Chapter Text
"Nuparu! Hewkii! Keep it contained, we don't want anyone else getting hurt here!" Jaller called, having to shout for his teammates to hear him over the sounds of battle. Both Toa nodded and a stone wall erupted around them, the earth beneath their feet sinking to create a bowl-shaped indentation containing both the Toa and their foe.
The being- a Makuta by the looks of it, but Jaller hadn't bothered asking questions when they spotted the thing terrorizing a small village- towered over them on long, sickle-like legs. Already, an attempt to topple it by Hewkii and Kongu had been thwarted, the way it dipped and moved making it difficult to outmaneuver.
Creating a small cushion of superheated air beneath him as a launchpad, Jaller skirted up one wall in an arcing motion, twin blades leaving atomic green ribbons behind them as he leapt and slashed downwards at the monster, etching deep marks into its armored back. The Makuta roared in a battle-fueled rage and whirled around. It managed to catch a charging Hahli as it did, knocking her into Jaller and sending them both flying into the very solid wall.
The only thing Jaller felt was a sudden sharp, stinging pain in his side before his head collided with the hard stone.
When he woke, it wasn't to the sound of frenzied battle, nor was it the sound of celebration. It was simply silent.
After he'd gained some measure of consciousness, Jaller became cognizant of the pain in his abdomen- dull and throbbing at first, but sharpening more as he clawed his way back towards wakefulness.
Before he could muster the wherewithal to open his eyes, he groped at his side, searching for some easy escape from the pain. He gripped the sword that had become lodged in the wall- and his body- and ever so painstakingly slowly as he could bear, removed it. He groaned, less from the sudden dulling of the pain and more at the thought of Kongu and Nuparu ribbing on him later for impaling himself on his own weapon.
The silence crept up on him as his cognizance returned in full. When he finally opened his eyes, the reason for it was starkly evident.
The Makuta was nowhere to be found, and his team- his friends - were scattered throughout the makeshift arena, unmoving.
Closest to him was Kongu, crumpled up against the wall in much the same way he himself had been thrown. Jaller crouched beside him, looking for any spark or sign of life.
When he found none, he heaved a sigh and gently tapped his fist against Kongu's, which still loosely gripped his Cordak Blaster.
"I'm sorry, brother." He said as he stood, surveying the area for any movement or sound.
It was a grisly sight, even for how much he and his team had seen. Hewkii's armor seemed to have shattered, pieces of yellow-amber plating scattered all over. Hahli laid near the middle, and Jaller winced as he realized the blade sticking through her chest was his other sword. Nuparu's torso and legs laid at opposite sides of the arena, connected only by a few threads of saplike fluid which was slowly being absorbed by the earth.
The silence was pierced by a weak cough as Hahli's body convulsed. Jaller was by her side in an instant.
"Hahli!" He cried, gently cradling her in his arms. She barely seemed to acknowledge his presence, heartlight flickering unevenly.
Jaller was about to stand- attempt to find help, even if it looked like she had barely any time left- when a fear he hadn't felt in ages gripped his heart.
"Ah," a voice from somewhere over his shoulder purred. He didn't need to turn around to know it was the Makuta.
"Seems I missed one."
Jaller shot upright, heart feeling like it was about to pound out of his heaving chest, heartlight flashing madly to match. He could still feel the lingering fearful energy in his chest and hands, nearly pouncing when something to his left moved.
In his frantic state, it took him a moment to realize that the mass beside him- who had just let out an irritated, semi-conscious groan and rolled over- was a still-intact Nuparu. Hahli was curled on his other side, evidently still sleeping peacefully, followed by Kongu beside her. Sat on a nearby rock keeping watch was Hewkii, now having turned to look at him curiously. Jaller tried to ignore how strangely intimidating the red eyes peering out the ebon mask was when enshrouded in darkness. He tamped down the urge to look for their sixth, pushing himself up onto his haunches before standing so as not to further disturb his teammates. Hewkii, likewise, stood, and the pair silently made their way out a small distance- enough to avoid waking the team but still close enough to keep an eye on them.
Jaller wasn't sure what to say. He soon found himself sitting back on the ground, ignoring the sand now working its way up the seams in his armor. Hewkii followed suit, sitting back-to-back with his leader. It made it easier to talk and keep an eye on things that way, and feeling their teammate close at hand brought a small modicum of comfort to both Toa.
"So," Hewkii began, voice rumbling slightly from the effort to keep it low. "Might I be lucky enough to wring an answer out of you tonight?"
Jaller couldn't help but give a small smile, despite knowing Hewkii couldn't see it.
"Working on it," he said, "but it would start getting suspicious if I kept dodging these questions, wouldn't it?"
He felt Hewkii shrug. "It keeps my shifts interesting, if nothing else. You know I don't mean to pressure you if you really don't wanna talk."
Jaller remained silent for a while, staring at the patch of sand between his feet.
"... We were fighting a Makuta- couldn't tell which one, it looked like a few of them fused together. I… it attacked me, knocked me unconscious. It must have thought I was dead, because when I woke up, you all were…"
He sighed, violent imagery now occupying too much of his mind for him to continue.
Hewkii hummed in acknowledgement.
"... I failed to protect my team, and it cost us everything…"
"Hey, stop that." Hewkii replied with a surprising amount of force in his voice. Jaller lifted his head, curious.
"We- especially you- have been through hell and back over the last few months- literally- and that's a lot for even the strongest Toa to take. Now, whatever we face, we face as a team. You don't get to carry the scars from everything we've lived through alone. You're our leader, yeah, but we're all on the same ground here. Unity, remember?"
Jaller mulled over the response, eventually sighing and pulling his legs closer to his core.
"This isn't me trying to usurp you or anything, but if you need a break…"
"No, I can still lead. Thank you, though."
A stretch of silence followed. It was Hewkii who eventually broke it, hoping to ease the mood with a distraction.
"Could you ping, real quick? I mean, if you haven't been."
Jaller hummed and activated his mask power. A sonar ping, much higher in frequency than any known Rahi could hear, near-instantly mapped out the immediate area. Within a second more, he'd received the return signal.
"You're blocking about 70 degrees of my radius, but I don't see anything."
"Yeah, neither do I."
Again, they fell back into silence, and again it was Hewkii who spoke up first.
"Do you wanna head back?" he offered. It was clear that Jaller still had a lot on his mind, but he didn't want to pry into his friend's private matters too much. "If we make good time, we'll make it back to New Atero by early evening."
Jaller shook his head.
"No. The Agori called us out here for a reason. It would be… improper to abandon our duty like that."
Jaller caught some movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced upwards. Hahli was making her way over, seating herself on the ground next to her teammates.
Jaller acknowledged her with a nod, then sighed, placing his chin in his hand and looking out towards nothing.
"Despite everything, I…" he sighed. Both Hahli and Hewkii straightened slightly, indicating their attention.
"Sometimes I regret organizing our rescue mission. I know it's terrible to say that," Jaller finally admitted, voice dipping in volume and register, "I know that without us, the Great Spirit and the Toa Nuva- and then everyone- would have died. But Matoro would have been with us."
Takanuva had mentioned visiting an alternate universe where similar circumstances had come to pass. He wondered, as he had many times previously, if his alternate self appreciated his friend's survival. He'd better, with how much Matoro's absence gnawed at him even this long after his sacrifice.
Hahli rested a hand on his shoulder, quiet for a moment.
"I've had thoughts like that too. We all miss him dearly, Jaller."
This world wasn't worth his life, Jaller caught himself thinking, but luckily bit his tongue before the words could spill out, though it hardly helped the wave of mental self-flagellation that quickly followed for thinking something so selfish. His shoulders sagged. Hahli's contact shifted from one hand into an admittedly-comforting half-hug, which Jaller didn't resist being shifted into, just continuing to stare out at nothing on the horizon. Hewkii shifted slightly to allow her more room, but all were soon distracted when motion near the camp drew the attention of the three.
Kongu was making his way over, followed by Nuparu. As they took their places between Hewkii and Jaller and opposite Hahli, Kongu spoke up.
"We woke up so cold-lone we thought something happened!" He enthused, joviality an obvious attempt to lift Jaller's mood. It kind of worked. He couldn't help the half-smile that tugged at his mask.
With his entire team present, the dark feelings fogging Jaller's mind like stormclouds began to clear.
"Clearing out the Hunters from this area shouldn't take long, and if things get hectic, the Toa Hagah aren't far." Nuparu offered.
Jaller relaxed and leaned back slightly, shifting a bit more of his weight onto Hahli, Hewkii, and Kongu's shoulder. Kongu, in turn, shifted, moving an arm to support Jaller's back below Hahli's.
"I know I'm not really this… sentimental, usually, but…" Jaller spoke, voice soft, "There's no team of Toa I'd rather serve with than you."
"And there's no one we'd rather follow," came Hahli's response.