Lopek woke up, but he quickly wished that he hadn't as breathing into his face was a Visorak with glistening pincers, nibbling around the cocoon wrapped tightly around his torso. Lopek in a frenzied panic tried to spin his way out of the cocoon, but failed to do so. His mask was off. Looking around, he found it on the floor about 10 feet beneath him. Upwards was a cave ceiling to which he was tied, and Visorak were scurrying about. In a row were the other Toa, hanging from the ceiling with their masks off. Lopek hadn't paid any attention to it before, but he noticed that everyone's eyes were the same color as their armor.

Lopek's shaking had shocked the Visorak which traveled up his body and joined the flow on the ceiling. Lopek wanted to call out to his buddies, but didn't dare make a noise. Who knew what the Visorak might do to him. So Lopek kept looking around. The main cavern they were in was about 15 feet tall, and overall a square with sides of 20 feet. If it wasn't a cave, it would have reminded Lopek of Stohn's tent, but a little larger. Behind the row of Toa was an entrance where Visorak traffic was congested and dying lightstones were buried into the wall. The other end, where the Toa were facing, gradually entered a pitch blackness. The air was cold and moist, and consistently smelled terrible, with defecation being the most prominent. Maybe the occasional glisten on the walls wasn't cave dew.

Air. Lopek closed his eyes and felt the air currents in the cavern. Dull, so they weren't close to an entrance. They were deep underground. But the air moved around thanks to the Visorak's movements and the Toa's unconscious breathing. Lopek gave a push of air out into the blackness and sensed it stop around something in the dark. Was it a wall or something alive? Lopek sent more recon blasts of air into the darkness at different angles, trying to find a wall or creature. The blasts which were more left and right leaning ended up flying far past where the initial blast had stopped. Lopek's face opened in shock. There was something hiding in the shadows.

Working up his nerves, Lopek spoke to the room, "I know you're in that darkness. Can you come out into the light?"

The Visorak stopped when Lopek opened his mouth, but kept moving along and doing their business. The shadows didn't speak back, and the room's silence didn't reach anything above the clacking of pincers against stone. "I know you're there. If you don't want to show yourself could you at least speak?" Lopek asked again, trying to reason with the darkness.

"Why should I?" The darkness responded, with a voice echoing in the room. It was depressed and defeated. It didn't sound like a Rahkshi, or whatever race Witchdoctor was. It sounded like a Matoran.

"Are you a Matoran? You sound like one." Lopek told the darkness.

"How astute do you think you are?"

"More than you." Lopek said, and used a sharp blast of air to cut through the webbing that held him up. Falling to the ground and landing with a thud, Lopek quickly untangled himself and slipped on his mask. He pulled his fists up and entered a guarding stance as Cas had taught him. "You didn't answer my question."

The voice hesitated. "No. I am not a Matoran. But I understand why you think I sound like one."

"How so?"

"Enter my darkness."

"Err…" Lopek looked around surprised. "And if I don't?"

"Our conversation doesn't become elevated. I will remain in the dark and you, in the light."

"Do you not like the light?"

"Light makes one see the mistakes of the world. I have seen enough. I am content."

Lopek was really confused now. "Content? What makes you content?"

"The crimes of the living. Once again I will say it. Enter the darkness and you will see all."

This conversation is getting nowhere, is what Lopek thought. "Fine" Lopek stepped towards the darkness. But not without using wind to lift Cas' mask onto her face. Lopek walked deeper and deeper into the darkness, before he could no longer see his own feet or waist.

Lopek was instructed to stop by the creature. Suddenly, two large orange eyes opened in front of him. Lopek was shocked and a Visorak swiftly sprinted behind him and tripped Lopek to the ground. The eyes came closer to Lopek before all went stunningly bright. Visorak, which covered up lightstones buried in the walls, moved, showering the cavern in light. Lopek saw the beast for what it was. An abomination. Lopek scurried backwards on his hands and started running towards the Toa. The creature ran after him and grabbed Lopek's feet, dragging him to the ground. It lifted Lopek into the air and picked off his mask.

The abomination was freakish. It had the head and spikes of a Rahkshi, but the spikes were longer and more jagged. It had a large, protruding jaw where sharp teeth jutted out. Its torso was large and bulky and had pitifully short wings pop out. The bulky torso was counter-opposed to its lanky arms and legs which were three times too long. Due to its length, the creature was constantly squatting and kneeling, unable to stand up fully. Every limb and every piece of armor was a different color. The creature lifted Lopek so their eyes were meeting. "I am living proof of the living's crimes. I was Ahntor. Matoran."

Lopek was too stunned by Ahntor's appearance to let out a quirky rebuttal. "Take your time to see my glory." Ahntor said.

Behind Lopek, silently, the Toa started to wake up due to the cavern now being encased in light. Cas was the first to wake up and saw the beast. Then she noticed she was encased in webbing from foot to neck. "Lopek!" She shouted, and every beast in the room heard it.

Ahntor tossed Lopek to the ground like a play-thing and spider-crawled over to Cas. "Why are you Toa here? To stop Takan? To stop Heriskax?"

"Yes, actually!" Lopek wearily muttered, while standing up. "We are the Toa Nebula, destined defeaters of Lord Takan."

Ahntor turned around to face Lopek. "Destined defeaters? Destined defeat is more like it! You're better off dead now than to face him."

"Why do you say that?"

"It was his men that made me the beautiful creature I am today. And if you wish to experience a similar fate, I suggest you stay far, far away from Takan."

"No can do," Cas said, using her mask to teleport herself outside of the cocoon, and onto the ground. "We haven't come all this way to stop now."

Ahntor laughed. It was a creepy laugh with too much gasping air and not enough jolly heart behind it. "You haven't come anywhere." Their voice went cold and malicious. "Let me repeat again. If you don't wish for your thoughts to be shared by eight ravenous creatures. If you don't wish to hate your own reflection. If you don't wish to live every waking day and night unable to sleep because some creature doesn't understand what sleep is, or a primal instinct or three get in the way, be my guest. Go throw your sanity, person, and mind away by going to Takan."

"Is that all you have to say?" This voice was Nekora. "It's our destiny to fight Takan. Whether it's our destiny to kill him is a fact for the future to decide. And if you want to get in the way of our destiny, our mission, we'll treat you as a villain… Can someone cut us down?" Lopek's air cuts made quick work of the final webbing, and soon all the Toa were in front of Ahntor.

Hoei nestled in his mask as he spoke, "Ahntor. I don't want to believe you're evil. Just tell us how… that happened."

"Ta-Kyla is close. By it, a creature with the same physique and height as you six called Heriskax resides. There he commits atrocities against life which he justifies as "Experiments". Something to do with the "Barren Life Plan". The volcano there has an odd ability. It can fuse two creatures together."

"Fuse?"

"Yes. I was once Ahntor, a Po-Matoran. Now I share my body with a Gukko, Rahkshi, Skakdi, Visorak, Bohrok, and around six or seven other creatures I haven't identified yet. Do not fall into the volcano."

"Well then." Hoei thought for a moment. "Sounds like we need to stop this Heriskax guy. Any suggestions, Ahntor?"

"No doubt he has an army nearby to protect him. You need to strike quickly, or expect heavy reinforcements. After all, after Ta-Kyla there is only Ko-Kyla."

"And that's where Takan is."

"Indeed."

Visorak came carrying the Toa's weapons on their backs. "Take them." Ahntor said.

As everyone felt their trusted weapons again, Lopek turned to Ahntor. "I have a request before we leave."

"And that is?"

"Can you bring me a Rahkshi spear?"

The six Toa left the Cave of Rejects and followed a trail east, which led them to a great mine. The entrance was surrounded by houses built into the mountain itself, similar to Po-Kyla, and the mine itself was where a mountain once stood, but it had been leveled from peak to ground, and digging down had commenced long ago. A swirly trail went down and around the Matoran-made valley, and heavy cargo elevators were constructed. Cylindrical cages were nearby and after a quick test it was apparent that a creature was supposed to be inside the cage and run inside it, spinning the cage and the connected gears which then lifted or dropped the elevator. The very bottom of Onu-Kyla was a lake where the shards of the Glacier had melted. In the grey and dirty lake were tarps floating about from the camp which once resided. From the mountain houses a path led south towards the plains and then Baror-Kyla, and another path spiraled up the mountains which turned to ashy mountains with clouds of soot hanging above and in the distance snow capped peaks.

"Ta-Kyla next." Tadan said somewhat gleefully.

"Oh shut it Tadan," Nekora slapped Tadan on the back as they started walking. "At least your place is important to stay."

"Oh I think Onu-Kyla has its merits. After all, it isn't the kind of mine you were expecting!" Tadan retorted, and it was true. Nekora had expected something like the Cave, long, twisty, and dark tunnels which were chock full of dangerous creatures. In reality, Onu-Kyla was just an excavated mountain. Nekora wore a smile and picked up a rock. Chucking it down into the lake, he watched tiny ripples appear on the surface.

The Toa continued forwards, following a small trail across the mountains. It soon started winding itself across the peaks, and the rocks took a blanket of ash. The sun was covered by the clouds and the trail went thin, only allowing one person's width. Hoei looked up. Black clouds of ash were floating above, and created an unshakable sense of doom and despair.

"Who's ready to break some skulls?" Tadan asked, gazing deep into his sword.