Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle, but I do own Kit.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, guys. My editor was really slow this time around.

The days passed. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. 'Technically, it's only been about a year-and-a-half,' Kit corrected herself as she sat at her desk. It had been a year-and-a-half since she returned from the Bionicle world. Now, at 18 years of age, she was in the middle of her senior year of high school and taking notes in her latest algebra class. She'd been making sure that things were going smoothly in the Bionicle world by reading the books, though the ones of the Hordika saga still made her slightly cringe because of the memories of that time. Soon after taking notes and getting started on their homework, the kids began to get their things packed so that they could leave as soon as the clock hit the mark.

The bell rang and the teacher announced, "Class dismissed."

Everyone poured out of the classroom and headed either home or to their after-school activities. Kit met up with some friends whose Mom carpooled them all home. Once she got inside her house, she headed straight for the kitchen to look for an after-school snack. She had just bitten into a cookie when she heard a voice call her name in her mind.

"Kit."

'Tehreisha?'

"You are needed back in the Bionicle realm, Kit. I sense that it is under threat of an outside force again."

'What kind of threat?'

"I'm not sure, yet, but it's there."

'On my way.'

"Take care, child."

With a wave of her hand, a portal appeared and the girl jumped in, thinking of how nice it would be to see her biomechanical friends again.

Seven hunched-over figures, the Turaga, were just exiting an Archives tunnel when a light blue light suddenly appeared in their path. They braced themselves for an attack and a figure shot out screaming. Kit collapsed to the ground, grunting as she landed on her stomach. "Gotta work on the landings," she groaned in a winded voice as she picked herself up. Hearing someone call her name, she spotted Turaga Matau, followed by the others, moving as fast as he could move.

"It's so good to see you again," Matau greeted.

"Same here," Kit replied.

'So, this is the one known as Kit that I've heard so much about,' Dume thought, observing Vakama and the others crowd around the girl and exchange fist-punches with her. "Welcome back to Metru Nui, Kit," Turaga Dume said.

"Turaga Dume?" Kit inquired, confused.

Vakama nodded, "Norik and the Rahaga revived him shortly after we left the island all of those centuries ago."

"Thank you, Turaga," Kit hastily bowed.

Even though the Dume that betrayed her and the Toa Metru was a phony, Kit couldn't help but feel a little uneasy around the guy. However, that would have to wait; she had to get busy. "Though, I must confess, Turaga, that my return isn't a pleasure trip. Tehreisha told me that an outside force is trying to mess things up again."

"What sort of outside force?" Nokama asked.

"She doesn't know," Kit answered, "and that's why I'm back." After a pause, the girl asked, "Where are the Toa?"

"I'm afraid you just missed them," answered Vakama, and he and the Turaga told her about the Toa Nuva's mission to an island called Voya Nui, an island where a fabled Mask of Life was said to be located. Kit's eyes widened a bit when the elders mentioned the reason for the hunt for this mask—the Great Spirit, Mata Nui, was dying.

Later, Kit stood on the coast of Ga-Metru. She turned at the sound of someone's approach. It was Turaga Dume. "Heading out?" asked the Turaga.

"The sooner, the better," the girl replied.

Though she tried to hide it, Dume could see a suspicious look in the young human's eyes whenever she saw him.

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"Don't get me wrong, Turaga. I do want to trust you, I really do. It's just . . ."

"I know," Dume soothed as he patted the girl's arm. The Rahaga had filled him in on events in the city all of those centuries ago when they managed to wake him from the spell Makuta placed on him.

"And, there's the fact that you insisted on Takanuva staying behind," Kit pointed out. "Are we sure you're the real Dume?"

"Turaga Onewa has used his mask power to scan my mind as a precaution," Dume replied. "I assure you, Kit, I'm the true Turaga Dume." A short pause followed between the two before Dume said, "I wished the Toa Nuva the best of luck when they departed, and now I do the same for you, Kit. But, with the only canisters we had gone, I can't see how you're going to get to Voya Nui."

"Don't worry, I have a ride," said Kit. "And, here it comes now." Dume looked up to find rotating blue lights descending toward them. "I contacted Tehreisha," Kit said in response to the Turaga's questioning look.

The lights surrounded Kit and, the next thing the elder knew, the girl and the light disappeared in a flash. "Take care, Kit," said Dume. "Perhaps with you at their side, the Toa will stand a better chance at retrieving the mask." The Turaga's thoughts were interrupted by a Ga-Matoran calling to him, something about some Matoran, one from each metru, gone missing. "Which ones?" asked the Turaga.

"Jaller, Hahli, Hewki, Kongu, Matoro, and Nuparu," answered the Matoran.

A grim expression formed on Dume's mask, already guessing what happened considering Jaller was involved. The Captain of the Ta-Metru Guard had proven to be quite stubborn over the past few days, and now he and five other Matoran have disappeared.

In a clearing, a flash of light appeared and blue rotating lights circled Kit before vanishing. "So, this is the island of Voya Nui. It doesn't look so bad," she mused, remembering the Turaga mentioned it was also known as 'the daggers of death'. Spotting a nearby hill, she decided to get a look around and climbed. When she got to the top, the scenery before her took her breath away. Aside from a lush green line along the coast, the island was practically nothing but barren wasteland; the very edge of the coast was either covered in ice or was formed of jagged, dangerous-looking rocks; and a volcano sat at the epicenter of the island. "I take it back," Kit admitted. Further scanning revealed what appeared to be a fortress of some kind at the base of the volcano. "That looks inviting," she said sarcastically, not liking the look of it at all. Then, toward the east, she spotted what appeared to be a village. Deciding that was the best place to start, Kit climbed down the small summit and made her way there, unaware she was being watched.

In a cave in the hills, Garan and his friends were planning their next move against the island's oppressors, the Piraka, when Piruk came running in. "We've got more company," the Le-Matoran reported, and went on to describe the strange being that appeared in a flash of light.

"Where was it headed?" Garan asked.

"Toward the village, last I saw," the spy replied.

Making her way to the settlement proved tougher than Kit originally thought. Jungle plants and vines impeded her progress, making it difficult to walk. "Where's a weed whacker when you need one?" she mumbled to herself. Meanwhile, Garan and his friends watched and waited, hidden from sight. Their plan was to subdue the creature and interrogate her. Garan was certain that she must have been sent for by the Piraka. Suddenly, a pulse-bolt struck the ground just ahead of Kit. "What the--" she wondered, only to have herself interrupted by something grabbing her from behind. Thinking fast, she threw her assailant over her shoulder and onto the ground. She was surprised to find out what her attacker was, 'A Matoran?' Just then, Kit found herself surrounded by five other Matoran, all a little different from the ones she was familiar with, bearing some kind of tool, and, most unusual of all, wearing Great Masks. The Onu-Matoran launched another pulse-bolt, which Kit dodged. A Po-Matoran charged, but Kit blocked his attack with a shield. 'This is crazy,' Kit thought to herself, hardly believing that she was under attack by Matoran. "Hey-take it-easy," she plead to the Matoran while fending off strikes. "I-won't-hurt you." But, the Matoran didn't listen. A Ta-Matoran and a Le-Matoran grabbed hold of her legs, allowing a Ko-Matoran to jump her in an effort to get her to lose her balance. For a moment, Kit almost did, but, as gently as possible, she pushed him off, grabbed hold of the two at her legs, and shoved them aside. The fight continued with Kit either dodging, blocking, or cancelling out attacks with her energy powers, constantly putting herself on the defensive; she refused to fight back for fear of hurting them. All of a sudden, a terrible piercing sound assaulted Kit's ears. Her hands were over her ears in an instant, but it didn't help. She groaned in pain as she knelt down on her knees; it felt like her skull was going to crack. When she fell to the ground, she was barely aware that the Matoran surrounded her and proceeded to tie up her hands, arms, and ankles with rope. Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the sound stopped. Kit noticed that the Onu-Matoran, who appeared to be the leader, was talking to her, but his voice was nearly drowned out by the ringing in her ears.

A frown creased his mask, he came closer, and she could barely hear him say something like, "Hey, do you hear me?"

"How am I supposed to hear anything when my ears are still ringing from . . . whatever you did to them?" she groaned.

With a sigh, Garan decided to give Kit some time for her hearing to recover. After a few minutes, the ringing in Kit's ears had disappeared, and Garan got on with the interrogation.

"Who are you? What are you?"

"Kit. I'm a human."

"Hu-man?"

"Long story."

"Why are you here? Did the Piraka send for you?"

"Piraka?"

"Don't bother trying to play dumb with us," the Ga-Matoran scoffed. "We know the Piraka sent for you."

"And, Miss Congeniality here would be?" asked Kit.

"The name's Dalu," answered the Ga-Matoran.

"That's enough, Dalu," Garan scolded.

Kit tugged at her bonds, but they held tight. "Look, I am looking for someone, but they're not these Piraka you speak of. Now, could someone please untie me?"

"Not yet, if ever," Garan replied as he crossed his arms. "When the Piraka arrived, they claimed they came here with good intentions too, and we paid a horrible price for it."

The Matoran each in turn went on to explain how the Piraka tricked the local Matoran into thinking they were Toa, bullied and threatened them, and, finally, infected a great deal of the population with green, glowing spheres, turning them into obedient zombie-like slaves. Garan and the others were the only free ones left. "Just yesterday, Balta and I saw one of them accidentally fall to his death into the volcano," said Garan. "All of the neighboring Matoran just went about their business as if nothing happened, and the Piraka just smiled cruelly."

'Man, these guys burn me up,' Kit thought after hearing of the Piraka's brutality. "All the more reason to let me go," she said to the Matoran. "My friends and I can help you. They're Toa, and they should be here soon."

Garan, however, shook his head, refusing to budge. Kit inwardly growled; she understood where Garan and his friends were coming from, why they were so suspicious, but it didn't take away the building frustration. How could she get them to trust her? Suddenly, a multi-legged form leaped into the clearing and attacked the Matoran, making them scatter. When Kit got a good look at it, she was disgusted, 'I hate spiders.' The robotic arachnid lunged for Velika, but Piruk jumped from behind. The spider bucked and kicked until it managed to throw off the Le-Matoran, who collided into the face of a cliff. Noticing the Matoran's shredder claws, and that the other Matoran were busy with the Rahi, Kit rolled her way to him and used Piruk's claws to cut her ropes. The spider advanced on Dalu, but the Matoran launched an attack with her tools. Unfortunately, the Rahi dodged, and, being weakened from her failed attempt, Dalu was left open for attack. Using strength borne out of desperation, Kit pulled at the shredded ropes that bound her hands and arms until they snapped and untied the rope on her ankles. The spider pounced, but Kit managed to grab Dalu and pushed her out of the way just in the nick of time. Angered, the spider pounced, but Kit deflected it with an energy ball. While the girl kept the Rahi busy, Garan came to Dalu's side.

"Are you alright?" asked the Onu-Matoran.

Dalu looked in confusion at the human, "She saved me."

"Don't be so sure," Garan warned. "Avak did the same thing, and it turned out it was all just a trick to further gain our friends' trust."

Kit launched another energy ball, only to witness the spider leap into the air to avoid it, revealing Balta. The Ta-Matoran almost didn't get his twin repellers up in time, and the ball bounced off—right toward Piruk. "Oh no!" Balta cried out, realizing his mistake. Piruk, too frightened to move, just stood there wide-eyed as the ball came closer and closer.

"Run!" a voice called, and, the next thing Piruk knew, a tall form placed itself between him and the energy ball.

Not able to summon a shield in time, the only thing Kit could think to do was cross her wrists in front of her face. The ball struck, blasting Kit into the cliff, and Piruk almost didn't avoid it in time. With Kit stunned at the moment, the spider saw its chance and advanced. The girl saw it coming and prepared to defend herself. However, the spider saw the opening it needed and struck out with its leg. Kit cried out in pain and clutched her wound. Almost immediately, she knew something was wrong; she began to feel numb. When she fell to her hands and knees, the spider decided to turn its attention back to the Matoran. Just when it was about to lunge, an energy beam struck the ground before it, leaving a scorch mark. Both Matoran and Rahi turned to find the source and were surprised, to say the least. It was Kit, panting and struggling to stay on her feet. 'Impossible,' thought Kazi. 'Dagger spider venom's enough to subdue even a Kane Ra bull.' Before anyone could do anything, Kit came upon the spider in a flash and sent it flying with a powered up upper-cut. The Rahi screeched, landed, and ran back into the jungle. Once she could see no sign of the spider, Kit finally collapsed, exhausted.

The Matoran congregated around her, shocked. "She fought to protect us, even under the venom's effects," said Balta.

"Plus she saved Piruk and me," added Dalu. "Maybe she is a friend."

Garan rolled Kit onto her back and examined her wound. "She'll be fine, but we need to get her an antidote."

"But, we don't have any dagger spider antivenom," said Piruk.

"Yes, we do," corrected Kazi. "I have some in my home at the village."

"Go get it," Garan told the Ko-Matoran. "The rest of us will get her to the base."

As Kazi departed, the others worked to pick up and carry Kit as best as they could. However, it turned out to be a task easier said than done; even with all of them working together, they could barely lift Kit off of the ground. Kazi met up with them after retrieving the antivenom and helped his friends carry the girl the rest of the way.

"Phew, I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my life," huffed Piruk as he plopped down on the ground. They finally managed to get Kit to the cave and laid her down on a bed of dry seaweed. Velika held up the girl's head while Kazi slowly and carefully poured the antivenom into her mouth. Kit gave a little cough as the medicine went down her throat, but otherwise didn't protest.

After administering the proper dose, Velika gently placed Kit's head down and Kazi put away the bottle saying, "Now, we wait."

Meanwhile, in another part of the jungle, Hakann thought about something he saw earlier. He saw a dagger spider flying in the air. At first, he just dismissed it as a confrontation between two Rahi. However, now that he thought about it, he recalled that there was a slight glow underneath the spider. 'It was attacked by something alright,' he thought to himself, 'but it was no Rahi.' The only beings he knew that could have power like that were either one of the Piraka themselves, which couldn't be possible considering they were all present at the fortress at the time, or . . .

"Toa!" his companion, Reidak, called.

Getting back to reality, Hakann noticed a team of six Toa, all wearing masks and armor he'd never seen before. The next thing he knew, the black Piraka was throwing a rock at the assembled heroes.