At long last, I have made Part 2 of The Mountain. I actually finished this a while ago, but I never got around to posting it lol. Hope you all enjoy!
As a brief recap, in the first part we were introduced to the town of Nuvaniq, the largest Matoran landscape in the harsh and unforgiving highlands of the Southern Continent. The town’s protector, Toa Muini, went to search for the region’s old Makuta, who was assumed dead a while back. While Nuvaniq was unprotected, a Rahkshi attacked the town. The town’s defenders, Blizzard Guard, tried valiantly to fight it off, but could ultimately do little to stop the beast. We left off with the Rahkshi having successfully kidnapped the town’s elder, Turaga Nilak.
Muini grabbed hold of a rocky ledge and pulled himself. Clambering to his feet, he let out a sigh and turned to take in the view. A sea of gray clouds spread out below him, punctuated by sparse ice-coated islands. If the sky was clear, Muini suspected he would be able to see all the way to the northern coast.
After a few moments, Muini turned back around. The peak of Mount Unukkut was flat, rocky, and only a few dozen feet across. Unlike most of the Southern Highland’s peaks, which were painted white with snow, Unukkut’s apex was drab and gray. Rather than snow, the wind-blasted mountaintop was coated in ice. To anyone else, it would seem completely void of anything. Muini, though, knew better, and he walked forward.
One, two, three, four… There you are.
On his fifth step, the sound of his footfall echoed dully. Steeling himself, Muini knelt down and gripped his fingers into the ground. He pulled hard, letting out a grunt of effort. After a few moments, the groan of rusted hinges told him he was in the right place. Just a little more… there! Muini stumbled back as the hatch flew open.
Muini caught himself and knelt down by the opening. Stale, mildewy air rushed out from within, making the Toa’s nose wrinkle. Still, he peered down. The hatch had revealed a vertical shaft leading into the mountain. Rusty ladder rungs descended into it, though Muini could only make out three before the darkness was too great to see through. The fit would be tight, especially with his shield and crossbow. There was no way he was going to abandon either of those on the peak, though, so he swung his legs into the hole and began the climb down.
As expected, the shaft was cramped. There was just barely enough room for Muini to descend with his shield on his back and weapon at his hip, but even then they got caught more than a few times. Nevertheless, the Toa persevered, even as his arms and legs grew tired. Admittedly, he didn’t remember exactly how long this passageway was, and now he was wishing he had just decided to excavate the lair’s main entrance.
Finally, after what felt like ten minutes of climbing, Muini’s foot struck solid ground. Breathing a sigh of relief, the Toa turned around. The shaft appeared to be completely enclosed, but Muini knew that wasn’t actually the case. He shoved his body against the wall opposite the ladder and felt something give. Grimacing in pain, Muini reared back and slammed the wall again. The wall moved back slightly. Once more, Muini slammed his body into the wall. This time, it went flying, landing a dozen yards away with a clang.
Rubbing his shoulder, Muini stepped out of the shaft. Blinking a couple times, he glanced around. The chamber he now stood in wasn’t much brighter than the shaft, but now that the Toa’s eyes had adjusted he could at least make out faint outlines. Huge cones ending in sharp points jutted out from both the ground and ceiling. In the darkness, it was impossible to tell if they were stalactites or icicles. Aside from the spikes, Muini could make out rows upon rows of smooth pillars - stasis tubes, he assumed.
Muini began walking. Save for his echoing footsteps, the entire chamber was silent. It was so quiet that he could hear each breath he took. A chill slowly crept up his spine, but Muini pressed on nonetheless. This was no time to be getting cold feet.
The Toa of Ice kept walking until his foot sank into a hole, making him stumble. Kneeling down, he dragged his fingers along the floor. It was smooth and cold until the ground abruptly dropped into a rough divot.
I’m getting close.
Standing back up, Muini continued on his way. The floor got progressively more and more pockmarked the further he went. The walls, too, became scarred and cracked. Muini realized that, if he could actually make out the walls, he must be getting close to the entrance. That meant close to the Makuta, or so he hoped.
The Toa rounded a corner and had to throw up a hand to shield his eyes. After a few seconds, he lowered it, though he still had to squint. He was standing in a long corridor with a glint of light at the end. Heart quickening, Muini broke into a sprint.
He quickly reached the end of the hall, almost completely blocked by a pile of stone, snow, and earth. A crack in the blockage allowed daylight to seep through.
“No, no, no, no,” Muini muttered as he got on his knees and began shoving rubble aside. There was nothing but more rubble underneath. “No!”
Muini slammed his fist on the ground. The Turaga’s suspicions were right. The Makuta was alive, not buried under the cave-in. And that meant - Muini’s eyes suddenly widened. He left his town entirely undefended. Rahi attacks could be handled by Blizzard Guard, but Makuta attacks were another story. He had to get back now.
It didn’t take nearly as long for Muini to return to Nuvaniq as it did for him to reach Mount Unukkut. Since everything was downhill from the peak, all he had to do was slide down on his shield. The sky was just growing dark as he approached Nilak Gate… but something was wrong. There was no one standing guard, and the gate itself sported scorch marks.
I’m a fool.
Muini unlimbered his crossbow and charged through the gate. The sight of charred, dilapidated houses greeted him. Movement to his right drew his attention and he skidded to a halt. A Ko-Matoran was pulling a sled laden with stone slabs across the snow. Muini’s heart skipped a beat.
“HO THERE!”
The Matoran looked over.
“Toa Muini!” she called back, letting go of the sled and bounding over.
“What happened?” the Toa asked, running to meet her.
“Wethoughtyouweredead!Thevillagewasattacked-theytooktheTuraga!We-”
“Slow dow- wait, did you say they took the Turaga?”
The Matoran nodded, taking a few deep breaths.
“Who’s ‘they’?”
“Some weird robotic creature. I didn’t get a good look at it.”
“Rahkshi…” The word caught in Muini’s throat, escaping as barely a whisper. “Thank you. As you were.”
Muini took off, leaving the Matoran alone. He ran down rubble-strewn streets, passing by Matoran working on cleaning up or repairing their homes. Many of them called out in surprise, relief, or anger, but he ignored them. He soon reached the town square, where Blizzard Guard was gathered. Standing over them on a block of stone was Holoh, her expression grim as she addressed the Guard.
Holoh’s voice drifted off and her eyes caught Muini’s. Her face contorted in anger and she hopped off her podium. Muini braced himself for what was about to come.
“Toa! Where were you?”
“I…” he sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I have no excuses.”
“I did not think so. As you must have gathered, Nuvaniq stood no chance without you. Was whatever you were doing worth it?”
“No. What happened?”
“We were attacked; I do not know by what. Machine which shrugged off most attacks stormed through Nuvaniq and kidnapped Nilak.”
“It was a Rahkshi. Makuta’s son.”
Holoh arched an eyebrow. “Makuta is dead.”
“That’s what I went to check. His body isn’t where I left it. He’s still alive.”
For a moment, neither Holoh nor Muini spoke. Each stared into the other’s eyes, both lost in thought. At least, Muini was.
Where would the Makuta’s new hideout be?
“You cannot.”
Holoh’s words snapped him back to the present. “What?”
“I know what you are thinking. You cannot go after Nilak.”
“I have to. You know that.”
“And leave us alone again? What if that… Rahkshi returns?”
“It won’t.”
“You sound certain.”
“The Makuta is many things. ‘Wasteful’ is not one of them. If he already has what he wants, he’s not going to waste effort and resources attacking us.”
“That is assuming Nilak is what he wants.”
Muini cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“Perhaps he is after you. Taking Nilak was just a way of drawing you out.”
The Toa sighed. Holoh might be right. “It’s not a risk I can take. I can’t just leave Nilak to that monster.”
Holoh grabbed Muini’s wrist. “It is not a risk we can take either. We need your help to fortify Nuvaniq.”
“I trust you.”
“Do not pass your responsibilities onto me!”
“What am I supposed to do? Just forget about the Turaga? Leave him to his fate?” Muini yanked his arm free.
“You know that is what he would want!”
Muini scowled. Again, Holoh had a point. Nilak would not want him to abandon Nuvaniq again, especially not in its time of need. On the other hand… “If I find Nilak, I find the Makuta. That’s the only way to make sure the town is safe.”
“And if you cannot find him? If you spend days, weeks wandering through mountains on wild Mukau chase?”
“I can’t just leave him,” Muini muttered, turning away.
“But you can leave us?”
“I trust you.”
“Muini!”
The Toa began stalking away, even as Holoh called to him. His body was stiff. His stomach churned. Why was he walking away? He should stay here and help with the repairs. He was the Toa protector of Nuvaniq, after all!
But… the Makuta was still alive… and he had Nilak. Nuvaniq would never be safe with that abominable tyrant around. He had to be taken down at any cost.
Holoh crossed her arms as she watched Muini walk away. A cold wind blew through the square, but Holoh was not cold. No, her blood was boiling.
“Captain?”
The Ko-Matoran whirled around. All of Blizzard Guard were staring at her.
“What?!”
A black-armored Ko-Matoran flinched away. “I…”
Holoh jabbed a finger at her, then at Morou, Ilur, and Tiaro. “You four. I will see you in guardhouse. Dismissed.”
The crowd of Matoran quickly dispersed, all of them eager to get to their assignments. Holoh trudged to the battered guardhouse, not saying a word to anyone until she reached the small training dojo in the back.
Picking up a blunt sword, the Ko-Matoran stepped up to a training dummy. The rest of the world faded away; the only things that mattered were the cold steel in her hands and the wooden visage of her enemy. Her strikes grew increasingly wild and powerful, hacking splinters off of the dummy, until finally she took the blade in both hands and, with one swing, nearly cleaved the thing in two. Shoulders heaving with each breath, she took a step back. The sword was lodged firmly in the dummy’s torso.
Letting out a sharp sigh, Holoh turned around. Standing by the doorway were the four Matoran she had requested to see. All of them, save for the black-armored Ko-Matoran, immediately looked at the walls, the floor, the ceiling; anywhere but Holoh’s eyes.
“Captain, I-”
“Auma, what happened? You are supposed to guard Turaga!”
Auma, the black-clad Matoran, took a breath. “He told me to leave him.”
“Wh- what? This is bad time to make jokes.”
“I’m being serious!”
“Explain.”
“I… I don’t know exactly why, but we were barricaded in the temple, and he told me to leave him to the Rahkshi. He wanted me to help the other Matoran.” Auma met Holoh’s gaze.
“And you listened to him?”
“Of course I protested! I told him that I would be staying by his side no matter what. But he was insistent. He ordered me to go.”
Holoh closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. “Fine. Now, Ilur, Tiaro, Morou!”
The other Matoran all stiffened up and looked straight ahead as she said their names. “Yes, sir!” they shouted in unison.
“You were uncoordinated.” The Ko-Matoran walked forward until she stood nearly mask-to-mask with Ilur. “Your strikes were sloppy. When you throw punch, you must stay in stance. Remember your footwork training.”
She turned to Tiaro next. “Analyze your enemy. Look for weak spots. Hit them, do not miss.”
Finally, she looked to Morou. “You need more practice with your glider. Do not rely on element of surprise; you must learn to dodge better.”
Taking a step back, Holoh addressed all of the gathered Matoran. “As elite guards, you must set example for your subordinates! When you are not overseeing repairs, I expect you to train together to fight as team! Understand?”
The three Matoran nodded together. “Sir, yes sir!”
“Good! Dismissed!”
One by one, the Matoran saluted and hurried out of the dojo, leaving Holoh and Auma alone. The black armored Matoran started to leave, but paused as she reached the doorway.
“I promise,” she said, turning back to face Holoh, “I’ll spend every waking moment training to be better.”
Holoh sighed. “I know you will. I can always count on you to improve yourself.”
“And I can always count on you to be too hard on yourself, and to take it out on the others. This wasn’t your fault, captain.”
“It certainly feels like it.”
“There wasn’t anything you could do. Blizzard Guard can fight off Rahi, but that… thing… I doubt even Toa Muini would have made a difference.”
Auma had a point. The Rahkshi had shrugged off all of their attacks, to the point where they might as well have been throwing snowballs at it. Muini may have been able to help, but he alone would not have turned the tide.
“I do not believe we can rely on Muini anymore,” Holoh replied with a sigh. “He is distracted. We must rely on ourselves to protect Nuvaniq for now.”
“I take it you have a plan for that?”
Holoh nodded. “Tell the Matoran. We are not simply rebuilding. We will turn Nuvaniq into a fortress.”
“It’s done.” Auma dashed through the doorway, her footsteps growing quieter and quieter as she ran across the guardhouse.
Holoh returned to the dummy, grabbing the training sword and yanking it free. As she hacked away at it, practicing her footwork and her strikes, she made plans for the transformation of Nuvaniq. A goliath stone wall with parapets and catapults surrounding the town. Watchtowers standing tall around the perimeter. Wooden pikes lining the road into the town.
Nothing was ever going to breach Nuvaniq’s gates again.