It was moment, maybe even hours later, when I came to and instantly wished I hadn't. My head throbbed with a pounding that would have driven any sane person mad. Every inch of my body ached, smothered in dark bruises. Something felt off about my left shoulder and with a painful experimental nudge I knew it was broken. I was in so much pain I could hardly stand it. Ever so softly, I gave a slight moan, scabbing wounds opening up on my arms and legs.

"You're awake," a vicious voice purred. "Good, I need you alive . . . for the time being."

With a tilt of my stiff neck, I watched as Makuta slithered out from the surrounding shadows, his two venomous eyes glowing. A tight frown forced itself upon my lips and despite the intense agony of my body I felt the overwhelming urge to attack.

"Let me go," I hissed.

Makuta shook his head, a chuckle rattling his throat. "I'm afraid you're in no position to make demands, Apprentice." He stood beside me, hands clasped behind his back and observing me for the entire world as if I were a particularly interesting specimen that had just been brought into the lab for examination. "You can barely stand up."

Setting my jaw, I attempted to have Makuta swallow his words, but when I rolled onto my knees it was as far as I got. My legs were too weak and riddled with injuries to support my weight. Several times I struggled to stand, but to no avail. Spitting a curse, I stared down at my shoes, unable to meet Makuta's eyes.

The master of the darkness grinned. "See?"

"Whatever . . ." I muttered beneath my breath. "Doesn't mean I can't fight!" Both arms flung into the air; preparing to blast Makuta with a flurry so cold it would have made the polar ice caps seem like a tropical island. White-hot pain lanced through my left shoulder and I screamed, curling within myself as I gingerly cradled it in my right hand. My body trembled and I bit my lip to keep from crying.

Smirk widening, Makuta began to pace around me, like a tiger stalking its prey. "You're not as powerful as you assume. You may be an Apprentice but you have only begun to tap into your powers. You are no match for me."

He paused before me, reaching beneath my chin to lift my head so our eyes could meet. Makuta's sparkled with malice. "I don't want to kill you," he said. "You're far more valuable alive, so I will give you one more chance: join me."

A snarl curled the corner of my lip and I jerked my head away, glaring into his hollow eyes with a gaze so icy it would have chilled anyone to the bone. "Never."

Makuta shrugged, rising to his feet. "If that's how you want it. You could have achieved greatness. Makes no difference now."

With blinding speed, he reached out with a giant armored hand and grasped my neck, pinning me down to the cold, stone floor. The weight of his arm bore heavily upon my chest and I struggled about, trying to breathe.

"I suggest you struggle," Makuta said with a small chuckle, "it'll only hurt you more." He gestured into the swirling darkness, beckoning. Soft footsteps padded along the dusty floor, drawing ever closer. The figure paused just outside the ring of shadow where its outline could be seen, but no defining details.

"Don't stop there," Makuta coaxed with a wave of his free hand. "You have a job to perform. Come and bring it here."

After a few seconds of hesitation, the figure emerged and the breath caught in my throat, the color draining from my face.

"No way!" I howled.

Sebastian nibbled on his lower lip, unable to meet my seething gaze, hands clasped behind his back. Makuta laughed.

"You rat!" I bellowed, baring my teeth. "You double-crossed me!"

Sebastian bit his lip, shutting his eyes. " . . . I didn't have a choice," he murmured. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Come now, don't be shy," Makuta encouraged. "You've done what was bid of you and that is enough."

"I trusted you!" I gasped, struggling beneath Makuta's crushing grasp. "I tried to help you and this whole time you were playing me." My eyes burned with venom and hurt. "Why? Why would you betray one of your own kind?"

"You don't even understand!" Sebastian barked, his voice breaking. Beneath the thin material of his holed shirt, his frame trembled even as his hands curled into fists. "If I had a choice then none of this would have happened." He gestured around us. "You think I want to be here, in this place? I wanted to go home, I never wanted to be here! Yes, like you, I was going to be kidnapped by those Toa and brought here, forced to become something I have no desire to be. But Makuta got to me first, and took me back here to keep me safe. He's going to return me back to my home, my parents. He can do the same for you too, Cheryl." Kneeling down, Sebastian drew in close, green eyes sparkling with petition. "Please, just do whatever Makuta wants and he'll take you back, he'll take both of us back. We don't have to be slaves to destiny; everything can be normal again."

I shut my eyes, shaking my head. "You moron. Can't you see what he's done to you? He's duped you! He won't do – mph!"

Makuta growled, keeping his hand firmly over my mouth. "Enough talking. I'm anxious to hurry things along . . . and to test a suspicion." He glanced at Sebastian, nodding. "Set it down. And don't worry, it won't harm you."

Licking his dry lips, Sebastian removed his hands from behind his back to reveal a pale creature easily two feet in length. It's body glowed with a faint greenish-yellow light, similar to the one emanating from that tank of squirming eels I had seen not too long ago. It hissed and wriggled incessantly in Sebastian's hands, its slick, oily skin making it a challenge to hold on to. When Sebastian released it, Makuta then made him take a step back.

"Keep your distance," the villain warned, "it won't be pretty."

The hissing thing flailed about upon the ground, inching closer and closer towards me. I wrinkled my nose, its putrid stench churning my stomach.

"Do you like it?" Makuta asked. "It's a new creation a colleague of mine designed for a very . . . effective purpose. It's called a shadow leech, Apprentice. Can you guess what it does?"

The leech was nearly upon me, less than two inches away from my neck. It's vile hissing tickled my ear and I winced. It sounded like a snake preparing to strike.

"It does just as its name suggests," Makuta went on, a sadistic grin splitting his mask. "It will drain the light and all sense of goodness out of you and corrupt you with nothing but darkness. I've not undergone the process myself, but from what I've heard it is quite painful."

Without warning, the leech attacked, attaching itself to the side of my neck. It felt as if an electric shock passed through my form and I went rigid, eyes widening as lips peeled back to reveal gnashing teeth. Makuta released me and I flailed about, twisting and curling in upon myself as the shadow leech lived up to its name, slowly draining every last bit of justice and morality that dwelled within me.

"No," Sebastian moaned. He put a hand to his mouth, shaking his head. "No . . . this wasn't what we agreed on." The boy rushed forward and latched onto Makuta's arm, tugging forcefully. "You can't do this!"

"Be silent!" With a mighty sweep of Makuta's arm, he tossed Sebastian away into the surrounding darkness. "You agreed to do whatever it took, there's no use crying over it now."

Rising up to his knees, Sebastian met Makuta's eyes, rubbing his wounded arm. "But I didn't know it was going to be like this. You said no one was going to be hurt!"

"Sometimes I say things that are wrong," Makuta grinned. Marching over to Sebastian, he took him in one powerful hand, forcing him to watch my torture. "Remember what they were going to do to you," he murmured in Sebastian's ear. "Those Toa were going to steal you away from all that you hold dear and force you to fight for something you don't care about. But her" – Makuta gestured to me with a sweep of his hand – "there was no way I could convince her otherwise. You saw for yourself, she refused my charitable offer and chose to oppose me. She is too corrupted by the Toa and there is nothing I can do. This was the only way I could get her to see the truth."

Biting his lip, Sebastian kept watch, his frame trembling. "Was there really no other way?"

Makuta nodded, slowly releasing his grip upon the boy. "No. This is the best way, and after she has realized which is the correct side, she will go and spread the truth to the other boy. He too will pledge his allegiances to me and after that so will all the Toa. And I'll have you to thank for it, Sebastian." He placed a hand upon the kid's shoulder, giving it a squeeze too hard for Sebastian's comfort.

Second by agonizing second the shadow leech drained every aspect of light within me. Memories of lessons learned began to fade like fog does before the sun. I questioned why I would go out of my way to assist others instead of leaving them to fend for themselves and let nature weed out the ones who weren't meant to survive. Selfishness, deceit, and power grew in appeal as truth, valor, and grace lost their flavor and it terrified me. I couldn't allow this to continue any longer.

With as much effort as my weakened form could muster, I managed to tilt my head ever to slightly to meet Sebastian's. The fear in his green eyes startled me, as it was the same fear that gripped me now. I reached out a shivering hand, pleading, begging.

"No." Sebastian glared harshly at Makuta and ripped away from his side. "You're lying to me!" he accused with a pointing finger. "I don't care what side she's on or if she sees the truth. I know for sure that no one deserves this. You can't just force someone to see something they don't want to, and I won't let you do it to her!"

Stamping down hard upon the ground, a large chunk of rock sprang up from the floor. Sebastian kicked out with his leg and sent the boulder flying straight at Makuta. It connected solidly with Makuta's chest, sending him stumbling backwards. It bought just enough time for Sebastian to rush to my side and rip the shadow leech away. The creature snarled and whipped about, seeking out the lost source of light. With a sneer of disgust, Sebastian quickly stamped it out.

With the leech removed, it was a relief but one that lasted only a second. Pulsing agony coiled around every fiber of my being and I found myself fighting more and more with my conscience . . . or what was left of it. Not only had I been warped internally, but also physically I barely resembled myself. My skin, once a peachy white, was now an ashy gray like snow that had been trampled on by too many feet. Pieces of reddish-brown hair hung in peppery strands over my brow and I didn't want to think about the color of my eyes.

"Are you okay?" Sebastian slowly helped me to my feet, keeping a hand upon my shoulder just in case. His worried eyes flicked all about my form, biting his lip. "I let it go too long . . ."

Harsh cackles filled the chamber and Makuta rose from his spot on the ground, shards of the shattered dirt clod collapsing in a heap upon the ground. "Clever attempt," – Makuta praised. He paused just outside our line of vision, menacing crimson eyes visible glowing – "but not nearly clever enough."

Sebastian stepped in front of me, staring Makuta down. "No. You won't hurt her or anyone else anymore."

"No," Makuta agreed, "I won't hurt anyone for the time being." He settled upon me and grinned. "Which is more than I can say for her."

The world around me was frazzled and distant, reminding me of being in a tunnel. Even Sebastian and Makuta's words sounded garbled and far away. Then suddenly intense pressure ten times worse than any headache I ever had. A moan passed me and I pressed a hand to my forehead, squeezing my eyes shut. " . . . I don't feel so good."

Sebastian wrinkled his brow, concerned. "Cheryl?"

The pressure increased drastically and I buckled under its might, gripping my head in both hands. Inside, the suppressed remnants of my conscience battled with foreign immoralities. Part of me wanted nothing more than to crush Sebastian. He betrayed me to Makuta and annoyed me . . . No, I couldn't do that. So what if he betrayed me? Sebastian saved me and was willing to risk his safety to help me. I pounded my fist upon the ground, splinters of rock shooting into the air. What was wrong with me?!

"Give into the shadow," Makuta cooed. Pointed an armored finger at Sebastian and the boy backed away. "Destroy him."

"No!" Sebastian cried, emerald eyes wide. "Cheryl, don't listen to him. You don't have to do this!"

"Give me one reason I shouldn't?" I growled with a voice so dark it surprised me. With a deliberate, controlled pace I got to my feet and started forward.

"Because this isn't what you want!" Sebastian stated. "You want to get out of here, right? We both want to go home and forget any of this ever happened." When I refused to back down, Sebastian threw up a wall of solid earth, dividing us.

The meager barrier did very little to faze me. With a quick touch of my hand, the crude structure flash froze into a solid mass of sparkling ice crystal. Drawing back a fist, it shattered into a million fragments. "Not good enough," I retorted, quickening my pace even as Sebastian scurried back. "I may have wanted that before, but now that I think about it, why would I want to go back and live a normal human life" – From the palm of my hand a form took place, building from a small shard into a wickedly curved blade of black ice – "when this new one of might and power is so much sweeter?"

"Don't!" Sebastian barely conjured a shield of earth in time to block an oncoming blow. The vibrations of our weapons clashing sent tingles throughout my arm, but I held on and pressed the attack, raining blow after blow upon the shield with every intention of reducing it to splinters.

"Cheryl, get a hold of yourself! This isn't you." Sebastian dodged another strike and my blade crashed into the ground, burying deep within the depths floor. Releasing a growl, I pulled up on the blade, but to no avail.

The momentary distraction was just enough for Sebastian to gain the upper hand. With another stamp of his foot, a large pillar of soil and clay erupted upwards with a tremendous shake. It slammed into me at full force and pushed me away from my blade. The mass formed into a fist, lifting me into the air and pinning my arms by my sides in its tense grip. With a cry of frustration, I wriggled in its palm, trying to break free.

Keeping his fist clenched, Sebastian panted. "You have to fight against it, Cheryl. Don't let the shadow overpower you. You have to be stronger than that!"

"Do not listen to this fool," Makuta interjected. "He has opted for the weaker side, and only the strong must be allowed to live."

Sebastian whirled on Makuta, a snarl twisting his thin face. "You call dwelling in the dark living?! You told me how you corrupted other Toa and Apprentices, turning them into Ghosts without a mind or a soul. They may have been alive, but never truly living. Just mindless monsters." The boy turned his attention to me, pleading. "Don't be like that, Cheryl. Don't be like all the others who fell under Makuta's evil spell . . . Don't be like your brother!"

My eyes widened a fraction of an inch. Memories of Arc infiltrated the curtain of gloom that shaded my mind and scattered it. The crimson haze that had settled over my vision lifted and for a brief moment I felt like myself again.

"Arc?" I murmured. "That's right . . . I'm supposed to be saving him. I'm going to bring him back home!"

The earthen hand that bound me slackened its grip and lowered me to the ground. I squeezed up to Sebastian's side, glaring harshly at Makuta. "Sneaky trick, trying to convert me into one of your minions. Normally, I'm a very forgiving person, but for you I'm willing to make an exception."

Together, Sebastian and I released twin bolts of elemental energy: stakes of sheer ice shooting straight for the armored titan even as a massive fissure opened up beneath his feet to swallow him whole. Makuta reacted swiftly, leaping out of the path of the spikes as well as surmounting the yawning pit.

"Not fast enough, Apprentices!" The palms of Makuta's hands crackled with energy and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on the edge, electricity buzzing the dank the air. Without warning, twin lances of crimson energy lashed out, forming into fiendish claws to capture Sebastian and me. We barely ducked in time to avoid being caught.

"Run!" Sebastian bellowed. Taking a hold of my shirtsleeve, we quickly took off into the surrounding darkness.

My feet tangled together trying to keep up with him, hands stuck out in front of me to feel around in the blackness. "We can't leave!" I retorted, digging my heels into the ground. "We had him! We can end this here; don't flake out now!"

"Cheryl!" Sebastian whirled on me, taking me by the shoulders with a violent shake. "Stop with all these fantasies of victory. He's too powerful for us – look what he's done to you!"

"But that's the thing," I replied, "if I have the transformation gave me the power of shadow then I'm on the same playing field as Makuta." A wide, excited grin smeared itself across my face and I clutched Sebastian's shoulders back. "We have the upper hand! This is my chance to prove I can be a true Toa, that I can rescue Arc without anyone's help. I'll show Kopaka and that weaseling Matt –"

"Listen to yourself!" Sebastian roared, voice echoing off the distant walls. "Talking about power and proving your worth. That's proof you can't handle Makuta on your own. That's all shadow does, Cheryl, corrupt and destroy. It's not possible to use it for good. If you're on the same 'playing field' as Makuta then you're no better than him!"

"I'm, not!" I growled, eyes narrowing. "I'm better than him. I'm . . . a Toa's Apprentice."

Sebastian met my eyes. This time, there was no fear. "Then start acting like one."

The scrape of armored soles against solid stone sent shivers up our spines. Makuta was closing in.

"We don't have much time," Sebastian muttered quietly, staring into the surrounding shade. "Listen, I can take you to the last place I saw Arc, but if he's not there then we're leaving without him."

"No, we'll have to search for him," I added. "I don't care what you say, Sebastian, I'm going after Arc no matter what."

The boy sighed, shaking his head heavily. " . . . If you want to keep searching then go ahead, but if he's not there I'm leaving without you." He frowned, turning his gaze away. "Let's go."

Taking a firm grip upon my hand, Sebastian began forward deeper into the chamber. He took me on a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns, hills and valleys, and at times it felt like loops. The dimness of the seemingly endless caverns only put me on edge. There was no way to tell if Makuta was nearby or one of those leeches were lurking about. I only hoped fortune was on our side.

Abruptly, a faint greenish-yellow glow emerged up ahead. It started out as nothing more than a small dot, a pinprick of color in endless black, but as we closed in, it grew brighter and brighter until it resembled the sun. It's shape evolved into the familiar rectangle of a doorway. Our paced hastened and we charged straight through it and into a vast chamber of immense magnitude and mystery. The greenish-yellow light emanated from curious diamond stones embedded in the wall, what I later found out were called lightstones. Similarly with the rest of the cavern system, an eerie mist swirled around us, but intelligently retreated away as soon as Sebastian and I drew close. Litter was strewn about the floor, tattered parchment and shattered stone carvings crunching beneath our feet. At the very far end of the chamber lay what I described as a metallic gurney and vat full of hibernating shadow leeches.

"I don't like this," I muttered. A chill overpowered me and my flesh crawled. "What does Makuta use this room for?"

"This is where he talked with Arc and me," Sebastian murmured softly. He picked up a shard of stone and tossed it away with a disgusted snort. "It's also where he'd experiment with the shadow leeches, using them on different types of Rahi to see how they'd react . . . and to see if any could counteract the leeches' effects." Sebastian carefully stepped over an odd pile of mechanical teeth and claws. "None of them did."

" . . . I see." I paced the length of the chamber, roaming its width and going back and forth in it, though I never reached either side. It made me wonder what sorts of things happened in this room and if Makuta's perverse experimentation went beyond just Rahi. " . . . So this is where Ghosts are made . . ."

"Yes," Sebastian admitted, "or maybe just one of them. I mentioned before that there is more than one Makuta. If the others are anything like this one, you can bet there are more places where they make Ghosts."

"And it makes you wonder how many have and continue to fall into Makuta's legion," I hissed. Easing around a large pile up of debris, I gazed upon the ground and noticed numerous containers, like stone and metal versions of filing folders. Stooping down, I picked one up. It was heavy and I turned it over to gaze at the other side when a stack of images slid out between the slabs of the folder and piled around my feet. Printed upon weathered slips of parchment were headshots of Matt, Arc and me.

"What?" I gasped. Discarding the folder, I grabbed at the pages. Each was like a hastily copied photograph drawn completely in charcoal and clay. Some of the shots were up close and personal where it would have been impossible not to notice someone was drawing us while others were from a distance. But what scared me the most were the illustrations of Arc, Matt and me as very young children.

"Sebastian!" When the boy stopped by my side, I held out the pages to him. "Did you know anything about this?"

"No." Sebastian moved beneath one of the lightstones, examining three separate pictures of with a creased brow. "I've never seen these before." He shook his head. "This is creepy."

"I know." I joined him beneath the light, the rest of the stack in my hands. "Look at how close some of these are. There was no way we wouldn't be able to notice that."

"Or maybe not," Sebastian pointed out. "All of the close up ones are from when you were little. And having two little brothers myself it's not like they notice everything that's going on around them, but I see your point. Do you think Makuta may have someone in your families spying on you guys?"

A pit settled into my stomach. "I hope not." I glanced down at the stack of sketches in my hands, eyeing each one. "You'd think if they were of any other Apprentices they'd all be lumped together in the same file. Why would Makuta just keep tabs on the three of us?"

"Where did you get these?" Sebastian asked.

"Over there," I pointed further into the chamber, "in a stone folder. They're all over the place."

As Sebastian busied himself with gathering more files, I took a closer look at the photos. Going over each of our faces, it was easy to see the similarities between Arc and me. Even when we were little, people always said we could pass for twins. Our parents couldn't even tell us apart at times, but there was something about Matt's photos . . . My brow wrinkled.

"No, this can't be right," I whispered.

"Cheryl!"

Diverting away from the paintings, Sebastian rejoined me beneath the glow of the lightstone, a stack of similar papers each with a different kid's picture. However, whereas Matt, Arc, and mine's were chronological through time, these images were all of kids, boys and girls, my age or older, and each sporting Toa-like characteristics Kopaka said Arc had developed such as colored hair and eyes. Sebastian's face turned grim. "Looks like you aren't the only ones Makuta's been keeping tabs on."

"Not just that." In each corner of the pages were unmistakable red Xs, comes larger than others but undoubtedly scrawled in Makuta's handwriting. "These aren't just a stack of pictures . . . they're a hit list."