BZPRPG - Le-Wahi

[Onaku]

IC: Ior

"Ior... my name is Ior." He replied to her question. "Judging by differences in the states of the structures here, you people really have done well with the place already." Ior paused for a moment, looking at one of the structures, then moving his gaze to the vortixx. "If I may ask; what is your name?"

Edited May 19, 2014 by Toa Onaku

[25K Now!]

IC: Kunitu

 

Swampland. Not exactly Kunitu's thing, despite her one-time role as an evil swamp monster from the depths. It was actually quite depressing how useless the attempt at a prank was, especially for the semi-retired commander, who prided herself on her competence. To rub it in further, she had failed to enter the elevator. Why did she have the idea in the first place?

 

Ah yes, to motivate the Gukko Force.

 

However, she was no longer in Le-koro now. The Toa of Air was currently plodding through the jungle aimlessly, wondering what exactly she wished to do.

[Akavakaku]

IC Jrahann:

 

Jrahann had halfway reached out one hand for the coins before realizing that there was a fundamental error in her plan to accept them.

"I don't have anything to carry the money with, Rama brain."

She thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to get a portion of the slightly disappointing treasure.

"How about you give me the rope and one of the lightstones, and keep the widgets. Also, are we going to get to get to Ta-Koro by dark, or do you want to wander the jungle all night?"

[25K Now!]

IC: Kunitu

 

Kunitu stopped at a stone wall.

 

"Well well well," she said, blinking her eyes as she stared at it. "What do we have here?"

[Mr. Lightning Bolt]

IC Jrahann:

 

Jrahann had halfway reached out one hand for the coins before realizing that there was a fundamental error in her plan to accept them.

"I don't have anything to carry the money with, Rama brain."

She thought for a moment, trying to come up with a way to get a portion of the slightly disappointing treasure.

"How about you give me the rope and one of the lightstones, and keep the widgets. Also, are we going to get to get to Ta-Koro by dark, or do you want to wander the jungle all night?"

 

IC Asuno:

Asuno put the remainder of the widgets into his satchel, and withdrew one of the lightstones and the rope.

"Fine. I'll buy you a bag then for it," He replied. "And we'll get there when it's dark. It's not gonna be very bright in the Highway. I can see the entrance from here. Plus, I have another cache just outside of the Ta-Koro entrance. So I'll get the stuff from there, buy you a bag so you'll be able to carry whatever you obtain, and we'll carry on, alright?"

He handed her the lightstone and the rope, and withdrew one of the other lightstones.

"Let's go."

 

(TO Le-Onu-Ta-Koro Highway)

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

"What, this?" Not that the thought hadn't occurred to me. When I hadn't been watching the amnesiac Mark Bearer of Fear stumble his way through a world that clearly preferred his company as a cadaver, I'd been gazing out at the grave of the Islets, marked now only by a Ga-Koran port, manned by a skeletal crew. It was a far cry from the Island of Misfit Toys I'd helped to put together, but then again, none of us really knew what we were signing on for that first night that we'd stepped foot on the dock at Xa-Koro. I'd still been callow, then, a pretty boy with a bloodstained jacket and a cocky confidence that I'd leveled Brykon. I even tried to steal his cigars. How had I ever thought he was someone to mock? He beat me and killed me and pretended to love me, and then he abandoned me. And Xa-Koro...

"I see his tattoo festering, his leer getting uglier by the second, and his foot is tapping like he's trying to drill a hole in the boat with his toes," I pointed out. "Maybe you and your boyfriend's romantic notions have gotten me a little punch-drunk on good vibes, but I thought redemption was going to be a bit better looking than that."

"I've seen worse," Cael replied. "If redemption has anything to do with healing, it won't be easy or clean. You need a strong stomach to wash your hands in someone else's blood."

She turned her eyes to his, wondering again at how that ice blue could sometimes evoke the sense of cool water, and other times remind her of the skies above Mount Ihu: cold and clear and without mercy.

"That's one thing we have in common, I suppose."

I looked at her with a furrowed brow, honestly taken aback for a second; then I grinned and hooked my finger around the slender silver chain that Joske's lighter hung from. "You know, not that long ago, someone even looked like they were thinking of telling me the things you tell me, I would snap their neck in two. I can't even remember why. The honesty is...endearing."

I looped my arm through two of the bars at the stern and wrapped up the top guardrail in my fist, like it was a neck I was working to snap. For a few seconds, I sat still and quiet, the ship's figurehead; I was trying and failing to find whatever Cael had found in Utu that put him on the same moral level as me. Maybe she doesn't see it, either. Maybe she's seeing him with Joske's eyes. I didn't know how to feel about that. The thought of Cael channeling Joske for the rest of her life...something about it distinctly put me off. Tuara ran away from that fate, and then I dragged her back into it. How did she feel about this? If anyone on this boat was more tired of Utu's respiratory system firing on all cylinders, it was her, but she hadn't put up a word of fight yet - if anything, she was actively helping matters. Maybe there was a lesson to be learned from it, but a year or so of service to Aurelia could make a boy real tired of having lessons pummeled into him.

"Here, I want to show you something." I untangled myself from the bars and hopped to my feet, pulling Cael up as well and hoisting her up onto the prow by her slender waist. She made the typical noises of protest, maybe thinking I was going to see how close we could come to throwing ourselves off the boat, but I put my foot on the guardrail and leaned out, pointing over her shoulder with my left index finger at what once passed for a shoreline.

"There. This is the spot where I first spotted Xa-Koro," I explained, tilting my head, eyes slanted like feline's. "Dock workers were holding up their lanterns, swinging them about - someone knew our ship was coming, and we were all talking about what it was we thought we'd be doing here. Gambling, maybe, or roughing up some shady merchants. None of us came here to watch the shoreline sink. We may not have been the salt of the earth, but...one of the people who was on this boat with me was the best friend I had in the world, for a long time. One was like my father - with all the good and the bad that came with it. There was this Vortixx, I recruited her out of Ga-Koro, we--we were close. She saved me in the jungle here, pulled me all the way back to the hospital the one time I didn't have an ace up my sleeve to stop the bleeding. Whatever you heard, whatever you think you know about the people who did this...we weren't monsters." My hands had gotten tight around her waist, accidentally; my knuckles were losing color, so I loosened up my grip and sat back on the railing.

"Or maybe I was," I thought out loud, nodding at Utu. "It might be perspective, and I might be as bad as him. But he'll never be yours." The salt of the sea sprayed up onto the prow and landed on my cheek, near my eye, on my mouth. I bit it off my lip and grinned.

"Say what you will about me, Cael. But I'll always be your monster."

-Tyler

[Palm]

IC: Utu Kotore - Kumu-Islets Sea

"Ok, let me get this straight..." I said with raised hands, loud enough for the group to hear me, "I'm a wanted criminal in three different Koros, a rescue project by her invisible boyfriend and all around a terror to society in its current form and have been for the past 300 years."

 

"Yes, Utu, and a few of us even used to be your coworkers in your reign of terror. Sometimes willingly, sometimes unwillingly, all of the time, without enough pay," I responded, gesturing to Dorian, Tuara, and myself. "And now we're trying to save your life."

 

Tuara looked to Dorian, speaking quietly to him in response to Utu's loud recap, "Cael thinks it's best that Utu doesn't know about what your relationship with him has been. Or that you killed him... Or how he's affected me," she paused, " So Utu doesn't know anything yet. Might be best to keep it that way."

 

"We also had a barbershop quartet thing going for a while with a few buddies," I pitched in, smoothly putting two fingers on Tuara's wrist and smiling. "We ripped the bassist's heart out in the middle of our reunion show. ###### of a time."

 

"It was a pretty interesting thing to watch, I'll give you that much."

 

"Praggos was our roadie."

 

"You guys are ###### crazy."

"Utu, you weren't in a quartet. He's lying."

 

"Have you ever heard your baritone?"

 

"I was never the roadie. I was the quartet's official doctor," I indignantly replied - it seemed Dorian still had an amazing ability to be annoying. "I had to come along with you all the time because you were always getting yourselves hurt. You didn't pay me enough, either."

 

"Hot red said no, I'm going with her on this one," I stood up, winking at her. She shuddered a little. I had that effect on people.

 

"Utu and the Iris Virus," I insisted. "We were a big thing for a while in Ga-Koro."

 

I rolled my eyes, deciding to get down to business.

"Anyways, Utu, you're dying. We're here to stop that from happening, and I'm not sure why."

 

"I think it's because I'm too sentimental, Cael's just that good of a person, Dorian just loves having a vacation, and Tuara's here to smash our skulls if we do something stupid. Sound about right?"

 

"Tuara's always down to smash."

 

"Dor-"

 

"Wait wait wait. Not sure why you're helping me, or not sure why I'm dying?"

 

"Not sure why we're helping you, actually. We know why you're dying. We've only got speculation as to the former issue."

 

"That Mark of yours is slowly eating you up. Praggos says it got damaged somehow and now it's using you as an energy source," Tuara said somewhat calmly over the lapping of the waves, "We need to get rid of it."

"Get rid of it?" I exclaimed, "Without this Mark I would be nothing. Maybe even dead already! It has freed me!"

 

"Oh, come on, we can't even shoot him in the leg a little? No one's gonna miss this dickhead."

 

"And then it fattened you up like a Naming Day Gukko," I replied to what Utu said, snorting derisively. "Tell me, are you dark meat or white?"

 

"Dorian, curb your instincts for the next few minutes, please."

 

"Already have, doc. I have a two day chip in my pocket."

 

"Since when were you an expert on me Dorian?" I spat off the side of the boat, "You don't know the last thing about me."

 

"Actually, Utu, we know more about you than you know about you." I shrugged, smiling slightly. "That's why we're in charge and you're our patient."

 

"Your spirit animal's a pufferfish, beeteedubs."

 

"Really?" I scoff, leaning against the edge of the boat, "Enlighten me."

 

"That means 'by the way'. Slang these days is weird."

 

"Tell me about me."

 

"Sorry, Utu, that's classified information."

 

"So either you're lying, or you don't know who I was before all of this. If what you say is true, in the past 300 years I've changed a lot. I only killed those that deserved it. Not innocent people. And since I don't remember doing that, I'm still who I was before all of that. I'm not the menace to society. If you're right about the past 300 years, then society made me 'this way'. Society's the menace," I jabbed myself with my thumb, "Not me."

I crossed my big arms, "So unless you people stop pretending you know anything about me I see no reason to stick around. Especially not with that Shaddix here."

 

"Actually, no, the reason we're not telling you is because if we do, you'll probably go on a murderous rampage, throw your life away, and we'll lose all of our hard work."

 

"I've already lost all mine."

 

"None of us want that to happen, so sit down and shut up."

 

I turned to Dorian, glaring at him again.

 

"You too."

 

"I'm talking about my bartending job. Gosh."

 

"I've skipped work for two weeks. I'm so fired."

 

"Did you even hear a word I said?" I glared at Praggos, "I don't care what I did in those 300 years. That isn't who I am now."

 

"No, but you'll care what happened to you to make you do what you did and that's what we're worried about."

 

"I'll say it again Praggos, I don't care.," I leaned forward, speaking slowly and loudly, "I don't care why you're helping me. What I do care is why if you're helping me, that waste of time keep threatening me? Not sure what I did to him that made him hate me so much but- hey you know what?" Utu turned his head to Dorian, interrupting himself,"I'm sorry Shaddix. Is that what you want to hear? Sorry! Sorry for trying to choke you out or abandoning you or standing you up on a date or whatever it is I did! I'm sorry OK!?"

 

"Well, as long as you're sorry, I think we can give it another shot. Your favorite food is steak, by the way."

 

"Dorian, you aren't helping." Tuara hissed to the Toa of iron before standing up, "Utu, the important thing is figuring out how to get that thing off of you. The fact of the matter is that your blood is literally into an acid. It won't be long before your organs begin to fail if they haven't already. You will die if you don't let us help you."

I scowled at her for a moment, analyzing her posture. Even when she had a pleading tone she managed to have more than enough attitude to go around. After a moment of just scowling I looked away, sighing heavily. I turned to Praggos, "Fine. What's your plan."

 

"Remove the mark, of course."

 

Utu rolled his eyes, "Yeah. How Praggos."

 

"Voodoo."

 

I began to climb over the railing of the boat, "Alright, I'm out."

 

"Don't forget your water wings."

 

"Tell me if you find talking fish people."

 

"For the last time, Praggos, we haven't seen your family."

 

"I'm talking about yours, Dorian."

 

I dived into the water, my powerful legs changing the direction of the boat slightly.

"What is wrong with you two?" Tuara stormed towards the back of the boat, as Cael shifted her control of the vessel, "Utu!" she yelled, "Come back!"

But I was already a decent ways away. My head underneath the waves, I couldn't even discern what she was saying. It was all just noise to me.

Tuara turned back to Dorian, "Next time just kill him again. At least I'll have less problems of yours to take care of that way," she turned again, cupping her mouth with her hands, "Utu!"

 

"Dorian, do you think we should bring him back now?" I asked, turning to the Toa of Iron sitting just a little ways away. "It wouldn't do well for him to drown or escape when we need to cure him."

 

"No #### Praggos."

 

"Tuara, please, be civil."

 

"Yeah, I'll go." I peeled off my shirt and tossed it at Tuara. "Hold this."

The sword, to Cael. "Hold that."

The gun to Praggos. "There has never existed someone who had worse luck with this thing than you. In that spirit, hold this."

I put my foot on the railing, sighed, and then fell face forward into the waves.

 

I frowned, looking at the gun in my hands.

"When have I ever used one of these things, anyways?"

 

"You can learn by shooting yourself in the foot if you'd like." Tuara said sharply, "Keep you from scaring off the person you're supposed to be helping."

 

"I didn't scare him off, he simply refused to accept my answer," I replied, setting the gun down beside me. "Besides, you know that my answer was true. We really don't know how that temple did what it did."

 

There's something inherently satisfying about watching this play out again. Not that I know what I know now. Back then, it didn't matter of course. I didn't understand my history with Dorian Shaddix, nor the others of Joske's dream-team. But seeing it again makes me think a little bit more. Sure, they were coming after me because they had to. But at least this time it wasn't to kill me or toss me into prison for me to rot the rest of my life. With the knowledge I have now, I might've just spat in Shaddix's face and be done with him forever. Turn him away. Make him experience at least a little of what sorts of things I had to endure for him.

But I didn't know.

Now that I think about it though, I'm not even sure I would've spat in his face if I knew. He's got a good right hook.

 

While I waited for Dorian to come back with Utu in tow, I started looking around the ship. And, in boredom, I decided I would see if my luck with the gun was as bad as Dorian thought it was. So I lifted it up, and aimed it in the water.

 

"Praggos, what are you doing?"

 

"Dorian said I had bad luck with this," I replied, frowning. "Don't worry, I know how to do this. Turn off the safety, front post between the two back posts, pull the trigger..." Praggos frowned, bringing the pistol back a little bit so that he could see the posts clearly; he was somewhat nearsighted.

"Ah, much better."

"Praggos, that's too close," Tuara warned.

"Preposterous."

I pulled the trigger, wincing slightly at the loud bang that I heard immediately afterwards - and then said a word I cannot repeat in polite conversation upon being smacked in the forehead with the barrel of the weapon.

"Not preposterous; I forgot about the recoil," I said, as my eyes watered due to the pain. "Could've been worse."

 

"Give me that!" Tuara swiped the weapon from Praggos' hands, and smacked him on the back of the head, "Quit dicking around!"

 

"I need something to amuse myself while I wait."

 

*****

Down here, where water stung my eyes and rushed into my ears, I really was the Prince of Xa-Koro again.

It was tough to miss Utu, even under the ink-at-midnight colored bay; he was a musclebound torpedo, glowing purple across the chest. Everything about him looked wrong - his girth, his face, the indigo streaks that marked all that corrosion washing over his neck and chest like an ugly rash. He was a premature baby, all grown up but still looking the part. I had seen him die once and heard he'd died twice more. If nine lives were the sole province of felines, then Utu deserved a lifetime supply of catnip and a fine pair of whiskers. Something about seeing him bob like an apple in the current almost didn't seem fair. Like a cheap end, more ignoble than usual even for a being who had spent his entire life flaunting lack of nobility.

Down here, where the boat looked like just another blob of darkness and your very thoughts were waterlogged, I could see him having second thoughts, right up until he saw me. But by then I was on him.

Never get me wrong - for his size, Utu was quick, and strong too, but he wasn't exactly built for combinations of attacks, and he didn't have Brykon's natural grace to offset that bulk, so by the time he could put out a punch I could wrap my thighs around his forearm and put the metacarpal arch of my hand into his jaw. It flopped open like a fish, and I scooped his chin with my other hand and slammed it close, so hard I could feel his teeth chatter through the taut skin on his jawbone. With his free hand, he clipped my temple, and I could feel the world ring for a second before I yanked his head and steered him into the side of the ferry like a battering ram.

The weight of him made the world ring around us. He bellowed through closed lips; his throat vibrated through my fingers. Utu, ]I remember you, I wanted to coo, like the benevolent grandmother we'd never known, when that tattoo was a little ink on your shoulder, and you were the one tossing me around like a marble. I remember you when you and I planted ourselves like trees and threw back four waves of Marines - while dueling to the death. I remember you when you first saw my face again, and when I first saw yours.

His scalp smashed against the hull. The weight of him made the world ring around us.

Utu, the oldest and the least of my shortlist of friends, I remember you while I was killing you, and it's tearing me apart to see you like this. But you can never know.

Down here, where lungs screamed with empty breath and corpses swam like real boys, you could see that we were just conjoined twins, and you couldn't kill one of us without slaying the other. The iron gauntlet, pitted with rust. The silk glove, tearing at his seams.

For all of two seconds I loved him, and then I threw him into the ferry one last shuddering time. The weight of us shook the world.

He fell into my arms semi-conscious and lolling, a nesting doll chipped down to the last layer. Utu's muscle was an anchor, dragging us down to a level of the water where the boat looked like more like a bulky pipe dream than anything fit to carry someone like us. With screaming nerves and a swelling heart I whipped my arm around and created a little cable, thick and sturdy, to wrap around him. I considered putting it around his neck, but any noose for Utu was a noose for me, so I wrapped it around his massive bicep and closed my eyes at last. The cable whipped up of its own accord, and Utu Kotore was a catfish, thick and bristly with droplets of water spelling out his lines. I heard him land on the deck with a sickening lurch. A bullet pierced the water beside me, rending a wound in the current.

Down here, where the sea tried to shoot you and all the world had the lights turned off, I looked like just as much a hero as anyone else.

The second cable formed in my hand, and then I was flying, soaring, like a bird - spat up by the whale into the big wide world, with grand new tales to tell of God.

 

I raised an eyebrow as Dorian and Utu came up not feet away from where, in the water, I'd been aiming. It really was murky, if I couldn't see them, and they'd started on the opposite side of the boat from me.

"Now that really is preposterous."

 

Utu began coughing up water on the deck.

 

"Welcome."

 

"Thanks."

 

I let out a particularly hard cough, spattering the side of the boat with a much-darker-than-usual blood. It was hot. I could actually feel the warmth from it, and I was a good few inches away. I reached forwards with shaking hands and touched it. It felt different than blood. Like Tuara said. Acid. I spat to the side again, wiping my mouth as I pushed myself up to stand. Tuara was still yelling at Praggos, "You're gonna get somebody killed you ####!"

I turned around to look at the crew on the ship. Breathing in deeply, I pumped out my chest proudly, towering over them.

Tuara held up her hand to me, "Don't speak."

I had trouble holding my tongue from the anger inside. I had trouble holding my fists at my side. I had trouble turning around again and moving slowly to the front of the ship, where I sat, my legs dangling over the edge.

"Praggos, Dorian. A word with you please." Tuara said coldly, turning on her heel and moving towards the very back of the ferry, "Now thank you."

 

"Last I knew they were on the other side of the boat. I have no idea how they got over to my side like that."

 

Regardless of whatever I said, it seemed that Tuara was implacable in her want to yell at Dorian and I, so the two of us walked to the back of the ship - myself relatively calmly, Dorian with his usual amount of implacable humour.

 

"Look, I get it. I'm a rotten ###### who's too uppity to have a good time right?"

 

"Not really."

 

"You also sleep with me, so I can't say yes."

 

"Turns out, I don't give a flying #### about what you think of me, regardless of our relationship. The point is you two are making my job harder. Near impossible maybe. There is an unstable giant on our boat who's life we're trying to save and so far all you've done is mouth off, be useless, and shoot at each other," Tuara held up a hard hand to silence a response, "Don't talk. As far as you go," Tuara pointed at Praggos, "You haven't figured out if this is even going to help him. At this point, your guesses are as good as ours. I could easily drop you off in Le-Koro and send a messenger pigeon back and forth and it'd be more useful than you've been so far. You knew full well that Utu wasn't going to react well to a simple "voodoo" without explaining further."

She turned to Dorian, "And you. You've only caused more damage- no, stop - I could have easily pulled Utu out of that water myself. The water he would never have jumped in if you two weren't on this ferry in the first place. I don't want to clean up your messes for you and I'm not going to start now. I don't care who you are. You don't get special treatment. You agreed to this. You said you'd help. But this isn't about you. This is about the person you owe a life to. But I don't see you helping anytime in the near future judging by all this, and unless you at least stop making things harder you can swim back to your hospital bed and keep Praggos company." Her attention shifted again to the both of them.

"Argue all you want, but you're pushing me to a place I don't want to go," Tuara looked at the pair with hard eyes, "I've had a gig like this before. Real similar team. A team with one too many morons on the job. And last time I walked out of that, I lost a friend, my lover, the respect of a colleague, my job as the Deputy of the Guard, and my ability not to crave drowning myself in liquor every waking moment I was alive."

Tuara paused, the silence only accenting the quiet thunder in her voice when she spoke again, "That isn't an option for me. So either get out of the way of yourselves, or get lost." She finished by jabbing her thumb over her shoulder towards the mainland, "I'm not saying you can't have your fun, but your fun isn't fun anymore when somebody has to drag the giant back to safety." All that was heard on the boat was the quiet running motor and the lapping of waves on the ferry as it crossed the sea. Tuara asked without asking, "Do we have an understanding."

 

After painfully long seconds, I clapped my hands and bounced to my feet, picking up my shirt from Tuara's shoulder and sliding it on over my soaked upper half as I walked towards the exit of the cabin.

"Where you headed, Shaddix?" Tuara asked bluntly. I turned at the waist and holstered my gun at my waist.

"Well, I've realized I'm far better at doing lines with people than I ever will be at doing good for them. But it looks like it's too late for me to go kill Echelon, and the ship's sailed on going back home any time soon. So I'm probably just gonna walk to my cabin. Puke up some seawater. Keep things simple. This was a blast."

I slipped out the door and hung a left, then another left, walking into my cabin and casually kicking the lock on the door with my heel.

 

"Praggos?"

 

"I felt like asking who made you queen bee, but that'd probably get me punched," I admitted, shrugging. I was relatively unwilling to either agree or admit to anything Tuara had said (blame my prideful nature), so instead I attempted to half-heartedly change the topic.

After Tuara glared at me, I realized that wouldn't work out well.

"Fine. My jokes didn't help, and I'm sorry for that. Though regardless of any mistakes I make, I don't plan to 'get lost' at any point in the near or far future. I already have too much invested in this for that to be a viable option, and so I'm going to stick on with this group regardless of what you think of myself, my actions, or the repercussions of them." I stood, starting to turn back to my earlier position on the ship.

"I'll try to be a little more helpful to our memory-challenged friend, and if it seems like I'm starting to get too snarky or sarcastic, throw something at me." With my distinctly noncommittal answer given, and trusting Tuara not to pick me up and throw me overboard, I strode back to my seat, waving Utu over.

"If you want to know the actual plan for getting rid of your mark, come over here so I can tell you without having to yell too much."

[sunflower]

IC: Kythera

 

"Kythera," Said Vortixx replied, stopping with an abrupt, if fluid motion, to turn to Ior. "Though that's only one question answered, out of two."

 

IC: Dehkaz

 

Dehkaz exchanged his Kanohi with Naona's, turning the grey mask over in his hands once, before raising it to place it on his face. The Kanohi formed to fit, and he blinked as it took on a dark, metallic coloration not unlike his previous mask. It felt different, to say the least. A similar experience to wearing someone else's boots. If someone's boots granted the wearer unnatural powers, that is.

 

He glanced up at Naona, and had the strange sensation of looking at himself. Or rather, his Kanohi, which now fit her much better, with a sleeker shape and matching coloration to her element. He brushed the thought aside.

 

"Just don't stare at anyone too hard," Dehkaz commented cheerful on the use of his Kanohi that she now wore. He didn't have any intention of using her Kakama, regardless.

 

IC: Mihlra

 

This...

 

This was not something Mihlra had been prepared for in the slightest. Not something she knew how to react to. Not something she had ever expected to happen, Ever happen again. Skyra collapsed into her with a hug, and the world around fell away, leaving them alone, but together. That was all that mattered. They were together.

 

She wasn't alone.

 

Something inside broke, only to fall together.

 

Mihlra paused, her vision unseeing, unmoving.

Then she wrapped her arms around Skyra, her daughter, and shut her eyes tight.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"What exactly do you-"

 

Lasers shot out of her eyes, through the open window, and promptly set fire to a nearby tree.

 

"Ah."

[Onaku]

IC: Ior

"The only reason I'm here is because I got lost in this karzahni cursed jungle. I was hoping I might get some help with finding my way back to Le-Koro here, although I'd understand if no one has the time to spare."

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

...

 

"Just... yes. I rather enjoy not being... laser'ed, so if you could..."

 

And he totally wasn't questioning the decision to give Naona power over laser vision right at that moment. Not one bit.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"I will try and look further away from you."

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"Just don't look too hard, and everything should be fine," Dehkaz commented, "Or just shut your eyes, though from experience, I wouldn't recommend that."

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Noted."

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"I suppose that's it. Ready?"

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Whenever you are."

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"Excellent," Dehkaz replied, folding the map spread out onto the table into a much more conveniently sized square, before sliding into his pack. He glanced down at his long coat, specifically the Po-Koro insignia stictched into the shoulder, and sighed, before removing the coat from his person as well. That he placed on one of the chairs pushed to the side in the room, on top of which he laid his fedora.

 

IC: Kythera

 

"We could provide you with a map, and directions, though we're busy right now. So an actual guide... Might have to wait a bit," Kythera admitted with a shrug.

[Ghosthands]

IC (Merror)

 

As Agni and Valria rose, Merror was already on his way back from the Gukko Force gym. He'd hoped he might find Korero there again, but the youngster was nowhere to be seen. The Ta-Toa went about his morning workout alone.

 

Having returned to his room, he gathered what few things he'd left there and headed back downstairs to turn in his key. They'd agreed to leave today - he, Agni, Valria and Liacada. To begin their hunt for Echelon.

 

The veteran sat down at a table to wait for his companions, musing over what lay ahead.

[Palm]

IC: Utu Kotore - Kumu-Islet's Sea

"Alright," I grumble, water still falling from my face. I make my way over, the weight of my body causing the tilt of the boat to change. I sit across from Praggos, not exactly happy to be back on board, but making an effort to remain somewhat civil, "What's your plan?"

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Lead on ... 'Prei'?"

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

A ghost of a grin crossed Dehkaz's temporary Kakama, before he turned and made his way out the door.

 

OOC: ULTIMATE TIMESKIP OF ULTIMATE NAOKAZ.

 

IC:

 

"Swamps."

 

"Why does it have to be swamps?"

 

Dehkaz directed this inquiry at no one in particular, unless one counts the universe itself as a questionable being. He didn't really expect an answer, though he asked anyway. For what seemed like the hundredth time, he pulled his boot out from a particularly soft spot of ground on the "path", which really wasn't qualified to be called that.

 

If his complaints were genuine, or simply him getting into character, it was hard to tell.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"Learn to swing on vines," replied Naona, who was balancing precariously on a tree branch above her friend's head.

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra

 

The embrace lasted for oh...I don't really know how long, it didn't really matter. This was the first step in rekindling our relationship and I wasn't going to rush it. Eventually we had to break the hug out of the necessity of breathing properly. I looked at my mother, wiping away any tears I still had, why am I so sappy?

 

There was so much to talk about, though by now we were both pretty exhausted, mentally and physically. It could wait till later.

 

"Do you want to meet my friends?" I'd left Hari and the others quite a while ago, and I was more than happy to introduce them to my mother.

Edited May 24, 2014 by Princess Anna of Arendelle

[Eyru]

IC: Utu Kotore - Kumu-Islet's Sea

 

"Alright," I grumble, water still falling from my face. I make my way over, the weight of my body causing the tilt of the boat to change. I sit across from Praggos, not exactly happy to be back on board, but making an effort to remain somewhat civil, "What's your plan?"

 

IC (Cael)

 

"As far as I know," the Toa of Water said, keeping a hand on the tiller. "We're going to try to find this Temple, and see if it jogs your memory. And we're trying to do it before your blood poisons you from the inside out."

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

Dehkaz glanced up at his friend, the fact that she was wearing his Kanohi still throwing him off for an instant.

 

"I think I'll stick with the ground for now, flying is one thing... and that's something else entirely," He replied, "And it really wouldn't do for me to be slamming into trees."

 

A quick glance at the scenery before them, and Dehkaz gave his counterpart a short, if explanatory, look. They were close now.

 

IC: Mihlra

 

Mihlra gave a smile, a hand still held on Skyra's shoulder after they parted. A million and one questions burned within her, each grabbing her attention and looking for answers. It didn't help the cacophony inside, not one bit.

 

"I- That would be great," Was all she could say in reply.

[Onaku]

IC: Ior

"I'm no good with maps, and those directions would just get jumbled up inside my head. I guess..." Ior sighed and looked down at his feet, then back up to Kythera. "I guess I'll just have to stay here for a while. If... that is alright with you and the others." Ior looked around himself. "I uh... I could try helping around the place? I'm pretty strong for a matoran, you know, since I'm a matoran of stone and all." Ior rubbed the back of his head out of awkwardness.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

"You should try. It is quite fun."

 

Naona readied herself.

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

"Maybe, one day."

 

Their destination suddenly came into view, sliding out from behind the wine-covered treeline. All things considered, it looked somewhat out of place within the swamp, being a square, stone-built building of respectable size. It's grey, moss-covered sides stuck out in the otherwise organic landscape, and it looked passably like a ruin. The worn path leading too it told a different story.

 

There was no one in sight, though there was probably someone, or a few someones, watching them right now.

 

Dehkaz made his way up the path, before bringing an armored hand up to knock on what looked to be the only door to the structure. The sound reverberated off the age-hardened wood.

 

IC: Kythera

 

Kythera raised in eyebrow, giving a smirk with little effort.

 

"Stay as long as you like," She said, "We're not in the habit of throwing people out. And we could use the help. If you want to, I'm sure Esao would like a few extra helping hands."

 

"Feel free to help yourself to one of the empty huts we've got around, most are in good condition, and not exactly filled.

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

Naona had dropped out of a tree seconds earlier, and was now standing behind Dehkaz, her senses focused on searching the surrounding area for danger.

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra

 

"Great!" We slowly rose from the bench as I looked around the koro. "Now we just have to figure out where they disappeared too..." All I had to do was look for Onuzek really, he stood out for pretty obvious reasons.

[Onaku]

IC: Ior

Ior's expression could only be described as both surprised and pleased simultaneously, and he nodded to Kythera's words. "Well, I guess I'll just... help myself to one of these huts then." Having looked to one of the smaller huts, he quickly looked back to the vortixx with slight worry on his face. "I mean, only temporarily, of course." Ior stood still for a few awkward seconds before turning and walking to one of the huts on the smaller end, then stopping and turning back to Kythera after a few steps. "Oh, and let me know if I can help with anything. I'll... try my best."

[25K Now!]

IC: Kunitu

 

"This is going to take a while to walk around."

[Palm]

IC (Cael)

 

"As far as I know," the Toa of Water said, keeping a hand on the tiller. "We're going to try to find this Temple, and see if it jogs your memory. And we're trying to do it before your blood poisons you from the inside out."

 

 

IC: Utu Kotore - Kumu-Islet Sea

 

"What's in my memories that we need exactly?" I glanced over to Cael with a slightly bemused look on my face, "Is there information that might help us?"

[sunflower]

IC: Kythera

 

"Sure, just wander around or something once you're settled in, shouldn't be hard to find me," Kythera commented, giving a last glance at the Matoran of Stone, before turning to locate a certain Esao.

 

Should be around here somewhere, what's the most a Ta-Toa could get into anyway?

 

IC: Dehkaz

 

The Toa of Magnetism's knock seemed to go unanswered, as he stood at door without reply. Nearly a minute passed, though Dehkaz didn't budge from the spot, simply staring at the door as if willing it to open through sheer force of will alone.

 

And then a hollow knock came from within the stone building, and a previously unnoticeable slit within the wooden door slid open, a pair of eyes the only thing visible behind.

 

"What is your business?" Came a sharp, rumbling voice from within, the eyes flicking first from Dehkaz and then to Naona.

 

"We heard someone was looking for hired help," Dehkaz replied, the slight Ko-Koroan accent always present in his voice coming to the forefront of it now seamlessly.

 

"And we're looking for some work," He continued, tilting his head back at the Po-Toa standing behind him.

 

IC: Mihlra

 

The Toa of Lightning got up as Skyra did, and wordlessly followed her through the busy streets of Le-Koro.

[Eyru]

 

IC: Utu Kotore - Kumu-Islet Sea

 

"What's in my memories that we need exactly?" I glanced over to Cael with a slightly bemused look on my face, "Is there information that might help us?"

 

 

"Frankly, any information will help us," she returned. "I've never seen anything like your condition before. Neither has Praggos, or any doctor, for that matter. You're unique. And while that's usually something people say to cheer you up, unfortunately, in this case, it just means we don't know how to cure you. If this Temple can tell us anything, it means you might not die."

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

Naona's attention was instantly diverted by the sound of footsteps on mud. She glanced quickly from side to side, observing the two thugs attempting to circle her and Dehkaz. They were unkempt and untidy, yet possessed a somewhat menacing and dangerous aura, an impression supported by their glares and bared teeth.

 

AKA, they were pitifully trying to seem tough and threatening.

 

"We would be much more competent as well."

[Palm]

 

 

 

"Frankly, any information will help us," she returned. "I've never seen anything like your condition before. Neither has Praggos, or any doctor, for that matter. You're unique. And while that's usually something people say to cheer you up, unfortunately, in this case, it just means we don't know how to cure you. If this Temple can tell us anything, it means you might not die."

 

IC: Utu Kotore - Kumu-Islet Sea

 

I had gone to extreme lengths to distance myself from them all, but it seemed that the poison in my family's veins could not be so easily eradicated. The last of the Kotore's. My blood-line slowly killing me. As if destiny wanted to finish the job. It all seemed so silly, but I remember feeling a sort of weight roll off my shoulders upon hearing this. It was for the first time in my entire life that in this moment somebody had used "unique" to describe me, other than myself. I had lived a hundred-thousand years of my life wishing that I could be different than the world I was bound to. I wanted to be different. I killed to be different.

 

The part that makes me feel worse is knowing what transpired in those 300 years. Throughout all of my crimes, conditions, and resurrections, nobody called me anything. I was the son of a giant with nothing to his name but a few whispered rumors and a lot of passion infused envy. I was never unique.

 

And even though it meant I might die, I couldn't help but forget about all that for just the briefest of moments upon hearing such a simple word. I tried to brush it aside, deciding that my life was more important than my pride, "What is this temple anyways? How's it going to jog my memory?"

Edited May 24, 2014 by Palm

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz

 

The pair of eyes squinted, searching both of them for the weapons they were carrying. A second past, before the hidden being barked what seemed to be "fine". The slit closed with an audible scrape of wood, which was shortly followed by what sounded like locks being undone. The door creaked open at speed that wasn't that reassuring. Standing there was a scrawny Skakdi clad in green armor, who was undoubtedly the speaker. He motioned them forward into the compound, which Dehkaz followed only after a backward glance at Naona.

[Eyru]

IC (Cael)

 

"I've never seen it. Praggos and Dor have, but I don't know if that means they know exactly what it is."

 

She swallowed, aware that being honest with a loaded gun like Utu was potentially dangerous. "And we don't know it's going to jog your memory. In the interest of transparency, this is just a shot in the dark. The Temple has a connection with the Marks, including the one on your arm. If there's anywhere we can go for some answers, it's there."

[25K Now!]

IC: Naona

 

Appears to be physically unfit, but best not to judge on physical appearance.

 

Naona slinked in after Dehkaz.