Timageness

Ugh.

Apologies for the absence. My mom... well, let's just say she recently became sick, and not the kind of sick that she'll get better from in a week or two, so I've been helping her out by cleaning her house over the past couple of months. That being said, everything else has sort of been placed on the back-burner as of late.

As far as I know, I need to respond as Rail, but is there anyone else I need to reply as? Misery's group hasn't seemed all that active in a while, and Torc's still currently languishing in inactivity with Sim.

IC: Septima - Ga-Koro (Inn - Lobby)

I did? Huh... Must have been a bit more hammered than I thought...

Briefly shaking off her slightly quizzical expression, the Fe-Toa simply returned the gesture as she slowly forced herself back onto her feet.

"Well, now that we're all here, are we ready to head out?"

IC: Sim - Gym Rooftops

I stopped in my marching at the sight of the figure now catching their breath.

 

"Who are you?" I asked, uneasy, yet still angry at the whole situation.

IC Aza:

 

Try as she might, Aza wasn't able to dodge the bolt in such tight quarters, and it lodged itself deep in her right chest plate, but she recovered quickly, lunging in close, and sending a thrust slipping through the rocky protection toward the elbow of the offending weapon arm.

 

IC Rahi:

 

Across the city, something was stirring. The Makuta had not left the students to simply squabble amongst themselves during the assignment, several Rahi had been placed in the maze as well, and some of them had found a target or two. 

 

From behind the Team 1's location in the alley, three Energy Hounds came bounding around the corner, teeth bared with saliva dripping from their maws. How long the Rahi famous for their tracking abilities had been onto the group was unknown, but they now attacked in a pack, two lunging at Aerahk to grab the rahk's arms and drag him down, while the third leapt at Thurisaz' upper half, trying to use its momentum to knock him over and bury its teeth into the back of his neck.

IC: Thurisaz / Gym Maze

 

 

An unexpected ambush - from Rahi! "Thurisaz, at your service," the nimble noble answered Sim, alert and already whirling toward the paws now pounding toward him. Even as Tube lunged to his defense, he leveled his trident above his minion's shoulder at the inbound hound to fire a fierce fist of crimson-flaming kinetic energy crashing toward the Rahi's head. "Looks like we'll be fighting together right away!"

 

Aerahk, on the roof above, was less well prepared for a sudden attack, especially one leaving even his stealth no longer possible nor advantageous. When perceived his twin attackers he leapt furiously from his hiding spot away from them with a surprised cry, dodging one only to have the others' teeth close around his forearm. Daggers already tightly clutched, he stabbed at its eye with his free hand as he stumbled into the open by Torc and Sim. "Rahi - watch out!" he warned his (hopefully) new brothers-in-arms.

IC Energy Hounds:

 

Tube's defense of his master was bumbling but effective as the hound clamped down, not on a rahkshi, but the haft of a poorly made mace before being tossed bodily away by the kinetic blast with a slight yelp. The Rahi scrabbled quickly to its feet, and bounded toward Tube this time, lunging and biting for his mace arm.

 

Its fellows were having slightly more success as the Hound that had hold of Aerahk did not wait around to be stabbed, and viciously shook it's head around, dragging Aerahk around and tossing him off the building. Though his dagger found purchase, it was a shallow wound and as he fell to the ground on his back, the two hounds jumped down after him, claws and teeth ready to scratch and bite.

IC: Torc - Gym

"Huh...? Were you... seriously... not paying attention... during the meet and greet...? It's me... Torc...? Yellow Dude...? Your teammate?"

And then all Karzahni broke loose.

Without warning, and before he even had the chance to fully recover, two Energy Hounds suddenly appeared out of nowhere to take down a member of the other team he didn't even know was nearby, mauling them like a chew toy before tossing their prey off of the rooftop entirely and leaping down after it.

The irony of the situation was not entirely lost upon him.

"So, uh... that happened..."

IC: Rail - Gym

Knowing full well that he couldn't avoid the blow completely, he instead tucked his elbow inwards as his other arm moved to parry the attack with his Tiger Claws, allowing the blade to fully penetrate the stone, but only scrape its way up against his actual suit.

He then retaliated by driving his knee up towards the seemingly exposed rib cage of his opponent's suit. Given that it was both covered in spikes, and that he was putting what he believed to be all of his Level 3 leg strength into the strike in question, it was probably going to hurt a lot in the event that it actually connected.

O o f, it has been much too long since last I ducked in here.  I'm going to assume that my interactions with Azureus and Zeska over in Onu-Wahi are over, unless they say otherwise.  Even though it's been, like, months, I'm still waiting on either Tira or Septima in Ga-Koro, or Kovsorr in Ko-Koro.  J'erbok never went through the approval process, even though it's been like a year or so, so I'm a bit hesitant to post as him in Po-Koro.

I think my best bet would be to post as Aiduro having moved on from the scuffle in Ko-Koro, or just make one or two new characters and get the ball rolling with them.

I was waiting on a post for Tira too, but I can probably whip something up if you want.

IC: Torc - Gym

Finally... caught up... to him...

Emerging onto the rooftop shortly after Sim, the Rahkshi of Heat Vision took a moment to lean on his knees for support as he attempted to catch his breath.

IC: Rail - Gym

Karz...! Oh, wait... nevermind...

Thrown off by the weight of his new armor while trying to properly regulate his increased strength, Rail simply took a step backwards in order to avoid the weapon entirely, but didn't quite manage to do so in time as the dagger bit into and cleaved the tip off of one of his elongated spikes.

Really need to get this under control.

In response, he then aimed his crossbow at the other Rahkshi's chest and fired.

Well one thing is for sure, if Annona reaches the superheated state, whatever is left of the EP will definitely explode, resulting in potentially all of their deaths.

 

Now if you were to argue that not all of the EP is housed in this arena, then it will definitely be the one to survive since it cannot truly die unless every drop of EP is destroyed. If you were to say that all of it is in fact in the arena, then the supernova annona could destroy it all with flame. Or TK could potentially disintegrate it if he got the chance to. (I don't recall any being with the immunity to disintegration powers so I'm going off the assumption that EP is no exception).

 

Assuming neither of those happens and there's no way to escape the arena (Annona can teleport so assuming something is hindering her) my current analysis is that they are both enveloped into the EP and are fused into a new being or destroyed.

For the sake of determining an actual winner, all existing EP is located inside the arena, and Annona is incapable of teleporting her way outside of it.

As for Disintegration immunity, however, there is actually one power set able to afford that; the Rahkshi variant of Stasis Field, which completely prevents its user or target from taking damage of any kind, so long as it's active. BS01 doesn't go into much detail about Annona's self-induced stasis, though, so whether it was simply a state of hibernation or the two function somewhat similarly is up for debate.

 

As for Annona, I'd argue that she just might be able to turn Tren Krom insane as well by feeding off of his dreams. Plus, if she could also do the same with the Energized Protodermis Entity[...]

 

Do we know that Tren Krom or the EPE even sleep? If they don't, then they don't dream, making Annona's ability useless. I'd imagine the EPE doesn't sleep/dream at all since it's not a biological entity and therefore wouldn't need any rest. Tren Krom, well, I don't know. While he is a biological entity, remember that he was basically the "substitute Great Spirit" and was probably constantly working without rest for quite a while.

 

Dreams in this sense seem to be referring to fantasies, aspirations, and other byproducts of the imagination, such as Tren Krom longing to once again be in control of the MU, or the EP Entity simply wishing to continue its experiments.

Both Annona and the Golden-Skinned Being were perfectly capable of using their powers while their targets, the Skakdi residing in GSB's fortress, were wide awake, so I don't believe this would be an issue; Annona just tends to place her victims in trances first before attempting to feed. If sleep was tied to the ability to dream at all, then it would likely be a being's main source of refreshing their own capacity to do so in order to keep them relatively sane, which Tren Krom and the EP Entity might be able to do automatically anyway, just without the need to rest.

It'd be a close thing between Tren Krom and Annona. They both have powerful mental abilities and either could easily overpower the EP entity mentally. Now, I don't know if either are destined to transform, so even if the EP got a shot in, there's no telling what might happen.

 

My final vote would be Tren Krom. He has disintegration abilities, in addition to make one go insane by just looking at him... yeah he'd be a tough cookie to crack for those two.

Could they, though? Assuming that what it said to Helryx is true, then every drop of itself is potentially capable of containing its own mind, which effectively means that the entire body of the Energized Protodermis Entity is essentially the equivalent of brain tissue. And given that the substance is spread across multiple locations in the Bionicle universe (the GSR, Red Star, space, etc.), I'd imagine that mental attacks would be far less effective against it, simply because of the sheer scale of its mind in comparison, or the increased difficulty they'd have in pinpointing its exact location at any given time, provided that it was even within range of their powers to begin with. Also, that's not even considering the fact that EP is also a fairly volatile and explosive substance by nature. One wrong move, and kaboom. Game over.

As for Annona, I'd argue that she just might be able to turn Tren Krom insane as well by feeding off of his dreams. Plus, if she could also do the same with the Energized Protodermis Entity, then it might be possible for her to reach the superheated state she displayed in Sahmad's Tale, as its goal is to just keep experimenting on other beings, so she'd likely have access to a near inexhaustible power source because of its almost infinite variety of outcomes.

Either way, this would still definitely be one heck of a fight.

Tren Krom.

Annona.

The Energized Protodermis Entity.

Three characters who have never interacted in canon.

Assuming they were all trapped in an arena with no other beings around whatsoever, who would reign supreme, and why?

IC: Rail - Gym

Looks like I get to have some fun after all...

Following Zas'ma into the building, the Rahkshi of Magnetism quickly surveyed the situation and activated his armor, attempting to hide his ever so slight amusement at the fact that Sliver had been knocked over by someone half her size.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Hopefully, she's still capable of getting back up.

Sensing that his other teammate had already chosen her target, he decided to advance upon the distracted archer, attempting to ram the stock of his crossbow into the side of their relatively exposed head.

Posted.

IC: Liar - Gym

Because your idiocy got us eliminated before I had the chance to find... him.

Without even bothering to voice his reasoning, Liar simply stalked off in anger, exiting the Gym and disappearing into the hallway.

IC: Misery - Gym

Ugh... So boring...

But at least we're not Team Nine...

IC: Torc - Gym

Torc, meanwhile, had actually followed through with his plan, and was currently trying to stay out of sight as he searched the nearby buildings in an attempt to locate Sim.

IC: Rail - Gym

Rail, who had descended towards the building with the others, but decided that it was best not to expend a ton of energy engaging a group he could not yet fight effectively, simply kept his attention focused on the other team's hideout, though he scowled a bit as Sliver displayed her power.

The difference between them wasn't at all what he found distasteful; he had never been one to actively shy away from adversity, and other students being stronger than he was was practically a given. No, he was far more concerned that she'd go on to completely wipe out the enemy team before he had the chance to put his own new skills to the test and get in a proper workout.

But, seeing as to how their team leader was attempting to find a way to flush them all out of hiding, he'd find out if his concerns were justified soon enough.

For Smudge, it doesn't look like Loganto is coming back, and I'm not sure if Tim's still around. Guess we'll find out. I'll post shortly.

Yeah, I'm still around. Just haven't been checking in as often is all.

Should probably get on that now that things seem to be a bit more active here.

GM IC ICARAX:

 

All at once, Kri, Liar, and Fate found themselves outside of the urban sprawl, all injuries healed.

 

Icarax' telepathy boomed from atop the tower.

 

Team Nine is eliminated.

--IC: Kri: In the Gym--

What?  Why had the pain stopped?  Why was she out of the mock city, with her injuries healed?  Why?

Oh.  Apparently her team had been eliminated.

But she had been in the middle of a pain dose!  Desperate to regain the pleasure of being hurt, she reached for her Butterfly Knife... which had been knocked away back in the mock city, so it was still there.  Karz!

IC: Liar - Gym

And just like that, it was over.

Returning to his feet, still in possession of most of his weapons and equipment, Liar simply gazed back towards the city of stone... before dashing towards Kri and throwing a cestus-assisted punch directly towards the side of her jaw.

It seemed that she didn't have to wait too long for that new dosage of pain after all.

IC: Liar - Gym

Karz!

Twisting himself in mid air in response, Liar spread his legs, letting the axe head simply pass through the empty space between them... before attempting to clamp his feet down upon the shaft of the weapon as he curled up his back and braced his shoulder blade for its inevitable impact against the floor. Depending on how hard his opponent was holding onto it, this may have been enough to momentarily throw them off-balance.

Maybe even help lessen the damage being inflicted on Kri, though if not, it wasn't like he was about to lose any sleep over it.

"Guilty as charged," the Dodge Rahk sneered through his patchwork faceplates, their roughly-welded edges now mostly obscured by his current paint job. "Got to protect my good looks somehow."

It was then that he leveled his arm towards the side his foe had been ever so kind to expose for him, firing off his razor disk from the launcher mounted on his wrist. At this range, the odds of it becoming deeply lodged within their suit were quite high... if they weren't somehow able to avoid it, that is.

IC: Torc - Gym

Having previously averted his gaze towards Booger, the crossbow bolt struck true, burying its way deep into Torc's shoulder.

Hissing in pain, he reached backwards, snapping it's shaft with his hand, only to glare towards its source of origin and begin to advance.

Wait a minute... Where's...? Karz...!

"Fall back inside the buildings! We're outnumbered!"

IC: Liar - Gym

Given all the noise that they were making, the Dodge Rahk was beginning to wonder why it was taking so long for the other teams to descend upon their position.

Ducking briefly behind a wall in order to peek back outside and get a better view of the proceedings, he found himself relatively unimpressed.

Two of the enemy team were in the streets, one trying to drag the relatively useless Kri into an alley.

Not surprising. Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk, Karz-Head.

The other seemed to be trying to chase Lusi into a building.

Good luck with that.

Fate's almighty "defensive position" was now apparently compromised, seeing as to how their third mystery assailant seemed to now be dropping down into a hole in the roof where said Rahkshi used to be.

Ugh...

And their fourth member had yet to reveal themselves, which, for the moment, at least, gave them the advantage in numbers.

Honestly debating on whether or not they have the right idea here; hide out for a little bit longer, let the ones outside exhaust each other, and wait for the moment to strike. Not like I owe anything to these jerks, anyway.

But after a moment of consideration, he inevitably decided against it.

Then again, though... Where's the fun in that?

One power-assisted dash up to the rooftops later, and Liar suddenly found himself upside-down, readying himself to ambush the sucker attempting to drag Kri into the alleyway from his position above as his limbs strained to keep the rest his body supported between the two semi-adjacent walls of the passage.

"Hey... So, uh... yeah," he said, releasing the pressure built up in his legs as he swung himself downward in an effort kick their shared foe square in the back. "Figured you'd want to fight our team's actual VIP instead of beating on this genius all day. You're welcome."

Hopefully, the sneak attack and the extremely convincing lie he concocted was enough to divert their attention back towards him for a bit, giving his teammate enough time to recover and turn this utter curbstomping of a fight into a much more favorable two-on-one assault. Granted, he personally didn't think that Kri was intelligent enough to pick up on that, given the current animosity between them due to their earlier spat, but hey, life's just full of surprises...

OOC: Should probably wait for Onaku to join in on the fun before posting anything else.

So, uh...

What are Fang and Hoto doing in the Gym, Click?

IC: Liar - Gym

Expecting a frontal assault upon hearing the voice that definitely didn't belong to Kri, Lusi, or Fate, Liar instinctively made a power-assisted dash towards a nearby window frame.

His goal? Throwing himself through it in an effort to get behind at least some measure of cover as he progressed towards regrouping with the other members of his "team." And by some small stroke of luck, he was already in the air before the capsules could even shatter against the ground.

But since they were already kind enough to start giving out gifts, it would've been quite rude to simply leave without handing out a few of his own first.

In addition to the bullet now flying at their leg, Distraction Rahk would also have to contend with a duo of firecrackers - both lit, ready to explode, and sailing in the general direction of their torso. Given the sound of the previous shot being fired, he assumed that subtlety was something he no longer had to worry about.

Happy Naming Day, Karz-Head.

You may have saved us the trouble of having to hunt down you and your friends... but at least Phase Two is still somewhat operational.

OOC: Huh. Thought Exigent lead them all inside way back on Page 668. Oh well.

IC: Misery - Gym

Well, at least this one seems to understand the concept now.

Misery simply nodded in agreement, and followed Thud's lead.

Hopefully, nobody can hear all that noise, though.

IC: Liar - Gym

"So one on one duels with minimal teamwork? That's risky as all Karz, especially for the VIP."

Despite his reluctance, however, he did appear to give it some thought.

"But... if we were to approach the idea from the opposite end of the spectrum - make some noise, draw out the other teams, and trick them into fighting each other instead of us - that might just be crazy enough to work. And thankfully, I brought along some... party favors."

IC: Liar - Gym

Really...? Because I'm starting to believe it...

"Okay, Professor Mutran," he retorted. "Let's hear your absolutely brilliant strategy, then."

IC: Torc - Gym

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So... what do we do if they're in Flight Mode?"

Tactical planning wasn't exactly his strong suit, but that did seem to be a fairly obvious design flaw.

OOC: Dane, aren't Misery and Thud already inside a building?

IC: Misery - Gym

"Only when the game is over and it's time to come out."

"I agree with this strategy, though I suggest taking up stationary positions... or at least not straying too far away from base. While this may limit your ability to seek out other teams, it should allow you to return quicker in the event that we're being attacked."

"Also, Misery," she said, momentarily glaring at... Jeff. "Aside from the fact that he's actually a she, you all already know everything about me."

IC: Liar - Gym

"Awesome," he said, briefly turning back to Kri. "Now we start planning."

It was then that his tone changed from its usual annoyingly chaotic vibe to being downright... scary.

"Speaking of which, I'm thinking ambush. Our friend over there with the illusions - Holy Karz! New nickname opportunity! I now hereby dub thee "Lusi" - hides Kri and Fate using their powers, while I run out and purposefully bump into other teams, convincing them that Icarax paired me up with a bunch of scrubs, and that I want out of the assignment altogether because none of you can fight your way out of a wet paper bag. Then, when I lead them back here, or you know, wherever else we eventually end up deciding to set up shop, we spring our trap!"

It was then that the Rahkshi of Dodge slammed the underside of his fist into his palm to further emphasise his point.

"Jump them, take their stuff, send them home crying, and move on to the next group of saps stupid enough to fall for it. Rinse and repeat until we're the last one's left standing. Profit."

IC: Torc - Gym

"Exactly. Running off without a plan's just going to get us prematurely kicked out of the assignment."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh, right. Torc. And, for the record, Heat Vision."

IC: Rail - Gym

The Rahkshi of Magnetism simply dispelled his armor and followed his VIP.

So, uh, yeah, a bit of news regarding Corpus for those of you who still aren't part of the Discord channel.

As of last night, due to events in the chat that I'd prefer not to get into, I have officially been relieved of my duties as a GM by Scorp and Sergei... a decision that I wholeheartedly agree with.

When I threw my hat in the ring for this gig, I was already quite tired of dealing with the RPG scene here on BZPower as a whole; the constant arguements over relatively trivial BS, regularly having characters locked in interactions that literally went nowhere, and just the overall feeling of walking on eggshells while trying to avoid being #### on creatively at nearly every turn. I figured, "Hey, why not at least give things another shot? Maybe try to change up the landscape a bit from the inside so no one else has to feel like this ever again?"

So I did. I had some fun for a while, not going to lie, and bouncing ideas off of each other and plotting out the direction of the game at large was actually quite an enjoyable process. But then, the same issues started to pop up again, and that's when I slowly began to realise that things were always going to stay the same.

Toxic. Perhaps unintentionally toxic, but toxic nonetheless.

Had I been asked to step down instead, I probably would have. The sole reason I even stuck around this long was so I wouldn't have to inconvenience them with looking for a replacement GM, which, considering that they now have to do that anyway, was a really stupid decision on my part; I should've just ripped off the bandage and got it over with. But that's the past, and I can't change that; only learn from it so I can try to avoid making the same mistake again in the future.

Which brings us to the present: I quit. Not just Corpus, but the entire Bionicle RPG Forum at large.

For those of you who are currently interacting with my characters, you needn't worry. I've cleared it with Scorp, and I will be staying long enough to finish up the assignment, but afterwards, I'm done. Despite my views on the subject, I'd still like to believe I'm not petty enough to make other people suffer for little to no reason, even if I am finally ready to put an end to this chapter of my life for good. Just throw up a post in here when you need me to respond to something, as I've already taken the liberty of leaving the Discord chat, so I'm not going to see anything if you do it there.

Happy Holidays, folks. Take care, I guess, and try not to act too much like total Karz-Heads.

IC: Thud - Gym

 

Thud shifted a little bit uncomfortably. "I..um....not so good at hiding in buildings. I better at hitting things. Hard." 

 

He took his maul off of his back almost to demonstrate his admittedly valid point.

--IC: The Clique (Exigent): In the Mock City--

Exigent took stock of his and his team's surroundings before they entered the building.  There were a number of vantage points all around that they could put to use later in the assignment, if need be.  But for now, an interior location would be beneficial.

Once inside, he said, "I believe that a scout would be a good idea.  It would help in knowing exactly what approaches us, that we may deal with it accordingly."

-IC: Mute/Gym-

 

"Who should scout? I can do so in utter silence," Mute whispered, "though someone else may be more capable of hiding."

IC: Misery - Gym

Oh, boy...

This might be a little more difficult than I originally thought.

"Hiding is really easy, big guy," Misery said, fighting back the urge to facepalm. "It's... It's like a game. A game in which we all pick a corner of the room, sit down, don't move, and pretend to be a wall until it's time to come out. And we also need to stay quiet as well, or else there'll be... consequences."

Turning back towards the other two, Misery decided to chime in.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd volunteer myself as well, due to the fact that I can teleport. But given my status as the VIP of this team, that might not be the best idea."

IC: Booger-Gym

 

"Then lets go!" Booger recklessly charged off, holding his club at the ready.

--IC: Luffy: In the Mock City--

"Wait, Drippy Guy!" Luffy called.  "We need a plan first!"

He removed his stretchy arm from Blue Guy's shoulder and used it to grab Drippy Guy's.

IC: Torc - Gym

Uh...

Well, that happened.

Still getting over the shock of suddenly being placed on a team, it took him a while to register what the Karz was actually going on.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Yeah! What Stretchy said!"

IC: Sliver - Gym.

 

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to go hunting." I drew my bow, before directing my gaze skywards, "I don't see any of the other teams in the air; they're probably cowering in the streets." 

 

I picked out a barbed arrow, "We should take the airborne advantage, and pick them off from a distance."

IC: Rail - Gym

The Rahkshi of Magnetism wasn't exactly thrilled with this idea, since he'd have to release his hold on his newly acquired armor so it wouldn't start eating him midflight (something he was unfortunate enough to discover firsthand during his early days at Corpus), and the advantage of air superiority came with the cost of making their entire team relatively easy targets.

But given her status as their team's VIP, and a Level 5 Prefect as well, he felt it was best not to argue, and simply readied his crossbow in response.

IC: Fate - Gym

Hm. This didn't bode so well. No team benefited from having a show-off, let alone one with a name such as Liar. I turned to the tan and blue rahk nearby.

"What of the rest of you? Variation, tactical skills, specialties, anything of particular utility?"

--IC: The Clique (Kri): In the Mock City--

"Yeah, yeah, alright, you're in.  Not that you have much of a choice."

Kri was a little snippy; instead of someone else being the VIP, leaving her free to charge into pain, she now had to be protected from it.  Oh well, at least she had her Butterfly Knife to keep her arms bleeding.  "So, what's our first move?  Of should I decide, seeing as I'm the VIP?" she asked her team.

IC: Liar - Gym

"Ugh... Were you even listening...? As Hot Streak - mind if I call you Hot Streak? No? Awesome. Anyway, as Hot Streak previosly pointed out, we need to know what everyone can do before we start assigning people roles and coming up with strategies. Duh."

After a second or two of relative silence, Liar couldn't hold himself back any longer, and actually facepalmed.

"That was your que to start spilling the beans, people!," he exclaimed, his eyes enentually fixating on Captain Familiar. "That means you too, Mr. Talkative! Come on, chop-chop!"

--IC: Kri: In the Gym--

Kri turned to look at the newcomer, the one who had piped up. "Yeah? And what sort if qualifications do you have, mister? Are you any good? At anything?"

IC: Liar - Gym

"Well, of course I am! So glad you - "

It was then that Icarax ever so rudely interrupted his sales pitch, forcibly clumping them all together before he could even finish his sentence.

"As I was saying," he continued without even skipping a beat. "I'm Liar. I like long, moonlit walks on the beach, at least ten different varieties of cheese, and occasionally blowing #### up. But not necessarily all in that order."

It was then he grasped his chin as if he was trying to remember something he had just recently forgotten.

"Let's see... Name... Hobbies... Oh, that's right!"

A split second later, and he had made his way behind the inquisitive Rahkshi yet again with his powers before attempting to gently pat her on the head.

"I'm also really, really fast. Do try to keep up."

IC: Sliver - Gym.

 

When Icarax told us who our VIP was, I started laughing. I couldn't help myself. 

 

This assignment was over.

 

We'd already won.

IC Zas'ma:

 

Sliver seemed self assured, but Zas'ma was not so confident to dismiss the possibility of failure out of hand.

 

"Not to take away from your moment, Sliver, but aren't some of your fellow prefects participating?"

IC: Sliver - Gym.

 

"Indeed they are. This is going to be fun." 

IC: Rail - Gym

Grunting in relative agreement, the Rahkshi of Magnetism simply reached out with his powers and began pulling the nearby stone onto his body, forming a thicker, tougher, and much more noticeably spiky version of his variation's natural armor ability.

Whoah... Nice.

Have fun cutting through this, Glass.

-IC: Mute/The Gym-

 

Mute nodded towards Thud. They would work together indeed.

 

"Quiet. Stay hidden. Make little noise. If worse comes to worse, I can silence all of us...if we stick close together. If I do, though, we won't be able to talk."

IC: Thud - Gym

 

"OK." The idiot nodded.

IC: Misery - Gym

So I'm the VIP, huh...?

What a drag...

"That's a good idea. We can lay low for a while and wait for some of the other teams to pick themselves off."

IC: Booger-Gym

 

"I'm, not, saying...I just want a team!" Booger threw up his arms in defeat.

IC: Torc - Gym

Hearing the plight of a fellow student (and not yet having found a team of his own either), Torc simply walked up to the Rahkshi and attempted to tap him on the shoulder.

"Hey," he said casually. "Want to team up?"

True, he didn't initially seem like what others would consider to be an ideal candidate; literally any of those he was currently conversing with might've been a better choice. But as far as the Rahkshi of Heat Vision was concerned, no destination was worth heading towards if the journey there only turned out to subpar at best.

Besides, this guy looks like an interesting character. Riding with him should be fun.

--IC: The Clique (Kri): In the Gym--

Kri shooed her new partner away from Pyle and his teammates before they could return their attention to her.  When they were a safe distance away, she turned to face him.

"Sorry about that.  I just didn't want us to be stuck on a team with my scumbag little brother.  There are plenty of others here we could team up with instead."

IC: Liar - Gym

"Like me, for example," said a voice from behind them. "Just throwing that out there."

True, Liar's attention was still mostly focused on Rail, but what kind of Rahkshi would he be if he wasn't at least somewhat conscious of his own surroundings?

Besides, one of them seemed ever so vaguely... familiar.

Is it their eyes...? Posture, maybe...? Hmmm... Nah, must be my imagination. Really got to stop listening to the voices in my own head.

--IC: Exigent: In the Gym--

"You must be joking," Exigent said, incredulous.  "The big one is as thick as the slop they serve at the Refectory.  If we are to succeed in this assignment, then we need brains.  He has none."

IC: Misery - Gym

"True, but we also need brawn and skill in order to properly execute whatever plans we come up with as well. All the scheming in the world inevitably amounts to nothing if one is incapable of acting... or manipulating others to act for them."

Purposefully deciding not to reveal her variation and fighting style within earshot of potential enemies, Misery considered her next words carefully before proceeding to speak.

"Besides... I'm rather ill-equipped to bear the mantle of "training dummy;" my qualifications would be put to better use elsewhere. So unless we can somehow find a candidate that would be a much better fit for such a role amongst the dwindling number of available students, or you'd be willing to take the position yourself, I suggest we reconsider our position."

IC: Rōzu - Gym

 

"What about Rail?" Rōzu chimed in, nodding toward him. "I don't know much about him, but he does seem to have a better head on his shoulders."

IC: Rail - Gym

"Works for me. I'm still looking for a suitable team myself."

Truth be told, he was more than a little suspicious of the one that just recently came out of the blue and actually wanted to join up with Booger of all people, but he had enough on his plate to deal with as it was.

Hopefully, this guy has enough common sense to keep him out of trouble. If not... then I'll just have to step in again and do it for him.

IC: Misery - Gym

Shrugging, she moved to follow her new teammate as he began to converse with the two potential candidates.

"Hold on," she said, as he began to walk away, only to quickly turn her attention back to the duo standing before her. "Excuse us for a second."

Motioning for her partner to step aside, she then proceeded to lower her voice in an attempt to keep the current conversation just between them.

"Most of the other teams seem to have already been formed, so we should take the big one as well. At the very least, he could serve as an adequate distraction... drawing the attention of our opponents so the rest of us can flank and take them by surprise."