Simulacrum

-IC: Hound- "Settle down, please. We'll all be killing soon enough." Hound sounded less like a warrior and more like a frustrated parent pushed to the brink of calm; it was a trait he had acquired after centuries as a leader. "This is a highly specific situation. To survive against Toa who can control heat or metal, we're going to need to work together. Agreed?"

-IC: Dynomi- You know what they say? Timing is everything? First step. The crack of the gun still fresh in my ears. The Toa's doing something. Metal starting to turn and ripple. Overhead, the beginning creaks. My palms are sweaty on the gun's grip as I glance in the direction of my target. I can see her moving within the vat, repulsed by its walls. Not a Fe-Toa with a Miru, then. Something else. Second step. Metal around me twisting and turning; everything slow, everything calm. I can use this. Checked the arc of the vat's swing with that glance, glance again to gauge speed of movement. I pause halfway between the second and third step. Dull grate of metal turning all around me. Raise pistol, aim carefully but quickly, inertia flowing through me into the waiting projectile. The vat's turning, all right, raising just enough. The arc reaches its peak; I see head, shoulders. Boom. All around me, the world's falling to pieces, like so many petals plucked from a flower. I intend to be the last one to fall. If not, I'll rest satisfied with this moment of beauty.

-IC: Hound- "Indeed," Hound approached slowly, his upper body still relaxed. If Sudrec possessed Psionic abilities, he would find that Hound was as loyal a friend as any contestant could wish for. Unfortunately, that was not the case, as Hound knew full well. Stopping a comfortable distance away from Sudrec, the Denuian spoke in soft, subdued tones, his voice just loud enough to clear the sound of surrounding battle and fiery industry. "I'm glad I found another reasonable being. Have you found anyone else? I haven't seen any sign of anyone familiar-" Virse's message was received with the same response Hound had given to Sudrec; his eyes narrowed in focus as his entire body stilled as if in preparation for some great effort. Upon realising that it was the Toa of Sand who spoke, he relaxed, the tension dissipating as his smile returned. "I stand corrected," Hound murmured to Sudrec as he waved at Virse. Perhaps this round would go differently from the last. -IC: Dynomi- ...Alright, maybe that whole standing still business wasn't such a good idea. You see, even with accelerated perception, I'm one of those people who either notice things right when they happen, or a few seconds after. Unfortunately for me, this current little predicament's the latter. Catwalk's twisting and turning, crumpling like paper as it tries to envelop me, while she's sitting nice and safe in that vat; I'm stepping and moving back and away, but I don't think I'll be getting out of this without something to remember it by. Twisting and turning like a cornered Rahkshi, I avoid the attacking bits of steel as best I can, maneuvering to the edge of the catwalk as I do so. If I can get off before this catwalk turns into a blender, I should be able to land on a platform below, attached between two vats. Couple more stratches, a few flashes of pain, and I'm stumbling, falling, partly of my own volition, partly out of fear. For a moment, beautiful silence; I take advantage of it and my own little slowed-down world, taking away all the inertia I can and making my landing as comfortable as possible. Fall on hands, knees; big umph and gasp of shock, but little pain. Revolver in hand, kept close in my death-grip vise of a hand. No time to waste; that Toa's going to be turning this platform into a trap too. I know where she is, I still have five bullets, and I just got some extra inertia. Perfect time to do something she wouldn't expect. Both hands gripping my gun tightly, I aim at her vat, the bottom of still visible, and put a very sizable inertia boost into my shot. The bullet certainly won't tear through whatever the vat's made of and get my target that way, but it's going to give quite a shocking impact with that vat; whatever liquid metal that's still inside is going to be jostled around and I wouldn't be surprised if the vat moves, giving her some nasty contact. Either way, wouldn't want to be inside of it when that shot connects. I don't plan to stand around and find out what happens once she reacts; I'm moving the moment the recoil's done. -IC: Typhoeus- Typhoeus was still screaming and running. OOC: Dynomi attacking Olari, Typhoeus open for interaction.

-IC: Hound- Hound reacted to his name with a stare of surprise, eyes wide and slowly growing bright with emotion. The subtle curve of a true smile of relief stretched his lips, and he took a single step towards Sudrec, hands down and shoulders lax in the Denuian signal of peace. "Truce?" -IC: Dynomi- Thank god I'm not the type to sit still after shooting and wait to see if I hit my mark. I've learned to put my small size to my advantage; the moment I'm done with the recoil of my pistol, I'm moving. Still, even with my accelerated perception, I'm not one of those pricks who use a Calix and dance around everything. I've gotten well out of the range of the majority of the Fa-Toa's imperfectly aimed attack, but a few flickering slivers of attracted metal, cool and hot, streak past my side, burning into flesh or scrapping. Minor scars, but painful. Once I clear the attack's main area, I crouch down and put my concentration into my Elda's usage, searching for the hiding spot of the Toa. I find her hiding in a (presumably) empty vat. I've still got five bullets, and my gun's a double action; I grin slightly as I pour another boost of inertia into the bullet, just begging to be released. I aim my revolver to just over the rim of her vat and wait for her to appear. If anyone else approaches, I'll be putting the bullet into them instead.

Hound's sneaking around, watching out for ambushes. Selaphiel is hovering, looking for weak targets. Dynomi is firing her revolver at Olari, after having escaped a melted catwalk. Typhoeus is confusing/amusing everyone around him (and sending a very mixed message as to his intimidation abilities) while he attempts to escape death-via-melted-catwalk.

OOC: Alright, I'm almost certainly missing some environmental change or other factor in these posts, so I'm more than ready to edit. Also, please, please namedrop if you're interacting with one of these characters, otherwise I'll miss your post. -IC: Hound- Hound was sensing a recurring theme in these arenas; make life as difficult as possible for beings lacking resistance to elemental extremes. He was already sweating, and this throat felt like sandpaper; the annoyance was so great he momentarily considered just jumping into one of the vats of incandescent metal and ending this madness before it could begin. Thankfully, it was a fleeting temptation. Movements powerful and senses active to the point of pain, Hound sneaked across the rims of Protodermis Vats and across catwalks as well as a being over two bios in height was able. Nothing short of a illusions expert or psionics user would be getting the drop on him, or so he hoped. -IC: Selaphiel- Selaphie took to the air the moment she was able, literally disappearing into the haze as she searched for stragglers and easy prey. -IC: Dynomi- Well, isn't this just peachy keen. First, I get dumped into a giant furnace full of people who can probably control metal, fire, and steam, and then I nearly get boiled down to Dynomi puree (sensing the recurring theme?) by some Toa of Overkill's splashing of molten protodermis all over the place. Of course, it couldn't even be a direct attack; I was nearly hit just by some accidental spraying (which just does wonders for my ego). I swear, one of these days, probability demands that I'm going to get a chance to just sit behind some convenient cover and put round after round into some crippled Matoran. Until then, however, I'll improvise. Movements quick and (what's the word? troit? Moit? oh that's it-) adroit, I leap from the quickly-melting catwalk, landing on the rim of one of the vats that thankfully isn't currently being turned into this Toa's playtime bucket. My handy-dandy Elda telling me exactly where the Deadly Splasher's hiding in the smoke, I take aim with both hands, charge the bullet with enough of an inertia boost for it to become a potential antimateriel projectile (can you say stopping power?), and fire. -IC: Typhoeus- Typhoeus screamed like a child as the catwalk he was spawned on began to melt. With the speed of a terrified bison (and a similar locomotion), he took off down the quivering walkway, each step nearly as loud as a clap of thunder. OOC: Hound, Selaphiel, and Typhoeus open for interaction. Dynomi attacking Olari.

Exactly. Character first, powers second. You can (and should) even make your powers work for the sake of your character; a Toa of Fire with a Mask of Waterbreathing, or a Vortixx who has no tech, already has a distinct gimmick that speaks volumes about the character.

Seconding Void on this one. Devise a leader based on their ability to lead (and the complexity and uniqueness of their psychology and stance), not fight, and you'll have a more interesting, and more readable, character. For example; I would be more interested in reading a psychotic cultist, inspired by Pythagoras or perhaps Thales, who is enraged at the ability of Toa to abuse the holy separation of the natural universe's substance and form from the mind/body dualism, then I would be reading a Toa of Iron wearing a Mask of Accuracy who speaks in a gruff voice and/or is ridiculously capable of controlling a conversation.

My characters all are going to participate. No opt-outs from me.

-IC:- In response to the question posed by Sylus, I move my gaze back to Vezok and his Matoran companion. “Did the Vortixx offer any estimations of her absence's length?” The question is flat, disinterested at best. My mental processes are pre-occupied by several contingencies of middling concern, removing any hint of emotion or passion from my gaze. A corpse's empty stare, and a corpse's frozen half-smile.

-IC: Hound- Hound had remained silent as Virse had taken the Av-Toa and headed towards the medbay, unsure of what to do or who to follow. Deciding that Virse would most likely want to be alone, Hound approached Sudrec. "My apologies for not seeking out your location sooner," Hound's voice was quiet and subdued, his modesty contrasting bizarrely with the ferocity of his combat. "Due to an influx of new competitors and the subsequent interaction, I've been rather busy."

Fia might have been the more vocal of the two, but Ardian was the first one to attack (seeing how Hound's not exactly sure of how cultural interactions work between Toa, he's going to restrain the person who's showed the most aggression, not talked about). Ardian has also displayed no ability to turn the motion of his legs into an incredibly deadly attack; if Hound's going to restrain someone and try to end the fight, he's not going to try to grab the person who just showed they can turn into a Toa-sized blender. It's also worthy of note that Hound was restraining as Ardian was having his head smashed by Fia's fist, not after, hence "Even as Adrian took Fia's blow and prepared to respond with one of his own, he would (/ should: not autohit) find Hound non-fatally gripping his neck and pulling him back with all of his strength". tl;dr: Hound doesn't want to try and grab onto the person who can kill him with a well-placed kick backwards, among other reasons.

-IC: Hound- Hound felt bad. First, he had shouted while the beings fought. That did nothing. Then, he had remained still, assessing the combat, looking for an opening. The nature of the Fa-Toa's attack made this a very long wait, only letting him get very close, circling with massive, speed-boost-enhanced strides as he waited for an opportunity to present itself. Fortunately, the chance came. With a rush of adrenaline, Hound sped from behind into the Av-Toa, a fiery rage spreading through his veins. Even as Adrian took Fia's blow and prepared to respond with one of his own, he would (/ should: not autohit) find Hound non-fatally gripping his neck and pulling him back with all of his strength. This intervention would hopefully force his shot to go haywire and end the daft combat. OOC: Gonna go ahead and insert Hound there, under the assumption it's okay since the only reason 2fast Hound hasn't already intervened was OOC busyness on my part. If not, I'll edit.

-IC: Hound- Initially, Hound had been too confused to take action; was this some bizarre joke? A jest among friends? Surely no one would be so frenzied as to attempt murder when it was forgiven so easily in the arena. This quickly proved a false assumption, when the newcomers began to attempt to pierce organs and dismember each other. "Stop." The speech was tremendously loud, thunderous and as abysmally deep as ever. As Hound spoke, he moved, bring himself just out of the striking range of the two combatants. "Save your blows for the next round. I doubt our hosts will be so forgiving of blood spilled out of the arena."

-IC:- Hound didn't nod or verbally agree, but his stare spoke volumes. This was another being who had been hardened by violence, tempered in the death of others; if nothing else, he respect her for that. "And are fists enough? Speed, strength, agility; will these enable me to avoid offensives and respond in kind? I am uncertain as to how useful increased locomotion will be against a Toa who controls electricity or light."

-IC:- The Matoran is wiser than I originally believed. I suspect I have found the reason for his continued survival. “This is acceptable. I expect any other withheld information to be released as well.”

-IC: Hound- "Fia..." Hound's voice was soft and controlled when he retracted his hand, not dulled by hurt but by caution. The newcomer was a strange one, to be certain; if all "Fa-Toa" looked like this, it seemed that they were a particularly anomalous subspecies. "I am a member of the Denuian species. I believe you are the first Fa-Toa I have encountered; I hope you do not find me rude if I ask what exactly a Fa-Toa is." -IC: Selaphiel- "...Indeed." With a slight nod, Selaphiel turned and exited the room, entering the hallway and heading towards the Knowledge Sector to see exactly what kind of species the strange being belonged to

-IC:- “Precisely my point. I was operating under the delusion that I hired professionals. I have seen little evidence of the intelligence necessary for organised crime.” My Rahkshi shift their stance slightly, their grips tightening. “Perhaps we shall resolve from now on to work together, as befitting of sapient beings?"

-IC: Hound- "Blitzkrieg," Hound murmured, gaze distant and unfocused. With frightening suddenness he snapped back into reality, fixing his gaze on Fia and offering his hand in greeting. "I am Hound. Forgive any inanity on my part; I am unused to the social cues of my fellow contestants." This handshaking business had a vague similarity to his universe's method of greeting, but it was at least close enough that he had been able to pick it upon his arrival. -IC: Selaphiel- "Well," Selaphiel began with all of her usual emotion, the silence having grown too awkward even for her. "It was nice meeting you. I hope you are promoted."

You gotta watch out for that dangerous black ice. It's hard to see; transparent and sneaky. It can be a big problem in an otherwise perfectly safe neighborhood.

-IC:- My gaze shifts to Sharky. I say nothing, letting the incredibly loquacious Ga-Matoran present his own case.

-IC:- “The fun,” My voice is crisp, controlled. I blink calmly, every infinitesimal movement of my body determined and carefully designed. “Is intrinsic. 'Co-operation is its own reward' is the saying, I believe? Especially important in consideration of a group such as our own.” It isn't a threat so much a statement; I continue and do not let this become a dramatic moment. “We are wasting time. Translation, Mr. Tudor.”

-IC: Hound- Hound mused a moment in silence. When he spoke, his gaze turned back to Virse, his eyes full of ferocious calculations and burning with the frenzy of survival-assisting analysis. "Do you have advice against such warriors? I am uncertain if bursts of speed will enough to even partially avoid such offensives... The accuracy and area of effect of these attacks will be paramount in the determination of the likeliness of my survival." -IC: Selaphiel- "I see." Selaphiel seemed less than certain. An uneasy silence followed the brusque, clipped sentence.

If anyone has mercenary/evil characters in Ko-Koro and would like both interaction and snazzy Vault tech, I'm up for having Hakann hire more people (he's going to talk to Echelon once Echelon returns to the Sanctum, but after that he's open to interaction, so now would be an ideal time to decide upon what deal would be made). Hit me up via PM and we can work something out if anyone's interested.

-IC: Hound- "I must ponder this further," Hound murmured, his gaze distant, before lapsing into an awkward silence. The momentary lull of strained quiet was broken as his gaze refocused and the Denuian's thoughtfulness was replaced with his usual sombre manner. With a slight cough to clear his throat and maintain the appropriate atmosphere, Hound continued. "Is there anything else I should know? Techniques, weaknesses, hidden advantages?" -IC: Selaphiel- "I sense..." Selaphiel paused, blinking once as she stared at Skrall as if he were behind a exhibit protected by glass or laying in a coffin. "Disdain? Frustration?" She deadpanned with all of the skill of a limp fish.