Undying

[Void Emissary]

IC:

I took a cursory glance at the strange symbols carved into the Rahkshi's armour, whose sharp edges and jagged furrows sucked in the dim lighting in this place. There was something familiar about them; some part of these sigils sparked the first, flickering embers of a memory. Images flashed in my mind's eye like lightning strikes: a rictus grin; the silver streak of blade; a sea of scarlet quenching the barren field of combat.

Zakaz.

"These seem to be Skakdi signs," I commented, "However, they seem slightly different than most of the examples I have encountered."

-Void

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Zartor / Door to Mutran's Lab

 

Zartor was taken aback. He... well, he wasn't really very sure of the thing speaking. But hey, there you go. Talking Takea Shark trap on a door.

 

"Someone who wants this door open." he replied. Making sure to apply his hypnotic powers, he continued, "Could you do that?"

 

IC: Amadene / Dungeons

 

Amadene looked at the symbols, and replied, "I recgonize a few sigils, but the language is beyond mine grasp."

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Dungeons)

"I haven't got anymore of a clue as to what this means than the rest of you. The Skakdi were further north than I ever went."

Her comment comes as she's looking at the symbols, but she moves onward to look at the rest of the armor. Placing her hands on either side of it's head, she attempts to wrench it open.

Zakaro

[Padishah Mehmet II]

GM IC: (Mutran's Lab)

 

"Well, no, not exactly," the shark head, still quite nervously, responded. "See, there's this slight problem. At this precise period of time in this particular universe, I'm a shark head with the ability to snap your fingers off if you reach for the doorknob. I wasn't ever endowed with any other capabilities worth mentioning, and I can't exactly reach for the doorknob with my teeth, they're not long enough. But... this is a bit confusing, I would suppose, to all of you. To explain, please let me start our conversation over, if you don't mind. Did my master send you?"

 

(Dungeons)

 

To be utterly politically correct, there was something that remained of the Kraata that once inhabited this armor. A few drops of liquid that seemed peculiarly like the blood of one were contained in the Rahkshi's skull.

 

It almost seemed as someone had stabbed, or, perhaps even more accurately, disintegrated the worm.

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): Kehua pondered the cryptic message in front of him. Maybe it was omportant to their mission, maybe it wasn't. He wouldn't know until he read it. Regardless, if someone had taken the trouble of engraving a message in Rahkshi armour (no mean feet - Rahkshi armour was tough), they probably had a good reason for it, so it had been important to them.

It was another mystery of the dungeons, he decided, and since it was their mission to investigate the potential of such mysteries for use against the enemies of the Hunt, it was worth putting at least some effort into. If it turned out to be useless, there would be plently more mysteries to investigate. That left fork, for example.

"Allright then" he decided out loud, "Well find someone who can read it. I do not know of any huntsmen who bear a kanohi rau, so we will have to capture one of our enemies and have them read it for us. We can kill them afterward to keep the secret safe with us." He looked around at the other huntsmen, and saw that a smile was nearly splitting Havoc's face at the thought of combat. "Havoc, bring the Rahkshi. We'll mark this place so that we cam come back later, once we know the meaning fo the message."

 

IC (Koriaha, Throne Room): Koriaha followed Gandor inside, and looked up at the toa sitting on the throne of the Makuta. It had a satisfying symbolism to it, he thought. A toa, a guardian of peace and justice was now in the place of the Darkest and most destructive beings their universe had yet seen.

And once Destral is purged of evil, he thought, we can extend that to the rest of the universe, spreading wholeness and life back into what the Makuta destroyed. A second conquest, this time not of death, but of life. The Wild Hunt will take back this universe and place it all under the unified rule of one being, the one who made it possible. Three guesses about who he thought that might be.

Walking further into the throne room, Koriaha looked the hall up and down, pondering all the things that room had seen, and might yet see. Despite its disuse, it was still a place of immense gravity. He himself wasn't worried about the shades of the past striking at him - the Makuta were dead, he had seen that with his own eyes. Their servants had all fled, and if there was any trap left in the room that might cause harm, Gandor would surely have sprung it by sitting on the throne. He was unafraid as he approached what had been the most powerful seat in the universe.

"How does it feel, Ganodor?" he asked, "To sit where the greatest among the Makuta once sat?"

 

IC (Hatann, Dungeons): From where he sat next to the destroyed Rahkshi suit, Hatann heard the echoes of other beings making their way down among the dark underground halls. They were speaking to each other, which meant that they were not Rahkshi or rahi, but he could not yet tell what they were saying. He raised his lightstone and strained his hearing, but the distored echoes he got back didn't tell him anything new. Were they coming this way? He didn't know. Just in case, he picked up the Rahkshi's staff from where it had fallen (the rest was too damaged to be of use for anything much at the moment) and held it tightly, waiting for something more to happen so that he could make his move.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Amadene / Dungeons

 

"The plan is sound." she replied. "Assuming we actually intend to allow them their lives in return. Execution for a service is the Brotherhood's reward ethic."

 

IC: Zartor / Mutran's Lab Door

 

"Your master, along with all others residing in this fortress, were slain by an army of spirits." he replied, continuing to weave his hypnotic magic. "We took shelter here towards the end of a great war, and were in turn attacked by those who destroyed your master. We are now the masters of this fortress, and seek to use the powers hidden behind this door to destroy the spirits and make Destral a new sanctuary."

 

"So to answer your question, no. Your old master is slain. This area of the fortress has been claimed now by the Refugees."

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): Kehua found it a little amusing that Amadede was accusing a Brotherhood agent of some 80,000 years of using Brotherhood tactics. Well of course - that was where he had developed many of his skills and instincts. Skills that continued to serve him well as a member of the Wild Hunt.

"Have you forgotten who we are dealing with here?" he asked in return. "These are our enemies, the evil the still remains in the world and keeps us from our destiny. They must be slain - this is the will of the Great Spirit. I have no qualms about dealing death to them, but I have major concerns about giving potentially dangerous information to our enemies and letting them keep it. As we discussed with the King, this mission is to be kept secret from all others, lest our enemies be the ones to discover and use the thing we seek. The best way to keep that knowledge to ourselves is to kill the translator. If you must, you may tell them that we will let the wretch go as a reward for their service, but it cannot be true."

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Amadene / Dungeons

 

"It will be true, lest we fail to serve the will of the Great Spirit." she replied. "We slay a refugee a day regardless of the failures of our operations, and they have no means of reinforcing those numbers. This mission is a means to hastening our victory, but remember that victory is already of certainty. If thy honor has been lost by repeated deaths than so be it, but thou shalt not take others with thou."

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): So Amadene was questioning his honour now. Kehua was aware that he didn't have as much of that as other beings (allright, much less, in some cases), but it still stung a little. The way he saw it, he was doing what was best for the Wild Hunt. What, then, did it matter if that meant that some poor Skakdi died a few days earlier than they would have otherwise?

He could think of a few counter-arguments to answer Amadene, but in the end he decided to put off the conflict.

"I am only doing my best to carry out Ramidir's instructions" he shrugged. "If you have an issue, take it up with him".

[sonyaxe]

IC: Zaak

 

Zaak, hearing the noise as well, raised his shield slightly higher in defence. At the end of the hall, he saw what looked like a shadow flash across the corridor. With it came an irrational burst of fear. "Probably a rhakshi, I think one of fear. But it could be something new, i have no idea." Zaak whispered this to the other members of the group, and sincerely hoped he was right about it only being a rhakshi.

 

OOC: If you wanted the creature to be something else, tell me and i'll modify my post. Also, it is not one of the Wild Hunt.

Edited April 23, 2013 by sonyaxe

[Padishah Mehmet II]

GM IC: (Mutran's Lab)

 

"Oh, oh. Well. I can't say I'm surprised, really, I told him that was some serious screwing around with the fabric of the universe he was doing, but... well. Honestly, serves him right. My old master was an arse, figuratively speaking."

 

The shark head was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "And these Refugees you speak of? Who are they?"

 

OOC: You might also want to know that the hypnotic power has no effect, mainly because... well, I don't quite want to spoil. Not that it'll be a problem much, because you chanced upon a talkative shark head.

 

IC: (Amarthis, Destral Dungeons)

 

"Follow me," she muttered to her two companions, and, weapons in hand, proceeded down the hallways to the source of the noise. A few turns later, they found themselves in a damp, dark, and wide room, standing in the middle of darkness, only their immediate vicinity illuminated by the light of their torches and lightstones - that vicinity being thoroughly empty.

 

And then it was that two red, small, round eyes lit up in the darkness.

 

"Manas," the Vortixx spat, in sync with the aforementioned overgrown-crab creature crawling out of the darkness, charging at the trio. Easily a beast their size.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Dungeons)

She inspects the casing, grimacing at the remains of the creature.

"Well, we've got good news and bad news. The good news being that it's doubtful that the Kraata was killed by fire, light, or plasma, as there's no sign of burns. The bad news being that whatever did this could either easily overpower the Rakhshi and force open it's faceplate without much damage to the plates..

Or that who-or what-ever did this has disintegration-like abilities."

Even as she finishes her mini-report, something horrid strikes her. It's just a thought, but still.. She can speak it later, it's time to address the arguing duo.

"Perhaps we could determine whether or not to let the translator, when we find one, go based upon his or her own virtues? As in, how they act, how compliant they are, and maybe most of all, whether they're fearing death or staying calm in its face. One who can stand tall against a full 4 Huntsmen should be given their life for another day, I feel."

Zakaro

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Deep Dungeons):

 

"Well, we've got good news and bad news. The good news being that it's doubtful that the Kraata was killed by fire, light, or plasma, as there's no sign of burns. The bad news being that whatever did this could either easily overpower the Rakhshi and force open it's faceplate without much damage to the plates..

Or that who-or what-ever did this has disintegration-like abilities."

 

Kehua thought about this for a moment. "I do not think this should worry us overmuch" Kehua decided. "I worked with Rahkshi for millennia, and there are simple ways to kill them without being an awful menace that would pose a threat to the four of us. Also, this rahkshi had the power of weather control. Here in these tight tunnels, it would not have been able to use its power as effectively as elsewhere. Whatever did this was clearly strong, but overpowering one weakened Rahkshi does not mean that we should also fear it."

He was projecting a confidence he didn't entirely feel, however. His words were not lies, but there was always the possibility that they were dealing with something that was beyond them. At the moment, it was just that - a possibility, without strong evidence. If it were more than that... well, Kehua decided that he would cross that bridge if and when he came to it.

 

"Perhaps we could determine whether or not to let the translator, when we find one, go based upon his or her own virtues? As in, how they act, how compliant they are, and maybe most of all, whether they're fearing death or staying calm in its face. One who can stand tall against a full 4 Huntsmen should be given their life for another day, I feel."

 

It looked like this was about the best outcome Kehua could get right now. He wanted to keep the group moving, so continuing the discussion at a later time (if there was anything left to discuss) seemed sensible to him.

"Well said, Takari. We can make this decision later, once we have more information at our disposal. For now, let's get going."

With that, Kehua turned and walked back the way the group had come.

[Elrond of Rivendell]

IC(Blax, Dungeon): Manas.The word that sent chills down every matoran's spine. Excluding Makuta's sons, these aggressive crabs were the most powerful of minions, with elementally neutral armor and strong,fast punches from its pincers. If you were able to kill one, you could scavenge its exoskeleton, creating armor that could block a lance strike from a to a riding a kikanalo. However, actually killing one was purely theoretical. Most resistance members simply scavenged the dead exoskeletons, preferring to avoid the live crabs.Fortunately, Blax was not one of those. He shoved Amarthis away from the giant crab's charge, tucking and rolling to prevent a head injury. When he had risen to one knee, he pivoted on one knee, throwing several knives at the enraged creature.-Elrond

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

OOC: You might also want to know that the hypnotic power has no effect, mainly because... well, I don't quite want to spoil. Not that it'll be a problem much, because you chanced upon a talkative shark head.

 

OOC: I figured as much, but Zartor doesn't yet. He's not so much concerned with commands as he is with trying to keep it friendly, so he'll just assume it's working until reason is given to the contrary. Hopefully such reasons don't come up...

 

IC: Zartor / Mutran's Lab Door

 

"The last war left the Matoran Universe shattered. Mata-Nui has gone, the Makuta are gone, and the Toa who are left are just overtly powerful mercenaries. Matoran almost seem few and far between, due to their lack of survivability in these times. Destral is a ruin. And we, the Refugees, were ruined until we came here to make it a new home. One of the largest groups of survivors, if not the largest, outside of the blasted landscapes of the continents."

 

"We have no set leader. Amarthis and Thorego are two names that come to mind on the front lines, fighting the ghosts of the Hunt, but I rarely see them. I avoid that place."

 

IC: Amadene / Dungeons

 

The Fe-Toa of the Hunt said nothing from that point on, returning to her silent watch as she followed Kehua down the hall. At the moment, what she cared about was keeping the group from doing anything overtly horrific to just a random passerby.

A thought occured. "Who shall initiate the conversation?"

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): "With the translator, you mean?" Kehua asked. "I think it would be safest if we did that. It wouldn't any any good if they got spooked and tried to attack us before we can tell them what we want".

 

IC (Hatann, Dungeons): Hatann heard the voices coming closer, and by now he could make them out more clearly - they weren't really voices at all. They were like the noises of rahi, of dangerous carnivores. Now, either the noises came from actual rahi, relics of Destral's past, or, much, much worse, they were made by Wild Huntsmen, who seemed to communicate with each other by such sounds. Hatann needed to get out fast if he was to avoid meeting them. The tunnel where he had fought the Rahkshi was a dead end, so if the hunt found him here, he would be trapped. Quickly, Hatann gathered up his things and quickly (but quietly) moved out into the adjoining tunnel.

Edited April 25, 2013 by The Lorax

[sonyaxe]

IC: Zaak

 

Zaak, knowing that manas were practically impervious to normal elemental attacks, superheated the ground directly in front of the charging beast, hoping to trap or kill it in the 10 square foot patch of.molten rock.

[Visaru]

IC (Destral Throne Room)

 

Gandor took a deep breath and looked down the passageway, realizing that he now sat in a place once reserved for one of the most powerful and dangerous beings in the entire universe. This was the throne of The Makuta, the most powerful of them all. He smiled broadly. It was fitting that he, one of the conquerors of the dark beings, now sat in the tyrant’s place.

He took a deep breath as he looked at the hallway he had victoriously conquered, relishing the moment of victory.

“I feel triumphant.” Gandor told his companion.

No more words were necessary.

[Krayzikk]

GM IC:The crab scuttled forward, ignoring the ground heating up beneath it. The Ta-Toa couldn't heat it up fast enough to provide any distinct benefits, and it was growing dangerous to do so, as the Manas grew nearer. The drain on his elemental energy was significant, and quite impractical, ignoring the fact that as long as he tried to heat it with the foe so near, he risked harming his friends.

 

The crab gnashed its teeth angrily, as the knives bounced off of its armored shell. A single claw shot forward, seeking to hit Zaak.

[Void Emissary]

IC:

 

"You all seem to forget," I added, breaking my usual silence as I lumbered after the rest of the group, "That no Huntsman has, of yet, been able to verbally communicate with one of the others. That little detail may derail any plans for negotiations... unless, of course, you plan on waving a large sign that reads 'Even though we slaughter your kind like Hapaka, we mean you no harm'."

 

-Void

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): "That's exactly what I mean to do, Havoc" Kehua replied, turning to face the ex-toa of Earth. Using his kanohi faxon to copy the abilitiy of a Hoto Bug, and the tip of his index finger began to glow red-hot. By switching the power on and off between characters, he was able to trace glowing letters into the air, which remained visable for a few seconds in the darkness of the tunnels. He spelled out: ! .

 

EDIT: Darn emoticon limit. There should be a 'k' on the end of that.

Edited April 27, 2013 by The Lorax

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Dungeons)

She smirks behind the scarf, speaking soon after.

"Heh, nothing like glowing letters to get someone's attention. If that's not effective then who know what would be."

Zakaro

[The Lorax]

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): "Thankyou, Takari. I gave it some thought on the way down" Kehua replied flatly. The team soon got moving again, heading upwards through the dungeons in search of a translator.

 

IC (Hatann, Dungeons): Hatann slunk out of his side-passage , moving quickly and quietly to avoid meeting the huntsmen down here. His luck ran out, though, and he found four of them standing at the other end of the passageway, moving towards him. They seemed to have a kikanalo and a phase dragon along with them too, which made six of them and one of him. He froze, his brain working overtime to figure a way out of here.

 

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): Kehua's face broke into a wide grin as the shell-shocked Skakdi looked down the hallway at them. Mata Nui had delivered the prefect translator right into their hands. Repeating the trick with his mask and the Hoto Bug, he sent his message to the Skakdi, taking advantage of the brief pause before either side could attack.

"WAIT!" He spelled out in the air. "WE WANT TO TALK"

 

IC (Hatann, Dungeons): That stunned Hatann even more. Since when did the Wild Hunt want to talk to anyone? They hated everything, as far as he knew, and lived(?) solely to slaughter everything else. All his instincts were screaming "TRAP!", but the more he thought of it, the less likely that seemed. If the Hunt just wanted to kill him, they could do it, he had no doubt. That meant that they wanted something else of him, other than his death. Did that mean he had a bargaining chip? Did that mean that, if he tried to run, the Hunt wouldn't use lethal force to stop him? What was their game? He needed more information to answer these questions, so... talking it is.

"I'll talk" he replied, speaking in the common Matoran tounge, though he didn't lower his weapons even an inch. "What is it you want of me?"

 

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): "Nothing so difficult" Kehua spelled back, though his shield was also raised. "There is Skakdi writing engraved in the body of this Rahkshi," he gestured to the armour in Havoc's hands "and we wish to know what it means"

 

IC (Hatann, Dungeons): So they did need him, which explained why they were being so nice (relatively speaking). Well, not him exactly, but Skakdi were scarce enough among the refugees that it would be difficult to find another. He hoped that the huntsmen knew that. If they did, he could probably get away with a bit until he actually did read the Rahkshi. Push his luck.

"And what's my end of the bargain, then?" the Skakdi asked, moving a little closer down the passageway. "What do I get in return?"

 

IC (Kehua, Dungeons): Kehua paused, remembering his conversation with Amadene. "Your life and freedom" he wrote in the air. "Translate it well, and we will let you go. Refuse, and we will make you do it anyway... with none of the rewards". There, a fair bargain between his preferred method and Amadene's. It was as Takari had said, the outcome would be determined by the Skakdi - something, which, Kehau hoped, would encourage co-operation.

 

IC (Hatann, Dungeons): So torture, then. That was what the Hunt were going to do if he refused. Hatann had been around the Dark Hunters and other criminals long enough to know what Kehua hadn't said. Surprisingly, he was glad to hear it. It meant that he understood his adversary, and, as they say, knowledge is power. The toa had just declared that he would not kill Hatann until the translation was complete. That gave him an advantage, since he didn't quite believe the bit about him going free, no strings attached. If he was in their place, he would have reverted right back to kill-everything mode once he had what he wanted, so he couldn't expect any less of them.

"That's not much of a choice, then" he replied, and, dropping his weapons slightly, he walked briskly down the corridor towards the waiting Hunters. When he was about a quarter of the way there, he broke into a jog, and by the time the distance was halved, he was sprinting as fast as his feet would carry him. Then, calling up his elemental powers, he partitioned the gravity of the tunnel in two. The bottom half of the tunnel, where everyone was standing, would remian as normal, but in the top half of the tunnel (about 2 bio of space, Hatann estimated), gravity was reversed, pulling up instead of down. Leaping into the air with a half-flip, Hatann hit the roof and continued to run along it, over the Huntsmens' heads. Hatann hoped the trick would buy him enough time to get past them and escape.

 

OOC: So there we have it. The huntsmen now have a translator, but they'll have to catch him first.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Dungeons)

She had pulled out her weapon as the Skakdi increased, and when he jumped she swung, getting lifted off her feet slightly as both the force of her swing and the reversed gravity attempts to pull her body after the ball 'n chain as it heads for Hatann's head.

"Feisty, are we?"

Zakaro

[The Lorax]

OOC: Right, it's been three days, so I'm going to move this along. I'll just say Amadene and Havoc were too slow to react.

 

IC (Hatann, Dungeons): One of the undead swung a flail at Hatann as he charged over the Wild Hunt's heads. As it met the barrier between the split gravities, however, it was swatted away from its intended course by the sudden reversal of force. Hatann swept it aside with his mace and kept running. He was so close to the exit now, maybe 20 bio with only empty air in front of him.

 

IC (Kehua, Dunfeons): Kehua saw that the Skakdi was still escaping, despite the other huntsmens' efforts. He was past them now, running along the ceiling toward the open end of the corridor. That Skakdi had read him well, and he had guts, more than Kehua had initially given him credit for. It took more than a lot of beings had to face down 6 undead enemies, play them so that you were in a good position to take action and then almost make your escape untouched. Almost being the key word there. While Kehua could admire Hatann's nerve and ingenuity, he wasn't the only one who could fight hard and smart. Kehua would just have to fight harder and smarter to beat him.

 

Kehua copied another rahi ability with his mask, this time emulating a fikou spider. Five thick strands of strong, sticky webbing flew from his hand and adhered to Hatann's legs and back. Hatann half-tripped, but was able to keep moving, so great was his momentum. Now bound to the Skakdi by the slightly elastic threads, Kehua felt himself being pulled along as well - his weight wasn't enough to halt Hatann's desperate run. It was like Hatann was a kite and there was a very strong wind. He wasn't beated yet, though, not nearly. Summoning a rhotuka to his shield and fired, not at the Skakdi, but at himself as he was being dragged along.Kehua's spinners had the power to slow their target down, and, struck by his own spinner, Kehua's speed was immediately cut in half. Now it was like he was being dragged through water rather than air, a resitance that was translated, through the ropes of webbing, into Hatann.

The sudden drag on his legs was enough to properly trip up Hatann this time, and he lost control of the corridor's gravity. He fell heavily to the floor, landing on his head, hard. It wasn't quite enough to put him out cold, but it wasn't too far off. He saw stars, and lay still on the hard stone with his hands folded limply across his chest. His weapons dropped to the ground next to him, just out of reach.

 

Kehua stood over the fallen translator, and more webbing flew from his hands, tying up the Skakdi's prone body. He was well cocooned by the time Kehua was done with him.

"So you cose the hard way" the huntsman remarked. "No-one escapes the Hunt".

 

(Interestingly, all Hatann heard of the toa's speech was the chittering of a fikou. It was an odd side effect of his mask that whenever Kehua borrowed an ability by establishing kindred with a particular type of rahi, his voice (to non-huntsmen) took on the sound of that rahi. The other huntsman might also have caught a hint of it if they listened carefully.)

[Padishah Mehmet II]

GM IC: (Door to Mutran's Lab)

"Alright, seems fair. Well, then let me finally introduce myself. My name is Vican. For a quite long amount of time, I was Mutran's assistant. It's a quite long story about how he found me, offered me a part-time internship and turned me into a Shadow Matoran... so I won't bore you with the details. Awhile later, due to a very apt and timely Klakk attack, I was returned to the normal ordinary Le-Matoran I was before."

 

The shark head seemed to... sigh?

 

"Well, let's just say Mutran didn't like the change. He tried changing me back, but the Klakk scream just triggered some sort of resistance in me; I couldn't be broken again. So he opted for a more aesthetically pleasing and more realistic option: transform me into a fish. A doorknob fish, to boot."

Edited May 1, 2013 by Eduard Bernstein

[The Lorax]

IC (Wani): Wow, that was some story. Maybe the tales of Mutran's insanity weren't so far-fetched after all.

"If we're doing introductions then" he answered, "I'm Wani, and this is Zartor. Just backing up a bit though, what sort of 'screwing around with the fabric of the universe are we talking about here?"

[Padishah Mehmet II]

GM IC (Vican):

"Pleased to meet you," the sharkhead responded almost cheerfully, then spending a few seconds in silence, contemplating an answer to the question. "Well, to speak plainly, Mutran, once that king guy, Radamir, and his army laid siege to this fortress, dabbled in something he shouldn't really have dabbled in, namely, he literally attempted to tap into the energies of the universe as such. To use layman's terms, he sort of... hacked the Great Spirit's mind."

 

Vican stayed silent for a few moments. There wasn't even an air of thoughtfulness around the Takea head - he just seemed as if he'd fallen quiet. Before either of the pair before him could say something, however, Vican interluded once again.

 

"The short version, which is the only version I can give you because I literally do not know the long version, goes as follows: Mutran, whilst the Wild Hunt was banging on his doors, back then still alive and not quite wild, meddled with the actual destinies of the Wild Hunt. He literally fated them to death, by manipulating the very interiors of Mata Nui's sleeping mind."

 

"I advised him against it. Seems that I was right. There has to be a reason why they returned to life, after all. And while this is just my theory, but my theory is that Mutran forgot that they still had some destiny that their unplanned deaths led to never having been fulfilled."

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

OOC: Two things:

1. Ahahaha it's Vican.. (I actually thought that as soon as the voice spoke.. XD)

2. Well, that explains quite a bit.

 

IC: Takari (Dungeons)

She growls in annoyance. That's one thing she hates, to be made out for a complete Krekka-head. She didn't even scratch him..

Stalking up to the Skakdi, Takari once again growls, this time making out words to the other Huntsmen or just plain growls of an Ash Bear to Hatann.

"Too feisty, that's what you are. Much. Too. Feisty."

With a grunt the former Toa backs off, glaring at their translator.

"Bring over the Rakhshi, I'd prefer not to need this Makuta-spawn any longer than we have to."

She realizes that he's probably not really made by a Makuta, but right now she really doesn't care.

She's angry for a reason, after all.

Zakaro

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Zartor / Mutran's Lab Door

 

As Vican talked, a smile crept across Zartor's face, becoming a full on grin... an evil grin... a very, very evil grin. Which was funny, since he wasn't necessarily evil, just selfish. And honestly, that's not very nice applying terms like good and evil to a non-sentient object such as a grin. But in this case, you'd have a reason to slide.

 

"The power to change ones destiny... or, at the very least, add a new one. But the Wild Hunt still have to complete some kind of destiny, then. And if Mutran changed their destiny.... we could change ours. By the Great Spirit, we may even change your destiny and make you into a Matoran, or even set the exact moment of our death and become immortal..."

 

He thought about it. "But surely there must be more to it than such simplicity, or Mutran would have done it himself. We won't know until we get in there... Tell us, Vican, what do you know, aside from yourself, that acts as a barrier against our access to this place?"

 

IC: Amadene / Dungeons

 

Amadene came from behind, still rather stoic. This last run had only showed one thing to her - she had gotten far too used to that Kikanalo, and would need to work on her running speed a bit more. But then, she almost never ran away from anything or anyone. It wasn't her nature.

 

The sounds she emitted by speaking to the ears of Hatann were not much akin to Rahi, but if you had to pin one, it was quite close to that of the Kane-Ra in tone. The Huntsman would hear her say, "My apologies for slow motions during this Hunt... it is a shame the Skakdi refused to cooperate with us. But it appears his cowardice has betrayed his better senses."

 

She was regretful of the required bloodshed, but she had her duties. And if the others in the Hunt had her voice as testament that she was not truly dedicated to the holy mission of defeating the Refugees, then...

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Hatann and Kehua, Dungeons): The Rahkshi was dropped to the floor so that its shoulder lay near to the Skakdi's face. He couldn't move much, being tied up, so Kehua held a lightstone near with one hand, while used the other to position his spear on top of the Skakdi's chest. He wasn't going to let Hatann get away with anything for a second time.

 

Hatann squinted at the letters, trying to decipher their meaning through the too-bright light and his aching head.

 

OOC: Allright, Dovydas. What does it say?

[Padishah Mehmet II]

GM IC: (Deep Dungeons)In Hatann's mind, slowly but surely, a mental image of what the text said was forming.It said, "Don't follow me" in the sharp and guttural tones of the Skakdi language.It was also signed. It was signed, "Mutran".Ooc: vican post coming when I get home and back by the computer.

[Elrond of Rivendell]

IC(Blax, Underground): The Manas had completely ignored Blax's array of knives. It had run through the barrage like an avalanche runs through trees, smashing, overcoming; an unstoppable force meeting temporary resistance. Fortunately, the Manas had ignored him, and pushed toward the toa of plasma behind him. That had left his back undefensible, a critical tactical mistake, if rahi could understand tactical planning. It was a window of opportunity, one that Blax would not leave to chance. He lunged, using the spring-loaded power of double-jointed legs and all the speed of his species, both swords unsheathed in his upper arms. He dropped into a slide, using his lower set of hands to support him, and slashed with both swords at the Manas's right tread. If all went well, the force of his momentum and the strength of his arms would be enough to sever the tread, and partially disable the monster.

 

-Elrond

[Padishah Mehmet II]

IC: (Vican)

 

"Well, I am relatively sure there's a keyhole between my teeth, last time I checked. As to where the key is located, I can't say - Mutran was prone to hide it in the least expected places, like, say, the fortress's cafeteria or Chirox's bedroom - the latter often because he knew Chirox would not expect to find the key to his most coveted place in all of Destral in his chambers."

 

The Matoran-turned-sharkhead was silent for a moment, and then spoke yet again.

 

"But I advise you. I will not prohibit you entrance of this place. I have no use for prohibiting you such entrance. But I advise you, do not repeat Mutran's mistake. Tangling with destiny is an art that was only intended for the Great Spirit's own mind. Destiny we tend to think of as an abstract thread which we pick up and follow all the way to a set destination. It does not work that way. Destiny is literally the pieces of code in the supercomputer that Mata Nui's mind is, the pieces of code that deal with our functions as programs of a sort within that mind. Alteration of destiny is not unheard of; but only the Great Beings truly know how to manipulate these codes without repercussions, for they were the ones to write them."

[The Lorax]

IC (Wani): "Well then, without a key, it's back to plan A then, I suppose" Wani shrugged. While the shark head had been talking, he had been gathering up some of the detritus from the floor of the passageway - dirt, bits of grit, small stones and the like. He started rubbing it onto the shiny walls of Mutran's lab, scratching and dulling the reflective surface. The patch of discolouration was about twice the size of his hand. His eyebeams hadn't been able to work on the wall before, but now, with a simple bit of ingenuity, they shoud do.

Positioning hiself so that even if the bems did reflect, they wouldn't hit anything important, Wani tried again with his eyebeams. It was just a quick burst, a test to see if they worked.

 

IC (Hatann): Hatann gasped audibly at the message (he wanted the Hunt to know this was important), though it was almost gaspworthy in itself. If he knew anything about the history of Destral and the Wild Hunt, this was huge, or could be. No wonder the Hunt had wanted it translated so desperately.

"By Irnakk's teeth" he breathed, then hit out with his laser vision. The bright beams dug into the old Rahkshi armour, creating deep gouges and destroying the message that had been written there. This earned him a strong jab in his guts from Kehua's spear, but he thought it was probably worth it.

Score one to the prisoner he thought. You just made yourself indespensible - again.

"Let me up" he demanded through clenched teeth. He struggled to regain his feet, but had trouble with the ropes wrapped tightly around him.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

IC: Takari (Dungeons)

She sits there speechless before bursting out into swears, cursing the Skakdi before slowly dissolving into

just disgruntled mutters.

"That one is going to be as much trouble as he's worth, if not more."

Zakaro

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Amadene / Dungeons

 

The moment Hatann finally got back to his feet, he would find a razor sharp blade pressed all too close to his throat. Amadene allowed her mask to activate to the lower limits of its 4th power tier, releasing enough sheer terror into the Skakdi to temporarily freeze most beings in their fear. The other Huntsmen would also feel the effects, though as they were not necessarily being targeted by it, it would be to less an effect.

 

The area around her mask darkened further, showing slight wisps of energy, as she demanded to the Skakdi, "Yield thy information, lest I make thee." Though all he would hear was a hiss. A similar sound was directed to Kehua, who she told, "Tell him if he doesn't talk, I'll remove his left arm."

 

Though the extent was not know to many, it was still a well known fact - Amadene was not the most bloodthirsty in the Hunt. Nor did she make light use of her mask. Similar, too, were threats. She wanted to know what that Rahksi said, it would seem...

 

IC: Zartor / Mutran's Lab Door

 

"Destiny is literally the pieces of code in the supercomputer that Mata Nui's mind is, the pieces of code that deal with our functions as programs of a sort within that mind. Alteration of destiny is not unheard of; but only the Great Beings truly know how to manipulate these codes without repercussions, for they were the ones to write them."

 

"Supercomputer? Code? What are you going on about, Matoran? Are you trying to tell us the Matoran Universe is just a big computer, and we're all just a bunch of lines of data?"

 

"Well then, without a key, it's back to plan A then, I suppose"

 

"Yes, yes, Plan A. We're going to need to pick the..."

 

The moment the laser beams came out, Zartor was already on the defense.

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Hatann and Kehua, Dungeons): Hatann did manage to get to his feet by wriggling up against a wall, but it didn't improve his position much - the huntsmen were getting angry now, and he didn't need to understand their speech to guess at what they were saying. One also looked like she was using her mask, which might explain some of the terror flooding his system. There was no denying that Hatann was in a bad situation, and that he had every right to be scared, but how much more fear he felt than before hinted that it might have been her doing. That knowledge didn't help much though - he was still nearly frozen with fright.

 

Kehua wrote out Amadene's threat in the air, switching his mask back to the power of hoto bugs. "If you don't talk, she'll chop your arm off. What did it say?"

Hatann squirmed now, trying to think of a way out from here, or maybe move his hands enough beneath the webbing to reach some of the pockets in his armour. Anything less than the full truth would likely get his arm chopped off, but after that he would be almost out of baragining chips.

"Allright, I'm talking" he said, trying his best to take deep breaths and calm down. "The message is this: 'Ash nazg durbatuluk' or, in this tounge, 'Don't follow me'"

He took another gamble "Now put that sword down and I'll tell you who it was signed by".

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

IC: Amadene / Dungeons

 

Amadene obliged, lowering her sword. As she did so, she also opened her cloak, showing the Skakdi a small set of throwing knives she kept there.

 

Deactivating her mask, leaving nothing more than the constant fear effect it emanated even when inactive, she looked to Kehua and asked, "Why would a person sign a piece of Rahkshi armor in the middle of a hallway?"

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Lorax]

IC (Hatann and Kehua, Dungeons): Hatann was immensely releived as the weapon dropped and thw huge weight of fear lifted from his mind. By contrast, he felt suprememly confident, like there was nothing to worry about at all. He quickly squished that feeling though - now was a very bad time to do something stupid or arrogant. He had dodged one bullet, but he was still tied up and surrounded by enemies.

 

"I don't know" Kehua shruggedin response to Amadene's question. "But he's going to tell us".

"Who was it?" he signed out. He didn't really like giving in to the Skakdi's demands, (he was their captive after all ,not the other way around), but in this case there weren't many other options.

"Mutran" Hatann replied back. He was aware that what happened next was likely to decide his fate, but he could see that the name had quite an effect on the huntsmen. A bit of his Skakdi grin showed through the web.