Brutaka's Game Chapter 6

"Stupid, so stupid." Takanuva grumbled to himself as he paced back and forth outside Kopaka's house, "I should've helped him."
Matoro and Nuju emerged out of Kopaka's hut. The Toa of light immediately bolted himself towards them.
"How is he?" Takanuva rushed.
Nuju made a series of clicks and whistles and Matoro began translating.
"He says Kopaka will survive. The wound wasn't deep enough to cause any serious harm."
Takanuva let out a sigh of relief. The Turaga made more clicks and whistles.
"Nuju wants to know what happened out there?"
Takanuva took in a deep breath. "Kopaka attacked a strange creature that apparently had snuck up on me. I wanted to help, but he ordered me to stay back. They fought each other and as you can see, the creature won."
Nuju whistled.
"Can you describe it for him?" asked Matoro.
"Let's see, it was relatively short, about chest high. It was covered in red and black clothing and wore a strange mask. I'm not even sure it is a mask." He then stared at the Turaga. "Do you know what it is?"
Nuju shook his head. However, he appeared a little frightened.
A Ko-Matoran guard approached Takanuva. "Toa, we brought back his shield and sword."
Takanuva looked at him and smiled. "Thanks." His face then went blank. "Wait, shouldn't there be two swords?"
"We haven't found it," replied the guard. "Neither have we found the creature."
Takanuva's eyes shot wide open. "What?!"

Sarah hugged herself and shivered. Moonlight reflecting off the snow provided some light in the cave, but it was still very dim. She heard snow crunch under the weight of a foot. She froze and stared at the entrance. With bayonet in hand she readied herself for another confrontation.
A dark figure came into view. The being was shorted than the robots and slimmer.
"So, how was your first encounter with the Toa?" he asked.
"Brute." Sarah spat, "What are you doing here?"
"I was watching the show and you put on quite a performance."
"You saw me fighting for my life this whole time and didn't help me?!"
Brute shook his head. "The object of the game is for you to survive. And besides I did help. Didn't you use the supplies and tools I gave you?"
Sarah looked at him speechless. He was right. If it weren't for the supplies, she would've been dead. She then looked down.
"Can you help me with my leg?"
"Sorry, but it would be against the rules for me to save someone's life." he said in a tone that made it impossible for her to tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
"Oh and by the way, you left your trophy back there. Keep fighting them. The Toa will be your greatest opponent." He threw a sword on the ground next to her.
Sarah looked at it and recognized it to belong to the robot that attacked her. She then looked up to see Brute gone. She sighed and looked at the sword again. She picked it up and examined the weapon. It was beautiful, but she didn't see the practicality in its design. Just then she groaned. She looked at her leg. The pain was gone, but was replaced by the numbing cold seeping through her suit.
She began to swing her riffle at her leg again. After a few minutes she became tired and took a break. She looked at the progress of her leg and wasn't happy with the results. Only a small fraction of the ice had broken off.
"There has to be a faster way." she thought to herself. Sarah looked at the sword and an idea came to her mind. She reached out and picked it up.
"If that thing could use this to 'make' ice," She touched her leg with the tip of the sword "then I should be able to use this to remove it." She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated. After several seconds the sword began to glow. She opened her eyes and saw the ice on her leg begin to disappear.
When the retreating ice reached the icicle in her leg she pulled back the sword and stopped it from disappearing. She opened her backpack and pulled out a shirt. She then reached out and grabbed the ice shard. It moved and she yelled. Realizing how much pain she was going to face, she grabbed a golf ball sized piece of ice and put it in her mouth.
She grabbed the icicle and slowly began to pull; biting hard on the ice as the pain became unbearable. When she felt it coming loose she grabbed the shard as hard as she could and yanked it out. She screamed and her teeth crushed the ice in her mouth. She quickly rolled the sleeve of her pants and began to tie the shirt around the bleeding wound.
After her makeshift bandage was wrapped tight she unrolled the sleeve to keep her leg warm. Then she grabbed the newspapers she collected and crumpled them up and stuffed them inside her pants and jacket for added insulation.
She then looked out into the clear night sky and wondered to herself if she would make it through the night.

Takanuva was interrupted from his sleep by a sudden noise. He looked to see Kopaka moan as he woke up. Takanuva jumped out of his chair and went to his side.
"Takua?" groaned Kopaka.
"Take it easy there. You were almost killed by that thing." the Toa of light replied.
Kopaka said nothing as he tried to sit up. He moaned and placed his hand on his side.
"Did you stop it?" he asked flatly.
Takanuva stood himself up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, not exactly. You see, it escaped," He paused. "And it might have made off with one of your swords."
Kopaka gave him a terrifyingly cold look that sent shivers down his spine.
"What?!" Kopaka got on his feet and began to storm out of the hut, only to find himself staggering.
Takanuva caught him as he began to fall sideways. "Don't push yourself. You're still hurt."
"I'm fine."
"No you're not!"
The Toa of ice looked at him with surprise.
"Just look at you. You can't even keep yourself upright."
Kopaka was silent. He knew Takanuva was right.
"Alright, but tomorrow I'm going after it."

"Are you ready?" asked B.J.
Mr. Petrik nodded nervously. "Is it wise to leave everyone alone?"
"Relax, they have Ethan." B.J. put on his pack and the duo left the campsite.
It was dawn when they started their travels west. By midday they had trekked over thirty miles, but have found no other survivors.
The terrain was starting to become rocky as they entered a desert. To the south they were a few miles from snow-capped mountains. They made a turn at a large rock that jutted out of the ground and stopped with surprise and relief at the sight of another survivor.
The stranger was sat down on a boulder, writing in a notepad. He wore shorts and a camisole and resting next to him was a large medical kit. The stranger hadn't noticed their presence.
"Hey." smiled Mr. Petrik.
The stranger jumped and yelped before spinning around. "Oh, what a surprise." he chuckled nervously. "Nice to see someone else. I'm Eric."
"I'm B.J. and this is Mr. Petrik." B.J. then looked at the notepad. "What are you doing so far out here anyway?"
Eric held up the notepad. "'Collecting' plant species, and occasionally insects and reptiles. I gather them for medicinal purposes." He then looked down at the purple flowers next to him. "But sometimes I find species I'm not familiar with."
B.J. crossed his arms. "As much as we would enjoy flower picking with you, we're busy trying to gather survivors. It would be best if you tagged along."
"Alright, just give me a sec." Eric pulled out a camera and took a picture of the flowers.
"Wait, where did you get that?" asked Mr. Petrik.
"I found it with a pile of other things." Eric pointed over his shoulders.
Around the boulder was a small pile of supplies and crates.
"This is just like what I found last week." said B.J. "Where did all of this come from?"
Eric shrugged. "Maybe it's relief aid."
"I don't see how this could be used as relief aid." Mr. Petrik remarked as he held up a toaster.
B.J. pulled out two water bottles. "Regardless, we'll take as much as we can back on our return trip."

All morning Sarah slugged up the mountain slope in pain. A snowstorm came overnight and covered the trail home. With no idea how to get back to the jungle, she took a good guess and went east. Her leg throbbed in pain as she made the grueling trek up.
When she reached the top of the peak she saw the massive volcano far to the east. She was more off course than she thought. She scanned around and got a good view of the land around her. The jungle was to the south, and there were more snow-covered mountains to the north and west, followed by the ocean. But the volcano was still taller than the peaks and reaching the top would tell her everything she wanted to know.
Below, stood a large lake. Next to it she could make out another group of supplies. The trip down would involve traversing a snow-covered slope. It wasn't a problem for her. She took the sword and crafted a sled. She couldn't help but yelp with excitement as she sped down the mountain. Before reaching the bottom the sled cracked and broke into pieces. Sarah found herself tumbling the rest of the way down.
She slowly got herself up and brushed off the snow. After making her way to the lake she took off her pack and rested. She pulled up her pants and saw the bandage was holding well, despite being soaked in blood. However, she was already tired and with noon approaching she wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible.
Sarah opened the crate and smiled as she found a medical kit. She pulled it out and began to replace then bandage. She put some hydrogen peroxide on, which combined with the cold air, stung. The new bandage held on but did nothing to take the pain away from walking. There had to be a better way.
Looking through the crates she found more newspaper. Looking at the lake and the sword, an idea came to mind and she smiled. With the sword, she aimed it at the ground and concentrated. It glowed light blue and a large slab of ice was formed with an indent in the center that took on the mold of a sled. She took individual pages and dipped them into the water, before laying them out in the mold. She repeated this for an hour until she had a half inch-thick layer inside. She then made a large handlebar hear the end that curved upwards. With the sword she froze the newspapers together.
The block of ice below disappeared and she was left with a sled of frozen newspapers. Being made of wood fibers, Sarah new it would hold just as well as pykrete, a frozen concoction she learned about in science class.
She then took the remaining newspapers and constructed snowshoes. A quick test walk showed they kept her from sinking in the snow. Satisfied, she put her pack on the sled and began her trek east.

The next day Mr. Petrik, B.J. and Eric found themselves at the entrance of a cave. Along the edge of the entrance were inscriptions composed of circles that had lines and smaller circles inside.
"Looks like a language to me." replied Eric. "There has to be a civilization around here."
Mr. Petrik then remembered something. "Speaking of civilization, I don't think we should go in."
"What makes you say that?" asked Eric.
"Because the robotic beings I saw came out of a tunnel."
"What are you talking about?" asked Eric.
"It's a long story." replied B.J. He took out a flashlight and went in.
"Wait, I said don't go in there." pleaded Mr. Petrik.
"It's just a cave." reasoned B.J. "We'll be fine."

Onua took a step back to admire his work. After a quick break he placed his hand along the wall and sensed the earth around him. Right away he noticed something wasn't quite right. It had nothing to do with the earth itself, but what he was feeling. Three people were entering an abandoned tunnel nearby. It hadn't been in use for a few centuries due to the fact that the ground wasn't stable.
Whoever was entering was in grave risk and only he could make sure they go through safely. The Toa of earth left his work behind and went to the abandoned section, with the help of his Kakama. In a few seconds he was at his destination.

"Check this out." exclaimed Eric.
"Yeah, I see it to." B.J. replied sarcastically.
The trio was left bewildered at the presence of several fern-like plants that softly glowed blue. Eric immediately picked a small handful and put them in his pack. He then took out a camera and took a picture. The flash nearly blinded B.J. and Mr. Petrik.
"Hey, watch it!" yelled Mr. Petrik. After rubbing his eyes he pointed the flashlight in another direction.
There was a sudden, slight tremor. The earth around rumbled and a small chunk of rock, twenty yards away, fell from the celling.
"I think we should probably get out of here," muttered Mr. Petrik.
"Agreed." replied B.J.
They turned around to leave, but immediately stopped in shock. Illuminated by the flashlight stood Onua. The Toa of earth had his hand in front to shield his face from the bright light. He could barely see the strangers, but when he was able to get a better look he was left speechless. The Humans were just as taken aback.
Eric raised the camera and took a picture. A bright flash erupted. Onua yelled and covered his eyes.
"Quick, take it down!" ordered B.J.
Onua immediately summoned a wall of earth that sealed them off. He could hear them mumbling on the other side. It died down and as his vision recovered he placed his had on the ground. The creatures were gone, which was a relief, but it left him with more questions than answers.
He stood up and walked back to his village. Perhaps Turaga Whenua had the answers he needed.

Lewa swung through the jungle until he arrived at the place where Kongu said he encountered the strange creature. He knew going at it alone was probably a bad idea, but he was driven by curiosity to find the creature.
In the mud he saw footprints that didn't belong to any Rahi he knew. Kongu's were present too. From what he could make of it, the two ran into each other and then ran in opposite directions. He followed the broken trail east.
Soon he came upon a small pile of crates. Similar footprints dotted the ground around it. He had to be close. Not far away he could hear the ocean. He followed the footprints all the way to the beach, but stopped before he reached the forest edge. What he saw caught him off guard and he immediately climbed to some higher branches.
From his vantage point he peered down at the creatures below as they packed. Lewa felt a mixture of wonder and nausea just looking at them. Aside from Kraata, he had never seen a rahi this large that appeared purely organic. The creatures put on their packs and began to move up the coast.
"Wow, they sure are ever-ugly."
Lewa nearly jumped, and the spun around. "Kongu, what are you doing here?" he whispered.
"I wanted to seek-find the strange Rahi"
When the creatures were well out of sight the Matoran climbed down the tree and searched the campsite.
"This is a sorry-bad idea leaf-dawn," protested Lewa. "They could come back."
"They just left."
There was hardly anything left behind. But out along the beach they saw something washed ashore. Lewa went over and retrieved it. When back at the campsite he placed the black suitcase down and took a good look at it. He could tell it had something inside, but there was no obvious way to open it. Then he noticed the zipper on the side.
Slowly he unzipped the case and opened it. The contents were mostly clothes. Kongu reached in and pulled out a garment with two cups, held by straps.
"What is this for?" asked Kongu.
Lewa shrugged. "How should I know? I don't even know what those things are" The Toa of air then picked up a long, black, rectangular box out of the suitcase. It was made out of a hard material and had two locks. He pulled them apart and opened it. Inside were three pieces of metal that glistened in the sunlight.
They were different lengths and two of them featured pads, while the third had a single hole in it. Lewa recognized right away that it was a type of flute. How or why it was disassembled was puzzling.
"Uh, Kongu? Would you please quick-speed to Turaga-elder and tell him about our discovery? I need to air-fly to my brothers ever-quick."
The Matoran saluted. "Yes Toa Lewa." Kongu climbed up a tree and vine-swung his way back.
When he was gone Lewa assembled the flute the best her could. He blew directly into it, but was hardly able to make a sound. Disappointed, he put it back in the case and took off for Ta-koro.

"Are you sure that thing is still around?" asked Takanuva as he struggled to keep up with Kopaka amidst a blizzard.
The Toa of ice gave no response as he walked through the storm as though it was never there. The two had journeyed through the storm for a few hours. Soon Takanuva could no longer see Kopaka. He panicked and ran to catch up with him.
All of a sudden a hand came out in front of him and he stopped. He looked at Kopaka, who stood still. The Toa of ice waved his sword in the air and the storm dissipated. Takanuva looked down and saw that he was only inches away from going off the edge of a cliff.
"There." whispered Kopaka.
Takanuva looked in the direction he was pointing. All he saw was the mountain slope.
"I don't see it."
"Look harder." Kopaka shared his mask power with the Toa of light and both saw the creature huddled within the snow. Next to it was Kopaka's sword.
"I'll get it," said Takanuva
Kopaka placed his hand in front of him. "No. It's my sword, it's my problem."
"Need I remind you that you are in no condition to fight?" he pointed at Kopaka's bandages.
The Toa of ice looked at his wound, then back at Takanuva before replying bitterly. "You can help, but only if I need it."

Sarah emerged from her snow cave bewildered. The snowstorm that had her taking shelter disappeared as suddenly as it came. The sky was clear, which added to the mystery. Then she looked at the sword. It may be possible for the robot to control the weather, but it was something she didn't have time to prove.
She began to slowly make her way up the mountain. The sled and snowshoes were more than helpful, but the high altitude forced her to take frequent breaks.
Almost at the top, she took another break. When she finally reached the summit she discovered she had reached a false summit. She was still able to see far out and became shocked and angry with herself. She had overshot and journeyed too far north of the volcano. However she was able to get a new view of the land around her. North, the base of the mountain transitioned into open desert and then ocean, while grasslands and a forest sat east of her, along side a large bay. Now she knew for sure that she was on an island. Looking south, all she saw were snow-covered peaks. The jungle was nowhere to be seen.
The big question now was how to get back to the others. The mountains alone are treacherous enough, but the two robots that might be looking for her added risk. She could make a full circle around the volcano, but she didn't know what else was out there.
Suddenly, she felt a cold chill that sent shivers down her spine. Recognizing it, she looked around. Her eyes widened when she looked up to see the two robots descending from the summit. She was most surprised that the white one was still alive.
Sarah was about to pull out her riffle, when the white robot drew its sword and shot a stream of ice that froze her pack, the gun and the sword together in a thick layer. Sarah Struggled to keep her balance.
"You have something of mine," Kopaka said coldly, "and I want it back." The seriousness in his voice was more intimidating than his appearance.
Realizing she was out matched, she threw her sled to the other side of the slope and hopped on as it slid down. Kopaka used his shield as a snowboard and pursued after her. Sarah looked back and realized the strategy wasn't going anywhere. So she took out her pocketknife and began chipping away at the ice on the sword. Soon she was able to free the handle and grabbed on.
The sword glowed and the frozen gear thawed in seconds. Looking back again, she was speeding down the mountain, much faster than the robot. Giant shards of ice suddenly erupted out of the snow, while glowing beams of light shot past her. Sarah barely turned in time. Using the sword, she created a path of solid ice to guide her sled. The lack of friction allowed her to go even faster. She then made the track take her towards the desert.
Sarah looked over and saw the robot had stopped, and smiled. Then she heard a loud rumble. An avalanche began to form. It quickly grew and was rapidly catching up to her. Hoping to avoid getting buried, Sarah made the angle of her ramp shallow, allowing the avalanche to move under and past her, with the exception of the snow that got onto her track.
By the time Sarah ran out of track she had reached the desert. Looking back she saw no sign of the robots. She sighed in relief and put her gear on. Right as she was about to trek east she noticed how low the sun was setting. The ski clothes would keep her warm, but with the robots not too far behind, she worried she would have to confront them again.
She heard footsteps and chatter nearby. Immediately she pulled out her riffle and looked around. Then a voice startled her.
"Sarah?"
"Mr. Petrik?" asked Sarah. When she saw him accompanied by two others she lowered her riffle. "Thank goodness I'm not alone."
"Speaking of which, what are you doing out here?" asked Mr. Petrik.
"I was going to climb the volcano to get a better view, but found myself here instead."
B.J. interrupted. "Have you seen anyone else?"
"Yeah, Janet, Ashley, and Caitlin survived, along with two others. They're along the east coast, in a jungle on the other side of these mountains."
The three men looked at the mountains, then back at Sarah and gave her a blank stare.
"You climbed that?" asked B.J.
Sarah thought about it. "I guess I did. In fact I think I climbed a whole range."
Mr. Petrik then noticed the sword in her hand and the melting ice ramp. "Uh, care to explain this?"
"Well it's a little hard to," replied Sarah "I doubt you'd ever believe me."
"That makes two of us," replied Eric. "Check out what we found." He showed Sarah the picture he took.
Sarah's face went blank. "I just fought two robots just like that one. One was white and silver, the other white and gold." She raised the sword. "I 'won' this, from defeating the white and silver one, which by the way can control ice."
B.J. didn't seem impressed. "Yeah, well the one we meet made a wall of earth right in front of us, while Petrik here saw one controlling stone."
Mr. Petrik looked worried. "Guys, robots that can control the forces of nature? This is a problem. A big problem."