A/N: An idea I had for quite a while now. I actually expanded on it for a few days before forgetting. But I remember now anyway. If you’re not fond of philosophical issues or stories with few themes then I suggest you don’t read it. This story is dedicated to DataIntegrationThoughtEntity, who was my first friend here on and in the Bionicle fandom.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Bionicle. And it should be obvious.

Chapter 1 – Protodermis

Lhikan didn’t know why he had come to Po-Metru. Of all the places to spend the day off, why at the barren place of rocks? But then again, where could he go outside of Ta-Metru that wouldn’t be too quite or noisy? Ko- and Ga-Metru definitely were out, and so was Le-Metru (he wasn’t up to watching drivers trying to damage a few things, including themselves, on the test track).

The left Onu- and Po-Metru. Onu-Metru was nice enough underground, but the confined feeling of the Archives was not what Lhikan was seeking today. So of all the possible places he could have gone, he went to Po-Metru, which was rapidly making staying at home look like the better choice.

First of all, there was the sand. It stuck to his feet, and he didn’t feel like making a trip all the way to Ga-Metru just to get them clean. And there was the strange united concentration of Po-Matoran at work.

As Lhikan wandered around the sculptors and their work, praising and encouraging as he should, he caught sight of a dejected-looking Matoran slumped at his workbench. Automatically, he headed over. Despite the fact that it was his day off, no Toa could resist helping a Matoran in need.

As he approached, the Po-Matoran, hearing his feet cause the sandy ground to go “shush”, he jumped to his feet and bowed hurriedly, not because there was a law stipulating him to, but out of genuine respect. “Forgive me, Toa Lhikan. I was just taking a short break, I’m about to get back to work now.”

Lhikan just had to smile, despite his discomfort. He couldn’t help it. “Taking a break is not a crime. But it seemed to me you were more upset over something rather than tired. What is it that you are worrying over?” As he spoke, he tried to recall that particular Matoran’s name. Was it Hafu?

“Oh, nothing really. Just an overambitious project that didn’t turn out so well. It’s fine. I’ll just send it to the pile that’s meant for the Protodermis Reclamation Centre,” babbled Hafu. “Then I’ll just try something else and…”

“What makes you so sure it’s a failure?” interrupted Lhikan, smiling all the while. Now that he knew there was a sculpture, he thought he could see a Matoran-sized shadow in the recesses of the tent. “What were you trying to shape anyway?”

Hafu’s eyes fell to his feet in embarrassment. “It’s nothing, really. Oh, alright, I’ll just tell you, but don’t laugh. I was just trying to create a sense of movement in the sculpture, like it was moving, but I reckon I must have botched it up somewhere when I was sculpting the face…”

He stopped short when Lhikan went to take a closer look at the sculpture. From the outside, it looked like a formless blot of shadow. But close up, Lhikan could see the effort Hafu poured into it. Every aspect, every detail was taken care of, it could have been a real, living Matoran. From his point of view, it appeared to be looking around in curiosity, except it wasn’t moving. In the dim light, it looked almost as if it would open its mouth any minute to ask Lhikan, “what are you staring at?”

But it hadn’t been the details that impressed Lhikan most. Rather, it had been the sense of energy and curiosity it radiated even though it could not move.

Lhikan moved it into the light to see it better. It was the eyes that ruined it, he realised, and that was what Hafu meant. They were cold and lifeless. It didn’t go with the rest of it. And yet, it couldn’t have been the artist’s fault. Lhikan knew that no amount of talent, no amount of sculpting would give life to eyes where there wasn’t. Nevertheless, it was still an amazing work of art.

An amazing work of art that was about to be melted down. “What do you want for it?” he asked suddenly. Somehow, he felt averse to letting it be destroyed. He had no idea where he was going to keep it, but he’d work something out later.

Hafu blinked in surprise. “You… you want it?”

Lhikan nodded without turning around. It’s not a failure to me. Not yet. Already, he had made his decision.

“Erm, well, you can just take it. If you didn’t, I’d have just sent it to the Reclamation Centre anyway. The other sculptors would laugh at me if they ever found out so, really, it’s yours.” The words spilled out of Hafu’s mouth, tumbling over each other in their eagerness to get out. He couldn’t wait to be rid of it before anyone else saw it.

Lhikan nodded again. “Thank you,” he said, sincerity evident in every syllable. Then, hefting the sculpture under his arm, he started his journey back to Ta-Metru.

A/N: Anyway, like I said, I had this idea for quite a while already, but I didn’t quite know how to express it into words. I’m into something weird I describe as “theme writing” now, and this is the product of it. Basically, I just pick an aspect of life to focus on and centre the story on it. This one has about 2, so have fun guessing.

Also, if anyone can suggest names for the Toa in Lhikan’s team, I’ll be forever indebted to you. I’m kinda desperate now. Out of the other 10, I only know Nidhiki, Tuyet, Naho, 4 unnamed Ice Toa and 3 completely unknown Toa. So if anyone can help me, it’s very much appreciated. Please review so I can improve!