~Xemnas~

IC, Whira: Ruins of Fire Whira looked uncomfortably back at the entrance to the ruins. "Cravious," she said, "we need to get inside Irnakk's Tooth to perform the Rite of the Zivon. I do not think that the Zivon pursuing us will leave us alone even if we sit and wait inside this temple." OOC: @Kal the Guardian IC, Aurax: Metru-Koro Ruins The HUD of Aurax's ACR beeped. He looked up and saw a figure approaching him. "It appears that an unmanned Exo-Toa is coming toward us," the OTIS AI said. Aurax stood up. "May I help you?" he called out to the mech. OOC: @Snelly

IC, Atamai: "Very well," Atamai said. Malhukuraia gripped its axe tighter, ready to spring into action should Kilo's efforts fail. OOC: @pokemonlover360 @Eyru

IC, Atamai: Atamai nodded. Malhukuraia stretched out its hand as Atamai called on his elemental power. Thick metal wires sprouted out of the ground and snaked toward Nektann, aiming to wrap themselves around the Rahi's limbs and neck. "First we'll deal with this kaiju, then we'll take care of the one at the temple", the Toa called out, his voice booming out of the mech's mouth. OOC: @pokemonlover360 @Eyru

IC, Atamai: Valley Nektann was on the ground. The rain began to pour harder. Malhukuraia raised its binding axe, and brought it down, aiming at Nektann's neck. OOC: @Eyru @pokemonlover360 IC, Aurax: League settlement Aurax nodded to Xaril and headed out for the airships. He ordered two Vahki to accompany him, along with Saybo. The king said nothing on the ride to the destroyed village. His mind thought back to when he and Knichou had been friends, when they were both in the Nynrah Ghosts. Oh, how simple it was to live then. Back before Aurax had been let down by the Ghosts, and later by the Maru. All he had wanted was respect, and every time he thought he had done something that would earn that respect, people turned on him. He sighed and wondered where he had gone wrong in life. The airship eventually reached its destination. Aurax walked out of the airship and sat down on a piece of rubble not far from it. He sat and waited.

IC, Aurax: There was nothing on the line at the moment. The radio crackled to life once more. “...yes,” Aurax said. “Meet me at the ruins of Metru-Koro so that we can hash out a plan. Aurax over and out.” Aurax ended his call. He was glad that some progress was being made, but he wasn’t happy about having to work with Knichou. He was one of the few people suited to the job, unfortunately. The king saw Xaril approaching. “I need to go to a meeting,” he told the titan. “I am putting you in charge as my representative while I’m gone.” OOC: @BULiK @Tarn @Gecko Greavesy

IC, Aurax: ”Because my civil war will become your war,” Aurax growled. “Would you rather I give Ehlek all my Matoran and then let him go after yours? That doesn’t sound like something you’d do. “Ehlek threatens everything that I’ve worked for. He threatens the peace I have brought to my kingdom. And he threatens the lives of your people. It’s better to strike now with our combined might rather than wait. I would’ve been content to let Ehlek sit and fiddle with his experiments had he not decided to involve himself on my life.” OOC: @BULiK

IC, Aurax: “Nah, this isn’t a social call,” Aurax said. “Whatever you were talking about in your meeting will have to wait. We have a problem that puts us all in danger. Its name is Ehlek.” He paused for a moment. “Ehlek requested that I bring him some Matoran for experimentation. He says that if I don’t, then he’ll have to harvest some himself from the population. I told him I would send him some tonight, but I don’t plan on doing that. Let’s say he does get some Matoran. We both know the kind of person he is. He won’t stop whatever he’s doing. He’ll keep coming back for more, and then when he runs out of Matoran, I’m sure he won’t mind turning to other species to use as test subjects.” The king sighed. “Like it or not, he is a big problem that affects everyone here, League and refugee alike. I’m trying to hatch a plan to take him out, and I need your help.” OOC: @BULiK IC, Whira: As the Cube moved, Whira sat down and looked out the window. She was lost in thought. She was amazed at how far she had come since starting her quest, but she was anxious to continue. OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC, Atamai: Oh no you don't, Atamai thought as he watched the Tahtorak leap. Malhukuraia leapt toward the giant reptile with an elemental power-enhanced jump. Its binding axe was aimed directly at the Rahi's neck. Hopefully it would land a hit and do its job. OOC: @Eyru @pokemonlover360

IC, Whira: Irnakk's Tooth "Our next objective is to create a Zivon," the Aspect said. "The Rite of the Zivon is simple enough, but our main concerns are finding a sacrifice for the Rite, and..." she paused, looking towards the volcano. "...waiting until the area is safe." OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC, Aurax: Relic Fields The journey to the Relic Fields was surprisingly uneventful. The fleet of airships arrived at the location Xaril had pinpointed. Immediately the League denizens and the Vahki began to set up shop and fortify their new home. Aurax walked around, observing the progress made, making sure the transition was going smoothly. Satisfied with what he saw, he walked up to Xaril and pulled the shrunken Vahki hives out of his pockets, as well as the Kanoka of enlarging. "Here," the king said, offering the objects to the titan. "Go find a good spot for these and hit each of them four times to get them back up to their normal size. Once they're big again, go inside each of them and turn them off. There's a big switch on the back wall that says "POWER". Just flip it the opposite way and we should be good. I have a call to make..." Aurax walked off and found a secluded spot by himself. He had OTIS turn on the ACR's radio. The Toa began to tune to the frequency he had used not too long ago. He hoped that there would be an answer... "Knichou. You there? We need to talk." OOC: @Gecko Greavesy @BULiK

IC, Whira: Irnakk's Tooth Whira smiled wickedly. "I shall grant your wish," she said. She bent down to look at Silver. The Skakdi looked back at her with scared eyes. With one hand, Whira stroked the woman's face, and with the other, she plunged her clawed fingers into the Skakdi's chest. Silver's life was snuffed out as her heartlight was ripped out of her. Whira got back up. Making a little staircase of shadow, she climbed up to the back of the kaita's neck, and began the Rite of Desecration. Goodbye Hello Step forth into the darkness and prepare the gift A star’s heart still beating, still lit Two midnight horrors cry and shift Make them squirm inside the pit Bind worm and willing host Tear the yolk and spread its gold Devour knowledge and their ghost Pray for prey forever sold Hello Goodbye Whira placed the newly-created Kraata of Slow on Credence's neck. Instantly, she felt her powers grow as another milestone toward her Grand Wish was fulfilled. Getting off of the kaita, Whira walked back up to the front of it. "You now have a Kraata of Slow," Whira said. "Unfortunately, you won't have an opportunity to use it." Whira jumped at Credence, using her shadow power to launch her farther. She latched onto the kaita's chest, sinking her claws into its heartlight. Much to the shock of Cravious, Whira ripped out Credence's heartlight. The Aspect dropped to the ground. "Thank you, Credence," Whira said. OOC: @Kal the Guardian @Sparticus147 Whira desecrated Credence with a kraata of slow, fulfilling her fourth Grand Wish milestone, before ripping Credence's heartlight out.

IC, Whira: Irnakk’s Tooth What perfect timing, the Aspect thought back to the Kaita. I am at the slopes of Irnakk’s Tooth with another of my Descrated, Cravious, in his war rig. Come seek me out there. "Cravious," Whira said to the Skakdi. "An opportunity has presented itself to us. One of my Desecrated has formed a Kaita and will be joining us soon." OOC: @Kal the Guardian @Sparticus147 IC, Atamai: Kini-Nui Malhukuraia continued its approach toward Nektann. The clouds and rain cleared a bit, allowing the Tahtorak to be fully visible to Atamai. The ACR readied its battle axe. OOC: @Eyru @pokemonlover360

IC, Atamai: Kini-Nui Malhukuraia paused as Atamai went through the weapon stored in the Suva Kaita. A burning chakram wouldn’t be useful in a rainstorm. He paused as he came across a sword. Malhukuraia knew that it wasn’t originally there. It was an abomination. Atamai ultimately decided to swap to the battle axe. The ACR continued forward toward the storm. When it was far enough away from the village, the mech created a small iron spike and flung it far forward using elemental power. The spike sailed low to the ground. If it hit Nektann, it would hit his foot and merely catch his attention. Which was Atamai’s goal. OOC: @pokemonlover360 @Eyru @Unreliable Narrator IC, Vex; Vex took Crucia’s hand, knowing what would come next. He was prepared to merge. OOC: @Kal the Guardian @Sparticus147 IC, Aurax: Metru Nui Aurax entered an airship, assuming Xaril and Saybo followed him. Using his HUD, he ordered the Vahki to begin the evacuation. The fleet of airships rose like a flock of birds. As one, they began to move south toward their final destination. Partway through the trip, a transmission came over the radio. Something about more kaiju being born from the volcano. “Avoid any kaiju as much as possible,” Aurax ordered. The airships continued on their way, soon to reach a new home for the League remnants. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy

IC, Aurax: Metru Nui "Our next move is to finish moving everything to the new settlement. Once we're there, we'll enlarge the Vahki hives and shut them down. Or rather, I'll have Saybo here do it while I see if I can contact anyone who might be willing to help strike at Ehlek." OOC: @Gecko Greavesy

IC, Vex: Vex grunted and nodded. "I'm with you Crucia," he said. "And if it means we'll have to fight, well, I'm not one to turn down a fight." OOC: @Kal the Guardian IC, Aurax: Metru Nui "...that could work as well," Aurax said. He pulled out one of the shrunken hives from his pocket and showed it to Xaril. "That'll be something to do once we've arrived at our new location." OOC: @Gecko Greavesy IC, Atamai: Kini-Nui The earth began to rumble. Atamai's eyes narrowed. Malhukuraia knew what was going to happen. The volcano was going to erupt. And a new kaiju was going to be born. "Uh, Kilo, I think we're about to have more company," he said. OOC: @pokemonlover360

IC, Aurax: Metru Nui "Hmmm..." Aurax mumbled. "I... would rather not get rid of the Vahki, but you do have a point. I could maybe order them all to self terminate, or I could have them all line up for execution..." He wasn't really happy with the thought of disposing of the robots. He liked their usefulness. But they could be a tool for Ehlek. OOC: @Gecko Greavesy IC, Whira: Irnakk's Tooth Whira smiled broadly as she took ahold of the mask. After so long, she had finally done it. She had obtained a Mask of Shadows. She could feel her power grow, and expected Cravious to feel his own power growing as well. She placed the Kraakhan on her face. "Unfortunately, I currently am unable to access the mask's powers," she said. "But no matter. We can move on to our next objective: desecrate a kaita." OOC: @Kal the Guardian Whira has completed her third Grand Wish step.

IC, Aurax: Metru Nui ”...I was leaning toward that,” Aurax replied. “Ehlek’s expecting a shipment of Matoran tonight. I’m going to be sending you instead.” The king sighed. “And I’ll see if I can contact the refugees over radio to try and get some backup.” OOC: @Gecko Greavesy

IC, Aurax: Metru Nui Aurax pulled out his tablet and brought up the correspondences he had had with Ehlek. He handed the device to Xaril. "This happened a little bit ago," he said. "While I admire experimentation, the problem I have is this: it begins with the Matoran, but where does it end? If Ehlek is anything like me, he'll want to continue his experiments. When he runs out of Matoran, what's stopping him from coming after us next?" OOC: @Gecko Greavesy IC, Whira: "I shall," Whira said, nodding. "Let's begin. The Taboo's words are thus: Goodbye, Heartlight, Torn yolk's last rite, Wish we may survive the night, Body broken, eyes bright, Hello. You and I will recite them simultaneously. And when you begin to speak, you must begin carving out your own heartlight and offer it to me as the ritual ends." The other being straightened up, ready to make his sacrifice. A moment passed, and Whira opened her mouth to speak, with Perceptor joining her. Goodbye (Goodbye) Perceptor jammed the knife directly above his heartlight. Blood began to dribble out from where the blade had penetrated his body. Heartlight (Heartlight) The Ta-Skakdi gritted his teeth and began to move the knife clockwise around his heart. Torn yolk's last rite (Torn yolk's last rite) The knife continued moving. The bloodflow from the wound increased greatly, going from a dribble to a steady stream. Wish we may survive the night (Wish we may survive the night) Perceptor began to cough violently, blood spewing out of his mouth. Body broken, eyes bright (Body broken, eyes bright) The knife finished its rotation around Perceptor's heartlight. The skakdi reached up and gently pulled the organ out of his chest. He handed it slowly to Whira, looking at Cravious and smiling as he did. Hello (Hello) Perceptor's final word came as a whisper. As soon as Whira's fingers grasped the heartlight, the life left his body, and it collapsed on the ground. Whira offered it to Cravious. "Quickly, forge the Kraakhan!" OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC, Whira: Kumu Peninsula Whira took a hold of the heartlight. "Then let us begin the Rite of Desecration," she said. Hello... *** And then it was done. A new kraata wiggled on the back of Cravious's neck. "Your new kraata has the power of quick healing. Injuries you sustain will heal quite a bit faster than normal." OOC: @Kal the Guardian Cravious has been given a kraata of quick healing IC, Aurax: Metru Nui Aurax sighed as he read Ehlek's new message. He would have to make a decision soon. He quickly sent a response to the scientist: Very well, I will send you some tonight. Another notification popped up on his HUD: the airships were almost ready. The king walked off, deciding to seek Xaril's council. *** Aurax was eventually able to track the titan down. "Xaril," he said. "It's almost time to head out. But first, there's something I want to discuss with you in private." OOC: @Unreliable Narrator @Gecko Greavesy

Name: Vex Breed: Onu-Skakdi (Irnakk's Prized) Faction: Riggers Role: Fighter (Crucia) Brief Description: A large, bulky black and brown Skakdi, heavily muscled and constantly scowling. Quite loyal to Crucia, would give his life for her, even. Powers: Elemental Power of Earth: can only be used in conjunction with another Skakdi Vision Power of Spellbinding: vision power that Thok had in canon; disorients the target but only as long as Vex stares at them and concentrates Equipment: Vex has two spiked gauntlets, one for each hand, as he prefers to get up close and personal with opponents. Flaw: While Vex has good reflexes, his size and bulk make it hard for him to run long distances or for extended periods of time.

IC, Atamai: Kini-Nui Gasping from the pain, Atamai gritted his teeth. "Didn't work, Kilo," he said. "We'll have to use your other plans then." OOC: @pokemonlover360

IC, Whira: Kumu Peninsula Whira watched the sentient rock roll away. "What a peculiar creature," she said to herself. She turned back to Cravious. "Good. Soon I shall have my mask... and then we can move on to bigger and better things." OOC: @Kal the Guardian IC, Atamai: Kini-Nui Atamai pursed his lips. "Well... hold on," Atamai began. "... let me try your earlier suggestion about programming in a dimensional gate power." Atamai said nothing for a moment, trying to decide how to word his prayer. After finalizing his input, he took a deep breath and began to speak. "Tren Krom, grant me the power to create dimensional gates, as long as they lead to a place that I know exists. Amen." There was a long silence. He heard the strange, whispery voice that had replaced the robotic voice associated with his Haonga. Processing prayer, please wait... ...Prayer accepted. Atamai looked at Kilo. "It worked," he said. "We can try your first plan, I suppose." OOC: @pokemonlover360 A d20 was rolled and resulted in a 15. As with what EmperorWhenua did with his roll, anything less than a 5 would have resulted in failure. I know this power is similar to that of a banned mask, so, GMs, if this isn't allowed, please let me know and I'll edit it accordingly. Result of Atamai's attempted programming has been retconned by Eyru. IC, Aurax: Metru Nui Aurax surveyed Vahki moving the weapons and tools from his workshop and loading them into boxes to be sent to airships. One Vahki approached holding a level 5 Kanoka of shrinking and a level 5 Kanoka of enlarging. The Barraki took the disks from the robot. He quickly headed to the elevator and rode it down, down below the Coliseum to where its Vahki Hive was located. Aurax stepped out of the elevator and found his feet sloshing around in water. When the city had started sinking, the Vahki did their best to prevent water from filling up the space, but every time they patched a hole, the next day water would be flowing in from somewhere else. The king sloshed his way over to the Vahki hive. It was still functional, luckily; the water hadn't short-circuted it, unlike most of the other hives. Aurax raised the Disk of shrinking and threw it at the hive. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the screech of metal-on-metal was heard. The structure began to move, to shrink. After a moment, the screeching stopped. The Barraki hit it again with the disk, and did so a few more times, until the Vahki Hive was small enough that Aurax could grasp it with one hand. He lifted up the Hive, smiled a little, and pocketed it. He walked back to the elevator and rode it up to the ground floor. One down, one to go... *** Aurax eventually made his way out to the Ga-Metru hive, the only other Vahki Hive that was left intact. He took out the Kanoka of shrinking and did the same process as he did before, making sure he hit the hive the same number of times as he had done with the other one. He picked up the now shrunken-hive and put it in his pocket alongside the other one. He turned to head back to the Coliseum when a notification popped up on his ACR's HUD. It was a message from Ehlek. Aurax read it carefully, taking in what it said. He blew air out of his nostrils in mild frustration. What a position to be in, he thought to himself. Ehlek had already threatened him, but now was presented an opportunity to get on the scientist's good side. But at the same time, honoring Ehlek's request would make more enemies, enemies that he didn't need right now. Aurax wasn't sure what to do. So he decided to word his response in a way that would buy him some time to think: Ehlek, Currently we are in the middle of an evacuation of the city. Once we are settled down, I will send some Matoran your way. Aurax wasn't sure if he would end up actually sending some Matoran to Ehlek, but he could at least convince the warlord to be patient as he weighed his options. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC, Atamai: Kini-Nui "I don't know if I could do that, Kilo," Atamai responded. "The Haonga can't directly copy mask powers." OOC: @pokemonlover360 sorry for the short response, brain is dead today IC, Whira: Kumu Peninsula Whira accepted the vial of energized protodermis, cradling it like a newborn baby. "Thank you, brother," she said. She turned and headed towards the exit, with Cravious in tow. *** Once exiting the fortress, the pair found the rock Rahi once more. "We have what we need," Whira said. "I believe we can head back to the slopes of Irnakk's Tooth to complete our objective. Rock, would you like to come with us?" OOC: @Kal the Guardian @Eyru if the rock talking with Viltia is the same one that Whira talked to, let me know and I can edit the post accordingly

IC, Whira: Kumu Peninsula Whira bowed slightly. "I see. Thank you brother. I shall return soon," she said. She turned and headed back out the way she had come. OOC: @Kal the Guardian

IC, Whira: Kumu Peninsula Whira bowed her head slightly. “I am sorry brother, I meant no disrespect by my words. And I will return here with the armor you request. Do you happen to know where this great temple is situated?”