Author's note: So, I've decided to combine the last four chapters into two chapters, this one and the next. This of course means that the next chapter will be the last one. However, like I said before, now that I've finished writing Dynamics, I'll begin posting my Kopaka story. I'd also like to thank you guys for all your reviews.

Chapter 10

Titasami glanced at the Ithamar encampment before looking back at his tem. Lynx had finally stopped humming and looked more serious. Ray seemed to be staring out into space. Titasami snapped his fingers in front of the Ice Toa's Kanohi. Ray blinked, but otherwise did not respond. Vicant growled and pushed Ray hard.

"Wake up, glitchhead," he snapped. "Get your mind out of ...where ever it is you put it."

Ray still did not respond and did not even look away from the Ithamar camp.

"Can we just dump him somewhere where he won't - "

"He's concentrating," Titasami cut Vicant off tersely. "A talent you could find useful."

Vicant looked at the Ice Toa skeptically. Lynx nodded. "Yup. You've never seen him fight, have you Vicant?"

The Fire Toa frowned in response. It was true that he had not been a member of the team for very long, and he had never witnessed Ray in a battle. The first time he had ever actually been in a battle was that morning, and he had not made it a point to watch any of his teammates' battle methods. But he doubted that a zoned out Toa was going to be of any help.

"You two stay together," Titasami ordered Lynx and Vicant. "Ray, you'll stay with me. Now, when we attack, you two will take care of the Ithamar. Ray and I will use this as a distraction and attack their leader."

"Have you seen how many of those creatures there are?" Vicant asked in disbelief. "Lynx and I can't take all of them on while you and snow-flaky try to take on that creep."

Titasami pointed behind them. "They'll help you."

Vicant looked and saw Matoran approaching. All of their masks held looks of despair and determination. He instantly felt guilty for complaining. "What are they doing here?" he demanded. "This is Toa work. This is why we're here."

"We're going to fight!"

Vicant jumped and looked down. A Ta-Matoran glared up at him. Vicant glared back.

Lynx clapped his hands over ears as the two natives of Ta-Ahira erupted like twin volcanoes. "Sooo, what exactly do you want Vicant and I to do with the Matoran?" he asked Titasami.

"Focus on ranged weapons. Do not get close to the Rahi. None of the Matoran are a match for their physical strength. You and Vicant keep them away from each other at all costs." Titasami grabbed Vicant's head and turned him around to look at him. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

Vicant looked annoyed and embarrassed. "Well, yeah, of course." The Ta-Matoran behind him snickered, apparently pleased with seeing the Toa get in trouble.

Titasami shook his head. Then he turned around and punched the ground. A tunnel began to form beneath him. He dropped down, followed by Ray. After entering the tunnel, Titasami began digging more quietly. After a while, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He tilted his head toward Ray without slowing his digging. The Ice Toa expression looked a bit sheepish and undecided.

"Well, there is a matter about which I need to discuss."

Vicant looked at Lynx. "Uh... What was he saying?"

Lynx shrugged, holding back a smile. "I dunno. Weren't you listening?" Vicant's expression was priceless. The green Toa grinned. "Just kidding. Ranged attacks, we protect the Matoran. That's just about it."

Lynx cupped his hands around his mouth. "Oy, can you all hear me?" he shouted to the gathering Matoran. The Matoran stopped squabbling and talking to listen.

Standing right next to the Air Toa, Vicant winced. "I can hear you fine," he muttered.

Lynx gave him a look before continuing. "You guys need to stay away from the critters. Use catapults and whatnot, but don't fight 'em. Run if you have to. Yes, I did say run. It's not heroic to die in vain. Got that?"

There were murmers of understanding among the Matoran. "I can't hear you," Lynx shouted energetically. "Yessir? Nosir? What-what?"

This time the Matoran shouted "Yes, sir!" in unison.

"Who's ready for this? Areyouguyssoready?" Lynx's energetic personality began to rub off on the frightened Matoran. "And we will win!"

Vicant looked at Lynx incredulously. "What are you doing?"

"It's called boosting morale," Lynx replied in a teasing voice, still smiling. "I've heard it's good for the troops."

"If we can't fight them hand-to-hand, well, claw, then how are we supposed to fight them?" inquired one of the Ta-Matoran.

Lynx grabbed his bow from its niche on his back with a flourish. He twanged the bow string as he responded, "Well?"

"But, all I brought was an axe," said one Matoran anxiously. "I want to help."

"And you still can. Hey you," he pointed a Le-Matoran who brought a bow. The Matoran jumped to attention. "Yeah, you. Show this blazer how to make weapons like a Le-Matoran."

As the Le-Matoran and his companions got to work creating more bows, a large rock suddenly landed in their midst. The Matoran leapt for cover. Lynx tracked the trajectory of the object back to the source. He stared open-mouthed at what he saw. Catapults. The Rahi had constructed catapults, and their aim was pretty good. More rocks headed in their direction with stunning accuracy.

"What are these creatures?" Vicant asked incredulously. "Monkeys?"

Lynx's smile faded instantly as he put on a more serious demeanor. He drew air bolts in his bow and fired at the rocks to knock them off course. Vicant raced toward the Ithamar, his sword ablaze with the fire that burned inside his heart and mind.

Kappa shook his head in disbelief, a wide smile on his Kanohi. "Theta? I can't believe it. I thought you left. You look well, um, good. Where have you been? What have you been doing all these years?"

Theta shrugged. "I've been around."

Kappa's expression turned to irritation. "What? Have you been here all this time? Why - why didn't you ever - hey, why didn't you say goodbye! I want an answer, brother."

Theta snorted, folding up his wings behind his back. "No. I just returned recently." He glanced at the shore. "And by recent, I do not mean with that big black brute."

Kappa sighed. "I know you don't have anything to do with that monster." Theta's mask twitched in annoyance. "Why'd you come back?"

Theta kept silent. A bird could be heard chirping nearby.

"Well, come on. We can't just stay here all day. We can catch up later."

Kappa started walking again.

"They're in Po-Ahira."

Kappa turned around. "What?"

Theta looked at him with an air of indifference. "Uh, those Rahi you were following. Duh. They're in Po-Ahira."

Kappa gasped and started running. He was suddenly stopped by an iron grip. He glanced at Theta impatiently. "What?"

"That old brown hat can handle it. I got a bird's eye of the situation, and everything's fine over there. They're stuffing those beasties with the harvest crops."

Kappa looked down, trying to decide whether to investigate himself or to trust his twin. "All right," he conceded. "Let's head back and tell the others."

He began walking but Theta did not follow. Kappa stopped, giving him a questioning look. Theta glared back. "Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"No," he replied tersely, spinning around stalking away.

"What? Why not? Come on, the others will want to see you."

"No. They won't," Theta spat emphatically.

Kappa started getting angry. "Will you stop being a stubborn dork-mask? Come on."

"Oh yeah, you're the second in command now," Theta sneered. "Guess that means I have to obey you, right?"

Kappa frowned. "What's your problem?"

Theta sighed and looked at the sky. "Just as dense as always," he muttered. Then he turned back around and stalked after Kappa.

The two arrived back at the Turaga's housing first. As they waited for Tyoama and Ikiku to return, Kappa continued trying to start a conversation with Theta. But his reunited twin remained moodily silent.

"Ah, so, it's been a while," Kappa ventured. Theta grunted but did not say anything. "So, how long have you been back home?"

Theta twitched at the mention of "home" and glared at Kappa. "This is not my home," he hissed.

"Nice to see that your attitude hasn't changed," Kappa retorted. "Where have you..." He stopped as he remembered something from their first conversation earlier. "Have you been staying with Ray?"

"Yeah."

"How long?"

Silence.

"Hey, I asked you a question."

Theta abruptly sat down and stared at the ceiling and walls of the lobby area. Kappa sighed noisily and sat down opposite of him. He rested his head in his hands and looked at his brother. Theta looked monstrous indeed, with claws and large black wings. Kappa began noticing the new physical differences between them. Theta was slimmer now, his build more suited for agility than it was before. His armors' edges were jagged and sharp. Surprisingly enough, he was not actually black. In the fully lit room, his armor changed to very dark shades of green and blue. Some type of chameleon effect, Kappa surmised, that allows him to hide in the darkness.

By the time the others returned, the two were quietly staring at each other. However, pandemonium broke out as soon as the newcomers saw the Shadow Toa.

Kappa tried to get them to calm down in order to explain. He had to shout over them to silence them. "Shut up!" He immediately regretted his choice of words as the two looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry," he quickly said, "but would you both just calm down. This isn't an enemy, it's Theta."

There was a stunned silence with Tyoama and Ikiku looking from one twin to the other in disbelief. Then there was a loud gasp from the stairway. Turaga Hattit heard the shouting and came to investigate. His frightened and startled expression made clear that he was not expecting to see the self-exiled Shadow Toa. The crimson Turaga quickly recovered his senses and stared at him grimly.

"Theta," he murmured darkly.

"Theta?" Tyoama echoed, disbelief on her face. She approached the sinister looking Toa, staring at his masked face. The dark being avoided her gaze, his eyes narrowing to suspicious slits. She reached out to touch him and he shied away. The movement allowed the light to shine full on his mask. She gasped and smiled. "It is you."

"What? This - this thing, is Theta?" Ikiku asked no one in particular, gesturing at the stranger before him. Then he turned to Kappa skeptically. "Are you crazy? This thing can't possibly be him. He vanished, remember? It's not possible. It isn't...right?" Ikiku had to admit, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. They were never told why Theta suddenly vanished. All he knew were rumors. But he still did not want to believe that this monstrosity was his fellow Toa.

"What happened to you?" Tyoama asked, concern in her yellow eyes. Again she tried to touch him, as though to make sure he was real. This time Theta smacked her hand away. She took a step back, shocked at this violent behavior. She surveyed his new appearance, beginning to see him as a monster instead of the young Toa she once knew.

"Theta. That was uncalled for," Kappa admonished. They were all surprised at Kappa's behavior. He was treating this situation with normalcy.

Theta clenched his fists and growled. He began to stalk toward the doors. Kappa stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"Buzz off!" he angrily exploded suddenly. "Get this through your stupid, dense head! And leave me alone!"

"Excuse me? That was also uncal - "

"'Uncalled for, uncalled for,'" Theta parroted mockingly. Then he muttered, "You're so dense, you know that? I'll do it by myself."

Theta left quickly. Kappa glanced at his retreating brother, then back at the others. "I'll be right back," he said, taking off after Theta.

Ikiku and Tyoama watched him leave in silence, too surprised by the turn of events. They looked at each other and the door many times, trying to sort it out.

"It's a spy," Ikiku said confidently, breaking the silence. "That thing is probably working for that warlord creep. It's probably been sneaking around, spying on us."

"No," Tyoama said softly.

"What?"

"That was Theta." She turned to Turaga Hattit, who was staring at the floor grimly. "Wasn't it?"

The Turaga sighed and nodded.

"Yeah," Ikiku said, remembering the Turaga's instant recognition. "How did you know that was Theta?"

Hattit looked at them with saddened eyes. "I'm sorry we never told you the truth. Theta was attacked by a shadow creature and transformed into...that. But he left the island, of his own free will too."

Hattit's explanation was cut off by Kappa's return. He was frowning pensively with his arms crossed.

"Well?" Hattit asked after Kappa just stood there silently for a few moments.

"Eh?" Kappa looked startled, then sheepish. Then his usual determination overtook his expression. "Oh, yes. Come on, we need to get back to Titasami and the others."

"But we haven't found the other Rahi yet," Tyoama pointed out.

"Theta did. They're not harming anything where they are." Kappa started walking away. "Come on, hurry."

Ikiku and Tyoama looked at each other in puzzlement. Then they hurried after the second in command. None of them noticed Hattit staring intently at the small, blackened scar on Kappa's back.