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Description
Hahli had never thought destiny would take her on the current path she was on.
She and her five other friends - Jaller, Nuparu, Kongu, Hewkii, and Matoro - all set out to aid the Toa Nuva after they vanished in the mysterious island of Voya Nui. What none of them had anticipated was a certain Red Star infusing them with new powers and transforming them into a new team of heroes: the Toa Inika.
After washing ashore on the dark island, the newly-minted Toa warriors set out with two main goals in mind: to defeat the treacherous Piraka and liberate their brainwashed Matoran slaves. Their quest took them all the way to the Piraka's stronghold, where they clashed with both them and the hulking giant, Brutaka. Hahli found herself squaring off against the icy Piraka known as Thok, who assaulted her with infrared eyebeams that caused her legs to buckle.
Thok's eyebeams...interfering with my balance... I can't see him! The Water Toa struggled to fight back the wave of dizziness that chipped away at her senses. The world around her spun and blurred out of focus.
"I like prey that struggles, Toa," Thok sneered. "It gives me a sense of...accomplishment."
Hahli's ears perked up when her Great Elda Mask activated. Her new Kanohi's detection powers allowed her to pierce through the disorienting haze of Thok's eyebeams and hone in on where his slimy voice was coming from.
"Then this should leave you feeling overjoyed!" Allowing her Kanohi Elda to guide her, Hahli raised her laser harpoon and fired a large energy beam.
Thok jumped away from the projectile at the last second, causing him to lose focus on his eyebeams. "Impressive. But tell me, would anything change if I tore off that fancy mask?"
"If you can get close enough." Hahli knelt into a fighting stance, holding her weapons at the ready.
"Now, now. No sense biting the hand that might kill you."
The Toa Inika continued their battle with the Piraka, until one of the scaly Dark Hunters fired a blue zamor sphere right at Brutaka.
"Hakann! Not without me you don't, you traitorous lava ape!" Thok shouted at his comrade as he quickly ran to his side.
The zamor sphere found its target, causing Brutaka to scream in agony before falling to the ground. All the combatants present froze at the sight, and watched in shock as the titan's immense powers were drained away...and flowed right into Hakann and Thok, who bathed in the power that surged through their bodies.
"I did it!!" Hakann cackled triumphantly.
"We did it," corrected Thok as he glared at his opportunistic partner. "If it wasn't for me, you'd have hoarded all the power for yourself!"
"Quit complaining. Now we have the power to take whatever we want from this wretched island!"
"Give up before this gets out of hand, Piraka!" Jaller warningly raised his energized flame sword at his foes.
"Are you still here, Toa? Begone, insect!!" Hakann fired his eyebeams at Jaller, which were ten times more powerful than before.
The attack sent Jaller flying across the room before he landed in a smoking heap. Hahli rushed to her friend's side and glared menacingly at the powered-up Piraka duo. "You're lucky Jaller is still alive. My vengeance would be like a hurricane."
"What're you going to do? Rain on us, little fikou?" Hakann mocked. "I don't think she fully understands, Thok."
"Indeed she doesn't," Thok concurred. "We have stolen Brutaka's energies, and that makes us the masters of infinite raw power!!"
With a wave of their hands, Hakann and Thok bent the entire stronghold to their will. A large stone hand emerged from the ground and lifted them both high into the air like a pedestal, where they glared down at their opponents like chess pieces. The walls then grew more giant stone arms, which reached out and lifted several of the Toa Inika and other Piraka helplessly in the air. Hahli ran to help her friends, but her upper body was quickly encased in thick stones, causing her weapons to fall to her feet. With a flick of his wrist, Thok levitated the encased Water Toa close to his skull-like face. Hahli struggled and thrashed in the Piraka's psychic grip as the stone bindings chafed against her armor.
Thok gripped the chin of her Kanohi Mask. "Liking our little game of 'Let's Trap A Toa' so far, gukko bird?"
Hahli glared angrily at the Dark Hunter. "This won't hold me. Or don't you know what water does to stone?"
"You were pretty sneaky with my partner back there, Toa. You'd make a wonderful Piraka," Hakann commented (though his tone was laced with smug arrogance). "Ever consider switching sides?"
"If you even think I'd ever consider joining you... Then you're in for a shock." Hahli swung her leg in a swift roundhouse kick right across Thok's face.
The opening was enough to make Thok lose concentration and drop Hahli back to the ground. She still struggled to break free from her stone entrapment right as Thok fired an ice beam at her. Hahli braced herself, but Matoro leaped in at the last second and blocked off the attack.
"Firing at a helpless foe? You're cold, Piraka," Matoro quipped. "And that's coming from a Toa of Ice."
Hahli finally summoned her water powers to soak her stone bindings until they dissolved into grains, and sent a teasing grin at her friend. "Helpless? I just needed a minute to catch my footing."
"Quit your antics, Toa!" Hakann roared from atop his perch. "Once we find the Mask of Life, you won't be making jokes for long!"
"Traitors! The Mask of Life is for all of us to steal! Not just you!" the Piraka Avak protested from where he was held tightly in the stone arm's grip.
"The Toa Inika stand against you as well, Hakann!" Hahli declared. "You'll never get your claws on the Mask while we still live!"
Hakann flashed a monstrous grin. "Then live no longer."
As if he were swatting an insect, Hakann unleashed an immense mental blast at Toa and Piraka alike. Hahli joined the others in their screams of agony as the mere act of thinking became an unbearable agony. Pain seared into the very core of her mind, until all Hahli saw was darkness.

Hours later, Hahli and the others stirred back awake to find the Piraka still strung up in the stone arms, as well as the comatose Brutaka still weakened by the loss of his powers. Shortly after, the enigmatic Axonn arrived and informed them of the whereabouts of the Mask of Life. But as the Toa Inika began setting out for their next destination, they were stopped by the Piraka's cunning leader, Zaktan.
"You can't stop them, you know," the snakish Piraka hissed. "With Brutaka's stolen powers, you Toa don't stand a shadow of a chance."
"Thanks for the pep talk, Piraka," Nuparu sassed.
Hahli sighed. "Zaktan has a point. Charging headfirst got us nowhere. We should have a strategy."
"You're gonna believe-trust this sentient slime??" Kongu asked bewilderedly.
"Listen. I want those two taken down just as much as you do," Zaktan reasoned. "Free us, and I can create a special zamor sphere that can reverse what they did to Brutaka."
A tense moment of silence passed. Kongu was about to protest again, but Jaller stepped forward with a guarded expression.
"Just no tricks." Jaller used his sword to cut through the Piraka's restraints.
"Asking a Skakdi to behave is like asking an untamed gukko not to fly away!" Kongu retorted.
"The green one has a point." the Piraka Reidak snickered darkly.
While the Toa and Piraka began collaborating on the new zamor sphere, Hahli pulled Matoro aside.
"I never got to thank you for helping me out back there." Hahli flashed him a thankful smile. "If you hadn't stepped in, I'd have been frozen by now."
Matoro shrugged. "You seemed to have it under control. I just didn't want you getting hurt. Or anyone else, for that matter."
"We're glad to have you as part of the group."
"I'm not certain. I am just a translator, after all."
Hahli noticed the hint of self-depreciation in her friend's words and put a hand on his shoulder. "You really should give yourself some more credit. Your analytical outlook and quick-thinking are useful assets to have on our side. Not to mention how you got us out of Karzahni's kingdom..." the Water Toa shivered at the memory of that awful realm. "You're just as brave as the rest of us, if not more so."
Matoro's eyes were stunned before a slow smile made itself known on his Kanohi Mask. "I... Thank you, Hahli. That really does help..."
"Hey!! Are you Toa just gonna sit around all day?!" the Piraka Vezok snapped. "Go get those backstabbing traitors already!!"
Hahli placed a hand on her hip. "You could come with and help us, you know?"
"We have our own matters to attend to, Toa. Consider this a stalemate for the time being," Zaktan growled before pulling his bestial companion away.
"No point wasting any more time with those bog snakes." Hewkii motioned for Hahli and Matoro to join him. "Come on. The Piraka finished their special zamor, and Jaller says it's time to go."
"I really do hope this truce doesn't blow up in our faces," Matoro dreaded.
Hahli patted his back. "Whatever comes our way, we'll face it together."

The remaining Piraka lurked in the shadows of their ravaged stronghold as the Toa Inika departed for the Green Belt.
"Do you think I'll be able to get the Water Toa's number?" Vezok asked aloud.
Reidak scoffed. "Someone's desperate."
"What?! We have the same color scheme! And she's pretty!"
Avak shook his head. "Not like she'll be alive long enough to consider giving you a chance."
Zaktan grinned as the Toa vanished further in the distance. "Indeed. With the trap set in their 'special' zamor, we'll eliminate two gukko birds in one fell swoop. And the Mask...shall soon be ours..."

--The 2006 arc of Bionicle is one of my most cherished childhood memories. Funnily enough, it was mostly because the Piraka were my favorite sets to collect. To this day, I even still remember spending hours playing Bionicle Heroes on my computer. Plus, there's the fact that the Inika trailer made me an All-American Rejects fan. #FreeTheBand
--Most of this story was paraphrased from the Ignition comics and chapter books written by Greg Farshtey.

Description
Hahli had never thought destiny would take her on the current path she was on.
She and her five other friends - Jaller, Nuparu, Kongu, Hewkii, and Matoro - all set out to aid the Toa Nuva after they vanished in the mysterious island of Voya Nui. What none of them had anticipated was a certain Red Star infusing them with new powers and transforming them into a new team of heroes: the Toa Inika.
After washing ashore on the dark island, the newly-minted Toa warriors set out with two main goals in mind: to defeat the treacherous Piraka and liberate their brainwashed Matoran slaves. Their quest took them all the way to the Piraka's stronghold, where they clashed with both them and the hulking giant, Brutaka. Hahli found herself squaring off against the icy Piraka known as Thok, who assaulted her with infrared eyebeams that caused her legs to buckle.
Thok's eyebeams...interfering with my balance... I can't see him! The Water Toa struggled to fight back the wave of dizziness that chipped away at her senses. The world around her spun and blurred out of focus.
"I like prey that struggles, Toa," Thok sneered. "It gives me a sense of...accomplishment."
Hahli's ears perked up when her Great Elda Mask activated. Her new Kanohi's detection powers allowed her to pierce through the disorienting haze of Thok's eyebeams and hone in on where his slimy voice was coming from.
"Then this should leave you feeling overjoyed!" Allowing her Kanohi Elda to guide her, Hahli raised her laser harpoon and fired a large energy beam.
Thok jumped away from the projectile at the last second, causing him to lose focus on his eyebeams. "Impressive. But tell me, would anything change if I tore off that fancy mask?"
"If you can get close enough." Hahli knelt into a fighting stance, holding her weapons at the ready.
"Now, now. No sense biting the hand that might kill you."
The Toa Inika continued their battle with the Piraka, until one of the scaly Dark Hunters fired a blue zamor sphere right at Brutaka.
"Hakann! Not without me you don't, you traitorous lava ape!" Thok shouted at his comrade as he quickly ran to his side.
The zamor sphere found its target, causing Brutaka to scream in agony before falling to the ground. All the combatants present froze at the sight, and watched in shock as the titan's immense powers were drained away...and flowed right into Hakann and Thok, who bathed in the power that surged through their bodies.
"I did it!!" Hakann cackled triumphantly.
"We did it," corrected Thok as he glared at his opportunistic partner. "If it wasn't for me, you'd have hoarded all the power for yourself!"
"Quit complaining. Now we have the power to take whatever we want from this wretched island!"
"Give up before this gets out of hand, Piraka!" Jaller warningly raised his energized flame sword at his foes.
"Are you still here, Toa? Begone, insect!!" Hakann fired his eyebeams at Jaller, which were ten times more powerful than before.
The attack sent Jaller flying across the room before he landed in a smoking heap. Hahli rushed to her friend's side and glared menacingly at the powered-up Piraka duo. "You're lucky Jaller is still alive. My vengeance would be like a hurricane."
"What're you going to do? Rain on us, little fikou?" Hakann mocked. "I don't think she fully understands, Thok."
"Indeed she doesn't," Thok concurred. "We have stolen Brutaka's energies, and that makes us the masters of infinite raw power!!"
With a wave of their hands, Hakann and Thok bent the entire stronghold to their will. A large stone hand emerged from the ground and lifted them both high into the air like a pedestal, where they glared down at their opponents like chess pieces. The walls then grew more giant stone arms, which reached out and lifted several of the Toa Inika and other Piraka helplessly in the air. Hahli ran to help her friends, but her upper body was quickly encased in thick stones, causing her weapons to fall to her feet. With a flick of his wrist, Thok levitated the encased Water Toa close to his skull-like face. Hahli struggled and thrashed in the Piraka's psychic grip as the stone bindings chafed against her armor.
Thok gripped the chin of her Kanohi Mask. "Liking our little game of 'Let's Trap A Toa' so far, gukko bird?"
Hahli glared angrily at the Dark Hunter. "This won't hold me. Or don't you know what water does to stone?"
"You were pretty sneaky with my partner back there, Toa. You'd make a wonderful Piraka," Hakann commented (though his tone was laced with smug arrogance). "Ever consider switching sides?"
"If you even think I'd ever consider joining you... Then you're in for a shock." Hahli swung her leg in a swift roundhouse kick right across Thok's face.
The opening was enough to make Thok lose concentration and drop Hahli back to the ground. She still struggled to break free from her stone entrapment right as Thok fired an ice beam at her. Hahli braced herself, but Matoro leaped in at the last second and blocked off the attack.
"Firing at a helpless foe? You're cold, Piraka," Matoro quipped. "And that's coming from a Toa of Ice."
Hahli finally summoned her water powers to soak her stone bindings until they dissolved into grains, and sent a teasing grin at her friend. "Helpless? I just needed a minute to catch my footing."
"Quit your antics, Toa!" Hakann roared from atop his perch. "Once we find the Mask of Life, you won't be making jokes for long!"
"Traitors! The Mask of Life is for all of us to steal! Not just you!" the Piraka Avak protested from where he was held tightly in the stone arm's grip.
"The Toa Inika stand against you as well, Hakann!" Hahli declared. "You'll never get your claws on the Mask while we still live!"
Hakann flashed a monstrous grin. "Then live no longer."
As if he were swatting an insect, Hakann unleashed an immense mental blast at Toa and Piraka alike. Hahli joined the others in their screams of agony as the mere act of thinking became an unbearable agony. Pain seared into the very core of her mind, until all Hahli saw was darkness.

Hours later, Hahli and the others stirred back awake to find the Piraka still strung up in the stone arms, as well as the comatose Brutaka still weakened by the loss of his powers. Shortly after, the enigmatic Axonn arrived and informed them of the whereabouts of the Mask of Life. But as the Toa Inika began setting out for their next destination, they were stopped by the Piraka's cunning leader, Zaktan.
"You can't stop them, you know," the snakish Piraka hissed. "With Brutaka's stolen powers, you Toa don't stand a shadow of a chance."
"Thanks for the pep talk, Piraka," Nuparu sassed.
Hahli sighed. "Zaktan has a point. Charging headfirst got us nowhere. We should have a strategy."
"You're gonna believe-trust this sentient slime??" Kongu asked bewilderedly.
"Listen. I want those two taken down just as much as you do," Zaktan reasoned. "Free us, and I can create a special zamor sphere that can reverse what they did to Brutaka."
A tense moment of silence passed. Kongu was about to protest again, but Jaller stepped forward with a guarded expression.
"Just no tricks." Jaller used his sword to cut through the Piraka's restraints.
"Asking a Skakdi to behave is like asking an untamed gukko not to fly away!" Kongu retorted.
"The green one has a point." the Piraka Reidak snickered darkly.
While the Toa and Piraka began collaborating on the new zamor sphere, Hahli pulled Matoro aside.
"I never got to thank you for helping me out back there." Hahli flashed him a thankful smile. "If you hadn't stepped in, I'd have been frozen by now."
Matoro shrugged. "You seemed to have it under control. I just didn't want you getting hurt. Or anyone else, for that matter."
"We're glad to have you as part of the group."
"I'm not certain. I am just a translator, after all."
Hahli noticed the hint of self-depreciation in her friend's words and put a hand on his shoulder. "You really should give yourself some more credit. Your analytical outlook and quick-thinking are useful assets to have on our side. Not to mention how you got us out of Karzahni's kingdom..." the Water Toa shivered at the memory of that awful realm. "You're just as brave as the rest of us, if not more so."
Matoro's eyes were stunned before a slow smile made itself known on his Kanohi Mask. "I... Thank you, Hahli. That really does help..."
"Hey!! Are you Toa just gonna sit around all day?!" the Piraka Vezok snapped. "Go get those backstabbing traitors already!!"
Hahli placed a hand on her hip. "You could come with and help us, you know?"
"We have our own matters to attend to, Toa. Consider this a stalemate for the time being," Zaktan growled before pulling his bestial companion away.
"No point wasting any more time with those bog snakes." Hewkii motioned for Hahli and Matoro to join him. "Come on. The Piraka finished their special zamor, and Jaller says it's time to go."
"I really do hope this truce doesn't blow up in our faces," Matoro dreaded.
Hahli patted his back. "Whatever comes our way, we'll face it together."

The remaining Piraka lurked in the shadows of their ravaged stronghold as the Toa Inika departed for the Green Belt.
"Do you think I'll be able to get the Water Toa's number?" Vezok asked aloud.
Reidak scoffed. "Someone's desperate."
"What?! We have the same color scheme! And she's pretty!"
Avak shook his head. "Not like she'll be alive long enough to consider giving you a chance."
Zaktan grinned as the Toa vanished further in the distance. "Indeed. With the trap set in their 'special' zamor, we'll eliminate two gukko birds in one fell swoop. And the Mask...shall soon be ours..."

--The 2006 arc of Bionicle is one of my most cherished childhood memories. Funnily enough, it was mostly because the Piraka were my favorite sets to collect. To this day, I even still remember spending hours playing Bionicle Heroes on my computer. Plus, there's the fact that the Inika trailer made me an All-American Rejects fan. #FreeTheBand
--Most of this story was paraphrased from the Ignition comics and chapter books written by Greg Farshtey.