“Pride and Power”

“Don’t be late, don’t be late,” Lewa Nuva, Toa of Air, sang to himself as he launched himself off of a cliff near the edge of Le-Wahi.

Don’t be late. It was the last thing Toa Onua had said to him when the six Toa Nuva had parted ways.

The other five Toa Nuva were waiting when Lewa finally reached the meeting spot. Gali smiled at him, and Pohatu gave a friendly wave.

“Greetings, brothers,” Lewa called. “And sister,” he added with a wink at Gali, the Toa of Water. “Did I latemiss anything important?”

Onua, the Toa of Earth, greeted him with a nod. “We have just recently arrived ourselves. But how are things in Le-Koro, brother?” he asked in his deep, rumbling voice. “We have all wondered.”

Lewa’s smile faded as he thought of the rubble that was all that had remained of his treebright village after the Bohrok got through with it. If only he had fought harder to resist the power of that krana… He shuddered as he remembered the horrible feeling that had come over him when one of the krana had taken over his mind.

He shook his head, refusing to dwell any longer on such things. The past was past, and even a Toa could not change time.

“We are hardworking,” he said. “There is much to do, but we are making progress.”

“That is good to hear, Lewa,” Gali said. “Let us know if you are in need of our help.”

Lewa shrugged. “Manythanks, Gali,” he replied. “But with my new powers, I truedoubt I will need much help with anything.”

“Indeed.” It was always a surprise when Kopaka Nuva, the Toa of Ice, had anything to say. But now his cool voice cut into the conversation. “I fail to see why any of us need to bother with these meetings any longer. Not until we discover how to awaken Mata Nui.” It was the Toa’s ultimate goal to reawaken the Great Spirit for whom the island had been named.

“Let’s not be hasty, brother Kopaka,” Gali said. “Even our new power doesn’t mean we can go it alone from here on in.”

“Oh, really? Watch this.” Lewa flung his katana blade upward, calling upon the power of the wind. It swept down with a roar, lifting the other Toa Nuva off their feet.

“Take care where you point that power of yours, brother Lewa,” Tahu Nuva growled as he leaped to his feet. “You might just find yourself in hot water…” He sent a blast of flame out of his magma sword.

Lewa somersaulted out of the way just in time. “Is that the best you can do, Tahu Nuva?”

Before long all of the Toa Nuva had joined in, each trying to overwhelm the others with a show of his or her new powers. Pohatu unleashed a tornado of stones. Onua started an avalanche on a nearby slope. Tahu and Kopaka battled with their opposing powers of heat and cold. Even Gali sent a mighty flood gushing out from her new aqua axes.

Finally, though, the Toa Nuva lost interest in the game. “Well, that was fun,” Pohatu said breathlessly. “What will we do for an encore?”

Gali looked sheepish. “As Toa Nuva, we have greater control than ever before,” she said. “It is a shame we cannot control our tempers as well.”

“We are all on edge, Gali,” Pohatu said soothingly. “The struggle with Cahdok and Gahdok — our transformation into the Toa Nuva…”

“Not to mention rebuilding our villages,” Lewa added, his mind wandering back to Le-Koro. His hands quivered slightly, impatient to get back to work helping with the repairs.

“Maybe it would be best for us to go our separate ways for now,” Tahu put in. “Our villages need us more than we need one another.”

“I agree,” Kopaka said. “This alliance is no longer necessary.”

Gali looked dismayed. “Split apart — again? Have we learned nothing from the past?”

Lewa shrugged. He liked Gali, but in his opinion she had always put a little too much emphasis on the unity part of the Matoran’s favorite saying, even when it didn’t seem necessary.

“This is a mistake,” Gali pleaded. “I can feel it. Please — what if we are needed once more? What if some new danger threatens Mata Nui?”

“We will tug that vine when we come to it, watersister,” Lewa called over his shoulder. “Quickspeed to you — I am out of here.”

Soon Lewa was sailing in for a landing on the outskirts of the village. He could see that the Matoran had made progress even in the short time he’d been away.

There was a crashing sound in the brush nearby. Lewa glanced toward it, expecting to see an animal. Instead, a Tahnok Va — a scout of the fiery Tahnok breed of Bohrok — emerged.

News… News ahead.

The thought slipped easily into Lewa’s mind. He shuddered slightly. Because of his experience with the krana, Lewa was the only Toa who could hear and understand the Bohrok’s communication. He still couldn’t get used to the fact that the swarms still had access to his mind, though it had certainly come in handy.

“What news?” he asked the Tahnok Va, ignoring his own uneasy feelings. “What’s happening? Is something badwrong at the village?”

No… No… Nothing wrong…

With that, the Tahnok Va turned and scurried away into the jungle. Lewa frowned after it for a moment. Nothing wrong — he hoped that was true. It was still hard to trust the Bohrok sometimes after all that had happened.

Whatever the news, Lewa figured he would know soon enough. He grabbed the closest vine and swung upward. “I’m back, little ones,” he called as he landed.

He need not have bothered. The entire population of the village was already gathered nearby. The Le-Matoran let out a cheer.

“Welcome back, Toa,” Turaga Matau called. We’ve been waiting for you. We just finished repairing your suva and we can finally put your power icon in its proper place in the heart of the village.”

Lewa nodded. He had nearly forgotten about the strange floating symbol that had appeared out of nowhere earlier that day.

“And don’t forget the celebration!” a voice shouted from the crowd.

“A celebration?” Lewa said. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get started!”

A cheer rang out from the gathered villagers. Soon someone was playing a lively tune on a Madu-shell xylophone, and Matoran were dancing, leaping, and swinging playfully on nearby vines.

Turaga Matau put a hand on Lewa’s arm. “Before you join the party, would you like to see the suva?” he asked.

“Sure,” Lewa replied. He followed the Turaga toward a mound-shaped structure at the center of the village.

Inside, the woven walls allowed only a dim glow of soothing green light to seep in from outside. At the center of the small, round room was a solid stone shelf.

A niche had been cut into the stone. Resting in it was the symbol.

Lewa gazed at it curiously. It was square and intricately carved out of a greenish stonelike substance. Where had it come from? What did it mean?

He didn’t wonder about it for long. “Very nice,” he told the Turaga. “But enough symbolgazing. Let’s get out there and have some partyfun!”

Soon he and Matau had rejoined the gleeful crowd on the platform. As he danced and laughed along with his villagers, Lewa could feel some of the tension of the recent battles draining away.

If only stuffy old Kopaka could see us now! Lewa thought with a grin. Or any of the others, for that factmatter. Nobody knows how to have restfun like a Le-Matoran!

Overwhelmed by joy, Lewa shouted for attention. “Watch this, leafbrothers,” he cried, balancing on the edge of the platform. “I’ll show you the kind of sunsoaring I can do with my new powers!”

He crouched briefly, then sprang up, putting all of his energy into the leap. Up, up, up… he soared straight into the sky above the treetops, higher and higher until he was almost blinded by the bright light of the sun.

“Yeee-haaaa!” he cried as he reached the top of the arc.

He waved his hand, calling upon the air currents to carry him down. As he did, he glanced down. He was a bit startled by how high he was.

“Good thing my friend the wing is always ready to do my bidding,” Lewa murmured. Realizing the breeze he’d summoned hadn’t yet materialized, he swirled his hand in the air again.

Still the wind didn’t respond.

“What?” Lewa cried, his heart clenching with fear as he tried again — and again. He felt himself plummeting downward as he realized the truth — his elemental powers had deserted him.

He tumbled helplessly down toward the village far — too far — below.