Whenua opened the hatch, slowly and carefully. He looked from side to side, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just your usual quake-ravaged, blacked out City of Legends, he said to himself. "It's as safe as it's going to be," he whispered. "Come on."

The Toa Metru climbed out of the Archives and onto the street. The Coliseum loomed over them. None of the heroes could look on that imposing edifice and not remember the horrible sight of Matoran being loaded into stasis spheres while Makuta stole the power of an entire city. The earthquake had followed hard upon that moment, but far more than the city was shattered. Something in the Toa Metru had crumbled as well.

"What is our plan?" asked Nuju.

"Get to the Coliseum, down any Vahki guards there, and get the spheres," answered Vakama. "Then we get them out of the city before the Visorak find us."

"How?"

"We could lash together Vahki transports and sail back the way we came. Then we can carry the spheres overland through the Karzahni's lair and back to the island."

"Where do I begin to list the reasons that won't work?" asked Nuju.

"Forget it," Vakama muttered. "We will worry about getting them to the island once they are safely in our hands. Follow me."

As they moved out behind the Toa of Fire, Matau was struck by the utter silence. He had never heard Le-Metru so quiet. It wasn't just the absence of Matoran voices, though that was eerie in itself. There was no birdsong. Ordinarily, nests of Rahi flyers could be found in the tangle of cables, but now they were all gone. He wanted to think they had simply fled after the earthquake to a more hospitable home, but the Toa of Air knew better. The Visorak had been here, and nothing had been left behind.

Up ahead, Vakama was marching confidently as if he owned the Metru. He had not bothered to send a scout ahead or even have Matau keep watch from the air. Onewa and Nuju were so tired of protesting that they were now just going along with whatever the Toa of Fire said.

Next to him, Nokama was lost in her own thoughts. She felt she knew Vakama as well or better than any of the Toa, but his actions now mystified her. He had been so dedicated to living up to Lhikan's memory, yet he was ignoring every lesson the Toa had taught. Where Lhikan was cautious, Vakama had become reckless; where Lhikan valued the wisdom of others, Vakama was ignoring the other Toa to pursue his own course.

Now it felt as if events were rushing to a conclusion, as water rushed over the protodermis falls. Every part of her being screamed they should stop, turn back, run away. Something was closing in on them, something ancient and evil beyond measure. It would seize them, twist them, and taint them with its touch. But when she opened her mouth to speak, the words would not come. Vakama would not turn back on the strength of her bad feeling. He would lead them into a fire pit if it meant fulfilling his promise to Lhikan.

"Almost there," said the Toa of Fire. "When we get there, Whenua, you and Onewa can begin digging passages into the storage chamber. The more openings we have, the faster we can get the job done. The rest of us will try to awaken some of the Matoran so they can help us move the spheres."

"I will high-fly and keep watch while you work," said Matau. "That way, no crawlers can sneak up on us."

"We need every pair of hands below," Vakama replied. "The faster we move, the less chance of any problems."

"I will high-fly and keep watch," Matau repeated. "I don't want to back-walk into a Visorak, thank you, and neither should you."

Vakama shrugged. There was no point in arguing. When they got there, Matau would see they had nothing to worry about and agree to work like the others.

X X X

The Keelerak watched the Toa Metru pass below. As Roodaka had predicted, they were on their way to the tall structure that now served as the spawning grounds. Given the opportunity, they would damage the cocoons and delay the fall of Metru Nui.

The spider creatures began to scuttle across their webs. It was their job to make sure the Toa Metru did not get the opportunity to oppose the will of the horde. They moved as silently as a shadow stealing across the wall. Each member of this squad was a veteran, instincts and skills honed in a thousand marches. Each had savored the fruits of victory countless times, gloating over the sight of foes trapped forever in the center of their webs. It would be no different with these Toa. If anything, the Keelerak found themselves wishing for a greater challenge.

X X X

"Why?" Nuju said to himself, loud enough for Onewa to hear.

"Why what, librarian?"

"Why did the Visorak allow us to escape through the Archives? If Whenua is right, and they chose to withdraw, they could have summoned others to strike at us. Yet they let us depart and make our way to our goal."

"Like I said…not too bright," said Onewa.

"I wish I had your confidence, brother," said Nuju. "But I cannot help but feel that there are more webs than the ones above us and around us. I think we are walking on one even now, and just when we think we have escaped, it will snap shut around us."

"Amazing," said Onewa. "l have finally found it."

"What?"

"Someone who makes Whenua sound cheerful."

"Quiet!" whispered Vakama. "Watch for Vahki. Maybe we will be lucky and there won't be any around." He gestured to Metru Nui's tallest building. "But you see? I told you we would make it here without any problem. All the way to the Coliseum, and not a Visorak in sight." The structure looked strange, drained of power and strung up with webbing either down its sides or connecting to other buildings.

Matau, sitting on a piece of debris to rest his feet, leaned up to face Vakama. "Sure," he said with a questioning look and sarcastic tone. "It was one big happy-walk since we got back…"

"I've never heard of Visorak before now," commented Nokama, more to herself than anyone else.

Whenua, next to her, heard her. "Most haven't," he explained, glancing at Vakama. "They're not from around here…originally."

"Well, there goes the ol' neighborhood," Matau muttered, standing and dusting off his armor.

Nokama looked at her friends; their discussion had caused more doubt, bringing them to a halt. She could not recall ever seeing them looking so uncertain in their course of action. All except Vakama, of course, who had been impatient to keep moving since they arrived back in the city. "This has been an unexpected and unwelcome turn of events," she agreed. "But what does it change?"

"Nothing," Vakama snapped, surprised they were having this conversation again. "We go to the Coliseum. We rescue the Matoran. We leave." He put his hands on his hips confidently, proudly taking the stance of a hero.

"Or get pulverized," Whenua interjected, causing Vakama's arms to slump back down.

No one spoke for a moment. Then Nuju said quietly, "It is a possibility."

"We've faced the Makuta and won—I really doubt a few crusty relics are going to give us much trouble," compared Vakama. "Agreed?"

The others considered his words and, one by one, nodded. What choice did they have, after all? Turning back now would mean dooming the Matoran to the mercies of the Visorak, and privately they all doubted the Visorak had any mercy in their hearts.

"Alright," said Vakama. "Follow me."

The Toa of Fire had taken only a single step when a swirling, rotating wheel of energy flew from the shadows to strike him squarely in the back. Instantly, Vakama stopped dead in his tracks, paralyzed by the spinner's force as a numbness flooded his limbs. "Can't…move," said Vakama, through an immobile mouth.

Before the other Toa could react, they too were struck and all movement frozen—forward movement anyway. Off-balance when he was struck, Whenua toppled over and struck his friends, causing them all to fall hard to the ground in a pile. "Can't stop!" he said, as they crashed.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Vakama.

"Paralyzed," replied Nuju. "But otherwise unharmed."

"Yeah, we're right behind you, fearless leader," said Matau, making no effort to hide his sarcasm. "Literally."

"Bickering won't get us out of this, Matau," admonished Nokama.

"Nooo, but think-talking before charging straight into a trap might have!"

"If you have something to say, Matau say it," snapped Vakama.

"Forget it," grumbled Matau. "I've got bigger problems."

Any further argument was cut off by the sound of multiple figures approaching as noises came out of the darkness, scuttling noises that sent chills through the Toa. It sounded like a legion on the march, coming to surround the helpless heroes.

"What's that?" whispered Onewa.

Silence.

"We'll soon find out," Nuju replied.

Stillness.

Ill-defined shapes in the mist moved closer and closer, finally emerging from the fog. Keelerak, the green-hued breed of Visorak spider, crawled into the clearing, their mandibles gnashing. Launchers mounted on their backs held spinning wheels of energy. Everything about them was revolting, as if they sent out some psychic poison that churned up every dark emotion in those who saw them.

The Toa could do nothing but wait and watch for the intruders. Soon, they were surrounded. The Visorak bristled with power. Their mandibles gnashed and slimy webbing oozed from their mouths. As the Toa watched, an energy spinner formed inside the launcher of one of the green Visorak and then was fired high into the air. A swarm of bat creatures scattered at its approach. But the spinner was not meant as an attack. It was rather a signal that the battle had been won.

Unable to move his head to see them clearly, Matau asked, "Let me guess—Visorak?"

"Yes," answered Whenua. "In their tongue, 'the stealers of life.'"

"Do they even have tongues?" asked Onewa. "All I see are teeth!"

Seeing that the Toa were no longer any threat, the Keelerak began to close in. The hunt had ended in the only way it could. Nokama wanted to scream as their very presence filled her with an emotion beyond horror. Instead, she glanced down at the Toa of Fire. "Vakama, what do we do?" she whispered.

But Vakama had no answer. All he could think of was that he had led his team into a situation from which they could not think or fight their way out. His failure meant that not only they, but all the Matoran trapped beneath the Coliseum, were doomed.

"I…I don't know," answered the Toa of Fire, in a voice so low she could barely hear it. As Vakama's motionless head lay there, his eyes glanced up as the nearing Keelerak reflected dimly off the visor of his mask.

Then the Visorak began to spin their webs…