Another day passed without much incident. Or was it hours? It was hard to tell whether it was light or dark out in a tunnel. "Can we please take a rest-break?" asked Matau, who was starting to lag behind. "My feet hurt."
Kit looked back at the group. She was fine and preferred to keep going, but she could tell that the others were beginning to tire. Figuring that since they managed to get as far as they did, she conceded. "Alright, we'll take a ten minute break, and then we keep going." All of the former Toa sat or slumped down, thankful for the rest.
Although, after five minutes had passed, Whenua got up. "I'm going to go a little further to see what I can see," he said.
"Ok, but don't go too far," said Vakama. "Stay where we can see you."
The Onu-Matoran nodded and walked a little ways down the tunnel, his green eyes glowing like small beacons. Suddenly, he disappeared with a shout. The others were on their feet in an instant, with Kit in the lead. She saw the hole in the ground almost too late and flailed her arms as she teetered on the edge. She would've fallen if Matau and Nokama hadn't grabbed her legs, helping her regain her balance. While Nuju attempted to use his scope, Vakama called to the missing Matoran. "Whenua! Whenua, are you alright?"
"Check it out," came the reply, and the others looked at each other in confusion.
Kit landed on her feet with a grunt and found Whenua standing off to her right and the rest followed. "Are you ok, Whenua?" Nokama asked. The former Toa of Earth nodded an affirmative and pointed down the path. At the end of the tunnel, there seemed to be some kind of aura that made the exit look dark and treacherous, and there was a sense of evil that they could all feel.
"Do we continue that way?" Whenua asked Vakama.
The Ta-Matoran nodded, somehow knowing that they were going the way his vision showed. Matau, however, was still pretty worn out, so Kit let him climb on to her back and carried him. As they walked toward what the girl personally dubbed the 'Forbidden Zone', Kit found herself really hoping they wouldn't have to make camp in there; she did not like the feel of it at all, and for good reason—they were getting really close to wherever Darcius was. It was because of that that the team felt like they had to keep their eyes and ears open and their legs ready to run. Though they couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, they all had the suspicion that something was watching them from the shadows ahead, which Kit bet wouldn't be far from the truth if that were the case. Finally, they came to the exit where a vast cavern loomed before them. A chill ran through their bodies as they entered. "And I thought the power Makuta wielded was bad," Kit commented.
"Guys, come here," Onewa called from a cliff.
The others joined him and saw a sight below that made them stop in their tracks. There, in the middle of a small expanse of ground below, a ring of pedestals was set, and off to the side of the expanse was a deep chasm that emanated an orange light. Using his scope, Nuju determined that atop the pedestals were the orbs that contained their Toa powers. Although, what bothered them the most was, other than the spiked terrain that surrounded the level area, there didn't seem to be anything to stop anyone or anything from taking the orbs.
"What do you think?" asked Whenua, even though he already knew the answer.
"We don't have a choice," Nokama pointed out. "If we're going to reclaim our powers, we have to go down there."
Kit let Matau slide off her back as she gazed down. "Nuju, can you scan the area and see if you can spot anything?" she asked.
The Ko-Matoran's scope whirred as he zoomed in his vision and examined the surrounding area very carefully. A few moments later, he reported, "There's nothing to hinder our progress toward the orbs."
"Then let's go," said Vakama.
Darcius stiffened for a brief moment, his senses on the alert. He could feel the presence of the former Toa Metru and the girl that accompanied them nearby. 'So, they've come to reclaim their powers, aye?' he said to himself, slightly surprised. Then, his lips formed a little smirk; they were not a threat, not anymore.
Despite the luck they'd had so far at getting across the jagged landscape, Kit and the Matoran tried not to get their hopes up. Getting into the open area was one thing, grabbing the stolen powers and getting out, alive and in one piece, would more than likely be another. Suddenly, Nuju, who was at the head of the group at the moment, heard something and stopped, causing Matau to run into him so hard they fell to the ground. The others, though, were able to stop themselves before they could create a pile-up. "Hey, why don't you shout-call your stops--" growled Matau before Nuju's hand covered his mouth.
"Quiet!" he said in a whisper, and gestured for the others to get back around some rocks. Though they complied, they wondered what the white Matoran was so afraid of.
That is, until they saw some kind of bat-like monster show up. Nokama had to stifle a gasp to keep from being heard. The monster, unaware of the intruders, crawled its way up one of the rocks and took to the air, disappearing into a tunnel in the far wall of the cavern. Nuju gave the ok that the coast was clear and the group continued their way on the rocky ground. Finally, after dodging and hiding from more creatures that lurked around, they came to the leveled-out ground and ran for the ring. Just when he was about a few feet away from the pedestals, Matau found himself thrown back by something and crashing into Vakama. "What in the name of--" Onewa started as he and the others came to a halt.
Nokama picked up a rock and threw it. As it bounced off, the shield shimmered purple for a moment. "A force field," she realized. "Guess Darcius didn't leave them unprotected after all."
'Now how are we going to get to the orbs?' Kit thought, frustrated. Then, she had an idea and hoped it would work. "Vakama, do you have a weakening disk?" she asked the Ta-Matoran.
Vakama handed the disk to her, asking, "What's it for?"
"Just a hunch," the girl replied, and walked a little way's. 'Please have this work?' she silently prayed as she prepared to launch the disc like a Frisbee.
With all of her strength and control, she let the disk fly and ran after it. The disk's weakening power activated just before it hit the force field, its power slightly deteriorated. Kit immediately followed with a powered up double-punch. The shield shattered under the combined powers of the disk and Kit's fists, and the team seized their chance. Unfortunately, they just managed to grab the black one, Whenua's orb, when purple bolts flew over Kit's head, who just barely dodged them.
"I must admit, I'm rather surprised that you managed to down my shield," Darcius announced as he stepped into view, "but, this is the farthest you go."
"We'll just see about that," Kit replied defiantly.
"Kit, this is not the time to be goading him," Nuju said through clenched teeth, remembering what happened with Nidhiki.
"Who's goading?" the girl asked, and Darcius unleashed a fury of bolts.
After dodging them, Kit gave the orb to Whenua, switched into her Toa armor suit, and unleashed an energy ball, Dragonball-style. Though Darcius was able to put up his hands to block it, the golden-yellowish ball still sent him back, his feet forming small trenches in the ground. Minutes that felt like forever passed, and Kit was still fighting Darcius by herself. "C'mon Whenua," she called to the Onu-Matoran. "Get powered up and give me a hand, will ya?"
"I'm trying," Whenua responded, "but nothing's happening."
Due to her confusion, Kit almost didn't raise an energy shield in time to save herself from Darcius' hand, which was glowing purple. "Hand me back the orb, child, and I'll make both yours and your friends' deaths quick and painless," he tried to barter.
"Forget it!" Kit declared, and forced him back with a shove.
Their eyes met, and it was then that Darcius saw something strange, yet familiar. "Those eyes, that spark in them and as clear as crystal," he said quietly, then, his eyes widened as the realization hit him like a fist. "Are you a First One?!" A battle cry as she charged at him with her hand glowing was Kit's answer. She thrust her hand forward to punch him, but Darcius simply grabbed it in his own hand to stop it. "This changes everything," he mused. Seeing Whenua, he threw the girl to the side and launched his energy bolts at the Onu-Matoran. With no thinking involved, Kit reflexively fired a ball to intercept the bolts. It worked, but it also blew the Matoran into the backwall and some rocks buried him.
"Whenua!" Nokama called out.
"No!" Kit shouted, not sure of which was worse, the chance that the team was now short one Toa, or the fact that she was partially responsible.
Hearing Darcius' laugh, she turned her full attention to him. "Try laughing this off," she growled as she formed her hand into a gun-like shape. A narrow, concentrated beam of energy shot from her index finger like a bullet and it connected with Darcius' shoulder. With a cry of extreme pain, he went down on his knees, clutching his wound. Kit, meanwhile, gaped at her handiwork; what she did was totally unplanned, yet it worked. "Cool," she said, then a rumbling sound was heard. The pile of rocks exploded, and emerging from it was--
"Whenua-brother!" Matau exclaimed. "You're bright-alive, and a Toa-hero again!"
"I am?" the black Toa asked.
"See for yourself," Kit said, tossing him the blue orb.
Whenua caught it and discovered that the others were indeed right when he saw his reflection. Seeing that Darcius was beginning to get back on his feet, the group decided that there would never be a better time to make tracks.
"But the other power-orbs," said Matau as he stole another glance at the green one.
"We'll have to come back for them later," Whenua said and he picked up the Le-Matoran.
Darcius, due to his wound, could only watch as the team ran off with another orb in their possession. "Stop them!" he shouted. Almost immediately, a chorus of screeches sounded from the tunnels in the wall and about a dozen bat monsters poured out. They had heard their master's command both verbally and mentally and searched for the intruders. Finally, one spotted them among the zone of jagged rocks and called to its brethren. Within moments, the creatures descended on the heroes like a black cloud.
"Keep moving!" Kit called to the others, seeing the monsters coming. However, they weren't fast enough and the creatures were upon them. Nokama gave out a cry when one plucked her up in its talons and turned in the direction of the open area. Matau, thinking quickly, jumped off as high as he could from Whenua's shoulders and hitched a ride on its back. Then, he wound a length of rope that he borrowed out of the Earth Toa's pack into the monster's mouth and, as if it were a bridle, he pulled back hard on both ends. The creature felt the uncomfortable pressure on the corners of its mouth immediately and reared its head back with a roar. While Matau tried to stay on and maintain the pressure, the creature tried to stay aloft and get him off of its back while keeping its grip on its Ga-Matoran captive.
"Put her down," the Le-Matoran rider commanded, "and I'll let you free-go."
When the bat monster didn't comply and tried to fly away, he forced it back by applying more pressure. This caused the creature to rear up in a vertical position, thus causing Matau to slide off his seat and hold onto the ends of the rope to keep from falling. This, in turn, applied even more pressure on the creature's jaws and it roared in agony as the pain became intense enough to make it let go of Nokama. Matau let go and grabbed hold of her as they fell, and turned his back toward the ground just before they hit, taking the brunt of the fall. Though the fall wasn't very high, it still wasn't comfortable to have someone else falling on top of you either, as the Le-Matoran discovered.
Once she regained her senses, Nokama got off of him and said, "Thanks, Matau."
"You're much-welcome," Matau replied, slightly winded, as he sat up holding his stomach.
Meanwhile, the bat monster that he just wrestled with managed to spit out the rope in its mouth and glared at the green Matoran. With its teeth bared, it dove with the intention of ripping the little one to shreds. However, an energy ball knocked it off course and, instead, sent it for a crash landing to the ground. Kit and Whenua worked both together and individually to fend off the monsters and protect their friends; Kit with her energy attacks and Whenua with his earth powers. "Whenua, try your mask power," Kit suggested. The Toa of Earth activated his mask and the beam of light shone right in the faces of the creatures, blinding them. While the monsters closed their eyes and shook their heads in an effort to get their eyesight back to normal, Whenua and Kit nodded to each other. Whenua made hands of earth sprout out of the ground and used them to grab some of the creatures and fling them away, while Kit activated her rocket pack and sent the rest of them packing with powered up punches. Once it was confirmed that everyone was present and ok, the group went to the only place they could think to go to—the tunnel entrance to the cavern.
Darcius frowned. His bat creatures came back empty-handed and temporarily blinded; they had let the girl and the Toa Metru get away and with a power orb. However, he would deal with them later; he had more important matters to tend to right now. For one thing, he knew they would, sooner or later, make another attempt to get more, if not the rest, of the orbs. That meant he would have to take some steps to make sure that never happened. Second, the young human now troubled him more than ever. As much as he didn't want to believe it, it was the only possible solution. She was of the First Universe, he was sure of it. Still, it left some questions: How did she get here? Why was she here? And, where did she get that kind of power? A thought crossed his mind about some certain stories he had heard, but he brushed it aside. They were just stories, no more, no less.