Glitch In The System Options

[Lady Kopaka]

*IMPORTANT* PLEASE do not read chapters 11-20. They are unedited and and messed up because of past server/hacking incident. Chapters 1-10 however, are edited and acceptable.

-Summary-
Tachi is a broken Toa, fueled by vengeance to regain what was rightfully hers stolen by the Makuta. Komas is a flamboyant mercenary, doing the dirty jobs for the right pay. But when these two veteran Toa cross paths, their destinies get entangled in a Makuta’s twisted scheme!

.....To reminisce the bitter fires of death, to be lost in the fear, to feel the pain of almost physical nightmares—but to know nothing of it, to remember nothing but black screams, was one way of touching lands worse than Karzahni, or the Pit, with the tips of your fingers. You cannot do anything against such evil. Nothing.
.....Ignorance is truly bliss.
.....Tachi would remind herself of this possibly many times a day. It helped fuel her taste for blood, vengeance, —guilt. She ran and pressed on with bitter struggles and stubbornness to attain her goal. Nothing but the stretch of death would stop her. Not even a Great Being could sway her heart. She could feel it, hear it, almost smell it—but she could not remember it.
.....Tachi, Toa of electricity, would stop at nothing to gain her memories back. Ill means or not, she would kill every Makuta and more to reach what was rightfully hers.
.....She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, the Toa’s purple and black scarred armor was slim, agile, and powerful. Tachi seemed not to blink as she stared at her destination. Her hand clutched tightly to her long buster sword, treating it as if it was a feather.
.....The whole forgotten alleyway was dark, grimy and had a sickening smell to it. This island was once similar to her own: beautifully prosperous by the main trade routes, nevertheless, it was simple and peaceful. But now it was nothing more than an ailing grave, a meager and small site for the Makuta to enjoy themselves with experimentations, gleefully boasting their grand ability to conquer.
.....It made her feelings rage to a boiling point, but no one could be able to tell by her blank expression, her dull blue eyes still staring towards the large tower. They would pay for this, they would fear, and they would die.
.....She had discarded the Toa’s code, but no; she was not rightfully a Toa anymore. She was just a fake using the power to her own advantage. Tachi didn’t care, for she was just a soulless piece of metal programmed only find peace to her mind.
She bounded up toward a roof, landing neatly and without a moment’s rest, continued to race on; her feet clattering almost silently against the metal roofs. The city itself was now empty; but guards still patrolled the various streets and roofs. Her only company was the smoke and darkness of the night.
.....She raised her weapon, holding it with both hands. With smooth acrobatic prowess, she somersaulted in the air, jumping between a gap and slicing her weapon through a Rahkshi as if was mere water. She landed and her feet clanked against the metal. She turned back to watch the creature attempt to cry out, but to no avail. The visor she wore over her Mahiki styled mask glimmered against some flickering street lights, the device reading over the Rahkshi to make certain it was dead. She then turned back toward her goal, and stood stock still as a statue momentarily. The tall tower of the Makuta loomed up to the cloudy dark sky, far off at the edge of the village.
.....She placed the weapon on her back, securing it into place, then she jumped up on a small tower and began to climb. Within seconds she was at the top, perched up at the edge like a crouching animal. She looked down to notice a long barge-like chute going down the street, headed toward the gate. That was her cue.
.....She jumped off the tower, feeling the dry wind race past her, whizzing and screaming.
.....Almost too fast to see, Tachi whipped her weapon out and flipped onto the speeding chute, slicing through one Rahkshi, and grabbing the other. She threw it off and it fell, its body hitting mercilessly into a wall. Her eyes were steady with sheer focus as she clutched her sword close by her body for defense. She swung around when she heard footsteps, only to be faced with a large, portentous Exo-Toa. It had stretched its hand out to crush her, and Tachi braced herself for the impact, unable to move out of the way in time. Instead it froze and she heard a thump resonate, then a crack. The suit fitfully struggled to keep its balance, but fell lifelessly over the barge, the body embedding itself in the dirt road far below.
.....Tachi pointed her weapon toward the shadowy area of where the Exo-Toa had apparently been killed. She heard footsteps, and a figure came walking up, the goggles he wore reflecting the lights from around the area.
..... “Now, now,” He said, placing a sleek gun back into its holster. “You had to come along and ruin it all.”
.....Tachi bit her lower lip, still holding her weapon out toward the stranger. He was a tall, considerably built Toa. Aside from the leisurely smirk he held, it was impossible to tell his true intentions with such questionable goggles over his eyes.
.....The chute continued to speed towards the building, getting closer and closer to its desired location. The machine had been on auto pilot, and the enemy was unaware of the hijacking for the time being. The unfamiliar Toa seemed to notice the sudden peace and assumed they had a few minutes to spare.
..... “I had plans to silently sneak in the base,” he continued. “though you seem to have a different arrangement.”
..... “What do you want?” Tachi snapped at him.
..... “Maybe what you want; that Makuta dead.” He said, pointing towards the building. “Who hired you?”
..... “I came on my own accord.”
..... “Really now? This is interesting.” He walked toward Tachi, his footsteps now completely soundless.
..... “You may call me Komas, Toa of Sonics. I was hired to assassinate this Makuta. What is your story?”
..... “I am in search of something. The rest of the information is mine to keep classified.”
.....This Komas newcomer seemed either unaware of her weapon or was purposely trying to get killed. He walked up to her only to have the long glimmering sword pointed at his neck. His head shifted slowly down to her sword, he finally raised his arms upward, “I assure you ma’am I mean no harm to you.”
.....Tachi merely grunted, “That’s what everyone says, and then when they get what the want they throw you to the side.”
..... “At least you are aware of how life cycles.” Komas responded, his head tilting around the sword to notice the fortress was looming ever so closer.
..... “Why don’t we make a deal. Let’s get the job done together, and we’ll be on our separate ways after we settle the Makuta’s fate.”
..... “Why should I?”
..... “Well, assuming we’re both too stubborn to turn around, we may be of more use working together…” Komas made another eerie grin. Though he had a rough appearance, his voice was convincing.
.....Tachi could not help but feel curious about him. She had not seen any Toa in…well, she could not recall. But this was her first time to peacefully socialize. He may be some use to her.
.....Tachi lowered her weapon slowly, her visor reading over the body to make sure he had no tricks up his armored arms. Finally, and wordlessly, she turned to face the fortress.
..... “What is your plan?”

.....The chute had arrived on time. It was filled with cargo containing all the necessary items for the Makuta; weapons, technology, items best left to be anonymous for the public eye… It could be all found in those cold metal boxes. The barge slowly parked itself in the small docking area with a hiss, and a green encrusted Rahkshi waddled over to inspect the shipment. Something was wrong. Where were the guards?
.....Its answer came far quicker than the Rahkshi wanted. A loud bang was heard, a long thin bullet surged through the creature, the metal parts shredding around and splintered apart, falling all around the dock. Komas came into view, shifting the weight of the gun on his shoulder, and calmly looked around. No one had detected them—yet.
.....Tachi followed behind, cooly walked off of the cargo transporter and looked at Komas with an emotionless glare. He returned the expression and quickly started heading up the stairs. Tachi grudgingly followed.
.....As a Toa of Sonics, Komas was able to keep himself and Tachi in absolute silence. They were not foolish, naïve Toa barging in with weapon shining. That was simply not a logical approach—unless they wanted to be dead. They knew secrecy and sheer cleverness was the only way to assassinate a figure of this much importance.
.....But already as the reached the base of the main entrance, lights began to flash around the metal encased fortress, and the shrieks of Rahkshi could be heard far off, preparing to battle the intruders.
.....Komas rubbed the temple area of his mask and sighed. “This came sooner than I expected.”
..... “We have to hurry, Makuta have a tendency to disappear when it gets messy.”
..... “You know much of Makuta?”
.....Tachi just looked over the Toa of Sonics for a moment, and then with ferocious power, brought out her sword, jumped over him and swung at a charging Exo Toa, cutting its hand cleanly off. It fell to the ground with a metallic screech, wires twitching and flickering.
.....She kicked the figure back and sent a blast of electricity, the dark purple flash twisted around the body, and unable to withstand the deadly attack, it collapsed in a smoking heap.
.....Before any congratulations were sent out, they looked up to see a horde of Rahkshi and other dreaded creatures charging towards them, their feet ramming against the hard earth, swinging weapons around carelessly with blind nerve. Komas would have none of this, and immediately grabbed hold of Tachi, pulling her away and pushed her toward the door. She slid in and noticed at the same time that the door was shutting down. In fact, windows, doors—any means of escape was now becoming obsolete. Komas flipped in the air, steadily pulled out his gun, and with two powerful shots that echoed out, hit a charging Rahi straight on. It stumbled and crashed to the ground, bringing several others down in addition. Komas was able to fall inside the room, just as the large metal entrance slammed shut with a piercing moan. They were left with the sound of enemies ramming the door and trying to claw their way in.
.....Komas straightened himself up and gave her a conceited grin. Tachi only shook her head, muttering something to herself and then continued up the stairway.
..... “Say, I never picked up your name ma’am.” Komas called out, now rushing up the stairs to catch up with the fast paced female. There was silence for a moment, and only the dull clumps of feet hitting against the winding steps could be heard.
..... “It is unimportant to our cause.”
..... “With your dashing looks, the name can’t be all that bad, right?”
.....Komas thought he heard a sigh from her, but it was drowned away with the echoes from their feet and other clamor throughout the fortress.
..... “My name is Tachi.” She spoke, and once again there was no more communication.
.....Komas found great fascination with her. True, he did find fascination in many females, but she was different. It was not everyday that when he was hired to do an assassination job he met with a strange Toa of Electricity. She claimed she was not hired to do this by any group; then what could she be after? Surely not just for sport?
.....They reached the end of the stairs. .....Without any pause Tachi rammed her sword against the small door, tearing it apart with a rupture and bounded in. Komas was quick to follow and brought out his gun.
Up ahead, they were met with a tall, powerfully built, black figure. His back faced the Toa and he seemed to stare out of the large-glassed window in front of him. They could hear his staggering breaths.
..... “I knew sooner or later that someone would come for me.” The Makuta spoke out bitterly, and turned to face the Toa. His black and golden rusted face stared at them. ..... “Makuta that get their claws in too deep will get much worse than what most peaceful beings could offer as punishment.”
..... “You seemed unsurprised that I’m here then.” Komas replied, edging toward the towering creature.
..... “Who hired you? The Dark Hunters? Some rich trading company? Whatever the cause, they did not like what I was doing— bad business for them. Since they do not have the courage to wage war on us they merely kill the ones who step out of line… They got one of the best mercenaries out there to get me, which you are, I suppose. It’s a pity to see Toa falling toward the darkness, such a pity…” The Makuta stopped in his sentence to pull out a long, battered hammer. Then he slowly looked toward the female Toa, who had stayed silent. Something sent chills through the Makuta as he was faced with her glare. Had he seen her before? Nevertheless, it was not important. The two would soon fall to his power and his station would be back and running smoothly; 10 minutes flat.
.....One should know though, to never underestimate a Toa. That was the first mistake this arrogant and lesser Makuta did. The second mistake; it is far, far worse to underestimate mercenary Toa, ones who know of war and who have gone beyond the Toa code to attain what they want. They are vicious and on the edge between good and evil. They are not afraid to get the dirty business done with.
..... “You take the head, I’ll take the legs.” Komas suddenly blurted, and fired his silver gleaming firearm straight at the Makuta, the weapon glowed red as it charged up. The projectile was so silent that the being of darkness barely missed it; the bullet merely scraped against the armor and went straight-on into the glass window. It cracked and with a loud crash the window shred to thousands of pieces, all glimmering in the light as they danced and bounced onto the cold floor. The Makuta swung his hammer to distract Komas and then flung his leg out, tripping the Toa, and enjoyed the sight of Komas ramming his head against the floor from the impact.
.....Before he could do any finishing move, the Makuta was taken aback by the female Toa in a split second. One moment she was simply standing like a statue, unmoving and just staring with ghastly eyes. The next, her hands were on her buster sword, an enraged expression on her face as she jumped in the air, ramming her weapon into the Makuta’s shoulder. He stumbled back but was able to block the second attack. The battle seemed to last forever as their eyes locked, dancing with beauty and graceless feats. She completely forgot about Komas. All Tachi could think about was her bittersweet revenge, nothing more. Her personal thoughts fueled her to fight, and fear encouraged it. The thought of death, and being captured again by Makuta put fear in her; literal terror. It was the only thing that scared her in the world, and from what she had learned, the only way to handle it was to face her fear. And kill it.
.....Tachi was barely able to block a heavy swing that pushed her sideways, and this gave the Makuta an opening that he graciously accepted.
.....He rammed his hammer into her side, and she spun back. A piece of armor under her chest had twisted back inside her, stabbing her organic tissue and wires. She grimaced, clutching her wound with one hand and stumbling to get up with the other. Shadows seem to suffocate her and swarm around Tachi, her eyes widened as she tried to escape such an attack, but it was useless. The shadows danced around her, twisting around and inside her. She struggled to stay sane; knowing helplessly that the Makuta was succeeding in killing her with his powers.
.....But then there was a loud bang, and the Makuta clutched his head and reeled, screaming aloud from the blast of deafening sound Komas was sending. His gun had already fired two blasts into the master of shadows, and now he shot again. And again. And again. The last shot charged straight into the Makuta’s face, the bullet cracked in the mask. With a roar and a painful screech, the mask cracked and exploded from a small sound blast. The Makuta stumbled back, shocked and wounded. Unaware to where he had stepped, the Makuta cried out as he tripped out of the window to fall to his doom. Down, down, toward a deep dark abyss of unforgiving jagged rocks far below.
.....Tachi tried to get back up, but was unable to see properly. Her vision was blurring and darkening and it felt like her lungs had been shut off. Before blacking out she saw Komas rush to her side, yelling out something incomprehensible.
.....That was all she could recall as her body fell on the cold metal floor, her head lolling back.

- Review Topic -

This post has been edited by Lady Kopaka: Dec 2 2009, 12:31 PM

[Lady Kopaka]

.....A flicker of dancing yellow light slowly came into view. Hazed, fuzzy and feeble—but it was there. Tachi inhaled, she smelt ash and the thick scent of humidity. Toa Tachi’s breath was ragged and trembling at first when she woke up out of her dark sleep. Her state of consciousness before was simply a void of blackness. She was alive, but the confusion lingered, the mental attack had seemed to eat away her energy.
.....Tachi contemplation for reality slowly eased back, her numbness faded, and her eyesight had now finally returned fully. She absentmindedly at first eased her head toward the light to find a simple fire, the warmth and illumination easing the frostiness of the dark forest.
.....A mild sensation of alarm flooded throughout her. Tachi flung herself up and looked around with a goaded appearance. Dizziness from such fast movements erupted through the Toa and she staggered back to lean against a tree. She clutched her mask from a rising headache; and at last the Toa of Electricity unsteadily faced a figure sitting on the ground beside the fire across from her, staring at her unperturbedly.
.....“You had me actually worried; I thought you would never wake up.” The Toa straightened the goggles he wore. The fire reflected against his opaque specs as he was outwardly scrutinizing Tachi from head to toe.
.....“How long have I been out?”
.....“Oh…only ten hours, give or take a few.”
.....Tachi sighed and placed her back to the tree, sliding slowly down to the cool earth.
.....“We’re lucky that was just a lesser Makuta. Who knows what would happen if we met the leader himself,” Komas finally continued, crossing his arms around his chest. “This is the last time I’m being hired to kill a Makuta.”
.....“You were hired?”
.....“Why else would I risk getting my mask scorched? Some fancy industry was willing to pay me a large sum to get that Makuta off the island. I seemed to have forgotten the likelihood of killing a Makuta and surviving.”
.....Tachi could only stare at him frigidly, trying to place things together. Though she dare not show it, emotions flooded in her and she could not keep count of how she felt. Embarrassed and humiliated for acting so foolishly and then angry, terribly infuriated at herself when skirmishing against the Makuta.
.....Feelings seem to cool when she finally saw that she was not dead thanks to the mercy of this Toa. She gradually looked at her lower chest to where the wound had once been, now properly bandaged and repaired.
.....The goggled Toa stood up and walked over to Tachi gradually, the female immediately balked back, ready for action. But all he did was squat beside her.
.....“Kinda jumpy aren’t you?”
.....“What do you want?”
.....“I’m craving a bula-berry pie…but that won’t help us any right now.”
.....Tachi nearly snorted from the comment. She was silent at first, and then glared at him skeptically.
.....“You’re name is—?”
.....The Toa of Sonic offered his hand. “Toa Komas, ma’am.”
.....Tachi did not return the favor and studied over him, like some specimen. Komas shrugged and removed the hand. His tone took more seriousness this time.
.....“Can I ask you why you risked your life to go kill that Makuta?”
.....She grimaced and turned away, avoiding the strange gaze of Komas.
.....“I was…in search of something.”
.....“What could a Makuta have that you would honestly need?”
.....“Memories.”
.....Komas mouth somewhat opened, but no sound came from him. It wasn’t exactly the answer he thought he would get. Possibly she could have been some Dark Hunter, or a thief seeking treasures. But this was rather, unexpected.
.....“You’re…” he paused and rubbed his chin. “Memories?”
.....“Just that,” Tachi responded calmly. “They stole my memories long ago, and I want them back.” She stopped speaking and momentarily looked straight up; through the brooding trees she could see millions of sparkling stars. She sighed, wishing this discussion was never brought up, but the Toa—Komas, had saved her. He at least deserved to know, Tachi supposed. And what was there really to give away?
.....She faced Komas again, he seemed curious, but stayed silent and patiently hoped she would speak. At length, Tachi gave in.
.....“I remember very little…” she said. “It’s all visions and nightmares. I know I possibly protected an island, and the Makuta soon came… seeking… specimens.”
.....Komas raised his eyebrow. “I’m starting to get the picture of this story, let me guess, you want to know what happened, right?”
Tachi shook her head. “You have no idea what it feels like to have your past…literally ripped from your head. But, there was something more, something important I’m forgetting, and I need to know what it is.”
.....“That’s all you remember, huh?”
.....“Not a thing. Except for guesses from my dreams…” Tachi’s voice faded into the night, stopping herself from carrying on the conversation.
.....She rubbed her face, noticing she was without her visor and looked around tranquilly. It did not take a moment for her to notice her equipment lay neatly beside her.
.....She looked back at the Toa. It was hard to read Komas’s composed expression, though Tachi dare not accept any pity from others, she felt mildly offended, unsure if he really had paid attention at all.
.....“I apologize, I am making little sense. I best be on my way.” Tachi slowly stood up and began to pick up her visor.
.....Komas immediately jumped up. “Oh you don’t have to leave so soon, I didn’t mean to be obnoxious.”
.....Tachi raised an eyebrow toward him as she picked up her sword. “No, I must. I have things to attend to and so do you I suppose. Thank you for assisting me.”
.....Toa Tachi attached her long weapon to her back and started to head into the woods; however the Toa stopped when she heard Komas cleared his throat exasperatingly noisily.
.....“Miss Tachi, if you go that way, you’re heading back toward that town.”
.....Tachi spun around, infuriated. She wanted to go right over to him and slap his mask off. The sheer arrogance!
.....“Maybe you better stick with me ‘till we make it to a small harbor a few hours from here. I’m sure you’ll know your way from there.”
.....Tachi looked at the ground, but she reluctantly knew it was the safest and quickest path to take.
.....“Very well, we should leave at once.”
.....Komas scoffed, and a huge smile cracked over her face, yet again Tachi felt the need to walk over and strangle him.
“If you haven’t noticed, it’s still midnight. I’ve wasted the past days planning the assassination and then spending ten hours watching over you without a wink of sleep. I’m not moving an inch until I’ve had at least a nap.”
.....“You stayed up ten hours staring at me?” Tachi scowled, trying to contain her anger.
.....“You could say that,” Komas shrugged. “Of course, it was better than you dying from the mental mess; you seemed shaken up quite a bit. You kept murmuring stuff in your sleep or having random seizures, it wasn’t a pretty sight for someone as pretty as you.”
.....Tachi had enough and walked straight up to him, a mere inch away from his mask.
.....“Let’s get this straight, sir. Firstly, you need to tell me these things sooner; secondly I hope you know your pickup lines are absolutely unmoving.”
.....The Toa of Sonics merely laughed quietly and walked back to original spot. He sat down with his back against a rock and looked up to the sky. “Usually the ladies adore my quotes. I guess it doesn’t work for all, I suppose.”
.....It was soon, instantly silent. Tachi still stood there, unsure of herself and why she got in this mess. The fire crackled and popped, and now was slowly fading to just glowing ash on burned wood. Trees swayed in the cold wind, they almost seemed to warily look down at the two Toa, brooding what had disturbed their tranquil forest.
.....Tachi finally sat down, removing her visor and placing her sword on the ground. She leaned against a tree groggily, staring at Komas for the longest moment until she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

.....“You have arrived sooner than I expected.”
.....“Sir, my plans were slightly…altered.”
.....A bitter silence followed in the long exquisite hallway. A large window covered the entire left wall, revealing a beautiful view—a view, that could only be thought of as beautiful by the minds taken with greed and insanity. This city, like many others of the region was now destroyed, forgotten and crumbling. With a dry distaste feeling in the wind, sand would waver about slowly, covering the decaying buildings.
.....But, Makuta Szian who stood staring out this window to view such destruction felt it as a wondrous playground. The other that quietly stood beside him was a stranger creature, green and hunched down, filthy and coarse. It was unquestionably a mere test subject of the Makuta who now served his master without question.
.....Makuta Szian removed his attention from the window and looked calmly toward his pet, studying how it was uncomfortable in the stillness.
.....“It was a simple task; you were to kill Makuta Muurax. Wipe him off the face of the universe. Eradicate, assassinate…how many more words from the basic language you must know to understand?”
.....“Yes, I understood fully sir. But you see as I was about to kill him; two Toa beat me to him.”
.....“Two Toa?”
.....“Yes, by their appearances I’d say they were mercenaries.”
.....“It seemed he had more enemies that I thought.” Szian’s fashionable deep voice faded as he turned around and started down the hallway. The slave was unsure at first, but finally began to follow his master.
.....“He was a weak link in the line of the Makuta species,” Szian said. “His destiny to me felt like the mere purpose to make our great Brotherhood look filthy and indisputably puny. Makuta Teridax would agree if he knew of my doings, so it was my humble duty to make sure he ended. He was never powerful, smart or had any senses…weak, completely a weak link.”
.....Another cold long silence followed. Something that seemed to be popular among Makuta Szian’s speaking behavior. His heavy footsteps echoed calmly in the placid building, and without any break opened a door out of the hallway to enter into a dark room. It was filled with the complex machinery and technology that any traditional Makuta exploited. The slave that followed his master looked around unnervingly, staring at such devices that he had grown much too familiar with. It made the room all too ominous.
.....Once this space perhaps belonged to the Toa or Turaga, a library it was most possibly, seeing that the shelves around the room were filled with dusty parchments and stone tablets. But now the black jaggedness of the stone walls seemed to haunt around, a room most suited for Makuta of the Brotherhood.
.....The Makuta sat in a large chair, calmly placing his hands on the desk in front of him and stared at his servant.
.....“So, tell me, you were there when this happened. Who were these honorable Toa that beat you to this task?”
.....“There was a male and a female,” The creature immediately said. “I was perched high above the roof, examining the crime, so I can give little details. But, the male was a Toa of Sonics. The other, was one of lightning…electricity.”
.....The Makuta truthfully seemed unimpressed with this information. He tapped his fingers against the desk and the creature almost wanted to cringe and the tedious beating sound. He decided it best to find more information about Toa.
.....“I know of the female’s name. The Toa of Sonics called her by the name of Tachi, she—”
.....The rhythmic beating stopped. Just as if time froze. The only thing that reassured the creature that time was still moving was from the low moaning of wind outside and the faint drips of liquid in some of the experimental wires and tubes. Finally Szian stood up and strode over to his creation, staring down at him with his blood red eyes.
.....“Are you mistaken?” Szian abruptly seemed distant; a look of apprehension crossed his face for a mere second. The servant took a step back, wondering what the Makuta was brooding about. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
.....“He called out the name Tachi quite a lot…”
.....“She was of a purple colour? She wore a Mahiki styled mask?”
.....“Yes, yes sir…”
.....Szian turned around, placing his hand on a large test cylinder and glared at the green waters that it contained. He didn’t say a word for the longest moment; just clutched the vat and his body seemed to stiffen. She was supposed to be dead, wasn’t she? Yes, yes of course she was. He remembered. How could fate play such a terrible bet on him? Could this be another Tachi? No, no, he could feel inside him that it was her.
.....“That Toa,” he spoke, his voice containing some internal irritation. “She must be found...destroyed, perhaps…the glitch…within her system. No one must know of it.”
.....“Glitch… sir?”
.....The Makuta jerked around and the creature regretted his curiosity. But Szian did nothing, just walked closer and bent down to face his servant.
.....“It is none of your concern. You were created to obey, not to ask questions. I know these Toa are dangerous, do not underestimate them if they have enough wits to kill Makuta, even if that said Makuta was pathetic. I want you to capture the female. Bring her to me. Kill the other. If all comes to worst—kill her. Don’t let her get away. This is not a suggestion, more of a…necessity for your continual use.”
.....If the creature could, he would have gulped and began to sweat; he decided to bring another topic up. “Should we inform the brotherhood of this?”
.....Makuta Szian walked over to a small box, his large sharp fingers toyed over it, and finally he opened it. He pulled out a small metal chip and stared at it, bringing it into the light to watch the shiny piece of machinery reflect around the room.
.....“No. I don’t want any reports about this whatsoever, this is a personal matter.” he spoke out directly, still studying the device with a wary eye.
.....The servant’s dirty green head nodded and stood there a moment watching his master. Makuta Szian said nothing else while the creature stood there; it decided this was a good time to slip out. The servant slowly edged out of the room and Szian was left in the dark room unaccompanied.
.....Szian placed the device down on the desk and stooped by the table, hands pressing down on the desk and his head lowered down, brooding about the situation. Finally after a long moment of standing like that, he looked up to stare at the experiments that littered the room, his expression abnormally dismayed.
.....“Though, one may consider…dear Tachi an importance to destiny.”

- Review Topic -

This post has been edited by Lady Kopaka: Sep 5 2009, 11:10 AM

[Lady Kopaka]

.....Tachi truly could not believe what she was seeing now.
.....Komas actually knew this Skakdi. And that Skakdi actually knew him.
.....She expected from Komas that he would probably have been gutted by the pirate captain in a second because of Komas’s bumpy history. An unfair trade, a bad negotiating—it was all easily envisioned.
.....But fate enjoyed proving her wrong when she watched the Skakdi stare at Komas for a long moment. He eyed the Toa suspiciously, as if mad. Suddenly he exploded into a loud, greasy laugh, a sort of laugh that made Tachi squint from almost a literal ache.
.....The Vortixx partner seemed unsurprised and just stood by his laughing captain with an indulgent leer, nodding his head toward Komas in some regard. The rest of the crew looked at each other, baffled and simply angry at the sudden change of mood.
.....In conclusion, the Captain calmed his nerves and shooed his crew off, commanding them to finish scouting the area and to set up perimeters. When most of the crew was away from earshot, the Skakdi captain and his first mate strolled over, weapons now down.
.....“You pain in the rear, Toa,” the Skakdi captain growled sarcastically, revealing a set of nasty teeth. “If it wasn’t you, I would have killed you. Har har!”
.....Komas just crossed his arms and shrugged. “Haha, so funny.”
.....Tachi had stayed very silent, and stood behind Komas watching the entire feud as the two continued to taunt one another. After a moment the captain stopped and leaned to look at Tachi; a fascinated smile cracked over his large bulky face.
.....“Now Komas, I didn’t know you took your damsels on your adventures.”
.....“Who is this?” Tachi finally demanded, looking at Komas.
.....“This captain hired me years back to…assist in a mutiny when a band of Zyglak thought it would be amusing to take over his ship,” Komas explained. “I assisted in some other adventures over the years—I guess we got along pretty well, especially after I saved his life and stopped the ship from exploding too.”
.....The captain seemed not to be so pleased about the topic being brought up, so he quickly moved on with the introductions.
.....“I am Captain Yuuzian, ma’am,” he stated haughtily. “Leader of this fine crew and the proud owner of the Nahkita. This is my dashingly handsome first mate Vheon, intelligent and ever so clever.”
.....“You are much too chivalrous, Captain.” The Vortixx responded composedly, eyebrows rose upward, looking at Yuuzian.
.....“Shut up, Vheon, I’m joking. I don’t mean a word of it.” Yuuzian retorted. His attention then returned to the two Toa. “So now innocent ones, what can I do for you?”
.....Komas for a moment studied around the area in silence, thinking how to word what he wanted to be said correctly. He finally just pointed a thumb back toward the ship and grinned.
.....“Think we can hitch a ride?”

.....The sun was beginning to set. The brightness overpowering the sky as it took its last resort before being overtaken by the hours of darkness. Oranges, yellows and beautiful purple colors of the sky reflected everything. Long, skinny, and opaque colorful clouds whisked slowly by in the sky as the wind hushed them toward the north. The sunlight reflected against the waters, leaving almost little lights bobbing around in the waters, like small natural lanterns. The waves were not powerful at this time, but commonly a few would splash high enough to wet under the floating airship, the Nahkita.
.....Tachi looked out of one of the windows, sitting on an old bunk and hugged her knees. The view was beautiful, but Tachi felt it also haunting in its dead ghostly silence, being so near the ghost town.
.....She continued to silently sit there and hug herself, staring absentmindedly and straight ahead. She lastly looked up to see stars peaking out between the clouds and vanishing vivid sky. She was all but alone in the Nahkita, as the rest of the crew had left to pillage the city. The only other soul on board was the first mate Vheon; who seemed to take no curiosity in her and continued to walk to and fro around the ship, apparently working on the vessel or making his daily arbitrator rounds.
.....Komas was gone for the time too. He left back onshore with Yuuzian as they argued amongst one another for a fair price to take the two Toa to Jiahk. Simply to Tachi, she felt as if he was avoiding her after their overwrought argument. She admitted she felt a bit odd being without him—even if it was only for a few hours. Over the course of the few days she was used to him always around and always talking like a crazed Le-Matoran. Still, sitting in silence in a bleak room helped her recount what had happened. Her mind had slowly eased back to how it had always normally been and now viewed the recent problems with consideration and modesty. But even so, she still felt guilty and unsure of herself. What was her true past? Who really was Uchik? What did the Makuta truly want from them?
.....Those were just a few of the questions swimming in her head. She felt like she had thought so deeply about the issue she could feel a headache surface slowly up. Her left hand slowly came up to rub the side of her mask, closing her eyes for a moment in hopes the headache would disperse.
.....Loud clatters of weapons and feet echoed and pounded outside her door, disturbing her trying. She swung around and through the crack saw the shadows of various figures rushing down the hallway. They shouted orders, murmured in gossip, or sounded quite inebriated with their loud laughs and curses.
.....The door to her and Komas’s cabin quietly opened. Komas walked in, making soundless footsteps and quickly shut the door.
.....He dusted his hands together and then looked up to see Tachi on the bed, studying him while she still sat there and continued to rest herself on her knees.
.....“I’m…back,” he said as he raised his hand to gesture. “How’re you?”
.....“Are we going to Jiahk?” Tachi questioned, overlooking Komas’s inquiry.
.....His brow puckered from her hasty question, but gave in and shrugged. “Yeah we are.”
.....Komas acted as if he was going to continue, to give a better explanation, but he stopped and stood there quietly, looking almost discomfited. A mood which Tachi thought was unfeasible for the Toa. He finally began to walk over to her, and Tachi stiffened. She straightened herself up from hugging her knees to sit properly on the bed and crossed her arms.
.....“I uh…” he started slowly. “Went with them to make sure they didn’t ransack the library. Took some persuasion, but they seemed more interested with the goods throughout the city anyway.”
.....“Why are you telling me this?”
.....“I went back up there and got the Toa—I buried him properly.”
.....Tachi coolly studied him and then felt irate. She should have been the one to do that. But she couldn’t bring herself to even look back in the direction.
.....“You can go back and see—”
.....“No,” Tachi stubbornly interrupted. “No. I don’t want to go back. I just want to head to Jiahk.”
.....Komas sat down on an old barrel on the far corner of the room, his hands fooling around with his belt. For awhile, it seemed the conversation had ended. Tachi returned to hug herself and gaze outside. Komas just sat there thoughtfully, listening to the ruckus outside their room. One would think Komas would be the one to bring up a subject out of thin air—this time however, it was Tachi.
.....“Komas…” she started slowly, still looking out of the rounded porthole. “What…what do you think he meant by the glitch?”
.....“He was delusional, Tachi,” he responded. “It could mean a number of things…a ‘fault’ in the Makuta’s plan; a glitch in the computer…something of psychological troubles...I think it was nothing, if you want my outlook.”
.....“It had some significance to me.” Tachi whispered; to both just herself and partly to Komas. “He was trying to tell me something; to warn me.”
.....Komas watched her continue to stare out as the sun began to dip down into the water, the sky embracing the blue darkness and stars. He sighed and stood up, then proceeded to walk over to her; his arm outstretched.
.....“C’mon. The captain invited us for dinner.”
.....“I’m not hungry.”
.....Komas smirked. “Captains’ like this don’t adore their offers refused. ‘Specially from pretty ladies.”
.....Tachi twisted toward him and stared quizzically.
.....“Well,” Komas started, his grin still evident. “Since we’re under his command, he may find a lot of…entertainment you could provide for the crew.”
Tachi jumped up and she squinted skeptically at him right in his obscure specs. All she clearly saw was his grin and it dragged her in a confidential fit of irritation. Finally and without dithering, she proceeded to walk toward the door.
.....“Then, I suppose we should not keep him waiting.”
.....Komas continued to grin and walked over to the door, opening it and allowed Tachi to briskly pass him as she entered into the hallway of the Nahkita.
.....The handsome ship was large and burnished, but still felt cramped as they walked down the rounded metal hallway. It had a surprisingly elegant appeal to it, yet at the same time bulky and grubby. The stench of unwashed beings and other coarse smells roamed in the air. Tachi kept an emotionless face, but her mouth puckered in disgust from all the strange smells, the rude beings that stormed past them, and just the whole knowing of them being guests aboard a buccaneer ship.
.....Komas seemed at ease through this all, but nevertheless he stayed close by Tachi, his attention shifted around time to time to watch the passing crewmembers as they stared at their guests or made whistles toward Tachi. Komas would scowl and clutch his gun, and the gaunt bunch of flirters would get the idea and move on.
.....Tachi was not offended, plainly because she ignored the entire charades and she knew quite well how to take care of herself. Komas knew this, but intractably stayed close and exceedingly defensive.
.....A tall being noticed the Toa and came walking up as his feet pounded on the ship’s base. He boasted in adored white and red armor, belts and straps wrapped around him holding ammo and held a long and deadly looking sniper rifle.
..... “I was about to get you Toa,” the being spoke up, saluting. “The captain is waiting for you.”
.....The pirate led them through a large room, possibly the galley. Beings took their short breaks here from jobs—or were avoiding work quite deviously. For a moment in the room the crew in the area fell silent as they watched the Toa led to the captain’s quarters. That is, until the pirate leading them rattled his gun in his hand and glared at them. They immediately went back to eating and gawping.
.....He led them to a doorway on the far right, it was closed shut. He opened the door with his free hand, and it the thick entry swung open.
Captain Yuuzian leisurely sat in a big chair, his large clawed feet propping against the dining table situated in his quarters and as he held a large mug. He waved it around with boredom as he stared off; a few other vital crew members hung around the room, already talking loudly about civic matters. Vheon came from the corner of the room and closed the door as the three walked in.
.....“Ah!” The Skakdi cackled viciously. “There be my guests, and you already met my gunnery master, Mr. Creolé.”
.....The red head of the pirate nodded in preamble and then after which he placed his long weapon on the side of the metallic grayed wall. Tachi stood behind Komas in uncomfortable silence, studying around the room with curiosity.
.....“Don’t be shy missy, take a seat. I’m not in the mood to bite today.” Yuuzian made the cliché Skakdi grin and pointed to the chair in front. It took a moment of uncertainty, but Tachi decided it best to follow any requirements. Before she could sit down, Komas had gone in front quicker than she thought possible, and he had pulled the chair out for her. Tachi accepted the consideration and straightened herself in the chair with attentiveness.
.....“Quite the gentlemen as ever Komas,” Yuuzian commented. “How long she been with you?”
.....“Almost a week.” Komas leisurely responded, sitting down in a chair beside Tachi.
.....A loud laugh responded to Komas’s direct answer. Creolé rubbed his large hands and looked over the Toa. “That sounds like a record!”
.....“Yeah well, good luck in trying to find a girl.” Komas wittedly jibed.
.....“What are your interests in this vicinity, Toa?” Vheon questioned prudently.
.....“We’re… searching for someone.” Tachi responded quietly, studying over the strange liquid that had been poured for her.
.....“I should’ve acknowledged.” Vheon simply stated. “Toa seem to be reasonably enthralled with penetrating for people or items.”
.....“Yeah well, I got nothing better to do right now.” The Toa of Sonics shifted more comfortably in the wooden chair. “So I’m helping Miss Tachi find a lost… friend.”
.....“Helping?” The Captain clicked his tongue and seemed lightheartedly suspicious. “Toa Komas does not help. If he gets paid, he assists.”
.....“Aw, I’m not that bad. You guys discredit me.”
.....“A distrust amid the scoundrels and of the equivalent is not unanticipated, Toa.” Vheon replied composedly.
.....Komas dryly studied the Vortixx and then pointed at him. “This guy still hasn’t overthrown you?”
.....“No,” Vheon replied. “Captain Yuuzian still has not proved sufficient worth and brains for me to even trouble with mutiny.”
.....The entire room boomed with drunken laughs. Being with a bunch of scum laughing over nothing; it all felt quite unsophisticated to Tachi as she sat there unresponsively, she couldn’t find the joke in it all.
.....Captain Yuuzian leaned closer to the table and pounded it a couple of times before the noise settled down.
.....“Eh heh… enough, enough. Let’s get to more important matters.”
.....He clapped his large clawed hands and not but a few seconds past and a short and bulky cook entered the quarters, carrying large piles of plates from his four arms. Steam rose from the food and Tachi almost wanted to hold her nose from the smell. When it was placed on the table, she also wanted to close her eyes. Slimy undercooked or overcooked seafood lay in front of her, sizzling and smoking. Yuuzian seemed quite pleased with it, as did the rest in the room. Vheon held onto an apathetic face, and Komas just leaned back and took a deep breath. The silence of staring at the food came back with loud ruckus. They would jibe, point out terrible jokes, and random outburst outbursts of laughter recoiled in the room. After a moment, Yuuzian grinned as he tore off a limb from a small squid and pointed it in the direction of Vheon.
.....“My dear, dear comrade, get out some music for us, we need entertainment!”
.....It was almost caught that Vheon might’ve rolled his eyes toward the captain’s intoxication, but seemed impractical; since he was much too refine to reveal that loutishness.
.....He unhurriedly stood up and strolled over to a cabinet. He returned with an instrument and fiddled with it for a moment. Long sharp fingers began to carefully pluck the strings. It started off slow and placid, something foreign and mysterious surrounded the strange instrument. Vibrating the many strings and the beautiful noise would jump up and down, and dance all around the room. Tachi was very impressed that such a ragamuffin crew could actually have a decent taste in music.
.....Creolé and some of the other crew that were allowed in the quarter burst into some song, laughing and singing quite terribly, pounding their fists on the old wood table to keep a beat. Creolé in particular sang the loudest with a deep and dreadfully off voice. But it was expected from the gangly group of pirates, signing deeply and freely about foreign folk songs of adventures, riches, and women.

Yonder it is!
My fairest sweetheart
The Vortixx lady dances and prances
She sings and swings
Yet alas to our pain
Before the end of the day
My fairest sweetheart
Had us all in chains!


.....Tachi actually found it entertaining, though she did not express such an appearance. She just quietly sat there; sipping her drink and watching the armored beings engross themselves in the foolhardy bustle.
.....Komas seemed to have enough and furiously swung his arms around. “Please, please, you’re butchering my ears!” He yelled through the noise.
.....Komas took a deep breath and immediately changed the sentiment around the room. Tachi nearly spit out her drink when she saw what the Toa was doing.
.....He was…singing? It would seem Toa Komas was full of very exceptional revelations. He had joined in the hardy song they were signing and seemed to balance out the tones. It had a twang about it that made Tachi feel serene and warmed. She wasn’t sure if he was cheating and using his element, or if he really could sing so handsomely.
.....It then took notice to Tachi that Komas was looking at her with a grin, as he continued to sing with the tune. Tachi firstly rolled her eyes at his try at flirting again. She looked away and stared out of the large window fixated behind them, the sky was dark with shimmering stars and a full moon.
.....She lastly closed her eyes, becoming drowsy by the drink and voices around the room. And she had completely forgotten her weariness until now. She envisioned the glowing white moon above the wavy waters, as she slowly rested her head back, ignoring completely what was presently going on.
.....The group continued to entertain themselves, merrily singing and eating. Captain Yuuzian noted Tachi had drifted off to sleep and grinned.
.....“She’s rather… atypical, is she not?”
.....Komas grinned, leaning back in his seat as he looked at Tachi.
.....“No captain, more along the lines of…appealing.”

- Review Topic -

This post has been edited by Lady Kopaka: Sep 5 2009, 03:17 PM