Matoran und Panzer

[Not Quite Dead]

GM IC:

The gate keeper didn't have enough time left in his shift for a long story, she'd have to save it for his replacement.

 

"Bring'er on in then, you'll get border checked at the gate. Make sure your weapons have their safeties on, turn off yer engine, I'm sure ya know the details."

 

* * *

 

The mask brought a strange sensation over Carth. Power flowed over him from the mask, but not into him. The strange energy was almost hidden, like the sun just after sunset. Rays of light still shone over the horizon, but their source was cyclically vanished. Below the party, the great clockwork assembly ground to a halt, the hands of time far below stopped ticking.

 

* * *

 

The stranger opened his eyes, raising from his seated position on Stiehl's former throne. He cast a glance to the ceiling, listening. Here to, the tick-tock of the clocktower had subsided. Against all odds, it seemed the crew of the Jattiko had succeeded... He rose, walking through the winding corridors to the entryway to the underground. Gingerly, he approached the stone, lightly touching a finger to it. It was cool to the touch, another confirmation of success. With the mask's stronger influence removed, he should be able to safely enter the underground. The stranger took first one step, then another down the stairway. No invisible barrier existed, no pain sprung forth from his mind.

 

He began the descent.

 

* * *

 

The staircase brought Akuavo and her partner to a large landing, giving her a view through a grand set of windows. Kat and her military convoy were easily visible from the vantage point... The hallway continued to her left, numerous doors opening from the corridor.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Carth:

 

"..... That's ominous. I wonder how Mr. Mean Skakdi couldn't get this thing...."

 

Frowning, I looked around, wondering if perhaps there were rooms we hadn't seen.

 

IC Kat:

 

The equipment was set up, monitoring the mansion. One Matoran was taking pictures.

 

Meanwhile, Legion and another Exo were unloaded, and both the other pilot and I were running system checks.

 

 

Four other soldiers were going to accompany us, a Vortixx, a pair of Skakdi, and a Fa-Matoran.

[Voltex]

IC: IKIRA

"Anyone see a way down?"

[Nato G]

GM IC:

The gate keeper didn't have enough time left in his shift for a long story, she'd have to save it for his replacement.

 

"Bring'er on in then, you'll get border checked at the gate. Make sure your weapons have their safeties on, turn off yer engine, I'm sure ya know the details."

 

IC: Cor Saeva - Neuf.

 

"Yes sir," it was good to be home. 

 

A few minutes later we reached the gate, and Zekev and I climbed out to let the guards do their job.

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Arkie (Circadian Treasure Room)

 

I look around. "Nope," I say cheerily, followed by "and cue Zel being grumpy and going 'Give me the mask'"

 

IC: Akuavo

 

I continue down the corridor.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Heeeeey, control. Pretty far above my pay-grade. But I'll ask the bosses." The Le-Matoran glanced over his shoulder as he swiveled his chair to address the crew, a grin growing on his face. "So that was mission control, guys. Y'know, our buddies with the instructions."

"They're wondering if we're headed their way, or they should just take the day off."

[Naota Takizawa]

IC (As Hisuti): "Well. This sucks." Said Hisuti as she dodged an attack from the tree.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Lewa the Soaring Champion

[Razgriz]

IC (Unnamed Resteraunt in Neuf):

"Your bill, sir."

...

"You callin' me a duck?"

"No, sir." The waiter said, obviously unamused. "That thing you pay whenever you eat at a restaurant."

There was a choice to be made here. A very, very crucial choice. Did he own up to being unable to pay and face whatever consequences would befall him? Or would he try and flee the scene of the crime? He had been desperate for food, and now that his hunger was sated...

"You gonna remember my face, you think?"

"You're incredibly stupid if you actually try to run for it in this city, sir."

To be fair, Mit never denied being stupid.

...

.

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Lohi (Seize)

 

ow

[Timageness]

GM IC: ???

Poor Suko.

He really should have attempted to read through that book first before trying to move anything.

Inside were the last recorded entries detailing the life and times of Hans, the leader of a group of bandits and highwaymen who had successfully managed to deprive a Seize nobleman of his possessions about one hundred years prior, and who was on his way to Treize with his crew to celebrate. Unfortunately for them, however, all of their vehicles began suffering from major mechanical mishaps about two-thirds of the way there, and they had to make the rest of the trek on foot. A few nights into the journey, one of them mysteriously vanished without a trace, and the number of missing members only increased from there. The cause of their disappearances became brazenly apparent one night in particular, going so far as to reveal its tentacled appendages as it ensnared both Skakdi and Vortixx with little difficulty and pulled them into the canopy above, never to be seen again.

Judging by the erratic handwriting preserved on the journal's last pages, the mention of his lack of sleep, and the fact that he was constantly looking over his shoulder, it was heavily implied that he was driven insane before meeting his own grisly end; a fate that was also intended for the Ta-Matoran back in the present, it seemed, judging by the previously camouflaged limbs now slowly descending towards him...

 

GM IC: Treize Expeditionary Force - Following Logan's Trail

Picking himself up and dodging another swipe from the root he was now engaging, Kain began unleashing two twin streams of fire from his suit's flamethrowers... which had little to no visible effects on the creature at all.

"Got any other bright ideas?!"

While Shard's crystals barely ended up piercing the thick bark of the creature (not counting the ones that were unintentionally driven in even deeper as a result of Doseki's cannon fire, anyway), his plan to pin one of the roots to the ground was successful... that is, until another one emerged behind him and attempted to slam him into the aging body of a nearby tank. Elerc seemed to be facing a similar issue as others appeared in an attempt to impede his maneuverability, only for some of them to be cut apart or pinned to the bodies of surrounding vehicles by Dix's elemental Rivet Gun in a clear expression of gratitude. Another thrashing appendage began whipping destroyed Exo-Suit parts at Hisuti and Grêgorios, hopefully posing enough of a threat to snap the latter out of his trance.

 

Foolish insects! I shall enjoy digesting your bones!

Lifting the struggling Radicchio even higher into the air as more of its limbs appeared in order to rip the Matoran right out of his mech, the creature's maw widened itself even further, revealing a large, writhing, bioluminescent tongue in preparation to devour the pilot inside. Just as the metal in his suit began to groan from the added pressure, however, a bullet from Amaranth's rifle pierced its way through the fleshy mass, spewing orange blood into the puddles around it while simultaneously causing its owner enough anguish to momentarily interrupt all of its actions as it dropped its prey into the junkyard below.

"Digest that, Karz-Head!"

 

GM IC: Seize Military - Seize (Prison)

"Have a nice sleep, did we?"

As Lohi came to, he could see a much older Ta-Matoran standing near the doorway of his cell, flanked himself by two Skakdi underlings as he proceeded to browse through the Ga-Matoran's file.

"Let's see... wanted dead or alive by Treize... destruction of public blah blah blah... assault, arson, and... domestic terrorism, huh? No wonder I was called down here..."

Passing the folder back towards one of his subordinates, he casually glanced towards the prisoner before rolling his eyes, making it pretty clear that he had seen (and definitely fought) much worse in his time.

"Well, I guess this is the part where we dispense with the pleasantries, isn't it? Personally, I'd rather kick the Karz out of people than talk to them, so you'll have to forgive my rudeness. I am General Rickert of the Seize Armored Divisions, and you, Lohi, are in some very serious trouble."

Edited August 8, 2015 by Timageness

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Lohi (Seize)

 

I grin widely, giving the general a thumbs-up.

 

IC: Suko (Ihu Foothills)

 

Picking the chest up, I begin making my way brazenly back to the path.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Chandra Nalaar

[Khromatose]

IC:Shard/Fighting Fire-Resistant Tree

"It's fire resistant?!?"

I didn't get another word out as I got whacked to the side like a rag doll.

"Karz."

I stood up and struggled to continue moving as I saw Amaranth save Kain's fanboy from certain doom.

"Alright, the wood may be resistant to flames and sharp objects," I spoke on the radio to everyone, "but the fleshy tongue inside his mouth doesn't seem to have the resistance. We'll need to distract him while he's attempting to try and eat us and wreck his insides."

Shard then attempted to fire a couple of crystals at the tree's tongue.

"HEY TREE!" I shouted as one hand went to Burial, and the other to a crystal sword that I created in case Burial was still not in a position to help. "STOP TRYING TO GET AT THOSE GUYS AND COME AFTER SOME EASIER PREY RIGHT HERE!"

Any roots coming at me would be pinned by crystals.

Edited August 5, 2015 by ArcticFreeze17

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Kat:

 

"Well, no point sticking around. Let's move, people."

 

The team moved up toward the mansion.

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Zarx

"So, partner. What's tha plan?"

[silo]

IC: Zeleran - Circadian

The steltian closes his mouth as Arktinen takes the words from it.

He opens it again, uttering his speech in a contemplative voice: "That relic looks dangerous, take it off and give it to me, Arktinen or Ikiria. No-one is to wear it. I...recognise it's shape, from a legend, perhaps. I get the feeling that this kanohi has terrible power. Power that cannot be contained. Take it off."

How much Zeleran really knew and how much he said to influence Carth's reaction cannot be ascertained clearly, but he truthfully did feel an odd kind of malice emanating from the burnished golden half-mask.

Edited August 6, 2015 by OLISI

[Voltex]

IC: IKIRA

 

"I recommend we start looking for an exit," Ikira said, having turned at the sound of her name. "Whoever killed the pirates upstairs... they must want this mask badly. I'd rather not risk discovering that we have outlived our usefulness."

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Carth:

 

Pulling it off my face, I said worryingly, "if it's so powerful... Maybe that other guy shouldn't have it, either..."

[Timageness]

GM IC: ???

Sensing that Suko had not yet discovered its presence, the creature lashed out with its appendages, aiming to wrap them around its newfound prey in an attempt to pull him up into the trees.

 

GM IC: Seize Military - Seize (Prison)

Remaining relatively unphased by Lohi's reaction, Rickert responded at first by displaying a smirk of his own.

"Obviously you found something I said rather amusing," he continued. "Either that, or you're a complete and utter moron, but I never was one to care too much for semantics. So instead, allow me to share something with you that I personally find entertaining, since you seem to be under the impression that this is all just one big joke."

The Ta-Matoran took a few steps closer to his captive before crouching, ensuring that he established eye contact with the prisoner as he did so.

"You see, not too long ago, someone with a similar penchant for destruction decided that they didn't exactly agree with how The Emperor was running the country, and decided to stir up some chaos in an attempt to get him to step down. Long story short, they ended up placing a bomb inside of a quaint little restaurant that the Imperial Family used to frequent, and the whole place practically burned to the ground long before we could even get there in time to put out the flames. They were eventually caught, of course, but not before my men were able to confirm that twenty three people had been inside the building at the time, including Emperor Lhii's very own sister, two of her children, and the escorts assigned to protect them."

"Now normally, someone convicted of such a heinous act would eventually find themselves sitting in a cell not unlike this one for the rest of their days after a bout of... "interrogation," just to make sure whether or not they were acting under the behalf of one of our neighbors, but His Imperial Majesty thought that a more... public example should be made in the case of this particular perpetrator, and subsequently anyone else who decided to follow in his footsteps. A week later, they were tried and convicted, and I had the honor of sitting beside The Emperor while my men executed them in the street for all to see."

Letting his story sink in for a moment, he returned to his feet, positioning his arms behind him and taking a few steps towards his subordinates before glancing back towards the direction of the Ga-Matoran and widening his grin.

"So tell me; how does it feel to know that you only have seven days left to live before you inevitability end up sharing their fate?"

Edited September 3, 2015 by Timageness

[Nato G]

IC: Lufon Vance - Seize Northern Coast. 

 

"You're kidding me, right?" Draco gave me a flat stare. "You know I prefer to stay out of matters of state. If any of us made a direct move against Seize, they'd stop tolerating us and send their armies out here to clear us out." 

 

"Not you, personally," I clarified, "I just need your help in finding some people to pull off a little job for me."

 

"What job?" 

 

"Assassinating the Emperor. Or trying to, at least. Whether they succeed of not isn't really relevant."

 

He looked at me as if I was insane. "This is a joke, right?"

 

"I'm very, very serious about this." I assured him. "A war between Treize and Seize will benefit your... community... immensely, you know that. And all you have to do is point me in the direction of some thugs I can hire."

 

"That's all?"

 

"I'll handle the rest." 

[Voltex]

IC: IKIRA

 

"Just give it to Zeleran," Ikira said to Carth, before returning her attentions to finding them an exit that wasn't the way they had come in.

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Suko (Ihu Foothills)

 

I yelp as... something entangles me. I drop the chest, and attempt to turn in order to burn the weird tentacle things with my power.

 

IC: Lohi (Seize Prison)

 

"Gives me seven days to enact my #masterful escape plan. Mission Improbable, anyone?"

 

IC: Arkie (Circadian Treasure Room)

 

"Whaddaya mean, Carth? It's not like he's going to blow up the world or anything. What harm could come from him having it?"

[Not Quite Dead]

GM IC:

"I can assure you, crew of the Jattiko, that your usefulness has not been outlived."

 

Around the spiral staircase stepped a tall figure, he wore a Mahiki and armor all of the same burnished bronze as the mask that the crew had just recovered. After his initial statement, he stood silently for a moment, surveying the group before extending his left arm towards them.

 

"I see that you have recovered my mask. Please, return it to me."

 

* * *

 

After a few minutes of searching, the Ash Hound was cleared and let into the state of Neuf. Used to frontier technology and oddities out of the west, the soldiers barely batted an eye at any of the strange stuff that Cor Saeva and Zekev had collected through their adventures.

 

* * *

 

Akuavo continued down the corridor uninterrupted. Well, until the door she had come in through closed in the distance. Faint footsteps emanating from the antechamber.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Carth:

 

I held the mask close to my chest.

 

"Who are you...?"

[Not Quite Dead]

GM IC:

In the ensuing conflagration that destroyed the Ascension facility, Einefus and Olis became separated, the fresh Ta-Toa cornered by several of the Manas crabs. His last words to Olis were to tell him to run before absorbing a large portion of the heat and flames that had blocked the Ba-Toa's path and shoving him away before releasing it in a white hot torrent at the rahi.

 

Olis would find himself waking later, alone and half buried in a drift of snow and ash. Wreckage and smoking ruins were strewn all about.

 

* * *

 

"I am Aion."

[Nato G]

GM IC:

 

After a few minutes of searching, the Ash Hound was cleared and let into the state of Neuf. Used to frontier technology and oddities out of the west, the soldiers barely batted an eye at any of the strange stuff that Cor Saeva and Zekev had collected through their adventures.

 

IC: Cor Saeva - Neuf Streets. 

 

Leaving Zekez back at the garage to mind the Hound, I took to the streets, rifle slung across my shoulder, machete in its sheath. I was in search of a bar. After everything that had happened recently, I needed a karzing drink. 

 

GM IC:

 

Olis would find himself waking later, alone and half buried in a drift of snow and ash. Wreckage and smoking ruins were strewn all about.

 

GM IC: Robocrab. 

 

Somewhere deep below, buried under centuries of stone and snow, the mechanical menace still lived. Slowly clawing at its surroundings, it began to dig itself free. It had its orders, and an objective left to complete. 

[Timageness]

GM IC: ???

Suko's plan seemed to work for a moment as the tentacles began to recede, hastily dropping him back onto the ground as they did so. The creature that they had belonged to, however, didn't seem to want to let its current prey go that easily, and its next move obviously reflected as such. As the appendages themselves shot back up into the relative safety of the canopy, a large mass started to push itself through the leaves, moving closer and closer towards the Ta-Matoran's position until finally...

 

GM IC: Jungle Squid

...a large, heavily toothed maw came into view, only to blast a stream of pressurised water at him in an attempt to slam him into the surrounding trees.

 

GM IC: Seize Military - Seize (Prison)

Rickert simply nodded at what he assumed to be a poorly phrased joke.

"While I admire your attitude, kid, the cell we plan on moving you into has no windows, at least two armed guards placed outside the door at all times, and the only air vent is located on a ceiling so high that not even a Vortixx could reach if they tried jumping for it. Seize doesn't skimp out on the rooms down in Solitary, I'm afraid, which means that the likelihood of you escaping your date with the firing squad is so extremely low that it's practically non-existent. To be completely honest with you, Lohi, I highly doubt that what you're proposing will occur anytime this century, let alone this upcoming week."

Whether the General was merely bluffing or not was nearly impossible to tell. From the way he was saying it, though, he seemed rather convincing.

"Unless, of course, you were never placed there to begin with, that is. The amount of inaccuracies that can be found within official documentation these days can be rather... appalling, to say the least, so for all we know, the Ga-Matoran being executed in just a handful of days could very well not be the same one we arrested earlier today. But before I go into any further details, however, I need to find out two very important pieces of information."

As if given some invisible signal, one of the Skakdi stepped forward, pulling an extremely familiar weapon off of his back before displaying it for the captive to properly see.

"The first is whether or not you can be trusted enough to leave this room alive with what you're about to hear," he said, turning around in order to see his prisoner better. "And the second concerns your current operating knowledge of a standard issue sniper rifle."

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Lohi (Prison)

 

"One- no. Two- point the small end away from you and pull the trigger?"

 

IC: Suko (Ihu Foothills)

 

I scramble to my feet as I hit the ground, leaving the chest behind. As I begin running, however, that water blast strikes me in the middle of the back, knocking me down onto my front.

 

IC: Arkie (Circadian Treasure Room)

 

"Carth, give him the mask!" I shout.

 

IC: Akuavo (Equaliser)

 

I continue down the hallway, opening each door I come across to check the contents of the rooms.

Edited August 17, 2015 by Chandra Nalaar

[silo]

IC: Zeleran - Circadian

"And...what are you?"

 

IC: Olis - Ruins of Ascension

Great. We've become separated...I haul myself up from the rubble, dusting myself off.

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Gamma
"We are so dead." Gamma murmured.
 

[Nato G]

IC: Lufon Vance - Seize Northern Coast. 

 

"Well... if that's the case, I might know a couple of guys."

 

I grinned behind my mask. "Where do I find them?" I wanted to set this thing in motion as soon as possible. The way everything was going right now, time was a commodity few could spare. 

 

"I'll give you the address, and their descriptions," Draco started scribbling something on a scrap of paper, "And remember, I don't want this getting traced back to me."

 

"It won't," I assured him, "I want to frame Treize, remember?" 

 

"Right, here's the address," Draco shoved the paper into my hands, "Now get the karz out of here."

 

"See you 'round, buddy," I tossed a pouch of widgets over to him, and turned to leave, "Pleasure doing business, as always." 

[Timageness]

GM IC: Jungle Squid

Seeing that its prey had been knocked over and possibly stunned by its attack, the Jungle Squid reached out once again with its tentacles, moving closer towards the Ta-Matoran and readying itself shoot out another stream of pressurised water in the event that he resisted its attempts to grab him once again.

 

GM IC: Seize Military - Seize (Prison)

"Now you're just testing my patience, kid," Rickert said gruffly, pausing as he began rubbing his forehead. "And that's something you seriously do not want to start doing."

"If you haven't quite figured it out yet, there's something that I need done; someone very specific that I would like to send a... message, if you catch my meaning, and you're currently in the perfect position to do it for me. You have no ties to Seize, you'll draw less attention than my men, and best of all, you're completely and utterly expendable. Since I'm a reasonable man, and I highly doubt that you'll even consider doing anything for me out of the kindness of your heartlight, I have of course taken the liberty of putting together a wide variety of benefits for you, courtesy of the Seize Military, should you prove to be successful."

With a snap of his fingers, the other Skakdi stepped forward, producing another folder before proceeding to pass it off to him.

"In this hand, I hold the keys to your future. It contains all of the necessary documentation to set you up with a completely new identity, including your freedom, a list of potential modifications for your Exo-Suit, your choice of weaponry, and the ability to walk around wherever you choose to for the rest of your days without ever having to worry about that pesky bounty hanging over your head again. As offers come, this is most likely the best one that you will ever come across in your entire life."

Digging into his pocket, he then displayed a ring of keys.

"In the other, I hold the key to your cell, which is where you will end up should you decline on this opportunity, and we both know where that leads. My generous offer gets passed along to another prisoner I've been keeping my eye on, and you have the rest of your very numbered days to kick the Karz out of yourself for not making the right decision."

Glancing towards the clock for a moment, the General let the gravity of the situation sink in a little before turning his attention back to Lohi once more.

"So I'll ask again. Can you be trusted with keeping the specifics of the job I'm presenting secret, or do I have to go find someone else who can?"

Edited August 18, 2015 by Timageness

[Nato G]

IC: Oblitus - Pharos. 

 

Days of trekking across nomansland, crossing ravines and canyons, fighting off rahi and rahkshi, had finally led me here. I wasn't even sure why I was doing this anymore. It would be so easy to just sit back and let Ascension do whatever it was he wanted to do.

 

But I couldn't. Something, some long-buried fragment of what had once been my conscience, wouldn't let me just walk away. I'd unleashed an ancient, monstrous force into the world, and now I had to at least try to stop it. 

 

Because if I didn't, who the karz would? 

Edited August 18, 2015 by Of Australian Origin...

[Tea-rex]

IC: Grēgorios

As the wreckage's came hurtling forward, Grēgorios ducked and weaved out of the way of them, hitting a few smaller pieces out of the air.

"Well now, that's just plain ol' rude!", he shouted to the tree.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

 

"Guys?"

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

Crunch.

 

Tilla, halfway through her bite of popcorn, realized that Liare was shifting attention between his three crew members equally. Hurriedly stashing away her Men of Neuf calendar (notably, and conspicuously, eleven of the months had been extracted from the calendar's binding by some unknown force) the commander of the Kale turned back to the Radio Officer.

 

"Yes?"

 

-Tyler

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Ops wants to know if we're coming." The Le-Matoran repeated, half-grinning at his boss. "And there's a big flaw with that calendar, boss."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Com-oh. Uh, yeah, sure." Tilla finished off her popcorn and dusted off a stray kernel over a dish. "Sure, we're on our way. And don't talk my calendar."

 

-Tyler

[Voltex]

IC: IKIRA

 

She observed the new arrival, her eyes narrowed slightly as she contemplated his appearance. She rubbed at the mechanical joints in her left arm absentmindedly, causing them to click every few seconds.

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Just sayin', it's missing the best man from Neuf." The Le-Matoran shrugged and swiveled his chair back towards the radio, slipping his headset back over his ears. He cleared his throat while adjusting the nobs, bringing the mic close to his face. "Kale, here. Boss says we're on our way."

[Makuta Miras]

IC: Suko (Ihu Foothills)

 

I get to my feet, blood dripping from my nose as I turn to face the weird... thing. "Well, aren't you lovely?" I shout, releasing a high-intensity beam of white fire towards the mouth, ready to dodge a blast of water.