Antroz and Krika sat on one side of the table, while Zaekura fidgeted uncomfortably across from them. Antroz was facing her directly, and though she knew she was blind, the Glatorian still couldn't help but feel she was being stared at.

"I still do not understand," Antroz said quietly. "She is intelligent and inventive—and you think this alone makes her a Great Being?"

Krika sighed, taking a moment to shake his head. "Seems I should go back further. You will recall that the Great Beings are from the Glatorian species, correct? They arose from various tribes during the dark ages, realizing they had a gift no others did, and used it to guide the world forward."

"Of course."

"Do you know what it was that caused them to be so different from the other Glatorian?"

Antroz thought for a moment, but no answer sprang to mind.

"In the interest of time: it started with a genetic quirk. Something in those Glatorian's DNA altered the structure of their brains in a way no one predicted. Of course, even that doesn't fully explain it. There must have been some other factor, some catalyst that caused them to develop farther and faster than was wholly natural, but I've no idea what that was."

"You are sure about this?"

"Absolutely. When this case presented itself to me, I did a little digging. Unfortunately any information on the 'catalyst' must in a place one cannot dig into without being caught."

Antroz turned towards him. "It sounds as though you were already someplace you should not have been."

Krika rapped his knuckles against the table. "Now now, let's focus on the matter at hand, shall we?"

Reluctantly, Antroz followed the change in subject. "Then why has this quirk resurfaced in her? Why now, all of the sudden, after so many millennia?"

The other Makuta smirked. "Now you're asking the right questions. The answer is that this isn't sudden at all. The potential for that quirk still exists in the Glatorian genome, and my working theory is that every generation or so, one or two Glatorian with this mutation will pop up again."

"What? Impossible—we would have known of such a thing."

"Would we? You hadn't the faintest knowledge of this quirk until I just told you. Yet here you are, trudging out to Nynrah to escort an individual who possesses it to the Maze. We've all delivered plenty of prisoners to our leaders over the years. How many times have any of us questioned why?"

A sick feeling started to form within Antroz. Hoping to combat it, she said, "That sounds like conjecture. Can anyone corroborate your claim?"

Krika gestured to Zaekura. The Glatorian looked away, but after a few moments, she closed her eyes and sighed.

"I'm…not the first one in my family to have the mutation," she muttered. "My grandfather was a brilliant man. He was always working on some invention none of the rest of us could understand, usually saying it would help out someone who was having a problem. And it usually worked, even if we couldn't understand how. It was like he was just exploding with creativity. Like he had some kind of magic."

She glared at Krika.

"But one day, he was taken away. I never saw him again."

Krika nodded. "I was told to discourage anyone who asked questions about that Glatorian. Of course, I myself didn't feel particularly discouraged by that."

"Should go without saying, my family's become a bit skeptical of the Makuta and the Great Beings. I've been trying to lay low…but I guess someone still found me out."

"It wasn't me," Krika said, raising his hands. "The Great Beings don't want to hear from me these days."

"So," Antroz interrupted, "you claim that this mutation was the reason your grandfather was taken away? And that it then skipped a generation to appear again in you?"

Zaekura looked down again. "Something like that, I guess."

"I have copies of the records I…perused," Krika offered. "I'd be happy to share them with you."

After a short pause, Antroz said, "Krika…if what you are saying is true, then what do you theorize becomes of the mutant Glatorian taken to the Maze?"

Krika got a grim look. "Again, it would be impossible to dig that up without getting caught. But I think it's worth noting that even though they had the potential to become Great Beings, our leaders' ranks have never grown."

Zaekura wrung her hands. Antroz could sense her fear, her anxiety…and the fact that she wasn't lying.

But, this could merely be her perception. This is not conclusive proof that the Great Beings…that we have led innocent Glatorian to…

Antroz stood. "Krika. I must speak with the Great Beings."

Zaekura flinched. Krika rose slowly, saying, "I, uh, would advise against that, Antroz. Even supposing they're honest with us, they're not going to like us questioning our orders."

"If what you say is true, then we cannot simply hand her over."

"Of course not. I was never going to. But if we confront the Great Beings, we lose any opportunity for her to sneak away."

"But if you are wrong, Krika, and there is some other reason the Great Beings have condemned this girl, then we cannot allow her to escape. I must know."

"Seriously?!" Zaekura said, leaping to her feet. "What is it going to take to convince you? They just want you to bring me in so they can kill me! There's no way I'm…going to…"

Suddenly, Zaekura sank back into her chair and slumped against the table. Antroz released her Sleep power and turned back to Krika. The Makuta of Nynrah stared at her for a moment before shrugging.

"I know that there's no easy way for me to stop you, and that even if I did put in the effort it wouldn't really achieve much," Krika said. "The communications chamber is on the level below this one. Third door to the left of the stairwell."

As Antroz walked out, Krika added, "I'll be listening, of course. And you should know that no matter what you end up deciding, I have no intentions of letting you take her."

Antroz stopped. "I've never known you to be all that protective."

"She's a citizen of Nynrah. I'm not a completely worthless Guardian."

Antroz offered a nod, and then left the room. The chamber Krika had indicated was a small box lined with numerous control panels, and one wall was taken up by an enormous screen. Antroz reached for one of the panels, typed into the keyboard, and then patiently waited until the screen flared to life. A Glatorian clad in purple armor was there to greet her.

"Ah, Antroz! Wonderful to hear from you—and I see you've safely made it to Nynrah! Good, good."

Antroz bowed. "Lord Angonce. Pardon the intrusion, but it is urgent that I speak with you."

Angonce raised an eyebrow. "Oh, is that so? Well, alright, what is it that you want to talk about?"

The Makuta hesitated, but eventually, she said, "I have met the prisoner. Krika has explained her crime to me—at least, his understanding of it."

"Ah. And Krika's understanding is…?"

"He claims that she possesses a mutation seen very rarely in Glatorian. A mutation that would allow her to become like you, Lord Angonce."

Angonce nodded slowly. "I see."

"He believes that, over the years, we may have delivered many such Glatorian to you without even knowing it. I must say, my Lord…that possibility frightens me terribly."

"Really? Why's that?"

Antroz clenched her fists. "If I have captured someone for committing no crime…if any have been condemned simply because of the way they were born, then I would be deeply ashamed to be a part of it. I am sorry, Lord Angonce, but…please, tell me. Is Krika right?"

Angonce stared at her for a very long time. At last, he sighed, leaned back in his chair, and, just as casually as ever, said, "Antroz, I really don't see what the problem is."

It felt to Antroz as if her armor had gone hollow. "W…what?"

"You have your orders, so follow them. You've always been really great about that, I'm not sure why you're messing up all of a sudden."

Taking a step forward, Antroz said, "Lord Angonce, are you really telling me to bring this girl to be killed?! Simply for one strand of DNA? How can such a thing be right?!"

"Because we've ordered it," Angonce said, spreading his arms and looking upward. "Antroz, we're the Great Beings. Our word is law—we're the ones who decide what right and wrong is. So if we say something is right, then, I mean, it is. It's not that complicated, really."

Antroz gaped. Her thoughts were racing, but they felt a million miles away, separated from her by a river of shock and horror.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Antroz," Angonce said. "Look, just bring the girl to the Maze, alright? We can't have someone like her running loose."

Angonce reached for the button to end the call.

"…This…is not right…"

The Great Being leaned forward. "Hm? What was that?"

She waded through the river, letting her emotions wash over her, filling her to the brim until she overflowed. Facing the screen, Antroz said, "This is not right, Lord Angonce. This girl has done nothing wrong, and I will not have innocent blood on my hands."

Now it was Angonce's turn to be shocked. He watched Antroz with wide eyes, speechless for perhaps the first time.

"Just because she has the potential to rival you does not give you the right to execute her. So I am sorry, Lord Angonce, but I must refuse the orders you have given me. Zaekura will remain in Nynrah."

The silence stretched on and on. It seemed like an eternity before Angonce sighed, his expression drooping into one of frustration and disappointment.

"Then we'll have to come to her, I suppose," he muttered. "For shame, Antroz. I really expected better of you."

The communication was terminated. Antroz turned on her heel and stalked back out into the hall.

"Some comments," Krika said, appearing as she rounded a corner. "Lovely conscience, was hoping that would make an appearance. Not sure you'll take this as a compliment, but I was really very impressed to see you, of all people, standing up to the Great Beings. But, there is one major criticism I have. You see…"

He grabbed Antroz by the shoulder. Using his Elasticity powers, he extended his arm rapidly, slamming her into the far wall and pinning her there. His eyes narrowed until they were almost shut.

"You just brought the wrath of the Great Beings down upon my city. You'll understand if I'm a small bit livid, yes?"

Antroz batted his hand away. Despite the assault, her fury was actually beginning to abate. "…I acted impulsively, I admit."

"Impulsively, yes, of course," Krika said, retracting his arm. "Impulsivity is exactly what we need right now. Why tread carefully when trying to have a polite disagreement with those capable of bending the fabric of reality itself?"

Antroz said nothing.

"…Well, there's no way to undo it now. I suppose we'll just have to fight back when the time comes."

"I have no intention of fighting," Antroz said calmly.

Krika scratched his head. "…Did I say 'a small bit'? I think my initial estimate was off."

"We cannot fight the Great Beings, Krika. All we can do is hope to reason with them."

"Reason? You think they'll be willing to listen to reason, after all that? My word, Antroz, you really are deluded."

Antroz walked towards him. "The Great Beings have made a mistake. But, I still believe their intentions are good. I will not turn Zaekura over, but I will not turn against the Great Beings either."

"They're mutually exclusive!" Krika screamed. The entire hallway shuddered. He took a moment to regain his composure before continuing, "More importantly, you just put all the citizens of Nynrah in danger. And you aren't going to lift a finger to defend them?"

"We have no reason to think the Great Beings will use lethal force."

"And is that what you thought when Gorast killed Krekka?"

Antroz turned and continued down the hall.

"…So what do you propose we do?" Krika asked.

"We wait," Antroz said. "When the Great Beings arrive, we will speak with them, and hopefully come to an understanding. I imagine we will need to keep Zaekura here until then, but she should be returned home shortly."

Krika laughed. "Well, you try telling her that. If it's all the same to you, I'm going to round up some forces to protect my citizens as they evacuate."

When Antroz returned to where Zaekura was, she sat and waited for the Glatorian to awaken. The moment she did, she jumped backward, knocking over her chair.

"What was that?" she asked, rubbing her head.

"I apologize, Zaekura. It seems you were right all along."

Zaekura grimaced. "Please tell me you didn't talk to them."

"I did."

"Oh for the love of…that's just great. When do I die?"

"You aren't going to die, Zaekura. I will not be turning you over to the Great Beings. When they arrive, I will—"

"They're coming here?!" Zaekura interrupted. "Oh no no no no no, this is bad, this is really, really bad."

She began to pace. Holding out a hand, Antroz said, "Please, settle down."

"Put that away!" Zaekura shouted, pointing at Antroz's hand. "I don't want you throwing any more of those rotten powers at me!"

With a sigh, Antroz lowered her hand. "Listen to me, Zaekura: I will do everything within my power to sway the Great Beings, and I am convinced that they will come to understand our point of view. You have nothing to fear."

Zaekura put both hands over her mouth. She stared at Antroz for a minute, and then turned around and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Is this real?" she wondered aloud. "I mean, you go from stage one, perfectly willing to take me to be killed, to stage two, thinking that maybe that's a tiny bit rash, to stage three, 'trust me to protect you'. Can you understand why I might have trouble buying that?"

Antroz paused. "I have acknowledged my mistake, and I wish to take steps to fix it. Is this not enough to prove myself?"

Zaekura stared at Antroz again. "You…you're not kidding, are you? What is that, is that ego, or do you just not have social skills?"

The Glatorian leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor. Antroz sat still for a moment, and then rose and took a few steps forward. Zaekura tensed up immediately.

"If I have to earn your trust, then so be it," Antroz said. "But for the time being, I think it best you remain here, so that Krika and I can keep you safe."

Rolling her eyes, Zaekura said, "Well if the alternative is being out in the open while the Great Beings are on a hunting trip, I guess that actually is the better option."

Antroz nodded. "Thank you. I will go see Krika, then. Please be here when we return."

Zaekura didn't say anything as she ran her hands over her face. When Antroz made it outside, she found Krika standing not far away talking to a small group of his citizens, while various types of Rahkshi could be seen approaching their location from every direction. She got just close enough to be able to listen.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you," Krika was saying. "I know that's a miserable excuse, but if you knew exactly what was coming for us, it could ruin your chances to escape it. Please, just do as I ask. And if anyone asks you why you fled Nynrah, say that it was because I forced you out."

A very concerned-looking Agori stepped forward. "But, Makuta Krika, this is our home! Shouldn't we stay to defend it?"

With a sad smile, Krika reached out and set his hand on the Agori's head. "I'm sorry, Kirbold…but there's no defense against what's coming. Anyone who stays behind to fight it would only get killed."

A Matoran asked, "But then, what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. Just get to Ga-Koro as quickly as you can, and I'll meet up with you soon."

Hesitantly, the citizens departed. Krika eyed the Rahkshi as they lined up, and his gaze eventually reached Antroz.

"I find this all rather unnecessary," Antroz said.

"You would," Krika sneered.

Antroz walked closer, continuing, "It sounds as though you agree with me, that fighting the Great Beings is impossible. I do not understand why you think escaping them will work any better."

Krika counted the Rahkshi in front of him. "All accounted for. Though, suddenly this feels like a much smaller number. Anyway, Antroz, I've deceived them before, so please butt out and allow me to work."

He got a few steps before Antroz said, "I beg your pardon? What are you referring to?"

Krika stopped in his tracks. Looking towards the ocean, he muttered, "I'm not sure I should trust you with this, but…"

The Toa of Earth from before was still there, sitting on the same rock. They looked over their shoulder again, and this time Krika beckoned to them; with quite a bit of reluctance, they complied.

"Ga-Koro, then?" the Toa asked, their voice slow and quiet. "I think I'll take my chances in the depths."

"That's quite alright, Mavrah, but please help me prove a point first," Krika said. "Antroz, about those experiments we hunted down?"

Not having the faintest idea where he was going, Antroz said, "Yes…?"

"Oh," Mavrah said, "are we doing this now?"

"Do you mind?" Krika asked.

"I suppose not. I hope she doesn't damage my lure, though."

"Krika," Antroz said, "please, elaborate."

"It's really quite simple, Antroz," Krika said. "While you slaughtered indiscriminately, I decided to push my luck just a bit. I let one of our targets live—a small feat, to be sure, but I thought it the only realistic approach. I wanted to see if they were really as dangerous as we were told, if it was completely impossible for them to be tamed. If I was wrong, then I could just kill it anyway, and if I was right then I knew how guilty I needed to feel."

Antroz's jaw dropped. "You let one of those things loose?!"

"Not loose, no. I brought it back here. And over these millennia I've cared for it, taught it not to endanger any of my citizens, and of course, kept it a secret from every other living being until now. It was really an ingenious concept the Great Beings were pursuing—Mavrah, if you would be so kind?"

The Toa of Earth nodded, and then they were gone. In the blink of an eye their body vanished, and in its place, a roughly-spherical device twice as large as Antroz's fist floated, bobbing slowly but maintaining a height of a about a foot off the ground. Antroz stepped back in surprise.

"It's sort of like an anglerfish. Except the lure can be operated remotely over a distance of several miles, controlled via a telepathic link to the main body; it can project a hologram of whatever the creature envisions, whatever they think is most likely to draw in their prey. Of course, I may have tinkered with it a bit over the years—I thought making the hologram solid would allow Mavrah to take a more active role in the community."

The "Toa" reappeared. Antroz heard a bellow in the distance, and sensed something breaking the surface of the ocean: a massive, hideous creature the likes of which she'd never sensed before. It submerged just as quickly as it had appeared.

"I've learned a lot in my time," Mavrah said. "Speech was probably the trickiest, but I think I've become rather good at it. I should probably mention that I never really had any desire to harm the citizens, and I've actually grown quite fond of them. It's saddening to see them leave. When will they be back, Krika?"

Krika shook his head. "I don't know, Mavrah. It might be some time before you hear from me."

"Oh, that's a pity. But I don't think even Ga-Koro would welcome someone like me."

Antroz stood perfectly still as she tried to process this information. Krika dismissed Mavrah, and then said, "Turns out there was another way. I've been feeling quite guilty for some time now."

He took a few more steps before Antroz called, "Krika."

"Hm?"

"What exactly is your plan?"

"Cover the citizens as they escape, by any means necessary. Once they're safely on their way to Ga-Koro, I aim to fake my death and let the story spread that I went mad out of the blue, and the Great Beings had no choice but to put me down. They'll like that. It lets them stay the heroes."

"And Zaekura?"

"Get her to the most secluded spot I can find, and keep her out of the Great Beings sight just like I've been doing with Mavrah. It won't be a great life, but at least she'll be alive. It's the best I can do on such short notice."

Antroz walked forward, saying, "If this course of action is so unappealing, then why have you already committed to it? We may yet be able to salvage this situation!"

They both heard it at the same time. It was far away still, but footsteps were undeniably getting closer to Nynrah, and they were not the steps of a Great Being. They were the steps of many marching in unison, an entire battalion that moved with an eerily methodical focus.

"Blast it," Krika said. "I figured they had something nearby as insurance, but I thought I had a least a little more time!"

Antroz broadened the range of her telepathy, sending her mind out over the approaching mass. While there was definitely something on the move, whatever they were, they did not possess minds of their own, so she gleaned very little. All that was truly clear was that they greatly outnumbered Krika's Rahkshi.

"How bad is it?" Krika asked.

Antroz hesitated. "They are soulless, and there are enough to storm this entire city…supposing that is their goal."

"I think I'll make that supposition," Krika grumbled. "Let's see now, I should be able to spare enough power to spawn another handful of Rahkshi…Antroz, if you're not going to fight, then I recommend you leave this place."

"I have no reason to flee. I shall continue to watch Zaekura until the Great Beings arrive."

Krika gritted his teeth. "Fine. But when your delusions end and you realize what's actually happening…get her out of here. In case I don't get the chance myself."

Antroz turned in the direction of the army. "If that were to happen, where would you have me take her?"

"Hard to say. Taking her to Ga-Koro would endanger the rest of my citizens, but there aren't any other settlements within reasonable walking distance. I'll leave that up to you."

Antroz nodded, and then she headed back towards the cliff. She paused when she noticed Mavrah nearby, though the illusory Toa quickly vanished, and the remote lure descended into the ocean.

I must believe that the Great Beings are reasonable. We must not resort to senseless violence.


ADDENDUM:

-Originally I planned for this Section to include more, but the complete rough draft ended up being 7000 words and I felt that was a bit too long. This seemed like the best point to divide them up, and it might actually improve the pacing a bit. Best of all, this means Section III should be up very soon!

-I know that the Great Beings being Glatorian is a contentious bit of trivia, but I thought it held the potential to be an interesting plot, so I decided to go ahead with it. If you remember the serials you might know what the 'catalyst' was, but if not don't worry: the complete picture will be explained soon enough.

-The later serials were setting Angonce up to be the Great Being our heroes could turn to, saying that he was always curious about the other species and showing him express concern over the release of Marendar. For this iteration, I thought that would translate to a "man of the people" image, though with the small twist that, in curiously observing these species, he's looking down on them. He considers them pets at best. These people fascinate him, sure, but it's not like they actually matter in his eyes—he could replace them in an afternoon. And if he's the nicest Great Being…

-I felt a more gradual shift in Antroz's view of the Great Beings would be more realistic. It's hard to learn that there are huge flaws in something you've believed or followed your entire life—that you've been complicit in terrible things without realizing it, or that you've held a viewpoint that's actually pretty awful when you take a different look at it. Antroz doesn't want to admit that to herself. So for now, she's going to hold out hope that she can still reason with the Great Beings, and that everything will go back to normal. Cognitive dissonance is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

-Kirbold was chosen more or less at random. Not many Agori stand out in my mind, and none of them seem like they would have much inclination towards Nynrah's idea of art. This kind of decision-making will probably come up again.

-Ga-Koro was one of the few places in the Melding Universe actually visited in Brothers in Arms, though not many details were given about it. Since I had already said Nynrah was along the coast of Aqua Magna and Ga-Koro must be in a similar location, it made sense that they'd be near each other and would make a good default evacuation route, which led me to craft a more specific purpose for the city as a sort of sanctuary. More details on that should come in a few chapters. And, yes, it has a Makuta, though I won't spoil who.

-If I recall my thought process correctly, I wanted there to be some early event that sparked Krika's distrust of the Great Beings, and thinking about what could have happened so long ago reminded me of the ancient aquatic Rahi from Voyage of Fear. The anglerfish is one of the weirder real-life creatures I know about, and I thought the projection lure would be a neat idea—at that point it was obvious said lure would be named Mavrah. Also I just realized that I messed up in Section I: the Toa of Earth is referred to as "he", but Mavrah actually uses "they" pronouns. I'm going to edit that, and I'll be more consistent going forward.

-Like I was saying earlier, Section II was originally going to include the upcoming battle, but it looks like the nature of this army is going to remain a mystery for now. Antroz's telepathy doesn't work very well on non-living things when they're very far away. You may be surprised to see what's coming, though it's not impossible to guess either. (Gosh I've missed making pointless, cryptic remarks.) I do want to finish work on something else before I finish editing Section III, but I'm going to be optimistic and say it won't be all that long. Stay tuned!