BZPRPG - Le-Wahi

[Eyru]

IC (Cael)

 

"Still, we can pick up his trail there."

 

"Got room for a couple more?"

 

Cael and company had made it.

 

 

OOC yaaay let's do dis

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Jakura

 

He dropped the spear. It landed with a soft thud in the mushy swamp. Blood from the tip mixed with the filthy water, the fresh smell causing the beetles swarming across the swamp to become that much more ravenous.

 

Jakura turned to Hile. He had seen. More importantly, they had all seen. And there were more then before - a Vortixx, a Matoran, and two Toa had joined the party.

 

A strange feeling crept up the spine of Jakura - a mixed feeling of guilt, surprise, and... something else. As if he were in a dream.

When he looked up, he understood why.

There before him, shock riddling his mask, was Zeth. His friend. Who was dead.

Jakura gasped and took a step backwards. A spike of ice drove itself into his heart and froze his spine - a pure sense of dread overcame him. Not only was his old teammate alive - not only could there be more still alive - but! more importantly, he had seen. He had seen him kill Mesonak.

 

Now what?

 

 

IC: Varan

 

Varan pulled his cloak around him as the beating wings of the beetles came uncomfortably close. He had been entranced by the battle - or rather, the end of the battle - and was shocked (surprisingly) to see the Toa of Fire kill the Skakdi. Up till now, he had ignored the newcomers. Now, he was annoyed by them, and his survival instincts told him now was the time to depart. But... he couldn't.

 

The Toa of Fire, the Toa of Gravity... they looked familiar. And when Varan strained his eyes, he discovered why.

It was Zeth.

And Anhar.

 

Suddenly, the cloak around his body flew away in the hectic winds produced by the swarm, revealing his thin frame and cracked armor. A stray ray of sunlight shone through the dense canopy of trees and illuminated him. He raised a hand to inspect it... and noticed, for the first time, the mottled, rotten colors that lined his rusted body. He nearly gasped aloud at the sight. And that's when he saw it.

 

Near the broken body of the Skakdi, something silver gleamed through the mud. It had fallen from Anhar's pack when he had speared his enemy through the chest. Looking closer, he realized it was a Kanohi.

 

And then his mind erupted with pain. He gasped, grabbed his head in both hands and fell to his knees.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Jakura Nuva

[Tea-rex]

Ic:

Alsorate heard a soft "thud" nearby, and turned to see a toa that he had not seen before lying in the mud.

"Umh, guys? Guys!!"

[Toatapio Nuva]

IC Hile

(Le-Wahi, Fau swamp):

 

Completely entranced by the turn of events, all Hile could do was stay still and mutter "Uh, what?"

[Nato G]

IC: Kelz.

 

"Can someone explain to me what is going on?" Kelz snapped, swatting aside one of the Entropy Beetles when it buzzed too close. 

 

The grotesque bug smacked loudly into the dirt, and he picked it up, curious. It was still alive, buzzing feebly, so he handed it up to Archie, who held it firmly in his grasping front claws. The rahi would hold onto it until Kelz could take it back to his ship and put it in a jar or something.

 

Looking up, he was irritated to find that no one had answered his questions yet. 

[Geardirector]

IC (Aparangi):

 

Two blows came down upon the dark Toa, both connected. He grunted as he was struck, staggering for a heartbeat but ultimately keeping his sure footing. His grown additional armor had taken the brunt of the attack. The tissue was bruised, Alfon had even drawn a little blood, but the dark Toa just smiled grimly. 

 

"I'm gonna kick your from here to the other end of the arena, count on it." he snarled. It wasn't a threat and more of an indicator in which direction to take the fight to get closer to the edge of the pit and instead of fighting against each other, take the fight to those that had set up this disgusting form of entertainment.

 

Spikes growing from his vambraces, Aparangi charged at Alfon, in order to grapple and push him in the direction he had indicated.

 

IC: Colx (Secret Arena)

 

I picked up on the Toa's meaning, and started playing along by approaching the third Toa of the group. Alfon was being shepherded away, I figured out my own approach quickly.

 

"You heard the Toa, kid, get ready to meet the wall"

 

I unleashed my Impact Vision on the De-Toa, directed towards where Alfon was being driven.

 

OOC: That's for Examus

Edited October 3, 2014 by Geardirector

[soularin]

IC: Rune

 

While she had been busy conversing with the newcomers, her companion decided to shed his cloak. Upon looking back at him, she almost stumbled over in surprise. He wasn't an old man like she had thought. He was a young Toa, scarred and corroded from head to toe.

 

Suddenly, he gasped and dropped to his knees. She scrambled over and caught him by the chest before he could hit the earth.

 

"Whoa, hey, are you alright?"

 

He obviously wasn't, so she threw one of his arms over her shoulder and supported him gently. She rose back to a standing position. Luckily for her, he was thin and light as a feather.

[Ghosthands]

IC (Merror)

 

Merror turned in surprise, but a smile was already forming on his mask at the familiar voice.

 

"Well, well," he said. "We just can't get rid of each other, can we?"

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Varan

 

Varan barely felt the Vo-Toa's gentle but firm grip as she helped him rise - rather, the only thing he could feel was the tremendous pain coursing through his mind. It was like a lightning bolt striking the side of his skull, jolting everything inside and shaking it around violently. He pressed down the urge to scream and merely continued to hold his head.

 

When his thoughts wandered from the Kanohi to the pain, the pain actually began to subside. This bewildered Varan, who nearly gasped as the terrible hurt subsided. When he looked back to the Toa and his Kanohi, the pain began again - this time twice as strong.

 

Varan gasped sharply for breath and croaked, "That Kanohi. Beside the Skakdi. It's... I need it."

Like a wave of molten magma, the pain hit him again - this time enough to make him shout out.

 

 

IC: Jakura

 

Jakura's chest heaved as he stared at the horror on Hile's face. Had he heard? Did he know?

Gone were the days of Anhar... never could they return... and Hile could never find out.

And if he had, then that was too bad - for him.

 

Jakura knew better than to take that chance. He retrieved his weapon from the ground - gaze never shifting from the Matoran - and began to walk slowly towards him, fists clenched and olfactory ports flaring.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Jakura Nuva

[soularin]

IC: Rune

 

The scarred man was having some sort of panic attack, that much was for certain. She almost considered zapping him into unconsciousness, but she didn't have the heart to do it.

 

"Shhh, hey, it's okay." she spoke as softly as she could, as her natural voice was gruff for a woman and not very soothing. "Everything's gonna be just fine."

 

She knelt down, bringing him slowly to the ground so as not to draw unnecessary attention from the beings she'd been spying on.

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Varan

 

His eyes gleamed bright red. Her voice... it soothed the pain.

 

"Keep... keep talking, Rune," he hissed. He began to move towards the Kanohi on the ground, mind exploding as he did.

He ignored the pain.

[soularin]

IC: Rune

 

The Vo-Toa was shocked as Varan began to wade into the swamp waters towards his prize.

 

"Wait, that's not yours! You can't just take it!" she called after him.

 

So much for subduing him.

 

 

IC: Zeth

 

The Ta-Toa he had once known seemed a different person on this day. The Toa of Gravity watched him stalk slowly towards the Matoran. It seemed almost... hostile....

 

"Jakura...? What are you doing..?" he called out nervously. His voice quivered slightly.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Requiem

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Jakura

 

Jakura turned to Zeth. His eyes glittered with... evil.

 

His stomach lurched at the sight of his old companion. But he knew what needed to be done.

"My name is Anhar. And I'm doing what needs to be done."

With a thrust of his hands, a wave of flames coursed towards his ex-teammate.

 

IC: Varan

 

"It... it's familiar," he mumbled hoarsely. "It calls to me..."

His arms and legs began to tingle as the pain in his mind began to spread down his spine and throughout the rest of his body. But he felt an urge - an unquenchable thirst for the mask. As if the power was speaking to him, drawing him closer.

A stray thought ran through his mind - the Master. His Master. The pain...

 

It began to connect. The Master... he had been ignoring him recently. Master was trying to warn him, to draw him away. But... why? It was only a mask...

Up until now, the Master had dictated all of Varan's moves. Now, when he tried to make his own decision, he was punished. The realization of this unethical torture struck Varan like a wave of energy as he got closer to the mask. New concepts began to enter him - honor, freedom... justice. As these three ideals brought forth more pain, three new ideals - no, virtues - blasted into his brain.

 

The mask was a mere few meters away...

 

Duros.

[soularin]

IC: Zeth

 

'Anhar'? 'What needs to be done'?

 

Before the Ba-Toa could utter another word, a wall of flame erupted forth, searing his flesh. He screamed, but no sound came as he flailed and fell into the water.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Requiem

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Varan

 

Varan saw. He saw as the heartless Anhar blasted Zeth - a Ba-Toa like him - into oblivion. And when he witnessed it, and felt the heat blast by, a rage swept over him more powerful than the pain in his already weak body. This being - however Varan knew him - deserved... What was that word again?... Justice. Yes, justice.

 

Duros.

 

The word surfaced in his mind again. With it came unbearable torture. But Varan pressed on he reached his hand out towards the mask, praying to Whoever was listening to keep Anhar from turning around. The Kanohi was just visible through mud as it continued to sink, the swamp threatening to suck it down forever. But Varan would not let that happen.

 

As a final wave of pain, so powerful it nearly killed him, swept over Varan's body, the once-feared Toa of Gravity leaped for the mask, hand closing around the edge just before it disappeared completely into the swamp. With his last dying strength, he yanked it from the slime and slammed it onto his face, even as he was falling into the water himself.

 

With an explosion of light, Varan changed.

[Eyru]

IC (Merror)

 

Merror turned in surprise, but a smile was already forming on his mask at the familiar voice.

 

"Well, well," he said. "We just can't get rid of each other, can we?"

 

IC (Cael)

 

The healer smiled in return. "No matter how hard you try. How are things looking?"

[Nato G]

IC: Kelz.

 

Kelz began to slowly back away as the Ba-Toa started trying to kill each other. Something was clearly going on here, something he knew nothing about. This Toa was dangerous. He'd killed the skakdi and looked very likely to kill again.

 

Kelz decided it was time to make himself scarce.

[Ghosthands]

IC (Cael)

 

The healer smiled in return. "No matter how hard you try. How are things looking?"

 

 

IC (Merror)

 

"Better than I'd feared, worse than I'd hoped. We've just about picked up the trail, but all we've discovered is that Echelon headed for Ko-Wahi after collapsing the cave."

 

Merror looked around at Cael's companions.

 

"So, how did your side of things go?" he asked, furrowing his brow slightly in concern. "I see you're a few people down."

[Tea-rex]

Ic:

Alsorate saw the Ba-toa slowly crawl towards the deceased Skakdi corpse, and that's when he realised that there was something there. He got up to try and help the Ba-Toa, when a sea of flames erupted from somewhere. He looked to the source and saw it was the Toa who had killed the Skakdi.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?!" Alsorate shouted, but not being heard over the flames. This place was a mad-house now, but the only way out was forward, and forward was through the new battle.

"Oh, this is fantastic." Alsorate thought. If he had to, he might have to fight one of them. He stood up, staff under arms, in a slight crouching position, ready to run when he could...

[Toatapio Nuva]

IC Hile

(Le-Wahi, Fau swamp):

 

Hile almost fell over from the sheer shock of hearing the name.

 

"Anhar!" he shouted. "I know you! You're the hero who saved me in the Wastes!"

 

No sooner had he said that than Anhar blasted Zeth with pure flame. Hile was mesmerized by all this. He couldn't gather what was happening... it looked as if Anhar had turned evil, or insane, but that wasn't possible, was it?"

 

Nearby, something else happened. A Toa of Gravity had slammed the Kanohi Anhar had dropped on his face and began to transform.

 

"Anhar!" Hile cried out. He didn't know whether he did that to warn him or to call him out for betrayal.

[Eyru]

IC (Cael)

 

"Good and bad," she said with a shrug, "We found the Temple, and Utu managed to recover part of his memory, but we think the key to the rest lies with Echelon. As for our missing people..."

 

She paused for a moment, recalling Joske's warning that he needed to lay low for as long as possible. What for? He wouldn't say, and for a moment the healer felt her stomach twist in an unfamiliar burst of anger. It wasn't fair-- who was he to dance in and out of her life, holding secrets over her head and claiming that she would know... eventually? He claimed he needed to walk this path alone, like Takua had, that he was forced to... but, somehow, she found herself doubting that it was much more than a choice. She had died for him before, and would do it again, and for what?

 

Riddles. Riddles and secrets.

 

She took a deep breath. "Joske is back. He stayed long enough to convince Dorian to leave, then left again. I don't know where."

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Anhar/Jakura

 

Anhar turned towards Hile to acknowledge his revelation; but the bright light that suddenly exploded from beneath the swamp waters flung him back into a small pod of beetles gathered around a stump. The insects screeched and flew up, blocking Anhar's view for a short moment. But when they had finally subsided, he trembled at the sight of yet another old companion...

 

IC: Duros

 

I rise.

 

These were the words that entered Varan's reformed mind as he rose from the mud, the stinking liquid completely falling from his body so that his bright purple and black polished armor shone across the swamp. His muscles bulged beneath his outer-armor, and his frame had increased in width. Most notable were his bright green eyes, which gleamed courageously through the shiny black Mask of Sensory Aptitude on his face. In his hand he clenched a silver tri-blade.

 

I am... Duros.

 

Yes, he remembered now. He looked down to the ground, where the rusty residue that had coated his armor now floated in the swamp waters. He lookd back to his own sleek armor. And then, he thought. He thought about freedom, of justice - of unity, duty, and destiny.

And as these virtues ran through his mind... no pain came. The Master was gone.

 

Varan - or Duros, whoever he was - turned to the dazed Anhar. He pointed his weapon at him.

 

"Anhar," he rumbled, "you're under arrest."

[Nato G]

IC: Kelz.

 

What the was going on? Kelz had no idea. A large part of his subconscious was screaming at him to get the out of there right now, but the rest of him, the greedy, adventurous part, was curious, and, as always, that part won out.

 

Backing away to the edge of the clearing where he hopefully wouldn't draw too much attention to himself, he waited, and watched to see what would happen next.

[Toatapio Nuva]

IC Hile

(Le-Wahi, Fau swamp):

 

Hile could hardly believe his eyes. He had heard plenty of tales about peculiar transformations, but he had never witnessed one as strange as this one... or one as dramatic.

 

For some reason, no one seemed to be the who they were supposed to be.

 

Still unsure whether Anhar was good or evil, Hile asked "Anhar... what is going on?"

[Wade.]

IC: Alfon

 

I didn't think I'd actually manage to draw blood, and I was actually tempted to apologize for a second. Aparangi just smiled though, which was kind of creepy, and if it wasn't for the act, his threat would have been awfully intimidating. Still, I got the message and prepared myself for whatever he had in store for me.

 

"Bring it."

 

I backed away as he charged, doing my best to avoid his spiky forearms and parry any incoming blows. With my back facing the other end, it was difficult to tell how quickly we were approaching, so I trusted Aparangi to give me a sign when it was time for our next move.

[Vezok's Friend]

OOC: Keeping this brief on purpose.

 

IC (Agni):

 

Joske is back

 

Back. 

 

I didn't quite know what to say. Lots of thoughts crossed my mind that instant, many of them far from happy. I felt that old Ta-Koro fire well up inside me and realized my thoughts were becoming irrational. Yes, I was frustrated, just like Cael was. But I knew the kid had no ill will. He rarely did things without a reason, even if he was the only one believing in that reason. As for Dorian...judging by what I'd learned about him since I met him, there were more than enough people worrying about him already.

 

I shoved all the thoughts and emotions aside. We had dealt with enough personal drama for the past months, to the point where we had gotten thoroughly sidetracked. I would not let that happen again.

 

"They know how to take care of themselves." I said. It was supposed to sound reassuring, but the anger was still clearly there in my undertones.

 

"And they'll do what they must. We should do the same - we can't allow this trail to get cold."

 

I adjusted my shoulder armor and started to walk towards the tunnel leading out of the lair, but paused after two steps and looked back at Cael.

 

"Glad to have you back, sister."

[Eyru]

IC (Cael)

 

"Good to be back," she replied. "You're right - let's get moving."

[Vezok's Friend]

IC (Agni):

 

A faint smile managed to force its way into my expression. 

 

"Hope you packed something warm for Ko-Wahi." 

 

OOC: If y'all be ready, we can move topics. I'll leave the honors to you ^^

[Eyru]

IC (Cael)

 

The Toa of water smiled and touched the scarf wrapped around her neck, then followed Agni out of the cave.

 

 

OOC WE BE MOVIN' TO KO-WAHI Y'ALL

Edited October 4, 2014 by delilah

[25K Now!]

IC: Ashiem

 

"Truly suffering here. Truly."

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Anhar

 

"Be silent, Matoran - I have not the time to quarrel with you."

 

Anhar turned back to Duros and gulped. He could feel his spine tingle.

"So, Duros. I see you survived the attack. Makes me wonder who else did... obviously not Zeth. Wel, not anymore, that is."

 

He chuckled under his breath as Duros, quickly remembering his fallen teammate, used his control over gravity too lift the Ba-Toa out of the swamp. Duros set him down a few meters away. He couldn't tell whether he was alive or not...

 

IC: Varan

 

Varan set Zeth down carefully, wanting to check him, but knowing Anhar would use it to his advantage. Instead, he turned back to Anhar.

"My name... my name is no longer Duros, Anhar; it is Varan. I accept my change. As for you... you have changed in a way that will harm us all. There is still time left - time to return to our side, the side of good."

 

Varan cringed as Anhar laughed - a very evil laugh, in his opinion. He glanced over at the young Matoran - Hile, right? Yes, Hile...

"Do you know him, Hile?" He asked gently.

[soularin]

IC: Zeth

 

Pain engulfed him. It burned underneath his eyes.

 

His body was scorched and charred, the armor's hue obscured with black grime. Worst of all, half of his Iden was now nearly nonexistent.

 

He lay there on the ground, trembling. He couldn't even scream. It was as if every inch of his persona had melted away into oblivion.

 

So this is how it felt... Xia... I'm sorry, I've failed you...

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Varan

 

Varan sensed the heat radiating from Zeth's body, and when he increased his hearing with his Kanohi he could hear him breathing.

 

"Rune," he said, quickly turning his head to her. "Make sure he's alright, please."

[Nato G]

IC: Kelz

 

Kelz watched, sword in one hand, gauntlet over the other. In the chaos and confusion, no one was paying any attention to him.

 

That was good. 

[Toatapio Nuva]

IC Hile

(Le-Wahi, Fau swamp):

 

"I did", Hile said. Then he added with resolve: "But I don't think I do anymore..."

 

All the while, he looked at Anhar in disbelief.

[soularin]

IC: Rune

 

The Vo-Toa obeyed silently, awestruck by the sudden transformation Varan had taken on.

 

Well that's not something you see every day.

 

She knelt down to check the less-shiny Ba-Toa's pulse.

 

"Yeah, not lookin' too good, but he'll live." she replied. She'd seen death before, in many ways and many forms. This Toa had the potential to survive.

[Tea-rex]

Ic: Alsorate

Seeing how everything was quite now, Alsorate started to slowly walk towards a clearing.

[25K Now!]

IC: Iegasa

 

Iegasa coughed.

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Varan

 

Varan breathed a sigh of relief. He turned back to Anhar.

"You, old friend, have gone down a dark path. Perhaps not as dark as mine, but dark still."

 

He extended his hand. "Please, come with me. We can start over - be the Toa we used to be. We may be few in number, but we have gained... new allies." He looked back at Hile and Rune, and the other beings looking on. He looked again at Anhar.

"Please, Anhar. Do not make me arrest you."

 

IC: Anhar

 

Anhar's temper began to grow. Here was an old ally, a friend, who had done twice as much evil as he had - and yet, he was appealing to him to return!

The Toa of Fire shook his head in despair. He was sick of hiding, of pretending who he was. And he was sick of teams.

"No," he said, bringing his spear up defensively in preparation for battle. "There is no going back. I have chosen my path, Varan - and if you cannot deal with it, then step aside."

 

But the Ba-Toa did not listen; instead, he brought forth his own weapon - a triple-bladed weapon, seemingly of Vortixx make. Anhar grimaced.

 

With a shout of anger, he transported forward, his blade clashing with Varan's.

The battle had begun.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Jakura Nuva

[Toatapio Nuva]

IC Hile

(Le-Wahi, Fau swamp):

 

Hile watched with a feeling of helplessness as the Toa he had recently befriended gave in to the darkness within him and charged. How had he been able to consume all this evil from him?

 

Maybe I'm just not as good a judge of character as I thought, Hile thought.

 

Whatever his past, Hile finally accepted Anhar was beyond return. He would have to help in the battle against him.

 

Hile looked at his equipment - most notably the Volo Lutu launcher and the dagger given to him by Anhar. A plan was forming in the corner of his mind. He went further away from the scene of the battle to prepare.