Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle.
"Somehow, that was not exactly the 'congratulations' I was expecting," Kit noted as the group ran toward the edge of an airship dock.
" 'Congratulations' nothing, we've been betrayed," Vakama responded.
"We've got to save the others," said Nokama, to which Vakama agreed, but also mentioned if they were going to accomplish such a task, he, Nokama, and Matau were going to need to discover what their mask powers were.
"Whenua mentioned something about 'mask powers' back at the arena," said Kit. "What exactly are those?"
"As Toa, our masks have been infused with powers of their own to accompany our elemental ones," Nokama explained. "And, if we're going to find out what they are, we have to get out of here. C'mon."
She dove into a chute down below as her friends watched from above. "Well, if she can do it . . ." said Kit, and she jumped in after the Toa of Water.
Instantly, she was pulled forward by the protodermis and, to her amazement, was somehow able to breathe in the gel-like substance. Before long, Vakama was at her side and they mounted a transport cart. Spotting the Toa of Air up ahead, Vakama leaned down and reached his hand out while Kit held on to his waist. The red Toa caught the Air Toa's hand, his momentum carrying them down a little ways, then he hauled his brother onto the cart. Catching up to Nokama, they trailed her down the chute. Along the way, Kit thought about all that had happened within the past several hours and came to a conclusion—she couldn't believe this was happening to her. Suddenly, the protodermis came to a complete stop and everything seemed to stand still. Kit and Vakama looked to Matau who shrugged, just as confused as they were. Then, the current came back, only in reverse. "Hang on!" cried Nokama as the current carried them down back the way they came. The cart bumped into the wall of the chute, causing its three passengers to lose their grip and hurtle out of control. Thinking fast, Nokama used one of her hydro blades to hook onto one of the rings that stabilized the chute. Vakama and Kit were approaching fast and the Toa of Fire grabbed onto Nokama's spare blade as the girl wrapped her arms around his neck, and Vakama grabbed hold of Matau's ankle as he passed over. The Air Toa twisted around and used one of his aero slicers to cut them a way out. However, a large transport cart came down a little low, and forced them out of the chute. Nokama and Vakama acted at the same time: Vakama let go of Nokama's hydro blade and moved his grip down to her ankle, and Nokama hooked both blades onto the ring, saving them from falling to the ground far below. During all of this, Kit instinctively wrapped her legs around the Fire Toa's waist and was now holding on for all it was worth. "Everyone alright?" asked Nokama as she glanced down at the others, whose lives were now practically in her hands.
"Oh, sure-fine," responded Matau as he dangled upside-down. "Just enjoying the view."
Kit then noticed that Vakama seemed to be struggling, "Vakama?" But, the Toa of Fire didn't answer her, his expression going blank, as if he were in a trance. Despite this, his grip on either ends did not loosen, for which she was most grateful. "Vakama?" she tried again, still no response. She said his name again a little louder, and he finally snapped out of it. "Another vision?"
Before he could answer, Matau said, "Less vision-seein', more Toa-savin'."
Suddenly, the blades jerked. "We're slipping," realized Nokama.
"Can we make it to that tower?" asked Vakama as he tried to maintain hold on a slightly panicking Matau.
The Water Toa looked ahead, calculated the distance between them and the tower as quickly as possible, and came to the conclusion that she wasn't sure if they could make it. But, what other choice did they have? And so, she started swinging, "We're going to have to." Slowly, but surely, the swinging got easier and easier, thanks to the fact that, whether they were trying or not, the other three's momentum was helping her in her task. Not to mention, with every swing, the blades were slipping off more and more, inch by inch. With one last heave, the blades let go, Nokama led them in chain-flip, and caught the ledge of the tower. Unfortunately, the sudden stop caused Vakama to lose his grip on Matau, and the Toa of Air plunged toward the ground far below. Watching in horror, Kit silently prayed for a miracle, and it happened.
He didn't know how it happened, but, somehow, Matau's aero slicers unfolded themselves to become glider wings, the wind caught them and lifted him into the air. "Look at me!" he hollered above the wind. "I can--" only to collide into a tower, and finish weakly, "wind . . . fly," and he slowly slid down.
On the other tower, Kit remarked, "That's gotta hurt," while she held onto Vakama as he and Nokama climbed their way down.
Once they were all on solid ground, Nokama, Matau, and Kit worked on forming a plan. While the blue and green Toa talked, the young girl stole a glance at Vakama, who was seated on the ground. "Kit, could you go get Vakama? We need to get moving," asked the Toa of Water. With a nod, she went to fetch the red Toa.
"C'mon Vakama, we gotta move," she said, but the Toa looked as if he didn't hear her. Approaching closer, she thought she saw the two disks in his hands glow. "What's wrong?"
"Kit, watch," Vakama instructed as he moved them closer together. The disks glowed and looked as if they were magnetically being drawn to each other. Vakama let them do so and they merged, creating a new, blank disk. "Remarkable," the Fire Toa said in awe.
"Try Matau's," Kit suggested as she handed the disk to him. He held it near the blank disk and, just like before, the two merged together.
"Vakama, Kit, c'mon," said Nokama, who joined them, unaware of what they discovered. Vakama was about to explain what happened when he spotted and pointed to a streak of light in the sky above them.
"Wow, that's brightest shooting star I've ever seen," commented Kit.
"That's not a shooting star, Kit," Vakama corrected, "that's Toa Lhikan's spirit star."
"Spirit star?"
"Yes, each Toa has one. As long as it burns in the night sky, Toa Lhikan remains alive."
"It is headed toward Po-Metru," Nokama announced after calculating the star's trajectory.
"What about our captured Toa-brothers?" asked Matau.
"Yeah, we can't just leave them," Kit agreed.
But, Vakama pointed out that if they were going to stop Dume and rescue the others, they were going to need the help and power of Toa Lhikan. Matau, then, challenged him to explain how they were going to get to the district of the carvers, when Nokama spotted a Vahki transport that was going in the same direction. Catching up to it, the four hitched a ride. Inside, Kit noticed some large ball things, "What the heck are these?"
"Storage containers," answered Matau, "but most odd-looking."
Curious, Vakama laid a hand on one of the spheres, only to just stare off into space. By now, Kit knew what that look meant—he was having another vision. A moment later, the Toa of Fire's senses returned to normal and he immediately opened the canister, claiming that the Matoran were in danger. Only, there was nothing in there. "You crossed-wired?" asked Matau, and he felt a sharp jab in his arm. He looked down at the only person who could've done it, but Kit was looking out the back.
When she felt his eyes on her, she glanced back at him and asked, "What?" Scratching his head, the Toa of Air let it slide. Nokama, meanwhile, was trying very hard not to laugh, let alone smile, for she saw the whole thing. Kit, on the other hand, wondered how Nuju and the others were holding up.
In a cell located they-didn't-know-where, Onewa hopped off of Whenua's shoulders. Just moments ago, he tried to rip a grate that was their only light source off its hinges, when they learned they weren't the only prisoners. There was an unfamiliar Turaga with them as well who wore a helmet that covered his mask. "Your concern should be with your own identity, not mine," the Turaga said when the question about his name came up. "Freedom and escape are different objectives, but both are easily realized."
"You are stuck in here with us, so . . ." said Onewa.
"I have freedom, even in here," countered the Turaga, "but for escape, Toa mask powers are needed."
Nuju approached the elder with a sad expression, "With all due respect, wise one, I doubt we will ever be in touch with our mask powers."
"Never doubt what you are capable of," the Turaga smiled. "The Great Spirit lives through us all."
The three Toa looked at each other, wondering what the Turaga had in mind.
Meanwhile, the Vahki transport continued on its course, still unaware of its four stowaways. Nokama glanced at Vakama, who was sitting forlornly in the back. She knew what he was thinking about. "Vakama, your destiny no longer lies in sculpting masks," she said. "You are a Toa."
"I'll never be a real Toa," the Toa of Fire sighed. "I can't even make a decent mask. I'm just a crossed-wired freak who has weird dreams. Toa Lhikan, you got it wrong."
The Toa of Water knelt beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder as she said, "You will. Have faith."
"She's right, Vakama," Kit said, who just joined them. "I can't explain it, but, somehow, I just know everything will turn out alright."
"How can you be so sure?" asked the Fire Toa.
The girl thought about it for a moment before responding with a shrug, "I don't know, I just do." Then, she walked back into the further end of the transport, leaving two amazed Toa behind. She stole a glance at the seated Toa of Air and said, "Just for the record, I saw that."
"Sight-saw what?"
"You like her. A lot."
Matau's response was surprise at the girl's cocked eyebrows. Quickly recovering, he said, "No, I'm not."
"Uh huh, sure," she sarcastically agreed with his denial, and got comfortable.
A few hours later, Matau announced that they were at Po-Metru. As they prepared to jump ship, he went to get Kit, who had fallen asleep some time ago. "Hey, wake up," he said as he gently shook her shoulder.
"Are we there yet?" the girl asked groggily as she rubbed her eyes. Matau nodded, they joined Nokama and Vakama, and they all jumped off.
"Stick close," said Matau as the group got up. "Bad things happen in the desert."
"Th-they do?" Kit asked a little nervously.
Before the Toa of Air could say anything, Nokama replied, "Don't listen to him, Kit, he doesn't know what he's talking about."
"Fine. Don't listen to me, teacher," Matau retorted, a little disappointed that she had to spoil his joke and called out to anyone who might be in the village. His own echo answered them.
The group did not like this one bit; it was far too quiet and not a single light was on in any of the huts, giving the place a very eerie feeling. Worse, there was a pile of the same containers that the transport was carrying, and Kit could've sworn she heard something like multiple heartbeats coming from them. She would've investigated further, but found she was being left behind and ran to keep up with the Toa. "Hello, anybody here?" she called out and, just like last time, there nothing but an echo. "They all ran off?"
Nokama shook her head, "Builders do not abandon their projects without good reason."
"Then, where is everyone?" asked Vakama.
Kit had a suspicion, but thought better of it. After all, what she was thinking couldn't have been what happened to the Matoran. Or could it? Before she could say anything, a voice called out to them. It was Krekka, the big and ugly guy from the Coliseum, and he fired a disk-shaped beam of red energy. Moving quickly, Nokama spun her hydro blades and deflected Krekka's blasts. With the Toa of Water shielding them, Kit and the Toa ran for cover behind a hut. But, Matau would have none of it and immediately ran back out to confront the enemy. "A Toa-hero knows no fear," he declared as he took out his aero slicers and dodged another blast from Krekka. Nidhiki released a beam of green energy from his mouth and it met its target. Matau fell to the ground and found that, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't move, let alone get up. The energy was messing with his motor functions. "Help!" he called. "Vakama, Kit, Nokama, there's a Toa down."
Seeing the two fiends move in for the capture, Vakama and Kit ran out from their cover to help their friend. When her attempt to stop them failed, Nokama saw no choice but to accompany them. All three readied themselves, Vakama with his disk launcher, Kit with her Toa armor suit and hands glowing with energy waiting to be released, and Nokama spinning her blade, as they charged. Nidhiki prepared another blast when, all of a sudden, the entire canyon began to shake. "What's going on? Are you doing that?" asked Krekka.
"Now what?" Nidhiki inquired, ignoring his partner.
The shaking steadily got more and more violent, causing boulders and rocks to tumble over the edges of the canyon. "Bio-quake?" the Toa of Fire looked to the Water Toa.
"Worse," Nokama replied. In the distance, a huge cloud of dust appeared around the corner and gigantic, horned beasts could be seen stampeding in a hop-like fashion.
"What the heck--?" gasped Kit.
"Kikanalo!" Nokama answered as she widened her eyes.
At that moment, Nidhiki and Krekka decided now would be a good time to get out of the way of the Rahi, leaving a still restrained Matau in their path. The Toa of Air doubled his efforts to get up, but it was no use; soon, the Rahi would be upon him and his elemental powers had still not recovered. Vakama dared to run in and free his friend, just before his head would've been flattened by a Kikanalo's foot, and they joined up with Kit and Nokama. While they waited for the herd to move on, Kit noticed that while Nidhiki jumped into a trench that the animals leaped over, Krekka climbed up a bar-cage that served as a ladder around a statue. However, this proved to be a big mistake when one of the beasts rammed into one of the supports, and the Dark Hunter's weight made it fall—right on top of Nidhiki. Kit grimaced, then grinned, "That's gonna leave a mark."
Just then, the Toa and human found themselves being pursued by the herd and ran. "I was wrong, you were right, my brother," Nokama apologized to Matau.
"It's amazing what you can learn when you're not always speak-teaching," said the Toa of Air.
As the four continued running, the Toa of Water heard a voice say, "Stop!"
"What did you say?" she asked Matau, thinking it was him.
"I didn't say--" the Air Toa began, then noticed that the Toa of Water's mask gleaming a blue light. "Why the mask-glow?"
'My mask?' thought Nokama, and she formed an idea.
Vakama, Kit, and Matau jumped into a trench, and looked back to find that Nokama was still out there, facing the herd. She heard Vakama and Kit call to her, but she ignored them, staying her ground. Looking straight at the leader, she held up her hand and said in the Rahi's language, "Stop!" Immediately, the leader and the entire herd dug their feet into the ground, finally skidding to a halt right in front of Nokama.
"Whoa," was all Kit could say as Matau whooped and Vakama just couldn't believe his eyes.
"My mask power," awed Nokama. The Kikanalo roared, and she understood every single sound. "The Chief wants to know why we are allied with the Dark Hunters."
"Tell him we're not," said Vakama. "We seek a friend whose been taken by the Hunters."
The Toa of Water did so, and the beast roared in a more gentle way. "We are . . . free to pass since we are both against the Hunters who . . . trespass the beauty of the Herdlands," she translated.
"Beauty. Where?" Matau scoffed. "And, who knew Kikanalo could think-talk? I just thought they were dumb beasts."
The Chief Kikanalo roared and Nokama translated, "Kikanalo still think the same of tall green Matoran."
"Hey, I'm a Toa," the Toa of Air corrected, then, suddenly, Kit snapped her fingers.
"Whoa, wait a minute. Tall Matoran? Nokama, ask him if the Dark Hunters came through here with a red and yellow tall Matoran."
Again, Nokama translated the question into the Kikanalo's language and the Rahi responded. "Yes," she deciphered, "They take many things to the 'Place of Unending Whispers."
"That must be where they have Toa Lhikan," Vakama realized.
"They will show us the way," the Water Toa announced. Just then, the group could hear Kit having some trouble and found her surrounded by quite a few members of the herd, all sticking their noses at her, sniffing, apparently curious. At the same time, Kit was trying to get away from them, without success. Finally, the crowd dispersed and one of the Kikanalo communicated to the Chief while Kit instantly joined the Toa, as if for protection. The Chief communicated to Nokama, who said, "They've decided."
"Decided what?" asked Vakama.
"That Kit's some kind of different species of Matoran," she chuckled.
While the Toa laughed, Kit wasn't sure whether to join them, or give them a death glare. The Chief and two other Kikanalo allowed the Toa and girl to mount them and they were off.
