Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle.


Finally, they made it to the arena near the top, only to find empty. "Quickly!" Turaga Lhikan urged as the team rushed in.

"Too late, Toa and human," Dume announced. As he laughed, they stopped in their tracks as it turned into an evil and menacing sound. He removed his mask, revealing his true self as the imposter heralded, "The Shadow has arrived."

"Makuta, you were sworn to protect the Matoran," Lhikan exclaimed.

"I shall," Makuta replied, "and when they awake, I will be their great leader."

"Deceit and self-interest will never be virtues the Matoran honor," Vakama proclaimed.

"You got that right," Kit agreed.

Makuta, however, laughed, noting both the Fire Toa's and the small one's boldness. "Now, even the Great Spirit will soon sleep," he decreed as the elevator moved up the spire, to the absolute tallest point of the building. The twin moons became eclipsed with a shadow that seemed to envelop the city by darkening the sky and lightning flashed. Knowing they had to locate the Matoran, Vakama turned to Whenua, who activated his mask power of night vision to its highest point, enabling him to see through the floor.

Within moments, he found them. "Matoran capsules, thousands of them. They're down below." The group ran back to the transport and Vakama told Matau where to go. As they moved toward the Matoran, they distinctly hear Makuta's laughter. Matau turned his attention back to the road in time to see they were about to go over a ledge. With a yell, he managed to pull the transport to a stop just in time and whistled as he looked down the far drop. Immediately, the other Toa jumped off and Nokama opened a capsule only to discover that were indeed too late.

The Matoran inside was alive, but asleep, and there was no doubt that the thousands of others were in the same condition. "Can we save them all?" asked the Toa of Water.

"We can't take them all now," said Vakama. "We'll return for the others later."

"Yes, we must get them to safety," said Lhikan.

The Toa Metru, along with Kit, got to work right away at loading as many capsules as the transport could carry while Lhikan watched with silent pride. Finally, the transport was as full as they could get it. "Kit, c'mon, we have to go," Nokama called to the girl who was trying to maneuver another capsule. Kit left the capsule and ran to the transport, where the Toa of Water and Earth helped her in. Once they were outside the building and on their way, Kit noticed that at the top there was a strange red, spinning spiral with red eyes. Judging from the laughter that emanated from it, she had no doubt that it was Makuta, but, before she could wonder anymore about what it might mean, the Dark Hunters attacked.

Krekka pestered Matau while Nidhiki cornered her, Turaga Lhikan, and Nuju. "Toa or Turaga, your fate shall be the same, Lhikan," said the Dark Hunter.

Kit switched to her Toa armor suit and said, "Over our dead bodies, freak," as she and the Toa of Ice placed themselves between the Dark Hunter and their mentor. The white Toa gave the young human an odd look that she either didn't notice or ignored.

"That can be arranged," Nidhiki smiled cruelly and attacked with his claws. The Ice Toa and girl fought back, but Nuju knew that they wouldn't last very long, especially if Nidhiki decided to use energy beams against them. Suddenly, Krekka jumped his partner and was glowing a tannish-brown color. "Fool, get off," Nidhiki grumbled, unable to break out of the brute's grip.

"My thoughts exactly," said a voice and the Dark Hunters went flying into the air. Kit looked up to find Onewa, a glow on his mask starting to fade. Spying her questioning expression, the Toa of Stone simply smiled, tapped his mask, and replied, "Mind-control."

Now understanding what happened, all Kit could think to say was, "Wicked."

"Matau, head for the Great Temple," Vakama instructed, and the Toa of Air complied. Kit looked back at the Coliseum, thinking she heard the Dark Hunters screaming, but shrugged it off.

Soon they made it to the Great Temple, only to find a barricade of Vahki Bordakh aiming their staffs at the approaching craft. "Where to now?" asked Matau, and Vakama told him to drive off the edge of the bridge just before the Vahki fired. Luckily, they missed. Matau told everybody to hope that the transport would float and rammed it through the rail. Inside, Kit had hold of Turaga Lhikan to cushion him as they slammed into the wall, and the transport hit the protodermis sea. The Vahki looked over the edge, but there was no sign of the transport or any survivors, and they left. Just then, the transport bobbed up to the surface and everyone was alive and well, aside from being wet. With the legs serving as oars, Matau steered the transport toward the Great Barrier, considering they had nowhere else to go.

On the way, Vakama used his old mask-making tool to fashion the blank disk that was now the end result of all six Great Disks into one final project—the Mask of Time. "You no longer need to mask-make, Vakama," said Matau as he shook his head. "It's time you accepted that you are a Toa."

"Time, of course," the Toa of Fire exclaimed. "That's what the false Turaga wanted." Then, his mind got lost in another vision. He saw Lhikan when he was still a Toa; the Matoran spheres; the Matoran if Makuta had succeeded; his vision of Toa Lhikan's mask talking to him after the Dark Hunters captured him; Turaga Lhikan; himself being drawn to a crack of light in the Great Barrier; a scene from one of his most recent visions where Toa Lhikan turned into his spirit star and shot up into the sky; he, his fellow Toa, and Kit carrying Matoran capsules into the light with Turaga Lhikan's hand overshadowing them. Then, the vision ended, and Vakama knew where they had to go. "Follow the light," he said to the Toa of Air. "Our destiny lies in the light beyond the Great Barrier."

At the cockpit, Matau and Kit looked at each other, shrugged, and the Air Toa drove the transport toward where a speck of light could be seen through the wall. However, someone was not willing to let them leave. Hearing something land on one the many pillars that surrounded them, they looked up, and saw Makuta, only bigger and features of Nidhiki, Krekka, and Nivawk made up his body. "Your journey must end," said the monster.

"By the will of the Great Spirit, it has just begun," the Toa of Fire protested, unwilling to give up now that they'd come this far.

Kit, meanwhile, observed with alarm. The voice, the mask, the power, even Makuta himself made her feel like she had met this guy, or, at least something like him, before and it filled her with a sense of dread that ran up and down her spine. At the same time, something seemed different. 'Maybe it's the wings,' she thought.

"Then perish in the real sea of protodermis," Makuta responded to Vakama, and he formed pillars of liquid protodermis that reached for the sky.

Vakama pointed to the light ahead of them, and Matau put on the speed and steered right for it. Makuta made another pillar appear right in their path, with no way to get around it. "I got it," Onewa cried as he leapt into the air and smashed through it with his proto piton, disintegrating it for the transport to pass through.

"Nokama, quick-turn," Matau called as two more pillars shot up. The Toa of Water threw out her hydro blade, which latched onto the protodermis, and she held on tight.

The Toa of Air and Kit held on to the steering wheeland railing as they whooped when the craft performed a wide turn at a high speed. "Nuju, get me up there," Vakama said to the Toa of Ice, and he activated the telekinetic powers of his mask, lifting the Fire Toa into the air. Hearing someone call his name, Vakama looked to see Kit smiling and giving him a thumb's up. The Toa nodded, and switched his gaze back to the pillar where Makuta stood, praying that what he had in mind would work. Down at the transport, Kit and Matau noticed a giant, darker-shaded shadow had suddenly appeared. They looked up to find one of the protodermis pillars falling into the sea right in front of them, creating rough waves that rocked them. The violent motion caused Nuju to loose his balance, and he banged his head against the wall, the glow from his mask faded. In a flash, Kit was by his side, asking him if he was ok.

Then she noticed Lhikan was getting on some kind of board and he took off into the air. 'Now where in the world does he think he's going?' she thought to herself, but she didn't have much of a chance to ponder about it for, just then, the transport crashed against the side of one of the pillars. Kit was thrown off easily, but her Toa armor suit formed and the pack on her back came to life with the sound of small rockets and she found herself skipping the surface of the water like a stone before she felt herself go up. Before she knew what was happening, she was zooming out of control through the air and near the water, nearly colliding with the Toa as they watched, bemused. "Hey, how do you work this thing!?" she shouted.

"How should we know? You're the one wearing it," said Onewa.

Finally, and thankfully, Kit managed to gain enough control to slow down to a stop and hovered in the air, not sure whether to be excited or horrified. Her eyes caught a giant reddish-black hand and a golden funnel about to collide with each other and decided to help. As she got closer, she not only saw that Turaga Lhikan was there too, but that everything, including herself, seemed to be slowing down. 'What's going on here?' she wondered, then noticed that Vakama had something on top of his Huna—he was wearing and using the Mask of Time and trying to slow down time in the area in an attempt to stop Makuta's attack. Unfortunately, the Toa of Fire didn't have the discipline to properly control such power and the hand proceeded toward him. Seeing that Lhikan was heading for him, Kit tried to stop him, but it was too late. The Turaga jumped between Vakama and the hand, using the board as a shield. The hand struck, grabbing the board and absorbing it into Makuta, the Kanohi Vahi was knocked off of the Fire Toa's face, and he collapsed to the ground.

Kit was by his side as he sat up and he was rather surprised to find her there. "Kit? How did you get up here?"

"Would you believe I flew?" she answered, gesturing at her rocket pack.

"The Kanohi Vahi!" Vakama realized, and they saw it fall off the edge. Makuta took off and dove after it, and Kit would've too if the Toa of Fire hadn't called Lhikan's name, bringing her attention back to the Turaga.

He was just laying there, bolts of residual energy dancing all along his body. "That was meant for me," Vakama protested as he and the girl knelt down.

Lhikan, however, denied it and said weakly, "This is my lifetime's journey. Yours lies beyond." He pointed to the Great Barrier, indicating that Vakama and the others were meant to go through. "Trust your visions," he continued. "I am proud to have called the both of you brother and friend, Toa Vakama and Kit." He, amazingly, removed his mask, which Vakama accepted and, as the fallen Turaga breathed harsh breaths, the three of them put their fists together, and he placed his hand on top of theirs, letting them rest on his chest. His heartlight's flashing became slower and slower until it burnt out completely, and his hand went limp.

Vakama closed his eyes for a moment, and looked on sadly at the one whom he had admired all of his life and whose captivity and, now, death he felt responsible for, and he and Kit got to their feet. Hearing the young human making some strange sounds, he looked to find Kit with her head down and her hair obscuring his view of her face. As if feeling his gaze on her, she looked up at him and revealed a tear streaked expression. Before the Fire Toa could ask her about the water leaking from her eyes, to his momentary surprise, she embraced him in a hug and buried her face in his stomach. Without thinking, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gently patted her head, then he closed his eyes and carefully squeezed his grip on Kit's shoulder and head. "Vakama, where are you?" he heard Kit ask, and was, at first, confused. Then, when he opened his eyes, he realized he couldn't see himself, not even his hand in front of his face.

"My mask power," he understood and, remembering something, he took off, leaving a confused Kit behind.

Hoping her scope had an infrared feature, or something that would enable her to figure out where the Toa of Fire ran, she activated it. A warm colored figure, Vakama, immediately appeared on the screen and she raced after him—toward Makuta. "At last," the dark one mused to himself as he held the Vahi. Vakama, however, had other ideas, and launched a disk that struck the mask out of Makuta's hands and into the sea far below. Makuta roared in frustration, "Without the Mask of Time, it will take a lifetime's journey to find both our destinies. Only yours will be brief."

He shot out the giant hand at the Toa and girl, who dodged it, and instead Makuta absorbed a piece of rock. "Kit, find cover," Vakama directed.

The girl wanted to protest, but, upon the Fire Toa's insistence, she reluctantly complied and ducked behind some rocks as she turned off her suit. She watched as Vakama's mask glowed and he disappeared, 'Invisibility, of course.' Soon after, the invisible Toa starting knocking on rocks and calling to Makuta every now and then, making the behemoth play a little game of cat and mouse. At one point, he roared so loud, not only did the other Toa on the shore down below hear him, but Kit actually thought that the very sky itself would crack as she covered her ears. Finally, Vakama stopped to catch his breath, which turned out to be a big mistake.

Makuta's ears caught the sound and he leered toward the rock where the Toa was hiding. "I know where you are," he informed Vakama. The red Toa just knew he was in for it now, especially if he couldn't get his breathing to slow down, but even if he could it was too late. Makuta was slowly, but surely, heading right for him.

Fortunately for him, Kit knew what to do. Keeping her eyes on Makuta, she reached down, grabbed a rock, and tossed it at a rock behind the giant, where it made a loud crack. Makuta instantly responded by releasing the hand again. Seeing his chance, and saying a silent thank you to the girl, Vakama leaped over the gap between his pillar and the next, calling out to Makuta as he did. Hearing the voice, Makuta went after him, and Kit followed. Once she got to the edge, she judged the distance and decided there was no way in the world she could make that jump.

'But I do know of another way,' she said to herself, and was about to summon her suit again when she felt a powerful arm wrap around her waist and she was carried into the air.

When she was back on solid ground a minute later, she glanced up to find it was Onewa. But, it wasn't just Onewa; the entire team was there. Ahead of them, they saw Vakama dodge Makuta's attack at the last possible moment, and he grabbed the pillar of stone instead. Makuta suddenly looked a little worried; unable to make the hand let go, there was nothing to do but draw it in. Unfortunately, the pillar was far too large for him to absorb. With a shout, the stone slammed him into the wall of the Great Barrier behind him with a crash. Kit winced and watched as the rock crumbled away, revealing a little battered looking Makuta, held in place by the dent his body made in the wall.

"Now that's really gotta hurt," Kit remarked.

"Oh yeah," the Toa of Stone agreed.

Vakama, still unaware of his friends' presence, approached Makuta, who looked at him with some defiance still in his eyes. "If Toa Lhikan could not defeat me alone, how could you?"

"Because he's not alone," Nokama answered as she, the Toa, and Kit joined the Toa of Fire.

With a simultaneous cry of "Unity!", the Toa Metru placed their fists in a semicircle while Kit watched from behind; this was to be the Toa's victory, and theirs alone.

A wind swirled her hair into her face as well as a white mist that seemed to appear from nowhere. As she shielded her vision from her hair, she could feel the force of all of the elements merging together. It was exhilarating and overwhelming at the same time. The Toa Metru's elemental energies flowed together to form a beam of energy, pure and white. Despite his best efforts, Makuta could not escape from the bolt of energy that pinned him to the wall. A clear and hardened substance started to encase his body until he couldn't move anymore and his eyes went dark. When the Toa were done, Kit joined them and let out a whistle when she found Makuta in a cage of solid protodermis. The Toa, glad that it was finally over, sighed in relief. Vakama spotted a bright light in the sky and they all looked up. At first it was one spirit star, then it separated into multiple ones, each a different color. "Six spirit stars" said Kit, and the celestial lights placed themselves into the sky in a pattern, forming a constellation.

"The Great Spirit proclaims it," said Nuju. "We are Toa!"

The group whooped and cheered. They had proven themselves worthy Toa at long last. More than that, they were all now the heroes of Metru Nui.


Later, the new Toa carried some Matoran spheres through a tunnel on a stretch of land. Vakama was the only one who looked back at what remained of his proud city, a slight look of longing in his eyes. "Vakama," said Kit, "we have to go; it's not safe for them there anymore."

"I know," the Fire Toa nodded and smiled. And, the two of them followed the others.

As she walked, Kit wondered about one more thing—where had she seen that constellation of six stars before? For some reason, it looked so familiar. Then, in her mind, she was in a fair-sized and decent looking house. She walked toward a doorway, the door opened, and in came a woman who was a little taller than her, wore glasses, and had short brown hair. The woman was smiling and spread out her arms, as if preparing a hug. Then, just like that, the scene ended. Kit was dumbfounded; she deeply felt like that she should know the woman and the house, but she couldn't figure out why. Deciding to worry about it later, she moved to catch up to the Toa. Yet, she couldn't help but ask herself, 'Was that one of my lost memories?'


He laid perfectly still on the ground in the darkness of the shadows. Slowly, tiredly, he opened his eyes a bit. How long had he been lying there? Hours? Days? He didn't know, for he had lost track of time sometime ago. His drowsy mind recalled what forced him to do this, despite the fact he wanted to get on with his plan right away. He came here hoping to change the past so that the future could be altered to his liking. However, regardless of his power and ability, the means to accomplish the task of getting here was very tricky. Thankfully, he managed to pull it off, in spite of some annoying resistance, and the next thing he knew he was here. However, the task drained a great deal of his power, and his wounds needed tending. And so, he decided the best course of action, and pretty much the only choice he had, was to let himself rest and regain his strength. Thinking of how he would carry on with his plan once he was fully recovered, his lips curved into a wicked smile. Finally, he closed his eyes and his mind drifted off to subconscious thoughts of chaos and destruction.


A dark figure looked down on the Bionicle world with intrigue. He had searched for the right target for so long, and, true, there were many to choose from, but something about this particular reality caught his eye, seemingly ripe with potential. "Yes, this one ought to do just nicely," he said to himself. His mind made up, he shimmered out and reappeared in a hidden cavern on the planet. Walking toward a ledge, he looked around, a slight breeze rustling his cape, and decided that this spot would serve just fine as a temporary base in this world. The so called 'heroes' of this world, the Toa Metru, whose deeds he was quite familiar with from his observing, didn't worry him in the least; he could take care of them easily, and he intended to. With that thought in mind, he started chuckling, then began to laugh. Soon, he thought, every creature great and small, good or evil would fall before his unequaled power. This entire world would soon be at his mercy and learn and remember his name with ultimate fear before it faded away into oblivion—Darcius.