EmperorWhenua

IC Morian | Forsi "He pick pocketed?" the matoran secretary said. "Sorry I didn't see... Oh and Toa Stannis is in Po-Koro. Everyone knows where Po-Koro is."

IC Morian | Forsi "I did! I'm his secretary!" the matoran said to Skyra. "I'm his secretary!" he said to Atamai.

IC Stannis | Kini-Nui The wizard pulled out an iStone from his satchel and toyed with the screen until he got to an app. "Here, I made a TicTak about this..." The next thing Atamai knew, he was bathed in the light of Understanding.

IC Morian | Forsi "Without my glasses how am I going to get Toa Stannis his afternoon cuppa..." the secretary sobbed.

IC Morian | Forsi A matoran stumbled around. "Hi, hello, anyone see my glasses? I'm not a very good secretary without my glasses... aargh this sucks, if a fish got them again I swear..."

IC Stannis | Kini-Nui The wizard was just about to meander into the depths of the Suva's door when he realized Atamai was hailing him. "There is little time to explain, NUVA," he said. His impassive eyes leveled with the other's emotionless tone. "But if you come with me I will show you." IC Zai | Metru Nui The Coliseum, an erect pillar of Matoran dominance for many eons, was next on the dragon's hitlist. With glee and no remorse she began to melt the skyscraper like a candle to a blowtorch.

IC Stannis | Kini-Nui The dueling giants were loud and destructive as ever, but for the two toa in their protective cocoon they may well have been in a cinematic big screen. Rumbles and tumbles shook the ground they stood on but the Maru were dedicated in their mission, unified behind the one, and when the grinding stopped and the dark hole welcomed them at last, they did not hesitate to descend into the darkness. And descend they did. For a long time. IC Stannis | Kini-Nui "To the Far Shore? The portal is demolished! How do you propose—" Wait. It clicked. Stannis had said Korruhn went to the Far Shore when the world was enveloped in ink that fateful night. Was it really unthinkable that he could do it again, at his whim? The Alpinist realized it was not. "Yes," he said with a nod and took his friend's hand. "Absolutely."

IC Leklo | Kini Nui They'd arrived and no sooner had they done so that the whole place was turning into a massive clusterfun. "Aw, motherf... heck."

IC Stannis & Oreius | Kini-Nui There was not much time to waste. The two Maru got back to their feet and ran as quickly as their geriatric knees could carry them down the causeways to the Suva's center. Despite the ruckus going on around them, the wizard replaced the Avohkii for his Haonga and cast a spell to ward off the danger. "Whakamarumaru." "Whack a Maru what?" Input: Accepted. A shimmer of energy rippled like static from the wizard's mask and Oreius sighed in the realization that it wasn't a cryptic request from the old Aspect to kill off the last true Toa Maru but just more kanohi black magick. Protective power spread around them, shielding them from harms they could witness. The Wanderer had been here before; he knew the trick of how to access the Suva's door and had seen what was left to accomplish it as recently as a day before. As he ran to the center he'd gathered a small handful of water from the ponds and bade Oreius go to one of the smaller shrines. "Cast a flame upon it," he said quickly as he scampered to another shrine and tossed his water upon it.

IC Stannis & Oreius | Kini-Nui It was Oreius who saved Stannis in that moment, coming at the most opportune moment to shield the wizard from the brunt of the impact and embracing Stannis the way they once had as brothers and threw them both to the ground. His invulnerability powers made the energies of the club's impact fall away like rain on a tin roof as he protected his patron against the sudden threat. There was no reason for the act, Oreius loathed what Stannis was, but he was bound to protect the Aspect and aid in its mission. @Eyru

IC Stannis | Kini Nui "Sup, Skyra," Stannis said. "Not today, I don't have enough meds to last the trip." He did, however, raise his brows in greeting to Nuju. @Snelly @Unreliable Narrator

IC Leklo | Ambling Alp "Sounds like a doomsday plan, buddy," Leklo hollered back at Korruhn. "You got a plan? I'm setting us down in Kini now." Return trips always seemed to take less time than the departure trip did. They landed and he opened the hatch. Oreius' ship had just landed as well. IC Stannis | The Lapyx The airship rattled a bit as it descended. Stannis looked out the cockpit window as the brilliant spires of the Kini-Nui temple grew closer and bigger. Everything looked so different and it had only been scant a day since he had seen the temple complex last. Too many things were changing too quickly, too many variables for his mind to keep track of. The vortex was spinning faster and faster; the cycle's last winds were always the swiftest, around and around, quicker and quicker, picking up anything and anyone unfortunate enough to not be held fast and abandoning the rest. Two other airships were nearby, one which left and the other that arrived. The Alp had returned with its host, and the warlord Zataka was leaving. Good. The Lapyx landed on the grounds near the Kini-Nui's sanctum and its hold opened with a hiss of pneumatics and out from it came the wizard. He stooped a little and clutched his spear for dear life, moving at a steady but pained gait. On his face was the Kanohi Avohkii, and at his back his black cloak fluttered like a flag in his wake. Aspect or toa, hero or villain, he had arrived to end the story and greeted the people present with characteristic mystery and silence. He strode forward and shared only the Understanding emanating from his golden mask, unassailable in spiritual power and dominating in personal presence into the sacred center of the temple. @... everyone?

IC Stannis | Lapyx, descending into Kini ”Oreius,” the wizard said as he roused himself from his meditative trance, “I have just learned what kissing is like.” @Eyru

IC Hiripaki | Eel man's moving castle "Yes, the legs help," Hiripaki agreed and gestured with her one arm at Aurax and OTIS. "As do the pack animals." "That was a joke. "

IC Hiripaki | Eel man's moving castle "This is a new development," she admitted. "Until recently I was a heavily-armed living lair with three doors and laser beam eyes."

IC Hiripaki | Eel man's moving castle "You could say that," the vahki said. "He made me at the start of this cycle and I am Caedast's vault of knowledge."

IC Hiripaki | Eel man's moving castle "Oh cool." The AI wasn't sure why they couldn't just open the door by other means, like sliding a keycard in as normal and how the door was obviously engineered to function, but this was a new world for her to explore and maybe Aurax and OTIS had a plan for this. Everything was so refreshing and bright! So much space! Stannis of the Maru was not lying when he said the world was a big, biiiig place. Nale walked up. "Hello. I am Hiripaki, D-4OP, Builder-Cyborg relations. You must also be one of Stannis' Companions!"

IC Hiripaki | Vahki hive "Eyyy. *Fonz with one arm* "So, what's OTIS doing?"

Okay, her pilots permit has been revoked. Maybe Stannis got the last one last game.

Hiripaki 2.0, D-4QP Builder-Cyborg Relations What: A sentient AI in a Vahki body Description: Hiripaki is an intelligence—she does not have a description, per se. Regardless of her incorporeality, a few notes can be made about her, however: Hiripaki understands herself to be, well, a she. Her voice is arguably natural-sounding but still sounds robotic when reciting certain facts or giving the date or weather, and she is fully aware of her artificial nature and capabilities. Since receiving outside assistance in the form of King Aurax the First of His Name Hiripaki is newly housed within the clockwork mechanics of Vahki Unit BO-1337-P, the pilot automaton that assisted Stannis towards the end of the Battle for Metru Nui. She looks in many ways just like a Bordahk would be expected to look, but due to damages in a crash landing only has one functional arm. A hopsack satchel hangs on her back. History: Many things are unknown about Hiripaki, the Vault of Stories, but it is said she was created by unknown beings long ago and installed in the Great Spirit Robot upon its construction in relative secrecy. Builder Stannis helped program her into an indestructible vault deep in the One-Metro Archives, Sublevel 7, however Makuta Aspect Caedast, masquerading as Toa Stannis of the Maru, used the vault as his base and lair. Hiripaki seemingly has only one primary directive: Protect Stannis/Caedast's knowledge and legacy, at any and all costs. The exact parameters of this directive are unknown, but it is clear she is dedicated to her directive. Nature: Factual to a fault and literal to exasperating levels, Hiripaki thinks in binary—true and false, yes and no, red and green, Welcome Ones and not welcome ones, etc., etc. She is friendly and helpful to people who don’t threaten her or her mission, but if attacked she possesses a simple ruthlessness similar to a modern-day Vahki’s unemotional efficiency. And now she is a Vahki. Go figure. Powers: Hiripaki can interact directly with any intelligence in machinery and use a variety of ancient computer codes to isolate and destroy intelligent thoughts. Doing so can cause her to temporarily leave whatever motherboard she currently inhabits. This is effective against both artificial and biomechanical thoughts. In addition, she is able to defend against intrusions to her own coding, blocking out signals and fireballing virus code. She can intuitively understand any spoken language she encounters and most importantly contains the whole collective history of the Builders upon the Ark. She contains an almost infinite number of slideshows, articles, and references to obscure knowledge relating to the Ark and its denizens. She can summon Kanoka from any nearby hub and fire them from her mandibles. Tools: A single Staff of Command. People who are struck by the weapon’s blasts become temporarily connected to Hiripaki’s directive of assisting and protecting Caedast/Stannis. Flaws: Hiripaki is an ancient intelligence and relies on gathering intelligence from occasional external uplinks to maintain a databank of information. Without constant updated of her databanks, she does not have a way to gain awareness of the universe or setting, and she will operate on things she knows to be true rather than make assumptions on her own. Although smart and capable of managing incredible amounts of data it does not have the ability to run complex algorithms, and as a result cannot truly problem solve on its own. Due to the loss of an arm, her Vahki unit is lopsided and is not perfectly balanced.

IC Stannis | Air "Let's finish this, then," he said quietly. "All of it. If we can." "If we can," Stannis echoed and nodded sagaciously. He'd always seemed to know what lie ahead for people around him, but for all his familiarity with Shadow he was still blinded by everything it touched, and so he was still utterly unaware of what lie ahead for himself. The future was still in flux, and some wishes wax and wane. "... If we can." The wizard sat down and buckled himself in for safety as his former brother piloted the vessel in for a landing smoother than Stannis could ever have managed and spent the precious few moments of silence to meditate on what could happen and was happening. He reached out with his taboos, sensing where everyone he knew was one by one. Mi-Kiri was falling, the ancient Builder sanctuaries were demolished, the Administrator must have been all but contained, and Ehlek was being countered by the Taku team with some particular help. Aurax had retrieved Hiripaki and with her the possibility of preserving new knowledge far into the future. Leklo, Korruhn, Parnassus, and a whole host of others were en route as well. A veritable army was massing... and all for a battle Stannis expected but could not truly anticipate. His mind swerved to the rival Aspects. Spiriah doubtless began his endgame maneuvers, and Miserix was surely poised as well, and while he could not sense their exact locations he was assured they were not far away. Tuakana was equally oblique, and Sorilax's presence was betrayed only by his fateful Icarus folly. Caedast would meet their future in the depths of the Kini-Nui and, possibly beyond that, come to terms with their Makers. When they fell from the heights off the Coliseum in the wake of striking Pridak and being defenestrated to their death they knew in their bones that the end was not around the corner for them yet. But now? In the Lapyx, descending upon the Kini-Nui and the terrible Mangaia below it? Caedast was not so sure there was more to the road. All paths were leading her there. But there was one more thing she could do to enshrine her place in history, as it always had been. A contingency plan that had somehow always been the plan. Stannis' eyes closed. IC Hiripaki | Other Air "Greetings, mother flippers!" Hiripaki greeted as they entered the flying fortress.

IC Hiripaki | The Vault of Stories "New databank entry: ... ... ... Added."

IC Stannis | Lapyx, en route to Kini He was silent again and let Oreius' words sit for a moment. The Maru was right to be upset, absolutely, and there was no defense against the anger of a man who had felt imprisoned by the same person who once was his best friend. Oreius was betrayed by his brother and his heart, and all this because of Stannis' nature. But the argument, while passionate, was not without rebut. When Stannis spoke at last it was calm, measured, and diplomatic... yet very much sincere. “The feeling you are saying I lack is empathy. I do not know that in the same way you do, but I do know you feel loss and pain from my actions. I have felt pain from the thousands of stabs I have taken while fighting wars for others, and I have discovered loss from missing the very same innocent kinship I pushed away myself, and I have lived long past my due to see the people who cared about me suffer in my wake regardless of my intentions. "There is no use for pretenses between us, Once-Brother, so yes: Berate me, lambast me, I deserve it—and it is fully within your right—... but the truth is I know I have caused irreparable damages, and for the things I have done do feel sorrow, and I can regret that I have inflicted these wounds while poising as a great man of your kind. There is absolutely nothing I can do that would make it better and it does no good for me to ask for forgiveness—your mercy is far beyond my control—but I will offer my apology regardless. It's... That is all I can control." He sighed. "Take it... Leave it... The past is done and this cycle is set, no balm or poultice can make the wounds go away, but we can make these scars mean something so that none ever have to be hurt by their aspects again, as I have hurt you."

IC Stannis | Lapyx The old wizard stood in thought for a moment, considering Oreius' retort. "You're right," he said finally. A remorseful look fell on his usually stoic face. "You haven't." "I am sorry." @Eyru

IC RETCON (by request, and user error) Stannis | Tobduk-Koro Before Stannis had vanished from the midst of the denizens of Tobduk-Koro, he collected Councillor NU by placing his hand on the Vahki's shoulder and then disappeared in a burst of shadow. The next thing the Mother knew, she was in the company of Nale and the others aboard Ehlek's fortress, there to fight against the Barraki in the final stages of the world's apocalypse. The wizard had granted its wish, as he always did. And then Stannis was gone again to see Oreius. @Toru Nui @Tarn @BULiK