"Kopaka, a-am I gonna die?"
"For the tenth time, Lewa, you're not going to die." This was getting to be highly ridiculous. Why did Kopaka have to get stuck in a forge, with Lewa, in the middle of a Rahi infestation? Already he had begun questioning if he was better off in the middle of a fight than he was locked in a room with his scatterbrained Air Toa companion.
"How are you ever-certain?" What's h-happening to me?" The Toa of Ice groaned.
"It's just a bad reaction to a bug bite, Lewa. You'll be just fine. Now hush up and get some sleep." He could tell that the fourteen year old had no desire to rest at all, but there wasn't much else for him to really do in the condition he was in. By now Kopaka was desperate to shut Lewa up, but so far he was having no luck in finding something that wasn't violent. Ignoring Lewa as he complained about getting sleep already, Kopaka started to wander around the forge, searching for something that might amuse Lewa and shut him up.
"There has to be something I can do that isn't harmful that can make him be quiet…" The Toa of Ice muttered bitterly under his breath. "He's normally easy to amuse…" Looking around the room boredly, he eventually rested his gaze on the old coal bin. Surely there would be something in there that could keep Lewa occupied. Walking over to the box and opening the lid, Kopaka started to dig through the black lumps of coal, hoping beyond hope that he'd find something.
"Ice-Brother…what are you doing?" Rolling his eyes, the fifteen year old replied sarcastically.
"Finding a reason to have a bath." Much to his surprise, he heard Lewa laugh quietly. Glancing over to try and figure out what was so funny, Kopaka was surprised to see that the Toa of Air was watching him with mild amusement.
"Can I have some to play-fumble with too?" The question caught Kopaka so off guard that he wasn't sure how to respond. Why would Lewa find coal to be something of interest?
"I guess so." He replied finally, digging out the largest piece he could find and bringing it to Lewa, fumbling with a smaller chunk of his own the whole time. The sickly Toa of Air grinned weakly as he took hold of his new toy, looking it over with curiosity. Rubbing it around on his hands, the fourteen year old laughed quietly, smudging some of the black substance onto his arms as he whispered.
"Think I can color-change myself to be black?" Kopaka seemed vaguely amused by this.
"You can try if you want to." He replied. "Not sure how well it'll work though." Lewa didn't even seem to hear the last part of his statement as he continued to smear coal all over himself. Sighing quietly with relief that Lewa was finally quiet, Kopaka sat down where he was and started to fidget with his own bit of coal, rolling it over in his hands as he lost himself in seven year old memories.
"S-so…y-you're getting my hair dirty to t-try and make me fit in?" Vakama chuckled quietly, something which made Kopaka feel a little safer as he watched the Toa of Fire with mild curiosity.
"Exactly. You're pretty sharp for a boy your age." He couldn't figure how spotting the obvious was being 'sharp for his age', and tilting his head slightly, he responded.
"Uhm… no a-actually…it's kind of a logical reasoning…" He watched as Vakama blinked, seeming a little awkward about being corrected.
"…well…anyways, it should work either way. Unless you had a better idea." Kopaka had to think a while on that. Were there other alternatives? He couldn't really see any. Deciding that there weren't any other ways out of it, he wandered over to the coal heap, picking out a piece and fidgeting with it for a while. Once his hands were rather blackened, he set the piece of coal down, and ran his fingers through his hair.
"…did it work?" Vakama smiled again and nodded.
"Perfectly. Let's get the rest done." Kopaka managed a weak smile as he nodded and picked up another piece of coal to use. It wasn't long until they were both working at it, and even less time for them to finish. As they had worked, Kopaka couldn't help but remember how his sisters used to do that, and found himself smiling the whole while…
When he was snapped out of these fond memories, he blinked, shaking himself out of bliss as the door shook violently. Scrambling to his feet and drawing his sword, Kopaka moved closer to Lewa, ready for a fight. Again the door shook, threatening to break off its hinges. Glancing at Lewa, the Toa Mata of Ice said urgently, his tone holding obvious unease about the situation.
"Hide, quickly! I'll hold them off as long as I can!" Too scared to argue, the fourteen year old shakily got up and moved as fast as he could to go hide as Kopaka turned his gaze back to the doorway. Part of the wood broke as the only thing between him and whatever was out there began to break apart.
"Unity states I stay at my Brother's side…" He murmured as the door shook again.
"Duty holds me responsible for protecting those who can't protect themselves…" The door shook again. They were almost in!
"Destiny tells me that it's do or die, and if that's the case…" His eyes narrowed as he took on a battle stance. "Then I'm going to fight to the bitter end." Wham! The door ripped off its hinges as the one beating it down dealt the final blow. Barely even flinching, Kopaka watched as a crimson, reptilian looking creature stalked in, flanked by four Visorak. Face twisted into a malicious sneer, the mutant Toa looked his potential victim over with sadistic pleasure, his feral green eyes holding neither pity or remorse.
"So this is where those foolish Rahaga had you locked away…how funny to see a tall and proud Toa of Ice locked up as though he were a common dog."
"Nice to see you too, Vakama." Kopaka hissed in response. "How long have you rehearsed that? Do what you came for. I don't have all day to waste on petty insults and small talk." The Hordika smirked as the four Visorak moved in ahead of him.
"You're right. I don't have the time for it either. So I offer you a choice; come quietly and avoid a pointless battle, or fight and be left in agony." Kopaka's eyes seemed almost to flash with anger as he formed several spears of ice, each around two and a half feet long, and snarled darkly.
"Do your worst." The four spider-like Rahi attacked as soon as he'd finished speaking, two of them charging at the Toa of Ice while the other two hung back, hurling energy disks from where they stood. Kopaka ducked as the disks whizzed past, his ice spears hurtling forward and impaling the charging pair. Snarling in anger, Vakama growled.
"Take him you fools! Our queen must have all six!" The remaining Rahi moved in, avoiding the last of Kopaka's icy spears as they did so. Diving behind a large vat of water, the Toa of Ice slammed one of his hands down on the floor, coating it with a thin layer of ice and causing the Visorak to slip and collapse, unable to get their feet under themselves again. Clenching his hand into a fist, Kopaka watched as the ice beneath the two creatures folded up and over them, encasing them fully and freezing them solid.
"The game is over, Vakama! You're out of pawns!" The Hordika growled angrily as the Toa of Ice moved back into view. "It's either forfeit or play your king. Don't make the wrong choice." The twenty-six year old mutant hissed in rage as he readied himself for battle.
"You should've surrendered, Kopaka."
"Toa never give in to evil. I guess you weren't a Toa after all. And here I had thought you were special. You're just a Matoran in armor after all." Vakama growled in anger as he ran at the fifteen year old, claws poised and ready to strike. However, this was exactly what the teenager had wanted him to do. At the last moment he moved to the side, knocking the cooling tank over and dousing Vakama with water. As though it had a mind of its own, the ice that remained on the floor froze the water that'd hit Vakama, imprisoning him from the elbows down in ice. Snorting quietly, Kopaka sheathed his sword and walked closer, looking the trapped and struggling Hordika over emotionlessly.
"Checkmate."
