That Matoran with a Vahi

IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace A more passionate adventurer than Zecrillia might have risked it. Even for her, the gentle sounds on the wind - of a child's laughter, of the soft tinkling of bells - enticed her; but the Great Disk was solid in her hands, and her exit back to reality (if, indeed, this place was outside of it) was rapidly shrinking. Curiosity wasn't a temptation that Zecrillia could often be accused of, and it certainly held no pull over her when she had somewhere else far more important to be - like putting this Great Disk to some very profitable use. Waving the disk in the Swordsman's direction, the Vortixx dived past him, landing in a crouch back on the catwalk, once again in the smothering heat of the furnace. "I say... we should get out of here now. Before I literally fry to the inside of my armour." For as ecstatic as she should have been to have one of the priceless Great Disks literally in hand... Zecrillia found herself decidedly irritated that the Ta-Metru disk didn't have at least the common decency to be a freeze disk if it was going to be hidden in a place like this.

IC: Jabali - The Coliseum Well, she could hardly say she hadn't expected that question to come up sooner or later. Perhaps wedged in a service elevator along with what felt like half a squad of Vahki as well as the all-important Turaga was a less ideal setting than Jabali might have hoped; but she had only herself to blame for that. The Matoran adjusted her Miru slightly, cleared her throat. "It was kind of coincidence. This group had come onto my sculpture field looking for one of the Great Disks, and one of them - the famous Toa Stannis - was being pursued by a Dark Hunter. The Hunter confronted them; but before he was killed, he told the group of Toa that he'd just received a contract for your head. And we all knew that someone had to come and warn you, and, well..." She trailed off with a little shrug. "I volunteered to do it," she finished lamely as the elevator continued to rattle upwards. IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace "...I was getting there." When three hadn't done anything - good or bad - Zecrillia had been intending to work upwards; trying 149, 159, 169 etc. until she'd covered every combination. That the Swordsman had a sudden desire to skip her second attempt and leap right to the third was surprising; but no so much so as the fact that turned out to be the right combination. The Vortixx gaped, jaw hanging wide open, as the metal canopy extended through the fire, creating a shield that allowed the pair to reach a... a portal of some kind? This was not what she'd expected. Anything could lie beyond that portal along with the Great Disk; not to mention, it could well be a one-way trip and she'd have to find a much longer route back. Still, common sense hadn't stopped her from getting this far, and it wasn't going to take over now. Plus it might be at least a little less sweltering there than it was in here. Stooping to make sure she cleared the portal fully, Zecrillia followed the Swordsman through. Everything, down to the very air, seemed different the instant she emerged into the charred landscape. Under other circumstances, Zecrillia might have taken the time to adventure further into the strange land, to follow that sound of childish laughter that she could faintly pick up to wherever it might lead her. Here and now, however, the Vortixx had eyes only for her prize, embedded as it was in molten rock. With barely a nod at her companion to acknowledge she'd heard him, the lady stepped forward, got a grip on the disk's rim, and tugged on it with her considerable strength in an effort to pry it loose. IC: Varxii - On the Warpath This was not what she had signed up for. Granted, she hadn't signed up at all. She had been beaten to a pulp and forcibly conscripted; and when you were a mass of bruises and broken bones, and a hulking warlord was towering over you with a look in his eye that said he'd be glad to finish what his troops had started if she'd refused to aid his cause... well, one couldn't exactly say no to that if she wanted to live through it. But Varxii had, so far, just been put to work taking on some of the League's toughest enemies, being in the thick of fights against beings who would have threatened the safety of her people, ultimately, just as much as they impeded the Barraki's ambitions, or else on relatively 'routine' missions like retrieving cargo from that Nynrah wreck. Nothing that made her compromise the morals she liked to think she held. This was different. This was too much like walking into the centre of a village and slaughtering defenceless Matoran; just the sort of thing she had always protected her own home against. Again, of course, there was no saying no; she'd proven herself a capable fighter with the League, and as soon as she'd woken from her exertions of a few days ago had received word that she was expected on the battle lines for the attack on Metru Nui itself. No-one had specifically mentioned civilian casualties being part of the deal, but Varxii knew they didn't need to: that was practically a given when you were marching on possibly the biggest metropolis in the known universe. Matoran - her own people - were going to die. Maybe even by her hand. She felt sick to her stomach. Still, she had geared up, and she was as ready as she was ever going to be. Swallowing a wave of nausea, the Vo-Toa nonetheless followed Pridak, Zaliyah, and countless others through the portal. She'd never been to Metru Nui, had never cared to. The big city held little interest to her, besides the dark and shadowy corners where unsavoury beings doubtless lurked, waiting to pick a fight that she'd be glad to oblige them with; otherwise, from what she had heard, it was all too regimented, too authoritarian for her tastes. Still, it was home to so many people... In the heat of the fight, Varxii was sure, she would have little chance to think of such concerns. Maybe she could at least try to limit civilian casualties, only fight those robot guardians who were supposed to be everywhere, and the Toa-- The Toa. Her childhood heroes. As a tiny Matoran, she'd looked up to them, longed to be one of them, and now here she was... a Toa herself, but on completely the wrong side and, likely as not, about to find herself going head-to-head with those she had revered. Hands curled into fists, stray sparks dancing around her clenched knuckles as Varxii struggled to control her thoughts. Whatever happened, whatever she would do here... she couldn't afford to go to pieces.

IC: Jabali - The Coliseum "Um... a bit of both, honestly." She picked herself up, dusted of and straightened her sash so it sat neatly across her chest once again. Jabali had to admit she felt a little embarrassed to have essentially thrown the most important man in the city into a dusty closet; but at the same time, she couldn't help a small surge of elation that she'd actually done something useful. Whether she'd saved Dume's life or not was open for debate, but she had got him away from the immediate danger; that counted for something, she was sure. She frowned a little as the Turaga fiddled with his wrist, doing something she couldn't see; but the Po-girl didn't question it. He was Turaga Dume, he knew what he was doing; and her place was just to do what he said and hope to be useful again. As such, she followed as he led the way out of the closet, found and inspected a fuse box, and instructed her to follow him back upstairs. While Jabali wandered at that - wouldn't he rather get to a secure bunker (she was sure the coliseum had something of that nature built in, just in case) than head back up to the scene of his almost-assassination? - she knew her place. "Yes, sir!" She followed quickly on his heels. IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace "Right, right..." Probably fair advice. Zecrillia didn't pause any longer; the first number to come into her head was three, so that was what she set the middle digit to. One-three-nine didn't sound quite right; still, she paused for half a moment after setting it. Just waiting to see if any response would be triggered. If nothing happened, she would continue cycling the middle digit upwards until she hit on something that did get a reaction, either positive or negative. (ooc: @Unreliable Narrator I know this isn't correct even if the number is the Great Disk code; but I couldn't have her guess right first time xD But is there any kind of penalty for getting the number wrong? Or can Zecrillia just keep trying until she hits on a combination that works? ^^)

I think my favourite thing is the way you've recreated Kopaka's mask. I would have thought a rounded shape like the Akaku would be difficult to convert to the blocky Brickheadz form; but you've got it looking absolutely spot-on... the best out of all of them, I'd say, incorporating some really clever parts usage there The way you've constructed the front of their torsos is neat, too; capturing a simplified version of the Toa torso shape is a really clever idea, and I particularly like the suggestion of the original gears displayed at the top too ^^

Oh yeah, I'd agree that Karzahni's realm is definitely a contender. Particularly the part of it where, if Matoran stand around for too long, they slowly turn to stone while the stone around them gradually starts to move with their absorbed life energy. That was possibly one of the most disconcerting things to me, honestly. Oh, and! Honourable mention for the Comet Sickness in MNOG, I would say. As a child, I found that part quite disturbing, made all the more so by getting to actually see Huki with the illness; the way he was coughing horribly, and had the splotches of sickness on his mask... overlaid by those occasional haunting tones that were the only music you got in Po-Koro.

Sorry, made a bit of a mess of the end of that last post; I realised saying Jabali actually succeeded in what she was trying to do would be overstepping my bounds, and kinda raced back to edit it hopefully before anyone noticed xD; Hope it works okay now... and if I need to change anything else, please let me know ^^

IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace "That's what I was thinking, too. I suppose it's too much to hope that it's just the code for the Great Disk itself, is it?" Nonetheless, the Vortixx began twiddling the parts of the lock to try exactly that. The first and third digits, in that case, were easy; one for Ta-Metru, nine for the legendary power level, respectively. Her reasons for trying were twofold; firstly, she doubted any negative consequences would befall them if she got this wrong - surely the lock would just reset and she could try again - and secondly... the sooner they tried something, the sooner they could move on and leave behind this place that seemed to be cooking her in her armour. Otherwise, she was gonna be southern-fried Vortixx pretty soon in here. Already, she felt like she was melting on the spot as her armour conducted the incredible heat through to her skin; the sooner they got through with this, the better. Then she was gonna go stick her head into the coldest icicle in Ko-Metru and stay there for a long while after this. After the first two digits, however, she was forced to pause. "What power was the Ta-Metru disk supposed to have, again?" IC: Jabali - The Coliseum She had no idea what was going on: but, this time, she wasn't going to be left behind. The giant titan seemed to be on Metru Nui's side, and seemed to want her help, and that was good enough for Jabali; she scampered along on Zataka's heels, and made it into the elevator with time to spare as the giant held the door open for her. The elevator shot upwards, leaving her stomach behind several floors lower down; so that by the time the doors dinged open, she had to take a moment to collect herself. The moment let her see what was going on: and she almost wished it hadn't. Turaga Dume seemed to be on fire, there was a being who could only be a Dark Hunter flinging something crimson at-- WAIT WAS THAT HIS OWN BLOOD? She was abruptly glad her stomach hadn't caught up to her yet. Things escalated quickly. The Dark Hunter vanished into a cloud of darkness - his own doing, or created by her new companion, Jabali couldn't tell - though wheels of energy were still emerging from the void of blackness. Turaga Dume was dodging them, and seemed to be in control of his own fire; still, he was in a dangerous position, and everyone present had to know it. That, therefore, told Jabali exactly what her part to play in this was. "Turaga! Turaga Dume!" Giving the concealed Dark Hunter a wide berth, Jabali sprinted for the elder. Dume was already making a retreat, and that was good, but whether it would be quick enough... Jabali had never seen the Turaga move fast in his broadcasts, and wasn't entirely sure if he had it in him at all. But that was alright; there were other ways to get away. "Sir! I'm sorry, but I need to get you out of here right--" She had snatched another disk out of her pack while she'd been running. Leaping to grab the Turaga's arm, the moment she felt herself make contact Jabali struck the point where she touched him with the teleportation disk. Even as she heard the smash of something breaking through the window past them, if she hit right the pair of them - Matoran and Turaga - would vanish instantly. This time, she'd not had the time or clearness of mind to concentrate on a destination. The only thought on Jabali's mind as she had made the hit was the desperate hope of somewhere safe. Wherever she might reappear, she was sure would still inside the Coliseum - the disk, she had barely noticed, had only been a power level two, meaning its range was small - but it was anyone's guess where exactly that would be. Or if she'd even succeeded in bringing Dume with her at all. But if she hadn't... Karz that would be embarrassing. (ooc: I hope it was okay for me to do that? Honestly... Jabali could end up anywhere in the Coliseum at this point; and, well, I tried to leave it open so Dume might have been brought along, or he might have dodged away and she only teleported herself instead xD I don't want to overstep my bounds, so I leave that entirely up to UN ^^)

IC: Jabali - The Coliseum Well, so much for that. Was there anything she could do today that wasn't useless? The Toa was already at the elevators, his long strides outpacing even her most determined sprinting in a moment, and Jabai had a feeling that he'd be twenty floors above her by the time she reached them herself. Either he didn't want her help, or he was just so determined that he hadn't even stopped to consider her beyond that first acknowledgement. Sighing to herself, the Po-girl turned around and headed, again, for the visitor centre. It was with just a hint of resigned weariness that she waved for the attention of the Vahki stationed there. "I feel like everyone already knows by this point. But the Dark Hunters are turning on Turaga Dume and you really-really-REALLY need to make sure none of them get near him, please?" If the Vahki told her they already knew this fact, too, she was probably gonna scream. IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace "Oh! I like the way you think." Between the sprinkler nozzles and the hanging chains... he was right, it should be a relatively simple matter to swing their way across to the catwalk. No less conspicuous if a Matoran worker happened to look in the wrong direction at the wrong time, of course; but up so high above their heads, it was also a lot less likely that any of them would look that way. The little guys were so often absorbed in their work - not that she was one to talk - that Zecrillia had often been convinced that the world could collapse around them and they'd still keep on toiling away like nothing was wrong. "Here we go, then! Wish me luck!" Without any further thought, beyond picking out a sturdy sprinkler for her first handhold, Zecrillia took a run down the remaining distance of the conveyor belt, one that ended in a daring leap for her target. Despite being out of practice at this, for she hadn't undertaken serious physical exertion of this kind since her rite of passage on the mountain several years back, her leap was powerful, and she found her hand grasping around the intended sprinkler nozzle. She was glad her hands were naturally armoured; otherwise they would have been slick with sweat from the heat, and would have made gripping on a far more difficult task. Even as it was, she didn't remain stationary; no sooner had she got one handhold than she was reaching with her other hand for the next. Something creaked when she grabbed onto it, but Zecrillia chose not to think about that. So long as she kept moving, so that nothing had to support her weight for too long, she should be fine. Right?

IC: Jabali - The Coliseum "I... oh." That didn't stop her in her tracks for long, however. Though Jabali did indeed move aside to let the blue-armoured Toa pass, she quickly fell into step behind him. Even if she had to jog to keep up with his longer strides, the little Po-Matoran was determined not to be useless anymore today; whatever aid she could be, she would do so. "I'm coming with you. I can be backup if you need it." Of course there was the question of what backup a Matoran could even provide to a Toa, if trouble was in store. Jabali wasn't unaware that the concept seemed outright silly, particularly when she had no notable powers or abilities of her own. Still, she had a staff and a handful of teleportation disks, and she could improvise as well as anyone... and she could at the very least watch the Toa's back if it came down to a fight. And even if it didn't, two voices warning Turaga Dume of his imminent danger would hold more weight than one, she was sure. IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace "Love to say I did, but..." She really hadn't thought so far ahead. Zecrilia had picked up clues, bits and pieces, of course, so she had had a fair idea going in of what it would be like in here; but she hadn't stopped to piece together a plan. Such was her nature that she had just gone for it recklessly, with little consideration for plans or consequences. Take every step as it came, get as far as she could... that was about the full extend of her plan. The Swordsman was probably starting to notice that she tended to act first, think later. "Don't suppose the ladders go up that high... and even if they did, I don't think we'd get that high without some little Matoran noticing us. You Toa guys are a common enough sight not to raise any eyebrows; a shame the same can't be said for me." She wasn't the kind to acknowledge, much less admit to, feeling unsure of what to do; but the fact remained that Zecrillia felt just a little stumped. Her mind was at its best when in the midst of some engineering problem or other, designing weapons and tweaking those designs until they would work just right; it was precise work, as much art as a simple job, and work that she could and would easily get lost in. Solving problems in the real world, with all the uncertainties brought in by unfamiliar places and presences, was nothing like that, and her mind tended not to so easily attune to them; instead, favouring the easiest or first solution she could think of. "But one way or another, I guess some climbing is in order, huh?" IC: Varxii - Barakki Fortress She took Carapar's advice. Perhaps it wasn't becoming of a Toa to show such weakness; but it had to be admitted that Varxii, for all the brute strength she could muster with her element, was still pretty green as far as went the finer points of being what she was. The areas of mental discipline and the like, in particular, were weak with her; before the League had come along, Varxii had enjoyed using her power to turn back wandering Rahi and the odd vicious band of raiders or pirates who had preyed upon her home island. Nothing difficult, nothing strenuous... nothing that had needed her to display a lot of discipline or fine control. Most beings, people or animals, would have second thoughts about attacking a seemingly defenceless island when being barraged by a walking lightning storm; so that was, in essence, the extent of what Varxii had taught herself. Being a serious soldier, maintaining mental discipline at all times, being responsible with her powers and not pouring them out until she exhausted herself... these were all things that the Vo-girl had never needed, so had never learned. Now, she was being forced to learn them the hard way. She stopped by the medic briefly to get her acid wound patched up, then returned to her barracks... and pretty much crashed. They'd wake her when she was needed anyway, she figured.

IC: Jabali - The Coliseum And, there! She'd been relieved when the Vahki let her through; apparently, either her position or her dire warning did indeed carry some weight here. The Po-girl had marched inside as quickly as she could without actually running, which would have felt improper in such an important place. She was here now, with specific destination in mind, and her journey had been a quick one; and, with a little luck, she had made it before any of the Dark Hunters who were after the revered Turaga's head. Her gaze, behind silver Miru, cast around in search of the visitor centre... only to settle on something even better. A Toa, of lightning by the looks of him, seemed to have just entered from a different doorway. Vahki were all well and good, of course. But if you needed to get something important done, Toa were always the ones to turn to if they were around. Waving, again, for attention, the Overseer changed direction to approach the blue-armoured hero instead. "Sir! Excuse me, Toa! Turaga Dume's in danger; the Dark Hunters have broken their alliance, you need to keep them away from him!" Giving orders to a Toa, for the second time in a day? Really smooth, Jabali. This time, though, she didn't let embarrassment silence her, knowing how important her warning was. Important enough, apparently, to be shouting it across the room for all to hear... another move that was, perhaps, not the smartest idea she'd ever had. @Dane Jabali is approaching Kovac (ooc: Just a very quick post that I wanted to get in before heading off for the night! Will post as Zecrillia tomorrow.)

IC: Jabali - Travelling via Disk Jabali hadn't waited to see what came of the Great Disk puzzle, nor to see the reanimated Dark Hunter; neither were things that she wanted to see, in all honestly. As soon as the Onu-Toa agreed to her suggestion, the Overseer turned her face towards the direction of the Coliseum, pulling out the most powerful teleportation disk she had. There was always, of course, a bit of guesswork involved in getting anywhere by teleportation, which wasn't the most predictable power when it was contained in a kanoka; but she used them to get around often enough that she had a fair idea of how to get the most desirable result out of them. She filled her mind with thoughts of the Coliseum and everything else in that direction, then tapped the disk against her chest. The world didn't even blur; it was more a case of one minute she was there and the next she wasn't. Disoriented for a moment, the Po-Matoran gazed around her, but recognised her surroundings in a moment. She was still in Po-Metru, but she had indeed taken a great leap in the direction of the Coliseum, which towered a way ahead of her. Not there yet, of course; but the structure was so massive even from this distance it spiked imposingly into the sky. She'd only ever visited the Coliseum for official occasions, like Akilini tournaments and naming day celebrations; she'd never just casually dropped in all alone. Jabali wondered, for half a minute, what she thought she was doing; then recalled the important warning she carried. Taking a deep breath, she kept up her focus on her destination. Tapped herself with the disk once, twice more. Two more disorienting jumps later, the great gates loomed ahead of her. By now, Jabali was resolute; tucking the disk back into her pack, she sprinted towards the Coliseum's gate, waving to get the attention of the Vahki on guard. "Please, I've got an urgent message for Turaga Dume!" She skidded to a stop just before the robotic guard; lifting her sash to emphasise her authority, meagre though it was. Hopefully this would at least get her heard out, as it was painfully important. "You have to warn him that the Dark Hunters are coming for him!" IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace "It was." Sweat streamed down her face; it was almost unbearable in here, even for one who was used to the much more polluted furnaces of Xia. None of those were so large, nor so staggeringly hot... those Ta-Matoran certainly knew what they were doing when they built this place, Zecrillia figured. Removing her mask for a moment, the Vortixx rubbed her shirt sleeve across her face, trying to wipe away the worst of the perspiration. It didn't seem to help. "But I saw you were catching up to me, so I figured why wait? And here, you're right behind me, so no harm done." Replacing the Felnas on her face, the would-be disk hunter cast a look around her. The Great Furnace certainly lived up to its name; it was vast, and its flames looked fierce. She was pleased to note that no zombies seemed to have made it inside so far, dared to hope that would last long enough for them to find the disk they sought. But as far as anything out of the ordinary that might give a hint to whereabouts in here the disk was, well... (ooc: @Unreliable Narrator, ready for the next piece of the Ta-puzzle ^^)

Wasn't the mismatched arm thing supposed to represent them being sort of a mix of Rahi and Toa? I thought I read that the longer arm was supposed to represent a Rahi limb, while the other represented a normal Toa arm, hence the differing lengths; it was a way of emphasising the imbalance between their Rahi and Toa sides, I believe? I'm not trying to defend their decision; but I think that was stated a while back as the intention behind it?

IC: Jabali - Po-Metru Sculpture Field "I could go and warn him." She said it aloud; as much to hear the reassurance of her own voice, after the disturbing things she'd just witnessed, as for any other reason. Jabali wasn't sure which of the team had been the one to project the thought of warning Dume; and while she was receiving their thoughts through the link, she wasn't at all confident that they would hear her own. She probably looked silly to the Toa, and even to the other Matoran; a little Overseer in way too far over her head, thinking that she could do something important like warn the leader of the island nation that he'd had a death mark placed on his head. If she was lucky, Dume would have enough time to spare to laugh in her face. But like the Toa had thought, someone had to warn the Turaga. And everyone else here seemed to at least be busy and involved in what was happening. Whereas she? With now two gaping holes in the sculpture field - the one the Hunters' transport was sinking into, and the one that the Kralhi was in the process of excavating -; a murder, no matter how justified, to report on; and still the matter of that illegally parked airship... it was too much for her to simply put right with a few simple orders and everybody going back to work. Normalcy had been trampled to pieces here, and she didn't even feel like she was competent enough right now to hang around when the Zadakh showed up to sort out the aftermath. And between what she'd seen, and all the accusation and hostility flung around by both parties, Jabali wasn't at all sure she knew what to think, much less what she was doing in the middle of all this. She had no interest in the Great Disk. She had only wanted to stop the searchers from disrupting her domain... and it was a little too late for that. But running to the coliseum to warn Dume? That was something she could actually do and feel like she was making a worthwhile contribution. She fumbled in her pack for one of the teleportation disks she carried. Usually, she just used the low-level ones to jump around the sculpture field as she oversaw the carvers' work, quickly crossing from one part of the field to another. But she a single high-level disk of the same power; planned right, she hoped, it would be enough to jump her closer to the coliseum quickly enough to get there even ahead of any other Dark Hunters on their way. She paused before using it, waiting for one of the Toa to either go-ahead her offer, or else to shoot it down. "I can travel fast. And I know when I'm no use to anyone around here." IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace Alright, then. So far, so good... Icy eyes narrowed as she calculated the timings. It would be close, but she was sure she could get through... and even if she wasn't sure sure, Zecrillia had never been one to turn her back on a little risk. If she was going in, there was no point waiting about out here for another Vahki to spot her, or for her to lose her nerve; if she was going, she was going now. Once inside, she could stop and wait for the Swordsman... Behind her mask, she was sweating, she realised. Not from nerves, but from the heat; every time the entrance up ahead opened, it hit her with a blast of smothering heat; her face dripped with sweat, her 'hair' appendages were damp with it, and sticking her fingers through her mask's eyehole to try and wipe it away did very little to help. If she went in there, she'd probably be toasted in a matter of moments; or if not literally, then she'd certainly feel like she had been. Metal armour, after all, was one great conductor of heat; even if she wore considerably less armour than most of her kind, she'd be quickly fried within it. She hesitated. But the same would be true with or without the Swordsman, surely; and she hadn't come this far just to give up. Besides, she was a Vortixx, used to harsh conditions. She'd faced the mountain, with its fire rain and acid grass and carnivorous slopes; and she'd spent much of her life before then doing dirty work in the furnaces of Xia. None had been so big, so intimidatingly dangerous as this one - at least, not in the same sense; though she'd been in several where no safety regulations were adhered to at all - but what was a little more heat and flame compared to that? Her moment of indecision should have allowed the Swordsman more time to catch up, but she didn't think he'd quite reached her yet. Still, she'd only be a handful of moments ahead of him at most, she expected; and her mind was made up. She tossed a casual gesture in his direction, indicating that she'd wait for him inside, and ducked through the entrance with the next lot of debris. The heat hit her like a literal solid wall. IC: Varxii - Barakki Fortress Varxii lagged behind the rest of the disembarking group, still weary. She had rested some on the journey back, sitting quietly with Morah, engaging the other in conversation now and again, but mostly just drifting in and out of wakefulness. Her dreams were full of zombies and orbs and dragons and confused memories of what she'd seen on the island - mixed with the unavoidable wondering what might have happened had she, not Mazor, picked up the orb - and didn't leave her well rested. She was aware, too, that the crudely-bandaged acid burn on her shoulder was smarting again; she could, hopefully, get it tended to more properly now that they were back at temporary home base. That, and maybe sleep for a few... months. She had nothing really to add to the captain's report, so the Vo-Toa held her silence. She rocked tiredly on her feet a little, conscious enough to be aware of what was going on, but too exhausted to actually participate.

IC: Jabali - Po-Metru Showdown "Wait, wait! No fighting on the sculpture fields! No fighting on my sculpture fields!" Even as she followed Tallea's silent command, Jabali made a desperate plea for order to be restored. This was absolutely crazy; she didn't know what the Toa had supposedly done, or why Dark Hunters were trying to enforce laws that she hadn't even heard of... and to be frank? She didn't actually care. The odd assortment of beings scared the stuffing out of her, and she would just as soon not have anything to do with them at all. But still; she had her duty, and that duty was to make sure disruptions to work were minimal. While there were no obvious workers in the vicinity, Jabali knew the carvers she oversaw well enough; either they would be so engrossed in their work to not notice anything at all, or else they would come wondering over as soon as a disturbance started, out of a misplaced sense of curiosity. The latter could only end in disaster. Even without that, there was every chance that the fight would ruin several masterpieces in progress; and not only would that cause a massive pile-up of owed orders, but would mean she would have to deal with several irate carvers whose work would have been wasted. Speaking of waste... "The wastes are right over there; take your fight there if you must! Even you, Toa St- Uh, Mr.- Sorry- I, uh--" She faltered to an self-conscious stop, aware that, in her instinctive bossiness, she had just hurled orders at possibly the most venerated Toa in all of Po-Metru. Crimson with embarrassment behind her mask, Jabali quickly shut her mouth and decided not to open it again any time soon. IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace "I left all my good weapons at home, so I'm gonna say... alternate route." If the site had been guarded by matoran, her sleep darts would have taken care of them no problem. Against Vahki, such a weapon was less than useless. And what else was there to do, after all? They could hardly stay here... well. The Swordsman, if he wanted, could probably happily stay right there and slay zombies all day; but Zecrillia herself had no weapons that would be much use for the task and didn't fancy waiting to be overrun. Fleeing was hardly even an option; and, quite honestly, the Disk could only help them in this battle, she was sure. So she followed the Swordsman's gaze. Blue eyes lit up at the sight of the automated carts trundling their steady way into the furnace, not even slightly disrupted by the chaos at street level. Getting onto them without notice by the ever-watchful Vahki might prove tricky; but Zecrillia figured it wasn't a serious risk. Just make sure to stay out of their line of sight, right? "I like it. Meet you over by them?" Without waiting for an answer, she nodded over-theatrically to the Vahki. "You seem to have this under control, my good sirs. So I will go that way and leave you to this." She made good on her words, heading across in the direction the carts were coming from, hoping to find a conveniently out-of-sight place to hop onto one of them. IC: Varxii - Silver Sea, The Ripple "Right, yeah. ...yeah." She wasn't in shock so much as just... drained. While a Toa, over time, got used to harnessing their element naturally, that didn't mean she or he could call on infinite amounts of power with no ill side-effects. The way Varxii had just created an entire storm's worth of lightning out of thin air was no mean feat, especially for a Toa who had rarely ever had to fully push herself to her limits before now. She felt utterly exhausted; like, if someone put a bed in front of her for her to crash into, she could sleep for perhaps literal days if no-one disturbed her. Only once, in her first and increasingly desperate battle standing alone against the League forces - the one where she'd ultimately been beaten down and forced into submission to the Barraki - had she called upon so much power in one go; and it left her utterly bone-tired. She wearily pulled herself upright, fried Visorak remains crunching under her feet with every step she took. "I'm just... just tired." She rubbed at her eyes again; found, again, that her mask got in the way. "That much power... takes a lot out of you."

IC: Tarutu - Black Spike Mountains "Yeah... I suppose so." She wasn't quite ready to give up on the idea yet; but all the same, Tarutu had to admit that Paju had a point. Besides, aside from essentially being pipes for waste, these didn't look like they'd been used in ages; the Ga-woman didn't know much about the exact history of the Fe settlement, save that it had been thoroughly levelled in the last war... but she supposed it wasn't too much of a stretch to hazard a guess that these had been part of that settlement, rather than anything new. She sighed, vexed. The question here, if the pipes were useless, was obvious: why was someone going to such lengths to uncover them if there was nothing of value to be gained by doing so. After poking around the grime some more, with no real enthusiasm, the businesswoman looked up to see that Tekmo and his band had returned. "I haven't... but I have to think someone thought there would be something valuable here. I know explosives aren't the rarest thing ever out here, but it doesn't seem likely that someone would be wasting them on blowing up pipes just for fun." She followed Paju's lead, scrambling back into the Lucky Find's cockpit; but even so, continued to address Tekmo. "If we can just figure out what they're after with these pipes, that might give us a better idea where to find them." IC: Alarei - New Atero, Soup Kitchen "'Ve just never seen anything like it before. In our territories, we never see huge vehicles like that. We don't really see vehicles at all, I guess." There was good reason for that, of course; when the Sisters didn't trust anyone or anything except their own, they had no need to travel far, certainly not the kinds of distances that required the vehicles she'd so often seen out here. Rock steeds were typically used when transportation was required at all, the Sisters preferring to stay far away from anything the resembles reliance on peoples and technologies not their own. It was fair, Alarei knew. But it meant that arriving here, in Atero, she was thoroughly bowled over by the sights of such things she'd never seen before. "What do you do, as a mechanic? Does that mean you helped to build it? Like, all of it? 'S huge..." Suffice it to say, Alarei was still wildly unfamiliar with much to do with the bio-mechanical world that had since become part of Bara Magna's society. IC: Kastir - The Arena Nice to know you're interested in me only when I'm useful... Kastir shook her head slightly, no real resentment to the thought; just wry amusement. These little guys, Agori and Matoran alike... she found them funny, in a way. Everything they did was so important to them; like in their eyes, they were the centre of the universe and couldn't possibly believe otherwise. It was one of the things she found most endearing about them, when she was off a job and allowed herself to relax. For now, it wasn't a thought she would indulge for more than the briefest moment. Half of her gaze tracked Bacchus as he set after Kaenis, but Kastir simply let him go. He knew the other woman better, after all; and while he clearly didn't seem happy by her and Drukann's presence here, the toothy giant also felt confident that he had no intention of harm towards either of them. He was just over-eager, perhaps a bit of a glory-seeker... nothing she could begrudge him for. Instead, she fumbled with the pad and pen she'd been handed. Absolutely dwarfed in her over-large claws, it was no mean feat to use the implements in anything that even resembled a natural manner; all the same, Kastir did what she could. The replica of the images of the Great Spirit Robot, the pre-shattered planet, and the star, though tiny from her perspective, swiftly took rough shape. Rough being the key word. Never let it be said that art was one of her talents.

IC: Varxii - Silver Sea, The Ripple "I. Can't stand. Zombies." The words were voiced only between weary breaths as Varxii's attention flickered disjointedly to Morah. While she appreciated her fellow Leaguer's words, the combination of the situation as a whole, and her massive unload of power in particular, had left her drained; and it was taking conscious effort to string words together and make sure they were coherent. She rubbed a hand tiredly across the eyehole of her mask. That wasn't, of course, to say that she'd ever encountered zombies before today. But the concept alone had always deeply unsettled Varxii, even back when she'd been a matoran; and she wasn't any happier about it now that she'd encountered them in person. She pushed herself up into something that better resembled a sitting position, rather than the slouched heap she'd been in before that moment. "But yeah, you're welcome. Glad to be of use." Because she sure didn't feel like she'd done much good back on the island itself. IC: Jabali - Po-Metru Sculpture Field "I MEAN, you're not wrong. But rules are--" She had stopped short, however, at Aurax's statement that, far from damaging the statue more, they'd been the ones to fix it. It... did explain the reattached hand, Jabali supposed; and beyond that, she could think of nothing more immediate to say. The Overseer lapsed into uncharacteristic silence as the scene continued to unfold, only offering her name on instinct when Atamai addressed her. As much as she'd love to enforce the rules of her precious Sculpture Field here and now, she supposed that the Fe-Matoran had a point. Besides which, the Great Disk Hunt really wasn't her domain. She was just here playing local guide and making sure no more laws got broken than absolutely necessary. She didn't speak as the proto-Vahki emerged from the back of her temporary allies' vehicle - had that been in there the whole time? Was ownership of one of the banished machines even legal? Or maybe she shouldn't follow that line of thought too far. She didn't speak up as Atamai presented his suspicions against Turaga Dume, or as Vashni accused accused Aurax of lying, or as the armour-suited matoran drew attention to-- Wait, Toa Stannis? That was a name Jabali knew; practically every Po-Matoran knew about this most ancient Toa of their element. Jabali had never met him, never even seen him in person; but the name alone she recognised instantly. Don't gape, don't gape, don't gape. On the plus side, even if she was gaping at him like an idiot, no-one was paying the slightest bit of attention to her anymore, in the midst of all this. IC: Zecrillia - Ta-Metru Great Furnace Well... karz. So much for that. And so much for Gessai too, it looked like. Zecrillia had no idea what had happened to their matoran guide; only that, the next time she looked around, he was very much not there anymore. There was certainly someone fleeing the scene, but not anyone who looked like a matoran, so the Vortixx didn't bother to give him more than a moment's thought. Instead, she inched slightly closer to the Swordsman, aiming to get his attention... hopefully in a way that didn't lead to him mistaking her for a zombie and reflexively decapitating her like that unfortunate matoran over there. "So... I've no useful weapons against zombies. We're down one Matoran guide, but not down any Vahki. I don't suppose we can bribe or bluff them, can we?" She doubted it; but they were fast running out of options. Amongst her strangely calm thoughts in even this insane situation, one particular line stood out to her. Next time I go out, I REALLY need to bring along a weapon that can disable Vahki, even just temporarily.

I have Eyru's permission to double-post, since the previous one is old. In any case, just bouncing off my last thoughts on the topic. If I said I was willing to GM a Rock Raiders RPG, then would anyone be interested in playing it? Before I was just bouncing around ideas; but I feel like the fact that I said I wouldn't be up for the GM role kinda killed off any interest before it formed. So if I abandoned that thought, if I was prepared to take the reins of an idea like this... would there be any audience for that? I don't want to go ahead and make a lot of plans for it if it's something that won't attract any more than two players, but I do have some starting ideas in mind, if anyone's interested in bouncing them around with me ^^ In any case, I was thinking the game would be centred around a Return to the Planet of the Monsters, led by Chief and the canon Rock Raiders team (who, now that I've observed how things tend to work here, would be GM NPCs controlled by myself). The basic premise would be that, knowing he can't long keep their discovery of the planet a secret, Chief has recruited a larger team of raiders for what is, this time, a research mission; his intention, to learn all they can about the planet and its Energy Crystals before any other factions can beat them to it. New Rock Raiders could be raw recruits, or they could have a background from Power Miners, Ice Planet 2002, or any other Lego Space themes that would equip them with relevant skills. I would tentatively allow canon characters from those themes to be played, since their personalities are generally left up to fan interpretation anyway. The game would start with the first new crew members teleporting down to the planet, where they would begin at one of the bases that the OG Rock Raiders abandoned on their last visit. The would also be able to access their orbiting ship, the LMS Explorer, as required; and further bases would be established as the raiders branch out further; probably one in the ice caverns and one in the lava caves. Of course, the game would be far less about building and mining crystals than it would be about the possibility of conflict, and those who would try and stop the raiders from doing that thing. I'm leaning towards two opposing factions. First, naturally, is the Rock / Ice / Lava monsters. These are not just the mindless brutes of the video game, however; they have a civilisation of their own hidden deep beneath the planet's surface, one that's crumbled somewhat over the centuries but still exists. For now, the Rock Raiders are only encroaching on the very edges of their domain, and the Monsters really only raid them to steal the Energy Crystals they have found - i.e. the Monsters' food source. As the Raiders go deeper, however, the Monsters start to see them as a serious threat and their opposition becomes less about food and more about protecting their culture and civilisation - something that the Raiders are mostly oblivious to. The Monsters society is fairly primitive, but they are craftsmen by nature and have a symbiotic relationship with their respective native elements. Second faction, I'm leaning towards, is Blacktron. A Classic Space theme who were typically cast as the villainous adversaries of Futron, Space Police, Ice Planet and others, they seem to mostly have been technology thieves; stealing tech from the other factions to empower themselves, or to sell on the black market. Drawn by the promise of advanced technologies and new discoveries, the Blacktrons have learned of Chief's mission and intend to thwart the Rock Raiders, and to steal all credit for and profit from their discoveries for themselves. So we have three factions, all playable, all with different motives. It would kinda be a mixture of exploration and conflict between the sides... though I haven't really thought ahead about how this would go in practice, I did't want to get too ahead of myself! It would be great, too, if someone more experience in this forum would be able to co-GM with me; but I'll take whatever comes ^^ OR if not this, then... SOMETHING? I feel like I regrettably missed this forum in its heyday; but I'd just love to take part in a Lego RP that involved some of my childhood favourite themes. If not Rock Raiders... I dunno. Space? Castle? Adventurers? Ninja? Alpha Team / Agents? I'd be on board with whatever, quite honestly; I'd just love to play around in some of these worlds again.

Sorry I'm holding things up in the thread; Six Kingdoms is taking much of my RP attention at present, since it's moving much faster than I'm used to. I'll definitely try and get in a post here in the next day or two, though; particularly for Tarutu, so she doesn't get left behind by the rest of the group xD;

IC: Jabali - Po-Metru Sculpture Field "Hey-- Hey! HEY!" She wasn't the first to reach the strangers, which bugged her; but she was sure as Karz the second one. Waving her arms for attention, Jabali pushed her way past Atamai to stare accusingly at the group gathered near the statue. That three of them were Toa suggested, perhaps, that the group was authorised to be here; but there was a difference between looking around and actually messing with things. This group certainly seemed to be doing the latter. On the one hand? The statue in question was so badly defaced already that it seemed barely an issue. On the other, rules were rules, regardless. "Excuse ME! I am Overseer of this sculpture field; please keep your hands OFF the works of art!" She glared around at all five of them, though her expression turned to puzzlement a moment later. Something about the statue had caught her eye... it's hand, to be precise. She could have sworn that hand had been lying in the sand, broken off a while ago; and yet, there it was, attached to the statue's wrist as though it had never been removed. Behind her Miru, the Po-Matoran's eyes registered puzzlement; she covered this, however, with more bluster. "AND may I see your authorisation to park that airship here?" (ooc: I'll post as my other two in a bit; I just wanted to get the Jabali post out now, as that scene seems to be progressing the quickest ^^)

For me? Has to be Karzahni. I dunno. I just... found the Karzahni set disappointing on several levels. I'd never really been bothered by the wacky proportions of some Bionicle sets before that, simply accepting that they weren't human, so didn't necessarily need to match human proportions. But the way Karzahni had this wide bulky body, mounted on comparatively spindly legs, which in turn were placed as far apart as possible... in his case, I just couldn't look past it, and it made him impractical to pose or play with for me, too. In addition, the trap he was packaged with, while nice enough of a design, just felt like it was there to fill the space and didn't add much to the experience. That my favourite parts of the set were the Matoran (particularly Idris), and the recoloured Vakama Hordika heads on that served as Karzahni's knees, perhaps speaks for itself!