Part II

Chapter 1

All was black around. He was the only one in the infinite darkness. He could see nothing. He was alone.

Suddenly brilliant light burst into Beisbeis' sight, temporarily blinding him. Around Beisbeis, flashes of vibrant images of all different Matoran raced in front of him, to the side, behind, above below – all a mass of swirling color, devoid of order.

Soon, a figure was seen approaching him from the horizon – wherever that was. It was a Toa of some sort, with its powerful body gliding over the unseen ground. Soon, it halted in front of the Matoran, and Beisbeis noticed twin gears behind the Toa's naked face. The mouth opened, and the images instantaneously froze. The Toa seemed to ignore them and continued on.

"Thy challenges have been great,

And thou hast triumphed over them well,

Now listen to my words,

The only way through do they tell.

Thou must first seek out the darkness,

In order to see the Light,

Remember Unity, Duty, Destiny,

And thou may triumph in this fight."

Almost immediately after in between Beisbeis and the stranger, a slightly transparent image formed a picture of Beisbeis. Through the image the Matoran saw the Toa slightly smile, and the image moved into a hole between some of the frozen, also transparent portraits. As it flew into place, the images began flying everywhere again as if nothing had stopped them. Beisbeis watched the Toa step backwards… With each step, the scene faded away from the Matoran's mind… Until…

Beisbeis leapt forward to sit on the bed, his eyes wide open, taking in everything he saw and not comprehending it. For a moment, he wondered if all of this fighting and emotions he had felt was just a long and horrible dream – until the recollections: their discovery of the Pahrak Va, their regaining of BZ-Koro and everything in between came flooding back like a river. After a few seconds, he shook his head and concentrated on where he was.

He was in his room in the Lower Level. Everything was familiar: his desk, his pack and his mace. The Matoran climbed out of his bed, with only some of his fatigue coming back to him. Where exhaustion had disappeared, however, pain had invaded. Beisbeis rotated his shoulders, then recoiled: he could only move that for the moment with severe aching. Beisbeis' head now felt the pounding from the headache that issued like a dull thud. Massaging his head, he grabbed his mace, still unsure of what might lay outside the room.

As the Matoran stepped outside the door, he brought his head up and immediately gasped. His hands tightened on his handle for his mace, his heart beating fast. His eyes fell upon those of another Matoran, sprawled across the ground, spattered in blood. The empty eyes echoed with inexpressible fear and sorrow; just beneath it on the neck two small holes showing the source of since-dried black poison.

Beisbeis' mouth stood open in disbelief as his breathing began to return to normal. As he lowered his mace to his feet, he turned to drag his feet down the hallway littered with many Matoran bodies, all soldiers, their masks toppled along the ground, all showing expression of pain or fright on their faces, while one or two Bohrok lay also dead among the corpses.

The common room was likewise filled with the dead, trying to stave off the attack that had eventually slaughtered them. Most of them looked like they were civilians. One by one, Beisbeis stepped over their bodies, tears welling up in his eyes, blurring his vision. He needed to leave; the scene was already becoming too much to bear. The Matoran's walking was quickened as he ran out the door. He almost tripped over a Matoran or Bohrok, he couldn't tell – his eyes couldn't see anything.

As Beisbeis exited the barracks, people could be seen carrying the bodies through the hole to the Upper Level he had created with the Madu Cabolo. That now seemed an eternity ago now, what with all that had happened during that time. He spotted amidst the carnage the three captains and Také, apparently conversing. He hesitantly walked to them, careful not to step on anything in his way.

As he approached the group, he noticed Také stopped talking and immediately began running towards him. The soldier barely stopped in time to avoid running into his former captain. Také began to salute when Beisbeis shook his head; he was not in the mood for respect. The Matoran desisted rather half-heartedly, and then began enthusiastically barraging Beisbeis with an array of questions.

"How are you feeling? Is your shoulder better? Was your sleep all right? I mean you scared us when we found you sprawled on the ground after the fight. We wouldn't have put you in your quarters, but it would have made sense because the Bohrok would not have gone back down there, since they knew everyone below was dead. I am truly sorry you had to see what happened down there, we were going to move you to the Upper Level this morning if you hadn't woken up– "

"Who were those in the barracks?" Beisbeis asked quietly. Také hesitated, then his head dropped to the ground.

"…There was a group that did not escape in time when we did," he said in a quiet whisper. The memory of telling the Matoran to not seek revenge for his friend came instantly to Beisbeis' mind.

'There will be a time to take revenge; but unless you want to die, it is not now.' There would have been more Matoran at stake if they had stopped – but all the same, Beisbeis painfully wondered what their last moments might have been like. A fierce anger welled up inside of him; he would not let his fellow Matoran die without repayment. After a few seconds of this temper he remembered the words he had just thought of. Beisbeis put the thoughts to the back of his mind – there would be time for that later, when his emotions were not rising. He looked back at Také, letting another question come back.

"By the way… What happened at the fight? How did we defeat them? All I remember seeing is a few explosions, and the Bohrok running away, and then everything was black…"

Karon gave a slight smile. "We had luck on our side for that time. Apparently some of the Madu Cabolo we embedded didn't explode the first time. I guess they triggered when there was enough pressure bearing on it." Beisbeis nodded modestly.

"Good, good. How many soldiers are left?"

Také returned the nod. "Thirty-five survived the initial barrage. We're sending half of those to check on Sori, Niwan, and Council at the latest tonight. If that's okay, of course?" Také's voice sounded hopeful.

"Yeah, that's fine," Beisbeis replied. "And you stay in charge for two days, along with these captains. I'm not going to be able to do anything for a while this." He pointed at his body. Také face brightened, and he tried saluting Beisbeis again. The former captain snatched the arm before it extended to the mask.

"If you do that again," Beisbeis threatened in a whisper, barely containing a grin, "I'll have to report you to your authority. Is that clear?" Také's lip trembled before breaking into a wide grin. The captains chuckled briefly before Beisbeis have a curt nod and turned to climb the mountain of dirt.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in the library."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next few days Beisbeis hardly remembered, mainly because he spent most of his time resting his wounds or reading books about dreams. Amazingly, the library had barely been touched at all; a few replaceable manuscripts had been destroyed, but that was a small price to pay for what could have happened.

After four days, however, the burial of the bodies had been completed. Beisbeis soon prepared a memorial with the captains for all who had died. He knew it would not be enough, but for the moment the chance that the Bohrok might come back made it too risky to delay and prepare for more.

As the sun faded from Mt. Rûn, the Matoran solemnly gathered near the gravesites. Small lightstones were lit in honor of the fallen. As the mass began to settle Beisbeis stepped forward from the group, the flames reflecting off his face, trying to decide what to say.

"Fellow…Matoran," he began quietly, his head bowed to the ground, "Tonight we remember those who have died in defense of our city. Their immeasurable sacrifices included their lives, which they willfully gave to save us. Never forget them." The Matoran nodded and bowed their heads.

"Among the dead are innocent citizens of BZ-Koro. The Bohrok swarm engulfed them, and their lives ended in pain. We cannot save these people now; but we can prevent this from happening again, and in turn honor their spirits." Beisbeis suddenly raised his lightstone above his head.

"Your lightstones are your life; the light you contain withstands the armies of darkness and evil. As one, it is not enough. Darkness can overcome this easily." He covered his hand over the small gem, suffocating the light and hiding his face. Being in such darkness was rather frightening; helplessness filled him until he loosened his hand and the glow reflected out of his hand. Beisbeis looked over the congregation; their respective lightstones made the area slightly luminous.

"As many, we can withstand. Our light stretches farther as many. The darkness shrinks and cowers from our light as many. But only as many can this happen; only with Unity may we survive this onslaught of evil, and defeat it forever. If we do not help others, and do aid those who need it… we will fall, and all will be lost." Abruptly, Beisbeis' eyes burned bright, and he raised his stone once more.

"The darkness has killed your people," he shouted, "And they will kill you, too. What say you to that?"

"No!"

"What will we do with this darkness?"

"We will fight!"

"When will we give up?"

"Never!"

After a few seconds of cheering, Beisbeis dropped the lightstone to his waist, his glow flickering for an instant. After a few more seconds of approbation, the crowd began to become to silent, intent on hearing Beisbeis' words.

"We will fight the Bohrok everywhere on The Island," he said, in a quiet voice that everyone could hear, "But we must remember our purpose in fighting. There can be no action without cause. Remember for whom we are fighting for. Fight for those whom we could not save; and never forget them. Never."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Beisbeis awoke to a knock on his door the following morning. He started when he first heard the noise, but quickly calmed down when he realized where he was.

"C'min," he said groggily. A soldier opened the door, a worried expression on his face.

"Some Matoran just arrived," he said, "They want to speak to you."

Beisbeis' tired eyes instantly shook the sleep out. "Matoran? Please show me to them."

The Matoran leaped out of bed and followed the soldier up the hill of dirt. As the Upper Level came into sight, his eyes caught an unexpected and unpleasant surprise.

"Khora!"

The private stood, supported by two other soldiers in the front of a small crowd of other Matoran. His scratched mask was held in his hand, as another Matoran tended to the partially concealed right eye and various cuts and bruises all over his body. Beisbeis sprinted the distance from him and Khora, all tiredness taken from him.

'Sori and The Council must have made a move against them,' he thought, as he knelt by the injured soldier. The Matoran shook his head as Khora flinched from the damp cloth being pressed on his eye.

"What happened? Is anyone else hurt? What did the Council do? Where… are…" he trailed off, as he realized what he was asking. 'Mata Nui! What kinds of problems might The Council be causing now?'

Khora coughed once and looked at Beisbeis. "Once they realized you were gone, sir, they gathered everyone in the largest cave. They said, 'Whoever supports Beisbeis, split away.' Those did," he pointed to the group that was behind him. "And any soldiers that were on your side they beat up – which explains me." His grin flickered for an instant as they placed the cloth over his eye again.

"Are they still there?" Beisbeis asked earnestly. Khora shook his head.

"After they threw us out, we waited for them to see what they would do. Soon after, they left, going to what looked like the outpost near the docks."

Beisbeis stood quiet for a moment, eyes closed, rejoicing. 'Yes! Once the people realize what has happened where The Council led them, they might turn against them.' Khora watched his leader for a few seconds before hesitantly continuing on.

"Uh… sir?" Beisbeis' eyes snapped open in surprise. "Should we go out and look for them?"

Beisbeis stood quiet for a few more seconds, pondering the choices. His head slowly began to rock side to side, the shaking going faster the longer he did it.

"No, no," he said quickly, "No, not right now. I'll decide when the time is better." Khora blinked slightly, taken aback.

"If – if you say so, sir…"

Beisbeis nodded tersely, turned around and headed into the library. Také glanced nervously around and followed him as the crowd began to subside.

"May I ask why you are not searching for them?" he asked timidly as he quietly snapped the door shut. He walked to the center of the library, where Beisbeis stood among the innumerable amount of books surrounding them. Above the entrance, a thin layer of protodermis purified the sunlight and shone into the cracks of the room. No shadow could be seen when the shimmering ray brightened Beisbeis' pondering face as he turned around.

"I thought that would have been obvious for you, Také," he said matter-of-factly, his mouth slightly frowning. He continued as Také stepped onto the elevated podium in the center, which housed the statue of their long departed leader, Hapori Tohu. "They will see the outpost and what happened to it, the citizens probably will rebel, and they will want to return to BZ-Koro." Také shook his head worriedly.

"What if the public doesn't rebel? Worse yet, what if they are attacked?" Beisbeis' face remained immobile.

"Then we must trust that that will not happen." Také head continued shaking disbelievingly.

"You are willing to sacrifice your people on a chance? Or is it something more, sir? Something about The Council's attitude?" Beisbeis' eyes furrowed, and his eyes narrowed fiercely. Také, however, pressed on, his own eyes opening in concern.

"You said just last night we must unite, or we will fall. Will you not take your own advice? Surely The Council is in need of your help?"

"I'm not going to help someone who doesn't want it," Beisbeis snapped viciously. An awkward silence followed, where Beisbeis glared at Také suddenly defiant but hurt face. The Matoran spun around, facing away from Také and stared at Hapori Tohu's loving face, his arms folded. As his face began to cool down, guilt sunk in like a stone in water. Také was right, after all. After a few more seconds, Beisbeis sighed and began to turn again.

"Také, I'm– "

He had turned to face an empty library; the entrance doors had shut with a sharp snap, a quiet echoing through the air.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Unfortunately, no Matoran arrived over the next couple of days, although Beisbeis was too busy to admit his worries. While the bodies had been buried, the Krana remained and the enormous task of disposing of the creatures engulfed most of his day. Soon, however, only sections of the Upper Level were all that remained to clean. Beisbeis purposely left the Great Council Building to the end; from what he had heard, no fighting took place in it, so there was less chance that some murderous Bohrok was hiding in there. Still, it was better to be sure than dead.

Much was on Beisbeis' mind as fingered his mace, creeping down the hallway paying scrutinized attention for any sign of Krana or Bohrok. No difference of heat was seen in his Akaku, so he signaled for the two Matoran assigned to assist him to follow. Two came to his back, pointing their spears forward, waiting for Beisbeis' next move.

A small blob of red and orange appeared in the Akaku – coming from the Council Room. The Matoran suddenly ran the remaining length of the hallway and burst open the door, mace ready to strike.

His action reverberated hauntingly through the room. The glass dome on the top shone sunlight into the room – revealing a single Krana XA on the ground.

'This must have been the Krana I had grabbed back in the Pöuri forest,' he thought, staring at the motionless creature on the ground, 'Well, The Council does not need it anymore…' He raised his mace to strike.

But as he stood there, weapon poised, ready to blow, a question he had been thinking of crossed his mind.

'Why are the Bohrok after us?' he pondered, 'What is so valuable that they have decided to destroy us?' Another thought entered into his mind; suddenly his heart pumped wildly. 'What if this XA knows? What should I do then?'

As these thoughts flew through his conscience – dangerous as they were – the two Matoran tapped Beisbeis on the shoulder.

'Um…sir? Aren't you going to kill it?" Beisbeis again thought for a few more seconds, though it seemed an eternity making his decision. He then brought his mace down to his waist.

"No," he said slowly, articulating every word as if he was unsure of what he was saying, "No, not yet. Have this one bagged, and sent to the Library. Make sure the captains are there in ten minutes."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He stared at the lifelike face, the powerful body. Where had he seen it before? It felt so familiar, as if he had known him from some past time…

Sounds from the outside became more prominent as the door opened. Beisbeis turned around to see Nora, Manu, Karon, and Také tentatively strolled to the center of the Library. Karon gave a slight smile to Beisbeis.

"What'd you need, sir?"

Beisbeis did not return the smile. He glanced at them in a wary manner, and then turned behind to face Hapori Tohu once more. The captains stood in silence, all interested in what Beisbeis was doing. The Matoran turned back to them, and after a few reluctant looks revealed a sack sewn with flax. The white plant was woven so tightly that no one could see what was contained in it, but from the constant stretching of the sack's fibers despite Beisbeis' steady hand showed it was evident that whatever was in it, it was alive.

"What's in it?" asked Také.

"A Krana XA."

Everyone stood still, waiting for Beisbeis' explanation. All the captains showed no sign of alarm, although behind their masks their faces became tighter, their lips pursed, and their eyes narrowed, starting intently at a bag holding one of their people's murderers. Beisbeis placed the bag gingerly on the ground, and then began his idea.

"Ever since we have found out that the Bohrok have discovered us, it has never been clear why they have been attacking us. I think because the Krana have a connection to the Bahrag, I will submit myself to the Krana and I will search for anything that might give us a clue to find out what we are looking for."

Beisbeis hadn't thought it could possibly become any more still after he had told them it was a Krana. Even the sun felt as if it had stopped giving light. The only movement was Také's head rocking side to side.

"No," he whispered, "No, no, sir. With all respect, you shouldn't do this – we don't know what might happen. What if the Krana controls you?"

"I think as long as we restrain him," Nora suggested, "We shouldn't have a problem. Her twin's Kakama bobbed up and down; Beisbeis' heart lightened slightly. Encouraged, he turned to Karon.

"What do you think?" He did not expect a frown from him as he weighed the choices.

"I will…say yes and no. First, because you are older than I, Beisbeis, so you should know what you are doing…but I suggest you be careful." Také still shook his head, desperately wishing to hold his ground.

"What if it affects him later on?"

Beisbeis had to admit he had not thought of this. When they had assisted in regaining Le-Koro, many who had been controlled showed side effects that still minutely connected them to the Bahrag – not much, but enough to cause trouble. When all the captain's eyes stared at him he turned around to face Hapori Tohu to buy time and think.

The strong eyes staring into space hit Beisbeis' realization like a slab of protodermis.

'Hapori Tohu was in my dreams!'

Suddenly, two lines from the verse in his dream stood out in his head it was almost frightening. Beisbeis wondered what caused this to occur; he could almost feel an invisible hand in his mind, grabbing it to his attention.

'Thou must first seek out the darkness,

In order to see the light.'

A warm tingling washed through his body, making him shudder, although he could not help but grin. As he turned to face his captains again, the grin became less pronounced. The emotions he was feeling a moment ago were suddenly absent. The choice that had sounded perfect at first now seemed clouded with darkness. How could he be sure it would succeed?

As he hesitated for a moment, a wave of rush swept over him. It was still mysteriously precarious, but his whole self told him to do it – no matter the consequences.

"Také," he started hesitantly, "I know this is the only way we can defeat the Bohrok. Without it, we will be fighting for the rest of our lives. This might be our only chance to finish this once and for all. If I do show effects, it will have been worth it, knowing that we helped save BZ-Koro."

Everyone stared at Také as he wrestled with the words. To Beisbeis' immense relief, Také sighed and dropped his shoulders.

"Let's get this over with…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Okay, lie down, and we can do this."

Beisbeis lay down on a table in the corner of the library, surrounded by the bookcases. It had taken five more minutes to decide where they should do the attaching. In the end, they decided to stay where they were – it was too risky to go outside with people having the wrong impression. They also stayed out of sight in case anyone came in the Library – precautions had always never led anyone into trouble.

Despite the fact that he was about to subject himself to one of his most hated adversaries, Beisbeis felt fairly calm. Even when they released the Krana from its cell, his breathing was normal, although it might have been a bit raspier than before. Nora, Manu, and Také held Beisbeis to the table. Karon held the Krana over Beisbeis face. He hovered over for a moment, and then lowered the monster.

"…See you when you get back…"

The Krana sealed off the light, enveloping his face and mind in shadows.

All in Beisbeis' mind, a sense of muffled silence overcame him. Going by his mind, he probed around until he found a powerful mental wall, restricting access. Beisbeis looked around until a weakness in the defense was found. He penetrated with rather easiness; but the instant his mind passed through, a barrage of images came into his mind, finally ending with the eyes of the Bahrag.

The Matoran's heart began thumping rapidly as he peered into the eyes of his mortal enemies. The Queens blinked, and a thought passed into the Krana and Beisbeis' minds.

'Search The Island for it… tear apart every stone, every leaf, every Matoran, until it found.'

'It must be an item, then,' Beisbeis thought curiously, 'But what and where it is –"

A force of resistance shocked shoved Beisbeis back into his mind, forcing him to see memories of his life, things he had not thought about for years. Surprised, he tried pushing back – the Krana could not come into his mind, or else the Bahrag would know their vulnerable position and attack – but almost immediately the Krana sensed this and broke through his feeble defenses.

'No… This can't be happening…"

But even this thought slipped from his conscience as he fell deep into darkness…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All he could see was red all around him. A red creature was holding him down in a big, red room, and the creature was saying something, but he could not make out what they were saying. He could hardly hear – or think – at all.

Suddenly, immersed in his mind was a single overriding command. The voice echoed through his mind, not fading or growing dim.

'Kill the Matoran."

Beisbeis did not question this; he was, after all, only a pawn, regardless of his XA status, and the Bahrag knew what they were doing. His masters should not be questioned; they should be obeyed. Beisbeis attempted to sit up, but the blurred, red creature pressed him harder on the table. Beisbeis' anger flowed through his body, and his eyes flashed a bright red, snarling and baring his teeth. With surprise and fear in their eyes, they released him, and he burst past them and through the door, oblivious to the shouts and cries behind him.

Beisbeis found himself looking at a large courtyard with an unnatural hole to the side, the fountain in the middle crumbling because of it. Many creatures were pointing at him, while a great deal of commotion was taking place. Beisbeis mentally shrugged this off; these beings were not the objective and therefore they were of no use. Beisbeis stumbled across the earth as he walked towards the creatures; he was still not used to this new body…

Wait a minute – who was 'he'? As Beisbeis' awareness started to emerge again, the Krana fought more vigorously to keep his mind under his power. Almost right away Beisbeis' sense of freedom drifted from his memory, and he became a slave to the swarm again. With this sudden jerk his vision became clearer, and the blurred creatures became –

'Matoran.'

It was hardly a few seconds before Beisbeis was running and leaped onto the first Matoran he could see. It was an older one, apparently unable to defend himself; that made the task easier to complete. The Matoran froze, petrified at what was happening to him. Beisbeis showed no emotion as he raised his mace for the kill.

A surprising jerk from the back of his head brought him to the ground. Another tug, and it felt as if his face was being pulled. Bit by bit his skin – or was it the Krana? – felt like it was peeling off until one last almighty wrench ripped it entirely from his eyes.

Beisbeis blinked for a few moments. His head felt like it had been in the Mangai, judging from the burning in his cheeks and eyes. After shaking his head to clear his memory, his understanding of where he was and what he was doing five seconds ago suddenly shocked his mind into clarity.

Také stood in front of the enormous crowd that had surrounded them, sorrow and regret pouring down his cheeks and what had just happened.

"What should we do now, Beisbeis?"

He had no answers for him.