Corpus Rahkshi

[Click]

IC: Call - Outside to Hallways

 

At long last... he could see it on the horizon. He felt he knew that distinctive silhouette even though he had never seen it before. Corpus Rahkshi.

 

All the care, exhaustion, and despair that had been his constant companions on this journey suddenly left him, and he began to run. He had never felt so alive than in those few moments...

 

And it was all brought to a crushing halt as his wide feet caught on an exposed root. He was sent reeling through the last remnants of the forest until he landed in a tangled, aching heap on the soft, sandy shore.

 

The pain was back. Call took a moment to catch his breath and let it subside. He had to make it... for them. Even without really meaning to, his hand stretched up to the crude bag hanging at his neck, and he felt the all too familiar forms of his mementos. For them.

 

This was probably the last place he could be sure of his safety. It was time for his "medication," the only thing that kept him alive this long. He took a deep breath... and then seemed to hold it for far too long. His eyes flickered and dimmed. His limbs locked into place. A short eternity passed. Then two. His frozen eyes watched the sun fall and fade over the horizon. And then, the life poured back in, and he let out his breath in a drawn out sigh. For that short moment, he had felt no pain. But it was time to continue on.

 

---+---

 

His hand lingered on the imposing door for a moment before he let himself in. He couldn't believe it. After all this time... all these struggles... he was here. A few Rahkshi stared at him as he wandered down the halls, but he just gave them a smile and a friendly nod. Makuta knows how it looked on his face.

 

 

OOC: Call open to interaction.

[Sassy Dalmation]

IC: Spezia

"Eh... I don't think so, unless you have cooking experience. If you do, we'll give a double portion. Otherwise, just wait for us to be done..." An idea sprouted in my mind, and I smiled. "Well... There is one thing you can do. Tell people in the Refectory that we are making real food."

 

IC: Mortsia

I finish up, satisfied. Well, that was worth it. I exit the gym, and walk towards the Library.

 

IC: Draco

My slashes become angrier and angrier, until I'm at the point where I'm missing. This did not make any sense! Why was I angry at myself? Perhaps... Perhaps it was the fact that no matter what, I was always second class. With Vitesse, with the Loyalists... Blast it, I was tired of it. It's the fact that I always make the wrong move, even when it seems right... I give up in my training. I had to settle this. But how? How could I regain the respect of the Loyalists?

[Click]

IC: Tear - Infirmary

 

"Okay..." Tear sighed. She turned to see how the nurse was doing... and then froze. Her eyes went wide with shock, and her hands squeezed stuffing out of Haru's threadbare seams.

 

There was a Rahkshi. Terribly injured. Maybe not breathing. "D-d-did... I do that?" she managed to get out in a tiny voice.

 

 

IC: Call - Hallways

 

It wasn't long before Call came upon a Rahkshi who was the very image of despair. Head in hands, deep sobs echoing from within his prone position, the remains of some scrap of paper littered about him. Never mind his strange appearance, Call knew this Rahkshi was in need of help. But... how? He didn't even know what was the cause of this great mourning!

 

And so he froze on the other side of the hall, as motionless as if his powers had taken effect once again. His goggling eyes were intently focused on the Rahkshi before him, searching for some sign that it was safe to approach.

 

 

OOC: Call watching Vlad.

[Ghidora131]

IC Doubt

 

"Of course," Doubt said, swinging it back and forth so carelessly it looked as if he wasn't even trying. "But don't worry about hurting me. I can promise little of that will happen."

 

Reverting to a defensive stance, swinging the ball on only one hand now, he said "Your move."

[Nato G]

IC: Bonegleam - Phantom Ruins. 

 

The rahi had already settled fully into the village's cratered ruins, picking through the rubble and digging at the shallow graves in search of easy, meaty morsels. Summoning a few Niazesk to drive them away, I took over, clawing through the ashen dirt to reveal the broken, battered bodies hidden just below the surface. 

 

Fe-Matoran... magnificent... Hardier then most other Matoran, their skeletons were likewise far more sturdy.

 

They would certainly be worthy additions to my collection.

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Burn:

 

"Outta the way, loser!"

 

It seemed Burn had made his way to the entrance where a certain Vaccum Rahk was standing.

 

To said Vaccum Rahk, he sent a forceful shove.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Chumpu

[Nato G]

IC: Exxan - Hallways.

 

"For karz's sake..." I stumbled out of the moron's way. It seemed in the time I'd been gone the school had admitted some new students, and pretty idiotic ones, at that. 

[Dark_Stranger]

IC--Nyarl--Halls/Outside

After some time making his way down the hallway, Nyarl stepped outside. After making sure he had a tight grip on his Toa disk, he slipped into flight mode and headed off in the direction of the village marked on the poster.

 

IC--Sepulchral--Dorm/Halls

Having cherry-picked the two most promising manuscripts, Sepulchral took the books under his arm and set off toward the refectory.

 

OOC: Shrapnel is coming in the morning. Meanwhile, Sepulchral is open for interaction.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

IC: Johmak placed the crystals on the table, then withdrew a lightstone from her other hand. 

"These images are of a group known as "the Hand of Spiriah". An extremely experienced and effective unit that the Makuta gathered in place of any Hagah team. They are, as you may have guessed, every one of them Shadow Kraata."

 

She held the lightstone to the first crystal, some quirk of its internal edges and facets turning the light into a projected image. A Rahkshi, black and purple, the colours of adaption. His stance seemed relaxed, but you tell from the way he held his arms and the staff in his hand, the way he was standing, that action could come at any second. His orange eyes were narrowed and gleaming even in the hologram, innumerate thoughts passing through his mind.

 

"This one is Reach, the leader. While in Spiriah's service he demonstrated a keen cunning and adept knowledge of strategy. if he's managing to keep his team off the grid then he clearly has not lost that edge."

 

The second crystal revealed a Panrahk, burly and heavy built. The image seemed to have been taken as he was falling through the air, his legs bent and braced for landing, his arms spread for balance. A long chain was held between those stretched out hands, the links spiralling out beyond his grip, a three-pronged weight on either end marking it out as a meteor hammer. Closer inspection revealed his brown colouring was covered in light grey scars and scratched. The veteran of many battles, this on.

 

"March. One half of the team's muscle. He has mastered his power in such a way he can use focused blasts to boost the power of his steps or punches. Basically he can rocket-jump himself through the air then explode himself right through you. This enhanced mobility and strength makes him a nightmare to meet in combat."

 

The third one was dull grey, an Invulnerability Rahkshi. In contrast to the tense Reach and kinetic March this hologram seemed almost relaxed, leaning on the enormous morningstar he was holding as though in a friendly chat. There didn't seem to be any trace of malice in his gentle yellow eyes but he was subconsciously threatening simply due to his enormity. He possessed enough sheer size and muscular bulk that he could have given any of the heavy Rahks at Corpus a real challenge.

 

"Flack. The other half of the muscle. While he's more of a straight line type of fighter, he's frighteningly strong even for your kind and of course his innate powers make him the next best thing to impossible to actually stop. Especially since he often works with our next one."

 

Fourth crystal, fourth Rahkshi. Probably white originally, but now dirty and discoloured with time and damage. There was something rodent-like about him, not in physical appearance as he looked like any other Kurahk, but maybe in the way he seemed a little bit more hunched, or how he seemed to be trying to hide behind the vicious-looking halberd he was wielding. His eyes were blood red and squinting in suspicion as though the hologram disapproved of even being here.

 

"Vex. He and Flack have never been seen without each other, they seem to have a strange...symbiosis we think. We have several reported cases of Vex using his anger powers on Flack rather than any enemies, driving his partner into a frenzied rage that he will start taking out on anyone around him. Because he wasn't quite dangerous enough before, now he gets to be a berserker as well..."

 

The next Rahkshi was bright and gleaming gold. Weather control. He was wielding a longbow, nocked and ready and seemingly pointed right at the watcher. It seemed he had not appreciated being spotted by whoever had taken this image. The spikes on his back were a bristle of spines that wouldn't have looked out of place on a porcupine...and then you looked closer and saw that each and every one of them was an arrow. Rather than carry around a quiver, he'd just turned his back into a pincushion and stuck his extensive arsenal within constant easy reach. 

 

"Fletch. As far as we can tell he's what passes for the group's second in command. He's the one Reach seems to trust the most at least, and the one usually sent to scout ahead. Given he managed to discover our scout and came close to killing him I think we can assume that makes him a reliable pair of eyes at the very least."

 

The sixth and last Rahkshi could almost have been a re-run of Reach, only he was a lighter purple and rather than a plain quarterstaff he carried a fan axe. But he had the same thoughtfulness evident in the same orange eyes, and the same way of standing that implied he was only waiting for the right time and place to leap into action.

 

"We don't know too much about this one. From what we have recovered of Spiriah's documentation, he's called Peek and is indeed a mind reader. But he seems to function more as support than assault for the group, tending to lurk at the back and not get stuck into a fight. So our assessment of what he can do is...limited, I'm afraid."

 

Johmak withdrew the viewing crystals back into herself but kept the lightstone, noticeably keeping its beam away from the trio of escapees.

 

"In the past we had no issue with the Hand. They were not too much of a threat or problem, barring the occasional raid on a trading caravan whenever they wanted food. From what we can tell they've actually been keeping their...hunting grounds, for lack of a better term, relatively free of other bandit or mercenary activity. Something of a help in the chaos Icarax's campaign left behind. The problem is what they've started doing recently."

 

A seventh crystal manifested in her free hand. The others were clear diamonds, this one...not so much. A ruby, deep and bloody red. She passed the lightstone under it to reveal...

Skakdi. Four of them. All kneeling in some parody of a bow with their arms held out from their sides, strapped to some framework of sticks like scarecrows. They'd been tortured, all of them. Cuts and slashes, bruises and broken bones, someone had visibly put all four of them through the wringer, and the pools of bodily fluids at their knees meant it had been done while they were alive.

But the most disconcerting thing was their faces. Like the rest of their bodies, the Skakdi's faces had been cut up but it was not random like the rest of the torture. This had a definite purpose, someone had a design in mind. The victim's faces had been slashed in such a way to enhance their normal toothy grins into ragged maws, with more cuts created odd flukes and fins along the sides of their heads. It took a few seconds to realise what this was, but helped if you remembered this was being done to Skakdi by servants of Spiriah. Whoever had done this had tried carving their heads into the shape of a Jutlin. 

 

"This was the latest of five incidents. We started to catch on after the third when the murderer's skill at sculpture began to pick up and we realised what the implications were. We think that, after so long without orders from a Makuta, the Hand are starting to go slightly mad. If they go completely rogue they are going to be a very real danger to anything and anyone they come across. We don't have the manpower to go after them now, and it sickens me to simply wait until they become something we have to respond to, because who knows how much damage they'll do until then. This is where you come in."

 

She eyed each and every one of the three escapees.

 

"I'm hoping the Hand will react better to other Rahkshi than they would to a Toa or Matoran, for example. And that you might be able  to predict what their next moves might be, seeing as you are in a similar situation. You're all Rahkshi keeping your distance from the Brotherhood. I would like you to investigate, and if the Hand does look like it will become a real and present danger, to neutralise them however you see fit. Though I should warn you, if you end up deciding on trying to take them in a fight...you're going to need more Rahkshi."

Edited August 7, 2015 by Wyrd Bid Ful Araed

[Nato G]

IC: Era - House of Grossh.

 

"It's more than just the three of us," Johmak probably already suspected as such, so I figured I wasn't giving away much by admitting it, "But none of us are Shadow Kraata. None of us have the kind of training this lot do. What you're asking... it's far beyond anything we're capable of..." I wasn't able to see the holograms, obviously, but her words were enough to make it clear to me what this was, "It's practically a suicide mission..." 

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Kat:

 

My heart sank with each word and image.

 

"You expect a bunch of rookie Rahkshi on the run to deal with a bunch of possibly insane Shadow Kraata?"

 

Even saying it was crazy.

 

Era put it best.

 

"That's exactly what it is." I glared at Johmak, "Let me get one thing straight with you, my people are not weapons you can throw at your problems to make them go away."

Edited August 7, 2015 by Chumpu

[Naota Takizawa]

IC (As Feka): "Let's do that first, I was thinking about summoning a rahkshi shaped dummy and using the Kraata case." Said Feka as he summoned a mold of a rahkshi's case. To his surprise, two halves sprouted from the ground and when pressed together, they would from a Kraata case.

[Nik the Three]

IC: Tesla - Gym

 

This was her first usage of swords (excluding melon slices few seconds ago). Tesla was actually surprised when she sliced the first melon right in the half.

 

She stood into an attack stance, trying to get right balance. She attacked from right side, first with left sword, which was rapidly suceeded by right katana. She aimed at the body, but was happy to not loose balance. She used a little of her gravity force to not fall on the ground.

[Smudge8]

IC: Revenge-Hallway

 

Revenge finished his meal and was waling over to the gym to stretch his mucles when he found someone on the floor.  Unsure of what to do he crouched down next to Vlad and asked, "Are you ok?"

Edited August 7, 2015 by Smudge8

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

IC: Vlad / Hallway

 

 

"An illusion R-Rahk - " Vlad gasped out shudderingly. "Startink a r-raid... m-Matoran v-village... to k-kill unt enslave... unt it's m-my fault..."

 

He looked utterly pathetic, he knew. But it barely mattered that he couldn't get a grip on himself anyways, when everything he cared about and had ever worked for was being undone and he could do nothing about it. No, less than that, for he had caused it.

[Click]

IC: Call - Hallways

 

Words, at last. And not just words, an explanation. Call's head tilted a fraction of a degree as he listened to the Vorahk's woes. Something about the Matoran... being killed?

 

He had seen those tiny beings before, of course. Always from a distance; they didn't seem to like Rahkshi getting close. He had no reason to be fond of their ungainly proportions and strangely masked faces. And yet... this Rahkshi had found some reason to care for them. At least, he was worried about their well-being, whether through responsibility or actual empathy was difficult to tell.

 

Whatever the reason, Call couldn't leave anyone in this state. At last, he took those few steps across the hall and kneeled down to the Vorahk's eye level. "What do you need?" he asked, softly and evenly, carefully purged of any hint of anger or expectation.

[Ghidora131]

IC Doubt

 

Doubt brought the chain ball to the left katana, knocking it off course, before darting to the side to avoid the right blade.

 

He swung the ball out, grasping the chain, to just avoid hitting Tesla.

[Smudge8]

IC: Revenge-Hallway

 

Revenge acknowledge the new arrival than turned back to Vlad. "How is this your fault?"

[Nik the Three]

IC: Tesla - Gym

 

Tesla switched to defense stance for a while, seeing how close to her body the ball was, "you're good," she said. If Doubt haven't stopped the ball himself, this would hurt. She jumped high and flew over Doubt. She aimed at shoulders, swinging each katana towards each shoulder from top-left and top-right in quick suceed.

 

OCC: It's hard to describe dual wield attacks with katana.

[Ghidora131]

IC Doubt

 

Doubt crouched to allow the blades to pass right over him, the rolled to avoid an attack when she landed.

 

Spinning and standing, he was back in a defensive position. I hope she's learning something out of this...

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Burn:

 

Giggling madly, Burn took off across the causeway.

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

IC: Vlad / Hallway

 

 

Revenge's question was second, but easier to answer, so Vlad's first choked response came, "He h-had six... inf-f-fected... until I... k-killed... zem, to f-free zem from slavery... but n-now, he just v-vants to replace zem... b-because of it..."

 

Call's question was far more difficult. What did he need? He wanted abstract things like justice and peace... at the same time, he could really use something a little more concrete, like some sort of crazy death ray or something to blast Illusive out of existence with with. Perhaps he could even benefit from a snack... (no!) But these were all crazy, infeasible things.

 

"I... d-don't know... anymore..." he admitted to Call, he despair as thick in his voice as ever before. "I just... don't... know..."

[Smudge8]

IC: Revenge-Hallway

 

Revenge took a moment to think.  He was enraged that someone would enslave the matoran, but he also needed to comfort Vlad somehow instead of just charging off.  "And why are his actions your fault?" He asked Vlad.

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

IC: Vlad / Hallway

 

 

"H-he vouldn't have bothered gettink m-more if I hadn't freed zer vuns he had..." Vlad muttered, sounding at least a little bit less convinced of his culpability in the matter.

[Smudge8]

IC: Revenge-Hallway

 

"How do you know that?  You have no control over his actions. Maybe hew had already been planing this trip." Revenge reached out and put a hand on Vlad's shoulder. "But what happened doesn't matter."

[Click]

IC: Call - Hallways

 

The pieces of the story were slowly falling into place, but the picture wasn't any more clear. This... Illusion Rahkshi had infected Matoran, and the Vorahk had... killed them to "free" them from the Makuta's control. And now the Illusion Rahkshi wanted to go kill more Matoran, but the Vorahk wanted to stop him?

 

Frowning, Call stood and took a half step back. The obvious thing to do would be to stop the Illusion Rahkshi with any means available to him. But was that the only choice? Or even the right one? Such moral dilemmas were new to Call.

 

"Where... exactly was this Illusion Rahkshi going?" Call asked slowly. Maybe if words failed to comfort the Vorahk, actions could do better.

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

IC: Vlad / Hallways

 

 

"P-please don't touch me..." Vlad hastily warned Revenge, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to shake away from the delectable energy source hand on his shoulder as soon as it was set there. He was in bad enough shape, he didn't need a relapse of his vampiric tendencies to scare off what sympathizers he'd found. And in this depressed state he probably didn't the willpower to fight off the urge if he were tempted again...

 

Then he turned to Call, and grimacing as he gestured to the papery flakes around them, admitted, "I j-just tore up the poster vith zer m-map..."

 

Just another pathetically stupid screw up, brought to you by the Rahkshi who found himself embodying them.

[Click]

IC: Call - Hallways

 

Call did his best to hide his disappointment. The Vorahk was already feeling terrible; to have others share in his self-deprecation would not help matters. Call knew that well.

 

"We can find them," Call stated bravely. "There can't be too many settlements they could go to, can there?"

 

...he really hoped there wasn't.

[Dark_Stranger]

IC--Nyarl--Rendezvous point

Nyarl had never flown this far before, and certainly never in daylight. After spending most of the journey flying low, darting between patches of shade and hissing in profound discomfort, he finally spotted the ledge that cradled the Matoran village like a protective mother. He landed gratefully and began looking for the illusion Rahkshi mentioned in the poster, who he assumed was the organizer of the raid.

 

IC--Footwork--Gym

"All right," Footwork said, raising the basin of protodermis off the floor and forming a spout on its rim. "We can just pour it in now, right?"

 

IC--Beat--Gym/Halls

"You bet!" Beat crowed. "I'll spread the word and be back before you can say Kikanalo!" She hadn't even finished speaking before she bolted out of the gym and down the hall toward the refectory.

 

IC--Sepulchral--Halls/Refectory

After an uneventful trip down the halls, and a still less eventful wait in line, Sepulchral sat down at an empty table with a bowl of the school's wretched cuisine. As he seasoned his meal to the point of edibility, he began to read once more.

[Nato G]

IC: Illusive - Rendezvous Point. 

 

Sundown was still a short while away, but it seemed a few candidates had arrived ahead of time. Dispelling my illusion, I dropped out of hiding and stepped out into the dim afternoon light. 

 

This small ensemble wouldn't be enough. But more would come, of that I was sure.

 

They had to, or this mission would be over before it began. 

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

IC: Vlad / Hallway

 

 

"M-maybe..." Vlad replied doubtfully, trying to recall what he'd read of the place on the poster before he tore it down in that foolish rage. "It vas a... minink village, I think, vith... a r-ridge nearby...? S-small, alone, practically h-helpless... ve could try zer Library, I g-guess..."

 

With the sympathy he was feeling a little better, at least. The flow of tears had mostly dried, anyways.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Sergei Rahkmaninoff

[McNugget]

IC--Beat--Gym/Halls

"You bet!" Beat crowed. "I'll spread the word and be back before you can say Kikanalo!" She hadn't even finished speaking before she bolted out of the gym and down the hall toward the refectory.

IC: Strurin

"Alright, tha-" By the time he got to this point, the Rahkshi already ran off towards the Refectory "-nks..." He finished quietly, Before making his own Stove, and putting the pan on.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Dragon11603

[Naota Takizawa]

IC (As Feka): "I'll just put one mold on the floor." Said Feka as he placed the right half of the mold on the ground. "Pour the Protodermis in and I'll seal it shut."

[Smudge8]

IC: Revenge-Hallway

 

Revenge took his hand off of Vlad's shoulder.  "Sorry." He turned to look at (Call).  "You have made my point for me, action is what is needed right now. Vlad, let's check the library for a map of Nynrah." He stood up.  "By the way, what is your name?" he asked (Call).

Edited August 8, 2015 by Smudge8

[Click]

IC: Call - Hallways

 

"I'm... Call," he replied quietly, almost reluctantly. "Just walked in those doors." A hand gestured over his shoulder at the main entrance.

[Sassy Dalmation]

IC: Malattia

"No... I'm not sure who did it, actually. Whoever it was, I don't dig their style." I say, unaware of the pun I just made. "You have nothing to worry about." I was worried, however, for the small Rahkshi. It would be a tragedy if they passed on...

 

IC: Spezia

"Well, he was eager, wasn't he? So, a strawberry drizzle? That sounds good..." Well, an unexpected surprise, that was. I wouldn't have expected this out of him... Or maybe my skills were faltering. No, that was impossible. Shaking my head, I turn my attention to my pot roast. Almost time to add the potatoes and carrots... Ah, maybe I could add some flavoring. I sprinkle a bit of basil onto the roast, humming a light tune.

 

IC: Leviathan

The small village comes into sight, and I will my body to shift into a minuscule version of me. I would be rather noticeable to the Matoran, even from a far distance. I land on the edge, before restoring myself, looking around thoughtfully. Who was the one orchestrating this? There was one, an illusion Rahkshi, who had seemingly stepped out of nowhere. No one would simply hide like that unless they were unwilling to be spotted by others, which is unlikely, considering most here wanted a Matoran slave, something which is easily noticeable, or they wanted a dramatic entrance in order to make an announcement. Much like the Makuta...

Edited August 8, 2015 by Akai Zaza

[Click]

IC: Tear - Infirmary

 

The reassurances did Tear little good. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the grisly sight, and the tears continued to flow down her faceplates and off onto the sheets. Poor Haru was half-strangled in her tense, quivering hands.

[Dark_Stranger]

IC--Nyarl--Rendezvous point

Soon enough, the Rahkshi chose to reveal himself, and for once Nyarl was the first to speak. "Hello. I am Nyarl. Am I correct to assume that you are the author of the poster?"

 

IC--Beat--Halls/Refectory

Beat skidded to a stop in the doorway of the refectory. "HEY, PEOPLE!" she yelled. "THEY'VE GOT REAL FOOD IN THE GYM! ACTUAL REAL FOOD! MEAT AND STUFF!" She wouldn't be getting any awards for subtlety, but it was sure to get attention.

 

IC--Footwork--Gym

"You got it," Footwork replied, eyes narrowed in concentration as the basin tipped and slowly, carefully began pouring the protodermis into the mold.

 

IC--Sepulchral--Refectory

His reading was interrupted by someone bellowing about "real food". It was a tempting offer, assuming it was genuine e, but Sepulchral had important business to attend to. He paused, considering...

 

IC--Kaboom--Gym

"Well, that was...annoying. Who the Karz was that guy?" Kaboom asked his companions.

 

IC--Shrapnel--Causeway

The Panrahk slipped out of flight mode, landing smoothly on a pillar rising from the water, and observed the school from afar. It had the austere look that a place of learning and devotion to masters should have, but that, of course, meant nothing in and of itself. Closer observation was called for--and she would have to go there eventually anyway. Shrapnel rose once again and flew off toward the entrance of the school.

[Nato G]

IC: Illusive - Rendezvous Point. 

 

I nodded silently, raising a hand for quiet.

 

The last thing we wanted to do was draw the Matoran's ire before the attack even commenced. 

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Burn:

 

It was about this time that burn showed up, whistling incessantly, and skidding to a stop before the two others.

 

"So, is this where the party is?"

 

Frowned, and looked around.

 

"Kinda lame..."

Edited August 8, 2015 by Chumpu