BZPRPG - Ta-Wahi

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Oh trust me, Lasinia," I said, drawing my sword and knocking aside the slash of a Lesterin with only one eye and only one jaw, "there aren't enough one-liners in the world to sum you up."

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

A Vortixx found itself being electrified.

 

"What about two-liners?"

[Shadowhawk]

OOC:

Wait times, subplot inactivity; intolerable. Must keep things alive, in some form or another.

IC: [ Rhea / Nero ] - Ta-Wahi / Charred Forest

The green-eyed Su-Toa continued to watch, amused but interested, as the--

The eddying wind, hot with the scent of far-off flame and volcanic ash, stirred abruptly against her, and from the burned and blackened trees above, a lithe and rugged shadow dropped.

"Not our battle. Ga-Koro. Remember?"

Half reluctantly, she nodded, and smiled briefly at the Toa of Air, and then the two faded once more into the charred and lonely thickets, vanishing as noiselessly, as easily, as they had come.

Their journey had been long; e'er it ended, it would be longer still.

OOC:

Rhea and Nero to Ga-Wahi, by way of wilderness paths, trade routes, and the like.

[sunflower]

IC: Pirates

 

The smaller vessel, which had a mass of splintered wood and twisted metal for a rear gun, turned desperately to try and keep the slightly more agile Infernavika within it's weapon's arcs of fire. However, the ship was hardly fast enough to stop the 'Vika's crew from grappling onto it's deck. The ship's crew, however, wasn't so slow to act. A number of them had gathered around the destroyed section of their ship, a rugged looking bunch with their weapons drawn. Judging by their stances, they knew how to use them. Save the poor sap who had been manning the aft gun.

 

A few had stayed behind to deal with the Toa of Air who happened to land in the middle of their ranks. One of them, a Skakdi missing the better part of the smile his species was known for, unceremoniously raised his Zamor launcher, and fired it at Gunner.

 

Of course, that left only one to deal with a certain Toa of Sand that had punched out one of their own. Unfortunately, just going by the notched broadsword grasped in his hand, the pirate looked like Verak's match.

 

Meanwhile, the second of the two frigates continued forward in a seemingly heedless charge towards the Fowadi, it's mass of forward weaponry continued to launch a stream of projectiles to the armored behemoth. Rynekk's volley of stone pyramids didn't slow it's advance in the slightest, though the rock left sizable dents in the ship's armor as they shattered against the metal plates.

 

IC: Nui-Jaga

 

With an ear-piercing roar that was closer to a screech than anything else, the gigantic scorpion dug it's clawed feet into the earth, fighting to hold itself to the ground against the rapid shifting pull of gravity. So fixed on it's struggle, in the single-minded way of most rahi, the Jaga hardly noticed as Kahlynn jumped the height up onto it's back.

 

Though the rahi was definitely not moving anywhere fast, by it's own power or not, it was certainly not defeated. Evident by the fact that the sizable branch thrown at it like a missile merely bounced off of it's gleaming armor shell with a sound not unlike heard from hitting stone. In fact, it didn't seem to do much more than make the giant beast even more enraged. The crackling sound of electricity filled the air, as purple arcs of power shot from Zauk's hand towards the Jaga, dancing across it's body.

 

Still, the Rahi weathered through it.

 

OOC: If I missed anyone, yell at me in PM me or something.

 

Also Vezok post is coming, just wanted to get this out.

[Relapse]

IC: (Kol/Gavarm)

 

Up above the heat of battle, Kol stood against the mast, one hand grasping a rope, his feet keeping him anchored to the post. He eyed the smaller vessel carefully, calculating his moves with extreme precision. Most Matoran would shy away from the prospect of swinging high over open water, but Uskey's resolve was iron, and he was prepared to do what was necessary. He glanced down, nodding to Gavarm, who had prepared the Ussalrymen under his command for boarding. As soon as one of the two frigates came in range, they began rapidly firing crossbow bolts at the nearest pirates, militant accuracy utilized to fire projectiles, hoping to land bolts between the eyes of each buccaneer. Gavarm himself had readied a boarding hook, and at his order the Ussalry did the same. An obstacle kept them from boarding just yet, however, as the pirates were likely prepared to take them out while they attempted to board, while they were defenseless. Luckily, the pirates were oblivious to the ace up their sleeve. High up, invisibly, Kol leveled his hat and swung across, landing on the opposite mast. He twisted a Stralix grenade, igniting it, and let it fall...

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

The sphere would explode before even reaching Gunner, a bolt of lightning having hit it first.

 

"Three-liners then?"

[NorikSigma]

IC: [Vygel] - [Charred Forest] - [battling Nui-Jaga]

Vygel called out to Helios.

"Keep him pinned down!"

Vygel unsheathed his Rapier. Using his control oger Gravity, Vygel threw the Rapier at blinding speeds towards the open mouth of the hissing scorpion, hoping to kill it quickly.

[otter]

IC:

Edubard landed nimbly on the enemy ship's deck, twirling his basket-hilted broadsword in a simple flourish as he looked around at the somewhat large number of pirates that were all arrayed against him, and whoever else was soon to land next to him. Raising one eyebrow - and deciding that now would be a wonderful time to bring back his act of being insane - he spat on the deck, and grinned.

 

"How many of you are there? Ten, twelve, more? I was never very good with numbers." He looked confused for a moment, and then shrugged, smiling again. "Ah, well, even if there were an army of you you'd be at a disadvantage. Ship space is too small for large groups of fighters, y'know?" He pointed at one Toa in the group facing him with his broadsword, an obvious challenge.

"You, you're first. Then your friends." Edubard laughed, then, as others from the Infernavika started to land near where he had.

 

"I always loved this part."

[sunflower]

IC: Vezok

 

So...

 

There's this thing called karma.

 

Apparently the powers that be didn't like our attempts to slowly kill the population of Ta-Koro at an unspecified later date through excessive smoke and or ash inhalation. And just for giggles, the universe decided that said smoke would be better off stuffed back inside the confined space that was the partially-blow-out bar where we chose to make our final heroic stand. Now, I had no intention of dying at an unspecified later date because if lack of the ability to breath, meaning that all this smoke billowing through the windows really wouldn't do.

 

Of course nearby we have Avak, who just so happened to be kicking one of his hastily-built fans, attempting to force the smoke back out through the power of "ingenuity". Knowing Avak, he'd probably continue to make more fans until the problem was fixed, embarking on an endless adventure of one-upping the problem until it ceased to be a problem.

 

Avak.

 

Avak please stop eloquently demonstrating that your species is an evolutionary dead-end.

 

It makes me look bad.

 

I let out an ash-laced breath, glancing away from Avak kicking life into his creation, and to the room around. We didn't really have much to work with here. By now, guards and assorted do-gooders were probably gathered around outside, poised to annihilate our guts should we step outside.

 

I didn't particularly like playing by someone else's rules.

 

I mean, really, that strategy has never been used before.

 

That was sarcasm.

 

A second more of searching, and I found what I was looking for. There was always something that all bars had, and this one was no different, even it isn't somewhat destroyed state. I stepped over the shattered top of a table, kneeling down to grip a metal handle bolted to the floor. I gave it an experimental tug, before ripping the trapdoor from it's hinges. Guess it wasn't locked.

 

I discarded the now defunct door, and peered down the stairwell that lead to the cellar.

 

"Avak."

"Avak get over here, we're going to make yourself useful."

 

"Also, hand me one of your robots, and a knife if you can find one."

[Visaru]

IC- Verak

 

 

I eyed up the ugly mass of muscle and scar with a grin, my hands resting loosely at my sides. He returned the look with a threatening sneer, a twisted reflection of my own grin.

 

“Do I know you, brother?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at the large pirate. “Ye look a bit familiar. Maybe we were once prison buddies?”

 

“If we had been cellmates once there’d be a lot less left of you still around,” growled the pirate, heaving his enormous broadsword into a striking position.

 

“No, no, that’s not it…” I said, scratching my head.

 

The pirate suddenly swung his weapon with shocking swiftness, sending the sword in horizontal arc powerful enough to divide me into two pieces.

 

“I’ve got it!” I exclaimed, my face brightening but my body otherwise unmoving as the sword rapidly moved to separate my upper torso from its favorite pair of legs.

 

Of course, the pirate’s weapon swung through thin air where I should have been, as I Kualsi’d over to the edge of the ship in the nick of time. Casually perched on the railing with a grin I told him why he looked so familiar: “You’re face looks just like a pile of Mahi dung! It’s uncanny, really, I don’t know how I-“

 

Sword swing, toa teleport.

 

“-didn’t notice the resemblance before!” I leaned nonchalantly on the mast, admiring my fingertips.

 

He charged again, nearly embedding the broadsword into the mast, then spun without hesitation to bring the blade down in a powerful overhead strike into where I had just teleported, then turned again midway through the blow, turning it into a horizontal sweep to hit me now that I had teleported to his other side, then reversed the direction of the blow as I teleported again, and again, and again, causing the Pirate no end of frustration as he danced about awkwardly swinging his sword at someone who turned to air before he could reach him.

 

Finally I appeared a good distance away, laughing at his exhaustion and his inability to even scratch me. “Now, you may not have noticed this, but I’m actually get a big kick out of watching you flail around like a drowning fly! By all means, keep it up!” I said, giving him a thumbs up.

[Vezok's Friend]

IC (Leah):

 

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Leah shot back. "You're a big boy, you can deal with it." she snarled.

 

That last bit was true though: Reidak could take a lot of punishment. He'd charged after his own grenade, which had given her the idea to send it right back at him in the first place. Not creature would risk such a move without being sure they would not wind up seriously hurt - or dead.

 

And as if to prove the point, he resumed his charge like a Kane-Ra Bull, closing the distance between them. The Toa of water brought up her staff again, her agility versus the raw strength of the Piraka. She attempted to play that out against him, deflect the blow, but as the sparks flew from his weapon hitting the metal and sliding to the side, she suddenly felt a searing pain in her arm.

 

Instinctively, she brought pulled back, a blast of water pushing the Skakdi in the opposite direction. With enough time for a glance Leah noticed the gash in her arm where the saw had managed to cut her. She gritted her teeth and ran through her options. She couldn't overpower her opponent with raw elemental strength, not in this climate. Staying and wearing him down through physical combat might have worked, but if her guard slipped even once it could spell her doom.

 

Don't fight on his terms.

 

A sudden idea crossed her mind as Reidak came at her again. Quickly, she turned and started to run, reaching out with her elemental power, feeling for the water around her. The Piraka wouldn't stop, she knew. He'd boasted his physical superiority, he was not gonna let some frightened little Toa get away.

 

There! Her power found its target. Water pipes, running to and from the geothermal plant. She could pinpoint where they ran close to the surface, very close by in fact in an alley. She followed them, vaulting over an empty merchant-stand in her way. Behind her, the shack exploded as Reidak plowed through it with a growl.

 

Leah continued on ahead, charging into the narrow side street and whirling around. Reidak was hot on her heels. Speaking of hot: The Toa could feel the water just a few feet below the ground, scalding hot from being pumped through the volcanic bedrock.

She slammed her staff into the ash-covered pavement, suddenly stopping the flow and turning up the pressure by summoning as much of the water to the alley as possible. Matoran engineering was good, but the pipes had never been build to withstand this.

 

They exploded below Reidak's feet in a blast of scorching steam and liquid, filling up the alley but sparing her, thanks to her control over the element.

[Razgriz]

IC: "This is taking an awfully long time." He muttered, eyes narrowing with suspicion. He had a feeling in the pit of his gut, and it wasn't a good one.

No, this was a sinking, dreadful feeling, one you'd get if you, say, had just realized that maybe there's some part of the situation the plan didn't take into account.

 

In spite of himself, Jolek felt the tension growing, and found his body responding in kind.

Relax, relax...

 

Getting antsy now was not what he needed. They'd show themselves soon enough.

[Eyru]

IC (Inu)

 

I am Inu. I am hunter-life-drinker.

 

I am not afraid.

 

I am the blood-son of Makuta; fear is my brother, and anger my sister. The things my Toa-host-brother Oreius feels are not strange to me. I was born in the deep-shadows: they hold no power over me.

 

This Skakdi chose wrongly to awaken the deep-shadows. I serve Father no longer, but He lives on in me, and His anger is the one thing on this island worth fearing.

 

My host-brother is afraid. I am not. I will protect him.

 

It is strange to move this body without Oreius' consent. Our body is one, but our minds are two, and it is a lonely thing to drive this body without my host-brother. I do not know how my blood-brothers, the Kraata, can bear the cold shell of a Rahkshi alone.

 

One step, then another; our body is a hunter. I can feel the muscles in each limb respond to my commands; I can sense the life-power that runs through each vein. Some distant memory awakens at its touch, from a time before my birth. It tastes of fire, the light-fire that challenged Father's deep-shadows, and won.

 

He was afraid then. I am not. This fire serves me now, the son of the deep-shadows. I wield what even He could not.

 

I am not afraid. But this Skakdi will fear me.

[Geardirector]

IC: Elysi

 

"So, you a fan of Kolhii?"

IC: Zelvin (Alleyway)

 

"Oh, goodness gracious no," she replied with evident alarmity.

 

"It lacks finesse"

 

IC: Pirates

 

The smaller vessel, which had a mass of splintered wood and twisted metal for a rear gun, turned desperately to try and keep the slightly more agile Infernavika within it's weapon's arcs of fire. However, the ship was hardly fast enough to stop the 'Vika's crew from grappling onto it's deck. The ship's crew, however, wasn't so slow to act. A number of them had gathered around the destroyed section of their ship, a rugged looking bunch with their weapons drawn. Judging by their stances, they knew how to use them. Save the poor sap who had been manning the aft gun.

 

IC: "Gray" (Pirate Vessel)

 

A dash of gray, a blur, streaking across the water and ascending to the deck with only its draft trails making any noise.

 

A lightning-quick strike, backhanded, sending an unlucky Skakdi pirate slobbering to the floor. She was no longer hiding under her cloak, for she was not about to sit back any longer when the opportunity to prove her good intentions had been delivered on a silver platter.

 

Rahkshi staff in hand, she struck another oncoming pirate with a blast of noise, incomprehensible in its dizzying ferocity.

 

The Phantom's eyes glowed.

[25K Now!]

IC: Elysi

 

"Do tell."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

The Lesterin went in for another swing, but an impromptu gust of wind sent him flying away; hardly the most stylish way of dispatching an opponent, but in cases like this, well, we make due with what we've got. Besides, I still had that Skakdi to deal with, who, undeterred by Lasinia's blowing up annihilation of his Zamor sphere.

 

(Somehow I have a feeling that I'm officially in her debt or something now.)

 

"Oh, I don't know," I said, charging at the gunner shooter before slashing downwards at his gun-bearing arms. "How about 'My name is Lasinia. You almost killed my best friend Gunner. Prepare to die.'"

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Are you my best friend?"

 

A nearby pirate fell into a hole in the deck.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

Blood gushing from his ruined arms, I knocked the Skakdi aside with a blow from my hilt.

 

"Well, you've never attempted to kill me, so that's a start."

 

-Void

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"What, hand you over a robot and a knife? That thing's had more intelligence and creativity poured into it than your entire body, you think I'm gonna--"

 

"Are you going to make me come and get it?"

 

You will die screaming. Sulking, I flipped a knife in my hand and slid it across the ruined, ashen bar to Vezok, followed by one of my makeshift drones. My fans sputtered with the weight of the smoke, and reluctantly, after patting each of them and making sure they could hold out a few minutes longer against whatever pesky Toa was up there, I followed Vezok to the cellar.

 

IC:

 

OHHHHHHHH MAN. Smarts smarts smarts smarts smarts.

 

I am gonna kill this little girl - as soon as I prove what kind of specimen it takes to do a barrel roll right through adversity and mere agony (make no mistake, this is A G O N Y). Grinding my teeth together and hissing like a bull, I start to spring, hard and hot, letting the steam burn at my feet and legs, but do I falter? No sir I do not falter and now is as good a time as any to prove it, what with me sprinting down the alley hot on the Toa of Water's heels. She's limber, though, and my legs are smoking up a storm, so she sidesteps me pretty easily and I slide onto the cobblestones so hard I knock a few loose. From foot to mid-thigh, smoking blisters and steam burns coat my armor, and I'm walking more gingerly than I was a minute ago. Hurts like all get out. But she hasn't stopped me.

 

I learned a couple things, though - it's not gonna be that easy to burn me again, and now I know that if I can keep her from weaving around like some ugly little raindrop, I can clean house. That's worth a tally in the evolutionary win column.

 

-Tyler

[Ghosthands]

IC (Korero)

 

The sharp eyes of the Toa of Air spotted a stream of smoke beginning to coil out of the Lavapool's entrance, wafted out by some unseen force. It was small matter for Korero to curve those air current back on themselves and send the smoke right back inside through the windows.

 

Trying to fight a Toa Maru with their own element rarely worked.

 

Still, something was wrong. The Skakdi should have been choking in there, with the thickness of the smog - more than enough incentive to get outside. And yet they hadn't. What was keeping them in there?

Edited June 18, 2014 by Ghosthands

[Eyru]

IC (Inu)

 

The Skakdi flees, chasing sister-Toa Leah through the alleys of Ta-Koro. I follow easily; I have caught the scent of prey-blood, and the hunt is on. Leah knows our steps and the ripple-sound of our mind; we are part of the same pack. We felled Father together; we will do the same to protect our hunting grounds.

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Good enough."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

Another Lesterin threw herself at me, katana flashing in the sun, and our swords clashed in a shower of sparks.

 

"Good talk, Lasinia."

 

-Void

[Silvan Haven]

Kale Ironshaper- Fowadi- Ta-wahi- Island

 

IC: The time was now

 

"Fire the heavy disks! Focus on the larger ship! Rynekk, focus on the crew of the ship. Merla and Four, lower the closer side of the large ship. I want them to get a good feel of our disks!"

 

Kale had to shout over the sounds of combat that filled the air as the Fowadi came between the two other ships. The clangs and booms of disks hitting armor plating rose in to the ocean air alongside the shouts of people engaged in fights. It seemed that several of the crew had decided not to wait for boarders and attack. As long as they pulled it off Kale was fine with the move. It would keep the smaller ship busy while they dealt with the main threat.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Aye aye, Captain!" Rynekk shouted, raising the angle of his shots so that his missiles would rain upon the ship's deck and her unsuspecting crew.

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: The Fourth

 

The Fourth nodded, and the larger ship began to tip.

 

IC: Lasinia

 

"So like, what's your favourite food?"

 

A Skakdi lost his teeth.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"Baked ziti."

 

The Lesterin went for a sideways slash, but I blocked and responded with a swift uppercut.

 

"That's a type of pasta, by the way."

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Never liked pasta."

 

The Skakdi's attempt at punching Lasinia ended in him falling to the floor.

 

"I've always liked escargot more."

[NorikSigma]

IC: Wolfram

Wolfram nodded and fired the disks at an angle so they would hit the crew of the pirate launchers.

 

Wolfram concentrated and materialised several metal plates to block off some of the pirates' disks.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

Our swords clashed again, but I stepped back abruptly, throwing the Lesterin off-balance.

 

"Aren't those just fancy snails?"

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Yep."

[Relapse]

IC: (Kol)

 

Following the explosion from the Madu fruit he'd dropped, the bandaged Onu-Koroan leapt from the crow's nest, grabbing a rope as he fell and gracefully swinging down. A pirate was fiercely focused on manning the disk launcher and taking out the Fowadi: he never saw him coming. Kol, saperka in hand, came from behind and sent him into the water. Spinning on his heel, he switched his saperka for his repeating crossbow and let loose a rapid-fire volley of bolts on the crew, hoping to take out everyone manning an artillery weapon.

[Hanako Herupa]

IC:

 

"Well, for starters, it looks like we have two amazingly attractive guys on the loose somewhere in the Koro. We've tried to keep a register as of late. They generally don't bode well." Angel smiled dryly and bit the scallop off of the fork, cutting another cube of steak off without looking down.

 

"There are worse places to end up, though." With Dorian Shaddix, he thought, even as he he took his next bite. "The Guard pays alright and the view from my house is totally unencumbered." I don't own any furniture that isn't in my office, and I eat most of my meals from the guard's lounge. "It's a nice place." There's no jungle.

 

-Tyler

 

 

IC: (Kino)

 

"Hmm, I don't know about that, sometimes not all of them are that bad. They can be stiff but I'm good at working out their kinks, " I winked, before spearing a piece of shrimp and munching on it. I finished and sipped the rest of the whiskey in my glass, before pouring another for myself. "It really is, and I think can I do some good here, my house is pretty nice too, wouldn't have thought the Guard payed well enough back when I was just a merc. I like being a detective more, more cushy but also it feels good, you know. Thank you Angel, it's nice having someone to talk to and share a dinner with."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"And aren't those just slugs with shells?"

 

She advanced quickly, bringing her sword down again. I grinned and parried, snapping a kick to her stomach.

"Why would you want to eat those?"

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"Squishy and crunchy at the same time."

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

A kick to the face sent the Lesterin sprawling.

 

"That seems wrong on so many levels."

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasnia

 

"I know right?"

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

...

 

"Are we still having the same conversation?"

 

-Void

[25K Now!]

IC: Lasinia

 

"What do you think?" asked Lasinia cheerily, as her opponent was promptly kicked in the face.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Reo had felt the heat emanating from Zaktan's eyes the first time he'd dodged the vision strike; a second blast may well obliterate him at close range, so when Zaktan solidified to deliver the strike Reordin struck quick and hard, one last time, to deliver a quick punch into Zaktan's diaphragm. The Piraka wheezed out his next breath, which gave the Toa Maru of Ice just enough time to create a moderate film of ice over the Skakdi's hateful eyes; his vision burned crimson and melted the ice, sending semisolid chunks raining down like hailstones onto the ground around his feet. By then, Reordin had already weaved away, dancing out of range. Zaktan fragmented again and flew, but this time Reordin was ready, and the two began to weave around the very surface of the rooftop.

 

From time to time, the Piraka leader would materialize here or there and Reordin would parry, then parry again when Zaktan materialized for a second blow. The longer he was left alive, the more safe Reo felt in his predictions, but that in itself was a kind of danger - with an opponent as dangerous as the emerald cloud any rhythm would only be a recipe for that scissor to get lanced right through the Toa's chest, and so Reordin made sure to keep his defenses as unpredictable as Zaktan's offenses, and when he saw a chance to drive the Piraka back even by inches he would do it, with the unrelenting prowess of a cold front.

 

Finally, after nicking Zaktan's forearm just so and watching the Piraka recover instantly for a strike at his right, Reordin realized the inevitable truth, with the cold fury of an icicle in his heart: We're at a standstill.

 

-Tyler