Gali's face went white as Lewa's scream echoed around them, her body going temporarily rigid. Was Lewa to face the same fate that Lhikan had? Were the Toa Mata doomed to be picked off, one by one, while attempting to traverse the island they had once called home? Without even thinking or caring about the consequences of her spur-of-the-moment decision, she took off, running down the street and looking every which way for the endangered Toa of Air. Pohatu ran after her, stumbling over bits of debris as he tried to catch her before she landed in trouble as well.

"Gali come back!" He shouted, not really thinking about the fact that it was bound to draw unwanted attention to him. His Sister didn't even acknowledge that she had been called. Something in the shadows to Gali's left briefly became more noticeable, catching Pohatu's attention. Eyes widening a little, he sped up, reaching Gali just in time to knock her out of the way as the creature lunged, hitting Pohatu instead and pinning the teen down.

This being was unlike any Rahi he'd ever seen before. Resembling a bipedal reptile, its muscular body was covered with scales, those on its chest fiery orange, and the rest ruby red. Five claw-like fingers gripped down on Pohatu's upper arms like vices, and from what he could see of the creature's feet, they were quite similar to those of a rock raptor. Its long, almost serpentine tail lashed side to side every now and again, and the creature's bright red eyes held animosity and rage.

But the things about this bizarre Rahi that startled Pohatu the most, were the ragged and unkempt, dusty red, shoulder-length hair… and the fact that the creature's face, other than the scales that covered it, looked strikingly like a slightly older rendition of Toa Vakama. Pohatu blinked several times as he stared up into the creature's face, horrified and severely confused. After several moments of silent confusion, the Toa of Stone managed to find his voice.

"T-Toa Vakama?" The Rahi blinked, hesitating for a few moments as though trying to make sense of the fifteen year old's question. And then, hoarse and quiet, the creature gave a reply.

"You shouldn't have come back, Pohatu. Because of your foolishness, your entire group is going to die, just like Toa Lhikan did. Even if I'm the one who has to do it all." The pinned boy gulped, eyes widening even more.

"Vakama, wh-what's going on? What happened t-to you? Wh-where are the others? Why are you d-doing this?" The mutated Toa smirked darkly, his grip tightening.

"Why should I tell you if you're just going to die anyway?" Out of the corner of his eye, Pohatu could see Gali, utterly terrified and crying into Tahu's shoulder as Onua moved in.

"Because," The Toa of Stone replied quietly. "I want to know what happened to the one I looked up to when I die. Is it really so hard to give me that before it's all over?" Vakama was about to respond, when he was forcibly pulled off by Onua, tearing Pohatu's skin with his already bloodied claws as he went. Slamming the mutant against a nearby wall, the Toa of Earth growled.

"So Kopaka was right. You really did change… Lhikan was your father, Vakama. He loved you, even though he couldn't raise you. Is this how you think a Toa would act?" Vakama coughed when he hit the wall, and spat in Onua's face once he had his breath back. Pohatu was staring at his Brother in confusion.

"Y-you knew what was going to happen? Why didn't you tell anyone?" Onua shifted as he sighed, and replied grimly.

"Because I did not believe Kopaka when he told me. He'd been trying to read the stars, and said he thought they had shown him the Toa Metru warping into hideous beasts, and that someone would betray us. I didn't believe him because it seemed like complete foolishness to me, but now…" He sighed again, shaking his head as he let go of Vakama and wiped the saliva off of his face, rubbing it off onto his pant leg. Looking Vakama over with a tired and somewhat pained expression, he said quietly.

"Get out of my sight. You are no Toa. Not after what you did to Toa Lhikan. Not after what you did to us." The Mutated twenty-six year old flinched, suddenly going limp and sliding down the wall into a sitting position. The feral, blood-lusting gleam faded from his eyes, now replaced with fear and uncertainty.

"Onua, Pohatu… please listen to me." He panted out quietly. "I can't control myself anymore. The things I say, the choices I make… it's not me. There isn't much time left. The other Toa Metru are still mostly sane, but they're trapped. I know there are still people free that are hiding in the city. Find them. They will be more help than I am."

"What about Lewa?" Pohatu asked worriedly. "Is he going to be alright?" Vakama shuddered.

"I don't know. If I could, I would help, but as it is I have to put as much distance between us as I can for now. I'm too dangerous to be around anymore anyways. I'll do what I can, but I fear it won't be enough." Onua shushed him, pulling the mutant to his feet.

"What you've told us is more than enough, Brother. Stay safe, and hold to the three Virtues." Vakama nodded faintly, mustering a very small smile.

"You too, Onua. And… if possible… d-don't tell anyone that I killed Toa Lhikan…" The boy gave a faint smile of his own.

"You didn't, Vakama. The monster that took over your mind did. Now go, don't let the darkness stop you from seeing the light." The twenty-six year old gave another slight nod, turned, and took off, vanishing into the gloom as though he were a phantom. Pohatu looked at Tahu and Gali, only noticing now that there was an absence of Kopaka.

"Don't tell me he got snatched too." He half said, half whined. Tahu shook his head.

"He decided to climb a building to try and see where Lewa went." Onua frowned slightly.

"And you didn't stop him?"

"You try stopping a psychopath with a sharp sword." Onua sighed, muttering under his breath about Tahu calling the kettle black before saying a little more loudly.

"Okay, which building did he climb up?"

"Uh… I don't know?" Onua's finger twitched slightly, though his expression remained mostly calm.

"Well, which way did he go then?" Tahu turned and looked at the buildings. After debating long enough to give reason to doubt his even having a faint clue, the Toa of Fire responded with blatant uncertainty, pointing at one of the buildings.

"That way, I think…" Onua rolled his eyes, brushing his hair out of his face absently.

"You, Gali, and Pohatu stay here, or at least stay together. I'm going to go find Kopaka, or whatever's left of him." Tahu started spluttering in protest, but by the time he managed to spit out actual words, Onua was already out of sight.

The sudden sound of clicking echoed to the three remaining Toa Mata now, and after several moments of looking around wildly, they realized that they were outnumbered, and surrounded. Pohatu glanced at his Brother and Sister, obvious worry in his eyes as he said.

"Sorry to state the obvious here, but we're in serious trouble." Gali shivered, gripping her sickle-like hooks tighter as she watched at least six spider-like creatures come into view, their eyes glowing brightly and their massive pincers clicking ominously, like out-of-time metronomes. Swallowing, she looked around, only to see even more of the foul, four-legged arachnids closing in from all sides.

"Any ideas guys?" She asked quietly, her tone betraying her nervousness. Pohatu cringed slightly as he shook his head, taking a defensive stance as he did so.

"Nothing that doesn't involve screaming or having a severe panic attack." He replied awkwardly. "What about you, Tahu?" The Toa of Fire grimaced, looking over their opponents, and the area around them. Slowly, his expression turned from a worried one to a determined one.

"Yeah, I've got one." Pohatu looked relieved.

"Great. So, what's the plan?"

"Very destructive."