that the factory is dumping dyes into the water, polluting the whole lake. He then spots two more across the lake’s shore. Lewa then looks around to find nothing but dead fish and wrappers of plantain chips surrounding his position. Lewa jumps out of the lake in disgust and tries to laugh it off.

Lewa: “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have swam in there. Huh, I’ve never realized how polluted the lake has gotten.”

Kongu: “Times have changed I guess.”

There’s an awkward silence between them. Only a few minutes of sunlight remain. Lewa then starts speed walking down the street towards the beach.

Lewa: “No worries! We’ll just have to find other ways of having fun. We could go to the beach and collect fikou shells”

Kongu: “Le-”

Lewa: “Or we could build a treehouse on a palm tree.”

Kongu: “Lewa?”

Lewa: “Maybe we can watch the sunset and forget all our problems!”

Kongu: “Lewa!”

Lewa: “What’s up?”

Kongu: “Do you have your flying license?”

Lewa ends his speed walking and pauses. Kongu also halts his walk and only sees the back of Lewa’s head. Lewa then begins to walk again.

Lewa: “No… Anyways we-”

Kongu: “Do you have a job?”

Lewa stops his walking again.

Lewa: “No… Why do you ask?”

Kongu: “A few days ago before I got here, I received a letter from you claiming that you were gonna join the army. How did that work out?”

Lewa: “I couldn’t join… It just wasn’t my cup of tea.”

Kongu lets out a big sigh. He then walks to the edge of the road, watching the sunset. Lewa turns around to face the back of Kongu’s head. The clicks, caws, and rattles radiate the otherwise silent street.

Kongu: “You know what…? Times have changed.”

Lewa: “Stop talking like that! I hate how vague you can be. What’s so bad about not having a flyers license, or not working in the Le Koro bean fields. Since when has doing your best not been good enough!”

Kongu: “Ever since the makuta started this war… When I first fought alongside our ta matoran brothers, you know what they said about us? ‘Goofy’, ‘Carefree’, ‘Irresponsible’… That’s what they said about us, Lewa. When I first joined, they would line us up in the front line like Kane Ra lining up for the slaughter house, because ‘a le matoran only worked as a meat shield’. I had to ferociously survive the front lines, fight any rahi the makuta threw at us, and to an extent, fight back against any stereotypes the ta matoran threw at us. I work so hard to keep our reputation standing, because no other le matoran was going to do the sa-”

Lewa: “Get to the point.”

Kongu’s mask shrivels. He looks back to face Lewa. Kongu’s expression was what Lewa feared most. Sagged eyes, indistinguishable frown, calm. It was the face of disappointment, an expression Lewa believed he would never see coming from Kongu. Tears immediately rise to the lips of Lewa’s eyes, he doesn’t blink in fear that it’ll all come crashing down. Kongu, realizing what he’s done, simply looks away back at the sunset, giving Lewa the opportunity to at least let one tear drop. Lewa, no longer feeling trapped by Kongu’s gaze, let’s a few tears come out.

Kongu: “I was so happy coming back to Le Koro. The economy, corruption, diversity, industrialization, it all felt better. I see an island, where my effects have very real repercussions. It’s like we’ve reversed centuries of stigma. Then I see you, someone stuck in the past, no responsibility, no spine, no courage, just nothing. You might not see it the same way I do, but you’re the problem. You might not like what I’m going to say Lewa, but… you’re going to need to try harder. Have you applied to another job yet?”

Lewa gulps the massive pain in his neck and wipes the tears off his face.

Lewa: “Well, I was going to apply to this mining job, bu-”

Kongu: “No but’s, you’re applying there and that’s final. Lewa, I recommend that whenever you have that feeling of relaxation, just look up at the sky, see your friends all flying their gucko birds, and let that sink in. Anyways, I gotta go, it was nice watching the sunset with you. Remember, don’t simply try your best, but be the best, because all that anyone can except for nowadays. Bye-a”

Kongu walks a few steps towards the city before getting offered a ride from a few le matoran. Lewa stays until all light from the horizon dissipates. He’s only accompanied by distant noises of rahi in the jungle.

Note: I’m so sorry to people who are fans of the character Kongu in bionicle G1, because I make him look really bad this far into the story lol.

[Rukah]

ah another chapter
neat

[Avnuva]

Mount Tyfus

Osokka: “You’re a le matoran?”

Lewa: “Yes.”

Osokka: “And you’re applying for a mining job, am I correct?”

Lewa sighs

Lewa: “Yes.”

Osokka: “Huh, le in name onu in heart. You’re the first le matoran who has come here looking for a job, you know that?”

Lewa: “Yes. Would you like to see my resume?”

Lewa takes out the same book he showed Jaller.

Osakka: “I think I’m good. You’re hired.”

Lewa: “Wait really, it was that easy?”

Osakka: “Well, do you have any experience mining?”

Lewa: “No.”

Osakka: “That’s okay, you’ll learn. Technically you’re extremely underqualified, but I don’t wanna spend another 1,000 widgets exporting a matoran form Onu Koro, so you’ll have to make ends meet here.”

Lewa: “Am I seriously the only le matoran who applied for this job?”

Osakka: “Yup, you see, vine swingers aren’t really the grounded type of matoran, I’m sure you see them always up in the sky riding those gucko things or whatever. Are you the type of vine swinger to do this line of work?”

Lewa: “I mean, sure! I’m afraid of heights and I don’t even have my flying license yet. Maybe I’m just meant for this kind of work.”

Osakka: “mmhmm, keep telling yourself that. Anyways, let’s get straight to work.”

Osakka walks Lewa to the mining facility at mount Tyfus.

Osakka: “Here’s mount Tyfus. You’ve probably heard of it, because it’s the only mountain in this forsaken jungle. Now, for centuries this mountain was impossible to get to. Mainly because this place was spiritual to the taraga and indigenous vine swingers used to live here, yata yata yata, you get it, this place was preserved by the Le Koro government. But then one fateful day, the makuta decided to be even more cancerous than usual and ramped up their attacks on ta koro. Bad news huh, well it gets worse, because after years of war-”

Osakka runs over to a minecart in order to grab a metal.

Osakka: “Onu Koro’s mountains started to run out of this stuff, metallic protodermis. No one knows what this stuff is, we don’t know how to make it, all we know is that it’s really good at killing rahi. So after Onu Koro’s mines stopped producing this sexy metal, we started mining mountains from other islands, and thanks to your corrupt little mayor, Lesovikk. We’ve managed to bypass any preservation laws and are able to mine here. And yes, I know what you’re thinking, this place does occasionally get raided by indigenous vine swingers and yes the taraga don’t really like us very much. But that’s simply the price we’re gonna have to pay in order to keep Ta Koro alive. Now, history lesson aside, let’s get down to business.”

Osakka walks Lewa down to another minecart.

Osakka: “The stuff in this minecart are explosives, and today you’ll be working as a bomb clerk.”

Osakka then grabs three bombs from the cart.

Osakka: “This is cambra bomb 1, notice how it’s blue, this is the weakest of the bombs. Here’s cambra bomb 2, it’s green and it’s 10 times stromger than cambra bomb 1. Then there’s cambra bomb 3, this one is red an-”

Lewa: “It’s 10 times stronger than cambra bomb 2?”

Osakka: “Correct, maybe you do have some onu genes in your system.”

Osakka then brings Lewa and the cart to the opening of the cave entering mount Tyfus.

Osakka: “You see this tube here? It leads deeper into the cave. When you hear noises coming out of it, immediately bring it to your ear and listen. Your job today will be to transport the bombs from the cart to the inside of the cave.”

Lewa: “So is that all I’m doing?”

Osakka: “Yup, just transport me bombs when I command and then you should be good. Oh yeah, one more thing, whatever you do, do not take the whole cart in the cave. There’s torches everywhere in there, so don’t get any stupid ideas.”

Lewa: “Ay ay capitan!”

For the next 4 hours, Lewa would be listening to the tube, transport bombs in the cave, and return back to the surface. He did a very careful job to not mess his job up. He didn’t make any friends, never dozed off, he only did what he was told. He would sometimes transport the wrong bomb, or walk in the wrong cavern, but never did anything crazy bad. Towards his third hour he would be profusely sweating from running in and out of the cave in humid conditions. Lewa would then get a final command from the tube.

Osakka: “Okay Lewa, you’ve hit your fourth hour. You need to go to lunch before your fifth hour so you can go on your lunch break now.”

Lewa: “Thank you sir, did I do anything wrong?”

Osakka: “Nah, you did pretty good. You definitely showed your inner Kohli head. Good work.”

A smile forms across Lewas face and his shoulders drop. He thought to himself that perhaps this was what he was meant to do. He then skips to his locker, takes his meal, and eats at the lunch tables outside the mine. Happily sits alone, eating his Le Koran fried tacos. However, there was an empty feeling eating his tacos at the loneliest lunch table. He would stare at his fellow onu matoran co workers, eating kebabs and talking about how they hated the humidity of Le Koro’s weather. He watched in envy of what they had. Perhaps he was meant for this kind of life. He finishes his food, walks over to a food cart which sells kebabs, then looks up at the menu. Talks to the cart vendure and lets him choose a meal for him. The vendure is slightly confused before choosing an option which he thought fit Lewa. The vendure gave him a kebab which only held native Le Koro rahi meats on it. The seasoning was still foreign, like it was meant for the dry mouths of onu matorans working days in the caves. Lewa still gave it a go. The taste was powerful, yet delicious. Lewa could see himself living like this, even if the meal was cadered just for him, he then stared once again at his coworkers. Lewa is always smiling, yet, the smile he felt come across his face at that moment felt genuine. He couldn’t help himself skip towards them at a thousand miles an hour. Something flies across Lewa’s face. It lasted less than a second, but Lewa found his kebab pinned by an arrow on a tree. His mind didn’t process what was going on at the time, until one coworker shook his body and warned him that they were being attacked by natives. A swarm of arrows launch from the jungle as Lewa runs for cover. All the onu matoran prepare for what they believe to be a lengthy conflict. Onu matoran pick up their spears and prepare to defend the mountain. Lewa is so panicked, that he runs behind his mincart full of bombs. His plan works, until he realizes that the natives are also shooting fire arrows. One fire arrow skims his face and he realizes that they aren’t targeting the cart. He runs with the cart in hand, dodging every possible arrow that comes his way. He jumped, ducked, flipped, and slid across the ground before entering the mine. He thought to himself how clever he was for hiding the minecart in such a safe place. He would run past multiple onu matoran before coming across Osakka.

Osakka: “What are you doing?!”

Lewa: “We’re getting attacked by natives! They had fire arrows and were shooting at the cart.”

Osakka: “So you took the cart inside the mine! That’s so stupid! So you saw fire arrows and knew that was dangerous, so you decided to take the cart here, where there’s torches everywhere.”

Lewa: “I mean…”

Lewa gestures to the front of the cart

Lewa: “Nothing lit?”

Lewa and Osakka then look at the back of the cart. They are greeted by 2o cambra bombs all ready to explode at any moment.

Osakka: “Everyone evacuate now!”

Everyone in the mine starts running for their lives. Tons of onu matorans rush to save their lives. Lewa trips, he can’t make his way through the crowd in time. Everyone escapes the mountain before Lewa. He realizes too late that he has no chance of escaping. The last thing he sees is seeing a glimmer of sunlight before the cart blows. The entire mountain collapses in on itself and a giant beam of light launches from the center of the mountain, to the top of the sky. The site is so unbelievable that all the Le Koro natives put down their weapons in aw. Onu matoran look at left over cambra bombs and ask themselves if the bombs are even that powerful to cause such an event. Osakka counts heads, before realizing that Lewa is missing. He tears up.

Osakka: “Anyone seen Lewa?”

Osakka is only met with silence. One onu matoran picks up a violin and starts playing a sad song for Osakka.

Osakka: “He was just a lad. A vine swinger in name, but with an onu heart. Ain’t there ever gonna be a matoran like that…”

Osakka begins to baul in front of his own coworkers. Everyone thinks he’s being over dramatic, but they still comfort their heartbroken boss. After the show ends and smoke clears. A hand appears from the rubble. No one believes that Lewa is actually alive, but then the hand starts moving. The natives motion to each other, wondering if the le matoran is still alive. Then, all of a sudden, Lewa breaks through the rubble with a golden object in hand. Its texture was like a metal, yet it gave off humidity and looked like a piece of a larger object. It only displayed what looked to be the silhouette of a foot. Lewa would walk through the rubble, object in hand, before collapsing out of exhaustion. All the natives bow down to his supernatural display out of respect. The Onu matoran look in horror, seeing their coworker come back from the dead.

Osakka: “Get a medic!”

[Rukah]

Ooh interesting

[Avnuva]

Thank you so much for the support. Is it ok if I could get some input from you? I was wondering whether I should use images to help tell my story. And if so, am I allowed to use images that aren’t bionicle related, but help in imagery for the story?

[Rukah]

Nah it’s good so far, though images would be cool.

[Avnuva]

Krika

The oceans which surround the matoran home islands are vast. The matorans only know the existence of 6 main islands across the universe. Other than that, the matoran live on a lonely planet. Besides their 6 familiar islands, they do not know the existence of any other home. Matoran have tried to enter the vast unknown to never be seen again. Off the shores of Le Koro a gigantic whale like rahi emergis from the deep. From it’s blowhole rises two strange individuals. One of which is a rahi called a Rahkshi. The Rahkshi are a matoranoid looking rahi, with features resembling a snake. They feature two long legs, which lead to a torso resembling a hunchback. From their hunchback begins a long snake-like spine which reaches all the way to their head. Protruding from their torso, they have broad shoulders with stubby arms that carry a spear. These creatures are sometimes called the children of the makuta and are often associated with being bodyguards of the makuta. The other individual is a mukuta named Krika. He features a slim long body with broad shoulder armor. His head protrudes backwards and resembles what looks like a bloody spine. His long head leads up to his face, which dawns the kanohi crast, the mask of repulsion.

Krika: “You blinked.”

The Rahkshi only hisses to Krika’s response.

Krika: “I win again! You haven’t won a single staring contest the last three days.”

Krika begins to laugh, while Rahkshi simply looks at him confused.

Krika: “Are you even trying? I have a feeling that you don’t even understand me.”

Krika’s correct with that statement, the Rahkshi doesn’t understand what’s going on. The Rahkshi is simply a loyal pet in the hands of Krika, and a pretty dumb one at that. Krika then lays on the whales back and looks at the sky.

Krika: “Come on now! Are you seriously telling me you don’t have the mental capacity to do a simple staring contest? It’s creatures like you which make me which I didn’t have the power to create.”

The Rahkshi blankly stares at its master.

Krika: “You know what? I made you, and all you do is just listen to me. You never tell me how you’re feeling or what not. I mean you’re just a rahi, but could at least say anything. I know your vocal cords don’t have the capacity to say words, but you could at least say anything other than a hiss.”

The Rahkshi hisses back, but this time in a different pitch. Krika sighs and stares into the ocean

Krika: “It’s rahi like you which make me realize how lonely I am.”

All of a sudden, off in the distance, a giant beam of light shoots to the sky. The beams are bright gold light is blindening to any Rahi which dared gaze at it. Krika folds his hands over his face to block the light hitting his eyes. He’s initially annoyed by the unexplainable phenomenon, but then a revelation hits him. Any light with that much power could only come from a mask, a mask which grants immortality to any creature in its presence, a mask with the power to revive anything ranging from the smallest feku crab, to the great spirit itself. Krika was thinking of the mask of life. As the light dissipates, Krika pulls himself together and orders his whale south. The direction which the beam came from looked to be where Krika believed was the location of Le Koro. He adapts accordingly, and creates a living rahi with the few resources he has. He first dismantles organs and limbs from his other rahi, and then begins creating. He ends up creating the tropical Niazesk, a fly-like rahi which roams the tropical jungles of Le Koro. But one Niazesk isn’t enough, so Krika creates hundreds more before setting them off to the open ocean.

Note: This is a shorter section and the introduction of the first makuta character in the story!

[Rukah]

Ooh cool

[Avnuva]

Breakfast

Ganu: “Good morning!”

Kongu: “Good morning Ganu.”

Ganu: “I’m making you breakfast.”

Kongu: “Thank you so much.”

A moment of silence is shared between the two.

Kongu: “You know? I had the most horrible dream last night.”

Ganu: “Is that what took you so long to get up?”

Kongu: “Perhaps.”

Ganu: “What was it about?”

Kongu: “Ehh, you wouldn’t get it. It was about mountains blowing up, old friends, that kind of stuff.”

Ganu: “Hmm, I never took you as the dreamer kind of guy.”

Kongu: “Me either. Do you ever sometimes get random dreams like that?”

Ganu: “Not usually, sometimes I get flashbacks of living in Ga Koro, but otherwise I’m just like you.”

Another moment of silence disperses the conversation.

Ganu: “Anyways, back to reality. Guess what’s been the talk of the town recently?”

Ganu leans away from the kitchen and slides a newspaper across the dining room table Kongu had been sitting at. Kongu picks up the paper and starts reading it for himself. Ganu continues to speak as Kongu’s attention is solely directed at the newspaper in front of him.

Ganu: “Isn’t it crazy? After all these years. You know? Many of us ga matoran never thought this time would come, we just believed that there’s no hope, that we’d all die alongside Mata Nui once he gives in to his slumber. But no, the mask is real and alive! They found Ignika! Well technically, it’s a piece of the Ignika. But still, you have no idea how this makes me feel. It’s like a gigantic pessimistic weight has been lifted off my chest. Our people wil-”

All of Ganu’s cheers come off as white noise to Kongu, as he skims through the words of the paper.

Ganu: “They found it in mount Tyfus of all places. Can you believe that? It was lik-”

Kongu’s eyes pop through his mask, the orange juice he drinks chokes him as he begins to cough all over the dining table. He couldn’t compute the words he just read.

Ganu: “And you know who found it? It was a young vine swinger by the name of Lewa, you know that le matoran?”

Ganu leaves a pause expecting an answer, but she’s met with silence. She then turns around.

Ganu: “Kongu?”

She’s greeted to the sight of an empty dining table and the sound of a door closing. Kongu runs off to his gucko bird preparing to take off.

Ganu: “What ya doin?”

Kongu pauses and stands in silence for a second. Ganu can tell that he’s trying his best to keep his composure in front of her.

Kongu: “I’m headed towards Iruini’s house.”

Kongu then climbs on his gucko bird and flies off without saying a word.

Ganu: “Hey! Where you think you’re going! Get back here! Why doesn’t anyone tell me anything around here!?”

Kongu arrives at Iruini’s house and starts knocking excessively. Iruini opens the door.

Iruini: “What? Oh. Kongu?

Kongu raises his newspaper and corners Iruini in his own home.

Kongu: “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”

Iruini: “Hold your rahi, okay? This stuff happened a day ago, the newspapers take their time, so what?”

Kongu: “So what?! Have you been smoking monju leaves recently? You, a taraga, of all individuals should know how important this is.”

Iruini: “I do.”

Kongu: “Doesn’t seem like you do? Let me run this down for you very carefully. The mask of life has been found. Right? The mask has the power to create life, save life, and reawaken Mata Nui. Right? Now the next concept might be a little bit complicated, but I don’t know since you’re a taraga! I just kind of expect you to know this kind of stuff, because you should! Anyways, so you and I both know that the mask curses the first wielder of it. Aka whoever is the first matoran to touch the mask is stuck with it until Mata Nui is reawakened. Well that matoran happens to be Lewa. See the problem now?”

Iruini: “No not really. What’s so wrong with that boy?”

Kongu: “Everything! It’s not like he has the whole mask, it’s not like he has the whole mask and venture down to the center of the universe to reawaken Mata Nui, not like that would be easy in the first place. He’d have to find the remaining mask pieces, avoiding makuta capture throughout the whole process. Journey across tons of unknown territory just to enter a location that we’re not even sure exists, just for the chance of reawakening Mata Nui. And this is Lewa we’re talking about. He’s never stepped foot outside of Le Koro, he takes too long to learn, he’s mentally immature. We’re putting our livelihood in the hands of someone with no experience of responsibility.”

Iruini: “So much wrong, with how you think. I thought you were friends with Lewa? Why are you trashing him so hard?”

Kongu: “Iruini! I know Lewa better than anyone else on this island… I think. And I know that he wouldn’t like this kind of responsibility. Lewa’s a sweetheart, he wouldn’t hurt a rahi if his life depended on it, and he’s somewhat humble about his competency. I’m sure he agrees with me that he shouldn’t be the wielder of the mask.”

Iruini: “Well, the mask chose him and that’s that. The great spirit knows best indeed, and we’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Kongu: “The mask didn’t choose. Lewa just managed to be at the right position to become the wielder of the mask.”

Iruini: “So? What ya want me to do? The Ignika never has changed allegiance before. What makes you think we can do anything about it?”

Kongu: “You’re a taraga. Your kind specializes in this kind of spiritual nonsense. I was thinking that maybe you could gather your buddies to do some magic stuff, prayer, or do anything to make sure our lives aren’t in Lewa’s hands.”

Iruini: “Okay Kongu, I can try, but it’s not going to work. And even if it did, who would we choose to be the bearer of the mask?”

Kongu: “Oh I don’t know. Maybe someone globally aware, has skill in combat, is charming with ga matoran, and dawns a kanohi miru nuva?”

Iruini looks at Kongu very suspiciously until Kongu begins awkwardly laughing.

Kongu: “I’m just kidding with you Iruini. I was thinking more on the lines of a toa, because you know, they have powers, they know what they’re doing, they’re strong.”

Iruini: “Mmhmm, and where are we gonna get a toa? No toa of air has inhabited this island in 20 years!”

Kongu: “Who said we needed a toa of air? I have connections with toa Vakama, we’ll be fine. Anyways, let’s get ready to do this. Gather all the taraga of Le Koro and have them meet at chico park. I’ll get Lewa myself… By the way, you know where Lewa is?”

Iruini: “He’s at a hospital three blocks left of the capitol building.”

Kongu: “Thank you.”

Kongu jumps back on his gucko bird and flies off to the horizon.

[Avnuva]

The Ignika

Flashing lights fill the consciousness. Ancient matoran beach chants echo. A giant oval shaped rock crashes on a sandy plateau. The rock has a center line carved from its head, taking up about a third of the rock’s length. At the bottom of the line contained a circular indent, looking like a mouth. On each side of the line, remained three lines, one on top of another. Closer to the top center of the middle line, contained two more lines on each side, representing to seem like two eyes. A shadow slowly crawls from the bottom of the stone slowly taking over the boulder. The boulder’s texture slowly sharpens to contain jagged edges. The boulder’s face changes to have a jagged mouth opening with two frowned eye openings on top of it. Three smaller stones then rise from the sand in front of the boulder. A fourth tries to rise from the sand, but then falls, being buried in sand. The matoran chants stop. Nothing but silence and darkness. Images of Le Koro’s lush tropical jungles begin flashing. Chants become more ominose. Matoran transforms into indescribable robots. Screams of matoran then begin replacing the chants. A statue on unidentifiable toa of air, is defamed and brutally destroyed on the streets of Le Koro. To silhouettes of toa crash into one singular ball of shadow. The mask of life changes to a black color. Chants become more demoralizing than ominous. Images flash from one another. A venom eel entering the ear of a raging Kane Ra. A toa’s living body evaporates into the ignika. Matoran chants turn into mechanical screams. A matoran separates into 4. Lewa wakes up.

Lewa wakes up in an empty white room, with a giant window for a wall. Through the window, Lewa sees a lush tropical forest. Very therapeutic in nature. It was the middle of the rainy season in Le Koro. Despite the closed off environment, Lewa could feel the jungle. The room would radiate with noises of insects and birds. Heat and humidity swelled the room. When Lewa finally touched his mask, he noticed the overwhelming amount of sweat covering his body. It felt like he had conquered an intense fever. He couldn’t remember where he was before, but he did remember the nightmares. What could they mean? Lewa then rips the bed sheets covering his weak body. He looks around and sees a desk beside his bed. Lewa came across a glass of water and a plate of delicious yucca root. Despite his immense starvation, Lewa took more interest in another object. A glowing gold object with a strange shape to it. It looked to have the silhouette of a leg on it. The object hypnotized Lewa’s mind. He thought what on earth could it be. Lewa reaches his hand across the bed to grab it. Seconds away from grabbing it, a doctor opens the door.

Shu: “Oh. Looks like you’re awake. How are you feeling? Any strange behavior you’re feeling?”

Lewa: “I feel fine, but I don’t know why I’m here. It feels like I was sick, but I don’t remember. I’ve also been having many strange dreams. Did I have a fever, because the more I think about it, I think I have a fever.”

Shu: “Hmmm, duly noted.”

The doctor begins to analyze. The doctor checks Lewa’s pulse, listens to his heartbeat, checks Lewa’s eyes and facial features, takes urine samples, and checks Lewa’s hearing.

Shu: “You’re all good. However, I recommend you drink that water we gave you earlier. You’ve been sweating all night and day, you are very dehydrated. Thank you for cooperating with me, sir. It’s been an honor meeting you.

The doctor takes a bow.

Lewa: “What’s going on? Why are you treating me like this? You need to answer some stuff man. It didn’t seem like it at first, but this is really weird. So I don’t have a fever? What’s that golden thing over there? How did I get her?”

Shu: “Calm down sir, you have a guest who will be explaining everything to you shortly.”

The door then flies open. Lewa reacts with an instinctual smile, then evolves into shameful face and cuts off eye contact.

Kongu: “Took you long enough. Now get out of here, this is serious.”

Shu: “Okay okay chill. I’ll see you two later.”

The doctor leaves.

Kongu: “Oh boy oh boy oh boy, you’re in big trouble bro.”

Lewa: “Oh no. What did I do this time Kongu?”

Lewa squints his face in preparation for some good old fashioned emotional damage, while Kongu tries to make sense of the whole situation.

Kongu: “Remember when I told you to get that mining job?”

Lewa looks to the floor in shame.

Lewa: “Yes.”

Kongu: “Do you remember what happened at your job?”

Lewa initially thinks he knows what happens, but doesn’t come up with an answer. It’s like that piece of his life was ripped straight from his memory.

Kongu: “Well I don’t know what happened either. Apparently you did something that blew up mount Tyfus, which is already pretty crazy even for your standards. But on top of that, you somehow managed to find a piece of the mask of life.”

Lewa looks to the golden object next to his table and fills in the gaps from there. He falls off his bed in fear that it’s going to harm him. Kongu then looks at the table and sees it for himself.

Kongu: “Oh my, is that it? It looks so much more beautiful in person. Why are you afraid of it? You’re its owner now. You’re like, the only person on this whole island who can touch it.”

Lewa gets up from the ground. He walks over to the glowing object in skepticism. He looks over to Kongu.

Lewa: “Are you sure I can touch this thing?”

Kongu: “Yes Lewa. It cursed you. Now you’re its caretaker.”

Lewa then grabs the piece. It’s warm and humid in his hands.

Lewa: “Why can’t you touch it?”

Kongu: “Well Lewa, it would probably mutate me if I touched it. That thing only likes the first matoran it sees. And you so happened to be that first matoran.”

Lewa: “No, this is bad, really bad. I can’t do this, you know I can’t do this. I can’t, I just can’t. We have to find a new matoran for this thing, or a toa.”

Kongu: “You ripped the words straight from my mouth Lewa. Let’s get out of here. We got business to do.”

Kongu then grabs Lewa by the hand and starts running out of the hospital, which is something rare coming from Kongu. The whole situation got Lewa so off guard. For a moment, he believed that Kongu was actually friendly towards him for once, an illusion so strong in Lewas’ desperate mind. The sounds of wilderness quickly turn into sounds of a muffled crowd as Lewa and Kongu head to the front of the building…

They burst out the hospital doors in style as they head towards Kongu’s gukko bird. On their way out, Lewa’s bombarded with the questions from multiple reporters and matoran.

“How does it feel to be Mata Nui’s hero?”

“What’s your game plan on reawakening Mata Nui?”

“Do you have what it takes to be a hero?”

“We love you Lewa!”

Lewa and Kongu reach the gukko bird and fly off into the distance.

[Avnuva]

Friendship Training

Mayor Lesovikk rides his gucko bird to the capitol. From the sky, he looks down to see hundreds of matoran heads crowded around Chico park. He glides down to interrupt the ruckus.

Lesovikk: “Hold up, what’s going on here?!”

Drowned out by laughter, cheering, and music, he heads towards the crowd’s heart. He finds taraga Iruini and asks what’s up.

Lesovikk: “What is this?! A carnival?! Didn’t we do one of those, like last week! I’m pretty sure I didn’t give out any assembly permits for this! I swear these vine swingers are gonna drive-”

Iruini: “Calm down youngin! I understand, Uncalled for this is!”

Lesovikk: “Stop talking like that!”

Iruini: “Fine. So you know how Lewa is now the bearer of the Ignika?”

Lesovikk: “Yeah, so what?!”

Iruini: “Nothing technically, but Kongu went full ideolog from that news and now he wants to find a way to get the mask to choose a new bearer for it.”

Lesovikk: “That’s the most fire spitter logic I’ve ever seen in all my days!”

Iruini started laughing hysterically.

Iruini: “Couldn’t have said that better myself!”

Lesovikk then looks around to see reporters, musicians, multiple other taraga from across Le Koro, an audience of matoran eating spicy chips, historians, dancers, and soldiers. He then gestures to the crowd.

Lesovikk: “So how does that explain this?!”

Iruini: “Well, Kongu is trying everything he can to make the mask change its mind about Lewa. So he’s hired musicians, dancers, comedians, and us taraga to try appeasing the mask. He thinks that our combined effort can cause the mask to dislike Lewa and hopefully attach itself to someone else. But as you could imagine, It has only worked in attracting people to join the event. Most matoran think we’re just holding a cool party.”

Lesovikk laughs at the whole idea and begins joining the crowd in watching the event.

Kongu: “Iruini! Aren’t you supposed to be praying!”

Iruini: “My bad coach!”

Iruini gets down on his knees and continues to pray with his fellow taraga. Kongu runs back to Lewa. Both of them are the center of a massive crowd. Lewa is surrounded by dancers trying to appease the mask. Taraga pray and make orations for the mask. A band of matoran plays country Le Koran music. Consisting mostly of guitar, ukulele, and drums. The exciting atmosphere attracts multiple matoran which understandably confuse the event as a carnival. Many reporters from Lewa’s hospital have relocated to the park in hopes of getting information out of him. Historians try to write every detail of this possible historic event. Scientists try to study every action of the mask in order to try and understand it. The upbeat atmosphere of this event completely contrasts with Kongu’s immense stress. Kongu grabs a dodo like rahi called a Piku by the neck, and pile drives it to the ground towards Lewa. Before Kongu hands him an hatchet, he notices multiple Niazesks crowded around the mask.

Kongu: “Why’s there so many flies around that thing?”

He then hands Lewa an hatchet.”

Kongu: “Kill this thing!”

Lewa: “Wah the huh what? No! What is wrong with you?! What would that accomplish?!”

Kongu: “What are you? A Taraga? Nothing has worked so far and I don’t see you with any ideas!”

Kongu lets out a large sigh.

Kongu: “Look, the Ignika is known for bringing things back to life. Now, I might be jumping to conclusions, but I think that maybe this mask prefers to have a bearer which doesn’t like to kill things, like you. Maybe that’s why it likes you so much. So perhaps if you start killing rahi, It’ll stop liking you.”

Lewa: “I’m still not going to kill that thing.”

Kongu: “I know that it’s super against your moral code to kill things, but we haven’t tried this out yet, and maybe it could work. The mask will just revive the Piku after you kill it anyways, so it’s not like you’ll actually be killing it. Besides, if you end up following through with being the bearer of the mask, and end up failing to save the universe, then you’d sure be killing a whole lot more than a simple Piku.”

Lewa looks down at the ground in shame. The mere thought of that idea makes his stomach sick. He then looks at the hatchet in his hand.

Lewa: “Fine.”

Lewa lifts the hatchet using his right hand. He uses his left hand to cover his face. He then lets gravity do its job, driving the hatchet’s blade to the ground.

Kongu: “You missed.”

Lewa: “Oh…”

Lewa brings his right hand up again. He lifts his left hand up a little bit so he can properly aim at the defenseless Piku.

Lewa: “I’m so sorry…”

Lewa then covers his eyes with his left hand before letting gravity take hold of his right hand. This time he feels the thud of the Piku’s neck sliding against the blade.

Lewa: “Mata Nui, what have I done!”

Lewa uses both of his hands to cover his eyes and he looks away. Kongu is completely desensitized to this behavior. The mask glows golden and magically revives the Piku. The whole crowd around them cheers. Kongu then tries to grab the mask, but it’s too hot for him to touch.

Kongu: “Lewa.”

Lewa: “Don’t look at me!”

Kongu: “Lewa.”

Lewa: “How could you make me do this?”

Kongu then grabs Lewa and shakes him.

Kongu: “Lewa! Look.”

Lewa sees a completely fine Piku.

Lewa: “Did it work?”

Kongu: “Well, touch the mask.”

Lewa foundles on the ground before grabbing the mask. As expected, he manages to grab the mask just fine.

Kongu: “Mother of Mata Nui, what’s wrong with this thing! You’re killing that Piku again.”

Lewa: “Your idea didn’t even work.”

Kongu: “Yeah, but the mask probably knew that you were under my influence. Maybe if you did it a few more times, it would grow to dislike you.”

Lewa at first is completely against the idea, but then he remembers the feeling of shame that Kongu reminded him if he did a bad job as the bearer of the mask. So he grudgingly continues with Kongu’s plan. Kongu pins the Piku, Lewa lifts his right hand, the hatchet slices through the neck, the mask revives the Piku, and then Lewa still is able to touch the mask.

Kongu: “Again!”

Pin, slice, revive, repeat. Pin, lift, slice, repeat, Pin, kill, revive, repeat. Slice, kill, repeat. Lewa and Kongu go over the process over 9 times before something magical happens. The Ignika glows gold before turning one of Kongus arms into a tentacle. The crowd gasps in horror, yet many matoran view the whole show as entertainment. Kongu screams and for once shows his soft side to the public. He cries on the floor and contemplates his supposed matoraness. Some guitar players put down their instruments and begin playing dramatic violin music to remedy the moment.

Kongu: “Stop!”

Lewa looks in horror. He grabs the mask and begins speaking to it teary eyed.

Lewa: “Not only did you curse me with your responsibility, but you also mutated Kongu in retaliation?! What do you want from me?!

The mask then glows golden again and reverses Kongu’s mutation.

Lewa: “Huh, you really like me that much.”

Kongu is hardly relieved from his cure. He curls up in a ball and begins sobbing. Le Koran musicians stop playing violin and some switch to playing a sad harmonica tune.

Kongu: “This is hopeless, hopeless! Everyone pack your bags and leave! There’s nothing to see here!”

Lewa genuinely feels terrible. Lewa truly doesn’t want to be the bearer of the Ignika, and in his delusional mind, he believes that removing his position as the mask bearer, would allow him to repair his friendship with Kongu. Lewa thinks that this whole situation is his fault. All he wants is to be good friends with Kongu like the good old days and get rid of his position as Ignika’s bearer. Lewa then looks at the mask and remembers all the nightmares he had before waking up in the hospital. He then hypothesized that those nightmares could have possibly occurred due to his close proximity to the mask. He has a small hunch that the mask tells him things. That hunch turns into an idea. Lewa looks over at Kongu, then looks back at the mask. The kanohi Miru is the mask Lewa dawns. It naturally has the shape of a face with a smile, yet, Lewa’s excitement was so great that it exaggerated the already plastered smile on kanohi Miru. Lewa falls to the ground, closing his eyes, and starts whispering to himself.

Kongu: “Lewa, are you alright?”

Lewa still lays on the ground paralyzed.

Kongu: “Lewa!”

Lewa suddenly gets up and gains his consciousness.

Lewa: “Kongu! You won’t believe what just happened. The mask spoke to me, and it’s not very happy with you, but it told me that it’ll still help us. It told me that the only way it’ll help us, is if everyone does whatever I want.”

Lewa then points at reporters, scientists, and observers, telling them to leave. The musicians and taraga also take this as a sign to leave. Lewa then gestures to them.

Lewa: “Not like you guys, you all can stay.”

Lewa points at the musicians.

Lewa: “I want you all to play music for me all day till sunset.”

The musicians look at each other in confusion, but still go along with Lewa’s antiques. Lewa then gathers the taraga.

Lewa: “The Ignika likes your worship of it, so you are all staying.”

Lewa then winks at Iruini. Iruini is so confused, because he has no idea what Lewa is thinking of. Lewa then skips over to Kongu.

Lewa: “And then there’s you. The mask really doesn’t like you. It really likes me, and you put me through a whole lot of pain today. So now, the mask wants you to make amends for your actions.”

Kongu: “I’ll do anything the mask wants me to do.”

Lewa: “Well, whatever it wants is what I want, so… Let’s just have some fun!”

Kongu: “Will it relieve you of its curse if I do so?”

Lewa: “Sure.”

Kongu springs up from his curled position and jumps into the air.

Kongu: “Ok, So what do you want me to do?”

Lewa smiles and takes out a list, stretching from his hands to the ground. Kongu gulps.

Lewa: “Follow me.”

Lewa grabs Kongu by the hand and runs off to the city. The musicians and taraga follow.

Kongu: “Don’t you think it’ll be easier if we ride by gucko bird?”

Lewa: “No, we’re adventuring Lewa style.”

Kongu: “uhh… okay. What do you wanna do?”

Lewa: “I’m hungry.”

Kongu: “I know a place we could eat, there’s this great Ga Koro di-”

Lewa: “How about Takia’s taco shop!”

Kongu: “Um…”

Lewa: “The mask wants you to do what I want, and that’s where I wanna go. Come on, we haven’t been there in years.”

Kongu takes a large sigh.

Kongu: “Okay, but we’ll definitely need to ride on a gucko bird to get there.”

Lewa: “Not with these cycles.”

Lewa takes out a unicycle and a bicycle.

Kongu: “Mata Nui, there’s no way. I haven’t seen these things since Ta Koro. What am I saying? These things are specifically designed for Ta Koro, where you can’t use any rahi as transportation without them killing you. How’d you get these things?”

Lewa: “You just go to the local mercado. It’s just that no one buys them. I take the unicycle, I’m kinda clean with it. You take the bicycle since you’re a nooby.”

Kongu: “I know how to ride these things, it’s just, this is crazy”

They both laugh as they ride to Takia’s taco shop. The restaurant lays in the outskirts of the city of Le Nui. As soon as they get there, Kongu immediately regrets the restaurant decision. The facility has no doors, the restaurant is completely outdoors. The food is shockingly cheap and the individuals surrounding the restaurant reeks of suspicion. Kongu even finds delinquents smoking tahiti leaves in the back. The smells of the restaurant were familiar, yet disgusting. They did not age well with Kongu’s nostrils. On top of everything else, there weren’t any bathrooms. Kongu asks some strangers where the bathrooms are, and they simply point to the patch of jungle sitting next to the restaurant. Kongu looked at the menu, which was dirt cheap. Taraga Avnuva, one of the taraga’s which accompanied Kongu’s carnival earlier, personally takes Lewa and Kongu’s order. Kongu doesn’t know what to get, so Lewa ends up ordering taco’s which he remembered Kongu used to like. Lewa and Kongu take a seat and wait for their tacos. The musicians who followed started playing goofy drum music in the background. Kongu comedically remarks to Lewa about his feelings of the place.

Kongu: “Oh my goodness, What did I like about this place?”

Lewa: “We used to go here every day, how come you don’t like tacos anymore?”

Kongu: “Huh, I don’t know. I guess I just kind of got bored of them. I used to eat way too many of them. Aren’t you bored of eating the same thing over and over again.”

Lewa: “This stuff never gets old for me. When was the last time you’ve eaten a taco?”

Kongu: “Not that long ago, it was… wait, Give me a minute… Huh… You know what, I don’t think I have eaten tacos since I left Le Koro.”

Lewa: “That explains a lot.”

Avnuva comes over with delicious tacos.

Avnuva: “Here ya go. Put a lot of love into them. Enjoy.”

Lewa: “Thank you Avnuva.”

Avnuva leaves the scene and joins the other taraga’s in prayer. Kongu hides his mouth with his hand and leans over to Lewa.

Kongu: “A whole lot of salsa too. Was this really my favorite back then.”

Lewa: “Yes! Now please just try it.”

Lewa immediately starts gobbling his meal. Kongu takes a minute, before taking a small bite. In one bite, Le Koro came back to him. He sees himself dancing and singing with Lewa at Takia’s taco shop during a storm. He sees him and Lewa flirting with the few ga matoran that have ever entered the shop, gossiping whether the next one was going to accept a date. He sees the night before he left Le Koro, ordering silly drinks with his friend Lewa before he head off to Ta Koro. A single tear dropped from Kongu’s eye after he took that bite.

Lewa: “Are you okay?”

Kongu: “Huh, I’m fine. It’s that ■■■■ mask of yours. I swear that thing gives you visions, it’s creepy.”

Lewa: “I know right. This thing gave me nightmares while I was in the hospital. Like fever dream nightmares.”

Lewa then licks the taco juices off his fingers, he had already finished 4 tacos.

Kongu: “What the?! How are you already done?”

Lewa: “I don’t know. I guess I’m just so used to eating these to the point that I don’t really savor them as much.”

Kongu: “Do you want me to eat faster?”

Lewa: “Nah you’re good.”

Lewa makes a smile and begins chuckling.

Kongu: “What?”

Lewa: “Nothing. It’s just funny to me how you’re eating slowly, because you were so opposed to eating this stuff, yet it looks like you’re savoring every bite.

Kongu’s mask turns bright red. He reluctantly accepts defeat in this situation. After a while, they both finish their meals.

Kongu: “So what do you wanna do?”

Lewa: “Hmm. I kind of feel like exercising, but I want to do it in a fun way.”

Lewa looks at the mask.

Lewa: “I got an idea.”

Kongu: “Aren’t you gonna tell me?”

Lewa: “No. It’s gonna be a surprise. Follow me.”

Lewa and Kongu get back on the cycles and ride off. The musicians and taraga follow them. Everyone ends up at lake Tekaka. The musicians play the same drum music from the taco shop, but this time they add some guitar.

Kongu: “Okay Lewa. I’m not swimming there. We’ve been over this already.”

Lewa: “Oh you’ll swim in here alright. Just watch.”

Lewa jumps in the water and the mask instinctually does his bidding. All the trash, dye, and oil which is in the water dissolves or combines to create new forms of life. Roots grow from the ground to clog up any factories which send their waste into the lake. Pollution turns into life. The chemical structures of the pollution mismatch and simultaneously change to do the masks bidding. In a span of a few minutes. The Ignika completely reverses the years of pollution done to the great lake. The feat is incredible. Musicians stop for a moment to take in what just happened. The taraga, which are known to be conservationist, jump and dance in the air like if they were toa again.

Lewa: “Now will you get in?”

Kongu: “Fine.”

They play all sorts of games in the lake. The water is so clear that they can open their eyes underwater and see the lake’s bottom. They invite other matoran to play water kohli, they grab canoes and row down lake Tekaka’s coast, they swing on vines and jump off of trees in order to find out who can create the biggest splash. Kongu forgot his sense of decency and became young again. However, when Kongu gets back on shore, he is greeted by a shaking bush.

Iruini: “Kongu.”

Kongu: “Iruini?”

Iruini: “Come here, we need to talk.”

Kongu: “Why are you hiding in a bush.”

Iruini: “Just hurry up and make sure no one sees you.”

Kongu: “Okay?”

Kongu reluctantly hides in the bush alongside Iruini.

Kongu: “What do you want?”

Iruini: “I think Lewa’s playing you.”

Kongu: “What?”

Iruini: “I think Lewa is lying about the whole ‘the mask needs me appeased’ kind of logic.”

Kongu: “Huh.”

Iruini: “I have a feeling that he’s only doing this just so he can have fun with you. He really likes you, ya now. He’s been waiting for you to come back to Le Koro since you left, and I think he’s trying to use your hard headedness to get what he wants.”

Kongu: “Why do you think this?”

Iruini: “Isn’t it obvious. He winked at me earlier, I didn’t know why at first, but I think that’s the reason. I don’t even think us taraga need to be here, I just think he invited us along for the ride just to make the whole ordeal look more convincing.”

Kongu takes a large sigh.

Kongu: “Well… I guess I’ll be leaving then. If Lewa asks where I’m at, just tell him that I was just sick of his silly games. See ya.”

Kongu tries to escape, but Iruini grabs Kongu and pulls him back into the bush.

Kongu: “What?”

Iruini: “You’re not leaving here.”

Kongu: “Why not, this whole ordeal is pointless. I could be doing anything else.”

Iruini: “Kongu! Can’t you not hear yourself? It’s like you have no self awareness whatsoever.”

Kongu: “Get to the point.”

Iruini: “I stalked your reunion with Lewa a while ago, specifically after you left him. You’re sick, what you did to that lad. I watched him cry all by himself, watching all the light from the horizon go, and after that he walked all the way back home. I felt so sorry for the young vine swinger, that I offered to walk with him back home that day. The lad didn’t speak a word and never skipped a single step home.”

Kongu: “So what? Matoran in Ta Kor-”

Iruini: “Shut up. I don’t care what’s going on in Ta Koro. I don’t know what you exactly said to the lad, but you broke him. You broke the soul of Le Koro. I remember, there was a time when every Le matoran was like Lewa. He holds an optimism which is now ancient among our people. And you destroyed it. He already faces descrimination among us, and I’m sure he thought you’d be different, but no, you always look at the bigger picture, at your picture. He might not be intelligent, skilled, or reliable, but he holds heart. After you left him at sunset, he did get that mining job, he probably wanted to make you proud, he probably wanted you to come back to him. And what were you doing all that time? Partying with Jaller and making out with that ga matoran, what’s her name? Gaka? Then, when you did reach out to him again, it was to take Ignika away from him, because he didn’t fit your mold on what it meant to be a ‘bearer of the mask’. Like, I’m not even making this up. Makuta can’t even try to replicate how cold you’ve been. The rahi you kill on the battlefield have more heart than you.”

Kongu looks down at the floor and hears Lewa calling his name.

Iruini: “At least try to be there for the lad, especially since these could very well be his last moments in Le Koro. If there’s anything you could do to help the reawakening of Mata Nui, it is preparing our vine swinger to be mentally stable for his journey. Nothing comes from expecting failure. Don’t be the kink in Lewa’s mind that dooms us all, because I won’t be blaming Lewa, I’ll be blaming you.”

Kongu is extremely uncomfortable, he feels as if he is fighting two sides of him. Iruini then pushes him outside the bush to be caught by Lewa.

Lewa: “There you are hiding in the bushes.”

Kongu: “Yeah…”

Lewa: “So what are we waiting for? We got a whole list to complete.”

Kongu and Lewa ride off. They do a plethora of activities ranging from talking to strangers, to make believe games, to attending local Kane Ra bull fights. They ride all across the city of Le Koro. Kongu is contemplating in his mind during the whole experience, but he is hiding it through a positive exterior.

Kongu: “Okay okay okay, What’s the final thing on your list.”

Lewa: “Collect fikou shells on the beach.”

Kongu’s face straightens. A sick feeling hits his stomach.

Lewa: “Come on. We need to hurry up before sunset.”

Lewa and Kongu ride along the same road of their incident. Kongu expects a reaction from Lewa, but Lewa’s so focused on the now, that he can’t bring himself to think of the past. When they get to the beach, the musicians play their usual music, but then also add a ukulele to the mix. Only a few taraga remain with the crew since most of them became exhausted by Lewa’s trip.

Lewa: “Wow, we hit the jackpot.”

Hundreds of fikou crabs lay on the beach, all of them exchanging shells.

Lewa: “This is amazing, I don’t think I have ever seen this before.”

Kongu: “Yeah, this is pretty cool.”

They get a closer look and watch the crabs gather. They point at crabs, steal their shells, and capture crabs.

Lewa: “Look at this!”

Kongu runs to Lewa’s position and stands behind him as he points to a scuffle between two crabs. They are fighting over a shell. One of the crabs wins and leaves the other without a shell. The shell less crab stares at the sunset.

Lewa: “Poor thing. I know how he feels… Of course you’d probably side with the crab that won hahaha.”

Kongu: “I know that this isn’t for the mask…”

Everything stops. The musicians stop playing, the taraga stop praying. Iruini winces at the whole situation. Lewa freezes in time and doesn’t look back.

Kongu: “None of this was for the mask. You just wanted me to hang out with you.”

Lewa continues to look blankly at the floor. Iruini hides his face with his hands.

Kongu: “But you know what? That’s okay. I know that when we first met after all these years, I wasn’t exactly what you expected. You weren’t exactly what I expected either.”

Iruini mouths the words ‘just say it’ to Kongu. Kongu’s demeanor changes from peaceful to frustrated.

Kongu: “Look, all I’m trying to say is…”

Kongu gulps, he feels so ashamed that he struggles to say what’s on his mind.

Kongu: “I’m… I’m… I’m sorry Okay! And I mean it.”

Kongu is met with no response. He turns his back on Lewa, looking at the sunset himself.

Kongu: “There, I said it. This stuff has been eating away at me the whole day. I know what you’re thinking, you probably think that I’m doing this just because I feel bad, but that’s not true. I hate to say it, but I had fun today. I felt young again, a feeling I hadn’t felt since I first left this island. I’m so sorry for how I left you here. Left all our memories in the dust. I’m so sorry for forgetting. At first, I thought I was only hurting you by doing this, but really, we’re only hurting each other. You don’t have to forgive, I just want to make amends and make sure our memories don’t die in vain.”

Lewa gets up and grabs Kongu by the shoulder. Lewa turns him around so they face each other.

Lewa: “I forgive you Kongu.”

All the musicians were in awe. They begin playing their music again, this time adding flute to their tunes. The taraga are so tired from praying, that they all go home, with the exception of Iruini, who stays along to congratulate Kongu’s change of heart. Other beach goers listen to the music played by the musicians, and in no time the beach becomes a dance floor. Kongu looks at Ignika again.

Kongu: “I’m starting to understand why the mask chose you. And it’s not because you were the first matoran it saw in who knows how long. If the mask really wants you that much, then so be it, it probably knows better than me. I’m sure it sees something in you that makes you the one.”

Lewa: “And what would that be?”

Kongu: “I don’t know. All I know is that I think you have what it takes to be a hero.”

Lewa becomes teary eyed, that’s the most faith anyone has put on him in his entire life. Lewa hates responsibility, but there’s something sweet in knowing that others believe he can handle it. Perhaps Lewa only hates responsibility, due to the thought of hurting others and the fear of not living up to standards. Lewa hugs Kongu as the sun completely sets.

Note: The music played by the musicians in this section of the story is supposed to be the music played by the Le Koro band in the mata nui online game. Just wanted to add that info for some mor imagery.

[Rhyla416]

oooo nice chapter!!

[Avnuva]

Invasion

On a remote coast of Le Koro. A lighthouse peers ahead, scouting the whole seashore. Two unfortunate souls work the night sh1ft at the lighthouse.

Tanma: “Come on, how come Airko gets to go to Ta Koro, but I can’t.”

Jaller: “A, you aren’t qualified yet. B, we need soldiers stationed here in Le Koro. And C, why in rahi piss name would you want to fight in Ta Koro?”

Tanma: “Because that’s where all the action is. That’s where all the fame and all pain comes from. I want to actually fight for Mata Nui, not rote here on lighthouse duty.

Jaller slaps Tanma across the face.

Jaller: “Typical of you nooby’s to say such things. ‘Oh I want to fight for mata nui, because I’m a silly vine swinger who thinks he could single handedly take on a kardas dragon and win sexy ga matoran as his prize.’ Well that ain’t how it works. As you vine swingers say, ‘You ain’t got the huevos.’”

Tanma: “Okay, you mispronounced that horribly. And secondly, what are you talking about? I swear, speaking to you is like deciphering ancient matoran hieroglyphics.”

Jaller: “Shush!”

Tanma: “What now?”

Jaller points to a razor whale in the distance.

Jaller: “Ain’t that beautiful, I never get to see them this close to the coast.”

Tanma: “Uh sure, don’t you think it’s a little too close to shore?”

Jallers smile turns into a stern frown. Something’s off.

Tanma: “Anyways, can I go home now, is this job even useful?”

Jaller: “I think you came up with the answer to your own question. That razor whale is too close to shore. Wake the others down stairs, tell em to bring their bows and spears. This doesn’t feel right.”

Tanma rushes downstairs and wakes up a small battalion of matoran. They all pick up their weaponry and make it down to shore. By the time they got there, the living razor whale had completely washed up ashore.Everyone gets tense and sweats profusely. Jaller fears for the worst and orders everyone to aim their weaponry at the animal. The mouth of the razor whale opens and its tongue leaps forward. The battalion stays warry, but doesn’t use their weapons. Steam rushes out of the whale’s mouth before a shadowy figure appears from it. As soon as the figure is visible, Jaller immediately notices that it’s a makuta’s mask.

Jaller: “Fire! It’s a makuta!”

All the le matoran fire their weapons with the intention to kill. However, all the spears and arrows thrown are immediately repelled away by the makuta’s mask power. A few matoran get hit by the makuta’s rederictions.

Krika: “Not cool, not cool at all. What were you guys thinking, shooting at me like that.”

Krika points to the mask on his face.

Krika: “The kanohi crast, mask of repulsion, ever heard of it? Well it’s literally in the name. Anything you guys shoot at me is gonna get repelled. It ain’t my fault that some of you had to die. Oh, and of course a fire spitter is leading y’all, that explains everything.”

Jaller: “What do you want?!”

Krika: “Zip it, wasn’t speaking to you. And on top of that you give me attitude? Oh I’m sorry, I’m pretty sure you weren’t the one who spent 5 days in the stomach of a razor whale, to then finally find something interesting to do when a giant beam of light shoots from this island. And then gets shot at when arriving. Not cool. You Ta matoran have fallen off so hard these past years.”

Jaller: “Answer the question!”

Krika: “Fine. Let’s cut to the meat and potata’s of this. I’m here for the mask of life, you know, also known as the Ignika to ya fancy ones out there. And don’t you matoran lie to me! Because I broke apart my own rahi to make Niazesks, which were specifically designed to stalk that mask, which they did by the way, and through them I saw this mask do all kinds of crap like reviving dead rahi and cleaning polluted lakes. Trust me, I saw this stuff with my own Niazesk eyes. Speaking of which, you vine swingers know where I can find a Lewa?”

Everyone is frozen by terror, except Jaller. He combats Krika’s sas with his own, he believes that his battalion still has the advantage in this situation.

Jaller: “We don’t know what you’re talkin about.”

Krika sighs and shakes his head in a shocking manner.

Krika: “Wow, unbelievable.”

Jaller: “Now I recommend that you surrender Mr. makuta. We have you outnumbered and we certainly have other means of killing you other than using projectiles.”

Krika: “Matoran have never killed a makuta.”

Jaller: “You willing to test that myth?”

Krika smiles.

Krika: “I like you.”

Krika then looks around at his surroundings and analyzes the setting.

Jaller: “Charge! Kill him and you’ll be famous!”

Tanma lines his spear to kill, he thinks this is his moment. Little does he know that his fellow vine swingers are thinking the same thing.

Krika: “You guys are lucky Grekk ain’t here…”

Krika then orders the hidden rahi from inside the razor whale to attack. The matoran are completely overpowered by the much stronger and more specialized rahi. At the same time, Krika also mind controls non tropical rahi in the vicinity to join the fighting. Many Le matoran are ill prepared for the fighting and some of them run for their lives. Jaller orders everyone to retreat.

Tanma: “I thought fire spitters never run from battle.”

Jaller: “Excuse me I prefer the term ‘strategic retreat!’”

Jaller then tries to communicate with as many Le matoran as possible. He warns everyone to kill as many non tropical rahi as they can, as they retreat. Jaller’s plan is to fight back Krika while they are retreating to Le Nui in order to hold off Krika’s advance and to get reinforcements. He assigns Tanma to ride a gucko bird all the way back to Le Nui in order to warn Lewa to immediately leave the island and start his journey to collect the 3 missing mask pieces. Tanma rides for about 30 minutes before arriving at Le Nui. However, along the ride, a rahkshi shoots a beam of lightning from it’s staff, shooting a hole on one of the wings in Tanma’s gucko bird. By the time he gets to Lewa’s streat, his gucko bird becomes unconscious mid flight and collapses in front of Lewa’s house. Lewa wakes up from the large crash and heads outside.

Lewa: “What’s going on here?”

Tanma: “There’s no time to explain. Makuta are invading and they’re looking for the mask. You need to leave this island immediately and head to Ta Koro, where you’ll begin your journey to get the full mask.”

Lewa: “Where do I go?”

Tanma: “Just head to shore and ride on the first ship you see, tell whichever crew that’s on the ship to change their plans and head straight to Ta Koro.”

An alarm plays over the whole city. Matoran wake up and prepare to fight to protect their homes, families, and livelihoods. Before Lewa runs off to shore, he waits to tell Tanma something.

Lewa: “Thank you for being nicer than the others.”

Tanma: “Your welcome, it was an honor to be an acquaintance. Now go! Avoid any rahi on your path!”

Lewa runs off. On his way to the shore, he looks back, he sees trees and wilderness trembling with the steps of certain rahi. This scares him more and he runs faster. Before he gets to the docks. A spinax dog attacks from the shadows. It tries to steal the mask from Lewa. A fight ensues. In the struggle, the mask turns golden and horribly mutates the dog. The lower jaw of the spinax dog grows in size and becomes filled with tumors. Its lower jaw becomes so heavy to the point where its head is too heavy for its neck. The dog cries as it’s forced to lay on the floor from its heavy jaw. Lewa’s face opens, he looks at the mask. There’s a deep sinking feeling in his gut. He then gets his head back in the game and runs to the docks. He jumps on the first boat he sees and tells the crew to travel to Ta Koro. The crew rushes to see with little time to spare. They evacuate as many rahi from the boat as possible, and then head off to sea. At sunrise, Krika finally arrives at Le Nui. He enters Le Nui’s dock and stares off into the distance. A new day is born.

[Rukah]

Nice chapter, but

@Avnuva

Krika: “We ain’t know what you’re talkin about.”

Shouldn’t Jaller be the one speaking here?

[Avnuva]

That’s correct, thank you for the correction.

[Avnuva]

NIght at Sea: Night 1

Lewa’s first day as a sailor wasn’t easy. He had thrown up twice in the span of one day from sea sickness. The matoran on board also didn;t make his transition easy. They made him clean floors, clean dishes, they basically made him do all the no skill work on the ship. After a long day, he locks the door in his one room barrick, and collapses on his bed. His bed was wedged against a wall, so he laid on his side, where he could see the room better. Watching his room rock back and forth to the waves of the ocean was hypnotic. Before Lewa knew it, he fell asleep. Everything was black, and then, all of a sudden, faint lights started to appear. Lewa could see a hallway, but very dimly. He couldn’t see the end of the hallway, only his immediate surroundings. On each side of the hallway lies prison cells. Lewa can’t feel his body, he tries to move his head, but he can’t. His vision is set in one position. He can’t scream, but internally he’s screaming at the top of his lungs. Lewa feels like he has no control. The hallway and the prison cells around him are rusted, they look to be hundreds of years old. The only thing in the room that implies that he has a self is the light in the hallway. From what he sees. The only light in the room is blue, and it seems to be coming from his point of view, which explains why he can’t see very far at all, especially since it’s a very weak blue light. He hears thuds all around him, he can’t tell if they’re footsteps or the sounds of someone falling over. Lewa wishes he could just ask who’s there, but he’s paralyzed, unable to do anything. The thuds get louder. Lewa’s spiritual consciousness sinks. He wishes he could run, scream, fight, but he’s trapped into an immovable perspective. Never in Lewa’s life has he wished to remove his sense of hearing and sight. He then sees to white dots horizontal to one another appear from the darkness. They look to be the eyes of a creature hidden in the dark. From the darkness Lewa hears the creature speak.
“Hello?”
All of a sudden, Lewa’s perspective is grabbed, but not by the mysterious creature hidden in the dark, but by something to his side. That something, was a brutish beast resembling a crab. Its torso contained massive shoulders covered in shell-like plating. Its chest was hulking and covered to the brim with a hard shell. Its head also consisted of a shell like material and curved downward to its red beady eyes. In between it’s eyes, the monster had multiple dagger-like teeth. The head ended at the mouth, which was covered on all sides with teeth, except the bottom of the mouth, because the creature didn’t have a jaw. The monster roared a deep cry and took multiple bites off of Lewa’s perspective. After each consecutive bite, Lewa’s vision would be tainted in red. As his perspective fades away, the monster’s cry evolves from a deep roar, to a desperate painful scream. Lewa begins seeing different visions as ominous bells surround his hearing. Flashes of images surround Lewa’s vision. He sees the flash of the kanohi kraahkan, a mask banned across the matoran world as a haunting symbol of the makuta’s war, Millions of matoran behind his back, as he leads the way to a great unknown, The kanohi mahiki appears with ominous washer-like eyes hiding in its eye holes, A shadowy figure walking through flames. He sees himself as a taraga alongside three silhouettes. A mechanical eye transforming into the eye of a matoran. Lewa wakes up.
Lewa shoots up from his bed. Breathing heavily, He looks around his room, moving his head from one place to another. He takes a full scan of the room, exercising his right to move as much as possible. Nothing, nothing was in the room. His breathing settles and his eyes droop. All he sees is the boat rocking back and forth, making the same boat noises as always. It was so late at night that most sailors had already gone to bed. The ship was so quiet at night. Lewa could hear the waves gently splashing against the boat’s walls. Lewa turns around and sits on his bed away from the wall. He looks at Ignika laying on a desk next to his bed. He stares at the mask for what felt to him as years. Lewa then takes a deep sigh and falls back to sleep.

Note: This was probably one of my favorite chapters to write. I really hope the readers can infer what character is being described in the nightmare in this chapter, because it reveals some foreshadowing of where the story will be going in the future. This will be the my second to last entry for this topic. My second topic will continue the story in Ta Koro. My last entry in this topic will be a short summary and list of inspirations for this story.