BZPRPG: Ko-Wahi

IC. Daylaria.She could sense the difference in this one. He was indifferent and that brought a smile to her face. "My identity is of no concern. I simply wish to know where the fabled Sword of Justice is located."

IC: KaithasI raised an eyebrow, my hand remaining on my katana hilt. "That belongs to us, currently. Though no one can touch it. I suppose it goes with whoever finds the mask." I sighed. "There's one in Ko-Wahi somewhere."

IC Merla"Uh, wat?" Merla thought, unaware that she had spoken those words aloud. A winged entity had just suddenly descended from the sky and started asking about a "Sword of Justice" or whatever. "Mata Nui, can you get cheesier than this?" Merla thought, silently this time. Looking up at the winged being with a mix of awe, suspicion, and confusion, she repeated the beig's question in her mind over and over again. Finally, she said "What" a second time.

IC. Daylaria.She looked to Merla, still smiling. "I'm sure he can explain my request." She pointed to Kaithas. "However, I must rephrase said request. Take me to the sword, and I will prove my worth in whatever way you see fit."

IC: "Prove your worth?" I sighed again. "The mask tends to test that on it's own. My only request is that you say who you are and exactly why you want it."

IC: [Elysi]

Elysi sighed, cradling her head in her hands. Why did wannabe mercenaries always attempt to kill her? Was it because she had killed their family or something? Actually, she probably did, but there was absolutely nothing personal about killing them. It was all for a job. And now there was another one swearing revenge.

"Ms. Ril! You killed my father! Prepare to die!"

The Toa of Lightning slapped away the puny Matoran's hand. "Uh, sure."

"About that..." Esao stopped dead in the snow; Kethrye kept advancing for about two or three steps before he noticed the archer was no longer beside him and turned on his heel, staring at him curiously. The amethyst eyes of the Toa of Fire glowed with a determined blaze to them that belied his opinion on what had gone on in there. "Listen, I get that you want to chase down the leads. But I feel like you're letting personal bias over what happened to Pala-Koro get in the way of your common sense. Things normally don't go to the very top of the food chain like this. Granted, it's not always the case, but did you actually stop and think that maybe this is some mid-level guy who worked for Ambages' fault? Or that it's an enemy of his in the Gentry that set it up so that he'd lose standing? There are always other factors at play with things like this, Kethrye. Have you tried to plug in...any of them? "

IC:

"Maybe it has," Kethrye replied, cocking a eyebrow at Esao as he stroke over to where he had stopped dead in his tracks. "Should have probably applied a bit more caution before accusing anyone, true, but then hindsight's always clearest. I'll do my best to avoid rash actions in the future, okay?"

The Toa of Ice inhaled. "As for other suspects, sure, I've considered that. Ambages just happens to be number one on that list. Yeah, it might have been someone lower in the company, but the all the likest of them are dead. The terrorist the Aitua captured might have been the beginning and end of the matter, I guess, but anyone with the astounding competence and luck required to pull that all off alone makes seem likely that he'd be captured as easily as he was, and that's not even taking his confession into account. And if anyone wanted to discredit Ambages they probably should have tried setting him up for a crime that would enrage people beyond the just us.

He shrugged. "Ambages being behind the sabotage is the simplest answer, and in my experience the simplest answer is usually the right one. Even if the suspicion turns out to be unfounded, investigating him first was the right course to take-"

Kethrye was cut as the sound brawl erupted in the street nearby. He glanced to his side, raising his eyebrow in an action that had become habit his the months spent with the ILF. What the karz is it this time?

"Ms. Ril! You killed my father! Prepare to die!"

"Ril?" Kethrye, turning from Esao, a Toa of Lightning and a Matoran entering his vision. "Ms. Ril?!"

IC:

Esao's eye twitched.

"What."

-Tyler

IC: [Elysi]

Elysi had not noticed the two confused ILF members yet, and was holding back the enraged Matoran with a hand. "Kid, go away. I'm hungry."

"MY VENGEANCE WILL BE SATISFIED!"

The Toa of Lightning groaned. "Seriously kid, scram. I'll give you three seconds."

"YOU WILL DIE FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS AGAINST MY FAMILY!"

"Three."

"I WILL KILL YOU THE SAME WAY YOU KILLED MY FATHER! PAINFULLY!"

"Two."

"DIE LIKE THE EVIL CREATURE YOU ARE!"

"One."

"YOUR LIFE IS FOOORFEEI-"

Elysi slapped the Matoran, sending him falling to the ground.

"I really don't have the time to deal with you."

IC-Kal:

"Isn't that some sort of Matoran-rights violation?"

IC:

Kethrye's eyebrow, impossibly, rose even higher as his eye's narrowed, staring with bemusement at the Vo-Toa and Matoran. A single word escaped his lips, one that have the must concise appraisal;possible.

"What."

IC: [Elysi]

Elysi turned to face them.

"Uh, hello."

IC:

"Shoot me in the face."

-Tyler

[iC: Rannin]

 

"Probably the pushing bit."

IC: Yick

"Not the telling you to shut up bit? Speaking of which, shut up."

IC-Kal:

"Archer, I thought you knew that friendly fire was outlawed by the Ga-Wahi Convention."

[iC: Rannin]

Rannin smirked. "Alright."

OOC: ITT: Kal is hilarious as heck.

IC:

"I think it's permissible in this case, Kal," Kethrye said, chuckling. "It'd be a mercy."

He nodded at the Toa of Lightning. "So, name's Ril? Any relation to Aronis Ril? He's a friend of ours."

IC: Yick

"Good. Now, to get myself out of here." Yick walked towards the exit, then stopped. "Actually, Toa, have you heard of the Toa Maasi? I need to find them."

IC: [Elysi]

"You know Aronis?" said Elysi, a small smile appearing on her face. "How's my little bro? It's been a while since I last saw him."

IC:

"You know what? I'm not dealing with this. For months, everyone I've talked to - everyone - has been crazy. I've been shooting at crazies. I've been interrogating crazies. I've been listening to crazies interrogate one percenters over other crazies blowing up Crazytown. Well, no mas. I'm taking command."

Kethrye turned to Esao and cocked his eyebrow even higher than it already was; the archer's amethyst eyes were deadly serious, and Kethrye's other eyebrow joined its compatriot about halfway up his forehead.

"What."

[iC: Rannin]

"Never heard of them."

IC-Kal:

"Suddenly mutiny." Out of habit gained after being in numerous dangerous situations without plausible cause, Kal drew his Telerahk staff, holding it before him - not threatening, but not completely placid, either.

"I'm fairly certain those were permitted under the rules of the ILS. 'If your leader is being stupid, oust him' or something like that."

IC:

"See, I don't even know if he's joking or not, but the sad thing is I believe it, because that sounds like it could be an actual ILF rule."

-Tyler

IC-Kal:

"It rather does, doesn't it? I say we put it to a vote, you and me. All who are in favor of that being a rule, raise one hand." Kal and Esao promptly raised their hands.

"That is now a rule."

OOC: Esau?

I'm pretty sure that Esao's not Jacob's brother.

IC: Genno

Unbeknownst to the three toa, the giant had followed them, and was currently standing still as a statue, face blank, staring at Elysi. FInally, a sound came out from his gaping open mouth.

"Wwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?"

IC: [Elysi]

"I'll leave you guys to your arguments okay? And tell Aronis I said hi."

IC-Kal:

Before Elysi could even turn away, let alone leave entirely, an entire cage of stone soon formed around her, from the rock that was this side of the mountain in Ko-Wahi.

"Ga-Wahi convention's rulings state that one arbitrary witness is always needed upon a transition of martial leadership. You're mostly arbitrary, you'll have to do. Now shut up and be a witness."

 

IC:

 

"You know what? I'm not dealing with this. For months, everyone I've talked to - everyone - has been crazy. I've been shooting at crazies. I've been interrogating crazies. I've been listening to crazies interrogate one percenters over other crazies blowing up Crazytown. Well, no mas. I'm taking command."

 

Kethrye turned to Esao and cocked his eyebrow even higher than it already was; the archer's amethyst eyes were deadly serious, and Kethrye's other eyebrow joined its compatriot about halfway up his forehead.

 

"What."

"You heard me," Esao replied, now unstoppable. "I'm taking command. You used to be sane, Kethrye. You used to have your head on straight. But now, you're as pathologically screwy as the rest of them. You just watched a child get backhanded across the face. And you know what? That's not even the weirdest thing that's happened around you people! I have watched an entire village swarm just because one Vortixx runs into the town hall in minimal clothing. I've watched antiheroes and Parakuka victims dance around singing drinking songs around you people while you don't even bat an eye. I have watched a pirate play a ukulele while sobbing his eyes out, while another tries to drag away a corpse into the Lake and eat it! This team needs rationality again, Kethrye, and obviously you aren't up to giving it right now."

IC:

"And you say I'm the crazy one?" Kethrye replied, a hand straying to the hilt of his as to Kal brandishing his Rahkshi staff and spouted wisecracks. Yep, "suddenly mutiny" more or less sums it up. "Sounds to me like you're the one letting his emotions get the better of him. If you go among mad people long enough sometime you go mad yourself. The world's a crazy place, for good and ill, and people either except that or they're consumed. Maybe that's what happened to be, but even if you're right it'll only be replacing one maniac for another."

Kethrye frowned. "Besides, when have we ever needed rationality? trying to fight the Makuta's influence wasn't rational, and neither was assaulting the Nui-Rama hive. Madrihk, who I'm trying to fill even a fraction the boots of as best I can, wasn't rational; smart, sure, but he recruited an army of would-be-heroes and madmen ad expected them to bring down the Master of Shadows himself, which mean he may have been the craziest of us all."

How'd he know about all that anyhow, he wasn't around until after the Rama battle at least? Stalking a people for weeks before making contact doesn't seem his style.

He paused a moment, then sighed, doing his best to ignore whatether antics Kal was getting them into. "But, if you really wish to carry this on, go ahead, anyone that wishes to follow Esao here can do so, and if everyone agrees he should be leader then I'll accept that. See, Esao, if you want to replace me, that's how you do it. By getting the rest of the team to agree with you, not just announcing it out of nowhere."

IC: [Elysi]

"Yep, you guys are definitely Aronis' friends," remarked Elysi sarcastically. "Got the moronic aggressiveness down pat."

She fired off a sphere from her stolen launcher, breaking a hole open in the cage.

"Now if you excuse me, I need to go eat. Besides, this ain't Ga-wahi."

She turned away, heading off towards a restaurant.

IC-Kal:

"Compared to most other actions, deciding to fight Makuta was actually our most rational action," Kal corrected Kethrye.

IC:

"Exactly."

IC:

"You need emotion to be a leader. Otherwise, I could paint a face on a textbook and follow it around through the snowdrifts for a week," Esao replied. "And sometimes there is such a thing as letting emotion get the better of you, yeah. But it's like taking a test: most of the time, your gut instinct is right, and when that fails you, you use your head. That's why we have brains, too: to coexist with our guts. If they can't coexist, if one takes charge over the other, then the foundation for leadership isn't there."

Silence, then, after Kal's comment about rationality and Makuta.

"Alright, then. It's a vote. Me, or Kethrye."

-Tyler

IC-Kal:

"Mainly because it was rational, while the alternative, lying down and letting him rule us like slaves, was irrational, and went against our senses of independence and freedom, as well as our instinct towards self-preservation." Kal shrugged.

"But yeah, all you've done, really, is lead us on a wild goose chase towards something that did nothing but made most of us bored and cold, along with making a rather wealthy man annoyed with us, and wasting the time of a village's new leader right after he lost his Turaga, while Madrihk actually led us to destroy the Nui-Rama hive.

"Truth be told, you're actually kind of useless, Kethrye."

IC:

"Truth be told, you're actually kind of useless, Kethrye."

"Says the man you just seems to follow us around and only opens his mouth to wisecrack," Kethryse said calmly, rolling his eyes towards heaven.

"But, yes, me, or Esao, let's get this over with, instead off wasting our time even further."

IC. Daylaria."Why of course I'll tell you who I am. I am Daylaria, the highest commanding officer in the Ga-Koro marines." She showed him her badge, certifying her claims with undoubted authority. "I am in need of a weapon with greater strength than that of a Toa's tool, as you can see by my current...physical state." Her wings, having been folded down in a similar fashion to a cape, flapped gently. "Please, assist Ga-Koro in its quest for peace."

IC-Kal:

"You're just discriminating against me."

IC: I started laughing. After a few moments I contained it to a grin, wiping a tear from my eye. "A Ga-Koroan Marine, and you haven't tried to decapitate or arrest us yet? Not too good at your job soldier. Maybe you're lying." I shrugged. "Or you could have just not gotten the memo, but it's pretty obvious..."

IC Genno"Whaaaat?"Genno continued to stare incredulously, but this time at Kethrye and co. He could not believe what was happening. Finally, he muttered to himself (or to Ronin?) "The dude just comes here to start a mutiny?" "NOOOOOOO," Ronin replied in the most sarcastic tone possible. Genno shook his head and sighed. "Okay, enough with bashing Kethrye," Genno spoke, "What would you (Esao) have us do? How do we know that you're not a bigger nut than him? What's your plan?"IC MerlaSirens went off in Merla's head. Could this entity have come to arrest them? And did she have any connection to the winged member of the Arete? Merla instinctively went into a defensive posture but something told her to relax. She put her weapons by her side, but her mind was nowhere near as relaxed as her body. Still, she bluff "Let Kaithas do the talking."

IC. Ihu-Koro."No, you see, I've been out for awhile..." She thought back to the transformation. She stood, Anthyn straight across from her, and Matoran were tied up all around in a circle. In an explosion, they were dulled and lifeless, and she...she was so much more. And then she had ended up in Ko-Koro, out cold in the snow. She must have been there for longer than previously thought. "But if you bring me to the sword, I will refrain from alerting authorities."This is your last chance."

IC:

Who are you?

What is this howling darkness?Is this darkness?

...

If it is, then why does it feel so....welcoming? I feel pain. It's like the sound of nails on a chalkboard, but the nails and chalkboard is miles away. I can feel it, I know it's there...yet I can ignore it....I can think.

Think? About what?Who are you?

Where am I?

Who am I?

I....I am......

I am a Toa.

What's a Toa? A Toa is like.....people with powers who fight. Fight? Why do Toa fight? Why did I fight? I'm a Toa, right? I think....I fought for someone else. That's right, every time I fought, it was for someone else.

What is this howling darkness? It's so enticing, so welcoming. Yet it's aggressive, almost like it's....annoyed.

What? You want me? For what?

I was fighting for a teacher. Teacher? What's a teacher?....thats right, Teacher's teach. Obviously. Hehe, I can't believe I forget that.

What is teach? Do you kn- wait, wait.

You're me. This is like a mirror, except you're me.

I'm you. Why am I you? I don't want to be you. You're...big, ugly....getting pulverized by lightning...

Pulverized by lightning? Wha- what's happening? Is that the pain? What? I- Thats right! I'm a Toa of Lightning! But....if I remember correctly, lightning hurt much more than hearing nails on a chalkboard so far away.

What is this howling darkness? It's surrounding me, both far away yet right on top of my skin, tingling, tense to touch me yet rearing away in disgust. Disgust? Why? I'm just...me, right?

Where am I? Why is everything so dark? Am I dying? No, no no no, I was thinking about Toa and teaching and fighting and stuff. Thats right, I fought for a teacher who taught me all about Lightning. I love him, and he gave me a purpose. I performed the purpose, did it to it's fullest, and then - yeah, then came the big thing. For me to finally fulfill my Destiny.

I feel so happy. But....where am I? Stuck in a place like this, I can't fulfill my Destiny. I can't do anything.

No, you can't! Who are you?

I'm you.

No, you aren't. You can't be. I'M me.

We're in our subconscious, our unconscious mind. Around us is a black plane, isn't it? And there are millions of us. Of us. Of us.

Right, so if there are millions of us, then what is the real me doing?

The real me is great! He saved others!

The real me is evil! He hurt that person when he brought him to the....

Thats right! We were at the temple!Thats right! We were at the temple!Thats right! We were at the temple!

Well, it's not really a temple....anyway, what was the real me like?

I think I was.....purposeless.

Then the teacher came, and he asked me to help. Because I was purposeless before, I found a purpose when the teacher came. So when he asked me to help,

We helped. And then we felt warmth. Warmth similar to......

What is this howling darkness? It feels to warm, so comfortable. Yet I don't feel any of those 'good' emotions. I want this darkness, I want it all for myself. I want to bathe myself in it's warm liquids, to feel comforted as I sit here in the shadows.

Shadow is bad, isn't it? People say light was good.

Yet there are people who fight on the side of 'shadows'. Wasn't there this guy called Heuani, who literally was a shadow? Except, he was really powerful. And pretty.

Like this shadow! I just want to wrap myself in it.

No! Let me first! You prick!No! Let me first! You prick!No! Let me first! You prick!No! Let me first! You prick!No! Let me first! You prick!

Oh, well, sorry. I didn't mean to...hurt you....you can go first. You can go first. You can go first.

So...what was our purpose again? What were we doing?Right, we were at this temple place...and there were others. I....hey, remember than number? 00....00....00....0.....You missed an 0 there, buddy. Thanks!

So, back on topic, I we was on at this temple place, and there were others. Right, our teacher was doing an experiment, right?Apex.

Who?You are the Apex.

Oh, that's who I am? That's my name?I am.

Who are you? I like this name. Apex.

That is correct. I am the Apex. I am you. You am I.

Why do I feel like you're not me, like the few billion me's around here?Why do I feel like you're not me, like the few billion me's around here?Why do I feel like you're not me, like the few billion me's around here?

Because I am both you, and not you.

Oh, here we go. Lets get straight to it, you're the howling darkness. You want me to be a tool, dont you?

Wait, hah! Which idiot said that? Wow, you're some silly bizzy. Who are you?

I am you. Huh. Unlike that 'Apex' guy, we looks the same. The Apex? He's the big swirly black mass.

Yeah, the swirly black mass. I call it the howling Darkness.

I call it the Howling Darkness.

I call it the big massive swirly black.

Pfft! Learn some grammer, genius!

I am you! How about you learn some grammar*, huh?

Oh, right. Hey, how did you do that? Do what? The star thing. Oh, this*? Yeah! Oh, I don't know. I just...wanted to make some kind of point, I guess.

Oh, ok. Well, since we're all trapped here, and we're all waiting in line for a chance to bathe ourselves in the Howling Darkness-

I call it the howling Darkness

-I'm just gonna say what's on everyone's mind. With an emphasis!

Who are you?*

What is this howling darkness?*Is this darkness?*