Dig

Dig is a short story written by BIONICLEToa taking place during the 2001 storyline.

Story
Dig.

A small puff of gas slipped through the thin vents of the Toa of Earth’s mask. The vapor floated in the air, but it did not live long, as a shard of pure earth slipped through it’s body, dispersing it and making the gas fade away. These rocks became numerous, coming from the air above and the ground below.

Dig.

The rocks piled up in a heap behind the Toa of Earth, who didn’t pay attention to the heap whatsoever. The Toa simply breathed, with the life of the exhaled gas going to and thro by the same process. Freedom, life, and then a sharp death, fading away as soon as it was alive. The rocks, the enemy of the gas, had been produced by a more violent process. Dark, metallic claws dug themselves into the earth, like a shovel striking the earth, and pulled out several chunks of rocks, which were either being thrown behind the Toa’s back or falling to the ground.

That mask has to be somewhere, the Toa of Earth thought to himself. The Toa took off his Mask of Strength, which was etched with vents and ovular eyes, and took out an asymmetric Mask of X-Ray Vision. The mask, layered with different scopes and lenses, allowed the stout Toa of Earth to see through the rocks and look for whatever he sought. The Toa placed the pitch-black mask over his metallic face. The mask made a “click!” sound as it magnetically attached to his face.

''Alright, Onua. Focus.''

The Toa of Earth’s mask began to glow, slightly lighting up the dark tunnel he stood in. As Onua squinted, the scopes and lenses of the mask began to shift, adjusting to what Onua was looking for. Through the rocks, he could see numerous things around him; Onu-Matoran digging the Great Mine to possibly make a path to Le-Koro, rahi sleeping in their nests, and finally, a metallic shape in the ground, quite a ways from him.

''That’s it. That’s the mask Turaga Whenua told me about.''

Onua replaced his Mask of X-Ray Vision with his Mask of Strength, then, lifting up his mighty claws, struck the earth, and dug it out again. Again, his arms lifted and dug into the earth, tunneling out the ground and placing it behind him. His Mask of Strength allowed him to do this with relative ease; there was no pain when digging, and it gave him enough stamina to plow through the ground.

I could use a Mask of Speed, Onua thought to himself. Thinking about this, he threw away the idea with a simple head shake.'' No, that speed will only prove to be dangerous. I don’t need to be caved in by being careless with my digging. A Kakama might be more efficient, but it could also be dangerous.''

So the Toa of Earth continued his slow work without a second thought. He burrowed and plowed, his shovel-like hands scooping out rock and soil.

Soil? Onua thought to himself. He dug further into the hole. With a mighty scoop, he exposed a bright light from above. ''The sun. I must have dug the wrong way.''

However, out of the corner of his eye, Onua found exactly what he was looking for: a Kanohi Ruru, the Mask of Night vision. Onua lifted himself from the pile of rubble that surrounded his body and clawed up into the grass of Le-Koro. The land he stepped on was a plethora of green, beautifully displaying flora, fungus, and other beautiful pieces of life beginning to blossom.

“The realm of Lewa,” Onua said.

The Toa of Earth walked slowly to the mask, as grass and flowers brushed his metallic feet. The heavy figure of Onua created a creaking sound throughout his body, with mechanical parts buzzing as he walked step by step. Finally, he made it to the mask. He simply used his metal claws to pick it up. However, Onua became dissatisfied with his find.

“A mask of night vision? I can already see through the dark,” Onua stated. Regardless, he kept it on him. Whenua had taught him long ago that things aren’t always as they appear. This was especially true when digging under the ground; you might one day come across a wild rahi next and end up having to fight it. Thus, Onua knew he shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

Onua turned around to go back into his tunnel until he heard a voice calling for him. It started out quite small, but Onua knew it from anywhere. As the Toa of Earth turned around, he saw branches above him begin to shake. The flowers on the trees were still blooming, Onua observed. Then, the sound of branches snapping in the background made Onua turn his head back. The sound was followed by a loud “THUD!”, causing Onua to cringe at the sound.

Onua hurried over to the fallen Toa. The Toa of Air, Lewa, was rubbing his head and laying on a pile of leaves and branches.

“I missed-judged that branch,” Lewa said as he was getting up. He wiped the dirt off of himself, getting into a more heroic stance. “So Onua, what brings a cave-dweller like you up to the deep-wood during leaf-dawn?”

Onua lifted up the Ruru still in his hand. “I came looking for this.”

Lewa looked at the nearby tunnel after glancing at the mask. “You think you could have just ground-tred here instead of digging?”

Onua looked at the tunnel. “I’m not exactly a ‘high-flyer’ like you Lewa. I’m… Slow. The trees, the terrain. They’re not my ally.”

Lewa smiled, almost forgetting his hard fall from earlier. “Whatever method, you found your mask. I was on my ever-quick way to do the same thing. Perhaps you can assist me?”

Onua didn’t even need to think about it. He nodded, and the two Toa began to go deep into the forest of Le-Koro.

Some time passed as the two Toa traversed through the thick jungles of Le-Koro. Lewa used his axe to cut through the vines as Onua used his claws to slowly climb over fallen logs and cut through branches. Lewa was far ahead of him by the time they were reaching their destination.

“Be ever-quick, Onua!” Lewa exclaimed as he flung himself from a tree onto a vine. “I saw a mask this way!”

Onua looked ahead of his terrain. It was relatively empty, save for a few rocks and vines. Onua decided it would be better to use his Mask of Speed, the Kakama, to catch up to Lewa. The Toa of Earth switched his Pakari for a Kakama, and suddenly felt a burst of energy in himself. With that, he began to run through the grassy way.

“Seems like the bald-land is your friend, ground-dweller!” Lewa exclaimed.

Onua nodded, thinking about how exhilarating it was to finally use the Kakama for such a good use. However, he lost track of his surroundings, and he snagged his foot into a vine on the ground. Onua went flying through the air, and landed smack into the face of a wall of stone. Lewa’s face popped into a stunned look, and, with speed, slid down a tree trunk and came to the aid of his Toa brother.

“Are you alright?” Lewa asked.

Onua tried to get up, but found himself winded. I should have been more careful, Onua thought.

Lewa helped Onua lift himself up, and the Toa of Earth put his Pakari back onto his face.

“This is where I found the entrance to get a mask,” Lewa stated, “but you managed to break-crack a hole into the wall!”

Onua looked at the wall. The cracks produced a cold air coming through it, showing signs of being where a cave started. Then, placing his claw on the rock wall, he focused, and managed to drive the cracks further, leading the wall to shatter. Lewa grinned.

“Your whole body could dig if it wanted to!” Lewa exclaimed.

Onua didn’t respond. He entered the cave and looked around. It looked to be a more natural cave, but looks were deceiving. Onua quickly noticed how the cave had certain marks on it, showing it was dug by some type of Rahi. Lewa didn’t notice the markings. Instead, the Toa of Air noticed how dark it was.

“I can’t see anything,” Lewa stated.

“Stand by me, then,” Onua ordered. “I can see quite clearly.”

In truth, Onua saw the further he got into the tunnel, the darker it got. He naturally could see well in the dark, but this dark seemed unnatural. It was pitch-black, and felt like an almost evil presence.

We’ll find the mask, Onua told himself. I just need to be careful.

Onua thought about using the Kanohi Ruru, but he felt that wouldn’t help him at all. Still, he held onto it, in case it could help in a dire situation. That situation, unfortunately for the two Toa, had come quicker than expected. A low hum had been slowly growing the further they slowly walked down the cave.

“Do you hear something?” Lewa asked.

Onua nodded. He halted his walk, gripping the Kanohi he held tightly. He switched his mask to a Kanohi Akaku, the Mask of X-Ray Vision, and looked in the walls. However, he didn’t find a trace of anything inside the walls. What he did see, however, was something further down the cave. To his surprise, it was coming right for them.

The Toa of Earth dropped the Ruru, and rose his arms into the air. Lewa noticed Onua getting ready to use his powers over earth, and also rose his axe. Lewa could not see what was coming through the shadows, but he knew to trust his brother.

A small dot of light glew from the pitch-black shadow of the lower cave. The dots multiplied, until it became two shiny, blue bulbs that resembled Rurus. As the Rahi crept closer, the buzzing sound grew larger and larger.

“What is this ever-ugly creature?” Lewa asked, axe high in the air.

“Nui-Rama,” Onua stated. He had overheard of these great flies from Turaga Whenua’s warnings to Onu-Matoran once they reached Le-Koro with their tunnel. Onua wasn’t in the mood for explaining much, however, and instead pounded the ground with his mighty claws.

The ground began to tremble, and rocks fell from the ceiling. However, the Nui-Rama dodged rocks, and instead flew into Onua. Lewa jumped out of the way of the Nui-Rama’s ramming attack. Behind Onua, some of the wall leading to the entrance of the cave collapsed, leaving the room in complete darkness. Onua could barely see the Rahi now. Onua, however, was more worried about Lewa.

“I can’t see,” the Toa of Air cried. Lewa felt around for Onua’s dropped Kanohi, but he simply couldn’t find it. “We should have thought-planned this strategy beforehand, Onua!”

Onua wasn’t listening to Lewa. Instead, with the limited vision he had, he manage to lock his arms into the rahi’s arms. The Nui-Rama pushed on Onua, but Onua’s feet were planted into the ground. The Toa was simply immovable.

The Nui-Rama came up with another strategy instead. The creature flew back away from Onua, going toward Lewa instead. Lewa tilted his head toward the sound of the buzzing, listening in on the creature’s movement. He ducked as the Nui Rama tried to grab him. The Nui-Rama’s claws missed their target, and the creature slammed into a wall. Lewa tried searching for the mask with his left hand, but couldn’t find it.

Onua ran past a dazed Lewa, and jumped into the air to try and grab the Nui-Rama. He managed to cling onto it’s thin tail. This scared the Nui-Rama, and it tried to shake Onua off by bumping into walls. Onua felt the impact of a first wall bump. Then, looking at Lewa, he noticed the Toa of Air was right next to the Kanohi Ruru.

“Lewa, to your left!” Onua cried, before he was bumped into a wall again. His face made direct impact into the wall, and his mask fell off his face. Onua lost his grip due to his sudden weakness and fell onto the floor, a bit of ways from the mask.

Meanwhile, Lewa finally managed to feel for Onua’s Ruru, and placed it on his face. At first, Lewa squinted his eyes due to everything looking incredibly bright. However, once his eyes adjusted, he could see clearly. One thing he noticed was Onua on the ground.

“Onua!” Lewa cried. He ducked the Nui-Rama’s attempt to ram him after noticing his fallen ally. Lewa made a backflip in the air, turning himself around in the process so he could face the great fly. Then, Lewa swung his axe in the air as a warning to the creature. “Stay ever-back, Rama!”

The Nui-Rama disregarded Lewa’s warning, however. It flew over Lewa and instead landed on Onua. Lewa jerked his head back out of panic. He knew exactly what was going to happen. Lewa conjured some air and sent it toward the direction the Nui-Rama was, but that didn’t knock it over whatsoever. Instead, the Nui-Rama popped off one of it’s infected masks and gave it to Onua. Then, the creature went unconscious.

You’re afraid, a strange distorted voice told Onua. Onua shook his head at first. Are you afraid?

Get out of my mind, Onua warned the voice.

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

Onua heard a terrifying sound coming from inside the mask. He tried to remove it, but it was stuck. Worst of all, the noise wouldn’t stop. The voice spoke over the screams.'' You are afraid! Show your strength!''

“GET OUT OF MY MIND!” Onua yelled. He then saw what looked like a shadowy Toa come his way. It raised it’s axe, and tried to swipe at his face. Onua blocked the attack, and then punched the Toa.

Lewa landed on the ground from taking such a strong blow. Lewa lifted his head back up. He eyeballed the fallen Nui-Rama. Over him stood someone that looked similar to him, except with black armor and a rusted mask.

“Onua?” Lewa asked.

Onua picked up the dark Toa, and slammed him against the wall. Onua took his claw and swiped for it’s face, but it quickly moved it’s head. Then, raising it’s legs, it jammed it’s feet into Onua’s gut. Onua grabbed his stomach in pain.

“What’s gotten into you?” the shadow Toa asked. “Why are you all fear-dreadful?”

Onua quickly shook his head, grasping it sharply. The sounds came back, as well as the distorted voice. Onua’s eyes began to twitch furiously, until all he saw was a shadow-like Nui-Rama coming his way. Onua kicked it with all his strength. The rahi slammed into the wall.

“That mask! It must be controlling his mind!” Lewa noted. The Toa of Air sprung back onto his feet. He took two quick glances across the cave, but it was a barren place. “I’ll have to go for the mask!”

Lewa placed his left foot on the wall, and using that as a guide, he looked back at the struggling Onua. Then, he switched his mask for his Mask of Strength, in order to knock off Onua’s mask with ease. Although blind, Lewa still knew where Onua was, and bounded off a wall to gain enough force.

Let’s hope this works, Lewa thought to himself.

To Lewa’s luck, he jumped right into Onua, and slammed right into his face. The infected mask flew right off his face. Then, Lewa quickly changed to his Kanohi Ruru again and scooped up Onua’s Pakari. Then, after a quick look to see if the Nui-Rama was back up, the mask on Onua’s face.

Onua started to see better again, and the shadow Toa turned different shades of green. It was his friend, Lewa.

“Lewa! You… What did you do?” Onua asked Lewa.

“I quick-saved your skin from Makuta,” Lewa pointed out. “Now, let us ever-flee from here and go get that mask!”

Lewa gave his left hand to Onua, and Onua grasped it. Then, Lewa pulled, lifting the Toa of Earth up from the ground.

“I owe you one,” Onua said to Lewa.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Lewa said. “Imagine if it was our fire-spitter leader I had to fight! I would be old-bones by that point.”

Onua lowered his brows. “What are you trying to say?”

“Oh nothing,” Lewa said with a smirk.

Characters

 * Onua
 * Lewa
 * Nui-Rama
 * Whenua -Mentioned
 * Tahu -Mentioned

Continuity Notes

 * BIONICLEToa wrote this story so it could fit into the 2001 storyline.
 * This story takes place before the

Trivia

 * This was originally written for the 2017 Spring Writing Contest, however, BIONICLEToa never finished it in time. However, BIONICLEToa loved this piece, and decided to finish it.