City in the Dark

[The Lorax]

GM IC: Tarua's chain came loose, as did the link that Karaihe had been rusting out earlier with his vision power. Two prisoners were still chained, but the others had a limb free and were within reach of the pile of weapons and the masks of silence and intangibility.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Tarua (Makuta's Lab)

 

The Toa grinned and carefully leaned forwards, straining her chains to grasp at her mask, which she managed to get a finger on and pulled towards herself, getting it back on her face and sighing slightly in relief as her powers and strength returned to her body. With a bit of focus, she opted to melt her chains apart in order to set them carefully back against the wall before moving onwards to hand Kware (OOC: Or whoever it was that had a mask ) his mask of silence, while speaking in a whisper.

 

"Quickly, activate that on me so that I can get us our quickly without worrying about making noise. But in any case, we're getting our weapons and leaving. Now."

 

Even as she spoke, she moved to start breaking the chains off the others to allow them to regain their freedom.

 

Zakaro

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Kware (Makuta's Lab)

 

For the first time since being in the lab, Kware felt like there was hope. Tarua was the first to break free. She grabbed Kware's Shelek and put it on him.

 

"Quickly, activate that on me so that I can get us our quickly without worrying about making noise. But in any case, we're getting our weapons and leaving. Now."

 

"Right." Kware activated the mask and focused first on Tarua. He then extended it to Karaihe and Kama.

 

"Now hurry," Kware said quietly. His face was taught and his voice strained. "I can't keep this up... on all, ugh, of you... at once."

Edited September 28, 2014 by (Daedalus)

[silo]

IC: (Karaihe)

 

The Skakdi's chains rattled as they broke free of his wrists and hit the floor.

 

He glanced around to see if the Makuta had heard him and then turned to Kware...

"Just try it!"

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Tarua (Makuta's Lab)

 

She smiles at Kware and speeds up, breaking off each chain in succession before moving on to Kama, breaking those too and allowing everyone to grab their weapons, retrieving her own staff last before starting to move towards the nearest exit that the Makuta hadn't gone down.

 

Zakar0

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Kama:

Without thinking, Kama removed his flashlight and opened the shutter, casting light on the exit.

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Kware (Makuta's Lab)

 

As soon as Tarua finished with all of the chains, Kware tried to ease off on his masks power a little. His hope was to reduce the total silence to slightly muffled; it would be easier to maintain that among everyone else while the escaped the lab. However, his separation from Teota and the time spent chained and unmoving had taken their toll. A sharp dagger of pain jabbed into Kware's skull, breaking his concentration. He grunted and dropped to one knee.

 

Tarua was leading the way toward an exit.

 

Get up, Kware. Get up. You need to move.

 

After a moment, the sharpness passed, but the ache remained. Kware rose slowly to his feet.

 

"I need to hold off on the mask for a bit," Kware whispered to the others. "I'm sorry. Try not to make too much noise."

 

As he picked up his mace and moved to fall in behind Tarua, he noticed Kama's flashlight.

 

"Careful with that!" he hissed in Kama's ear.

[silo]

IC: (Karaihe)

 

Karaihe picked up his giant diamond broadsword and tried to shout over the silence, which was flickering on and off as Kware's concentration wavered.

 

"I sa     w   kill thi      on   o   a   avin   a!"

Kware gave him an odd look but then eased off the mask's power enough for the skakdi to speak...

"I say we kill this   son   of  a  kavinika!" Karaihe repeated.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Silo

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Kware (Makuta's Lab)

 

Kware turned away from Kama and looked back at Karaihe.

 

"You want to get yourself killed, go right ahead. But at least wait until we're out of here before you do."

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Tarua (Lab)

 

"Enough speaking. Karaihe, if you wish to fight the Makuta, go ahead and do so if you wish. Those who would rather report out findings and return home alive, let's be moving."

 

And she stepped forward, out of the prison-room and into the tunnels again, preferring to simply escape while she could.

 

Zakaro

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Kama: Kama followed Tarua, closing the shutter on his flashlight halfway.

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Kware

 

Kware turned away from Karaihe and followed Kama and Tarua.

 

IC: Teota

 

Teota scanned the Dark Hunters for the tenth time and shifted on her feet. She was feeling anxious again. They needed to get moving.

 

After a another minute passed, she couldn't stay still any longer. Leaving the Dark Hunters in the care of some of the guards, she sought Turano out. It didn't take long to find him.

 

"Turano!" she called out, feeling a sense of deja vu. When she was closer, she said, "The hunters are fitted with explosives and ready to go."

[silo]

IC: (Karaihe)

 

The skakdi grudgingly followed the others.

[The Lorax]

GM IC: "Teota!" Turano called back. "Good job! The guard is assembled and ready to march! Give the trigger button to Koa here, since he'll be looking after the hunters, and then we'll be ready to go and rescue your husband." Beside him was a tough-looking ta-matoran who wore a hau. He took the button from Teota, and then moved to stand near to the hunters (though not too near) and began to give them orders, frequently holding up the button for them to see and hovering his finger just over it. It remained there, twitching slightly whenever one of them made a sharp movement.

 

"Move out!" Turano called when they were lined up in front of him.

 

As the assembled guard took its first step forwards, Tarua, Kama, Kware and Karaihe burst onto the concourse. They had made the journey back as fast as they could, tensely wondering the whole way whether they would make it back to Katipo quickly enough to warn of the Makuta's attack, or if Spiriah would wake up, see them gone, and take his rahi into the city while it was yet unprepared. Even as their hopes soared at seeing the guard whole, well and even fully assembled, a flash of darkness filled the middle of the concourse, and both Spiriah and the fully completed Rahi Nui stepped out of the shadows.

 

Pandemonium erupted among the guard as the two appeared in their mist. Spiriah was spewing shadow bolts, but he was utterly overshadowed when the beast of beasts opened its mouth and roared. The caverns shook with an earth tremor as it leapt upwards and rose into the air, beating its heavy wings so that the thump of pressure could be heard each time they fell.  Its eyes glowed like red-hot coals exploding into flame as it roared again and surged forward upon a group of guards.

 

Across the concourse, the rear of the guard's column was subject to another unexpected attack. With Bo-Kal at their head, The Hammer surged out of their hiding places and filled the air with their battle cries.

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Arsenal:

Data flooded into the Vahki's mechanical brain. He did not know what effect his weapons would have on the Makuta and Rahi, nor did he understand their battle tactics, but he knew very well how to subdue Hammer. Turning, he let off a few Command blasts, before throwing his staffs at the object in Bo-Kal's hand.

IC Kama:

The Rori gasped in surprise, before drawing his shortswords and rushing at the Hammer at blinding speed.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Tarua (Central Concourse)

 

She admitted she was running on nothing more than fumes and her willpower by this point, but the Toa of Fire had never been one to just back down from a challenge and so she quickly gave a few quick shouts while summoning her abilities.

 

"I'LL TRY TO HANDLE THE MAKUTA, ALONG WITH ANY OTHER TOA! THAT BEAST IS SPECIFICALLY MEANT TO KILL TOA, SO IT'S RESISTANT TO ELEMENTAL ABILITIES, DO BE CAREFUL!"

 

Having relayed her information, Tarua activated her mask to slip through the wall of a nearby building, becoming solid once more on the other side and sprinting up some nearby stairs to reach the roof. Once there, already having concentrated her powers, she immediately began to throw fireballs at Spiriah, while keeping the majority of her powers ready for the best time. He was moving too much at the moment, she knew.

 

OOC: Well, with the Hammer making a return, it's only fair Eplou gets a chance to shine.

 

IC: The Muaka [Eplou] (Central Concourse)

 

While Eplou wasn't in the forefront of the Hammer charge, he wasn't far behind, chugging along steadily as he always would. He knew with a grey cape fanning out behind him, large, spiked gauntlets and a mask modeled after a Muaka, the Ruri struck an imposing figure. He was the average in most everything, but behind that he was a miner. Miners, at the very least, were known for their strength, if not much more. He was strong, well rested and more than ready to finally show the Guard who was really going to be in charge now. 

 

With a growl fitting his namesake, he moved forward to fill a space left open by a Hammer member who was dropping back to dodge some projectile and narrowed his focus. There. The Vahki. 

 

"Let's see you put him back together once I'm done, noble Turaga Tawhito," The Ruri muttered under his breath, anger rising up in him as he then gave a roar and leaped forward, right fist coming up to try and impact the machine in its leg.

Zakaro
 

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Arsenal:

The Vahki leaped backwards, barely dodgin the fist and countering with a blinding burst from his eye floodlights. He would not be able to bring his staffs back for a moment or two, so that limited his options. His gears whirred and clicked as he tried to determine a course of action.

[(Daedalus)]

IC: Kware

 

His lungs burning and his head pounding, Kware ran through the streets of Katipo, keeping pace with the others as well as he could. Physically, he had always been in good shape, but as with many things, his inability to drawn on Teota's love was detrimental to his general functions. Things eased somewhat as he entered the city, as he could feel the love of some individuals nearby, but it wasn't enough.

 

At least, not until he saw Teota.

 

She was still some distance off, standing close to a large gathering of the city guard. However, the mere sight of her lifted his spirits. He almost smiled.

 

"Teota!" he cried out.

 

Before she could answer, though, Spiriah and Rahi Nui appeared. Kware slid to a halt, almost running headlong into Tarua. She sprang into action almost immediately, shouting something and then using her mask to move through a wall. Kware was motionless for a moment, as he considered what to do. The Makuta and the Rahi Nui began their attack almost immediately. Kware wasn't sure how much good he could do against either. All he wanted to do was reach Teota, but, at the moment, that was impossible.

 

Finally making up his mind, Kware moved closer to the mayhem and fired a kinetic blast from each of his wrist emitters at the Rahi Nui. He doubted they would be particularly effective, but neither did he think they would satisfy the beast's hunger for elemental energies.

 

IC: Teota

 

Kware was here. He was back. The elation that ran through Teota's frame was unfamiliar, but welcome. She heard him shout her name, and she opened her mouth to answer. The words, however, died on her lips.

 

What could only be the Makuta appeared in the midst of a suddenly appearing darkness. He immediately began attacking the guard, but Teota remained frozen as she saw the beast that accompanied him. She had heard tales of such a thing--the Rahi Nui, if memory served--but that's all they had been--tales. To see it here, to hear it roar--Teota felt fear.

 

But in a strange moment, when everything seemed so wrong, the fear disappeared. In her long life, she had been afraid only a few times. Since a few days ago, when she had been kidnapped, that emotion, that state of being, had permeated her existence. She feared that she would die in excruciating pain, or worse, live, while enduring that pain constantly. Then, when safe, she could hardly sleep for fear of nightmares. When still in that darkness, she feared the well-being of her husband, who left and did not return when he was supposed to. Then, she feared that the very beings who had imprisoned her, and on whom she now relied for assistance, would prevent her from rescuing her husband. And now, when she was again reunited with her husband, two horrors, boogeymen of the universe, separated her from him. She was done being afraid.

 

She was angry.

 

Not just angry--she hated these two... things. They, she knew, were the ultimate source of the misery she had endured for the past few days. Time to make them pay.

 

Overtaken with an icy calm, Teota did not flinch as the Rahi Nui took flight and attacked the guard. She stepped forward and, raising her arms, began to fire a barrage of concentrated kinetic blasts at the beast.

[silo]

IC: (Karaihe)

 

Upon seeing Spiriah, the skakdi roared with rage and weakened the structure of a nearby building slightly, causing a small section of the wall to crumble, sending a few pieces of rubble towards Spiriah, but not doing much else. 

There were probably people who would be injured by the blast, but all Karaihe cared about was killing Spiriah. That Rahi was aiming for toa, so hopefully it wouldn't care about him...

Edited October 13, 2014 by Silo

[The Lorax]

GM IC: The Rahi Nui lurched sideways in the air as Kware and Teota's kinetic bolts stuck it. It dropped a few bio, its treads scraping the ground before it righted itself with another great sweep of its armoured wings. While the rahi was largely unhurt, it did buy crucial seconds for a cluster of guards to scatter and escape its jaws. The beast leapt into the air again as it looked this way and that, apparently confused about which of its prey it should strike at next.

 

"No, leave them!" Spiriah was shouting at it. The storm of darkness around him abated somewhat as he reached out with his rahi control power. "Leave them and find the stone! Find whoever has the most elemental energy. With the power of the stone, it should be obvious who has it!" The rahi wheeled in the air, circling the concourse in two great loops as it cast about for this great fountain of power.

 

The long seconds stretched out before Spiriah was brought back to himself when Tarua's fireball scorched his wing. He dropped his rahi control ability and, seeing a stream of fireballs following the first, switched to fire resistance. That allowed him only a short reprieve before Karaihe's attack hit home. Chunks of stone bounced off his protosteel exterior, each leaving a small dent behind. Looking around for the source of the chunks, the Makuta saw the vision beams eating away at the wall, and followed them back to their source.

 

"Skakdi vermin!" he roared, and in an whirl of shadows he teleported himself up to the Skakdi's vantage point. "I gave you those abilities! Use them against me at your peril, ungrateful gnat!" Even as he spoke, his cyclone power exploded into life, creating a huge gust from below Karaihe to throw him violently away from the enraged Makuta, arcing up towards Katipo's transparent ceiling.

 

 

During all of this, the Dark Hunters had not been idle. As the Rahi Nui appeared and the earth shook, they took advantage of their guard's shock. Even as he stumbled, gazing up at the beast in shock and awe, they each turned fluidly on the spot, moving with practised speed and consummate skill. Shadow Stealer melted into the darkness, reappearing near to Kware and Teota. Devastator transformed into a cloud of sand, flying upwards like a swarm of insets. Lariska demonstrated flexibility and dexterity beyond anything yet seen as she leapt into the air, and simultaneously used two knives and her clawed toes to slice through the four knows holding the explosives to her body. She flung them away and landed in a crouch, just as Gatherer raised and fired his energy cannon, having teleported away his own explosives with a kanoka from his launcher. As Koa's thumb came down on the remote detonator button, none of the four Dark Hunters were still wearing their explosives. The shock of this was dawning in the Ta-matoran's eyes as the four packs dropped to the ground and went off. It was the last thing he saw before he was vaporised by Gatherer's energy blast. The Dark Hunters were free once more.

 

 

Seeing the Vahki's staff spiralling towards him, Bo-Kal carefully sidestepped, knocking the spinning weapon aside with his sword. Having checked his headlong rush to do so, however, he attempted to start again towards the centre of the battle, only to find his way blocked by Turano. "Bo-Kal" the guard captain spat. "We meet at last. Now get out of here. We've got better things to do right now than deal with you and your rabble. You've no idea what's been happening in this city, so either you join us or you take your pretentious little rebellion and leave us alone while we save your hides. Choose quickly."

 

Bo-Kal smiled at Turano's greeting. In fact, the captain was not meeting him, but the disguise he wore. The Kodura he saw wore red and silver armour. He was taller than Karoro, but less muscular, and wore a lavishly decorated Ruru, hiding the true shape of his mask. The mahiki beneath the illusion stayed on, projecting the disguise over Karoro's body and hiding his true identity. Bo-Kal kept smiling. Despite Turano's speech, he knew exactly what was going on. The old leadership was crumbling, and after tonight, someone new would have to step in. "No". He replied. "I-" He never got any further before Turano's fist connected with his jaw.

 

 

While Bo-Kal had been stopped, most of his hammer had not. A pair of them slipped past the guards and ran at Turaga Tawhito, who had just emerged from the great double doors of his hall and into the chaos of the battle. He called out to a group of guards gathered around Orde, who began making their way towards him. The Hammer were quicker, though, and while they were still a way off, the first of them, an Hirohi, raised her club over the Turaga's head. Tawhito raised up his staff as the attacker brought her weapon down, and a burst of green light flared around them. It remained in a halo around the Hirohi as she flew backwards through the air, crashing into the other hammer warrior and knocking them both to the ground. As the guards clustered around him, Tawhito remained standing where he had been, leaning heavily on his staff as the light faded from its jewel and gasping for breath.

 

"Orde!" he gasped. "Go, retrieve the stone and bring it."

"Are we not trying to keep it hidden from these attackers?" the Toa questioned.

"Yes" Tawhito insisted, "But  bring it nonetheless, and quickly"

"It is drained and empty" Orde countered. "Its power cannot save us now."

"Toa Orde!" Tawhito shouted over the chaos, drawing himself up to his full height (just under five feet) and facing down the ancient Toa. "Your keeping secrets and hiding things have caused enough trouble already! Now is the time to give up your plotting and submit to the authority of your superiors in the Guard. You have done your best, and now I'm taking over. It is my job to command the defenders of this city and this last throw of the dice is mine of make. To that end I am ordering you to go and retrieve this object! Now fly, Toa, before it is too late!"

 

 

OOC: My apologies for my absence these last couple of weeks. I've been buried under a pile of exams, and I won't emerge fully for a little while yet. Still, it would be criminal of me to let this game die right after getting it approved for some more time, so thankyou for your patience and here you go.

Edited October 31, 2014 by The Lorax

[Some Random Phrase]

A humming filled the air momentarily as the staff buzzed and returned to Arsenal.

[(Daedalus)]

OOC: No worries, Lorax. Life happens. I probably won't be able to post much throughout November, but I look forward to finishing this up.

 

IC: Kware

 

During the chaos, Kware had wormed his way through the fighting and got next to Teota. Their combined attack on the Rahi Nui hadn't hurt it much, but it bought some guards precious time to escape the beast's attack.

"Teota!"

 

Despite the danger, Kware risked wrapping his arms around his wife. The contact lasted for a couple of seconds, Teota's love pouring into Kware, when she tensed.

 

"Dark Hunter!"

 

IC: Teota

 

The Rahi Nui reacted to her and Kware's attacks. When she lowered her arms, she looked around, trying to catch sight of Kware. Where had he gone?

 

Her question was answered a moment later.

 

"Teota!"

 

The shout came from her right. Turning, she had just caught a glimpse of him when he embraced her. She squeezed him. She may not have reacted to his presence quite like he did to hers, but it was nice all the same.

 

The embrace was short-lived, however. Behind Kware, a bio or two away, shadows coalesced into the form of one of the Dark Hunters--without the explosives strapped to him.

 

Teota pushed away from Kware and shouted, "Dark Hunter!" Before Kware had a chance to turn around, Teota activated her mask, turning invisible.

 

Drawing her knife, Teota ran wide around the Dark Hunter. She approached him from behind and, when she was near him, thrust her knife toward his back.

[silo]

IC: (Karaihe)

 

As Karaihe flew backwards he braced himself for impact, but as he slammed into a building, the breathy was knocked out of him, and he felt himself slipping into momentary unconsciousness.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

OOC: oh.. I should probably reply now..

...whoops

 

IC: The Muaka [Eplou] (Central Concourse) 

 

The Ruri grunted as the lights hit his eyes, his mask thankfully removing much of the glare due to the limited area of view he got from it. Seeing the robot had regained his staff didn't do much to stop him from charging at it again, dodging to a side before slashing at one of the 'bots legs. 

 

IC: Tarua (Central Concourse)

 

The Makuta was focusing on someone else. This was her chance, then. Focusing, she fired a small ball of flames, and then as it reached where Spiriah was standing-or, at least, had been standing when she launched the fireball- she made it explode with heat and light, aiming to impact a wing. As it died out, she dropped to the roof of the building, out of breath. Holding the flames within such a tight space had been exhausting, even for one as close to her element as the Ta-Toa.

Zakaro

[Some Random Phrase]

IC Arsenal:

The Vahki blocked and fired Command bursts ordering the Rori to attack teh rest of the Hammer directly at the Rori's head.

[silo]

IC: (Karaihe)

 

Kariahe turned once again on Spiriah once he had regained consciousness, trying to erode the Makuta's armour with his vision power.

[Ghidora131]

And the dead silence. Lorax, it appears this RPG has died.