"No, I'm an oversized turkey-bird. Of course I'm Matau. And I'm sick and tired of all the spider-bugs." The mutated Toa of Air grumbled. "It's bad-rotten as it is that I had the hard-luck of nearly fall-dropping to my death. If that's not enough, I look like a tar and feather victim in bad-fashion gloves and boots. Do you know how trouble-hard it is to quick-walk like this? And don't even get me start-going on my face. I mean, seriously, I'm a Toa-hero, not a Gukko!" A finger being pushed against the mutated Toa's lips cut him off before he could keep ranting, and as Kualas held it there, he said calmly.
"Be thankful you do not have the face of a female Makuta. Just be content with the fact that you are alive." As he withdrew his hand, the Rahaga continued. "Now then, how did you escape? Sit down if you need to, but tell me how you got here." Matau sighed, ambling over to a nearby stool and sitting down.
"I escaped because the web-string my cocoon-case was hanging from broke-snapped. Managed to rip-claw my way free, and land-splashed in a fountain-pool. Then I just sorta way-found my way here…" He hung his head. "I should've help-saved the others but I…I was ever-desperate to get away from there… I couldn't force-make myself go back for them… didn't want to be capture-caught again and end up like the fire-spitter…" Kualas nodded understandingly.
"You can relax now, Toa Matau. You are safe here. You are the first person to find us so far, and we've been here a long while. Is there anything you need? You've been trapped for at least two weeks." Matau barely even opened his mouth before his stomach gurgled noisily. Too hungry to be embarrassed, the mutated Toa of Air looked at Kualas with feeble hope, as though not fully certain that he would actually be fed anything of sustenance. Kualas' eyes betrayed a weak smile as he stood up and moved to the door.
"I understand." He said quietly. "I'll be back right away." Once Kualas was gone, Matau looked at Kopaka and mustered a faint smile.
"Ever-glad to see you again, Kopaka. You've changed a lot since we last talk-spoke with each other."
"Could say the same of you, Toa Matau. What happened to you anyway?" The twenty-two year old sighed, shaking his head and looking down at the floor.
"Ever-bad things. Visorak venom-juice actually. We Toa-heroes never stood a hope-chance. Fire-spitter went mask-cracked within days… to be true-honest I thought-figured I'd be next to go and see-meet 'her'…" Kopaka distinctly heard the mutated young man sniffle. "Fire-spitter was so fear-scared when he went in…and when he came out…" Again he made a sniffling noise, shuddering as he moaned the end of his sentence. "He was mask-cracked beyond return…" Hesitating, he paused before adding. "Toa-sister Nokama tried to reason with him…he just about set us all on fire because of it…" Looking up at Kopaka, the distraught young man asked quietly, voice shaky and tears rolling down his cheeks.
"What h-happened to us? We used to be such a strong-close team, but now… now we're so broken-shattered it's as though there never was the Toa-heroes of Metru Nui…" His quiet crying deepened into light sobbing as he stared at the Toa of Ice. "Promise you won't let this happen to your Toa-hero team-group too…" Kopaka gave a slight nod. It didn't take much for him to see that things were far worse than they had looked, if that had even been possible.
"Don't worry about it." He said firmly. "The Toa Mata will stand united, no matter what happens. It will take more than a few spiders and a crazed Toa to bring us down." Matau mustered up a weak smile at these words.
"Well, that's something worth stay-living to see. I'll ever-hold you to it." Kualas returned now, a bowl of fruit in his hands. Giving it to the eagerly waiting Toa of air, who'd barely even mumbled a thanks before ravenously devouring what he'd received, the Rahaga turned his attention to Kopaka once more.
"Lewa's stable enough now. He wanted to see you." Glancing briefly at Matau, he added. "And since the most you'll get from him right now is unintelligible noise, it might be best if you went to see your Brother." Kopaka thought it over. It'd been six years since he'd last seen Matau, but he might not get to see Lewa again, depending on what the venom was doing to him. Finally he made up his mind, and nodded.
"Alright. Where is he?" His eyes betraying a grim smile, Kualas turned to head out of the room.
"Follow me." He replied. "He's downstairs." Standing up and moving closer to Kualas, father and son left the room, heading down the small hallway towards the stairs. As they went, Kopaka couldn't help but feel as though he'd been there before, though he couldn't figure out why. The last time he'd even been in a properly structured building was six years back, and he couldn't recall anything quite like this one before. Even when they got down to the main floor, he couldn't remember, despite the growing sense of familiarity. Just where was he?
Kualas hesitated when they reached a particular door, and looked grimly at his son. "Before you go in," He said quietly. "I want you to know that Lewa is far from even looking like he's healthy. His mental and emotional functions could very well be scrambled right now as well. His reaction to the Hordika venom he was injected with is unlike any I've ever seen before. With this knowledge in mind, please try not to agitate him in any way. The last thing this boy needs is uncontrollable mood swinging." Normally Kopaka would irritably explain that he doesn't try to tick people off, but presently he was too tired of arguing to even bother with it. So instead, he simply nodded and turned to look at the door. Already he was trying to picture what Lewa looked like, and images of the fourteen year old's frame being deathly pale and sickly were flooding through his mind. Kualas seemed to know what he was thinking about, and sighed.
"You'll only know the truth when you go in. I'll wait out here for you." The teenager nodded slightly, and turned the door knob, pushing the door open and slipping inside.
Now he knew why things had been familiar. He recognized the design of the room, as well as the layout. It was Vakama's old forge. Memories of seven-year-old events flooded his mind now as he looked around, his gaze falling first to the coal bin. He remembered how he and Vakama had changed his hair color with coal, and a very faint smile crossed his face. Of all his memories, that small part of his history had always been one of his favorites, merely because of the simplicity and the fun he and Vakama'd had while doing it. Next, Kopaka's gaze fell to the door that lead out onto the street. He remembered watching helplessly as Vakama had been bounced off it by the Makuta, and how painful it had seemed to be. Finally he looked to the large anvil near the center of the room, remembering fully how Nuju had knocked one of the Makuta senseless against it. Those days seemed so far away now, as though they had only been dreams or other figments of the imagination. Shaking himself from his reminiscence, he turned his attention to the work bench. It had been moved closer to the fire pit, in which a few small bits of coal were burning, and noticed that the bench had been made into a makeshift bed. Old and obviously scavenged blankets made up the mattress and covers, and a burlap bag stuffed with bits of cloth had been used for a pillow. It was in this that Lewa's sickly and weak frame lay. He looked far worse than Kopaka had remembered, and beads of sweat dotted the fourteen year old's face like tiny marbles glinting in the dull glow of the firelight. Once he seemed to realize that Kopaka was there, the Toa of Air smiled a little and said weakly.
"Hello-hi, Ice-Brother… nice to see you're still in one shape-piece…" Kopaka barely managed a slight smile of his own as he walked over and lightly took hold of his Brother's sweaty hand.
"It's nice to see you're still breathing." He replied quietly. "How are you feeling?" Lewa coughed out a weak laugh.
"I'll say-put it this way…" He responded. "I know I'm alive, because I can feel parts I didn't know I had." Despite knowing that his brother was in pain, the Toa of Ice smiled a bit.
"At least you know you're alive. Keep fighting, okay? I promised Toa Matau that I'd keep you and the others alive and united. Don't make me break that." Lewa's small smile grew a little.
"I'll do my ever-best…I true-heart promise…"
"Good." There were a few moments of silence now, the two boys both seeming to only care that the other was still alive. Finally, Kopaka spoke again. "Some day this turned out to be, eh?" He muttered. "Lhikan dead, our city gone…" He sighed. "And the others all missing. They could even be dead now too for all we know… It doesn't help that Vakama's a psychotic nutcase now… Is there anything that could make this worse?" Unfortunately, he'd spoken too soon. The door opened and Kualas moved inside, looking worried.
"Kopaka, we're under attack. Stay here and make sure the room is sealed. Is that clear?" The fifteen year old blinked as he turned to look at his father.
"But I need to help! Those abominations are the reason my team is scattered, and why Lewa is bed-ridden!" The Rahaga seemed to frown as he shook his head.
"Roodaka knows your team is here, Kopaka, and as far as she's concerned, you're all easy pickings. So stay put." And before Kopaka could say anything to argue, Kualas had left, locking the door behind him and trapping his son inside.
