Disclaimer: Bionicle isn't mine, but Kit, Darcius, and the dragon-creature are.
The tired heroes made their way down the tunnel that would take them to the Kini Nui. Remembering what the Makuta said back at the Mangaia, Lewa asked, "What was Makuta speak-talking about back there, Kit?" The girl slightly jumped, the Air Toa's voice catching her totally by surprise.
"About what?"
"You know, about you and him?"
"I don't know."
"He obviously thinks he knows you," said Onua.
"Must have me confused with someone else or something," Kit replied as she followed Tahu out the tunnel. "If you ask me, that guy was never that bright to begin with, if you know what I mean."
The Toa shared a short laugh at their little friend's joke; even Kopaka smiled. However, that smile faded as he made his way to Ko-Wahi. He had a very bad feeling about everything that happened in that cave. 'Somehow, I highly doubt that this is a case of mistaken identities,' he thought to himself. 'And I've got a feeling that things just got a little more dangerous for Kit around here.' Little did the Toa of Ice know at the time of how right he was about to be, and not just in the way he was anticipating.
At Ga-Koro, Gali was heading to her hut when she spotted Kit curled up in a blanket on her lillypad. She shook her head as she let out a quiet sigh and made her way there. She had noticed that the young human seemed unusually jumpy back in the tunnel and had a look of fear in her eyes as they darted all around in the darkness. "Can't you sleep?" she asked. The girl shook her head in response.
"I can't stop thinking about it," Kit mumbled. "As much as I wanted to, I couldn't fight back. It was like he made things, creatures, and monsters I only saw in my nightmares come to life right before my eyes." The Toa of Water gently placed a hand on Kit's opposite shoulder in an effort to comfort her.
"It wasn't real, Kit. It was all in your mind."
"Maybe, but all through the battle, the walk in the tunnel, and even right now, the images are as clear as daylight to me. They're still there, inside my head."
Kit got to her feet and walked into her hut, but Gali didn't leave until she was sure the girl was sound asleep.
Elsewhere, in a plane that existed all on its own, a dark and forbidding figure observed the island through a break in the darkness that created the entirety of his domain. When he heard a low rumble behind him, he turned to a giant winged form. There was a look of anticipation in the pair of eyes that looked down upon him. "Patience; your turn will come soon," the humanoid being said gently. "But first things first." And, he vanished from sight.
It had been three days since Kit's abduction by the Makuta and, by now, things were pretty much back to normal. Although, there were times that the girl wondered why she just couldn't let go of her fear; all of these years, she thought she had accomplished that, but her encounter with Makuta proved otherwise. Still, she wasn't going to let that spoil her visit with Takua in a nearby field. Looking towards the seashore, Takua judged from the position of the sun that it was time to get back to Ga-Koro. "You know how Jaller doesn't like being late. Even with Pewku and the Onu-Wahi tunnels, it's still going to be a while before we get back to Ta-Koro."
"Let me guess—he threatened to have you scrub the training floor for a week if you were late because you were goofing off again?" Kit presumed.
"How did you know?"
"Women's intuition."
The Ta-Matoran couldn't help a sarcastic smile. Just then, Pewku suddenly stiffened, as if she had just sensed something, then ran for cover underneath a bush. "What's with her?" asked Kit.
"I don't know."
Takua walked over to the bush and tried to coax Pewku out, but the crab wouldn't budge. "Kit," a voice called in the air. Immediately, Kit froze and searched the area, but found no one. Takua also stopped his efforts in getting Pewku to come out and looked around.
"You heard it too?" inquired the girl.
"Yeah."
"Whose there?"
In response to the human youth's question, a figure materialized out of thin air, causing both girl and Matoran to jump in surprise. Before them stood a man dressed in a black suit with black shoes that glistened in the sunlight. On his back draped a black cape that slightly rustled in the slight breeze, and he wore white gloves on his hands. His black hair was slicked in the back except for the bangs that were styled up in such a way that they looked like sideways triangles. As for his eyes—they were as red as blood itself. This alone was enough for Kit to conclude that not only was this man not human, but to make her tremble from head to toe. "I have waited a long time for this moment, Kit," said the man.
"Friend of yours?" asked a confused Takua.
"No way," she replied hurriedly.
The girl kept her eyes locked on the man and remembered he greeted her by name. 'What is with these people?' she thought to herself. 'Both Makuta and this guy claim that we've met before, but that's not possible.' Kit found her train of thought interrupted when the man decided to launch his attack. Reaching out his hands, light purple energy bolts fired toward the two. Kit grabbed Takua's arm and barely managed to jump out of the way in time. A small patch of burnt earth was left where they were just a moment before, and the man already discharged a second round. "Get back, Takua!" Kit cried, and shoved the Ta-Matoran to the side, having very little time to react otherwise. She just achieved instinctively crossing her arms to shield her face when the energy bolts made contact. For a brief moment, she felt pain and she was thrown back from the force of the assault. She landed by a tree with a thud, and didn't move.
"Kit!" Takua gasped, and ran toward her.
However, the man flexed a hand at him and Takua found himself floating into the air. The man then flicked his hand to a thick bush, where Takua found himself tossed, and returned his attention to the girl. He snapped off the crystal from Kit's neck just as she was beginning to regain her bearings. "Hey, that's mine," she protested.
"You won't be needing it," he replied coolly. "At least, not where you're going."
His free hand began to sparkle with the same energy bolt attack. Fortunately, at that moment, Takua, riding on Pewku, rammed into him. He skidded about ten feet away, looking more irritated than scathed. "Very well, I'll let you have this victory, though I don't know how much of a victory one would call it," he growled as he held up the crystal. "But mark my words, child—this is not over."
Before he vanished Takua called out, "Who are you?"
The man eyed the Ta-Matoran then disappeared as he replied, "Darcius."
Matoran, crab, and human just gawked at where their attacker left. Then, with a yell of frustration, Kit smashed the ground, startling Takua and Pewku.
Nokama walked on a bridge, observing the activity in the village when she noticed a familiar figure sitting on the beach. It was Kit, and she appeared to be sulking. The turaga sighed as she shook her head; it had been two days since Daricus' attack and, since then, Kit had been keeping to herself and seeing or talking to no one.
The girl just gazed out toward the horizon; she had never felt so low in her life. She didn't even give any indication that she was aware of Nokama's approach. "May I join you?" asked the turaga. She merely shrugged and Nokama took a seat next to her. "Judging from those clouds in the distance, I suspect we'll be getting some rain soon," Nokama said in an attempt at getting a normal conversation started. Kit, however, wasn't fooled.
"I swear I'm such a loser."
Nokama looked to her, a bit taken aback by her bluntness. "I feel like such a failure," Kit continued. Knowing where this was going, Nokama placed a consoling hand on the girl's shoulder.
"It wasn't your fault, Kit. You did the best you could in both situations."
"But I could've done better. I should've done better."
"You're still new at this, Kit; you're not perfect and no one's expecting you to be."
"But I was chosen to protect this realm, and the stakes are very high. If something goes wrong in this dimension, countless other dimensions will suffer. What kind of a Protector am I when I can't even stand up to this world's biggest, baddest guy? I just stood there and let him get the best of me."
"It was your first encounter with the Makuta since coming to our island. You were naturally afraid, and there's nothing wrong with that. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
A pause followed as Kit absentmindedly reached toward her upper chest, only to remember that the crystal was not there.
"I even let that creep steal my crystal. Without it, there's no way I'll be able to defend you and the Matoran, let alone help the Toa."
The girl suddenly stood up so fast, Nokama almost fell on her back.
"It's bad enough that I didn't try hard enough, but without the crystal I'm useless."
Kit took off towards a path up the cliffs as Nokama watched her go with a look of remembrance in her eyes. 'If only you knew, child,' she thought. 'If only you knew.'
Before long, Kit found herself at the same cliff where she and Gali were attacked mere days ago. She began to feel a little better as she gazed at the sea and felt the wind blow her hair back. Legs tired from running, she let herself sit down. A minute later, the sound of footsteps could be heard behind her. "How're you doing?" a voice asked. Kit turned to find it was Gali.
"I don't know."
The Water Toa took the liberty of sitting down beside the girl.
After a suspicious thought crossed her mind, Kit asked, "Did Nokama send you up here?"
"No," Gali gently beamed, "I came here of my accord."
For a few moments, neither Toa nor girl said a word. Lost in their own thoughts, they stared at the ocean.
Finally, Gali broke the silence, "Care to join me in some meditation?"
"No thanks."
"It might help you deal with what's going on in your head."
"I doubt it with the luck I had earlier."
"You know what they say—practice makes perfect."
Closing her eyes, Gali began to meditate. Kit, meanwhile, tried to look like she was more interested in watching the ocean, but kept looking back at Gali. With a sigh, she crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and joined in Gali's meditation. Though, with her lingering guilt and frustration, it wasn't easy.
The days came and went, and Takua and Jaller were casually making their way back to Ta-Koro through the Charred Forest. The two friends' conversation was suddenly interrupted by a fearsome roar. A giant shadow passed over and before them landed a monstrous form. It was a dragon of some sort and a fully organic one. Its scales were as green as the island's jungle and its eyes were a bright yellow. It stood at least three to four times the height of a Toa, its wingspan about as wide as it was long, all four of its feet were equipped with huge talons that could slice through rock as if it were butter, and it had a long, slender tail. Its slitted eyes gazed at the two Matoran, as if analyzing them. When it looked at Jaller, the Captain of the Guard felt as if the eyes were piercing into him like knives. Then, with a rumble in its throat, it turned its snake-like head to Takua. After a very tense moment, its pupils slightly dilated. Startled, the Ta-Matoran stepped back, only to stumble over an exposed tree root and fall. Hissing, the creature reached out for him, but Jaller jumped in with his sword and slashed at the creature's foot. It roared as it pulled back, more out of surprise than pain since the weapon didn't even leave a scrape. It leered and growled angrily at the Matoran with a sword; it had come to retrieve something and it wasn't leaving until it got it. With a snarl, it spread its wings and flapped them, creating a gust of wind powerful enough to send both Matoran sprawling on the ground. It stepped up to them and again reached out for Takua and grabbed him with its forepaws, pinning his arms against his sides. Try as he might, he could barely do anything more than a wiggle. "Jaller!" he cried. "Jaller, help!" The Captain of the Guard sat up, shaking his head to get rid of the stars that danced in front of his eyes. Seeing his friend in trouble, he immediately jumped into action, sword in hand. However, the creature was getting ready to take to the sky and, just as Jaller made a running jump and reached for Takua, it took off. His hand missed by inches.
"Takua!" he hollered at the top of his lungs as he ran as fast as he could go.
There was only one, last chance that Jaller could do something and his timing had to be exact. With a yell, he leaped with all of the strength he could muster and wrapped his arms around the creature's tail. 'I honestly can't believe I'm doing this,' the Ta-Matoran thought to himself as he tried to work his way up the monster's spine and hold on for dear life at the same time. Although, he only managed to pull himself along three times when the dragon creature discovered it had an extra, and unwelcome, passenger. A simple flick of its tail was enough to send Jaller to the earth below. Takua, meanwhile, could do little else but watch, too shocked to even call out his friend's name.