They'd been searching for what must've been a few hours, and neither human or Toa could find any sign of any Kanohi mask that matched the Ignika's description. "I hope the others are having better luck than we are," Kit said to herself.
Everything had been so quiet for so long, Kit's heart gave a little jump when Jaller said, "Alright, say it."
"Say what?" asked Kongu.
"You know what. Some tree-speak complaint about being cold and wet, bumping your head on cave ceilings, and already being tired of smelling like fish. Just say it and get it over with so we can get back to searching."
"No, I don't believe-think I will."
"Why not?"
"I don't have to," Kongu answered with a grin and shrug. "You already spoke-said it." Kit, unable to contain herself, burst out laughing. With a smile at the girl, Kongu continued, "By the way, is this cave four hundred or five hundred? I lost count." Rolling his eyes, Jaller sighed.
"Do you ever stop joking?" he asked. "You didn't act like this when you commanded the Gukko force in Le-Koro, did you?"
Kongu simply shrugged. "I wasn't one of seven hero-guardians deciding the fate of the realm-universe then, either. Sure, I was grim-serious a lot of the time running the force—but Toa Lewa taught me that sometimes a little laugh-humor helps everyone relax and keep things in perspective." After a brief pause, the Toa of Air added with a smile, "Besides, Jaller, between you and Hewkii, 'grim and serious' is already covered on this group-team." With that, Kongu swam into the cavern.
"He's got a point, you know," Kit pointed out to the Fire Toa, and Jaller nodded.
The two swam in after Kongu. As he kept his eyes open, Jaller admitted to himself that the Air Toa had another good point. Hours had passed since they started searching, and there had been no sign of the Kanohi Ignika. It was starting to look like Kit was right, that the Barraki had hidden it somewhere more elusive than a mere cave. But the Toa of Fire, to quote his human friend, wanted to 'leave no stone unturned', which meant they had to search every possible place they could think of. 'Searching every nook and cranny' he remembered her saying once.
"Hey," called Kongu, bringing Jaller out of his reverie. "What are those?"
Looking to their right, Kit and Jaller found white spheres lined up against the base of the cave wall. Curious, Kit moved in to get a better look. Gently touching one, she found their texture to be smooth and they looked so fragile. Considering how they were stacked on top of each other, she was amazed they didn't break.
"What are they?" asked Kongu.
"I think they're some kind of egg," Kit answered. Suddenly, she felt something happen inside and she retracted her hand as if it had been bitten. "There's something alive in there," she announced.
Jaller looked at the egg quizzically, "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Kit confirmed, "I felt it move."
"There are more back there, and the shells are break-cracking," said Kongu, pointing toward the cavern entrance behind them. "Could this be some kind of home-nest for really short Bohrok?"
"Or that thing that attacked you and Kit before," said Jaller.
Kit gazed back at the egg with a sense of foreboding; as much as she wanted to hope otherwise, she now had a terrible feeling that Jaller may be right. Brandishing his sword and blaster, the Fire Toa said to his companions, "Be prepared for anything."
"Oh, I could ready-prepare a lot better from outside," replied Kongu, "way outside, even."
"You and me both," Kit agreed.
The shells of the eggs cracked open and small tentacles, all in different colors, slithered their way out. The cylinder-like bodies and heads of a squid, the same squid that did attack Kit and Kongu, appeared, their cold eyes observing the Toa and teenager. Suddenly, without warning, dozens of the sea Rahi attacked, latching themselves onto the two Toa before they could even react. Kit managed to down a few before she, too, became overwhelmed. Within moments, all three could feel their life force being drained away. Hearing something, Kit and Jaller lifted their heads to find Kalmah and Carapar standing at the cave's mouth. "Feed, my little ones," Kalmah encouraged with a wicked smile. "But, leave something for your master as well."
Minutes passed, and the trio were beginning to fade. Deciding to take a risky and desperate gamble, Jaller reached out both hands and grabbed hold of Kongu and Kit. Air Toa and girl cried out when they felt a momentary blast of searing heat go through them. The Toa of Fire's plan worked, though; the squid, shrieking in pain, let go and fled.
As she and the Toa staggered to their feet, Kit growled, "You guys call yourselves warlords, and yet you hide behind other creatures to do your fighting for you?" A brief pause followed as the girl fought to catch her breath. "Pathetic," she said with narrowed eyes and a disgusted tone. Both Barraki snarled—how dare the small one insult them with such impudence?—and Carapar would've moved in to tear her head off if Kalmah hadn't stopped him. "As far as I'm concerned, you're not warlords . . . you're cowards," Kit continued. "Warlords actually participate in the fighting and killing—they live for it—, not hide behind their armies like a bunch of cowards."
"We are also smart enough to tell when an enemy is trying to bait us," Kalmah countered. "In our time, entire nations bowed before us . . . cities fell . . . armies were destroyed. Do you really think a group of condemned Toa and their air-breathing, fleshing pet will prove more than a moment's annoyance?"
"Come in here and I'll show you . . . that is, if you think you've got the guts," Kit dared as she warmed up her fists.
"Not here, not now, Kit," Jaller chided gently as he placed a firm grip on her shoulder, and he approached the Barraki, not showing any sign of his exhaustion. "We weren't condemned here. You Barraki got it wrong."
"Why else would you be here?" demanded Carapar. "Nobody comes here unless they have to."
'He just answered his own question,' Kit thought smugly.
Jaller explained where they originated and their mission to retrieve the Mask of Life. Kit was shocked when the Fire Toa offered to help the Barraki find a way back to the surface in exchange for helping them find the legendary Kanohi. Before she could say anything, Kalmah let out an evil laugh.
"Escape to where? Look at us, Toa—we've been changed by this place. We can no longer live on the surface, and neither can you."
"But, the mask can change that—that's what you think, isn't it? That's why you want it. We can make a deal . . . or we can fight, and risk the mask getting destroyed in the battle."
While the guys talked, it occurred to Kit that she never really gave it much thought as to why the Barraki coveted the Kanohi Ignika so badly. Now, thanks to Jaller, she knew why. They wanted to reclaim their empires, but couldn't hope to do so the way they were, and they believed that they could use the power of the Mask of Life to return themselves to their original forms. Just then, Kalmah's voice brought her back to reality. "If we aid you now, it means going up against our allies . . . What do you have to offer that is worth that?"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Jaller answered, "When the Mask of Life is back in our hands, Barraki, we'll make sure you get all you have earned and everything you deserve. Oppose us—and I swear to you by Mata Nui, we will destroy the mask before you ever get your claws on it." The Toa of Fire peered at Kit with a straight, no-nonsense look on his mask, who was giving him a perplexed expression. To the Barraki, it appeared as if the Toa was telling the girl to be quiet, that there was no discussing the matter. However, on her end, Kit knew Jaller, and thus knew better. His eyes showed the message loud and clear—this was all part of the plan to get the Barraki fighting against each other.
The three of them waited tensely for the answer. Like Kit, Jaller didn't believe, even for an instant, that the Barraki would honor any deal they offered, but it was the only thing he could think of to get him, Kongu, and Kit out of there alive and in one piece. He could worry about the betrayal, which he was sure was bound to happen, later. "Your offer is intriguing, but promises and vows mean nothing beneath the waves," Kalmah finally said. "Even if we agreed, Pridak would never go along with aiding Toa. So, you are going to do a favor for us in return for our assistance."
"What sort of favor?" Jaller inquired.
Kalmah's voice gave off an aura of ultimate treachery and hate. "Kill Pridak. Then, we'll talk."
The three of them swam their way back toward Mahri Nui. Neither had spoken a word since their encounter with the Barraki. Finally, Kongu decided he couldn't take it anymore, "How?"
"'How' what?" asked Jaller.
"How are we going to do deal with shark breath without break-violating the code?"
"That part I haven't figured out yet, short of somehow making them think we did."
"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kit. "What's this about a 'code'?"
"As far back as anyone can remember, Toa always followed a sacred code where they never killed their enemies," Jaller explained.
"And, now, unless we can somehow wriggle-worm our way out of this problem-mess, it looks like we'll have no choice but to be label-marked as ex-Toa," Kongu commented.
"It was the only thing I could think to get us all out of there alive," Jaller defended.
Before the argument could escalate any further, Kit said, "Leave it to me, then."
The Toa of Fire and Air looked at her as if she had just turned into a venom eel. "Are you sure, Kit?" Jaller asked a little uncertainly.
"Moralistically, no," Kit replied, "but, for scum like them, I can make an exception. Besides, I have killed before, and under mitigating circumstances."
Jaller admitted to himself that he had completely forgotten about Darcius. The girl winked at her two friends and swam a little ahead of them. Kongu, meanwhile, nudged the Fire Toa and whispered, "Remind me not-never to get on her bad side."
Soon after, Kit, Jaller, and Kongu arrived back at Mahri Nui to find their friends there and the city on full alert.
"What's going on? Where's Hahli?" asked Kit, noticing that the Toa Mahri of Water was absent.
"Still no word from her and, to quote the local Matoran aqua hunters, word has it that the sea's gone mad," said Hewkii. "Shark's are at war with eels, keras crabs and squid have mysteriously vanished, and there are unconfirmed reports of rays attacking anything that moves."
"On top of that," added Nuparu, "anything, or anyone, unlucky enough to get in between those beasts is killed, but ignored afterward." Before Kit could respond, she heard a voice.
It was Defilak. "What have you done?" the Le-Matoran demanded, informing the group that in the past six hours two Matoran herders and half a dozen of the city's hydruka were lost. "The fight-battles come closer to the edge-borders of Mahri Nui every moment. Is this how you defend-protect us?"
Kit thought about telling the Matoran leader that if he had a problem with their plan he should've said something sooner, but, for some reason, kept quiet. "Well, turning them against each other sounded like a good idea, at the time," confessed Hewkii with a shrug.
"Yeah," Kit agreed once she refound her voice, "though who knew they would turn out to be so good at it."
"It was a good idea," Jaller reassured them. "Remember, we still need to find the mask. If the Barraki's armies tear each other apart, that buys us more time to search."
"Not to mention it also decreases their numbers," Kit added.
Kongu looked down at his hands, as if they were tainted somehow, and asked, "Is this what we've become? Sacrificing Matoran and Rahi lives just so we can quick-finish our mission? Hahli could be cold-dead, for all we know, and all you care about--"
"Don't, just . . . don't," Matoro interrupted.
Kit never thought of it that way, but, thinking back on what Defilak said, she realized Kongu had a point. She couldn't help but feel both a little ashamed at what had happened and relieved that she bit back her tongue earlier. "If we fail at this, there won't be any more Matoran, or Rahi, or Hahli . . . or any of us," Matoro continued. "None of us are happy about what's been done, but I think we are going to have to do far worse before this is over."
She didn't know about the other Toa, but Kit noticed how the Ice Toa glanced at Maxilos and made a mental note to ask him about it later, preferably when the robot wasn't around. 'If I didn't know any better,' she thought to herself, 'I'd say there's something going on between those two, and it's nothing good.'
Just then, a Ga-Matoran swam over and said something softly to Defilak. The Matoran leader nodded and faced the Toa. "It's now a true-fact. The rays are on the move, heading straight for Mahri Nui. And, they are being command-led by your Toa Hahli."
"Perfect," was Jaller's reply, receiving a confused expression from Defilak.
"It's all part of the plan," Kit elaborated.
Soon after, the group was spread out among the reef, their eyes locked on the forms of Matoro and Maxilos. Kit noticed that they were talking, but couldn't hear what they were saying. She was about to try to sneak closer to find out what was going on—she had been getting a bad feeling about the crimson robot ever since Matoro mentioned her trip into this realm's past—when her sensors detected something.
Carefully, she swam to Jaller and told him she was going to investigate. "What about Hahli?" asked the Fire Toa.
"Jaller, my scanner wouldn't alert me of something without being prompted first unless it was important," the girl replied.
As much as Jaller wanted to protest further, he understood the meaning in Kit's tone. There was the possibility that what her scanners detected was the Mask of Life. "Alright, but take Hewkii with you, just in case," said the Toa of Fire.
Kit, however, shook her head. "You need as many hands here as you can get, besides I can travel faster on my own. If I find anything, I'll send you a signal." Jaller called to her, but, in a flash, she was gone.
Within minutes, Kit's scanner showed her she was just yards away from the mask's location. But, it also showed two dots that were identified as other beings and she slowed down her approach. She cautiously got closer until she found a position behind some rocks where she could see who or whatever was ahead, but not be seen herself. Her eyes widened in surprise. She was expecting the two others to be two of the Barraki, instead, one looked like a combination of a starfish and something else she couldn't even describe and the other was humanoid—and was pointing a Cordak blaster right at the Kanohi Ignika on the seabed.
Hydraxon easily had the mask in his sights. He could sense the power this strange Kanohi held and knew what such power could be capable of in the wrong hands. Better to destroy it to avoid that ever happening. His finger was just starting to pull the trigger when he heard a shout, "No!" Diverting his attention from the mask, the next thing he knew, he was rammed hard and hit the ground with such force, he left a trench in his wake. After shaking his head, he looked to discover his attacker. It was some kind organic being wearing strange, multi-colored armor. "Are you crazy!?" Kit shrieked in disbelief; did this guy have a death-wish, or something?
Hydraxon simply redrew his weapon. "Surrender, runner," he replied with cold eyes.
Kit flinched for a second, but kept her ground, "Sorry, pal, 'surrender''s not in my vocabulary."
Hydraxon fired his blaster, and, with a flap of her fins, Kit surged upward. Almost too late, she saw the daggers coming at her and summoned her shield. "So you want to play dirty, huh?" she said. "Well, then . . ." Moving fast, Kit dove while firing energy balls. Hydraxon dodged, unaware he was doing exactly as his opponent wanted him to do. A blade, his own blade, flew toward him, nicking his shoulder. By the time he saw Kit coming at him, there was nothing for him to do but take the hit. The girl kneed him so hard in the abdomen, he wheezed harshly. "I can play dirtier," she said in a low, dangerous tone. Flipping over, Kit went to her position between Hydraxon and the mask and fired an energy beam.
Back at his position, Jaller saw the beam, "That must be Kit's signal." He, in turn, signaled to Hahli, who gestured that she saw and moved in Kit's direction.
Meanwhile, Kit was doing all she could to keep Hydraxon away from the mask without touching it and keeping from being killed herself. At one point, the jailer managed to get hold of his Cordak blaster and fired. Kit, however managed to dodge, though not far enough to avoid the force of the blast. Seeing his chance while the girl was stunned, the jailer again aimed his weapon at the mask and fired. Just when it looked like it was all over, a strong current caught the rocket and sent it off course, away from its target. Then, another current hit Hydraxon, carrying him a good distance away from the Kanohi. "Back off!" Hahli shouted, followed by the rays and Mantax. "Keep away from that mask!"
Hydraxon released a barrage of rockets. "Look out!" shouted Kit, but it was already too late. The rockets exploded, stunning the Toa and Barraki. Kit, however, just managed to get away. Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Hydraxon making another grab for the Kanohi Ignika. Growling in determination, she zoomed in on him.
The jailer saw her coming and released an onslaught of bladed weapons at her, but at the last possible moment, and to both of their amazement, she avoided every single one. Hydraxon couldn't keep track of the girl's rapid movements and was again thrown to the ground. When he looked up, he saw Kit was preparing another one of her energy attacks. Moving quickly, he got out of the way and launched another rocket from his Cordak blaster. Instinctively, Kit summoned her shield and was knocked away with a yelp. Hydraxon panted, looked behind him to find a small crater, and found himself a little thankful it wasn't him that got hit. Once more, he reached for the mask; he was going to have to find some other place to destroy this thing, somewhere where he wouldn't be interrupted. However, before he could grab it, a claw pinned his wrist to the sea floor. It was the Toa of Water from earlier and she was reaching for the mask. The jailer tried to aim his blaster at the mask again, but Hahli knocked it off target. The rocket exploded just feet away from the Kanohi Ignika. On one hand, the mask was still intact, on the other, the force of the hit sent it spiraling into Mantax's claws.
As one, Kit, Hahli, and Hydraxon moved in on the Barraki. However, as they came in closer, they all felt something was wrong. They all began to feel weak, like their strength was being drained out of them. Soon, they became so tired they couldn't swim any further and sank to the bottom. Kit could barely lift her hand off the ground. For a brief moment, she wondered if this was the work of Kalmah's squids. 'No, it's not the squids,' she said to herself. 'For one thing, Hahli and that numbskull are affected, too, and they don't have any squids on them. Plus, this feels different; this just feels like I ran a marathon.' The girl also noted, once she somehow managed to lift her head, that Mantax seemed stronger. Her eyes widened in realization and dread, 'It's the mask! It's made him into an 'energy' vampire; if anyone or anything gets too close to him, their energy gets drained and added to his own.' She was sure the Barraki was going to take the opportunity to kill the whole lot of them, but, to her surprise, he just admired the mask for a moment before turning his attention to them. He told them to tell the other Barraki to meet at a location he called the Razor Whale's Teeth in one day—no weapons or armies—where he would state his demands. He closed with the threat that if anybody tried anything he would destroy the mask.
Hydraxon, however, snarled, "I don't make deals with runners. You want to shatter that headgear? Go ahead."
"Shut up!" Hahli and Kit said in a tone that indicated even to the jailer that it would not be a good idea to cross either one.
"We need that mask. The universe needs that mask. Try anything, and I will personally show you the meaning of 'dead in the water'," Hahli warned.
"Just be sure you leave some of him for me, Hahli," Kit called to her as best as she could, considering how exhausted she felt, as she glared at him. And with that, Mantax and his rays took their leave.
Once he was gone, the trio began to feel their strength coming back to them. Kit noticed that the starfish-hybrid was gone. Hydraxon whirled at Hahli and Kit. "Now see what your interference has done! A few seconds more and that mask would've been dust. Now, it's in the hands of the Barraki."
"A few seconds more and everything and everyone in this universe, including you, would've been dust, you idiotic, dribbling dirtbucket!" Kit snapped back.
Though both Hahli and Hydraxon were silently surprised at the anger in the girl's voice, the Water Toa recovered faster than the jailer. "Who in the blazes are you, anyway?"
"Who I am is my business," Hydraxon retorted. "Staying out of my way is yours."
Something about the guy nagged at something in Hahli's mind. Then, she realized why—he matched the description of someone she heard of recently. "You're Hydraxon, aren't you?" she asked.
For a brief moment, there was surprise in the jailer's eyes, "How did you know?"
"So, you're the guy who locked up Matoro," said Kit. "Guess I should've throttled you harder, but I'll tell you what: we'll stay out of your way if you stay out of ours, which means that mask is off limits, and that includes your blaster as well as your blades."
Inside, Hydraxon couldn't help but admire the little one's spirit, even for a little bit. It was then he realized something strange. This creature didn't look anything like any of the prisoners he remembered. On top of that, now that he was getting a good look at her, he noticed through her visor that her physiology was organic. He could also hear the faint sound of air being pumped into her helmet. She could breathe air, thus was definitely not from the Pit—she wasn't a runner at all. In response to Kit's comment, he snorted derisively and turned to go on his way. "Hey, big guy," he heard Kit call to him. Against his better judgment, Hydraxon began to look over his shoulder, only to cry out in pain as his Cordak blaster was blasted out of his hand. He looked back to find Kit with a yellowish-gold glow dimming in her outstretched palm and eyes narrowed. "Try that stunt again and I'll just aim lower . . . for your wrist," she growled. Hydraxon just picked up his blaster, but stowed away his experience with the small one and her warning—he had every intention of keeping both of his hands.
The jailer had swum no more than three strokes when Hahli called to him. "Where are you going?"
"After that Barraki," Hydraxon simply said.
"But, he went the other way," Kit gestured with her thumb in the opposite direction.
"I know," Hydraxon replied, and continued on his way.
"Hold on," Hahli called again, "why don't we work with each other instead of against each other? I'll admit, you're good, but you can't take on all of the Barraki and their Rahi armies by yourself."
"You two will only get in my way, and I've handled worse," was Hydraxon's answer.
'The feeling's mutual, pal,' Kit thought to herself.
Hahli tried one more time to convince Hydraxon to join forces, but the jailer still declined. Then, deciding to go to Plan B, the Water Toa summoned a riptide that threw Hydraxon back toward her. Kit, however, noticed what the jailer was doing as he tumbled on the ocean floor. "Hahli! Mo--" she called, but was cut off as the blast struck a few yards away from their position. Toa and girl were hurled through the water and crashed against the ground with such force, they were knocked out. Meanwhile, Hydraxon regarded the fallen forms with annoyance as he stowed away his blaster and disappeared into the shadowy waters.