Lani was just an ordinary girl. She went to school, got good grades, had a few friends, and she was happy. That is, before she moved to Yorkhaw (real town?). Here, she was just considered a geek. Everyone thought she was strange, weird even. At lunch, Lani read while others talked. She never passed notes, or said rude things behind a teacher's back. Worse of all, her parents had begun to fight… a lot. All she had now was her little brother CJ. And he was off at a friend's house.

Today had been especially bad. Todd Morris and Andy Miller had mad fun of her cargo pants, again. She looked different from everyone else. Lani was tall; pale; had cold, icy eye; and long, pale, blond hair. Most kids around here were dark, of average height, and brown eyes.

Lani got home and saw the note on the refrigerator. She sighed. CJ was off at his friend's house again, and Mom and Dad were at counseling. It would be another long afternoon, alone. She had already read all her books at least twice, and the internet was down. Preschool shows were still showing on her favorite channels, and it was raining outside. Maybe CJ has something in his room, she thought. Lani went upstairs to her brother's room.

It was filled with construction sets, model dinosaurs, and these strange toys called "Bionicles". Her brother was crazy about them. There were all these strange names and places and things. With nothing better to do, she stepped over a red figure, and stopped. The figure intrigued her. Its head looked like some kind reptiles, and it had flames for hands. Shaking her head, Lani stepped over to the bookcase. Then, she groaned.

More Bionicles. Only this time, they were books. Lani glanced over at the red figure again. It seemed to want her to take one of the books. Without realizing it, Lani had taken a book from the self. Startled, she looked down at what was in her hand. Great. An encyclopedia. Sighing, she plopped down onto CJ's bed, and opened it up. After about three seconds, she was fully immersed in the book. It was amazing how all this had become just… toys. Lani especially liked the part titled "Hordika". She had always found mutations strangly interesting. Then, there were these heroes, Toa, to consider.

Suddenly, Lani sat upright. CJ would be home any minute! He hated it when people went into his room. Scrambling to put the book back on its self, Lani tripped on another figure. This time, she knew its name. He was called Nuju, his element was Ice, and… She strained to remember. There wasn't anytime. She couldn't possibly care about a piece of plastic, could she?

Lani put the book back on its self, messied the room to its original stature, and raced downstairs. CJ was just closing the door behind him. A grin bloomed on his freckled face. "Hi sis! What are you doing?"

Lani had sat down at the computer. The internet was up again. "Um… just surfing the web."

"Okay," said CJ. He went upstairs.

Lani sighed with relief. She went to her e-mail. Maybe Trish had sent her one. Trish had been her best friend before she had moved. The familiar "You've got mail" jingle came up. Yes, Trish had sent her one. But, there was another one too. The address was a mixture of letters. Curious, Lani opened it. There was nothing written. Only a picture of a black hole. Her attention was diverted from the hole when CJ came back downstairs.

"You went into my room, didn't you," he asked calmly.

Lani looked down at him in surprise. "How did you know?"

The ten-year-old brunette smiled. "Vakama told me."

"Who?"

"Vakama, Toa Metru or Hordika of Fire."

"Um… okay. How did a toy tell you what I was doing?"

"He can see things. He talks to me. As do all the others."

Lani shook her head. Her brother was getting a little crazy.

"It's okay. You were meant to go into my room."

Lani spun around. "What to mean I was meant to go into your room?"

CJ shrugged. "I guess it was your destiny."

Lani sighed. "I think you've been watching too much TV bro."

"No I haven't. The Toa want you."

Lani had decided not to listen anymore. CJ was beginning to freak her out. Then again, so did the computer. The black hole picture had consumed the entire screen! She felt herself being pulled towards it. "Eh… CJ! What's going on?" Her brother looked calmly at her. He himself was being pulled towards the rift too.

"We're going."

"WHERE?"

"To Metru Nui."

And with that, the two siblings were pulled into the portal, and vanished.