Chapter 2

Kopaka glided along the glacial slopes of Mount Ihu and swept through the cevasses that lined the mountain’s ice fields. The normally-peaceful slopes were trembling with quakes, and with each tremor Kopaka pushed himself to go faster.

But where could these swarms have come from?

Once again, the Toa of Ice found his thoughts returning to one elusive mystery. The island of Mata Nui had never seen the likes of Bohrok before.

If Vakama is to be believed, anyway. Which, considering the depth of his understanding, remains in question.

Kopaka knew the other Toa would be shocked to learn of the Ice Toa’s private reservations about the Turaga. Since arriving on the island, the village leaders had continually provided wisdom and advice that would guide the Toa on their journey. But Kopaka had begun to question whether the wisdom they offered were mere observations owed to their unique perspectives… or if the Turaga were deliberately withholding information.

Kopaka even had a proven example of the latter. As the Toa had sought out Tahu’s levitation mask, he, Gali, and Onua had realized that removing the infected masks of the Rahi was enough to relieve Makuta’s spell of control. But as Pohatu had observed, the Turaga earlier had given him a riddle hinting at the true nature of the infected masks. When he investigated this later, Kopaka came to learn that Turaga Vakama had determined this secret long before.

And then there were Turaga Nuju’s riddles, and the prophecies lining the Ko-Koro Sanctum… Not for the first time Kopaka wondered if he should invite himself to a meeting of the Turaga at the Amaja-Nui.

All this and more flashed through the back of his mind within fractions of a moment. Kopaka crouched and leaped over a large rock and threw himself into a curve that would send any less-experienced skier flying off the mountain.

As for the Bohrok… There is no explanation.

Surely an invasion force as large as Vakama described would have been observed reaching the island when it did. It was true that as the Toa had been drawn underground to combat Makuta, the Matoran had been drawn to the island’s interior to combat the Rahi. Much of Le-Koro’s, Ta-Koro’s, and Onu-Koro’s fighting forces had actually converged at Kini-Nui. This was the only possible window of time where an invasion force could have arrived on the shores of the island.

Unless they descended from the firmament… as we apparently did.

Kopaka spared a glance to the skies, and to the red star that seemed to always hang above the island.

✴        ✴        ✴

Ko-Koro seemed almost peaceful by the time Kopaka reached the village, but as the Toa glided in he heard the horns blare. The Sanctum Guard saluted him as he passed into the gates.

All around the village, Matoran were rushing to prepare defenses. Ko-Matoran were not known as warriors. They were skilled strategists or spies deployed in stealth operations. But evidently they had received word of the attack on Ta-Koro and the swarms making their way through Ko-Wahi.

That or Turaga Nuju just dug up the right prophecy, Kopaka thought grimly. He shook his head, trying to push away his suspicions.

Actually, the sight of the village filled him with great relief. Maybe there was a chance Ko-Koro could withstand the Bohrok yet. The Ko-Matoran construction was slow but precise, and not a piece was installed without deliberation.

The mountain trembled again.

Perhaps now isn’t the time for precision… It’s almost a pity the Le-Matoran aren’t here to slap together some defenses.

Kopaka was about halfway to the Sanctum when he paused and scanned the ice field that rimmed the village. Without speaking nor being spoken to, Kopaka wheeled and made his way past the Ko-Matoran who bowed respectfully and continued. The village was one where contemplation and meditation was prized above all, and great weight was placed on the simple act of breaking silence. Which suited Kopaka just fine.

“Toa Kopaka!”

The Toa of Ice whirled. Matoro was bounding down the steps of the Sanctum. Turaga Nuju stood in the door of the building, watching as his translator caught up to the Toa.

“You’ve received word from Ta-Koro?”

“Then you know of the threat making its way here?” Kopaka asked.

“Indeed,” Matoro nodded. “Although Nuju and the acolytes had half-understood prophecies of these creatures, they were disjointed and disconnected. But around the time you saved me from the Muaka, I found Takua the Chronicler lost in the Drifts muttering one expression over and over again… ‘Beware the Swarms.’ During the Battle of Mangaia, the Turaga and I rediscovered our old prophecies and reminded Turaga Vakama of the dangers the island may yet face.”

Kopaka nodded. It fit together well enough… almost too perfectly. It was as if Turaga Nuju and Matoro had read his mind and seen his concerns for themselves.

The Toa of Ice opened his mouth to reply, only for Mount Ihu to tremble and quake once more, as surely as if Toa Onua were undermining its very foundations.

“The tremors seem to be coming from the Three Brothers glaciers,” Matoro observed. “The Bohrok may cross it to reach the village.”

“I will prevent them from crossing,” Kopaka nodded. “I’ll circle through the Valley of Moss and swing back around here.”

✴        ✴        ✴

As the Ice Toa wove along snowbanks, the relief he had felt to see Ko-Koro safe was slowly replaced with dread. And as he arrived at a peak overlooking the Three Brothers Bridge, his heart sank.

The white glaciers were invisible beneath the fiery red hues of Bohrok shells. Plumes of smoke billowed up, emanating from the collective fires of the shield-like tools they carried. Kopaka had planned to block them from crossing the bridge, but now he did not have to worry about that.

There was no more bridge. One of the most widely-renowned works of Matoran craftsmanship was gone.

Fearful, Kopaka crossed over the peak to the other side. More smoke drifted up from the valley on the opposite side of the bridge, where once-beautiful layers of green moss lined the crevasse. Now they were a scorching heap of black, withered ash.

Nor were the Bohrok content to merely destroy the beautiful sites of meditation. As Kopaka looked on, his hands balled and his face set in a scowl, the Tahnok plunged their shields into the glacier itself, burning away at the ice as if to melt the whole of the mountain. Alone, one Tahnok attempting this would be a joke.

But as a swarm… the very glacier would be gone in hours.

More Tahnok could be observed breaking away from the group and starting in the direction of the largest of Mount Ihu’s peaks. Tightening his grip on his sword and shield, Kopaka moved in.

✴        ✴        ✴

Tahu stood atop the Ta-Koro battlements, studying the lavaplains intently. The combined efforts of the Toa had been enough to stop the initial Bohrok attacks, but now the attackers appeared to be regrouping. And there would be no team to stop them.

I don’t need the team anymore, Tahu thought. These Bohrok will know what it is to be welcomed in the land of Fire.

“The Tahnok are regrouping. The Kohrak have disappeared, but Nuhvok have arrived to replace them,” Jala noted. “And I see the Pahrak forming beyond the second rock formation.”

“Forming?” Tahu asked, startled. “Why aren’t they just attacking?”

“The Bohrok will not be like the Rahi you have faced before,” Turaga Vakama said softly. “Beasts acting and attacking on instinct. The Bohrok are capable of strategies.”

“The Pahrak Va seems to be organizing the Pahrak meticulously. Like a goatdog,” Jala added.

“If they’re goatdogs, that makes the Nuhvok Va tunnel foxes,” Vakama said, pointing. “Look.”

Tahu followed Vakama’s gaze. Small, shallow trenches could be observed as a couple Nuhvok Va rapidly disrupted the ground between the village and ne of the small volcanic hills nearby.

“If they penetrate the rock, they could spill a lava flow into the plains,” Jala frowned. “I’ll organize the Guard and flank them from behind. Kapura and the others will throw disks from the walls. That should be enough to drive them away.”

“Very good. Remember, do not destroy the creatures, for they are not mere machine. They live,” Turaga Vakama warned, “Even if their life is alien to us.”

Jala frowned, considering the best approach.

“No Rahi ever overran Ta-Koro’s gates,” Tahu muttered. “And no Bohrok ever will.”

With that, the Toa of Fire leaped over the battlements, using his Mask of Levitation to cushion his fall. He could hear Jala shouting at him from above, but Tahu knew that it wasn’t the time for strategy.

It was the time for action.

The Tahnok reacted immediately, crawling over the stone obstacles, and while most started in the direction of Ta-Koro, a couple dozen quickly surrounded him. Tahu swung his sword warily, but the Bohrok remained out of reach of the sword. That was until one snapped its head forward like lightning, nearly knocking his mask off. Tahu reeled, catching his balance a few steps back.

“What?” he gasped.

He scowled, and his fire sword blazed to life. A jet of flame erupted from the blade’s tip, sending scorching heat at the Bohrok. The Bohrok raised their fire shields and covered their heads, as if to guard the krana that lay within, but to Tahu’s surprise, the Bohrok Va didn’t seem to react at all.

With a roar, Tahu leaped forward and brought his sword down on the Pahrak Va’s faceplate, splitting it open to reveal the krana beneath. But to his shock, there was nothing. Only the sparks and crackles of broken machinery.

“There are no krana,” Tahu realized, as he continued to bat away the attackers. “So the Bohrok Va… are not alive?”

Just outside the Ta-Koro gate, Jala had seen the fight and made the same realization. But he didn’t have long to process the thought. A loud crack up the mountain slope heralded an explosion of orange lava the likes of which Jala had not seen since Takua had found a Toa stone at its heart. As the lava spilled and rolled down the slope, the Nuhvok Va tunneling along the side hurried back down to carve the rest of the trench.

Jala squinted and hurled a disk that hit one Nuhvok Va before bouncing off and hitting the other. The Bohrok Va raised their heads and spotted the Ta-Matoran. Irritated, they started tunneling in Jala’s direction.

As this was happening, the Pahrak Va were directing the Pahrak in formation toward the village, even as Tahnok Va cleared the path for the advancing fire and stone Bohrok. Thinking quickly, Jala ran into the thick of the Tahnok Va, raising his shield and grabbing another disk from his back in case the Bohrok Va attacked, but his attention remained on the Nuhvok Va who were still burrowing in his direction.

The lava was gaining speed, rolling down the slope at a rapid pace. Now the Nuhvok Va and some Tahnok Va had reached Jala, and a few were swiping at his mask in an attempt to dislodge it. But Jala batted them away. And as the lava spilled into the plain, following the path the Nuhvok Va had carved while pursuing Jala, the Bohrok Va were too distracted to notice. Only Jala threw himself clear of the Nuhvok Va trench in time before the lava swept the diminutive attackers away and rolling right into the Bohrok Va that were clearing the way and directing the attack.

The advancing Bohrok slowed, stopping short of the wide lava flow. On a far slope, a Pahrak Va screeched a signal, and the Bohrok started for the hills, retreating out of sight. Tahu looked at Jala who held his gaze. The Toa had held off many of the advancing Bohrok, while the Captain of the Guard’s strategy had forced them into retreat. Though the approaches of both were quite different, in that moment both leaders recognized the value of the other.

“Let’s get back to the village,” Tahu said, starting back. “The Bohrok will be back, and our people will have to be ready.”

✴        ✴        ✴

In the depths of Mata Nui, in a chamber no light had ever pierced, Makuta stirred. A swirling green and black nimbus filled the underground cavity. Within it, the cold mind of the Master of Shadows summoned his thoughts.

The Toa had dared to confront him in his lair. They had shattered the illusions of the Shadow Toa and overcome the monstrous Manas, the mightiest of beasts. And when Makuta had emerged to face them, they had combined their powers in a powerful attack. But Makuta had succumbed once before to such an onslaught, and he would not let himself fall again. He had escaped, and though the Toa knew him to be defeated, he would let them revel in their small victory.

“The six Toa have joined their powers for the first time,” Makuta rumbled. “They have tasted unity, but they remain fractured. They are no team. No, the reverence showered upon them by the Matoran feeds their egos, leading them away from each other.”

The reverence of the Matoran, he thought. It was not so long ago that their ill-placed reverence led the Makuta down this path.

“The struggle of the Matoran against the Rahi has ended after a thousand years. The Toa have come, and so the Matoran will see what truly lies in store for their island.”

The amorphous form drifted through a crack in the ceiling, emerging once again in a chamber in Mangaia. This chamber lay far deeper even than the one the Toa had journeyed to. A shimmering pool of protodermis lay at the center, and glowing green columns stretched high above. This was his seat of power.

The green vortex drifted to the center of the room, to a powerful armored form that stretched out its hand to receive it. As the nimbus joined once more with its native body, the glowing red eyes of the hulking figure crackled with rage.

On the far wall stood a giant carved image of the face of Mata Nui. As Makuta turned to look at it, he sneered.

“The island of the Matoran will be made ready for my victory, my brother. Your slumber will remain undisturbed.”

With determined strides, Makuta stepped over to a small pillar. Upon it rested a single mask.

“My duty is to the Mask of Shadows,” he purred. As if he were coronating himself, he lifted the mask and rested it upon his head. “For it represents the greatest of my ambitions. The Rahi failed in their tasks. The masks I infected were removed from each. But the Rahi were only one piece in your grand design, brother, were they not? And any tool that was yours is mine as well. I will turn all of your creation against itself. Even the Matoran, like the Rahi, will learn to serve me as they once served you.”

Makuta cast his eyes up, to an island caught in the throes of destruction.

“But for now… Now is the time of the Bohrok.”