Relapse

ishi wants to get close to Eche, but he just keeps pushing him away

IC: (Roshinua) "We need to form barriers around the city, narrow down the battlefield on them. Then get guards on top of buildings to fire down on them from all sides. Then bomb them, take really long javelins and filet whatever's left," he said, "and then burn the remains with extreme prejudice." "Most of our men have no idea what they're dealing with. These guys won't reason with us. Our best bet is to get Jaller to agree to my plan."

IC (Sucogu): Sucogu greeted the newcomer with a small wave, then returned to quiet stoicism. He greeted Wokodin's suggestion with a nod, not at all opposed to refreshments.

IC: (Roshinua-Season of the Witch) "TO THE ARMORY!" The two Ta-Koro operatives raced to the Guard headquarters even as the Piraka assembled across the city. "We need to gear up for heavy combat. Then we should grab a squad and go to town. Metaphorically and literally."

Someone catch me up

I'll be camping next week yall, so don't expect to see me until next Sunday. Komisk goes to Mangai, Kol goes to Sivan. bai

IC: (Roshinua) "Afterwards we might want to check out the explosion downtown."

IC: (Roshinua) "I'm down for it. How about we stop by the Crust Station and get some burgers too?

IC:(Kol) Kol brandished his crossbow,prepared for combat. "Captain," he shouted across the deck at Kale, "once we're in range I recommend a boarding party. I volunteer to lead such a party."

IC: (Kol) Burning air and the stench of sulfur. A volcano overthrew the sky and smoke came to dilute the clouds and take their place. And this wasn't even the mainland- they had taken to explore one of the lesser islands where their treasure and therefore target was possibly located. Kol had seen spits of land like this in passing, during travel a while after his release from Hiemalis. "I can assist should we need to enter the city, I know my way around Ta-" Kol stopped abruptly, eyes becoming blank, legs weakening. All went blank in his mind before he collapsed over the side of the boat, falling into the water and entering the water.... For a while, everything was black. His senses were non-existent, for he didn't feel, see, smell, hear, or taste anything. And then two voices, one angelic and one demonic, sang words he would never forget. I fell to the ground and all I heard was screaming I remembered freedom and all I felt were chains I pleaded for death and bargained for insanity I fell from grace and all I saw was heII Kol awoke in the crumbling remains of a hospital, the bodies of patients and doctors alike strewn throughout the rubble. Somewhere in the middle of it was a Onu-Matoran, unable to stand, merely laying there. Pathetic. Kol glared into the eyes of the fallen man and saw not himself, but Coryza, the conjuring of Hiemalis. The thoroughly wounded prisoner of the devil himself. There was nothing inside Kol that didn't want to forget this moment, but he was tethered in. Some ethereal force seemed to be dragging him through one of the most traumatic experiences of his past. "Kol." The Matoran spun on his heel, reaching for a weapon that he didn't possess. A stranger stood there, not of a species Kol could recognize. Wrapped in dark bandages from head to toe, bloody spots painting the coat of cloth. He didn't know what this was, but from somewhere inside his head, he instantly knew who this was. Parasitic but powerful, a blessing wrapped in a blessing... His parakuka. Through gritted teeth he growled "why are you doing this to me?" To his surprise, his rough voice resonated throughout the dream, a godlike thunder that he could feel in his soul. In contrast, the Parakuka's tones were soft and toxic, like a slow poison not felt until it was too late. "Because we're connected, Kol. And because soon, you're going to die." "No," he shot back, "soon, I'm going to find a way to rid myself of you, and you're going to die." The monster simply laughed, a rather terrible sound that for some reason made Kol feel outraged. "I told you, Kol, we're connected. You will never be rid of me. Not to your dying day..." That was it. Kol exploded, kicking rubble out of his way as he charged the figment of his soul, tackling the malevolent stranger and taking him to the ground. Subsequently, three rather odd things happened. First, the stranger's bandages began burning with a fire that Kol could not feel. And then, something even stranger occurred. He looked down, and he saw his mask on the stranger's face. He first thought was that the stranger had stolen his mask, but that wasn't it. It dawned on him- this wasn't the Parakuka. This was the Parakuka's envisioning of Kol himself. And then, the third instance of abnormality occurred. Kol woke up. It was with gladness that he realized he had never fallen off the deck of the boat. He had, however, drifted into a trance for what now seemed like three minutes, just as the group was preparing to board the skiff. He said nothing, but stayed in silence and faded into the background.

As I stated above, I have no intention of trying to stop anyone who does it, I was simply stating my opinion. If you want to have music before your post, by all means go for it, but in my opinion it should be saved for special instances.

KEEP SHINING YOU CRAZY DIAMOND

Can I just say that not every post with more than three paragraphs needs to have "some suggested listening"? At first, it was a special and legitimate way to amp up the emotion behind a post, but as of late it's been cheapened to the point of silliness. I of course have no clout and by no means intend to make people stop linking to Youtube videos before their posts, but in my opinion it's often not needed and is really kind of irritating to see.

IC: (Roku Lhurai) "Give me that." "But sir, this is for our guest!" "Give me that." "I'm sorry sir, but this isn't yours-" With a grip of Lhurai's fist, the vintage, classically molded plaster plate flew out of the attendant's hand, falling to the ground and shattered into a thousand high-quality pieces, bits crashing across the floor of the palace and right onto the First Son's long navy cloak. Its content, a freshly-baked danish, halted in its dive just before hitting the ground, suddenly having taken up an interest in flying as it drifted into Lhurai's waiting mouth. "Thanks," he mumbled through the treat, patting the disgruntled server on the back as he walked by. He paid no mind to the volley of arrows she was launching in her gaze, instead electing to take the path less traveled straight to his living room. As soon as he entered the room, he cast off his cloak, draping it across the floor and collapsing onto the sofa. With a sigh, he wiped the corners of the mouth of danish remnants. Life was hard. Lhurai simply laid there until his door was unceremoniously molested and through it came yet another woman looking to waste his time. "Roku Lhurai, I need you in the conference hall." "At least buy me a drink first. I mean, I am the First Son, a little precedent kind of mandatory for that kind of invitation." "You're not funny." "I try," he groaned, arising from the depths of his couch and pulling his cloak back over himself. He followed his attendant's swaying hips directly into the conference hall, where an Umbraline messenger was waiting with, as Lhurai quickly deducted, a message. The contents of said message were almost as exotic and attractive as their foreign messenger (*cue wolf whistling*) and were enough to draw his attention from the shiny new ring he'd been giving for his birthday to the prospect of a masquerade outfit. Balls were somewhat common among the more fun-loving districts, but those held by the Chojo were a whole different prospect. Ever since his trip to the Imperial city, he had been entertaining a massive crush on Yumiwa, but had of course not ever acted on it as he had never gotten near to the Chojo herself. However, the boyish attraction to Yumiwa was dwarfed in comparison to his veritable devotion to Desdemona. That, however, is a topic he did not often mentally explore, as he had exhausted every mental facet and now had only to meet her and continue his consideration. "READY THE CHARIOT." "You don't own a chariot. And the ball isn't for a few days at the least." "well there's no sense being unprepared now is there" With that, he retired to his personal quarters to find out what masquerade was and to write a well thought-out love letter to a certain Desdemona. and also yumiwa can't forget her

No, I don't think you're reading quite right. *Ra'lhen has been *offered a spot in the Sentinels. Edit: I realize how caustic sounding that phrasing was so I added a smile

IC: (Sucogu) "My life," the Toa of lightning replied, "has been virtually devoted to taking down scum like Echelon. A few times, I've had companions. Most often, however, I've been alone."

IC: (Kol) Unnoticed, standing somewhat away from the rest of the group, Kol took note of the goings of the questers. The synergies and dissynergies of the gathered heroes and assorted. Some of these men had known each other for years: a disadvantage to Kol when it came down to it. He had no interest in remedying this, however, and kept his silence, arms crossed and eyes staring into the distance. "...entrance to a place where..." he began, tracing back to the letter, "that's the only thing I can think of. Maybe there's a word we lost?"

IC: (Komisk) About this time, Komisk took leadership of his ragtag group, taking a two-handed grip on his saperka. His first assault was to viciously browbeat Torvoth, the genius behind bellowing loud enough to elicit an ambush from the most dangerous creatures on the island. "THEY HAVE NO WEAKNETHETH!" he screamed, obviously infuriated. "Don't go on the offenthive just yet, keep your defenthe up! Wait until you know what their thpecific power ith, then find a way to exploit it!" He exchanged the saperka for his crossbow, keeping in mind that even if his depth perception was off, the projectile weapon was still useful for fighting off the Rahkshi. If he could find a chink in the Kurahk's armor, he could then, as he suggested earlier, exploit it. With every shot, he took a step back until he stood against the rock wall of the tunnel, hoping he could avoid an attack from behind. He tried to keep his eyes on his team, not trying to keep an account of how many Rahkshi were killed, but how many of his own men died in order to keep track of the bloodshed. The fight began as all developed their strategies... And then it hit him. What could a Matoran do that a Rahkshi could not? What did a Toa have that a Rahkshi did not? Komisk smiled, but it looked devilish on a face like his. They had Unity, Duty, and Destiny. For now, he thought, we'll focus on the first. "Together!" he shouted, "find a partner and focus on each one individually!"

IC: (Komisk) The further the group ventured, the less the lightstones seemed to affect the overwhelming darkness. The further they ventured from the light of day, the less they felt anchored to the safety of civilization. Was this was swimming too far from the shore felt like? "Soooo... guys... nice place down here, 'eh?" Komisk turned his head to glare at the speaker. "Oh, also, Matoran who is leading us to certain loot and adventure, why do you lisp?" "You're a moron. You're going to die down here," he seethed, not the least bit amused.

4/20!

IC: (Iiasmir) Halfway across the Koro, Iiasmir heard the commotion from his safehouse. Though he had installed several fortifications, the building was in no way prepared for an attack like the Piraka had prepared. He had called in the active members of the gang and told them to remain secure- it wasn't like any business was going to get done during a disaster like this. The safehouse. It was no technical marvel, neither was it a fortress. Its greatest security aspect was that it was entirely covert. Hidden underground, under one of Ta-Koro's hospitals, it was nearly impossible to find. There were a mere three entrances: the manhole under the waste bin in the custodial closet, which was more of an emergency exit than anything, leading to the top story; a rock outcropping underwater, which led to a narrow cave, which then led to the bottom floor of the safehouse; and an unnoticeable dumpster in a back alleyway bearing a trapdoor with a tube that slid directly into the middle level of the safehouse. The four primary members of Iiasmir's gang were now using the entrances as quickly as possible. OOC: exposition is exposition, more actual stuffs later.

IC: (Sucogu) "Can't say I have either," he replied, shrugging, "hopefully it's not too sickening. I've heard Kualsi travel can be nauseating to a new user, but I doubt this is anything like that."

OOC: Real sorry about this, but I'm gonna timeskip so that we stay ahead of the curve; from here on out I'll make sure to get everyone involved when moving the group. IC: (Komisk) At the very front of the wagon train, Komisk was laying in a comfortable makeshift bed, plotting counterschemes to the veritable universe of deadly possibilities held in Po-Koro's Dark Walk. Something down there had compromised the Koro's military, but Komisk was confident in his own abilities, and even more so in the abilities of the Onu-Koro light cavalry. With this thought, he rose from his cot, grabbed his pack, slung it on his back, and headed to the edge of the wagon to look out. They had nearly reached the Dark Walk. After some time, the caravan wagon train arrived with Komisk's crack team in tow. Ample supplies had been stowed on board, not least of which was weaponry for the coalition to wield. The Dark Walk: a vast system created by the most vile being in all of Mata Nui. The only reason for the honest men to be down in the depths of the demonic tunnels was to find and rescue the Sentinels, Komisk believed. Even as the wagon train began coming to a halt, the ex-military Matoran dove into the sands, scouting out the nearby area and eventually setting his eyes on the mouth of the cave. The rest of the coalition had begun exiting the train, following Komisk's lead to the mouth of the cave. He stopped in his tracks just before entering the tunnel, and turned to his newfound allies. "Alright, friendth, before we begin, I have thomething to thay. Down here, in the Dark Walk, there ith no law. There ith no hope. Thould one of our own fall, we will not be able to thave him. We have no extenthive medical thupply, nor any food or water to thpare on a dying man. Know that if you are foolish and injure yourthelf, I cannot guarantee your thurvival. Only the throngest, thmartest can expect to make it out alive. Thith is a concept known as natural thelection, and it ith in full effect for the foretheable future." He took his first step into the darkness, raising a lightstone to guide his path. No one in the group was very eager to jump in after him.

IC: (Komisk) "Each of you thould go home and gather whatever you need for the journey. Meet me at the gate in a half hour, be ready for a long trip," he said cheerfully. And with that, he walked out ceremoniously and headed home. -------------- A little while later, he stood at the gates. It was with a bit of an admiration in his gaze that he noticed Stralix's arsenal was now rather impressive, especially considering the reduced state of his own weaponry. "I've called in a few favorth," he stated cheekily, "and a merchant caravan ith allowing uth acceth to their wagon train." "...and that's the latht easy part of thith journey."

OOC: Anyone with a character coming with Komisk, please PM the name of your character so I can keep things straight. Thanks. IC: (Komisk) The belisped former officer downed one last shot of whiskey, having restrained himself from heavy drinking, lest he relapse to a time of alcoholism and despair. See, Le-Koroan painkillers had little effect on his rather...experienced system, and he had turned to a variety of alternatives, the least of which was not virtually poisoning his system with alcohol, to keep from turning back to the mild drug abuse he had experienced before the hive battle. Cutting to the chase, he was now avoiding a panel of addictions by careful restraint and constant distractions. "Are we all prepared to begin our journey?"