The Grand Creation

About the Grand Creation

The Grand Creaion is the third serial to be produced for Ancient Chronicle, the currently leading project of the fan-based organization Mata Nui Incorporated. In-story, the Great Beings' leader, the Elder has been pushing the creation of a testing robot for over a decade, and abusing the Great Beings after his rise to power several centuries ago.

Two Great Beings will decide to put an end to this experiment, as well as this Elder - but they soon find out it's harder than they though. The Elder then assigns several Agori and Glatorian to uncover the truth. Slowly, they find themselves digging even deeper than they thought, as they unravel a conspiracy that has been running for eons.

Official Topics

Storyboard
Characters
Assignments
eBook Recordings

Chapters


Prologue by Skarloth

Chapter One by Riglax

Chapter Two by KNI

Chapter Three by Captain Marvel

Chapter Four by HahliNuva

Chapter Five by Dovydas

Chapter Six by Legolover-361

Chapter Seven by Riglax

Chapter Eight by Legolover-361

Chapter Nine by Riglax

Epilogue by Legolover-361

Varonis grasped the last crate tightly and lifted it with some effort. Spreading his legs to gain a lower center of gravity, hands wrapped around the bottom two edges, the Fire Agori carried it out of the room. The entrance hall was a long one, with polished marble lining the floor and the walls, gleaming under the bronze evening light of Solis Magna, the planet’s sun, that streamed through the windows. Varonis’s footsteps echoed in the silence.

It was late, definitely too late to be within the chambers. The Great Beings had drummed repeatedly into the minds of their assistants that they did not — did not — want anyone roaming about their buildings unsupervised. Dangerous technology, they said. Varonis was almost certain that they were hiding something. With that thought came a hint of annoyance: He didn’t like being left out of the loop.

“Assistant”, the Great Beings called him. He cleaned up after them, moved supplies -- basically did darn well everything they asked him to do; in his mind, that made him worthy only of the title “slave”. His situation stung even more when his former high position, gained fifty-six years ago after many more years of getting on the Elder’s good side, was included in context.

Varonis stopped before the marble doors, their large golden handles glistening underneath the artificial light, and scowled a little. He didn’t like the Great Beings, not really, but they liked him -- not enough to promote him, naturally, but just enough for him to retain his current position.

More annoyance flared inside his chest. Dousing it as best he could, he pushed against one of the great doors, easily ten times his size, with the crate. With nary a whisper it pivoted open; Varonis slipped through the now-Agori-sized gap between the two doors and made his way around the grand chamber’s table. Against the walls were tables sporting elegant carvings, most depicting past creations of the Great Beings. This was where the Great Beings made big decisions, decisions that would control the fate of Spherus Magna.

A small smile was Varonis’s acknowledgement of the marble table’s grandeur. Somehow, some way, he would find a way to sit there. Power beckoned always.

The thought evaporated as his gaze slid to the ceiling. Eight columns, almost larger than life, held a large, domed, ornate ceiling in place far above Varonis’ head. Said ceiling was decorated with a fantastic mural, one that told through beautiful, intricate art of the day the Great Beings arrived upon Spherus Magna, and how they brought the Glatorian and Agori beyond their normal potential.

Varonis hated the display. It had been a sad day, in his opinion, when the Great Beings had come. Not because they would change the very foundation of civilization, but because they took over, believing the planet was as good as theirs. It wasn’t. That was a fact they either refuted or ignored.

Varonis walked to the right wall of the chamber as the large, marble entrance doors finally slid shut. Here was set an alcove, within which was another door; Varonis opened this door and entered the small backup storage room therein. He set his crate down upon another crate and, as he walked out the little doorway, sighed in relief at his work being finished.

Footsteps. They came from outside the large marble doors; and with them—

“...he has been doing nothing but grasp for power, power, and more power...”

With a sibilant curse, Varonis leapt back through the doorway, shutting the door and peering out through the tiny gap between door and doorjamb.

Two beings walked into the chamber, two of the Great Beings. Varonis recognized the taller and thicker of the two as Osavus. Invidior, shorter but slimmer, stood behind Osavus with his hands clenched into tight fists.

They were arguing ardently.

“Keep your mouth closed! Do you want to have us expelled from the council?” Osavus said angrily.

His ‘‘brother’, Invidior, sighed, wiping his forehead clear of sweat with his right lower arm; his right hand, Varonis noted, remained a fist. “Our Elder is a hag,” said Invidior, his tone as harsh as a storm above open ocean. ”What right does he have to toss me around like I’m one of his toys? I solved our greatest challenge yet --- I [i[created[/i] the idea of a giant mechanoid in the first place! If I’m not reinstated as project leader, then I will personally end the project by any means necessary.”

Varonis knew the project they spoke of: a gigantic mechanical being, millions of feet tall, limbs the size of entire villages, a torso the size of a mountain. It stood the size of a moon but not as big as the vast Spherus Magna itself. If one were to see it, amazement and perplexity would simultaneously fill the mind. Varonis had been confounded to the point of speechlessness the first time he had seen it, and even though it had only been the creation’s leg, it had left an impression on him.

Even years after the question first arose in his mind, he didn’t know whether the Great Beings were ingenius or insane, or if there was even a difference between the two states of mind. He continued to listen, holding back breaths even, to hear every word of the conversation.

Osavus sighed. “Brother, there is no need for hatred,” he said, adopting a quieter tone of voice. “I am... certain our Elder is simply making the best choice for everyone, especially you. He does not think you are ready yet for such a large and grand experiment.” He placed his hand on Invidior’s shoulder.

The younger Great Being shrugged off the hand, still irked. ”You are right. I should not have said the things I said. That, however, does not expunge the fact that I am fully capable of leading the project. Yet that old fool refuses to see my way! -- plainly so he can steal my glory, and use the project for his own purposes.”

Osavus sighed again. “I am not against our Elder, but I must agree with you,” he said, and Varonis saw a glint of white as Invidior grinned a little. “Your punishment was harsh and... faintly illogical. But what use is yelling and cursing?”

The grin vanished, and Invidior responded to Osavus with a curse. “I built the stabilizers so we could work inside the robot without Spherus Magna’s gravity interfering. All that work, just so I could be thrown out again... just because I ‘wasn’t ready’ for it. If you have a better alternative, do tell.” The younger Great Being sneered, burying his right fist into the palm of his left hand.

The other Great Being, however, wasn’t old, either. Varonis knew that Osavus had been denied positions of authority as well, perhaps even greatness, many times, simply because he was “too young” or “not ready”; if anyone knew what Invidior was going through, it was Osavus.

Osavus. Who was wincing now, finger half-raised, like one on the verge of telling terrible news.

“Invidior...” He trailed off, blinked hard. “I, uh, did not think to tell you before...”

The other Great Being waited stoically.

“The Elder, and the High Council, have decided to keep you out of the project permanently,” he said, and winced again.

An awkward silence fell in the room. Varonis realized the corners of Invidior’s mouth had twitched... upwards? Invidior was actually smiling at this news? Varonis wondered what that meant.

“Perfect.”

Osavus’s eyebrow shot up in obvious confusion. “Excuse me?” he queried. “What’s so ‘perfect’ about that? Just a second ago you were in a fury!”

A shake of the head. “I believe I am done with the project, Osavus,” said Invidior, slowly. “In fact... I am done with the Great Beings entirely.”

Osavus took a small step back, his right hand reaching out to grip the edge of the meeting table, as if the taller Great Being were afraid he might fall. His mouth only weakly formed words: “What? Have you been driven to madness? Over — over a single project?”

Again, Invidior shook his head. “A single project, you say -- yet this project is currently our Elder’s only occupation. Answer me this: Do you agree with the project?”

Osavus, his eyes still widened, slowly shook his head no. ”Even though some call this our golden age, we still do not have the time to waste on a project as large as this one. I” -- he looked about himself, as if wary of eavesdroppers -- “I suppose I have thought all along that this was a waste of time. But the Elder listens to no one, and the sooner we complete this project as a group, the sooner we shall be done with it.”

Invidior’s smile widened, just a tad. “Then aid me, my brother, in destroying it.”

Osavus blinked.

“Putting it out of commission,” Invidior repeated. “Stopping it.”

The air was still. Varonis let out a breath he hadn’t realized was pent inside his lungs.

“Invidior,” began Osavus cautiously, turning away so his gaze was directed toward the table, “I am in disagreement with the project, but not to the point of wanting to destroy it; that... that is worse than letting it continue...”

“Osavus” — and here Invidior’s expression turned deathly serious — “please. Help me. This project is nothing but a waste, and a danger to everyone on Spherus Magna. We must destroy it before we — or rather, our brothers — lose control, and innocent lives are destroyed. The Elder has been mindlessly guiding us for a long time, brother.”

For the umpteenth time, Osavus sighed deeply. He turned toward Invidior. “As long as we don’t hurt anyone; I don’t want to get my hands dirtier than necessary,” he said. “Yes, Invidior, I will aid you in this task, but only for the safety of the people.”

Again, Invidior’s smile surfaced, a smile that made Varonis wonder: If the Great Beings as a whole were not insane, Invidior surely was. “That’s what I’ve been telling you: This project is more a danger than a protection.”

The Great Beings moved out-of-sight behind the doorjamb. Varonis didn’t hear the marble doors open, but a very faint click confirmed that they had closed. There were faint footsteps from outside, and mumblings: Invidior and Osavus, leaving Varonis behind to wonder what on Spherus Magna he had just witnessed.

The storage room door opened silently. Varonis stepped out just as quietly, closing the door behind him and stealing around the meeting table. At the entrance doors he paused, removing his helmet to place his ear against the cool marble and listening hard.

Silence, utter and absolute.

He pushed the doors open just a crack and slipped through, running down the hall, rolling his feet from heel to toe to reduce noise; in the silence his mind raced, replaying Invidior and Osavus’s conversation repeatedly within his head.

”This project is nothing but a waste, and a danger to everyone on Spherus Magna. We must destroy it before we — or rather, our brothers — lose control, and innocent lives are destroyed. The Elder has been mindlessly guiding us for a long time, brother.”

Had Varonis been in the right place at the right time to eavesdrop? — or the wrong place at the wrong time? Was he alone in knowing of this plot, or was it perhaps being talked about through all of the Great Beings’ Tower? Perhaps the time of change had come, and he was the first to know.

But what was he to do?

The Grand Creation

Chapter One

It was bright.

She covered her eyes, as they were unable to accustom themselves to the dawn's breaking light. Her eyelids rose slowly till she found herself looking almost directly at the rising sun. The pain was numbed. Pain was a familiar feeling, one she had felt time and time again, but she knew it was worth it. Because the age-old mantra "no pain, no gain" held a grain of truth. Because the sunrise was all that could remind her of home. She had last seen it years back, a time she had carved into her mind as the ancients had carved the legends of the Great Beings’ coming. But instead of soulless stone, her past was engraved on the sky as the sunrise that now painted Spherus Magna with its splendor.

The sun was not the memory; rather, its regular rising provided the necessary mental prompt. Every morning it disentangled itself from the horizon, and every evening it slipped back underneath, just as it had every day at home. She watched it every morning, just as she had so long ago.

Her caravan drifted closer to the city, moving at a slow, yet stable, pace. Abruptly, the sun winked out. She looked up, startled. A monolithic Glatorian-like figure stood twenty million feet high, its massive silhouette contrasting with the bright sky about it and the horizon. It was beautiful, almost, except in a robotic, alien way. "Beautiful" wasn't the right word to describe its appearance, anyway; perhaps "awesome" was more applicable.

Over the past decade of her travels, she had heard so much about this single machine that she almost envied it. It was just... there, standing on the horizon, doing nothing. Yet, it was the sole focus of both the Great Beings and the Glatorian and Agori society under them. It was the pinnacle of modern technology, so gargantuan in its design and in the ambition that had been poured into its construction that it seemed like a dream given form. What power could it wield?

She kept reminding herself -- as everyone else did -- that this was a project created by the Great Beings. How could they fail their subjects now?

* * *

“I am sorry.” The guard double-checked the list of official guests with the air of one who had better things to do. “I’m afraid the only way one can enter the city is by having a legal passport stamped by the government officials.”

He looked back to Rohkea, who bit her lower lip in frustration. "Please," said the Ice Tribe Glatorian. "I’ve traveled all this way just to be stopped at the city entrance? As I’ve said, a friend of mine was going to bring me in, but she’s not here now. Can’t you make an exception?"

“I’m sorry, ma'am, but--"

"I'm not a ma'am--"

"--but allowing any armed being to pass through Renata's gates is not permitted -- if it were, we might as well let Vorox thieves raid the city, right?” The guard chuckled, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword and his left dangling by his side, holding the list. “Rules apply to everyone -- doubly so because this is the location of the Great Beings’ Tower, and they need the extra security. Please try to understand. Now, if you could step aside--”

“Hold it!" A female Sand Glatorian butted in front of Rohkea and shoved a paper in the guard's face. A triumphant grin decorated her face, which was shadowed by the pale blue hood and cloak she wore. "Here’s her passport. Let her pass.”

As the surprised guard examined the paper, the Glatorian turned to Rohkea. Her smile widened as they embraced. Casiria's hug, as it had always been, even when they were both in Sand Stalker academy, was tight enough to squeeze out most of the air in Rohkea's lungs.

“By the will of the Great Beings! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Rohkea! How have you been?”

Rohkea's smile was practically tepid next to Casiria's beaming expression. “Well... the usual, I, uh, guess. I’ve been traveling a lot from city to city -- from Aqua Magna all the way here. Oh, and, uh, trading." She laughed. "Actually, you know what, my story isn't interesting. I suppose you've, uh, been doing fine?”

“Oh, I have. I’ve been working for quite some time here in Renata. It's quite a profitable city, if you know how to take advantage of it -- a great place to live." Casiria took Rohkea's hand; the friendly gesture made the Ice Glatorian feel awkward. It wasn't often she was welcomed with such vigor.

She supposed she would become accustomed to it eventually.

"Don't worry about being alone,” Casiria continued as Rohkea struggled to keep herself rooted in reality. "You can stay with me. Just a heads-up: I keep my bed, you get the guest room, and if you're going to eat the last fruit in the bowl on the kitchen counter, ask me first."

The guard glanced from one Glatorian to the other, his eyebrows raised. "You know her, Casiria?"

Casiria stood at her full height, which, while made intimidating by her hands-on-hips posture, was still a full inch shorter than the guard's height. "I thought you would have heard me say -- oh, I dunno, a million times -- that my friend was coming."

“I would have allowed her to pass if I had known she was talking about you!"

“Maybe you could have asked her who her friend was?" snapped Casiria. She already sounded weary of the conversation. "Honestly, Ackar."

“Perhaps if her friend wasn't that late, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now--"

"Excuse me." Rohkea stepped between Ackar and Casiria. "Excuse me," she repeated in her politest tone, "but... don't we -- don't we all have matters to attend to?”

“Course," said Casira. "Look, it’s been a pleasure seeing you Ackar -- as always -- but we'd better get going. You're busy anyway, aren't you?”

She jerked a thumb behind her. Ackar realized he had been ignoring the growing line of people waiting outside the city walls to get their passports checked and cursed under his breath.

“Yeah, well... whatever.” He grinned at Casiria and Rohkea as they departed and then turned to handle the mass of newcomers.

Rohkea and Casiria entered through the main gates, Casiria taking point and Rohkea following obediently. The entrance plaza was massive and crowded; Rohkea was forced to circumnavigate traders shouting praises of their wares, disgruntled customers who had been tricked into buying said wares, and numerous Agori and Glatorian who barely noticed the two friends among the tides of people, so busy they were. The hustle and bustle was intimidating to a withdrawn Glatorian as Rohkea was, but who could blame the crowds? -- the Great Beings' creation was set to launch its mission of astronomical observation and data collection in not a matter of months, or even weeks, but of days. Days. That thought, too, reared its ugly head in Rohkea's mind.

A minute of evasion and two apologies for stepping on Casiria's heels later, Rohkea stood in the eye of a traffic eddy near the edge of the plaza. Casiria frowned at her. "Are you all right? I know you don't like crowds..."

“No!" Rohkea insisted a little too quickly. Mentally, she winced; physically, she barely managed to disguise any hints of her mental self-rebuke. "I'm -- I'm fine. It's just, uh, all of this is kinda strange for me. I'm not used to all the... the...” She waved her hand about vaguely.

"...people?" suggested Casiria.

Rohkea nodded. “Yeah. People.”

“Don’t worry,” Casiria chuckled. “I’ll teach you how to blend in. It’s really easy. Oh, come on now,” she said at Rohkea’s expression of disbelief. “I say a history lesson is mandatory. Y’know, a crash course on customs. Allow me to be your teacher.”

“Can’t we do it another time? I’m really tired.”

”C’mon, Rohkea, it’s a long walk to my house -- there’s nothing else we can talk about.” Casiria sighed as the two resumed their walking. “For old times’ sake?”

Rohkea would never, ever admit she enjoyed Casiria’s teachings, mainly because she didn’t trust that Casiria’s ego could safely grow any bigger. Casiria probably knew anyway. When they were young and still in the Sand Stalker Academy, they had read a plethora of books regarding history and, in the case of many tomes they cracked open under the light of a torch, focusing on the grand city of Magnacus Renata. One such book, Of the City of the Great Beings, had enthralled them, particularly with its in-depth writings depicting the city’s vast timeline in the space of six hundred pages. A pity Rohkea had forgotten its content.

She shrugged; Casiria interpreted the movement as a “yes” -- or more likely a “heck yeah!” and began to recite the city's history in her best imitation of a professor. Rohkea could have sworn she even puffed out her chest in mock pretension. “As you’ve probably heard, Magnacus Renata has been present since the formation of the seven tribes and the end of the war. It has served as the Fire Tribe’s primary location and the Great Beings’ headquarters for years and is expected to continue for some time to come. Renata would most definitely be the capital of Spherus Magna if Atero had not already received the title.”

“I would ask where the name 'Magnacus Renata' came from, but I'm afraid you'll, uh, launch into an entire lecture.”

“As if I would,” scoffed Casiria, but her smile rendered her tone unconvincing. "Anyway, I can't believe you've forgotten all of that."

"I don’t, well, exactly have your -- your memory, Casiria. Magnacus Renata's etymology hasn't been particularly, or really, important at all to me for a while."

"Well, then, I'm glad you asked." Casiria took a large breath, filling her lungs with air. "There's quite a tale behind that name, actually. It all began thousands of years ago, when the Fire Tribe was ruled by a fearsome dictator, Vulcanus. His ego was so immense that he renamed the Fire Tribe's homeland after himself. However, all dictators have enemies, and he, being so hated and reviled, had many. He was assasinated in an uprising. His death didn't just bring the end of a dynasty, but also the dissolvation of the Fire Tribe. Thieves, murders and bandits quickly raided Vulcanus -- the city, that is, not the realm -- and forced its inhabitats to flee to the "City of the Maze" as Magnacus Renata was then known. Most of the immigrants were not welcomed. It wasn't their fault, as the city was mostly populated by rich Agori and Glatorian from all tribes who were too cheap to provide shelter or help the "poor". It wasn't long until the immigrants held a social rebellion, openely requesting control of the city -- a bold movement on their part, but trust me, everyone on the world welcomed the change in the City of the Maze's leadership back then." Casiria paused. She was still for a few seconds, trying to regain her breath before speaking again.

Rohkea frowned. "I’m having a hard time keeping up...”

Casiria ignored her and continued. "The Great Beings, whose tower was and still is located at the center of the city, wished to please both sides sans bloodshed. They decided to grant the reborn Fire Tribe leadership privileges and placed an old, rich Fire Agori citizen as the leader of the city and the Fire Tribe. That day, the Fire Tribe citizens were so proud of their victory, they considered their old Magma Kingdom, Magnacus, to be 'reborn' by their actions. So, they decided to rename the city Magnacus Renata, native tongue for Magnacus Reborn. Today, Magnacus Renata can indeed be considered the Fire Tribe's new home. It was inevitable, I suppose."

Rohkea felt awkward when she finally realized Casiria had finished talking... three seconds after the fact. The Sand Glatorian was expecting a reply, or maybe even applause. Heaven forbid that she wanted applause.

"I will, uh, try and remember all of this next time," Rohkea cautiously said.

“I sure hope you do! Just wait for our next lesson." Casiria's bright smile terrified Rohkea a bit but also inexplicably amused her. She could listen to Casiria rambling all day if that was mandatory to spend time with her. Sure, she had her flaws, but she was still a friend.

Casiria pointed ahead. "We're almost out of the market--"

Instantly, she knew it was time. She couldn't delay their meeting any longer, or she would most definitely face a death sentence. Escaping was not an option here, either -- two shadows, two that she had noted in her peripheral vision whilst navigating the crowd, had their hands under their cloaks on what Casiria knew were hilts of weapons. Casiria's mouth stiffened into a tight line, but no other physical appearance was altered to fit the sudden chill in her demeanor.

Rohkea was puzzled by her friend’s caprice. She glanced around the market, searching for the catalyst, but saw only the iridescent mixture of armor color about her, primarily red, blue, yellow, silver, and a couple blurs of black that disappeared before she could see them clearly.

Focus returned to Casiria's gaze, but her expression was curiously reserved. “Sorry, Rohkea, I have to run an errand of my own.”

“Are, um, are you alright? You look kinda pale--”

"I'm -- I'm fine." Her voice was a little too quick, her sentences a little too clipped. "Hey, aren't you looking for work? If so, go to the city's iron forge. Dead north, spewing smoke. I, uh, know a friend there. He's an Iron Glatorian, Galintin -- he can help you find a job."

Casiria was already moving when her sentence ended. “Wait up!” Rohkea grabbed Casiria’s shoulder, holding her back. "Can you at least tell me where you're going?"

“Ugh. I... all right. Listen, Rohkea" -- Rohkea was already listening closely, her concentration written upon her face, but neither Glatorian mentioned the faux pas -- "this is a letter you need to help me deliver. Read it if you want to -- it explains everything you need to know about... all this. Deliver it to Angonce.” Casiria hugged Rohkea, both because she knew this may be her final goodbye and because she wanted to distract the shadows lurking in the background. Her hands reached into Rohkea's back armor, slowly pushing a letter into its storage container. Rohkea felt it, but she didn't move -- she was too scared to do so.

“Wait a minute -- Angonce? The Great Being?”

“Yes," Casiria said, pulling back. "It's... important."

"I still don't understand--"

"Later. I have to go. I'm sorry." Casiria started running as fast as her legs would allow her.

For the first time in far too long, Rohkea was worried about someone else.

* * *

"What's on your mind, master?"

Raanu was never much of a talker; even this question was succinct, as if the Fire Agori was unsure of his master's willingness to answer. Angonce glanced at the Agori standing beside him and smiled -- he meant to look comforting, but he only seemed weary.

“I am torn between justice and loyalty, my friend. I do not know if I should trust my judgement, or follow my instinct.” Angonce could not dare to transcend the truth he knew into spoken words, but he nevertheless hoped Raanu would understand his general meaning.

Raanu thought for a minute. “Perhaps, but what is left for one who dismisses his instinct? We have it for a reason, don't we?”

“You speak truth, Raanu." Angonce paused, deciding his words carefully. "You are one of my closest friends... There is something that I must get off my chest, and you are as close a confidant as any.”

“If you wish, I'll take your secret to Pior's grave, master.”

“I’m afraid this isn’t just a secret, Raanu. It’s been going on for quite a while now. The Elder’s behavior is becoming disturbingly erratic. We are just two days from running the experiment we've been working on for a decade, and he seems more concerned about the publicity the launch is going to bring us. This mechanoid will conduct important tests and study scientific phenomena -- it isn't exactly something for the masses to celebrate.”

“Rumors have been spreading about the robot. Some suggest it will give the Great Beings complete control, and they will enslave Spherus Magna.” Raanu kept his eyes on Angonce's face to catch the Great Being's reaction.

The reaction, if it was there, was too small for Raanu to see. “I am very well aware, my friend," said Angonce. His face was a mask of impassiveness. "One would think that as a Great Being, knowledge would be easy to come by, but I'm afraid I am almost as in the dark as you are.”

Angonce sighed and glanced about the courtyard. He wished he didn’t have to attend the meeting, but the Elder's retribution would be swift should Angonce deliberately miss the meeting. “I should have left for the council's meeting a minute ago," he told Raanu. "I must go now, but I need you and Ackar to do me a favor.”

“What do you need?”

“I need you to guard the entrance to the tower. Watch for even the slightest suspicious actions. It may seem like a simple task, but trust me, it's of the utmost importance.”

"I... well, all right." This was a busy season; Raanu couldn’t afford to spend much time off duty, perchance why he acted more brusque towards Angonce than usual. Normally his tone was of gratitude -- after all, he did owe his life to Angonce.

Raanu was amongst the wealthy citizens that were left without a home when the city of Vulcanus's leadership turned on its heel. He had only two options left: abandon his past life and seek refuge elsewhere, or defend his standing and have the people shout for his blood. Leaving his past life was something like dying to Raanu. When he fled, he felt like a coward who couldn't stand up for himself. As many others did, he found a new home in Magnacus Renata, but he had lost all that was precious to him -- his home, family, and his status in society. Angonce was the first person who, by hiring him as a Tower guard, gave him a new purpose to live and direction in life. If not for Angonce, Raanu would most likely be begging on the streets.

“I will see you again, old friend.” His voice, unlike his face, betrayed the vulnerable emotions within him. Raanu was only just able to recognize Angonce's change of tone because he had known him for so long. The Great Being turned from Raanu and, with a moment's concentration, teleported to the ginormous marble doors of the Great Beings’ meeting chamber. He could hear whispers and other noises inside the room and guessed his brothers were anxious.

He swung the doors open. Silence fell over the room as light filled the chamber; Angonce’s shadow fell across the table and over the other Great Beings. The Elder, sitting on the other side of the table, made a gesture welcoming Angonce to enter. There was anger in the Elder's eyes, hidden behind the immersive holograms that blocked Angonce's view. Great Beings did not wince, but Angonce came close.

“Angonce.” The dry voice of their Elder echoed in the newly found silence. He opened his arms, pushing away the holograms. “You are late. If I'm not mistaken, this meeting was announced yesterday. You had all the time to prepare yourself, yet your arrival was nevertheless delayed. I hope this behavior will not be repeated in the near future. Now sit.” Angonce nodded in agreement and took his seat alongside the others.

At a first glance, the Elder's figure was that of an old man filled with indisputable knowledge: a wise, experienced leader. Angonce knew this wasn't the case with the second Elder of the Great Beings. Anyone -- even the least educated Agori -- could sense the reckless rage his eyes directed at those around him. A voracious fire burned inside his heart, one willing to consume anyone who dared stand in his way; such was his determination to pursue his goal. None of the Great Beings had ever questioned his leadership. They felt it was wiser to obey than fight, and besides, the Elder's temerity normally did little but increase tension during meetings.

That tension now pressed the present Great Beings deeper into their seats. Satisfied no one would interrupt, the Elder spoke.

“As I must reiterate for our late arrival, the reason I called you all here today is simple. It has come to my attention that some of you are openly doubting the completion of the greatest project we have ever undertaken. I am surprised that some of you think of our project in this way; in doing so, you have doubted not only my leadership but my plan to give us greater respect from the sentient species of this planet. Is there anyone, anyone, that can provide me with a simple explanation as to why people have been spreading rumors about us, if not against us?”

The Great Beings looked at each other in silence. Out of all of them, Invidior was the most eager to answer the Elder, but he had promised to let Osavus handle it. Raeir, who was sitting between to Osavus and Heremus, wore his skepticism of the Elder's plan like a mask on his face. Usually quiet Morkoth, seated next to Invidior, kept watching the others carefully, almost as if he was waiting for something.

Then, out of the blue, Osavus' voice was heard. "Lord Elder, excuse my rashness, but... of course they have been spreading rumors! How can you possibly regard that such a thing would not be feared by the people? You’ve pressured us into completing this -- this humongous machine, a nigh-impossible task, which has been draining our resources for a decade now. Instead of helping the people, we’ve been dealing with this... this pure waste of our time!”

Rarely would Osavus engage in a fight or directly accuse someone of something. Everyone was shocked. However, Osavus's anger was justified: Unknown to most, Osavus's acquiescent demeanor was but a costume of which he had grown tired. The Elder’s hypocritical nature would run the Great Beings into the ground unless someone said something... and, besides, if Osavus was to destroy the robot with Invidior, confronting the Elder directly would reaffirm in Osavus's mind that sabotage was the only path available.

The Elder did not reply first; Heremus, his right and left hand, did. “Have you gone mad, brother? I cannot believe one of our own kind would say such things! We’ve run more than enough tests to back up our theories -- this will benefit the world more than any of our other achievements have -- how can you possibly doubt bare facts?”

Everyone knew or at least suspected Heremus was too afraid of losing his power, which was why he always stood up for the Elder -- even if it meant going against his morals, something to which the Elder seemed to take a particular liking. Heremus wasn't the brightest member of the council, either, which was probably how the Elder trapped him so neatly under a thumb. [some could even go as far as to question his current status. The Elder however, seemed to ignore Heremus' obliviousness on purpose.]

“How can you prove that the facts have not been changed to suit our Elder’s wishes, brother? What makes you so certain? Am I the only one that’s seeing this, or is our Elder ruling us by fear alone?” Invidior, whose fury had been boiling throughout the conversation, rose up and spoke.

“Are you even listening to yourself anymore? ‘Ruling us by fear’? Are you accusing our leader of betrayal?” cried Heremus.

Invidior was enraged by Heremus’ attitude. Both he and Osavus knew that Invidior spoke the truth, and yet Heremus insisted in supporting the Elder.

“Can’t you just stop defending him? As we all very well know, he's--”

“ENOUGH!” the Elder’s voice silenced all the Great Beings. He signaled the guards to prepare for the inevitable and continued. “How amusing. Not only do you speak to your brother as if he is some kind of criminal, but you go outright against my will, and then accuse me of betrayal inside the very room I am present?” Angrier than Osavus could ever recall, the Elder rose out of his chair.

“Brothers and sisters... I am forced to expel both Invidior and Osavus from the council of the Great Beings. Forever. They will no longer be allowed to enter our Tower.”

This was the final blow in Invidior’s mind. He snapped; rising from his seat with a snarl of hatred, he made for the Elder; a sceptre materialized in his hand. However, the guards intercepted him and neutralized his powers before he could do any harm to their leader. Osavus was violently seized as well.

“I hereby remove you all your rights to be called Great Beings. Now, you are nothing more than exiles. You’re the unavoidable result of your own tragedy.” The Elder was tired of Invidior and Osavus. However, the Elder's words had no emotional impact to Invidior. If he had to sacrifice this much, he would. He had lost faith; he did not care for the consequences. His eyes were affixed upon the Elder's in a clear attempt at catalyzing conflict. Osavus

Osavus and Invidior were dragged forcefully out of the room. The giant marble doors closed behind them.

Disappointed, the Elder returned to a more relaxed state, his voice descending into a whisper. “Unless there are any more objections, this meeting is over. Keep working. We are behind schedule.”

Angonce, his brothers and sisters offered no words. The Elder, satiated, dismissed them with an exasperated wave of his hand; they complied, exiting the chamber silently.

* * *

"Do we really have to stand here doing nothing, Raanu?" asked Ackar, attempting to capture Raanu's attention. Beads of sweat dripped from his brow underneath his helmet; without clouds to inhibit its warmth, Solis Magna was giving its all today, and the lava canals beneath the city weren't helping the situation.

Raanu barely shifted from his position against a building. "Yes," he murmured, his eyes roving the crowd.

"I can tell you aren't paying attention to what I'm saying. Look... Angonce has always been superstitious, and he isn't going to stop being that way now, or ever. It's always the same with you and him."

"It's not like that, Ackar." At least Raanu's response was direct this time. His eyes focused on Ackar, who jumped to the advantage.

"I understand that you trust him, but he's just nervous because of the robot's upcoming launch, that's all. There's no need for us to keep patrolling the tower so extensively. Especially not in the middle of the day, when it's so hot." Ackar didn't know if Great Beings could even understand the definition of "nervous", but he was hoping Raanu would be convinced more easily this way.

"Just... Let me think about it." Raanu paused and glanced around.

Just like every other day, the market districts were as busy as ever -- Agori and Glatorian were running as if they were being chased down, and others were buying and selling goods. Solis Magna was brighter than usual, and the giant robot stood in the distance over the city like a giant, wary sentinel.

Yet something in the back of Raanu's mind gave him pause. Raanu had always been pessimistic in nature. He could swear a catastrophe was on the horizon... but then, he could have also sworn that he was doomed to death when he had been left homeless. Maybe -- he kept that word, maybe, engrained in his mind -- maybe Ackar was right after all. He was probably overthinking this; there were a hundred guards per each city district and few criminals would be crazy enough to trigger a high-speed chase under midday's searing sunlight. Nothing was going to happen today.

He repeated the statement thrice in his mind to ensure he believed it.

"You're... probably right. No one is going to cause trouble now. At least not while it's so hot."

"But" -- Ackar paused, running through Raanu's response again -- "wait, I am? I mean -- of course I am!" Ackar almost leapt from the wall; before Raanu could change his mind, Ackar was walking away at a brisk trot, calling back, "Let's not waste any time -- I have some errands to run."

"Aye," sighed Raanu.

He followed Ackar, and together they boarded one a bus-like vehicle passing by. It was a large rectangular metallic capsule, piloted by an Agori driver. Mainly used for mass transportation and cargo, the large vehicle was running on electromagnetic currents that allowed it to travel through the giant city in no time. Yet another invention of the Great Beings, it was powered by their Tower, which, unknown to most unhired by the Great Beings, contained a large power plant dubbed the "Great Volcano". It was the same energy source that would later power the ginormous robot.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the main marketplace district, which was, conveniently enough, the city's biggest crossroad. Every major road in the city looped, one way or another, back to this marketplace.

Ackar didn't notice Raanu's obvious uneasiness. "I'll just get a package," the Fire Glatorian said, leaving Raanu standing alone in the huge crowd. Raanu couldn't help but think Ackar was glad to be away.

His thoughs were interrupted by yelling.

He pushed through the crowd toward the source of the commotion. In a small clearing, he almost ran into a pale blue Agori.

"Guard! -- guard!" The Agori grabbed Raanu, almost shaking him by the shoulders.

"What's going--?"

"Someone stole exsidian from my caravan! He went that way!"

"He did?! I mean, he did!" Off-guard, Raanu barely noticed a dark figure pause outside an alley down the street. Their eyes met. The silhouette acted as if shocked and ran; Raanu shoved past the blue Agori and gave chase.

Ackar emerged from the crowd as Raanu dove back into it. He paused with his mouth half-open, hesitating on the verge of questioning the Agori himself. The thief had a large head start; Raanu wasn't fast enough to catch up to him, and neither was Ackar.

Thinking quickly, Ackar ran to the shop across the street. The shocked storeowner didn't protest as the Fire Glatorian ran behind the counter and into the back room, flashing his guard ID as he passed. Up the stairs -- Ackar burst onto the roof and, breathing hard, scanned the nearby area for any sign of the thief.

He was disappointed. Raanu was nearly out of his sight, and the thief was long gone.

"Blast," Ackar muttered.

It become more clear that Raanu and Ackar couldn't outrun the thief on their own. Ackar took a small orb from his waist pack and touched a button that activated its alarm feature. Guards within a hundred-meter radius would hear the alarm on their own devices and converge on Ackar's rough location.

Half a minute had passed before Ackar realized no one was coming.

He swore and jabbed the orb again to no avail. Each guard was supposed to keep watch until the next shift came to relieve them. The next shift change wasn't due for another forty-some minutes, so where had everyone gone? He desperately glanced around, hoping the others would come. No one came.

Left without any other options, Ackar leapt awkwardly to the next roof, then to the next, his head pivoting left and right in lookout.

There! He was rushing in the opposite direction of Ackar, and Raanu had finally caught up. The thief plowed through the middle of the crowd below, shoving anyone in his way, but Ackar could make out that he was a small, Agori-sized being dressed in dark blue attire that covered his armor and face completely. The Fire Glatorian reversed direction, taking advantage of the thief's slow pace.

Possibly the thief realized he was only hurting himself and ran to the edge of the marketplace. What he didn't realize was that Ackar stood overhead. The Fire Glatorian calculated the leap, decided he would survive, and jumped.

The thief only noticed Ackar when the latter slammed into the former with the force of a raging Spikit. The two rolled across the ground; the crowd about them spread so a circle was formed around the combatants. Raanu emerged into this circle, heat-powered dagger hefted, as Ackar separated himself from the thief and unsheathed his fire blade.

"Are you insane?" Raanu hissed in an aside. "You could have broken both your legs, and a fat lot of help you would have been then!"

"We've got him where we want him now, Raanu, so I would advise you shut up," Ackar grinned. He raised his voice to address the thief. "Scarabax," he cursed, "let's see how you handle both of us!"

The thief did not reply. Angered, Ackar charged, swung his sword, and--

--was flung unceremoniously to the ground. The thief hadn't moved. Raanu's eyes were wide, and as the Agori circled, he gave the thief a wide berth.

"Ackar, are you all right?" he asked.

Ackar grunted and stood up. The thief's body language communicated glee -- obviously he enjoyed a good challenge. He raised his hands, and a globe of blue energy developed between them, scintillating like a baby star. His hands flung outward and a beam lanced from the ball. Too late, Ackar realized he wasn't the target.

Raanu had only a fraction of a second to react: nowhere near enough time. He let out a cry of pain as he was driven backwards.

"Agh!"

"No! Raanu!"

Raanu crumpled to the ground in a stupor. Ackar bellowed and lunged. His blade, as it swung, trailed fire that suddenly coalesced into a burst of magma. Caught unawares, the thief was struck in the chest; he hit the ground roughly, fire dancing upon his cloak.

"Let's see you try to dodge that!" Ackar crowed.

Raanu stirred. A groan lifted from his mouth: His vision was blurred and muddled. He rubbed his eyes to dissipate the fog without success. As Ackar and the thief danced about each other, all the Fire Agori could see was a red blur circling a black one betwixt spontaneous bursts of light. Around them were dancing thousands of blur colored figures; this made Raanu's head hurt.

The red blur, Ackar, was breathing heavily; he could feel his energy being drawn away, towards the black blur. The thief, Ackar noticed, had become even more energetic than before. Ackar also noticed that the thief wasn't even trying to land any blows on him. It made no difference, though -- Ackar's sword arm felt like lead, and it wobbled precariously every time he stepped to one side or the other. At least, he hoped he was still walking; he had lost feeling in his legs several seconds beforehand.

That was probably why he didn't realize he was falling till the world tilted away from him.

He landed beside Raanu, whose face was twisted in concentration. "I can't move," said the Agori.

The thief, still exhilirated from the fight, glanced to the sky. His demeanor changed instantly; a silent, sibilant swear emanated from underneath his hood, and he spun on his heel -- a heel that quickly followed the rest of his body into nothingness. If anyone had cared to glance upward, they would have seen a shadow running across a rooftop as if he had business with the wind.

* * *

“...it is of utmost importance, Invidior.”

“So we are "exiles" -- why does it matter, brother? Don’t you understand? Once we expose the truth, all of this will be over!” Invidior's muscles were shaking -- perhaps he was struggling to believe his own madness, or perhaps adrenaline still coursed through his veins like fire. He paced from one end of the safehouse to another as Osavus looked on.

“No, I... I don’t understand. What is this ‘truth’, brother?”

“Listen, Osavus, I’ve been in contact with someone. He has been privy to much of the Elder's treachery... more than we know, than any of the Great Beings know.”

Invidior's eyes danced. Osavus frowned in thought. “You’ve revealed our secrets to him? Are you insane? How can you be sure he is to be trusted?”

“Because he is, brother. He has more to gain out of this deal than loose, brother.” Despite the madness in his voice, Invidior had sounded dead certain when he spoke. “He should be right around the corner at this very moment.”

He paused. Taking advantage of the lull in conversation, Osavus looked around the stark small courtyard, projecting his thoughts onto the blank, shadowed walls.

In the beginning of the Great Beings' time on Spherus Magna, the Great Tower’s courtyard used to be a place where Great Beings could speak amongst themselves and put just a little joviality into their lives.If not discuss with their former leader; the true, wiset Elder. However, just this morning, with two days until the robot’s launch, Osavus had crossed the courtyard and found it empty. Such was the Elder's hold on his subjects. He had replaced free time with labor -- labor for a project that, in its uncertainty, had the power to sow doubt in many Great Beings' minds. Doubt was like a weed, growing beside fenceposts and among flowers in its search for sustenance; for a Great Being, such a takeover of the mind was pure, unadulterated torture. Osavus began to realize the importance of destroying the project as quickly as possible. It was madness, but he knew very well that sometimes, chaos was needed to weed out the conspirators, and the truth along with them.

He had to do something, even if it meant deaths would result from his actions. The alternative was slaving under a master whose greed was analogous with the weedlike doubt he had sown among his subjects. And Osavus knew he and the other Great Beings who submitted would be forced to pluck those weeds, every single one.

The back door opened. His reverie thus interrupted, Osavus looked up to see a Fire Agori dressed in a dark red cloak emerge from the dark doorway. The symbols on his robes shimmered in the countryard low light.

“This is Varonis. I'm sure you've met before,” said Invidior, gesturing to the Agori.

“Lord Osavus.” Varonis dipped his head in a truncated bow to the object of his greeting, then returned his gaze to Invidior. "Lord Invidior." He repeated the nod.

“Wait... That robe..." Invidior's voice was softer now but still tremulous. "...then your story isn't a legend, is it?”

“I’m afraid not, my lord.”

“You see now, Osavus? It’s only logical. Our path lies clearer than ever. We shall destroy the robot and, in the process, the Elder’s puppet dominion.”

"Why won't he quit?"

Raanu ran off at the first sign of the thief - and now attacker. He was propelled by his anger for the assailant. It was as if he kept chasing, the thief would just die. He wished desperately the Great Beings would just strike him down.

Swinging a left around a smooth stone corner, he quickly began catching up, being the strong Agori he was. But the thief seemed to only get faster and faster as they ran. With teeth gritted in frustration, the Agori reached out and grasped the thief's cloak, a fine thing of pale blue silk. He was just about to pull him back and give him one professional thrashing, when suddenly, he was gone; just like that. He disappeared out of thin air, leaving behind subatomic particles of energy.

"How does he keep teleporting?" Raanu remembered too late that the thief could teleport. He was probably already heading down a different street, or running off on the roofs of buildings, unreachable now.

To heck with it, he thought, in uncharacteristic anger at the cheap shot which Ackar had taken. It would take him quite some time to realize that his energy was being sucked out of his body. Even now, his power was probably draining away.

He pictured the assailant. A tall, lean, cloaked being with a wicked smile. Just for this instant, he didn't care about Ackar, or anyone else. Raanu would slay him if he ever saw him again. But... he was gone. It ticked him off to think he had escaped that easily. He knew if Ackar was alright, he could just let it go. There were more important things to occupy his time with.


Pomerax, the pale blue Agori from the Water Tribe, wiped the sweat away from his eyes, knowing that he was more than slightly worried.

"I don't understand, how can you possibly be losing your stamina like that?" said Pomerax to the Fire Glatorian.

"Do I look...like I know?" choked out the Glatorian. His red armor glinted in the Renata sun. Indeed, the young guard was in a bad condition. The hit he'd taken leeched him in a way Pomerax had never realized was possible.

"Look, all you have to do is hold on until we have a proper medic look at you," Ackar didn't look satisfied. 

"One that isn't influenced by the not-so Great Beings? Good luck with that," he answered.

"Hush," the Agori ordered, "You're losing too much energy," Even as he said it, he knew this wasn't their worst problem right now. Ackar was losing power, fast. The wound must've done something important, as Ackar was in both great pain and a horrible condition.

"Hey, you! How is he holding?"

Pomerax turned around to see the face of an Agori dressed in the characteristic Fire Tribe variation of the city guard armor.

"I don't think so. His energy...is being drained. I have no idea how's that possible," grimaced Pomerax. Mind puzzles always frustrated him.

"His energy is drained? That's what I..." Raanu's energy was being drained in a similar way to Ackar's. Unable to keep standing, he collapsed next to Pomerax. Pomerax kept calling for help; the guards were still not around the area. He had no idea what had happened to them.

Raanu swiped the sweat from his forehead, and managed to utter a few words, "Who...are you..."

"I am Pomerax. Water Tribe World Trader, one of the best. Well, I guess I was. My boss doesn't tolerate failure," Pomerax couldn't care less. He joined the traders for the sole purpose of traveling around Spherus Magna.

However, when it boiled down to it, the job lacked what Pomerax wanted; the freedom to explore Spherus Magna. It was just job after job after job.

"Sounds pretty interesting. Seeing Spherus Magna... like that..." Raanu could barely speak, even more so stay conscious. Pomerax was left clueless---

BOOM!

All present were shocked to the core by the sudden explosion. Ash and cinder scattered everywhere. Debris flew for miles as a large structure exploded, instantly decimating the entire building. Pomerax dragged Ackar and Raanu behind an alleyway wall to keep them from being killed by the storm of falling debris.

The large Iron Tribe Forge stationed close to the market district had spontaneously exploded, leaving behind the all-too-familiar mushroom cloud. Everyone that was stationed near it were either dead or running for their lives. However, something fortunate had happened - around ten dozen guards exited the barracks, all prepared to face the imminent danger.

Why the guards had decided not to help them earlier, but only respond to the Forge's explosion was out of Pomerax's hands. He was all too confused to realize what was going on around him, more so wonder why the guards had been ignoring his calls for help.

Pomerax had failed to realize the same pale blue cloaked figure that Rohkea had seen earlier was closing in quickly, answering his cry for aid.


Mere minutes before, on her way to the forge, an Ice Glatorian was being troubled by the recent happenings.

Why had Casiria acted the way she had? Magnacus Reborn had no real meaning, at least, to her, albeit limited  knowledge. For what wasn't the first time, she wondered what her friend had been doing for all these years. All of this was beyond her.

And then there was Angonce. What were the contents of the letter? She could only hope it was within the boundaries of the law. Waking up and finding out that her friend had been executed or arrested definitely wasn't ideal. Not only was Casiria her key to the city, she was her only true friend in this place. 

She just couldn't bring herself to open the letter. But all she had to do was break the seal, and...

No. She just couldn't open it.

"Lost in your thoughts?" a voice came from nowhere. An Iron Agori appeared from the shadows. He looked like a common beggar, dressed in rags and caked in dirt. Strangely, no stench of the alleys accompanied him.

"Interesting", she thought, for someone like him to concern himself with hygiene.

"I asked, 'Are you lost in your thoughts?'" he repeated without impatience.

"Well...yes. Just a bit confused, that's all. And amazed," Rohkea admitted.

"The city has that effect on some people. For others..." he gestured to himself as if to finish his sentence.

Rohkea had never encountered someone with such palpable warmth, especially of the Agori's appeared caliber. It didn't make sense, considering he was a street rat. Maybe some people were just born like that. 

"I've got somewhere to be. I'm sorry, but I simply have no time to talk," she said apologetically.

The Agori simply smiled, "The Iron Tribe Forges? I have business there as well."

More than anything else he had said, this confused her. How had he known where she was headed? And what kind of business did a street urchin have at a forge of such class? 

"How did you...?"

"You must be new here," he said, seemingly eager to change the subject.

"Actually, yes, I arrived this morning," she replied, "and I nearly got rejected. If it wasn't for my friend, I'd probably still be out there," She didn't question why she shared such information with him. It just felt right. Almost like telling him things he already knew, as he would laugh and say, "Well, of course. I remember, I was there."

"Come; let us walk. It isn't that far from here, and Galintin is quite a delegate person. He will be excited to see us."

"I keep hearing that name... who's Galintin?"

"Oh, he's just the head of the Iron Tribe's forge over here in the city. You see, the Fire Tribe has had a deal with the Iron Tribe for as long as the Great War, Altum Bellum," he said.

"Altum Bellum. Hmph. That's the war that led to the formation of the seven tribes, right?" Rohkea wasn't born when the war ended, but she wasn't that young either. She has just lost her way since her days in the Ice Tribe.

"Yes, indeed it is. Magical times, these. I was there when this happened, you see," the Agori had a strange, iffy feeling around him. Why was she continuing to talk to him? What was so special about this Agori?

"I..."

"I can see, Rohkea. I can see how you've rejected your friends, family, and others. How you ended up in the Sand Stalker Academy, with Casiria... and how you dropped out of it, became a thief, then wanderer," Rohkea should be worried, but she knew she didn't had to. She was too calm.

"We too were once lost as well," said the Agori, his more serious self slowly fading away, "Life doesn't want you to follow the path others show you; it wants you to draw your own way on the endless stream of creation, and the universe. You, however, Rohkea, deny to accept reality as it is, and consider yourself unworthy."

Rohkea didn't speak. She couldn't hear what the Agori was saying; her mind was simply rejecting his remarks.

"Oh, here we are. The Forge."

She had just registered those thoughts, when the Agori began to glow. His cloak seemed to expand, and surround him. Through the cracks she could see he was glowing even brighter, so bright that she had to shield her eyes as to not be blinded by his brilliant radiance. He grew taller, even taller than a Glatorian. 

"You're a..."

"Great Being, yes. I am known formally as Raeir," he finished, his voice more wise than before if it were possible. 

She looked from him to the object in her hand. A letter to Angonce. Taking a knee - it just felt right to do so -she offered the parchment. 

"A letter to my brother? I am afraid he is the one who must accept this, and he alone," stated Raeir, "It would be unwise of me to open a letter not addressed to me personally. And it would be unwise of you to show it to me."

"I am sorry," Rohkea blushed. She had never before met such a powerful, yet forgiving and kind creature.

"Speaking of which, you'd better be on your way."

Just like that, he was gone, vanishing back into the shadows which had produced him the first time. Rohkea continued towards the forge, pondering the strange visit.

Were they related? If so, what orchestrated them?


"Hey, you, over there!" an Iron Glatorian called towards a retreating dark blue form. It didn't look like anyone he knew.

The Agori took one look at him and turned back, running away. It was obvious that he wasn't going to stop. The Iron Glatorian, realizing it wasn't one of his workers, ran faster. He was the more muscular of the two, and was able to catch up. He slammed his fist into the Agori's face as if to say "hello". The Agori returned the strike with a kick to the chest.

The Glatorian narrowed his eyes. They erupted into a brawl, trading strikes and curses. However, the thief suddenly teleported away. The Glatorian felt two fists slamming into the back of his neck. It wasn't long before he was slammed into the ground.

The thief, running inside the complex, entered the vast room that was Galintin's study, next to the main power reactor. The Iron Glatorian, Galintin, had just enough time to get up, look for his keys - which were gone, unsurprisingly - and run after him.

Once Galintin entered his study, he gazed at the blueprints the thief was holding.

"Wha- What do you want with those?!"

No reply from the criminal. He just stared at the Iron Glatorian.

Galintin was at a loss for words as well. He used his Iron powers to telekinetically flung large metal chunks of the wall at the thief. He was slammed into the glass, breaking it, and fell into the main reactor room.

He realized what he had done; any change in the frequency of the main power reactor could create a large exposition.

"NO, wait, watch out! Don't hit the main reactor, if it's even ticked by-"

The thief didn't listen; he used his psionic powers to thrust himself upwards, opening a hole at the top of the complex, but in the process, bombarding the main reactor with psionic waves.

Galintin ran as fast as he could, signaling the alarm all over the Forge. He kept running, screaming at anyone he could come across to get out—

A large explosion rang through the city.


Rohkea had just made it to the complex's entrance, when...

Seconds thereafter, smaller explosions, triggered by a larger one, ripped the complex to shreds. Metal buildings and stalls collapsed on the inhabitants, larger buildings crushing the panicking Agori and Glatorian. She was nearly killed by a falling piece of metal, but jumped out of the way to barely dodge her would-be doom.

"Agh!"

Another Glatorian was not so lucky. Trapped under a metal shell, his legs were pinned tight to the ground. She couldn't just leave him, but helping him might mean her own demise. She had to take the chance, because she knew she would regret it later on. Rohkea hurried to the Glatorian's aid.

She was just able to shove it away while he watched. His eyes expressed a mixture of surprise and appreciation. With her help, he was able to stand. Not wasting any time, Rohkea got him out of the flaming forge. Laying him against a wall, she collapsed beside him. 

"Rohkea," she introduced, offering a handshake.

"Galintin," he replied, face full of ash. "I was... the chief officer of that...Forge."

Rohkea nodded. She knew she had made the right choice; it was the same guy Casiria mentioned.

"How do you suppose that happened?" she asked.

"It was that shady, sky-blue Agori running head over heels to get out," he said.

Suddenly, Rohkea was reminded of Casiria's weird robes.

"Sky-blue, eh?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I might happen to know something about that. Do you know Casiria?"

"Heard of her. She's known around here," nodded Galintin.

Quite astonishingly enough, Casiria showed up in front of them. The ash settled, and thus they were able to view the market again. The city guards were closing in, putting out the fires.

"There you are," a familiar voice interrupted. An Agori of the Water tribe was carrying Ackar's limp form, with the help of none other than Casiria. The sight of the small band brought a smile to her face. Said band was not smiling back.

"Casiria!" said Rohkea, however, Casiria ignored Rohkea's voice, and turned to Ackar.

"How are you guys feeling now?" asked Casiria.

Raanu and Ackar gazed at each other, "Ever since the explosion, we are both feeling just fine. The thief was probably draining our energy, and either lost his concentration or-

"Wait? Did the thief cause this?" asked Ackar.

"It sure as heck looked like that to me. I even got to battle with his Great Being-forsaken face. Who are you guys anyway?" questioned Galintin.

"We are both city guards, Raanu and Ackar," answered Raanu.

"I am Rohkea, Casiria's friend here," introduced Rohkea herself.

The Water Tribe Agori stepped in as well, "I am Pomerax."

Silence.

Everyone glanced at each other. Rohkea, a firm and kind Ice Glatorian, Casiria, a Sand Glatorian dressed in pale blue robes, Galintin, a heavily armored and hard-edged Iron Glatorian, Ackar, the young Fire Glatorian wearing city guard armor similar to Raanu's, the fire Agori guard, and Pomerax, the Water Agori wearing a trader's robes.

Strange events brought them here, and they all had a common goal; finding out what happened.

"So... anyone up for some thief-hunting?" said Casiria.


It was probably minutes, or hours, since they all had begun to extensively search for the thief; fortunately, the fire had been put out, while Raanu and Ackar were talking to the rest of the guards.

Rohkea had already headed off towards a strange, dark figure. Oddly, he wasn't running. He wasn't even trying to move quickly. She sped up. Maybe he didn't know she was chasing him; grasping his shoulder, she turned him around. "Gotcha!" The surprised Agori spun around. Much to her dismay, it wasn't the thief; just a very startled stranger.

"Sorry," she said awkwardly, spinning on her heel and bolting back to towards Galintin, Ackar, Raanu and Pomerax. Casiria had left before she had a chance to speak to her.

"I can't find the thief," she said, exasperated.

Raanu turned his head to respond, even as the lights of the last fire dimmed and winked out, "I know. I found him," he explained. He motioned to the dead corpse lying against the wall. 

"I found him just outside the radius of the explosion. Crushed to death by whatever fell on him. Go ahead and search him."

Pomerax stepped next to the corpse, leaned and took a good look at his body; on him, to their bafflement, was a scroll from the Elder himself.

"Copy the blueprints you have been told about. Steal seven pounds of exsidian. Don't cause any interference with the public, like last time. It won't be tolerated.

Each of these orders are vital.

-Elder"

He also found the blueprints on him. Additionally, his cloak was marked with odd symbols he thought must be of the Great Beings. However, Rohkea recognized them as ones on Casiria's robe.
 
"Wait up, let me see those blueprints," Galintin requested.

Pomerax offered them up. All of them were curious as to what was in them. Galintin examined the blueprints slightly, even though he knew what they were for.

"These...are for a power source. A massive power source. They were given to me long ago...they are for the massive robot the Great Beings are planning to build," he said, and motioned everyone to the massive robot, standing outside the city.


An opportunity.

That's all Varonis needed. Ever since the day he lost his grasp of power, he longed for such a chance. Double crossing Osavus and Invidior was perfect. He moved through the marble doorways and halls of the Great Beings' Tower. He asked for entrance to the Elder's private rooms; the top floor. It was here that the previous Elder had his office as well.

He pushed the doors to open slightly, enough so that he can pass through. The Elder was sitting on his chair, overseeing the city.

"Welcome, Varonis. I expect this isn't about our deal again, is it?"

"No, Elder. This is bigger," nodded Varonis, and he took a knee. The Elder regarded him with a nod. Varonis expected as much, as he was still trying to gain respect.

"What do you want, Varonis? You never welcome me like this," said the Elder, his curiosity burning inside him.

"Invidior and Osavus plan on...destroying the robot," answered Varonis.

"Hmph. I expected as much. Such petty excuses for Great Beings they are. We should be laughing at them. Say, Varonis, this could be an exceptional new deal for us to barter with, don't you think?"

Varonis smiled. This were the words he wanted to hear all this time, "Yes, it is indeed. What should we do about it?"

"Oh, let them try."

Clang.

Varonis shut the door — the sound was magnified by the gray, nondescript, metal-walled room — and locked it. For a moment, he was in darkness. But only for a moment. A flick of a switch, and the room was filled with hazy, ethereal light, dripping from a single light bulb that swung over the table.

Like a blanket, the glow draped across a rectangular metal table and eight chairs positioned around it. Two beings sat side by side in the chairs opposite the door. Varonis nodded to them, and they nodded back.

"Thank you for meeting us here, Varonis," said the first one.

"My pleasure, Osavus," replied the red-armored Agori.

Invidior nodded. His eyes, Varonis noticed, were glowing with an oddly importunate light. They shifted to the shadows behind Varonis. "So, about those henchmen..."

Actions spoke louder than words. Varonis, rather than reply with a mere statement, gestured to the four warriors standing beside the door. Invidior seemed pleased; Osavus, for his part, remained subdued.

"As you know... I run a henchmen business. Secretly," he added, quite elegantly, "These four are the top of their class - most skilled, and professional. One of them is my main councilor and advisor as well. They will do your bidding. Silex?”

A tall, slim being took a step as smooth as flowing water and stood beside Varonis. His armor was similarly even, its dark blue hues blending easily into the shadows about him. On each of his forearms was mounted a blade that reached out about a foot and then curved upward in a hook.

"At your service," said the being, bending easily at the waist in a shallow bow. His crimson eyes, noted Varonis, remained fixated upon the two Great Beings, and the Great Beings met his gaze with simultaneous interest and suspicion.

Pleasing a Great Being, Varonis knew from experience, was like feeding a Scarabax. No matter how much you did, how much trouble you went through to prepare a meal, the Scarabax could easily turn it away if it felt like it — and, if it did accept the meal, it would expect more food of similar quality whenever it returned. Varonis had jumped through a lot of hoops to get four warriors here behind the superior Great Beings’ backs, but his effort was no assurance of success; he could always be either tossed to the wayside or expected to gather his entire army. Both possibilities were undesirable.

He swallowed his misgivings and turned to the next warrior. "Robur?"

"Yeah?" was the thick response.

"Could you come up here?"

Whereas Silex’s movements were like silk sliding across silk, Robur's gave the impression of a boulder tumbling down a hill. His appearance wasn't surprising; he was thick and heavily muscled. What little armor he wore was a rusty maroon color.

As the Great Beings discovered, his smile was rather lopsided.

"I'm strong," he said by way of greeting.

"I see," replied Osavus.

Invidior, for his part, was stroking his chin with his right thumb and forefinger and gazing hard at Robur’s muscles as if trying to measure their circumferences. "Looks promising, Varonis,” he murmured.

A glimmer of hope. Varonis caught it, held on tightly, just to reassure himself he still had a chance of getting through this and staying alive — and rich — and in a very high position.

"How strong is he?" Invidior continued, lowering his hand to his lap.

Robur grinned. "Very."

"He can demonstrate," put in Varonis.

Robur glanced to the Agori beside him. "I can?"

Varonis ignored him. "Can you spare a chair, Invidior?"

Invidior smiled understandingly and slid a chair over. Greedily, Robur loped forward, picked up the metal chair and held it in front of his chest, his hands on either side of it, elbows pointing out. With a grunt, Robur squeezed the chair, his muscles bulging with power, beads of sweat beginning to appear on his face. His large veins popped out of his arms as he squeezed the chair ever harder.

All of a sudden, the chair buckled, crumpling into an indescribable lump of twisted metal. With a roar, Robur slammed the chair onto the ground, breaking it into several pieces and creating a deafening clang that reverberated throughout the metal room. Varonis winced in chorus.

"Hmph. He matches the strength of a construction robot," Invidior hissed. "I admire your strength, but could you keep a bit quiet? You'll bring the Elder down atop us if you don’t, well, shut up."

A frown crossed Robur’s features. He retreated before Invidior’s gaze like a dog denied a game of fetch, standing beside Silex.

Varonis gritted his teeth in annoyance. Calm yourself. Robur didn’t ruin everything.

"And here's that Glatorian I was talking to you about. Avarus?" he said aloud.

A new voice, raspy and hoarse, spoke up now. "I can do a lot," said Avarus, waving a green-armored hand before him as he stepped forward; his scythe was held in his other hand, his left. "I will be a most valuable asset to the team, I assure you as much. Varonis and I have been working the henchmen business for well over ten years now."

Neither Great Being missed the intentional emphasis on valuable. Varonis, standing in Avarus’s shadow now, had only a blank look to offer in response to the Great Beings’ annoyed glances.

"Payment," enunciated Invidior, "will be discussed after all other work is finished."

Avarus’s nonchalant façade broke. The glint of a grimace could barely be made out on his face. "Right, right, of course," he said to save face, and stepped back into the line.

Varonis tossed a glare the Glatorian's way before turning to the last being, who had already stepped forward but now hovered indecisively, waiting for Varonis’s signal.

"Ferveon?"

At his voice, she stepped fully into the glow of the single light bulb, arms crossed over her chest, a ball-and-chain slung over her shoulder. Her armor was sleek crimson with ebony highlights. She wasn’t tall, wasn’t short, wasn’t thick, wasn’t thin — she was average, nondescript. Save for her eyes, which glowed with an oddly strong fire.

Osavus and Invidior looked her over and nodded. Offering a terse smile in return, she adjusted her position to fit the line of henchmen.

Silence.

At last, Invidior spoke. "It’s time for us to go. We can’t stay much longer. We have work to do, and Varonis—"

The Agori tensed, preparing himself for the worst—

“—I am satisfied. Your job is over for now. I will contact you when you are needed.”

Invidior stood up and beckoned to the four warriors, who strode forward to stand behind him. Osavus rose from his seat as well and stood beside Invidior, who raised his hand, palm facing the wall.

Muttering several unintelligible words, a large, glowing rectangle as big as a doorframe appeared on the metal wall. Walking forward, Invidior and Osavus vanished inside. The four henchmen followed, and as the last one entered the glowing rectangle, it vanished as if it had been folded up into nothing. As soon as it did, the dim bulb that illuminated the room broke from its socket and fell onto the metal table.

The lights went out; the sound of shattering glass echoed in Varonis’s ears.


"I am most disappointed."

The Elder sat upon his throne, leaning on one side of the great embellished chair. A being, covered with a dark-red cloak and hood, kneeled before him, head hanging shamefully.

The room was empty except for those two figures.

The Elder opened his mouth. Hesitated a moment. The hooded figure’s head drooped a little lower.

"Do you know what happens to swine who don’t clean up after they roll in the mud for too long?" asked the Elder finally.

A tone of faint surprise hid behind the cloaked figure’s unease. "No, my lord. Please enlighten me.”

“They get sick,” said the Elder calmly, coolly, threateningly. “And then they die.”

The kneeling figure’s shoulders twitched.

“You see,” the Elder continued, glossing over his servant’s words as if they had never been uttered, “leaving your duty to assist civilians” — here the hooded figure winced, as if the Elder’s knowledge was a surprise — “results in a very large mess. Especially if said assistance results in another agent’s failure.” Another wince.

The Elder’s gaze burned a hole in the figure’s head. “So next time, swine, clean up your mess. After all, you don’t want to catch something deadly, do you, Casiria?”

The Elder let the deadly words hang in the air for several seconds. “I understand, my lord,” the figure said finally in a barely audible whisper.

“Now get out of my sight,” the Great Being spat, his voice filling the great hall, echoing grandly in the silence. The cloaked figure stood, head bowed and face hidden in shadow, spun around, and strode out of the room. The ebony cloak billowed behind.

With a clang, the great doors of the room slammed shut.


A letter from the Elder asking for exsidian to be stolen? Blueprints? Both here, formerly in the hands of a thief, now in the hands of three Glatorian and two Agori who, by all means, should have had no right to view them?

Destiny works in strange ways. Here, it had brought five people, unknowing of each other, into the same boat, then let that boat drift.

The problem? Not one of those people knew how to swim.

Still standing in shock at the words printed on the scroll before their eyes, the Glatorian and Agori finally regained their composures, one by one. Stepping back with the scroll in hand, Raanu was the first to speak.

“Well, obviously we have to do something about this,” he said, visibly trying to contain his shock.

“Like what?” Ackar was standing a ways off, looking at the sand as if thinking hard. He didn’t move when he spoke.

“Like taking this to the Elder, that’s what!” cried Raanu, and he turned on his heel toward the Great Beings’ fortress, holding the scroll tightly.

“Uh — er,” stuttered Rohkea, obviously trying to say something but too shocked at Raanu’s statement. Before she could, however, Ackar was suddenly in Raanu’s path. The Fire Agori moved to the side; the Fire Glatorian followed the movement.

“Stop,” Ackar ordered.

Grudgingly, Raanu stopped.

“The Elder is the last person we should go to,” said Ackar, his voice cold. “He’s the one who signed the letter! We’d be walking straight into his grasp!”

“It could be forgery,” Pomerax pointed out, joining Raanu; “I’ve had to deal with that before.”

“Or,” countered Galintin, stepping beside Ackar and folding his arms, “it could be the real deal.”

“Think about it!” said Raanu, ice in his voice. “Here we have a thief who has a paper signed by ‘the Elder’ and blueprints. Why would a thief be hired by the Elder? He’s a Great Being — he has better methods!”

“This could also be political sabotage,” Pomerax pointed to the letter. “The Elder does have enemies; forging his signature on a letter such as this would mean even more people would be against him, in which case we should definitely bring this to his attention before someone else tries the trick.”

Galintin shook his head. “Newsflash, Pomerax: Politics don’t work like that. Like it or not, the Elder’s in power; a silly little letter can’t change that. The Great Beings’ business is, well, the Great Beings’ business.”

“I think you’re underestimating the power of words.”

“I think you’re underestimating the Great Beings’ powers. Can’t they, what, read minds or something?”

“Enough!” said Rohkea.

Four pairs of eyes turned to her. She winced at the attention but continued: “Whatever the problem, we ought to hand this to somebody. The question is, who?”

“The Elder!” said Raanu and Pomerax.

“No one!” said Ackar and Galintin.

Again, Rohkea winced. “I’m, uh, sure we can work this out... maybe...?”

Raanu stepped back, taking the scroll from Pomerax. "I’m showing the Elder," said Raanu, “because that’s our duty. If you want to spit in the face of authority, have fun.”

Galintin stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword—

Ackar placed his hand over Galintin’s. “No. They’re right.”

“Right!” Raanu froze then, looking carefully into Ackar’s eyes. “Right...?”

Rohkea moved before Ackar. “Are you okay?” Her right hand brushed his left, and he drew his hand away from the contact.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Pulling Galintin’s hand away from the sword hilt, he stepped forward to face Raanu. His eyes were focused on the Agori’s feet. “Let’s go before I change my mind,” he said, his voice carrying unwonted hostility.

The beginnings of a word balanced on Raanu’s lips. The word fell back down the Agori’s throat, “Fine,” he said instead, walking around Ackar and shooting a glare to the back of the Glatorian’s head that said without words, I told you so!

Galintin stepped closer to Ackar, “What are you doing? Have you been out in the sun too long?”

“No,” he said, and to Galintin’s surprise, a small, secret grin was on Ackar’s face.


“I need to get these two Glatorian and one Agori inside the Tower," said Raanu, in a gesture indicating both himself and the rest of his group behind him.

They stood before the front door to the Great Beings’ Tower. It was a marvelous structure, its metallic walls towering above the beings below it in a fashion no other Spherus Magnan architecture could match, either in efficiency or grandeur. Three guards had stopped the group upon its approach, and now one of them looked over the group with a critical albeit disinterested eye.

After a moment— “I can allow that,” the Glatorian guard deadpanned, as if he didn’t have anything better to do. He walked to the doors and entered a password into the keypad; there was a click as the locks disengaged, then the doors swung outward, allowing an effluence of a faint metallic scent.

The guard gestured to the group. “C’mon.”

Raanu glanced over the others before stepping over the threshold to join the Glatorian guard; his eyes lingered longer on Ackar than on anyone else. As they entered the grand entrance hallway, Ackar noted Raanu inconspicuously slip the letter he was carrying into his pack.

Perfect.

Leading the five beings forward, the guard walked a ways down the hall till he almost reached the end; then he stopped and turned left, approaching an almost invisible door on the metal siding. He stopped to place his hand in front of a scanner for several seconds, which caused the near-invisible door to slide open seamlessly, revealing a long stone staircase that vanished into the darkness. Another guard stationed there nodded to the first guard and waited till everyone had passed before taking a position in the rear. Taking a small device from the bandolier slung across his chest, the first guard flipped a switch that caused the device to radiate with light. Holding it out in front of him, he walked forward, followed by the three Glatorian and two Agori.

Under cover of the slight confusion as the beings in the group arranged themselves to fit on the staircase, Ackar slipped closer to Raanu, who wasn’t paying attention to the others but to the stairs underneath his feet. What was he thinking? Was he excited? Or perhaps worried?

Behind Ackar walked Pomerax, oblivious to his surroundings save for the people walking before him. After Pomerax walked Rohkea; her hands were laced, and her eyes glittered with uncertainty. Galintin occupied the rear of the line, his disgruntled expression making up for the lack of emotion in his counterparts’ faces, and with him walked the second guard.

They reached the top of the staircase to find a locked door.

“All right, you can’t come out until I’ve gone to talk to the Elder,” the guard explained. “Wait here. Don’t move.” He opened the door, closed it, and the gathered beings heard the click of a lock.

No words were spoken. Ackar didn’t dare move nearer to Raanu for fear such a movement would alight more suspicion in the Agori’s mind. The air was heavy; in the stillness, the rustling of cloth and creaking of armor could be heard with preternatural clarity.

Rohkea’s voice was suddenly in Ackar’s ear: “Are we really going through with this?” She had nudged past Pomerax; now her head was just behind Ackar’s right shoulder.

Ackar could do nothing but nod. A whisper of air indicated Rohkea’s moving a step back, but otherwise he heard no response.

Finally, the door opened again and the guard’s head poked into the staircase passage. “The Elder’ll see you,” the guard drawled. “Come this way. Be quiet: Other Great Beings are studying here.”

With silent footsteps, the group departed the staircase. The resultant hall, while not as large as the one downstairs, was perhaps even grander: Large stone pillars, each one at least two feet in diameter, were placed at regular intervals along both walls. The carvings on them were incredibly intricate and flowing. A glint showed up here and there along the walls, but the group passed before they could focus on their sources.

Ackar’s eyes, however, were focused on Raanu’s pouch... and the little bit of paper showing from underneath the flap.

The Glatorian guard-turned-receptionist walked to the end of the hall, turned right, and knocked on the large, ornate door which was mounted there. A moment passed before a sonorous voice rang out: “Enter!”

“Go ahead,” said the guard, stepping aside and pulling open the door.

Time seemed to slow as Raanu stepped forward before the door was more than half open. A small elevator-like-platform was behind the door, which raised them upwards, towards to the Elder's room.

In the same instant, Ackar’s left hand reached out like a snake’s maw, closed on the paper...

“Welcome, friends of the Spherus Magnan government,” the Elder’s voice boomed as the door was opened fully and the scroll found a place in Ackar’s pouch. For a moment, Ackar thought the Elder’s gaze had followed his hand’s path; but apparently not, for the Elder’s gaze was fixated on Raanu, who stood at the head of the group.

The Elder’s office was just as grand as the rest of the Great Beings’ Tower. It was spacious, combining efficient curves with elegant designs on the walls, ranging from wood and bone carvings to paintings. Behind the Great Being, where he sat in a chair behind a long meeting table, his throne-like chair was seated. Behind that was a massive window that took up the majority of the office’s back wall; it curved from one wall to the other, offering a panoramic view of Magnacus Renata so magnificent that it must have taken all the rank the Elder had to procure. The room was situated at the top of the Tower; with a flick of a switch, it would rotate to allow him to view any part of the world around him.

He gestured the five beings to seats by the desk. “For what have you come?”

By way of answer, Raanu stepped forward and slapped the generator blueprints to the table before the Elder’s throne. The Great Being’s right eyebrow rose almost imperceptibly.

“This, your honor,” Raanu said. “We found these blueprints on the body of one whom we thought a thief. And what’s more—” Here Raanu glanced to the door below, as if fearing someone would be standing there, listening, but the door was closed and the two Glatorian guards nowhere to be found.

“—what’s more,” he continued, his voice hushed now, “we think you have enemies, the Elder.”

“I know I have enemies,” retorted the Elder.

Raanu shook his head, reaching into his pouch. “Ones determined enough to forge your signature on a letter commanding someone to steal exsidian and steal the blueprints I’ve presented?”

A moment of silence.

“May I see this letter?” the Elder asked finally, his voice rather tense.

Raanu didn’t reply; he was half-bent to the side, his upper torso twisted to the right so he could better see inside his pouch. Both his hands pried into every corner of the pouch, searching.

Whilst entering, Ackar had made sure to place himself behind Pomerax and Rohkea, as far away from Raanu as he could move without seeming suspicious. This paid off when Raanu turned around, as if expecting someone to be standing behind him with the scroll in hand, but only saw the others standing a distance away.

His shoulders fell. “Elder — your honor — know that I just had the letter in my pouch—”

“I am not so sure.” The statement rolled off the Elder’s tongue as if he were talking about stormy weather; his earlier stress was gone. One-by-one, the members of the visiting group felt the Elder’s fiery gaze on their face. His eyes shifted back to Ackar; his eyebrows rose in question.

“I was there, Elder,” said Ackar, not willing to let Raanu be regarded as a complete lunatic. “There was a thief. But we only saw the blueprints on him.”

Raanu shot a glare at Ackar, saw the futility of his situation, and resigned to silence.

Slowly, the Elder nodded. “So there is someone out to damage my Grand Creation.” His words carried a thoughtful air. “And you... did see him?”

“Yes,” said Ackar. The Elder leaned back in his chair, lifting his hands and lacing his fingers. “We chased him, he got away from us, and then he blew up the Iron Tribe Forge Complex. Galintin can explain this to you better than I can. We recovered his body buried beneath debris.”

The quiet after Ackar’s explanation seemed to last for minutes. The Elder’s steel gaze lay atop Ackar like a fifty-pound weight, pinning him in place, preventing him from moving his feet, or moving at all. Was that a glint of suspicion in the Elder’s eyes? The exact moment Ackar thought that, he felt the Elder’s eyes on him again and dropped his gaze to the floor.

“You five,” said the Elder, “may have not been able to save the forge complex, but that can be rebuilt.”

Ackar glanced back up at the Elder, whose impassive face offered no hints of the thoughts that were surely swirling like a vortex behind his brow.

“We have come to a time where, I believe, a larger security force will be necessary to us Great Beings.”

Could he mean...?

“Since you’re here now, and since you have already proven yourselves in your determination to capture a thief... why don’t you join me in this endeavor? Varonis — I’m sure you know him — has already been assigned to the position of supervisor. Ackar, as you have already served the Great Beings well as a guard, you may be Alpha Team’s leader. I am sure Galintin would appreciate reemployment after the destruction of his forge. As for the rest of you... take this job or leave it. I can only say that while it will be a large responsibility, the chance of reward is great.”

Shocked wasn’t the only word to describe Ackar’s emotions at that point. He opened his mouth only to close it again, at a loss for words.

Raanu fared little better. After blinking for a full ten seconds, he said, with much disbelief, “What?”

“You heard me. I need people like you five — willing to do work for the Great Beings. I suppose Destiny ensured you would show up here at the right time.”

“I suppose so,” said Ackar, but slowly, because he was having trouble digesting the Elder’s words.

The Elder smiled. “How about you, Galintin? — Rohkea? — Pomerax?”

“I appreciate the gesture,” said Pomerax. “I would be honored, considering I am left jobless as well.”

“Yes, please,” said Galintin, obviously enthusiastic about the deal.

Rohkea hesitated. “Well — um — I guess it’d be cool to, well... I mean, it’s a, it’s an honor Elder — your honor. I might as well—”

“Fantastic,” the Elder interrupted. “Please report back here tonight at ten o’clock for your — for Alpha Team’s — first assignment. Until then, you are dismissed.”

With perfect timing, the door swung open to reveal the pair of Glatorian guards from before, emotionless, in stark contrast with the air of the Elder’s office. The platform raised, the office was tingling with what was surely electricity from the powerful emotions of the five beings that now using the platform reach the door, and exit.


Several miles away from the Fire Tribe’s village, in the abandoned Magma Tribe complex, a door opened to reveal a square of brilliant light. The effluent glow spilled across the floor of the foyer and dripped into the room beyond, over desks of parts, computers, half-rusted and -deconstructed piping... and six beings who now stepped into the empty room, two of them Great, the other four, well, not so great.

“What is this place?” asked Robur, tugging gently on the door.

The top hinge broke, twisting the door over; cursing under his breath, Osavus grabbed the door, wrenched it back into place, and said, “Ferveon, get that screwdriver on that table and a pack of screws, would you?”

Ferveon nodded a tad grudgingly and retrieved the necessary tools, then gave them to Osavus, who took them and began repairing the hinge. “Invidior, bring them inside,” said Osavus. “Please don’t let them damage anything.”

“Fine,” said Invidior. “Henchmen—”

“And henchwoman,” Ferveon added.

Invidior rolled his eyes. “And henchwoman. Follow. Now.”

He brought them through the foyer and into the main chamber, flicking on a light switch as he passed through the doorway. “This is an abandoned Magma Tribe lava complex,” he explained. “As messy as it is, it’s our headquarters, and as such you will not damage it. Am I understood?”

The henchmen — and henchwoman — nodded and murmured agreements.

“You can look around,” said Invidior, “as long as you damage nothing.” He reentered the foyer.

Ferveon looked around the room, her hands on her hips, eyebrows forming a perfectly straight, bored line. “Nice place,” she commented for lack of anything better to say.

“I’ve seen better,” said Avarus.

“Look.” The voice, like the sound of a finger being dragged across a chalkboard, hissed from the far corner. The beings looked about themselves and realized Silex was no longer with them; he had moved, well-nigh disappeared, really, to examine a computer a ways from where the others stood. His fingers were already dancing lithely across the keys to initialize the computer’s startup sequence.

The three other henchmen moved to look as the screen flashed to life. Silex opened the file directory and began browsing through, reading file names aloud at random. “‘Engine Schematics’ — ‘Gravity Generator Schematics’ — ‘Framework Schematics’ — ‘CPU Schematics’...”

“What’s this for?” wondered Robur aloud. “I mean... why have all of these schematics if you aren’t building anything?”

Avarus smirked at his ally’s cluelessness. Silex lapsed into silence.

“It’s obvious.” Ferveon’s arms were now crossed over her chest in annoyance at inaction. “These aren’t theirs. Not really.”

Robur frowned as if the statement was a hard one to digest.

A long, drawn out sigh, and Ferveon tapped her right index finger on her forehead. “The creation they want to destroy? Ever thought they were planning on sabotage?”

“No,” Robur replied truthfully. “But... why not just, well, blow it up?”

Silex’s laugh was sharp and sudden, a surprising action from a being as quiet as he. In perfect harmonization, Avarus chuckled through his teeth. That was enough to light Robur’s fire; he took a swing at Avarus, who simultaneously stepped back and parried the blow with his arms—

—sending it straight into the computer’s keyboard.

A loud curse from Silex snapped everyone from their shock. Robur withdrew his hand to reveal a fist-sized dent; he had indeed damaged the keyboard, but nowhere near as much as expected.

“You little scarabax!” Avarus cried. “Look what you did?”

Robur grimaced, rubbing his knuckles where they had come into contact with the keyboard’s resilient metal. “You made me.”

“How?”

“By laughing!”

“Scarabax. Can’t you control yourse—?”

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?”

The henchmen winced in unison at Invidior’s raised voice. The Great Being stormed to the monitor, taking in both Robur’s cradled fist and the dented keyboard with flaming eyes. “I told you,” he enunciated, his every syllable dripping with frustration, “to not. Break. ANYTHING!"

“We didn’t do it!” retorted Avarus. “It was Robur! He—”

“SILENCE!”

“But he—”

“SILENCE!”

Avarus was suddenly blasted backward by a mental shockwave. He struck the far wall and fell to his knees, gasping for air.

The air went dead silent. No one dared move as Osavus approached, veins popping out on his temples.

“Do not touch the MACHINES!” Invidior’s chest heaved. More silence, somehow intimidating in the wake of Invidior’s shrieks.

Osavus moved to the keyboard, pushing Silex out of his way, and examined it closely. “Invidior, we do have replacements,” he said quietly.

Invidior waved away his fellow Great Being’s statement. “You four fools don't understand,” — his shaking finger twitched from warrior to warrior — “get out.”

“Whoa, hold up,” Avarus interrupted; “only Robur—”

“I said get OUT!”

The four didn’t just walk to the foyer. They ran.

When they were out of earshot, Invidior cursed them. “Scarabaxes.”

“They are needed,” Osavus reminded his partner.

“Yes,” Invidior muttered. “Like we needed the Elder to cause this problem in the beginning. Get the replacement parts; I do hope our henchmen’s interference will not hamper our plans, else we may have to chat with Varonis.”

Osavus nodded but said nothing.


One week later...

Ackar reached into his bag, looking for the key to open the door to his new office on the first floor of the Robot construction facilities. Feeling something cold and metal, he grabbed it and pulled it out of the bag.

Mild surprise flitted across his face as he realized that what he had pulled out were not his keys, but one end of a metal tube. Inside could be heard the muffled noises of something soft rubbing against the metal tube’s inner barrier.

The letter.

Of course it had slipped his mind — his promotion out of nowhere had knocked the letter out of his memory’s forefront, and his extra duties had taken the position for themselves. He needed time to think.

Reaching into his bag once more and grabbing the correct item, he shoved the keys into the lock and went into his office, closing the door behind him.

Sitting down heavily at his long desk, he took the scroll out of its tube and started to pore over the parchment. What ought he to do? The Elder could have had other plans that were already set into motion now that the group of five had all but forgotten about the scroll; perhaps that had been the Elder’s intention all along, and Ackar cursed himself for only realizing that now.

Maybe the others could help him decide. If he did something stupid and the others disagreed, all the blame would go to him for, one, being stupid, and two, not asking for opinions before carrying out his plans. Perhaps Varonis should be informed, too; he was their superior, and Ackar had known him for years as a steady guy who always complained about not being promoted more often. Surely he could be trusted.

Typing in a few things into his computer, Ackar requested an urgent meeting between himself, Rohkea, Galintin, Raanu, Pomerax, and Varonis, with the subject of the meeting detailed as 'To be disclosed at the meeting'. The message sent, he leaned back in his chair and thought long and hard about the subjects to be discussed.

Several minutes later, Galintin, and Rohkea arrived; from their heavy breathing, they had hurried to Ackar’s office as soon as they had received his message.

“What do you need?” asked Galintin. Rohkea nodded her assent to the question.

Ackar gestured to two chairs, which the visitors eagerly took. “Now it’s time to tell you what this is all about,” said Ackar, pulling a chair over to the table in the center of the room. “This,” he said, holding up the scroll, “is the cause of my urgency. It slipped out of our minds in the past week — well, mine, at least, but we’ve all been so busy you guys’ve probably had the same trouble.”

Rohkea shifted in her chair. “Why did you call us here?” she asked, just as Raanu and Pomerax entered the room.

Seeing Ackar holding the scroll and talking, they stopped short. “I think I can guess what this is about,” Raanu commented.

Ackar nodded. “I bet you can.” He hefted the scroll. “I was just telling Rohkea and Galintin how I think this has slipped all our minds this last week. We can’t wait any longer — what do we do about it?”

“I... I think we shouldn’t say anything,” said Raanu, sliding into a third seat as Pomerax took a fourth.

Ackar was taken aback. “What made you change your mind?”

Raanu shrugged. “Unlike the rest of you, I’ve been thinking about the scroll all week.”

“And?” pressed Galintin.

“I was also thinking about our promotions,” said Raanu. “The Elder offered them out of nowhere. Literally. Doesn’t that seem a little suspicious to you?”

The others nodded, some more hesitantly than others. While the promotions had indeed seemed suspicious to Ackar, he had nevertheless been proud to shoulder a greater burden, take more responsibility onto himself and prove his worth. It was a challenge. He liked challenges.

“Look,” said Raanu. “The Elder knows about minds. He’s mental — literally!”

“I think,” interrupted Galintin, “that was the second-worst pun I’ve heard in my life.”

Rohkea broke from her reverie. “What was the worst?” she murmured.

Raanu ignored the side conversation. “It follows that he would know that the best way to avoid any trouble would be to promote us and thus drive thoughts of the scroll from our minds! Think: Killing us would leave bodies to be disposed, simply letting us go would mean risking the secrecy of the Elder’s plot, and imprisoning us would place more suspicion around the project that the Elder has placed at the center of his attention. It all adds up!”

“Wait,” said Ackar. “Why would he have reason to suspect us if he didn’t know we had the scroll?”

“There’s only one answer to that,” Raanu said. “The Elder did know.”

That was when Varonis opened the door to Ackar’s office. The red-armored Agori glanced around the room as if memorizing all the faces within it.

Ackar gestured him to a seat, frowning a bit at the blank expression on the newcomer’s face. “Welcome, Varonis. Please sit. We have, er, something important to talk about.”

Varonis nodded, taking the seat slowly. “So — so what’s all this about?”

Varonis’s lack of knowledge about the situation went immediately onto Ackar’s list of things he had forgotten. Taking a deep breath, Ackar explained the situation. Varonis listened intently, only nodding when Ackar paused. Come to think of it, he seemed awfully quiet today...

The explanation ended, Varonis wrapped one hand around the other and placed both beneath his chin to prop it up. “This is... odd, to say the least.”

“Don’t forget ridiculously coincidental,” Galintin added.

“And a lot to take in,” Varonis finished. “But my question is, how would the Elder know about the scroll?”

Suddenly, Pomerax cursed aloud. Varonis rounded on him in surprise before Pomerax cried out, “I saw cameras on the way up! There were glints from small black domes on the walls as we were led to the Elder’s office. Now I know what they were.” His frustration flew out in a powerful exhale.

“I... I have something to say, too,” said Rohkea meekly. “It’s... about what my friend Casiria told me before I picked up the scroll that the agent of the Elder dropped. It was... very strange of her, but I think you all need to hear it,” she said, lowering her volume at the end of her sentence as if she still wasn’t sure whether to say it or not.

“Well, what is it?” asked Ackar, his interest piqued.

“Well...” Rohkea began. “She didn’t really explain it a lot, but this is more or less what she said. She told me in a voice really unlike her, by the way. I think she was really shocked. She said that there was an incident in the past, far back in the past, that the Elder was involved in. I think she said it has ties to something that’s happening now, but I’m not sure. She mumbled a lot.”

Varonis frowned. “What?”

The sound of the Fire Agori’s voice caused Rohkea to turn and focus on the Agori as if she had just noticed him. “She... mentioned you, too,” said Rohkea.

Varonis’s eyebrows rose; his expression was oddly passive. “I’ve been involved with the Elder for years now. If my status is any indication, I don’t think I’ve done much to please him.”

“So why’d Casiria mention you?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“What was the issue, anyway?”

“I don’t know,” replied Varonis just a little too quickly. “There’ve been a bunch. I do think, however, you should show the scroll to the Elder. He ought to know if someone forged the document.”

“But,” Raanu cut in, “I already said—”

The conversation derailed there, with Raanu and Varonis engaging in a heated exchange about whether the Elder should be shown the letter or not. Rohkea meanwhile, was debating with herself whenever she should tell them about Casiria's letter or not. After trying to enter the conversation several times but being blocked, she gave up. Ackar, frustrated, murmured to the others, “I’ll be right back,” and stepped outside his office. He tried not to fume.

He walked all the way into the Great Being's Tower.

This is going nowhere, he thought, pacing back and forth. If we’re so divided on this one small issue... Or is it so small? Grr, now I can’t even agree with myself. What’s wrong with us?

A whisper of air.

Osavus’s cloak brushed across Ackar’s ankle. The Great Being uttered no words of apology. Ackar, stuck in his thoughts as he was, in turn said nothing.

“...don’t have time for this...”

By the time the snippet of whispering reached Ackar’s ears, Osavus was already a few meters away. Ackar glanced to his office door, then to the billowing cloak of the Great Being in retreat. The others are fine for now, he decided, and waited till Osavus was halfway down the hall before trailing him, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible.

As Osavus turned the corner into an open courtyard that sprawled out over the surrounding area, another figure joined him. Ackar could see that it was indeed Invidior! This was beginning to get really interesting.

Ackar got closer, and began to hear snippets of their conversation. They were just words, but in this scenario words were more than enough to get him to listen.

“...destroy...security...scaffolds...collapse...”

Ackar moved closer to them, and was able to hear them both talking now.

“So, to sum this up, we’re gonna destroy the robot how?” asked Invidior.

“Are you that thick?” teased Osavus, which was responded to by a shout of annoyance from Invidior. “Anyway, we’re going to first have our henchman start a riot at the front gate, drawing all the guards to them. Then, while there’s not a lot of security, we’ll be able to get to the robot and then start our de-attach program. At any rate, you know what the program will do. It’ll take out the scaffolding of the robot and make it collapse. And then everything will come together.”

Invidior gave a nod of approval as Ackar’s eyes widened in shock. Questions zipped through his mind like bullets. They’re going to destroy the robot? Why? What motives?

“But what about Varonis?” asked Invidior quietly. “Isn’t he in contact with the Elder too? What about that incident way back when? How do we know if he’s playing the double agent?”

“Good point,” said Osavus pointedly, “and I’m not sure what to do about it yet. Any ideas?”

“We could force him to tell us,” said Invidior.

“No, too blunt. We need something that he wouldn’t see coming until the minute it hits. Just like our plan to destroy the robot.”

Ackar blinked. He had a feeling this conspiracy spread farther than the Elder, but Varonis?

“Well, we don’t have to worry about him now. Now that we have the plan ready, we can execute it any time we want,” said Invidior.

“That’s true,” said Osavus, “but what about the Elder’s agent? I heard they dropped some secret scroll or something when they stole your blueprints.”

Invidior growled, still unhappy with the theft of his precious documents. However, they were useless to him anyway. “Yeah, they did all right. It was the scroll signifying their duty. I saw some Agori pick it up, but I doubt they’ll know what it means.”

At this point Ackar knew that they were referring to Pomerax, and, afraid of being discovered, began to fall back, realizing that if they were to find him stalking them, he would surely be imprisoned. Or worse.

I need to go back and tell the others, not to mention ask Varonis some questions.

He wasn’t paying attention. Several yards away stood a figure shrouded in shadow, unnoticed in a corner. Her eyes glinted out from beneath her large hooded cloak, fixed on the three beings in front of her. She watched the pair of Great Beings and their observer, all of whom were unaware of her presence. Readying herself to fight, she allowed a glint of white to show between partially-split lips.

This is almost too easy.

They can’t get away with this!

There Ackar was, sneaking up on two Great Beings — Great Beings who, out of all the things they could have chatted about, were plotting to destroy a decade’s worth of construction: the Grand Creation, the magnificent A.I.-controlled robot that was scheduled to launch in months. And they were doing it within earshot of him.

Who wouldn’t be crushed by the revelation that his society’s rulers, apotheosized by many, were as corrupt as any lowly Glatorian or Agori?

Crouching in the shadows, Ackar thought back to the Elder. Great Beings, Ackar had noted over the years, were prone to keeping secrets. Maybe their mental powers had something to do with it; or maybe they just weren’t talkative as a rule. Ackar had never thought the Elder would hide something corrupt, but what if he was? What if he had signed that scroll? What if Ackar and his team were working for the wrong person?

His mind, raveled in what-ifs as it was, barely processed the sudden silence that had permeated the area, or the movement down the hall that meant Osavus had stiffened and half-turned.

He blanched but remained still. Osavus tilted his head to his right as if thinking hard.

Slowly, Ackar took a step backward, staying close to the wall against which he had leaned whilst eavesdropping.

Footsteps.

A whistle of air—

Ackar ducked. The blade of a scythe now jutted from the wall where his head had been a second before.

Across the intersection, an emerald Glatorian with an outstretched arm grimaced at the near miss. Behind him stood a crimson-armored female, a small Morningstar held in her right hand, and a tall dark blue Glatorian to whose arms blades were mounted.

More urgent was the tall, muscled Glatorian charging straight at Ackar.

The Fire Glatorian dodged to the right as Robur’s oversized fist left a dent in the wall and swung his sword. The blade caught the rusty-armored Glatorian in the hip; he growled and stepped back. Behind his back, the green Glatorian darted to his scythe.

The dark blue Glatorian now ran forward, his blades knifing the air. Ackar parried one blow and evaded another by stepping back. Then he moved to the left and back, taking advantage of his sword’s greater range to swing at the aggressor’s foot, creating more room.

Room which was then filled by the red Glatorian.

The ball swung round on its chain. Ackar swallowed his impulse to use his sword to block and instead ducked and charged forward, his shoulder striking the attacker in her solar plexus. She gasped as she fell backward, no air in her lungs.

Ackar turned to run.

The green and blue warriors were in his way.

He stopped short — big mistake. A pair of large arms wrapped around his upper torso, pinning his arms to his sides. Ackar’s feet left the floor. He struggled; no use.

The brute proceeded to slam Ackar into the wall as though hammering a nail into place with Ackar’s helmet.

Bang! Bang—!

The brute fell, pulling Ackar with him. Ackar landed on top and rolled away, gasping for air and gripping the floor as the room spun underneath him.

The sound of a sword swinging through the air could be heard. Ackar, dizzied and battered, was in no state to dodge, only to roll over and observe—

—as a cloaked being with twin swords darted underneath the green Glatorian’s scythe and struck him in the temple with the right sword hilt. The green Glatorian fell hard, a curse flying from his lips. Ackar had to lift his head up to look over the prone body of the brute, which nearly pinned him against the wall.

The cloak swirled as its wearer gracefully avoided the red Glatorian’s ball-and-chain; an upward slice and the Morningstar fell roughly to the dirt, while its owner grasped her right wrist in pain. A kick to the chest sent her to the floor with her allies.

While the cloaked being had dispatched the red aggressor almost nonchalantly, the blue Glatorian with arm-mounted blades had run behind her. He leapt—

And the cloaked Glatorian spun out of the way, parrying the blades and simultaneously sticking out her leg, the momentum of her turn tripping the dark blue attacker.

By now, Ackar was on his knees. “What,” he choked out, “in the Great Beings’ name...?”

“Shut up and run.” The voice beneath the hood was terse and unexpectedly high. So Ackar’s savior was a female. Not that her identity was bad, just surprising. “Come on! I’ll help you.”

She grasped Ackar under his arms and roughly pulled him to his feet. He stumbled forward a meter before gaining his balance and ran for a nearby alarm switch.

“STOP!”

Ignoring the voice, Ackar grabbed the switch, yanked it hard enough for the metal to bend, listened to the warbling klaxons fill the hallways.

And immediately yelped as he was yanked through the air and to the dirt.

Invidior, it seemed, was ticked. “Scarabax,” he growled. “What do you think you’re doing!?”

Ackar spat at Invidior’s feet, thus earning an enraged expression and the prompt mental-power slamming of his head into the chilly metal floor.

“Coward,” he whispered.

Invidior paused, releasing his mental grasp from Ackar’s head. “Not really,” he replied coolly. “I prefer to think of myself as smart.”

“ACKAR!”

Galintin!

Ackar turned his head as surreptitiously as possible in the fear that Invidior would harm him upon movement. Invidior’s gaze, however, was on the approaching beings. Osavus’s gaze was directed likewise.

“Let them go!” yelled Raanu, a dagger in his hand. Behind him and Galintin stood Rohkea, Pomerax, and Varonis.

Invidior laughed. “Actually, I much prefer them where they are.”

“That wasn’t a suggestion,” Galintin cut in. “That was an order.”

“Huh. What authority do you have?”

Galintin pulled his badge from his pouch; a hint of pride crossed his features. “Say hello to Security Team elite, recruited by the Elder himself.”

At "the Elder", Invidior and Osavus shared a glance. “That’s nice,” Invidior said, his voice cold enough to cover the uncertainty dancing in Osavus’ eyes. “You know what else is nice? Life. And Ackar won’t be able to enjoy it if you don’t back away right now.”

The Great Being gestured to Osavus, who grimaced in concentration. The cloaked Glatorian was flung into the air by invisible hands; she landed before the Security Team and rolled, her hood flung away from her face. Rohkea let out a gasp of “Casiria!” and ran to the fallen Glatorian, lifting her body into a sitting position.

“We don’t care about her,” Invidior continued. “She’s an unwitting pawn in this game. But Ackar? He chose to get involved. He didn’t need to, but he did. Therein lies our problem.”

“I’m warning you!” cried Galintin, but his voice shook. Raanu tapped him on the arm and muttered something indecipherable; in response, Galintin brushed away Raanu’s touch, eyes serving as kindle for the fire consuming his mind.

Invidior shook his head. Ackar was pulled into Invidior’s arms as if drawn by a magnet; he struggled but could gain no leeway. His attackers, he noticed with chagrin, were beginning to recover; the green Glatorian had already stood on his own and was helping the red one. There was a prick on Ackar’s neck: He caught a glimpse of silver in his peripheral vision, felt a drop of blood trickle down his skin, and went still.

“Like I said,” Invidior restated patiently: “if you attack, Ackar dies. Now lower your weapons.”

He began pulling Ackar back. Casiria, now on her own feet, took an aggressive step forward; but her look of pure anger was quelled by Rohkea, who blocked Casiria with an outstretched arm and, eyes on the dirt, told the others to lower their weapons. They did so with varying degrees of hesitancy.

Invidior smiled. His grip around Ackar tightened as he began backing round the corner. “Good. Now, you stay there and make no movements, and Ackar will stay alive. Do we have a deal?”

“A scarabax,” growled Galintin, “can’t make a deal.”

A hint of a grimace could be heard in Invidior’s voice. “I’ll pass over that insult, thank you. Now, I have better things to do than talk to lowly scarabax such as yourselves. If you’ll excuse me...”

Ackar was nearly yanked from his feet as the Great Being began running sideways through the hallways. The henchmen and Osavus followed close behind. Ackar heard a truncated curse — Galintin’s — echo through the grand, arching corridor behind him.

To Ackar, only seconds passed before he was thrust into the bright sunlight of Spherus Magna. Across the grass they ran to awaiting Sand Stalkers. Osavus mounted one; two henchmen went atop each of the next two mounts.

“You will ride with me,” said Invidior, leaping atop the center-left Sand Stalker with ease despite Ackar’s weight. He planted Ackar firmly onto the saddle before him — a click: Ackar’s hands were cuffed. “Don’t try any tricks. My patience is worn thin as is.”

“And now,” he called to the others, “we ride!”


As soon as the Great Beings were out of sight, Galintin charged—

—and was stopped before he could turn the corner by a hand on his lower arm. He came to a stop and turned; a magma-red Agori held him back, Rohkea and Raanu standing beside him.

“I can’t let you go, Galintin,” said Varonis, his fingers pressing unintentionally against a nerve.

Galintin tried to pull away. “You spikit! They’re getting away!”

“Getting away with Ackar, to be exact,” said Varonis.

“And?”

“Would a rescue mission be even considerable at this point?”

“Are you kidding? Who are you to say—?”

“The Team Leader, of course,” he said.

Galintin sputtered. “Who made you leader?”

“News flash, Galintin: Ackar is gone. Someone reasonable should take over, someone who has a clear mind!” Varonis’ hand brushed the handle of his axe; he was serious about this. “If we go after Ackar now, the Great Beings will kill him!”

“They wouldn’t dare,” Galintin muttered.

The right corner of Varonis’ mouth twitched. “We don’t know what they’re willing to do. Best to stay put and wait for the right chance to do something. After all, they are Great Beings.”

Galintin gritted his teeth; opened his mouth to say something; gave up and collapsed into a sitting position. The Great Beings had too much of a head start; and even if he followed, the Great Beings might easily spot him and kill Ackar.

“But” — Raanu entered the conversation here — “we can’t just let them go!”

“What would be the advantage of going after them?”

“Excuse me,” Rohkea said, “the advantage? He — he’s our friend!”

“...whose life is danger. If we try to approach them even by a mile, Invidior could kill him without a second thought! Is that really what you want?”

“No, but—”

“Then shut up.”

Rohkea did so, her expression turning glassy as if in rejection of showing emotion. Raanu looked startled. Pomerax remained standing a ways behind the others, as if unwilling to enter the discussion; his head was bowed, his arms crossed over his chest in a thoughtful position.

Varonis’ mouth twitched some more as he noticed the heavy silence that had fallen. “I gave my orders,” he said in an obvious attempt to dispel the awkwardness. “I’m going to report to the Elder. We’ll meet in my office in an hour.”

He walked off, his movements stiff but belying the obvious doubt in his mind.

Galintin turned his head to look at the others and mouthed a single word: “Scarabax.”



“Are you sure, Invidior?”

Ackar drifted into consciousness. A rough rope bit into his wrists and ankles; he tested his limbs and found he could not move. On the other side of the foyer, the maroon-armored brute from earlier sat heavily against the wall, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and heavy.

“He’s dangerous, Osavus!” Invidior’s voice was tense as it drifted through the inner doorway. “I wouldn’t doubt his ability to break out of a simple locked room.”

“I know, but... in the shell? He has done nothing except follow the Elder’s orders; he doesn’t deserve that kind of punishme—”

“I will not risk our plan due to weak pity,” Invidior interrupted, his frustration evident. “You said it yourself: He’s following orders. Orders that would place us — us both — in a detention cell before you could say ‘spikit’.”

Before Osavus could rebut, Invidior called out: “ROBUR! Here! Now!”

The brute across from Ackar opened his eyes in surprise and looked around himself as a lost scarabax attempting to locate his nest would. He rushed through the entrance into the main room to present himself to Invidior.

“Uh, yes, sir?” Ackar heard him question.

“Do you remember the red Glatorian you took out earlier? Get him onto that platform.”

“Yes sir.”

Robur rushed back into the foyer and, sans theatrics, grabbed Ackar by the head and slung him over his shoulder. Ackar let out a surprised yelp at the strain on his neck. With his limbs tied, he could do nothing except allow his body to be shaken as he was carried in awkward fashion into the inner room. Looking up as best he could, he saw the Great Beings pass by his vision, and started spouting profanities.

His cursing was cut short as he was thrown roughly onto the platform. Osavus rushed to its foot and pulled a lever; a circular platform below Ackar’s legs was raised him two feet off the dirt, followed by a web of lightning beams lancing from pillar to pillar that trapped Ackar within a shell.

More curses. Ackar charged. “I’ll get you, you little—!”

And he screamed as he struck the lightning and was repelled backward — into the other side of the electric shell. He fell to the floor, spasms yanking his otherwise prone limbs about.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”

Ackar rolled toward the voice, groaning in pain. An Agori dressed in dark red robes with glowing symbols neared the platform. Beneath his hood could be seen a hint of a grin.

“Welcome back, master,” said the emerald Glatorian standing off to one side.

The approaching Agori nodded. “Thank you, Avarus. Robur, Silex, Ferveon” — the Agori gestured to each Glatorian in turn — “my greetings to you as well.”

Invidior inclined his head toward the newcomer but did not speak, instead turning his back and examining some papers on a nearby desk with Osavus. The Agori faltered midway through a step but rounded the platform without any further hesitation.

“What — urgh — are you planning, you little sand bat?” Ackar forced through his grinding teeth in the direction of the Great Beings.

Invidior did not bother to turn. “My plan?”

“You heard me.” Ackar’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

The Agori laughed. “Ha, and you expect us to tell you?”

A chill washed down Ackar’s spine. Where had he heard that voice before...?

“Now, providing we were that stupid, what would you do?” The Agori now stood up against the platform, nearly touching the electric field. He moved his hood back and blinked in the light.

“You filthy traitor!” screamed Ackar. Before he could think, he lunged at Varonis — a lunge that was stopped short with a jolt by the field of electricity. A curse flew from his lips as he fell back onto the cold metal. “You betrayed us!”

“Not betrayal,” corrected Varonis. “I prefer to call it a ‘good business investment’.” A faint chuckle drifted to the Agori and Glatorian from Invidior’s direction.

Ackar was on his knees now, the voltage faded from his system. “Spikits,” he spat. “You’re nothing more than criminals.”

“The Elder isn’t as noble as he makes himself seem, Ackar,” Invidior smiled; his expression could almost be taken as genuine pity. “You’ll learn that sooner or later.”

Ackar didn’t respond. Invidior and Osavus returned to their silent planning.


Unbeknownst to many in Magnacus Renata, the city was built around what was once a central point for a series of magma refineries spread across the surrounding area. Many metal pipes crisscrossed beneath the surface, leading into abandoned purification plants and, thanks to Invidior’s under-the-table planning and dealing during the construction of the control building—

“—directly into the control room,” Invidior finished with pride.

It was through one such tunnel that Osavus and Invidior now travelled. They had ridden on Sand Stalkers to the very outskirts of the area Magnacus Renata called its own; there, they had split from their henchmen and Varonis and entered a nearby abandoned magma refinery.

Their footsteps echoed, sounding tinny in the metallic surroundings. “How much longer?” asked Osavus, looking up at the ceiling.

“A while,” replied Invidior. “But it’ll be worth it. By the time we do arrive, no one will notice.”

Osavus paled a little; in the dim, unsteady lighting, Invidior failed to notice.


A scream, cut off.

An alarm horn, meeting the same fate.

And forty throaty yells lifting to the sky.

“Come on!” cried Varonis, darting out the front door of the Tower before several guards. He was fast for an Agori, Rohkea thought as she tried to keep up; several guards followed her, too.

The shouts were growing louder; screams intermittently wailed across the landscape. Rohkea’s heart beat a little faster.

Up ahead, Varonis pressed a button on his armor. “Alpha Team, are you on position?”

“Raanu, present,” said Raanu.

“Same for me,” cut in Pomerax.

Galintin’s reply was less appropriate.

“And I’m with Rohkea,” Varonis said as he sprinted. “Get to the main gates. Gather as many guards as you can. Go!” He released the button and turned so he was backpedaling. “Rohkea — get to the right; see if you can flank the attackers. I’m going to the left, see if I can catch them by surprise.”

“Wait,” said Rohkea, “how—?”

But Varonis was already running away with his group. Rohkea slowed; the guards, sensing her hesitation, slowed as well.

“What’re our orders, miss?” asked one.

“Um... flank them,” said Rohkea. The pressure of giving orders was too much for her to bear. “I think. Let’s, uh, try this road?”

“Your orders,” said the guard.

A second passed before Rohkea remembered she had to run. So run she did, drawing her sword as she went. Most of the guards behind her carried both a sword and a Thornax launcher; she felt rather vulnerable in comparison.

But even that didn’t compare to her feelings as she saw the forces that had breached the gates.

Several Agoris’ bodies were littered across the street. The gates, surprisingly, were still barred. There was only one explanation Rohkea could think of; the attack occurred from the inside of the city.

A cry. Rohkea’s forces had been spotted. Several Thornax launchers fired in unison; the walls of the buildings around Rohkea’s force were blasted, and the group had to take cover. More Thornax sailed through the now-empty gap: cover fire.

“Here they come!” cried a guard.

Rohkea prayed that the others were already joining the fray — and that the attackers took all the time in the world to come.


“Is this going to take much longer?”

Impatient, Invidior gripped the armrests of the chair in which he sat. He glared at the ceiling and tapped his foot incessantly. Osavus was brilliant in his own way, but he had a tendency to be far, far too patient with slow progress.

“Patience,” Osavus retorted, as Invidior had known he would. “We have plenty of time. Everyone should be at Renata’s entrance gates by now.”

A faint click. Invidior turned toward the closed doorway into the control room, resisting the urge to bite his tongue. It was already humiliating to have to expunge his superior’s mistake by sneaking underground into a facility he had helped construct and resorting to sabotage; being caught in the act would be outright insulting.

“What on Spherus Magna is taking your program so long?”

“I don’t know, brother. The Elder must have changed the database encryptions,” sighed Osavus.

“We don’t have any time to spare.”

“I know that, thank you.”

“What can you do to get through the new encryptions?”

“Can you calm down? We aren’t exactly guests in here; it’s enough we had to take out two innocent Agori!”

Invidior grunted, settling for a façade of acquiescence; arguing would accomplish nothing save for interrupting Osavus’ progress. “Just do what you need to do.”

He looked around the room, when he recalled a trick he had been shown to by the Elder long ago. Eons ago, the present Elder and Invidior used to be sharing experiments and ideas all the time.

“I think he may have used a proxy server to ‘customize’ the databases. Their IDs are different, but the basic code is the same. Try breaking the firewall, and see if the virus will fit in then,” added Invidior.

“You really think he’s that smart?” asked Osavus.

“He’s not an idiot... I know he’s not,” Invidior replied with haste. Osavus looked back at his screen, preparing to hack the firewall. The firewall seemed to be progressively growing harder to break, but eventually, Osavus’ experience and skill with electronics managed to break the code, thus dropping the customized databases’ IDs.

“Marvelous! It’s working! I just need to—”

Invidior turned around in less than a second and saw Osavus being dragged and thrown off his chair by his neck. The figure looked at Invidior and rushed towards him. He ducked, backing away to avoid the attack. He felt an itch around his stomach, but continued trying to deflect the attacker’s hits.

The moment the figure became distracted, Invidior rushed to Osavus, helping him get up.

“Brother... are you alright?” asked Osavus

“What do you mean?” said Invidior, surprised. “I’m fine, you’re the one─”

Osavus stared at him. Invidior looked down, and noticed a large cut on his stomach. He looked back up, and fell unconscious in the dirt.

The figure cracked a smile and laughed.



The Tower’s doors opened wide. The crowd watched as the Elder himself, enraged, came out of the Tower, followed by a thousand guards and several Great Beings. Confused, the people cheered, as if they were praising the Elder and the Great Beings. A lot of them thought the robot was launching, and created a false wave of excitement. Such was their trust and attachment to the Great Beings, that they completely ignored the henchmen’s apparent attack on the city.

“Tell them to keep quiet,” he ordered the guards.

A small burst of energy flung out of the Elder’s hand, hitting the entire construction facility attached to the Tower, specifically built to construct parts of the robot. It was also the Team’s headquarters, ever since the Elder promoted them. It was an elegant design. With the construction facility located inside the city, there was only one choice for the robot’s platform; the endless empty outskirts of the city. The platform included the control facility and assembly, with the control platform being the station between the city’s walls and the platform’s walls, and the way the parts were transported to the robot. The assembly line was a collection of scaffolds and supports surrounding the robot.

As the Elder’s small armada entered the construction facility, it changed. All entrances were locked shut, with guards taking a new formation. Reinforced steel melted from the top, covering and stabilizing in the same second the entire facility.

“Everyone step aside!” screamed one of the guards. “The facility is on lockdown!”


On Avarus’ hip, his handheld radio played a blip-blip!

His scythe cleaved through another Glatorian. A Thornax flew just over his head; he ducked to the side and behind a nearby house. There, breathing heavily, he scanned the crowd of combatants for his allies.

There. Robur, large as he was, was unable to act stealthy to save his life. He had already lumbered into a nearby alley and rounded the bend, heading roughly in the direction of the construction facility. A few seconds later, Ferveon followed. Silex, meanwhile, had somehow rounded the defenders and was now crossing the street to the construction facility behind them.

Taking a deep breath, Avarus plunged into the fray as though he were plunging into a river.


The yelled commands to attack had stopped a long time ago; and now, the remaining forces were beginning to falter.

Galintin noticed it first in the lessened resistance to his sword swings and the widening radius around his group of guards. “Guys!” he called over his radio. “They’re” — he coolly parried a sword blow and plunged his own blade into the aggressor’s ribs — “they’re starting to fall back!”

“Let’s push the advantage!” Pomerax suggested between grunts of effort.

“Make that an order,” Varonis cut in.

Galintin ignored the irritated chagrin bubbling in his gut and honed his attention on the push and pull of his muscles as they commanded the sword he held. The attackers’ numbers were many, but their empty eyes showed clearly the absence of a driving force behind their actions; they offered little resistance. Thornax flew, swords clashed, and bodies fell. Some of the aggressors even surrendered and willingly allowed themselves to be bound and left on the dirt to be picked up later; a precious few others drove blindly into the gaining defenders as though they no longer cared whether they lived or died; the great majority found themselves herded toward Magnacus Renata’s gates, which had been closed during the melee, and so were trapped.

The sounds of combat faded into silence-belied tension. The Alpha Team found itself reformed in the main road leading to the gates; guards streamed past them to keep the attackers caged in. Many glares and growls were shared between the two sides, but neither allowed itself to fall to intimidation tactics: a standoff.

Varonis, when he spoke, sounded tense. “There’s not much else we can do...”

“So what do we do?” asked Galintin, looking over the crowd of henchmen.

In lieu of replying, Varonis lifted his finger to the radio on his upper left chest armor. His lip twitched as the radio crackled to life. “All guards: Prepare to fire,” he ordered.

“No!” Rohkea stepped forward faster than Galintin had ever seen her move before. “You can’t just — just kill them in cold blood like that!”

“Not all of them,” Varonis responded, though his words were built atop a regretful undertone. “Just enough to get the rest to cooperate.”

“But they’re still being killed—”

“Some of them.”

“Exactly!”

“You know what? Shut up.”

Rohkea was shocked enough that she lapsed without complaint into an air of frustrated acquiescence. Galintin gripped her hand; she tried to pull it away, then stopped when she realized Galintin’s grip was too strong.

Varonis’ mouth opened, ready to spat out the words ‘fire’, but stopped. These were his men. Would killing them benefit? No.

“…scratch that.”

“Excuse me, sir, but what?” said a surprised guard.

“Arrest them. All of them.”

“Are you certain, sir? They are by far too —”

“I already gave you orders.”

Rohkea felt relived. Galintin was more than puzzled.


Having dispatched and placed under control all of the attackers, the Alpha Team’s effort to place the city under control had been successful. Maybe the day was coming to a closure, but their work was just starting.

Rohkea stopped trying to act surprised, as she was too tired to pull off a fair reaction. “Guys, uh, what is this?”

“No! Dangit!” cursed Galintin.

“What’s going on?” asked Pomerax.

Galintin opened his mouth, but was blocked by Varonis, who talked over him. “It’s in lockdown. We’ll have to get in, someway. I have no idea why the Elder didn’t talk to me about this,” he added. And for once, he was telling the truth; the Elder had not explained to him why the facility was placed on lockdown, so he was forced to follow the safe path; act surprised, and throw ‘foolish’ ideas, like trying to break in.

“Can we bypass it?” said Raanu.

“Pretty sure we can’t,” said Galintin quickly, trying to act as if he was head of the Team. Varonis didn’t pay much attention, much to Galintin’s frustration.

“That’s it..? There’s no other option? No backup plan?”

Everyone shrugged, carried away by their thoughts. Varonis was attempting to contact the Elder, leaving the rest of the team in a skeptic state. Unnoticed, a familiar figure came out from a small building, and she walked up to them; her face was lightened up by the street lights. It was Casiria.

“Well, I’ve got an idea,” she said.

Time could have stopped and he wouldn't have known.

Miles away from civilization, a beeping sound was coming from a panel. A red light on the screen blinked slowly, indicating that something was wrong. Ordinarily, somebody would've come immediately to take care of it, but now no one was there; in fact, nobody had been for the past thousands of years. The abandoned Magma Complex was running on its last real dose of power.

Well, almost abandoned. There was a single energy shell, created from sheer electricity, occupied by a very angry Glatorian who wanted nothing more than to slam his fist into the wall, if not for the fear that he might get shocked to death.

He was the traitor! How couldn't I have known?

He ground his teeth. If he could only... get out of here. Scenarios of what he'd do flooded his mind, the rather illegitimate fantasies of him bleeding Varonis dry of lifeblood in as many ways as possible, and dealing in some manner with the other ones, too. If not for this electricity, if it would go out just for a single second... He clenched his fists and barely withheld himself from striking the walls of his cell (that is, if they could be called walls).

Maybe I can survive the shock, it shouldn't be that bad.

... No. He had to focus, had to think. He had to stay calm, not let anger take control, no, that would turn him into the same idiot that Varonis was. He just couldn't think rationally if it did. He had to think... But he couldn't anyway, because it was simply a no-win situation. He had to admit it. Unless by some miracle---

That was when the Great Beings (naturally not the ones that put him here, definitely not Osavus and Invidior, that is), must've heard him. Suddenly, darkness fell. Ackar spent a few seconds understanding what was going on. For a while afterwards, he just sat in his energy cell, as its walls were the only source of light around.

Then an electronic voice resounded from the loudspeakers, "Activating emergency power. Connect an alternate power source to the system to restore standard behavior."

And with that, quite unceremoniously, the direct opposite of what had recently happened, happened. The lights went on again, but the energy cell went off, the electricity dissipating into thin air, leaving only a faint scent of ozone behind.

Ackar stood up, but didn't move otherwise for a few seconds. And then carefully took a step forward.

It really happened. Why the complex was designed so tragically as to restore power in emergencies to the less important stuff, such as lights, he had no idea. "I don't suppose any staff got killed in prisoner riots," he muttered to himself, "there definitely aren't any openings for that here."

If most people, impractical, unscrupulous people, were in his place, they would jut in zigzags all over the place, randomly looking for an exit in a just-as-unscrupulous fashion, screaming loudly, "DANGIT, DANGIT, DANGIT, WHERE IS THE FREAKING DOOR!?" and never stopping once to take a detailed look around. Ackar wouldn't. He patiently left his cellblock...

... and grabbed quite literally everything off a desk near him. Piles of papers he barely looked over, just enough to make sure they weren't helpful, and picked them up anyway, shoving them in a backpack he found abandoned in a room just by. Blueprints, maps, letters, plans, anything that could have been useful to him.

Ackar could have sworn that if it had not been for all the papers, Invidior would have left him to die here on purpose. He moved through the hallways in this manner, rampaging over desks, shelves, various other furniture, anything he thought remotely possible to use while getting out of here.

No. No. Useless. Come on! There's nothing useful over here either!

His temper was about to boil over, because for all he knew, his friends could be dying by Varonis' hand at this moment, or being lead into a trap that only he knew about. He had to find a way out of this place, and he had to find a way to stop them. But how? He knew nothing of his whereabouts, let alone Invidior's and Osavus'.

He wasn't quite sure either how Varonis became involved on all of this. He recalls the Elder placing him as a member of the team. Actually, that explained a lot more than he thought.

If only I had known!

Finally, half an hour later, he found what he wanted. A strange room, full of graphical presentations and... maps. Maps that detailed the whole of the Magma Complex - but not just that. He found a map detailing the entire city of Magnacus Renata. This must have been what Invidior and Osavus have been using to enter and exit the city unnoticed. Ackar had no idea that the catacombs lacked that much security; it was highly disturbing to him. Nothing was a coincidence to him anymore.

He would've smiled if not for the instinct of urgency nagging at his mind as he sped down endless lifts and stairways, in the direction of what the map labelled the sand stalker stables. Fortunately, a sand stalker was tied up at the stables - a most generous gift from Invidior and Osavus.


"Robur!" Avarus growled, as the cloaked Glatorian pinned him to the wall by holding a psionics-charged sword at his throat. The brute charged in, flanking the agent, punching him with such force that he launched him into the air with the sheer might of his fist. But he didn't have quite enough. He slammed his knuckles into the Glatorian agent once more, although this time, his enemy tried to block it, and was relatively successful - he didn't suffer another direct blow.

Mere seconds ago, the agent had ambushed them, delivering a blow at Invidior, who had fallen to the ground unconscious. Osavus had quickly rushed in, helping him recover.

Ferveon charged at the agent, who took his time to deflect each blow she threw. She was too overwhelmed to realize that delivering blunt hits wasn't going to bring him down - in fact, it gave him time to prepare another psionic blast that sent Ferveon flying through the room. She was slammed against a giant monitor, the delicate screen shattering from the impact.

"Great Beings! Nothing's workin'..." she screamed at Avarus.

"Oh, you think? Because I was sure we had this UNDER CONTROL!" Avarus could only think of one option now - Silex. He was all about assassination, the perfect kill. Unless he wasn't interested in joining the battle, he was probably preparing his attack from the shadows.

Turns out Silex chose that moment to appear. He slipped out of the darkness, rushed up to the thief and-

Only a single blade of metal flew in the damp interior air.

It should've been enough to take out the agent, as they couldn't have possibly expected a dagger to be shoved up his back in this situation. However, he turned, parrying the blow. Sparks flew as Silex's dagger collided, and then shattered, as the agent pressed his energy blade towards him.

"You're just a bug on my windshield, and I could wipe you away if I so desired," remarked Silex. The agent didn't reply. He didn't need to.

"Ferveon, Silex, with me! Attack him!" Avarus had used Silex's attack as a distraction, giving him enough time to devise a plan.

The three Glatorian charged at the thief, who used a poweful psionic shield to block their attacks.

"It's of no use!" shouted Ferveon.

Avarus ordered Robur to attack him from behind. He planted another blow on the agent, sending him crashing into the wall. As the Glatorian gradually shifted into a state of darkness that he couldn't discern whether it was death or unconsciousness, his psionic sword fell into the ground.

Avarus picked it up gently, "Nice thing, this," he said quietly, "I think I'll keep it." He walked closer to the agent, gazing at him.

"It's too bad that nice cloak was ruined," he said, and - quite brutally - slashed his head off.

The hecnhmens' eyes fell on the two Great Beings - Osavus and Invidior - who had been watching during the battle. Osavus was tending to Invidior's wounds, which luckily weren't nearly as deep as they could have been. Invidior kept trying to stand up.

"Ugh."

"Stop trying to get up, brother. It isn't helping," said Osavus.

"Sure, he gets to rest, and we do all the work." Robur sat down, refusing to get up. Sometimes that brute was a total idiot, thought Avarus.

"Oh, shut-"

"I'll do whatever I want. I can't be hindered because of a single wound!" Invidior could barely stand; his nerves had suffered from the blow. Osavus always admired Invidior's persistence; however, he feared that it would be his downfall some day.


"Sorry, all of you," said Casiria to her unlikely allies, "but you're in a whole heap of trouble now. I do hope you like trouble. You see that building? I hope that you recognize it, because I need your help getting in."

How could they not have? It was their own Great Being-forsaken facility! Just with at least quadruple the number of guards, and none of them were familiar. Well, maybe triple... Nah, it was quadruple. And it was probably a living fortress with the lockdown activated.

Everyone in the group had different observations about the situation. Pomerax watched the building carefully and quietly from where they were, a vantage point on a building in front of the factory. Raanu trotted back and forth in the territorial radius of a square metre nervously, throwing more and more nervous glances at the building. Rohkea watched the building, though not with as much concentration as Pomerax. And Galintin glared at the agent.

Ever since the day that started all this, they have been trying to stop those responsible for wanting to destroy the robot. The Elder literally put them in charge of figuring things out. Problem was, all of them knew that no one could be trusted. All this time, and they were still walking in darkness. Rohkea's sealed mail, the thief's letter... it just didn't add up. How was Invidior, the others, and — more importantly — the Elder involved?

"Oh no, Casiria, that's it. I've had enough of this," he roared, suddenly, "Before we proceed, you ARE going to tell me what is really happened here, and you are going to tell me how the Elder fits here. I only relatively, half-so, know why we are entangled in this mess to begin with. Explain to me how is that the Elder himself is potentially involved in all of this? Bring me the answers. Now."

The agent held his gaze almost aggressively, but looked back at Galintin calmly. He was right. All of them had been walking in the dark for far longer than they needed to.

"You want to know, Galintin? Are you sure you're worthy of the information? It's more than just this little fiasco. This... is just the aftermath of a battle that took place years ago. And that battle, quite ironically, is nothing compared to the truth," sighed Casiria.

Rohkea stepped forward, and took out the letter Casiria had given her some time ago, "This letter..." said Rohkea, "what is it about? I haven't been able to deliver it to Angonce, nor open it. Doesn't it... contain information regarding the Elder?" Anyone could have noticed that Rohkea had given this some thought. She just was too absorbed in all of this.

Casiria didn't reply. Instead, she took the letter and tore it apart.

"Unfortunately for you, we're not done here. I need the answers, Casiria, and not a bloody letter," Galintin was more than determined to have his questions answered. He wouldn't walk away without them.

Her gaze strengthened on him, threateningly. And then suddenly became calmer, weaker, less imposing.

"Galintin, let-" Rohkea half-sighed, half-shrieked.

"Rohkea," he glared at her, with a brutal and sharp tone in his voice.

"Oh, will you all shut up," Casiria muttered. "Fine."

Galintin raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph. I didn't expect you to let it out that easily," said Galintin; Casiria remained silent.

He crossed his arms. "So, are you going to tell us?"

The agent smiled. Grimly. "Great Beings, no. Not just like that. I'll tell you, but not everything, there's simply not enough time. Besides, the Elder could realize that I'm telling you, and kill me."

"But he isn't around," stated Raanu.

"Yes, Raanu, but the Elder isn't simply a Great Being. The Psionic agents you've been fighting, with the blue and dark red cloaks, the glowing symbols... they are all under his command. He has the power to master psionics, and has granted them - us - that power. We are the remnants of the Order of the Hidden," Casiria almost had to force herself into muttering the name. She despised it with all her soul.

"Hmm. Isn't that a legend about an order that safeguarded the Great Beings' rule on Spherus Magna sixty years ago?" said Pomerax, as he was known for his expanded historical knowledge.

"It's not a legend. The Order... collapsed around that time, and was shrunken into a bunch of drunken useless mercenaries, the so-called the "henchmen" you fought earlier. The rest... well, here's where things get complicated. Those that remained at the Elder's command - around 200 Glatorian agents - became sleeper agents, working in the shadows. It's undoubtedly why the Order became a legend, working under people's noses. I am one of the few exceptions that managed to escape his control. However, I am still forced to follow this path, for better or for worse."

"I don't get it," snapped Rohkea, "Agents, the Elder, an order?"

"The sleeper agents are controlled by the Elder, Rohkea. The entire Order was controlled by him as well. We don't serve the Great Beings. We serve one power-mad "Great" Being that has been trying to seize control for 500 years. What you need to know is that the Elder has eyes everywhere - in fact, we're probably being watched right now," Unlikely, she thought, since the Elder's preoccupied.

"I see. And this.. you said...it's nothing?" Galintin had begun to realize Casiria's fears.

"The Order of the Hidden's rise and fall is what a scarabax is against a Great Being: nothing. It was one of the plans the Elder devised to maintain his rule. Just as this one is." muttered Casiria.

"This changes things. This is too big. We need a way to enter the facility and find out what the Elder's up to, and we need to stop Ivndior and Osavus," said Pomerax.

"We already know that, voroxhead... we just can't bypass the facility's system that easily because it's in lockdown," Raanu turned to Pomerax.

Galintin glared, anger flaring in his eyes, "I was getting there," Rohkea and Casiria remained silent, as did everyone else.

In contrast, Pomerax didn't care about hordes of sleeper agents. He had a task: breaking in. So while the others bickered over this revelation, which he thought rather unimpressive and incomplete, he observed the guards. Carefully.

They seemed... bored.

Bored... there was a lot to discover in such things, Pomerax knew. He concentrated on a single guard, stationed by the door, observing him as he patrolled. Back and forth, back and forth, boringly and annoyedly proceeding back and forth from one edge of the door to another.

And suddenly, he was joined by a colleague, and the two started chatting, only to be joined by a third one minutes later. Pomerax turned his gaze patiently to the spot the third guard came from. There, he saw, was a doorway.

A-ha!


"Oh, please! You are nothing but a power-hungry senile fool!" roared Invidior, his whole self, both physically and mentally, trembling with anger and rage. The Elder's expression changed only slightly, became fiercer, angrier.

"All I've done has been for the well-being of others, yours and this world! Can you not appreciate it?"

"Appreciate it?!" Invidior screamed. "You have used my project for your own purposes! You discard all your supporters after abusing them and taking from them what use you can! Me, first of all!"

"You shouldn't have thrown him out, Elder," Osavus said, with anger expressed in his voice too, albeit calmer than Invidior's. "He's done nothing wrong to you. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"He wasn't qualified for this, Osavus-" the Elder began. That's where Invidior felt the immense urge to do something he did not wait a single milisecond in doing. The Elder felt Invidior's fist grasp his throat and slam him into the wall with all of his might.

"That's it, Protasious!" the Elder had not heard his name in quite a long time.

"You and I both know the truth here. We know you have been using my project to draw fear into the people, abuse the Great Beings just to keep control. MY. PROJECT! MINE! Just like the Order of the Hidden's failure, which I know now is entirely true!" Invidior's mind snapped, literally. He had not felt such anger before in his life.

"Hmph. I see. Varonis could never keep his mouth shut, could he?"

"You son of a sand stalker! You little, worthless piece of scum! Do you not realize that I know about your true crime?! Not the Order of the Hidden, not even your second greatest attempt at power, the robot, which is - to say the least - perfectly designed as it was! But no, you say I'm not qualified, you pathetic excuse for an Elder!? Your - power - source - was - worthless! Just - like - you! You attempted to save yourself by stealing my plans, but that didn't go well, did it? Eh?! ANSWER - ME!"

"How can you possibly- Oh, I see now. I see. It all makes sense in the end."

"IT DOESN'T!" Invidior kept silent for a few seconds, after screaming. Osavus was too shocked to say anything.

"Honestly, "brother", do you really think you will prevent me from launching the robot? You pathetic fools-of-Great-Beings could not even realize I was playing around with you."

"You know what, Protasious?" he emphasized the name as if pointing out his rejection of the Elder, "I might just kill you where you stand."


It was perfect.

Rohkea knew throwing the rock at the right spot was critical - their lives depended on it. She just couldn't fail now. She had to give her perfect shot.

The complex was a large rectangular building attached to the Tower of the Great Beings. Parts of it were connected to the Tower, but only through gateways - the Tower's structure was impenetrable. Unlike the Tower, however, which was teleport-proof to everyone except Great Beings, the facility was teleport-proof to any living creature - it was impossible to enter it using any type of teleportation powers.

She threw it. The rock fell in the middle of a quiet street, with the night sky's stars lighting up the atmosphere. A bunch of guards were taking their discussions away from the doorways. It was so quiet that the rock sounded like a slamming into the ground. Clueless, six guards ran towards the origin of the sound, leaving three gateways unguarded. Stationed nearby, Casiria and Galintin watched, patiently.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Casiria rushed in, her dark red robes blending with the environment. She passed by the guards, and signaled Pomerax and Raanu. They were hiding inside the bushes, just meters away from the three entrances to the complex.

"Just give me a minute," whispered Casiria and concentrated her psionic energy on the control panel attached to the large door.

Galintin was ready. Suddenly, five sand stalkers went on a rampage all over the streets. The metal doors of the facility's stables had somehow opened. The guards started running after them, trying to catch, completely ignoring the team trying to break in.

"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Rohkea, "I got to admit I wasn't expecting that."

"It's a trick an old friend of mine showed me. Hope you get to met him one day. Good man, he is," Galintin knew this wasn't time to worry about the past. Too much at stake to worry about old friends.

"I can't... open it. It's of no use, I am not an expert on programming," said Casiria. Her psionic powers allowed her to alter the main system in certain ways, but it was simply impossible to do anything advanced without the proper knowledge.

"I've got an idea," muttered Pomerax. "What if you let me do it? Can you act as a relay between me and the machine?"

"I haven't tried before. I am not sure, Pomerax, but it sounds interesting."

"There's nothing to be lost from trying. Try to project your thoughts into me, and then mine into the main system," And as impossible it sounded, it worked. Pomerax could see into the system and poke things around, such as turning the alarm system off as well as opening the door.

"Got it!" Pomerax shouted in excitement as the door opened. Rohkea and Galintin came close to the door, and entered the building. Realizing they had been fooled, the guards chased after them. Fortunately, Casiria was quick enough to pull the switch and shut the door.

Galintin, Casiria, Rohkea, Pomerax and Raanu had entered the complex.

"Follow me," said Pomerax, "I took a moment to study the pipes that run through the facility; we'll be in the main control room in no time."


Meanwhile, running through the sewers, a Glatorian wearing distinctive red armor was crawling inside the catacombs, miles below the city.

Ackar, who couldn't have possibly known at this point in time what was happening with the Great Beings, and with the rest of the team, who had currently put aside their distrust of Casira and, with Pomerax's discovery of a loophole in the defenses, snuck inside their own building. He, on the other hand, used one of the maps he retrieved earlier in the Magma Complex, which detailed tunnel networks throughout the city.

He didn't even have to think about where to go - his instinct was leading him to the main construction facility, where the security team he was in charge of had placed their headquarters. At the end of the tunnel, he found himself in a storage room, quite ironically located just behind a guard.

Naturally, Ackar went the practical instead of scrupulous way. He didn't bother knocking the guard out and hiding the unconscious body. He just slashed the guard's head off very, very unceremoniously.

Rage welled up within him like blood from a wound. Something had changed in him the last few days, and that something, that strange inarticulate voice, told him in a faraway corner of his mind, that he should go straight for the doorway labeled 'Main Control Room'.

For all Ackar knew, time could have stopped upon his entrance into the control room.

With a hiss, the door closed behind him, sealing off the storage room, beyond which was the underground tunnel entrance through which he had just come.

The main lights were off; only the flashing lights on the control board illuminated Invidior and Osavus’s faces in an array of shadows and highlights that shifted every second. The Great Beings’ eyes, wide in surprise, glinted oddly in the multicolored glow.

As did the Elder’s. His back pressing against the wall, his hands grasped Invidior’s, trying to pull them off his throat; he tried to say something, but whatever words were in his mind trickled out of his mouth as strangled grunts.

He was struggling for his life.

Something inside Ackar snapped.

If time had stopped, it started up again as the Fire Glatorian’s sword swung out of its sheath and came to rest in his right hand, its blade hovering centimeters off the cold metal floor — as cold as Ackar’s heart, cold as the blood surely running through Invidior and Osavus’s bodies, though flames seemed to run through Ackar’s.

“What on Spherus Magna,” he growled, “is going on?”

He heard a rush of footsteps from behind and glanced back: Galintin, Rohkea, Raanu, Pomerax, and a cloaked being Ackar recognized as the female Sand Glatorian Casiria emerged from the main entrance. The team’s emotions, mixtures of shock and confusion, were obvious even through the dim, unsteady lighting. But this was time for neither greetings nor explanations. Ackar turned back to the Great Beings, repeating his question, more forcefully this time:

“What’s — going — on?”

“The Elder...” Invidior’s hands slipped away from the Elder, who immediately crumpled on the floor, leaning against the wall in a sitting position and gladly taking in air. “It’s all... it’s all his fault,” the words flooded out: “his fault for firing me from the project, his fault for all the Great Beings’ failures over the years, his fault for his inability to construct a stable power source, and HIS fault for abusing us for five — hundred — YEARS!”

The yell sent shock rippling through the air, an explosion of emotion almost tangible. Ackar winced, but he didn’t back down. He did the opposite, taking a step forward, sword raised warningly. The blade shook in the air; Ackar hadn’t realized it, but he was shivering. From the chill, dead air in the building, or from fear?

He then realized he didn’t want to answer that question.

“Invidior, you — you’re overreacting—”

“NO!”

Invidior was insane. He’d gone off the deep end, spent an hour too long in the sun, sold his brain to a Spikit — any of those Spherus Magnan expressions. They all came out to the same thing.

Even his whisper wavered, shook, like it was far too laced with emotion for the Great Being to control it: “He... he disregarded me — threw me aside, like I was another piece of trashy blueprints. All because he wanted the recognition. He wanted the fame. He didn’t want help, oh no, no, no. He wasn’t about to give any credit, or an HONEST JOB to someone who deserved it! I did half the work! How much longer must the Elder take advantage of people before you see him for the... for the SCARABAX HE IS!?

“And then — oh, here’s the kicker — he invited me back. He knew he couldn’t control the energy source without me, without my experience with that sort of thing.” Invidior’s breath came in shallow, angered gasps. Between two, a noise surfaced; a dry sob, perhaps? “I fixed the problem. And then... he pushed me aside. Just threw me out.” A shaky finger rose to point accusingly at the Elder. “He — he said I was too ‘unstable’, ‘not suited to power.’”

Without warning, Invidior spun; his foot swung around, connecting solidly with the Elder’s stomach. The older Great Being gasped and fell to the ground with a thump.

Not a soul moved.

Invidior turned back around, ignoring the Elder’s face, which was twisted in pain. “And right after that, he realized the solutions I’d discovered to keeping the power source stable only worked for a short amount of time. And so the ungrateful spawn of sand stalkers sent an agent to steal my blueprints — MINE! — because he just didn’t want to put his own pitiful needs aside.”

Suddenly Invidior let out a mad laugh, almost a giggle; it sent a chill down Ackar’s spine, for here, he knew, was indisputable proof of the Great Being’s madness.

“The funny thing is,” Invidior sounded calmer now, but still his voice shook, like it took an effort for him to appear civilized — “the funny thing is, that you’re clueless — oh so clueless! — of his true crimes. My invention’s abuse is just another one of his tricks to keep everything under the radar, under his control. He — he needs control. It’s like a drug for him. It’s sick.”

Ackar couldn’t stay quiet any longer. Though under Invidior’s look of pure anger and agony, and pinned by the Elder’s look of uncertainly and pain, he forced down his instinct to retreat and instead stepped forward, choking out a question: “Why? Why would the Elder do that?”

“Again I say: clueless. It’s all about the Elder. About him, about his Order of the Hidden, about the robot — about all of those together and yet none at all.”

Ackar did not advance again. He was too busy trying to figure out what Invidior had just said.

Casiria spoke up now: “It’s nothing.”

“How is it ‘nothing’, Casiria?” Rohkea asked, her timidity stretched to the brink. “What aren’t you telling—?”

A bang.

The Elder’s arms were outstretched toward Invidior, who had been thrown across the room and slammed into the far wall by a mental blast. The Elder stood quickly, adjusting his cloak and dusting it off.

“Well,” he said, sounding oddly calm for the pain he had gone through. “If you’re going to tell them, don’t leave me on the floor throughout.”

Invidior chuckled in response, standing up and brushing off his cloak with disarming nonchalance to equal the Elder’s. “Indeed, old... well, I can’t say ‘friend’ anymore, can I?”

With a bit of a pretentious smirk, the Elder shook his head.

“It all began,” said Invidior, “with a little pet project of the Elder’s called the ‘Order of the Hidden’. It was meant to serve all Great Beings. It really only served Protasious, didn’t it?”

The Elder shrugged, saying nothing.

“It was full of his agents,” Invidior continued. “They spread across Spherus Magna, doing his every bidding. It was meant to be secret — but, somehow, word got out. Almost everyone knew and feared those agents. There were ten thousand of them, led by four Agori generals including Varonis, and they were more than enough to keep the city in line... and a certain little scarabax in power.”

Ackar glanced to Casiria, who met his gaze and nodded.

“I’ve never heard of this order,” Galintin cut in.

Invidior’s gaze fell onto the Iron Glatorian like a ton of bricks, making him wince. “Because a certain Glatorian hired people to assassinate three of the generals, then blackmailed the Order and got half of its forces on his side! A complete, utter failure on the Elder’s part.”

“I beg to differ,” said the Elder, his tone hardening a little.

“Your actions do likewise,” Invidior returned. “You told Varonis to destroy that half of the Order. He did so. With only two hundred agents left, you made a deal with him to keep another secret.”

“All for image, Invidior.” The Elder’s façade of nonchalance was proving evanescent. “I didn’t want anyone to catch wind of the rebellion. I didn’t want unrest. So Varonis agreed to help cover up the entire crisis, and in return, I gave him control over a hundred of the remaining agents and a position as assistant to me.”

“But that’s not all,” said Invidior.

The Elder’s gaze burned even from a distance. “Yes. It is.”

“Tsk, tsk. You neglected to mention your studies in psionic powers and the results of that experimentation. I thought the Elder would have a better memory.”

“What results?”

“Well, surely you couldn’t have kept two hundred warriors quiet for so long.”

“I did.”

“Yes, you did. By brainwashing.”

Ackar blinked. “Excuse me, but — what?”

“You brainwashed every single one of your agents to do your bidding,” Invidior continued. His calmness, too, was slipping. “You took their freedom of choice away, covering up your mistake at the cost of people’s memories. Of course that’s nothing.”

The Elder’s voice cracked. “It was necessary—”

“Necessary?” Invidior’s voice rose in a crescendo, morphing into a near-shriek. “It was necessary to keep them in your grip? NECESSARY to make sure your sorry behind wouldn’t receive the retribution it deserved!?”

“It wasn’t like that.” The Elder had regained his composure now. “Not at all.”

A laugh rolled from Invidior’s lips. “That’s not what Varonis told me.”

In response, the Elder gifted Invidior with an even smile. “And that’s what Varonis told me he told you.”

“What?”

“You didn’t know Varonis was never on your side?” The Elder’s eyebrows rose in mock surprise. “Well. I guess he forgot to tell you.”

“Varonis!” cried Invidior.

Ackar turned as, in the main entrance to the control room, Varonis paused in confusion. The four Glatorian behind him paused, too, half-hidden within the shadows of the control room’s entrance.

All this time the control board’s lights continued their incessant scintillating.

“Come here, Varonis.” Invidior teetered forward, holding out a hand in an oddly welcoming gesture.

The Agori hesitated; uncertainty gleamed in his eyes.

“Come!” barked Invidior.

Frightened now, Varonis darted forward, giving the security team a wide berth, to Invidior’s side. Ackar did nothing to stop him. The four Glatorian followed more slowly, taking up positions by the back wall; without words, all those present knew they didn’t want to be a part of this conflict.

No one present could blame them.

So quickly that a blink would have concealed the movement, Invidior’s hand shot out and grasped Varonis’s arm. He pulled the Agori against his side. Varonis grimaced at the pressure.

“He told me about you two. I knew you and Osavus would do something rash and foolish and none too smart — it’s how you are — and Varonis confirmed it,” remarked the Elder in an oddly fashion.

Invidior’s eyes widened, not in shock, but in rage. “Varonis...?”

“And here he was,” the Elder continued, “working for you the whole time! Hmph!”

Ackar could have sworn he saw Varonis’s mouth move behind his helmet in a series of curses not even a Spikit could bring anyone present to repeat. The Fire Glatorian had a sudden impression of the Agori walking along a tightrope spanning a chasm of spikes. Pity for the Fire Agori might have emerged then, but with all that had recently happened, nothing mattered to him anymore.

Still the revelation still hung in the air.

The shadows of doubt blanketed everyone in the room; they pressed down on Ackar’s shoulders, making it hard to breathe: The air felt so dead. Indecisiveness loomed over him. What could he do?

Come on, Ackar told himself. You know who’s at fault — all of them! Just — just attack and get it over with...

But he couldn’t. They were Great Beings. And “Great” wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment prefix they had added on just so they would not be plain old “Beings”. Their powers were beyond his; he couldn’t hope to compete on an equal level.

“Varonis, you told the Elder?” Invidior asked, his tone deceptively gentle, like the proverbial honey luring scarabax to their doom.

“I — I...”

Galintin, Raanu, and Pomerax, had stepped up beside Ackar to the right, as if to comfort him with their presence. Rohkea and Casiria stepped to his left; there was fire alight in Rohkea’s eyes, but it was confused, flickering in and out. She gripped his hand as if seeking comfort. He squeezed back.

“It’ll be all right,” he whispered to her.

“I don’t know,” she replied slowly.

Invidior’s gaze seemed to bore a hole in Varonis’s skull, like he could see straight through the Fire Agori and didn’t like what he saw. “Answer me.”

Varonis mumbled something incoherent.

“ANSWER ME!” roared Invidior, grabbing Varonis by the neck and effortlessly lifting him a meter off the ground.

“I did,” he squeaked.

And his eyes widened in cautious surprise when Invidior lowered him onto the floor again. “That’s all I wanted to know,” said the Great Being, his voice smooth as ice.

Varonis nodded. “Of course,” he said; his voice strengthened as he regained control over his tone. “Very well, then. Don't hesitate,” Varonis was tired. He was old, and tired. There was no reason for him to keep on going.

He took a step.

In that split-second Ackar saw the glint of silver slip from Invidior’s belt to Varonis’s chest. Rohkea’s hand tightened uncomfortably over Ackar’s in the same split-second, and the Fire Glatorian knew she saw it, too.

Varonis stumbled, fell to his knees, and hit the ground roughly on his left side. The dagger’s dull, wooden hilt still protruded from his chest. His eyes were wide, but their natural glow had faded out; unseeing, they stared toward the security team and beyond, to infinity, perhaps oblivion.

Rohkea’s hand slipped out of Ackar’s. The next second it had drawn a double-ended spear, pointing one end at Invidior. The other Glatorian drew their weapons likewise.

Invidior looked up from Varonis’s body. “Fools,” he whispered, so quiet they had to strain to hear him. “You dare to stand against a Great Being?”

“Yeah, it’s stupid,” Ackar agreed, his head feeling oddly clear now. “But this situation falls under our... job description.”

A second later and he was running across the room, sword raised. A meter from Invidior he leapt, swinging his sword down in a vicious arc aimed for the Great Being’s head.

Somehow, Invidior ducked under the blow and backed away without a scratch. As Ackar’s feet hit the ground with a clang, Varonis’s henchmen advanced on the security team. Osavus backed away into a corner. Good, thought Ackar; one less person to fight.

The next second the room exploded into chaos.

As one, the four Glatorian ran to the security team, weapons swinging wildly. Raanu and Pomerax were forced back by the largest of the attackers, Robur, who wielded a mace with unnatural accuracy. Ackar caught a glimpse of Galintin and Rohkea moving to protect the Agori, countered by two other, smaller, faster Glatorian.

Then a hook-blade sliced through the air before his face. He jerked back, dancing clear, getting a good look at the Glatorian attacking him: tall and slim, dark armor, hook-blade attachments on his lower arms. What was his name again? Right: Silex, Varonis had called him back in Osavus and Invidior’s compound.

The hook-blades came at Ackar again in a series of quick blows; in instinct, the Fire Glatorian twisted and spun his sword in more ways than he had thought possible.

Blow to the lower-right; he twisted his blade downwards and to the left. Clang! Upper-left, middle-right; his sword spun twice to block both blows. A chorus of clangs rose into the air, one for every block Ackar made.

“You’re as good as dead, you know,” said Silex, his foot coming round out of the gloom — too late, Ackar moved his sword — to connect with Ackar’s skull.

The blow rattled the Fire Glatorian’s helmet and sent him reeling backwards. As the hook-blade Glatorian came toward him, he rolled onto his feet and threw his sword up to block another blow.

“Silent one, eh?” The question was punctuated with a grunt as he swung his right hook-blade down. Ackar held his sword vertically, letting the hook-blade slide down and away, then swung up and forward. Silex leapt back, barely in time; Ackar’s blade left a long, shallow scratch in his lower body armor. “Of course; the silent ones always have secrets. Who taught you how to swing a blade?”

Ackar still didn’t speak. He didn’t trust himself to hold back the curses on his tongue.

He thrust forward with his sword tip. The other Glatorian danced around the blow, swung his left hook-blade around Ackar’s right leg, pulled — Ackar felt his right foot leave the floor and fell heavily onto his back. The control board’s lights kept on flashing in his peripheral vision, as though they wanted to distract him.

Above his unfocused eyes, the shadows parted to reveal his opponent’s face, twisted in a leer beneath his helmet. “What’s the matter? Spikit got your tongue?”

Ackar replied by throwing his hands back, pushing himself — and his outstretched foot — up and into the attacker’s gut. A gasp was forced out of Silex’s mouth as he flew backwards.

Clang! The attacker hit the floor, rolled over, and laid there, stunned. He did not get up.

For good measure, Ackar struck Silex’s head with the flat of his blade. Hard. No sense in holding back, his grudge told him.

“Ackar! A little help?”

Rohkea? — the others!

Ackar spun. Galintin was holding his own against two Glatorian — Ferveon? Avarus? — with some help from Raanu and Pomerax, but Rohkea was having trouble avoiding Robur’s blows — yes, Robur, that was right.

Though, their names didn’t matter. With a yell, Ackar ran back into the fray.


The Elder slipped between the combatants effortlessly, like a shadow hiding in shadows.

Now that, thought Casiria, was interesting wordplay.

Whatever the metaphor used, the Elder was as good as gone; she had hoped someone would end his life before he got out, but oh well.

“You.”

She turned. Invidior met her gaze coolly. She drew her twin swords, holding them at diagonals to her body, which was rigid with determination. “You can’t win. I’ve been trained by the best.”

“Other Great Beings?” Invidior laughed. “Sure, let’s call them ‘the best.’ And while we’re at it, we’ll say that spikits are nice little devils and scarabax can swim — in the Great Barren.”

“You talk too much,” she said, and struck.


It was in the middle of the fight when Osavus realized no one was going after him.

Their swords swung through the air madly, glittering in the multicolored lights of the control board, setting the scene ablaze with a rainbow of silvery blurs. Thus far, despite Silex being downed, the two forces seemed evenly matched.

Served the Elder right, thought Osavus.

Then he saw the Elder was gone. Invidior faced off against a smaller being — another Glatorian, probably one of the Elder’s agents — and, oddly enough, he was losing.

Osavus had only seconds to act.

He fumbled through his pouch for a moment, felt the refreshing, cool touch of metal, and pulled out the data card. It took but a second to locate the data port on the control board; after all, Osavus had helped design it. He rammed his data card into that port.

The blank screen suddenly lit up. Download Files? it asked.

Osavus clicked on Yes.

The window closed. Another window popped up with a different message: SD_Install.pg is requesting permission to change important files. Allow?

Again the Great Being hit Yes.

And then the progress bar came up.

Running SD_Install.pg... Installation progress: 10%.

Then 15%.

And then 20%.

Meanwhile there was the matter of the robot outside to take care of. Osavus hit a switch, flicking on another screen that didn’t light up; it showed a shadowy view of the gigantic robot outside. Truly, it was an amazing creation... or, at least, it would have been had its creators been just as brilliant.

It was a pity the creation had to be destroyed without chance of redemption.

Osavus lifted the cover over the switch that would disengage the leg clamps. Paused. Wondered, Should I really do this?

The shadows, enveloping his shoulders and back in darkness, quietly awaited his decision.

He didn’t leave them waiting.


There was a sudden rumbling. The entire room shook madly, throwing the combatants off-balance. Over it all, Rohkea heard Ackar swearing madly and Invidior laughing with glee; letting out a silent few choice words of her own, she moved closer to the Fire Glatorian and Galintin.

“What’s going on?” she asked the Iron Glatorian.

His mouth moved, but the shaking continued, throwing up a ceaseless rattling that deafened everyone in the room.

“What?”

“I said, a part of the robot must be falling!” Galintin repeated.

She checked, ran over the older Glatorian’s words again. Yes, he had definitely sounded fearful. That was a bad thing, coming from Galintin.

Suddenly she realized Varonis’s henchmen were gone.

The next moment Osavus was leaving, too, slamming through the Glatorian and Agori roughly with Invidior close behind. Casiria let out an antagonized cry as she ran after the two Great Beings, stumbling all the way.

She had almost reached Invidior before he turned around, his eyes lit up with an odd light. Invidior struck. Casiria flew backward, victim of a powerful kick to the chest, and the mad Great Being spun through the doorway into the corridor outside. “I’ll be sure to tell the Elder just how his agent corps worked out for him!” he cried over his shoulder as the control room’s door slammed shut.

Casiria ran to it and pounded her sword hilts against the unyielding metal, yelling at the top of her lungs. Her actions were in vain. The door would not open for her, neither for her petty little blows, nor for the earthquake in miniature that now rocked the compound, nor for the fear that bubbled up inside those trapped despite the fear being so tangible, so real, it flooded the room and pressed against the door with all its might.

They were trapped.

Casiria slid down the door; her hands, still curled into fists, rested against the metal in a gesture of angered resignation. “No...”

“We can’t die here,” Raanu insisted, spinning around in search of an exit, stumbling as the tremors increased in amplitude. “We — we can’t!”

Galintin, for his part, looked furious. Yet he did nothing. “It happens,” he said underneath the roaring, more to himself than anyone else, “to all of us... eventually. At least” — he pointed to the computer screen, where a bright 4:30 shone, gradually ticking downward — “we’ll know when.”

“But that doesn’t make it any better,” Ackar pointed out.

Galintin sighed, curled his legs up and rested his elbow atop his knees, leaned his head onto his palms in frustration. His face was twisted in obvious disgust — disgust at being so helpless. “No.”

Pomerax had run over to the control board upon Galintin’s pointing toward it. He was running his gaze across the controls frantically. “I — I can’t figure out how to stop it!”

A thought dawned on Rohkea then. “All the people here... working on the robot... Will they—?”

“We can’t do anything, Rohkea,” Ackar said. “Put it out of your mind.”

“That doesn’t make it any better,” she echoed the Fire Glatorian’s earlier words, “There’s probably hundreds - including Great Beings - trapped in this facility.”

He sighed but said nothing.

Tears built up under Rohkea’s eyes, hot with anger. She let them fall; they slid down her cheeks, leaving salty streaks of moisture behind. She couldn’t do anything about them. Not about her life either.

“S-so we’re... just going to die?”

No.

“What?” she asked.

Ackar raised a questioning eyebrow. “What?”

“Didn’t — didn’t you say something?”

Confused, Ackar shook his head.

Rohkea! Listen to me!

“H-hold on.” Rohkea stumbled across the room to the back wall, ignoring the concerned glance Ackar sent after her. Once against the wall, she leaned her back against it and found her eyes pointed in the general direction of Pomerax, still searching for the buttons that would save them. Somehow, she knew he wouldn’t.

“O-okay,” she mumbled to the air, “I’m... I’m listening.” And hoping I’m not insane, she added to herself.

I am the Great Being Angonce. I helped design the facility you are now trapped in. Don’t fret! — for Rohkea had started to lose control of her fear, listening to her heart pound in her eardrums — You can escape. Well... most of you.

Something caught in Rohkea’s throat; she couldn’t form the words, and so, she tried reaching toward the contact with her thoughts: C-can you hear me?

Yes, Rohkea.

What — what does “most of you” mean...?

It means... well, I feel horrible saying it, but it means one of you must sacrifice him- or herself for the good of the others. There is a switch, on the other side of the room from the secret entrance I believe Ackar came through. Someone must hold it down to leave the entrance into the storage room open. That someone will not make it out themselves.

That’s — cruel! How could you design something like—!?

There isn’t much time. The thoughts came faster now, like jumbled-up puzzle pieces that Rohkea had to sort out on-the-spot. I know, and I am ashamed of it, but a Great Being would be able to hold the switch with his mind until he was through the doorway. We, well, never believed Glatorian or Agori would be stuck in the control room in the event of a lockdown. They were never supposed to be in there, you see.

Um...

I would hold the lever for you, or teleport in to save you myself, but we designed the complex to be power-proof so no Great Beings could steal our technologies — yes, I know what you’re thinking, and it is entirely possible: A powerful enough, concentrated enough magnetic field can block our mental powers. I can barely get these thoughts through to you. Now, Rohkea, hurry and escape! I feel there isn’t much time!

The contact faded behind the tremors of scaffolding and gigantic robot parts falling to the ground outside. Rohkea opened her eyes, and a second later realized they had been closed. Feeling confused, she glanced at the monitor: 3:30. Her breath caught. Somehow, she had held a minutes-long conversation inside her head within the space of several seconds.

She cleared her throat. “Okay,” she said cautiously. “Um, guys?”

The tremors roared over her voice.

She took a deep breath and, defying her nervousness and fluttering heart, yelled, “EVERYONE! Please, LISTEN!”

They stopped, doing their best to steady themselves amidst the shaking. All looking at her. The Ice Glatorian gulped, feeling the heat build up behind her mask. Heat wasn’t something she was accustomed to. She was from the Northern Frost. It flustered her, jumbling the words on her tongue.

“I... um...”

“What is it, Rohkea?” questioned Ackar.

“Tell us!” Raanu cried. His gaze was frantic.

Casiria said nothing. She turned her head to meet Rohkea’s gaze; somehow, the dull hopelessness in her eyes jolted Rohkea into action.

“Okay, this, this Angonce person — I mean, Great Being — he, um, contacted me, right?”

She paused. Ackar nodded to her. “Go on!”

“So” — the words came out of their own accord, rushing over her companions like a refreshing breeze — “we can escape — but only if someone pulls a switch on the side of the room opposite from wherever Ackar entered.” She gulped. “That someone... won’t be able to make it out.”

Ackar pointed to the cleverly-concealed doorway in one corner of the room; its edges were hidden easily in the heavy gloom. “There. That’s the door.”

Everyone turned to the other corner of the room, where Pomerax, in his haste, had turned back to the control board.

His fingers momentarily brushed a switch. Rohkea glanced from one corner to the other.

“Pomerax!”

The Water Agori paused at Rohkea’s voice. “What—?”

“Out of the way,” she said, moving to the control board. Yes, this was the switch all right. Tentatively, like it might bite her if she made a sudden movement, she wrapped her fingers around its cool surface.

Immediately, as she had expected her to do, Casiria ran forward. “No!” Her fiery tone made Rohkea flinch, but she did not back down. “We won’t leave you, darn it!”

“I want to do this, Casiria.” Her mind was made up, and with that, her voice was calm. Knowing the inevitable was coming could change a person; Rohkea was no exception. Finally, she had a goal she could reach with little effort on her part.

Just pull the switch and die. No problem.

“I won’t let you!”

“Go!” Rohkea cried, pushing Casiria away from her. The Sand Glatorian backed away, staring intently at Rohkea as though the Ice Glatorian were alien to her. Rohkea wondered if Casiria could see her tears.

“Sorry,” said Rohkea.

And she pulled the switch.

Raanu was the first through the doorway; Galintin entered on the Agori’s heels, Pomerax behind; and finally Ackar went through, pulling a rebellious Casiria along, keeping up a steady stream of comforting words. The sight opened a chasm in Rohkea’s heart. Ackar had been a good friend. So had Galintin, and Raanu, and Pomerax, and — of course — Casiria. What would life be like without Rohkea? Would they lament her loss every day for the rest of their lives? Or would they someday forget her and be free of the guilt the memory would cause them?

Neither future seemed desirable.

Just as Casiria had moved into the shadows beyond the doorway, the compound shook again.

CRASH!

Something pressed into Rohkea’s back, driving her to her knees — her hand slipped unwillingly off the switch as she fell over, something striking her legs hard, something heavy — she caught a glimpse of the timer, 2:45, just before more metal fell between her and the control board—

The shadows were pierced.

In the sudden silence, a ringing filled her ears.

Starlight wafted through a hole in the ceiling above, a hole too high for her to reach even if she could stand. It was an oddly peaceful sight compared to the rubble and shaking; freedom was so, so close. But just beyond her reach. Like everything else in life.

This, Rohkea decided, would be her last sight.

“Good-bye,” she murmured to the night sky.

And then another voice cut through the ringing: “Rohkea, send that ‘good-bye’ to the sands of the Great Barren for all I care!”

At first she thought she had imagined the voice. She turned her head, the only part of her body she could move; Casiria had leapt over a large chunk of metal, probably a part of the Great Beings’ robot, and was making her way towards her friend. A hallucination?

“Rohkea!” Casiria leapt over a metal strut to reach Rohkea. She grabbed her friend’s hand tightly, just for a moment, as if to say I’m here.

No. Rohkea wasn’t hallucinating.

“What...? But how...?”

Casira pushed away a large piece of metal trapping Rohkea’s legs. Her eyes glimmered with moisture. “I can’t let you throw away your life just because you don’t think it’s worth much,” she told Rohkea in her most forceful tone yet. “You’re a Glatorian, and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you!”

“But — but you—”

“Oh, come off it!” Casiria pulled Rohkea to her feet. “Come on, you can walk, right?”

“Yes, but—”

“Shut up.” Despite the words’ face value Rohkea couldn’t stop her face splitting into a weak smile as Casiria helped her over the wreckage. This was the Casiria that Rohkea had known for so long: forceful, determined to reach her own goals and just as determined to help Rohkea reach hers.

“Now go!” cried Casiria, running back to the switch. She grabbed it, pulled it down roughly.

The door slid halfway open and stopped, jammed; several sparks flew from the top of the doorway, briefly illuminating the surrounding wreckage in dim orange before flickering into nonexistence. Rohkea got onto her hands and knees and crawled through the gap, into the now-empty storage room. But first she turned back. In the corner of her eye she saw the time: 2:01. Enough time to escape, she thought. But Casiria!

“Casiria — you don’t have to do this!”

“You don’t understand,” Casiria shot back. “All your life you’ve.... hated yourself. This is my way of telling you not to be so timid.” Slowly, tentatively, a smile dawned on her face, underneath her helmet. “‘Sides,” she said, “I’ve always been the one looking out for you. I guess this’ll force you into looking out for yourself.” And she let out a little bark of laughter.

“It’s not funny!” said Rohkea.

“I know,” Casiria called back; Rohkea could practically hear the Sand Glatorian rolling her eyes. “But it makes me feel better.”

Rohkea didn’t laugh as she ran through the escape tunnel. From behind her came the hiss-clang of the door closing, echoing off the metallic walls.

She couldn’t say good-bye aloud; she needed the air in her lungs. But she could think the farewell.

Good-bye, Casiria.


Rohkea had just emerged from the exit carved out of the rock when, in the distance, the control building abruptly blew up, a humongous orange fireball against the velvet background of the night sky.

A second later, the resultant BOOM reached the assembled beings, loud and bass-driven enough to override their heartbeats for a split-second. A rush of heat and a brief flicker of flame escaped the tunnel exit beside them; Rohkea hurriedly jumped away; the momentary orange glow lit up the streaks of moisture below her eyes like lines of fire.

The work-in-progress robot behind the complex, visible only as a shadow against the night sky, shook in time with the explosion; the last parts of its right leg fell to the ground with a chorus of booms heard faintly even from this far away, and its body teetered but thankfully stayed upright and intact.

A pity the same could not be said for those within the control complex, below the small hill Angonce, Heremus, and the security team stood on.

The shadows of wreckage flew across Renata; some flew up to where the team stood; they backed away behind the Great Beings, who, with their mental powers, constructed shields to deflect the superheated rubble. There were silent cries from the village below, silent because of the distance between origin and receiver. Several fires sprang from the darkness; while one raged, tall and hot, the others were small and put out quickly.

Thank goodness no more harm had been caused.

How had it happened? Angonce didn’t know. But he could guess. Osavus — that wily little scarabax — had surely rerouted the majority of power into room containing backup copies of the robot’s power source. With the cooling system turned off, the molecules within would become more reactive. The abruptly-increased magnetic fields would tear electrons from the atoms, ionizing the molecules, which would then react... rather violently.

Then again, “rather violently” was most definitely an understatement.

“I’m... sorry we couldn’t stop them,” Ackar said into the heavy, shadowy silence.

Angonce nodded gravely. “It’s all right; considering they were Great Beings, you did what you could.”

“But still, the Elder escaped...”

“Hundreds died.” Heremus, his voice hoarser than usual. He crossed his top pair of arms in frustration. His bottom pair waved wildly about as he spoke. “Died, in cold blood! How could Osavus and Invidior do such a thing!?”

For a minute the question hung in the air, unanswered. Then:

“Treason,” Angonce murmured, “exists in some form, whether passive or active, recognizable or not, within all species. From a book I wrote a few hundred thousand years back, give or take a few decades, about universal laws of psychology for species. Remember, Heremus?”

Heremus didn’t reply.

No one did.

Time could have stopped then and there and Angonce would not have known.

“Treason exists in some form, whether passive or active, recognizable or not, within all species."

When he was young, Ackar lived with the illusion that he could stay away from power, corruption, and treason, achieving his goals without second thoughts. Now he could only look down on his past self, knowing he spent most of his life as a failure or working as a guard — only because the Great Beings were kind enough to allow him to do so, and most likely because Raanu shared a close friendship with Angonce.

Power.

Corruption.

For Ackar, it's these two that remain; they say worlds change, lands shift, and stars are created and destroyed in the passing of time, and yet knowledge prevails. However, with it survive those who wish to claim it for themselves. Power remains, thus there is corruption. Rohkea, Ackar, Galintin, Raanu, and Pomerax had realized this in the worst way possible. In the last few months, they have been forced to face a threat unlike one their species has had to face since the ending of the great war, the 'Altum Bellum', quite literally translating from the ancient language to 'Ancient War'.

Even the heroes of Altum Bellum were fighting against mortal enemies which were common to Spherus Magna, and not fallen gods. Ackar was unable to understand the nature of their mission; essentially because it didn't exist, and because they weren't trying to stop a form of treason, but trying to contain a civil war between gods — the Great Beings, that is. Pomerax kept insisting that their names weren't randomly chosen; "Great" had been added to their title for a reason.

It's been five months already; the destruction of the main facility, Casiria's death and the revelations regarding the whereabouts of the Order of the Hidden felt to Ackar as if they happened yesterday. The way things had gone, it was unlikely the wound that Protasious and Invidior had caused to Spherus Magna would ever fully heal.

His thoughts kept going in circles; always coming back one way or another, but also taking a moment to see all the destruction he had witnessed. Ackar was uncertain if he could ever be free again. In the back of his mind, he knew someone was watching them. Even if he was alone.

He just knew it.

Besides, Protasious couldn't be brought down from power so easily, as all of their evidence, information and belongings had been incinerated along with the facility months ago. It wasn't surprising that Protasious decided to lock himself up in his office, while the rest of the Great Beings had been completely ignoring them.

They were lucky enough to be allowed to continue working inside the Tower; however, it was a definite downgrade from having an entire facility under their control.

"Ackar?" Rohkea poked him gently. "Are you alright? You seem... distracted."

"Oh... hey," his voice was drawn out, barely being able to speak.

"Um, are you feeling okay? You look pale," she said, her eyes full of concern.

"I'm — I'm sorry. I haven't slept for days... my thoughts won't allow me to calm down," he explained slowly, taking a large breath before continuing, "Even... even when I sleep, even when I'm awake, I see... things. I see Invidior killing Varonis, over and over, and then feel trapped inside the electric cage again, left to die. I endlessly run around the Magma complex, trying—"

"Hush. You're overthinking this. It's going to drive you nuts if you don't stop, for Arai's sake," she said, and grabbed his hand, pulling it. Ackar rose off his chair, following Rohkea into the room were the others were situated.

"I — I just can't help but think of all that's happened," he sighed.

"Listen, um, Ackar, I know it's stressful for all of us, but we have to keep going. I'm no pessimist, but we're long past the point of no return," her expression changed; she was confused. But then again, who wouldn't be confused in a situation like this?

Rohkea and Ackar sat close to the others.

Galintin, Raanu and Pomerax were working almost full-day on the computers. Ackar wasn't sure if they were getting anything accomplished or not. Galintin just kept getting a whole lot more frustrated; Raanu was able to draw from Pomerax's patience, and Pomerax was distinctly confused. Ackar felt that the small, concealed spherical room, with limited access to actual security measures and databases was driving them all insane. He could have sworn Galintin hadn't walked outside for days.

This was probably Protasious' true intention, playing a game with us, he thought.

At any rate, the need for security wasn't pressing; Invidior had disappeared ever since the accident, and the main construction facility had been destroyed. Hopefully - at least that's how Ackar tried to see it - the robot's leg had been rebuilt, bringing it one step closer to a launch.

Ackar gave a distorted gesture at Rohkea. He was trying to say something, but didn't. Finally, after giving it a bit more thought, he snapped, "I can't stand the silence, Rohkea. I just can't."

"Why don't you try to talk to them, then? I am sure the Great Beings will hear you out," answered Rohkea. Her reply was a false hope in itself; she wasn't at all sure that the Great Beings could be trusted, but at the same time, she knew that it was their only option.

"Shall we take this up with the others?" she asked.

Ackar walked up to Galintin, who seemed to be preoccupied with something quite intensively; he was moving his hands uncontrollably, making vague gestures in the touch-based table, spitting curses left and right — almost as if he had seen a cloak-less Great Being.

"Ackar, I want to talk to you," Galintin spat, not even taking the time to look at him.

"You feeling... alright? You seem—"

"I'm fine," he grimaced.

"Very well, friend. I also need to talk to you; we've got to talk to the Great Beings sooner or later. We are giving Protasious and Invidior the time they need to plan against us," nodded Ackar; you could see how anxious he was to get this all over with.

In the same erratic manner he had been acting all this time, Galintin stopped, staring at his screen. His head turned, looking Ackar directly in the eyes.

"I don't know about that, but...we discovered something. Up to now, we've considered the Great Beings our friends — at least allies, but..."

"Explain more clearly," stated Rohkea.

"We sort of found out why the guards weren't present on the day it all began. It's recorded in the databases; they had been ordered to stand down by a certain person," remarked Pomerax, and showed them a recording of... Angonce, talking to the captain of the guard.

The news left Rohkea and Ackar completely flabbergasted.

"What?! I assumed the Elder would be responsible for it? Why on Spherus Magna would he— No, he couldn't."

"You can't trust the Great Beings, Rohkea," said Ackar. Had it been Angonce's betrayal, had it been Protasious' treason, Ackar realized something; he loathed all Great Beings, whether they were involved in this mess or not. Great Beings were not to be trusted.

"Angonce ordered the guards to stand down until further notice. That's enough to get anyone thinking," mumbled Galintin.

"I think one of us should talk to them. Angonce can sense our thoughts; it's of no use keeping a secret he already knows. Someone should address what is going to happen from now on," Pomerax's radiant blue and teal armor shone in the pale light of the room.

Silence.

There was no question about whether Ackar was going to be that someone; he had become infamous for his frustration and apathy towards the Great Beings ever since the incident. Besides, none of them wanted to get involved in a heated conversation with the Great Beings. Ackar didn't care.

He wanted truth, and he would do anything for it.

"I'll be off then," said Ackar.

Everyone nodded in agreement.


"There's no need for words. We all know why we are here, brothers, don't we?" Angonce asked.

Besides Angonce, three other distinctive cloaked creatures stood: Heremus, Raeir, and Morkoth. It was out of the question all of them knew; Ackar had quite specifically requested that all four of them met here, in the Tower's highest balcony. A casual observer could oversee the entire construction platform of the almost completed robot. Renata was visible as well.

Abruptly, the balcony's door opened slightly, just enough for a Glatorian to pass through. Ackar, dressed in ragged robes, morphed out of the shadows, almost if he had never been there. The Great Beings were intrigued, and yet somehow offended. If he wanted to meet them so badly, why did he have to stay anonymous? Of course, all of them could have just read his mind, but they knew that took the fun out of dialogue. Since they communicated with each other using mind-reading powers, having someone to discuss matters with was something they craved for — even for such beings of higher intelligence, dialogue with common sentience was...fascinating.

Ackar's voice whistled in the cold air, "—get to the point. You already know my questions," grinned Ackar.

"Using our powers to read your mind would negate the point of this conversation, Ackar," Heremus explained, "we agreed to come here because we know you have questions that require... verbal communication, for one reason or another," he said.

It was the accident to blame for Heremus' sudden change of heart; all of them knew that the Order of the Hidden, and the robot, were in fact Protasious' plans for control; the Great Beings didn't have to deny it anymore, and thus, Heremus had sided with them once more.

"I don't care for your silly prophecies, I care for my people. I need to know if you're going to stop the Elder. And I need to know right now," Ackar retorted, with a tone the Great Being regarded as anger. It was quite hard for a Great Being to recognize emotions, for their actions didn't rely on emotion, but judgement of facts.

Raeir, whose wisdom outnumbered those of the four others, stepped into the conversation, "It is no secret to the Elder that we know of his crimes. However, we cannot act against the Elder, and our brother, Invidior, without going down the path of corruption—"

"Stop trying to mislead me, Raeir. I'm tired of your lectures; you should have stopped him years ago—" He shook off his cloak, throwing it to the floor. "—you could have read his mind, for Lithon's sake!" growled Ackar, without fear of making the Great Being angry. Raeir was thrown for a loop; it wasn't every day that someone would interrupt him with such haste. He almost could sense... emotions.

Shuddering off what he could regard as clouding of judgement, he replied, "If you wish to find answers, you must learn to have patience. Had we decided to act against him, the people would have misunderstood us for traitors, and be torn into a civil war. Their trust in us would be neglected, and years of work begone in seconds. However, your team is an outside force. It is outside of the 'equation'; should you try to stop the Elder and succeed... should Protasious and Invidior die, we'll..." Raeir paused, waiting for Ackar's heated reply.

A reply that never came, as Ackar was gazing at the robot, pondering how he would manage to defeat an Elder.

"Ackar?" an unfamiliar voice echoed - Morkoth's.

Yet another emotion formed into Ackar's face. Happiness, Raeir was sure this time. Ackar's lips titled upwards, forming a smile, "I was hoping you'd say that. All of us have been waiting for you to say that."

Raeir blinked. This wasn't the Ackar that he had been talking to moments ago. He tried to suppress the almost instinctual feeling of wanting to read his mind, but he couldn't deny that he was provoked to. He was charmed by Ackar's manner of thinking.

"Nothing's set in stone yet, but we can handle the reformation of a more reliable governmental body, and we can appoint a new Elder, and a brand new council. But that is all we can do," remarked Angonce, pushing aside his not-so-curiosity to explore Ackar's mind.

"It's settled. We take them out—"

Another figure came out of the shadows, this time pivoting the doors fully open, forcing the Great Beings and Ackar to step back a few millimeters.

It was Galintin.


"HOW?"

Osavus was being driven mad by Invidior's annoying, endless cry.

"HOW COULD I HAVE FAILED? I!!! A GREAT BEING! A GREAT BEING!?"

Why couldn't he just stop? Osavus didn't remember Invidior ever acting so erratic. He was truly a madman, filled with mortal emotions. Osavus was filled with the very same strange emotions, anger, exhaustion—

How could that be for a Great Being?

"THAT CREATION-FORSAKEN THING CAN'T JUST DIE? - OH, I KNOW. IT'S BECAUSE I - MADE - IT!"

No.

"NO!"

Osavus rose off his chair, storming into Invidior's study and grabbing him off his chair, slamming him into the ground. He made sure Invidior felt his anger.

"CAN - YOU - JUST — SHUT UP?!"

"Don't you just see? We can still do it, I know that now. The Elder will pay, no, DIE, for all he has done to me and to us! He will, he will, he - just - will!"

"Invidior, you blabbering idiot! How can you fail to realize we've become just like him? Jealousy has driven you to madness, expressing vague emotions! You, one of the Great Beings!"

"It— It doesn't matter, I'll—

"It does! All of my life, I have been hearing people — IDIOTS! — talking, screaming, babbling and yet I kept shutting myself up. For what? Eh, FOR WHAT? SO YOU COULD JUST RUIN MY LIFE ALTOGETHER, YOU PETTY EXCUSE OF CREATION?!" Osavus could no longer conceal his true self. He bowed to his true nature, pushing aside all of Protasious' abuse.

Invidior kept laughing manically. No thoughts came to pass through his head. Just pure laughter, and emotion.

Like the spark of a flame, it occurred to Osavus.

One single thought was all that Osavus needed to fall back into reason.

What was he doing?

He was arguing with a madman. There was no salvation for Invidior; it was pointless! All of the fighting to stop the robot had turned Osavus into the same pitiful kind of man the Elder was. He had killed twenty of his own species, five months ago, not caring.

Was it worth it? Did anything matter to him?

Did it?

It did. The sorrow, the regret and pain of his actions had worn him down. He had to—

Osavus' hand came loose, and he stood up. No more.

Invidior's smile broke. "What? What is it, brother?"

"I am not your brother, you lifeless piece of scarabax dung," said Osavus and exited the complex, running — he didn't even grab a sand stalker, nor did he teleport. He just felt like running; so fast his mind would just leave everything behind him.

No more.


"Give me one good reason why we should trust you," Galintin choked out.

"Dangit Galintin, we had a deal—"

"Oh, keep your mouth shut for once, Ackar. Did you forget they ordered the guards to ignore all crimes that day? Or is that too "trivial" for you, eh?"

"Are you really that ignorant?" Heremus' comeback came, quite tense and out of place.

"Maybe I would be less ignorant if you actually explained to me what business you had with the guards!" said Galintin.

"I am sorry, Galintin, I didn't mean for this to come out this way," Heremus' tension caused him to tremble. Was this what other beings regarded as emotion-driven thought? He didn't know.

"Galintin, think; the robot was running with a false power source. If the Elder had managed to steal the blueprints — which you prevented — then he would have fixed the problems. At this rate, the robot's flaws might cause... violent and erratic behavior in the AI," Angonce explained.

"At the cost of my life and my co-workers?!" cried Galintin. Behind his helmet, tears ran down his cheeks.

"Need I to mention the agent wasn't planning on destroying the complex...?" said Raeir.

"It doesn't matter!" he said furiously. "You could have done something to prevent it!" In his mind, a billion different scenarios of him attacking the Great Beings played out, knowing he could never win. Even so, something snapped him out of it: If they didn't stop Protasious, thousands more would suffer the same fate.

He could settle his score with the Great Beings later on. His quest for vengeance had begun long before today's events.

"I understand Galintin; losing so many people at once is something one can never truly forget about," said Ackar. The Great Beings nodded in agreement.

If only you knew it was the second time, he thought.

"We'll stop Protasious and Invidior, and you make sure this disaster never happens again. Afterwards, we all act individually, even if that means that our paths might cross in the future."


"Why won't he pay us?" said the large brute, quite mindlessly.

"It's not something for you to get worried about, you might strain your mind or something," said Silex, in quite a quirky way.

It had been only a few minutes since Osavus had charged at Invidior, slamming him into the ground, and then leaving him and running away. Avarus, followed by Silex, Ferveon and Robur, had crawled from the depths of the Magma complex to examine the situation — they found Invidior working at his desk, acting in the same erratic way he had been for the past months.

Because of their permanent exile from Magnacus Renata, they were forced to retreat and live out the past five months guarding the Magma Complex along with the two Great Beings. Silex was used to hiding; Avarus, Ferveon and Robur weren't used to spending time in concealed spaces.

Things had been going from bad to worse for them; along with Varonis' death, their secured anonymity against the law had been broken. Remnants of the henchmen clubs that lived on the sewers of Renata had been hunted down and destroyed; the whole operation had been slain in days, all because of the Elder's large bounties placed on their heads.

"Hush. He hasn't heard us yet," said Avarus.

"Can't he read our minds...?" added Silex.

"I'm pretty sure his madness won't allow him to," replied Avarus.

"Dangit, I am not talking to the madman about our payment, Avarus!" snapped Ferveon.

"Can you give me a minute to think this through?" Avarus murmured. He knew that persuading a Great Being wasn't a lightly handled task. You couldn't just intimidate him into doing something; however, they needed the money if they were going to start new lives somewhere else.

"I can crush him," said Robur.

"Do I really have to spell it out for you, idiot? You cannot kill a Great Being, he's way too powerful to begin with," repeated Silex.

"I'm beginning to think that Robur was born without brain cells," joked Ferveon.

"You need a brain to have brain cells, first of all," added Silex.

"By the Great Beings, all of you idiots just shut up. I'll go talk to him."

Avarus walked closer to Invidior's study; the hallways of the complex were dark, shady, and didn't exactly qualify as safe. As he walked slower, the light pouring through the broken ceiling fell upon on his eyes, forcing him to grimace in an unpleasing manner. It was a wide open area, thus the light was giving limited visibility from Avarus' viewpoint. The Great Being, Invidior, was sitting in his chair, next to the electric cell where the Fire Glatorian Ackar was once kept, constantly checking the blueprints of the robot.

It had been a blast living inside the complex. Avarus was certain this old building wouldn't last much longer; a large earthquake would take it down instantly. He stopped at a safe distance from the Great Being, and he squeaked:

"M-master Invidior?"

"Are you blind and stupid? I'm busy," said Invidior.

The Glatorian took one large breath, and replied, "I am sorry sir, but my men have been here for months. I think it's time for us to...get off your back. We can just take our money, and go away," explained Avarus, trying to trick Invidior's broken mind into paying them.

The Great Being rose instantly, walking closer, "But don't you see? I think I got this working! We can still destroy it! Haha!"

"Master.... we are better off not getting involved in—"

"What? WHAT? Y—you idiots! Don't you realize the opportunity I am giving you? Do you know that history — FREAKING HISTORY! — will talk about us, if we do this? EH?"

"Well, we—"

"No, wait, SCRATCH THAT! WE'LL MAKE HISTORY, TOGETHER!" Invidior's insane mind had lost all awareness. Avarus didn't want to break as well, but—

"Give us our payment!" Robur, the idiotic brute, jumped in Invidior's way, punching him. The Great Being was slammed against the wall, shattering the glass of the screens; the complex shook, several walls became submerged, and some hallways were blocked.

"YOU—"

Invidior stood up, straightening his cloak, "YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME, PETTY CREATURE?"

The Great Being clenched his hand, and Robur's hammer was crushed upon itself, then thrown upon the brute. Avarus, Ferveon and Silex watched in shock as Robur was telekinetically smashed into the floor. Invidior's cloak and body started growing, his form changing. He had shapeshifted into a massive Scorpio.

Invidior began to repeatedly slam Robur with his four legs, who kept crying out for mercy — the others simply watched, each praying they wouldn't be next.

"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF LIVING! IDIOTS!"

Robur was screaming in pain, trying to get away from Invidior's grasp. Unable to do so, he stood there and waited for him to stop. Invidior, who heard his cries, stopped, staring at him. Something — the same something that driven him to madness had ordered him to stop, and look down at the brute. He was alive, that was for sure; his wounds weren't that bad either.

"You aren't worth it, you lower life-forms," he muttered. His metal exoskeleton turned into dark leather, shrinking back into his "normal" form. He was incapable of remembering his original form, quite similarly to every other Great Being.

The Great Beings didn't age; they evolved by shapeshifting. Changing constantly, always learning. They could become mad and eventually get tired of it, regaining sanity, whether if it was briefly or for the next thousand years.

And he had gotten tired of it.

"That means we'll live?!" screamed Avarus.

"It means you're fired, free of charge," Invidior stated. He raised his hands, as if he were to reply with a gesture, teleporting all four of them outside the complex, in the process causing another earthquake. The Magma Complex shook, submerging even further into the ground. The walls around the complex exploded from the pressure applied to them.

But it stood.

"Scarabaxes," cursed Invidior.

He sat back down at his desk, continuing his daily routine of staring at the blueprints.

"Fine, Osavus, fine. Go tell them. I don't care," he said to himself, "The flawed power source Protasious will use will des—"

He suddenly realized the blueprints were his, and not Protasious' flawed power source designs — if he were to change the priority of the booting sequence to the—

His madness returning once more, Invidior rose of his chair, screaming in excitement.

He had found a way to exploit the power source for his own purposes.


A shady figure made his way across the entire room, sitting in the chair where the last Elder of the Great Beings was once stationed. Protasious, the Elder of the Great Beings, had requested yet another of his infamous meetings. One involving his new council — the smartest and most powerful Great Beings to date; Raeir, Angonce, Heremus and Morkoth.

Protasious took a small glance at the four Great Beings; it was no secret to them what he had done, and moreover, what he was going to do.

"It's been a long decade. The robot's launching tomorrow," he muttered. Raeir, Morkoth, Angonce and Heremus all rose off their chairs simultaneously. It was a mystery for the Great Beings how Protasious had managed to keep his mind closed from them; they couldn't sense his thoughts, and therefore, could do nothing to influence his way of thinking.

"That's— That's— outrageous!"

"Impossible! You simply can't..."

"It's not stable yet!"

Their voices were nothing but distractions to him.


"Why are they talking so long?" he said.

"I don't know, Raanu," replied Pomerax.

Raanu and Pomerax were anxiously waiting for Angonce to come out of the room. Suddenly, the figure they acknowledged as that of the Elder slammed the doors, using his psionic power to fling them into the hallway. He almost killed both of them. Four of the Great Beings walked outside with him, following. Protasious, enraged, created a small psionic shield to keep them from following him into the elevator, which he used to travel to his office.

Angonce gestured to the two Agori, as if he was trying to tell them to follow him. The Agori, shrugging, followed Angonce through the enormous Tower's hallways. It felt like hours had passed since they had talked; Pomerax was brave enough to break the silence.

"Angonce... what just happened there? I presume the Elder is going to launch it soon?"

"Tomorrow," divulged Angonce.

Angonce, Raanu and Pomerax all simultaneously stopped walking. The two Agori realized that Angonce had read their minds, and stopped with them. Raanu, as he was used to talking with Angonce, nodded in agreement, and ran off to tell Ackar. Pomerax, who found himself alone with the Great Being, stared at him. Such a magnificent being he was; Pomerax had never seen something quite like it.

"Curiosity," remarked the being.

Pomerax knew what he meant. He was inquisitive. Too inquisitive. He knew that it was going to be his downfall, one day.

"I'm — I'm sorry. It's just that I haven't looked one of your kind from up close ever before. Something about your eyes is deceiving and yet... mechanical," he replied.

"It's only logical. Great Beings consider emotions trivial; as you can see, experiencing vivid emotions can drive most of us into corruption. Thus we neglect all of them, and act based on pure judgement of facts, always understanding what's better for the common well-being," he interpreted. However, Angonce's explanation nearly tapped on a Great being's daily challenge with emotions.

"Isn't it what we all do?" Pomerax stated. "We try to keep ourselves from clouding our judgement."

"It's different with a Great Being because the process, is, quite literally, technical. However, a Great Being can "read" even further into the mind. We can sense every mind in the planet, predicting every action, outcome, and decision you will make. Piecing this all together gives us a limited view of what could happen. That is why I mentioned a specific characteristic of yours," said Angonce. It was a lot to take in for Pomerax; he stepped back, realizing that the Great Being's mind was only giving him partial information on something that was going to happen to him.

"It's a possibility," he said — then, Pomerax sensed it. Angonce had projected a thought inside him.

"I'll make sure to stop it," Pomerax remarked, "We just have to get rid of the Elder."

"Once and for all", he added.


"Hey!"

The conversant voice of the Fire Agori echoed in the room. Rohkea, Galintin and Ackar turned, caught off guard by the voice.

"So, um, what's going on?" replied Rohkea

"The Elder — Protasious! ...he's..." Raanu paused, trying to gather his breath.

"Calm down first! What's the problem?" said Galintin, in a rather worried tone.

"Protasious said the robot is launching tomorrow. I am afraid there's nothing we could do, unless... unless we hurry," he said.

"What — on Spherus Magna? Are you absolutely sure?" Ackar couldn't believe that after all that had happened the past few months, Protasious' only intention was launching the robot. Ackar was certain he wasn't a person to be trusted, but this? This was too much.

"I am one hundred percent sure! Angonce himself told me so, and he just finished off a meeting with him! You've got to hurry and talk to him," shouted Raanu, attempting to squeeze as much as information as he could in one sentence.

He glanced at Galintin and Rohkea; both of them replied to his glancing with an ensuring nod.

"He's going to have to explain a lot," mumbled Ackar.



"Tomorrow? We won't make it!"

"Do you know how many years thereafter we will get to talk about this moment?"

"Truly a sight seen only once a century."

"Yeah, more like a thousand years!"

The Fire Agori could barely stand the noise all the flocked Agori and Glatorian around the plaza were making, considering that everyone was just too excited to stop screaming. Just seconds ago, transmitted through all forms of communication in Spherus Magna, was the announcement that the enormous giant robot of the Great Beings was going to go online tomorrow; Jakara didn't care much.

He was in the Water Tribe for the sole purpose of keeping stable the long running trading agreement between the Water and Fire Tribe. His problems were focused on the representative in Renata — a guy named Pomerax — who left quite surprisingly his position on the spot; the agreement was slowly breaking apart.

Jakara would be forced to return home soon enough. It was a pity really; Galotajun was quite a majestic city in his opinion. Unlike everyone else on the planet, Jakara always thought the robot to be useless and scary.

He was uncertain if it was worth admiring, and he was even more convinced it wasn't worth traveling for. Ironically, all of his friends, family and relatives were going to be there, along with thousands of people.

And he was right. Crowds, made up of thousands of Glatorian and Agori were waiting to enter the city, admiring the robot. It would be too late for them to escape when Protasious' unstable power source would cause certain... malfunctions.


Ackar gathered his breath; all thoughts and speeches he had prepared on his way to the Elder's office flashed in his mind like a slideshow. This was the moment of truth. He was going to stop Protasious from launching the robot, no matter what the cost was.

He continued walking through the marble hallways, heading straight for the same doors he passed through several months ago. Ackar was greeted by two familiar faces — the same guards he and the team met months ago. As he neared closer, they, acting like well-made clockwork, simultaneously opened the two doors leading into the spherical platform which was used to access the top of the Tower, location of the Elder's Office.

It was surprising that a man of his pride would spend so much time in isolation; it was almost irritating for Ackar.

He's waiting for me to make a mistake, he figured, hopefully, he will be first to make one.

The platform lifted Ackar gradually all the way to the top. Last time he was here, he was focused on acquiring the note from Raanu's pouch, ignoring the room's design completely. Now, he had more than enough time to memorize everything he could. Just like the rest of the Tower, Protasious' office was crowned with elegant designs on the walls, depicting various events in history; while also showcasing rare items and paintings.

Due to the room's large space extent, holograms — which Ackar could count as ten — detailing the robot's basic structure were playing repeatedly, lighting up the whole office with a bright green light. The Elder's desks were filled with countless papers, notes, and other blueprints regarding the robot and not only — various projects, studies and others. The same throne-like chair was situated close to the window; it floated using a magnetic field. The massive window that took up the majority of the office’s back wall, curved from one wall to the other, was crystal clear, as always.

Protasious was sitting in his chair, overlooking the city and managing several touch-based holograms. After typing a few key sequences, he turned around, looking at Ackar. His hood lowered, Ackar took a good look at his face — an unfamiliar one — and probably his true persona.

"What a lovely surprise! Please, Ackar, sit down."

"I would prefer not to,' he replied.

"Straight to the point, eh? I suppose you are here to talk about the robot?"

Ackar couldn't play stupid; Protasious could see through his thoughts as if he was an open book. Engaging him in open conflict wouldn't work.

"This... experiment. It has to stop, and we both know why."

"Well, but you see... it's a no-win situation for everyone. I would waste countless hours of preparation, and would make all these people unhappy. We wouldn't want that, would we?" frowned the Elder.

"Unhappy but alive. Everyone will die if you activate that machine!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Now wouldn't that be ignorant of me?"

"Listen to me! Invidior and Osavus could still be out there, looking out to destroy the robot! You excuse-of-an-Elder will risk the lives of thousands simply because you might lose some publicity?" he said, refusing to accept Protasious' hypocritical remarks.

"Ha! Are you under the assumption you can change my mind? What will you do, persuade me to stop the launch? This — is — happening — today. Do I really need to spell it out?" Protasious rose off his chair, and with a flick of a switch, the entire room rotated one eighty degrees, facing the robot's platform. The robot's leg and inner workings had been restored; almost all scaffolds had been removed as well. Ackar couldn't deny the robot was more than ready, at least visually.

"Unlike you, I care for those people!"

"Hmph. You care nothing but for yourself."

"NO, I DON'T! I care about others! I care about them because I know Invidior could be out there, planning whatever he is planning," he screamed, hoping Protasious would listen.

"Relax, Ackar, relax. Invidior is just one Great Being. He isn't going to cause trouble — and Osavus won't do anything by himself — he's that pitiful," said Protasious.

"You— You leave me no choice then. I will... reveal all I know."

"Is that all you've got? And whom are you going to tell? The governor of Spherus Magna? He's my puppet. The whole system is me, and going against me is highly inadvisable. Not to mention your team works for me!. You do as I please."

"We are in charge of protecting the robot, and that includes keeping people from getting hurt!"

"That's what you think. Do you know why I hired you Ackar?"

"Honestly... no," he couldn't think of a good reason as to why Protasious would hire them in the first place.

"Because I find it amusing. You're nothing; I could fire you at this instant or kill you right now... all of you, just like I manipulated Invidior into killing Varonis. You are just a toy, a game I have decided it would be fun to play. That's all you are, Ackar."

"I will... kill you, you idiot. I won't rest until you've been destroyed!"

"Hmm? What's that?"

"I'll kill you!" Anger flared inside Ackar. He felt disgrace and pure hate about Protasious. He just wanted him killed so badly—

He didn't even plan how he was going to do it. Protasious already knew; he used a psionic shield to pin Ackar's hands and legs against the floor. It was useless resisting.

"You don't know anything," he mumbled. "The Order of the Hidden is nothing - NOTHING! It was simply another failed experiment. Its fall was trivial to me."

"Now hear me well. If you want your little life extended for some time, you'd better stay out of the way," This time Protasious was dead serious. He wasn't going to back down.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ackar said, and with that, the psionic shield broke.


Another hill.

He climbed up a dune, over, and down the other side. There he stopped, welcoming the chance to catch his breath, and looked back. No being appeared over the rise of sand; no weapons glimmered in the midday sun.

Yes, Invidior was insane, all right, if he thought an escaped Osavus was no threat.

Osavus took deep breaths to calm himself down. Yet some unidentifiable emotion hovered over him, like a rain cloud. Why couldn’t he shake the feeling that here ended the easy part?

Ignoring the thought as best he could, he formed a picture in his mind: a gigantic robot being that reached up to the sky.

He had to get to the city. I must redeem myself.

A mental push—

A moment of disorientation and he found himself standing miles away from the Renata gates. The sounds of cheering and celebrating kept coming from within and outside the city; giant crowds had been gathered outside the gates. It seemed the launch was already underway.

Desperation mounted.

He didn't care about the crowds. He needed to reach the city gates, no matter what. He had to surrender, tell the others what Invidior was doing. As he walked closer and closer, his heartbeat became faster. Osavus couldn't help but think he was going to be killed on spot by the guards, thinking him to be a threat. As he burst running into the city, bypassing the guards, the alarm went off.

In just seconds, thousands of guards surrounded him, pointing their weapons at him. Osavus fell on his knees, and choked out a few words:

"Don't worry, I am here to surrender."

"Go on."

Osavus hesitated to continue; Invidior might be mad, but he had become a killer, and so he had ran for retribution. Ackar couldn't, and wouldn't understand this.

“Oh, I know I’ve done wrong,” Osavus stated, “I know I will be trialed for my crimes, and I know I shouldn't have done all the things I did."

"Is that all?" Ackar interrupted. He kept staring at Osavus; the interrogation room's light fell on his face, making Osavus feel a bit unconformable — even for a Great Being. However, having his power taken away, Osavus' perception of the world had dramatically changed. He could feel and act based on emotions without being driven into corruption.

"Just please... hear me out, Ackar. I know I should be arrested, but remember I still know where Invidior is! We can cooperate. I've already told you I am not planning anything; I surrendered myself and all of my powers, and I am willing to go to prison. ”

"I'm listening, Osavus. This better not be a trick," he said. Galintin, Rohkea, Pomerax and Raanu watched from a distance. The rest of the Great Beings were nearby as well; albeit not inside the same room.

“Go round the mountains,” continued the Great Being, the words flowing out of him like a river, “and by the foot of the southernmost you’ll find the abandoned Magma Complex Invidior is hiding in.”

The Fire Glatorian shook his head, his hand resting on his helmet in concentration, eyes staring hard at the ground. Finally he looked up and fixed Osavus with his best death-glare. “Rohkea,” he said, “you and Galintin go where Osavus says to — where was that, again, exactly—?”

“Abandoned Magma Complex, round the mountains, by the summit of the southernmost! Hurry, he might be getting—”

“Yeah, sure,” Ackar cut him off. “Go to that abandoned Magma Complex, Rohkea.”

“And you?”

Rohkea seemed to be one for asking questions. Ackar seemed to notice, too, because his bottom lip twitched a bit. “I’m gonna stay with Osavus in the Tower, seeing as we don’t know if we can trust him.”

The Great Being’s fists clenched. They still saw him as an enemy. But... he couldn’t say he hadn’t expected it. “Fine, whatever,” he said; “but hurry—!”

“We know.” Ackar glanced to Rohkea and Galintin, still standing there questioningly. “What’re you waiting for? Go!”

Rohkea and Galintin exited the room, running. Ackar turned then to Osavus, grimacing like the very sight of the Great Being disgusted him. It probably did.

Osavus couldn’t say he didn’t deserve that.


The incessant thud-thud of the Sand Stalker’s racing footsteps had already imprinted itself onto Rohkea’s subconscious; she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be hearing it in her sleep for the next couple decades. Perhaps the next couple centuries.

The range was perhaps a kilometer and a half to the north of Magnacus Renata. The Sand Stalkers were going maybe six, seven kilometers an hour, so they ought to reach the Magma Complex within the next ten minutes.

“It’s darned hot,” Galintin remarked, glancing up at the sun.

She nodded, but the movement was lost in her Sand Stalker’s bounding. The mountains loomed before them now; the southernmost was also the smallest, really no more than a very, very large rocky hill, filled with grass.

They veered south to go around the edge of the range. With forceful flicks of the reins, they urged their Sand Stalkers onward.


“There was no going back,” protested Osavus, “Invidior went crazy — I didn’t know what got into him... And I — I just fell apart. All those deaths I caused...”

Osavus hadn’t been good at telling stories to begin with.

“It seems an awful lot like a typical sob story. A spur-of-the-moment decision to join the side of justice? Please.”

“Justice!? Glatorian, I may be a sinner, but Protasious? — he knows nothing about justice!"

A silence settled down then, silence tainted with fury. Osavus’s. At Protasious, at Invidior, at death — at himself.

Ackar’s mouth opened, began to form a rebuttal.

Silence seemed to shove his words back into his mouth. His throat muscles moved in protest, but he made no sound.

"It's true," he said. "Aren't we all aware of Protasious' crimes?” he said. “But that doesn’t excuse you from killing so many.”

Ackar stood up, circling around the room.

“I know you apologized,” his own voice building in anger. “But tell me this — can apologizing bring the dead back to life? No.” Osavus realized now the full impact of his actions. They had not merely backfired on him; they had torn apart families, tortured the minds of others. Including, it seemed, the mind of the Fire Glatorian before him.

“And as long as the Great Beings continue to exist, effecting Spherus Magna's future,” — Ackar’s eyes were smoldering now — “I won’t rest. I will not rest until I've made sure your kind will no longer pledge my world. I've seen enough to be certain of your inability to control yourselves.”

"I see your points, Glatorian, and I am puzzled as much as you," explained Osavus.

“Sir! — Ackar!”

Another Glatorian entered the room; his eyes were wide, in either shock or fear, Osavus couldn’t tell which. Ackar turned to the guard and away from Osavus, as if the Great Being was a lost cause... which, Osavus reflected, he probably was.

“What in the Great Jungle are you yelling about?”

“Um, sir — in the robot — Great Being—”

“Yes...?” Ackar replied.

The Glatorian guard swallowed and, with visible effort, said, “Invidior entered the robot.”

A split-second passed before Ackar’s face twisted in rage: average reaction time for a Glatorian.

Into the sky rose a series of oaths as, in the distance, an echoing voice boomed out of speakers, redoubling the crowd’s cheers.

“WHAT? HOW?”

“Well, ah, he teleported inside the perimeter of the gate and got to the robot’s foot before he was stopped. I — sir, I warned him, but he, he just laughed and... I don’t know how he did it, suddenly we were on the ground and he was inside.” His report finished, a visible relief entered his expression.

Relief not evident in Ackar’s expression at all. Mutterings — probably more swears — rolled off his tongue. He looked up, to the building beside the gate. “Go back to your post,” said Ackar, and gestured Osavus to follow him.

"Let's go talk to Protasious, shall we?" he said, and they both walked out of the room, into the marble hallways once more. Osavus felt comfortable again being around the Tower; it was, after all, his home.



"I wonder what Ackar’s doing back at the launch site,” Rohkea wondered aloud.

She and Galintin had come around the southernmost mountain and were now traversing its lower slope, looking for any signs of construction. Thus far there had been nothing except a few abandoned ruins of homes that were obviously not Magma Complexes. Rohkea suspected this was the site of a now-long-gone village, perhaps the former incarnation of the grand Kingdom of Magnacus itself.

Galintin shrugged. “Probably something boring. Standing by during the ceremony or something like that. You know what they say about Great Beings: They’re brilliant as heck and just as self-absorbed.”

“I guess. Hey, what’s that?”

The Ice Glatorian pointed straight ahead, leveling her finger at an iron-gray building that sat perhaps fifty meters ahead, its dark walls helping it blend into the mountains’ shadows. Galintin nodded. “I bet that’s the place."

In a minute they had ridden up, leaving their Sand Stalkers outside. The complex seemed to have undergone a heavy earthquake; the main door was busted, and several walls had collapsed. They entered through the building’s outer door, after deciding to skip the collapsed walls.

"Here, try this out," Galintin said, and gave Rohkea a pointy hand held device. It was quite heavy, and you had to hold tight it into your hand.

"What is this? It launches... thornax?"

"It's a Thornax Launcher; a very early construction model. Managed to crab one of these by chance, actually. They are quite useful. Here's some ammo."

Galintin took point, leaping into the room and aiming his launcher around at the deep shadows. Behind him Rohkea, holding her sword before her like a talisman, flicked a switch. The lights came on, illuminating a room empty of other beings. Unless they were invisible. Rohkea shuddered at the thought but nevertheless said to Galintin, “Looks like no one is home.”

“Then let’s get searching.” Placing his Thornax launcher back in its waist holster, Galintin ran to a circular table in the center of the room, slid into a chair, and began leafing through the papers there.

Rohkea looked around more carefully; there, she noted, were the large pipes that had at one point ferried magma through a city-wide heating system; and there was the control panel that had adjusted the lava’s flow. Some of the pipes, she noted, were partially disassembled. There were some half-finished jumbles of mechanical parts on a table nearby; perhaps those contained some of the missing pipe parts. The whole facility seemed to be titling into the ground, and it was probably where the magma had gone. It must have been absorbed into the ground.

She glanced around more. On a table against the far wall were two computers. On an impulse she went to those, pressed the startup button on one, noticed the screen lit up after only several seconds as if someone had been on already.

“Let’s see what you were doing...” With her tongue stuck between her teeth in concentration, she clicked the onscreen button for recently-opened programs.

A schematics management program was on the list, at the very top.

Rohkea selected it.

“Galintin! Could you come over here?”

He was over in a few seconds, a couple papers grasped in his hands. “What is it?”

Rohkea pointed. “See for yourself.”

A series of bright white lines ran over a dark blue background, forming various details of what was surely a blueprint design for the Great Beings’ robot. And near the power source and several large rectangles was:

Artificial gravity generators run on same molecules the power source uses. Redirecting primary power to one generator would—

Impact.

Pain exploded through Rohkea’s skull. She slumped forward onto the desk.

Darkness.



He won't get away.

As much as it pained Ackar to admit, he was panicked. He didn't want to admit he was powerless to stop Protasious, so his best bet was to talk to him... again.

No. Not this time. He has got to run out of excuses one day, and I'll be there to make sure of it.

Yesterday, Ackar attempted to kill Protasious upon conversation; it didn't go down well. Protasious threw him out of his office in an unpleasant matter. For Ackar, it was too bad he didn't kill him on the spot.

Osavus and Ackar once again entered the platform that rose them up to the Elder's office; it seemed as if Protasious opened the entrance just so he could speak with Osavus. Quite surprisingly, Protasious was still sitting in his chair, planning the grand launch of the robot.

The Elder’s lip only curled a bit at the sight of Osavus.

“Ah — Osavus,” said the Elder, turning from the window facing the robot. He didn't take notice of Ackar; probably because he didn't want to bother with him. “Looks like you've miserably failed. We’re about to launch our... Grand Creation. I made the announcement yesterday.”

Grand Creation, he called it. Osavus gritted his teeth.

"This thing is going to destroy us all — you and I know this extremely well."

"No Osavus," he said, closing in to him. "...this thing is going to save us all. It's going to let us unlock the secrets of the Universe! It's going to let us have the ultimate control of this goddamn rock, and possibly more thousands!"

"I— I left five months ago knowing that a traitor led my people. I returned to find a power-hungry madman in his place," stated Osavus.

He said nothing, only shook his head in a sort of condescending pity, and turned to Ackar. “You were about to say something—?”

Ackar had been busy talking to the security personnel all this time; Invidior must be found.

"Cancel the launch, Protasious. No games, this is an order."

"An order? From you?"

“Invidior is in the robot, you idiot! Cancel the launch or we’re all dead!”

It was some time before the Elder spoke; his maniac laughing would not come to an end, driving Ackar and Osavus mad.

“Invidior...?! Does he really think he can stop the launch?”

"He can, you blabbering—"

"Oh, Shut up," a thoughtful light entered the Elder’s eyes as he placed a finger underneath his lower lip, thinking.

The order was so sudden and so blunt that Ackar blinked twice, anger giving way to confusion. “We went through this yesterday, Protasious!"

"And I did not remember you winning that fight," returned the Elder, his voice going icy. Shooting one last death-glare at Osavus, he looked out the window, ignoring Ackar entirely now.

Fury returned.

"Are you completely braindead? Invidior's going to destroy the robot! He has got access to every sector of the robot's plans, power source, and controls. He could start destroying entire cities, worlds with this much power at his disposal!"

"Invidior's an idiot.” The Elder ran his fingers along the control board, tracing around buttons’ edges, like he was attempting to appease his impatience. Still he avoided Ackar’s and Osavus’s gazes. “You see, I know Invidior. He's young, brash, and stupid. He thinks he is a world class engineer, and that he can play around with me, all he likes,” he gestured to the control board before him. “Even so, only I can give the robot direct orders.”

Ackar wasn't certain if he liked Protasious giving direct orders to the robot either. "And the power source?”

"What about it?"

"It's flawed," said Osavus softly.

"Didn't I tell you two to shut up?” The Elder’s voice carried an annoyed edge. It pleasing for Ackar that somehow he had touched a nerve. “The Agori and Glatorian outside are waiting for us to launch. We told them we would. A delay would further weaken their impression of us. The power source may have its problems, but it's stable and under control; it's regulated by thousands of workers. Here, look at the stats yourself — not like you would understand with that worthless brain of yours anyway," he murmured.

"Invidior could, however, destabilize it! An explosion would create massive—"

"No, he can't—"

"At least, let us go after him, you scarabax!"

“Why would I care? I’ll launch that robot even with you two inside. Now get out.”

"Protasious,” growled Ackar, moving toward the exit, finally allowing his rage to take control, “you’re as blind as a Sand Bat. The day that you will pay for your crimes is coming. And it'd be by my hand. You can freaking count on it.”

Suddenly he was stumbling backwards, pushed by some unseen hand. He fell out — Osavus fell to the sands behind him — the door slid shut before them.

That was that.

“C’mon,” said Ackar, grabbing Osavus and bodily hauling him up. “Let’s go.”

Osavus opened his mouth to ask a question. Then his gaze darted to the robot, as the cheers continued. Another announcement echoed in the distance. Both beings recognized it as belonging to Protasious. It was imminent; the robot's eyes started glowing, the power source triggering the reaction.

That power-hungry scarabax.

Osavus’s mouth closed.


Into the access door on the robot’s sole, up the curving floor, and straight ahead. Osavus shouted directions. Ackar followed them without thinking. The rumbling was getting louder; that was on Ackar’s mind, the idea that the robot might fly into space with him still inside. The idea of being cut off from Spherus Magna, his home... it scared him more than he would admit.

That is, if he had time, which he didn’t, and thus with an effort he yanked his focus to running. One foot in front of the other. One quick step — more a leap for Ackar — at a time.

“Right!”

Ackar missed the door. Behind him Osavus grabbed it and pulled him back, nearly tearing the Fire Glatorian’s arm from its socket. The Great Being yanked open the door and they were through, running underneath the bright yellow lights. Tunnel vision set in. Ackar’s lungs strained for air.

Can’t stop now. Go, darn it!

"Left!” Osavus was in the lead now; he jabbed the keypad beside the door with such ferocity Ackar was surprised it wasn’t torn off the wall. The door slid open. They were through, into a dimmer hallway. Ahead Ackar could see a faint yellow light.

The two stumbled as a tremor shook the robot. A flashback: Ackar trapped with the others in the construction facility, the self-destruct timer counting down...

Focus! he roared at himself.

Ackar was barely able to dodge the machinery that were in his way, when he saw another door ahead, this one on the “floor” — except, it was already open. Ackar didn’t stop to think of what that meant.

Glatorian and Great Being clambered down the ladder and finally reached the light, entering a large room as they did so. There sat a ginormous sphere, covered with pipes and bumps and recesses, a convoluted mesh of metal and circuitry. A humming sound emanated from the power source — for that was all it could be. Ackar could roughly calculate the room was below the robot's neck.

At its base stood Invidior.

He was fiddling with a several holograms on control panel and didn’t see the two at first. Under cover of another tremor, this one exponentially larger than before, they ran forward.

Invidior saw them anyway.

He glanced back. Froze. The tension in the air was surely tangible: Ackar could feel it holding him back, like a veil, except more solid. Osavus’s hand slid off the Fire Glatorian’s shoulder. The Great Being didn’t seem to notice; he had eyes for one person and one person alone. And that one person stared back with just as much intensity.

A pause. The metal beneath Ackar’s feet shook uncomfortably. The Glatorian gritted his teeth.

Finally, Invidior spoke, loud enough for him to be heard above the ceaseless rumbling, "Osavus! Ackar! A pleasure as always! You shouldn't have come; maybe then you would have a chance of survival! HAHA!”

That voice jolted Osavus into action, "Don't you even consider tampering with the robot! Enough of this! Enough of the madness, enough of your deception and illusions!"

“Oh, oh, oh, little, small, petty Osavus. Your 'sense' of justice always was stunted. Even more so than Protasious'!”

"I placed my trust in you. I let you deceive me into becoming a KILLER! YOU'VE DESTROYED MORE THAN YOU COULD IMAGINE!"

“Tsk. Tsk. Don't you realize, you are playing on the wrong side, Osavus? Can you not see it?”

"See it? All I CAN SEE IS DESTRUCTION! BROUGHT TO THIS WORLD BY YOU, PROTASIOUS, and — idiots — WHO ARE UNABLE TO REALIZE THE OUTCOME OF THEIR ACTIONS!" Osavus’s fists clenched in pure anger. His eyes flashed like a million diamonds amidst flame. “I’LL KILL YOU!”

"I can see it. I can see the power, the future, a world free of corruption! A world free of treason! We can still do it — we can still make our paradise arise!"

"Paradise? What is he talking about?" questioned Ackar.

"It's nothing. A lost day-dream. An idea he got obsessed with. He believes he can help the world be liberated of treason! Madness!"

"WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I CAN SEE IT!"

"You're as blind as ever. Even more so as a madman. And you're going to destroy us all. But first, before the end comes, I'm going to kill you."

“Huh? You? You don’t even have the guts—”

It was so sudden Ackar nearly missed it. One moment Osavus was standing beside him; the next the Great Being was flying across the room toward Invidior, striking the large device in the center of the room, falling to the ground in a daze. Invidior grabbed Osavus around the neck with his right arm and lifted him to his feet. A glint of silver, scarily familiar, showed in front of Osavus’s neck.

A dagger.

Ackar started forward, only to be stopped by Invidior’s voice. “Hahaha, I personally wouldn’t do that if I were you, Ackar! I've got you both now!”

Another tremor. Ackar’s lips compressed, but he stayed put. There was no telling what an insane Great Being would do when under stress.

Invidior nodded, a quick smile flashing across his features. “Excellent!” His eyes glinted a fiery orange in the light as he turned back to the control board, now hitting and gesturing various buttons and holograms with only his left arm. A small screen appeared, raised from inside the generator, coming to life. ACCEPT NEW PROGRAMMING? it asked.

Invidior pointed towards YES.

INPUT PASSWORD.

His left hand’s fingers flew. Another quake — his hand slipped.

WRONG PASSWORD.

Grimacing in obvious anger he began pressing the series of buttons again. And stopped. Glancing back at Ackar, he moved his body between the Glatorian and the control board, as if carrying out an afterthought, before typing in the rest of the password.

DECRYPTING BRAIN PATTERN...

The holograms attempted to gather around Invidior's head; he quickly dodged them, presenting to the machine some sort of storage device. Several electrical waves flung out of the device, quickly deactivating the machinery and rebooting the system.

The screen flashed. ACCESS GRANTED. NEW PROGRAMMING ACCEPTED. INITIALIZING... The display and holograms faded to black, and Invidior turned back to Ackar, a little smile on his face. Every bit as insane as his actions.

An urge awakened somewhere within Ackar, an urge to run his blade through the insane scarabax. A pity he’d probably be dead before he got in range.

“It's brilliant! Don't you want to hear it?"

"Hear what, you little—"

"The plan!” Invidior remarked at length, circling round Ackar toward the exit. He stumbled as another tremor, the largest yet, rocked the room. Ackar nearly fell to his knees but managed to stay on his feet, sword pointed warningly at the Great Being.

Stalemate. “I’m sure it’s a nice story, Invidior,” Ackar replied evenly, for that was all he could do: talk, figure out what Invidior’s plan was, why it made him seem so... happy.

“Oh, it is! You see, Varonis served as a valuable asset. Him having access to the Great Beings’ central databases meant the world to me. He nicked some up-to-date schematics — well, up-to-date at the time, but they were recent enough. What the Elder didn’t know was that his gravity generator setup was obviously awry!”

“Obviously...”

“Aha! I didn't expect you to understand technicalities.” Ackar hesitated to reply; it would finish Invidior’s story faster. "However, translating into layman’s terms is so frustrating sometimes, so I’ll give you the story in a nutshell. See, there are several independent gravity generators scattered throughout the robot — we’re located in the central power source room. The power source itself happens to be a little... unbalanced. It's not that it's not finished, it's just designed wrong. However, below this metal structure, lies the most powerful gravity generator,” he continued.

Another shake, another pause.

“The other generators attract gravitational particles using specially-shaped ionized molecules, accelerated through a series of chambers within the generator. Since acceleration equals gravity, gravitational particles come into play; and because of the ionized molecules’ special structures, the particles are captured in their centers."

“Those ions are then sent through the robot to wherever they are needed. The catch is that these structures are very unstable; if they aren’t kept in temperatures below minus three hundred degrees, they will collapse into unusable shapes. Coincidentally, then, they happen to become very reactive... as the construction facility’s explosion proved. And let's not forget to mention that the robot’s power source uses these same atoms as the main energy source behind me!”

“Get on with it,” Ackar growled.

Invidior was almost to the ladder that led to the door. But now he stopped. He wanted Ackar to know what he was doing, didn’t he? Was he that proud of it?

If the answer to both questions was yes, then Ackar was right on the mark with his earlier observation: Invidior was insane.

“It's funny, because all I had to do,” the Great Being continued, “was adjust the alignment of one generator’s magnetic fields. Spinning the magnetic field would cause the gravitational force to spin, as well. Such an unstable arrangement of gravitational fields would crumple the robot, which would damage circuitry, which would bring the power source’s molecules to a temperature most certainly above minus three hundred degrees. And — well, I’m sure you get the picture.”

Another rumble came; but this time it was accompanied by a sudden humming of the gravitational generators, and the power source. Invidior’s grin widened. Ackar swore to whatever gods existed, plus a few who didn’t, just in case.

“Well, you see, I’d love to stay and chat, but” — he dumped Osavus roughly on the floor and flew up the ladder like a bird — “I’d rather appreciate not dying! AHAHA!”

The last word was shouted as Invidior disappeared through the doorway. Ackar yelled in rage and ran across the room, through the background rumbling and the increasingly large tremors, to the ladder—

—and something grabbed his leg.

He spun, instinctively swinging his sword. Osavus swung his hand away from Ackar’s leg; not quickly enough, for a deep cut was torn in the Great Being’s upper right arm, near the shoulder. A glint of red shone from the recess.

"Osavus! Let's get out of here,” Ackar said.

Osavus shook his head, not in reply to Ackar, but in thought. “I think... I think I can stop the destruction,” he said.

“...You can?”

“I said I think—”

“I know! But how?”

Osavus glanced to the control board, slowly making his way to his feet. Uneasily Ackar noticed the ladder didn’t seem so hard to hang onto any more, and the floor seemed to be tilting, slowly but steadily.

“If I can draw power to the generator,” he said slowly, as if unsure, “I could increase the magnetic fields here and weaken those elsewhere. If I draw most of the gravitational force here, it’ll cause warping but not as serious as otherwise. And there’s a slight chance I could overload the system and thus shut it down. If I don't do this, I'm afraid the gravitational forces are simple going to crush half of the planet.”

The Great Being’s reasoning seemed solid; at least, as solid as reasoning could be within a shaking room, with death surely imminent. Ackar opened his mouth to warn Osavus he probably wouldn’t make it out, realized he hated the Great Being, anyway, closed it again and nodded.

“Right.” He hesitated; pushed out, “ ...good luck,” with an effort; and continued up the ladder.

By the time he was out the floor was tilting at least ten degrees. It’s downhill from here, he thought, running down the hallway.

Right at the intersection, left at another, through a mazelike series of hallways into the foot. Every step Ackar took felt like his last; every beat of his heart resounded in his ears like a drum, every bit as loud as the robot’s quaking; every stumble felt like a message from Death: I want you.

Then — light! Up ahead.

The Fire Glatorian raced toward it.

There was a rumbling—

The floor tilted

Ackar slid.

In the wrong direction.

No!

He clawed at the unyielding metal, but in vain. There were no handholds. No resting places for his feet.

This was it; this was surely death, alone—

The floor abruptly tilted in the opposite direction. Ackar was flung headfirst round a bend, but something held his hand — a Great Being.

It was none in particular he knew; just some regulator. Before the Great Being could speak, Ackar ran, heading for the main control room.

"It has to be this way!"


Ackar was certain.

This had to be the main control room; a large expansion, stationed miles above the power source room. The robot's eyes were the only source of light inside this vast space, and they were... colossal. Ackar looked down at them; thousands of people watching from inside the city of Magncus Renata in amazement, as the robot gazed at the stars, sending out various rays and holoprojections.

He glanced at the rest of the world; the Great Jungle, the Great Barren and the large ocean of the Great Sea were visible from this high. The Valley of the Great beings, were Magnacus Renata and the platform were located was a large, rocky, red valley filled with lava flows. Canyons, oasis and small settlements were the only things occupying the Valley, except the city and the robot.

A small twitch in the air forced Ackar to jump out of his place. The air shook, lightning struck the ground. Thousands of control panels light up, their screens and projections flash uncontrollably.

The air took the shape of one man.

Protasious.

His face was contorted in pure rage. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he said, letting out a small psionic wave, blowing his cloak over.

"What have I done? Maybe try asking Invidior?"

"INVIDIOR?"

"He messed up the controls!"

Protasious stared for a second at the statistics on the control panel. He spoke, sputtering out a few words. "The power source is overheating... the system's magnetic activity and ionic reaction have increased by a hundred seventy percent. How— how can this be?"

"I already told you this would happen!"

The robot shook. It was dying. Not in the way a Glatorian or Agori would die. The robot was still walking, moving, testing its capabilities; it was “alive” in that respect. However, outside the control chamber, the flocked people at the city, along with the Great Beings — Angonce, Morkoth, Heremus, and Raeir all watched; its outer skeleton became oddly warped, cracks appearing around it as high as the robot’s midsection; and as the whole world watched, from transmissions or from the city itself, energy began pouring out of the robot, burning a brilliant golden-white, brighter even than the sun.

Ackar and Protasious felt the imminent heat; it was burning Ackar's outer armor. Protasious didn't seem to be particularly affected by it.

Protasious stared at the control panel in silent shock... or was that twisted expression the Elder’s version of awe?

"DO YOU SEE IT NOW? IT'S ALL DONE FOR!" shouted Ackar.

"No. No! Invidior, you little creation-forsaken piece of sand bat! No!"

"...I warned you," he said. The doors of the control room were closed shut, sealing the room from outer temperature. Ackar saw several meters turning green on the room, as it cooled down to normal rates.

"I'll kill you all... I destroyed creatures more powerful than your pitiful existence! I destroyed the very—"

He stopped, as if he was about to reveal something. Either way, Ackar had an opening.

Doving for the control board, his hand reaching out for the button that he knew would activate the comm. Froze mid-leap. Strained. He had no headway on Protasious’ mind-grip.

"No, Ackar,” whispered the Elder. “this was your fault. And you will share in the punishment!”

Ackar shouted a very nasty name. Protasious laughed in reply. “What do you, a mere Glatorian expect to do? Take down the Great Beings? We went through this — by our very name we are deemed invincible! We are creators! — gods! — in the eyes of our inferiors! And if you seek to take away that status—”

In midsentence Ackar spun, let Protasious' mind-grip pull him backwards, swung his sword at him. There was a flash of silver. The cut in Protasious' midsection bled profusely.

The power-crazy Great Being never saw it coming. Ackar certainly hadn’t.

There was a thump as Protasious hit the floor, still awake but surely in horrible pain. His arms were wrapped around his abdomen; he rolled side to side, eyes closed in agony.

Ackar felt no remorse. He deserved it.

The Fire Glatorian wanted to kill him where he lied; however, he opt to leap for the comm button, struck it with all his might, and yelled in the same fashion:

“THE ROBOT’S GOING TO EXPLODE! RUN!”


Osavus wiped the sweat of his forehead.

This was the end.

He had managed to extract the energy from the generator right into the power source, which was overheating, becoming a giant glowing sphere of liquid metal and... energy. It was growing, killing and vaporizing anything in it's way.

For Osavus, it was like a star, like Solis Magna had fallen into the world. He curled up in the corner of the room, as far away as he could from the burning inferno, watching as it grew.

"I have failed you, brothers. I only hope this can repay for all my crimes."

"I am sorry."

Angonce, Morkoth, Heremus and Raeir could sense Osavus' apology, unable to prevent his death. Standing outside the Tower, they all screamed, mentally, with one voice:

"We accept, brother!"



And the crowd heard, and saw the robot self-destructing, and panicked. Some ran, screaming at the tops of their lungs like that would do them good. Others stayed put, yelling obscenities at the Great Beings and their crazy experiments. Still others stood and stared, unable to comprehend the awesome sight that greeted their eyes. The Great Beings watched from the Tower's lowest balcony, as if nothing had happened.

A flash.

The main gravity generator at the robot's upper crotch was torn apart by the metal warping around it. The molecules within flew outwards, colliding with the air, interacting violently. It was a slow-motion explosion, steadily being renewed even as it died down. Several onlookers fell to their knees, yelling about their eyes, so bright was the glow. The sun, still burning freely, unhindered by clouds, went unnoticed.

A crash.

With the gravity generator gone, the delicate balance of forces on the gigantic robot’s body fell apart. Explosions rocked its exterior and interior alike. The power weakened; Spherus Magna’s gravity took charge, pulling the robot down.

Yet the mechanoid’s motors and pistons, designed painstakingly after years and years of blueprinting, experimentation, and redesigning, held it upright. It would not — could not — go down without a fight.

A bang.

Not just a small bang; one that deafened everyone within the surrounding mile, leaving their ears ringing painfully as they wondered where the Great Beings were and if they could stop the horror. A hyperspacial energy push was thrust into the entire world of Spherus Magna, creating a thermomagnetic reaction in the atmosphere; the sky turned magma red. Lightning began to strike the world, burning forests and people alike.

Their homes forgotten, they ran.

The robot was in its death throes, convulsing within the push and pull of gravity gone awry.

Yet this was merely the beginning.

"Watch out!"

A bolt of lightning almost hit Avarus; he dodged it, cursing in advance.

"What in the name of the Great Beings was that?!" shouted Ferveon. Silex, Avarus and Robur, holding hostage Galintin and Rohkea could barely hear her.

"It's that… stupid robot!" screamed Avarus. "We’ve got to get out of here! The whole complex is coming down!"

Avarus, followed by Silex and Ferveon, exited the complex through a crack in the wall. The structure was already half-destroyed; the earthquakes which had been caused by the colossal robot was the final blow. Robur, turning his back to the other two Glatorian, charged at the wall, bringing it down. The Magma complex shivered, and then collapsed on itself, only to be swallowed by the soft dirt, which could no longer handle the weight of the complex’s remains.

They hardly made it to a safe distance from the falling debris. "Where in the Great Barren are we going to go now?" asked Silex.

Avarus didn't reply. He pointed towards the giant mechanoid in the background, reaching all the way up to the clouds. The sky was magma red; ash, lighting, and overcharged energy bolts dominated the clouded expanse. While Avarus couldn't interpret the actual physics behind it, he was smart enough to realize the robot's power source had created a worldwide energy storm.

"Looks like the end of the world, to me, Silex."


“How—”

Galintin gathered his strength. He was still recovering from the blow. “How does it feel to know you’ve played a part in this, idiots?” he spitted out, pointing at the robot’s current state.

“We played a part in this? This was just business, Galintin. We do whatever Invidior order us to do, and we get paid. But that agreement has been broken, and our services have been left unpaid. That’s all I care for. I couldn’t care less if the robot destroys Renata. If you want to point a finger at someone, do it to that idiot Invidior, and his petty friend.” Avarus grinned angrily towards Galintin.

He ordered Robur to throw the tied-up Glatorian in the dirt. Galintin cried sharply as Robur threw him down, and then sat on him, adding insult to injury. Rohkea was still unconscious.

“Oh, please do shut up. You blabbering idiots never miss a chance to brag about that useless hunk of metal,” said Silex.

“You know what? I would shut up if you would come here right now and shut me up, but it just looks like you are hiding behind the big brute, trying to keep your hands clean. And if I’m not mistaken, you are the “deadly” assassin around here… or not?" Galintin kept himself from expressing pain and fear.

Even if you're simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, there’s never enough time to waste in fighting, he thought.

“Oh, shut it, Galintin—" Avarus kicked Galintin once more "—it's painful hearing your comebacks."

“What’s that? We can’t even handle a little joke, Avarus? You know, there’s always time for jokes—” Galintin yelled and rolled around as the unaffordable pain of Avarus’ kick had knocked him unconscious. Avarus came closer to the body, and whispered in Galintin’s ear:

“Yeah… there always is, Galintin. Even after all these years. But I’m not one for jokes.”


"T—this just isn’t possible! Where’s all this power coming from?” Protasious screamed out, and smashed another control panel with his bare hands.

"What’s going on?”

"I..."

“What’s wrong with the robot’s systems? And… what’s wrong with the sky?”

"…the sky? Oh, that’s just a magnetic storm, a simple yet deadly reaction between the overcharged ions and the atmosphere’s gases.”

“Just…?!”

“Yes, Ackar, it’s a minor detail. The actual problem here is the robot’s A.I.; all testing programs have been executed at once, frying every single circuit in process. I. Can’t. CONTROL. IT!”

“Oh, no. Just please, tell me you can shut this thing off!” Panicking, Ackar looked down at the city — the robot’s laser beams were cutting through buildings like paper; the magnetic storm had created a powerful rain of energy blasts, crushing the city and destroying any mass they touched, accompanied by the large lightning storm.

“I can’t.”

“What?”

“I said I can’t! Is it really that hard to understand, Ackar? There’s nothing to shut off. The robot shouldn’t even be working at this point.”

"How's that possible?"

Ackar, feeling a little calmer, was left standing there, waiting for Protasious’ reply. He was hoping that a "Great Being" of his "majesty" would at least know how to stop the robot. After all, he had spent ten years developing it. However, Protasious’ silence could mean only one thing: He was as clueless as Ackar was. Ackar’s worst fears had come true.

Slowly losing hope for salvation, Ackar reached for the comm. device again. It was pointless, Ackar, knew it, but he called the only person that he could still trust — Galintin. As he tried to establish contact, the robot shook again, making him fall to his knees, simultaneously hitting his head against the desk.

He cursed, grabbing the desk even tighter, and spoke into the microphone. There was no reply. He kicked the control panel.

“C’mon!”

A screen finally came up with a short line of text:

Establishing connection...

Please wait...

Connection successful.

Ackar, hesitating at first, asked: “Galintin? Do you read me?”

Huh... check this out, boss.

"…what? Who's this?"

You know who it is, Ackar.

Only one Glatorian in Spherus Magna could have had such a sickening voice — Avarus. "What have you done with them?!"

Oh, they're here alright, and more importantly — still alive, but not in the best mood to talk right now. You’ve got to hurry, Ackar. I sincerely doubt they will continue to be alive for long at this rate.

"You idiots! Not now! ANY TIME BUT NOW! Look around yourselves, morons! Spherus Magna is on the verge of destruction, and you want money? Why don’t you actually help me out?” Ackar nearly crushed the microphone with his hand.

I don’t care for Spherus Magna. I care about myself… I mean, us. Now, to our business: bring me anything of value you can get from that little Tower of yours, no matter the cost.

"Are you braindead? I can't! I'm trapped inside the creation-forsaken robot! You know the one’s that’s going to destroy the whole planet from moment to moment!"

Well, then forget your friends. Kill ‘em, boys.

"Hello?" The transmission was lost. Distorted voices could be heard; screaming, shouting... nothing else. Ackar shivered at the thought of Galintin and Rohkea’s deaths.

No! It’s his fault. All of it. His fault. The Elder. Protasious.

Ackar let out a scream of terror, fear, and frustration. At least, at least, he wouldn’t go down knowing that Protasious didn’t die by his hand. Not until Protasious was begging for his life would Ackar accept it was the time of his death.

“It ends here, old man.”

Protasious wasn't even given time to react. The Fire Glatorian, his blade drawn, attacked the Great Being. Taken by surprise, Protasious was barely able to dodge the attack; Ackar’s sword smashed the control panel where Protasious’ head was mere seconds ago.

Ackar didn’t wait to deliver a second blow; again, taken by surprise, the Great Being felt the blade on his stomach. Thinking that he had delivered the final blow on Protasious, Ackar backed away, declaring himself victorious.

"Ugh… You really, really shouldn't have done that..." Protasious stood back. Psionic energy was humming around his silhouette, protecting him from all physical damage. “…I’ve already told you. You’re useless, a pawn. This time around, I won’t let you live much longer.”

He violently seized Ackar by the neck, choking him in the process. The Great Being wasn’t going to back down this time, and Ackar knew it. He had to act quickly, or he would die by his hand. Still, he groaned from the intense pain, letting out a cry for help.

A pillar, weakened from the ongoing destruction, fell close to the Great Being and the Glatorian. The tremor it made as it struck the dirt forced Protasious to back away, throwing Ackar down in the process.

Protasious sent out a psionic blast, thrusting Ackar into the air. A large thump of metal was followed by the attack, as gravity smashed Ackar against the now-shaking dirt. Both of them knew the room wasn't going to last much longer; the heat was rising, the power source was expanding with each minute passing, all of which would eventually lead to their demise.

Before Protasious could use his telekinetic powers, Ackar had already found his way to him through the falling debris. Not wanting to lose any more time, Ackar used his blade to slash Protasious’ hand off. Protasious fell on the floor, screaming. Ackar pressed his blade to Protasious' neck, hardly able to restrain himself from cutting it then and there. "I. want. ANSWERS!" Ackar roared.

Protasious coughed up a few words “Answers? About what?”

“About this! I don’t know! I just need an — an explanation!”

“I see. I see inside your mind. The secrets you don’t know. The salvation you seek through truth. You believe that by knowing the truth, you can save something of this. How noble of you, Glatorian.” Protasious continued to groan from the pain as he answered Ackar. His hand suddenly reformed in a bright explosion of energy, ending the Great Being's pain as quickly as it had begun.

"What don’t you get? I don’t care about philosophy! I want answers! Who are you, why is this robot here, what have you done, why are things as they are!” his tenacity was almost fascinating to Protasious. He jammed his blade in the dirt, pushing himself upwards. Ackar’s blade followed the lead, going upwards as Protasious rose.

"I need... I need... the whole truth," said Ackar.

"Ah — but that is the ultimate question, is it? What happened to this world? Who am I? Where did the original Elder come from? Who are the Great Beings? What do they want from this world? Tell you what — I’ll reveal to you this knowledge, and then kill you on the spot. Surprisingly, your will for the truth has convinced me. The Order of the Hidden,” Protasious, now free of Ackar’s blade, walked close to the colossal eye of the robot, staring at the valley. “…there's more to it than that, Ackar. I’ll try to say this as simply as I can: A corrupted role model that died long ago still influences the minds of my people, the Great Beings," explained Protasious.

"And that's—" Ackar, now in less pain, raised his sword, always ready for a fight, "—why you tried to seize control?!"

"No, no, no. You see, Ackar, we Great Beings are elites. We traverse the Universe in groups, discovering and uncovering the deepest secrets of existence and life. It's as much as fun as a Great Being can have in their endless lifespan."

"I’ll pass. It sounds boring," he remarked.

"Of course," Protasious grimaced, "how would a lower life form ever understand a Great Being’s way of life, or cherish such knowledge?"

"Maybe—"

"But — believe it or not — inside the very society of the Great Beings, some are born superior than others. They contain higher understanding of… the fabric of reality. They can predict, learn, and perform tasks much more efficiently than any of us. The Elders: Born to lead our kind in across the Universe."

"And let guess — "your majesty" is one of that clan?”

“Actually, no. But this is where my story begins. The Elder is not a given title. It's a birth right, granted to only a few. The Elder of a clan of Great Beings is always their true leader, and none — none ever dares to disobey him. The first Elder of the Great Beings on Spherus Magna is the very same man that struck a deal with the legendary Glatorian, Celurm, and organized the world as we know it. He who could foresee the future better than any of us — and lead us to Spherus Magna, knowing what was to come."

“Isn’t there a story about him? That he disappeared one night? He was never found, and then... you stepped into power, out of nowhere…" at first, Ackar figured Protasious was just trying to slide his way out of the situation, but then again — something — very peculiar started to click with him too.

"He was an idiot. He was supposed to lead us into the unknown, a journey to discover and bend the laws of the Universe beyond any imagination, pledge us to solve the world's hardest puzzles, yet he deviated from the Great Beings’ true purpose — he turned us into leaders, inventors, and politicians. How stupid of him to focus our projects solely on helping you little miserable life forms? What was the point of practicing already acknowledged facts? Our work and effort was being wasted! With no purpose but to improve Spherus Magna’s simplistic life forms! We became your gods — like we needed to prove to you that we indeed are! — and then... he just wouldn't listen. I talked to him, over, and over, and over about. I talked to all of my brothers back then, Raeir, Angonce, Invidior, Osavus, Morkoth, Heremus, Nolumn, and many others. He. Just. WOULDN'T. LISTEN!" Protasious was clenching his fists harder with every word.

“You… talked with him?”

“YOU JUST DON'T GET IT, ACKAR! I always was held back, talking to people, allowing them to do as they wish with me… a pushover; all that useless and stupid "noble" things. Always acting like it was appropriate for a Great Being of my class. I showed him how he betrayed the Great Beings, how he had CORRUPTED us! But he...just would not listen to reason!"

As he finished, the robot shivered again. Time was running out.

"I showed him reason. In our last talk, as I was speaking to him, I realized — that the world is stupid. Idiotic. Intelligent creatures are blind. They forget their true purpose, as did the Great Beings. The Elder had betrayed us, and so I had to make a decision. I would take matters into my own hands. I had to guide the Great Beings. I owned them as much."

Ackar's mind had drawn the most obvious conclusion. A thought his mind wanted to reject so badly, he almost could have sworn that he closed his eyes for a second. The idea—

"He rejected me that day. Again, and again, and again. I broke. My behavior changed so rapidly, he didn't even predict it. Well, he did, seconds before—"

"You… killed him?!"

"—I ran my sword through his body.” Protasious pulled out of his cloak a spherical, glowing ball. “In fact, he is in this very room — his consciousness was easy to trap. The aftershock of a physical death does that to Great Beings.”

The Fire Glatorian trembled. "You’re more than a killer… murderer… you’re mad."

"That’s what he kept saying. How ironic. Maybe you will join what’s left of him in here — as did many others.”

“Others?”

“But let’s not forget, of course, that getting rid of his body by dumping it into the power plant was nothing — assuming control over the Great Beings and studying his essence was the hardest task of all."

"You... studied his essence?"

“You see, I was no Elder. But he was. All I had to do was feed off his consciousness. Now, all that is left in this sphere are remains of his thoughts — at least for my mind. Everyone sees different. And that’s how I developed his psionic powers into… an elemental form. But let's not fool ourselves here, the Great Beings — after accepting the Elder was gone — wouldn't just give in so easily into making me Elder," quite ironically, Protasious' expression looked exactly the same as Invidior to Ackar. He lowered his blade, staring at the void, hearing Protasious ramble on and on.

"And here comes the best part. I had to kill. So many! Then trap them… and feed off them. Around a hundred came into Spherus Magna, and I had to take out around thirty of them. Most of them either didn't support the new Elder, or just got too... nitpicky. I took them out in the same fashion as the Elder. I had time, and when I made my council and announced my rule, I did all I had to keep the Great Beings focused on actual projects, and not on trivial tasks. The Order of the Hidden was simply something I had to do, because of the people's lack of faith in me... fear was my best tool."

He's mad. He actually did all of that. Just finish him.

"But finally, this troubled era will end at last. This robot we stand on — I am beginning to realize its full power!"

He can die.

"Don't you see it? Just… the immense power that can be contained within it… if it can be tamed, controlled, I shall no longer have to rely on fear, or scams. I will return the Great Beings to their true glory!"

He must die.

"You wanted truth. I gave you truth. Considering that you are something that will turn to dust once I wish it to, now, my dear Ackar, comes the end for you. Well, not quite. Your mind is interesting to me. Your consciousness will be quite something to feed off — um, study. Haha." Protasious raised his hand, slowly clenching it into a fist. Lava, energy, and electricity soared towards them from the dirt, frying control panels and destroying anything that touched them. Ackar, too tired and shocked to react, stood there, withstanding Protasious’ attacks as though they were trivial.

Then he fell to the dirt, his energy and mind being slowly drained; Protasious froze Ackar’s body in place using his Psionic powers.

"You should be thanking me, really. Part of your mind will see the glory of my new world order, you know. The Great Beings — reborn!” jokingly giggled Protasious. Ackar felt his head running out of thoughts — memories, ideas. But one thought remained. And that thought was all he needed to gain enough willpower to live.

Kill him!

Suddenly, Ackar's hand tightened into a fist; he could almost crush his own hand using his own power. Forcing his very body, using his weapon, to absorb heat and energy from the power source directly, and feeling mentally renewed, Ackar’s thoughts and consciousness returned to his physical body. The energy should have destroyed him, but Ackar’s will to destroy Protasious was enough for the energy to be tamed, charging his weapon in the process.

His hand burned, the outer armor melting. His tissue burned as well, but he didn't care; all that was important to him was for Protasious to die. Using his newly found power, Ackar broke Protasious' mental shield with ease.

"What? What is this? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

He rose off, untouched by Protasious' powers, flames surrounding both beings. His blade kept being flooded with pure magma energy, generated by the incredible heat of the power source. As he walked, swinging the blade in the air, he tore through Protasious' psionic barriers and in an extension, his mind. The energy, combined with the psionic energies, showed him Protasious' mind, projected through psionic energy in the air. He came to the obvious conclusion: this was his chance to tear apart Protasious’ mind and end this madness once and for all.

"My... HEAD! NO! ACK—ACKAR!"

Ackar had no mercy left for Protasious. He was given the chance to end his life, and that’s exactly what he did. Not entirely certain what was going on, Ackar kept using his blade to tear apart Protasious’ elemental energy. His mind, unable to sustain the knowledge he had gained over the years without the support of his psionic powers, started dissolving. First, insanity overtook him, then, like grains of sand slipping away one by one, his thoughts began to vanish. Ackar slowed down his sword strokes, making Protasious’ death increasingly painful. His mind, now burning, broke for the final time. Protasious shook; his body unleashing several blasts of energy. The blasts, touching every corner of Spherus Magna released thousands of trapped Glatorian from his control. The remains of the Order of the Hidden had just been disbanded.

Freedom, at last.

"THAT’S JUST… WHAT! I CAN'T! THINK?"

Protasious' essence kept burning. Ackar had to make sure Protasious would never return, in any form whatsoever. A scenario appeared in his mind: his blade, cutting through the Great Being's body. And, in a moment of ecstasy, Ackar felt his sword flying out of his hand, passing through Protasious body. He didn't know if the power source and the energy within it have created such a powerful bond they had to be become one, or if he threw it himself.

It didn't matter.

"YOU! WILL! PAY!"

Protasious’ physical body was slashed in half by the blade, consumed by the fires of the robot. As Ackar unleashed the last reserves of the energy within his body, every single atom of Protasious’ essence and body was converted into pure energy.

His screams faded out of existence.

It was done.

The Second Elder of the Great Beings, Protasious, a power-hungry madman, a brilliant leader, an inventor, and the greatest dictator of all time, was dead both mentally and physically. Consumed by the flames of the robot, the world was liberated from his cancerous existence.

Spherus Magna felt it. The world knew that Protasious had been destroyed. Angonce, Morkoth, Raeir and Heremus felt it as well.

Ackar crumpled himself into the nearest piece of melted metal he could see. The floor collapsed, and Ackar fell into the flames.

"He's gone. He's gone."

Ackar was okay with dying.

He let himself go.



Invidior looked at the sky. It was finally done. Protasious was dead. All that remained for is—

—he raised his arm towards the room, telepathically sending signals to it. A small metal sphere flew out, landing on the dirt, coming from the robot's core. He grabbed it, putting out the flames that were burning it.

“Finally.” Invidior’s body shook, as if he was having a seizure.



"Where are they?!" shouted Raanu out loud.

"I don't know!" replied the Water Agori.

"We’ve got to find them, right now! We need extra help to get all these people out of here, before—" Raanu paused, looking at the robot again. Something was wrong. Everyone felt that time was running out. The robot would explode sooner or later.

"Let's just try and—"

Pomerax felt something touching his back. Raanu made a leap forward, pushing Pomerax out of his way. The shadowy Great Being made no movement. It was, of course, Invidior, acting more erratic than ever before. His form had shrunk, taking the height of an Agori.

"I can see, now," he mumbled.

"Excuse me, but — what?” asked Raanu. Pomerax watched from behind.

"I can see into eternity itself."

Pomerax, puzzled, gently pushed aside Raanu, telling him to keep quiet. "What can you see?"

"Oh, Pomerax, oh Pomerax. I can see everything. I can see your friends dying at the hands of a bunch of idiots. It’s ironic, you know, they are just around the corner," he said coldly, looking them both straight in their eyes without even one twitch.

"Did you see them while you were outside…?" asked Raanu suspiciously.

"No, no, I didn’t. But I can see them now. They are telling me where they are, showing me.”

“Who is telling you?” restated Pomerax.

“They are not meant to die here. Not now. At least one of them has a destiny to fulfill," he said, and pointed the two Agori toward a secret backdoor used to enter and exit the city quietly. Raanu, as a guard, remembered these small entrances. They were used for quick escapes.

"We’ll have time to deal with him later,” said Raanu. He wasn’t planning to take on Invidior anytime soon, for he was, after all a Great Being.

"You’re leaving him here?”

"Think, Pomerax, he's less important than Rohkea and Galintin,” Raanu came closer to Pomerax, looking back to see if Invidior could hear them, “He’s a Great Being. Do you want to go for it? Because I don’t.” Pomerax, shrugging, decided to follow Raanu's lead.

"Give me your shield. We’ve got a door to take down," Raanu said.

“Don’t you have the key?” Pomerax tossed his shield to Raanu.

“I do. But the lock’s broken.”

Pomerax and Raanu grabbed the shield, and started bashing against the door. Behind them, Invidior cracked up a smile, as he knew that just a few meters away from the door's other side, the henchmen, still waiting for Ackar were about to execute the two Glatorian.

Raanu and Pomerax used all of their strength to break the stone door. The door plummeted to the dirt. Pomerax gazed at the giant masses of Glatorian and Agori that were leaving the city in a state of panic, screaming and wreaking havoc as the magnetic storm electrocuted most of them.
“Fantastic.”

“How are we supposed to find them?” said Raanu.

Pomerax carefully looked around. The storm was reducing his visibility, but Pomerax’s helmet enchantments granted him X-ray vision. His helmet was designed by the Great Beings; it was a large, almost spherical helmet-like-mask, with one enhanced eye slot. Pomerax was able to analyze and observe data better than any common Agori.

He located several heat signatures below the dirt; three small figures, a bigger one, and two unconscious Glatorian. It was definitely them. Avarus, Silex, Ferveon and Robur were keeping Rohkea and Galintin unconscious. The henchmen were apparently hidden inside a recently opened crack in the dirt. Smart move, Pomerax thought. They were too well hidden, so neither lightning nor any other outside force could reach them in there. The perfect hideout, he reckoned.

“At least that is, unless I am out to find them.”

“What?”

“They are in there,” Pomerax replied. He turned around, using his bionic eye to observe the city’s walls. The endless earthquakes had created large cracks along the diameter of the city’s walls. Even a small blow would cause them to collapse.

“That works,” Raanu cut into his thought, “if you can distract them, I’ll untie Rohkea and Galintin. Once they are free, we’ll attack them together," said Raanu.

"Oh, I've got a better idea," replied Pomerax, and ran off towards the small crack in the dirt. Avarus’ sharp eye immediately spotted him, and ordered the others to jump out and take care of him.

"You got the money?" spitted out Ferveon. Robur, and Silex jumped out, but not Avarus.

Dangit. He has to come out too in order for Raanu to save the others, Pomerax thought.

"Do I look like I've got any money?" he taunted Ferveon.

"You little bastard! Who do you think you are?!"

"Calm down, Ferv," stepped in Silex. "He doesn't have the money. That means we get to kill him and the others," both of them smiled in a villainous way.

"Robur: smash the little idiot," ordered Silex. After hearing his orders, Robur charged at Pomerax, who leaped off to avoid Robur hits. He run as quickly as he could, towards the city's wall, a few meters away.

"COME HERE YOU LITTLE SCARABAX!"

He didn't look back. He couldn’t look back. All he had to do was—

Pomerax, running faster than he ever thought he could, using his element-tied trident, sent out a small water wave towards the wall. The city walls, which had become too weak to sustain the blow, trembled, and broke apart. Pomerax escaped quickly through the broken door. Unfortunately for Robur, lacking in brain power was his demise. Unable to react quickly enough, combined with the collapsing wall, Robur was caught below it.

As the wall collapsed, it smashed Robur’s outer armor; his body was reduced to pieces. Avarus — who finally came out of the fissure — Ferveon, and Silex watched in shock as Pomerax had managed to kill Robur in less than two seconds. Pomerax, triumphing over his victory, walked out of the rumble — holding Robur’s smashed helmet.

Raanu, literally collapsing inside the crack, used his dagger to cut Rohkea's and Galintin's handcuffs.

"Thank you, Raanu! What's happening out there?" asked Galintin.

Rohkea, still feel dizzy, restated Galintin’s questions, "The robot, Raanu, is it going to... y’ know, explode?"

"I don't know."

"But—"

"I don’t know. I don't know if we are all going to die. What I do know is that the Agori who helped me save you is going to end being torn into pieces if we don't hurry up. So, wake up and get yourselves together!" Rohkea and Galintin exchanged a glance, and then jumped out of the crack. Raanu followed.

None of the group exchanged a word; they hadn’t come here for chat. If they stood for very long in one spot, either falling debris or lightning would kill them. Galintin attacked Silex, Rohkea tried to stab Avarus, and Raanu and Pomerax both took battle stances against Ferveon. Galintin deflected Silex's smaller hand blades as well as he could, but Silex's experience and agility with a blade overwhelmed Galintin, even if he didn't want to admit it. He ducked again, using his sword to deflect a hit...

Silex's blade scratched Galintin's helmet, almost cracking it beyond repair. He proceeded with repetitive hits on the back and the front of his armor.

"Ugh!" Galintin fell down, having lost his strength.

Rohkea jumped in place, trying to avoid another lightning strike. The lightning was making the fight much more difficult, especially because Avarus was an unquestionable fighter.

"You aren’t winning this one, Rohkea. You'll die sooner or later, here."

No. Casiria gave her life for mine. I won't disappoint her. Not again—

“—wait! That’s it — the lightning.”

It was the only answer. Rohkea taunted Avarus back; he charged at her. She raised her sword, hoping this would work. The magnetic storm's violent lightning collisions on the sky could create an electric discharge at any object that was higher than a normal sized Glatorian.

And it worked.

The lightning struck — Rohkea threw herself backwards, throwing her sword in the dirt. Avarus, who was charging at her, had seconds to react; the lightning was faster. It hit him, burning every single circuit in his body. Rohkea, safe and sound, ran up to him.

"Uh, are you alright?"

"I— I'm... fine."

"Um—"

"No, really. I'm just totally fine," Avarus' eyes closed as his system shut down. He was gone for good.

Galintin, inspired by Rohkea's line of thinking, focused his Iron elemental energy on Silex. He was right on time too, as Silex was about to execute him. The high magnetic concentration around Silex sent him flying thousands of meters into the air. Zapped repeatedly by the magnetic storm, his body was torn into pieces by the electricity and sucked into the storm. His remains were launched into space as the magnetic field around him dissipated.

"Galintin!" cried out Rohkea, after Silex was gone. He stood up, looking at her. “We aren’t done yet. Raanu and Pomerax still need help!” Raanu and Pomerax were joined by Galintin and Rohkea seconds thereafter. Ferveon, forced to face four foes, took a step backwards.

"I—" She knew she couldn't win. Her only logical option was to run as fast as she could.

"Leave her," said Galintin with a serious tone.

"She could harm others, you know, Galintin," replied Pomerax.

"Thousands could die right now. Let's go find the Great Beings."

The four of them ran back inside the city, heading straight for the Tower.


Everything was blurry.

It was a remarkable sight. Ackar couldn’t deny it; the Afterlife looked pretty. Something bothered him, though. He didn't feel — or more like, he could feel. How could someone feel without his natural body?

Ackar.

"Yes?"

"Ackar."

"Hello?"

"You're not dead. Not yet."

Ackar's eyes opened wide; he started waving his hands aimlessly around, as he was floating inside one of the many eyes of the magnetic storm. He could see the robot preparing to explode thousands of feet below him. He looked above, and saw the stars. The sky was so peaceful. And below him, madness was being unleashed. His attention shifted towards the origin of the voice. Therein stood Raeir, Angonce, Morkoth, and Heremus.

"How could you have possible saved me? I died with Protasious in there."

"The robot's security systems were shut off for a millisecond when Protasious died. It was all we needed to teleport in and take you out of there. We also repaired some of your burns in the process. By the time we return to the dirt, you will not have a scratch. Well, maybe a few, perhaps."

"Forget me, Raeir. How do we stop all this?"

"We have two options," replied Angonce.

"Osavus' sacrifice was not pointless. He did it. The loop is breaking apart, most handsomely. To be more precise, the robot’s systems are breaking apart, and the control board is gone. It’s slowly being destroyed as we speak. However, the final bang will not be nearly as peaceful. The explosion will result into a 'small' catastrophic eruption, ending the storm as well. However, nothing guarantees that survival of the people within the entire valley, or the well being of the city."

"…that's option one? Leaving it to run its course?"

"Yes," answered Morkoth.

"Let’s focus on option two."

Heremus nodded to himself, as if he had just spoken mentally with the others. "It's simple. We can overheat our Tower's power source to ‘pull’ all the energy from the robot into our Tower. The Tower’s exterior can withstand the combined power of the robot and the tower. It’s also sixty five percent possible we’ll regain control of the robot.”

"Great, now—"

"…however, it would fry every system and database in our Tower. It would destroy our only vessel, and home. All of our creations will be lost in time," cut in Angonce.

"I doesn't matter. I'm sorry for your Tower, but Glatorian's and Agori's lives are much more important, we'll—"

"Ackar."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, but we've already chosen," said Raeir.



“He’s trapped!”

“We’ve got to find the Great Beings, Pomerax!”

“There’s an Agori trapped in that half-collapsed building — I’m curious about it. He could still be alive, Raanu! I’m going, with or without you guys!” Pomerax, knowing what Angonce had showed him yesterday, followed his path towards destiny. Raanu, screaming, Galintin and Rohkea watched, hoping Pomerax would get out with the Agori safely, without the building collapsing. Half of the building was gone, and it didn’t exactly look habitable.

Curiosity.

Pomerax saw the Agori, he saw him raising his hand to reach his. The energy blast struck. Light poured into Pomerax’s eyes; such light, with such a power, it burned in his brain, and his whole body. He felt the immersive weight of stones crushing his body like a paper. A fading scream could be heard in the background. It was Raanu’s; he was being dragged away by the two Glatorian, crying for him to come out.

“Farewell, Raanu.”

Raanu could have later sworn he heard Pomerax talking to him.



Tremors.

The world shook.

Everyone's eyes concentrated on the mechanoid; spiraling out of control, the robot fell forwards. Its height was so great that its upper torso reached out into the Great Barren, a vastly populated desert with thousands of oasis and rivers, the Sand Tribe's home and the heart of all southern civilization, located below the "Great Being's" valley, location of Magnacus Renata. It is the same area that later would be known as Bara Magna, when the whole planet would become a desert.

As the robot was falling to the dirt, the magnetic storm slowed down its descent, the tons of metal being pulled towards the sky. As the robot was caught in a small orbit, it was also captured by the magnetic storm. The reaction of the energy and the magnetic waves in the sky created several smaller explosion on the legs, "pushing" the mechanoid over the Great Barren; thus, liberating the valley and Renata of any harm, at least directly. An unpredictable side-effect the Great Beings didn’t foresee. Such was the nature of this power.

With a sound unlike one Ackar had ever heard, the power source's unlimited energy found its way into the only weak point; the joints. Blasting off the connection points of the robot, the incredible energy was finally unleashed into the world, in the process cleansing the magnetic storm. As it sent powerful energy waves into space, most of the energy was blasted away, preventing a larger scale event. Still, the consequences would be fatal.

Solis Magna’s light struck the world again, night turning into day.

BANG!

In a second, the pressure was relieved. The robot was torn apart into pieces; legs, hands, head, torso, all flying into the Great Barren.

Bang. Crash. BOOM!

The remains of the once great ‘prototype robot’ of the later to be Matoran Universe crashed landed from space — onto the Great Barren. Thousands of settlements were destroyed, as its leg — the later famous “Knee Island” — fell on the Sand Tribe's city, cutting off all liquid water from the expanse below, forming a wasteland. The destruction brought to the Great Barren would rid it off its glory, sending the Sand Glatorian and Sand Agori into a nomad life, forcing them to join Vorox and Zesk clans, turning them into beasts.

Millions of people suffered on the Great Barren; the robot's upper torso fell close to Tesara; its head on the ancient city of Roxtus, the long-lost Stone Kingdom of the infamous King Pior.

Nevertheless, it had been done.

The Grand Creation had been destroyed, with a blast so powerful; the whole planet's orbit was altered by miles. While the orbit’s change remains insignificant to the climate, the great destructive impacts on the world did not. Tsunamis, huge earthquakes, and similar phenomena destroyed thousands of settlements, and to an extent almost the entire planet. The breathtaking earthquakes broke the powerful inner crust of Spherus Magna, perhaps allowing one day in the very far future for a powerful liquid to reach the surface of the world.

Energized Protodermis.


Ackar felt the world around him distorting into a blur; the dirt pushing on his feet, as he was being teleported back to the dirt. He found himself again in the Tower's entrance on the main road, observing the rest of the Great Beings warping in place in front of his eyes.

"What did you do?!"

"Ackar, I hope you understand we couldn't possibly let the Tower be destroyed. It would—"

"You idiots!" Ackar turned around at the sound of footsteps. Rohkea and Galintin, looking exhausted and dirty walked up the stairs. Galintin was holding Raanu, who was in a state of shock.

"What happened?!" screamed out Ackar.

“Pomerax. He… didn’t make it.”

"No. No. No. No," Ackar let out a small laugh, "It can't be."

“Ackar… what happened?” asked Rohkea?

“Oh, what happened? Oh, please, I’ll explain completely.”

"This is what you are, isn't it?” Ackar turned towards the Great Beings. Rohkea, Galintin and a shocked Raanu watched from bottom of the small stairs that lead to the Tower’s entrance.

“You call yourselves “Great Beings” and ask for our respect when you have done nothing to deserve it. Because you just have to be mad scientists who mess with peoples' minds, deceive and act only on “purity of facts”. Who do you think you are?! Do you even know how many thousands of people died today? All these lives were the price, the gold, the money to save your precious Tower! You think of us as so minor, that sparing the lives of thousands is just trivial!" Ackar spat out at the Great Beings. They didn't reply. What was worth noting, however, was the group of people that begun to gather. Agori and Glatorian started taking notice of Ackar and the Great Beings; they gathered around the site.

"You came here, declaring yourself gods. We agreed to grant you that right... now I know better. Now I know we were wrong! You didn't even pay the slightest attention when one of your own killed your precious Elder, then took control, and played around with all of us for 500 YEARS!"

The crowd let out a cry of shock. Ackar turned around, looking at them.

"Yes! Yes! That’s right! Protasious! The so-called "Elder of the Great Beings" was the true mastermind behind this crime! He was the true murderer of the Elder of the Great Begins; he constructed this robot, just so he could keep the people under his control through fear! He even wanted to use it later to enslave our race, and define a new ‘golden age” of the Great Beings! Well, too bad he's dead, eh?"

"Ackar!"

"And not by their hand — BY MINE! Thousands of people died today because of HIS TREASON!"

"Ackar!"

"Oh, no. No. Shut up. I will not accept any kind of forgiveness now. And if you want me to shut up, you will have to go ahead and kill. Me. Where. I. Stand!" surging with emotion, Ackar glared at the Great Beings. They could almost feel the hate floating in the air.

"As if that wasn't enough—" now facing the crowd again, which was growing all the time; now most citizens of Magnacus Renata were hearing Ackar's hateful outburst "—we all know the legend of "Order of the Hidden", don’t we? Well, guess what — it’s true! It was, again, Protasious’ first plan for power. When things went downhill, he’d cry for help on them. That’s what he was. A complete coward.”

"And this is what the Great Beings are! If they hadn't come here, the Kingdoms wouldn’t even have collapsed! You all know the tales of Altum Bellum, Celurm, blah, blah, blah. Pitiful stories. Who knows? Maybe we're just another experiment!"

"Listen to me, Ackar!"

Repeating his previous behavior, Ackar turned at the Great Beings. "No. I won't. You will listen to me and answer me. Can you name me all those Agori and Glatorian that died today?"

"What?" replied Raeir.

"You're Great Beings. Name me each and every living thing that died today because of this construction! Name it," he demanded.

"I don't understand," added Angonce.

"Exactly. You don't understand. You don't even know all those people that died today. You couldn’t have. And thus, they had granted you no right to remove their lives. You have been so absorbed in that Tower, fearing that the Elder might expel you, or that "people might lose their trust in you" that you took the worst action possible. Forget it. And just guess where this leads us,” he explained.

"I swear... one day... you're going to destroy it all. You're going to burn the planet altogether, and then, out of shame for yourselves, you will again make up the most bizarre construction of all time, trying to save us. When in reality, you were the catalyst all along. Who knows what will happen to it? And who knows what will happen to us altogether?"

Rohkea, Galintin and Raanu — who had been staring at Angonce the whole time, giving the Great Being a brand new feeling; a chill down his spine — stood next to Ackar. The Great Being didn't have to read their minds to see they were agreeing.

"I will not rest," Ackar just kept on going. "I shall not. Not until every single one of your species has been rid off my creation-forsaken planet. Torn apart into pieces and sent back to whenever you came from. You can consider me out of the bloody team!"

Ackar took out his badge along with the rest of his equipment and threw them on the dirt. Galintin, enraged by this development, followed, saying one sentence.

"My brother and I helped fight your master's order 400 years ago. You betrayed us, and now you betrayed me. Twice. Know this: I never forget traitors," Raeir, Angonce, Heremus and Morkoth's eyes open wide, looking at the Iron Glatorian, shocked as they realized his true identity.

Raanu, staring at Angonce, threw his badge as well. “He would be alive. He would be here if it wasn’t of your idiocy.”

Rohkea walked up the last step, throwing her equipment as well, "Well, that's that. Thank you for nothing."

The two groups took opposite paths; the four beings walked away from the Tower, while the Great Beings entered it, before the enraged crowd started banging on the doors angrily. It was quite remarkable watching the people making room for Ackar, Galintin, Rohkea and Raanu to pass. Some clapped, others kept on trying to break into the Tower. It didn’t matter.

Spherus Magna's night was darker and more silent than it had been in a long time. Civilization would recover, but nothing would prepare everyone for what would come. In just thousands of years, the Core War would destroy the planet, only to see it being reconstructed by a great spirit. A spirit that would come to be known as Mata Nui, he would be bringing back “home” with him a dozen new species on a reformed Spherus Magna; the Great Beings' ultimate achievement. And even then, peace would not last for long.

But for now, finally, a proper night sky came to pass.

“I hear a lot has happened recently.”

Raal nodded. Around him and Jakara, the mid-morning crowd bustled noisily. A scattering of clouds in the sky above helped to abate the searing sunlight, though not by much; the sand underneath Raal’s feet was still rather warm. “We’ve recovered from it all, though.”

“‘Recovered’?” Jakara repeated. The Fire Agori was just returned from a trading expedition in the Water Tribe’s village; he had missed all the action, and it was (unfortunately) Raal’s job to explain. “It was that bad?”

“Aye.”

“Tell me.”

“I’ll tell you all you need to know,” replied Raal. “Over shopping. C’mon, I’m starving for a snack.”

There were plenty of stands along the street they took, their owners shouting out to passers-by about the juiciest fruits in the entirety of the Fire Tribe’s village. Their cloth overhangs were pale white, blanched by the sun, yet Raal and Jakara crossed under several solid shadows as they filled up two wooden baskets with juicy fruits, not yet dried out by the sun.

They were walking back to Raal’s house when he finally spoke again: “The Great Beings were involved.”

Jakara scoffed. “Course they were. They’re involved in most anything controversial that happens these days.”

“Aye,” Raal said again. “But this was worse.”

The other Agori studied his friend for a long second. High above, the clouds parted, letting the sun shine through. Raal grimaced as he waited; they had to get the fruit inside before the liquid inside was evaporated.

Finally Jakara said, “I’m not gonna bother guessing, because I can tell I’d fail.”

“Well. In a nutshell: The Great Beings built a gigantic robot, it was sabotaged, the launch date was rescheduled, and on that day they darn near blew the sun off its perch. Pretty hellish sight if you ask me — and I was there.”

“Probably shouldn’t’ve been.”

“True, true.” Raal glanced back up at a sudden dimming of the air around him; the clouds had closed again. “But drop that scarabax. They’re Great Beings; they told us that, and we believed them. How were we to know that ‘Great’ was an empty title?”

He glanced up to the sky again. “Let’s get the fruit in my house. I’ll give you the details after. I swear, Jakara, we ought to pick up our pens and write a story about the whole thing.”


Perhaps, Angonce reflected, the Grand Creation hadn’t been the best idea. No matter: It was a failed experiment, and nothing more. In short, it was a mistake; and mistakes could easily be remedied.

Protasious, the Elder, was dead. Somehow, relief came to Angonce with that fact. Sorrow remained, of course, buried somewhere beneath, for no death was truly painless. And yet — Protasious had been reckless, foolish, even, in his pursuit for power and glory, always reaching higher than was truly possible.

Maybe in several thousand years we could build a gigantic robot like the one we just attempted, thought Angonce. But not now. Not until we can install more safeguards.

And speaking of safeguards...

The door to the council chamber opened, silently, as usual. Heremus stepped in, his lower pair of hands laced behind his back, his upper pair hanging loose. He must feel relieved, as well.

Behind him was Raeir. He, two normal arms and all, stepped into the room looking somewhat confused. “I must ask, Angonce,” he said, stepping up to the table, back rather stiff: “Why?”

“Protasious is dead,” Heremus offered with typical bluntness. Raeir glanced to the other, but the four-armed Great Being said no more.

“I... I still don’t understand.”

Angonce nodded in understanding. “You will, in time. We are here to help you. As, of course, are the rest of the Great Beings.”

Raeir digested that, a finger curled underneath his chin in thought, eyes half-closed. Thinking — knowing Raeir, thinking hard.

“The Council voted greatly in favor,” prompted Angonce. “Those who did not vote for you were not displeased.”

At last Raeir’s eyes snapped open.

“Angonce,” he said, his hands dropping to his sides, chest puffed out just a little in an attempt at proper posing, “as it is surely my duty to assist the Great Beings in time of need, and as I will have intelligent minds like yours and Heremus’s when I myself am in need of assistance, I humbly accept the Council’s decision to have me as the new Elder of the Great Beings.” His shoulders slid from their stiff posture, slumping a little in relief — or perhaps nervousness. “I can only hope I live up to their expectations.”

“You will,” said Angonce. “We’re sure of it.”

Heremus merely nodded.

Raeir nodded, too, a hint of a smile creeping onto his face. “Then let us bring the Great Beings into a new era — one without such struggles for power as my predecessor waged.”

Angonce smiled in return. “Agreed, my friend. And the sooner, the better.”


Casiria.

The wind, albeit warm, somehow chilled Rohkea’s soul.

She sat a ways outside the Fire Tribe village’s official boundaries, atop a sandy rise, legs curled up beneath her chin. The adrenaline of the past month’s suspense had ceased; and with the lapse came again thoughts of her lost friend.

Lost forever.

Eternity was such a strange concept.

Why? She flung the question at herself, felt it echo throughout her brain. No response, just the echoes, a pitiful attempt at filling up that empty space which had once been whole.

“I’ve always been the one looking out for you. I guess this’ll force you into looking out for yourself.” And Casiria let out a little bark of laughter.

“It’s not funny!” said Rohkea.

“I know,” Casiria called back; Rohkea could practically hear the Sand Glatorian rolling her eyes. “But it makes me feel better.”

A tear slipped down the Ice Glatorian’s cheek, underneath her helmet.

No. Her right hand curled into a fist, cupping up a thousand granules of sand in its palm. Let it go. The sand slipped through her fingers like so many lost souls, gone from this life. What came after? Was it nice?

Let it go, you scarabax!

Rohkea stood up abruptly, the rest of the sand flying into the air as her right hand burst back open. The sun shone down fiercely from above, but she did not care. It was not the one thing Rohkea now focused upon with the entirety of her mind, thought processes all directed toward a central subject.

The sun was not Casiria; and though it helped to think of her as the sun, it was nothing but futile imagination. Childish, even.

By the gods, I... I can’t let this rule my life!

Perhaps...

No. Unthinkable, undoable; it would not work.

She pushed the thought away. Her subconscious pushed it back.

Perhaps...

Perhaps she could live with the pain.

The tear slipped off her chin, dropping to a hot, dry landing in the sands below. She looked to the sky. There was a scattering of clouds there, lit brightly by the late morning sun: a beautiful sight. This world was not such a bad place, after all.

Casiria would have wanted her to enjoy it.

Maybe Rohkea would forget someday. But she doubted it.

She turned back to the village, Casiria’s voice echoing in her mind. Her, standing by the controls, her hand grasped tightly around the lever with typical Casiria stubbornness though she knew full well she would die.

“All your life you’ve hated yourself. This is my way of telling you not to be so timid.”

She walked, one step at a time, into the village, her glazed-over eyes ignoring all who passed her. Maybe she wouldn’t — couldn’t — stop hating herself. Not now, not ever.

But she could try to be brave.

If not for herself, for Casiria.


Galintin gazed at Magncus Renata one last time. It was painful for him to leave Ackar and Raanu alone in the city, considering they were now living together, ever since the robot's destruction. But he was sure they would make it.

After saying his goodbyes, both he and Rohkea departed for the city. Galintin was delighted to hear Rohkea was going back home.

Himself didn't have much of a reason to stay on Renata anymore. After his failure to protect the crucial trading agreement of the Fire - Iron Tribe, a new man was put inchrage of the deal, with a new forge being built. He was certain that part of his life was done.

Galintin had gone through various major changes in his life, but this one was of most importance. Finally the hiding would end.

It had been so long, so very long ever since he felt such freedom. He reopened the letter, reading it once more.

"It is time. Today, I am finally released from this spikithole. I heard of the robot's destruction, and I heard of Protasious' death and treason. I know that the Great Beings still lead this world, and that they have a new... council.

You know were to meet me, and what our mission is.

Your dearest brother,
Gallius."

Fun times are coming, Galintin thought.


“No,” murmured he. “No more. No more...”

The babbling trailed off into silence. The darkness around was impenetrable. But then, that was how he wanted it. Silent. Lonely.

Perfect.

“No more of their crazy experiments—”

He broke off. Had that been the sound of a footstep? A long second passed — no more noise.

“—no more of their stubborn selfishness—”

His fingers laced together, even though he could not see them. And he smiled, knowing that if there were sunlight, his teeth would be gleaming most disturbingly.

“No more. They are dead.”

A laugh, sounding as though it were torn from his throat. “I killed them.”