Chapter Three

Lesovikk jumped and started to slide down the side of the hills as the rest of the Visorak noticed him and began launching more Rhotuka spinners.

He knew that his old mentor Jovan would not approve of this course of action. Sliding down the side of a hill towards a group of enemies, enemies that he knew nothing about, was not a very good plan, if it was a plan at all.

But Lesovikk had just seen a Matoran killed, and had learned the hard way that if you hesitate for too long, you pay the price. So he jumped into the fray, dodging spinners as he went.

When he was halfway down the hill he leaped upwards and blasted a column of air beneath him to get more lift. At the peak of his leap, Lesovikk unleashed a hurricane force wind toward the Visorak that surrounded the Matoran. In his years traveling the universe Lesovikk had honed his skills and learned to manipulate his powers well. As he fell he directed his gust of wind around the Matoran, missing them, but hitting the Visorak like a piledriver, knocking them back into the Matoran huts.

The gust also slowed Lesovikk’s fall and he landed beside the Matoran, sword at his side, and yelled to the assembled crowd “Get out of the village! Get yourselves to safety!”

Most of the Matoran just stood there, too stunned to move. They had been captured, held in their own village, and had just seen one of their number killed. They had a right to be stunned.

But one of the Matoran, a Ko-Matoran judging by his armor, said, “We can’t get out, they are blocking all the exits!” Lesovikk didn’t have time for this, the Visorak that he had hit were starting to stir. He looked towards the nearest exit and saw that two Visorak were guarding it. He willed a cyclone to form, sucking them up and sending them flying into the air. A few seconds later they came back to the ground with a thud.

“There’s your exit!” said Lesovikk, gesturing at the now Visorak-free passage, “Now go!”

Some of the Matoran still did not budge, but the Ko-Matoran yelled, “Do what he says, move!” They then all sprinted towards the exit.

And just in time, because the Visorak that had been blasted were on their feet again. The Visorak who hadn’t had been hanging back, unsure of what to do, but now that they had regained their numbers they seemed ready for battle.

One Vohtarak charged at Lesovikk. The latter waited until the Rahi was almost on top of him, then quickly sidestepped out of the way. With nothing to stop its charge, the Vohtarak careened into one of the Matoran huts and lay still.

Then the rest of the Visorak attacked, charging at Lesovikk with their mandibles snapping open and shut, shooting a barrage of spinners into the air. It was not that they were very organized, or had much of a strategy at this time. None of the Visorak had actually seen a Toa before, or seen anyone control the wind. But this newcomer was a threat, and nobody had told them not to attack this being.

A Boggarak was next to attack, jumping on Lesovikk and pinning him down, while emitting a loud humming sound. He was able to push it off him with his legs and brought his sword down upon his attacker. Lesovikk then increased the air pressure on one side of a Matoran hut, while dodging several spinners, causing it to topple over onto a small group of Visorak, burying them. He ducked out of the way of another spinner, and jumped to avoid the next one, which burnt a hole in one of the dwellings.

As he was fighting, Lesovikk saw out of the corner of his eye that one Keelerak had veered off and was heading in the direction of the Matoran. He willed a powerful updraft to form, launching the Visorak onto the waiting edge of his sword.

Lesovikk then noticed, to his surprise, that one of the Matoran had stayed behind. This blue-armored Ga-Matoran was peering out from behind one of the buildings, watching the battle with interest.

“Get out of here!” Lesovikk shouted as he stabbed another Visorak and deflected a spinner with his sword. The Matoran shot him a look of surprise, then quickly headed out of the village. However one of the Oohnorak had noticed her and went in pursuit. Lesovikk had just been assaulted by a volley of Rhotuka, and did not see it following her.

The Oohnorak caught up with her just outside the village and pounced. It was the last thing this Visorak ever did.

Then another Keelerak jumped from one of the roofs and spun at Lesovikk, trying to use its razor-sharp legs. In response he used his power over air to send the Visorak flying into two others, piling them in a heap. Lesovikk was on them in a flash and ensured they would never get up again.

Just then he heard a voice. “Lesovikk, stop fighting!” This made him stop short. It was Nikila’s voice. How could she be here, he thought, she was killed along with the rest of my team.

The Visorak used his distraction to their advantage. One shot a paralyzing spinner, while another spat a stream of webbing. Lesovikk narrowly dodged the Rhotuka, but was left unprepared for the webbing. It struck his right arm, pinning down his sword. Lesovikk just barely managed to twist his sword and cut through the web as another Visorak charged, though it quickly regretted doing so.

Then he heard her again, “Lesovikk, please, stop fighting,” — but this time he noticed its source. One of the black creatures was on a nearby roof, and was talking in her voice. This filled Lesovikk with a terrible rage. For one brief second he had thought that she could be alive, but then that was taken away.

With a yell that scared even some of the Visorak, he increased the air pressure around the Oohnorak 10-fold, crushing the creature to death. Lesovikk then charged forward. Two more Visorak fell to his sword, while another was slammed into the hillside by a well-placed gust of wind.

The lead Suukorak watched all this happening from afar. This being, this tall Matoran who could control the air, was proving to be quite a fearsome enemy. What’s required here, it thought, as Lesovikk sent another Visorak flying into a building, is speed and strength. While Lesovikk dodged another barrage of spinners, the Suukorak screeched commands to four Oohnorak and two Vohtarak.

The Vohtarak charged at Lesovikk. As he fought them off, the Oohnorak jumped on him from behind, forcing him down and secreting webbing in an attempt to smother him. The Suukorak had watched Lesovikk fight, and deduced that the best tactic was to strike fast, and strike hard. The Oohnorak were keeping him too pinned down to use his elemental power.

But one thing the Suukorak didn’t take into account was Lesovikk’s mask. He called upon the power of a Lava Eel, heating his body up 400 degrees in a second. The web evaporated instantly and the Oohnorak shrieked in response, quickly leaping away. Lesovikk followed up with a blast of air that sent the Visorak flying.

Then Lesovikk turned his eyes towards the Suukorak. He had noticed how it seemed to be commanding the others. That’s the leader, he thought, that’s the one I need to get.

Lesovikk was tired and his muscles ached. He wanted to end this quickly. The Suukorak was on one of the taller Matoran buildings, overlooking the battlefield. Using his last reserves of strength, Lesovikk bolted forward. He jumped and grabbed onto the roof of one of the huts, using his momentum to fling himself on top of the building. He then ran across the roof, dodging and deflecting spinners as he went, and leaped towards the Suukorak, blasting another jet of air behind him. As he did so the Suukorak tried to let off a spinner. Lesovikk responded by pushing the air around the Suukorak down, slamming it into the roof with enough force to stun it. He landed beside the Visorak and pointed his sword at its head.

“Stop attacking or this one dies!” Lesovikk shouted to the remaining Visorak. They did not understand the words, but they understood the tone and the meaning. The Visorak hesitated, analyzing the situation. They were not fearful of this tall Matoran, nor did they hold much obligation to the Suukorak. But this newcomer had just taken down over two thirds of the Visorak squad in a matter of minutes. They didn’t have the numbers, or enough knowledge about this enemy to know how to defeat him. So the remaining Visorak stood down.

The battle was over.