"Kopaka wait!" There was no response. Gali shivered, her hands trembling as she stared out into the fog. She couldn't see him anywhere. "Kopaka come back!" Still nothing. Where was he? Panic rising in her heart, she gingerly stepped out of the cabin, Pohatu close behind her as she ascended the small flight of steps that lead onto the ship deck. Just barely visible in the gloom ahead of her, Gali could see Kopaka's silhouette, crouched beside a mass on the deck nearby. Cautiously she drew nearer, the four others following as she approached. The closer she got, the darker the wood panels beneath her got, turning more and more crimson with each footfall. By the time she had reached Kopaka's side, she had figured out, much to her horror, just what the mass was, and after staring at Lhikan's lifeless frame for a few, gut-wrenching seconds…
She let out a scream. Tahu quickly silenced her, covering her mouth with his hand as he stared, wide-eyed, at the body of their former mentor. Pohatu's face turned a sickly green color as he nearly vomited, turning away quickly and squeezing his eyes shut. Lewa collapsed onto his knees, too terrified and sickened to do anything else. Onua was the only one capable of speaking, his voice shaky and quiet.
"How… How did this happen?" Kopaka shivered faintly, shaking his head as though wishing this was a nightmare he could wake up from. Finally, the Toa Mata of Ice found his voice.
"S-some sort o-of Rahi I think… A Rahi with a grasp o-of the Matoran language… Look on his back." His hand trembling, Kopaka moved the ripped remains of Lhikan's shirt, revealing two roughly carved words.
'Welcome home'
"Welcome home?" Onua repeated, his voice holding obvious unease at the situation. "What sort of sick joke is this? And I've never heard of a Rahi that could decipher, read, and write, actual words like this." He turned, looking up at the small cliff face in front of the ship. Barely visible in the fog, the remains of old buildings could be seen, looking like broken teeth against the horizon. Shivering at the sight of it, he added.
"Just what happened here anyway? It's like the apocalypse happened and we missed it."
"Well, whatever happened," Tahu managed to whisper loudly. "I think we should get away from the boat… whatever killed Toa Lhikan is bound to be close by. I'd rather not run into that thing right now…" Pohatu gagged quietly as he shakily pulled Lewa to his feet, crimson stains now evident on the boy's pant legs.
"Good idea…" Pohatu said, voice trembling as he spoke. "We need to f-find somewhere we can take sh-shelter. Somewhere we c-can defend if we have to." Tahu lowered his hand from Gali's mouth now, expression fearful as he stammered.
"B-but where? The Great Temple is too open, the Coliseum is too creepy, and my place would be too small." Gali whimpered, tears streaming down her pale face as she stared at Lhikan's body. He had been their teacher and guide for the last six years of their lives, and now, with no clue or hint of who did it, he was gone, leaving them virtually stranded on an island that no longer felt like home. Finally regaining her voice, the girl suggested, her voice barely louder than a quavering and uncertain whisper.
"What about a Ta-Metru forge? B-besides, if we find someone along the way, maybe we c-can find out what happened and why it's so f-foggy now…" Kopaka grimaced notably.
"It could be dangerous, but it's the only reasonable choice that I can see so far. Even if a forge isn't easy to defend, we'll still have supplies that we can use to our advantage." Taking one last look at Lhikan's body and shaking his head, the Toa of Ice turned and climbed over the ship rail, dropping to the rocky sand below. Gali and the others followed closely, not wanting to be separated and wind up losing someone else as well.
Ascending the roughly hewn steps that'd been carved into the cliff wall, it became clear to all six of them that the chance of finding anyone of a savory nature would be as likely as turning lead into gold. As far as the eye could see, buildings and monuments lay in severe disrepair, and the once clean and bustling streets of Le-Metru were now strewn with rubble and debris. As the Toa Mata looked around, horrified by the apocalyptic scene before them, Lewa said, his voice shaky and weak.
"They're gone… Wh-where did everyone go? What happen-caused them all to leave? Why is Le-Metru so broken-shattered?" Pohatu swallowed, orange eyes wide as he surveyed the destruction. Trying and failing to sound optimistic, the fifteen year old suggested.
"Maybe they moved closer to the Coliseum and this district was just abandoned?" Kopaka glanced at him with a predominately blank expression on his face.
"Nice try," He said emotionlessly, obviously trying to cover up his own worry. "But it'll take more than half-hearted words to make this better." Tahu shot him a scowl.
"At least he tried. I don't see you doing anything to make things better." The icy Toa's eyes narrowed as he scanned the area with his eyepiece, taking a closer look at everything around them. Ignoring Tahu completely, the boy's gaze slowly moved upwards… falling to the thick strands of unnaturally large web that was strung between the ruined buildings on either side. Finally he spoke again.
"There is a difference between trying and actually pulling it off, just as there is a time to panic, and not to panic. Right now might just be the time to panic." Onua looked at him quizzically, trying to figure out what the problem was.
"Why?" It didn't take long for him to find out. Without anything to give warning, what appeared to be glowing disks of energy hurtled past their heads from all around them. Gali screamed, dropping to the ground in order to avoid getting shot. Onua grabbed Pohatu, pulling the younger boy to the street as at least five disks crashed together where his head had just been. Tahu activated his mask ability, a bright red energy shield forming around him like a translucent dome. Kopaka ducked down against a crescent shaped piece of rubble, his shield held over his head and a barrier of ice sealing him inside.
It was then that Lewa took flight. Rocketing into the foggy air, the green-haired boy vanished from sight, the energy disks all heading after him as whatever was attacking gave chase. The remaining five stared after him, each wide-eyed and looking nervous. Onua was the first to stand, shakily adjusting his glasses as he did so. Why had Lewa taken off like that? Was it stress? Emotional trauma? Something else? What worried him the most was the fact that the Toa of Air was now on his own where nobody could follow him. The other four teens stood up now, each with varying levels of worry in their eyes. Gali managed to find her voice.
"Wh-where'd he go? I…I can't see him anywhere!" Kopaka rolled his eyes before trying to peer through the fog around them.
"Well spotted." He muttered sarcastically. "Hurrah for stating the obvious thought we all share." Pohatu frowned and was about to rebuke Kopaka for his comment…
When a faint scream echoed to them. Lewa had been caught.
