Brutaka's Game Ch 16

"Is it just me or has the fog gotten thicker?" asked Mackenzie.
Eric looked around. She was right. He could barely see ten feet in front of him. That troubled him. Takara and a few kids went off in search of Mark and had yet to return. The temperature then suddenly dropped. He shivered and walked towards the camp fire. Out of nowhere, ice formed on his mouth, shutting it tight. The muzzle caught him off guard and he tried to remove it. He took a step back but tripped as ice encased his legs and fused them together. Fear started to set in as he knew what was doing it. With all his might he screamed to the top of lungs, hoping to warn Mackenzie and the others. Mackenzie came out from her tent and saw him.
"Eric?" she asked in a confused tone.
Just then Kopaka Nuva ran right past her, snatched Eric off the ground, and disappeared into the fog.
"Eric!" she screamed.
"What's wrong?" asked Mr. Petrik as he scurried out of his tent.
"It's Eric. The Toa kidnaped him!"

Eric couldn't help but scream as he was carried away. He could hear the cries of his friends become fainter and fainter. Soon, Kopaka stopped and sat him down on a rock. He drew out his sword and dissipated the fog around them just enough that Tahu and Eric were able to see each other.
Tahu ran up to them. "Well?"
Eric became stiff with fear as Kopaka grabbed the strap of his pack and looked closely at the red cross on it.
"It's him." He then froze Eric's arms together and picked him up again.
In an instant, Eric saw the world go by in a blur as the Toa ran at an incredible speed. It wasn't long until they stopped in front of the gate going into Ga-koro. As they entered, Matoran surrounded them. Amongst them was Gali and Takanuva.
"What took you?" asked Tahu.
"Sorry," replied Gali. "Not every recovery is a speedy one." She then looked at Kopaka and placed her hands on her hips. "I see you've brought in another one."
Eric began to look concerned.
"First off, B.J. was brought here by Whenua. Second," he pointed to Eric, "we only need him to fix Lewa."
"And why do you think he can do it?"
"It's their weapons," replied Kopaka. "They would need to know how to treat their own kind for such injuries." The Toa of ice put Eric down and, with a wave of his hand, removed the ice on him.
The medic looked at the Toa nervously.
"Eric!"
He looked over his shoulder to see B.J. walking casually towards him. "You're alive? But how?"
"It's a long story," smiled the pilot.
Tahu crossed his arms. "I thought I said to keep him behind bars."
"Yes," replied Nokama as she came up from behind B.J. "But he hasn't shown himself to be a threat all day. So I let him out on... 'good behavior'." She smiled.
"Fine," he grumbled, "but he doesn't stay out of my sight. Now come on, both of you!"
The two Humans followed him and Kopaka to Gali's hut, where they found Lewa unconscious.
Eric looked up at the Toa of fire. "You had me abducted to give him medical treatment?"
"Yes," he replied flatly.
"Well, how did he get into this state?"
Kopaka answered. "He was stabbed repeatedly. We were able to fix that problem, but that's not why you're here." He walked over to Lewa and activated his Kanohi Akaku. "Inside him is this." He held up the bullet that had been pulled from Gali.
Eric felt his stomach turn. "Okay, so where's the wound?"
"That's the other problem," said Tahu. "In the process of healing him from the stab wounds, the bullet wound was healed as well. This was before we knew it was inside him."
"But how do you know it's in there then?" asked Eric.
Kopaka tapped his mask. "X-ray vision."
Eric walked up to Lewa and examined him. The Toa of air looked healthy, but there was something about his peaceful sleep that told Eric that he didn't have much time to live. He then looked at B.J.
"You told them who I was, didn't you?" He pointed to the strap on his bag. "That's how they knew to find me."
B.J. nodded. "Like I said, it's a long story. But for now, just please, help them."
Eric then looked at the ground for a moment. "Alright," he then looked up at Kopaka. "But I'm going to need the help of your mask power-thing."
The Toa of ice nodded. Eric then put down his pack and pulled out several tools. After washing his hands, he put on his gloves.
"Alright, tell me where it is."
B.J. didn't want to stay around to watch and left. Tahu followed.
"The Toa of earth and stone approach!" shouted a guard.
Matoran cheered and Tahu smiled with relief. B.J., however, was nervous. The two Toa were already being greeted by Gali and Takanuva.
Pohatu saw Tahu and the pilot approach and put his hands on his hips. "I remember you."
B.J. froze.
"You tried to kill Lewa." He said in a casual tone.
Tahu's eyes went wide and he glared B.J. down. "You did this to him!?"
B.J. took a step back and put his hands in the air. "Woah, woah, woah. I was only trying to protect my people, and I only shot at him."
"And now his life is hanging on a thread!"
Pohatu and Onua were shocked.
"He's here?" asked Onua.
"And being operated on as we speak." Tahu then stared down at B.J. "No thanks to you."
"This is all a big misunderstanding on both sides. I found out one of our own is a Makuta in disguise and-"
"Lies!" Tahu drew out his magma swords.
Pohatu immediately put himself between his brother and the Human. "Take it easy. He might actually be telling the truth."
"Explain," growled Tahu.
"While he did try to execute Lewa, it happened yesterday and he never hit him."
"Not to mention that the Turaga Whenua that told us what we know about Humans was a false one," added Onua. "He was also a Makuta. After the treachery was uncovered, the Makuta kidnapped Lewa and a Human named Sarah. We hadn't seen them since."
It took a while for it all to sink into the shocked Toa.
Pohatu then spoke. "What we're trying to say is, the Human's may have never been our enemies all along."
Of all the Toa listening, Tahu had the hardest time accepting it. After a moment of silence he walked away. Pohatu went after him, but he didn't make more than two steps as Gali gently grabbed his arm.
"Give him time to get his thoughts straight," she said.

The equipment in Eric's medical pack was never meant to perform surgery, but he wasn't going to let Kopaka know that. After washing his hands, sterilizing Lewa's side with alcohol, and putting on his gloves, he went to work. He first made an incision in Lewa's side. Then he grabbed the longest pair of tweezers he could find and began to dig for the bullet. Without a proper X-ray for him to look at, he would've never known where it was. But despite Kopaka's mask power, he still felt blind. The Toa of ice peered over Eric, giving him detailed instructions on how to reach the bullet. After weaving around and between the organs, Eric believed he had found it. He got a reassuring nod from Kopaka. The tweezers were squeezed and slowly the bullet was pulled out. Once out, Eric quickly realized it was a small caliber. He put it aside and pulled out a thread and needle.
Slowly, he stitched Lewa's wound shut before placing bandages over it. After looking at his work and seeing that Lewa wasn't dead, he looked out the window. He had never noticed how much time he spent on the surgery as it was almost dark.
He then looked at Kopaka. "What now?"
Without looking back at him he replied, "We wait and hope he recovers," before walking off.
Eric sighed and began to clean his equipment.
"Hey," said B.J. as he walked in. "How did it go?"
"Given that I lacked proper tools, I guess it was alright. Though I can't honestly say he'll pull through."
"He has to. We need the other Toa on our side."
Eric's face contorted. "After everything they tried to do to us?"
"It's all Mark's doing... sort of. He's not actually Human. He's infiltrated our camp the same way Lewa had."
Eric raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.
"Remember when he said the Matoran had offered some of our kind as sacrifices?"
Eric nodded.
"I'm the first Human they've ever seen. After asking around, no one else has heard of any other villages having encounters with Humans. He made it up."
The medic folded his arms. "I'm not convinced. He arrived with injuries-" he paused. "That healed faster than normal."
"And I'm guessing he told you he saw the Toa kill me."
Eric's eyes slowly widened. "But Jesse and-"
"I don't know how, but Mark had to of pulled them off."
"But they both died of suffocation and Lewa is a Toa of AIR."
"You think he would kill?!" asked Takanuva.
B.J. and Eric jumped and spun around. The Toa of light had a look of shock on his face.
"Lewa would never do that. It's against the Toa code."
"Well, I think he broke it," replied Eric. "Twice."
"I don't believe you. Just wait until Lewa wakes up, then you can ask him yourself."
Eric finished cleaning, put down his equipment, and began to leave the house. "Better idea: you ask him. I doubt he would tell the truth to us."
The response took Takanuva by surprise. He then looked at B.J. "Do you really believe he didn't do it?"
For a moment B.J. didn't answer. He stared at the floor before responding, "I'm not sure."

The fog that engulfed the campsite was replaced with darkness as night fell. Mr. Petrik stared into the campfire as it crackled. Occasionally he would look around in case there was something out there. He wasn't sure what to do. He could panic, and he wanted to really badly. But being the one now in charge, doing so would do more harm than good.
However, being on night watch was taking a toll mentally. He thought he heard something and spun around with gun drawn.
"Woah, take it easy," said Mark as he had his hands up.
"For the love of- Where were you?!" whispered Mr. Petrik. "Everyone's been worried sick."
"I was out checking the perimeter, making sure there wasn't any nearby danger."
"Well, it found us!" he snapped back. "That ice Toa we thought we killed kidnapped Eric, and Takara and some of the kids went out to find you and haven't returned."
Mark fell silent for a moment. "I fear they too have been taken and, judging from such a bold move, they've become sacrifices."
Mr. Petrik shook his head. "No, don't say that. The last thing I want is to tell the others that more of their friends are dead."
Mark put a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's a hard thing to do, but if we move now we can bring some... comfort to their crushed souls."
"What do you mean?"
"We're going to go after the Toa, tonight, and end this once and for all."
"Why tonight? We should be leaving tomorrow to find a new campsite."
"They already found us. There's no reason to believe they won't find us again. Then they'll kidnap more of us. Just think, do you really want to repeat today over and over again until there's no one left?"
Mr. Petrik realized he was right. "Alright, I'll wake the others and-"
"Ethan and Bryan will do. The smaller the group, the stealthier we'll be."

Inside her home, Gali sat next to Lewa. Tahu sat on the opposite side of the room, staring out the window. His other brothers were already asleep. He would gladly join them if his clamoring thoughts didn't keep him up. The Toa of fire was torn as to whether or not B.J. was telling them the truth. He couldn't recall a time he thought and evaluated something so hard. If they were lying, he would have no problem jumping in and defeating them. But the thought that the Humans were innocent all along would mean that such actions would be a mistake he would regret the rest of his life. There was evidence to support both sides of the argument and it bothered him that each evaluation ended in a stalemate.
Tahu thought he heard a soft voice and redirected his attention to Lewa. For a moment he thought the Toa of air made the sound. Gali seemed to have gotten the same feeling. Then the Toa of air's hand moved. That got Tahu and Gali shooting themselves onto their feet.
"Lewa." whispered Tahu. "Brother, wake up."
At first, Lewa didn't respond. It wasn't until Gali touched his hand that he slowly opened his eyes. When Lewa spoke, it was a soft whisper.
"Fire-spitter..." He tried to move. "I- ah!" He closed his eyes and hissed as he placed his hand on the bandage.
"Take it easy," said Tahu. "Just keep resting."
Lewa took in a deep breath before speaking again. "Where's Sarah?"
Neither Gali nor Tahu spoke.
"Is that one of the Humans?" asked Gali. "The one who stabbed and shot you."
"Human, yes. Hurt-harmed me, no. Blame the Makuta for that."
Tahu clutched his fist. "Then they really are working together," he growled. Right as he was about to turn around to leave, Lewa reached out and grabbed his hand, holding firm with all the strength he had.
"No!"
Tahu stopped and faced him, startled.
"Don't hurt-harm Sarah, save her!" he pleaded.
Tahu's mouth gaped open a little.
"The Makuta are framing us and the Humans. There's a Makuta hiding among them. Lying to them, making them heart-fear us. If he gets his way he'll trick the Humans into killing us off for him. Please, find Sarah and save her before it's too late."
Now Gali was shocked. Tahu then nodded firmly. Lewa took a sigh of relief before he lost his grip. His hand slowly slipped off as he quickly fell back asleep. Tahu then turned around to leave but stopped to find Eric and Pohatu at the door.
"I thought you were asleep," said Tahu.
Pohatu shrugged. "It's hard to do that when you can't stop thinking about your brother."
Tahu then noticed the sobering look on Eric's face.
"B.J. was right then." The medic's voiced carried with it a sense of unbelief. "We're being played."
"Don't get yourself down," said Pohatu. "The Makuta were tricking us too."
Tahu firmly clutched his fist. "And now is the time to make amends and put an end to the lies, but it's going to take everyone. Pohatu, wake the others. We're going to find Sarah."

Sarah awoke and found herself inside Turaga Whenua's hut. For a long time she stared at her surroundings with confusion. She didn't remember being rescued or how she got here. Onua then came in with a bowl of stew in his hands.
"Good to see you up."
"Onua? What happened?"
"We saved you from the Makuta."
"The Makuta?! But how-" she stopped. "Wait, where's Lewa? Is he all right?"
Onua paused before looking at the ground. "I'm sorry, but he didn't make it. He told us where to find you before he passed."
Sarah sat herself up. "I-I'm so sorry." She paused. "This is all my fault. I should have listened to him," she whispered. "This whole time he was telling the truth and I wouldn't listen."
"I understand why you acted that way." Onua held up the bowl. "Hungry?"
She stared at it before looking away and waving a hand. He put the bowl on a table and walked towards the door.
"Well, then come, you need to see something."
He led her out of the house and to the center of the village. There, Matoran gathered around a pool of a glowing, silver liquid. Turaga Whenua and Pohatu stood by it and waited for Sarah's arrival.
"Sarah," spoke Whenua, "while I am pleased that you revealed the imposter, I am heartbroken at Lewa's death."
"I am too," Sarah replied softly.
"This tragedy is only worsened by the fact that the other Humans are on their way here right now to attack our home."
Sarah perked up. "I can stop this. Let me go talk to them."
"We've already tried that," said Pohatu. "So we're trying a different approach. Kind of like knocking two Gukko birds with one stone."
"And what's that?" asked Sarah.
"We need a new Toa of air to help defend the village," replied Whenua, "and you're the perfect candidate."
Sarah tilted her head. "Well, I've learned to tap into Kopaka's swords. Just hand me Lewa's and I'll figure it out."
"That's not what we mean," said Onua. "You will be physically transformed."
Sarah took a step back. "What? No. I'm not doing that."
"Unfortunately, we never asked if you wanted to," said Pohatu. "Now if you'll step into the energized protodermis, we can-"
"No, I won't do it. There has to be another way."
"There isn't," replied Whenua. "Seize her."
Sarah took a step back in shock before spinning around and sprinting. Onua, however, caught her within a few steps. She screamed to the top of her lungs, begging for him to let her go. His strength was overpowering and she was lifted off the ground. She squirmed as he carried her to the energized protodermis. She looked down and saw the liquid right underneath her. The hands gave way and she screamed as she plopped in.
Within seconds she surfaced and gasped for air before scrambling out of the pool.
She choked and coughed up the liquid before looking up angrily at the Toa. "You'll have to do better than that," she spat. But as she stood up she began to feel a throbbing pain throughout her body. As she rubbed her arms, she watched with horror as they became metal and green. "No," she gasped. "No, no, no, NO!"
The pain quickly traveled up her arms and legs. It felt worse at her chest, as her heart began beating erratically. Her chest breathed sharply as she felt something form at the center. She looked down and could feel her new heart light. At that moment, everything accelerated. The pain was too much to bear and she curled up as she screamed. Her body then began to grow. Her sleeves and jeans ripped and her shoes tore apart. As quickly as it started, it was over. Sarah didn't dare move. She didn't want to see what she had become. She already knew. A hand touched her on the shoulder and she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her green, robotic hands. She slowly sat herself onto her knees and held herself as she stared at the ground. Then she thought she heard cries from the tunnels. The Humans were coming.
She looked up, realizing she was going to have to prove she was Sarah. But then, to her shock, everyone was gone. "Hello? Guys? Where did everyone go?"
The cries grew louder. She jumped to her feet and panicked. She was all alone with no way to defend herself. B.J. was the first to run into the village.
"B.J., wait! It's me!" she cried out.
The pilot stopped and took a good look at her.
"It's me, Sarah."
He continued staring at her before aiming his weapon.
Sarah shook her head. "No, please. You don't understa-"
BANG!
Sarah awoke violently, jumping in the air while the chains still held her down. After several rapid breaths, she looked around. She was still in the Makuta's lair. Realizing it was all a dream, her legs gave out and she started to cry. None of this would have happen if she just stayed home. Home. How she missed it. There were problems there as well, but her situation made her favor those problems over what she was facing now. Soon, the concept of never being able to see her family again overwhelmed her to the point that she went from crying to balling.

The Toa barely said anything to each other or the Humans, with the exception of Pohatu. His light conversation was mostly with Eric as they all made their way to Kini Nui. The other Toa didn't feel the need to bring up any questions and simply allowed Pohatu to ask for them. His inquiries lasted until they made it to Kini Nui.
"Well, we made it all this way and there's no sign of Sarah," grumbled Tahu.
"There is one place we haven't looked," replied B.J.
Everyone paused for a moment.
Kopaka's eyes widened and he grabbed Tahu's arm. "A word with you."
They took several steps away from the group.
"This has 'trap' written all over it. Do you honestly believe they brought her down all the way into the Makuta's lair?"
"I don't like the sound of it either, but we're going to have to take that risk."
"And if it is a trap?"
"Then they'll pay."