"Your father is alive. And he tried to kill me."

The words hung in the air like an executioner's axe, the grim silence of the situation heavy enough to almost be suffocating in its own right. Jaller was utterly frozen in shock; his own father was the reason Kopaka nearly died? Why hadn't Mihkoro tried to come back? He was a Toa, a hero even! He wouldn't just fall back into his old ways for a lark! "Y-you're lying."

Kopaka sighed and rubbed his face, sliding his eyepiece aside as he crouched in front of Jaller's chair and looked him in the eyes. "I wish I was." He said quietly, his voice calm and yet so laden with subtle emotion that there was no denying the honesty of his words. "The only explanation we can come up with for any of this is that the Makuta captured him rather than killing him, and even then he would have had to go to great lengths to make your father do anything. But there is still hope for him."

Nuju rolled his eyes. "Kopaka he nearly slew you in the very element you thrive in."

"Nearly is still a failure." Kopaka remarked tersely, looking over his shoulder at the turaga with the sort of expression one might give an ornery and misbehaving child. "The fact is," he added as he looked back at Jaller. "your father had every opportunity to finish me off, but he didn't. He willfully refused to kill me despite being so close to doing so. Regardless of Nuju's outlook on it, I believe we may yet be able to break through to him. All we need is the right opportunity."

Jaller was at a loss even with Kopaka's attempt to encourage him. All these years, growing up thinking his father was dead and gone, only to learn that he was still alive and had been turned against everyone, even to the point of outright trying to kill them? How did one even handle that kind of news? He'd known as a child that Mihkoro was a Shadow Toa, and that his teen years had been sketchy at best, but if his father was this far gone now, could they truly save him? Would Mihkoro even recognize him anymore? It had been so long…

The Ta-Matoran's thoughts strayed back over his cross-island trek so far, over the mysterious person Takua had yet to go into detail about, and the mysterious envelope that had turned up in Le-Koro. Hesitantly he reached into his bag and pulled it out, unintentionally ignoring the inquiries from Nuju and Kopaka as he eyed the seal that held it shut. Did he dare open it? What would he find written within? What if it wasn't from Mihkoro? And more worryingly, what if it was? There was only one way to find out, and now it terrified him to no end. So many questions could be answered, but did he actually want to know? What if reading it only made things worse?

Wordlessly he slid his thumbs under the envelope's flap and broke the seal open, fingers shaking slightly as he grasped the letter within and pulled it out. Some answers were simply worth the risk, and now could be the only time he had to find out the truth.

Thus, he began to read.

'Jaller,

Words cannot express how incredibly proud of you I am. You have continually remained strong to your purpose and true to your friends no matter what has been thrown at you, and triumphed over it all. Time and again you have looked danger in the eye and stood your ground no matter how grim the circumstances were. I would not be surprised if you could stay firm and unshaken even if Teridax himself was trying to stare you down. Unfortunately, it is that very concept which compels me to write this letter, as I fear I may not get another chance to speak to you in my right mind. As you may have been told, the numerous accidents and disasters across the island may have been deliberately caused, and while I wish I could tell you I had no hand in them it would be an utter lie. Teridax has been using me since I 'died' on Metru Nui, and I no longer have the strength to keep trying to resist. As it is I can feel the shadows working their way through my mind in search of my last remnants of will and rebellion; it is only a matter of time before I cannot come back at all. It is for this reason that I need to get my last moments of coherency on paper; there are two things I must warn you about before I'm lost.

First and foremost, never let that friend of yours out of your sight. As much as he wants to stay out of this whole Avohkii business he is rooted in it far deeper than he could imagine. Do not let him wander off on his own; the moment he is by himself is the moment all Karzahni will seemingly be out to kill him. Regrettably, I may also be sent to pursue him, and I fear I do not have the strength to refuse any longer than I already have. Thirteen years in darkness has been too much for me to bear and the only way I can guarantee his safety is if he is with the one person I will never raise my hand against.

Second; as much as it pains me to see you embroiled in this much danger, you cannot for any reason entrust the Avohkii to anyone else, not even Takua. I needn't stress how crucially important it is to keep it in your possession until the time is right. When that moment comes, you will know what to do, but nobody else can have it until then.

My words likely mean very little to you now, and I would not blame you for disregarding much of what I just said. I could not be there when you needed me most, and I have no-one to blame for it but myself. But please, for the sake of everyone you hold dear, do not let Takua or the Avohkii escape you; they are worth more than most anyone else on the whole island.

I love you, my son, and I wish I could have been the father you deserved to have. Remember the Three Virtues, and know that I am proud of who you became.

-Mihkoro'

By the time he had finished, Jaller didn't know if he should have felt heartbroken or encouraged. He knew the handwriting, knew each curve in every letter like the backs of his hands. There was no denying that his father had written every word on the page, and the small rings and watermarks betrayed every tear that fell as they were penned. Jaller read the letter again as he fought back his own urge to cry; this was an encouragement, a warning, and a plea for help, all in one carefully constructed message. He wanted to scream with rage at the unfairness of it all, weep with sorrow for the years that were stolen from him, and be uplifted by the knowledge that his father was alive and proud of him this whole time. How could he express any of it when it all wanted to pour forth in an explosion of uncontrolled emotion? But even as he sat there trying to make sense of his own feelings, a new, more worrisome thought arose:

Where was Takua now?

Offering no explanation to Kopaka or Nuju, Jaller launched to his feet, stuffing the letter back in his bag and grabbing Mihkoro's dagger as he bolted for the door and surged forth into the cold. "Takua?!" His mind was racing as he frantically looked around. Where did Kopaka say he'd gone? Where had they seen him last? Casting his thoughts back over their arrival, Jaller found himself searching the sky for smoke. Something important had been brought up about that earlier…

'He's a forger, not a pyromaniac. A remarkably good one at that. It's thanks to his unusual preferences that Ko-Koro's hunters are well equipped, among other things."

The forge! That's where Takua went!

It didn't take long for Jaller to find the smoke plume, no longer small and meek but instead a vast pillar, far too large to be any measure of safe. Was he too late? Why didn't he read the letter sooner?! An adrenaline-flooded fear drove the young matoran onward, breaking into a full-out sprint as he raced for the forge. "Takua, please be okay!" He had to be alive, he just had to!

By the time Jaller arrived, the entire building was wreathed in fire, jet black and producing smoke so thick it nearly blotted out the sun. All around him the Ko-Matoran were trying to douse the flames, their efforts making little difference compared to the unnatural blaze that ravaged the building. Somewhere in that inferno, Takua had to be found. He could hear Kopaka yelling for him to back away, could feel the temperature dropping as winter's master mustered his power to combat the blaze. Every bit of sanity told him to listen, that staying so close to the rage of darkness would be the end of him. He couldn't do anything to help.

But by Mata Nui he would try anyway!

Eyes burning with their own determined fire, Jaller grit his teeth and plunged headlong into the blackened flames, forcing himself onward despite the burns that began to form and crack his skin. All he had to do was find Takua and get him to safety, and there was no time to let anyone else do it for him.

"TAKUA!"

Bursting through the veritable wall of fire, Jaller stumbled into the forge and frantically looked around… his gaze swiftly falling on two figures. Navak hung limp as he was held off the floor by his neck, blood staining his frame and trickling from his slightly open mouth as he struggled desperately to breathe, choking from the smoke and nearly vice-like grip on his throat. The other person was one Jaller knew well, his armor dented and spattered with blood that did not belong to him. Glowing red eyes held nothing but contempt for the matoran that had sought to defy him, his one and only focus being the slow and agonizing suffocation of the foolish weakling who thought he stood a chance.

"D-Dad?!"

The darkness-possessed Toa went rigid for a split moment before slowly turning his head to regard the newest arrival. Immediate conflict flooded his expression, rage contorting into a desperate fight for control. "J-Jaller…?" He rasped, every sound appearing to cause him pain.

The Ta-Matoran shivered, his eyes wide with shock and fear. Never before had he seen such hate, such out-of-control destructive power. He wanted to run for safety, the stinging of his injuries paling in comparison with the terror he now felt. Mihkoro was nothing like he remembered, all softness erased and replaced with an abundance of contempt and anger, now laced with desperation because of his son's presence. "D-Don't do this, please!" Jaller pleaded, his own body trembling as though he were facing down the Makuta himself. "You're better than this! Stronger than this!" He dared to take a step closer. "It's not too late, you know it isn't! You have to keep fighting! P-Please don't give up! You can stop all of this!"

Mihkoro was shaking even as he lowered his hand and dropped Navak to the floor, now turning to fully face his only child. Even through the smoke and scars his face was visibly pale, his lip trembling as he fought tooth and nail to try and stop himself from causing more damage than had already been done. "… Jaller…" He said again, voice marginally stronger as he took a step closer and dropped to his knees. It were as though the Ta-Matoran's mere presence was sapping his strength away. Shakily he looked around them, taking in their surroundings as though for the first time. He saw the blood on his hands, the near-lifeless matoran beside him, the scorches that now trailed over Jaller's skin… All of this, caused by him, a mere puppet to the will of a being he could never stop alone. Tears welled in his eyes and splashed onto his cheeks, evaporating mere moments after touching his skin. The fire around them began to subside as Mihkoro fully broke down, an anguished wail wrenching from his lips as the weight of his crimes crashed over him. He was nothing but a shattered soul tormented into committing atrocities he never wanted to. His whole life, reduced to little more than unfair and heartless puppetry.

Jaller shuddered as he watched, coughing from the smoke in the air as he dared to move closer, shakily reaching out toward his father in a desperate bid for solid proof that none of this was a dream. His head was swimming, a blend of being overwhelmed and lack of oxygen making It hard to fully maintain his balance. A few shaky steps and he was kneeling in front of Mihkoro, trembling hands gripping to his armored fingers. So much lost time, so far away and yet so painfully close the entire time. "W-We'll save you, Dad…" Jaller choked out quietly as the fires around them diminished and faded entirely. "We'll find a way, I-I promise."

"I… I don't think you can, Jaller…" Mihkoro whispered shakily, pulling his son into a hug and holding him as though his life depended on it. "I-I've slipped too far… If you hadn't come when you did I would have killed this matoran, -and gone to hunt down your friend… Takua, I think his name was? I-I was sent to retrieve him, a-and-" The Shadow Toa suddenly tensed, his eyes widening with horror as he firmly shoved Jaller away from him. This gesture wasn't a moment too late, dark tendrils erupting from his shadow and wrapping around him, strangling the air from his lungs even as he was dragged into the darkness and disappeared.

"D-Dad…?"

Jaller's attention was stolen by the sudden sound of someone entering the destroyed forge, Kopaka looking as though he may have already been in the midst of a fight outside. Wordlessly he picked Navak up and carried him outside, returning a few moments later and lifting Jaller's barely-responsive frame. "What were you thinking?" The Toa of Ice asked, though it sounded more like a demand. "He could have killed you!"

Jaller could only stare dazedly up at Kopaka as he was carried out into the fresh air, the chill bite of frost-laden wind painfully relieving to him now that his burns were reminding him how foolhardy he had been. "Need… t-to find Takua…" He coughed out quietly. "H-he wasn't there…"

"Leave that to me." Kopaka replied sternly, though his irritation wasn't fully aimed at the teen in his arms. "I know where he went, and exactly how to get there."

"Wh-where…?" Jaller asked faintly.

"Onu-Koro."