Author's Notes: Oh. My. God. I'm done. I can't believe it. I published this story in April of 2006, and now… I'm done. It's got to be the first thing I've ever finished, to be honest. XD Oneshots don't count. Of course, I couldn't have done it without all the support from my readers. Thanks for sticking with me guys. Even though I disappeared at times. Lol

Disclaimer: Don't own Bionicle.

It was hard to miss Gali's sigh of relief. She believed in him, she really did, but there was still the possibility that he wouldn't listen to reason.

Pohatu was smiling warmly at him, as was Takanuva, even if he looked a bit more nervous.

Onua grunted and slowly got back up to his feet. "Is that all? Are we done here?"

"It look-seem that way to me." Ah, Lewa had recovered as well.

Kopaka stretched an arm, but otherwise seemed fine. His eyes shone with relief, even though he remained silent. There was no need for him to say anything.

FoolsThey all heard the enraged voice this time.

Lewa winced. "Down-turn the loud-volume."

I offered you a chance… remember that. But of course I wasn't naïve enough to rely on a Toa. You turn down my aid, Tahu? It is your loss

Tahu suddenly bent over. His whole body burned. It hurt.

"Tahu!"

He could feel the strength leaving his body. The power he had grown used to having at his beck and call was abandoning him… And then it was suddenly over. He opened his eyes and saw his reflection in the ice. His eyes… they had regained their vibrant gleam. He was exactly the same as before the whole incident.

Strangely, instead of feeling regret for losing his strength, he felt as if he was whole again. Complete. Like someone had taken a part of him and hid it, and he had just regained it.

"Tahu…" She had rushed to his side and now tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder. He didn't shake it off, so she pulled him into a hug.

They heard a sinister scoff. I wouldn't celebrate just yet if I were you, Toa. Watch.

While Tahu had been clutching his head in pain, the others witnessed a strange phenomenon. The energy that Tahu felt leaving him had taken on a visible form, and the swirling red-coloured substance, instead of dissipating as Tahu thought it did, directed itself towards Lengorak's still-unconscious form, which had been all but forgotten.

His eyes shot open when it came into contact with him, and he began thrashing violently. Despite the Air Raider's protests, and obvious reluctance to co-operate, the substance forced itself into his body. He screamed as his green body took on a reddish hue, then was still. His eyes went dark.

There was a long moment of silence, as the Toa Nuva each tried to understand what had happened. Kopaka was quickest to regain his wits and went over to Lengorak.

"Mata Nui… he's dead," he announced gravely, "Lengorak was already weak. The shock of being infused with such an amount of raw energy must have killed him. I guess whatever the Makuta was planning didn't work, since his vessel just couldn't take it."

Tahu shuddered, shaken. Such power… had it really been coursing through his veins? He found it hard to believe…

Kopaka suddenly gave a shout. The proclaimed dead body had just reached over and grabbed his leg with surprising strength. "Mata Nui!" The dead hand gave a yank and the Toa of Ice lost his balance.

"What the-" Onua had gotten back up and had one Quake Breaker in hand, the other being lost in some snowdrift somewhere. He ran over to Kopaka's aid and slashed with his weapon. Lengorak caught it with one bare hand. The chainsaw-like weapon was tearing up his hand, but he didn't give any indication of pain. He was a reanimated corpse and couldn't feel anything. That was the conclusion the Earth Toa came to in the split second before his weapon shattered in Lengorak's grasp. "Ah…"

The same force that had broken the weapon of the renowned Toa Onua Nuva came at him again, hitting him hard. It was a good thing he blocked it with his arm, or he might not have survived. He heard a sickening crunch and winced. There was no doubt his arm was broken – there were cracks in his armor. But the reanimated being seemed to have received the same punishment. Its arm was equally shattered, although it didn't seem to hinder its movement. Screaming, Onua stepped back, clutching his arm.

Kopaka summoned his elemental powers and pushed back the corpse, having deemed close-ranged melee combat far too dangerous and out of the question. "Damn… did you know the Makuta could do that?"

"He's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve…" Onua muttered back though his teeth.

Pohatu and Lewa shot their respective elements at the corpse as well, but it simply shook off the damage and tried to tackle Tahu. Quick reflexes on the Fire Toa's part saved him from being crushed. Gali also jumped out of the way.

The corpse gave a surprisingly Rahkshi-like hiss. Then it saw Takanuva. The Toa of Light, the Makuta's primary target. The one whom Tahu was supposed to destroy. With startling speed, it leapt upon the Toa of Light.

Takanuva raised his staff to block it. But it was strong, and kept pushing him back. Takanuva fought to keep his balance; losing his footing now would undoubtedly be fatal. But maybe it was too strong for him. His arms shook, and he knew he couldn't hold on much longer.

And then the tip of a Magma Blade came out of the corpse's chest. Tahu… The Toa of Fire had stabbed the corpse from behind. The Toa of Fire looked angry, but not wrathful. He was in control of his emotions now. The corpse gave no indication of having felt the blade. In fact, it continued its onslaught on the Toa of Light as if Tahu wasn't there.

The Toa of Fire backed up a few steps, leaving his weapon buried in the Raider. His hands began to glow. It wasn't as strong as the energy granted to him by the Makuta that he had been channeling mere moments before, but it was his element. The other Toa rushed to his side, already knowing what he was up to.

"All together now," he growled, "Get him!"

Six burst of elemental power were simultaneously unleashed upon the poor Raider's body. This even the numb zombie couldn't ignore. Fire, water, earth, air, stone, ice. They worked together and tore up the body in a chaotic clash. When it was finally over, the battered corpse slumped down onto the snow, and didn't get back up again.

"…Is it over?" Gali asked, still staring that the destroyed Raider, half expecting it to get back up again. It was the horrific result of a powerful act of necromancy, after all.

"Looks that way," replied a physically-exhausted Tahu.

"Did anyone know the Makuta could do that?" Onua asked, troubled, while holding out his arm to allow the Water Toa to inspect it.

"No. Though it shouldn't be that surprising, since we are talking about the being that put the Great Spirit in a deep slumber… Your arm should be fine. It probably hurts a lot now, but it's not permanent. It'll heal."

Pohatu nodded. "It's not like we expected him to just let us walk away… he must be pretty ticked off at you right now, Tahu." He grinned at the Fire Toa. "Good work."

Tahu shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah…" Suddenly solemn, he frowned. "Listen guys, I'm really sorry-"

"Don't pain-worry about it," Lewa interrupted with a wave of his hand.

Tahu smiled gratefully at the Air Toa.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind an apology…" Kopaka muttered under his breath.

&&&

Watching the scene from the shadows, Komaran couldn't suppress a smile. He had slipped away sometime during the battle between the Toa, and had observed the whole thing from a distance. While he had no love for the Makuta, he wasn't completely on the Nuva's side either, so he just watched neutrally. He was shocked, to say the least, about what happened to Lengorak. A pity – Lengorak might have been naïve, but Komaran sort of liked him.

Komaran?

He tensed, but relaxed when he realized who the voice belonged to.

Ghanoh. I am here.

Are you with the Toa? What's going on? she asked, curious.

Ah, the events unfolding before me are most interesting… he said, before briefly describing what he had just seen.

So… Lengorak's dead?

Yes. Unfortunately.

And… Tahu's with the Nuva again?

He confirmed it.

I see… The telepathic Raider trailed off. What does this mean for us Raiders? What are we to do now?

I don't know. We have no more reason for quarrel with the inhabitants of the island, but it's not like we can just walk into one of their villages.

Of course not. I wouldn't want to either anyway. Who wants to hang around Matoran all day? Not me.

Me neither, Komaran admitted with a smile. But it's a big island… there's plenty of room for us around here. Maybe we should just leave the Matoran alone and pursue our own goals. After all, I don't think the Makuta's going to mess with us anymore.

And Okenar?

Ah. He had forgotten the Earth Rider. He might be a problem… is he with you?

Yes. He's out cold though.

I see. Wait right there, I'm coming over. Without drawing the attention of the Nuva, who had all started descending the mountain, he slipped away to find the remaining Raiders.

They were exactly where Ghanoh said they would be, and it seemed that Okenar had just recently regained consciousness.

The Earth Raider started with a violent rant about a stupid Toa and started screaming threats at no one in particular. Ah, he never was too bright.

"Okenar, please-"

"He'll regret ever meeting me! I'll dangle him off a mountain until he apologizes! I'll rip him to pieces and burn them! I'll, I'll-"

"Okenar-"

"I'll destroy him! I'll wipe that grin off his face and I'll-"

"Okenar, shut up," the Ice Raider ordered bluntly.

He did just that.

"Thank you. I'm afraid you'll have to forget all about your, um, elaborate plans for revenge. There is no more reason for you to fight the Toa of Air."

"What?" The slow Raider frowned, confused.

"You chose a bad time to be unconscious my friend. You've missed a lot…"

&&&

Despite Lewa waving off Tahu's babbling, Kopaka got the apology he wanted. The Fire Toa went on and on, expressing his regret to each of them individually all the way down the mountain. They had stopped once to say good-bye to Kopaka, who was going back to check on his village.

And now they were at the base of the mountain.

"Say, Onua… I've been wondering, if you're here, who's watching our captives?" Gali asked curiously.

"…Oh."

Pohatu sighed. "You mean they're all alone?"

"We should probably check on them, huh?"

Gali nodded, and led the way to where they had parted with Ghanoh and Okenar. Sure enough, they were nowhere to be found.

"Mata Nui… don't tell me we'll have to hunt them down. Not now," Pohatu muttered,

Onua didn't seem happy about finding them gone either. But then he smiled. Did he really expect her to stay put? "I don't think that'll be necessary, Pohatu. I don't think they'll bother us anymore."

Tahu nodded. "The Makuta lost again. The Raiders won't try anything."

"Well, in that case, I must go deliver good news to village uptree," Lewa declared cheerfully. "Bye!"

Pohatu waved at him before leaving for his own village.

"I should get back to Onu-Koro," Onua said.

"Wait, are you sure you're going to be okay? You took a lot of damage…"

"I'll be fine," he replied. "You said so yourself, right?" He left them.

"Should we go back to Ta-Koro?" Takanuva proposed with a warm smile.

"You go ahead. I'll be right behind you. It's my village after all," Tahu replied, his eyes laughing.

The Toa of Light left.

"I suppose I should leave too then…"

"Gali, wait." He grabbed her arm gently and spun her around to face him.

There were a lot of things he could have said to the Toa of Water, and way too many different ways to word them. He debated with himself for a moment, before finally pushing all his complicated thoughts back to some corner in his mind. He just looked into her clear yellow eyes. She understood him. There would be a time for long dialogues and conversations. There would be a time for explanations, questions, and confiding. But right now, he really only needed a very simple phrase.

"Thank you."

She returned his smile.

&&&

Some time later, the island of Metru Nui was discovered. The Toa listened in fascination to the Turaga's tale, which revealed a surprising amount about the history of the Matoran. Preparations were made to move back into the city.

Onua brought up the rear of the last group of Matoran to leave the island. He helped direct a few of the Ussul Crabs in the right direction, then hung back.

The Toa of Earth turned around. So they were leaving. The Matoran were going back to their home, though they don't remember it. But for him and the other Toa Nuva… Mata Nui was their home. Could they really leave it behind and settle in some strange city? No, they had to. They were the Matoran's protectors after all.

As he surveyed the landscape one last time, trying to engrave the image into his memory, he noticed three figures standing on a pile of rocks in the distance, watching him and the Matoran leaving. They must have realized that they've been spotted, as the blue figure took a few steps forward and raised an arm. In greeting?

Smiling, the Toa of Earth answered her by raising his own arm.

Acknowledged, she turned and rejoined the two other figures, one of them white and the other black. Together, they climbed down from their vantage point, and disappeared from sight.

So those three were still doing well. Maybe he should mention it to the other Toa. Kopaka had often wondered about Komaran, who just disappeared during the confrontation with Tahu. And the Toa of Fire was curious as to their whereabouts as well. So they're just been lurking around? Well, one thing the Toa of Earth did know. They were leaving now, so the Raiders had the island to themselves. All the better for them.

Metru Nui awaited.

Author's Notes: Mmm, not that great, but I'm satisfied. I'm actually just glad to be done, lol. Amazing. Which story on hiatus should I tackle next? Any suggestions? lol. Anyway, this is the first Bionicle fic I've posted. And what started as a (really bad) plot bunny with no basis on anything turned into a very interesting writing experience. I've had you guys backing me up throughout the whole thing of course and I thank you for that.

There has obviously been a great change in my writing quality throughout the whole thing. Well duh, I started this in 2006, when I was only starting to discover this site. So I guess I will rewrite this. Maybe. If I have the time. Lol. Only because I stupidly never really bothered to consider what to do next when I started writing, and just let it progress on it's own (holy sh.t. mind blank – I honestly forgot how to spell 'own' for a second). That's why the story is so derailed/inconsistent. XD But I had fun, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Review, ne?