Chapter 19: One-way-ticket to white hell
Chapter 19: One-way-ticket to white hell
Was she already hallucinating or was it really snowing?
Slowly Gali opened her eyes. Some snowflakes landed on her Kanohi.
No, it was real. And it got warmer in here. Still not very cosy around but at least no one could die at that temperature.
And then she saw him, the white Toa who wandered through the room, passing by the surprised Hakann and Lhikuta as if it was the normalest thing in life that Piraka and Ikuta were standing around in a room, and stopped in front of the girls.
“Was … was that you?”, Gali stuttered and felt kinda stupid after her question.
Kopaka gave her one of his rare smiles but remained quiet, just helped them both to stand up again.
“I’m still not strong enough without my sword”, he whispered, “But we can catch them by surprise…”
Lhikuta shook his head to finally snap out of confusion fully.
“Why we just stand here? Hakann, get them! Thok, you stupid bastard, where are you? Get in! …” He was nearly ran over by two Toa and a Matoran.
“Was that your plan to get us out of here? Just run away?”, Sasha panted.
“Well, I actually had no plan. I said we can get them by surprise and that was surprising for them. We should not forget that we are still unarmed”, was Kopaka’s answer.
“Do you know where we can get out of here?” Gali asked. She was still holding Kopaka’s hand tightly as if everything would be lost if she let him out of her grip.
“I can only guess but my x-ray tells me there is light over there. Natural light not the one of those light bulbs in here. So there must be a door or something else out.”
~~~***~~~
They had kept the security measures too low because they had trusted that fear, separation and the loss of weapons would make their enemies weak. They would never learn…
The three met just a few single Guards which couldn’t really stop them. But they still had a big problem because Thok, Hakann and Lhikuta got closer really fast.
“I was right… this door is a way out”, Kopaka sounded relieved.
“Can you break it?” The water Toa’s head shot around. It was only a matter of seconds until their enemies would reach them.
“Nothing easier than that.”
He laid his hands on the door and froze it.
“But now I need a bit help. It is stronger than I have awaited. Everyone push!”
A loud crack. Metal was breaking into parts and they stumbled out into knee-high snow.
“Where … where are we? … This looks like the Mount Ihu, but that can’t be.” The sapphire Toa blinked a few times. The brightness was hurting in her eyes.
“It is the former place of Ko Aro”, Sasha answered. She had problems to move forward because the snow already went over her hips.
“Hm, explains why it had been so cold in the building.” Kopaka had no problems at all. Whenever he went the snow was splitted like the sea did in front of Moses. “But now we have to get away from here as fast as possible. I will create the way for you. Sasha, it is better if you walk between us.”
“They had gotten away!” Thok yelled as he saw the broken door.
“Don’t worry…”, an evil grin set Lhikuta’s features. “They won’t get far. If the incoming blizzard isn’t killing them then it would be one of their own team…”
~~~***~~~
Snowstorm and freezing coldness. The temperature had fallen within the last few minutes but as long as they stayed close to Kopaka it seemed several degrees warmer. The icy Toa was the only hope for the water girls to survive the white hell.
He went around as if he had been walking this way for years. Was it just the landscape that reminded him of his home down on Mata Nui or was it something different? Could he maybe remember something about his past? Was this his home years ago?
His thoughts didn’t go any further because suddenly a sharp pain shot through his body starting in his right shoulder.
He cried out in pain, broke down to his knees.
“Toa Kopaka, what is it?”, he heard Sasha’s worried voice behind him.
“Stay away from me, Matoran!” He shot up again and pushed her into the snow. “What I need is the Toa.”
Gali backed off a few steps. “Kopaka, what’s … what’s wrong?”
She just could evade and ice beam hot at her in time.
“Sasha, stay away from him!”, she yelled.
“Oh can’t you just shut up!?”
The next blast sent her flying into the snow, but it was one of Kopaka’s weakest attacks. Otherwise she would be frozen right now. It seemed that his real self was still fighting to get back control.
The Toa of water shot up again but had to avoid another attack immediately.
“Kopaka, I don’t have weapons and you know that!”
“Yes, I do, but that makes the whole thing more interesting…”
“Please, I don’t want to fight you. We’re friends, remember.”
“Ice has no friends.”
There was not much space for defending herself left. The falling snow had already nearly covered the way Kopaka had created. Wherever she tried to get, she was sinking in. And the worse was, she got exhausted really fast.
Snow was blowing into her face and it had gotten colder. Now she realized that Kopaka had also held away most of the storm before.
“Kopaka, be reasonable. Everything would be lost if we let the Ikuta destroy our friendships. I know, splitting up was the worst idea ever and I can’t change what’s lying in the past but we can still get back to the others. And therefore you’re our only hope. We’d be lost in this hell. So please, don’t let Lhikuta destroy you.”
No, he wasn’t under Lhikuta’s control fully. He still could hear Gali, even stopped his attacks just to listen to her. His real self was struggling to get back. Once he managed to break free of another Rahkshi attack and that shouldn’t have been the last one.
“Gali … I …”
Something was forcing him to his knees. The poison. It was still rushing through his veins. And this senseless battle had him made even weaker. His body was sliding sidewards.
Sasha was the first one to be by his side again.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes … no … I do not know …” He saw Gali getting closer too. “We … need to get away from here…”
The Toa of water knelt beside him. “But where? I don’t know where to go…” A short pause. “Please … you have to stay alive. I … we need you. I know this is a strange request…”
Kopaka tried to look up but failed. His head felt too heavy to move. “On Mount Ihu there are many caves…”
Sasha looked up. “Yeah, I think I remember that in the region of Ko Aro there are many too.”
“Can you walk?”, Gali asked, but she already knew the answer. “Sasha, can you help me?”
“And I … I can try to keep … the storm away a bit…”
~~~***~~~
The hardest march of their lives.
Kopaka fought to stay conscious to at least keep the storm away. Creating a path was already too hard for him so they had to wade through the knee-high snow.
Sasha suddenly winced as she noticed something. A small trail of blood followed them through the snow.
“Gali! Kopaka’s shoulder…”
“Oh no, the wound has snapped open again.” She tried to get over to his other side but was stopped when Kopaka pressed out, “No … Care about that … later … in safety … I cannot hold away … much longer …” His voice faded. Not enough energy left for talking. He had to concentrate on the weather.
~~~***~~~
Never stop. Just keep on walking.
The storm had grown stronger.
Gali let Sasha make the decisions where to go after she said she had been to the region of Ko Aro several times. It still was a riddle how the Matoran could find anything in this white desert but maybe it was the same phenomena how Kopaka or any of the Ko-Koronans found their way on Mount Ihu.
The Toa of water already couldn’t feel her legs any more. Her breath went intermittent. Snow was splashing into her sight.
Never give up, never surrender. It could have been the second motto of the Toa.
It could have been worse. At least the snow on the ground had gotten harder and they didn’t sink in as deep as before … but still deep enough.
“There is it!”, she heard Sasha’s call, “I know this rock formation. If we can get there we’ll be safer for now.”
Gali strained her eyes. The rocks which were meant were just about hundred meters away and still hard to see. And hard to reach too. They had to get up the mountain a bit and the snow now had formed a very slippery path.
Due to her smaller size Sasha was sinking in deeper, but she still fought. And Gali admired the little Matoran for her strength because she was already about to give up herself.
Only a few meters… Was Kopaka getting heavier?
Gali now had her eyes more on him than on the way before her His eyes were flickering and she sent a pray to Mata Nui that they all would make it through this alive.
Just some more steps…
The part they were heading for looked more and more like a little hut the closer they got. A really misshapen carcass of a hut made of ice and stone.
They stumbled through something that could be considered as a door. Sasha broke down to her knees breathing heavily. She couldn’t walk any more meters. Only a few seconds later Gali followed her onto the floor but more carefully because she was still supporting Kopaka. He now had his eyes closed fully but at least he was still breathing.
~~~***~~~
The night had fallen in.
Sasha and Gali were sitting back to back, Kopaka was lying beside them. He still hadn’t opened his eyes yet. They had nothing to take care of his wound. Gali managed to stop it bleeding by pressing her palms on it and now the only thing they could do was waiting for a fast Toa healing ability.
Try to stay awake. Never ever fall asleep now.
And the storm was going on.
Speaking was the best thing to keep themselves awake so they had started to talk about everything what was coming up their minds by turns.
“What do you think about Tupua?” Gali asked.
“Well, he’s kinda strange. I still like him, but I don’t know much about him. But I thought you know him better. He seems to be closer to you than to anyone else.”
“I can’t remember … but it feels as if we had been friends for years. He’s a stranger to me but still he seems to be so familiar.”
Sasha looked to the side. “Do you think Kopaka will be okay?”
“I hope so. He’s our only hope. And my friend too. I don’t want any of my friends to die.”
“He still has this poison in his body.”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think it can kill you. Just control your mind and weaken you. Tahu was poisoned too but he died because of the Rahkshi.”
“He was able to snap out of the Ikuta’s mind control really fast.”
“Yes, he seems to have a great resistance against Rahkshi attacks. To one he has total immunity.”
“Yeah, I know. Fear. When the Ikuta used it to keep us in place, and he walked them by, he didn’t seem to feel anything.”
“He was once attacked with Fear and it showed the same reaction as it did while used on any other one of us but then he suddenly cried out something like ‘I can never let this happen’ and it looked like the attack had no effect any more, no matter how hard the Rahkshi tried.”
“Have you ever asked him what he saw? What his greatest fear was?”
“No, never.”
“Maybe it was concerning you.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Well, I just thought … isn’t that obvious?”
“Uhm … no?”
“Sorry if I have to say that, but, girl, you must be blind. He was eager to be in a team with you. Didn’t want anyone else to go with you.”
“Well … sometimes, or let’s say most of the time he doesn’t get along with the other guys very well so there’s nothing to wonder if he chooses me as his team mate.”
“He nearly ran Tupua over just to be the first to offer you something of his victuals. He hesitated to attack you really. It seemed that his only destination when he rescued us out of this fridge room were you and he just remembered me because I was close to you”, she breathed in deeply, “And I just can feel it, the vibes he’s sending out. It’s like he isn’t fighting for this island or the inhabitants anymore. Not even for his friends or himself. He’s fighting for you.”
Gali opened her mouth to say something against it but then remained silent and thought about Sasha’s words. It was true, Kopaka really acted strange when he was close to her lately. Sure, he had always been a gentleman but he wasn’t the kind of Toa who desperately needed someone around him and just talked if absolutely necessary.
“Do you think he’ll really be alright?”
Sasha’s words brought her back into reality.
“What?”
“I mean Kopaka. He lost much blood and the poison is still in his body. Not the best conditions for this ice hell.”
“I’m sure. It’s his element. I believe he doesn’t even feel how cold it is. And Toa can heal fast.”
She laid a hand on Kopaka’s shoulder. It felt hotter than it should be. Or was it just because of her own cold hands. Had he fallen unconscious or was he just sleeping?
She shook her head. ‘Stop thinking about that now. Try to talk about something different.’
So she asked Sasha, “I think you’re from Ga Aro. Do you know something what happened to your people?”
“Yeah, I do”, her voice sounded bitter, “Our village was attacked just because they needed a new ‘prison’. Something that was safer than Ta Aro and what could have been better than a swimming village? It was just impractical for my own people because they were the only ones who were able to swim. So they brought us into the black valley, where I was separated from them.” She sighed. “I hope they’re alright … hope they’re still alive…”
“Do you … have family there?”
She felt that Sasha was shaking her head on her back.
“No, they’re gone long ago. I can’t even remember them.”
For a short moment it was silent again until they heard a slight groan beside them.
Gali’s head shot around. “Kopaka!”
The ivory Toa pressed his eyes tightly together just to snap them wide open the next second. He blinked a few times, let his gaze wander around.
“Where are we?”, he whispered, “Have we made it?”
Slowly Gali nodded. “But just to these caves not out of here.”
He tried to get up, but had his problems because he still couldn’t fully use his arm.
“Well, I haven’t awaited more than that.” His voice got stronger now. “For I guess it was hard enough to get up here.”
The girls helped him to sit up a bit.
“Thank you … and sorry the same time…”
Gali gave him a surprised gaze. “What for?”
“The ‘thank you’ or the ‘forgive me’?”
“Why do you feel sorry?”
“…I do not know. It is just a feeling … If this staff had not hit me we would have never landed here. I should have calculated my way more precise…”
“Come on”, Sasha answered, “We had no choice. And no one can calculate that fast. Let’s just say it’s the fault of us all because we’ve chosen this part of the tunnel at first place.”
Kopaka remained silent and looked at the wall. No, it seemed like he was looking through it and maybe he really did that.
He looked back at the girls. “How long have you stayed awake? I would say it is better for you now to get some sleep. I hope the storm stops tomorrow. If it does we have to break up as soon as possible and it would not be good if we are too sleepy. Don’t worry I’ll try to keep the room at a moderate temperature.”
“But … what about you?” the sapphire Toa threw in.
“I had my sleep and it felt enough. All I still want to do is to let the rest of my wounds heal.”
Gali felt that she was getting tired again and Sasha looked as if she was feeling the same way. ‘Yes, maybe it is better to get some rest’, the Toa thought.
She laid her head down on Kopaka’s shoulder, the left one of course.
“I hope it is okay for you”, she said.
“Yes, it is better to stay close to me for now for I cannot say how long it takes to bring this room to an acceptable temperature”, she heard his voice while slowly drifting away. Was she already dreaming or did she really feel Kopaka’s arm around her waist, pulling her closer?
~~~***~~~
The bright light awoke them. First they just tried to blink it away then they realized that this had to mean the storm was gone.
“Morning miladies…”
The Toa of water looked up. Kopaka gave her a slight smile. He looked way fitter now than just several hours ago.
“Enough rest for now? That is good.” He carefully stood up and picked his shield off the ground. “I hope our way is not too long. But still I prepare for the worst… By the way … maybe we first have a little breakfast. I still have some victuals with me.”
~~~***~~~
Wind was blowing into their faces but now they had a Toa of ice at his full strength.
Kopaka had decided they had to go down because it was harder to get lost. And it was an easier way to travel because they didn’t have to walk. They could use the shield as a kind of sledge.
“Wait a minute … Kopaka can you stop?” Sasha shouted against the wind on their half way down.
“Why?”
“I thought I’ve seen something or someone. It looked like … a Matoran.”
Kopaka steered his shield sidewards so that it was easier to brake.
A Matoran-like figure was standing some meters above them and watched. Now it came closer.
“In Mata Nui’s name, is this …? Tupua!”
Sasha jumped off the shield and tried running up to him but was stopped as she sunk in. They had to follow Kopaka to get anywhere. Tupua wasn’t sinking in that deep. He may have found a way where the snow was harder.
“How have you found us?”, Gali asked as Sasha hugged him stormily. The Spectre tried to keep balance but failed and fell into the snow.
“Intuition…”, he brought out when he had finally managed to get up again and helped the other Matoran up too. “Well … kinda not. I just followed the way you had taken through the tunnels and a few minutes after I stepped out you came right into my direction.” Another time it seemed like he was just speaking with Gali. She could hear that he was talking to the others too but his eyes were only on her as if she gave him the security he needed to speak freely. It may seem strange for others but kinda not for her. ‘Maybe I really knew him very good in the past’, she thought. Then she noticed Kopaka who had stepped up beside her. Wasn’t he looking a bit jealous? Gali sighed. Fortunately he wasn’t Tahu … Starting an open fight wasn’t Kopaka’s style so he decided for his classical icy glare.
Without even noticing Kopaka, Tupua continued, “We need to get back, but … there’s a little problem now. It seems like something is using a great energy amount of the Emerald and I would need that too for teleporting us somewhere else. We might have to walk.”
“A great amount?” Sasha asked. “The Ikuta?”
Tupua looked at her. “I don’t think so. It feels like nothing dangerous… Maybe Rui or Lewa…”
“Sorry, but how will we get out of here?”, Kopaka interrupted.
“Intuition … no”, with a little grin Tupua pointed at a flag behind him. And a few meters further there was the next one.
“I used and old Ko Matoran trick…”
