Chapter Eight: The Forgotten Lab
[Author's Note at end of chapter]

Sapphira walked next to Kiina who led the way to the caverns entrance, while Mata Nui and Ackar were behind the two females, Ackar had the unconscious Gresh on his back piggyback style while Mata Nui was walking alongside him.

Sapphira still held her arms as the frost on her hands went on her hoodie sleeves with her panic. Kiina noticed from the corner of her eye and rested her hand on Sapphira's shoulder, giving it a firm reassuring squeeze.

Sapphira looked up at her as Kiina gave her a warm smile making Sapphira nod in thanks feeling a little more calm but still not enough.

Kiina picked up the pace a bit when they were nearing it but Sapphira stayed behind a bit as she looked at her feet.

Suddenly someone lightly tapped Sapphira's left arm making the said bluette look up to see Mata Nui now at her side as he held a hand to her, offering his hand for the bluette to hold for some comfort.

Sapphira hesitated a bit but grabbed his hand which he held her hand back and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Thanks..." Sapphira muttered and Mata Nui nodded in response as the two followed Kiina hand in hand.

It was quite easy to tell that Sapphira was not one for physical contact, so he was more prepared for Sapphira to reject holding his hand for comfort and willing to accept her choice.

So it was surprising when Sapphira took his hand, sure it was with hesitance but it was still something. Though that also said to Mata Nui that Sapphira felt so much fear and anxiety seeing the Bone Hunters and Skrall working together with how dangerous the two other worlders only heard of was coursing through her so much she was pushing aside her issues of touch for some type of comfort.

Soon the four made it to what looked like a dead end as Kiina took her trident off her back. "They won't find us in here." She said as she stood on her tip toes a bit while holding the very bottom of her trident and pressed it against a place in the flat rock wall pressing down on a pressure plate in the wall which the wall immediately began to pull away to the left.

Sapphira mouthed a wow as Ackar and Mata Nui stared in amazement. Kiina walked in the now open passageway a bit before she turned and jestered the three to follow her which they silently did.

Once they all were behind the pulled away wall, the said entryway began to close behind them, once again seamlessly blending into the wall behind them.

Kiina continued leading the way as Ackar carried Gresh, who was still unconscious, on his back and Sapphira and Mata Nui, who still held hands, followed after her.

Mata Nui suddenly stopped walking as they neared a light up ahead making Sapphira pull back a bit due to not registering he stopped moving. "Wait a minute, these glyphs." Sapphira immediately looked at the wall Mata Nui was staring at as well.

The said glyphs were in a language written in various circles, some with lines, some with smaller circles, some with both and some just normal circles.

Sapphira tilted her head recognizing the language but not fully remembering it.

Kiina brought the two back from their thoughts, "Later, first we need to help Gresh. The cavern is just up ahead." She spoke making the two rush after her and Ackar to catch up.

"I thought we already were..." Sapphira trailed off her sentence at the sight. The cavern was huge, a long path and various stairs led to a center platform, while six other paths led to chambers with various landscapes, one a volcanic mountain, another a lush jungle, another a arctic wasteland, one a desert like Bara Magna but with more life, a damp swamp and another an underground cave system with various gemstones and geodes.

"Woah, look at this." "Incredible." "Holy fucking shit." Ackar, Mata Nui and Sapphira were in awe of the spetical that was the cavern. "Each chamber contains the elements once plentiful on the surface of Bara Magna." Kiina explained to the three soon leading the way down the long staircases to the center platform with Sapphira, Mata Nui and Ackar after her.

Being in a more safe place in the cavern, Sapphira let go of Mata Nui's hand which the said golden bot smiled at her.

As the four approached the center platform, Kiina paused a few times to look around at the lights in confusion before shaking her head and continuing to lead the way.

The four soon made it to the center platform, Sapphira could see more of the language carved into the walls of the platform, a few stone slabs that were like tables or pedestals and the most striking thing to Sapphira was a large wall blocking something.

But the symbol carved into the wall caught her attention the most. It was two e's the one on the right backwards with its top curve longer than the bottom as the one on the left was reversed and the bottom curve longer than the other, they also looked off shifted as well with three dots in an across motion.

The symbol felt way too familiar to Sapphira, but unfortunately it was part of the memories that her mind refused to let her remember.

"Lay him down over there." Kiina said as she jestered to the stone slab in the center. Mata Nui helped Ackar get Gresh's still unconscious from off his back, and the two carefully set the Glatorian on his back on the slab.

A sudden noise of feet shuffling was heard from one of the paths to the chambers, immediately Ackar pulled his blade out and extended his shield out as he rushed to it and aimed the blade to the entrance. Sapphira took her fans out from her belt loops as Mata Nui and Kiina stood guard over Gresh.

"Show yourself." Ackar demanded whoever was hiding. Though when met with silence, Ackar stepped forward a bit, "NOW!" He yelled, his grip on the pomel of his blade tightening.

Quickly an Agori poked out of his hiding spot making Sapphira lower her weapons. He had blue armor though it was very faded to an almost silver color with patches of faded blue here and there, his helmet was similar to Ackar's in shape but ended in a silver point, Sapphira could see strands of dark brown almost black hair peeking from underneath his helmet which seemed to loosely fit on his head like with his armor, he was also quite short to other Agori Sapphira had seen.

His complexion was ghostly pale like Sapphira's with even lighter markings in two different patterns that interlaced with each other of lightning bolts and various swirls, he had dark brown eyebrows above oval eyes which were electric green with an electric blue center around the pupil, he has slightly plump lips, his ears were fish fin like and his tail reminded Sapphira of a puffer fish (more specifically a Yellow Belly Dog faced Puffer's tail) and he had gills on his neck that were barely opened.

"Okay okay, everybody calm down it's just me... Berix." He said nervously as Ackar lowered his blade, his electric green eyes filled with fear and anxiety at Kiina who tightened her grip on her trident.

Berix's voice sounded like a preteen in Sapphira's ears, and tied with the height she immediately thought he was a little kid.

"You filthy little thief!" Kiina snapped making both Berix and Sapphira jump at the sudden aggression from the Glatorian. "I told you if I ever caught you down here again I'd-" Kiina didn't finish her sentence as she swung her trident at him making Berix quickly duck under it and hid behind Mata Nui and Sapphira.

"Look I am not a thief, I'm a collector and-" Berix said before he cut himself off noticing Sapphira who froze. "What the heck are you?" He asked her making Sapphira's stomach drop.

"Get over here!" Kiina yelled before she began to chase Berix, who climbed between Sapphira's and Mata Nui's legs to avoid another swing of Kiina's trident.

Berix peeked from behind Mata Nui, "You know, I have a right to collect anything I want." "Oh yeah?!" Kiina snapped as she charged at him, the two circling Mata Nui and Sapphira as they tried to avoid the two.

'In the name of the Great Beings these kids.' Ackar thought to himself as he sighed while shaking his head, his blade on his shoulder now.

"It's just junk no one wants anyways." Berix said as the chase paused. "Then why do you want it?" Kiina demanded making Berix jump a bit before regaining composure. "Because I like fixing things, and I'm pretty good at it too." Berix said before she jestered to the ceiling lights above them, "I mean come on, who do you think got the lights working huh?" Berix asked proudly, Sapphira could easily tell he was easily proud of his talent.

"I was wondering about that." Kiina admitted as she looked at the lights for a second. Click made a clicking noise in agreement making Berix notice the Scarabax.

"Hey you got a-" "He knows." Kiina, Ackar and Sapphira said in sync, cutting the boy off of his sentence making him know that Mata Nui knew very well of the Scarabax beetle on his shoulder.

Mata Nui seemed to ignore that as he looked at Berix getting an idea, "Ever fixed an injured Glatorian?" He asked the Agori kid.

Kiina immediately stepped forward, "No way, he's not touching Gresh." She said. Ackar held his arm out in front of Kiina as he put his sword away on his back, "The boy needs help Kiina." He reminded her.

Berix paid the two no mind as he looked over his inner arm, "Well I have had to patch myself up a few times." He admitted before a bandage fell making Berix hide his arm behind his back as he laughed nervously.

"Yeah, like every time you've been pounded on for stealing." Kiina snapped at him. Berix quickly climbed onto the table that Gresh was laying on. "Collecting," He corrected her, "Maybe you should let me work on your ears next Kiina." He added a snap back to the said Glatorian as he crouched down and went through his bag, Kiina just gave him a glare as Sapphira fought snorting in laughter.

Berix kept rummaging through his bag before he found what he was looking for with an 'ah-hah' while taking it out revealing it was a crudely made pocket knife as he flipped the blade open.

Kiina suddenly grabbed him by his arms in a viper grip, "He better pull through, you got that?" She threatened him, her voice dripping with venom. "Great, no pressure." Berix said as Ackar pulled Kiina off of the Agori and pulled her away by her arms.

Once they were a distance from the Agori Ackar let go of Kiina's arms. "What if he's the traitor?" She asked the Veteran Glatorian in a hushed tone. "Then he'll pay." Ackar told her.

Mata Nui looked around from where he stood gaining the others attention to him. "Something wrong?" Kiina asked him a hint of concern in her voice. "I don't know, there's a familiarity about this place that I can't quite place." Mata Nui admitted as he continued to look around.

Sapphira sighed in relief gaining the three's attentions to her, "Thank God I'm not the only one. And it's driving me insane here." She said, squeezing her fists and opening them repeatedly like a stress ball.

"Must've been built by the old rulers of Bara Magna." Ackar mused as he looked around from where he stood. Kiina rolled her eyes in irritation, "The Great Beings." She said with worse distaste than with Berix.

Mata Nui's eyes widened at that, "The Great Beings were here?" He asked in disbelief making Sapphira turn to him. "Great Destroyers is more like it." Kiina snarled a bit. "Why do you speak against the Great Beings?" Mata Nui asked her, confused.

"They wrecked our world that's why," Kiina said as if it was the most obvious thing to the two outsiders. She then pointed at the lush jungle chamber with her trident, "This was Bara Magna, before the Great Beings left us here to rot." She said, a venom soaking her words to the core as she spoke.

Mata Nui stared at the chamber confused and shocked. "You have no proof of this Kiina, they could've just as easily been buried in the ruins." Ackar told the girl, Kiina lowering her head in disappointment. "No," Mata Nui said gaining the three's attention to the golden bot, "The Great Beings did not fall here. That much I am sure of." He said sternly.

"And how the actual fuck do you know Mister Amnesia?" Sapphira asked him, crossing her arms over her chest. Mata Nui looked at her, "I am not sure, but something in my haze induced memory tells me it." He told her making the bluette sigh. "Whatever you say man." She told him.

Mata Nui walked over to the large wall with the symbol. "What is beyond this?" Mata Nui asked Kiina. "No clue, never been able to get it open." Kiina admitted as she and Ackar turned to the golden bot as Sapphira walked over to look.

"Yeah me neither," Berix said over his shoulder as he braided some vines together. "But I bet there's something good behind there huh." He said before slightly laughing. "Keep dreaming!" Kiina snapped at him as she turned to him making the Agori kid flinch, "And pay attention to what you're doing thief." Kiina told him before turning back around, Berix muttered something under his breath which Kiina didn't hear to his luck as he went back to braiding the vines together.

Mata Nui now stood in front of the large wall, "I recognize this symbol." He muttered quietly, reaching a hand out to it though made both his hand and his mask glow and hum with a golden light. Startled by the sudden action Mata Nui pulled his hand back.

The golden bot looked at his hand briefly before he took a deep breath and reached his hand to the wall once more. His mask and hand glowed once more before Mata Nui pressed his palm against the wall. Half of the symbol glowed the same golden light.

Sapphira's hand had the shadowy instrument strings once more as she got closer to the wall. Mata Nui noticed as jestered her with his head.

Sapphira nodded as she got his idea and rested her hand next to Mata Nui's, immediately her hand had a layer of frost coating her skin as the strings came out more and danced across the stone.

The other half of the symbol glowed a deep violet glow. The wall began to shake making Mata Nui and Sapphira pull their hands back and take their weapons out, Kiina and Ackar doing the same as the wall slowly went down into the ground.

Berix looked over his shoulder as he watched the wall went down with wide eyes. The two Glatorian, human girl and fallen Great Spirit kept their hands on their weapons as they held their guard up.

"So who's going down first?" Sapphira asked no one in particular, breaking the silence. Mata Nui didn't answer as he carefully walked forward, Ackar following him soon followed by Kiina and Sapphira.

The four kept their weapons out and ready in case of any traps or something as they slowly walked down the staircase. Once at the bottom and nothing happened did they put their weapons away as they looked from the base of the staircase in awe.

Like the walls in the main cavern, the chamber had various writings carved into the wall but they softly glowed an electric green light in the darkness. Sapphira's shadow grew a bit distorted and large as the four walked their paths to look around.

Ackar was the first to speak, "What is all this?" He asked in disbelief. Mata Nui grazed the tips of his golden armored fingers against a few glyphs. "It looks like it could've been some sort of, laboratory." He theorized aloud.

Sapphira tilted her head a couple of glyphs on the wall she tried to read, Kiina nearby doing the same.

Mata Nui's sudden gasp soon gained the three's attentions though. "It cannot be." He said disbelief as Click went to his other shoulder.

Soon Ackar was the first at his side, "What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." He asked the golden bot as Sapphira and Kiina reached them. "I have.." Mata Nui said as the other three looked at the diagram at the wall.

Sapphira and Ackar's eyes bulged at the sight, "You know that thing?" Kiina asked in shock. The diagram showed a large robot blueprint, Sapphira could barely read what the height was and her head spun slightly registering it was forty million feet in height.

"Yes, a giant mechanical being. Just like the one now enslaving my people." Mata Nui admitted, his gaze hardening at the end. "Wait," Kiina said as she turned to the golden bot. "You think the Great Beings have something to do with this-"

"No." Mata Nui cut her off, "The responsibility lies on my shoulders alone." He admitted as he looked back at the diagram with the other three.

"This place, these symbols." Mata Nui spoke, "We are on the right track."

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Chapter Eight: The Forgotten Lab
End

[A/N: Hey! I finally finished this! Will post this chapter on AO3 when I wake up, but that might be a bit late on due to having to get up to get ready in my costume and help set up the Trunk or Treat at my neighborhood church today(as it's 2am as I'm finishing this to publish)

Going as Viola from Bayonetta 3! It's gonna be awesome and I got a custom Torture Cats shirt to match!

I was tempted to change Mata Nui's lines to fit more the au instead of the actual lines he had in The Legend Reborn movie but then thought, "Maybe I can twist this in a way to fit without having to change the dialogue/lines" and here we are, it especially fits better with Mata Nui's amnesia

Next chapter will be a filler chapter of in-between events for more bonding

September 11th 2024 notes: AND THE EDITING IS FINALLY DONE!

As of now we're back to our regularly scheduled updates no editing thankfully program

Had a bit of fun explaining the looks of the Glatorian and Agori with my Headcanons than the canon looks to fit the fact canonically their more organic than the GSR Inhabitants, Headcanons ideas aka the tails and pointed ears came from rrbobani on Tumblr while some others came from randomwriteronline from Tumblr also known as Random-ag on AO3 just for clarify

I will admit it took so long to even work on next chapter because I kid you not hours after I published this when I woke up my old 16yr old cat Penny died, he was slowly dying only hanging on waiting for me to wake up so I could wake up to him it fucking hurt so bad because I grew up with that cat since I was six years old (I'm 22 rn), then five months later Pitten my other cat died of a broken heart, so every time I tried to work on the next chapter i kept thinking back to them because it was published literally hours before Penny died like fuck it hurts

I do have a new cat now I got him a week after I turned 22 and his shelter name was Mouse, my brother called him Mouser from Mario but as soon as he got comfortable in our home he's been Chaos incarnate so I've named him lovingly Leshy after the Bishop/God of Chaos from Cult of The Lamb and it fits, he actually looks like the cat from A Quite Place: Day One]

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