Resolutions

Resolutions is a short story written by.

Story
“Ah,” Lewa smiled broadly as he surveyed the village. “Nothing like a bit of fresh air to clear your anxiety away.”

“Or increase it,” Onepu muttered as he moved a crate.

“What’s there to be anxious about in the jungle-home, dear dark-dweller?” the Toa of Air asked, having heard him.

“Rahi?” he shrugged. “Blindness?”

“You need to long-spend more time above ground, my friend,” Kongu chuckled.

“No thanks,” Onepu shook his head.

“Remember why we’re here,” Gali said. “We have a job to do.”

“And we don’t have a lot of time to do it,” Onua added.

The Toa of Air jumped down to join them. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t happy-enjoy ourselves a little bit while we’re here. I mean, Le-Wahi is beautiful!”

“But we still have to fortify the village. Remember what the Turaga said,” Gali crossed her arms.

“’If Riha falls, it’s only a matter of time until Le-Koro does as well’,” Onua said.

“Which is why they sent three Toa,” the Onu-Matoran rested his arm on a crate.

“Tahu, Pohatu, and Kopaka are all heading to Mafa to preform a similar task. The Turaga felt that they needed to send as many Toa because there aren’t enough Boxers to go around,” the Toa of Water explained.

“Still seems a little strange to send all the Toa out like this,” Onepu argued.

“Don’t question the Turaga’s decisions,” Onua said. “They know what they’re doing.”

Onepu rolled his eyes. “Okay.”

At that moment, they saw a Ga-Matoran running towards them from the crowd. As she approached, they saw that it was Maku. A look of urgency was splashed across her Kanohi Huna.

“Toa!” she exclaimed as she came to a halt.

“What is it, little one?” Gali asked.

She was panting from her exertions to get here. “Tamaru and Vira have been taken by Nui-Rama!” she finally exclaimed.

Everyone in the group widened their eyes.

“What?!” Kongu gasped.

“Where did the Rama quick-take them?” Lewa jumped down.

“Into the jungle towards the mountain!” she said, pointing back to the way she had come.

Swiftly, the Toa of Air took off in the direction she had indicated. The other two Toa, looking at each other, followed after him.

“Brother!” Onua called. “Slow down!”

“Matoran are in bad-trouble!” he replied. “No time to long-reason!”

“You’re just going to run in there without backup?” Gali said. “It’s a Nui-Rama hive!”

“Then come with me!” he replied, never letting up.

“We need to stay with the village!” Onua panted.

“Then do that!” Lewa said. “I’m going to save the Matoran!”

They had reached the edge of the village, and just as Lewa was about to disappear into the forest he was struck from behind by a blast of water. He crashed to the ground, drenched. He shot up, looking back at Gali, whose weapons glowing with elemental energy.

“What did you do that for?” he exclaimed. “I need to quick-get to the Rama nest!”

“I know,” she said. “But you can’t just run blind into the Nui-Rama hive, and we can’t all go because we need to protect the village.”

“So what’s your plan?”

“One of us goes with you and the other stays behind.”

The three Toa looked at each other.

“I’ll go with him,” Onua raised a clawed hand. “He and I have some experience with Nui-Rama hives,” he chuckled.

“Alright,” Gali nodded. “I’ll stay behind with the Matoran.”

“We’ll be back soon,” the Toa of Earth clanked fists with her.

“You better,” a smile appeared behind her Kanohi Kaukau. “Otherwise the Bohrok might show up and I’ll have all the fun.”

The Toa of Water turned from her two brothers and returned to the village, where several of the inhabitants, including Maku, Kongu, and Onepu, were watching them.

Onua turned to Lewa, a broad smile behind his Pakari.

“Stop happy-grinning,” the Toa of Air said. “This won’t be a fun trip.”

“I know it won’t,” he chuckled. “I’m just remembering using my Hau on you.”

“Well, I’m glad one of us found that entertaining,” Lewa huffed as he walked into the jungle, soon being followed by his brother.

“So they’re going to get Tamaru and Vira?” Maku asked as Gali approached them.

“Someone has to,” she replied.

“Will they be okay?” she asked anxiously.

The Toa of Water crouched and put her hand on the Matoran’s shoulder. “Everyone will come back safely. I promise.”

Meeting the Toa’s gaze, Maku nodded. Standing up, Gali looked at the gathered.

“Alright,” she said. “Just because Onua and Lewa can leave doesn’t mean we’re safe, so everyone get back to work! We have a lot to do to prepare for the Bohrok!”

There was a quiet rumbling as the Matoran conversed amongst themselves as they began to spread out, going to continue their work. Gali looked at the three Matoran who had accompanied them from Le-Koro and nodded. They returned it and followed the others.

Now alone, Gali turned towards the jungle.

“Hurry back,” she muttered before walking away.

“You know,” Onua said as they walked. “It’s good going out like this, just the two of us.”

Lewa cast a sideways glance at him. “We’re rescuing Matoran from a Rama nest.”

“True,” he shrugged. “But still.”

They continued walking in silence. Their footsteps crunched in the soft grass while birds chirped in and fluttered in the trees above. Sunlight shone through the leaves as they swayed.

Onua sighed. “You were right,” he said. “The jungle is beautiful.”

“Glad you’re finally seeing that, old friend,” he chuckled.

“I should probably try to get out of Onu-Wahi more often,” he smiled.

Suddenly they heard a low buzzing noise, and looking at each other, they dropped down. Lewa readied his ax while Onua flexed his claws. They tensed as the humming steadily got louder and louder. Their keen eyes scanned the area, watching for any sign of their visitor. The buzzing continued to grow louder, yet they could not see the source.

“Where is it...” Lewa muttered when something moved behind him.

Turning around, the Toa of Air’s audio receptors were filled with a deafening screeching before he was lifted into the air. Looking around, he saw that he was caught in the grasp of an orange Nui-Rama. Its massive blue eyes glowed while they flew higher and higher into the air. The Toa struggled to use his ax, but found that he was completely restrained by his captor.

Glancing down towards his fellow Toa, he saw that a green Nui-Rama had seized Onua, who was struggling as hard as he was to free himself. Once again, Lewa tried to use his ax, but once again, found that he couldn’t.

“You know,” he grunted. “I usually prefer to cause my own propulsion.”

The Rahi did nothing, merely staying on course. Craning his neck around, he saw that they were heading for the mountain. A smile traced his lips.

“Actually,” Lewa said. “This is better.”

As they got closer, a crude structure came into view that he recognized as the entrance to a Nui-Rama nest. Several of the Rahi were circling it, as if patrolling it.

“They’re taking us right to the heart of the beast,” Lewa muttered to himself. “That works for me.”

Moments later they were just outside the entrance to the nest, slowly descending into the darkness below. He glanced at his brother and saw that he seemed have come to the same conclusion as him, as he had stopped struggling and now looked determined. They then entered the hive and were consumed by the shadows.

His audio receptors twinged as the buzzing of the Nui-Rama grew louder and louder as they descended deeper and deeper into the nest. The only thing he could see was the glow of Onua’s eyes and the glow of the Nui-Rama, which were growing more numerous as they went along.

The Toa of Air gasped as he suddenly crashed to the ground. A second later there was a grunt as the Toa of Earth clattered to the floor of the hive. Getting up, they both looked at each other.

“Well,” Onua said. “Here we are.”

“It was nice of the Rama to give us a quick-ride,” Lewa replied, readying his ax.

“What’s the plan?” he asked, joining his brother in the darkness.

“Simple,” he chuckled. “Find the Matoran and ever-flee from this fear-dread place.”

His companion merely stared at him. “If I had known that was your plan, I wouldn’t’ve asked.”

“My plan is a brilliant plan,” Lewa said. “Don’t be making fun of it.”

“It’s not really a plan more just exactly what we were going to do anyway,” the Toa of Earth replied.

“Thanks,” he sighed.

At that moment there was a deafening buzzing coming from the darkness. They looked around and saw a cloud of blue lights above them, which they both knew were hundreds of Nui-Rama. Onua could see the forms of the Rahi with his adept eyes while Lewa called upon the power of his Akaku. They watched as the swarm suddenly began to descend towards them.

“So what’s our play?” Lewa asked.

“Simple,” Onua’s eyes flashed. “Survive.”

He chuckled. “Well played.”

Lewa thrust his ax into the air and a powerful cyclone erupted from it. It flew into the air towards the hoard. As it approached them, several were swept up in it, being tossed across the dark chamber. Onua was hurling chunks of earth into the air at the approaching enemy. They struck several of them, sending them crashing to the ground around them.

Suddenly several of the insectoid creatures began to swoop down over them, trying to grab them. The Toa were forced to almost dive to the ground to avoid the attacks.

“We’re not going to be able to hold this!” Onua called over the intense buzzing. “We have to run!”

“Toa-heroes never run!” Lewa replied, slashing at a Nui-Rama with his ax. “We fight until the battle is won!”

“If we stay here we’re as good as dead!” the Toa of Earth said. “We can’t rescue the Matoran if we’re dead! We have to go!”

The Toa of Air ducked under another attack before looking at his fellow Toa. After a moment, he nodded. He nodded back, and looking around with his keen eyes, saw a passageway just a few paces from them. He motioned to his brother.

“Follow me!” Onua said as he ran for the doorway.

With one last swing at the enemy herd, Lewa followed his brother into the continuing darkness. The Nui-Rama swarmed after them. The Toa dove through the fissure and out of harm’s reach. Their attackers crashed into the wall, unable to fit through the narrow passageway. However, they continued to smash into it, desperate to get through.

Onua and Lewa dusted themselves off.

“That wall probably won’t hold for long,” the Toa of Earth said.

“Then let’s quick-find the Matoran,” the Toa of Air nodded.

Looking around, they saw that the passageway they were in led deeper into the mountain. Glancing at each other, they walked forward. Behind them the buzzing of the Nui-Rama and the sound of them slamming into the wall rang in their audio receptors. Lewa gripped his ax tightly, ready for another attack. Their footsteps echoed in the narrow tunnel.

“Have you seen-found anything?” the Toa of Air asked his brother.

“Yeah,” he said, looking around the ground. “Footprints.”

The two stopped and looked at the floor. Two pairs of Matoran footprints were impressed in the dirt, leading ahead of them down the corridor. One was smeared, as if whoever had left it had been limping.

“Tamaru and Vira, I presume,” Onua looked at his brother.

“One of them is injured,” Lewa indicated the smeared print. “They’re probably not too far ahead of us.”

Standing up, they looked down the narrow corridor.

“Then let’s find them and bring them home,” the Toa of Earth smiled.

“The village is almost fortified, Toa Gali,” Kongu said.

“Thank you, Kongu,” she replied.

He nodded and walked away. After him, Maku came up to her. She was obviously troubled; her hands were knitted together and her gaze was tossed and the ground.

“What’s wrong, little one?” the Toa of Water asked.

The Matoran looked up at her. Her eyes were filled with worry.

“It’s just...” she trailed off, her yellow eyes darting towards the ground again.

Gali knelt down so she was level with the villager. She put her hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said. “You can tell me.”

She took a deep breath. “It’s just… when the Nui-Rama attacked… I did nothing to help Tamaru and Vira. I just… ran. Like a coward.”

“But, Maku, you did do something,” the Toa of Water replied. The Ga-Matoran looked up at her. “You came back here to get the Toa, and now Lewa and Onua are going to save them.”

“Yeah but I may have just sent them to their doom as well,” she cried.

“Onua and Lewa are Toa,” Gali said. “They can look after themselves.”

The Ga-Matoran looked up at the Toa of Water when Onepu came rushing towards them.

“Toa Gali!” he exclaimed. “A hoard of Gahlok are coming towards the village from the north!”

Her eyes widened. “How far out?”

“An hour?” the Onu-Matoran answered.

Gali looked towards the mountain before turning back to him. “Ready the Guard. We’re going to have to be ready to fight without Lewa and Onua if they don’t return in time.”

“Yes, Toa,” Onepu nodded and ran back the direction he had come.

The Toa of Water unhooked her weapons from her thighs and readied them. She looked down at Maku, who was looking frightful now.

“Stay close to me,” Gali said.

Maku nodded. Gali smiled.

“Come on, then.”

“I think we’re here,” Onua whispered as they continued through the passageway.

“And why’s that?” Lewa raised an eyebrow.

“Them,” he pointed ahead of him.

Activating his Akaku again, he saw two figures hiding around the bend in the corridor. They were huddled together, shaking slightly.

“It’s okay, little ones,” the Toa of Air said.

Slowly, the two figures looked out into the corridor at the two Toa. The Le-Matoran’s eyes widened as they saw the Toa.

“Toa Lewa?” Tamaru asked. “Toa Onua?”

“Yes,” Lewa crouched down. “We’re here.”

“How?” Vira limped forward.

“Maku made it back to the village and told us what happened,” Onua replied. “We came looking for you.”

“And got taken by Rama ourselves,” Lewa chuckled.

“What are we going to do?” Tamaru asked. “There are Rama everywhere!”

The Toa of Earth looked around. “How far does this tunnel go?”

“We don’t know,” Vira shook his head. “We were traveling down the tunnel when we heard you. We thought-feared you were more Rama.”

“Do you think you can quick-guide us out of here, brother?” Lewa asked Onua.

He smiled. “Now that’s a stupid question.”

“It’s a yes or no kind of question, Onua.”

“Yes,” he said.

“Let’s go, then,” the Toa of Air stood up.

At that moment there was a massive crashing noise before a loud buzzing echoed down the tunnel. The Toa looked at each other.

“Lead the way,” Lewa said.

Together, the four ran down the corridor, Vira limping to keep up. The buzzing once again rang in their audio receptors, and they knew that their enemy was growing closer. Their heartlights were blinking rapidly as they charged, their only focus being to get out of there as fast as they could. Onua used his keen eyes to see in the dark while Lewa used his Akaku. The Matoran, however, were running in the black.

“How much farther-longer do you reckon?” Tamaru said, trying to keep close behind Lewa.

“Not far,” the Toa of Earth replied. “I think I can feel the end of the tunnel… STOP!”

The Toa of Earth suddenly skidded to a halt, and the others did their best to, but ended up crashing into each other. They clattered to the ground, a massive noise echoing out.

“Very past-late warning-signal there, brother,” Lewa groaned as he helped the Matoran onto their feet.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “This wall is hard to see.”

“Wall?” the Toa raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Onua said, brushing his clawed hand along the rock. “Wall.”

“How didn’t you before-see it?” Vira rubbed his head.

“It’s almost as if...” he trailed off before slamming his fist into the wall. It shattered outwards before blinding white light flooded in. They all shielded their eyes from the intense glare streaming in from the outside.

“Very past-late again,” Lewa muttered as his photo receptors adjusted to the brightness.

Looking out of the opening, they saw that they had come out on the side mountain, the trees swaying gently below them. The wind blew past them, bringing them fresh air in its wake. Behind them, the buzzing of the Nui-Rama continued to grow louder, coming closer every second.

“How do we quick-get out of this one?” Tamaru moaned.

The two Toa looked at each other and smiled. Activating the power of the Kanohi Miru imbued in their Golden Kanohi, they each grabbed and Matoran and a second later jumped off the edge. The Le-Matoran yelled in surprise before they saw that they were descending slowly towards the ground, due to the Toa’s powers.

Moments later they reached the ground, and the Toa let the Matoran back to the ground. They looked up at their saviors.

“You saved us!” Vira exclaimed.

“All in a day’s work,” Lewa smiled.

Above them, a swarm of Nui-Rama burst from the opening like water bursting from a dam. They swarmed the sky, looking for them. The group quickly moved to the cover of the trees, out of sight of the hoard.

“Let’s quick-flee before we meet the Rama again,” Lewa said.

“Agreed,” said the other three.

And a moment later, they were gone.

She didn’t know what had happened to Lewa and Onua. Had they succeeded in their mission? Had they not been able to find the Matoran? Had they been captured themselves? She couldn’t know. All she could was hope for their return.

The Matoran were strong-willed and capable, but she didn’t know if they could hold out against a swarm of Bohrok. The Bohrok were fierce creatures, possessing the ability to destroy everything in their path. If Lewa and Onua did not return soon, the village of Riha would most likely be the next to fall against the hoard.

“How are we looking, Kongu?” Gali asked.

“As good as we can,” he replied.

“Any sign of the Toa?”

“No, Toa Gali.”

She sighed. The swarm was getting closer, and time was running out. Where were they?

Suddenly a Matoran cried out. “The Toa approach!”

Looking around, she saw Lewa, Onua, Tamaru, and Vira appearing from the forest. Her eyes lit up as a smile broke across his Kanohi Kaukau.

“Brothers!” she greeted.

“Sister!” they replied.

“I take it the mission went well?” Gali said, glancing at the Matoran.

“Indeed,” Lewa smiled.

“We ran into a lot of Nui-Rama along the way, though,” Onua added.

“Well, I hope you still have some fight left, because a swarm of Gahlok are on the way.”

They looked at each other. Suddenly Kongu came running up to them.

“The Bohrok are here!” he pointed towards the north.

Looking there, they saw a swarm of the blue insectoid creatures approaching, their Krana throbbing under their faceplates.

“Let’s get to it, then,” Onua said..

Walking to the front of the village guard, the three Toa stood together, their weapons at the ready. Energy crackled around them like fire. The Bohrok marched on. Their shields were charged with their own power, the hoard ready to vanquish the village of Riha like it was nothing. They were growing closer. The Toa of Air raised his ax.

“For Mata Nui!” rang the chorus.

“For the Great Spirit!” Lewa cried.

“For the Great Spirit!” was the reply.

“Together, then,” he smiled.

He turned back towards the hoard, glancing at his brother and sister. They nodded. He returned and raised his ax. And together, they charged forward, Toa and Matoran, moving as one.

Characters

 * Toa Gali
 * Toa Lewa
 * Toa Onua
 * Maku
 * Kongu
 * Onepu
 * Tamaru
 * Vira
 * Nui-Rama
 * Gahlok

Trivia

 * Resolutions is one of the first stories to be released on the wiki in 2019.