The Dark and the Dead

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

The Dark and the Dead

There is no sound but the drip-dripping of broken pipes matching the thump-thump of your heartlight. All around you old machines reveal their wires and other technological viscera, rust crawling over them like gangrene on a wound. One of them spits intermittent sparks, the last pumps from its electronic heart, casting smatterings of vivid light around this dank hole. You crawl deeper into the shadows to avoid being caught in the glow, knowing it will reveal you and rob you of your night vision. Down here the light is not your friend. Finally the machine exhausts itself with its own death throes, and those little sparks cool to embers before fading away entirely. And with them goes the last of your hope.Because now you are surrounded by dead things.You can hear them shuffling and shambling, groaning and gurgling, a mass of putrescence driven by their dark hunger. You cower in the blackness praying to Mata Nui, to Makuta, to Karzahni himself, praying that they'll pass you by.But your heart, beating ever faster, knows they won't.The FactsIt is the dying days of the Toa/Dark Hunter war, The Shadowed One's latest vainglorious attempt to wrest control of Metru Nui. Thanks to Toa Naho and her reinforcements his army is being routed, much to his chagrin. Losing both warriors and ground he decides to employ a weapon he recently acquired from the Brotherhood of Makuta; an artificial plague designed to turn your enemies own bodies against them. Assuming it to be some form of mind-control agent he has several Dark Hunters release the virus high above the city so it can spread across the entire island.Its worked a little differently than he expected.Those affected by the plague die swiftly, but that doesn't stop them. They continue to walk, continue to hunt, despite their armour corroding and organics rotting. Worse still, they acted as incubators for the contagion, passing it on to others. With thousands infected by the initial attack, neither side was safe from the swarms of rotters, until the Dark Hunters agreed to withdraw from the island to let the Toa take care of the problem.Toa on the ground forced the rotters into a location that could be easily locked down; the Coliseum. It had been used to keep the Dark Hunters out for so long that it was easy enough to keep the rotters in using the same defences. Any remounts of the plague in the air were swept up by wind Toa and blown into the Coliseum's arena, where it still hangs in a concentrated mist, a beige haze blanketing the building which unfortunately made it difficult for the Toa to just rain destruction down upon their new enemy. So a stalemate of sorts was reached, the Toa pinning the rotters inside the Coliseum but unable to finish them off. But the problem is contained, and for most Matoran the rebuilding can begin.You are not one of these Matoran.You are rather regrettably trapped within the lower levels of the Coliseum. Whether you were barricaded in their during the war or acting as bait to lure the rotters in, you ended up stuck in there when the quarantine fell in place. Your supplies and allies are few, and your enemy is both numerous and very very hungry…The LocationAh the under-levels of the Coliseum, the unseen tangle of industry that keeps everything above it running smoothly. Or did, at any rate. Now anything above basement height has become infested with rotters and infused with the airborne contagion. You will die if you go there. Either the rotters will devour you or the fumes will make you one of them. In such a concentrated form it only requires skin contact to begin the process, and no protective suit lasts long when under attack from a ravenous horde of walking corpses. Only the levels deep under the ground are remotely safe.Prime Access ShaftA vast series of elevators and stairways running through the centre of the under-levels that allowed the workers to get from top to bottom swiftly and efficiently. When the rotters became pinned in the Coliseum it allowed them to do the same. The survivors were forced to sabotage the access ways to prevent the rotters easily spreading. Since this also keep them trapped they have to find or create temporary routes to higher levels.As a general rule of thumb it is unwise to go above level M as the rotters infest those levels heavily, and downright suicidal to venture to the top five levels as the fumes will get you.Station There used to be a feeding station-smaller versions of the one in Ga-Metru-on every floor of the under-levels but the battle to contain the rotters damaged most of them. The one on floor U is one of the last remaining and acts as a gathering point and meeting place for the surviving Matoran. The problem is thats its beginning to fail, succumbing to the damage. A charge that should last for a year now only lasts for a few days, meaning regular trips have become a necessity. And since frequent gatherings of Matoran mean regular attacks from the rotters, the whole station has been fortified as best it can be. Station U is one of the few places that could be considered safe, even if thats a relative term these days.Storage This storage room was never used, lying as it does right at the bottom of the building, and was empty when the survivors found it. Nowadays Storage Z is used to keep useful stuff the survivors manage to scavenge, so is littered with the broken carcasses of vehicles and machinery, crates of gathered lightstones, spare Kanohi and rusted up tools. It has become part machine shop and part infirmary.Station A terrible prophecy of what will eventually happen to Station U, this station failed not long after the initial swarming of the rotters. It is, however, the highest point the survivors managed to set up defences in, so Station S is a good resting place for those scavenging in the infested upper levels.Abandoned TunnelOn Level V an attempt was made to try and reach the outside world and escape the Coliseum by tunnelling through to the Archives. It was decided however, that breaching the quarantine might let both the rotters and the plague into the Archives were it could fester potentially forever. So all work on extended the tunnel was forcefully stopped. It almost drove a schism between the survivors then and continues to be divisive even now.The EnemyThe creatures created by the plague have been dubbed 'rotters' by the survivors in the Coliseum. It makes them sound less of a person and slightly comical, which makes it easier to psychologically deal with when there a horde of them chasing you for your delicious flesh. They can be any species, but all share one thing: they're dead. So they don't feel pain. Or weariness. Or compassion. Just endless yearning hunger for living matter, armour or organics. It seems to sustain them and hold the rotting that gives them their name at bay.After many attempts at finding weaknesses it has been concluded they don't seem to have one. They appear to hunt during smell and hearing so aren't hampered by their eyes rotting away, they can push their muscles beyond normal limits so they're far stronger than any Matoran, decapitation just annoys them…your best option is to run and hope you can stay ahead of something that can sniff you out of any hiding place and will never ever get tired.ProfilesName:Tribe:Gender:Appearance:Tools:Personality:History:Name:- No canon names, please, and try to keep it Bionicle-y.Tribe:- While you can't be anything but a Matoran, you can choose whichever kind of Matoran you like, from the classics like Fire to newer ones like Psionics or even a custom tribe not seen before. Oh, and no, I'm afraid you can't be one of the zombies.Gender:- Kind of obvious. Swaying from canon though, you can be any gender from any tribe, so a female Ta-Matoran or male Ga-Matoran etc.Appearance:- Include details like what shape Kanohi they wear, which Matoran body type they have, coloration and so on.Tools:- Most equipment is scavenged and often run down. Try to keep it as stuff you would realistically find in what is essentially a giant janitor's closet, albeit a Matoran janitorPersonality:- Rather self-explanatory. Try to give a bit of detail not just a couple of words.History:- Their backstory, what they did before being trapped, how they came to be there etc.Note, there is currently no limit on how many characters you have, but try not to bite off more than you can chewRules

• Obviously regular BZP rules apply.
• Do not god-mode. This includes pulling super attacks from nowhere, killing enemy NPCs by the dozens, or going all deus ex machine. If you see someone god-mode just tell a staff, don't god-mode back at them.
• Do not control another player's character without their permission. Don't go killing them without permission either.
• This is a Text-Based RPG, so to join in you post what is basically a miniature story for what is currently happening to your character. You use IC to denote when you are posting In Character and OOC to denote when you're Out Of Character. For example:
• IC: NewMatoran placed his back against the door, wedging it shut against the horde on the other side.
• OOC: Could I get a little help here?
• Try to keep a fair standard of spelling and grammar, since other people need to understand what you're writing.
• Try to keep things as realistic as is possible in an RPG about biomechanical beings fighting zombies. No silliness like a guy tickling his enemies to death.

A ThanksTo you, the RPing community, who make it possible for me to foist these ideas of mine on you like the snake-oil salesman that I am.

Edited October 5, 2012 by Lord of Adders Black

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Calerix (Storage )The Ce-Matoran named Calerix was one of the few Matoran currently within Storage . She fiddled with parts, trying to create something of use. With an exasperated huff, she threw down the parts and got up. 'Not getting anything to work... Argh... Oh well, I need a recharge anyway.' She began to head for one of the crude tunnels to Station .OOC: Open for interaction.Zakaro

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:Vertak leaned against a wall within Station U, having just finished a recharging session. He was fiddling with his dagger, now his most prized possession in the rather lacking existence that he lived. The blade was still shiny, and that made it infinitely valuable to him in his slightly deranged mind. Why it was still shiny was beyond him, as he'd survived three seperate encounters with the zombies underneath the Coliseum already by extremely small margins.Which probably had something to do with his mind deteriorating a little bit.OOC: Also open for interaction.

Edited October 5, 2012 by Voltex

[BULiK]

IC: (Station U)Nichou Saw a Matoran of gravity leaning against the wall nearby (Vertak). He walked over to the matoran, sat down beside the being and said, "Hello there, my name is Nichou". He extended his hand to greet the other survivor, while cradling a heatstone in his other hand. The past few days had been rough, and Nichou needed some social interaction to keep himself sane between shifts fortifying the station.

Edited October 5, 2012 by Bulik

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:"Hey... my name is Vertak." the Matoran responded, shaking Nichou's hand. "It's nice to meet you, although doubtless you've heard of me and my previously questionable motives for being in Metru-Nui."Just like everyone else, which doesn't help when they're ALSO scared of the things.

[BULiK]

IC: (Station U)Nichou Nodded, Deep in thought. "Atleast the War doesn't matter down here; any survivor of the plague is good news to me," Nichou responded. "You probably haven't seen me around much, since most of the time I'm trying to Fortify the place" He sighed. "Every day it seems as if we are slipping faster into the jaws of death"

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:The Dark Hunter shrugged, as he had not participated in any attempts to fix the stations, on account of Matoran attempting to attack him. Unfortunately, they had been in possession of better weapons than he, and so he had ceased in his attempts to help. That was part of the reason he'd had to many close scrapes with death... or worse. If The Shadowed One had just agreed to perform the enhancement experiment on him, he'd be fine right now. But nope, he had to go into Metru-Nui completely powerless. Look where it landed him. The Shadowed One better be willing to pay big time for this afterward."I'm of the opinion that death is too merciful for our situation." Vertak said to Nichou. "Running into a zombie... it's the scariest thing you've ever seen. Even worse when you think you're cornered, and you can barely feel any relief when you realize that in the darkness, there's just a corner you couldn't feel before. Blindly running, jumping straight down elevator shafts... it's horrible."

[BULiK]

IC:(Station U)Nichou shuddered at the descriptions for he, too, had his own close encounters, like all the matoran in this karzahni-pit. The half, rotted eyes, skewed in random directions... The broken and battered limbs of the rotters, flailing as they shuffled down the corridors... Blood and decaying guts slobbering out of their mouths... All these horrible sights, giving him nightmares."I agree. I hope, if I am destined to die, that I have a swift death instead of becoming one of... them" He responded.

[Void Emissary]

IC:It was the silence that always scared Soli. The quiet, the stillness, the waiting. It terrified her.That was why she always hid in Station U, where there were always lots of people around. Crowds made her feel safe. In a group, she knew that if the rotters came, she would have some warning. Not like last time.SOLI, RUN!The Matoran squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out the memories.Crouching in a corner of the station, the De-Matoran gripped her spear, the last possession she had in the world, and her last line of defence against the enemies down in the darkness.You see any rotters ahead? Can't be too careful...We could have been, she repeated in her mind, We should have been.OOC: Soli, open for interaction.-Void

Edited October 5, 2012 by Emissary to the Void

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:"I've had more encounters than most." Vertak replied, giving all he would on the matter. "But sometimes, I just can't help but wonder... do the rotters... do they realize what they're doing? Are their minds still intact, still functioning? Are they prisoners within themselves, going mad over what they are doing, but unable to control it?"He fell silent for several seconds, fingering his dagger, before calling out to the far corner of Station U."Who's there? You're obviously not a rotter, so why don't you come out and join us before a paranoid Matoran takes your head off?"

[BULiK]

IC:(Station U)Nichou was horrified at the thought. He would sooner go to karzahni than watch as his body eat his allies alive. He waited for Soli's Reaction to Vertak's question.

[Simulacrum]

IC: Hithyn, Station UA matoran, slightly stockier than most, but otherwise unremarkable, was huddled against a wall, her arms wrapped herself, her right hand clutching her crowbar close to her side. Her position, if a bit strange, was not wholly remarkable. It was her eyes. They were orbs of pure and utter terror of the nth degree, burning with fear and insanity. If eyes are gateways into the soul, then Hithyn's soul was a demonic inferno, its tounges of flame burning with insanity. The longer she stared at the darkness before her, the more she wished to tear her eyes away, but they remained glued, immovible and completely transfixed on the shadows ahead of her. Whispering unintelligble, seemingly random sounds, she began to slowly, silently, scoot away, her eyes continuing to bore into the madness that was the void.OOC: Open for interaction. Just be warned; Interact quietly. A disgruntled, crow-bar wielding Fe-Matoran fueled with sheer terror is not something you want to strike a conversation with.

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:"Oh lovely, we've got... a crazy." Vertak whispered to Nichou, so quietly the other Matoran could barely hear. "We're are soooo screwed if she gets hyper on us."

[Void Emissary]

IC:Soli's head shot up, eyes wide in panic. Her vision darted between the two figures in the distance. Neither looked like a danger, but down here, in the underground, things like that could change in an instant.She gripped her spear tighter, slowly rising to her feet. Her stance betrayed her fear at the new arrivals, but in her eyes, one could see visions of electric fury. It was the look of a wild animal, a starved beast, ready to pounce on the nearest threat to their territory.Cautiously, Soli took a step forward towards Vertak and Nichou, taking a careful glance over, to spot yet another Matoran, Hithyn.-Void

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:Danger. Danger. Not safe, not safe.The alarm bells continued to ring within Vertak's head; it appeared that both the other Matoran were crazy scared and paranoid."Actually, we may be screwed anyway." Vertak whispered to Nichou.

[Light]

IC: Kaithas stood in the Abandoned Tunnel, the hint of a smile that DARED anyone to ruin his good mood playing at the edges of his mouth. Any rotters that tried to escape would have him to deal with. OOC: open for interaction

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Calerix (Tunnels between Storage Z and Station U)She let out a breath. Having decided to take the shortest way to Station U, she was currently climbing through a roughly carved tunnel. That went straight up. Calerix took a glance upward."Great, only 20 bio left to go." She muttered, before reaching for another hand-hold and continuing her ascent. Zakaro

[BULiK]

IC:(Station U)Nichou was getting nervous as the beast-like scavenger crept near them. He didn't draw his sword in fear of provoking a fight, but his hand was twiching near his sheath.IC(Storage Z):Quoribay Walked out of storage Z and into the many corridors and hallways, holding his old disc launcher in a way that had "If someone comes I'll bludgeon them to death" Written all over it. He was venturing out to station U, and was careful, because in these narrow passages and stairwells, death can stare you in the face when you turn the next corner...OOC: Open for interaction, Zakaro

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:"Hey, calm down a bit." Vertak called. "We're not here to hurt you. Trust me, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead already."For good measure, he went against his own paranoid instincts and clipped his dagger back onto his hip, allowing himself to appear weaponless before the paranoid Matoran.

[Light]

IC:: Kaithas didn't want to leave his post. But he was a day overdue for his next charge, and he would be no good as a guard if he ran out. So began the short journey up to Station U, katana drawn.OOC: still open for interaction.

[Void Emissary]

IC:Soli hesitated a little once Vertak clipped his dagger back to his belt. Was he genuinely not going to hurt her? Or was it a ploy to make her lower her defences?Slowly, the Matoran lowered her spear, relaxing her stance a little, trying to show that she didn't mean them harm.-Void

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Calerix (Tunnel)With a groan, she hefted herself onto the floor. The tunnel had led to a hallway, beyond which was Station U. Calerix allowed herself to relax for a second, not knowing that another Matoran, named Quoribay was just around the corner behind her.OOC: Interaction accepted, Bulik.Zakaro

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:"Keep your hand away from your weapons, Nichou." Vertak ordered quietly.He raised his hands away from his waist and brought them up behind his neck, leaning against the wall as he did so to show an air of relaxation and calm. Which, for the most part, he actually was, so it was not hard to feign."See? We're totally okay." He called.

[BULiK]

IC:(Station U)Nichou gave a sigh of relief when soli lowered her stance. He relaxed his hand and moved it away from the hilt of his sword. "It's okay; We're friendly", he said, trying to persuade Soli into coming closer. Allies were rare in this wasteland, and Nichou wanted to capitalize on the few he could find.IC:(Tunnels)Quoribay rounded the corner to see a shadowy figure walking through the halls ahead of him. With the little illumination he got from the lightstone on the staff he was carrying, he couldn't Make out who was there. "Who's there?!?" He said to the unknown, Holding his broken disk launcher in a position which made it look like he was aiming for the matoran. Even though his disk launcher didn't work, he knew this position was enough to scare off most bandits.

[Void Emissary]

IC:Following Vertak and Nichou's lead, Soli continued to lower her stance into an almost relaxed posture. It was clear she was still scared, but at least these two didn't seem to pose a risk.Slowly, she let her left hand off of the crude spear, bringing it up in a small wave.-Void

[BULiK]

IC:(Station U)Nichou waved back at Soli and asked, "What's your name?".

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Calerix (Tunnels)She whirled around, quickly seeing the lightstone-laden Matoran with a disk launcher. She raised her arms, calling out to the other. "Just a Matoran, going to Station U. I mean no harm."Zakaro

[BULiK]

IC:(Tunnels)Quoribay lowered his launcher, put one hand of the hilt of a dirk, just in case this matoran was a backstabbing liar, and continued walking. "You should be more careful", he said casually.

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:Vertak gave a small, short wave, one that might have seemed cocky before they all became stuck in the tunnels. Now, it was just a habit. "Why don't you come join us?" He asked.

[Void Emissary]

IC:In response to Nichou's question, the De-Matoran shifted grip of her spear from one hand to the other hand, before bringing her right hand up to a piece of armour on her left side. Unlike the rest of the metal on her body, which was all scratched, rusted or fading, this piece was spotlessly clean, and obviously taken care of regularly.On it, scratched on the armour in clear, confident writing, was the word "Soli". -Void

[BULiK]

IC:(Station U)"Uh... can you talk?" Nichou asked.

[Void Emissary]

IC:Soli responded by shaking her head.-Void

[BULiK]

IC:(Station U)"Uh, why?" a confused Nichou asked.

Edited October 6, 2012 by Bulik

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Calerix (Tunnels)"True." She spoke a curt reply before getting to her feet and beginning to head towards the Station. "You coming?"Zakaro

[Voltex]

IC: Vertak, Station U:"Does it matter why?" Vertak asked. "Plus, if she can't speak, how is she going to tell you why she can't speak? Think about it for a second... it doesn't make sense."Noting Soli's special armor plate denoting her name, Vertak suddenly felt rather self-conscious about his own specialized armor plate on his left shoulder, that held a tatoo revealing him to be a Dark Hunter. Usually it was covered by a cloak, but the cloak had long since become tatters. Despite the knowledge that the tatoo being visible to everyone in the tunnels didn't matter, it still made Vertak feel uncomfortable.

[BULiK]

IC:(Tunnels)"I don't think I need to state the obvious," Quoribay replied, with slight chuckle.

[Light]

IC:: A shadow walked up behind Quoribay. "Nice lightstone" a jovial voice said. Kaithas grinned.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Calerix (Tunnels)'Another? How many people are in these tunnes, anyway?' Sighing, she continued to walk towards Station U.Zakaro

[Constructelf]

IC: Londar (Station u)Londar sat down on a rock in Station U. He had nothing to do. None of those rotters had breached the major defenses recently and as a result, he hadn't gotten much action. He yawned.OOC: Open for interaction

[Void Emissary]

IC:Soli, not really sure what to do, merely stood by as the two Matoran argued.-Void