From Modpedia

from Modpedia, a Bionicle Encyclopedia

Written by Violet Tonks.

Wings

by Violet Tonks

Ayo lay awake in bed for the third night running, teeth clenched to prevent him crying out in pain. Agony lanced through his back again and he dug his fingernails into his palms, fighting back a scream. The pain momentarily eased up and Ayo slumped back onto his pillows. "Why is this happening to me?" he wondered miserably, "What’s wrong with me?"

For neither Healer nor Turaga had been able to explain the excruciating pain in Ayo’s back, nor the twin bulges on his shoulder blades. Ayo sighed despairingly and slowly got up to get a drink.

Unfortunately, Ayo’s house was shrouded in pitch black darkness. So he didn’t realise that there was an armchair right in front of him until he crashed into it. He screamed as he fell to the ground, inadvertently pulling the chair on top of him, blacking out as pain overwhelmed him.

He awoke sometime later to find himself lying on his couch and somebody gently rubbing the bulges on his back. “What?...Who?” Ayo murmured weakly “Relax Ayo,” a soft voice answered. “It’s Keahi” Ayo blinked in amazement. “Keahi?” he asked in amazement. Keahi was a shy Ga-Matoran, an outcast from her fellows because of her muted colouring and scarred frame. “Yes?” she asked, and Ayo could hear her sweet smile creeping into her voice. “Why?” he asked, remembering with a pang of guilt, the way his group had always tormented her. He had never joined them, but had never stood against it, which in his eyes was worse. “Why what? Why am I helping you?” she asked, her hands gently massaging his back, miraculously easing the pain. Ayo nodded, unable to speak. “Why wouldn’t I? You were hurt, I couldn’t just leave you, and…” Keahi hesitated. “You’re the only one who doesn’t torment me,”

Ayo raised himself up onto his elbows and looked incredulously into her pale grey Pakari. She looked back at him with contrasting sadness and hope in her dark blue eyes. “I never stopped them, never stood up for you,” “You as good as. Knowing that one person cared enough not to, it…well, it saved my life,” she replied quietly, then carefully helped him to his feet. “You should get some sleep,”

As Keahi gently helped him back to his room, Ayo noticed that she walked with a heavy limp. His mind was spinning, "I saved her life? How…surely she wouldn’t?" He glanced sharply at her scarred Kanohi, but it betrayed nothing.

“I’d better go,” she said from the doorway as Ayo climbed back into bed. He nodded then sat up slightly. “Keahi…I’m sorry,” Keahi smiled and for a brief moment Ayo thought that her pale form was glowing “For what?” Her whisper hung in the air for far longer then its speaker.

The next morning was hellish. Ayo, who was taking a course in Advanced Stone Properties in Ga-Metru, struggled through the morning’s lesson, the words of his instructor slipping over his head. His mind was both flagging from fatigue and buzzing with questions about the mysterious Keahi. It ashamed him to realise that nobody had ever once asked her about the horrific scars that branded her an outcast, nor enquired as to how she acquired them. Although she had brushed it off and credited him with saving her life, Ayo was haunted by the fact that he had never once stood up for her against the cruel taunts his friends had aimed at her. And why did his stomach flutter every time he thought of her?

Lunchtime finally arrived, and Ayo joined his friends out in one of the courtyards. His chocolate brown Hau split into a smile as he laughed, joked and talked with his friends. But today it felt empty and strangely incomplete. He felt Makan stiffen beside him and stand up. Ayo glanced up as he saw his companions follow Makan over to where a pale blue and grey matoran sat alone. Keahi. Ayo felt his stomach clench.

“Hey freak,” Makan said threateningly, hauling Keahi to her feet. “What do you think your doing, fouling up the courtyard with your presence?” The look in Keahi’s eyes went straight to Ayo’s heart. There was no anger or indignation in them, only a sad acceptance of her fate. Ayo felt a cold rage flow through him.

“Stop,” he said quietly. “What?” Makan asked, “Stop giving the freak what it deserves?” “Yeah. Stop. Lay off, she doesn’t need this from you,” “You’re actually standing up for it?” Mara asked contemptuously. Ayo looked dead at Mara as he answered her. “Why on Metru Nui would you, I mean look at it,” she said. Makan put his arm around Mara\\s shoulders as he said to the rest of the group; “C’mon, let’s leave the freaks in peace…for now,”

Ayo stepped toward Keahi, who was shaking and sobbing softly. He stretched out a hand to comfort her and she looked up at him, behind him, her mask contorting in fear as she screamed, “Ayo, no don’t!”

The next thing Ayo knew was a heavy something slamming into his back; he fell to his knees retching as lightning bolts of agony reached his brain. He dimly heard Makan’s malicious chuckle and Keahi’s sobbing as she helped Ayo to his feet for the second time in twenty four hours. “Are you alright?” she asked, worry evident in her voice “I’ll be fine,” he answered, though feeling anything but fine. The blow to his back was still causing excruciating pain, making him feel sick to his stomach and something felt like it was moving in the bulges. He looked into Keahi’s eyes, saying, “You’d better go home, Makan…can get very vindictive. I don’t want you getting anymore hurt,” Keahi nodded. “I’ll walk you home first,” Ayo was about to protest when he felt his knees buckle slightly. He nodded reluctantly and felt her arm slip under his shoulders, helping him to walk.

“Are you sure your fine?” Keahi asked worriedly as Ayo staggered into his house. He turned to reassure her, but a wave of pain unlike the others forced him to his knees. Falling half conscious onto the floor, Ayo wasn’t aware of Keahi screaming his name and rushing over to him.

Keahi knelt beside Ayo’s twitching body and gently pulled him into her lap, cradling him as he moaned and writhed. Mata Nui, what’s happening to you, she thought in horror. Carefully turning Ayo over, Keahi couldn’t suppress a gasp when she saw the bulges on his back. Instead being faintly red as they were the previous night, they were livid purple and red, and visibly throbbing. Something just beneath the skin was pushing against it, trying to burst free. Ayo shuddered and cried out again, his breathing becoming laboured and ragged. "No, no no nonono, come on, don't leave me, don't leave me here alone," Keahi sobbed, reaching for Ayo's hand for comfort.

The movement triggered deeply buried memories and Keahi brought her hands up to her head as images of lying there, injured and dying, and a matoran coming and sitting with her, holding her hand and reassuring her that she was going to be alright, and not to let go. The young matoran had sat there for nearly four hours while a team of Vahki and a pair of Toa had cut Keahi free from the twisted metal, never once letting go of her hand, or stopping talking. Her quiet voice had kept Keahi awake and alive.

She shook her head to clear it, what was she thinking, Ayo wasn't dying. He was hanging on, if barely, and Keahi was determined to keep him with her. She gathered him up in her arms, and poured her heart out, hoping that Ayo could hear her, if not understand her. She didn't know how long she sat on the floor with him, quietly telling him everything she'd ever felt and thought and hoped. He couldn't quite hear her words, but the soothing tone of her voice was enough to pull him back from the edge. He slowly squeezed Keahi's hand, then stiffened as the worst pain yet, burned through his body, ending in his back, where something felt like it was about to burst out. It was all too much for him to handle, and he slumped, unconscious.

"Ayo?" Keahi shook him "Ayo!" He moaned softly, but otherwise didn't stir. Keahi looked around uncertainly, vaguely thinking that she should go get a Healer, but not wanting to leave him alone. Then, just as she started to ease Ayo off her lap so she could fetch someone, there was a dreadful tearing sort of noise and Ayo screamed. Heart pounding, Keahi roughly turned him over and gaped as a pair of deep brown wings unfurled themselves from where the bulges had been. “Wings..." Keahi breathed, amazed, then leaned down to check him. Ayo's breathing had deepened again, and his mask wore the first peaceful look that it had in a while. She sighed in relief and stooped to pick him up, with strength that nobody would have thought she had. She was slightly stunned at how light he was compared to the previous night. Mata Nui, his bones must have hollowed, she thought astounded. She gently lowered him onto the bed, then slumped into the armchair, suddenly exhausted from lack of adrenaline. Within seconds, she was asleep, and thus didn't notice the shadowed figures climbing through the windows, with long metal pipes clutched in their hands.

Ayo awoke a little later, to be greeted with complete silence. He shifted slightly, then stifled a shriek as the wings unfolded. He leaped up, barely registering that the pain had miraculously vanished, and whirled around, trying to see what was on his back. As he spun though, his eye was caught by a pale blue hand sticking out from behind the armchair. He gasped, shoving the chair aside to reveal Keahi lying crumpled on the ground with several nasty bruises and a deep gash across her Pakari. He knelt down beside her, not noticing the stunning silver sword lying three feet away from them. Ayo gently wiped the protodermic blood off her mask, and was about to pick her up when she stirred and opened her eyes. "What happened to you?" Ayo asked, as Keahi got to her feet, wincing slightly. "Makan and his gang broke in...they were going to go for you, but then they saw me and decided they'd much rather give me a beating," she said flatly, bending down to pick up the sword. "They won't try that again," Ayo gaped at the sword, his wings momentarily forgotten. "Whoa...where on Metru Nui did you get that??" he asked in astonishment. "Toa Pakele had it made for me...it's a long story," she answered softly, putting the sword away. Ayo's jaw dropped - only Toa had that ability. He was about to ask about it when he saw Keahi turn away, her shoulders trembling. Ayo reached forward, and as he touched her shoulder, she spun and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. "Hey," he said nervously "Easy there, everything’s okay now," Keahi shook her head, unable to speak. "Oh Mata Nui," Ayo whispered, "Come on, let's get out of here for a while," Keahi allowed herself to be led outside, tears still dripping down her silver-grey Kanohi.

Ayo sighed and stepped back a bit, stretching his wings, and allowing to knowledge of how to use them to fill his mind. It shocked him slightly, how easily it came to him, almost as if he had had them forever. "Keahi?" She turned and looked at him as he gently wrapped his arms around her waist, and with a few powerful wing beats propelled them into the air. Keahi looked around, pure amazement and exhilaration replacing the fear and misery playing on her mask. "You can fly?" she whispered, stunned. "Nah, we're just randomly levitating," Ayo replied grinning, "Course I can, what you think these things are for decoration?" Keahi glared angrily at him. "Don't you dare get smart, you almost died," Her eyes filled up with tears again. "I thought you were going to," Ayo sighed again. "You're right...I'm sorry," He looked around, they were still hovering several feet above the ground. "Where do you want to go?" Keahi looked startled. "What?" "Well, neither of us want to stay here, at least not for a while, so where do you want to go? Pick a spot in Ga-Metru, I'll fly you there," The pale Ga-Matoran smiled for the first time in a long time. "The pavilion at the waterfall," she said softly, hanging on tightly as Ayo started flying in that direction. She glanced down at the ground, gasping as it sped past at a speed rivalled only by one with a Great Kakama. She heard a soft laugh and looked up at Ayo, who looked absolutely astounded at his newfound abilities. He noticed her watching and grinned. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked "Are you kidding? Of course?" she replied with a shriek as Ayo started descending toward the pavilion. "I'm with you," But her words were lost in the rushing wind. They landed smoothly, and Ayo let go of Keahi, and looked around.

"Wow...this place is sure prettier then Po-Metru," he commented, mostly to fill the slightly awkward silence. Keahi laughed, and sat down against one of the pillars, overlooking the Great Temple and the Silver Sea. Ayo blinked, having never heard her laugh before. Keahi patted the ground beside her. "Come sit down," Ayo complied, and the pair sat in pleasant silence for a while, until Ayo broke the silence by asking her the question that had been bugging him for hours. "When you said I saved your life...how did you mean?" Keahi glanced at him quickly before replying "You remember last years Akilini championship? How afterward I was standing up on the top of the falls when you came and started talking?" Ayo nodded, bemused. Keahi smiled bitterly. "I was about to jump off when you came up. I...I couldn't do it in front of somebody, and then you started talking to me..." "I was only up there for a few minutes," Ayo said, trying to fathom her words, reeling from this revelation. "You spoke to me though, like I was normal-" "-You are normal!" Ayo interrupted fiercely. "-and worth your time," Keahi continued as if she hadn't heard Ayo. "After you left, I couldn't...couldn't do it. By taking those five minutes to talk to me, you kept me here," Ayo gaped at her, at a complete loss for words. When he finally gathered his wits together again, it was to demand; "What the heck d'you mean 'like you were normal'? Since when have you not been normal?" "Since I got slammed by a Vahki transport in the Onu-Metruan chutes and spent four hours trapped in a hunk of twisted metal," Keahi retorted, gesturing at her many scars. "I wasn't always this ugly," Ayo laughed softly and put his arm around Keahi's shoulders. "Ugly? I think you're beautiful," "Really?" "Definatley," Ayo grinned at the look on her mask. "Thanks. You have no idea how much that means to me...but what now?" she asked anxiously. "I mean, what's going to happen to you now-" "Right now, I don't really care. I'll work that out later, but for now, let's just be like the Le-Matoran and live for the moment," "Sounds good to me," Keahi smiled, laying her head against Ayo's chest.

They sat there in silence for a while, happy in each others company. After some time Keahi murmured something and when Ayo looked down, he saw that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and hugged her closer. "Sweet dreams, beautiful."

References

• "Wings" - literature topic in Mask of Destiny