"So, Lewa," Onua said hesitantly. He had finally convinced him that a Toa of Jungle that eating plants didn't count as cannibalism, and wanted Lewa to finish swallowing at least a mouthful of salad before bringing up a potentially sore subject.
"Yeah," Lewa asked, though salad muffled the word. He swallowed. "What's up?"
Onua took a deep breath. "Do you remember what happened just before you woke up on the woods?"
Lewa's face contorted in concentration. "I'm guessing I was asleep, but before that, I was just flying around. I remember…" He smiled, but it seemed different from the way he usually did. "The moon. It was so big and bright—did you see the pure whiteness? I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world—or rather, out of it." He grinned at his own little joke.
Onua sighed deeply. "Do you… do you remember anything else?"
"Huh…" Lewa shut his eyes. "Well… yeah, sort of. I began to feel really weird. Then my leg started to feel sore or something. I think that was when I crashed—yeah. I remember the panic and everything." His voice cracked a little as he said the last sentence. He made an attempt at a smile. "Boy, am I glad that's over."
A wave of pity washed over Onua, flooding his heart. "How does your leg feel now?"
Lewa shrugged. "I mean, I can jump around without it hurting too much."
"Does it still hurt now?"
"Well… now that you mention it, a little, I guess."
Onua almost rolled his eyes, but sighed instead. After all, rolling your eyes at someone was just plain rude. "How about I take a look at it?"
"NO!" Lewa jumped backward, ducking behind his bed.
Onua jumped as well, but in a startled was—it was more a large flinch than anything else. He hesitated. "Why not?"
Lewa stepped out from behind his bed, looking stunned. "I… I don't know why I did that," he said quietly. "I'm really sorry."
"It's alright. You simply startled me."
"Ah, good. I mean, not good that I scared you, but good that, you know… good that you're okay." Lewa sat in bed awkwardly, silent. "Um… you can check my leg if you want."
Onua nodded. "Very well. Can you put your leg up?"
"Sure." Lewa practically flung his leg high into the air, slamming it on Onua's knee like a sledgehammer.
Onua laughed. "Not so hard next time, please!"
"Sorry," Lewa replied sheepishly. "Don't know my own strength—what was in that tea? Power berries?"
Onua chuckled as he unfastened Lewa's leg armor. "It's my own blend."
"That explains your strength."
The Toa of Earth smiled in reply. But his smile faded when he looked at the armor he was holding. Multiple tiny tear marks—most likely from thorns—had scratched straight through the armor. He looked at Lewa's leg. The skin looked bruised and raw, and a few spots were open. The bandages Kiril had put on were nowhere to be seen. "Oh my," Onua whispered.
"'Oh my' what? I probably crashed through a few spiky branches when I fell."
Onua looked up as Lewa spoke. "Did you remove Kiril's wrappings?"
Lewa stared into space, as if looking at nothing would jostle his memory. "No," he said eventually. "Maybe it fell off, or a branch or something tore it off."
"Whatever it was, we should get some new ones—more than before, actually." Onua set down Lewa's leg. "But or now, you need to get some rest."
Lewa exhaled sharply. "Again? Come on, I feel way better. It's not my fault I crashed."
"I know," Onua sighed. "I shouldn't have suggested you flying around when I knew your leg was injured."
"It was sure fun, though. My heart was beating like crazy."
"All the more reason for you to get some rest—you need to calm yourself."
"Yes, 'Mother,'" Lewa sighed, getting into bed. "But seriously, I feel completely normal—that is, apart from my leg—seriously, it's like you're sticking me in a krrrr."
Onua blinked. "What did you say?"
"A cage," Lewa allegedly repeated. "It's like putting a wolf in a kennel when he was a good boy."
"You're saying someone would keep a wolf as a pet? That doesn't sound safe."
"Dog. Sorry. I meant dog, I said wolf. Man, for some reason I just keep on doing that. Weird."
By the time the three Toa reached the hole, dirt had accumulated around it, adding a good fifteen seconds to their search.
"There it is—finally." Tahu brushed some dirt away. "Someone must have been here. I can't see any tracks, though."
"Not even the pawprints," Pohatu noted. "But that looks like wind. Kopaka, how far down is it?"
Kopaka put a hand to his lens, turning one of its dials. He closed one eye, scanning the distance with the other. "Not far at all," he said mildly. "Around seven meters."
"Great," Tahu said, reaching for his swords.
"Slow down," said Kopaka, "and listen for a change. We're here to collect info, not start a war. What did I just say?"
Tahu grunted in annoyance. "We're here for info, not for fun."
"Close enough. Pohatu, lightstones?"
"Right here," Pohatu replied, handing Kopaka two large crystals, each a little larger than his hand. "Tahu can make his own light," he said, seeing Kopaka's confused expression.
"That's no excuse for having me use up my power!" Tahu said heatedly.
Pohatu turned to Tahu sternly. "Each stone took ten minutes to make – I created them in advance. I'm still not at my strongest after making them. Creating a fireball takes less than a second, and we'll be in that cave for far less than the time it took me to make those stones. Who's the one complaining?"
"You, kind of."
"Not the point. Besides, we couldn't wait any longer—to make a new lightstone would waste too much time. It's almost half an hour until the sun sets."
Tahu turned to the sun, shielding his eyes with a hand. "Already? Oh, cliff cultures. I'll miss Gali."
Kopaka stiffened, but his voice was calm as he spoke. "What, you had something scheduled?"
Tahu folded his arms. "It doesn't have anything to do with you, whatever you think it is." Then he added as an afterthought, "Get your mind out of the gutter."
Kopaka's fist tightened. "I was thinking nothing of the kind. But knowing how you can be after a few seidu drinks, I wouldn't exclude the possibility."
Tahu's mouth fell open. He stammered a few moments before stopping, staring in stunned silence.
Pohatu landed a hand on Kopaka's shoulder—hard. "That was uncalled for."
"You don't care about what Tahu said?" Kopaka replied curtly.
Pohatu's eyes narrowed to slits. He let go of Kopaka's shoulder with a rough push. "You're Toa," he said, addressing both. "It would do you both well to start acting the part." Then, snatching one of the lightstones from Kopaka's hand, he made his way into the darkness.
Tahu recovered from his shock, but remained uncharacteristically silent. The only sounds from him were a snapping of fingers and the quiet whoosh of a fireball. After a quick dirty look at Kopaka, he jumped down the hole. The sounds following were a metal clatter and voices:
"Tahu!"
"It wasn't my fault—you were in the way!"
Kopaka made a long, annoyed sigh. As much as he despised the Toa of Fire, what he had said was equally hateful. Sooner or later, he would have to apologize—but that would mean starting a conversation, which, unlike most other things, he was utterly tactless at.
"What are you standing around for?" called Pohatu's voice. A hand waved, the lightstone it held illuminating it.
"Don't rush me," Kopaka called back. Gripping his own lightstone tightly in his hand, he took a leap, and the darkness closed in from all sides. He quickly realized seven meters were longer than he'd previously expected them to—
CRUNCH.
Pain shot up Kopaka's legs with the force of a thunderclap. He collapsed completely, losing his grip on the glowing crystal. Hands reached out and grabbed onto him, while voices called his name, among other words he couldn't process. He fought off the urge to black out, but after less than a minute he couldn't bear it any longer.
As he drifted into darkness, his mind said a sentence he would hopefully remember. It said:
"Bend your legs next time, idiot."
"No, no, we're losing him! Hang in there, hang in there…" But despite Tahu's qualms, Kopaka's eyes faded until they clicked off.
Pohatu put a hand in front of Kopaka's mask. "Breathing, at least," he said. "But he can't stay here."
"You didn't have to tell me that," Tahu scoffed. "We don't have to leave him back at our house, though, do we?"
"My thoughts exactly," said Pohatu, grabbing Kopaka by the ankles. In an almost perfunctory way, he flung the Toa of Ice over his shoulders. "Pick up my lightstone, will you?"
Tahu nodded, and his fireball disappeared. He took Pohatu's lightstone, holding it close to him. "I'll lead the way."
"Lead away. Just make sure not to step in anything you'll regret."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Just watch your step. There are animals here, and where there are animals—"
"There are the remains of their prey."
"That's a graceful way to put it, but yes."
Tahu grimaced. "Yeugh. Let's get through this place as fast as we can."
"I'm not too fond of this place, myself."
"Exactly, Pohatu."
Pohatu blinked. "I'm not disagreeing with your point, but I didn't say anything like that."
Tahu scratched the back of his head, as if doing so would clear up his confusion. "No. I clearly heard you say something along the lines of 'I'm not exactly fond of this place, either.' Don't you remember?"
Pohatu shook his head. "I never said that. Maybe Kopaka did—he must have recovered consciousness by now." Turning his gaze to Kopaka, he squeezed his wrist.
"He'll never wake up."
"Don't say that—I'm still checking."
"Don't say what?" asked Tahu. "Are you talking to him?"
Pohatu blinked a few times, trying to figure out Tahu's import. "No," he said slowly, "I was replying to what you had said."
"What did I say? I don't remember asking something that had a reply like that."
"Kopaka didn't speak," Pohatu said, "and neither did I. Who else could have said, 'He'll never wake up'?"
Tahu jerked back as if the words had physically pushed him. "I may hate him, but I wouldn't ever want him to die. Not like this, anyway," he added quietly.
Pohatu stiffened. "What do you mean by 'Not like this'?
"Doesn't matter," Tahu said. "Just a healthy bit of rivalry."
"Rivalry is always healthy."
Tahu smirked. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"
"I didn't know you could be sarcastic," Pohatu replied, setting Kopaka down.
"What?" Tahu said, confused. "I wasn't being sarcastic, you were."
"I hadn't said anything," Pohatu said. "There's probably more to this place than meets the eye."
"You mean like my eyes?" said a voice.
Tahu didn't have the time to turn around when something scratched straight across his back, sending a stinging, pulsing surge of pain throughout his entire body. Taking a shuddering breath, he whipped his hands behind him, reaching for his swords. Sharp teeth answered, biting deeply into his wrist. A wolf's howl of triumph echoed through the cave—and its howl of pain followed. Then, silence.
Pohatu yanked his dagger out of the beast's stomach. After wiping off most of the blood from the blade, he sheathed it.
Tahu clutched his wrist, eyes shut tight. His hand was twitching uncontrollably.
"Stupid," Pohatu said quietly. "All of us were stupid enough to not bring healing tools. Every single one of us. Idiots." He continued to say such things as he lugged up Tahu, letting him lean on his shoulder. He kept cursing—though it was more like incoherent muttering by now—while he dragged Kopaka to his feet.
Kopaka's lens clicked for a second. He groaned. "Bend my legs, I know…" He looked up. "How long was I out?"
Now it was Pohatu's turn to groan. "Oh, so now you wake up: just after one of those wolves almost killed Tahu."
"Almost kil—!" Kopaka shook off Pohatu's arm, rushing to Tahu's side. "Did anyone bring healing tools?"
"No. That's why I've been swearing my—"
"Look," Kopaka said.
"—off this entire… What is it?" Pohatu said, exasperated.
Kopaka turned to Pohatu, looking scandalized. But he quickly recovered a neutral expression. "There's some dim light coming from that tunnel—it looks like moonlight."
"An exit," Pohatu thought aloud. "Let's go."
"Light," Tahu whispered, eyes still shut. "Bring me to… the light…"
"That's the idea," said Kopaka. He frowned slightly. "Pohatu, wait," he said, turning to the Toa of Stone. "How can we be sure Tahu won't be affected in any way?"
Pohatu's eyebrow arched. "By?"
"The moonlight," Kopaka pressed. "He's obviously hurt, and Lewa was hurt, too. A wolf attacked both Lewa and Tahu—that carcass in the corner tells me that much—and you know what happened to Lewa."
Pohatu frowned. "We need medical help as soon as possible—it slices through his back armor like a sword through fruit. You should know that, what with your lens. Besides, more wolves could find us in here. It's safer to leave—it makes fewer opportunities for those things to claw us, too."
"Li-ight," Tahu gasped, stumbling toward the tunnel.
Kopaka folded his arms. "Fine," he said begrudgingly, "but just in case, we should at least remove his mask. Then, if he does change, he'll at least be less powerful. We can put it back on once he's inside if he isn't affected."
"Sound enough," Pohatu replied. Turning to Tahu, he called his name and was about to request he come over, but Tahu had disappeared. Pohatu's eyes widened. "The Okotans," he breathed.
Before Kopaka could say anything, the Toa of Stone took off, a tornado of sand covering his legs. Kopaka made no hesitation in creating his own method of transport. Tearing his shield in two and throwing it to the ground, he stepped into the built-in footholds… then got off, rotated them the right way and put them on. He was testing their durability, of course. Obviously.
Reaching his spear out toward the ground, Kopaka felt a little elemental power go from him to the ground, which froze instantly. He pushed off the ground with his spear, and soon he was sliding by at unimaginable speeds.
He skidded to a stop, finding Tahu in front of him. They were both a few meters away from the exit, which Pohatu appeared to be guarding.
Tahu was quivering more than ever. His voice shook as much as his body as he said, "Light… I need… need light…"
Kopaka picked up his shield, snapping it together. "I don't like the darkness either, but trust me. It's safer this way."
"Trust… yyyou…" Tahu made a weak attempt at a laugh. It sounded more like quiet coughing. "After aahll these yearss… you say I should… should trrrust… you?"
Kopaka's arched eyebrow hid well his growing fear. "Yes, I do say. You're not being yourself, Tahu—snap out of it."
Tahu cough-laughed again, not noticing the Toa of Ice approaching him. "Nnno. I sayy you're the one to ssnap… when I snap your— Ohh…"
Tahu collapsed to the floor in a helpless heap. Kopaka, holding the Golden Mask of Fire, put it behind his back. "Sorry about that."
The Toa of Fire looked as if he would cry out from sheer frustration, but instead remained scarcely awake on the ground, speaking garbled words. Some sounded suspiciously like "moon," "free," and "grow."
Kopaka stepped closer to his comrade. Tahu's words seemed clearer now—he was saying two sentences, over and over again. After listening around five times, Kopaka pieced together the words:
"The moonlight frees us. We must grow the pack."
"C'mon, Onua! Why not?" Lewa folded his arms, pouting.
Onua sighed. "Only one moon is out this night, so it'll be darker—I don't want you to trip. Not to mention tonight will be far chillier than the last. Besides, I'm worried about you. The last time you want out this late, you—"
"Hurt myself, I know, I know," Lewa replied. "Okay, what about ten minutes? It'll take at least that long to grow the pack."
"The pack?"
"Yeah, my pack—like a six-pack. Gotta stretch those abs at some point, amirite?" Lewa grinned at his joke, but his smile disappeared as fast as it had come. "But the moons—even just one—it's like it… what's the word… it frees us, y'know? It unlocks the stuff inside us, makes us grow stronger. Why, if I could go outside for just one minute…" He started to tremble at the sheer concept. "Then you'd see my true potential."
Onua could hardly believe what he was hearing. "I'm sorry, he said, bowing his head apologetically. "But I can't allow you to go."
Lewa's arms became tense—he almost shook with resentment. "You just can't take a hint. I need to go out there. They're calling me, they need me!"
Onua stepped back against the door. He reached behind his back to lock it. "Who are you talking about? Who are 'they'?"
Lewa grabbed his head. Even from the other end of the room, Onua could hear his breaths—they were short and sharp, as if he were in pain. "I… I don't know, but—but I need to go out there, okay? I need to meet them—I have to be free. Just leave me alone!"
Onua reached behind him. Making no sudden movements, he took out his hammer. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Lewa," he said slowly.
Did Lewa wince at his name being called? "You… you really don't get it. I need to be out there, out with the light, okay?" As he spoke, he noticed the closed shades at the window.
Onua followed Lewa's gaze. "No…" Dropping his hammer, he made a single bound across the room just as Lewa was opening the shades. Unfortunately, the Toa of Earth hadn't thought about the landing, but at least he didn't land on top of Lewa. He crashed into him, knocking both into the wall.
The Toa of Earth climbed out of the rubble, brushing himself off. Turning around, he asked, "Are you alright, Lewa? I didn't mean to hurt you."
Lewa heaved a large plank of wood and plaster off himself with surprising ease. "Stop calling me that! Lee-wuh, lee-wuh, lee-wuh. It's stupid!"
"Well," Onua said, keeping his voice steady and calm, "what shall I call you, then?"
"Not I," Lewa replied, grinning like a lunatic. "Us. It's us… the moonlight frees us. We must grow the pack." Lewa's smile disappeared—it was as if an invisible force had torn it clean away, revealing a neutral, unemotional expression. Lewa paid no heed to Onua, acting as if he didn't exist. "The moonlight frees us," he said tonelessly. "We must grow the pack. The moonlight frees us. We must grow the pack…" His mantra grew louder as he approached the window shades.
"Lewa, please don't make me have to hurt you." For the first time, Onua's voice shook as he grabbed Lewa's wrist.
Lewa made a snarling noise, twisting his arm around so Onua couldn't keep holding on without hurting himself.
But Onua kept his grip. "I can't let you hurt anyone."
"…must grow the pack. The moonlight frees us," Tahu continued mumbling. Or rather, Kopaka thought grimly, the creature that was Tahu. At least he couldn't hurt anyone—even if the city was close by, Tahu's body was maskless. But even so, both Pohatu and Kopaka kept a wary eye on him.
Kopaka finally tore his eyes away. "This doesn't make any sense. Tahu wasn't in the moonlight at all, yet…" He didn't finish his sentence, shaking his head in frustration.
Pohatu kept his gaze. "Check him with your scanner. From the looks of it, only his mind's changed."
"Good idea," Kopaka replied, deciding now wasn't the time to correct Pohatu. It was a visor, not a scanner. "Sure enough," he said a moment after activating his visor. "But it's not just his mind. From what I can tell, the venom's in his whole body, but for some reason only the part in his mind is active. I'm guessing the physical changes don't occur until—"
"—he touches the moonlight," he and Pohatu finished in unison.
Tahu seemed to find new strength at their last word. He clawed at the ground, scrambling for the cave's exit.
Kopaka reacted first. Taking out his spear, he struck the Toa to the side. Tahu slammed against the cave wall and fell to the ground. He didn't get up.
Pohatu knelt by Tahu, picking up his wrist. He stayed very still. "He's alive," he said, "but not for long if we keep him here. Tahu needs to be somewhere safer than this… place." He put specific emphasis on the last word.
Kopaka frowned. "We can't risk the villagers' lives. He could ignore the pain and go for them anyway."
"He's unconscious right now," Pohatu retorted. "this is the best choice we've got in transporting him to a safe place."
"Well…"
"What other choice do we have? We can't treat his wounds here."
Kopaka took a deep breath. "Fine," he said as he sighed. "But we need to know exactly where we're going—no taking him out any longer than necessary."
"I'll look," Pohatu said.
And he was gone.
"Lewa, I can't let you go," Onua repeated for the third time. His voice was starting to strain from the pain in his wrist.
Lewa glared at Onua, wild-eyed. "I told you to stop calling me that!" And he jerked his arm, taking a snapping sound from Onua's wrist.
The Toa of Earth shut his eyes tight, but held the resolution to keep holding on. Even as he thought this, he felt himself begin to lose his grip. "I know you're more powerful than this creature, Lewa," he said, hoping his voice sounded calmer than he felt. "Lewa, you can win this fight—I know so. All of us do. Tahu, Gali, Pohatu, Kopaka and I."
Lewa stopped struggling. He still trembled, but at least he was no longer thrashing around.
Onua continued. "That's it. We know you can do it, and you know what?" He smiled. "I think you know, too."
Lewa closed his eyes. With a faint smile, he sighed. Little by little, he stopped shaking entirely. "Onua," he said. His voice sounded weak but calm. "You can let go of me now. I… I should tell you something."
Onua closed his eyes, whispering a prayer of thanks. Letting go, he began to massage his wrist. "You can tell me."
As he came closer to Onua, Lewa's smile grew. "You should get some rest, Onua. It's getting late."
"I will when you do, Lewa," Onua said. "After all, you need more sleep than I." He paused. The Toa of Jungle didn't seem to be listening. "Lewa?"
"I'm sorry," Lewa said. He grinned. "But Lewa can't hear you—he's sleeping."
The next thing Onua knew, he had collapsed to the floor. Struggling to get up, he noticed the glint of a mask.
His own mask, which "Lewa" held.
"Lewa's sleeping right now," the creature said, bending down to the barely conscious Toa of Earth.
Onua could do little more than lift his hand a few centimeters up.
The beast laughed the exact same way Lewa would. "You look so exhausted. But don't worry—I can awaken you." It began to walk toward the window.
"No…" Onua barely whispered, wincing.
It turned around. "Don't worry—it only hurts for the first half-minute. Besides, I won't jump out the window. We need only open it to free ourselves."
Slowly, slowly, Onua managed to curl his hand into a fist. After counting from three in his head, he desperately lunged for the beast despite the sheer physical agony. His aim was true.
"Lewa" crashed to the ground, Onua's body pinning him down. "Stop it!" it screeched. "I'm trying to do the right thing—to grow the pack!"
Onua didn't respond. His eyes barely glowed, and his breathing was slow.
"Unconscious. Typical." It struggled to free itself, kicking with Lewa's legs and clawing with his hands.
Two agonizingly long minutes later, it finally scrambled free. Onua was still knocked out.
The beast smiled. Turning around, it walked in front of the window.
Onua was just awakening when he saw Lewa's arms force both curtains to the side. Immediately Lewa's voice cried out, and his body crumpled to the ground, shaking violently. His shoulders tensed up as the armor shifted, molding its own shape to become flatter, pressing against his skin. His legs grew smaller, and sharp claws began to show from his boots. His bones made a grinding sound as his jaw stretched out into a muzzle, filling with teeth.
Onua dearly wished he could do more than lie on the ground, staring helplessly as his once-friend now stood on all fours.
The wolf, free at last, howled in triumph. It turned to the fallen Earth Toa.
It was time to grow the pack.
As the creature lurched toward Onua, a voice called out, "How'd the…?" Curious, it turned to the noise—and an armored boot kicked it squarely in the face.
Gali put her leg back down as the wolf fell to the floor in a heap. Noticing Onua was maskless, she quickly scanned the room with her eyes. It took a few seconds, but when she found it just below the window, she grabbed it, hurrying to Onua and fitting it onto his face.
Onua's eyes were dim but staring. "I didn't want to believe it," he said slowly, "but I saw it."
This was the first time Gali had ever heard Onua's voice shake from fear. "What are you talking about?" she asked, then added quickly, "you don't have to tell me if it scares you."
Onua lumbered to his feet. "That," he said, pointing at the stunned wolf. "That's Lewa."
