Bzprpg - Ta-Wahi

[Voxumo]

IC: Syvra

 

Syvra could smell the salt on the air. They were close.

 

 

OOC: Hey ryzen you may want to post you next response in the ga-wahi topic.

[- JL -]

OOC: In response to the 'chase after the miscreants on the bicycle. Thanks.'

 

IC: JL

 

One Toa of Lightning was just trying to enjoy his strawberry ice cream as he crossed the street when what was probably a Skakdi, and a Toa wearing a scarf zipped right past him, out of the close-by jail, and nearly whacked his ice cream out of his hand.

 

"Watch where your driving, WaterskakmelonToahead!" he shouted. 'PRISON BREAK' came the response from far away. For a second, JL stood in slight confusion as to what had happened. After all, he was never a prisoner. He was a good guy!

 

Then it dawned on him.

 

"HEY! WAIT UP! I LIKE THAT WHEELED CONTRAPTION!" He shouted as the terrible driver went up some makeshift ramp into the lava down below. Confused as to why he might commit suicide, JL quickly sprinted towards the gate, where he looked towards the two, one of which now had a watermelon for a hat, as they pedaled away. Seeing as there weren't bystanders in that area, he quickly launched a lightning strike towards where the bike's locale, hoping to at least knock it over so he'd have a chance of catching up.

Edited April 14, 2013 by JL v2

[Light]

OOC: And, the 3rd Heavy Guard Squad has returned. IC: Erif ran down the bumpy rocks to the lava lake, his native temperature resistance helping tremendously. He already had a wooden arrow in his bow. No reason to take chances with a Fe-Toa.

Edited April 14, 2013 by Elvis

[Mr. House]

IC: (Tarotrix/Ta-Koro Backstreets/Ta-Koro)

 

Tarotrix had been in a rather optimistic mood this past couple of weeks. A promotion to 1st Lietenant and the relative safety Ta-Koro had experienced had made him very content. In fact, the only bad thing that had happened was his commander's rather vocal disapproval of him turning down a desk job. Sure, his choice landed him the job leading six Privates through the streets. For an hour, he was telling them about common criminal tricks and tactics, and scolding them when they got a wrong answer. It was dull, degrading work for a self-proclaimed 'Expert Guardsman'.

 

Now he was partially relieved and partially concerned when word came to him about about a prison break. News of the event had came to him via a sweat soaked patrolman. The patrolman was walking in the direction of the Ta-Koro Prison. This had to be some serious stuff, he thought. So Tarotrix asked him as calmly as possible what the karz was happening.

 

"Ta-Ta-Taro! You won't believe this, there's been a prison break, a prison break. Corporal Vestrix told me to secure the prison. I think you should too."

 

The Privates babbled in agreement, But Taro wasn't that stupid. Assuming the break occured twenty, maybe thirty minutes ago, escapees would likely be sneaking through the hoards of guards converging on the prison. The majority of the guard, thinking more prisoners would escape, were likely in that hoard. So what he needed to do was cover every exit from the village. With a great many aforementioned guards going to the prison, that would be a very hard task indeed. So after a minute or two, he replied:

 

"No. There will already be too many in the prison. Tell Vestrix to get his hind out of there and secure the Onu-Koro gate. My men will split in half. Three will go to the cable car with me and keep any escapees from entering. Three will go to secure the Ta-Koro gate. Tell any Guards you meet on you way to join me there. Do you hear me!"

 

"Yessir!" he replied, before rushing towards the prison.

 

"Aitrez, blow your horn! It'll tell the others to be more alert!"

 

But before Aitrez could blow the horn, another matoran came out of the blue. He told the guards of bizarre blue spheres. Spheres that had broken a window and bounded over the market. Taro could harly believe it. Prisoners escaping in huge, convulted versions of Kohi balls? The idea was ridiculous, but a part of his mind said it might be possible. All he had to do was ask a question:

 

"Have you been drinking boy?"

 

"No sir."

 

Taro quickly asked the Matoran to recite the alphabet, which the Matoran did easily. Feeling certain the man wasn't drunk, he organized his men. Again. Two would examine the lava lake for bodies. One would go and give the other guards the news. The other three would join him. Tarotrix had a feeling in his gut that they had managed to go over the lake, and he would be the first one to find it out. Raising his spear upwards, he motioned silently for his men to follow.

Edited April 14, 2013 by Mr. House

[Void Emissary]

IC: Ta-Koro Rooftops - Lumira

There are certain unalterable truths in this world: where there's smoke, there's fire; where there's rain, there's clouds; where there's heroes, there are villains. And where there's trouble, there's me, Lumira. Yeah, that's right; I just listed myself amongst forces of nature. 'Cause I'm just that egotistical, everybody.

The trouble for today is in form (you'll never believe this one) of a pair of spheres flying out of the Ta-Koro prison, bouncing through the cobblestone streets, before ending up in the absolute last place you'd ever want to find yourself:

Floating in the lava lake. Yeah.

And yet, because the universe apparently has a wicked sense of humour, before the unlikely modes of transportation were destroyed in the fiery abyss, their occupants leaped out, clambering up the cliff faces to freedom. Which is exactly what we can't have happening.

Guess that's where I come in.

I'm running, no scratch that, flying across the rooftops of this fiery village, on a direct route towards the gates of the village, pumping my legs harder and harder to keep time with the escapees. To the casual observer, I'm nothing more than a streak of green and teal across the dark skyline, with the a slender trail of gleaming sliver following me.

OOC: Edited to reflect the fact that the dynamic duo are not actually in Ta-Koro.

-Void

 

Edited April 14, 2013 by Dreadheart

[Padishah Mehmet II]

OOC: What the freaking Karz, people. No. This is not how you chase after miscreants. At all. Grochi, this looks like a job for the Milk Stout Duo. I thought I wasn't gonna post until the arc's end, but...

IC: (Perkahn - Ta-Wahi, by the lava river)

Perkahn, from an early age, was a firm believer in coincidence and the possibility that there was some half-psychopath writing his story from up above. So it was only natural that on this day, he, and Grochi, with weapons on their backs and bad milk stout in their digestive tracts, would be passing through Ta-Wahi on the way to the south. "Let's hope we find something better this time." Where, Ta-Koro? his mind muttered to him, and he voiced the next part of what he was thinking: "We're not heading to the actual town, definitely not---" That was when the bike raced at them, fast as a lightningbolt rushing through the ash dust. The Toa of Iron, contrary to popular belief, valued his life, and this particular trait was what urged him to jump to the side, narrowly averting a collision with the bike. Through the ashen, dusty mist that scattered through the air, Perkahn, because the overarching plot that the aforementioned half-psychopath was drawing for him, visualized a relatively clear image of the two riding the bike. Dorian.

 

His memory confirmed it. One of the two men was the same person Perkahn had tried, unsuccessfully, to bring to justice, always coming too close to be reasonable, but not quite close enough. The former guardsman, former trapper, former trapper's teeth gritted against each other as he clenched them, rising back to his feet. To many an other man, this would be too late. This would be one of those moments where he was cheated of his goal yet again, just by a single, solitary splitsecond. No. In one quick move, he flipped his battleaxe right off his back and into his hands, activating his Kakama. One step. Another. Third! He rapidly took step after step, darting down the road the lightningbolt - which was now a lot slower, and could easily be seen to be just a bike - had taken. Four steps. Five steps and he's there, swinging his battleaxe at the wheels of the machine he'd just caught up to. I refuse to give up!

Edited April 14, 2013 by Eduard Bernstein

[- JL -]

OOC: You chase after Miscreants by stealing a bike, usually.

Unfortunately, the miscreants are probably on the only one on the island.

 

This complicates things.

 

IC: JL

 

This complicates things.

 

After all, JL HAD launched a lightning bolt towards the bike, so now that somebody decided 'woo, lets get reaaaal close to that contraption', and JL had already launched it, all he really wanted to do was run, pretend it wasn't his fault (It wasn't), and hope nobody gets real hurt.

 

And that was how JL decided to start running towards them.

[Franco]

IC: "Dear boy," Sighed a soft drawl from behind Dorian, "You look like a preschooler in that thing."Naara stepped out from the mess of igneous stone filling the barren landscape, stopping before JL with left foot and fist-held mace back and right bludgeon held at chest level. She looked at him with the same distaste as one examining an insect before crushing it under an imperious heel. She did not make a motion, but her mocking gaze incited him to act."The toll for usage of this passageway is one fool's skull. It would be highly advised, in your case, to exit or become payment."The message to JL was simple: choose between fight or flight before the choice was made for him.

Edited April 14, 2013 by Mr. Peanuts

[Mr. House]

IC: (Tarotrix/Near Lava River/Ta-Wahi)

 

"Sir! Sir! We caught a glimpse of some lightning Toa pelting some machine! I think it's the escapee!"

 

"What was this machine, Private?"

 

"Some two-wheeled vehicle. It had a Skakdi and a Toa on top of it!"

 

"Okay, ready your spears. This'll get messy."

 

Tarotrix wasn't particularly scared of this news. He was nervous. Five guards vs three prison escapees. It was going to be a bloodbath if he made even one mistake. So he ordered his men to crouch down as they approched. They darted from rock to rock, trying to stay hidden. Finally, after five minutes of sneaking, the lava lake was in sight. After looking around for a few seconds he saw the strange vehicle, the Skakdi and Fe-Toa, and two others of undetermined elements.

 

By now, he came to the conclusion that two of the Toa were trying to stop the Fe-Toa. Any thoughts that they all were escapees were cast aside. Cast aside by Taro's anger at these Toa doing his job. He was the Ta-Koro guard, and he could easily do his job without these Toa helping him! The glory of catching these Piraka would be his. So he ordered his men to take their positions. And so, they began to march towards Dorian and Grokk. Once they were about fifteen or so feet away, he yelled:

 

"Stop! You are under arrest! Put down your weapons and get off the vehicle! NOW!"

Edited April 14, 2013 by Mr. House

[otter]

IC:

 

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Grochi, easily the eldest, most easily annoyed, and most annoyed Toa in the general area, was well and rightly P.O.'d by recent events. First, he had a bad milk stout. Second, he was back in Ta-Wahi. Third, Dorian escaped prison. Fourth, he was stuck in the middle of what was bound to be some huge, annoying, and ultimately fruitless battle.

 

Action one: Bring up plasma shield, deflect lightning bolt that was about to hit Perkahn. Check. Action two, pull out rapier, teleport closer to the bike, but nowhere near as close to it as Perkahn, charge rapier with more plasma. Oh, look, now there's a squad of Ta-Koro Guardsman out in a wall, likely led by some second-rate guardsman with outdated ideas about combat tactics and glory in battle and who-knows-what. Grochi rolled his eyes.

 

Action three: Launch plasma bolt at the bicycle's front right tire, following its current movement to strike it in about one and one-half seconds if all went well, flip the bike, and bring this to a hopefully peaceful conclusion, instead of some all-out brawl like what seemed about to happen."Dorian, m'boy, if you would please come with Perkahn and I, that would be wonderful. If you won't do it immediately, I recommend you watch out for the guardsmen around the corner; we don't need them killing each other by accident when they try to grab you, you know. It'd be a terrible waste."

[Silvan Haven]

OOC: Due to the fact that Klavier had been sitting in his cell for to get comfortable and have a conversation, It has probably been longer then a half hour, at the very least.

 

Loren- Ta-wahi

 

IC: After a drink or two, the Guardsman left the bar, planning on heading back to Headquarters and write up all the paperwork that last debacle had necessitated. Well, that was his plan until shouts started emanating from the nearby jail, followed closely by a pair of large blue balls flying out of the single large window in the place. They flew over his head before landing in the lava moat around the city, magma could be seen geysering up from where they landed.

Given the fairly normal assumption that this had something to do with the commotion, Loren mask-jumped to the wall just in time to see a couple of figures pulling themselves over the edge and onto the solid ground of the other side of the moat.

 

Pulling out his telescope and looking at the figures, he grimaced. Dorian and a brown Skakdi were getting talking next to some sort of contraption, while he watched, the Skakdi pulled a full sack off the back of the contraption and opened it, revealing what looked like the head of a Matoran. Whether that head was attached to a body was hard to tell even with the telescope.

Putting the sack back onto what Loren could now tell was a vehicle of some kind, the Skakdi stuck half a watermelon on Dorian's head and the two got on and started heading away from the fortress of Ta-koro.

 

Not on my watch you don't.

 

Mask-jumping to the spot where they had been, the Guardsman noticed several other Toa already in the area, three of whom looked to be trying to stop the escapees, while another stood between them and a Toa of Electricity.

Loren jumped into the air teleporting and spinning at the same time. The end result was him appearing several bio in front of the bike while already turning to face them. Jabbing his hands forward he created a series of soundshape spikes in front of him and to the sides. An observant person might notice a slight shimmer in the air, but it would be impossible to pick out the actual shape of what stood in the way.

Edited April 14, 2013 by Silvan Haven

[- JL -]

IC: JL

 

"What's wrong with you? It's not like I owe you money. Surprisingly, I don't owe anyone money. Unsurprisingly, people suddenly decided to threaten me."

 

Female Muscled Freak. What kind of person does that?

 

"Seeing as I'm not a fool, I get free passage." JL said simply, and started to walk a large arc around Naara, hopefully reaching some kind of thing which would allow him to catch up to the bike, the guy who had thankfully put up a shield to save the other guy, and the other guy who likes to run. Then he stopped, and turned around.

 

"So who are you?" he asked, half expecting an answer, half expecting some deathly energy beams firing to his face.

[Seraphimon]

IC:

Klavier did not look surprised at all at Huron's sudden arrival. After all, he had heard him coming, had smelled him coming, and had arguably foretold his arrival, possible wish-fulfillment aside. Also, it was impossible to see his eyes so a look of surprise involved a lot of facial movement that Klaver just didn't really do very often. So, Klavier was unsurprised by Huron's sudden arrival and he didn't look surprised either, a combination that gave him an air of unflappable omniscience.

"My sword. Do you know where it is, dark horse?"

"I do not," Huron replied, his voice somehow soothing yet surreal to Klavier's ears. He seemed equally comfortable with his surroundings despite the seemingly stacked odds and deep mess he was in. But of course, he would only be in trouble if he was caught. First priority: Not get caught. "I'll wager it's in the contraband box but we don't have time to fetch it; we have to get out of here," Huron admitted as his starlight eyes drilled over Klavier's unique physique.

Klavier shook his head. "There is little choice in the matter, I'm afraid. The sword is precious to me. If you want the answers you seek, then I'm afraid you must wager our lives for the sword." Klaver began to crack his knuckles. "With the guards distracted by our...friends, I suspect we will have an easier time retrieving the blade than any other possible time."

A few options whizzed through Huron's mental cogs. He could offer to diplomatically get the sword back after they escaped or he could return for it himself; his wiry frame was suited for sneaking, after all. Or, he concluded, they could get the sword together right then and then. Though not exactly subtle they could probably get it more efficiently that way. The only hindrance Huron had at that point was the risk factor of being caught, but Huron had long since concluded that statistics were the bane of progress and he tossed those worries to Klavier's winds. "I don't know where the contraband would be," Huron confessed. "But we could take a gander at it. Let's go."

Klavier nodded. "So shall it be." With a light jaunt in his step, Klavier slid out of the cage, pushing aside the door with a steady hand. Moving past Huron, Klavier motioned down one of the hallways. "My sword is this way."

That hallway being from whence Huron had come from before and the only way out of the HiSec cluster, Huron was relatively unimpressed with the prophet's fortunetelling but he gingerly stepped in front of the big toa and walked forward in complete silence.

Breathing. The sounds of battle outside. HiSec and the rest of the prison was surprisingly uninhabited, or at least uninhabited by two people who generally looked like they knew what they were doing. Huron led the way while Klavier gently nudged them down hallways, through storage doors, and down staircases. The guards they did see were far too preoccupied with the recent escape of Dorian, an incredibly high security prisoner whom they had seen at the trial or heard about beforehand, to really care much about a blind Toa and his squat, gnome-like companion.

Klavier murmured in a voice too low to be heard, then let the wind carry his voice to his companion's ear. "Doubtless word has not yet traveled to the rank-and-file about the...ah...unfortunate incident at the drinking establishment. So long as we remain quiet, I doubt we will encounter resistance."

"I don't think so," Huron whispered somberly in return. "They surely had purpose to put you in HiSec," he keenly pointed out, "and they are obviously on high alert now. We are obviously not guards. It would be prudent to remain hidden until we get your sword." If only Klavier wasn't so attached to his weapon they would have been able to fight their way out the front door but Huron knew that without the sword he would receive no answers.

Klavier raised an eyebrow. "Ah, but the prospect of motorcycles. And the whispers of hostages. A much more exciting story than a blind man. But just in case, I have guided our way past the majority of onlookers. Just to be safe."

Excitement was hardly the main reason people were guards in Ta-Koro. These were Duty-bound keepers of the law; blind man or not, exciting tale or not, they would do their jobs with the same zeal. Still, Klavier had been right; they had passed the more immediate obstacles. But now, as they came close to the office area of the jail and surely to the contraband lockers, a new challenge presented itself: More guards in the same open room with nothing more than tables and drawers in the way. The odd couple stood by the door to the office room and Huron gave a quick glance. Klavier had no such need. "Any of your prophetic hooblah fit this situation?" Huron asked.

Klavier scratched the back of his neck. "Yes." There were five guards. "The prophecy goes like this: 'move quickly.' This is its beginning and end."

There was a sudden pause, then a hush. One of the guards noticed a strange sensation coming from his throat. As he took an experiment swallow, another guard began to feel the same sensation. In the space of about two seconds, the two of them realized that someone had blocked off their respiratory pipe, preventing them from breathing. In the next second, Klavier moved across the room like a snake, his flat palm meeting the windpipe of yet another guard in the short distance between them.

Huron smirked tightly at the prophet's words and burst through the door right after the unnervingly quick big guy. His short legs carried him no faster than a Matoran's sprint but his elemental powers were more than enough to make up for his lack of power. He bounded over the first table in his way like it was a low hurdle and kicked the matoran behind it down as he descended to the floor, then did the same thing over the desk. The guard before him was fast with his spear and already prepared to defend himself against the little ugly toa, but Huron's powers thrust the weapon from the guard's hands and it clattered to the floor, far too weighty to grasp. In a swift tackle Huron raised the guard over his shoulders and tossed him behind like he was a sack of fruit, the guard's fighting training rendered useless as his weightlessness betrayed his power. Huron stepped forward with Klavier to the last guard... and the lockers that lined the back of the room. Surely the sword was in one of these containers.

The last guard tossed his spear aside. Unlike his fellow guards, he was a Toa and fire sparked from his fingertips, like a young tiger looking to whet his teeth against new blood. Klavier merely smiled. "A worthy attempt. But your stance is terrible." Klavier dropped down, dodging a burst of flame that lightly singed his cloak. His leg spun like clockwork, causing the Toa to completely lose his footing. But the Toa was not so easily defeated; he caught the bench and flipped backwards, bouncing off the lockers like an acrobat. In the air between the two, Klavier stepped forward and in one motion grabbed his sword from the locker and slashed downwards. There was a horrible sound, the sound of wet paper ripping as Klavier's black hunk of iron and steel cut the fiery Ta-Toa in half.

Blood dripped down in slow, wet rivulets. Klavier's mask glowed, even in the relatively bright surroundings of the contraband office. "Now we run, black horse."

"Right," Huron said blandly. He had hoped for no death, something he knew was wishful thinking in the scenario they were in. At least he was not the one to deliver the killing strike, he reconciled, and didn't show any emotion on the matter. "I'll guard the back. You lead the way. We'll barrel through anything that comes up. ###### stealth."

Klavier nodded and without another word moved forward with great purpose, stepping lightly over one of the guards he had previously choked. He hoped that the foretelling he had had on the way here would be fulfilled; that guards would cower and go elsewhere rather than face a grim man with bandages on his eyes and blood on his sword. Being a prophet, however, meant being a pessimist and it was with this in mind that Klavier led Huron through the maze of the Ta-Koro guardhouse.

"Why," murmured Klavier, "do things need to always end in violence?"

[Hexann]

IC: Morok in Ta-Koro

 

Morok was truly bored. He had also felt so strange lately. He had mixed feeling about passed events in his life. Ecspecially scince he had been getting dreams of his past. Was he good? Was he bad? Shoudn't he know the answer to such questions? He commited so many wrongs in the past. Didn't he have a right to do such things after what he had been through? He had been forced to become a Toa to protect an island off the coast Mata Nui as a last resort. He had failed to do so, thus, the island and all of its inhabatants were destroyed maliciously, yet he, he out of all people survived. Why did he diserve a second chance? He was war-loving tyrant. He wasn't good. He just killed evil because that was all he was allowed to kill.

 

He had felt guilt that he, instead of some of his friends that lived with him, had survived. He looked up into the skies (or was it smoke-covered skies?) pondering what to do with his life.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Damaracx 7.0

[Hexann]

IC: Morok in Ta-Koro

 

Morok started to fall asleep. Quickly, he shook himself awake.

 

"I can't afford another one of those dream flashbacks....too painful to remember such things", he thought to himself.

 

The normally busy streets of Ta-Koro weren't so busy anymore. They were much more quiet then ussual.

 

Morok got up from where he was sitting.

 

"It must be night. However, I can't tell in this volcano"

 

Ooc: Well, nobody has posted in more then twelve hours, so, I can double post.

[EmperorWhenua]

Ic: "Because this is a violent world," Huron said as he watched over his shoulder to ensure they were not being hunted. "Violence is the easy way and people like the swiftness of it. Death, however, is because we surrender our values to that ease," he dubiously reprimanded Klavier, giving his great sword's smeared blade a withering glance.Klavier smiled. "Values? What values?""Toa are not to kill," Huron said meekly but indignantly.Klavier stopped for a moment. "And why should that be? Why should we be unable to access that greatest of skills, the ability to exercise our power? Why should we constrain ourselves?""Because the Toa are supposed to set the examples of what heroes and guardians are," Huron countered. "Too many of our kind use their power to kill, slaying brothers and sisters and neighbors alike. By killing, we reduce ourselves to nothing more than another misrepresentation of a hero, and heroes is what the Matoran need to keep their resolve. Why would you betray your own nature?" he asked."Kill him." The Angry Man demanded blood. I could smell decay and long-suffering. He had been tied to that chair for at least three days, his body slowly withering. His breathing was short, shallow gasps. "End his suffering."I stood firm, holding the sword in front of me. "I refuse. I will not kill."The Angry Man let out an angry grunt. "You're cheeky. Always have been. Always will be, probably. That's good.A blinding pain seered across my back and the pain danced across my body as to drown out my screams. In that brief instant, all of my senses screamed for release."Drown, boy. Drown, and let the perfect vision fill you."Klavier spat out the words like bullets. "Do you know what heroes do? Heroes die. They sacrifice and throw themselves on the gates of destiny. I'm not a protector. I'm not a hero. I'm a prophet and I must survive.""You only look after yourself," Huron said, shaking his head, "but you have to serve someone else as a prophet. Who do you serve?" he pressed. "What does he teach?"No answer came. Huron took the silence what what it was worth.. . .The hallways ahead were mostly empty. The entire guard complex seemed poised on the edge of a pin, though; even though they had no interactions with guards, the few remaining were not at ease in the slightest. It was almost as if they could tell, through some bizarre intuition, that one of their members was dead and the others unconscious. All it would take would be one unfortunate stumbling into the wrong room to realize that they had been robbed.And then some.Klavier, blade held confidently in one hand, mouth turned up in a grimace, feet moving past each other in perfect lockstep, smiled. "How many guards," he asked, "do you figure are at the exit?"In the absence of speech in the moments prior Huron thought about Klavier's second question. Five in the room, three who entered the HiSec ward after the initial breakout, one out of the picture, two patrolling the hallways... At the door: "Three or four," Huron answered."You have already broken them, though," he said. "You've made your impact. As soon as we leave these walls we will part ways. I have learned what I have come to glean from you."There was an outcry that rang throughout the guard complex. It was the sound of a machine waking from a long slumber, the first gurgles of oil and squaking gear (where are they who did this? Who could have done this?), the initial shock, the slow but steady journey into movement and out of lethargy (get them find them!), and finally the machine turns and the world moves into motion.The four guards, two Toa and two Matoran, charged towards the two intruders. There were no words, just a roar, a scream of fury, vengeance. "Though our ways may be part, dark horse...you are wrong." Klavier moved to a fighting position and for a brief moment, Huron saw his (eyes) teeth gleam with bloodlust. "You still have much to learn.""If I am wrong, so be it," Huron stubbornly held. "Being wrong has never before been so right."The wind in the room picked up considerably and a monstrous blast came from Klavier and Huron's backs, smashing with the force of iron against the four oncoming guards. One Toa teleported barely out of the way, his Kualsi flashing, as he took out his blade. Klavier matched his sword with his own, meeting them with crunching iron. "What is right?" asked Klavier, laughing as a well-timed kick took his opponent in the gut."What is best," Huron replied. "Evil will kill itself, that is its nature. I'm just a catalyst for that end."The great gust of Klavier was aided by Huron's purple beam of Gravity. Wisps of the earthen force caught the guards like tendrils of alien smoke and grasped them with instant energy. The guards suddenly were blown backwards like leaves in a windstorm, thrown back and away. Their collective mass and nearly simultaneous flight was enough to send them through the wall that was behind them and the wall beyond that. They hit the final barrier, a thickly layered wall of smooth masonry, and collapsed in a heap, unconscious but still breathing.Klavier's wind was relinquished by that point but Huron was not yet finished. "I'm sorry, Prophet," he said in his calm but unnerving voice. "But I can't let you do anything more to harm them." His power now directed at Klavier, he caused Klavier to float up, weightless as well, and gave a kick to send the great man after the final wall like a wrecking ball to burst through the exterior wall and open the path to the outside of the prison.Klavier, however, had none of it. With a grimance, he took his sword and slammed it into the ground, rending the stone like paper as his mask pulsed furiously. "You......cannnot...." Klavier's eyes began to bleed, like tears, running down from his bandages like rivers. "you...will....not...."Suddenly, Huron began to feel a choking sensation around his neck as the air in his lungs abruptly stopped moving and refused to budge. "I....will.......not......" his muscles bulged, the blood pulsed more furiously, the sword cracked against stone.Huron was no fool; he knew Klavier's trick and had expected the prophet to use it again. After all, why stop using something already known to work? He had gulped in as much air as his thin body could take as soon as he had said the last syllable to Klavier. That man had already proven himself both deadly and unencumbered by morality and Huron anticipated resistance from the sensing toa, and a man of his ability was sure to be able to match Huron's wiry might.But Huron also understood the keen advantage he held over the prophet. While Klavier's power came from strength and primal instinct, Huron's power was derived from an element that could deny physical ability its sting. Even as Klavier held on to his sword with ardent urgency, he found his anchor to lose its traction and be raised from its slot in the stone floor. His Kanohi-given power pressed it down into place but even that greatness was limited by his muscles. Huron's energy knew no such bounds, however.The sword slowly rejected Klavier's power and rose from the floor as the force of Gravity shoved it from the ground to the ceiling in increasing zeal.Every power has its drawback, however. With Klavier's increased lightness came the question of momentum. If he was becoming lighter, where would he go? To the ceiling? Even as Huron desperately pushed upwards, tried with all of his might to push Klavier upwards, fought power against strength, Klavier changed the direction of what was. What happened if he gave a push in another direction? From behind him, the wind blew with a great gust as the prophet stoped fighting, stopped moving, and simply let the wind provide its own momentum. Klavier rode the gusts right back towards the choking Toa.The sword, instantly released from Klavier's strength, sang upwards and crashed through the ceiling above Klavier without delay. The prophet flew back to Huron like a rocket, however, and the little toa was forced to collapse to the floor to duck below Klavier to avoid his barreling body's crushing might.The wind, however, does not work only in straight vectors. The wind pushed the weightless Klavier downwards as well as forwards, barrelling straight towards Huron, whose attempts to duck ended in failure. Klavier collided with Huron head-on, his weightless arms grabbing around the Toa's throat. The bandages around Klavier's eyes were almost completely red with blood, soaked completely through. "There is no 'let', black horse," said Klavier, his face a grimace of pain and pleasure. "There is no 'allow' here. There is will. I am will."Spots appeared in front of Huron's eyes as he saw the true face of the Prophet, a snarling rabid animal, a raging demon, a bloody spectre of horror, and as he prepared his powers for one last counter attack...The unconscious bodies of the guardsmen lay strewn about, the Kualsi-clad Toa sported some nasty bruises where Klavier had smashed his chest with the flat of his sword. The guardsman breathed, harshly and painfully, but still among the living. . .Moonlight poured in the room, the wall having been blown back to reveal a doorway to the outside area. Klavier turned to his companion, rubbing his white bandages with his free hand. "Shall we proceed, black horse?"Huron warily looked at Klavier, fully intending to defend the sleeping guards in case Klavier gave in to his nature of death, but nodded. "Let's."The two toa strode by the bodies and rubble and into an alley outside the jail's domain and vanished into the night, prophet and protector going their own ways upon their exodus.

[Hexann]

IC: Morok

 

Morok had a sudden thought.

 

"Somebody in a black cape passed here and he was a toa of air....could he be... Vuracious?" Morok asked himself.

 

Morok could hear that tyrants Vuracious' words ringing through his head: "If you do survive, then maybe, we'll battle each other again. If.".

 

He had one goal and that goal was to kill this person, this person who had taken everything from him.

[25K Now!]

IC: [stronin]

 

Stronin stared down at the tablet, a stylus tightly gripped in his hand. Everything detailed on the object beneath his eyes was perfectly fine with him, except for one thing; one little thing that was the cause of his biggest complaint.

 

"There aren't enough choices," he said, flicking his eyes up to look at the Matoran manning the station.

 

"Why would you need any more boxes to tick?" asked the aforementioned being, who was wondering if the Iron Toa was crazy or not. "You've ticked them all! All of them!"

 

"I have more organs than the amount of boxes present on this tablet," replied Stronin, sighing as he pushed the object and stylus towards the Matoran. "Oh well, I suppose it probably isn't that common for someone to need an intestinal transplant."

 

"Of course," nodded the Matoran, taking the tablet and slotting it into a compartment. "Although I must say, I wish all Toa were like you, doing such things."

 

Stronin quickly moved back. "I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart okay? I just don't want to waste my organs ... so don't get any wrong ideas!"

 

With that, he turned and flew off.

 

The Matoran smirked and looked back to the tablet. "Suuuure."

[ToaDraconixMahvi]

IC(ToaDevounx):

 

Steps lightly over the lava river, calmly, without burning feet, and enters the village, and sits at a bar, hoping to find a Ta-Matoran adventurous enough to help track down a rogue Toa Hybraxi, just as Devounx, a Toa Hybraxi, is, but this is a Toa with the hybrid powers of Earth and Lightning being hunted by the Toa with the hybrid powers of Fire and Sonics, and wonders where twin sister, Neril, Toa Hybraxi of Ice and Lightning could be at. "Come on...there has to be at least one Ta-Matoran that likes adventure...maybe theres one at this Ga-Koro, at that inn thats i've seen the posters for at Ko-Koro, and here, at Ta-koro. Might as well...wont get any help from a Fire Villager here. I hope i find help too...Kerkona was the strongest of the 7 of us Toa Hybraxi..."

 

OOC: To Ga-wahi if theres anyone that wants to fight a Toa of Earth+Lightning!

[Hexann]

IC: Morok in Ta-Koro

 

Morok walked over to the exit of Ta-Koro that would lead him to Onu-Wahi.

 

"That's where I saw him go", Morok thought to himself.

 

Morok then, quickly exited Ta-Koro, thus, entering Oun-Wahi.

[Voxumo]

OOC: Tivanu from Ga-wahi

 

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu entered through the gates of Ta-koro and took a deep breath of the hot air. The smell of molten protodermis and smoke filled the air.

Kive-phu, the female lava hawk on his shoulder, Was practically cawing with delight for this was her original territory. Tivanu simply laughed as he saw this

Oh she must remember her home

With that Tivanu turned to look at Rhinal and offered a smile. He extended his toward the numerous buildings

"Well this Ta-koro. Land of blistering heat and fire."

[Mr. Coffee]

IC: Fiera

"Walk, right... Haven't done that today yet..." I rolled my eyes, but inwardly I had to admit it was the most sensible idea presented. That was when Erif ran off somewhere, weapon ready. Instinct told me to follow, but when my hands didn't find any weapon on my back, I remembered I was a prisoner of the medical staff. "I'll be home... Staring at the wall..." I called after him, unsure if he heard.

 

As I said, I went home. As much as I had to admit, I was feeling below standard. By the time I reached my hut, I barely had enough strength to keep vertical. It The burning on my forehead also told me I was running a fever, though that couldn't bother a Ta-matoran less. I shed my clothes and had a quick bath before falling to the bed, deciding that maybe a few days bed rest might not be that bad idea after all.

 

It took me a good while to fall asleep, and when I finally did, it was nothing like the dreamless sleep I wanted.

 

I was on the beach again. The squad was hiding behind the larger rocks, ready to take aim at my signal. There was a boat approaching the place where we waited.

 

Not this dream again, please. Somebody, wake me up!

 

"It seems like we're right on the money." one of my squad mates whispered, peeking behind the cover. "the bounty for this one is quite high. I think I'm going to take a looong vacation, somewhere sunny and warm. Admire the art in Po-Koro maybe." he said. But I already knew he never will.

As soon as the boat arrived, a white skakdi jumped off of it and wet to unload his cargo, which we knew to be black market weapons. I signaled the squad when he turned his back to us and more than five bows were pointed at him in a moment. "Drop your weapon!" somebody on my left shouted.

I knew that ta matoran rookies taking on an ice skakdi was a bit of a gamble, but I thought we had big enough numerical advantage. I have never been more wrong. As soon as two of my squad approached to chain him, he turned around, a red glow in his eyes and insane grin on his face. I could helplessly watch as my squadmates got vaporized by his heat vision again. Some arrows flown from my right, but missed. The skakdi picked up his weapon and instantly froze the archers before turning to me. I stood there, frozen by fear. In the next moment, I felt a searing pain on my shoulder as the heat vision hit me, but my remaining squadmate pulled me away in time.

 

I woke up, barely an hour after I fell asleep, in a puddle of cold sweat. I could only turn around, bury my face in the sheets and cry my eyes out.

[Light]

IC: "Hey hey hey," Erif whispered, rubbing her shoulder. The archer had gone back after he'd lost track of Dorian, trying to make sure she got her rest. "I suppose asking if you're okay is unnecessary."

[Mr. Coffee]

IC: All of a sudden there was something on my shoulder. I twitched as it surprised me, not hearing anyone approach. The voice drove it home though. I put my hand over Erif's, feeling a little bit better. I turned around to face him: "I'll... I'll be fine." I said with one last sob, "Nothing heralth related, just a bad dream." I explained. "Come in, by the way." I said with a slight blush, tightening the blanket around myself.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Nohiki

[Nuju Metru]

 

IC:

It was a bright afternoon. Sunlight fell through a partly cloudy atmosphere to watch the people of Mata Nui going about their lives. The sea around the island lapped in its normal patterns, turquoise under the happy light. For the most part, the Koros were peaceful on this afternoon. Matoran walked the streets performing their daily businesses – buying and selling, farming, weaving, carving – and the warm glow from on high relieved a little of the weary tension that had sat in their shoulders for too long. On such a fine day as this, with no antagonistic Rahi in sight, none of their friends on the march, it wasn’t so hard for the more optimistic Matoran to feel that the Great Spirit may have blessed them with a rare good day. The wiser ones knew better than to hope.

Somewhere within close proximity to the Koros, unnoticeable at first, there were slight tremors in the earth. Perhaps a leaf or two rustled, or a pebble bounced, snows or sands shifted. The tremors could easily have been mistaken at first for wind, but it was not long before they escalated into discernible quakes. Anyone who stood by chance over the patch of disturbed ground would have been able to tell that something under their feet was moving, may even have been able to hear a rumbling crack. The faces of the first Matoran to notice blanched, and they quickly ran back to the safety of their Koros, shouted the alarm. Nobody could know what was coming from below him or her, but by the feeling of it, it had to have been big.

With the speed of wildfire in dry grass, the fearful word of the trembling in the earth spread, and it was only a matter of minutes before practically the whole Koro was peering anxiously from behind cover at the patch of ground which, by now, was visibly shaking, tossing dust and debris about. The patches were all situated someplace easily within view, right at the doorsteps of the Koros; it was clearly a strategically placed disturbance. The noise of breaking ground was a pervasive growl interspersed with sharp sounds of fracturing rock. The Matoran watched with unconsciously held breath. The warriors among them already had their weapons ready; if today was to be a day when they would fend off an assault, so be it. The Matoran of Mata Nui may have been small, but they were not helpless against Makuta's pet Rahi.

Against what emerged from the ground, though, they stood no chance.

The final cracking noises were loud as gunfire, and the rock of the earth shattered outwards like ten thousand arrowheads, injuring any who were too close. The ground exploded completely into shards, revealing a gaping maw of a tunnel, wide enough for the passage of a legion. And a legion marched forth from the earth, arranged in the formations of a well-trained army. At the front of the columns were brown, spiny creatures wielding sharp-edged staffs. Even the Matoran who had never seen one of these frightful beings before knew that these, and the countless others behind them, were Rahkshi. The many brown Rahkshi of Shattering, which had carved the way for those behind them, screeched in challenge and exploded nearby boulders as signs of force, then moved to the back lines to preserve their strength. The others strode out on their long legs in unison step, weapons held with deadly ease.

Line by line, the Rahkshi emerged from Makuta's secretly-developed system of tunnels, a project he had set his tireless sons to some weeks ago. Each contingent had carved through the earth on their straight paths, and all had simultaneously broken through the final barriers before their targets at the order of their master. Every breed, every shape of spine and pattern of staff, was represented in the ranks, each different color interspersed at random with the others. There were perhaps a hundred Rahkshi at the foot of every Koro, each one a warrior with more speed and strength than two Toa combined. There were no forces in any Koro that could give any challenge to such a host of the staff-wielding creatures.

None in the people in the Koros moved or spoke. They waited for the Rahkshi to make the first move, but the Rahkshi, once assembled before the holes they had stepped out of, stood in still readiness. If any were foolish enough to try and brave the creatures, they were killed before they even reached the tips of the staffs. After any futile attacks ceased and silence returned to the tense standoff, the scattering of red Rahkshi of Fear began to scream, and they were rapidly joined by all their brothers. The cacophony of a hundred shrill voices curdled blood for miles around; the likes of the sound had never been heard on the island of Mata Nui. The shrieks died down after a few seconds, leaving the Rahkshi standing as they were: ready, but motionless.

The people of Mata Nui wondered how long it would be until the army that spelled their doom would strike.

[- JL -]

IC: JL

 

After a hiatus of not knowing what to do, the sound of first dry rock cracking, and then the ground just shaking like a quake, JL quickly stepped back instinctively. He was just a bit outside the Koro, and what emerged from the ground, snarling, staves in hand and a menacing look in their eyes were the Sons of Makuta.

 

Except this time, there were quite a lot more, and JL knew for a fact that facing all of them alone was a death trap.

 

The problem was, why now? Everyone knew, deep down, that the Makuta could've done this any time he wanted, and it could've been a win or a fail for both sides. But why now?

 

Quickly, he retreated back into the village, which was already starting to get real quiet as guards, whose armor you could literally see vibrating, JL quickly tried to count. He couldn't. Simply acknowledging the fact that a bunch of Rahkshi had amassed outside Ta-Koro was already a creepy thought; if they were at high enough numbers that you couldn't really count them without having them all line up like tame kids, well, shucks.

 

JL stood, waiting, for when the Rahkshi made their move. He knew that those who stood in their way would just get killed. But while he anticipated an attack, what came was a blood curling scream, a battle cry, a predator's roar before it extinguished the life of it's prey. Each of the shrill, squeaky voices, made people cup their hands over their ears. The Rahkshi of Fear did their job well - everybody was afraid, and probably had adrenaline blasting through their bodies right now. After a few seconds, the Rahkshi stopped, and JL, inside the Koro, held up his sword, as did others with their weapons.

 

Still, he couldn't help but wonder.....what now?

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu simply watched. He could see the army of Rahskhi. He could see everyone trembling with fear. It was at this point that he laughed loudly for it seemed to echo through the whole village.

Along side him, Sitting on his shoulder was Kive-phu, Tivanu's female Lava hawk, Who immediatly unfurled her wings and flew to circle the village. She would everyso often let out a shrill caw.

 

With that Tivanu began to walk away from the main gates of the village and instead waved his hand while Kiva-phu landed back on his right shoulder. He began walking towards a small tavern and simply walked in. While all the other patron's were frozen with fear he made his way to the counter and just laid his hands on the counter

Well i do not plan on dying anytime today

 

OOC: Tivanu is open for interaction

[Mr. House]

IC: (Tarotrix/Ta-Wahi)

 

If ever a sound would haunt Tarotrix, a sound that would trigger memories of horror and pain, a sound that would be impossible to put to words, it would be the sound of Rahkshi, rising by the dozens from the black, burned landscape of Ta-Wahi. The unearthly rumbling, the noise of the ground being ripped apart, the harsh, gutteral hissing of Makuta's sons, and the marching of hundreds of feet. Tarotrix was brave, almost stupidly so, and would normally rush in and get himself killed. But something tore at his brash, jingoistic nature, a cold sense of realism, no, a sense of fear. Fear that his Koro would be destroyed, his people slaughtered, and his chances at receiving the glory he so dearly felt he deserved would end at the blade of a Rahkshi's staff.

 

The fear also made his priorities slightly straighter. Within seconds of the first sight of a Rahkshi, he turned his gaze away from Grokk and Dorian, who were about sixty feet away. He turned his gaze to the growing army of monstrosities going toward his village. At that moment, a sense of paranoia hit him. He ordered his men to duck to the ground. Quickly, he turned his gaze to Ta-Koro's gates. Barking an order at his men, he ran. He ran faster than he had ever ran before. He hugged the lava-lake, for about three minutes.One of the three recruits who was following him, however, tried to attack a Rahkshi that was in the process of assembling in formation. He was, within seconds hit with a confusion ray. He stumbled, and fell behind long enough for a Rahkshi of insect control to send out a swarm of wasps to finish the job. At least, that was what he caught from the short glances he took from behind him.

 

Within a couple of minutes, he reached the bridge. Filled with a desperate urge to get the karzahni away from the mogrels, he stormed into the village. And boy, was it a mess. Panic was slowly spreading among the villagers and cries of terror filled the air. The guard, however, maintained some sense of sanity. Some began to form into tight-knit square formations, reservists and those unprepared calmly jogged the armory, archers and disk-thowers took positions on the walls. Horns deep and high in tone droned filled the air with dread. For the first time in his career, he saw the city prepare for war.

 

After a minute or so, he had gathered a squad of six men, armed and ready for battle. Taro watched half-confidently as his fellow officers positioned their troops as close to the gates as possible. Sending his glance away from the troops, he looked to the civillians. Most were in a state of complete and utter shock, as he had noticed before. Since the guard couldn't keep them safe and content, he bitterly realized he had to find a Toa to get them to shelter. He found one, a Lightning elemental, near the gate. He held up a sword in idiotic defiance to an enemy that obviously outnumbered him. Typical Toa, he thought.

 

"Citizen, I name you Deputy of the Ta-Koro Guard," he told him. "I ask you to please get the other civilians into shelter, and order them to barricade their doors."

 

 

OOC: That's JL.

[25K Now!]

IC: [stronin]

 

Stronin really hated it when people panicked. It was completely unnecessary, when things could be solved by calmly taking in the information and thinking up logical ways to escape whatever terrible situation had befouled them. Yet his fellow bar-goers had immediately panicked when news of the Rahkshi appearance had spread. Not that he blamed them. Rahkshi were really scary. But he still didn't like the fact that they were running around and screaming their heads off.

 

Nor did he like the fact that one of them knocked over his drink.

 

"I paid for that you know," he muttered, curled up in a ball as he waited for the chaos to calm down. "I hate my life."

 

OOC: Open for interaction.

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu looked down at the Toa of iron that was curled up. Tivanu seemed so calm and collected as he drank from a mug that had been left on the counter. He used his staff to tap the toa on the side

"Hey buddy you gonna be ok?"

 

OOC: Toa of iron is Stronin

[25K Now!]

IC: [stronin]

 

"Yeah I'm fine," replied the blacksmith. "Just waiting for everything to calm down."

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu raised an eyebrow a bit as he considered his words and then laughed softly

"Yes i suppose everyone is freaking out. I find it quite funny although someone was nice enough to leave a full mug just sitting on the counter."

With that he took a swig of it and sighed

"Even in chaos i can benefit."

Just then Kive-phu let out a shrill caw as she adjusted her stance on Tivanu's shoudler

[25K Now!]

IC: [stronin]

 

"I see."

 

A beat.

 

"Hopefully you can enjoy that before everything collapses."

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu chuckled quietly as he looked down at his drink

"Well i'm sure i can. Perhaps you would like to have one? I mean there is a another full mug here. Wouldn't want it to go to waist."

Tivanu seemed honestly kind in his words

[25K Now!]

IC: [stronin]

 

Stronin nodded, grabbing the full mug and gulping it down.

 

"Tch, never really thought this would happen."

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu nodded slowly as he looked at the Fe-toa gulp the drink down.

"Yes seems a bit odd that makuta would amass an army like this and so suddenly."

He pauses as he brought a finger to tap at his chin

"I wonder if the other koro's are suffering the same problem."

He swiviled in his bar stool and smiled, seeing that the tavern was empty

"Well seems it is just you and i now."

[25K Now!]

IC: [stronin]

 

"Going to take advantage of that then?"

[Voxumo]

IC: Tivanu

 

Tivanu looked at the Fe-toa with a very inquisitive expression

"Well i do not plan on raiding there stock even though it certainly seems tempting."

He sighs as he leans back against the counter laying his elbows on the table

"Now unless you are saying i take advantage of us being the only ones here in a more sinister way well i can assure you i have not been hired to. I never do anything unless i am getting paid."

[25K Now!]

IC: [stronin]

 

"That sounds rather specific," remarked Stronin blandly, before he chuckled. "Eh, you're probably not part of the mafia anyway. I would know if they had remembered me."

[Geardirector]

IC: "Avalanche"

 

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

 

"Avalanche" strode calmly into the almost abandoned bar, save the Ko-Toa and Fe-Toa sitting by the counter, seemingly going about their day like nobody's business.

 

He had to admire their courage, but he wasn't going to tell them that, instead, he approached them casually, grabbed a nearby cup and poured himself a drink as well.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Geardirector