BL10 - Tahu Shield Team

It would take the Makuta only seconds to realize their attackers were nowhere to be found. But that was time enough for Tahu, Gali, and Onua to have circled around and entered the camp from behind. Onua dug up the pit while Gali and Tahu searched the rest of the area.

“Nothing,” Gali reported. “No mask.”

“Or here,” said Tahu, disappointed.

“I’ve got something,” Onua said. “It’s not a mask, but potentially useful nonetheless.”

The Toa of Fire and Water turned to see that Onua held in his hand a keystone. That made three they had found. If the other Toa had been as fortunate, they had all six. It was a small victory, even if the Kanohi Ignika continued to elude them.

“We had better get out of here,” said Tahu. “The Makuta won’t be fooled for long.”

“Or at all,” said Krika. He was standing on the edge of the camp, flanked by Gorast and Bitil. All three looked amused. “Did you really believe we would fall for that transparent ruse? We simply wanted you in one place so we could take care of all three of you at once.”

The Makuta fired their ghost blasters as one, but Tahu was too fast for them. His mask power threw a shield up around himself and his team, deflecting the Makuta’s attack.

“It’s no good, you know,” said Krika. “How long can you maintain that shield? An hour? A day? And when it falls, we will take control of your bodies and make you battle each other for our entertainment. Who knows, if one of you survives, maybe we will permit him or her to serve as a permanent slave of the Brotherhood.”

“I say we batter the shield down now,” snarled Gorast, “and kill them where they stand.”

Krika chuckled. “Please excuse my sister — she has always been lightthirsty, even before the swamp changed her. She has a point, though. Time spent here is time wasted in our search for the Mask of Life.”

Tahu flashed a grim smile. Even in their desperate situation, it was good to know the Makuta hadn’t gotten their claws on the mask yet. With a little luck, maybe they never would.

“You’re too late,” the Toa of Fire said, trying his best to sound confident. “We already have the mask. It’s with Pohatu and the others. They’re using it to destroy your brothers even now.”

“Ridiculous!” snapped Bitil. “An obvious trick, one I can expose with ease.” He concentrated, sending a telepathic flash up to one of the Makuta who lurked in the skies far above. But the message he received back was obviously not what he had been expecting.

“Speak, Bitil,” said Krika, impatiently. “How stands the Brotherhood?”

“The Mask of Life…” Bitil said, stunned. “It’s there… it’s become a Toa warrior… and Icarax has already fallen before its power.”

Tahu glanced at Gali and Onua. Both looked just as surprised as the three Makuta. The Mask of Life was a Toa now? It was fighting? What was going on here?

“Time for us to go,” Tahu mouthed, no sound escaping his lips.

Gali nodded. She triggered her elemental power, adding more and more moisture to the air in the immediate area until a dense fog began to form. As soon as they were hidden from view, Onua rapidly dug a tunnel in the soft earth. The three Toa vanished into it and were gone by the time the fog dispersed.

“They’ve escaped!” yelled Gorast. “We must pursue!”


- BIONICLE Legends 10: Swamp of Secrets, Chapter 4