Bionicle: Renewal [Wattys 2017]

Chapter 4: Earth and Fire

Yet another of Korgot's drill bits snapped as she attempted to drill through the rock wall. She groaned in annoyance.
"Dammit. I'm the Protector of Earth, this should be easy for me." She muttered. The sixth and final Toa walked past her. This was Onua, Toa of Earth. He was much larger than the other Toa, and nearly twice the height of Korgot.
"Allow me." Onua said. Despite his brutish appearance, he was actually very polite.
"Go ahead." Korgot agreed. She placed her drill onto her belt. Meanwhile, Onua brandished his two massive shovel claws. With both shovels, he dug through the rock wall easily, exposing the dark purple crystals and black rock inside. He continued to dig, clearing a path through the earth. Korgot followed him.
"So tell me, Korgot," Onua began, "If the temple is so important, why do we have to dig through the ground to get to it?"
"I'm not quite sure." Korgot explained. "I guess we just didn't think we needed it, so we sealed it off. I'm sure it was my ancestor's idea."
Onua nodded. He continued to dig through the rock. He was far stronger than the other Toa, as far as he knew from what he was told. Eventually, he hit a softer portion of rock. It was hotter as well. Onua raised an eyebrow at this.
"This is obsidian, if I'm not mistaken." He said. "Volcanic rock."
"Yes, we're very close to the Region of Fire." Korgot explained. "A lot of lava flows through this area especially." She wiped the sweat from her forehead. The lava made it much hotter underground.
"We should hurry up, now." She continued. Onua nodded and continued digging. After some more digging, he broke through a rock wall, exposing a massive cave covered in purple crystals. One stalagmite rose from the floor into the centre of the cave, and on it sat the Golden Mask of Earth. There was a bridge of crystal platforms, floating far above the crystal spikes on the ground, leading from where Onua was standing to the mask.
"Well, go ahead." Korgot said.
"I will, it's just..." Onua began, "I'm not very good with heights."
"Um... might have other things to worry about." Korgot pointed at the mask, specifying the army of spiders that had just broken through the wall on the other side of the cave, and have began to scurry up the stalagmite to reach the mask. Onua knew what he had to do. He turned to Korgot.
"Cover me while I get the mask." He said. Korgot nodded, and clicked a button on her wristband. As she did so, her blaster activated. It was mounted on her chest, unlike the other Protectors who carried their blasters in some way. While Onua jumped onto the first floating platform, Korgot shot at some of the spiders around him. The spiders in the Earth Region were similar to the Ice Region spiders, though their endoskeletons were much tougher to protect from falling rocks. Despite this, they were still no match for Korgot's blaster, or Onua's other weapon, a massive hammer that was previously strapped to his back. He hopped across the platforms, and eventually reached the mask. He didn't have much time before the spiders reached him. Without even thinking, he grabbed the Golden Mask and used it to replace his current mask. He didn't bother taking a moment to get used to the power of the mask. Instead, he immediately shot his hand out, and the crystals surrounding him broke off from the ceiling of the cave. As they fell, each of the spiders were crushed one by one. He then erected a proper stone bridge, rather than floating platforms, from the centre of the cave to the place where Korgot was standing. She ran out to him, deactivating her blaster.
"How do you feel?" She asked.
"Powerful." Onua replied. "I feel at one with the earth itself."
"That's because you are." Korgot said. "Congratulations, Onua. You are the Master of Earth."

Tahu and Narmoto finally reached the volcano which housed the temple of the Golden Mask. It had been a long journey, but they made it. The two were currently walking up the volcano. They weren't a long ways away from the top. Narmoto was telling Tahu about the history of Okoto.
"We had two other heroes once, many years before you came." He said. "Ekimu and Makuta banded together to create two automatons to protect all of Okoto. They could even fuse with the legendary elemental creatures. During the war between the two Mask Makers, they fought alongside Ekimu and the past Protectors."
"What happened to them?" Tahu asked.
"They were infused with the power of the elements. Without them, they would be essentially dead." Narmoto explained. "Makuta stripped them of their powers during the war. Nobody knows what happened to the bodies, so they've never been reactivated."
Tahu nodded, but something else crossed his mind. "You mentioned elemental creatures." He said. "What are those?"
"Ah yes, I almost forgot." Narmoto began. "The creatures are beings which allowed Ekimu and Makuta to use the elements to create their masks. Without them, the Golden Masks wouldn't be able to exist."
Again, Tahu nodded. This world was so new to him. It was all so interesting and amazing to him. Eventually, Tahu and Narmoto reached the mouth of a cave. The two walked into the cave, and were eventually met with the bright light of a flowing river of lava. The river flowed into the centre of the volcano, and in the very centre was a pedestal. The Golden Mask of Fire rested on the pedestal. Tahu smirked.
"Lets go get it then." He said. He stopped and a chill ran down his back as he heard a skittering noise coming towards him.
"We've got company." Narmoto growled. He pulled out his swords and activated his shoulder blaster. A horde of spiders were crawling towards them. This was the largest horde Tahu had ever seen.
"Go get the mask. I'll deal with the spiders." Narmoto said. Tahu looked at Narmoto. While he knew he could hold his own in battle, he highly doubted that this frail old warrior could take on this many spiders, especially on his own.
"We can take them on together." Tahu insisted.
"There's no time." Narmoto ordered. "Go now, Tahu!"
With the conversation over, Tahu nodded and ran towards the river of lava. Before he reached it, he threw his lava board onto the lava, and jumped onto it. He sped down the steep slope of the volcano, with the hot air hitting him in the mask. Spiders began to approach and attack him. Using the speed to his advantage, he countered and blocked the attacks, sendi the spiders screeching into the lava below. The pedestal was coming up fast, and Tahu only had once chance. He reached out his hand and grabbed the mask. He grinned and leaned on the side of his board to turn back to Narmoto. His grin fell when he saw Narmoto wasn't doing so well against the spider. He gasped as he saw one of the spiders knock his mask off and latch itself onto his face.
"No!" Tahu exclaimed. He knew what he had to do. He placed the Golden Mask on his face, but only had a brief moment to focus on the power rush through his body. He had to act now. In a blast of energy, he summoned an arc of lava to blast him and his board upwards. He flew through the air and eventually landed on the ledge where he had been standing not moments before. He sent out a shockwave of energy that exterminated all the remaining spiders, except for the one on Narmoto's face. It would only take a few minutes before Narmoto's mind was taken over by the spider. Tahu reached for the spider and ripped it off of his face, tossing it into the lava below as Narmoto regained his consciousness. He gasped when he saw the Golden Mask on Tahu's face.
"Tahu... you did it." He said.
"We're not done yet." Tahu growled. Flames erupted out of his hands. There were spiders all around them, and they were all out for blood. Narmoto got up as well, activating his mask and holding up his flame swords in defence.
"Come at us, spiders!" Tahu yelled. "I am Tahu, Master of Fire!"