Epilogue

Nokama's morning started with Matau trying to wake her before sunrise.

"Nokama! Nokama! Nokama!" Each time he whispered her name, he poked her.

"Matau, go back to sleep…" grumbled Nokama.

"Love-dear! Love-dear! Love-dear!" More poking.

"Matau, if you don't fall asleep and stop bothering me, I'll soak you."

Matau pretended to shudder. Then he put one arm around Nokama and nestled into her shoulder. "Mmm, you wouldn't do that."

Nokama's hands glowed blue, a sign she was summoning her element of Water. Matau seemed to get the hint, as he stopped annoying his sweetheart.

The skylight was open, letting in a breeze. Matau couldn't resist the call of his own element, Air. And what better way to share the morning with Nokama than with flight?

Matau let go of Nokama for a few, and found a disk launcher that some of the young students had given him as a present. It looked like an ordinary one, but it had a special feature. One of the disks had a line on it, and could be used as a grappling hook.

He aimed the disk towards a rooftop, outside their skylight. He kept one hand on the launcher as he climbed back into bed with Nokama, putting his other arm around her.

Nokama was about to drift off again, when a sudden force pulled her upwards. Off the bed, through the skylight, and into the sky. The rapid flight literally took her breath away. She soon found herself sitting on a rooftop, secured in Matau's arms.

"What in Mata Nui's name was that for?" She was clearly not happy with this surprise.

"Nokama, look-see…" Matau gestured outward. The skies were a subdued indigo, with a few bright shimmers from the binary suns. Then the shimmers intensified, illuminating the island city with rosy rays and golden glow. Everything looked like a perfect postcard below them, the wonder of a new day all to themselves.

"Sunrise!" said Matau cheerfully.

Nokama shot Matau one of those teasing looks. "I didn't know you could be romantic and idiotic at the same time." She put her head on Matau's shoulder and whispered, "Don't ever do that again."

"Why not?" Matau pouted.

The two almost jumped when a familiar figure vaulted over a railing. "Well, funny seeing you two up here."

"Laney?" Matau suddenly looked embarrassed. "Since when were you into wall-running?"

"Ever since I found out some of the kids in my martial arts class decided to give you a disk launcher that doubled as a grappling gun." Laney glared at Matau. "Now don't make me call Keika. The Kerai-Le Keitoka is far less merciful than I am."

Laney ran to the edge of the roof, grabbing two support rods like uneven bars in gymnastics. She used the momentum to propel herself into a flip, landing in a low, stable crouch on the ground. After making an "I'm watching you" gesture, she left.

Matau put his aero slicers on his back and picked up Nokama again. Nokama gave Matau a "don't even think about it" look, convincing Matau to glide rather than perform aerobatics.

Once back inside, the Toa couple made breakfast together. They knew Ari and Ariel were still asleep, so they decided to decorate cupcakes together. Well, that was more Matau's idea. Right on cue, the twins came out of their rooms.

"Mmmm, something smells ever-yummy!" Ariel inhaled deeply.

"Oh, Great Spirit above, not you too…" groaned Nokama. Ari echoed the groan.

"She's not speak-talking ever-quick enough for it to be real-true chute-speak." Matau joked. "Come on, everyone! Breakfast-sit and have some cupcakes!"

Ariel made a mental note to improve her chute-speak fluency. After all, if she was going to save Le-Metru with her father, she'd have to keep up with the locals. Ari, on the other hand, shared an exasperated glance with Nokama. But all of them smiled as the cupcakes were passed around.

Ari and Ariel thought of their lives on Metru Nui so far. They and their parents had been tested in battles that nobody should have to fight. But the Toa family emerged from the storm even stronger than before. Now, they could look ahead to the future. No matter what dangers would arise from the shadows, the children of the wind and waves would soar and surge into the light. It reminded them of a rhyme...

"They say all good things must come to an end

But somewhere we discover, around the bend

Darkness and despair can never claim winnings

For there are no true ends, only new beginnings."

THE END