Part 10 - "THE TOA"
1 WEEK LATER
The “Liberation Day Feast” was overseen directly by Jiina. Rida and Hetiru chipped in with cooking supplies and skills, and old Hoffa supplied the taste-testing, which he insisted was the most pivotal job. Bayola had designed a beautiful banner depicting the great Toa Kidoma’s sinking of the two ships, which was hung over the town center. Kaidi had begun transcribing the story to parchment using much of the flowery language she had used in her Golden Matoran tale. Elder Saane even said she may make a fine chronicler, one day. Though Kidoma himself had initially objected to the celebration, he had started to see it more as a community event than simply the expression of the growing adoration for him.
With Crau gone, leadership of the Scarlet Sails, by default, went to one of the lieutenants. Urcha and Leefy argued over it for nearly two days before they finally decided to give it to Pinchy, the neutral ground. What they did not know was that Kidoma had made a plot with the three pirates he had spared, “Mandibles,” “One-Eye,” and “Shark-Jaw,” (named “Clansa,” “Roft,” and “Sure Bert,” respectively) who had volunteered as navigators, and the Sails would soon find themselves in the hands of the law enforcement on some other island. When the Toa expressed concern for the three, they shrugged it off, saying that perhaps jail time was the best thing for them, in case their plea deal didn’t amount to much. It’d give them plenty of time to plan out their dream job of running a sea-faring bakery company.
Kidoma spent most of his time relaxing. Jiina pretty much gave him the entire decade off (especially since the new holiday was bringing in scores of tourists, which meant a boost in business), and he figured catching fish would be really easy with his Kanohi powers if Neida ever needed the help. So, besides helping the Scarlet Sails prepare to set off again, which they promised they would do after the feast, he didn’t really do much. He did practice his powers quite a bit. Controlling a massive construct from such a limitless source of power as the ocean was surprisingly easy compared to creating something small and defined out of, say, a kokonut shell of water.
He also spent a lot of time with Neida, more than making up for the day he skipped out on her. They would often take out the boat, not to fish or anything, but simply to sit and talk. The village had been given one of the remaining four pirate ships for what the fiends called “reparations,” though it really felt more like a bribe to allow the scoundrels to enjoy the feast with them. But, for the time being, Neida and Kidoma were fine just sitting out in their dinghy. He never wore the mask when it was just the two of them. It made it easier to talk, it seemed. He would tell her about the night he found the Kanohi, the talk with Saane, the duel with Pinchy, the crater, the staff, all of it, and she would tell him about the sharing of the bread, about the only eventful thing that had happened to her during their time apart.
“This means you’re going to need to leave, huh?” she asked him one day.
Kido went silent.
“The village acts like you’re going to stay here as their guardian forever, but that’s not true, is it?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you made a promise to Mom to always protect me, but the Kanohi returned for a reason. There’s some danger that’s approaching, and I have… just this feeling in my core, this knowledge that it wasn’t just Crau. Something big is going to happen, and it won’t just be Mako Village that’s in danger. I’m going to need to protect all of Moda Nui. I’m sorry.”
Neida nodded. She laid a hand on Kido’s shoulder. “Promise me you won’t disappear. You’re leaving after you say good-bye, and then you’re going to stop by every so often to make sure your sister hasn’t gotten mad in her isolation, okay?”
“You’re not in isolation!” Kido protested. “You’ve got all those lovely people!” He waved his hand at Mako Village at the shore.
“Okay?” she repeated.
“Of course,” said Kido.
“Thank you,” Neida said with a nod.
Kido responded by tackling her with a huge bear hug, threatening to flip the boat over with their combined weight.
When they pulled into the shore, Hoffa was waiting for them.
“You know, I’ve been meanin’ to tell ya,” he said as Neida anchored the boat to the dock. “Those pirates weren’t much of nothin’. I remember once, this village was attacked by bandits at least twice as large. They had shooters, too! Real ones, not cannons that spit out mere fireballs!”
“Good to know,” Kido said, replacing the mask and shifting into Toa form. “I’ll keep an eye out for them.”
“Did you have to fight them uphill both ways?” joked Neida. The siblings exchanged a laugh.
In town, Kidoma was assaulted with all sorts of fans. A group of Aero City tourists gawked as he walked by, and he simply bowed his head in greeting to them. He noticed Kaidi working on her writing project outside Jiina’s, but when he attempted to sneak a look, she pulled it away, telling him he wasn’t allowed to see it until it was finished.
“Kidoma! Toa Kidoma!” he heard. He turned to face Laani, the town seamstress, holding something behind her back.
“What is it, Laani?” he asked, looking around as if for a threat. He could never be certain whether shouts were cries of fear or not anymore.
She revealed the item behind her back. “Saane told me it carries some sentimental value to you, so I thought I’d fix it up. It’s not pretty, I know, but it holds together. It’s Wrangler’s Kelp, too. It’ll loosen if you twist it one way, and tighten if you twist it the other, so if you’d rather have two batons then, well, you get it.”
In her hands lied Saane’s old blue and orange staff, which Crau had snapped into two. Now, though, it had been repaired with a deep green seaweed that held it fast together, in one piece.
Kidoma gasped as he took it from her, feeling its strength. It was good as new. He twisted the two ends and felt the kelp give way, allowing him to hold the two halves as individual tools. He swung them up and around, performing an improvised dance before twisting them back together. The kelp fastened the two back into a solid shape and stuck there.
“It’s incredible, Laani,” he said with a beam. “Thank you. So much.”
She grinned, bowed, and ran off to continue preparations.
Across the village, Kidoma noticed Elder Saane, speaking with an excited white-painted Matoran evidently from the Rimelands.
Crossing the crowd, he made his way to the Elder, who finished his speaking and turned to the Toa.
“You’re late,” he said, amused.
Kidoma froze, surprised. “We had a meeting?” Panic began to shoot through him. Had he forgotten something? Oh, no, what if this was the start of a pattern? What if he was about to become unreliable in everything he ever did? Could he even make it as a Toa? Would people be able to depend on him?
“No,” said Saane. “I just wanted to see what fear looked like behind that mask of yours. I had begun to forget.” He smirked.
“Oh.” Kidoma scratched at the back of his head, embarrassed.
“Well, you’re a Toa now,” the Elder said, beginning to lead Kidoma through the trees, towards the beach.
“So they tell me,” said Kidoma.
“Is it anything remarkable?”
Kidoma thought for a minute. “Yes and no. It’s cool, the powers and stuff, but those all kinda feel normal, now. It’s weird. What’s the hard part is getting used to the glowing praises and the awestruck smiles and the bowing and the gifts and the… I guess it’s the celebrity life that’s hard.”
Saane itched his chin. “Eh. Takes some of the attention off of me, so I don’t feel as bad for you as I do feel happy for myself, I’m afraid.”
They broke through the last line of palm trees and emerged on the Great White Shores, standing before the magnificence of the ocean.
“So, anyone can wear the mask. Anyone can be a Toa,” said Saane, “but not just anybody. What does that mean?”
Once again, Kidoma required a minute to think. “It means that a Toa can come from anywhere, be anyone. Everybody has the chance to act as a hero, an opportunity to help people. But not just anybody will choose to take those chances. Not everyone will choose to be become a Toa.” He became more confident in his answer as he continued to elaborate. “It’s those that do that are made into heroes.” He looked to Saane. “Right?”
“I’m not sure,” said the Elder. “I choose to let those who hear my words find the wisdom in them. Occasionally, they don’t mean anything.”
Kidoma jumped back, startled. They don’t actually… What? He caught a look of mischief in the Elder’s violet eyes. Oh. He’s joking. Right?
“I’m starting to think I’m going senile,” Saane said. “That’d be odd. For me to shut down before old man Hoffa.”
“My parents did,” said Kidoma, remembering his and Neida’s brief time with their parents before their energy was depleted.
“Your parents lived full and happy lives, Kido.” Saane laid his hand on Kidoma’s back. “They would be proud of how far you and your sister have come.”
They stood quietly for a moment, resting in the sounds of the waves and the warmth of the star.
“Toa Kidoma, solo protector of Moda Nui,” Saane said. “Nice ring to it, though it is a rather large responsibility.”
“I won’t be alone.”
“Oh?”
Kidoma smiled. “The Toa. They never fought alone. They had each other, right?”
Saane tilted his head. “You think there are others?”
“Of course. A Kanohi with the power of the ocean washes up on the Great White Shores. Why wouldn’t a Kanohi with the power of the earth be found in the Iron Mountains?”
Deep in the frozen cliffs of the Iron Mountains, a group of black-armored Matoran huddled together in terror. The mountains was shaking, and snow was racing down the side in a ferocious avalanche. Just as they felt they would be drowned in snow, a large figure jumped in front of them. A man seemingly made of silver.
“Stay behind me!” he said in a booming voice. He thrust his gauntlets into the ground and pulled up the earth and stone in the shape of a firm wall. The avalanche roared as it slammed into the barrier, skirting around the amazed Matoran. They stared at the heroic figure in great awe.
“Interesting hypothesis,” remarked Saane. “I assume you’d think the same for the Flickering Wastes, Rimelands, and the Fauna Jungle?”
“Why not?” said Kidoma. “And why not Aero City, too? They’re all around us.” He faced the village. “Heroes. People willing to do what is right regardless of the challenge, regardless of the consequences.”
Cinderforge Plaza was flooded past its capacity with soldiers and citizens. Orange and red plating muddled together in a fiery sea of Matoran, quite dazzling to stand over and look at.
“Are you ready, Toa?” Commander Khadal asked, standing at attention.
It was strange to the Toa, to no longer be expected to salute and bow to what once was the higher authority. Now, he was the higher authority.
“Yeah, I guess so,” he said in his standard husky voice. That didn’t change with the transformation.
“Then get out there,” said Khadal, “and show the people their hero.”
The Toa nodded, and began to walk out onto the balcony, welcomed by an ocean of applause.
“Heroes can be found anywhere,” Kidoma said. "Some only work in small little ways, helping a neighbor, being a friend, but they all have that same courage and selflessness as the Toa who singlehandedly sunk two entire pirate ships. Our strength doesn’t come from how much we can carry or how long we can fight for, but from how willing we are to keep pushing, to keep fighting, because we know we’re fighting for something good."
“Boss, you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“I dunno, some sorta ‘whoosh’ sound!”
The boss chewed down hard on his toothpick. Fourteen months in the jungle, and not a single hint of their less-than-legal operation’s discovery. He waved the henchman out of the tent. “Go, find it.”
As the henchman stepped outside, there was the quick sound of skirmishing, and then quiet. A blade pierced through the curtain, opening the way for a green-armored figure to step in side. She was tall and athletic, much larger than the boss thought Matoran as being. The cyan eyes of the intruder glared at him from behind a magnificent slender-faced mask, decorated with runes and patterns. Whatever this creature was, it wasn’t like anything that had been seen in Fauna Jungle before.
“You’ve come a long way, Toa Kidoma,” said Saane, patting the young Toa. “I know you will do great things.” He looked at the staff Kidoma had slung onto his back. “Take good care of her, for me. I always liked that stick.”
Kidoma grinned. “Of course, Saane.” He paused for a moment, breathing gently. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything.” Kidoma placed a hand on the Elder’s shoulder. “Old man.”
Saane beamed. “The Toa are legends, Kido. Legends never cease being told. But, the thing about legends, is that they never are told the same way twice. I do not know how your journey will end, but I know that you will face darkness and trials. But as long as you hold fast to your duty, experience the strength of unity, you will one day get to face your destiny.”
Nodding, Kidoma said, “Yeah, that’s kind of a lot.”
“You’d better get used to it,” said Saane. “Being a Toa’s ‘kind of a lot.’ There are millenniums of legends tied to that mask. To your responsibility as the Toa of Water.”
Kidoma breathed slowly. The future was waiting before him, but he knew he wouldn’t have to face it alone. And, for now, he could just sit and enjoy this moment with his mentor. As far as he could tell, his destiny was still pretty far off.
They watched the star dip lower together, and rested in the peace of it all.
The Matoran’s hands chipped through the icy wall, forced to carve a hold rather than find one. She could see the light above her, and knew the cave’s exit must be just over this ridge. She felt the fear tap into her core, but she refused to let it stay there. She swallowed down her emotion and just focused on the next step. She hit the ice once more, and a sizable chunk broke free. She grasped it with her hand and used all her strength to pull upwards, until, finally, she was scrambling over the top. Her feet were on solid rock again. The Matoran rubbed her hands together, trying to chip off the frost clinging to her white-plated fingertips.
As she surveyed her environment, she saw not the opening of the cave, but another wall of ice, much steeper and much more daunting. The light, it seemed, came from somewhere within. As she stepped closer to the wall, she saw the shape of something within… Something metal, with strange prongs extending outwards. She touched her hand to the ice wall and pressed her face against it. Two holes were cut into the metal object, almost like… eyes. A mask? she wondered.
The light from the mask seemed to beat, like the heart of an organic.
Narale… Toa Narale…
Crau leaned against one wall of the chamber, his leg still healing from its electrical burns. It wasn’t supposed to fully heal, but he was still holding onto hope that his natural strength would push through and he would walk normally once again.
“Describe him again to me,” the slithery voice requested.
“He was about my height,” said Crau, annoyed to even be reminded of his humiliation. “With the mask on, at least. Carried a stick. Was painted blue. He had this irritating voice, probably some kid. He controlled the waves.”
“And you are certain he called himself a Toa?” the voice asked.
Crau’s gaze sharpened. “Yes.”
“Interesting…” The owner of the voice enshrouded himself in the shadows, only his two circular red eyes staring out beneath his hood. His fingers, like an entire set of rusted blades extending from his hands, would sometimes be caught in the firelight, clasped together like a bramble of swords.
“So, are you going to pay me?” asked Crau, disinterested in his employer’s semantics.
The red eyes turned to him, unblinking and unreadable. “What for?”
“I did your thing,” the former Captain said. “I found it.”
“I did not hire you to find a Toa! Oh, no, no, no, what I detected was far larger than the donning of a Kanohi, good Crau,” the red eyes said. "The spike of elemental energy came from something much more… extravagant."
Crau wanted to argue, wanted to fight, but knew it would be in vain. This was it. He had lost everything, now. His crew, his ships, his fortune, his job.
“Perhaps I’ll make use of you in the future,” said the eyes. “But for now, I believe Moda Nui has demanded my personal attention. For as alluring as the return of the Toa is, especially to one with my… history, whatever it was that brought them here, whatever it was my devices caught readings of, that is something much, much more intriguing…”
END OF CHAPTER 1, “DUTY”