A/N: And I'm back with something that shouldn't have been this much fun to write. Don't let the premise fool you, as silly as it sounds, this is a serious story. There are a few comedic moments here and there, but they don't take away much. I intended for this to be ~3000 words but I kinda got carried away and… yeah. As the tags say, this is based off/on a dream I had a while ago, and I couldn't get the mental image of Kana and Makuta hanging out together out of my head, so here we are with this. I still don't know what's funnier, the two of them hanging out, or how horribly out of character it was for Makuta not to attempt to control her. Since g2 left a lot of questions unanswered for my pedantic self to get driven up the walls by, plus Fates also has its fair share of plot holes, I had to make up a bunch of bullshit take some liberties. I also took some stuff from g1 and apologize if I got anything wrong. Like the tag implies, heavy canon divergence for Bionicle g2, like Makuta not being evil, he's still stuck in the Shadow Realm though. With that out of the way, enjoy this unusual but still sweet work! If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask!

Kana was lost, lost in a world that chilled her to the bone. This place was a nightmare come true in every way, shape, and form. It was complete and utter gloominess, darkness as far as she could see, everything was a shade of dark with a slight tinge of purple to it.

The land could be best described as a lifeless, baleful husk, drained of any of its worth centuries ago. What little plant life present was shriveled up and leafless.

The sky was dark and only the faint light of dying stars were eked out its canvas, barely standing out from the ever present void.

The ambience was even worse; nothing about this land sounded familiar to her, a low droning was a constant in her ear, drilling itself into her skull and wracking her with anxiety. Eldritch, senseless whispers were carried by the roiling gust of winds. She couldn't see it, but she could hear it in the wind, the faint screeching of monsters, no doubt searching for prey. Sometimes, a great boom of thunder would pierce the veil of relative silence and make her jump.

To put it simply, this place screamed 'evil!'.

Worst of all, Kana couldn't recall anything as to how - or even why - she was here. It was a complete gap in her memory, and she hated every second of it.

She had nothing but her sword and dragonstone for comfort, she huddled it close to her chest and took a deep breath. "Stay strong, you can do this. Stay strong, you can do this," she repeated under her breath, doing her best to suppress the tremor in her voice.

With a slightly firmer resolve, Kana ventured forth into the dark wastelands, those six words never leaving her mind. Maybe she could find help?

There was no help to be found in this nightmare. If it wasn't the land itself seemingly trying to kill her with its haphazard slopes and jutting spikes, then it was the numerous beasts marauding around every recess, waiting for her to let her guard down. The smaller monsters would try to latch onto her face and likely eat it. The bigger ones roared and did all that they could to try and tear her to shreds. Any attempts to fight back proved to be pointless; they'd simply piece themselves back together and continue the chase, hiding was the only way she survived.

The gods seemed to take pity on her, and something in the distance caught her attention. Far ahead laid a great stone bridge, providing a path over an everlasting abyss below. It was ancient and cracked at parts, yet still stood tall. The bridge paved the way to an enormous dark city that loomed even further beyond. The faintest glimmer of hope lit itself in her heart; if there was a city, then there had to be someone she could talk to!

Kana stood at its edge, spooked and at the edge of her nerves. There was a growling-like sound behind her, and a frightened Kana hurriedly crossed the bridge, trading uneven, rocky terrain for smoother ground.

Kana reached the city's entrance where a dilapidated arch stood. Strange glyphs were carved onto it. Their true meaning unknown to her, she guessed it was a welcome of sort. With a slightly straighter posture, Kana took her first step into the city.

The city was of dark stones with bright purple lights emanating from cracks within said stones and loneliness. Pillars were broken yet still standing, forever frozen in place. Its many roads were empty of life, carrying within a whistling wind. At the very least, no beasts prowled its insides and the droning was gone. In short; only a very slight improvement over the outside world.

Kana bumped into a pillar she swore wasn't there a moment ago. Taken by surprise, the girl stumbled and fell onto her stomach with a small 'ow!' as her dragonstone rolled to her side. Kana held her nose and whimpered as she resisted the urge to cry. "Stay strong, you can do this. Stay strong, you-"

"Hmm?" A deep, powerful voice hummed, the ground beneath her rumbled softly under two heavy thuds. Kana felt her blood run cold.

Kana felt the presence of something powerful behind her, she looked over her shoulder and froze from fear, her eyes wide as they could be. She was laying in the shade of a gigantic monster more than twice her size looking down upon her silently, its eyes narrowed with interest.

Its body was seemingly a seamless fusion of flesh and metal. Dark, scarred plates covered most of its body, serving as natural armor. Metallic grey plates alongside gold highlights decorated it too. Two pillar-like legs supported its colossal frame, and strangle symbols were engraved onto its knee pads, made from what seemed to be solidified flames. A highly decorated skirt of sort hung from its waist, dark and gold. Its torso was gigantic, part of it resembled a ribcage of sort glowing a bright, translucent red. What looked to be three faces were dangling from chains running down its torso. At the center of its chest laid a massive golden emblem, rotating clockwise slowly as it was firmly secured by four plates. Behind it shone a red light. Its arms were covered in more armored plates, great claws served as its hands and two blades that made her own sword look like a toothpick were nested upon its left forearm, acting as retractable knives.

But what stood out above all else was the head. Two white eyes, hiding beneath them a red glow, stared back curiously behind a great, threatening mask darker than the skies above could ever hope to be, its shape jutting out in several places as it radiated a menacing aura. Archaic, unknown glyphs were engraved all over the black mask, made visible only by a faint purple glow highlighting the titan's body in its entirety.

To put it bluntly, it was a monster straight out of the darkest, deepest pits of her nightmares. The beasts of before looked like the sweetest of pets in comparison.

The monster raised an eyebrow and loomed over her, "What have we here?" Its voice could best be described as something dark and gravelly, the edge of every spoken word distorted with a strange and scary echo. "I have not seen someone like you before, what brings you here?"

Her previous rationality and resolve crumbled as fear overwhelmed her. Kana uttered a pitiful whimper and hid her head behind her arms. She brought her legs to her chest and curled into a ball, trembling like a leaf in the wind as she awaited the inevitable end.

"Please don't kill me..." Kana whimpered with dread.

There was a pause, "...Kill you?" The monster sounded genuinely confused. "Why would I do such a thing?"

"Because you're a monster and that's what monsters do!" she said quickly, still tightly in her ball.

"You think me... a monster?"

It was Kana's turn to be puzzled at the answer, her position relaxed by the barest of inches, and she sneaked a peak at the monster. It had knelt down to observe her, and she noticed the evident curiosity and slight hurt in its eyes. She felt a pang of guilt.

"My appearance may be fearsome, but I am no beast, little one."

Her eyes settled onto the chains, and fear relit itself in her heart. "Then why do you have faces hanging from those chains!?" Kana brusquely snapped a hand towards the offending chains.

The monster brought its… his hand down and removed an aforementioned 'face'. "These are masks," he said, tapping it to produce a metallic clang. "Though they might as well be our faces," he muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing, little one."

Their back and forth continued for a while, and Kana did not even notice that with every nitpicks she threw, she progressively came out of her ball until she was standing tall. Even then, he still dwarfed her in every way, she'd have to stand on her tiptoes to even hope to reach his kneecaps.

"Will you continue to pick at my every detail, or may I finally speak?" The titan said, mildly annoyed by her insolence.

The sudden harshness of his voice had Kana freeze in place and stare mutely. Interpreting her silence as a 'yes', the titan spoke. "Who are you?" he said, the previous irritation gone.

"...Who are you?" Kana meeped, suddenly finding herself transfixed to the floor.

A snort of humorless laughter, "I am Makuta, ruler of The Shadow Realm and ancient Mask Maker of Okoto, though I no longer reside there," Makuta - even his name sounded evil and scary - answered. "Now, who are you?" He repeated himself once again.

"I'm... Kana," the girl said unsurely.

"Kana of?"

"...Nohr and Hoshido."

"I have not heard of either of these lands. Are you lost, perhaps?"

"Uh…"

"No need to answer, of course you are."

Kana made to retort, but there was a particularly loud crash of thunder, and the girl flinched as she lost her footing and fell on her rear.

Makuta gave a quiet sigh and brought a hand down to very gently run a claw through her red hair. "There, there, little one," he said softly, "No harm will come your way as long as I am here."

For a moment, even if it's just for a second, everything is alright.

She looked up from her seat and Makuta withdrew his hand. "What is this place?" She asked, taking in her surroundings.

"The Shadow Realm, a child like you does not belong here. What are you doing so far from home?"

Kana made to speak, but a sudden low growling of sort cut her off. Kana hung her head low and clutched her abdomen as pain flared in her belly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, that was nothing!" she hurriedly answered.

"...Are you hungry, child?"

Kana vehemently shook her head, but the growling of her stomach betrayed her hunger once again; she was starving. Reluctantly, she nodded, "Yes."

Makuta answered with a nod of his own and stood up, "Then follow me. There is food in my quarters," he beckoned her with a hand as he trudged towards a large temple. Kana followed with hurried steps, and tried not to let her eyes linger too long on the two prominent axe blades on his back.

Kana felt akin to a mouse in a normal sized room; everything was so much bigger to accommodate Makuta's enormous size, yet some smaller if still large instruments laid about for her to use. Despite having the same gloomy appearance as everything else, it also felt... cozy.

After giving her a quick look around, he pointed towards the cooking pot by the fire. "There is stew by the fire, but do not expect the greatest of tastes."

Wooden ladle in hand, Kana reached for a sample and took a whiff before making a face in repulsion. The smell was awful. Still, spurred by her hunger, she brought it to her lips and took a sip…

...Only to immediately regret her decision as she was struck by the most foul of taste in all the worlds. Even Felicia's cooking was better than this poison! She forced herself to swallow the vile substance and retched loudly. Kana placed the ladle back where it was and forced the bile down her throat, coughing at the burning it left. She quickly reached for the nearby bowl of water and gulped it down, anything to wash out that horrible aftertaste.

Makuta offered an empathetic nod. "I know precisely how you feel, Kana; skull spider stew is awful in both taste and smell, I can barely stomach it myself, but it is one of the very few nourishments available in the Shadow Realm."

"Blegh, is there anything else?" Kana said quietly, wiping her mouth on a loose piece of cloth.

"Care for some fruits?" He offered her a large fruit, looking somewhere in between a grape and a raspberry. Kana took it and plucked one off, smelling it before taking a bite. The taste wasn't much, but it was heaven compared to the stew, the texture wasn't half bad either. She scarfed the rest down noisily.

"Do not eat too many at once, I do not know why, but they have a tendency to-" Kana held her mouth as her cheeks puffed, then swallowed with a grimace. She reached for the water once again. "...Induce vomiting if eaten too quickly," Makuta finished lowly.

Kana let out a whine, "Is there any food here that doesn't make you feel like hurling?"

There was a pause as Makuta furrowed his brow in ponder, then softened. "Well... I suppose there is another way, follow me." Makuta headed off from the kitchen onto the outdoor, Kana following closely.

"Where... where are we going?"

"To my forge, I shall craft you a Mask of Power." He answered as he began to climb up the numerous stairs. At the peak laid another great temple, its entrance lit by torches.

"How can a mask help me with eating?"

"You will see, Kana. You will see."

Once at the summit, Makuta took a few measurements of her head and scrawled them onto a stone tablet. Then he procured a sheet of metal and heated it with his staff until it was glowing hot.

"Get comfortable," he said as he placed the metal onto the anvil and reached for his hammer, "This will take some time." He raised it high, and so began the first of many swings.

It was almost comical, to see someone as huge as him hammering away at such a tiny piece of metal. But with every clang that rang throughout the forge, the metal bent and twisted into a new form, one that vaguely resembled a face of some kind, with 'fins' of sorts jutting out the lower parts.

Kana munched quietly on a fruit as she watched him repeatedly bring his hammer down upon the metal which would become her mask with bemused intrigue. She looked around the forge to see myriad tools, crystals, and ores stored about.

An unsure Kana cleared her throat, "Can I take a look around?" she asked. Despite having treated her with nothing but kindness, part of her was still afraid of his fearsome appearance, his deep voice, and the cold isolation of the threatening landscape.

"Feel free to do so, but do not touch anything," came his reply.

With a quick 'thank you!', Kana allowed her curiosity to lead her forward as she observed the numerous miscellaneous items stored about. She started with his equipment, prongs, hammers, the usual tools she found in the forge back home. The further she went, each tools seemed to become more complicated than the last, some even impractical in both shape and size.

She switched to the crystals stacked in their own crates. Each glowed one of six colors, red, blue, green, yellow, purple, and white.

The reds were warm even at a distance, she reached out to touch one but Makuta's words rang through her head, "do not touch anything."

The air surrounding the blues felt damp, and smelled faintly of rain.

The green ones seemed lively, they gave off an aura of… Some kind of forest, she couldn't quite get the hang of it.

The yellow crystal felt dry and gave off an impression of aridness. Like deserts.

The purple ones felt… enclosed, a little damp even, yet they had a charm of their own.

Last but not least, the whites were a polar opposite of the reds, emanating a chill she could feel even from where she stood.

The next thing that caught her attention was a series of stone tablets, strange runes scrawled into them, next to imagery of masks. Instructions, maybe? Adjacent to them was a large collection of molds, inside each the design of a mask that varied from mold to mold. Some were big, others small. Some simple, some that could best be described as a convoluted mess.

A question crept into her head, and Kana returned to where the clanging came from. Makuta acknowledged her return with a small nod, he was still working on the mask with fervent devotion. Its shape had changed into something more pronounced, but it still looked incomplete.

Kana cleared her throat from where she sat, "Uhm… can I ask a question? Mister…"

"Makuta. And yes, you may."

She thanked him with a nod and a hum, "Thank you, couldn't you have just… used one of those spare molds lying around?"

The Mask Maker paused in his work as his head jutted upwards a tad. He looked over his shoulder and silently stared at the girl, his eyes unmoving, yet they seemed either unamused or insulted. Unnerved, Kana walked two paces back.

"Tell me, child, do you happen to see any mold of a mask your size?" Makuta asked, his tone calm, but a hint of stiffness betrayed his apparent offense.

"n-no…" Kana mumbled, avoiding his gaze as she suddenly found her feet far more interesting.

The brows on his mask narrowed a bit, and he huffed quietly before resuming hammering away, "I thought so."

For a while, the only sounds that broke the silence of the forge were the crackling of flames and the metallic clang of his hammer striking against steel. But then he placed it aside and a quiet chuckle left him - sounding more like a dark gurgle - alongside a soft shake of his head. "My apologies, Kana. I did not mean to scare you, I was only teasing," he said, resuming his work. "But you catch on quite quickly, this mask here is needed to create the mold used to cast the true, actual mask."

Kana gave a silent nod and watched as he performed his work. With a final clang, Makuta then quenched the mask and presented it. "The 'frame' is complete, onward to creating the mold."

The mask was stored in a container of sorts and filled with an unknown substance, Makuta lit a fire under it and sealed it shut. "The solution will take around an hour to cure, then the mold will be complete."

"Now what do we do?"

"Now... we wait."

And wait they did…

...Makuta soon made the discovery that Kana was not patient a person as he was.

"Bored…" Kana mumbled as she laid splayed across the outside floor, staring idly at Makuta. "Has it been an hour yet?"

"It has barely been five minutes." Makuta said from his seat.

Kana let out an exasperated, groaning and drawn-out sigh as she rolled to her back. "How can you not be bored here?! There's nothing to do!"

Makuta shrugged, "I am used to 'doing nothing' as you say, and this place used to be far emptier."

Kana raised her head, "far... emptier?"

"There once was a time where this city did not exist. Every building you see, each of their many engravings, all of them were built by me. A recreation of sort of Mask Maker City, with some changes to the designs."

"But, why make it so gloomy and... evil-looking?"

"Had there been any way to change the color of the surroundings, I would have done so, believe me."

Kana lowered her head again and stared silently at the skies above. Their first encounter came to mind, and with it, so did a question.

"What was it like?" She said absentmindedly.

"Hmm?"

Kana sat up, her legs folded. "Your home, Okoto. What was it like?"

Makuta looked to the skies above and gave a deep sigh as old memories came to mind. "The mythical island of Okoto," his voice was low and fond, he raised a hand and shadowy flames manifested before them. Within it formed the image of a colorful island, divided by mountainous peaks. "It was a place of wonders, and beautiful landscapes, separated into six sections, each representing one element. Fire, Jungle, Water, Ice, Stone, and Earth. Each tribe lived in harmony, and peace reigned across the land." Though Kana could not quite see it, Makuta was smiling behind his mask.

The island puffed away, replaced by two figures standing side by side, wearing golden armor and intricate masks. "Two brothers, known as the Mask Makers created Masks of Powers from the elements. I wore the Mask of Control, and Ekimu, the Mask of Creation." The revelation that he had a brother had the girl even further intrigued, and she leaned forward.

"We provided the islanders with many masks to suit their needs, and we were respected as equals."

"You have a brother?"

"Had. That was many, many years ago," he said.

"Oh..." Kana pursed her lips and looked away, "I'm sorry."

"It is fine."

"Do you miss him?"

There was a short pause, "A little," he said lowly then shook his head, dismissing the flames. "Enough of my world, tell me about yours."

Kana made a noise of assent and sat straight. "I don't remember the name of the continent, but it's separated into two; Nohr, and Hoshido."

The girl explained in vivid details all she knew, of Nohr's poor crop yield and decadent court, in sharp contrast to Hoshido's bountiful fields and peaceful nature. How Nohr's cruel king Garon declared war and invaded the other kingdom and how her father was uniting both worlds to fight the true, hidden enemy. Try as she might, she could not hide the longing in her voice.

"It is… unfortunate that you live a life riddled with danger at every corner." Makuta lamented, aware of his own hypocrisy.

"It's not so bad, I have my friends and family to protect me! Plus, I'm stronger than I look!"

"Nevertheless, one should never grow up so close to the field of battle." Makuta shook his head in abject disapproval.

A little uncomfortable from the subject, Kana decided to change it, "How far do you think our worlds are from each other?"

"Tell me, have you ever once heard of Okoto before? Of an island occupied by beings both biological and mechanical?"

She shook her head, "No, not until today."

"Hmm, how are the people of your world? Are they too only organic as you are?

"Yes, I mean... not all of them? There's some Golems and Faceless around home, but they're not… alive like us, they're made."

"Then Okoto is very far away from yours," Makuta ultimately deduced.

She scratched the back of her head then giggled faintly, catching Makuta's attention. "Heehee, I should've put two and two together; it's called 'the mythical island of Okoto' for a reason!"

A hearty chuckle escaped him - by far the most emotive he'd been so far in her stay here. She could tell he was smiling beneath the mask.

Another question came to mind, "How did you end up here?"

And just like that, the smile was gone. Makuta remained silent in ponder as he turned his head and looked elsewhere. "Can you keep a secret, Kana?" He asked.

Kana gave a firm nod, "Uh-huh, I'll tell no one, I promise."

"Very well," his eyes returned to hers. "It was a sacred law that no mask could ever contain more than two elements, or else they would become too strong and dangerous. Out of curiosity, I broke that rule in secret, and experimented in many forsaken masks to sate my ever-growing curiosity. Once the Mask of Ultimate Power was forged, it remained stashed away in my airship. But curiosity ultimately triumphed over my conscience, and I put it on."

"What happened next?" Kana breathed as she sat at the edge of her seat.

"Its power proved to be... overwhelming, it was far too powerful for me to wield and nearly took control over me. In that instant, the island began to shake, and crumble. In a moment of lucidity, I knocked it off my face." Makuta mimicked swinging a hammer upon himself, and Kana winced, swearing that she heard a great 'THWACK'.

"Weakened by the blow, the mask could not contain the power of six elements, and collapsed onto itself. A vortex swallowed me whole, and when I came to, I was in the Shadow Realm, changed into what you see now. Perhaps, had I crafted it out of envy rather than curiosity, the power might have affected me differently."

"What happened to Okoto?"

A deep sigh, "I… do not know. I fear my actions may have caused severe damage to it as a whole."

"And the airship?"

"Destroyed in the blast, unfortunately," he said, "Now, how did you end up here?"

"I was..." she frowned, her brow creased in focus. "I was..."

Kana leaned her temples against her hands as she mentally tugged and pulled for an answer. She could almost see it, reach out to it even. But it would always slip through her fingers and slither back into the corners of her mind.

"I... don't know..." she mumbled lowly, hanging her head low in shame. Makuta had disclosed to her his terrible mistake, and she couldn't even remember how she ended up here. She mumbled an apology and shook her head.

A faint laugh, and a claw delicately ran through her hair, "It is fine, Kana. Do not worry."

Their conversation continued, and before Kana even noticed, an hour had passed.

"The mold should be ready, let us go."

Back at the forge, Kana took her usual seat as Makuta proceeded to open the container and extract from it a perfect mold of the mask previously built. He placed it near the smelter, and cast molten metal into it.

The metal solidified in silence, still glowing a bright red. Makuta carefully extracted the mask from the mold, he fetched his prongs and proceeded to quench the metal in a tub of water where it produced a loud sizzling. He retrieved the steaming mask and, as he placed it at the table before her, it produced a final prominent clang.

"The mask has been crafted, it is now yours to wield."

Without a word, the girl took the mask in her hand and inspected it. Its color was a white-gray almost identical to her own outfit, and its eyeholes seemed to return her stare, spurring her to put it on.

Kana placed the mask onto her face, only for it to abruptly fall off, she deftly caught it and tried again, with the same result. She fumbled with the mask, no matter how hard she pressed it to her head, it just wouldn't 'click' and stay in place. With a frustrated groan, Kana held it out to Makuta with her head hung low. "I can't get it to stay in place..."

"Some adjustments are required, I see."

Mask in hand, Makuta walked out of sight. There was a short series of loud noises, and when he returned, a few leather straps had been put in place behind the mask.

"Here, this should make it easier."

The girl placed the mask once more and fastened the straps. Instantly, she felt a surge of power running through her as the mask briefly emanated a slight grey light. Despite its weight and her growling stomach, she felt awake and alert.

"What's happening to me?" she said in awe.

"The mask has granted you its power. This one is known as a Mask of Scavenging. It allows you to drain the residual life force of nearby beings, either dying or dead. A modification of mine allows it to work on food, also." Makuta explained, a bit proudly.

Kana perked up, "Really? That's amazing! But, how do I use it?"

"I believe a proper demonstration is due. Tell me, Kana, are you afraid of spiders?"

Kana frowned and tilted her head, "A little, why?"

"Then it is time for you to conquer that fear." Makuta raised a hand and fired a bolt of shadow energy at the ceiling above her. Kana heard a screech, and something fell at her side shortly afterwards.

She yelped and jumped back, at her feet was the still twitching form of a monstrous arachnid from before, its body resembling a skull baring sharp fangs, four spindly limbs attached to its body twitched weakly.

"Do not be afraid. It cannot hurt you, for it is far too weak. Take it and use your mask to drain its energies, you will feel better."

"A-alright…" Kana stammered, she approached and grasped the spider uncertainly, cringing as its form wriggled slightly in her hold. She stared blankly at it, unsure how to proceed.

"You hesitate, why are you not you feeding upon it?"

Kana pursed her lips and looked away shyly, "I… don't know how to use my mask." She admitted, hiding her head beneath her shoulders.

Makuta raised his head in understanding and gave a slow, patient nod, "I see, close your eyes and focus, the mask will carry out your command. With enough practice, it will become second nature to you."

Kana nodded in kind, "Got it! Okay, just focus…" The girl closed her eyes and emptied her mind, she thought of the mask and felt its energies resonate within her. She took a deep breath and called out to it, directing it to the spider in her hands. She imagined herself draining it of its vitality, and the mask followed her command, a low droning of sort drifted in the air, and the spider began to go still.

Something was coursing through her veins, her gnawing stomach ached less and less, the mask began to feel lighter, and she felt more awake, more alert. Kana's pupils widened as she gasped softly, the transfer grew thinner, and she heard Makuta speak.

"Do not allow your focus to waver, else you will need to start over."

The girl heed his warning, and returned to the task at hand. The mask resumed its work, the energy coursed through her once again. The spider went still, and the transfer faded by itself.

Wondering if she had done something wrong, Kana opened her eyes. All that remained of the skull spider was a dessicated husk. She squeaked and dropped the remains at her feet. She punted it away on impulse and immediately jumped in pain as she nursed her aching foot.

A soft laugh drawled from Makuta's throat. "Excellent work, Kana," he said with an approving nod, and she felt a pillar of pride swell within herself. She approached him and wrapped her arms as best as she could around a leg in a hug.

"Thanks, uncle!" she beamed.

For a fraction of a second, Makuta seemed bombarded by a myriad of conflicting emotions, until he settled with a quiet hum and patted her on the back.

"Earlier, you mentioned your wish to return home. There happens to be a way to bring you back to your homelands." He revealed.

A beacon of hope lit itself within her heart, she slowly looked up to him in wonder. "Really?" She said slowly, her jaw began to droop.

"An ancient mask, known as the Olmak, said to have the power to create gateways to different worlds."

Kana scrambled for a plate of metal, intending to stuff it into the forge, only for Makuta to shake his head and tell her off.

"Were it so easy, regular steel will not suffice for the Olmak. We require something stronger, more powerful."

"What do we need to make it?"

"Protodermis, and in great quantity. It is found in the depths, and only in the barest of scraps; it shall take a while."

"How long do you think it'll take us?" Kana said as she turned to the outdoors, ready to bolt down the stairs at a moment's notice as she practically hopped in place from excitement.

"At best? A week, at worst... a year."

Kana stood dumbly as the weight of his answer stayed her feet and struck her like a punch to the gut; they could very well be at this for a whole year. A whole year without either her Papa or Mama. She was no stranger to that; that's how things were in her deeprealm, but at least she had the company of the villagers living there. But this was the Shadow Realm, there was nothing here, nothing other than endless fields of desolate, gloomy wastelands littered with monsters and nightmares, nobody else other than herself, and Makuta.

It was far too much to bear, yet Kana did all that she could to shoulder it. Little by little she began to break. Kana held her mask loosely as she wiped her eyes and struggled to keep a straight face.

Makuta picked up on her troubled mood, "Kana? Is something amiss?"

"I'm fine..." she croaked, her lower lip quivered as she shook her head, her eyes stung as tears began to fall.

"No, you are not. What is it?" He said, his voice was low and soft, his concern genuine.

"I miss my home, I miss my friends, and I... I m-miss... " Kana bowed her head as water clouded her sight, "I-I miss my p-papa..." Kana couldn't hold it in anymore, the foundations crumbled and she began to cry. Her mask fell down with a clang. The girl hid her face behind her hands and dropped to her thighs, sobbing.

Makuta looked on with unease as the girl bawled, blubbering faintly about her family. She was scared and confused, far away from home as one could ever be, in a place someone like her should never be, and in desperate need of her parents. Finally, he could endure the sight no longer and knelt down as dormant paternal instincts took over. He gave Kana the barest of pat and she looked over her shoulder, red-rimmed eyes overflowing with tears settled onto his. Makuta silently held out his hand, and Kana accepted his offer, climbing into it without so much as a word.

The earth beneath him shifted into a seat, and Makuta sat down. He kept the girl in his clutch as she held onto his armor and cried softly, the sound echoing throughout the emptiness of the forge. A pang of sadness rang through his old heart, and with it came an epiphany; I must return Kana to her home as fast as I can.

He did not speak, instead brushing her hair softly in a comforting manner. The crying eventually petered out into faint sniffles, then soft breaths; Kana was fast asleep, having snuggled as best as she could into his hold, clutching a claw like a doll. She needed this sleep.

Slowly, glacially, Makuta hoisted himself up and made his way home. Each step a deliberate effort to make as little noise as possible, lest she stir from her slumber.

Once home, Makuta laid the girl onto the mattress with utmost care and draped the covers over her. For a while, he remained still and simply watched her sleep soundly. Part of him wished to wipe away her tears, but he also did not wish to disturb her. Thus, Makuta silently slid out of his room and headed to his kitchen. He scrawled a message onto a stone tablet and laid it flat on the table, her mask lying adjacent to a recently killed skull spider.

"Follow the marks to find me."

Back at the forge, Makuta placed the mold of the Olmak in place, and made sure his other tools were well in place. Preparations were complete. Staff in hand, Makuta marked the stone floor with a series of scratches as he headed off to the depths, fully intending on starting the excavation for the prized ore.

Kana stirred awake, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she didn't remember falling asleep, or even going to bed. She looked around drowsily at the dark stone walls in her torpor.

Dark stones.

Kana quickly shook herself awake, she was still in the Shadow Realm, she must've fallen asleep after tiring herself out with all that crying, and Makuta had subsequently put her to bed.

With a quick stretch, Kana hopped off the bed and into the kitchen, finding her mask next to a stone tablet and a dead spider - she cringed in repulsion, still creepy. After finishing her 'meal', her eyes settled on the tablet and its message.

"Follow the marks to find me."

Stepping outside, Kana followed the series of scratches as they led her down a series of stairs and slopes as she descended deeper and deeper into the underground beneath the city. The myriad tunnels were first lit by torches, then by glowing crystals, all the while a constant whirring bounced off the walls. The path branched numerous times, but she never strayed from the scratch marks.

She reached Makuta to find him, staff in hand, drilling at a wall. A series of tool were next to him as well as a large crate containing a few pinpricks of a golden substance.

"Uncle?" She called out quietly, unsure if she could even be heard over the noise. His staff ground to a halt as he looked behind himself and visibly relaxed.

"There you are, sleep well?" he said, voice bouncing off the walls.

"Uh-huh, what do we do?" She said, cutting straight to the point.

"I shall dig a tunnel that will progressively lead us deeper and deeper, and you will search through the rocks for any pinpricks of Protodermis you may find. As I have said before, it is only found in the deepest sections, but we may stumble across the occasional deposit if we are lucky. Are you ready?"

Kana gave a determined nod.

"Then let us begin."

"Let's go!"