BZPRPG: Onu-Wahi

IC:

Orderin, taking his place beside Tivanu, introduced himself,

"I am Orderin, veteran Toa of air. I do not wish for combat, it would be preferable if we strike a deal here. At this moment, the only thing we want is Surina."

IC: Xaron

I followed Azthran into the newly-opened passage, and decended back into the bowels of the earth.

Heh, bowels.

Brain, this is no time to be laughing at descriptive words.

I continued onwards, and a thought sprung to mind: What if there was another one of those guardians down here? What if there was something...worse than that guardian?

IC: Tivanu

Tivanu shot Orderin a look and sighed

"Negotiations are never better with more people.. you should have stayed over there."

IC:

"Can we talk about this later? I do have some experience as a diplomat you know."

IC: Tivanu

Tivanu sighed

"It does not matter now.. you have talked so you are now a part of this."

IC Viima

(Onu-Koro, Wise Man's Archive):

Viima saw his idol (Orderin) join the conversation. He was impressed by his claim of being somewhat of a diplomat.

"If Orderin gets to negotiate, so should I", he said, walking over to the two. In one corner of the library, Tuli facepalmed.

IC -

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret Lab):

In the secret chamber discovered by Kirgan and his friends, the ice around the battered guardian robot melted fast, thanks to warm temperature of the room. Before the ice was even gone completely, another section of the robot opened with a low hiss. Something crawled out of ruined robot... no, many of them.

Small tripod drones, the size of Kanohi masks, walked around the bigger robot and analyzed the damage. After a while, small arm-like things protruded from the drones as they began repairing the robot...

OOC: I should smack you two.. i really should have tivanu smack you two..

IC: Tivanu

Tivanu sighed as he heard Viima and merely rubbed his face

Oh why mata-nui.. why do you tempt me?

IC: Azthran

Sorry Mr. Narrator but I'm taking over this story now. Xaron followed me when we entered the passageway. I found an unlit torch hanging on the wall. I took a match out of my satchel and lit the torch.

It was a long way down. I was getting bored. "So, Xaron where are you from?".

IC: [ Rhea / Nero ] - Onu-Koro / Wise Man's Archive

Rhea smirked, making a dismissive gesture with her left hand. "Begone, Le-Matoran. You too, diplomat. I wish to speak with the one person who seems to have their head on straight."

She ignored the chaos erupting behind her. Nero could handle himself in a fight, especially with Mar to back him up. The Ga-Matoran might put a decent struggle, but in the end, she didn't stand a chance.

---

Nero spun fluidly after the Ga-Matoran, acid-green eyes hard and ugly, dropping into a simian half-crouch as he sprang and struck. The combat machete hissed in the air, unintentionally intercepting and eviscerating three of the precious antique tomes in midair as the bookshelf swayed on its haunches and collapsed, surging forward. Surina tumbled nimbly aside, crossbow in hand, and Nero growled angrily, the sound vibrating deep and rasping in his chest.

He hit the bookshelf squarely, head sunk low to minimize impact, heavy shoulders braced as he threw himself forward, utterly disintegrating the structure as it fell atop him. Wood splintered, shredded. A quick throb of pain bit through his nervous system, and then he was raging, a monster unleashed, exploding instantly into the red-tinged berserker fury of a cornered panther. His muscles tensed and bulged, rippling with raw feral power as he wheeled and swung and tore loose a fifty-pound wedge of polished oak and hurled it like a discus at the Ga-Matoran's back. His vision hazed over, focusing down to pinprick intensity, his subconsciousness reading the swirling air currents as Mar and the wolf-Rahi sprang to intercept.

Kill kill kill kill--

His Volitak flicked; his body faded back into full view as his concentration broke down. His eyes were cold, wild, brutally primitive and chaotic.

Someone was going to die. Someone...

IC: Mar (The Wise Man's Archive)

"NO"

Surina was undoubtedly an excellent sharpshooter, if that arrow made contact, Karv would very likely be done for.

I wasn't about to let that happen.

I latched onto the sonic vibrations of my voice even as I shouted, amplifying the power into a direct blast of soundwaves directed at Surina's arrow.

"Nero," I barked even as I grabbed after Surina in an attempt to catch her, "the window"

IC: Tivanu

Tivanu smiled widely as he hear this and turned his full attention back to Rhea. Tivanu for all intent and purposes seemed to be ignore the chaos as well though his eye in the sky persay was watching as well

"Now.. I do not know your name.. Nor do i really need it. But let me ask you this. What are you wanting in return for handing Surina over to us?"

IC: Xaron

I looked at Azthran. That creeping sense of dread kept persisting, but I attempted to push it away.

I can help push it away, Xaron. Just give me a sharp knife and-

One, you don't have hands. Two, why would I give my brain weaponry. And finally, You don't need a knife to push something away.

You ruin all my fun.

Hush. I need to answer Azthran's question.

"I've lived in Onu-Koro most-if not all-of my life. I occasionally go outside of it, but for the most part I stay down there. The sun kinda hurts to look at, so I don't like looking at it indirectly or otherwise."

"What about you, Azthran?"

IC Viima

(Onu-Koro, Wise Man's Archive):

Viima was about to protest, but decided to keep shut. He had made too many hasty decisions recently. Maybe it really was time to simply trust Tivanu and let him do what he did best.

The sounds of battle in the private room worried Viima, however. He could only hope Surina would be restrained.

IC Surina

(Onu-Koro, Wise Man's Archive):

"Nero! The window!" Mar yelled. This pulled Surina's mind away from the shock at Nero's rage, back to the escape attempt.

Nero was maybe a berserker or something of that kind, seeing as anger and frustration had obviously made him pretty enraged and prone to damaging things. In fact, a piece of wood was flying from his direction, right at Surina. She simply ducked, making the wood crash into another bookshelf.

Things were blurry around her. Nero was already preparing for another strike, Mar was leaping at her, and Karv came closer by the micro-second. There was only one route of escape: the window. It was too small for two bulky Toa to get through… but also for a Ga-Matoran with a bit too much armor on. And there was no time to take it off.

Desperation fuelling her actions, Surina dove under a nearby table for the fragile cover it offered.

OOC: OK I am sorry toatapio.. but i don't see surina's escape as very realistic.. I mean she has 3 people going after her.. one which is a wolf which i can guarantee you can run faster than her. And also she may be smaller than a toa but did you account for all that armor she is wearing now? Because from the way you described it she is Heavily armored.. that armor should wear her down and i doubt her ability to do that back-flip would truly be that great for when was the last time you saw anyone do that kind of jump in armor? Maybe if this were leather or chain-mail armor but from the sounds of it i have been viewing this additional armor, mind you not the natural armor on her body, but additional armor is of the platemail variety which does limit movement.

It is not often i protest something but this once i am going to.

IC: Tivanu

Tivanu kept his gaze solidly on Rhea though he could not help but smirk as he saw Viima back off

IC:

Orderin, an angered look on his face, backed away to where Viima was standing,

"This is the second time I've been written off in the last week."

IC: Azthran

I looked at Xaron. "Well I'm from Ko Koro. I kinda liked the cold. Ta Koro seemed to be the worst place for a person who likes the ice."

The stairs came to an end. And in front of us was the key. Is it booby-trapped? I hope its not.

IC: Xaron

There it was. Our epic journey down a set of stairs bottomed out into a smooth stone chamber with the key in the center.

Nothing else.

Just the key.

Then again, they key could cause a booby trap to spring up when we take it, and unleash a giant boulder from the ceiling to crush us right then and there.

The room was suspiciously smooth, after all. "Hey, Azthran, try freezing the key and bringing it over here with ice-magic-voodoo-stuff"

IC: Azthran

"It's Toa Powers. And I don't think freezing the key would do us anything." I said

I froze the surrounding instead in case of trapdoors. I slowly grabbed the key and heard a loud bump in the ceiling. "Well I hope that wasn't meant for us. Come on, lets get outa here. The ice might crack soon."

IC: Xaron

"Alright, let's get out of here." I hurried out the way we came, hearing another thunk behind. Probably just some ice falling down.

Probably.

IC: Azthran

We managed to make it out. I looked back and I saw the ice fall down and entrance and the statue collapsed. "That was close. You okay?"

IC: Xaron

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm surprised that went by so...smoothly. I expected a lot more booby-traps and maybe another crazy tentacled-eyeball or something." I shrugged. "Let's head back to the Koro and see if anyone else has gotten their keys yet."

IC: Shadd

"Well, two air bladders should be enough to get a decent look around a fair-sized lake... maybe four each to be safe? Though, on my budget..."

IC: Azthran

"Yeah, let's do that." We travelled back to the Mines where we found the door. No one was there. It looked like we went for the easy key. "So, what now? Should we wait for them?"

IC: Ankran from Le wahi

The deep hole led him to the mines and he hit his head. He got up and felt a little dizzy.

What? Whos there? he thought

He heard a strange voice and started feeling scared.

Stop narrating my every move! Who are you!? Where are you?

Oh. Um... I'm the voice inside your head.

No your'e not.

Don't believe me, eh? Ankran grabbed a medium sized rock and banged his head several times and sat down.

I guess you really are inside my head.

IC: Xaron

"Yeah, I guess we wait."

OOC: I would assume it took one or two hours for Xaron and Azthran to have gone out, gotten to the head, got the key, and come back to the door. So...BZPRPG time at it's finest.

IC: Azthran

He sat down for a moment to take a rest.

OOC: Lol and it took you three days to get a dagger you never even got

OOC: See? an even better example of real life time =/= BZP time

IC: Xaron

Azthran decided to fall asleep against a wall. Huh. Guess he was tired. Oh well.

Now it's just me. All alone.

But I'm here.

And so am I.

...I was hoping you two would keep quiet for once and let me relax in peace.

But i'm your brain. If I left you alone, you would die because that would mean I'd shut off all your vital functions.

I experience everything through you, if I were to allow oyu to rest on your own, I would be in an infinite void.

I still don't like either of you.

Well then, maybe we should have a nice, long conversation about life then.

How about no?

Since when did you get so angry?

...

Oh, you're just going to be quiet now that I bring it up, huh?

...

It's the slug.

I am always to blame, it seems.

Yes. You are. You have caused so many issues I can't even keep track of them, you've driven away people, made the ones not driven away look at me in disgust...you've turned me into a monster.

To be fair, the slug only did it once.

One too many times.

I just then realized that I had been standing up pointing accusatory fingers at the air, mouthing my argument to myself. An onlooker might have called me mad. My friends might have looked at me like I was having a mental breakdown.

I looked at myself and only saw a shell.

I sank against the wall, exhausted from my phantom argument. I closed my eyes, hoping sleep would come, hoping they wouldn't pipe up before I fell asleep. Before I knew it, I was dreaming. A dream that I could never remember, even while in it.

IC: Sulkua

"I have some money, " Sulkua handed several widgets to Shadd.

"Should be enough to get enough air bladders."

IC: Feran

"Oh, no, I never joined any guild. I didn't interact much with other blacksmiths, so I didn't know of Stronin before yesterday," Feran explained to Hile.

IC: Ankran

It was bad enough he was lost in the dense jungle, now he was lost in dark spooky mines.

At least I have some company.

Why thank you :3. He saw some nearby lightstones a few pickaxes and some wheelbarrows. By that moment, he knew there should be some Matoran nearby. He mined out a lightstone and continued his journey. A few minutes later, he saw two people near a large metallic wall. One was a Toa who was resting and the other was Matoran who was talking to himself.

Who are they?

I don't know. Where was I? Oh yes, Ankran thought of saying hi to them or ask for directions.

IC Kirgan

(Onu-Koro):

"Excellent", Kirgan said. That was enough money to buy the air bladders they needed. "We're equipped."

The group continued on their way, following the path given by the map to try and find the lake.

IC Hile

(Onu-Wahi, Onu-Kini):

"Ah, makes sense", Hile said. Before he could ask more, he saw the temple of Onua ahead, located in one wide cavern. It was like a miniature version of the Kini-Nui, only dedicated to one dead Toa.

"Alright, the key should be here somewhere", Hile said. "I'll check this spot, you check the other one."

IC -

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret Lab):

As Xaron and Azthran waited for the others, they could suddenly hear a blood-chilling sound of metal and gears moving in smooth sequence. It was the same guardian robot that had attacked the group before, fully repaired. It walked at the two, swinging its tentacles once more. It was all almost unexplainable.

IC: Azthran

I got up as soon that thing approached us. "Xaron, watch out!"

OOC: You could have told me earlier, ToaTapio.

IC: Ankran

Ankran was shocked. He dropped to the ground and hid behind a rock like a little baby.

I find that rude.

What? Too much?

OOC: I did, through an earlier post. The one with the drones fixing the machine.

IC Robot monster

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret Lab):

The robotic monster seemed to analyze the Toa of Ice and the Matoran of Magnetism for a while, before its eye started glowing brighter than ever. It made a hollow, mechanical roar and shot one tentacle at Xaron in an attempt to grab him.

IC: Xaron

Sleep is a great thing. It rests the mind, and the body.

It also keeps you from realizing the thing that was destroyed only a few hours earlier is fully functional and ready to kill you.

I only woke up when Azthran yelled "Watch out!" and even then, I was too groggy to move. I saw the tentacle shoot towards me, and rolled out of the way.

And by roll, I mean flop onto the ground.

The tentacle smacked into the wall, right where my neck had been, and I started to actually roll to the side. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

The robot had gotten my leg, and there was nothing I could do about it but scream.

You always have an option, my host.

No. I will not let you tempt me like this. I will not allow you to change me into a monster.

I will not give in. I would rather die than let that happen.

IC Viima

(Onu-Koro, Wise Man's Archive):

"I have to admit I'm not feeling too good about this either", Viima said to Orderin. "You hear those sounds? Something's going on in that room."

IC Robot

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret Lab):

The tentacle that had grabbed Xaron's leg pulled hard and lifted Xaron into the air. It brought the Matoran close to the main machine, then stopped as the gleaming eye examined its catch.

Begin analysis

Species: Matoran

Proceeding...

Element: Magnetism

End analysis

Clearance: Denied

Task: Destroy target

A hatch opened in the robot, revealing a rapidly spinning blade with sharp edges. The tentacle pulled Xaron closer, threatening to grind him to dust.

IC: Xaron

This is how it's going to end, it seems. Attacked and killed by a giant monstrous eyeball.

At least I didn't just fall and break my neck.

I closed my eyes, and waited for the end to come.

I will not let you die like this. I will not die because of your stupid stubbornness.

My eyes snapped open. I felt rage seething through my body, coming straight from the slug. I didn't want to do it. I never wanted to do it again.

But my hand was forced.

I screamed, a scream filled with nothing but anger, anguish, and terror of what I was about to do.

I changed. I let the slug do it to me. I had no choice. I shut my eyes so I wouldn't see what I had become.

Strength beyond what I believed I possessed coursed through my arms, my legs, everywhere. I grabbed and yanked the tentacle holding onto my leg, hoping to rip it to shreds.

IC Robot

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret Lab):

Xaron's enhanced strength came as a total surprise to the guardian robot. The tentacle holding him snapped, with sparks of electricity flying from the severed point. Xaron fell to the ground with one half of the tentacle. The other half, still attached to the robot, swung randomly as electricity sparkled at its tip.

The hatch with the rotating blade closed, while another one opened. This one contained a disk launcher which began to fire disks in rapid succession at Xaron.

IC: Xaron

I wanted this to end. I wanted this to be over with. I wanted to be normal again.

But I could hear something whizzing by my head, whizzing all around me. I didn't want to open my eyes. I wished I didn't have to.

But I did. right when a disc was flying at eye level. I ducked down as quickly as I could, and the disc missed me by a few millimeters. I crawled as fast as I could, rolling out of the way of oncoming discs. A disc hit my arm. It hurt. My arm may have been bleeding, it may have been severed, I don't know. I didn't care. I kept crawling towards it. A disc lodged into the floor right in front of me, and I grabbed it. I threw it into the mechanism which was dead-set on killing me.

The strength helped the disc come back just as hard as it was being fired at me, if not more so. I don't know. I can't measure speed with just my eyes.

The eyes I wished I could have shut.

IC Robot

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret Lab):

The disk hit the disk launcher and shattered it.

Damage level: 35%

The machine calculated, and decided to deploy the repair drones. Xaron could see something crawling inside the robot, until the hatch with the disk launcher closed.

The robot returned to its original attack strategy, using its tentacles to try and slash Xaron. Two tentacles, in particular, were now directed at the Matoran and his Parakuka.

IC: Xaron

Two tentacles instead of one.

And this time, they were trying to kill me, not hold and grind me. I stood up, and jumped out of the way, hoping to find a disc on the ground.

I found one lodged in the wall, and grabbed it. A tentacle flew towards me, and nearly hit me.

I hit it instead with the disc.

The metal disc plus my strength was enough to split one tentacle, but the other one was after me again. It darted behind me, and I was able to turn around in time to catch the impact with my wounded arm.

Stars danced in my eyes, but I persisted. I grabbed the second tentacle, hoping to destroy it as well. It slithered out of my grasp, and aimed right for my head. I threw the disc in my hand at it, but the disc merely distracted the robot.

Enough time to rip the tentacle off.

I grabbed the disc once more, and aimed right at the thing's eye.

I was not going to die.

I was going to die.

I refused to die.

I welcomed dying.

Death was not an option.

Death would save me from what I had become.

IC Robot

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret Lab):

Update! Damage level 41%

The primitive artificial intelligence of the robot registered that the Matoran had become more of a threat than original data had indicated. Xaron's strength matched that of a Toa rather than a Matoran.

All the more reason to increase the intensity of the attack.

While one half of the robot fought Azthran, the other concentrated on Xaron. The intact tentacle made for Xaron's feet, attempting to trip him.

IC: Xaron

A tentacle slithered at my feet. I looked down, ignoring myself, and promptly stomped on it.

Multiple times.

There was nothing left but damaged circuitry when I lifted my foot away from the tentacle. I looked at the thing. The other tentacles-which were still intact-were attacking Azthran.

It had all it's usable tentacles focused on the Toa of Ice I had come with. I let out another scream of fury, and launched myself at the eye. I will rip it out of it's socket, and destroy it.

I will wreck this thing, even if it kills me. And it most likely will.

I didn't notice one tentacle went after me. I didn't notice it hitting my wounded arm. I didn't feel it. My mind blocked it out.

I didn't care. The tentacle aimed at my now-exposed body, and I twisted towards it. With my arm-my only arm-I yanked at it once again. Harder than before.

The tentacle came off, and I resumed running at the eye. A line of blood followed behind me, coming from where my left arm used to be.