Corpus Rahkshi

IC: Recoil

Recoil had gone to the causeway with the others, her custom launcher (which she had put a scope on) in hand. 

IC: (Snakey)

 

Making his way to the Causeway, Snake-

 -"AAARRRGGGHH!"

At the sound of the Midak loading, the Kaulsirahk had half turned, but smashed to the floor as the sphere of elemental light struck him on the shoulder, completely disintegrating some of the finer wiring and piping that controlled his left arm, and singing his face, spine, most of that arm, and to a lesser extent, most of his body had been lightly browned too...luckily, he had been mostly turned away when the burst of light erupted, mostly saving his eyes, although they were blurry.

Before his assailant, a dodge rahk, could follow, Snake had apparently disappeared. 

He had in fact quick-traveled a short distance down an adjoining passageway that branched off where he was at the end of the current one. By the time his assassin had rounded the corner, he would, following a string of short teleportations,  be out of sight.

After half a minute of frantic searching, the injured rahkshi finally came across Omega and Phogen, who had apparently got off with nothing but a metal bar between his feet.

"Quick! A dodge rahk is my assassin and he's chasin' me now...where are the others? Ya'know, the ones who were supposed to be protecting me! He's got...a Skyblaster, I think, one a those light-launchers..."

IC: Fang

 

Fang watched helplessly as the ball struck its target, only remembering to turn away at the last second for his sensitive eyes. Luckily, the Kualsirahk was smart enough to teleport away before the assassin could finish the job. 

 

Now, with the target out of the way, Fang was directly in the Dodger's line of sight. He scowled, his eyes burning like embers through his darkened headplate. First one step, then another, always drawing closer to the assassin and that lightblaster. He'd assumed if there was time to reload, more Rahkshi would have felt that searing light that night. Still, he pressed on, not sure if he could emerge alive from a second blast. Plasma dripped from his hands as he readied himself for combat.

 

For the second time, Fang didn't know exactly what to do as he stared down that barrel. He had hoped to delay this encounter until he had some kind of weapon and was recovered, but it was obvious he couldn't wait that long. This was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and it meant he didn't have to find Phogen, something that even now made him smile.

IC: Omega

"######. I need to destroy that gun. The others are too busy being romantic as usual. Stay here." He said, grimacing at Snakes horrible condition. He drew his axes and ran to where Snake had come from.

IC: Flash

 

When Flash had heard the announcement,she grabbed her weapons and headed out to the Causeway.

IC: Xara.

 

Xara stopped. "Sounds like Dodge is playing with that lightblaster of his again," she said, "but that's not our problem."

 

With that, she continued walking.

IC: Omega

Omega came to a sharp halt before Dodge. "Hello! You must be the guy who tried to kill my aqaintence, Snakey. Well I am obliged to protect him." He was aiming the blaster at Fang but he started to cycle between aiming for him and Omega. Omega had an idea. He used his powers to summon elements from the ground to create a thin shell of metal. If his calculations were correct this shell could withstand one blast considering what had happened to Snake. He ran at Dodge, swinging the flat of his blade towards Dodge's head.

IC: Dodge-256

"... Unexpected." The last time xhe had used the weapon, the person it struck had dropped like a rock. This time, theur target had enough energy left to teleport away. "He could be anywhere by now..." Xhe started to pursue before noticing another person behind them. "Was this.. That guy?" xhe thought. The plasma Rahkshi seemed angry. "I do not have time for this," xhe said before running the other way...

 

Or would have if a magnetism rahkshi rushed them. Their dodge power activated and xhe did something akin to the limbo while spinning, passing by Omega. Immediately going into flight mode, they flew off.

IC: Chekquars (Hallways, Entering Infirmary)

 

He heard the footsteps, and was just comprehending what that meant when he heard them stop. Time almost seemed to slow. His assassin was jumping now. Curses.

 

Letting himself fall forwards, the Darkness Rahkshi pushed Vir into the Infirmary as Chekquars twisted, turning to half-face his assassin as they fell in a heap. Perhaps Hashan hadn't thought this through well enough, but Chekquars didn't have time to note that. He was using most of his brainpower focusing on one of his favorite forms of combat, hand-to-hand. 

 

Being below Hashan, Chekquars wasn't in the best of positions. He tried to remedy that with a claw to the face, grasping and scratching at Hashan's eyes, while trying to throw his weight to a side and roll them over.

Zakaro

IC: Omega

Omega also went into flight mode and chased after Dodge

IC Mar'jik:

Mar'jik walked to the Causeway, using his ability to home in on the crowds.

 

IC CLockwork:

Clockwork walked to the causeway,carrying his satchel and cringing with every limping step. His legs were still not fully functional.

 

IC SHatter:

On his way to teh Causeway, Shatter noticed Glass  and Xara.Falling into step beside the two, he made a wave of acknowledgement. "Hey."

IC: Glass

 

"No, I didn't think so. He really should be careful with a noisy weapon like that," Glass said.

 

"Hey Shatter, how's it going?"

IC: Xara.

 

"Oh, hi," Xara said distractedly, simoultaneously relieved and dissapointed that she no longer had Glass all to herself.

 

Where the did that thought come from?

 

Xara was starting to question her own sanity.

OOC: You totally ruined my dramatic entrance.

 

IC: Fang

 

Fang was about to dash up and snatch the gun when a Fahrahk ran down the hall ahead of him, apparently to avenge that Kualsirahk, "Snakey." The Dodger managed to avoid the attack and ran like a coward with the Fahrahk in pursuit.

Fang cursed under his breath. He didn't have the energy for a full speed pursuit.

 

Guess it's to Phogen then.

 

With the adrenaline fading, Fang began to feel his injuries, and started trudging back to his room. Most of the student body was off to the Causeway, but Fang didn't want to have any part of these "assignments." He'll just have to track down Phogen later.

IC Phogen

Barely having time to say hello to Omega before he gallivanted off to muck around with some other Rahkshi, Phogen made his staggering, shambling way over to Xara and Glass. Already, she was mentally filing them in the same folder. Avoiding much of the public eye, he finally got up next to them and gave a grinning greeting. "Well well well! More simultaneous disappearances and reappearances, and you might get the public talking!"

IC: Glass

 

"Get who what?" Glass asked, stupefied by Phogen's sudden appearance.

 

"And your punishment...?"

IC: Xara.

 

"You want those chains off?" Xara asked, "I can probably cut through them without too much trouble." She decided to deliberately ignore Phogen's original comment. There was nothing going on between her and Glass... right?

IC: Dodge-256

The launcher was slowing them down. But they couldn't just simply drop it; their pursuant would snatch it up and use it against them. "If it comes to it, I could break it," Dodge mused. If it did come down to a melee confrontation, they only had the bayonet and their sword; the spear had been too heavy. And it was a magnetism rahkshi... "You've already lost; why defend Snake?" Dodge said as they approached the Causeway. Maybe not the best idea after all. Too late now...

IC Vir

Infirmary

 

Vir picked themself off the floor and sat down on a bed, carefully inspecting the damage to their neck by touch. It hurt a little to speak and turn their head, but it didn't seem like it would take too much to repair.

 

IC Mahrika

Mahrika's Dormitory -> Chirox Causeway

Awoken by a tumult of students in the hall, Mahrika got up, took his trident and followed the crowd towards the Causeway.

IC: Omega

"I'm not defending Snake fully, I also want that launcher in the water, rusting." He said, picking up the pace.

Ic:

Despite the struggling protests of Chekquars, Hashan placed his hands on Checkquars neck and pressed down.

IC: Floor

 

A Rahkshi stalked the darkened halls of the Dormitory, heading to the exit by the longest possible route.

 

He made no sound as he walked, steps measured and precise. A faint shaft of light glinted off the Rahkshi's armour.

 

Floor was on the move.

 

OOC: Overdramatic fail-post to intro my new character!

IC Phogen

 

"Oh no, although I might ask for a bit of help weakening the weld of the chain loop inside the shackles." Phogen smiled. This was a relatively pure alloy. Mostly iron, with a twinge of protodermis to give it some extra hardiness. As typical, the protodermis was stubbornly resisting picking up kinetic energy. He had long ago made a mental note of the problems with equipartition, and the dark, dense lattice of protodermis was the worst offender of the ultraviolet catastrophe. His particular attachment to this little problem was causing Phogen woes, and she was determined to solve it. First it was a simple problem that could be solved with patience, now it was a severe nuisance.

 

"Just chink at it a bit. I have a plan, and I need these binders to be on, but escapable. The protodermis in this alloy is giving me troubles, though."

IC: Xara.

 

Xara drew one of her swords and took a couple of practice strikes at the spot Phogen had indicated. She'd always prided herself on precision, but this was a little different to skewering an enemy. If she screwed this up, Phogen could well lose a leg.

 

"You sure about this?" she asked warily.

IC Shatter:

Shatter glanced at the hobble the the practiced eye of somebody who specializes in blowing things up. "I can probably do what you want." he said warily.

IC: Xara.

 

Xara stood back and sheathed her sword. "That may be for the best," she told Shatter.

IC: Green
Green arrived at the Causeway, her body once again brimming with insects. They weren't very powerful though.

IC: Dodge-256
"At least let me finish my assignment first!" Dodge yelled, continuing to rip through the hallways. "Go away!" Xhe made a sharp turn down the hallway and roared out into the Causeway.

IC: Squid

Squid saw Green come to the Causeway, with her insect cloak taking form once again.

"Hello Green. Sorry about what I did to you a while back. Please don't hold a grudge against me," Squid apologized.

IC

 

I arrive at the Causeway, quiet and low key.

IC: (Snakey)

 

As the artful dodger flew away, Snake appeared behind Fang and Omega.

"Need ta...get to...infirmary..." he managed. "Where the...karz does he think...he's going?"

His left arm was more or less useless and he hurt all over.

"Where's Pho?" he said, drawing his shortswords. He was in no position to fight, but he wasn't going down without one.

IC: Omega

Omega had given up chasing him. He had flown back and Snakey had teleported behind him "Phogen is with the others I think. He can't fight due to her shackles. If Dodge comes back stay behind me. My armour can withstand one of those blasts. Then it's toast. Right then. Let's get you to the infirmary before he comes back." He said. 

IC: Fang (Before he went back to his room apparently)

 

Fang looked back at the reappeared Snakey.

 

"You were lucky. If that Dodge Rahkshi had done more than skim your shoulder, you wouldn't have had the chance to teleport away. I don't think I could have saved you. As it is, you shouldn't be here. Take your friend with you to the infirmary. You'll need the protection."

 

By the time Fang turned though, the Fahrahk was already off down the hall after the assassin. Fang growled. "No one has any common sense around here. I'll take you to the infirmary. I can't promise protection, but I will do what I can if the assassin comes back."

IC: Satisfied with whatever musings were running through his unknowable mind, Tridax turned to the gathering mass of Rahkshi that had dutifully assembled at the Causeway.

 

"You are all individuals. This is both a blessing and a curse. It means you have traits that mark you out, things you might be better at than your brothers and sisters. But it also means you have weaknesses. Things that can be exploited to bring you down, to break or beat you. Think of yourselves as fingers. Some of you might be longer, stronger or more dextrous, but ultimately your real power comes from when you work with each other. A hand, a fist, these are the things fingers aspire to be. These are the things you will aspire to be. And with that in mind you will form yourselves into teams of five, choosing one of your own to be your leader. Except you." He pointed at Phogen, the hobble a natural attention grabber "You are a team leader. Pick four allies and use this opportunity to prove yourself worthy in our eyes once more."

 

At this point Dodge came haring out of the academy, hurtling throught the night sky. Tridax glanced at him, and the Rahkshi instantly crashed to the ground, rock beneath him cracking from the impact. Didn't matter how high level you were, no-one could dodge gravity.

 

"We have another volunteer. Pick your friends wisely, team leader."

 

He continued to watch over the crowd as they started shuffling around into groups of five

 

OOC: You heard the man, teams of five! Phogen and Dodge are automatic team leaders, rest of you can fight amongst yourselves

IC: Omega

After helping Snakey get to the infirmary, Omega heard Tridax yelling. " it's starting. I need to get back. Take care of him Fang." Omega said as he went into flight mode. He flew off to the causeway. He decided to creep his way in to avoid suspicion. He went up to Phogen and the others. "I'm back. Snakey's in the infirmary. What's going on?"

IC: Fang

 

Fang's returning strength was just enough to get Snakey to the Infirmary. All the way, he could hardly keep his eyes off the seared shoulder of the Kualsirahk. 

 

That gun needs to be destroyed. I had it, and it got away!

 

When Fang helped Snakey onto a bed, he sat down on another. Palma had done a good job; most of the beds were empty, and the school was outside. Part of Fang was curious to see what they were doing, but he didn't want to get wrapped up in another assassination game. Besides, he had a more important charge at the moment.

 

He looked over at Snakey. "So, what have you been up to?"

 

He cringed inside. He has no experience at small talk.

 

 

 

 

IC: Tube

 

Teams of five? With one leader? Oh, where's master when I need him?

 

Tube wandered through the crowd like a Pikawi bird with its head cut off, trying to find Checkers.

IC

 

"Those of you strong enough to stand for YOURSELF, those of you tired of Phogen and Chekquar's scheming, come join me!"

 

His voice felt rather weak and timid compared to Tridax, lost within the chittering group and white noise of the Causeway as soon as he finished. He had been the first to speak up, so he could feel the eyes of the rahkshi upon him.

 

It felt... Very bad. Most of these rahkshi were stupid, perhaps even stupider than him. They wouldn't know how lopsided their alliance with Phogen and rahkshi like him could be, they were mere pawns in his schemes. The first to be thrown away to die.

 

Pawns...

 

He pulled three chess pieces from his satchel. A Pawn, a Knight and a King.

 

"See this King, this is Phogen. Weak and unskilled on his own. He merely sends the Pawns to their death," he tossed the Pawn to the ground. Crushing it underfoot.

 

"But this Knight... THIS is what a warrior is, we may move in unexpected ways, act according to unknowable and confusing laws and principles, but... A dozen Kings could be slayen by a single Knight. That is what true power and influence is, the strength to FORCE your way. Team up with me, and we can force our way."

 

...

 

That was a little better than last time.

IC: (Snakey)

 

"...getting shot at." He replied. He wasn't in the mood for talk.

He nodded to Palma.

"I got shot at with a Skyblaster. Hurting all over."

IC Mahrika

Chirox Causeway

"Those of you strong enough to stand for YOURSELF, those of you tired of Phogen and Chekquar's scheming, come join me!"

 

Mahrika turned towards the speaker. It was an Elastic called Caoutchouc, or something unpronounceable like that. He didn't know them well, but liked the sound of what they were promising.

 

"I'll join you, if you'll have me. My name is Mahrika."

IC: Omega

Omega cackled at Caoutchoac's chess analogy. He was going to crush him so hard in this assignment.

IC: Fang

 

Fang nodded, understanding Snakey didn't want to talk. He was grateful for the opportunity to be silent. As Palma came to attend, Fang pressed himself against a wall, trying to stay out of the way. It would be a good opportunity for a nap, though he kept his audio receptors ready for any disturbance.