BC1 - Water Breathing

Through it all, Gali did her best to maintain the peace. She could tell that Onua was working toward the same goal in a quieter way and found her respect for the strong, reserved Toa of Earth growing more and more. Now, as they approached the shoreline just south of Po-Koro, she glanced toward him.

“Onua,” she said. “If what the Ta-Matoran told us is accurate, we will need to go beneath the waters to retrieve Tahu’s levitation mask.”

Lewa overheard her and groaned. “Not again!” he cried. “I already took one wetdive to get my Mask of Speed. I still haven’t got all the wateryuck out of my ears!”

“Don’t be foolish,” Kopaka spoke up. “Obviously, only those among us who already hold the Kanohi Kaukau should go on from here. Pohatu, Lewa, Tahu – you can wait on the beach.”

Tahu glared at him. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious, ” he retorted. “But it’s my mask we’re after here – my villager was the one who revealed its location. I think I should be the one to decide whether or not I go.”

Gali rolled her eyes. “It would be helpful to have several of us standing guard on the beach, brother Tahu,” she pointed out.

“That’s true,” Tahu admitted, though he still shot Kopaka an irritated glance. “Go with good fortune, Gali. We’ll keep a careful watch for danger while we wait for your return.”

Onua was already leading the way into the surf, with Kopaka a step behind. Gali followed, feeling some of her anxiety wash away at the touch of the warm, familiar water. She dove into the waves, swimming quickly out into deeper water.

Soon the three of them reached the broad, open sweep of the sea valley.

Kopaka pointed to a large, shadowy shape visible in the water. Gali shuddered as she recognized the Tarakava.

“I escaped from one Tarakava by blinding it with waving seaweed, and from another by luring it into a cave where it got stuck,” Gali told the others. “These Rahi are strong, but not very clever, I think. All we need is a plan…”

Soon the three of them were swimming slowly toward the Tarakava. A moment later the creature spotted them and let out a roar.

“Okay, it knows we’re here,” Gali whispered, floating in place. “Kopaka, get ready.”

The Ice Toa nodded. The Tarakava barreled toward them. Soon it was only a short distance away, then closer… Still Kopaka didn’t move.

Gali held her breath. The beast would be upon them within seconds.

As she was about to cry out, the Ice Toa finally made his move. With a twitch of his ice blade, he sent a blast of intense cold out ahead of him, instantly freezing the water – and the Tarakava – into a solid block of ice.

“Nice work!” Onua cried, his deep voice rumbling through the water like an earthquake. “Now it’s my turn…”

With that, he struck the sandy ocean floor with his fists. The ground swelled up, arcing over the giant Tarakava ice cube until it completely surrounded the frozen area.

“That should hold it for a while,” Gali said, relieved. “Now all we have to do is –”

“Wait,” Onua interrupted, staring at the Tarakava, whose head protruded out of the dirt-and-ice mound that trapped it. “I just want to see something…”

He swam toward the creature, carefully staying out of its jaws. Patting the dirt mound before him, he caused it to burst upward in a small explosion, knocking the Tarakava’s mask from its face.

The creature’s violent spasms stopped immediately. After a moment it let out a wail of dismay and started to wriggle again, but this time it completely ignored Onua.

“I thought that might happen,” Onua said. “When Pohatu and I encountered a pair of Nui-Rama, he knocked off the masks of one of them. The creature suddenly changed – flew away instead of continuing the fight.”

Kopaka nodded thoughtfully. “Something similar happened when I met a Kuma-Nui on my way to Po-Wahi.”

“I wish I’d mentioned it earlier,” Onua said. “I didn’t realize it might be important – until just now.” Gali noticed that Kopaka didn’t make the same apology. “We have learned something important here, I think,” she said. “It is through these masks that Makuta controls the Rahi.” Noticing the gray shape of a mask against the white sand nearby, she darted forward to scoop it up.

“Mission accomplished,” Onua said. “Come on, let’s get back.”


- BIONICLE Chronicles 1: Tale of the Toa, Chapter 10