Six Kingdoms: Escapement - Gameplay

[Tarn]

OOC: And now that special thing I was talking about.

IC: Idlyx Haeve - Kovac's Hospital Room (Coliseum Interior)

...

A weaken disk struck the Vahki watching over the out of commission Kovac Krossfari, and it crumpled to the floor. A hooved foot stepped on its head and like a movie the scene panned upwards to reveal a cervid figure in iridescent blue armor, looking upon the clockwork guardian with contempt. In his hand he held a bundle of balloons with the phrase "get well soon" rendered in various ways in Matoran, with at least one shaped like Toa Lhikan's Hau. The Kekamaire sat down in a small chair across from Kovac's bed (a tight and awkward fit for the larger, antlered man), and sighed as he looked over his injured form.

"Sorry this happened to you," he began with a shrug, then, "not because I don't like seeing people get hurt, don't misunderstand. It's because I hate when I'm not the one that hurts them."

He shifted a little. Chair should've been made with deer men in mind.

"Anyway," he coughed into his fist, "I suppose we're...nemesi now. Is it nemesi? Nemeses. Nemesises. No, that's definitely not it. We're enemies, how's that? Simple enough for a man in a state like yourself to understand. Good!" He looked at the balloons, then back to the Vo-Toa. "Ah, these! A gift. There's some nice vendors here. Got the Lhikan one half-price, no idea why. The Matoran at the counter was very confused as to why I was buying these during a lockdown, but I say things such as government-mandated lockdowns shouldn't stop one from getting out there and buying things they do not need!" 

He got up and carefully tied them to Kovac's bed rail and smiled. Not a comforting one, but with a face like his it was difficult not to look creepy when you smiled. Returning to his seat he crossed one digitigrade leg over the other, lightly bouncing his foot.

"So."

@Dane

[Smudge8]

IC: Mazor-Cortex

Mazor let his launcher fall to his side, He held the cube protecively to his chest. "So... are you the one who was in my head when I was using it?"

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Oryn - Ta-Metru (Street Brawl)

The broken beast turned his head to look upon who'd addressed him.

A Toa, carrying a dark sword. His monochrome, tunnel visioned eyesight hid the enemy's affinity from him. He'd fall, all the same.

The Matoran's neck popped in a simple motion of the Kekamaire's giant hand, like it was as routine as peeling a potato. He dropped the lifeless corpse to the ground, pulling up his axe again and thundering toward The Swordsman, meeting his blade with his own Dane axe, catching it in a hook.

This was what he did.

This was all he could do.

IC: Kovac Krossfari - Coliseum Hospital (Visit From A Loved One)

For the first time in months, Kovac Krossfari felt vulnerable. Scared, even.

In his confused, battered and concussed state, Idlyx would hear the beeping of the equipment hooked up to the vigilante increase as he struggled against his restraints, grunting incoherently and in panic.

As his lack of strength became obvious, Kovac quietened, choosing to look at the Kekamaire's fuzzy image, shaking ever so slightly.

"Let me...out." He tried, knowing the answer almost immediately. He hadn't killed him yet, though.

IC: Leonn - Po-Metru (Prisoner)

He shrieked as the foot stuck the knife even deeper in him. Any further and he was going to die.

"STOP, STOP PLEASE! IT'S MY AURA, IT'S AN ABILITY I WAS BORN WITH! PLEASE YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME!"

Leonn's begging was uncharacteristic in how desperate it was, but truthfully Leonn had never been this close to being extinguished before.

OOC: @Snelly @Tarn

Edited March 20, 2020 by Dane

[Azibo]

IC: Mata-Nui, Cortex

"Yes, that was Me, guiding you to your Destiny with Me.  That Orb is meant to power Myself as I manipulate the universe itself."  Mata-Nui pushed his open hand forward a bit more.  "The time has come.  Grant Me My artifact, as is your Destiny."

OOC: @Smudge8 @Toru Nui @Conway

[Onaku]

IC: Matrak - Ko-Metru

Matrak sighed. "Then, Pridak, I'm afraid we stand opposed. Out of courtesy for a stranger in a strange land, I shall give you one chance to back down and cease these killings. I will not give you a second chance."

 

IC: Arkius - Archives

Arkius stepped forward and threw his arms into the earth, grimacing with exertion as the Archives began to tremble. Throughout the earthen compound, soldiers of the stygian warlord felt the ground beneath their feet betray them, sinking into a now ravenous earth that grasped at them, clawed at them, and dragged them down into its depths. Blood began to seep from the earthen toa's fiery eyes, his face twisted by rage as he begat the earth to swallow the intruders whole.

 

IC: Ardoku - Great Temple

Sighing, Ardoku retrieved a kanoka disk from his satchel and quickly glanced at its code before loading it into his shoulder launcher. 235. Ga-Metruan Weaken disk, level 5. That would do. With a simple flourish, the toa spun his sword in his single hand, the shoulder mounted kanoka launcher whirring as it accepted his mental commands. "Today is a good day to die."

 

IC: ??? - Metru-Nui skies

Difficult to see in the dim light of dusk, a shadow swooped across the sky of Metru-Nui, unseen and unnoticed by anyone. Crimson eyes gazed down from high above, observing the increasing chaos of the city below.

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru -

Even as Leonn begged for his life, Skyra's head was starting to clear up. Everything else in her body was in agony, but at least her head was becoming better.

"Wait Rose...don't kill him...at least not yet." Skyra glared at the Skakdi. "He might be useful." 

@Tarn@Dane

[Tarn]

IC: Swordsman - Ta-Metru

"No!" I cried as our weapons clashed and the Matoran's limp body hit the ground. I then looked down and noticed something peculiar: my blade was beginning to rust, as if in disuse, and I quickly pulled away. This warrior's weapon must have been infused with something that allowed it to spread decay through contact. Interesting. Protosteel could withstand this longer than average tools, thankfully, but it still posed a threat.

I swung again, this time towards the antlered heretic's right leg.

IC: Idlyx Haeve - Kovac's Hospital Room (Coliseum Interior)

Beep beep beep beep beep...

"Now, calm down over there, I'm not going to do anything to you. Not yet. Not when you're...like this," Idlyx said, grimacing. "There's no hunt. No fun to it."

"Let me...out."

"I could. I could. Or I could leave you here and let you recuperate for...however long it will take, and then you can come find me." An evil grin. "If, that is," he continued, "this place is uh...still standing. You should see what the city looks like out there. Terrible."

He wondered if Kovac would ever figure out he was the one who pulled him from the elevator. Who left him to be found by the crowd, and brought here to the hospital. He still wasn't sure why he'd done it. It wasn't altruism, the Kekamaire wasn't even sure what that word meant, but it had to be something. Respect, that was it. Between...what? Predator and prey? The Vo-Toa probably wasn't cognizant enough to ask in the first place, probably thinking it was a good Samaritan. Idlyx was far from that.

That was fine, mysteries were fun.

IC: Rose - Po-Metru

Rose wasn't impressed by the Skakdi's pleading, but Skyra's words prompted her to take a step back from him, as much as she wanted to finish Leonn off. "Fine," she said, "anything for you...call the medic over."

@Snelly@Dane
 

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru -

Skyra nodded, glancing over towards where the medic was. "Hey, Tri..." What was his name again? "Triangle guy! We need medical aid over here!" 

Yeah, that was it.

[Tarn]

IC: Rose and Triage - Po-Metru

He wasn't even going to try to correct her. Triage ran over. "Uh, that's not...one of ours," he said, eyebrow raised.

"Of course it isn't," Rose replied, crossing her arms, "get to work anyways. And if he tries anything funny I'll just crush his skull."

The medic sighed and crouched beside the Skakdi, fiddling with his satchel. "What seems to be..." he looked over his injuries, "...the problem, Skakdi guy."

@Snelly@Dane

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Kovac Krossfari - Coliseum Hospital (Meeting)

Why did Idlyx treat him like this? He was unlike any criminal he'd ever encountered, these strange codes he seemed to follow.

It almost reminded the vigilante of his own moral conduct.

The Vo-Toa shifted, some of the anger fading as he realized the pointlessness of it.

"...If I were...quicker. Could have stopped this. Code made it hard. If you were dead..." He trailed off. This wasn't like him, to doubt his own choices. The IV hooked up to him hinted at the root.

IC: Leonn - Po-Metru (Truce)

The Skakdi sighed in relief, slowly rolling onto his back as he moaned quietly. His torso was splashed with blood from his chest and the knife in his gut.

"Much obliged." He murmured, with only a hint of sarcasm.

He resisted the urge to throw up a middle finger at Rose for nearly murdering him, but relaxed as the medic made it on the scene.

"Well, the knife stuck in my body might be a start." He muttered. "And the blood pouring from that slash earlier."

He narrowed his eyes at the medic's nickname for him. "Leonn, please. Naming me by my race is insulting on multiple levels."

IC: Oryn - Ta-Metru (Fight)

The Kekamaire was nowhere near quick enough to dodge the slash. A spray of blood spat itself out from his leg, as the Swordsman cut his thigh open, his strong skin and muscle being the only things stopping him from hacking it off entirely.

The blood hissed, reminding Oryn, as he made a grab for the Swordsman's neck, that it was as dangerous to his opponent as it was for him.

Edited March 20, 2020 by Dane

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru -

Hmmm, Leonn huh? Skyra overheard the Skakdi's name as she tried to stand up. Her right knee wasn't moving quite right and hurt a lot, so she gave up and sat back down on the ground. "I guess I'll need to get looked at next, I can't walk like this." 

With the fight over and the adrenaline running low she was starting to feel all her wounds again...not fun. She glanced back up at Rose. 

"Seems you've saved me again Rose, I guess I need to be more careful hahaha..."

@Tarn@Dane

[Tarn]

IC: Idlyx Haeve - Kovac's Hospital Room (Coliseum Interior)

"Should've killed me when you had the chance, yeah yeah. You Toa always talk like that. I mean, I'd have killed me too if I knew I'd be letting someone like me live otherwise. That got confusing. Anyways," Idlyx scratched his chin. He wondered if any orderlies would come in and check on Kovac. What would he do, kill them on the spot? Maybe he'd lie and say he's family.

"Maybe next time...maybe next time you'll snap." He chuckled a little. "Yeah...next time. You'll snap and you'll finish me."

IC: Rose and Triage - Po-Metru

"Laceration...knife stuck in you...alright." With one hand the medic took hold of the dagger's handle, and placed the other on Leonn's chest. Triage's Mask of Healing glowed and he slowly pulled the weapon out as the wounds healed. When the job had been done, the medic tossed the dagger to Skyra and stepped away, getting closer to Rose in case the Skakdi took advantage of the healing to attack.

"There," he said. Rose raised her flamethrower in preparation as the medic moved over to help Skyra, asking his usual question. 

"Seems you've saved me again Rose, I guess I need to be more careful hahaha..."

"It's...it's nothing," Rose replied, not taking her eyes off Leonn. "I guess I'm just the type to save pretty girls..."

IC: Swordsman - Ta-Metru

A successful strike. But as the blood splattered onto the ground I saw, to my horror, as it began to eat away at it. Acidic...blood? I'd never seen this before. It was as if this man...this creature, more like, was made of death.

The beast moved to grab me, and I sidestepped and swung once more, towards his left side.

@Snelly@Dane

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Leonn - Po-Metru (Bargaining)

"Now...I can make a proposition." Leonn started, relieved at the loss of the sharp object stuck in his stomach.

"I assume you are both here to execute Carapar, no?" A smile began to form across his face.

IC: Kovac Krossfari - Coliseum Hospital (Reflecting)

His eyes narrowed. "No. Can't, not after before...ah...no...no, I can't think about that. Not after before." 

He murmured to himself, clearly completely out of it. A pitiful sight, likely. 

The recalled memory clearly wasn't doing the concussed Vo-Toa any favours mentally.

IC: Oryn - Ta-Metru

Roaring, in a horrible bloodcurdling pitch, the Kekamaire swung his axe up with his free hand, knocking the sword off piste, before swinging again for the Toa's left shoulder in an attempt to carve the vigilante in half.

"PERISH!"

Edited March 20, 2020 by Dane

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru -

Skyra found her heart fluttering and her face blushing at Rose's compliment. S-Since when was it like this!? She thought Rose was supposed to be the shy and embarrassed one, what happened!? Her blush remained even as Triage looked her over and started fixing her wounds, first her knee and then her singed side. 

7 minutes ago, Dane said:

IC: Leonn - Po-Metru (Bargaining)

"Now...I can make a proposition." Leonn started, relieved at the loss of the sharp object stuck in his stomach.

"I assume you are both here to execute Carapar, no?" A smile began to form across his face.

Skyra glanced back at Leonn, "Well yeah. Why you ask, gonna miss em?"

@Tarn@Dane

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Leonn - Po-Metru

"Quite the opposite, in fact."

Completely healed, Leonn was oozing confidence again. "My employer ordered the same of me. Well, technically his other inferior, but he seems to be unavailable as of this moment."

Amber eyes glimmered as he felt his boomerang in his shoulder holster. "Perhaps we could help each other? Form an alliance?"

Edited March 20, 2020 by Dane

[Tarn]

IC: Idlyx Haeve - Kovac's Hospital Room (Coliseum Interior)

He leaned forward, closer to Kovac, casting a sinister shadow over the hospital bed.

"After...what?"

This was getting juicy.

IC: Rose and Triage - Po-Metru

Rose groaned.

"If it helps us get rid of Carapar...but if you try anything funny, I swear to Mata Nui, you are dead. Understood?"

IC: Swordsman - Ta-Metru

I dropped down to my knees to avoid the swing, the axe barely missing and catching my cloak, tearing it. I stayed there for a moment, kneeling and holding tattered rags in my hand.

"I remember the first day I donned this. I wore it to hide myself, my shame...the times have changed. I must change with them, I suppose."

I finished what the axe had started as I stood up, ripping the black cloak off and tossing it to the wind, revealing my scarred form. So much history, so much conflict, etched into my body...but not all of my marks were from others. A series of scars across my back told of self-punishment. An attempt at reconciliation for my sins.

Today, I would commit another.

I raised my blade high above my head, and then brought it down towards the beast-man.

@Snelly@Dane

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru -

"Don't worry he won't try anything. Unless he wants to become a pin cushion." Skyra twirled a dagger, the same dagger that had been lodged in his chest not so long ago, still bloody too. 

She gave him a wink and a grin.

@Dane@Tarn

[~Xemnas~]

OOC: Unreliable Narrator was too tired to make a Dume post, so I stepped up to the challenge and wrote us one with his blessing

IC, Dume: Coliseum

There was nothing.

Dume slowly came to. He blinked twice. What happened? Where was he? Last thing he remembered was that he was about to give Atamai the power of a Toa, and then the world exploded.

The old man blinked again and became simply aware of something slick on his hands. He looked to the side and saw blood on his palms.  For a brief moment the Turaga was scared that he was severely injured. But as he took a deep breath he felt no injuries, no pain.

Then why the blood?

As the Turaga became more aware of his surroundings he realized that there was a heavy weight on top of him. He looked down and saw a body laying on top of him. A Matoran. Okuo. He had jumped in front of the Turaga at the last second and saved him from peril.

“Help him...” Dume croaked.

[Nato G]

OOC: I'm happy to renegotiate this response if necessary, but Okuo's post didn't mention anything about him actually getting hit by the rhotuka, and I already had a contingency lined up for if Dume moved or someone tried to interfere. 

IC: Sidra - Coliseum

7 hours ago, Onaku said:

IC: Okuo - Coliseum

here was no hesitation. He didn't even look. Transposing his body between the Turaga and the teleportee, Okuo flung himself at Dume to tackle him to the ground.

"TURAGA DUME, GET DOWN!!!"

For a split-second, Sidra was baffled by the near-precognisant interference of the Ta-Matoran. Why were they already running towards the Turaga before she'd even appeared? How had they known she was coming? There had been no one by the window when she'd teleported, no one even looking in the direction of the nektann. She wouldn't have made her move if her intent had been so obviously compromised already. 

Whatever the explanation, it didn't matter. 

The wonderful thing about rhotuka was that they could be consciously directed by those who launched them. They were the perfect tool for assassins, able to follow moving targets and avoid unexpected obstacles. And as soon as the Matoran started to cross into Sidra's field of view - clearly intent on placing himself between the rhotuka and the target - she willed the spinner's course to shift. Instead of continuing straight, it angled slightly downwards and to the side, curving in at floor level once the two flailing forms had finished falling. 

Pinned to the ground by his would-be rescuer, the Turaga would have now have no way to avoid the projectile. In tackling him, the Matoran had not saved the old man, but instead sealed his fate. Sidra supposed there was some kind of irony in that. 

6 hours ago, Snelly said:

IC: Vashni - Dume's Office -

Then naturally everything went to karz. Vashni locked onto the Dark Hunter and quickly used her elemental power to telekinetically push Dume's desk into her. 

She didn't get to enjoy the moment for very long, though, as the desk struck her in the legs with enough force it would surely leave some nasty bruises.

She stumbled, scowled, then threw herself behind the desk for cover, her launcher already charging another rhotuka. 

Edited March 20, 2020 by Nato the Traveler

[Azibo]

IC: Sans, Dume's Office

Sans led Waveahk and his Vahki escort from the elevator towards Dume's office.  "You know, if you've got a slug in your arm, you might wanna disclose that to someone who knows how to help that out.  Like, some street thug shot you?  Or an actual slug?"  Sans shrugged.  "I don't know man, I just don't know, huhuhuhu." Sans approached the door to Dume's office, turned the knob, then entered, his party behind him.  "Hello, new friends and old! Did you miss me?  Huhuhuhuhu-hackhehackheckhuhuuck!" Sans choked on his words when he saw the scene before him: some new Toa, new Matoran, and a bloody body lying prone on top of Turaga Dume, all staring in awe at some emerald warrior across the room.

OOC: Waveahk and Sans made it back

[Vezok's Friend]

OOC: Dume playing approved by @Unreliable Narrator, his bit happens just before @~Xemnas~'s post. Korruhn bunnying approved by @Crimson Jester

Please excuse the messy timeline, since all this action is happening almost simultaneously. 

IC [Dume, Coliseum - Dume’s Office]:

A heartbeat earlier…

Dume was so preoccupied with getting the new Toa started, he had no warning of the attack. The first sign of trouble for him was the sudden impact as he was tackled off of his feet and his stomach dropped. 

Time seemed to slow down as he fell. Someone shouted his name, but he thought he could also hear...singing? He thought he could hear Tuyet, but it was impossible to tell. The voice was almost intangible and sounded so much more ethereal: 

Who can say where the road goes…

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flash of something rapidly approaching, some projectile launched by the blurry, armor-clad figure - another hunter? - in front of his desk that hadn’t been there before. It was still coming straight for him - and whoever had decided to throw themselves in its path. But that would only ensure his killer would get two for the price of one - unless he acted. He had to. The people trusted him to lead but more importantly his plans were in motion and he had to oversee their completion lest the universe suffer for it. No one else could do what he could, he’d come too far to see things through to die now, on the finish line!

No! I refuse this fate! I’M. NOT. DONE. YET!

Yes, he was falling. But he still had control over some of his body and he now asked everything of his old vessel to remember its former strength: He threw his left leg back to break and redirect their fall. Every muscle and actuator protested and screamed as they absorbed the initial impact. His knee threatened to buckle but he had to ask for more as he pushed as hard as he could through his heel to throw himself and his rescuer to the side and out of the line of fire. 

He heard a scream, unsure if it was his own. Then they hit the floor and the world became a blur.

IC [Korruhn, Coliseum - Dume’s Office]:

Korruhn felt a sudden tingle in his shadow-infused arm, just as the hunter materialized, but even with that split-second warning he was unable to stop them from launching their attack. The Rhotuka went for Dume’s back and even followed its target towards the floor as Okuo threw himself on top of the old man. And then instinct kicked in. With a growl, the Toa threw up a clenched fist, the movement echoed by his control over gravity as he redirected the Rhotuka towards the ceiling.

IC [Zataka, Coliseum - Dume’s Office]:

Sidra landed prone on the floor behind the desk - right at Zataka’s and Korruhn’s feet. The dark hunter did not get a chance to loosen another Rhotuka as the titan and new Toa descended on her. Zataka dropped down, bringing down her knee with crushing force, aimed squarley at the hunter's back..

How in Karz' did this one get in here?

Zataka knew for a fact there was no other access underneath the desk, the only ways in left were some form of teleportation, phasing and/or shadow-powers.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dume’s voice coming from the other side of the desk:

“Help him…”
 

Edited March 20, 2020 by Vezok's Friend

[Dane-gerous]

IC: Kovac Krossfari - Coliseum Hospital

Why was he acting like this? He wasn't scared, was he?

Am I?

"Someone I knew struck me down." Kovac managed, the strange fuzzy urge to start spilling his guts to Idlyx getting even stronger. It was beginning to become obvious to him just how alone he was.

"Powers...don't work right. Punishment from Mata-Nui...I guess."

IC: Oryn - Ta-Metru

The sight of Swordsman's back paused Oryn's attack. Punishment, he knew that. He knew that clearly.

His own, or someone else's?

But, as Oryn momentarily stopped, he felt a sharp impact. The Obsidian Blade had sunk itself into his own shoulder. 

"Who?" He managed, as the blade was likely pulled out. 

IC: Leonn - Po-Metru

Lovers, then. Wonderful.

"Well, naturally. But I assure you, our goals are one and the same." He insisted, conveniently leaving out the fact that once the job was done, he'd be completely out of their sight.

Being taken prisoner is the absolute worst thing to happen to someone of his occupation.

Edited March 20, 2020 by Dane

[Toru Nui]

IC: Waveahk (The Coliseum, Dume's Office)

Oh, right. The Hunters were going to assassinate Dume. In all the eldritch horror he had completely forgotten. Well, even if he cared about any of this, he was in no position to do anything in those cuffs.

 

IC: Ostrox (The Cortex)

No, no, no, so much no. Ostrox took out his Rhotuka Launcher and began to charge it, making a faint, electric whirring sound...

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru -

"Good, good. Then you have nothing to worry about, lucky you!" At least for now...

@Tarn@Dane

[Onaku]

IC: Raz - Coliseum

"Heya, little man. Saw you zipping around the city there earlier. You're doing great out there, keep up the good work." Kanohi heard suddenly, and as he looked up, he saw a guy casually standing perpendicular to the vertical surface of the Coliseum's exterior wall. Aside from the sheer strangeness of someone standing at nearly a right angle to gravity, he seemed friendly enough.

[Harvali]

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum 

The vigilante looked up, seeing a large being standing on the side of the Coliseum, their feet planted firmly on the side of the building. They … they looked like they were wearing a mask, though Kanohi didn’t recognize its style. But to hang from the side of the metal building, and theie black armor, wasn’t black armor associated with Magnetism? Were they a Toa of Magnetism? Like Toa Nale? Using their power to climb to the wall?

There were really only two elements back in Okoto, Jungle and Iron. 

“Um thank you, Master Toa. I’m trying, but there is so … is so much chaos going on,” he was a little out of breath, pausing between words, “I … I don’t know if it will matter much in the end, I’m … I’m no Toa. But if I can help a few Matoran, well, it’s better than just … just hiding. I hope … I hope I can head out again soon.”

A thought hit him, “Um excuse me, Master Toa, are you guarding the Coliseum? I think I saw that some Matoran have taken refuge inside.”

Edited March 20, 2020 by Harvali

[Onaku]

IC: Raz - Coliseum

"Just taking a breather between moments of action. It really is quite a mess down there, isn't it?" Raz mused, watching the chaos unfolding far below. 

[Harvali]

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum

Kanohi nodded it was … it would have once been hard to believe even a Toa could need a break. But seeing the ruins of the once great city below, fire erupting constantly, Kanohi could see why.

”I … do you think Turaga Dume is making a mistake? I-I mean, he has a number of Toa in his office, they could turn the tide in any district. But he’s just … having them there in his office, instead of helping. Talking and planning is important but … the war is here. It’s too late to plan. Matoran need saving. Isn’t that the Duty of a Toa?”

He blushed and fluttered his wrists, “sorry, I know I’m just rambling. He’s a Turaga, misguided or not he has wisdom I will never have. And I have no room to judge his … decisions…” He trailed off, catching sight of another building crumbling in an explosion of dust, particles of Protodermis traveling in a shockwave from the impact. He flinched, though the tidal wave of ash never got close.

 “I … I should be out there.” He started to move, before wincing and sitting back down on the ledge. He … he still needed to rest, and he should really wait for Toa Vashni to reply. But the city…

Edited March 20, 2020 by Harvali

[Onaku]

IC: Raz - Coliseum

"Whoa, slow down there, sport. You'll run yourself into the dirt if you keep pushing yourself. Sometimes you've gotta know when to stay back and catch your breath. You won't do anyone any good if you're dead." Raz sat down, still perpendicular to the Coliseum exterior, sighing wistfully. "It's the simple fact of life that sometimes you can't be everything the world needs you to be. So sit back, relax a little, and focus on what you can be."

Edited March 20, 2020 by Onaku

[Harvali]

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum 

Kanohi nodded, heartlight uneven but steadying, “It’s … you are right, but it’s hard to believe it. Well I believe it but don’t … it’s hard to internalize it. Like I know if I get myself killed helping people, I can’t help others later. You are right, I know that. But it’s … all my thoughts can focus on, is that the city collapsing around me, while I just rest.”

Still, he respected the Toa’s wisdom, even if his mind couldn’t internalize it. So he tried to change the subject, focus on different things, “Master Toa, are you from Metru-Nui? I am not, I came from a small island called Okoto. There were only a few hundred of us, living in metal huts. Seeing Metru-Nui for the first time, it was … I never imagined Matoran could have built something like this, except the Nynrah Ghosts.” 

Edited March 20, 2020 by Harvali

[Onaku]

IC: Raz- Coliseum

"Oh no, I hail from a place far away from here. Much colder there than here. I honestly like it better in this warmer climate."

[Harvali]

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum

He nodded “It’s a lot less windy here than my home island, and there are almost no trees here either. But there are still plenty of places to grapple to. It’s … different, but not bad. Or at least, it was.” He winced at another fiery explosion, though it was the sound that shocked him. The flames were all but masked by the crimson sky overhead. 

”Why do you think the sky turned red? Is it … because of the war? Is reflecting Mata-Nui’s mood? I heard once that the Ko-Matoran of this city can see the future in the stars, I have no idea how.”

[Onaku]

IC: Raz - Coliseum

"That, my friend, I have no idea about. And since I have no idea, I prefer not to waste my energy thinking about it. It's not really relevant to my job anyway."

[Harvali]

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum

Kanohi blushed, had he wasted the Toa’s time? It … it was probably unrelated to what was happening, the war was out there, in the city of Metru-Nui. Though it was more like Cordak-Nui now, the city fractured and smoldering, like one of his old masks. He … he wondered if the Matoran could live here now. The city this broken, the League so victorious, the Matoran … might have to flee.

”Is … is your home under the control of the League?”

[Onaku]

IC: Raz - Coliseum

"I don't know... I honestly hadn't thought about it. It's so far away from here and so remote, I frankly doubt they'd bother."

Edited March 20, 2020 by Onaku

[Harvali]

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum 

“Oh, sorry,” Kanohi flapped his wrists. He … he couldn’t rely on that hope. Okoto was remote too. Or at least, he thought it was. Travelers rarely came by the island, the most important visitors was that Toa of Lightning and the Nynrah Ghost who built the Iden Machine for the village. Such a kind Matoran, there was no reason for him to give Okoto that gift, but it gave so much joy to the Matoran. Not all of them used it, and it required visitors from the outside for its best effects, but even Toa Fehagah had used it.

”Do you know of any islands still resisting the Barraki? That the League still cannot conquer?” 

[That Matoran with a Vahi]

IC: Varxii the Defector - Ko-Metru

Wait, was she hearing... what she thought she was hearing?

Doing her best to sneak around the bulk of Pridak's army, aiming to get ahead of them - whether to join up with the city's defenders, or to find a good ambush point against the Barraki legion, Varxii was still undecided; it would depend on what she found when she got far enough ahead - the Vo-Toa was stopped in her tracks by the sound of an exchange carrying on the wind. People talking was hardly weird, even in a Metru famed for its silence, but she could have sworn... that someone had just given Barraki Pridak an ultimatum.

It would have sounded a stupid thing to do under the best of circumstances; and yet, all the same...

Someone bold enough to do that was someone who she could probably do very well to hook up with.

Keeping out of sight as best she could, Varxii began to make her way towards the conversation. Pridak seemed to be done with the other; and so the defecting Toa hoped that she could catch the foreigner's attention without being noticed by the warlord. Remaining around a corner of the nearest ruined knowledge tower from Pridak, she surreptitiously tried to catch Matrak's eye, trying to indicate that he should approach her.

While, hopefully, not alerting Pridak himself to the fact that his pet Toa was making a bid for freedom.

( @Onaku )

 

IC: Zecrillia - Coliseum Approach

In due course, the Coliseum guards at the Ta-Metru entrance would find a black-and-crimson Vortixx woman in a Kanohi Felnas and sweat-stained work clothes making a hasty approach to them. Zecrillia had, it had to be confessed, detoured slightly. Her rented room had barely been out of her way as she had made her sprint from the Great Furnace to the Coliseum; and with the League very close now to her doorstep, she had wanted to salvage her precious work. The League didn't deserve to have the benefit of the weapons she'd been designing; but her blueprints were like precious art to her, and she likewise couldn't bear to see them destroyed. She had gathered them all up, rolled them into a protective tube... and resumed her journey.

She maybe, maybe, should have changed her shirt while she was there too; Zecrillia was aware that she wasn't presently in much of a fit state to meet her employer and ruler of the last free city in the known world... but under the current circumstances, that was hardly crucial. If Dume didn't like seeing her in an unpresentable state, then...

Tough, to be honest. He should have found a better location to get his disk hidden in the first place.

Stepping up to the Vahki guards, the Vortixx woman drew out the 159 and held it up to her chest, letting the robots get a good look at it.

"I have something important for Turaga Dume. Be more helpful than your pals at the Furnace and let me in, please?"

[Onaku]

IC: Raz - Coliseum

"I'm sure there's some stragglers out there I haven't heard of, but no, not really." Raz laid back on the vertical surface of the Coliseum wall. They were practically upright now, lying against the exterior of the building. "Do you believe in Mata-Nui?"

[Unreliable Narrator]

IC: Carapar, Po-Metru

Caraparstood defiantly on the station landing. Happily watching his forces ransack the Assembler's Village. Rose, Skyra, and Leonn would need to get closer.

IC: Vahki, Coliseum

The vahki nodded after seeing the Great Disk and let Zecrillia pass into the Coliseum despite the lockdown. 
 

[Smudge8]

IC: Mazor-Cortex

 "Not yet, I'm not quite satisfied." Mazor stepped back. "Nuju said that if you woke up we'd all die, but not die, what was he talking about?"