Fight or Flight

Story
The Matoran known as Sali was running. The Le-Matoran looked at the crystal in her hand, its faint warm glow illuminating her green clad hand. An animalistic roar spurred her forward. She looked over her shoulder, and her Kakama lit up in fear at the sight. Behind the Matoran, a massive rat-like beast charged, its eyes blazing with madness from the two rusted Kanohi masks clamped onto its shoulders. The monstrosity was quickly making up the distance between itself and its prey. With a snap of its neck the Kuma-Nui rammed its head into Sali, sending her flying to the ground with a thud. As the Kakama-wearer looked up, she felt the shadow of the Kuma-Nui come over her. She turned over quickly enough to see the giant rodent roar before going in for the kill.

As the Kuma-Nui's jaws started to come down, Sali remembered how she had gotten into her situation. It had all begun when she had been practicing her agility and she uncovered an ancient shrine. Letting her curiosity get the best of her, she entered the ruins, and found, hidden in a recess in a wall, a strange crystal that literally glowed with energy. She couldn't explain it, but for some reason Sali had felt drawn to the stone, as though it was meant to be hers, and it was for that reason she took the crystal. The second she had done so, the Kuma-Nui attacked, ripping through the stone that held the shrine together. As the structure came crashing down, Sali ran.

Thus she was now on the ground, with an angry Kuma-Nui standing above her, coming down for the kill. As she looked to the crystal in her hand for the last time, she saw the strange stone glowing brighter than before. Suddenly, the Rahi began to back down, seconds before it would have killed her. A beam of light arched from the crystal in her hand to her heartlight. The Le-Matoran felt an ancient, primal force well up inside her, before bursting to life. Her limbs stretched, her muscles grew, armor knitted itself onto her body where none had been before, and she felt incredible power at her fingertips. When the light faded, Sali the Le-Matoran was no more, in her place was a tall, strong Kakama-wearing Toa of Air. As the Toa looked up, she saw the Kuma-Nui come back for an attack. This time, she was ready. When the Kuma-Nui shot forward, aimed at the spot where Toa Sali was standing, she leaped into the air assisted by a burst of wind. As she came down, Sali readied a fist, and upon landing, brought it down on the rat's outstretched neck. The blow got the Kuma-Nui's attention, and it turned around to ram her. Sali was steadfast, and sidestepped the Rahi while delivering an armor-shattering blow to its shoulder, destroying the pitted Kanohi that had been strapped there. The beast roared in pain as its master's control was weakened. Flipping over the enraged Rahi, Sali struck the other rusted Kanohi with a kick, sending it flying to the ground where it disintegrated on impact. Fully freed of its master's control, the Rahi roared in freedom, before leaving Sali as though wasn't even there. Turning around, Sali began the journey back to her village, knowing that her friends there would be in for quite a shock.

Characters
Sali, Toa of Air

A Kuma-Nui

Trivia

 * This is the first full story written by Jahoan17 to be posted on this wiki to both be canon to his storyline, and to not feature Jahoan or any of his other self-MOCs.