Kindrix felt pretty sure she was dead.
She couldn’t say for certain; after all, she had never died before, or spoken to anyone who had, of course. But she was pretty sure the living didn’t experience what she was experiencing. She felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing, and yet was somehow aware of her surroundings, of the building she was in, of her body lying in front of her, lifeless.
She didn’t know how long she had been here; her memories were hazy. At least, her memories of what had happened since her death. The events leading up to it – those she could see, crystal clear, replaying in her mind like a broken record…
The Convocation chamber. The largest room in the Destral Fortress, the base of operations for the Makuta. Kindrix had been here many times in the past. This was the meeting place for the Makuta, where they discussed the future of their operations – and lately, the universe.
Today’s convocation was different from all the past ones, though. While any Makuta could call a convocation, only the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta, Miserix, had ever done so – until now. This convocation had been called by Miserix’s lieutenant, Teridax. And Teridax hadn’t even bothered to inform Miserix that he was calling a convocation. Teridax was up to something, and Kindrix didn’t like it.
She and Teridax had never seen eye-to-eye. While Kindrix always advocated that the Makuta remain true to their original purpose – the creation of Rahi to inhabit the world – Teridax pushed for Makuta regulation of the outside world. From stopping wars to overseeing entire islands, Teridax wanted the Makuta to have a hand in the affairs of the world.
Kindrix didn’t know what Teridax was up to this time. In fact, none of the Makuta did. Well, maybe Mutran did. Mutran had been returned from a mysterious mission recently, and he hadn’t been quite the same since he got back. He was jumpy, paranoid, muttering strange things, and kept mostly to himself, talking only to Teridax – and he spent most of his time doing that, more than he spent in his lab even (uncharacteristic for him). Whatever Teridax was planning, Kindrix was sure Mutran was in on it. But whatever it was, Mutran wasn’t talking to anyone else about it.
Finally, the last few Makuta filed into the room. The last Makuta to arrive was Scarla. Scarla was often far from Destral, looking for Makuta Zhun. Zhun had disappeared a long time ago, and everyone assumed he was dead; everyone except Scarla, who had this crazy theory that Zhun was alive, and was responsible for some mysterious deaths. Kindrix wondered idly which corner of the universe Scarla had been in when word reached her of the convocation.
Teridax did one last count to make sure everyone was present, and then began to speak. And as Kindrix feared, Teridax was planning something big. The Makuta, Teridax said, were the most powerful species in the universe, but what did that make them? Scientists, creating Rahi, and never receiving any praise for their work? Diplomats, trying in vain to stop the petty fights of others? Teridax had a new plan. He wanted the Brotherhood of Makuta to take charge of the universe. Mata Nui wasn’t a fitting leader for the universe, but the Makuta would be.
Miserix, of course, said no. Miserix was not as opposed to Makuta interference in the world as Kindrix was, but taking over the world was NOT something he could approve of. The two leaders fought for a moment. Teridax overpowered Miserix, but he put the final decision to the other Makuta. Who would they choose?
Kindrix, of course, sided with Miserix. To her dismay, most of the Makuta filed over to Teridax’s side, and only four other Makuta joined Kindrix by Miserix’s side. And then, they too began to go over to Teridax.
It took Kindrix a moment to realize why. Teridax was clearly going to take over the Brotherhood, and when he did, he would not allow any opposition. Reluctantly, Kindrix joined Teridax.
Only one Makuta remained by Miserix’s side now; Kindrix couldn’t quite remember this one’s name, as he didn’t spend much time on Destral. The lone Makuta yelled at his brethren telling them they were all fools. Then he vanished, teleporting out of the room. Kindrix had the unnerving feeling that she would not be seeing him again.
That left Miserix alone. He could have teleported out of the chamber as well, but he did not. He was no coward. He would face whatever Teridax decided. Teridax opened his mouth, and his next words would decide the fate of Makuta Miserix –
Movement.
Kindrix snapped back to the present. Something was moving in the chamber. She expanded her senses, searching, but felt no other living beings.
This lab, she knew, belonged to Makuta Chirox. It was his secret base on the island of Visorak. But Chirox wasn’t here right now. In fact, he hadn’t been here in a while. Kindrix wasn’t sure where he had gone, or when he would return. Maybe he was dead. Kindrix couldn’t bring herself to feel sad about this possibility.
Chirox… Kindrix thought about him, and again her thoughts turned to the past…
Kindrix was back in her lab, working.
The Convocation was over, the fate of the Brotherhood decided. Teridax was in charge now. He had ordered two of the Makuta, Spiriah and Krika, to execute Miserix. The others, he had simply told to return to whatever they had been doing.
Kindrix wasn’t really sure what else to do. She couldn’t let Teridax go through with his plans, but what could she do about it? Only five Makuta had sided with Miserix, and one of them had died already in an attempt to kill Teridax. Then there was that one who had disappeared; no doubt Teridax would send someone to track him down and kill him as well. That left only three Makuta opposed to Teridax. Three against almost a hundred.
So Kindrix did the only thing she knew how to do: she threw herself into her work. She wasn’t really sure what she was making, just that she was making something. She toyed with the idea of making a Rahi to kill Teridax, then decided against it. Teridax would not be killed so easily, and she would only be executed for her efforts.
Her work was interrupted by a knock at the door. Who would be visiting her now? Maybe it was Teridax, come to request some Rahi for his plans. No, Teridax wouldn’t ask her to do that. He knew she’d say no. She might be willing to stand by and watch Teridax’s evil schemes, but no way would she be a part of it. She would die before she aided Teridax’s conquest.
She walked to the door, and opened it… and found herself being thrown backwards by a blast of power.
Momentarily dazed, she slumped limply against the wall, until a second blast hit her. Finally, her mind snapped out of its haze. She was under attack!
She tried to defend herself, blasting back at her attackers, but she was losing fast. Now she could see her attackers: Icarax and Gorast, two of the most powerful Makuta. Somehow, she knew that they had been sent by Teridax to kill her. For siding with Miserix, she would die.
But not without a fight. And fight back she did, even though she knew she didn’t stand a chance. She was a scientist, not a fighter, and Icarax and Gorast were the best. Finally, she fell, lying unmoving on the ground, barely conscious. She wasn’t dead, not yet; dimly, she was aware of Icarax preparing a final blast…
“Hold!”
Chirox was standing in the doorway. Kindrix didn’t hear what he said next, because she finally blacked out.
She hadn’t died. Chirox had apparently convinced Icarax and Gorast to let her live so that he could… experiment on a live Makuta. Kindrix had been subjected to numerous experiments by Chirox, changing her, until she wasn’t sure what she had become. And now she would never find out, because at some point, she had died.
She didn’t think Chirox had killed her, though. Something had wrecked his lab, apparently an earthquake, and the ceiling had collapsed, crushing her. Now her spirit hovered in front of her body, unable to do anything. And as time went on, she was less and less aware of the world around her. Eventually, her spirit would fade away, and she would cease… to…
Heat
She felt heat, which was strange. She couldn’t feel heat, or anything else. She was dead. Wasn’t she?
Light. The darkness that shrouded her was pierced by light. Kindrix had the sensation of laying on something solid. Her eyes opened, and the light grew even more intense, blindingly so. So this was it. She was going to the afterlife.
No, that wasn’t it. She wasn’t going anywhere. She was lying on her back on the ground, looking up at the sun. But… how?
She made another discovery, then: she could move, as a being, not a spirit. Slowly, she sat up, looking around. She was in the middle of a desert. In the distance, she could see a group of buildings, a city. Where was this place? And more importantly, why was she here? Last she checked, she was lying in a broken vat on a Jungle island, and she was dead. Now she was here, and she was… she couldn’t bring herself to think about it, as if daring to hope would cause reality to return.
But it didn’t. She stood up, glancing down at her body… and regretted it. She knew that Chirox had done things to her, but it was one thing to sense it; another thing to actually see it, through her own two eyes. She looked away, focusing on her surroundings, the city, anything but her new body.
It all felt real. Was it? Was this some weird afterlife? Or was she really… alive?
She shook her head. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to get any answers by standing here in the middle of the desert. And if she stayed there too long, she would definitely wind up dead (again?). No, she had to go find answers. Not just about what had happened to her, but what had happened to the world. Had Teridax taken over? Had he conquered the world, or destroyed it? Had anyone been able to stop the Makuta?
She had to find out. And so, she began walking toward the city.
So, a little while ago, @Gilahu posted a story involving one of my characters, Makuta Isthra. So, I figured I’d return the favor by posting a story I made awhile back involving one of his. Though I don’t think I’m as good a writer as Gilahu. Kindrix is a character by Gilahu, and all other non-canon Makuta are from his project, the Brotherhood of Makuta Community project.
Also, I had Kindrix be brought back to life (and I have an explanation for that) to help set up another story I’m planning, where Miserix and the AU Teridax try to create a new Brotherhood of Makuta. But, full disclosure: I write very sporadically, when I feel like it. That story may never wind up being written; or I could start working on it tomorrow, I don’t know. Point being… don’t hold your breath.
~W12~
