The Few Deaths of Makuta Montrox

"Let me tell you a story."

- Åweko, The Few Deaths of Makuta Montrox

The Few Deaths of Makuta Montrox is a Short Story by BZPower and C.I.R.C.L.E. member Toa_Ausar focusing on the demise of the Makuta of Terra Nui.

A Tale of Terra Nui
Åweko resumed his walk down the rocky southern coast of Defa Nui. Typically a Turaga of his age would have been leaning heavily upon their Badge of Office for support, but this was not the case. Instead Åweko’s Noble Semack glowed a dull gray, infusing him with the stamina he needed to catch up with Skhai. The Ar-Matoran Chronicler of the Elid was several bio ahead, having continued on his own when the elder had paused to reflect on the beauty of the Silver Sea. As the Turaga of Moonglow approached, the Matoran bent down and scooped up an object deposited on the island by the rolling surf. Åweko suddenly realized that it was an oddly-shaped, rusted-out Kanohi that Skhai now held. By the time the Elid neared the location of his Chronicler, the Matoran had already removed his own mask and was preparing to don his new discovery. With surprising speed Åweko closed the distance and spun his Hooked Staff, striking Skhai across the wrist. The Matoran recoiled in pain, dropping the oxidized mask, which clattered to the ground, and was swiftly reclaimed by the waves. Placing his Noble Kanohi Huna back on his face, the Matoran of Moonglow began rubbing his throbbing forearm, and asked, “What was that for?” “Let me tell you a story,” replied Åweko. “This isn’t going to be one of your long, drawn-out narratives, with lots of emphasis on the characters, and very little action, is it?” inquired Skhai. Åweko rapped his Hooked Staff against the Chronicler’s mask in response, choosing to let his actions imply his answer to that question. “Okay, okay,” said Skhai, as he sat down and repositioned his Kanohi before fetching a fresh tablet from his satchel. Seeing that the he intended to record the conversation Åweko waved simply him off, announcing, “No, my young Chronicler, this tale is for your own personal edification. Now let’s see, this particular tale is something I read in the journal of a certain Makuta, years ago while I was visiting the Mainland...” --
 * Smehi thought he heard a sound and stopped to listen in the dimly lit tunnel beneath the Isle of Terra Nui. His partner Unemi however, heard nothing, and plowed mask-first into the Po-Matoran for the third time in as many minutes, causing them both to tumble to the ground, yet again.


 * “You blockhead!” hissed Smehi. “It’s no wonder the Master said you’re not the brightest pickaxe in the mine.”


 * “Look who’s talking boulder brains, remember he said you weren’t the sharpest Lightstone in the mine either,” countered Unemi.


 * “This better not be like the time you nearly got me killed by Detark Frostelus tryin’ to visit your friend in a dome that doesn’t even exist.”


 * “Hey Detark Nui did exist, it just disappeared, unlike that imaginary ‘Skull of Shakiu’ that you always rave about Smehi, or the ‘Artificial Life Units’ that you claim are experimenting on Toa. Anyway, I’m tellin’ you the Master’s got all kinds of new stuff down here, just like the mask he started wearin’ this morning.”


 * “Right Unemi, like the time you claimed you overheard Makuta Pak Zo planning to use some sort of flesh-eating Matoran to help overrun an island? Or is this like the time you swore Makuta Xarkhan had a Cult of maskless followers that would do anything he wanted?”


 * “Look I’m tellin’ you that Makuta Montrox got more than just a new Kanohi down here, okay?”


 * Smehi thought about it. It was true that their Master hadn’t been this happy since the Nynrah Ghosts Eolp and Vendsa had stopped by Terra Nui to adjust his armor, so maybe something was up.


 * “Okay, let’s go, but if you run into me again, there’ll only be one Po-Matoran left to assist Makuta Montrox, get it?”


 * The two Matoran of Stone then proceeded cautiously in silence to the end of the passageway. The room beyond was just as gloomy, but Smehi quickly discovered that Unemi was indeed correct.  Spread across a table in their Master’s private storage space, were multiple strange Kanohi, as well as a small wooden box, and a wicked blade that appeared to be made of Black ProtoSteel.


 * Rushing forward the duo nearly tripped over one another again. As their Master had done, they decided to start their ill-advised exploration with the new masks.  Two of the Kanohi appeared to be the same form. Exchanging a glance, the Po-Matoran both quickly removed their own masks to replace them each with the sleek and intricately grooved pair.


 * “How do I look?” asked Unemi, turning towards his friend.


 * “Great! It’s a definite upgrade. What about me?” Smehi replied as he examined the dirk.


 * “Very stylish. So what do you suppose is in the box?”


 * “Dunno, but I’m willing to find out.”


 * The two made short work of opening the parcel and were astounded at what they found.


 * “Is that what I think it is?”


 * “Of course it is, you moron,” replied Smehi as he shoved Unemi aside to claim the prize. But when he laid his hands on it, he was surprised at what he found.  The stone had been cut into two equal halves.  “Looks like there’s one for each of us.”


 * Smehi handed Unemi half of the stone and began to examine the other half.


 * “Wait, do they fit together?” asked Unemi.


 * No sooner had the two villagers oriented each half, to see if they were an exact match, than an axis of power burst forth between them. The light was blinding and the half stones seemed to become one with the Matoran as the energy field surrounded the pair. Then the axis began to pull the two Po-Matoran towards one another and the pain was excruciating.  It reminded Smehi of the time he’d tried some bootlegged Ethanum that burned for days after absorption.


 * Then it was over. The light faded as the pain subsided.


 * Are we Toa now?


 * Of course we are, though I’m not sure why we’re we. How’d you get in my head?


 * Who says it’s your head? Hey, I wonder what powers we have?


 * Well, I was a Matoran of Stone, and you were a Matoran of Stone, so what do you think we can control?


 * Oooh, oooh, is it Vision!?


 * I’ve told you this a million times, Unemi. Toa have Elemental Powers.  Where'd you get the idea that they control concepts anywa-


 * “Having fun are we?”


 * The Toa cringed as the voice of their Master sounded behind them, breaking the silence. Suddenly the Toa’s Kanohi began to glow and a projectile burst forth from it and flew a short distance across the room.  Then it paused in midair and began to rebound back at the Toa.  Just before impact Smehi and Unemi did what they do best, they ducked for cover.


 * The missile struck Makuta Montrox directly in the chest, puncturing a fairly large hole, which a sickly green and black gas began to leak from. Hearing the rending of metal, the Toa turned to see Montrox fall mask-first to the floor, revealing a gaping exit wound in his back where more Antidermis billowed forth.


 * Wow, that fancy Nynrah Ghost armor didn’t hold up much better than counterfeit Nuvarian armor, thought the Toa as he was overcome with weakness and crumpled to the floor unconscious.

--
 * Smehi awoke to find himself staring at Unemi lying on the ground between himself and their Master. The half stone in front of him had broken into three pieces.  He quickly scooted the shards next to Unemi and took the whole half for himself.  Then he reached over and shook the Po-Matoran, whispering, “Hey, wake up, you’re in big trouble.”


 * Unemi groaned and opened his photoreceptors, seeing the broken pieces. “Karzahni!” he cursed, picking up the fragments.


 * “Keep it down,” whispered Smehi, motioning to the motionless Makuta nearby.


 * The villagers quietly crawled over to check on their Master, but all they found was a damaged suit of empty armor.


 * “Great! Just great,” said Unemi. “Now what are we going to do?”


 * “What any Matoran would do if they found their Makuta dead... raid his lair for valuables,” replied Smehi.


 * The pair made quick work of gathering up the items in the storeroom, switching back to their old Kanohi, and then proceeded to Montrox’s private quarters.


 * On a desk they found the Makuta of Terra Nui’s personal journal. Unemi looked at it, attempting to decipher the symbols.


 * “What’s it say?” asked Smehi after a lengthy silence.


 * “Something about a big ship and this place called Keno Nui?”


 * “Give me that,” Smehi stated as he snatched the tablets from Unemi. “I remember the last time you translated something for me.”


 * The Po-Matoran took several moments to review the notations etched into the various pieces of Protodermis. He let out a sharp whistle as he prepared to explain it all to Unemi.


 * “Okay, so it’s not about a big ship you halfwit, it says that there was a faction known as ‘The Fellowship of Makers’ that were working on building newer types of Matoran that would be better. But one of their members, Venic, was deemed a failure when his creation, something he called the ‘Semi-Matoran Obh’, was unveiled to the rest of the group.  The prototype monstrosity, whom Venic had named Åhm-uh, was a lot like you Unemi - an incredibly dense Po-Matoran - except he had a demeanor that only a Rakile’s mother could love and was nearly nine-bio-tall!  Anyway, to make a long story short, The Fellowship kicked Venic out of their group and took the Obh to the Tren Krom Peninsula, where he was destroyed in an attempt to prevent a recently uncovered prophecy about him becoming a seventh Barraki, transforming the entire Matoran Universe, and obliterating it in the process.  Then Venic went on to develop a gigantic automaton that was based upon Åhm-uh.”


 * “Is that all, what about Keno Nui?”


 * “I’m getting to that. Now where was I?  Oh yeah, it seems that Montrox had been dreaming about this Semi-Matoran and something called ‘The Shadow Realm’.  Åhm-uh wanted our late Master to travel to some place beneath the Isle of Yezo Nui and bring along a Kanohi Great Hau, plus three Heartlights carved from the chests of living and unwilling victims.  Then he could help the Obh return and make the prophecy of the last warlord come true.  Also the new Kanohi he started wearing today is called a Nehas, and the ones we wore are called Turapa.  They’re all part of a collection that he hopes will prove that Yezo Nui is a real pla-”


 * “I don’t get it though?” interrupted Unemi again. “Where was Makuta Montrox planning to get the Kanohi Great Hau and those Heartlights from anyway?”


 * Smehi started to answer only to noticed that they had company.


 * “What’re you two up to?” asked the newcomer, that Smehi recognized as the Hau-wearing Takan.


 * “No, the question is, what are you doing here sneaking around our Master’s lair? ” sneered Unemi. “Well mask maker?


 * “Makuta Montrox told me that he wanted to show me some new masks he recently acquired, are those them over there?” replied the Ta-Matoran, as he headed towards the items that the two Po-Matoran had gathered up from the storeroom earlier.


 * “Shouldn’t you wait until our Master to be here to discuss those with you?” countered Smehi, attempting to delay Takan while he tried to develop a plan to ensure their earlier “accident” wasn’t discovered.


 * “Isn’t that him right there?” said the Matoran of Fire, pointing behind the duo.


 * Smehi and Unemi whirled around in unison, just in time for Montrox to grasp a hold of each of their Heartlights and rip them from their bodies with ease. The pair were dead before their corpses hit the floor.


 * “W... wait ju... just a second,” stuttered Takan, as he stumbled backwards, and began to look for a way to escape the advancing Makuta. But there was nowhere to run.  He was cornered.  Takan raised his arms, in a futile attempt to shield himself, and closed his eyes.


 * But instead of feeling the icy grip of the Master of Shadows, Takan heard a crash of armor as it hit the floor. He opened his eyes, saw Montrox on the ground, and didn’t hesitate to flee towards the surface of the island, vowing never to mention to anyone what had happened.

-- “What happened next?” asked Skhai. “Well then the Makuta walked in, interrupting my reading, and asked me what I was doing snooping around in his things,” replied Åweko. “So I did the only think I could...” --
 * “I uh... Hello! I’m looking for information on where I might find... Makuta Qequezak,” I lied, recalling a name from the wealth of texts on the workbench, as I idly fingered a GahnComm that had been lying on the desk as well.


 * “He’s just south of Cytos Nui,” curtly responded Mutran rather wearily. “Now I think it’s time you leave.  You’ve worn out your welcome.”

-- “So I did just that,” finished Åweko. “I don’t get it,” Skhai interjected, confusion spreading across his mask. “What happened with Makuta Montrox? And why’d you tell me this story in the first place?” “Well, you see, Montrox had only recently begun to wear the new Kanohi Nehas, Great Mask of Undeath, and thus it hadn’t had time to fully charge itself. Therefore when it reanimated him after death, the body was only able to continue his previous objective from life for a very short period before it was totally discharged and he died again. As for why I told you this story? Well, it was simply that I wanted you to understand that you should never try on a foreign Kanohi, because you never know where that action might lead.” --

Characters

 * Åweko
 * Skhai
 * Smehi
 * Unemi
 * Pak Zo (Mentioned Only)
 * Xarkhan (Mentioned Only)
 * Montrox
 * Eolp (Mentioned Only)
 * Vendsa (Mentioned Only)
 * Venic (Mentioned Only)
 * Åhm-uh (Mentioned Only)
 * Takan
 * Qequezak (Mentioned Only)
 * Mutran