BULiK

IC: Quoribay, Po-Wahi, Forsi, Papa Podu's "HELP I'M BEING MUGGED." "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT." Quoribay felt the pressure on his body diminish when the Le-Toa left the scene. As he caught his breath, Quoribay shakily slowly reached back upwards towards the pouches on his waist "H-hold on... let me grab it," he stammered, genuine fear in his optics and voice. But as the Fe-Toa's trembling hands reached the pouches on his belt, they suddenly snapped to grab the edges of the window and the limber Fe-Matoran yanked himself up and over the edge of the frame. He sprinted away from the building with a grin, and looked back to the window with a face that could only be described as

IC: Quoribay, Po-Wahi, Forsi, Papa Podu's Quoribay heard someone attempt to give chase. Very kind of this Toa to announce his presence, give Quoribay enough time to find a way to wiggle out of this situation. The master thief took stock of this surroundings. The room was alive with possibilities for escape, and Quoribay had to choose the right path. The sound of dough being pounded in the back room. The smell of the wood stove. The tables and booths of polished stone. Various patrons going about their afternoons. One in the booth to the corner looked shady. A Po-Matoran by the looks of it - mangled hands with missing fingers poorly hidden by gloves, nibbling on a slice of the Po-Wahi delicacy. The Fe-Matoran knew a fellow liar when he saw one, and while perhaps he could have framed the matoran, it was an unspoken rule to not interfere with another thief's job. He gave a nod to his kindred spirit as he began to execute plan A. There was a window carved into the stone building on the other side of the room. A nimble matoran such as himself could fit through at the right angle, but these Toa were sure to be stumped by it. Quoribay began to sprint, his theatrical running start drawing the attention of those inside. The acrobat did a cartwheel, transitioning into a handstand from which he springboarded himself feet first through the open window and - whoosh As if Mata Nui himself was giving him a middle finger, the daredevil felt his internals churn as a sudden change in g-forces preceded a rapid drop as he was midway through the window. He landed harder than he liked to admit, and the back of his head slapped the inside wall as his momentum flopped his body around. The dazed Fe-Matoran saw multiple upside-down Toa approaching. "Whoa-wha-huh," Quoribay stammered in slurred speech. He felt the pressure in his entire body, pinning him on both sides of the wall. "I'm gunna guess ya 'false accusation'-ed them," he wheezed. "Never beenta le-wahi i dunno wha youretalkinbout."

IC: Quoribay, Po-Wahi, Forsi What Fe-Matoran? A surprised Quoribay's audio receptors perked up as he heard himself mentioned while he rounded the next corner. He walked casually but as soon as he broke line of sight with the others he ducked into the nearest hut as fast as he could to hide and lose his tail. Was this a pizza place?

IC: Quoribay, Po-Wahi, Forsi, Iron Mahi Station Atamai was more than a bit distracted. The bronze-colored Fe-Matoran behind him put his hands back in his pockets, having successfully liberated enough widgets from Atamai's purse to pay for the toll to ride the Iron Mahi. That is, if Quoribay hadn't snuck his way out of that fee already. Not that Quoribay quite understood how much it cost to ride the vehicle, or even comprehend if that was a fair price to begin with. The Fe-Matoran idly walked by, blending back into the bustling crowd.

IC: Berys, Irnakk's Tooth, The Kahu Berys was scared. << Ground team, this is the Kahu, how copy, over? >> He had been hovering cautiously, observing the Vahki attempt to climb the mountain and stop their attacker. << Ground team, Kahu here, please report in, urgent message, over. >> The pilot kept a safe distance, not wanting the group's escape vehicle to be incapacitated by the Skakdi. << Captain, this is Berys, do you read? >> Berys didn't interfere, he wasn't a warrior, he thought the Vahki could handle this. << Triage, please re- >> That is, until he saw one get crushed by a boulder as it came out of the tunnel. Berys finger held off the transmitter awestruck. "Mata Nui..." Before it's unfortunate demise, the Vahki was screaming about... they're fighting? Berys couldn't make out the whole message, due to the winds and it being cut utterly short. There was an emergency down there. Was this an ambush? One lookout up top to block their escape, with more Skakdi inside? One thing was for sure, the one exit they might have was an easy target, and blocked by a boulder. Berys looked to the attacker, cornered at the edge of the volcano. He gulped. There might be only one way to save his true commander. He leveled off the Kahu the elevation of the mountain, and kicked the main engine into full gear. "Watch how I windfly," the Le-Matoran prayed under his breath. The Kahu raced towards Jojax as fast as the its little engine could, trying to shove the assailant into the molten abyss. Triage was right earlier. Flying into a volcano was a total Knichou move. But sometimes, even if Berys never quite understood why, 'Knichou moves' saved the day, no matter how insane they were. Berys was acting like Knichou, trying to be all Toa-Hero like, but he didn't think it was the same as when he did a Knichou move because Knichou told him to. Berys chose this himself, it was no order. This wasn't for glory. It was for his friends. The panicked pilot realized that maybe that's what Knichou thought, too. OOC: @Toru Nui @Smudge8

king

IC: Knichou, Ehlek's Fortress, Asylum Pre-Processing The Au-Toa stood still for a few moments moment, wiping away tears and watching Nale leave to return to her mission. He wanted desperately to run after her, but knew he shouldn't. Knichou felt different, but not. Strange. He put a hand to his mask, shivering slightly as he fought a headache and felt a swirling vortex of power blossom within him. Why? The commander was broken out of his stupor by a louder yelp of pain echoing down the hallway behind him. Knichou turned on a dime. He remembered that he had a mission. Then he could reunite once more. The Ghost marched forwards, his lightstone rifle floating into his arms. As the weapon drew closer he felt the sustaining glow of the overcharged lightstones in its cylinder. He felt a power inside of him that was new, and yet had always been there, waiting for him to unleash it. He strode past NU-8020S and Varian with renewed confidence. His stride had the typical bold force of a Fe-Toa's seemingly everlasting stamina, yet Knichou had an extra spring in his step, and an extra spark in his heartlight. The commander rushed forwards into a sprint, at one with his surroundings. The Ghost felt the beings in the room ahead, but also the glows within. He reached the staircase and didn't bother to slow down. His knees buckled and the Toa slid effortlessly down the staircase, rapidly gaining momentum that hurled him through the doorway with surprising speed as his legs seemed impervious to the sharp bite of the staircase's metal teeth and constant scraping and grinding that the floor threatened. As soon as Knichou had a line of sight into the room, he fired a single lightstone round. The crackling crystal burst mid-air between the two automatons, erupting with supernatural strength as the Au-Toa exerted his will over the energy within. Two lasers pulsed from the shattering projectile's center, faster than the mechnical creations could process their doom. The precision rays directed the concentrated might of a thousand stars towards each Vahki's clockwork cranium. The room flashed as if a picture had been taken, but Knichou was not blinded by it, with his adaptive armor not even bothering to tint his visor. In fact, the pulse of light let him innately understand the chamber’s composition with far more precision than his optics ever could. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

good thing the mask of creation hasn't been seen in canon

"And now..." "The end is near..." "And so I face..." "The final curtain." "My friend..." "I'll say it clear..." "I'll state my case..." "Of which I'm certain."

IC: Knichou & Nale, Ehlek's Fortress (If you want it, have it My Way) Nale was midstep when she heard—no, felt was more accurate—a voice in her head. It was the same one that spoke through Aurax's mouthpiece, kind but merciless, eldritch and yet so familiar. She knew it instantly as her patron; Caedast the Wanderer was in her mind, soothing it, becalming it, readying the Toa for what was sure to come next. [I am assuming direct control. It is for the better, I promise.] And then she became a co-pilot in her own body. This, she realized, is what Toa Stannis the original must have felt like in the very beginning. She stopped her run and turned on her heel, suddenly running back towards where she just parted from Knichou. She had to see him, just... one more time. "Knichou!" she yelled after him. "Hold up." Knichou had double checked his rifle. Cleared his qualms. He was ready to execute his plan. First, he'd distract them by- What was Nale doing? He turned around and flicked his weapon to safe, peering cautiously down the corridor behind his partner to ensure she wasn't being chased. Was Aurax here already? "Is everything okay?" he asked, concern swelling in his emerald optics "Everything is fine," Nale said, coming to a stop a respectful soldier's distance away from the commander. "For now. Look, I... I'm not the sentimental type. I buried a lot of trauma that happened over the years and internalized too much of that. I made some bad—questionable— choices. I've done things I'm not proud of, and then there's the whole thing with, uh... nevermind that. Stannis, or Caedast, thinks this might be it. The end. Of the cycle, of our struggles... and she's afraid. "I never would have ever thought Stannis of all people could be afraid, but, well, there it is. Heh. And if she doesn't succeed in her Grand Wish and everything starts again from scratch, or whatever happens next, then... this really might be the end. I don't like that either. "I'm also not good with words and I hate standing on ceremony. But I want you to know, before we go and maybe die with the rest of the Universe here, that being with you has been best choice I've ever made." Knichou failed to blink away the tears. His armor's logs noted a rapid drop in his combat effectiveness. Deep in his heartlight, Knichou knew that things were not fine. Everything about this was wrong. But... that was okay. They were together. They could always pull through - they always had. "I... don't know how to say this right either," The lonely Ghost admitted as he stepped closer. A trembling hand returned the Obsidian Blade's empty hilt to his hip. "You know I agree. Meeting you in Onu-Metru was the best thing that ever happened to me. We both know what you said is true... but I can't thank you enough for saying it out loud anyways." Another step. A lightstone rifle clattered along the grooved tracks of the hexagonal hallway. Knichou could pick it up later. "I wouldn't have it any other way. If this is really it, the end of it all... I can't complain. You made surviving worth it. Worth everything we had to persevere to get here and worth anything the universe might still throw at us." His hands passed seamlessly through Nale's adaptive armor, clasping her biceps as if somehow he could give her his strength. Or the she could give him hers. "Maybe... maybe we can't save a world that already died. I don't care - we saved each other." His Kanohi's visor shimmered with tears. Happiness at speaking the unspoken. Fear at the great unknown that laid beyond. A dash of hope. A fool's hope. "But maybe this ending isn't the end. Maybe... maybe we'll find each other again... in the next cycle." "The way I see it... it goes one of two ways." She took a step towards her partner as well. Nale was the more direct of the two, a personality quirk that came from years as a fighter and hero and, usually unsaid but obviously true, a more jaded realism that bordered on cynicism that came from being a toa for much longer than the Nynran Ghost. She blinked back tears as well, tears of joy and sadness, fear and anticipation, hers... and not hers. Nale was still in there. Caedast had not locked her away entirely—that was not the Aspect's fashion—and instead of placing her in a passenger's seat had offered a shared control, and despite being blasphemous in a way it was incredibly natural. Perhaps this was also how Stannis had felt when he offered to be bonded to the Aspect of his Makuta, sharing joys and frights alike in a body neither could wholly claim yet. But despite that, everything just felt... intuitive. The lines between Nale and Caedast had blurred, and it was hard to tell where one began and the other ended. "Caedast thinks that is the case," she said, "that every cycle is a repeat of the last with a variable thrown in for spice but that the core components are reused time and time again. If she succeeds and apotheosizes then, yay! All's well that ends well, right?" She batted away a pool of water at her cheek and accepted his grasp with fervor, returning the gesture with her other hand that was still wet with her sobs. "And if she fails? and everything starts over? .... then I want to relish the now because who knows when it will ever happen again, but I will pine for when it does happen. Let's make this moment echo through all the cycles, Knichou... because I can't afford for it not to. "I—" she hesitated, the words strange on her tongue as though they were from another mind, but no, they were truly and wholeheartedly Nale's words—"I love you." "I love you too!" Knichou blurted. It was a simple answer, but it was the truth. There was no need for theatrics or cleverness, this cathartic moment didn't need them. The commander didn't care if Vashni saw. He didn't mind the fact that Caedast was probably watching. NU-8020s would complain, but it could not understand, and its comments were irrelevant. Knichou definitely didn't care about what Ehlek thought, or had any concerns about the Barraki's goons interfering. There were no worries about what was beyond them, for there was nothing beyond each other. They were reality. In that moment, nothing else mattered. It was just him and her. Commander and Captain. Ferromagnet and magnet. Ghost and Truth. Exile and hero. Knichou leaned in those final, precious inches. They passionately kissed a kiss that consummated their love throughout all realities, weaving their united fate in the tapestry of time. It was in that passionate moment that the kraata on Nale wriggled with glee and effected its powers on the Mask of Creation. Caedast's presence receded, surrendering more and more control over the Toa's body rightfully to Nale—this was her kiss, her moment, after all. She deserved it. They both did. They were two Builders who were estranged for almost all their lives and both desired control over the things they were most mystified by. Love, in a way, was its own special brand of Unity, a principle above all others, and through its passion came a sense of purposeful control that spread like fractals throughout the Multiverses. Magical bonds were temporary but bonds of love were everlasting, and this moment—this very moment—was in the making from the very start of all things. It would echo throughout all the cycles like a ripple in a pond, and not a soul would live without feeling its effects. The Mask of Creation was infected by none other than the Aspect of Control herself. There was no alarm, no sudden realization, no shocking discovery. It had always been like that, they knew, ever since Knichou'd gotten it. He was always reticent to remove it and safeguarded it with zeal. Sans, before him, was determined to keep it away from any other at all costs. Pridak, as well, had used it as a trophy of power and sceptre of autonomy, selfishly determined to keep it away from anyone's prying hands. It was just the way it always was—tarnished with rust, pockmarked with metal decay, somewhat off-colored with age. Nothing was new under the Krom. Caedast had done what she meant to, what she'd always done, and extricated herself from Nale's mind entirely. The lovers could relish their moment in peace, unaware of the importance their bond truly held at the crux of creation, existence, and all things. OOC: Thanks to @EmperorWhenua for making this epic jam and to @Tarn for leading the game down this path and cheering along from the sidelines as your character got to experience full life consequences.

IC: Knichou, Ehlek's Fortress, Aslyum Pre-Processing The Fe-Toa gave his partner a nod and turned back towards his current objective. He stood still and reached out with his element, searching the rooms down the staircase ahead of him for clusters of metal that resembled beings. If he was going it alone (the automatons were useful, but not reliable) he needed to know what was ahead before he pushed in OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

IC: Knichou, Ehlek's Fortress, Asylum Pre-Processing Hallway Knichou, having taken point, slowed his pace as he heard the distinctive voices of Vahki. He gave a nod to Vashni. Two probable hostile sapients. One probable victim. Unknown numbers of Vahki. He crept forwards, minding the corner as he rounded it. Nale's voice stopped him before he could descend the staircase. Split up? But how could he prote- Trust. Knichou turned back towards Nale. Optical lock. "Go if you want. Vashni should go with you. I can handle this and catch up. Use radio, but be mindful he's probably listening."

IC: "That's Commander Meatbag to you" Knichou, Ehlek's Flying Fortress, Asylum Pre-Processing Hallway Knichou looked over his shoulder as he felt a sudden appearance of metal behind him. He was about to swing his rifle back towards the interloper when he saw that it was... Caedast? With the malfunctioning Vahki from earlier? The ex-Ghost wasn't quite sure if it was the adrenaline talking or if he saw Caedast wink at him before she melted back into the shadows. "You again. I presume you are also here to terminate Barraki Ehlek?" "Terminate? What kind of cop are you?" the Fe-Toa whispered sharply. He turned around halfway and his left hand pointed at Nale and Vashni with two fingers before turning to point one finger at himself. "We're Toa: we apprehend... if possible..." The commander faced the other end of the wallway and marched forwards again. "Lets move."

IC: Knichou, Ehlek's Flying Fortress, Intersection "Copy that Aurax. Saybo just dropped us off, he may be able to pick you up, over," Knichou responded over the radio as he stood up and began to carefully walk through the other doors. Knichou carefully walked to the center of the intersection, ensuring they were clear of threats. "He might have prisoners here, and I don't want to get ambushed or separated, so let's be methodical about this - we'll stick together and clear this place one room at a time." The commander looked to each of his teammates as he gave out orders decisively. "Vashni - see if you can feel where people might be. Nale - check for any large magnetic disturbances. Ehlek might be wherever the biggest computers are. Exo-Toa... cover us." The commander crouched down and his mask began to glow. A strange yellow sphere began to shimmer into existence in front of him, as large as a Matoran. On one side was a blue crystalline plate, and it was evident from the complex glowing wiring underneath the transparent surface that while this device looked like some kind of creature from the archives, it was assuredly artificial. It dropped to the floor squirming, an abomination of a bohrok fused haphazardly with a shield and a the glowing wiring of a lightstone rifle, as Knichou was distracted by a disturbance nearby. He heard the clattering of mechanical legs, a crying out from someone in pain, and a dangerous-sounding electric discharge. The machine sputtered and quickly died, but Knichou didn't care, he was already moving down the hallway marked 'asylum pre-processing'. "Nevermind - this way." Knichou walked with force at a brisk speed. His rifle was raised, the handguard around the barrel pressed against his offhand's forearm for stabilization while he held the obsidian blade in an underhanded grip. The vantablack nanoweapon shifted into a dagger for such close quarters fighting with a firearm in the cramped hallways of this floating fotress.

IC: Exuze, Kini-Nui, Templeside Exuze shrank back to normal size, visibly flattened by Viltia's answer. He reluctantly entered the tuyetmobile again, sat in the co-pilot's seat as before, and fastened his seatbelt. His mechanical left arm twitched slightly. If Zataka could get them home... another ride was worth the risk.

IC: Exuze, Kini-Nui, Templeside "How far of a walk would this be. What if I just walk wherever we're going?" Exuze nervously asked. He did not like the idea of getting on an airship if he didn't have to. IC: Arnex, Irnakk's Tooth, The Taku, Bridge "Yeah, I know that feeling, Akamu... guess it's just worn off after all this ship's been through lately..." She turned back to answer Vican. "Knichou has a habit of tinkering with machines. After Metru-Koro moved to Kini-Koro, he spent nearly a month refurbishing the entire airship to turn it into the warship it is now--" She noticed the panel he was looking had icons where all the engines were. "Hey, don't touch any of those! I don't want Berys complaining whenever he gets back."

IC: Knichou, Ehlek's Fortress, Adjacent Corridor A wave of relief washed the worry of out the expression on Knichou's kanohi. Had Nale's gamble already paid off? "Thank you..." he told Caedast, looking past Nale's bright blue optics. He would have to think more about this. Later. Now was the time for action. Well, after a little something to further relieve his tension. Hopefully not just his. He gave his partner a wink. "Well, flygirl... looks like my odds of being the best player in a game of Twister™ with you just got even lower." "Now let's find this slimy piraka." Knichou stood up, raising his rifle over the barricade and scanning this new room for threats and irregularities. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

I think the confusion is over how the specific forms of electrical current change the weapon's nature, not necessarily the electric charge itself. AKA without doing a crash course in electrical engineering 101, what makes AC different from DC in terms of practicality. If we're using disks to transfer power over the grid, to damage someone sitting in an electric chair, make balloons stick to my target, or to charge my iStone, I know what I'd want, but I don't know how well that translates to kanoka in actual combat/puzzle solving.

IC: Knichou, Ehlek's Fortress, Breached Corridor "Alright, let's move." Knichou strode forwards, cleaving the head off of the crippled Vahki with a swift stroke of the Obsidian Blade as he marched towards the blast door. He wouldn't let Ehlek's minion report their movements or fire a kanoka at their backs. "This way-oooah" The hallway began to rotate, throwing Knichou off balance mid-sentence. His stumble was stopped by him falling backwards into a wall (Or did the wall backslap him?). Knichou's adaptive armor had shifted to an impact resistant design as it became evident he would probably fall, so it wasn't as jarring a blow as it could have been, but it almost knocked the wind out of the Fe-Toa. Knichou felt the tug of centripetal force on his internals and instinctively used his elemental powers to manipulate the metal-lined wall he was pinned against. It reached out and formed a protective steel casing around him. For a few moments, the sharp debris harmlessly bounced off of Knichou's protective sarcophagus. Knichou's full body shielding obscured his vision, but his senses over metals near him and the IFF icon on his HUD clearly showed Nale repeatedly slamming into the walls of the chamber. The ex-Ghost wanted to scream but he was frozen in horror at the sight. What could he do to help her? It looked like she was able to eventually magnetize herself to the ground, although that wouldn't help against the injuries he had already undoubtedly sustained. "Someone get that door open! I'll keep the debris from hitting us!" The Fe-Toa felt the debris field slow and an opening emerge towards the blast door. Knichou released himself by absorbing the front of his casing and leapt into the air, rocketing towards blast door with his adaptive armor's thrusters. They had to keep moving - he could treat Nale's wounds once they got to a less destroyed room. Knichou was surprised to see his partner flying beside him. He didn't have time to stop and look, he had to get them out of there. He hoped it wasn't bad. "Think he left the key under the rug?" "Don't need it," Knichou responded with a deadpan seriousness. Was she joking? After what she'd just been through? Her strength truly was neverending. "I'm a locksmith." The commander's hands clapped together in front of him, as if he was literally diving into the door. Which, in fact, he was. As he made contact, the metal blast door bent to his will, forming a conical shield around him as it sheared off of it's mounting with his assistance. Knichou landed a few bio ahead of the threshold and slammed the former blast door into the ground, manipulating the metal so it formed a half height barricade that provided cover against anything on the other side of the door. "Honey.. a-are you okay?" a concerned Knichou blurted out, crouching behind his new cover and turning around to focus on Nale. His mind raced, worrying about impalements, bruises, and a variety of potential concussive injuries, but her adaptive armor's readout wasn't reporting any wounds. The Ghost could hardly believe it. "Wow... you're a lucky gal - that looked close. Too close." IC: Exuze, Kini-Nui, Templeside, Tuyetmobile Entrance No more time travel and whatever this spirit Kane-Ra dung was about was fine by Exuze's book. Did she say fixing a Suva? Who the Karz could do that? "Sister, I just welded Vahki transport parts together - I ain't never done Suva repair." IC: Arnex, Irnakk's Tooth, The Taku, Bridge "Metru-Nui? Pretty busy, I guess. Not blown up. The maps would be neat if they weren't useless now," Arnex answered, distracted. A moment later, she turned to Vican. "Were you a pilot like Berys? Before it all went upside down." OOC: @Vezok's Friend @Toru Nui IC: Berys, Irnakk's Tooth, Cliffside, The Kahu The paranoid pilot was glad that he had an escort. That made him feel safe. Until the skakdi ripped a larger bounder from the mountainside and chucked it towards the Kahu. Berys frantically increased the levitation power and activated the main engine, raising the Kahu out of the path of the small rockslide just in time. He kept it hovering in the air and his attention on the interloper, expecting another attack. "Uhh... they're not stopping..." OOC: @Toru Nui @Smudge8

IC: Arnex, Irnakk's Tooth, The Taku, Bridge Arnex looked over to Vican. "You, uh, probably shouldn't touch that. Berys and Knichou don't even let me mess with that. If you need something changed, maybe ask Niidak? She seems to be on top of those types of things."

IC: Knichou, Ehlek's Fortress Knichou didn't to take too much note of the pulse of the island's regeneration as he was too busy grinning while watching the Kaita ACR's strike make the perfect surprise entrance for him and Nale. Then Inferno and Cyber-Mantax came into view and his smile dropped into a scowl. << You've gotta be ####ing me... >> << We can get in through there. Kilo and Jutori can handle the Big Guy™ >> << Good catch, solid copy on the plan, >> he responded to his partner over their radio frequency, already breaking off from their formation and rocketing towards the entrance at full speed. << One sec, I'll hold the door open for you ladies. >> << Err.. and Exo-Toa. >> It was a lot harder to come up with quips in the time sensitive heat of battle than Knichou remembered. Best to move on. << Knichou out. >> The Fe-Toa cut his thrusters, twirled and flattened himself in mid-air to fit perfectly through the crevice, then activated the thrusters at full power in the opposite direction to rapidly slow his momentum. He deftly rolled along the ground with his adaptive armor shifting into large pads softened the impact to each area of his body just before they contacted the ground. When upright again in a crouch as he skidded to a stop, he splayed his arms out to each side, both balancing himself and unleashing a blast of elemental control that pushed the steel walls of the flying fortress away from him. The narrow opening from Patiwairukiti's slice widened significantly as the walls crumpled to either side, making it much easier for the other toa - and the bulkier Exo-Toa he could see in the hatch of Aurax's airship that floated into view - to enter. << I'm in. >> Knichou stood up and scanned the room, his right hand grabbing his revolving lightstone rifle from his amorphous backpack while the protosteel hilt of the Obsidian Blade floated off of his hip and into his left hand. Nanites flowed from the hilt and his armor to grow it's signature blocky default blade. The tungsten glow of crackling lightstones and the warm red of simmering heatstones loaded in an alternating pattern inside his rifle's exposed cylinder added ambient lighting to the room. "Ready?"

IC: Berys, Irnakk's Tooth, The Kahu The Le-Matoran nervously chuckled. He looked into the dark depths of the tunnel ahead. Berys didn't envy the task ahead of the group. "C-call me if you need me, boss." Berys looked back upwards towards the taunting skakdi up the mountain that Triage had spotted earlier. "Maybe one - or a few - of you Vahki can stick around in case that guy climbs down here?"

IC: Arnex, Irnakk's Tooth, The Taku, Bridge Arnex sipped her coffee. "Ok," she broadcasted back, the blue-collar Matoran not exactly concerned about radio etiquette. The Onu-Matoran spun around in the pilot's chair, bored. IC: Berys, Irnakk's Tooth, The Kahu The Le-Matoran piloted the airship further up the barren mountain, until they reached piles of skakdi skulls marking a large tunnel entrance. He carefully set the Kahu down on the cliff edge outside the entrance. There was just barely enough space for the four landing gear legs to embed themselves into the ashen soil. The airframe jiggled slightly from the landing gear's suspension as the vehicle came to rest. "This is your stop. I get a tip, right? Maybe hazard pay?" Berys joked, his slight chuckle taking his mind away from the anxiety of the volcano and its oppressive heat.

IC: Exuze, Kini-Nui, Templeside "Somethin' 'bout gettin' home, right?" OOC: @~Xemnas~ @Vezok's Friend

IC: Exuze, Kini-Nui, Templeside The double-scale Lesterin followed Atamai to the entrance of the airship to listen, although Exuze decidely stayed outside of the vehicle just in case. He felt safer from being so tall - he wondered if he could use the strength from this rahi power to pick up the airship if it went haywire. IC: Arnex, Irnakk's Tooth, The Taku Arnex nodded at Niidak's response. Sleeping was a good plan, right? After all, that's what Knichou was doing earlier. And Berys. The crew needed to be ready for anything, and that meant Niidak being properly rested before any situations arose. As Niidak went to her new quarters, Arnex went back to the Taku's bridge, where she closed the cargo bay doors to seal the airship again. They were safe - nobody could get inside, right? She noticed the plethora of mugs of coffee that had been used, and began making herself her own beverage. Maybe if she waited here long enough, Triage would radio back and give some orders.