Harvali

OOC: currently sick, apologies if this post is incoherent IC Kanohi - the Coliseum’s border with Le-Metru The little Fe-Matoran focused, to Toa Vashni his mind might be a storm of static, full of thoughts bashing and striking each other like a clash of armies. And through it a strange image manifested. Not unlike what it might be like to read the mind of a Toa who wore a Mask of Clairvoyance. There was a roar like fire erupting off in the distance, and Kanohi startled to see a bridge collapse in the wake of an explosion, Le-Matoran plummeting into the waterways below. He could not wait longer to see if Toa Vashni got his vision. Quickly he grappled past the wreckage, firing a regeneration disk at the edge of the ruptured walkway. The metal bridge regrew like a vine, even as he ducked beneath it. With a hand outstretch he grappled past the water, dredging a Le-Matoran out of the waves as he did. As he dropped off the survivor he grappled again, arm outstretched to scoop up more Matoran.

OOC: @Snelly IC Kanohi - the Coliseum Grounds Kanohi meanwhile was grappling across the wreckage of Metru-Nui. Refugees were pouring into the center of the city, seemingly hundreds of Matoran from Le-Metru scrambled and stumbled as they fled, their bodies broken and singed with ash. The few remaining Vorzahk holding the hordes of Ehlek back as best they could, hurling Kanoka and power from their Staffs of Erasing. But the Vahki could do little. There were too many of Ehlek’s legions, and more and more of the clockwork beings fell to the horde. The vigilante swung low to the ground, scooping up a Le-Matoran just before he was struck by a bolt of energy. Kanohi dropped him off behind some debris, before hearing a large boom, like the roar of a forgotten beast. He hooked a skyscraper and hurled upwards, searching for the source. Another bridge was collapsing. And it was between Le-Metru and the Coliseum without it, the retreat would slow to a crawl, the Matoran. Kanohi grappled over, flinging himself skyward. As he rose he aimed his disk launcher and fired two disks of regeneration. Like Toa stars igniting for the first time they flew, slamming into the bridge. A chunk of the bridge regenerated, and the Le-Matoran piled across, tripping and stumbling as they fled. Le-Matoran were never the best on walking on the ground, and their fear made them walruses. He grappled down, swiping his disks. But as he hurled in the air he realized the shine of one of Those Kanoka had faded, its power drained. He was down two disks now. And then Kanohi got Vashni’s call. He stowed away both disks, and focused, trying to cut through the static of wandering thoughts and anxiety to send the Toa a message. “Be … be careful, Toa Vashni. I’m trying to rescue Matoran, hundreds seem to be fleeing from Le-Metru, the district may have fallen. As for what I wanted to share … I guess Toa Raz did not reach you. I do not know if … whatever I saw matters now. The city matters, the Matoran most of all. But … in case I die, and if you have the chance, look into my mind, I will recall the memory.”

Congrats @Vezok's Friend

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum Grounds As he grappled around Kanohi spotted a De-Matoran huddling behind some debris, their hands clutching at their sensors as the city crumbled. Their hands quaked, any disk launcher they once had long abandoned. The roar of the city was just too much, the bellowing of war pulverizing them with overstimulation. It was … almost funny. Not the pain they felt, but the overwhelmed senses … it was familiar was all. He tumbled to a halt besides them, and they flinched with each jingle of his armor. The vigilante slowly stood up, and looked around. there, drifting in the sky was a banner from Kalmah’s forces. He hooked it and brought it down, before slowly tying it around the Matoran’s eyes mask and sensors, cut down on the stimuli. The De-Matoran’s breath began to calm, and Kanohi offered the other Matoran his hand. The civilian clutched at his hand, squeezing tight. Then Kanohi leaned towards the De-Matoran’s muffled head and whispered, “I am going to take you to some Vahki. We will move in a sudden burst of speed, try to brace yourself. If you need me to stop, squeeze my shoulder twice. Is that okay?” ”Okay. Thank you, mister…?” The De-Matoran was quiet, barely a noise at all. ”Oh um, I am Kanohi.” Kanohi slid the De-Matoran onto his back, and the gray passenger clenched on tight. And then with a burst from his wrist the vigilante caught a building with a ball of gravity. The two of them lurched into the air, and Kanohi hooked another building, and another, hurling through the crimson skies of Metru-Nui. Finally they latched to the street, falling down besides group of Matoran escorted by a Keerahk. The De-Matoran stumbled off Kanohi’s back, before feeling his way over to the group. “Thank you, Kanohi—” the Matoran of Sonics whispered, but the vigilante was already gone, hearing a scream in the distance. IC Ka - Onu-Metru, the Archives Ka continued to March into the underground, acid drooling from her pincers as she clutched at her head. It was a Matoran instinct, did little good in her current state, but she just … just had to endure. As she wandered to each sleeping Bohrok she hesitated, she … if more Bohrok awoke the sound would only get louder. But the Lehvak just proceeded without her, freeing the others and increasing her torment…

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum grounds Far away from the decisions that could change a universe, Kanohi had launched himself through the air like a boulder from a trebuchet, hurling towards the Onu-Matoran. As he flew past his hand reached out and caught the Onu-Matoran’s arm, ripping him free of the collapsing bridge. The two black and orange Matoran arched over the bridge, tumbling in a heap. “Stay safe, stick to the shadows, your eyes should help. Avoid major routes if you can, they would be targets to corral us,” Kanohi urged the stranger, before grappling away. ”Wait don’t leave me. I … I’m important, I’m … I’m Nuparu!” the Onu-Matoran shouted after Kanohi, but the vigilante was already too far away to hear. His hand dropped, before an explosion sounded. The orange-masked Onu-Matoran flinched, before running off as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. In the meantime, Kanohi whipped over the bridge, drawing his disk launcher. As he arced over he fired a disk, slamming into the broken structure. As the energies of the disk hit the bridge it regenerated, reattaching and reassembling itself. Kanohi grappled back and swiped up the disk, before veering off into the city. Kanohi grappled from building to building, spotting a crumbling tower, with a trip of Vahki escorting six Matoran beneath. As he hurled passed he fired a disk, striking the cracking structure. It held as the nine folks hurried away, before the building collapsed in a shockwave of dust. There … there was no retrieving that disk, and Kanohi’s hands fluttered with unease. He didn’t like being separated from his things, being shorthanded. But he still had other regeneration disks, and he … he had to keep going. For the sake of the Matoran. He grappled away, searching for more survivors. OOC: @Dane don’t worry, it’s just a comedic reference to the chat, just some Onu-Matoran lying that he’s important in the hopes of being rescued. Besides, Nuparu has a purple mask. IC Ka - Onu-Metru, the Archives Ka wadded through the archives, blasting rubble with acid, melting down artifacts and stuffed Rahi, clearing the way for the great god Mata-Nui. Heading downward, ever downward. She was all but on autopilot, save for her twitching eyes, and quaking pincers. Just … just get through it, endure it, then sleep can come. Just … endure.

OOC: he’s just left range. IC Kanohi - the regions around the Coliseum Kanohi grappled down towards the bridge, and as he did he faintly heard in his mind “say Sorry Kanohi…” before it faded as he grappled away. He paused as he grappled through the air … those words didn’t seem like one of his thoughts, and that voice was … familiar, though he couldn’t place it? Maybe it was Toa Vashni? Had she not gotten to see his … whatever he saw? The vigilante grappled past the Vo-Matoran, hooking her and carrying her with his momentum to safety. She tumbled and so did he, before he urged her, “avoid the bridges if you can, I think the league are targeting them to prevent our movement.” He then turned and fired a regeneration disk, mending a chunk of the bridge. ”What, who are you? Are you a Nynrah—” But Kanohi had already grappled away, he had spotted a fallen Ga-Matoran about to be stabbed by a member of Kalmah’s species. His arm outstretched he caught her, hurling her and him away. His arm strained, but he could take it. He couldn’t exactly turn back to send the image to the Toa of Psionics again, the Matoran came first. He and the Ga-Matoran tumbled to the ground, even as the soldier roared and ran towards them. Kanohi hooked a building and grabbed the Matoran, flinging them far into the air. They tumbled in the sky, before he hooked a fallen Chute support structure and brought her down. He panted, and said, “stick to the shadows, and avoid the bridges.” ”Right of course, Mister…” but by then he grappled away, there was an Onu-Matoran stumbling besides a collapsing tower, he couldn’t let it fall on them.

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum Kanohi smiled under his masks, ”Then good luck, Toa Raz. Hopefully … hopefully Toa like you can end this war. Without more bloodshed. And … maybe … nevermind. We can worry about it in the future.” He had almost shared his vision with Toa Raz, but in the end, it would only distract the Toa. And how would he explain it? Lie and say a Toa with a Mask of Clairvoyance as shared it with him? He didn’t even know if it was the future, past, somewhere else in the universe, or if it was just a hallucination. But what he did know is that the Matoran could use help. While the Toa fought the armies of the League, he would rescue the Matoran. With a twist of his wrist he fired a ball of gravity, hurling himself along the building. He sailed away from it as he passed the curve, before hooking a nearby tower and grappling back into the city proper. He could just about see a Vo-Matoran on a crumbling bridge…

OOC: @Snellydoes Kanohi actually know Vashni’s name? I can’t remember if he was ever told it. IC: Kanohi - the Coliseum “That part is … not easy. But thank you for your wisdom, Master Toa. I … I know better what I should do now. Even if Metru-Nui falls … even if Mata-Nui has abandoned us, we will still have each other.” And in the end, waking dream or not, the Matoran were the Heart of Metru-Nui. And like the crimson sky, whatever dream he saw could wait, the Matoran should come first. Kanohi stood up. He had hardly noticed it while talking, but he felt rested, his joints mended, his heartlight almost steady, “I think … I think the Matoran need me now. And I think … I think I can help them. I will head back out into the city. If you see a Toa Vashni, make sure she got my message. I hope you and I can meet again, on a better day.” He hesitated and asked, “Master Toa, what is your name?”

IC Kanohi - the Coliesum Kanohi stared at Raz with horror dawning on his face beneath his masks, “they-they are killing the Matoran over our faith in Mata-Nui? All this … all this suffering and destruction is just for belief? I … I can’t … I can’t fathom … and then they might kill us anyway. What is the point? And how could Mata-Nui not care?” He looked into the chaotic scene before him, spying a Su-Matoran stumble before a Skakdi. But then a Fa-Matoran ran up and shot a disk at a Skakdi, teleporting the large soldier away. The two Matoran helped themselves up, before running off together from the chaos of the war. “I … I don't know what to believe,” he admitted, “But if … if we can’t believe in Mata-Nui … then maybe all we have left to believe in is in each other.“ …Unity. He obsessively clung to Duty, and he knew he had no great Destiny, but what was left than Unity when Duty and Destiny failed?

IC Kanohi - the Coliesum Kanohi wanted to blurt out ‘of course,’ but he found himself hesitating. He looked out to the city, watching as fire rained under the crimson sky. Finally he said, “I … I don’t know anymore. I used to, I did. But … Turaga killing Matoran, the city of Metru-Nui in ruins, the last refuge of Matoran destroyed, the universe enslaved I … I can’t believe that a god as just as Mata-Nui would want this. I … I can’t. And if he didn’t want it, then he would have stopped it. I … I don’t like where that thought leads.”

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum “Oh, sorry,” Kanohi flapped his wrists. He … he couldn’t rely on that hope. Okoto was remote too. Or at least, he thought it was. Travelers rarely came by the island, the most important visitors was that Toa of Lightning and the Nynrah Ghost who built the Iden Machine for the village. Such a kind Matoran, there was no reason for him to give Okoto that gift, but it gave so much joy to the Matoran. Not all of them used it, and it required visitors from the outside for its best effects, but even Toa Fehagah had used it. ”Do you know of any islands still resisting the Barraki? That the League still cannot conquer?”

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum Kanohi blushed, had he wasted the Toa’s time? It … it was probably unrelated to what was happening, the war was out there, in the city of Metru-Nui. Though it was more like Cordak-Nui now, the city fractured and smoldering, like one of his old masks. He … he wondered if the Matoran could live here now. The city this broken, the League so victorious, the Matoran … might have to flee. ”Is … is your home under the control of the League?”

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum He nodded “It’s a lot less windy here than my home island, and there are almost no trees here either. But there are still plenty of places to grapple to. It’s … different, but not bad. Or at least, it was.” He winced at another fiery explosion, though it was the sound that shocked him. The flames were all but masked by the crimson sky overhead. ”Why do you think the sky turned red? Is it … because of the war? Is reflecting Mata-Nui’s mood? I heard once that the Ko-Matoran of this city can see the future in the stars, I have no idea how.”

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum Kanohi nodded, heartlight uneven but steadying, “It’s … you are right, but it’s hard to believe it. Well I believe it but don’t … it’s hard to internalize it. Like I know if I get myself killed helping people, I can’t help others later. You are right, I know that. But it’s … all my thoughts can focus on, is that the city collapsing around me, while I just rest.” Still, he respected the Toa’s wisdom, even if his mind couldn’t internalize it. So he tried to change the subject, focus on different things, “Master Toa, are you from Metru-Nui? I am not, I came from a small island called Okoto. There were only a few hundred of us, living in metal huts. Seeing Metru-Nui for the first time, it was … I never imagined Matoran could have built something like this, except the Nynrah Ghosts.”

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum Kanohi nodded it was … it would have once been hard to believe even a Toa could need a break. But seeing the ruins of the once great city below, fire erupting constantly, Kanohi could see why. ”I … do you think Turaga Dume is making a mistake? I-I mean, he has a number of Toa in his office, they could turn the tide in any district. But he’s just … having them there in his office, instead of helping. Talking and planning is important but … the war is here. It’s too late to plan. Matoran need saving. Isn’t that the Duty of a Toa?” He blushed and fluttered his wrists, “sorry, I know I’m just rambling. He’s a Turaga, misguided or not he has wisdom I will never have. And I have no room to judge his … decisions…” He trailed off, catching sight of another building crumbling in an explosion of dust, particles of Protodermis traveling in a shockwave from the impact. He flinched, though the tidal wave of ash never got close. “I … I should be out there.” He started to move, before wincing and sitting back down on the ledge. He … he still needed to rest, and he should really wait for Toa Vashni to reply. But the city…

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum The vigilante looked up, seeing a large being standing on the side of the Coliseum, their feet planted firmly on the side of the building. They … they looked like they were wearing a mask, though Kanohi didn’t recognize its style. But to hang from the side of the metal building, and theie black armor, wasn’t black armor associated with Magnetism? Were they a Toa of Magnetism? Like Toa Nale? Using their power to climb to the wall? There were really only two elements back in Okoto, Jungle and Iron. “Um thank you, Master Toa. I’m trying, but there is so … is so much chaos going on,” he was a little out of breath, pausing between words, “I … I don’t know if it will matter much in the end, I’m … I’m no Toa. But if I can help a few Matoran, well, it’s better than just … just hiding. I hope … I hope I can head out again soon.” A thought hit him, “Um excuse me, Master Toa, are you guarding the Coliseum? I think I saw that some Matoran have taken refuge inside.”

IC Kanohi - the Coliseum Kanohi’s mind was … full of static, just a constant buzz of thoughts, doubts, wandering distractions. Despite it all, his mind remained a blizzard, and it would remain that way. But as he felt Vashni’s mind brush against his, he struggled to focus. And just as she peered into his mind, he shared the vision “I do not know what it means,” he thought at her, oblivious to any chaos potentially happening involving assassins, “maybe I … I am breaking. But I feel … better at coping now. I … I don’t think I am breaking. So … if you think it might be useful, share it with the others. I just … I wanted to make sure the Toa knew, in case it was important.” He slumped over on his perch, breathing steady. Just … relax. Calm down. His thoughts couldn’t stop racing, but he needed to breathe for a bit. Just … one step at a time. Then back into the fray.

IC: Kanohi - the region surrounding the Coliseum Kanohi looked at the ruins of this once great city. He … he should be out there. But if this … this thing he saw was important, someone needed to know. And more importantly, he needed to rest. Just … just a little. His hands fluttered with guilt he … he didn’t want to let the Matoran down. But he … he was no use to anyone if he ran himself ragged. Small manageable tasks. Finally he grappled away, before landing on a window of the coliseum. He … he wasn’t very close to Dume’s office, but he … he needed to be close to the city. He propped himself inside the window, panting as he sat there. Just … just gather his strength, maybe eat something, use a regeneration disk to mend his armor a little, just recover. Then when he had recovered and Toa Vashni had gotten his message, make his way back into the fray.

IC: Kanohi - the region surrounding the Coliseum Kanohi landed on the side of a building beside the Coliseum, panting for breath. He … did he understand Knichou correctly? It didn’t seem to be written in a Matoran dialect he knew, maybe it was what they used on Nynrah? He rubbed his head, hoping he understand, and then replied as slowly and clearly as he could, though his voice quivered, “Okay. I am … getting tired. Not sure how much longer I can keep … keep rescuing Matoran. But if I do … break, I need you to know something. I saw something … strange. It might be nothing, but it might be important. Not sure if I can describe it. If you can, h-have the Toa of Psionics contact my mind. If not, I will try to explain as best I can.” He didn’t know Vashni well, but she was a Toa. She could be trusted, and probably could easily reach his mind from here. He just … just had to let her in.

OOC: @BULiK IC Kanohi - the surrounding regions of the Coliseum Kanohi grappled through the air, arm outstretched like the mast of a Ga-Metru boat. His arm hooked around a Fa-Matoran plummeting in free-fall, wrenching them free of the pull of gravity. They both rocketed sideways, tumbling onto the street. The vigilante laid there, panting. The Fa-Matoran shakily staggered off, joining a group of Matoran being escorted by a squad of Vahki. Looked like they were heading into the Coliseum had … had the districts fallen already? No it … there was still time. There had to be. He shoved against the ground, nearly toppling over. His body ached, throbbing like a Toa of Sonics was screaming into his sensors. He was … he felt like … like some sort of squid had watched to his face and was draining the life from him. He had more endurance than most Matoran, but he simply lacked the raw physical ability of a Toa. He was running low. He … he … if he died protecting the Matoran, doing his duty, that would be worth it. Make everything worth it. But he … if he died, then he could never save a Matoran again. How many would die in the future if he died now. He wasn’t sure what to do. And then his eyes spied a piece of red cloth fluttering in the breeze. It … it looked like a scrap of the robes of Turaga Dume. But whoever it belonged to, it reminded him of that strange waking dream. It … it might have been nothing, his mind finally snapping, the anxiety making him hallucinate. But that … didn’t seem possible. And if it was real, and if he died of exhaustion, no one would know. Kanohi aimed his wrists up and grappled away, he had gotten some rest at least. As he soared he tried to use his mask to reach Knichou, praying silently that he was still in range. “Mr. Ghost, I … I don’t know if you can … can put me in contact with Stannis — sorry, Toa Stannis, or maybe the Toa … Toa of Psionics, but I … there is something I need to tell them. In case … in case things go wrong. More wrong.” He fluttered his hands despite his exhaustion, how could he forgot Stannis’s title? Being a little tired was no excuse for failing him. He … he needed to do better. He just hoped they would all survive so he could make it up to Toa Stannis.

IC: Ka - Onu-Metru, the Archives Ka’s head lurched as the Bohrok began to stir. The song of order, cleanliness, a sort of mental sleep, all sparked in her head. And yet … it was not soothing like it should be. More like the nagging of an arrogant Turaga, or a self righteous Toa. She was not properly a part of this call, not like she should be. But though it hurt, it was constant, thumping, as compelling as the thrill of jumping off a stalagmite. She … she felt her hands tremble, she … she just wanted out. She just wanted out. This wasn’t the silence she wanted. It was the roar of thousands. ”Response. Quiet!” She shrieked, shooting acid wildly. More and more Bohrok were freed by her outburst of noxious fluid, more and more voices. She fell to her knees, shaking as her eyes closed tight enough to leak acid tears. ”Unit, damage?” As the Lehvak spoke to her she swayed, and then shakily stood up. Swaying, she followed after them, her whole body twitching. It was … she had to clean, had to clean. Argh the noise make it stop make it stop — clean, clean means silence, cleans means sleep. She had to clean, had to make it stop. Acid drooled from her optics, streaking down and peeling her paint. Just clean and it will end. But as she melted down rubble, that part of her Matoran conscious knew that the Bohrok would get to sleep later, but not her. She would remain trapped, until the Onu-Matoran could put her is stasis again. She … she should … should… Clean.

IC Kanohi - the surrounding regions of the Coliseum Kanohi grappled from the buildings, cracked like the masks that he wore as armor. It was funny, he probably could have gotten better armor since he arrived in Metru-Nui, even armor with a mask aesthetic, but he clung to these old failures. He thought it was because he needed something good to come of those mistakes, and that was true. But then why not have a smith smelt them down into proper armor? And that answer was simple. They were all that he had left of Okoto, his people, his old life. He couldn’t leave them behind. And too many were being left behind already. Kanohi grappled down to catch a Ce-Matoran as she fell from a fracturing tower, catching her in his arms. His arms buckled from the weight, but still he managed to grapple to the streets, dropping her off before wringing his tired hands. ”Get to safety,” he managed to pant out, though he didn’t know where safety was. The whole city was a warzone, there was nowhere safe. Though, the Coliseum itself seemed mostly sturdy so far. She seemed to realize that too, scrambling over to the capital of the Matoran universe. Then with a wary nod he grappled up at the building, firing one of his Kanoka of regeneration into its weak points. The building mended at least a little, and Kanohi swooped in and plucked up the disk. Then with a fire of his wrists he grappled away, he could not rest yet, not while the Matoran needed him.

OOC: @Unreliable NarratorWhat is the swarm saying, if anything? IC: Ka - Onu-Metru, the Archives Ka did not exactly have a mouth, nor the teeth of the Bohrok. But acid dripped from her pincers like foaming drool from a rabid Muaka all the same. It splashing into the ground in smoking puddles of luminance, even as she gazed through the room, searching for the Skakdi. She could see in the dark thanks to her Krana, much like true Bohrok. She would find him soon enough, and then— But then from a hole in the floor a Zamor Sphere erupted, spewing acid as it burst. The bulk of the concoction missed her, but some droplets impacted, peeling some of the paint on her armor. She hissed like a engine venting steam. How dare this … this stranger! First he wakes her, then he hurls acid at her? The very symbol of what she was? She shrieked and lunged at the hole— And then she heard the voice.

IC Ka - Onu-Metru, Archives The beast reared back and from its pincers spewed a bright fluorescent fluid. The blast splashed into the Zamor sphere, rupturing the sphere and splattering glowing acid everywhere like fireworks on Naming Day. As the ground hissed and smoked, the creature made a shriek like the squeaking of pulleys, before clattering towards the Skakdi. She couldn’t roll like a Bohrok, destiny denied her that, instead scurrying like a Ussal on the beach. As she ran her pincers pulled back, and spewed acid at him.

IC Kanohi - the surrounding region of the Coliseum High level Disks with the power to Remove Poison could remove toxicity from the air they passed through. But the strongest disks Kanohi had were level two, they had to make contact with someone poisoned. Which made things tricky. He could just about see a Su-Matoran choking in the toxic cloud, we’ll, he assumed they were a Matoran of Plasma, they were white and orange, right? His instincts were to try to swoop into the cloud and drag the Matoran out of there. But then he would be poisoned too, he was no Bo-Matoran. He … he needed to think things through. With an idea, he fired two spheres of gravity simultaneously, hooking the Matoran and the ground. He winced as his body was briefly pulled in two directions, but he was a Fe-a Matoran, he could take it. And then in a rush the Su-Matoran was dragged towards him, as he went flying to the ground. He landed with a thud, before catching the Matoran. Kanohi was not strong like a Po-Matoran, his arms practically caved in from the sudden blow. Still he held, lowering them to the ground, before wringing his wrists to try to feel better. Then with a shaky hand he pressed the disk to them, draining the poison from their body. He stood there, looking over them, before hearing a large boom in the distance. He looked up, another building was falling. He … he couldn’t stay here. Even to make sure his fellow Matoran recovered. His hands fluttered with uneasy, but he … he had a duty. He grabbed pieces of rubble and buried the Matoran lightly, hopefully to let them hide from the league without crushing them. And then with a fire of his grappling guns he was off, heading to help other Matoran. His hands shaking, but his course still clear.