Timageness

I didn't mean anything by it; they were just some ideas.

But Solomon Grundy covers their entire zombified horde... Also, the Mangaia Pact? Isn't Mangaia Matoran for "Guardian?" I get that it was Makuta's lair and all, but the literal translation just doesn't fit in my opinion. Something more along the lines of the Harbingers of Chaos, Hands of Destruction, or even Death's Gauntlet just have a better ring to it...

Or Teridax was trying to create a device that could bring back dead Makuta (as beings composed of Antidermis wouldn't get picked up by the Red Star even if the teleporter was working) and the symbol was there because he was tapping into the power supply from the Mata Nui Robot to do so. If the main villian of the series is clever enough to essentially become the Matoran Universe, it wouldn't be entirely out of the question for him to create a fail safe in the event that he perished before seeing his plan through, and Vakama saw it fitting for Jaller and Hahli to stand there while reviving Takanuva because of the whole Three Virtues thing.

As Nato and I have stated before on the previous page, PC interaction sometimes has a tendency of being non-existent, and that's usually when players are left to their own devices to move their character's stories along. That being said, Nuju's Zaktan just so happened to release a horde of tree eating Entropy Beetles that are wrecking the jungles of Le-Wahi, and they're most definitely going to be moving towards the Koro you're currently in at some point unless they're stopped... Think your Vortixx is up for squashing some bugs?

IC: "Oh, he'll be fine," Verulas panted, sitting on the ground to catch his breath. "Shoulder wounds aren't that hard to patch. And for the record, I was keeping his concentration broken so I didn't get two laser holes in my forehead." He looked around, spying the lone widget that started the whole fight and used a vine to bring it back over to him before flipping it in the air again. "Besides, if I wanted him dead, I'd like to think that I would have gone for his neck. It would've been much easier that way than going after his shoulders. Also, I kind of figured that if you're the type to jump into battles to aid someone you don't even know, you'd probably have 'objections' to that as well, and those three were enough to fill up today's fight card. Not that they were even that good, but they were still just as tiring all the same."

You never know; a certain mercenary of Plantlife who enjoys difficult, usually one-sided battles might be making his way over there eventually...

IC: Verulas had been around long enough to know that normal crossbow bolts didn't have flashing lights, but couldn't react fast enough to do anything about it. And he didn't like that one bit. At the very least, the Skakdi was getting buried with them. A vine shot out from his hand, wrapping around one of his foe's legs as he pulled him to the ground. Before he could react, the Toa had leapt upon him, piercing his uninjured shoulder with his sword and grasping the handle of the embedded throwing knife. The blade had gone clean through his flesh, puncturing the earth beneath them as he howled in agony. Lasers shot by Verulas' head, one leaving a small scratch on his mask as his knee impacted his stomach, the blow ruining the Skakdi's concentration as blood erupted from his mouth. He twisted the weapons, sending more pain radiating throughout his body before savagely ripping them out.The Skakdi's vision blurred, the last thing he saw being the flat of Verulas' sword as he brought it down on his face.

Ah, good. So my character won't die if he gets hit with Antidermis. Cool. Are the effects permanent for survivors though?

I was having a similar problem when I first arrived in Ta-Koro, since most of the characters were dealing with the aftermath of the Piraka attack and destruction of the Lavapool Inn, so I just started making up things for Verulas to do while waiting. Fighting off three thugs in a back alley somewhere was definitely better than sitting on my character and waiting for something to do.

IC: "These guys just never learn, do they?" Verulas turned back to the Skakdi as lasers pierced the bottom of the container, his flexing muscles ripping through the metal with moderate effort as he threw the object off of him. He looked around, spying the unconcious Lesterin and the Vortixx writhing in pain as he shook off the disorientation from the impact. "I'm going to have so much fun tearing you two in half," he snarled, pulling his previously loaded crossbow off of his back and aiming it at the wall behind them. "But I'll have to settle with digging you up first!" The bolt flew through the air, the explosives built into the shaft self-arming as it sailed towards its intended target in an attempt to bury them in the ensuing rubble.

I believe that it is stated somewhere under the "Kanohi" page on BS01 that the masks retain an imprint of the previous wearer for a limited period of time, and they could be brought back with a great amount of life energy being transferred into it (as in how Takutanuva brought back Jaller). Maybe the symbol on the floor did something similar, taking the energy from Jaller and Hahli to revive Takanuva? He could have known that reviving Jaller would have left him unable to hold up the door, so he could have transferred enough extra energy to bring himself back too.

IC: Thankfully none of the stone fell in their direction, impacting harmlessly behind them as the Skakdi regained his composure, a look of pure rage painting itself across his face. He charged at Verulas once more, becoming a mere blur as he sped in the Toa's direction, but he had anticipated the attack this time and fell to his knees before slashing at his foe's leg. "Have a nice trip," he said as the Skakdi stumbled over the weapon and sailed face first into a pile of garbage. "See you next fall." These thugs were a bunch of amateurs. Verulas stood up and flipped his sword back around before resting it on his shoulder, wondering how long the other Toa was going to keep playing with the Vortixx as the Skakdi returned to his feet, struggling to rid himself of the trash can that had been firmly stuck over his head and arms.

IC: Seeds emerged from Verulas's hands and were thrown to the ground around his foe before he could react, creating a prison made up of woven roots that pinned him in place. The Lesterin's red and green form struggled against his bindings in vain, a scream emerging from his mouth as the Toa punched him in the face, knocking him out. "Sweet dreams, psycho," he said, turning his attention to his new ally. The other Toa had his hands full with the Vortixx at the moment, but Verulas could tell by the way the new arrival fought that he had faced far worse. He stood and watched the duel contently, catching his breath before noticing that the Skakdi was once again on his feet and preparing a nasty vision powered revenge against the Toa of Air. "Too slow," he said as he removed a knife from his arm and threw it into his shoulder, knocking him off balance and causing his laser beams to miss, cutting through the wall of an adjacent building instead of their intended target and raining debris into the alleyway below.

Note to Twelfth Ghosthands and anyone else who was thinking of getting involved in the Ta-Koro alleyway scuffle: Unfortunately, the fight's probably going to be a bit slower because I'm currently in the process of moving today, and the new place won't have internet until Monday (hopefully). Sorry for any inconveniences.

IC: An insane grin spread itself across the Lesterin's face as he charged, swinging his scythe sideways as Verulas rolled under the path of the weapon, barely avoiding a second strike from his opponent as a small fruit appeared in the Toa's hand. He threw it on the ground, causing it to break apart as it released a green mist in between them and obscured their visibility of each other. "Fool! Do you think that I wear this Akaku for show?" He activated his mask power, scanning through the cloud of water vapor and harmless spores for his prey and was surprised to find nothing. "No," a voice said from behind him. "I kind of thought you wore it to spare others from looking at your face!" The Lesterin turned around as Verulas became fully visible once more, a second too late to stop the Toa from punching him in the head. His counter-attack was parried by Verulas's sword as a palm strike was quickly delivered into his chest, causing him to release his grip on the scythe as he flew backwards and hit the ground.

So much for Verulas taking a very unwise vacation to the Archipelego in the near future. And creating a Dasaka character would involve killing him off due to the text limit on my PS3's keyboard, so that's not happening. Oh well.

IC: Verulas took advantage of the brief pause the newcomer had created, using it to regain his composure and draw his own weapon as he silently nodded in appreciation. He wasn't out of the fight just yet. "So...," he mused as he began to catch his breath. "Any idea who your dance partner's going to be yet? If it's all the same to you... I've been eyeing the Lesterin. No need to make it too easy now." He waved his hand, spinning his sword into his favored back-handed grip with his fingers as their two standing foes began to attack.

IC: The Vortixx was the first to move, her eyes filling with rage as she drew her weapons before the widget even hit the ground. He dodged her strikes as fast as he could, the last one very close to hitting his face as he threw himself downwards and swept her feet right out from under her with his leg. She landed awkwardly as the Lesterin sailed through the air, spinning and alternating his weapon between his hands before bringing the scythe down in a powerful strike. Verulas felt it cut through his side as he tried to roll out of the way (obviously not fast enough) as the blade tore through his cloak and nearly set it on fire with the sparks it created while colliding against a rock. He had just enough time to right himself and was about to draw his own weapon when the Skakdi suddenly became a charging blur of black and brown, tackling him into a wall. Air escaped his lungs, his vision fading out of focus for a second as the Skakdi prepared to strike with his armored fist.

IC: "This is how it's going to play out," the Vortixx said casually, her hands caressing the hilts of her daggers. "You're going to hand all of your money over to us, and if we decide it's enough, we won't hurt you too badly. We still have to make you think twice about running to the Ta-Koro guard after all." "Really? You're robbing me? And here I thought fine, upstanding folks like yourselves just wanted to sell me some Ta-Koro Scout cookies, or maybe wanted to engage in a game of Rahi-mon cards. Oh well. I sincerely doubt one widget is going to be enough to avoid what you and the goon squad back there define as a beating, but if you want it that badly..." It was at that point that he rolled the widget back and forth over his fingers before flicking it into her face. "Take it." He was going to enjoy this. OOC: Credit for Rahi-mon goes to the YouTubers CallanLoF and Jcomix98 on the Custom Bionicle channel (I think; that's where I first heard of it anyway).

IC: It looked as if Verulas was about to get some excitement after all. He had made it about halfway down the alley when a female Vortixx had stepped in his path, wearing a golden set of armor that was clearly new (as he noticed no visible scratches or dents) and obviously expensive. Too expensive, as it contrasted with the rather un-stylish daggers resting at her hips. This was going to get ugly, and fast. "Well, well," she crooned as he turned his head and noticed a rather large Skakdi with a crossbow and an armored cestus stroll up from behind him, accompanied by an unusually tall Lesterin with a scythe with a wicked grin splashed across his face. "What do we have here?" "It looks like this little Toa has wandered into our turf," said the gruff voice emerging from the Skakdi. "Too bad for him," the Lesterin cackled maniacally. Yup. Ugly.

IC: One widget. The Toa flicked it into the air and caught it repeatedly as he walked, his continuous search for excitement still bearing no fruit. Puns aside, this day was starting to become a real drag. He had contemplated on wasting away his energy vine-swinging around the city, possibly throwing melons at people and laughing maniacally, but besides the fact that it would probably land him in a cell somewhere (a big no-no in his profession), it would only be fun for about five minutes. Oh well. Unfortunately for Verulas, his thoughts had slightly obscured his sense of direction, and now he had absolutely no idea where he was. Hmmm. Maybe that unusually dark and foreboding alley led back to more familiar surroundings? Eh, what's the worst that could happen?

IC: "There you go," Verulas said as he attached his creation to the axel, spinning it once to make sure the thin vines used to reinforce the spokes stayed in place as it turned. "It's not the best looking thing, but if you go easy on it when you move the cart, it should last until you get a propper replacement." "Thanks Mister! Now, business has been slow since the incident at the Inn, so all I've got is this one widget, but feel free to take some fruit with you to replenish your stength." The Toa looked at the single widget in his hand, taking it and absorbing three pieces to go before continuing to search for more job opportunities. Not the excitement he wanted, but money's money right?

OOC: Hope you don't mind me borrowing your fruit vendor, Nuju. Btw, Grokk is hilarious. IC: Seriously? Nobody's hiring? This is going to be a long- "Hey, Mister! Over here!" Verulas turned his head torwards the voice, and saw a Matoran waving for him to come closer, which he did, since nothing else was coming his way. "Need help with something?" "You're a Toa of Plantlife, right? Think you can make a replacement wheel for my cart? I can pay..." "I don't know how well it will hold up, but I guess I can try," he muttered, smiling at the word "pay."

IC: The Toa of Plantlife sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall not far from where he had first entered the city while he watched the daily grind of its inhabitants, now with a bonus twenty-five percent more congestion in the streets. He always thought that the life of a wanderer was supposed to be filled with excitement and suspense, and more often than not it was, but what he didn't expect was the long periods of downtime in between. Whatever happened here previously must have been a real sight to see (probably would've made his day even), but it was clear that the episode had passed sometime before his arrival. Oh well. Best find something to do to kill some time... And thus began Verulas's search for some work. Hopefully what he found would shake some of the rust off from his skills, but he really wouldn't complain about anything that put a few widgets in his pockets.

IC: Verulas had heard talk of some sort of comotion going on in Ta-Koro on his way there from Ko-Wahi, the sort of comotion that leads to higher security at the front gate of the city. Not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to himself, he had hidden himself away until a merchant cart full of Matoran and Toa (possibly their bodyguards) passed his location, which was when he emerged and began following them across the bridge at a reasonable distance. The cart went through the gate with no problems and, as expected, the guard's attention moved to him. Now for the moment of truth. "Rear Guard. I'm with them," he said softly, as not to foil his plan. They nodded uneasily before signaling for the bridge to be lowered beneath the lava once more, a smirk crossing his face as he was allowed access into the city. Now, what to do...? OOC: Verulas is open to interaction.