Chapter Nine

Lesovikk and Kualus walked down the narrow pathway leading back to the village, as light slowly came back to the world. They had stayed up on the platform all night and had taken turns to watch, though Kualus had slept a bit more than Lesovikk.

When they arrived at the village, Lesovikk went to look over his new boat. The two woodcutters, a Le-Matoran and an Onu-Matoran, had obviously only made small fishing boats before, but had tried their best to widen the design to accommodate a Toa. The boat was bent and warped, but looked seaworthy. Lesovikk then went back to the village center and spoke to all the Matoran one last time.

“Now, the Rahi don’t look like they’re coming back,” he said to the assembled crowd, “but there could be other dangers someday. I would recommend that some of you train as fighters to defend your village against anything that might threaten it. Goodbye, and best of luck to you all.”

“Please, can’t you stay any longer,” said a Ko-Matoran, “you could help to train us to defend the village.”

“I am sorry, but I am not going to change my decision,” Lesovikk replied.

“Well, best of luck with whatever you are going to do,” said a Le-Matoran.

“Thank you,” said Lesovikk. With that he turned away from the crowd of Matoran and left the village center.

He grabbed his boat along with a small amount of supplies and walked to the southern part of the island. Despite its rocky shore this was where the island’s small dock was located. Kualus followed him down and watched as he placed his boat in the water.

“Well, this is it. Goodbye Kualus,” said Lesovikk as he turned to look at the Matoran.

“Goodbye Lesovikk, and thank you, for everything.”

“No, thank you,” Lesovikk replied, “thank you for believing in me when I didn’t.”

Kualus smiled and gestured at the boat, “You are wasting valuable wandering time.”

Lesovikk gave him a half smile and clambered into the boat. He pushed off with the oars and started rowing out into the Silver Sea. Kualus waved behind him and started walking back up the hill.

That was when Lesovikk heard the sound.

A low-pitched buzzing, as if some Nui-Kopen were nearby, getting louder and louder. Then it stopped, and Lesovikk heard a roar. A powerful, terrible, roar that sent chills through him. Next came the sounds of rock crumbling, the screams of Matoran, and the low call of a shell horn.

The Rahi Nui had come.

Lesovikk turned his boat around as the horn sounded again. Feeling that it would take him too long to row back, he instead released a huge blast of air behind him. The sea sprayed up as the boat was sent flying forward. When he got close to shore Lesovikk jumped from the small craft and landed skillfully on the rocks. The boat was smashed to pieces, but Lesovikk didn’t notice as he bolted up the hill.

Kualus was already on the hilltop, a look of horror on his face. One glance told Lesovikk why. On the ridge of hills across from them was an enormous Rahi, which was now sliding down towards the village. It had the large head of a Kane Ra bull, with horns just as sharp. Its body and hind legs were those of the swift Muaka cat, and its strong front arms were those of a Tarakava. On its back were the wings of a Nui Rama, only much larger, and its tail was that of a Nui Jaga scorpion.

An inexperienced being might have just stood there in shock, but Lesovikk was not inexperienced. He turned to Kualus.

“I need you to get everyone out of the village. Lead them through the west passage. Once you get to the forest, turn right and head for the beach. Got it?”

“Yes,” said Kualus, looking Lesovikk straight in the eye.

“Then hang on tight!” With that Lesovikk picked Kualus up and hoisted him onto his back, then jumped and started to slide down the side of the hill. When they were halfway down, Lesovikk released a powerful blast of air beneath their feet, sending them flying up. Kualus for his part didn’t yell, but gripped Lesovikk as tight as he could.

As they fell, Lesovikk released a second blast downwards to slow their fall. He landed on his feet and shouted to the Matoran, “Get out of here!”

Kualus jumped off his back and started to lead everyone out of the village as Lesovikk ran towards the creature. The Rahi Nui was now at the bottom of the hills and had smashed its way through the village wall. As it barged into the village, it shattered two of the smaller huts into pieces.

When he was sure the beast had noticed him, Lesovikk ran to his right, away from the Matoran.

As he ran he heard Kualus shouting, “Everyone get out of the huts! Come this way!” Lesovikk’s plan seemed to have worked. The Rahi Nui was no longer interested in the Matoran. It had spotted its preferred prey. Unfortunately, this meant that the Rahi was now barreling down on him. It smashed its way through another hut and extended its neck towards Lesovikk, its mouth open wide. He jumped out of the way, whirled around, and struck its neck with his sword. The beast roared with pain, but would not be so easily defeated.

It whipped its head towards Lesovikk and barely missed stabbing him with its horns. What it did manage to do was fling him towards one of the huts. Lesovikk hit it hard, causing its wooden construction to break apart. He staggered to his feet as the building collapsed behind him.

And not a moment too soon, because the Rahi Nui flew up, its wings buzzing, and dived at him. Lesovikk didn’t have time to roll out of the way, so he willed the air to push him aside, just barely getting out of its path. The Rahi Nui landed a millisecond later, its sheer weight shaking the whole area.

Lesovikk was up on his feet before the dust had settled and held his sword before him, willing a cyclone to form around the creature. Yet the Rahi Nui did not budge. Lesovikk increased the cyclone’s power, but still the Rahi didn’t move. The cyclone did have the effect, however, of grabbing two of the huts and bashing them against the creature. Lesovikk thanked the Great Beings that Kualus had managed to get all of the Matoran out safely. The broken pieces of the huts did little damage to the Rahi Nui, but did manage to annoy it.

Then something clicked in its small brain that this bothersome prey might be the cause of the swirling wind. The Rahi Nui charged ahead. Lesovikk tried to dodge, but was hit with a solid blow from one of its front arms, sending him flying. The wind was knocked out of him, and he barely held on to his sword. He landed on one of the huts and broke through its roof, falling to the floor below. Lesovikk wanted to stay down and rest, but knew he had to move quickly.

He flung himself through the door as the Rahi Nui smashed through the building. Lesovikk landed hard on the ground. He looked up to see the beast’s stinger barreling down towards him. Lesovikk rolled out of the way and blindly struck with his sword. It connected with something and the Rahi screamed in pain.

Lesovikk managed to get onto his feet and held his sword at his side. The Rahi Nui tried to lunge at him again, ready this time if its prey sidestepped. However, Lesovikk grabbed onto one of the Rahi’s horns and flung himself onto its back. The creature responded by jumping and spinning, trying to dislodge him. When this did not work to knock Lesovikk off, the Rahi Nui slammed itself into one of the larger huts.

Lesovikk lost his balance and started to tumble off the Rahi, but managed to slash its back with the edge of his sword. The Rahi Nui howled and spun its body. As Lesovikk fell he was caught by the beast’s tail. By sheer chance he wasn’t stabbed by its stinger, but was flung high into the air and flew almost the length of the village. Lesovikk managed to create a cushion of air to slow his fall, but he still hit the ground hard.

He stood up, though his muscles protested, and ducked behind one of the huts. He was tired and sore. He didn’t think he could fight much longer. If it hadn’t been for Kualus taking some of the night shift, he would not have lasted this long. If he fell, the beast would probably go after the Matoran. Lesovikk needed to finish this quickly. He could try to starve the Rahi of air, but he guessed that the creature could find him before it lost consciousness. Lesovikk scanned his surroundings. Hills, smashed and damaged huts; none of these could help him.

Then his eyes fell upon the tallest structure in the area. That might work, he thought as a plan formed in his mind. It required a lot of luck, was quite risky for himself, and would completely destroy the village. The village is mostly destroyed already, he thought grimly as he looked around. The Rahi had not yet figured out where he was, but it would soon. The time to act was now. However Lesovikk needed some way to distract the creature.

Then it came to him. A long time ago he had been experimenting with changes in air pressure, and noticed that when he dropped the pressure quickly he could form a cloud. Lesovikk put his sword on his back and peered at the Rahi from behind the hut, and concentrated. He mentally yanked the air away and suddenly its head was hidden by a thick fog. Lesovikk wasted no time and bolted towards the eastern side of the village. It did not take long for the Rahi Nui to shrug off the cloud, but it was long enough. Lesovikk now had his back against the smooth rock face at the bottom of the stone spire, facing the beast directly.

“Come on, you hideous collection of Rahi scraps!” he yelled. “Come and get me!” The Rahi Nui did not understand the words, but it guessed at the meaning. It was a challenge. Snarling, it charged at him.

Lesovikk counted down the seconds. He would need to time this perfectly. If he had guessed the structure of the rock incorrectly, then his plan would fail. The beast was gaining on him fast. Lesovikk did not move. He just stood there with his arms at his side. The Rahi Nui was almost on top of him, and Lesovikk could feel its breath. Now was the time.

Lesovikk mentally triggered his Kanohi mask and started to fade. An instant later the Rahi slammed headfirst into the tower of rock, its body crumpling behind it.

A second later Lesovikk reappeared, landing face down on top of the hill that overlooked the beach. He got up and saw that his plan had succeeded. The Rahi Nui’s horns were lodged deep into the stone, and despite its best efforts it could not dislodge them. The force of its impact had also weakened the pillar of stone at its base, and caused it to start to lean towards the village and the Rahi. As Lesovikk watched, the tower of rock began to fall.

Makuta Gorast flew over the battle in her Nivawk form, interested by how it swayed back and forth.

The Rahi Nui had arrived at the perfect time. Gorast could have stopped Lesovikk from leaving the island, but instead he went back himself and jumped into the fray. He had landed a few blows, but the Rahi Nui had been gaining the upper hand.

Then she saw it strike the rock. She saw the pillar of stone teeter over and start to fall towards Teridax’s creation. Gorast didn’t think. She just acted. She went into a dive, hurtling towards the Rahi Nui.

Gorast had seen Lesovikk reappear on the hills, but took no notice. She didn’t even think to use her gravity powers to slow the rock down; she just plummeted towards the creature. Gorast reached it mere seconds before the rock hit, grabbed onto the Rahi Nui, and using her last reserves of energy, exerted her power of teleportation on them both. In an instant they were gone.

Lesovikk, however, did not notice Gorast dive down because he was distracted by a voice.

“How did you do that!”

He turned to see that Kualus was also on top of the hill. Without even looking back, Lesovikk knew that the giant slab of rock was now mere seconds from hitting the ground.

“Everybody get down!” he yelled as he flattened himself on the hill, while Kualus did the same. The rock hit milliseconds later with the force of a large Bio-quake, shaking the whole island. The tremors only lasted a few seconds, but the damage was done. Lesovikk got up and brushed himself off. The entire area that had once been a village was covered with broken chunks of rock and pieces of wood. None of the huts had survived. He turned back to Kualus, who was now walking towards him.

“What are you doing on top of the hill?” said Lesovikk.

“I came up to see what was happening,” said Kualus, “but how did you do that?”

“I guessed that if the Rahi struck the rock with enough force, its horns would get stuck, and the rock would fall forward on top of it.”

“But how did you get up here?”

“There’s a Rahi far away from here called a Fader Bull. It has the ability to fade away from one spot and reappear in another, though it can’t do it very well. I could have ended up inside the hill.”

“And you copied its power,” said Kualus, smiling.

Lesovikk looked down at all the Matoran below. From what he could see, none of them had been severely hurt.

“Your plan worked out,” Kualus said, gazing at the center of the hills. “The creature is buried under all that rock.”

The battle was over.