CHAPTER 7 - Amnesia
There was no need for Crystal to be introduced to the Matoran, she already heard their names when Lewa counted them. Nevertheless, they each repeated them with a friendly smile and a handshake after having climbed from their containers. "That's a lot of names." Crystal chuckled, rubbing the back of her head, "I think the Toa will be easiest to remember. Your names are your elements: Ga, Ta, Ko, Po, Le, and Onu... Takanuva is pretty unique, there's no way I'll forget that."
Takanuva smiled and even seemed to blush a little.
"It's because they are the elements!" The Ga-Matoran called Maku exclaimed. She had been the one who flew at Hewkii before. "Most Toa start as Matoran like Takanuva did; Tahu, Kopaka, Lewa, Onua, Pohatu, and Gali didn't. They are the spirits of the elements embodied, they have always been Toa."
Crystal's eyes widened. "The elements?" she gasped, looking at the Toa with wonder. Now the whispering message made more sense than ever before. It wasn't saying what these Toa were, it was saying who these Toa were. "That's amazing! I thought that maybe you were just the next set Toa come to save us."
The Toa and Matoran blinked at one another. "What do you mean?" Tahu asked.
Crystal frowned, realizing she had dropped a bomb that she probably should have eased into. "Well, my friends are Toa already, but Comet says they've been broken and separate for too long. He's been expecting the next set for awhile now.."
"Yes, but why do you need Toa to save you?" Pohatu clarified, "Is your world in some kind of danger?"
"Unfortunately, yes. There's a really bad Glatorian who rules it all with an iron fist. He's ruthless, cruel, and-- Well, just everything bad! His name is Makute Doom." Crystal explained. To her surprise, a flash of recognition shone in the eyes of all the Toa. "Do-- Do you know of him?" She asked.
For a moment, the Toa were silent, then finally they shook their heads. "I thought I did for a minute." Pohatu confessed.
"So did I, but it's gone again." Onua added.
"We must have sorry gone-thought." Lewa sighed.
"Gone-thought?" Crystal asked.
"Amnesia." Gali clarified.
"Whatever. Makute means shadow. With or without our memories, we all know what this implies." Tahu said sternly.
"Yeah. Evil, power-hungry villain out to destroy the world." Jaller sighed in exasperation.
"No, just destroy the Toa. I think he likes the world. I mean, he rules it." Crystal said shyly.
"Rule the world then." Jaller corrected, walking toward the Suva and grabbing one of the weapons that lay against it. Several of the other Matoran did the same. "Guess nothing has really changed." he sighed.
"What do you mean?" Crystal asked.
Jaller paused and blinked, then shook his head and looked hopelessly back at her. "I- I don't know." he confessed, then stood proudly, "All I know is that as The Captain Of The Guard, it's my duty."
"Captain of what guard?" Crystal asked.
"The Ta-Matoran guard." Jaller replied.
"But.. You and Kapura over there are the only Ta-Matorans here." Crystal said, gesturing to the small Ta-Matoran playing on the back of his red Vahki. He wasn't paying attention to what was being said, yet as if to prove the point, he suddenly slipped and fell to the ground rather clumsily.
"Riiight.." Jaller said slowly, rubbing his head. "And if I remember correctly, Kapura is still in training."
"Remember correctly implies that you actually remember something." Crystal said skeptically, folding her arms.
Jaller looked at her helplessly. "Well, not anymore."
"I don't get it." Kai, the other Po-Matoran, interrupted suddenly as he stepped forward and grabbed a weapon. "How is it that we can't remember anything except everybody's names, who we are, what we do, and what words imply?"
"Do you know how long you have been asleep?" Crysal asked.
"Long enough to forget how to walk." Maku quipped.
"And wind-fly." Moaned Kongu, one of the Le-Matoran, who had just fallen on his face after leaping off a container-- Probably in attempt to do the very thing he just discovered he couldn't.
"No, I'm afraid we don't." Hahli, another Ga-Matoran, said to clarify.
"Perhaps we can jog our memories if we could link our history with yours." Gali suggested, looking at Crystal. "The word 'Makute' is familiar to us, so when did this Makute Doom come to power? Perhaps we met him once before."
Crystal felt her heart sink. She knew what she had to say next was not going to be helpful to them at all. "We don't really have a history.. Makute Doom has been in power for as long as anyone can remember. Toa have fought against him over the years, but I can't recall anyone having said anything about elemental spirits." The Toa and Matoran frowned, each looking disheartened.
Hahli looked perplexed. "How could you not have a history? History is probably one of the most important things in the world! We learn so much from history. History gives us a connection to our ancestors and knowledge of the legacy we inherited from them, it gives us a richer appreciation for what is around us if we know how it came to be there, and it keeps us from repeating the mistakes of others.. Without a history, how can you feel connected to anything?"
"Calm down, Hahli." Gali said, placing a hand on the Matoran's head.
Crystal shrugged. "I'm sorry. We just don't. Everything we know about the past is word of mouth."
"So you don't have any chroniclers?" Hewkii asked.
"What's a chronicler?" Crystal asked.
"That answers that." Tahu huffed, turning and walking toward the cave exit.
"It's a person who writes accounts of important or historical events, so that future generations will know. It's what Hahli is." Maku explained, putting a hand on Hahli's shoulder.
Crystal smiled. 'That certainly explains her passion on the subject.' she thought.
"Well then, perhaps we can jog our memories by having a look around. You say we're on a mountain? Then we'll have a nice view of the whole valley." Tahu said, calling everyone's attention to himself just before he left the room and started down the tunnel to the surface.
"No wait!" Crystal called, running after him. She paused at the stone guards and reached out a hand toward the Toa's retreating figure. "There's a huge blizzard out there. It's impossible to see anything!"
Tahu kept walking. "Never stopped me before." He muttered.
Crystal frowned grumpily. Tahu was just as stubborn as Magma! It must be a fire Toa thing. A moment later, Kopaka also walked passed her. "I'll go with him." He said. His voice was very distinctive. It was surprising to Crystal to realize that, of all of them, he hadn't said a word this whole time!
"My friend Glacier is an ice Toa too, even he couldn't control the storm. The Mountain of Whispers is said to have a mind of it's own." Crystal argued.
A moment later, she felt a hand on her head and turned to see Lewa. "Do not fuss-worry, little one. My brothers will be safe. They are a good fight-team."
"Sure....When they want to be.." The Ko-Matoran called Sasha said, rubbing her arm sheepishly. Everyone looked at her. "I just mean that Kopaka and Tahu don't always get along.. Kopaka might just walk off and leave him.."
Her vote seemed to weaken the confidence of the others, more particularly the Toa who exchanged worried glances. "We can't have anyone getting separate-lost when we don't know what deep-wood dark-threats await." Lewa said, looking at Gali anxiously.
"Perhaps we should follow them." Onua suggested.
"It is best that we stay together for now.. We will follow them to the entrance, but not into the storm." Gali agreed. "Make sure the young ones are mounted on their Vahki, and follow me." At her word, the Matoran and Toa moved toward the entrance in a herd.
Crystal hesitated. "Perhaps it's best if we don't forget where this place is.. Suva are not easy to find now days."
Gali seemed confused by this, but did not linger. She led the others, Crystal included, back up the tunnel toward the entrance. As they ascended, Crystal felt as though something was different now: With Tahu gone, the temperature was dropping, and of course the light followed Takanuva; but it was more than that... She just couldn't figure out what until they reached the opening.
There Tahu and Kopaka stood, side by side in the snow, staring out across the vast landscape. The endless blizzard had completely cleared! Crystal found that they could indeed see for miles, just as Tahu had hoped. She could now determine that she was on the very peak of The Mountain of Whispers. In every direction, a distant outline of the Metrus could be seen, along with several Koros scattered throughout the various Wahis. It felt as though she was on top of the whole world! ... But how could she have possibly gotten up this high when they hadn't been wandering for more than a few hours? And where were the others?
Finally, Crystal realized what had changed: It was quiet.
...The whispers, all of them, had stopped...
Takanuva smiled and even seemed to blush a little.
"It's because they are the elements!" The Ga-Matoran called Maku exclaimed. She had been the one who flew at Hewkii before. "Most Toa start as Matoran like Takanuva did; Tahu, Kopaka, Lewa, Onua, Pohatu, and Gali didn't. They are the spirits of the elements embodied, they have always been Toa."
Crystal's eyes widened. "The elements?" she gasped, looking at the Toa with wonder. Now the whispering message made more sense than ever before. It wasn't saying what these Toa were, it was saying who these Toa were. "That's amazing! I thought that maybe you were just the next set Toa come to save us."
The Toa and Matoran blinked at one another. "What do you mean?" Tahu asked.
Crystal frowned, realizing she had dropped a bomb that she probably should have eased into. "Well, my friends are Toa already, but Comet says they've been broken and separate for too long. He's been expecting the next set for awhile now.."
"Yes, but why do you need Toa to save you?" Pohatu clarified, "Is your world in some kind of danger?"
"Unfortunately, yes. There's a really bad Glatorian who rules it all with an iron fist. He's ruthless, cruel, and-- Well, just everything bad! His name is Makute Doom." Crystal explained. To her surprise, a flash of recognition shone in the eyes of all the Toa. "Do-- Do you know of him?" She asked.
For a moment, the Toa were silent, then finally they shook their heads. "I thought I did for a minute." Pohatu confessed.
"So did I, but it's gone again." Onua added.
"We must have sorry gone-thought." Lewa sighed.
"Gone-thought?" Crystal asked.
"Amnesia." Gali clarified.
"Whatever. Makute means shadow. With or without our memories, we all know what this implies." Tahu said sternly.
"Yeah. Evil, power-hungry villain out to destroy the world." Jaller sighed in exasperation.
"No, just destroy the Toa. I think he likes the world. I mean, he rules it." Crystal said shyly.
"Rule the world then." Jaller corrected, walking toward the Suva and grabbing one of the weapons that lay against it. Several of the other Matoran did the same. "Guess nothing has really changed." he sighed.
"What do you mean?" Crystal asked.
Jaller paused and blinked, then shook his head and looked hopelessly back at her. "I- I don't know." he confessed, then stood proudly, "All I know is that as The Captain Of The Guard, it's my duty."
"Captain of what guard?" Crystal asked.
"The Ta-Matoran guard." Jaller replied.
"But.. You and Kapura over there are the only Ta-Matorans here." Crystal said, gesturing to the small Ta-Matoran playing on the back of his red Vahki. He wasn't paying attention to what was being said, yet as if to prove the point, he suddenly slipped and fell to the ground rather clumsily.
"Riiight.." Jaller said slowly, rubbing his head. "And if I remember correctly, Kapura is still in training."
"Remember correctly implies that you actually remember something." Crystal said skeptically, folding her arms.
Jaller looked at her helplessly. "Well, not anymore."
"I don't get it." Kai, the other Po-Matoran, interrupted suddenly as he stepped forward and grabbed a weapon. "How is it that we can't remember anything except everybody's names, who we are, what we do, and what words imply?"
"Do you know how long you have been asleep?" Crysal asked.
"Long enough to forget how to walk." Maku quipped.
"And wind-fly." Moaned Kongu, one of the Le-Matoran, who had just fallen on his face after leaping off a container-- Probably in attempt to do the very thing he just discovered he couldn't.
"No, I'm afraid we don't." Hahli, another Ga-Matoran, said to clarify.
"Perhaps we can jog our memories if we could link our history with yours." Gali suggested, looking at Crystal. "The word 'Makute' is familiar to us, so when did this Makute Doom come to power? Perhaps we met him once before."
Crystal felt her heart sink. She knew what she had to say next was not going to be helpful to them at all. "We don't really have a history.. Makute Doom has been in power for as long as anyone can remember. Toa have fought against him over the years, but I can't recall anyone having said anything about elemental spirits." The Toa and Matoran frowned, each looking disheartened.
Hahli looked perplexed. "How could you not have a history? History is probably one of the most important things in the world! We learn so much from history. History gives us a connection to our ancestors and knowledge of the legacy we inherited from them, it gives us a richer appreciation for what is around us if we know how it came to be there, and it keeps us from repeating the mistakes of others.. Without a history, how can you feel connected to anything?"
"Calm down, Hahli." Gali said, placing a hand on the Matoran's head.
Crystal shrugged. "I'm sorry. We just don't. Everything we know about the past is word of mouth."
"So you don't have any chroniclers?" Hewkii asked.
"What's a chronicler?" Crystal asked.
"That answers that." Tahu huffed, turning and walking toward the cave exit.
"It's a person who writes accounts of important or historical events, so that future generations will know. It's what Hahli is." Maku explained, putting a hand on Hahli's shoulder.
Crystal smiled. 'That certainly explains her passion on the subject.' she thought.
"Well then, perhaps we can jog our memories by having a look around. You say we're on a mountain? Then we'll have a nice view of the whole valley." Tahu said, calling everyone's attention to himself just before he left the room and started down the tunnel to the surface.
"No wait!" Crystal called, running after him. She paused at the stone guards and reached out a hand toward the Toa's retreating figure. "There's a huge blizzard out there. It's impossible to see anything!"
Tahu kept walking. "Never stopped me before." He muttered.
Crystal frowned grumpily. Tahu was just as stubborn as Magma! It must be a fire Toa thing. A moment later, Kopaka also walked passed her. "I'll go with him." He said. His voice was very distinctive. It was surprising to Crystal to realize that, of all of them, he hadn't said a word this whole time!
"My friend Glacier is an ice Toa too, even he couldn't control the storm. The Mountain of Whispers is said to have a mind of it's own." Crystal argued.
A moment later, she felt a hand on her head and turned to see Lewa. "Do not fuss-worry, little one. My brothers will be safe. They are a good fight-team."
"Sure....When they want to be.." The Ko-Matoran called Sasha said, rubbing her arm sheepishly. Everyone looked at her. "I just mean that Kopaka and Tahu don't always get along.. Kopaka might just walk off and leave him.."
Her vote seemed to weaken the confidence of the others, more particularly the Toa who exchanged worried glances. "We can't have anyone getting separate-lost when we don't know what deep-wood dark-threats await." Lewa said, looking at Gali anxiously.
"Perhaps we should follow them." Onua suggested.
"It is best that we stay together for now.. We will follow them to the entrance, but not into the storm." Gali agreed. "Make sure the young ones are mounted on their Vahki, and follow me." At her word, the Matoran and Toa moved toward the entrance in a herd.
Crystal hesitated. "Perhaps it's best if we don't forget where this place is.. Suva are not easy to find now days."
Gali seemed confused by this, but did not linger. She led the others, Crystal included, back up the tunnel toward the entrance. As they ascended, Crystal felt as though something was different now: With Tahu gone, the temperature was dropping, and of course the light followed Takanuva; but it was more than that... She just couldn't figure out what until they reached the opening.
There Tahu and Kopaka stood, side by side in the snow, staring out across the vast landscape. The endless blizzard had completely cleared! Crystal found that they could indeed see for miles, just as Tahu had hoped. She could now determine that she was on the very peak of The Mountain of Whispers. In every direction, a distant outline of the Metrus could be seen, along with several Koros scattered throughout the various Wahis. It felt as though she was on top of the whole world! ... But how could she have possibly gotten up this high when they hadn't been wandering for more than a few hours? And where were the others?
Finally, Crystal realized what had changed: It was quiet.
...The whispers, all of them, had stopped...
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