Part 6 - "THE FAILURE"
The shouting didn’t stop until about noon.
By that time, Kido’s joints had stopped hurting when he moved. It was remarkable, the mask. It seemed to take his injuries and unwind them, fixing the gears, wiring, even down to the dents in the plating. Where pain once was, there simply wasn’t anymore. But what it could not fix was the heaviness he felt in his core. It pulled deep in his chest, wanting to just give into gravity, seep out of his body, and pour out onto the ground.
Kido couldn’t bring himself to leave the crater he had made when he fell. He belonged in here, sitting in the dust of his failure. His village, his people, had depended on him. Saane had said that Toa were meant to protect the innocent. This was Kido’s first attempt at actually protecting, and it was a catastrophe. Whatever Captain Crau was doing to his people now was his fault. He was responsible.
Kido lifted the mask up from his face, reverting to Matoran form. He held the mask up, turning it as if he was putting it on the sky.
“You belong to a hero,” he told it. “That was never going to be me.”
The star winked through the eye hole of the mask.
Kidoma…
"What does that mean?" Kido screamed as he threw the mask out of the crater. “I don’t understand! I don’t get it! Why in all of Moda Nui was I the one you chose? What makes me special?”
Kido heard the shuffling of sand, and suddenly the Kanohi mask was sliding down the lip of the crater, riding the dust until it hit his feet.
What…?
“Ah, there you are!” a voice called down. Above, Kido saw the shape of Elder Saane peering into the hole with intrigue, staff in hand. “Care to join me for a walk, or are you too busy sulking yourself into sponge pudding?”
“I failed them, Saane,” Kido said. “I had a chance to help them, and I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything.”
“Well, sitting in a crater isn’t doing anything to fix that,” said Saane.
“At least I can’t hurt them in here.”
“That’s remarkably untrue. Crau has taken half the village aboard his ships. He’s holding them as hostages, all to lure you into a fight.”
“I guess I’ll just have to disappoint an evil pirate captain, then.”
Saane laughed a little. “And your sister. She was the first one he took.”
Kido launched himself to his feet. “What?! He took Neida?”
Nodding, Saane said, “You left her behind when you decided this pit was a more appealing position than by her side.”
“That’s not fair, I was hit by a fireball!” Kido shouted. “Wait, how did you escape?”
“If there’s one thing pirates are good at,” said Saane, “it’s leaving their work unfinished. Well, that and making the most melodious of sea shanties!”
Kido thought of his sister. Neida had jumped into the battle to defend him, even without any special mask abilities. Demoralized, he slumped to the ground again. “I guess I’m no better at being a brother than I am at not being shot by fireballs, or using Toa powers, or being a hero. I’m an all-around failure.”
“You’re a good fisherman,” Saane said.
“I’m not even so sure of that, anymore.” Kido’s stomach felt limp inside of him.
After a minute of shared silence, Saane finally began saying, “I remember this old story of three mountain climbers, each one attempting the Obsidian Peak Summit, the most treacherous and exerting climb in Moda Nui. The first climber clawed and fought his way up the mountain side, but could not make it more than a few feet off of the ground. He tried and tried again, but could not make it. He eventually gave up, sat down in a hill of snow and felt bad for himself for the rest of his days. The second one tried the same thing, only this time, she never gave up. She tried, and tried again, and tried again, and-”
“And eventually, she made it to the top,” said Kido, his voice barely above a grumble.
“Absolutely not!” the Elder said.
Kido tilted his head in interest.
“She tried and tried the same thing again and again, and for the rest of her days could not make it up that mountain,” said Saane. “Now the third one, he struggled the same way the first two did, but he stopped for a moment and thought. Then, he went to the nearest convenience store, rented some mountain climbing equipment-”
“Pretty sure they don’t have mountain climbing equipment at a convenience store-”
“Well, in this fictional world, they do! Anyway, he returned to the mountain with his tools, and, through some hard work and physical strain, he did what the other two never would - he made it to the top.” Saane leaned down and prodded the Kanohi with his staff. “All he needed were the right tools.”
“But I had the mask before,” said Kido. “It didn’t work. I couldn’t use my powers.”
“When you tried to use the Kanohi, what were you thinking about?” asked Saane.
Kido shut his eyes as he attempted to remember. “I was… I was afraid.”
“Of what?” the Elder continued. “Of the big, mean Captain Crau? Of losing your sister?”
“No,” said Kido. “I was scared… I was scared I wouldn’t be able to do it. I was scared that I couldn’t be a Toa.”
Saane was silent for a moment, but then broke into hysterical laughter.
“What?” Kido asked. “What did I say?”
When Saane had calmed down, he cleared his throat and then said, "So, you expected to fail, and then were surprised when you failed. That is something I believe is funny. While Captain Crau’s confidence has turned him into a self-absorbed villain, your lack of it has brought you to a crater of apathy. Kido, you were chosen for this task. Not because you are special, but, I believe, because you are not."
Ouch… thought Kido.
“You are the first Toa to be found in centuries. The first Toa in all of Moda Nui! That achievement could have belonged to anyone, like the President of Aero City, or the Supreme Major of the Flickering Wastelands!”
“Yeah! And maybe it should!” said Kido. “That’s what I’ve been trying to say this whole-”
“And yet, it came into your hands,” the Elder said. "That must mean something. Anyone can wear the mask. But not just any body."
“What does that even mean?” scoffed Kido.
“No idea,” said Saane. “But you’re not going to find out in that dismal pit you’ve put yourself in.” He held out his hand for Kido to take. “It’s time to come out, Kido. It’s time to fulfill your duty as Toa Kidoma, Master of the Ocean.”
Kido took the hand, though hesitantly. He picked up the Kanohi, and let himself be pulled from the crater. As he rose above its lip, he was now longer surrounded by walls of ash and dust, but now by swaying palm trees and soothing sand dunes.
“I do believe it is time to provide you with your tools,” Saane said and gestured to the mask in Kido’s hand.
“Are you going to teach me how to use it?” wondered Kido, excitement flavoring his words.
Saane nodded once.
“Do you know how?” Kido asked.
Saane shrugged. “I have a few hunches.”
“But you don’t… you don’t know for sure?”
“Did you forget the part where I said you were the first Toa seen in centuries?” growled Saane. “I’m old, my boy, but certainly not that old. No, I don’t know how to train you to the powers of the Kanohi mask. But that’s going to be part of the fun, isn’t it?” He placed a hand on the young Matoran’s back, leading him away from the pit, and towards the beach. Towards his duty.
The lower deck of the Scarlet Misery was nowhere near as well-kept as the upper deck, or the Captain’s quarters. Crau let his crew run it however they chose, much to the detriment of… well, the crew. The berth was marked by cots and sheets lazily thrown about, food crumbs and emptied mugs dashed across the floor.
Captain Crau growled in disgust as he marched down the passageway, towards the brig. Slobs… Do they not realize who they serve under? Surely they don’t think so little of the great Captain Crau as to keep my ship so… so filthy! The crew members lived as animals before Crau had found them. He had offered up a place on his ship to them, and this is how they treated his generosity? Perhaps he should return them to their miserable former lives. They seemed better suited for it, anyway.
He pushed open a door and entered the brig. Rows of cells lined the walls, filled to capacity with blue-painted creatures that barely reached his shoulder in height. Matoran… Crau hated Matoran, though he himself wasn’t entirely certain as to why. It was likely that he just enjoyed the feeling of hating Matoran than anything else.
“Sir, please!” one cried, at his knees. “We need food! We’re starving!”
“I’m sorry,” said Crau, feigning remorse. “My crew and I are quite low on food ourselves.” The great feast of roasted birds and fruits went over quite well with the pirate staff. “I would offer you some, but I’m not convinced we’d even make it to our next destination with our current supply.” Lieutenant Anglir had an entire cargo room dedicated to grapes alone. “If I am going to be able to feed you, it will need to be provided to me from your village.”
“Please, you took everything we have!” the Matoran pleaded. “Sir, please!”
But Crau had moved on, leaving the begging Matoran in his cell.
“Where is the one who defended the hero?” Crau questioned. “Where is the girl?”
The prisoners shuffled, revealing the Matoran girl who had attacked Crau with the wooden shaft.
“Ah. Hello, again,” said Crau. He crouched down to reach eye level with the girl.
The Matoran glared at him with her yellow eyes. “What do you want with us?”
“Please, let us not ignore our manners, girly.” A sinister grin appeared on the Captain’s crustacean face, his antennae snaking out and wrapping around the rusted iron bars.
“Oh, of course,” snarled the Matoran. “Formalities.”
“As you undoubtedly know by now,” said Crau, unbothered by the sarcasm, “I am Captain Crau, King of the Nine Oceans. If you’d like, you can just refer to me as ‘Crau’. You’ve earned that much of my respect.”
“Okay, lobster-face.”
The Captain held a claw over his heart before turning it outward towards the Matoran. “Would you do me the honors of providing your name? I’ve been rather hospitable and courteous to you.”
She looked him up and down. “Neida,” she said curtly.
The grin reappeared on the Captain’s face. “Excellent, Neida. It is very wonderful to meet you. In response to your earlier question, I actually don’t want anything from you. You are simply my assurance. Now that I have answered your query, would you care to answer one of mine?”
Neida crossed her arms. She appeared to be waiting.
“What is your connection to the masked hero at the beach?” Crau asked.
The defensive image the Matoran girl had created broke for a second.
“Oh, it’s no mystery to me that you two are somehow related, the way you tried to defend him. Valiant effort, by the way, even if it was meaningless in the end,” said the Captain. “But I would like to know, who is he?”
Neida paused for a moment before answering, “He’s my brother.”
There was a collective expression of shock in both the Captain and the overhearing Matoran crowd.
“Kido?”
“Surely not…”
“He’s just a fisherman!”
Crau ignored them. “I refuse to believe that a great warrior such as he and a humble villager like you descend from the same lineage. Who is he?”
“I don’t know,” said Neida, showing a hint of sorrow. “At least, not anymore. But he used to be my brother, like I said.”
“Interesting,” said Crau as he raised his claw to stroke his antennae. His beady eyes glimmered in the torchlight. “Perhaps he’s not as special as I originally believed. Thank you for speaking with me, Neida. I hope you get to become acquainted with your so-called ‘brother’ soon.” As he rose, he adjusted his cloak. He picked at something in his pocket and removed an entire loaf of slightly stale bread. Leftovers, from last night’s feast. “For your compliance.” The Captain tossed it to Neida and began stomping away. “Good-bye, for now, honored guests!” he called before finally leaving the Matoran alone in their cell.
A few prisoners tried reaching for Neida’s treat, but she held it away.
“Just wait,” she told them, breaking the bread apart. “Share.” Neida handed out the pieces of bread, hoping there was enough for everyone to get at least a little as she struggled to hold onto her hope. Come on, Kido… she prayed. Please, don’t let us down…
Part 7 - "THE STAFF"
“It’s not doing anything…”
“You must be quiet.”
“…”
“…”
“It’s still not-”
“Quiet. You must focus to meditate.”
“…”
“Are you focusing?”
Kido lunged to his feet and kicked up sand as he stomped against it. “No, I’m not focusing!”
Saane opened an eye. “Then you will not succeed.”
After he flailed his fists in his fury, Kido said, "My sister - and half of my village - have all been taken by some madman who thinks he rules the ocean, and are probably locked in some cell, hoping that someone is on their way to save them, and here I am, sitting cross-legged on a beach and trying to move water with my mind!"
Saane lifted his shoulders. “Makes sense to me.”
Kido’s frustration declined. It was hard to be angry with someone as constantly untroubled as Saane. The old Matoran’s easygoing response to yelling seemed to show how pointless yelling actually was.
“How do you expect me to focus right now?” Kido asked with genuine hope for an answer. In the distance, Crau’s ships loomed, a terrifying reminder of his responsibility.
“You may find this hard to believe,” Saane said, “but it is your sister that you must focus upon.”
Kido frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Our families are trapped, we are practically alone, and the only way to stop that villain is for you to master your power over the waves. Does that not inspire you, Kido?” asked Saane. “Are you not filled with determined, untapped emotion? Focus, right now, on your sister. Let her become your motivation, your driving force. Control that emotion, and reform it. Let it become the power with which you manipulate the waters. Don’t detach yourself from it. Make sense?”
“I guess…” Kido said with a sigh.
Using his staff to prop himself up, Saane gestured to the edge of the water. “Stand there,” he said.
Kido did as he was commanded, setting his massive Toa feet in the water. The waves came up and lapped his ankles, seeming to glow brightly as it touched the aquamarine metal.
“Now, I want you to reach out with your mind,” Saane said. He lifted his staff up, pointing out to the horizon. The star was close to setting, but the ocean and sky shared a brilliant, vivid blue. “Feel the ocean, Kido. Seek out its waves, feel the life it holds within.”
Kido shut his eyes, and in the darkness he saw a mass of watery blue, swirling and spiraling in every direction. He reached out, and felt its shape. He saw shapes, shapes of creatures, of boats. He grabbed a shape and followed it, racing across the blue. He trailed rivers and streams, exploring all of Moda Nui, from the Iron Mountains to the Rimelands, from Aero City to the Fauna Jungle… And then more! He saw outwards, to islands and formations he had never witnessed before, beautiful reefs where life rampaged, and chasms where light could not descend. He could feel the weight of a hundred ships on his back, and still managed to carry them dozens of miles from the ocean floor. He found the ships just off the beach, crimson sails blowing before him… And if he could just reach inside, he would find…
The vision collapsed, splashing back into the tumult of waves and foam. Kido felt light-headed, as if he had just inhaled a bucket of saltwater and spit his stomach chamber out. Wow, I can’t do that a ton.
“Well, that didn’t work,” said Saane with a scowl.
“No, it did!” Kido said, coughing. “I felt it, Saane! I felt the entire ocean! It was… actually really terrifying, now that I think about it.”
Saane smirked.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Kido positioned his feet shoulder-width, his knees bent slightly. He could feel the waves at his ankles again, grounding him to the present, here and now. He wouldn’t drift his vision off of Moda Nui, as before, but he still wanted to tap into that power. He breathed in and out, matching his breath with the push and pull of the waves at his feet. It was an amazing moment of peace in the midst of all that was happening right now.
Focus…
His mind drifted to Neida. He thought how she laughed whenever he made a fool of himself. He thought of her encouragement when he felt low. He thought of her determination to protect him during his fight with Crau.
“Mom made me promise, promise I would be there for you when you needed me.” Neida’s voice said in his memory. “Well, I’m here, as I always have been.”
Kido smiled, as he felt his eye drop a glowing orange tear down his mask. How he wished she was here now, to tell him what he needed to hear! He needed her.
No. Neida needs you now.
It didn’t feel right. She was supposed to be the one to rescue him, not the other way around! And certainly not from pirates!
He thought of Captain Crau. The crustacean-faced crook was out there, sitting on his boat, waiting for his challenge. Well, Kido would give him one, if he could.
Kido reached out with his hands, palms towards the ocean, and drew them back. He channeled his emotion, his energy, and his fear into the motion, wishing to pull the water with them… but, as he expected, the water just continued its usual pattern of raising and lowering.
Elder Saane noticed his attempt. “Still no luck…” He looked at his staff.
“No, Elder,” Kido said, sulking. “I know I have to. I know she needs me. But how do I… How do I just… become a Toa? Like you said, it’s been centuries! There isn’t anything of the Toa left.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” said Saane, holding out the rod in both hands. “Take it.”
In Kido’s hands, the staff raised to about his chin in height. It was partly covered in a fine blue silk kept there by an orange cord than snaked around its thin frame. He spun it around in his hand. It felt well-balanced. Natural.
“This,” the Elder said, “is the old instrument of the Toa of Water before you, so I’m told. It was used to harness their focus and imagination, acting as the driver of their powers.” He examined it in Kido’s grasp. It fit him. “Either that, or it’s an old fishing shaft I redecorated for my own purposes,” he added with a wink.
“But it’s the first one, right?” Kido asked.
Saane smiled.
“Right?”
“You are only able to accomplish what you allow yourself to accomplish, Kido,” the Elder said. “You must stop focusing so much on what you can and can’t do. If you rely on your own strength, I’m sorry to say, but you will fail. You will only gain control by relinquishing it.”
Kido groaned. “What does that even mean?”
Saane just pointed out to the water. “Use the staff. Shape the waves. Save your people.”
Rolling his eyes, Kido turned the stick to the ocean and focused again. This time, he didn’t focus on what he thought he could or couldn’t do. He shut his eyes and found that sliver of determination and honed it into a blade. Something sharp, with both precision and utility… He forgot his anxieties and failures, anything that wasn’t simply, " Save Neida."
When he opened his eyes again, he saw his staff dipped into the water. As he removed it, some of the water clung to the tip. He pulled the stick free, a sharpened diamond of water shaped on its end. The repurposed water was turquoise in color and glowed with a brilliance reminiscent of the Kanohi. As he moved the staff, the point delayed a little, giving the appearance of a large paintbrush, its smooth tip following close behind. But Kido knew he hadn’t made a paintbrush. As he felt out the tickle that occupied a portion of his thought for as long as he kept this tool intact, he realized exactly what it was: a magnificent spear, formed of wood and water.
“Great Nui!” Saane gasped. “You actually did it!”
“You didn’t believe I could?” Kido wondered.
Saane crossed his arms. “I thought you might be able to do something… Can you do anything else?”
“Let’s find out,” Kido said with a grin.
He thrust the spear forwards, pointed out to the water, and felt a surge of energy launch forth, a ripple shooting down the water as if an invisible projectile was skimming its surface. He waved the spear to the right, and the water followed, a large pool shaping the curve of a mound. He pulled the spear back to the left, and the water obeyed. He transferred the water in circles, then down into a whirlpool, and then up into an aquatic explosion.
“Well done!” said Saane, giving Kido a kind pat on his back. “You’re making it look easy all of a sudden!”
“Watch this,” Kido said, smirking. He jutted the spear outward, and then swung it over his head. A spray of water launched from the waves up into the air, arching around them, and then splashed onto the beach. Saane watched the display in awe as the water began to make its way back to the ocean.
“How have you learned it so fast?” Saane asked.
“I’m not sure,” said Kido. “Actually, I am. It’s exactly like you said. I just had to relinquish control. No one can control the ocean. You have to fight with it, not against.” He began to spin the spear in his hands, painting a glowing blue ring before him. The water began to follow its spin, directed into a whirling tunnel large enough to walk through. Kido kept the spin going and began to walk towards it.
“Um…” Saane reached out his hand. “Kido, I wouldn’t be so overly confident as to-”
Kido stepped out onto the water, and, amazingly, it held his weight. As he walked, the water beneath his feet lifted up to form glowing blue stepping points, lifting him into the tunnel. Kido walked into the center and began waving the spear around in all directions, closing the back end of the tunnel and encasing him in a cocoon of water. As he continued, the water began to lift, reaching towards the sky as he led it. Finally, touching the roof of the chamber, the creation sprayed out in a miraculous rainfall upon the beach, leaving a very drenched Saane and a completely dry Kido.
“Incredible, Kido,” Saane said as sea water dripped into his grin. “I believe we truly have a fighting chance, now.”
Kido nodded in agreement. He held the spear by his side, its blunt end wedged into the sand. The Elder wouldn’t mention it, but now, as he gazed upon this heroic-looking figure, power and confidence emanating from his form and circling his mask… This was exactly how he imagined the Toa to appear.
Towards the horizon, Kido and Saane watched Crau’s ships, crimson sails ablaze with light from the star. There, was their destination.
“Thank you, Kido,” said the Elder.
“For what?” asked Kido. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You inspired hope in us once more.”
“‘Us’? What do you-”
From behind him, Kido heard rustling. He quickly snapped his spear towards the jungle and scanned for enemies.
Instead emerged the old, wild-eyed Matoran, Hoffa.
“I was wonderin’ when you would figure it out. Quite an impressive show!” he said, clapping.
Alongside Hoffa were as many as fifteen other Mako Villagers, friends and neighbors Kido had lived alongside since he came into the world. Now, they were here, to take back the village Crau had taken from them.
Saane said, “I gathered all the remainders I could find. They’ve been watching, though I asked them not to interfere while you were still… uncertain of your duty.”
“Wow,” gawked Kido. “Creepy, but cool.”
“You think we can really do it?” asked Bayola.
“Are you kidding? Did you see what the kid just did?” Laani snapped.
“Don’t think this means yer off the hook at the Diner,” growled Jiina. “But we’re here for ya, if ya’ll have us.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Kido said with a respectful nod. “I’m going to need you all for this. I can’t thank you guys enough for your bravery, but I… I’m still new at this whole hero thing. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to pull this off.”
“We are,” said Kaidi with a gentle smile. “We believe in you, Kido. What you just did… I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Not even in your story?” asked Kido. “The one about the Golden Matoran?”
“Oh, yeah.” Kaidi looked a little embarrassed. “I forgot I made up that old story…”
Kido’s amber eyes narrowed behind his mask in both surprise and irritation. "Wait, what?"
“I apologize for interrupting this riveting conversation,” said Saane, no amount of remorse present in his tone, “but I believe we are all wanting to return our friends and families to their homes as soon as we are able, so if we may…”
“Oh, yeah, of course,” Kido said. He turned to the crowd. “People of Mako Village, I call you to my side, not in desire of battle or war, but as our duty. Our friends, our neighbors, our loved ones are under the wrath of a lunatic pirate captain who claims the ocean is his. I say we show him and his crew what power the ocean really has!”
As his audience cheered, the Toa lifted his spear into the air. A blast of water followed it into the sky, a brilliant display of the Kanohi’s power as the star began to sink into the horizon, forming the stage of the battle which was to come.
These got too long to put in a single post, ha