CHAPTER FIVE
"Botar!" Amath exclaimed, looking up at the towering Saevta in fear. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?"
Botar glared down at the ex-Dark Hunter, his large maw twisted into a nasty scowl. "Did you really think the Order would not keep an eye on one of its most dangerous secrets?"
Jaw hanging open, Amath turned his head to Shikaiju, who stood there equally shocked. "You said you had him preoccupied."
"Preoccupied?" Botar snorted. "If you wanted to preoccupy me, you should have killed me. It is unwise to try and distract me from my duty."
Amath narrowed his eyes. "I should say the same to you. You have no idea what's at stake here."
"I do. That's why I'm here to stop you."
"No. You don't understand." Amath gestured to the stone gate. "Beyond there lies our only hope towards ending the Makuta's reign. If you stop us from opening it, you would be dooming us all."
"Can I just say, for the record, that he doesn't speak for any of us?" Arctur said, raising his hand nervously. "I'm only saying that because, well, none of us are here on our own accord."
Botar glanced at the Toa of Gravity, as if noticing him and his teammates for the first time. "I thought you were tracking down Karzahni."
"We were," Lesovikk said. "Like he said, matters were taken out of our hands."
Sniffing, Botar returned his attention to Amath. "Even if what you said was true -- which it is not -- you still interfered with an Order operation. That alone is a punishable offense."
"A stickler for the law, as always," Amath said snidely. "Even when the universe is at stake, you insist on prioritizing your stupid rules."
"Enough talk," Botar growled. "All of you are coming with me."
"Oh, I don't think so. Shikaiju?"
With a roar, the female Saevta lunged at Botar. As the two collided, both titans vanished in a flash of light, leaving Amath alone with the eight gathered Toa.
"Well, that wasn't too difficult." Amath turned to face the three Toa of Psionics. "Now then: to work."
"I don't know," Varian murmured. "After all that, I'm not sure it's a good idea to open this gate."
"Your feelings are irrelevant. You will open the gate."
"And if we don't?" Orde asked, crossing his arms. "You don't have your large friend to bully us anymore. We outnumber you eight to one now."
Amath said nothing at first, his eyes darting from Toa to Toa. He then glanced at Trisuma, who did not seem interested at all with the topic at hand. "And you? Are you against this as well?"
Trisuma shrugged. "Seeing as it's already two against one, I don't think my opinion matters much."
"Regardless, I would like to hear it."
The Kualsi-wearing Toa of Psionics lifted her head towards Orde and Varian. "For all we know, Amath could be telling the truth. Whatever is being guarded here could be the key to stopping the Makuta."
"And if it ends up being something worse?" Orde asked.
"Then we'll deal with it like Toa. It's what we're made to do. Our duty, if you will."
Orde and Varian fell silent as they mulled over this, possibly even having a conversation telepathically. Amath and the other Toa waited anxiously for them to finish, unsure of how this was going to all play out. After what felt like forever, Orde finally spoke.
"We'll do it."
"What?!" Arctur and Seldaan exclaimed. Chiara and Zaria looked similarly shocked while Lesovikk merely looked concerned.
"Are you sure about this, Orde?" the Toa of Air asked.
"He did say earlier that you may not survive the process."
"We are willing to accept the price," said Varian. "Besides, it's not like any of us have anywhere to go."
With that, the three Toa of Psionics stood together before the massive gate. As one, they lifted their hands and closed their eyes as they concentrated all of their power, sending one large mental command:
Open.
* * *
"No."
"Yes," Shikaiju growled, slamming Botar into the ground. "It is done. The gate is open."
"You fool," Botar snarled, struggling against his opponent's grip. "You have no idea what you've done. That place was guarded for a reason!"
"Yes, and it is for that reason we are opening it."
"Why?" Botar grunted. "You know of the danger it entails. Why would you think it would help us defeat the Makuta?"
Shikaiju chuckled, a guttural sound from her throat. "I don't. That was simply a lie I told Amath. It was the only way I could get him to assist me."
Botar stared at her, eyes wide. "What are you saying?"
The female Saevta grinned wickedly. "It was never about defeating the Makuta...."
Holding Botar down, she raised an arm-mounted blade over her head.
"It was about helping them."
With that, the blade came down... and struck only solid ground, as Botar vanished from her grasp in a flash of light.
* * *
"Ow, my head," Varian groaned, rubbing her cranium as she got to her feet. "Promise me that we'll never have to do that again."
No one answered her as Amath and the Toa all stared at where the stone wall had once been, now nothing but dust. Beyond it lay the outskirt of a jungle, rich with fauna and plant life. The sounds of birds tweeting and bugs chirping could be heard. All in all, it wasn't anything to write home about.
What was, though, was the green Matoran standing in front of them, eyes wide behind her mask. Her mask. Last time Lesovikk checked, all green Matoran -- whether they be Air or Plant Life types -- were male. Of course, he had once thought the opposite of Psionics types until he met Orde....
The Matoran slowly took a few steps back, staring at the Toa in what almost looked like fear. "Protector Vizuna warned me about going out near the wall," she murmured to herself. "I should've listened but nope, I had to be stupid and...."
With that, she turned on her heel and ran into the jungle, not once looking back at the Toa and Amath. Once she was gone, Arctur looked around at the others' shocked faces before scratching the back of his head.
"I know we all have less-than-stellar reputations, but man, that's a heartbreaker."
"Well, consider me less than impressed so far," Seldaan commented. "For all the fuss that Botar person was making, I was expecting something more."
"I'm sure whatever's being kept here is elsewhere on the island," said Amath, although he sounded slightly uncertain of himself. "They wouldn't have it be placed right at the wall."
"Are we just going to ignore the fact that that Le-Matoran was female?" Zaria asked, looking at the others. "Anyone? Am I the only one who cares?"
"I think we have more pressing concerns at hand," Lesovikk replied. "Any idea where we should start looking, Amath?"
But when the Toa of Air turned, the former Dark Hunter was nowhere to be found.
"What the...? But how--"
"He can use shadows as portals," Orde explained. "That's why he's called 'Shadow Stealer.'"
"Great." Lesovikk rubbed his forehead. "We've just lost both beings responsible for us being here and have no idea where to go or what's even on this island. Fantastic."
Chiara cleared her throat. "Um, now's probably a bad time, but...."
Lesovikk glanced at her. "What? What is it now?"
"Trisuma's gone as well."
* * *
Harvali breathed heavily as she dashed through the jungle, jumping over branches and swinging on vines. How could she have been so foolish? Vizuna had told her time and again to not go anywhere near the wall. Bingzak had nearly been banished when he had done so; why did she have to be so stupid and do the same? Now she had doomed them all.
The Le-Matoran let out a cry as a sharp pain came to her head. Tripping over a branch, she fell face first into the dirt. As she began to get up, a shadow fell over her.
"Do not struggle, little one," a soothing voice spoke into her ear. "It's going to be all right." A hand fell on either side of her head. "Just give me what I want."
Harvali opened her mouth in a silent scream as the Toa of Psionics invaded her mind....
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