Angonce's ears began to ring from the raucous cheers; he knew they'd be excited to see him, but he could have never guessed that they'd be this excited. However, he wasn't surprised afterwards when the entire crowd rushed him, not giving him any room to move. He couldn't make out one individual voice, as hundreds, if not thousands, all surrounded him and clamored at once, asking him for one thing or another, none of which he could make out. His eardrums began to hurt and bleed, solely from the tremendous din. He placed his hands over his ears, trying to block it out, but to no avail. The wave of noise kept growing and growing, until he could take it no longer.

"ENOUGH!" He slammed his staff into the ground in anger, the sheer force behind it causing a shockwave to reverberate through the ground, throughout the crowd. "Enough!" he yelled out to the assembled. "I am Angonce, and while I am a Great Being, I am not here to make all your problems go away; I am not here to fix all of your troubles. I am here to help you find my brothers and sisters, and return them here to Spherus Magna.

"I know where they are!" This elicited cheers from the crowd, but they soon died down upon seeing Angonce's angry countenance. "I do not wish to be treated this way. You have put me on a pedestal, in a pantheon of gods, and I do not wish to be! Please, I beg of you, do not treat me like a god." His voice was so sincere that it was hard for the Matoran and Agori gathered to say no.

"Now, if you could please make a path, so that I may get through." Quietly, the Matoran and Agori parted, leaving Angonce said path. He walked down it, noting the looks of awe that they still had for him. He was something they had never thought to see, and here he was, mere feet from them. He could only imagine the rapture they felt.

Upon passing through the crowd and reaching the village's outskirts, he bowed to Turaga Dume. "Turaga, it is a pleasure and honor to meet you. I am Angonce."

Dume bowed back. "I am Turaga Dume, and likewise. I had never thought to see a Great Being in my lifetime. We have much to discuss."

"That we do, and I would prefer to begin right away."

"I understand completely. One must not waste time when one can help it. Come, let us adjourn to my hut."

They were just about to go when a Matoran ran up. "Turaga Dume! Turaga Dume!"

He turned to face him. "Yes, what is it?"

"The other Turaga! Takanuva and Gresh! They're back! They were spotted coming across the water in their boat just a moment ago."

Dume smiled. "Ah, this is good news indeed. Angonce, was it? I beg your pardon, our discussion will have to wait. These friends of mine were on an important mission, and I must see how they fared."

Angonce bowed his head. "I understand. I should like to come with you, actually." With no objection from the Turaga, they trudged across the sand to the shore of Aqua Magna, where they saw a tiny dot on the horizon, growing ever larger. They sat in the sand and silently waited for it to arrive.

As the boat got closer, Dume found himself shielding his eyes from reflected light. "I say, what is that? Where is this light coming from?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea," replied Angonce. He squinted, peering out at the calm, placid surface of the water. "Wait a second. That can't be… no, it can't be."

"Can't be what?"

"Forget I said anything." He would wait until he had all the facts before making a final determination. But as the boat grew closer and its crew grew clearer, the doubt vanished from his mind. He stood abruptly. "You have to get out of here. There is a great evil aboard that boat, and it's somehow enticed your friends to join it."

"Evil, entice Vakama? Oh no, he's far too wise for that."

"I don't doubt the strength of your friend's heart, but what I say is true. There is an evil on that boat, one that must be completely and utterly destroyed. Now, I'm sorry to order you around, but do as I say and head back to the village for your own protection." Dume refused to move. "Do it!" Somewhat reluctantly, and a tiny bit afraid, Dume did as he was told. And so Angonce was left there, alone on the beach, waiting for his worst fears to be confirmed.

He sneered, muttering under his breath. "Marendar." The boat approached the shore, the bottom of the hull scraping against the sand as it beached. "Don't take one step further." He brandished his staff menacingly. "Back away from it, slowly."

A Turaga of fire, presumably the Vakama that Dume had mentioned, spoke up. "It? Do you mean Marendar?"

"So you know its name. Then surely you know what its purpose is, and why you must let me destroy it."

"Destroy it? No, you can't!"

A Turaga of earth came forward. "Marendar has changed, I tell you. I promise you, he's changed. We overloaded his program memory, shorting it out. He has no desire to kill anymore. He possesses free will."

"That's preposterous," spat Angonce, "A machine can't have free will. It's impossible."

"He's telling the truth!" pleaded a Turaga of water. "Please, I beg of you, believe us!"

The bickering began, Angonce and the Turaga shouting back and forth, neither of them really caring for what the other was saying. Marendar kept trying to get in a word, but was unable to, until finally he'd had enough. "I have something to say!" he bellowed, immediately causing the Turaga and Angonce to go quiet.

He marched up to Angonce. "Angonce, you are my creator. Surely, you know everything that I'm capable of. And even if what has happened to me seems impossible to you, let me remind you that you are a Great Being; you've seen many things in your life that were once thought to be impossible. Besides, if I truly still wanted to kill, I'd have left by now to go kill everyone in that village over there."

Angonce bit his lip, deep in thought. What Marendar said was true, but how could he be sure that he was saying it in earnest?

"Think about it. What do you have to lose?" asked the earth Turaga. "It seems that you are completely capable of destroying him, so if it turns out that he is lying to you, you can swiftly deal with him. And if it turns out that he isn't, then you, and all of us, have gained a valuable new ally."

"True, but if he did turn, countless beings would die before I was able to subdue him. I cannot risk that."

"Angonce, at points in your life, there are things that you cannot justify logically by empirical experience. At those moments, you have to choose whether to believe, based on faith, or not. I beg of you, please believe me. I do not wish to kill. I wish to use my new free will to do good in the world. Please, believe me."

Angonce sighed. "Very well, I shall believe you." He was met with sighs of relief from the Turaga. "However, that does not mean I will entirely trust you. I will still be keeping an eye on you in the coming months, or even years if necessary. However long it takes, until I am fully convinced. If I see one thing I don't like, it will be the end of you. Do you understand me?" Marendar nodded. "Excellent."

They walked back to the village, Angonce's eyes never leaving Marendar. He would never trust him. And as they arrived in the village he could see that most of its inhabitants felt the same. Even if Marendar truly had changed, it would still take him a long time and a lot of work to gain anyone's trust beyond the Turaga's. He was something new and strange, and that usually translated to distrust and suspicion.

"Vakama!" called Tahu, approaching the fire Turaga. "Your mission went well, I hope?"

"Indeed it did. You can see the fruits of it for yourself." He gestured to Marendar, who meekly turned away.

"Yes, indeed. I'm expecting a full report. I want to know every last thing that happened."

"All in time. But first, we must gather a group of Matoran and Toa to help repair Metru Nui."

"Repair Metru Nui? What for? We abandoned it when we moved to this planet, Vakama. With Mata Nui no longer in his body, there's nothing to keep the city going. I wouldn't be surprised if most of it's rubble by now."

"It is, but not for the reason you think. Trust my wisdom, Tahu, and gather a large group to head to Metru Nui with all deliberate speed. Gather as many Onu-Matoran, Po-Matoran, and Ta-Matoran. We must help rebuild the city."

"Help rebuild it? Is there someone else that's going to assist us as well?"

"In a matter of speaking."

"Torvus Krom? Torvus Krom?" Angonce was surprised to hear that name, and turned to see Kopaka using a communicator, much like the kind the Kestora used on the Red Star. "I'm sorry, but we've been unable to find the parts. We've failed."

Angonce walked up to them, bathing them in shadow. "What did Torvus Krom require?" Kopaka told him of the tribulations of the Kestora, and those trapped on the Red Star, and what Torus Krom wished to do about it. "Ah, I see. Well, you are in luck, Kopaka and Pohatu. I happen to possess the very parts you need. If, in the next few days, you could spare time to come with me to my laboratory, I can give you everything he requires. Then, perhaps we can save all of those poor souls who've been trapped up there for who knows how long." Kopaka and Pohatu bowed to him in respect. "Please, no bowing. You heard what I said."

They stood up straight quickly. "Our apologies," said Pohatu. "Force of habit."

After that, Angonce tuned out all of the conversation going on around him, and turned to introspection, reflection on all that had happened in the past months. The threat of Marendar, at least so he was led to believe, had passed. And, he wondered, what if the Turaga were correct? What if the threat of Marendar was truly over? Then what? Would some new evil arise? No, it wasn't possible. What greater evil could possibly out there? And as soon as he thought that, he knew the answer.

Velika. Strolling through the Bota Magna jungle, secretive about what he was doing. Avoiding questions. Running off without leaving a trace. Kabrua and his Vorox were in the jungle. That was when it struck Angonce: Velika was responsible for the Vorox attack. He was the one who had supplied Kabrua with the advanced technology to turn off Toa's elemental powers. Velika was up to something, and he'd find out what if it was the last thing he ever did. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be good, and he had to stop him.

And then another thought occurred to him. If Velika was a greater evil than Marendar, out and roaming in the world, what else was out there? Was there an even bigger evil lurking in the shadows of Spherus Magna? The very thought made his spine tingle. Just what else was out there? And if such a thing did exist, was it benevolent or malevolent? What were its plans for Spherus Magna? What greater threats and struggles lay ahead of them? What joys and jubilations? The sheer possibilities made him shiver with both anticipation and fear. Just what was to come?