Chapter Eight

Toa Lesovikk, Sarda and Idris swam slowly through the Pit, keeping an eye out for predators. They had been following the wounded Karzahni for the better part of a day, and had seen him finally take refuge in a sea cave. Lesovikk was fairly certain Karzahni had not spotted them, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.

“This is what we’re going to do,” he said to the two Matoran. “I spotted some equipment in a Barraki weapons cache. We’re going to make a trap, and then lure Karzahni into it. And then we can —”

Lesovikk abruptly stopped speaking. The world around him had changed. He wasn’t underwater anymore, side by side with two mutated Matoran in pursuit of a mad being. No, he was with his old Toa team — his long dead Toa team — and they were battling for their lives against a massive cloud of acid. Two dozen Rahi and a handful of Matoran had already died on this island, turned to ashes by tendrils of the gaseous menace. Now it was bearing down on the eight Toa who dared to stand against it.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Lesovikk knew this had happened before. He had hesitated for the briefest of moments and the cloud had destroyed his teammates. But here he was, and here they were, and maybe he had a second chance. He summoned his elemental power and sent a cyclone at the cloud, tearing apart its substance and scattering it to the winds.

And just like that… it was over. His fellow Toa were smiling and bumping fists with him, already talking about the next adventure they would have. Grateful Matoran were pouring out of their homes to thank the heroes who had saved them all. He had done it! He had defeated the creature and his team was together and alive!

“Lesovikk?” said Toa Nikila. She was a Toa of Lightning and his closest friend on the team. “Are you all right? You seem so far away.”

“All right?” he responded. “Yes… no… it’s just… this doesn’t feel right somehow. Like it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.”

“Don’t be silly,” she laughed. “Of course it was — we won, didn’t we, thanks to you. We’re Toa. Don’t we always win in the end? So stop frowning and come on, the Matoran are putting on a celebration for us.”

Lesovikk followed along, but his thoughts were still elsewhere. He couldn’t escape the feeling that he wasn’t supposed to be here, that there was something else he should be doing right now. But for the life of him, he couldn’t think of what it was. And he wasn’t sure that he wanted to… because one thing he did know was that right now, this moment, he felt the happiest he had in a long, long time.

He was with his team, and that was where he intended to stay. No one and nothing would take him away from them, ever again.

Sarda and Idris stared with increasing concern at Lesovikk. He seemed to be in a trance of some kind and nothing they had done had been able to rouse him. It was Sarda who put their fears into words.

“Lesovikk said Karzahni can show you alternate events — usually horrifying ones, intended to terrify you. But, Idris… what if he showed you a future — or a past — that you wished for? And what if you wanted it so much… that you stayed trapped in that vision forever?”