Onaku

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

Having had his fill of fresh air and sun on his skin, Tirokk moved back below deck, making his way to the ship's gym which Kale had helpfully shown him on their earlier tour. Rolling outa mat, Tirokk started with some stretches to relieve the tension in his muscles, groaning as his body protested before relenting. He took a deep breath, exhaling out his mouth like a gentle sigh, before gracefully aligning himself into a cross-legged pose, his hands outstretched to rest on his knees with his palms up while he closed his eyes to meditate.

OOC: Open for interaction

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

With nothing left to do but get settled in, Tirokk sighed as he unsealed his suit once more with a familiar hiss of hot air rushing out through each opening, this time opening it up further as his sleeveless jumpsuit adorned back was revealed, pulling himself out of it with a grunt, stretching and cracking joints with a groan before sighing with relief. It had been far too long since he'd taken the suit off and his body was all too weary from his travels, carrying all that protosteel on his body across hundreds of kios of land. Kakama or no, that was a lot of distance to cover with such weight. A good workout, yes, certain to contribute to his endurance, but no workout could go on forever, and it was time for Tirokk to take a break.

After closing up and sealing his suit, leaning it against the bulkhead and sitting it down into a position where it wouldn't slide around to cause damage should the ship tilt unduly, Tirokk made his way back up to the top deck of the ship. Still a veritable juggernaut even out of his suit, the Toa took a moment to simply feel the sun radiating on his skin, taking a deep whiff of ocean air after being cooped up in his suit for so long. Taking a look around, he made a note of a few more arrivals he hadn't seen earlier, none that he recognized any more than the crew of the ship when he'd first arrived here.

Unsure how to approach any of them, he simply gave anyone who looked his way a nod in greeting and acknowledgement as he made his way to the side of the boat to look at the cliffs Ostia was built into, taking in the sight properly now that his field of view wasn't obstructed by his heavy metal suit.

OOC: Tirokk is open for interaction

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

"Close quarters, specially so getting there." Tirokk responded as Kale gave him the tour, looking everything over with a hidden look of appreciation. "This is a good ship you've got here. I admit I was hesitant to go out on sea, but on a vessel such as this, that prospect seems much improved."

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

"Nah, never stayed in one place for long. Just helped out wherever I passed through, refining my armour all the while as its shortcomings came to light in what ended up being some very rigorous field testing."

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

"I... made a vow... a long time ago." Tirokk was hesitant to get into it too deeply. It was a sensitive subject for him and he didn't quite know these people yet, despite their reputation preceding them as a group.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

Having turned back to Kale, Tirokk responded. "Well, I've spent a lot of time honing my elemental abilities, to swiftly create tools for combat under stress for example, as well as refining my suit's design and material across multiple iterations. It is, I grant you, a bit unusual looking, but practically speaking, it's been very carefully shaped for maximum durability and aerodynamics. Combined with my Kakama... Well, I'm sure you get the picture."

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

Shaking Dehkaz's hand, Tirokk made sure to restrain his grip to a firm but painless handshake. "Yes, of course."

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

Walking up with Kale, Tirokk raised a hand in greeting.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

"Sounds good." Tirokk responded, following after Kale while retaining his thoughtful gait across the deck.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

"I have nothing to bring onboard beyond what you see here before you." Tirokk responded, gesturing with the suit at itself.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia, Fowadi

"Fair enough." Tirokk responded, before considering Kale's comment on his size. "Who's Brukin?"

IC: Tirokk - Ostia

"Aye, they did." Carefully, Tirokk made his way onboard, each step cautious. "Kale Ironshaper, a fellow Toa of Iron, yes? This your handiwork then?" He asked as the large metal suit gestured to the ship and its armoured exterior.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia

"Right..." Tirokk glanced from the small crystalline being back to Skyra, then to the ship itself. "Permission to... come aboard?" In the back of his mind, Tirokk wanted anything but to get on that ship and be out on sea, but he was determined not to let those fears get in his way now. He knew he had to be proactive in protecting the island and its people, and the Aggressors seemed to him like the best way to do just that.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia

"Er... Tirokk. Toa of Iron." The voice from the heavy suit of armour repeated, an audible hint of surprise to his voice as he regarded the small being.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia

"I do. Name's Tirokk, Toa of Iron."

IC: Tirokk - Ostia

"I'm looking for a group known as the Aggressors. Have I come to the right place?" Seams all over the suit split open, hot air blowing out like a hissing discharge of steam, before closing up again and sealing shut.

IC: Tirokk - Ostia

Being this close to the ocean was certainly not part of the juggernaut Toa's usual routes. Usually he made a point to travel only by land, avoiding the sea and other deep bodies of water as much as possible, the fear of sinking and drowning a powerful deterrent. But for what he was about to do, Tirokk realised he had to overcome that fear of the depths and do what was right. The Aggressors, he'd heard them referred to as. Sounded... well, aggressive, to be certain, but knowing the idea behind the name had brought Tirokk all the way out to Ostia in search of a particular vessel.

Walking the docks with wary step after wary step, Tirokk soon spotted the vessel he was searching for, and approached it, looking it over appreciatively. Iron clad. In emergencies, he could reach out and tether himself to it to save himself from sinking. A singular comforting thought as he approached the Fowadi.

"Hello?" Greeted a deep gravelly voice echoing from within an immense and unusually shaped suit of armour, looking almost like a cross between a suit and a torpedo, as it approached the ship with heavy but calculated steps.

Tirokk

Species: Fe-Toa

Description: Head and shoulders over most toa, clad in a thick protosteel suit of armour that hides a formidable strongman's physique underneath. The armour is gunmetal and silver in colouration, its design conveying less consideration for aesthetics and more for practicality. Underneath the armour his body's colouration is dark metallic grey and rust brown, his eyes and heart light pale golden.

Gender: Male

Powers and weapons: As a Toa of Iron, Tirokk is able to create and manipulate protodermic metal, such as in the creation of iron or, with greater effort and concentration, protosteel. His mastery over the element is honed and considerable, allowing him to swiftly and efficiently create metallic objects or mend their damage, as well as manipulate their position with great accuracy.

With this power, he has constructed himself an immensely heavy suit of armour composed of thick protosteel. This suit has been specifically crafted and honed over a long time for the purpose of surviving high velocity impacts and effectively delivering kinetic damage while not hampering dexterity completely. 

To this end, the suit is reinforced on the inside to minimize whiplash and impact damage to the wearer, and built for rapid movement by use of a Kanohi Kakama, aerodynamics shaping its design in unusual ways that have melded it into something like a humanoid projectile. All joints and seams have been reinforced to protect the wearer from physical harm.

The Kakama is outfitted with a durable scope attachment which allows Tirokk to see far ahead of him, easing high-speed travel across long distances. The scope is protected along with his mask under the suit's armour, with a hole in the suit's plating enabling his scope to extend out or retract to safety.

Out of the armour, however, he takes on an entirely new factor of speed even without the mask, with surprising agility and dexterity for a being of his immense and heavy stature, having gone through intense and rigorous training to effectively use the heavy suit of armour. While out of the armour, Tirokk wields a pair of protosteel knuckle irons on his fists, as well as protosteel tipped boots, along with a myriad of weapons such as swords, spears, hammers, daggers, etc. which he has become proficient in conjuring with his elemental powers. He is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and skilled in use of various types of melee and throwing weapons.

History: A long time ago, Tirokk became a Toa with several other matoran. They formed a Toa Team of their own and set out to help the island in any way they could. For a time they did well, and earned a minor reputation, but eventually they met an enemy they could not defeat. Watching each and every one of his teammates die, Tirokk was left traumatized, becoming deeply guarded and closed off from other people, retreating into isolation for a long time. 

In his isolation, Tirokk honed his powers, swearing that he would never be caught lacking again. In time, he crafted a heavy suit of armour to complement his mask, gradually improving its design to withstand harder impacts as he honed in on a particularly expedient attack strategy. However, he realized that specializing too much would leave him vulnerable, and so trained himself in ways of combat that would help him were he ever caught out of his armour or forced to abandon it.

Eventually, reaching protosteel quality with his metallic constructs after honing his craft, he finally set out to test his mettle, finding himself at first humbled but pushing through to adapt and shape himself into the ultimate warrior.

Personality and traits: Around strangers, Tirokk is incredibly guarded, presenting a cold and professional demeanor in his dealings, and being difficult to get close to. However, the armour he's constructed around his heart is not impervious, and once someone has gotten through to him, he can be incredibly warm and affectionate, albeit clumsy due to a lack of real socialization. He's in fact quite awkward in more lighthearted social scenarios, as well as a bit too literal minded at times, with jokes regularly flying over his head.

When it comes to combat, Tirokk isn't prone to holding back, often choosing the most expedient and pragmatic way to take out an enemy. While he prefers to analyse situations as much as possible, he isn't afraid to make snap-judgments if he deems the situation to call for it. Though more often than not cautious, he is more than willing to risk his life if it is to the benefit of those in need.

Weakness(es): 

Lumbering Giant: Despite the consideration for locomotion in his armour's design, without the use of his Kanohi Kakama, he is slow and lumbering while wearing it, better suited for defense than offense. The suit also hinders more delicate operations considerably, and hampers his dexterity somewhat even with his use of the Kakama. 

Aim For The Weak Spot: Additionally, despite being heavily reinforced, the narrow slits and scope hole in the forward plating allowing him to see out of it are weakpoints that an enemy with high accuracy could potentially take advantage of. While out of the suit, his armour is far less robust, with most conventional means of physical damage being sufficient to harm him.

Tunnelvision: On a literal level, Tirokk's field of view is severely narrowed while wearing the suit. On a figurative level, Tirokk has a tendency to hyper-fixate when presented with a problem, ignoring everything else in favour of dealing with the target of his hyper-fixation at that time.

Big and Heavy: With his size and weight while in the suit, it's often a point of trouble for him to get around in less open spaces. Due to the weight of his suit, he also has trouble transporting it by any means other than with his own two legs. This also means he often prefers to give any bodies of water a wide berth, in no way helped by the fact that he doesn't know how to swim.

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Zadred

Species: Bo-Skakdi

Description:  Teal and lime colouration, bright red eyes and heart light. Very short and skinny for a Skakdi, a veritable runt. Wears well worn hooded robes consisting of a dark indigo cloth, a leather satchel holding various items, and a wooly lavender and pale blue scarf wrapped around her neck and on top of shoulders, worn over her robes.
Gender: Female

Powers and/or weapons: Zadred has Telescopic Vision and has the element of Plantlife at her disposal should she join with another Skakdi or use a Skakdi tool to channel her powers. In her possession is a gardening multitool she keeps in her satchel along with a range of herbs with medicinal qualities, as well as seeds of various useful plants she can use to quickly grow in emergencies.

Technological Items: A solid staff made from an unknown brass-like material that's as sturdy as protosteel and can channel a Skakdi's elemental powers in a limited fashion. For Zadred's elemental plantlife powers, it allows her to cause seeds to sprout, to boost the growth of extant flora, and to manipulate the shape of a plant's growth to her liking.

History: Finding herself on Mata-Nui's shores  years ago with no memories, Zadred eked out a living between Ga-Wahi and Le-Wahi by putting her affinity for plant-life to use in the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, selling them in the settlements of either Wahi for some coin to sustain herself. During that time she also studied the local flora of the island, familiarizing herself to almost an encyclopedic degree with the properties of Mata-Nui's varied and often verdant plantlife.

Now, years after her settling into a comfortable and fulfilling life, memories of a life in another land have slowly begun to seep into her mind, a life as a member of a secretive and reviled group of individuals dead set on discovering the mystical truths of Zakaz and the universe in general. Awakening an insatiable curiosity that had laid dormant for all these years, Zadred yearns to return to the homeland she had forgotten, to find out what has become of the people she once knew.

Personality and Traits: Curious to a fault, Zadred is otherwise a humble and gentle person with a love for all things that grow. Though often quite shy, she can conversely be very confident when faced with situations lacking an imposing social element, with her curiosity driving her to eagerly face personal risk.

Weaknesses: Zadred is prone to being foolhardy and overconfident, letting her curiosity overpower her sensibilities in her pursuit of knowledge and secrets. Being so small for a Skakdi, she is open to ridicule by larger members of her species concerned with physical prowess and stature. 

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Helkyrii

Species: Skakdi

Description: An indigo and black colouration on her body along with white glowing eyes and heartlight. Half her body, split vertically from the top of her head down to her legs, is withered and desiccated like a corpse, almost skeletal in appearance and with a blackened rust covering her mechanical components though otherwise still fully functioning. 

Gender: Female

Powers and/or weapons: Helkyrii's vision power is True Sight, allowing her to see spirits and other hidden things like the masks Elda or Rode would. Her element is Earth, which she can use in conjunction with another Skakdi. 

She possesses two weapons, a sharpened shovel she can use either for digging or for fighting, and a ritual dagger engraved with sacred runes pertaining to her cult.

Technological Items: An elemental focus that allows her to channel her Elemental Earth powers for Earth Sense, allowing her to sense the earth around her and perceive variations in it.

Weaknesses: Her unusual appearance makes it hard for her to get along with most people, with most taking her appearance as a bad omen and shunning her for it. This has isolated her socially and made her easy to indoctrinate by the Acolytes of Ahk'Rei-Ahan.

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Okuo

Species: Ta-Matoran

Description: Red and azure colouration, wearing a red noble Rau with cyan eyes and heartlight. Wears a big green scarf with the symbol of Le-Koro on it over standard-issue Ta-Koro Guard armor.

Gender: Male

Powers and/or weapons: As a Ta-Matoran, Okuo has great resistance to heat and flame. Trained for swift traversal through the various environments between Ta-Wahi and Le-Wahi, he's become agile, quick, and acrobatic. He carries a standard issue spear, hatchet, dagger, and shield from the Ta-Koro guard, along with a strong reinforced throwing disk.

Other items: Okuo wears a satchel containing a sketch book, a piece of sharpened graphite wrapped in cloth, a lightstone, a heatstone, and a Le-Koro horn with which he can call for his Kewa mount, not to mention play songs rather proficiently.

Weakness(es): As a Ta-Matoran, Okuo is weak to the cold.

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Naio Dackelus

Species: Toa of Crystal

Description: Black and white colouration, red eyes and heart light, wears a simple white jacket and a white Mahiki styled like a Miru. Slightly shorter than average height, atheltic but slim bodytype.

Gender: Male

Powers and/or weapons: Naio wears a Kanohi Mahiki, allowing him create illusions and shapeshift visually. As a Toa of Crystal, Naio can create and control crystals with great skill. Crystals he creates are most often a transluscent black that seems to absorb all light, though sometimes with small sparse spots of opague white impurities inside, almost resembling stars in the otherwise pitch black crystals.

As far as gear goes, Naio carries a blade made of a black crystal as strong as the toughest protosteel. With precise manipualtion, Naio can change the sword's length, width, curvature, handle, and more, to adapt to different fighting styles, be it a light one-hander for more agile and swift combat, a long two hander to give his swings more power, or even a dagger for a more subtle approach, the latter most being the form he most often carries the weapon in.

Weakness(es): Emotionally dead inside.

IC: Okuo - Ko-Pou, Taku

Finishing setting up the pots along with ladles, placing a stack of bowls and a case of spoons next to them, Okuo grabbed himself a bowl of soup before sitting down with Triage. Seeing the gold and green being walk out of the bridge and nod to them along the way, Okuo didn't immediately recognize them before they headed down to a lower deck. "Who's that? Seems like there's new faces cropping up all the time now..."

@Tarn@BULiK@Vezok's Friend

IC: Iradra - Ko-Pou, Taku

Iradra got herself a bowl of stew and took a seat, glancing curiously at the gold and green being before she dug into her meal.

OOC: Iradra OFI

IC: Okuo - Ko-Pou

"Alright! Well, not sure if my name got conveyed back when... well, y'know, but anyway, I'm Okuo. Thanks for the help, by the way, there's a lot more to go around now so we should be able to give everyone something to eat before things start heating up again." He remarked with a smile as the group headed back outside the barracks and returned to the Taku. "Okay everyone, so, we have some stew, some hearty soup, potroast, a vegetarian option if anyone's not a fan of meat, and then there's some pudding if anyone wants dessert. There's bowls and spoons in the case, feel free to help yourselves to whatever you like, there's plenty to go around." Okuo said, giving everyone a friendly grin as he made his way up the ramp and looked around for an elevated surface inside the ship to put down the pots and the case.

@Vezok's Friend@Tarn@Snelly@BULiK@Toru Nui@Harvali

IC: Iradra - Ko-Pou

"I'm just here to help out in any way I can." She said, regarding Achro with equal uncertainty. As Okuo and the matoran helping him made their way around up into the Taku, Iradra couldn't help but look over with interest. "Huh, guess food's served."

IC: Arkius - Ascension

Arkius had done it. He'd reached the surface. Floating in the air in his shard of earth alongside a handful of others, sand whirling around underneath, he waited patiently for the Mesi to follow him up. He waited patiently. But no one came. Feeling down into the earth, he sensed nothing. No one was coming. Was he free? Lowering the shards down to the ground again, Arkius broke the one that concealed him apart, leaving only the protective shell that kept his charred flesh and warped frame together as he felt out with his earth sense, stretching his senses out further in all directions. He was free. Wasn't he?

Yet there at the edges of his elemental senses he felt nothing. He felt erosion against the fringes of the ground, ocean churning against the fragment of land he found himself stranded on, an island with nowhere to go. Had he his eyes he might have seen where he could go, might have floated his way across any ocean. But he was robbed of his sight. His body was ruined, his flesh burnt and his components distorted. His elemental energy was almost gone too entirely, spent on freeing him from the clutches of the corrupted earth, to bring him here...

But he had no where to go. He was free, and yet he was trapped just as before. As he remained there, he did not even flinch when he felt the droves of Mesi emerge from the the crags and surround him. As the Aspect spoke, he simply stood there like a petrified statue within his shell, all other forms of his elemental use having crumbled to stop wasting his energy. When finally the Aspect offered him his choice, he stood there in contemplative silence. Slowly, the shell around his form began to crumble away.

"Grant me blood." He began in a raspy, damaged voice, as the clay crumbled away from his withered and maimed form, his entire body covered in still fresh burn wounds as more of the cast crumbled away. "Grant me vengeance." Even as it crumbled away, how ever, the Toa stood tall over the Mesi that surrounded him, his eyeless face looking at no one but his head held high. "And my soul is yours."

Before the Mesi, he stood, mangled and charred, closer to death than life yet refusing to buckle from the effort of holding himself up.

"Otherwise just kill me."

@Unreliable Narrator

IC: Okuo - Ko-Pou

The Toa of Fire turned to the Matoran who'd followed him as he opened up the door to the barracks, nodding and smiling gratefully before entering inside. Leading them to the kitchen, they would see four large pots with sealed lids. Opening up the cupboards, he began retrieving stacks of bowls, plates, and cups made from metal and placing them on the counter next to the pots. He pulled a large case from underneath the counter, opening it up before he began placing the stacks inside, opening up the drawers as well to retrieve various cutlery to put in the case as well. With that done, he closed up the case and handed it to one of the Matoran, taking a large pot to hand to the other two each before he himself grabbed the last two, carrying them stacked on top of each other under one arm.

"Alright, that should be everything." He said, looking around at the kitchen he'd become familiar with during his month long stay at Ko-Pou, now having to empty it out as the world itself was on the verge of eating it up. There was a wistful look with a hint of regret on his features as he looked it all over, before finally sighing as he turned to leave. "By the way, I know Vhisola, but I was never able to ask your names before." He said, addressing the other two Matoran.

@Vezok's Friend

IC: Iradra - Ko-Pou

Iradra recognised the misshapen Toa from the battle in Metru-Nui a month earlier, the Toa who had at the last minute decided to join them as they escaped the Coliseum in a stolen airship. Placing a reassuring hand on Klawne's shoulder, she then moved to intercept the Ta-Toa. "I've seen you before. Achro, wasn't it?"

@Toru Nui@Harvali

IC: Onaku - The Far Shore

Chapter 1 - Expectations

Onaku wasn’t sure what to make of his trip to the place he found himself in, a desolate wasteland of rock and gravel with lightning arcing across the heavily overcast sky up above. But what he remembered of it felt like falling through a kaleidoscope of starscapes, landscapes, and abstract visualizations, the strangest sights whizzing him by as he fell for what felt like an eternity. Then, suddenly, he was here, in the wasteland, underneath a churning sky full of light and fire in between the darkened cloud cover. In the distance, a building of metal and stone, the only discernible feature in an otherwise dreary and monotonous landscape.

With the sky above churning with electric bolts looking for any excuse to hit the ground, Onaku knew he was like a lightning rod standing out in the middle of the rocky plane. He had to hurry and get to cover, and other than the jagged mountains skewering the sky from beyond the horizon, the only place he could see that might provide him with it was the building. Thus he began his sprint, huffing and puffing as he kicked up the gravelly dust lining the uneven ground, making good headway toward the building.

Momentarily, his thoughts turned to what might lie ahead. Perhaps he would find a Makoki stone fragment in there? Or perhaps another unfortunate soul who’d gotten lost in the far shore? In any case, it was the only path forward that Onaku had before him, though he did wonder if it was a bit too obvious an answer. His thoughts were cut short at the strong taste of metal in his mouth, distinct from his usual mouth taste in how sharp it felt. Compounding it was the feeling of prickling across his form, and the crackling noise in his ears. He only had a second to realize what this meant before the whole world went blinding white.

Onaku found himself thrown to the ground with extraordinary force, twitching and flailing helplessly as he felt the raw energy pulse through and burn him from the inside out. He wanted to scream, but the once-Toa found himself robbed of the ability to articulate even his vocal cords, his nerves feeling as if they were literally on fire, untamed electricity sparking violently through his system and making his muscles twitch, stiffen up, and spasm uncontrollably. His eyes flew wide while pulses of pain coursed through his body erratically, and his heartlight flickered with dangerous irregularity while breath eluded him for what felt like ages

With every ounce of strength in his body, Onaku managed to force a gulp of air down into lungs, just barely managing to avoid passing out as he painstakingly inflated his chest and deflated it with every bit of manual control he could exert over it, his every breath shallow but just sufficient to stave off blacking out completely, as much as the sweet embrace of unconsciousness tempted him at that moment. Though the spasms continued along with the electricity coursing through his body, Onaku managed to roll over onto his stomach before he began dragging himself forward with his twitching, numbing arms, his determined focus locked on the building up ahead as he slowly continued his journey to it.

It was only half-way from where the lightning had struck him to the building that he finally managed to stumble back to his feet without falling over again, making the rest of the trip on his feet without further electric incidents. Noting at arrival that the building’s smooth wall of a front door had no discernable way to open it up, with no hidden switches he could find on or around it, nor any response to him pushing on it with all his might, Onaku began to circle the building, finding only further smooth walls along its side before finally rounding the corner to the back.

Rather than more of the same smooth impenetrable walls, Onaku found a large sparking gash in the building’s exterior, the metal red hot and the stonework molten slag around a hole large enough for him to fit through if he was careful not to touch the still glowing material. Looking around for any signs of who might have made this hole and finding no one, the once-Toa gingerly moseyed inside through the hole, finding himself in a smooth metallic corridor with red glowing crystal fixtures on the ceiling that cast the entire space in a deep sanguine hue.

Making his way inside, the roaring ambient of the outside atmosphere was soon replaced with a quiet mechanical hum that permeated the entire space. Onaku soon found himself at a junction, with labels above each corridor offshoot in letters he couldn’t understand but could discern were distantly related to matoran. One corridor’s label was distinct from the others, as rather than letters there was a symbol, a humanoid figure with its arms outstretched to the side and upward, its legs spread at shoulder width. It seemed eerily familiar though he couldn’t quite place it. With no other real lead, he decided it was worthwhile to check down that corridor first.

It wasn’t far down the corridor that Onaku began to notice dents in the smooth metallic wall panelling, sometimes enough to crack the plating and reveal the damaged stonework underneath. Heading further down the corridor, turning a few corners along the way, he began to pick up on a distant, rapid clanging, one that grew louder and louder as he made his way around one corner after the other, until finally he found himself looking at a cloaked figure wielding a large jackhammer-like tool against the smooth metallic wall, apparently trying to hammer it open.

Cautious of this stranger, Onaku remained near the corner in case he needed to duck into cover, waiting for the figure to stop hammering the wall before finally raising his hand in greeting and speaking out. “Uh, hello! Would you happen to know where I am currently?”

The figure jumped slightly, turning to Onaku and leveling the jackhammer at him before lowering it. “Oh my! How unexpected, a visitor! And one with a sense of humor, no less.” The being responded, their voice soft and a little high-pitched. Onaku furrowed his brow, stepping a bit closer. “Are you one of the people who entered into the Far Shore?”

The figure cocked their head to the side, gazing at him from under their hood with obvious curiosity despite their features being obscured. “Yes, the Far Shore. Quite the trip!”

Onaku nodded and sighed with relief. “Alright, well, I’m here to get you out then. My name is Onaku, I-” The figure raised a hand, interrupting him. “Ah, I’m afraid I can’t leave quite yet. Still have an… important item to retrieve. You know how it is. Can’t leave half way through the job.”

The once-Toa perked up, nodding with understanding. “The Makoki Stone fragment... you’ve found it?” The figure paused, then nodded in return. “The Makoko fragment, yes, I’ve found it, and I’d be most grateful if you could help me retrieve it. I know it’s hidden somewhere in here, just not sure where, the architects were most unhelpful in how they designed this place.”

Onaku stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Well, what’s at the end of the corridor?” He asked, looking down the winding hallway. The figure shrugged. “The end of the corridor? I don’t know. Why do you ask?” The once-Toa furrowed his brow at this, a confused expression on his features. “Because… wouldn’t the Makoki Stone fragment, if it’s being kept in this place, be stored at the end of the hallway?”

The figure’s high pitched cackle caught Onaku off guard, with him wincing as it cut into his ears. “You really think they’d keep such an important item as the Maaakoko Stone at the end of the hallway? Where anyone could find it? Surely you can’t be THAT naive, Toa.”

Onaku sighed, shaking his head and crossing his arms. “How can you be sure it’s not there if you haven’t checked?”

The figure paused, looking at the several dents they’d drilled into the walls with their jackhammer tool, before looking back at Onaku. “Well… when you put it that way, it does sound pretty sensible.” They then moved down the corridor a bit, raising their tool up against a smooth spot on the wall. “Which is why it most assuredly isn’t the answer. You feel free to go and check up ahead, though. Just know I’m not afraid to say ‘I told you so’ when you come back empty handed.”

Shrugging, the once-Toa began making his way down the corridor again while the figure started hammering away at the wall. A few rounded corners later, Onaku came upon a chamber with a large vault door at the end, with several mechanisms surrounding the door. “Oh yeah, too sensible that it’s at the end of the corridor.” He muttered to himself, shaking his head as he approached one of the mechanisms.

“Alright, lets see how this works…” Fiddling with the mechanisms methodically, he determined that the mechanisms were all connected in some way, concluding that it would require at least two people operating it at the same time to make it work. It looked like he’d need the cloaked figure’s help with this. Sighing to himself, Onaku turned around and headed back down the corridor, quickly finding the figure hammering away a few corners away, waving for them to stop.

“Ahah! Told you s-” “I found a vault door, guy. It has a mechanism that requires two people to operate it, so we’ll have to work together to open it.” The figure seemed slightly taken back. “... A vault door? Really? Hah, the architects really lacked imagination, it seems.” Slinging the jackhammer tool over their shoulder, the figure began making their way down the corridor past Onaku. “Unless of course it’s  a decoy vault, which I wouldn’t put past them… still, can’t take the chance that it’s the real vault and pass it by. I’ll help you out, then, mister, but only because you asked nicely, and because I need a break from hammering at these walls all day long. Really killing my entire bone structure with the vibrations, I gotta tell you.”

The once-Toa sighed and nodded, following after the cloaked individual as they continued rambling on and wincing as a painful jolt travelled up his arm, reminding him of the agonizing lightning strike he’d suffered earlier. The two figures arrived at the vault chamber quickly enough, with the cloaked figure darting around and inspecting the mechanisms with interest. “Interesting, fascinating, a good distraction if this is the decoy vault.” Onaku shrugged, making his way to the other end of the room and taking his place at the mechanism, grasping it. “Alright, you grasp that lever over there and on the count of three, yank it as hard as you can down and to the left, okay?”

The cloaked figure inspected the lever, before nodding and grasping it. “Sounds simple enough. I can’t imagine how you could think this would work.” Onaku grunted irately. “Alright, get ready now. One… two… THREE!” In unison, the two beings worked their mechanisms, and as Onaku had predicted, the resulting chain of mechanisms joined up to meld together in unison, working the Vault’s opening mechanism. The massive door groaned and slid forward, before lifting up to reveal a bright glowing chamber within, bright enough to blind him.

“Alright! Maybe not a decoy after all! I guess we’ll see. Come come! Lets check insi- hey, wait for me!” While the figure had been rambling, Onaku had already made his way to the vault opening, peering inside and making his way in. In the center of the vault seemed to be a pedestal, something sitting on the top of it that had a bright aura around it that obscured its features.

“Did we do it? Did we find the Makoki Sto-” As his eyes adjusted to the light level, Onaku quickly realised that the item on the pedestal was no stone fragment at all, but a mask of a strange design he felt was familiar, though he still couldn’t place it, a design on the front resembling the vitruvian symbol he’d seen at the junction earlier. “This… isn’t the stone. Maybe you were right, maybe this was a decoy vau-”

Turning around, Onaku was too late to react as the hooded figure had raised a Zamor blaster and fired, the sphere knocking the once-Toa back. He fell down next to the mask, his hand grazing against it with a bit of static traveling between them before he hit the floor and coughed, feeling the taste of blood in his mouth as he realized he felt something eating into his chest.

“Sorry about the acid sphere, guy, but I was going to have to kill you sooner or later anyway, so I figured I’d at least do it at the most convenient moment while you were distracted. Thanks for the help, though, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for.” The figure said, their tone turning to one of reverence as they approached the mask, gazed upon it with hands hovering hesitantly on either side of it. Onaku coughed up blood, crawling back away from the pedestal and up against the wall, feeling the acid eat away at his lungs. He tried to speak, but found that his voice only came out in a raspy wheeze.

“Oh, I guess I should tell you before you die.” The figure remarked, turning to Onaku and pulling their hood down, revealing a gaunt silvery skakdi face that looked at him with vacant red eyes and a thin toothy grin. “The name’s Vezon. Pleasure killing you, Onaku. We really should do it again some time.” He chuckled to himself, and slowly the once-Toa’s vision turned blurry and dark as he felt the life drain out of him. The last thing Onaku saw was the grin on Vezon’s face as he looked his way, before turning around and walking away.

Then, there was nothing.

Onaku was dead.

…

Onaku gasped for air as a powerful jolt shot through his entire body, the once-Toa shooting upright from his position lying against the wall and looking around frantically in utter confusion. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he quickly realized he wasn’t in the vault any more, but in a dark and grimy corridor of far less refined metallic construction than where he'd been before, resembling the foundries in Ta-Metru. Standing up, he had very little time to make heads or tails of what had happened when he heard a noise from behind him, multiple heavy steps upon the metallic floor approaching him rapidly.

To be continued...

IC: Okuo - Ko-Pou

Okuo, deep in thought, looked up with a briefly surprised expression as Triage addressed him before nodding. "Oh! Uh, yeah, just... need to go fetch all that food I cooked up earlier. If anyone's hungry they're welcome to part take. I could use some help with carrying it though..." He turned and headed off to the guard barracks and the kitchen therein.

@Tarn@Snelly@Vezok's Friend@BULiK

IC: Okuo - Ko-Pou

Okuo turned to Skyra and Rose who soon followed on out after her, raising his hand in greeting. "Oh, hey Skyra. Hello Rose."

Listening to Skyra's tale, he nodded along, his expression turning thoughtful at hearing of the NUVA Proximate or whatever it was called. 

@Tarn@Snelly

IC: Iradra - Ko-Pou

Walking out after Klawne, Iradra witnessed her negative reaction. "Turaga... is something the matter?" She asked with a tone of concern.

@Toru Nui@Harvali

IC: Okuo - Ko-Pou

Okuo waved in response, approaching the airship while eyeing the damage now in the middle of being repaired. "Hey Nale. Looks like the ship's had it pretty rough. You guys tussle with a mountain or something?"

@Tarn@Snelly