BZPRPG - Ta-Wahi

[otter]

IC-Ραξα:

 

"I thought he'd never leave," Raxa muttered, slipping in and shutting the door once there was room, regardless of the complaints of people behind him. He sat in a chair after giving a cursory examination, determining that there were no windows where one could shoot through, or weak spots that could compromise the rooms integrity in case of a minor explosion.

 

Major, well, that doesn't often happen.

 

"Akiri," the Toa of Crystal said, bowing his head. "I trust you've been well since I left Onu-Koro's mini-government a while ago? Also, I assume you heard what I yelled down there?"

[Krayzikk]

IC:"I heard neither." The Ta-Matoran said with slight weariness, returning to his desk. "So why don't you take it from the top, starting with who you are?"

[Relapse]

IC(Liacada-Prison)

 

Stop watching here, younger viewers.

 

OOC: Edited to a lame post because of ninja shenanigans.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Bane of No Isles

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

I'm pretty sure that the second I opened my eyes, my blood literally ran cold a little bit.

 

I was propped up against the wall like a corpse, the half-zoned out Liacada still held against my chest with one arm, eyes closed. Everything was scattered, clothes, tables, chairs, remnants of cuffs; if you'd told me that a bomb had gone off and we just happened to be sheltered from the blast somehow I would have totally bought your story and then gone ahead and killed everyone I knew that knew how to make a bomb. My Calix had survived whatever it was we had done, so I stood up and got dressed as quick as my reflexes would allow me, repositioned the tables and the chairs, and left Liacada sitting there, slightly slumped as she snoozed the pre-dawn minutes away.

 

Flay was walking back towards the door quickly as soon as I opened it. Whoo, boy, was I not in the mood to deal with her, so I just took the time to shove the completed cases into her arms. She hadn't really been ready for it and a good bit of them tumbled, spilling paper and suspect files and evidence onto the floor every which way around her. Her eyes grew wide and then she looked up at me as I stalked off. Don't you call out to me, don't you da--

 

"Dorian...?"

 

"Go home, Flay," I growled through gritted teeth as I tried to put as much distance away from Liacada as possible before she came to. "Your shift's done for the day."

 

"Dorian!"

 

"Flay~!" I screamed, turning around and mimicking her high-pitched little Matoran voice as best as I could. Her eyes grew a little bit wider and instantly I felt a good-sized prick of guilt for screaming at the Matoran. She was just doing her job, and I kind of felt the gushing urge inside my chest and throat to apologize, even as she opened her mouth and--

 

"Did she hit you or something?"

 

I put my hand to where her gaze was boring into my face; my nose dripped blood onto the linoleum floor happily, unaware of what was going on around it. I couldn't wait around for Flay to ask another stupid question, so with a heavy two fingered salute that doubled as a light apology I turned the corner and headed back to the locker room, lifting up one of the benches from the ground as I did so and sliding it through the handles of the door.

 

There. Now that nobody's coming in after me, think time. I need think time. The lockers, there we go. The lockers were cool and non judgemental steel that I could rest my sweating forehead on and steady my hands on so they didn't seize up and start shaking around like an epileptic Twister champion. Even from here out of the corner of my gaze I could see the little stylized XO tattoo on the back of my right hand quivering like it had left its jacket inside and gone out into the middle of a blizzard on a Ko-Wahi peak. Think time. Focus.

 

Snap the ###### out of it.

 

There's this crazy feeling you get after a temporary hookup, and it's a feeling that a lot of times you don't catch in full until weeks later when you see it firsthand, and then there's this frappe's worth of emotions and realizations that pound your throat at once and then force themselves down into your spleen. When you look into someone's eyes after a one night stand, you'll get a more translucent picture of yourself than you could ever catch from, say, a mirror in the corner of your eye, or from some jagoff who puts your name and visage on a wanted poster for a crime that chance are you did commit but can't remember. After a hookup like the one I'm describing you'll turn to your left - or your right; me personally, I'm big on the right side of the bed - and you'll look into the person's eyes and a piece of yourself will look back at you. It's like that old proverb everyone learns in storybooks - after a traumatic or life-altering experience, the fate of the other person rests solely on you. Now you see the position this leaves me in - responsible for hundreds of girls, as many dead as there are alive, and I only care about one.

And I practically spat on her face just now.

Out of a sheer manic desire, I was drumming on the doors of the lockers in the locker room just because I needed to hear something besides the wretched bassy thump of my own heartbeat. It was like the pitter-patter of hailstones on piano keys to my fraying senses, and even though I needed the movement in my digits I could sense that the sound was going to kill me if it kept going. The sound was, of course, not a sentient or sapient creature however, and thus did not particularly care nor mind if it drove me out of my mind with its incessant banging and rattling like a dog in a cage. As if that weren't enough there were the memories -

"IAMNOTWORTHLESS IAMNOTPATHETIC IAMNOTFOOLISH YOUARE IAMNOTWORTHLESS IAMNOTPATHETIC IAMNOTFOOLISH YOUARE IAMNOTWORTHLESSIAMNOTWORTHLESSIAMNOTWORTHLESS"

Even from here I felt like I could hear Flay protesting about how the files had just slipped out of her hands and she didn't know where I had gone -

"I promised myself I'd never fall for a psycho."

"Funny, I told myself the same thing. Shame we're so bad at keeping promises ain't it?"

The banging kept going going goinggoinggoing -

"He-ey-ey!" Grokk had yelled as he stormed into the bar with all the subtlety of a brain tumor. "There's my ambiguously male partner in crime. Yo, Dor, you wanna hear this crazy deal I just made--"

BOOM!

Elemental Transcendence worked its wonders again as every locker door in the room popped off like there was exploding putty in the hinges, torn out of their safe and happy homes and left to face the cold, cruel world that they once thought was oh so below them, well ###### those doors man. They deserve a taste of the bottom. If I had to rub my face and my nose in it and get it grimy for so long and destroy everything I was because of that frigid hellhole that is The Bottom, why shouldn't they?

They're just doors, Dor. Calm down.

With nothing to brace against my right hand collapsed into the empty locker and scrabbled across the false bottom I'd carved. Hated it. I hated it I hated it I wanted it gone, so I ripped the bottom out and tore out the papers, tore out the tobacco, tore out everything I used to roll up cigarettes and I balled it all up in my fist like a Kolhii ball and hurled it until it burst against the trash can in a puff of smoke and fell in. I took several deep breaths, checked my pistol just in case the ball crawled out of the trash can; when I saw that it didn't, and it had just stayed an inanimate ball of paraphernalia, I went to the window, opened it, and began to crawl out. Above me, the sun finally peeked out, no longer able to conceal its curiosity or its scorn as it glared at me. It didn't quit with the staredown until I crept into the mysterious and murky grays that helped comprise the Charred Forest and found the girl I was looking for. Somehow I knew she'd be here. Like she had to be here.

When she turned to look at me and smiled, I wanted to shoot myself. So ###### bad.

"Hey, Tuara," I said shakily, trying to stick to semi-darkness to conceal the blood that had caked around my upper lip. "We should talk. I...I need to be honest. For the first time in...a long time."

6:30 AM.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me...and ###### the rest of the song.

-Tyler

Edited May 28, 2013 by Dallas Winston

[otter]

IC-Ραξα:

 

"I'm Raxa, Toa of Crystal, former Minister of Defence under the short-lived Onu-Koronan Provisional Government, former criminal, and former leader of NEX," he said, smiling slightly at the Akiri's widening of the eyes at that last one.

 

"I think, for the latter, you'll find that my reign didn't result in any of the deaths that were the hallmark of the earlier, or that are being planned now," he said. "Because, Akiri, there is currently a plan in motion to assassinate you and some of the higher-ups in your Koro, and then to pin the blame on another to sow suspicion. As I decided I had had enough with that group, I figured I would bring the information to the one who is, and who's Koro is, directly in danger."

[Friar Tuck]

IC

 

Even as Grokk went on his egotistical, unabashed, completely self-centered rampage, Tsura remained calm. As he insulted her abilities, she was cool. When he made fun of her name, giving her a new one, she didn't flinch. Even when he turned his acid charm on Nihi and proceed to attempt to goad her into action she was stoic, finally content with the inspection of her fingers.

 

"Now, Sue, what can I do you for?"

 

The Dastue straightened her robe.

 

"Muaka got your tongue? Happens around me all the time."

 

She flicked off a rouge piece of lint.

 

Grokk's toothy smile never faded, but this time he didn't say anything. Tsura finally rewarded him with a level stare.

 

:Nihi, at your leisure:

 

:THANK you Dastue!:

 

With a savage grin Nihi raised an open hand... and with a dramatic motion clenched it with a sneer.

 

One moment Grokk was sitting on a beach chair; the next he was suspended in mid-air as he simultaneously heard a sickening crunching noise and the sensation of moving air beneath him. Heavily he landed in the sand, rear-first, as his gun and toy fell by his sides, only to see his former beach chair hovering above him... compressed into the size of a Kohlii ball.

 

:Saru, you enjoyed sport, didn't you?:

 

The younger Dasaka's eyes fluttered as she breathed in what could only be called "expectant anticipation", her right hand twitching.

 

:Yes Dastue:

 

There was the slight utterance of sound as Saru breathed out, much like a muffled scream, but quieter, followed by what only could be described as bottled lightning that had an energized echo. Around her hand a brilliant blade of pure energy spawned forth, a bright lime-green that cackled and flowed with raw power. As serene and upbeat as she had been, Saru suddenly looked extremely dangerous, if not a tad savage, emotion burning from her eyes - even as she kept that meek smile. With a mighty yell she pulled back her hand and swung, the flat part of the energy blade colliding with the hovering ball with perfect accuracy, sending it high and flying over the beach, the metal and cloth either melting or burning as it became a miniature meteorite than sizzled harmlessly into the ocean, a puff of steam the marker of it's landing. The only reason Grokk looked away from the spectacle was when he heard another set of melting noises, accompanied my a series of pops and groans.

 

His Fusa Flipper had hot, angry energy blade right through it, his prized toy becoming nothing but a pile of metal and assorting liquids on the sand next to him. The blade, in fact, seemed to more replicate liquid energy than anything else, certain points of it melding, collecting, and then falling to the sand below, instantly turning those spots to glass. Despite this, and the fact that the base of the blade was completely wrapped around her hand, there seemed to be no damage whatsoever to her skin. As she pulled back the blade left behind a pool of molten metal surrounded by a pane of glass.

 

To say the silence was deafening would be an understatement as the two warriors took positions on either side of him. Collected as always Tsura took a step towards him, now close to his feet and he lay in the sand.

 

"For the record, this apricot does not take kindly to name-calling... "

 

Pause.

 

"... let alone allowing such foul language to be used on my wonderful children. I mean, who would like to be referred to as 'string-bean' and 'pea-pod'? Oh, wait... I wasn't supposed to say that now, was I?"

 

Saru and Nihi instantly stiffened, their glares doubling in intensity as they stared at the Skakdi at their feet.

 

:Now now Saru, don't growl; your blade is intimidating enough:

 

:Sorry Dastue:

 

Tsura took in a mild breath, inspecting her fingertips yet again. "I also do believe calling our vessel a 'sub-sandwich' was also derogatory, but as I am not familiar enough with your idioms I will let that one slide. That aside, I wish to make a point, make it once, and make it VERY clear. We are an honorable people; you clearly are not, and it is our honor to wipe out those that are not such. We wish to learn more about this culture, and you happen to be at the same place on this beach as we are. As much as we despise and otherwise loath your species, you are currently our only and most convenient source of information. I am asking one: please answer our questions, do so honestly, and we can go our separate ways. I understand getting an honest and straight answer from a Skakdi is like asking your kind to work together peacefully, which is all but impossible, but as I have said you are here, and no one-else, and I am requesting for once you bury this abrasive attitude for just a few minutes. I may know nothing of this island, but I CAN tell when you're not being forthcoming or honest."

 

:So please - PLAY NICE:

 

Those last words weren't spoken; Grokk heard them barrel into his head. It wasn't nice, it wasn't pretty, and for the most part it was forced, but it was clear that this small being was already inside his head and could at the very least communicate to him without speaking. She smiled at him good-naturedly.

 

"So," she began , clasping her hands before her, "what can you tell us of this island? People, places, politics, plants, animals, customs... almost anything will do at this point."

[Void Emissary]

IC: Lux

 

For a moment, nothing happened, and I had begun to wonder what this "demonstration" was going to entail. Hopefully it would be something benign, and not one of those shows which leaves the stage as a smoking wreck, first responders swarming like locusts and the crowd full of thoroughly cheated customers.

 

The next moment, however...still, nothing happened. My heart, which had almost begun to rise in anticipation for the coming spectacle, sank immediately. There had been no change -- the smells of over-fermented grain hung as thick as ever in the air; the dusty, yellow light still illuminated each speck of dust floating around; the deep and palpable silence sat like a gelatinous mas--

 

wait what

 

Rewind that last part -- the deep and palpable silence -- and compare it with the earlier statement about multiple shouting matches going on around me. Yup, that's right; the sound in this place had stopped. As in, completely. My heart fluttering in a cocktail of one part excitement and one part terror, I took a look around, hoping against hope that someone, anyone else was noticing, and that I wasn't just spiralling deeper into insanity.

 

The best metaphor that I can possibly find in regards to what I saw could be the sun peeking out during a thunderstorm -- no one except Melna had seemed to notice the sudden deadening of their auditory receptors, and their lips continued to move in an almost mocking pantomime of proper speech. The lack of noise was getting unbearable; it was, surprisingly, less like a void, and more like a suffocating blanket. It wrapped around me, constricting my chest and stomach, tightening around my wrists and throat, trying to squeeze the life and sanity out of m--someone's screaming in Onu-Koro--e.

 

And then, in the third moment, the noise of the world returned. The assaulting blanket of silence released its grip and I bloody near slumped onto the table in gratitude. A quick glance downwards told me that my heartlight had quickened its pace, but thankfully, my body was already busy regulating that. Another scan of my companions let me know that the sudden field of silence had done nothing to dampen Melna's ever-energetic spirit; though it had elicited a chuckle out of Day. I managed a small smile myself, to avoid any pity or awkward questions.

 

No need for them to think less of me just yet.

 

"How 'bout you guys?" the De-Toa questioned, "Lux, my best bet for you would be stone or crystal. I won't lie Melna, I can't tell since Lesterin colour complexity always gets the better of me."

 

"Stone," I answered matter-of-factly, restarting my glass of spiked bula berry juice (you know that you're desperate for a drink when you start drinking one of these), before adding, in a genuinely curious voice, "So...you're a De-Toa, correct? I've heard quite a bit about your element -- how do you manage your sensitive hearing so well?"

 

-Void

[Palm]

IC: Tuara Drigton - Ta-Wahi - Charred ForestJust about to respond, Tuara was interrupted by a voice behind her. Dorian was in the forest too, off to the side. She turned to Ferron, "Well, it was nice to meet you Ferron, but I should probably head out anyways; even if dark, dark, and handsome back there didn't need to talk to me," she stepped forwards to him, picking up her discs and hammer before hoisting them onto her back. Shaking his hand strongly, she gave a smile, "I hope you find what you're looking for."Tuara turned around, walking away, ashen ground rising up after her. Coming up to Dorian the pair continued walking in the eerie burnt forestry she looked at her boyfriend who was visibly shaken, "You've got a little something on your face there," Dorian gave her a look. She licked her thumb jokingly, "Here, let me-" Dorian reached up to her arm and took hold of her wrist, stopping, "Tuara."He told her.She stopped kicking ashes around, her hands still on her belt were hanging loosely. She looked into Dorian's eyes. There was a hollowness in them. She had noticed in the three months that they had spent together, how they seemed to suck things into them. It might've just been because of how captivating they were (wow), or at least that's what she thought it was. Dorian was just changing. Well, just changing might not be the best way to phrase what was happening. She should be angry. Angry that he was taking advantage of his new situation as a not-wanted-dead citizen of Ta-Koro. Angry that he took advantage of the Guard. Angry that he didn't tell her. Angry that he would try something like this when she was in no fit position to support anybody. Dorian stood in front of her with his head down, his composure not what it ever was. Tuara had seen many angles of Dorian, and the only vulnerable angles she'd seen of his were physical. She should be furious. She should be furious.The Ta-Koronian dropped her equipment on the ground, sending ashes skyward. Stepping forwards Tuara took Dorian's face in her hands and held them fast, extra careful not to crush his face inwards with her strength, "Hey," Dorian looked away, "Look at me."Red met blue and Tuara looked at him sternly, "You've got a problem Shaddix," the look on her face was one of conflicting emotions, swirling in and out of nothingness, "But I do too," she nodded, "We're both pretty screwed up. And I think we've got a long way before either of us get to a place where we can say we're comfortable with how our lives are in a way that doesn't require lying to a mirror every morning. I know we've got a long way to go. We might not ever get there even. There's a good chance that we're going to spend the rest of our lives in a dark hole full of self-loathing and a burning desire to change that will never be fulfilled. We might be looked down upon by anybody we've ever respected and by anybody we've been begging for respect from since childhood. There's a chance we'll tell each other that everything is going to turn around and like a flip of a switch we've kicked addictions and got up off our sorry ##### back to real life to join everybody else who has an ounce of integrity left for themselves. But there's also a chance that I don't believe in fairy tales, and I get the feeling Dorian Shaddix doesn't either; we might be psychopaths but we're still realists. And as a realist, there's a chance that I love you," she rushed up, her tone sped up rapidly, suddenly taking on a new light. Her expression wavered, Tuara almost laughing to herself, "I might be broken and you might be broken and we might both keep breaking promises, but that doesn't mean we can't be broken together because Dorian I do love you, and even though we are crazy pathetic realists that might never succeed I still want to be with you and that is a promise I know I can't break even if I wanted to."Tuara's fingers curled slightly at the tips as her thumb felt Dorian's cheek. Her eyes burnt with the intensity that nobody had seen from her in a long time, "We're going to lie to ourselves again. But this time it's going to be a little different. We're going to tell ourselves that we aren't going to make it. You and I both know how bad we are at keeping our word, and with our luck we're going to break through this together. We're going to find help. And I don't know where we're going to find it, but I do know that we can't stay in this village anymore if things are going to change because I'm sick of relapsing and I'm sick of Dorian Shaddix watching me fail but I want you to understand something:"There was a stern power in her face and eyes, "No matter what the outcome is, I still love you and that's all I need to burn out."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"No matter what the outcome is, I still love you and that's all I need to burn out."

 

"So let's do it. Let's leave tonight."

 

Tuara looked up into my eyes and I grinned like a kid does on Naming Day when he wakes up, runs to his parents bed, bounces on it for hours and tells them the presents showed up in the middle of the night. Somewhere in that forest something disappeared in me that had been thawing for two years now and just finally went through the sublimation process; my eyes lit up like blue cigarette burns and my grin was as real as I could ever remember making it. The truth of the matter was I was done with this place, done with the climate, done with the cases, done with the loft, done with the bartending, and I couldn't ever remember feeling as godlike as I did right now in a dead end forest ankle-high in ash with blood caking from my nose to my upper lip. I stretched and reached and combed through the memory banks and came up grasping for air.

 

"I mean it. As soon as my shift's done tonight, we leave. We take all my cash and all our matching outfits and we leave behind the alcohol and we just run. We can tour across the island. It'll be...we could name it! Dorian Shaddix and Tuara Drigton Present the First Annual..., I dunno...the Daydreamapalooza! That's what we'll call it! It'll be like a circus!"

 

"Like a circus?" she laughed.

 

"Yeah, why not like a circus?" I asked excitedly, practically bobbing on the balls of my feet now. "We could have lights. And music. And cotton candy and snacks. And we'll recruit the biggest and best freaks and crazies that the world's ever known. And the two of us, me, and you, we'll be in the middle of the rings, making funny faces and giving them the bird if they boo us. And if they don't, if they cheer for us, we'll take a bow, and we'll hold hands while we do, and then when we come up for air they'll see us, and they'll fall in love with us, just like we fell in love with us. And we'll be so frickin' psycho that they have to love us, or they'll be the psychos."

 

"Who else are we gonna get in on it?"

 

"I don't know. Rahi. Clowns. Frickin', uh, accountants, I dunno. It doesn't matter .We'll just look for the biggest misfits we can find and give them a ride to wherever it is they need riding to. Just like you and I got our start. Who knows, maybe we could hook up some other couple along the way. We won't plan out what happens, or who we pick up, or the future, because we don't need to. Look how far we got in, what, two years? We didn't plan for the last two years, look where we ended up. Honestly, you know what...I could honestly go without ever planning anything else a day in my life. That's how good I feel about this idea. And you know what, I feel so good about it that right now, i'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna do something that I've never done for anyone, Tuara Drigton. I am gonna look you in the face, like this," I said, taking her chin and pointing it upwards to meet my gaze, "and I am gonna look you in the eye and tell you that I love you, and that I would rather risk burning up right now and getting lost in these ashes than certainly fade away without you. And this island...it can't hold us. This island will never be able to hold us, not forever. And I'm feeling so spontaneous right now that I'm gonna make you a promise, right now. I will take you off this island someday, by God I will take you off this island someday, and I will show you the world that waits beyond it. And it'll be ours. Yours and mine. And we can do whatever we want, because that is--"

 

I gestured outwards grandly with one hand, and I was so excited that I accidentally sent a giant pillar of metal crashing into one tree, which then sparked a domino effect that ended with a huge cloud of ash and five downed trees. Tuara and I, we coughed and coughed and eventually it turned into laughs as we watched my accidental handiwork settle.

 

"That...that wasn't supposed to happen," I wheezed, dying laughing as Tuara's gaze met mine. Her eyes had little crinkles by then when she laughed that were just the most gorgeous things you'd ever see, and she had this thing where she bit down on the right part of her bottom lip when she laughed and made eye contact. They were the kind of quirks that you couldn't make up, the kinds of features on a girl that separate the girl of your dreams from the girl that marches out of your dreams, kicks you in the head while you sleep just to wake you up, and then pulls you onto your feet and demands that you buy her breakfast. Still grinning, I pulled said girl into my arms and kissed her deeply, and passionately, and a bunch of other adjectives that I thought I may have meant at one point but never really did. One of her legs kicked upwards so she could lean forward a little, like the heroine in the final illustration of a storybook, and when we finally pulled away I traced the lace of the scarf on her neck that had once belonged to me, and I bit my lip in the same way she bit hers.

 

"That wasn't supposed to happen," I repeated numbly before we leaned in to kiss again, just two crazy kids in love, surrounded by old, dead, beat-up-on trees and the tragically beautiful sight of a snowfall of ash.

 

-Tyler

[Makuta of Time]

IC:

So many places to go, but everyplace seems to reject him. If only there was some place Flaredrick can go work in and pay his debt. He tried a shop, but got rejected. He tried the Geo-thermal plant, but got rejected. Is there any place he can go to, without getting rejected.

[25K Now!]

IC: Stronin

 

"Okay guys, too many guards here. I'm heading home."

 

Soon enough, the Toa of Iron made his way to the forge.

[Geardirector]

IC: Day (Lavapool Inn)

 

"How 'bout you guys? Lux, my best bet for you would be stone or crystal. I won't lie Melna, I can't tell since Lesterin colour complexity always gets the better of me."

 

IC: Melna (Lavapool Inn)

 

As if she was taking a cue, Melna immediately removed the food tray from the table, putting it gently away on a nearby chair. She then grabbed the edge and lifted the whole table with just one hand.

 

"Care to guess?" she retorted with a smile.

[The Lorax]

IC: Zeal / Ta-Koro - Lavapool InnHe suddenly stood up. 'Make more? Are you freaking insane? Why on Mata Nui would I want this insidious device to affect others?! Darn it, Dekuna, I....' He trailed off, and sat down again. 'Sorry. I'm on a bit of a hair-trigger at the moment.' He clasped his hands together. 'Okay. So superheating doesn't work. Sound of any kind doesn't work. I've tried submerging it in the swamps of Le-Wahi for half a day, that didn't do anything. Any suggestions?'

 

IC (Dekuna): "Make, not use" the toa of sonics corrected. "If you have something that is immune to elemental effects and tough as nails, you could make armour from them, or launch them as bullets, or make handcuffs out of them for dangerous criminals. You wouldn't actually have to use the element-draining property at all". He realised that all of this was incredibly unlikely of course, but you could dream a little.

"I do see your point though - proabaly not a gooid idea, even if it was possible. If you wanted to destroy the thing - maybe a toa of iron could absorb it? No scratch that, absorbing magical artifacts into your body can't be a good idea. You could try melting it with acid, dropping a boulder on it or getting a Panrahk to step on it if you really wanted to destroy it." He paused for thought as another idea came to him. "Do you really have to destroy it though? You could just drop it into the mangai and nobody would ever see it again."

[- JL -]

IC: Flay

 

She lifted an eyebrow at Dorian's remark, then turned back to the case file. Opening it, clipped inside was a stack of paper, with a file of images as well. "No idea. It's a murder, one located here in our village. What's intriguing is, of course, as with any other ###### murder nowadays, the way the victim was killed. You're familiar with metals; this guy had his own armor stabbed into him. Nowadays, dunno what that for. People might as well take off all their armor before fighting........" She closed her eyes, hoping for no innuendos coming out of Dorian's mouth. Flay looked at the clock hung up on the walls, then started walking towards the cafeteria, fully expecting Scarves 'n' Shades here to follow.

 

"There's no Toa around who don't know metals - and killing - as much as you, so the seniors said they wanted you to figure out who did this and why. Some of them think that it was by a guy hired by Ko-Koro. Why they're stupid, I don't know, but the guys up there are too lazy to even bother to try to figure this out themselves so tata, you have the cas-"

 

WHACK! A stack of files landed on top of the stack she was holding, and most of it came crashing onto the floor like a lava fall."What the....Dorian...?"

 

"Go home, Flay," he growled through gritted teeth as he started to move away from...something. "Your shift's done for the day."

"Dorian!" she shouted, this time more urgently.

"Flay~!" he screamed, turning around and mimicking her high-pitched little Matoran voice as best as he could. Her eyes grew a little bit wider - whether he was a good guy or not, there would always be fear when an ex-serial killer screamed at you, sissy voice or not. But what mattered more was the blood gushing down on his nose.

"Did she hit you or something?"

 

Rather than say anything, he let the flowing blood from his nose talk as he did some sort of salute or whatever trash compensation the two fingers on his forehead were, then turned around, walked into the locker room and closed it. Flay stood, then sighed, then kneeled down to pick up the case files.

 

"Stupid Toa stuff. At least have the decency to warn me before dumping it all on my hands."

Edited May 28, 2013 by JL v2

[Techn0geist]

IC: Zeal, Sister / Ta-Koro - Lavapool Inn'I don't want to destroy it, I want it open. My legacy is in that cursed orb, and I'm going to get it out. I don't care how I do it, I don't care if people die in the act of opening it, but I will open it.' Zeal's eyes became unusually dark, he sat hunched over. 'So, one element at a time doesn't work, I think we've established this. But what if we tried multiple elements at the same time?''If I may?' Sister said from the corner of the bed. 'The best things usually happen in sixes, right?' She smiled, quite proud of her quick thinking.Zeal's eyes brightened, and he grinned at his friends. 'This girl knows what she's talking about. What do you think, Sound Boy? Worth a shot?'

[Wade.]

IC: Day

 

"Correct." Day repeated in affirmation, having had curiously watch the Matoran for any reaction, something he controlled rather well. Only his heartlight gave away his excitement and even then, it rapidly resumed its regular rhythm.

 

"Sensitive hearing's a bit of a double-edged sword for us. Noises that go unnoticed by all but the most perceptive, I can detect with ease and without fault so that's quite a bonus. Downside is really loud noises make my ears is bleed-"

 

Interrupted in mid-sentence by a table being lifted as if it was child's play, Day sat back and regarded Melna who held the object with a single hand.

 

"Strong woman eh?" the Toa grinned, before thinking to himself. "I'm guessing either earth because you've got macho strength or gravity who seem to defy their own element oddly..."

[Geardirector]

IC: Melna (Lavapool Inn)

 

"Please don't say "defy", "work with" sounds so much better"

 

"Anyway" she continued as he put the table back, the food quickly returned to its rightful place "I wouldn't call myself strong, as much as pointing out I had a good teacher. Though I guess I'm kinda strong now that I think about it"

 

Melna's rambling was interrupted by... Melna, as she stuffed her face with a big helping from the food tray.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Geardirector

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"No reason," I said, leaning back and folding my arms behind my head, "I figured it was better in the city than trying to hack it out in the wild."

[Geardirector]

IC: Ferron (Ta-Koro)

 

His delivery made, Ferron was on his way home, a healty little dose of hard-earned widgets scuttling around lively in his satchel.

 

"Another customer pleased" Ferron thought with a smile.

 

OOC: Ferron back to Onu-Wahi

Edited May 28, 2013 by Geardirector

[Mr. House]

OOC: Retcon.

 

IC: Tarotrix just sat in his corner, sipping his drink.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Mr. House

[Jakura Nuva]

IC: Kamatu

 

Kamatu sighed happily as he finally stepped foot in his home village of Ta-Koro. The steam and smoke coiled around his limbs, comforting him and the heat of it relaxing his muscles. He began to advance for the gate, intent on seeking help for his "condition."

Edited May 28, 2013 by Toa Anhar

[Void Emissary]

IC: Lux

 

"No," I added, with an awe-inspired grin on my face at Melna's feat of unbelievable (for a Matoran like me, at any rate) power, "Obviously being able to lift an entire table with one hand doesn't qualify as 'strong'..."

 

(Ladies and gentlemen, I think I may be in love).

 

"But seriously, uh, Melna," I continued, still trying to get my tongue used to her name, "That was cool. You too, Day."

 

-Void

 

 

[Wade.]

IC: Day (Lavapool Inn)

 

Day waved aside the compliment, observing Melna gorge herself heartily with his own little side-smile. Lux's generosity served her appetite well, earning a sly wink from the De-Toa.

 

"Got any neat tricks for us, Lux?"

 

Yeah, that's right, make it hard on the little guy.

[Relapse]

IC(I am Liacada of Xa-Koro)I awoke to the sound of a room of slamming metal. Snapping to my feet, still kind of exhausted, I dressed quickly and hurried out the door. Where was Dor? I was already kind of hoping for an after party. As I stepped into the lockerroom where Dorian was, I was hit by a falling metal door. Dang, it hurt. Another one came at me, but I stuck my hand out and knocked it away. Then it ended. He was gone. I didn't bother asking where he was going- it didn't matter. He was obviously done with me. Just like Brykon had been done with me when I was locked up in prison. They had both used me, and when they were done, I was tossed aside, wounded and hurting. Not that they cared, of course, they had places to be! More important matters on their schedule. It seemed like everything Shaddix went at, he succeeded. And then he had the nerve to break down and get emotional, like his life wasn't delivered on a silver platter. He had said it himself: he lived in a wonderful house with a wonderful woman, and a wonderful job. You can take your perfect life and kill yourself. It's not like you haven't considered it. I know I have. How could one live when their actions were centered around death? All that stuff about virtue and light at the end of the tunnel was full of it. There was only light for those who were quick enough to escape the shadow. Some of us- aka me, prettyboy -had to burn to see in the dark. What do you know about pain? When's the last time you were involved in the genocide of your own people? Did you grow up in the slums where there was no hope? Did you pull hope straight out of the hearts that it didn't exist in? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. I was molded by it. I didn't feel hope until I learned how to create it in others. I became a beacon much brighter than the lighthouse there. I gave hope to all the other kids on my block, and I hated it, but I did it, by myself, with everyone else on myself. When's the last time you did something all by yourself, Dorian? And furthermore, when's the last time you stopped to realize-"Excuse me. I believe you were dismissed by Mr. Shaddix. No need to linger.""Not a problem.""It better not be."I turned, glaring at the soldier. "I am about done with you entitled morons. I've been through more than you and your suited up pricks can even conceive. I hope you realize one day how totally out of line you are in dragging me in here. With all the garbage I've been through in the past few hours, I'm about ready to get back on..." I froze, wanting to hit myself from the sheer stupidity, "...drugs..." I felt woozy all of a sudden, like everything I'd known up to this point was wrong. I should've seen the signs in his eyes and in his actions. Dorian had a few problems of his own, I realized. The Queen of the Slums should've noticed. I felt so much guilt in that moment, I yelled at the soldier to get off me, to go and die before I killed him. In this state, one strike was all it took to knock me over, out cold. I had threatened a guard- another crime I could be arrested for, evidently. And so I slept. And when I awoke, I was in the office of a man named Angelus.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Bane of No Isles

[The Lorax]

IC (Dekuna): "Right back at you, fire-spitter" he shot back. "You've got one element, I'm two. Payiges will be three once we find her, and Sister's sister will make four. We're most of the way there already".

[Techn0geist]

IC: Zeal / Ta-Koro - Lavapool Inn'We just need to find two more spritely, spirited Toa who would be willing to help crack open an indestructible sphere of unknown origin that has the small chance of stealing their very soul.' He smiled at the morbid statement. 'Somehow I think it's going to be hard to convince them. I mean, I'm the only one who benefits from it, what incentive would they have?'

[The Lorax]

IC (Dekuna): "Maybe they could do it out of the goodness of their hearts, to help out a fellow toa?" he suggested. "Isn't that what toa-heroes are meant to be for - helping other people out even when it's dangerous?"

[Dapper-Sama]

IC: A few hours of meandering about town done, I had nothing to do. I was, well, bored.

 

OOC: Open for Interaction

[Geardirector]

IC: Day (Lavapool Inn)

 

Day waved aside the compliment, observing Melna gorge herself heartily with his own little side-smile. Lux's generosity served her appetite well, earning a sly wink from the De-Toa.

 

"Got any neat tricks for us, Lux?"

 

Yeah, that's right, make it hard on the little guy.

 

IC: Melna (Lavapool Inn)

 

"Yeah, come on, Lux. Show us what you've got" Melna said cheerfully.

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

And...that was it. All Liacada saw was an office.

 

The room wasn't exactly expansive but it was a pleasantly sized study, with a semi-tidied desk that sat nestled in between a couple shelves and walls with various personal decorations but no pictures, various subtle hints at a personal life but nothing that outright said that the man behind the sign on the door had anything to look forward to returning to. Scanning the office stirred the soul with a hint of a primal warmth, a sort of foreboding suspicion that something would come out at you; it was like no other military office she'd ever been to. Desperate to focus on something and shake her head away from the thoughts still tormenting her, the assassin's eyes fell on a long, beautiful silver longsword. It looked to be the weapon of a dandy at first glance, with artistic swirls and long-dead languages inscribed on the blade that ended with a balanced hilt and a shining lapis lazuli. But there was a power behind it that felt mystical in nature, and her eyes fell from the languages on the sword to the runes themselves, which were stacked in a row across the length of the blade and struck the Toa as vaguely familiar.

 

"No touching," a youthful voice requested from behind her; Liacada came to and realized that she was standing inches away from the blade, hand reached out to grab it. Out of a repressed instinct she rolled her eyes, fully expecting to turn around and catch some Ta-Matoran standing stock-still, maybe launch off some short jokes. What her eyes fell on made her take pause. Leaning in the doorway was a Toa of Fire, tall and lean in build, handsome in features, with an expressive face and sky blue eyes that had the nerve to wander and daydream even in the office of the island's most militarized group. His stance was relaxed but taut, that of a panther who had attracted the attention of its prey and now seemed determined to make the weaker of the two believe that he was just the product of an overactive imagination. His walk drew her gaze with its quick, un-soldier like paces; with one long finger he reached out and hooked the back of his rolling chair, slipping into it and gesturing towards the more mobile of the two seats across from his desk.

 

"Take a seat," he requested in the same polite, curt voice. "Don't try and make a grab for the sword. As soon as you wake up from the coma I promise you'll regret it."

 

-Tyler

[Makuta of Time]

OOC: Lieutenant Obvious, this is for you

 

IC:

Flaredrick continued to walk the streets and suddenly he saw someone just wandering like him. So he walks up to the fellow and says, "Hey how's it going. You need any help friend?"

[Relapse]

IC(Liacada-Angelus' Office)"I swear, if another one of you knocks me out, I'm going to explode," she crossed her arms and stepped away from the sword. She walked towards the door, intending to get past him, but found she could not. She groaned, resigning to sit down and feeling overall like she was being stalked by a panther. She could almost feel his readiness for the kill, and it merely made her want to get out even more. She sat back a bit more, arms rested and body relaxed."What is it you want from me?"

Edited May 30, 2013 by Bane of No Isles

[Dapper-Sama]

IC: Jaskyn- Ta-Koro

 

"Help, as in, assistance with a task?" I asked. "No, I do not need help. You?"

Edited May 29, 2013 by Lieutenant Obvious

[Makuta of Time]

IC:

"Maybe. I'm kinda need some type of job, but if you need a teammate, well I'm your man." He then lets out his hand to the being. "Name's Flaredrick, Toa of Fire."

[shadow pridak money gang]

IC:

 

"Nothing!" Angelus assured her quickly. "Well, I mean...yet, anyway."

 

"Not in the mood for this."

 

"Of course you're not. After all, you're definitely not the first girl to get taken in by Dorian Shaddix in one of his little webs. Judging from the look on your face, you've gotten around to realizing you probably won't be the last."

 

Angelus reclined in the chair and looked Liacada up and down with keen eyes; they were not eyes that tried to uncover any speck of mystery in her, or assure her that she would be made worth it. That had never been his line of business, lying to people about that sort of thing. If the jungle had made him one thing it had made him brutally honest despite his happy, amiable personality. That wasn't changing now.

 

"That's why you're gonna be useful," he continued, now getting to the point. "I know who you are. I know you killed Whenua. I know you escaped from prison and I know that you can give me any kind of appearance you want, but you're going to be less fickle than Sir Scarfington over at the Lavapool."

 

-Tyler

Edited May 29, 2013 by Dallas Winston

[Relapse]

IC(Liacada-Angelus' Office)She sighed. She couldn't be surprised- word got around, especially when you killed a Turaga. "Why would I give you anything? What would I get out of this?" She crossed her arms, "I don't care about prison, because there are people who would come for me that cannot be stopped. You can kill me, but in the end, we all burn, don't we?" She tried to smile, but even she couldn't fake that. "There's nothing you can take from me. I have nothing left to lose."

[Void Emissary]

IC: Lux

 

Right, neat tricks. Yeah, I've got one for you: run away as fast as I can and pray that these two can't catch me.

 

Naw, that'd never work. Anyway...tricks, demonstrations...what can I do that's interesting? I can't compete with the powerhouse named Melna, nor the superman that is Day. I don't have my sword, or my hammer with me...I'm afraid that I'm stuck between the proverbial rock and the proverbial hard place in this circumstance.

 

And then, my eyes catch sight of it.

 

I must have seen it every time I walked into this place -- it was like the joke that had been told too many times, and had just been lost to white noise. The thing that's black and white and beautiful in its chipped blacks and stained whites; the ugly, bland oyster holding a shining, sinuous pearl within, waiting for someone to come and pry it out.

 

I give the dynamic duo a sly grin and a confidant wink, and head over to the Lavapool's piano.

 

I don't hesitate once I'm standing in front of it -- where my mind lies, my body has never led me wrong; so I let it lead me now, through the motions which it tells me it knows. My fingers hit the keys, with both the latter and former transcending physical space and time to merge into one motion, one harmony. It's a slow rhythm; rusty and forceful; but each bass and every crescendo is played without doubt or stumble. My auditory receptors open up, letting the notes and rests flood them over. I hear a tune that sings of blistering heats, freezing waters, lazy afternoons and stormy days. I listen to the sounds of adventures and perils and lives well lived, as they slowly wind down till reaching a finish, like the soft speech of a man with a big stick.

 

It's the song of things these fingers have been through, and I can't remember seeing -- the story of the guy I used to be, and might never, ever be again.

 

-Void

[Constructelf]

IC: Turo

"Another day, another dollar that I'll never see..."

 

Turo wasn't quite sure what the others were up to. Frankly, he didn't care; the "Renouncers" could burn in Karzahni for all he cared. Then again, he sort of liked life in the Guard. Even with all of their rules, it was still a better life than as a merchant, or a thief. As a result, Turo had been a good guardsman lately, making sure to stay out of trouble, and deal out the pain to those who were making trouble, as well as keeping the peace in general. Some of the guard members had noted him as being unusually diligent these days.

 

Today, however, Turo had decided to hit the town. Using patrol as an excuse, he had used the opportunity to check out the market, eyeing the goods. Then again, he actually ahd done soem patrolling; fortunately, he hadn't come across anything suspicious. Well, okay, there were those strange beings that had appeared in town, not to mention the fruit slingin' skakdi, but Turo could deal with those later. After all, he didn't want to go out of his depth. Whistling to himself, the Le-Matoran continued to check out the market's wares...

[Geardirector]

IC: Melna (Lavapool Inn)

 

When the patrons of the lavapool inn put their hands together for Lux, none did so with more fervor and enthusiasm than Melna. As the Po-Matoran rode on a wave of confidence and brass back to their table, she smiled at him.

 

"That... that was beautiful"

Edited May 30, 2013 by Geardirector

[Dapper-Sama]

IC: Jaskyn- Ta-Koro

 

Flaredrick was a friendly individual, it seemed. So I responded, "I, too, am in search for a job. Perhaps we can find one with the help of one another? My name is Jaskyn." I extended my arm for a handshake.