"How are you feeling so far?"

"Huh?" Lewa blinked, looking at Kopaka with obvious surprise. Had he really just asked that? "Um… okay-fine I guess… still bad-sick, but better than before. Why the ever-quick change in thought-care?" The Toa of Ice rolled his eyes as he glanced around. The pair had managed to reach Le-Metru by now, and remarkably, Lewa had been almost completely silent up until now.

"I asked because you looked like you were going to get sick and die. Is there a problem with asking you questions?" His response caught the Toa of Air off guard.

"Umm, no, there isn't. I was just trouble-confused, that's all. I didn't think-figure that you cared." Kopaka snorted quietly as he continued to keep an eye out for danger. He knew that he never really showed concern for the others, but did he really come across as heartless?

"Of course I care." He said finally, giving Lewa the slightest of glances. "You're my Brother, and being annoying won't ever change that." The fourteen year old blinked several times at that response.

"Y-you consider me as a Toa-Brother? Really?"

"Yes, Lewa. You and the others are the only family I've really known. I might not tolerate you sometimes, but that doesn't change anything. You're still there when I need help, even if I don't think I need it. Do you follow me?" Lewa nodded, his expression one of amazement and shock. He'd never expected Kopaka to say anything quite like this. He had always been the loner of the group, the one who did everything on his own and only accepted help when he was outright told to by Toa Lhikan. Just about everything Kopaka had just said was a contradiction to how he normally acted.

"Yeah, it makes sure-sense… but why hide it?" Kopaka didn't respond. Not at first anyway, and when he finally did, it wasn't to answer the question.

"We need to find somewhere to take a small break. No sense in having you possibly collapse if we get attacked." Lewa wanted to press the Toa of Ice for an answer, but thought better of it. He still remembered the last time someone pressed the fifteen year old for answers when he changed the topic. It took a week for Tahu's frostbite to even start fading. Glancing around as he tried to figure out why Kopaka avoided his question, he pointed to a small, shed-like building. It barely looked like it was able to stand as it was, and it almost seemed ominous.

"How 'bout there?" The Toa of Ice blinked a few times as he looked it over. It was obvious that he didn't like the looks of the little shack, and was most likely weighing the risks. Finally he replied.

"It'll do. Just don't touch anything." Lewa tilted his head curiously, but soon figured out why Kopaka said not to touch anything. The last thing they needed was to collapse the shed with them still inside it.

The interior of the rickety old building was damp and dreary, with very little that could be useful for anything required for surviving. Still, it had an actual floor made of wood instead of just being dirt or concrete, and judging by the shredded remains of clothing and sheets, the shed had been used for storing fabric items, though by this point there was very little that was still wearable. Kopaka sat down near the door, careful not to bump the wall. Lewa, in the meantime, settled himself at the far end from the door, hugging his knees and whimpering quietly. Kopaka glanced at him with boredom, rolling his eyes before asking.

"What's wrong this time?" Lewa whimpered again before responding with a faint sniffle.

"M-my back really hurt-stings, a-and it's shiver-cold… I-I want my feather-wings back…" The Toa of Ice mentally groaned. Of all the things to say, he was whining that his wings were gone? He could've at least been upset about the others being somewhere else, not to mention possibly dead, but all he did was snivel about his new lack of wings? Odd sense of priority, Kopaka thought, though considering that it was Lewa he hadn't had great expectations anyways. Deciding that sarcasm was a bad idea at the moment, the Toa of Ice responded quietly.

"I'm sure you do, Lewa. You were probably thrown severely off balance because of losing them… Just don't focus on it too much and you'll be fine. Was there something else you wanted to discuss?" The green haired boy thought a little while before nodding.

"Yeah… what was it like to have sister-siblings? All I ever had was brother-siblings… I'd always wanted a sister-sibling…" Kopaka blinked at the question, though it did make him hesitate. He didn't often think back on his sisters, especially now that he was older. It used to hurt so much to think about them, and even now his heart was heavy at the thought of what'd happened on that fateful night. A few stray tears formed in his eyes as he fought to push the memory from his mind. Sighing finally, he took his headpiece off and looked it over, trailing his fingers along the lens rims as he replied.

"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had. Just growing up with them being there the whole time was an adventure all on its own. Every day would lead to something new and exciting, and hardly a day went by when one of them didn't take me out to go exploring." A small and saddened smile danced across his lips as he recalled some of the places he'd gone with his family. "…I hope you get a chance to have a sister someday, Lewa. They're the best sort of family a person can have." Suddenly, the sound of clicking echoed to them, slowly drawing nearer with each passing moment. Lewa shivered notably as he nervously crawled closer to Kopaka, looking as though he were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

That was when the floor broke. Lewa screamed, vanishing down the whole that'd cracked open beneath him. Gasping, Kopaka scrambled closer, staring down the pit and imagining the fourteen year old in a mangled heap at the bottom.

"Lewa!" The bottom seemed barely even visible, and lying on the ground in a ball, sobbing, was Lewa, his knees pressed tightly against his chest and his eyes closed. He didn't appear to be moving. Now Kopaka had a choice; to leave his Brother for dead and try to escape, or to go down the hole as well and hope he wasn't going into a trap. The answer was obvious. Carefully, he lowered himself into the gap, climbing down a few timbers used to hold the shaft upright, and then sealing the hole with ice… not a second too late either, for just as it finished forming, the ice was being beaten at by a Visorak. Scowling, Kopaka focussed, icy spikes shooting up and forcing the Rahi to move back. Again the Toa of Ice looked down at Lewa, trying to see if the fourteen year old was still alive, though his location on the wall prevented him from doing so.

"Mata Nui please keep him alive…"

When he finally reached the bottom, nearly falling several times in the process, the Toa of Ice stumbled over to Lewa, shaking him lightly as he said, his voice uneasy and mildly worried in tone. "Lewa, say something! I don't care if it's stupid, just say something!" The younger teen groaned quietly, blearily opening his eyes as he uncurled. Looking up at his Brother with a tired and dazed expression, the green haired youth mumbled weakly.

"Pretty… shine-stars…" Kopaka gave a faint sigh of relief. Shaking his head a little as he hauled the younger Toa to his feet, the fifteen year old commented quietly.

"At least you're still mostly in tact… no mental damage as far as I can see…" Looking around somewhat, Kopaka now faced another problem; he had no light source, a disoriented Toa of Air, and only one, unlit path ahead of him. "…why does life hate me?" Seeing no other real route to take, he started walking down the tunnel, half dragging Lewa as he tried to recover his bearings.

After what felt like ages of stumbling through the pitch black tunnel, Kopaka came across a light source, nestled in the hands of…

"Makito?" Lewa's jaw dropped as he stared, wide-eyed at his eldest brother, his gaze eventually falling to Baku and Onua. His expression one of dumbstruck wonder and relief, he pushed away from Kopaka, stumbling over to them and hugging the oldest group member tightly, tears streaming down his face. Not even noticing the six year old Le-Matoran or four year old Ga-Matoran, both of which were hiding behind Baku and looking terrified, Lewa huddled up close to Makito and whimpered.

"You're alive… th-thank Mata Nui you're alive… I-I thought-figured I'd never see-meet you again…" Makito blinked, taking a few seconds before fully realizing who was holding onto him. Hugging the fourteen year old in return and fighting back his own tears as Baku made the huddle a group hug, he said weakly.

"Boy am I ever-glad to see you, Lewa… I thought-figured you w-were either dead-gone, or never coming back… Are you alright-okay? Nothing crack-broken?" Baku spoke now.

"Not insane either? I don't want a crazy little brother…" Kopaka gave a faint snort.

"No crazier than he usually is…" That was when the four year old girl spoke.

"B-brother?" She nervously toddled over to Makito and his younger siblings, looking up at Lewa with confusion. The fourteen year old blinked and looked down at her, seeming bewildered. Thus, the Ga-Matoran spoke again. "A-are you Lewa? My big brother?"

"Uh… I'm name-called Lewa, if that's what you mean…" He looked quizzically at Baku and Makito now, and asked. "S-since when did we get a sister-sibling?" Baku gave a small laugh at his brother's question.

"You mean your four year old sister and your six year old brother? They were born after you left. Kongu and Hahli are both your siblings, like it or not." Lewa spluttered out some sort of unintelligible nonsense at hearing that. He had always been the youngest, always the 'midget'… but now he had two younger relatives? A small, yet predictably jovial grin spread across his face. Fumbling absently with some of his messy hair, he piped.

"This is the best-great day of my life." However, he was cut off by the sound of clicking coming from the tunnel he'd unintentionally found. Kopaka's ice had broken, and once again the chase was on.