Corpus Rahkshi
corpus
IC: Glaciem Ignis - Hallways.
I feel bad about just walking away like that...
I know what you mean, sis, but you know as well as I do that we can't fight a Makuta.
You're right. Dad would disown us...
...if we even survived.
OOC: Yes, yes I am.
IC (As Numlef): The rahkshi of electricity paused before speaking. "I'll follow you and the other rahkshi, I have to get my sister back. I fear she may have been injured or inflicting pain on those matoran." He said to Dormirahk before walking alongside him. "I'm Numlef, what is your preferred name?"
OOC: I was talking to Timageness
IC: Dormirahk
Location: Gym
"The name's Dormirahk, although Dorm or Dormie will do nicely."
IC (As Numlef): "I like the sound of Dorm, I'll call you that from now on." Said the rahkshi of electricity as he continued to walk, gripping the sword tightly. "What was life like for you before you moved to Corpus?"
IC: Dormirahk
Location: Gym
"I'd... prefer not to talk about it."
OOC: Let's not talk too much before Timageness replies on Rail.
IC--Beat--Phantom-on-the-Water
Beat groaned, as someone shook her by the shoulder. It felt like they were trying to be gentle. It wasn't working.
"Hey, hey are you okay? What happened?"
A crash from across the warehouse. "Blue, what happened to them!?"
Great. As if having one other Rahk witness this wasn't embarrassing enough, there had to be two. She shook her head to clear her blurry vision, and managed to lunge into a sitting position. "I'm fine. Just took a bit of a tumble. Through the roof." She tried to stand, only for her legs to collapse beneath her. Karzing perfect.
IC--Kaboom--Phantom-on-the-Water
Noticing that he was down to three Madu Cabolo, Kaboom decided to save them for an emergency. After all, it took hours to regrow them at his level. Besides, he wanted to keep testing his sword. Suddenly, something screamed toward him out of the ember-filled sky. It landed about two bio away, but even that was enough to knock him off his feet from the shock wave. He stumbled upright, aching all over, eyes wide with wonder. If he could get his hands on that weapon...
He started to run in the direction the projectile had come from, weaving in and out of cover.
IC--Sepulchral--Phantom-on-the-Water
Sepulchral leaned against a tree just outside the ring, catching his breath. Soon enough, the pain began to recede.
However, neither he nor anyone else had considered the possibility that not all the Matoran had been in the village when they attacked, or that even then, a wayward hunting party was creeping toward the outside of their containing ring...
IC (As Ipartsa): "You ain't fine if you can't stand. What were you doing on the roof anyway, did you plan to ambush a matoran?" She asked before moving over and extending her hand to help Beat up. "Come on, everyone is getting away with the good stuff and I think they're starting to mop up the matoran."
IC--Beat--Phantom-on-the-Water
"Eh...yeah," Beat groaned. She took the offered hand and, between that and leaning on her axe (again, blast it), managed to stand upright. "Was just above the roof, looking for Matoran--good vantage point, y'know--when one of those Karzing big mortar shots punched me right through. Lucky I'm even alive, I guess."
OOC: Last post for tonight.
IC (As Ipartsa): "Lucky you didn't end up a bloody mess or a kraata with no suit. Maybe you could've latched onto a kanohi and brainwashed the matoran wearing it to work as a host." She said with a smile before looking at the back door. "Shall we leave or stay here?"
IC: Rider
Rider groaned as the Makuta locked him in chains, stopping him from being able to move. "Now listen here, boy. What were you doing outside of my lair? I told you that you were forbidden to leave. You are a weapon, MY weapon. You do not have a free will. Understand?" Rider nodded meekly, sniffing. "Good. You're going to be locked up for a while as a punishment. Don't let me find out that you try to escape again." The talll Makuta left, leaving Rider and his brother on the wall, hanging.
IC: Burst- Phantom-on-the-water
The carnage seemed to be dying down, with fewer and fewer matoran being alive to resist the rahkshi's takeover. Still, some foolish individuals were intent of fighting to the death, as Burst found out when a desparate matoran, holding a blade far too large for him came charging at the Kurahk. As Burst easily blocked the attack, he felt his energy being drained at an alarming rate. Quickly jumping backwards, he detached one of his staff blades and threw it at the villager. Before the matoran could react, he was dead. Now, about that sword... It was long and curved, with three sharp prongs at the top. It had a cord running from the handle, which in turn connected to a sort of canister, strapped to the matoran's arm. Wait... Burst had heard of swords like this! This was none other than an Energy Siphon blade, straight from Xia!
OOC: Burst had received an ENERGY SIPHON BLADE.
OOC: Bunnying of Claws done with permission from Dane.
IC: Acinaces (Cauldron-->Outside-->Hallways-->Infirmary)
Slowly arcing out of the natural cave and through the waterfall, still carrying Rider, I notice something in the air; smoke, blood, fire. Quickly, I locate the source of the sensations, my instincts telling me to go to the source, Nynrah. My flight course begins veering off, but then I remember Rider; I have more of a duty to him than I do to the Matoran of Nynrah. Shaking my head to myself, I continue on towards the Academy.
As I reach the island, Rider's Ussal- Claws- appears from behind a small stand of bushes, chirruping at me as I fly past. I slow down my flight speed to allow him to catch up with me, smiling, and then continue onwards, barging past a pair of Rahks on my way to the Infirmary, Claws in close pursuit.
IC: Nymph (Hallways)
I take a peek through the door, narrowly avoiding a collision with an orange Rahkshi in flight mode.
What I see is not encouraging.
Flames.
On Nynrah.
Death.
Destruction.
A storm.
Gorast.
Startled by this reminder of our intended nature, I swallow, mouth and throat dry. "They're attacking Nynrah," I whisper, voice choked and quiet, little more than a hiss. "It's a massacre."
IC: Malady (Refectory)
"Fair enough, then." Only the lumpiest dregs of my slop remaining, I quietly dispose of the remains of the paltry meal, sitting back slightly on the bench and rubbing my eyes, headache still active.
IC: Hoto - Nynrah
Hoto clung close to Jayar as they made their way through the forest. In some ways, she was glad she couldn't see the devastation behind them, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling it was drawing nearer with every step. She could almost feel those fires burning at the backs of her heels.
"You know," she said in a barely audible voice, "Escaping isn't as fun as it sounded."
IC: Rain - Phantom-On-The-Water
Rain watched and waited on the borders of the village. Screams of pain and suffering echoed from inside, many of them quickly falling into silence. It was only a matter of time before all that was left of the town was a pile of smoldering rubble.
It was so tempting to run in and join them, but she had chosen this place, and she wasn't about to disobey the Makuta. Besides, those Surahks were having far too much fun in there. She much preferred the cool rain falling on the outskirts of the village.
After a while, she tentatively pulled out the Percussor. Such a strange weapon with such great power. If only it had a greater reach. She began fiddling with the beads until one of them unleashed a blast of sound straight into her, sending her staggering backwards. She glared at the weapon, now just a little more cautious of its abilities. She pulled on another bead, and another blast of sound ripped through the grass.
All this noise might be drawing attention, but she was too enthralled to care.
IC: Char - Hallways
Her quarry stopped at the front door and peered outside. Char wandered over to the other side of the hall to look over their shoulders. That Matoran village was burning. That must be what Gorast had promised. Char smiled grimly. As great as it was to see a true demonstration of a Makuta's power, she was perfectly fine here where it was safe.
IC: Snake - Nynrah
"It ain't supposed to be fun, love," I reply brusquely, "It's supposed to be needed." Inside my heart is pounding, but my exterior remains resolute. "I'll scout ahead." I say. "I'll be able to get back quickly if I spot trouble."
IC: Fíor - Halls
"Oh...gods..." My head is once more cradled in my hands as I say, voice equally choked, "We need to get out of here, I don't care where, we need to leave." My tone is a whisper, but it's forceful.
IC Grim:
"Let's move."
The three rahkshi moved from their cover, all but sprinting down the alley. The mortar thumped, and the telltale whistle sounded.
It was up to the other two to put it off course....
OOC: @Wyrd That's pretty much the long and short of it!
IC: Jayar / Forest
Jayar was about to speak when Snake cut him off, expressing a similar sentiment to his own, if more harshly than he would have. "He's right," Jayar said to Hoto quietly. "This isn't ideal, but it's better than what we would have been going through if we hadn't left." He spared a quick, sorrowful glance back at the storm.
"And at the end of our journey lie better things still," he added hopefully, though he had no way to be sure of how long it was until they would reach their destination or what it was, exactly. Or even, he realized, if they would all live to see it. But they had no choice now but to press on.
IC: Hoto - Nynrah
"No... I know," Hoto muttered. "I... I mean it's... it's different... than I expected, at least." She struggled for the right words. "There's... Makuta and... and fires..."
Hoto sighed and tried to block out the screams of Matoran, whether they were real or imagined.
OoC: I enjoy writing in 3rd person more than in 1st person, hence the change of perspective.
IC: Holistic
(Outskirts of Phantom-on-the-water)
The noise did indeed attract attention, and soon a black Rahkshi appeared, some dark liquid dripping from her stained hands. She was guarded and looked around, but saw nothing besides a light blue and gold Rahkshi fiddling with some strange weapon or tool. "What are you doing?", she asked, her voice not displaying curiosity, confusion, or any other emotion for that matter. It was as if a Porter had possesed a Rahkshi.
OoC: Talking to Rain
IC: Hoto - Nynrah
"You know," she said in a barely audible voice, "Escaping isn't as fun as it sounded."
IC: Xara - Forest.
"We're refugees fleeing a warzone," I replied, more snappily than I'd intended, "It's not supposed to be fun."
IC Grim:
The mortar thumped, and the telltale whistle sounded.
It was up to the other two to put it off course....
IC: Sliver - Phantom-on-the-Water.
I exchanged a glance with the sonics rahk, sincerely hoping they knew what they were doing. "In three..." countdowns were incredibly childish, "...two..." but in a situation like this, "...one..." simple things usually worked best, "....fire!"
I unleashed my power on the oncoming mortar, hoping that the sonics rahk was doing the same...
IC: Rain - Phantom-On-The-Water
Rain whirled around, and the Percussor was replaced with a throwing dagger from her bag. But just before she put the dagger between Holistic's eyes, she paused, realizing it was a fellow Rahkshi. Not that she would have a problem with killing her if she proved a nuisance. Or unappreciative of her art.
Rain's stance suddenly became more casual, and she twirled the dagger in her hand. "Keeping an eye out for Matoran, just as the Makuta command. What are you doing?"
IC: Gaever / Phantom-On-The-Water
Blinking rapidly to try restore some amount of vision to her eyes, Gaever staggered blindly through the streets, stumbling over debris she couldn't see as she felt for some sort of cover.
OOC: Gaever open for interaction, if you want to say she stumbled into you or something, though not with Grim's group - she's somewhere else.
IC: Draco
Another wall down. He turned around- and a scythe, glowing purple, slashed through the air towards him. The Draconic Rahkshi moved, but not fast enough. A gash appeared on his arm, and... Maybe he was imagining it, but he felt weaker, though only slightly. It did not matter, however, for again the blade slashed to his side. Blocking the blade with his hammer, he pulled back, the blade caught on the face of the hammer. Yanking the scythe out of the hand of the Matoran, he then whacked the now unarmed villager on the noggin, crushing the skull. Now then... What was this scythe? Picking it up, Draco noticed a switch and two buttons. Flipping the switch to theother position, the scythe blade... Became a hammer head. It seemed that it was a multitool, and could switch between these two different weapons due to the parts of the scythe being segments, which could move, fold, and compress with a signal. As for the buttons... Ah. These just shortened or lengthened the handle of the multitool. Now this was a weapon!
OOC: Draco has found a weapon by the name of the Necrosmith. In it's scythe form, it can drain the power of any being it it slices or impales, absorbing it for later use. The absorption is, however, very slow. In hammer form, the hammer can release this energy. The hammer can also channel the power of it's user.
IC: Burst- Phantom-on-the-water
Burst paused his rampage to take in all of the carnage he and his allies had created. Buildings were on fire, with agonized screams penetrating the gentle crackling of the Flames every now and then. Matoran corpses littered to ground, along with broken weapons and armor. It was glorious. It was almost as if-
Burst didn't have time to finish that thought, as he felt someone stumble into him. From the other being's weight, he could tell it wasn't a matoran. The startled Kurahk quickly turned around to see another rahkshi, one covered in what seemed to be small technological devices. They were clearly dazed, but otherwise relatively unharmed. In this state, they would be highly vulnerable to Matoran attack.
"Hey, are you ok? Did the lightstone rifles get to you, or something?"
IC--Sepulchral--Phantom-on-the-Water
Sepulchral busied himself while resting by examining the curious eyepiece he had found. It clamped over his right eye perfectly, but didn't seem to perform any function. When he twisted the outer ring, however, it began to emit an odd whirring noise. Over the next few seconds, glowing markers of varying intensities superimposed themselves over his field of vision, each one highlighting a weak point in a building, frantic Matoran, or fellow Rahkshi. Idly, Sepulchral wondered if it worked on natural features as well as beings and structures. He turned to focus on the trees behind him...and soon noticed several markers that were moving, and too close to the ground to be Rahkshi. "Oi!" he yelled, scrambling upright and reaching for his morningstar. "I could use a modicum of assistance!"
IC--Kaboom--Phantom-on-the-Water
Kaboom found himself cut off as the streets seemed to fill with Matoran. No more than a dozen, but too many launchers to risk flying over. He must be on the right track. He lobbed a Madu Cabolo in a perfect overhead toss--only to see it blown up in midair by a Cordak blaster. Snarling in anger at the use of such unfair tactics, Kaboom charged...
IC--Beat--Phantom-on-the-Water
"Eh, let's get outta here before some idiot brings the building down on top of us." Beat started hobbling toward the door, but drew to a halt almost immediately, her eye drawn by a sullen blue glow coming from a broken crate within a few feet of her resting place. She must have smashed it on her way down. "What the Karz is that?" She reached inside, and drew out a trio of glowing orbs, each attached to a half-bio of cable, with the cables themselves joined by a leather grip. She stared in fascination.
OOC: Beat has found a set of kinetic bolas. The orbs store kinetic energy, and charge by being spun through the air. Once the grip is released, any impact on the orbs causes the bolas to release the stored energy in a powerful (but very localized) shock wave.
IC: Rail - Gym
"Actually, I have no intentions to take on the other Rahkshi," he said, lowering his voice.
Crouching down onto the floor, the Rahkshi of Magnetism willed the gym to create a miniature replica of the village, or as close to one as he was going to get, anyway. Gesturing to where the causeway would be, Rail began explaining his plan.
"If Gorast's attack force came in through here to begin their assault, then it's very likely that they're currently holding the bulk of the Matoran's attention, and the Matoran are holding the bulk of theirs as well. Since the Makuta's group is almost entirely composed of Rahkshi, with the exception of herself, of course, if I enter through the village's flank through the treeline here, then I should theoretically have a point in which I can go in and out as I please without drawing too much attention to myself," he continued, moving his finger to mark the new location. "Since the Rahkshi would most likely think that I'm part of their group if they spot me, as long as I don't give them reason to think otherwise, while simultaneously remaining undetected by the Matoran, of course, I should be able to make my way around the village outskirts and evacuate as many as I can with relative ease."
Returning to his feet and letting the diagram sink back into the floor, he began readjusting the straps of the bag and the crossbow so his suit could bear their weight more comfortably.
"The closest area that I can think of where they'd find some measure of safety for the moment is a secluded little spot near The Cauldron; that way they'd have access to provisions for their travels when they eventually decide to seek refuge elsewhere. If you still want to help, I'd welcome the assistance if you're willing to put yourselves through the risk, though I suggest you pick up some extra armament just in case things go south."
Jabbing his thumb towards the ransacked armory, he began heading towards the doors, fully intending to continue through the hallways until he reached the causeway.
"And my name is Rail, by the way. Try and keep up, would you? We have little time to waste."
IC (As Ipartsa): "I can recognize a boomerang, but that tool is unfamiliar since my Makuta doesn't have them in his armory." Said the rahkshi of chain lightning as she stared in fascination. "It puts my firework revolver to shame."
IC (As Numlef): "What role do we play? Having one rahkshi hide in a tree would seem suspicious and if Dorm and I join you, it would get harder to hide ourselves and slow down the whole team." The rahkshi of electricity asked curiously before looking at the armory. "I'll grab a staff, I can work best with those." He sprinted over to the armory before returning with his weapon of choice. "I'm ready, now let's go get as many matoran as we can out of here."
IC Flabbergaster
With a groaning stretch, the crimson crusader woke up right before a splash of seawater hit his face and ruined the moment.
The tide was coming in.
Sputtering angrily, he stormed onto the beach. Once there, he scared off any animals enjoying themselves by landing on the cove with a THUD. "Perhaps I shall go pay my respects to the Matoran when this all ends."
IC--Beat--Phantom-on-the-Water
"Yeah, I dunno exactly what it is either, but it looks vicious." She managed a grin. "I like it." A sudden rumble cut her train of thought short. "Let's take this shindig outside, huh?" she muttered, glancing nervously at what was left of the ceiling.
IC--Sepulchral--Phantom-on-the-Water
A volley of blades was met with several lethally sharp throwing knives. Sepulchral increased his density and they drove him back a few steps, but clattered more-or-less harmlessly to the ground at his feet.
"If you're not too dreadfully busy back there," he roared, "we are being attacked on another front!"
OOC: Sepulchral open for interaction.
IC Phogen: He knew in an instant he didn't have the strength to stop it directly. However, the cyclone rahk was slowing it down drastically and preventing it from reaching them on time. Maybe if he could slow it down in one particular place...
KACHOOM
The mortar exploded overhead, the pin pressed in by his sonic blast far too early. Tiny metal confetti peppered the trio harmlessly.
Another thud. The matoran certainly had fighting spirit. "Another one! Three... Two... One... Mark!"
IC: Sliver - Phantom-on-the-Water.
I unleashed another burst of air, and the next mortar round detonated in a burst of heat and light. Stumbling for a few moments, I kept moving forwards, keeping to the edge of the street to avoid lightstone rifle fire from the other Matoran up in the tower on my left.
"To karz with this..." I knew it was only a matter of time before they fired another mortar at us, and we would run out of power to deflect them long before they ran out of ammo to fire.
They had us pinned down, cowering in the streets. But we could fly... "Let's take the fight to them!" I switched to flight mode, and started making my way towards the area the mortar shots had been fired from.
IC Grim:
Grim frowned. Of course. Their battle was not limited to two dimensions. They took flight, rising quickly to escape any ground fire. Far below the mortar team let out a whoop of joy. They had done it. They had driven off the invading horde. Grim smiled, if only slightly, as he stalled midair, then allowed themself to drop back to earth, firing a rhotuka from directly above the hapless matoran.
Their yells of victory were ripped from them as all the air around the mortar nest forcibly vacated the area, killing the Matoran, but leaving the mortar fully intact.
Grim smiled as he continued his dive to the Mortar.
IC: Sliver - Phantom-on-the-Water.
I felt somewhat stupid for not employing this strategy sooner. In the air, we couldn't be targeted by the mortar, and with smoke and fire filling the air, it was difficult for those on the ground to get a steady line of fire on any of us.
I picked out another arrow - I only had a few left now - and kept flying erratically towards the mortar position, watching as Grim fired his Rhotuka towards it. "Once we get control of the mortar we should take out those snipers!" I called to the others as I pointed off towards the sniper's tower in the distance - half hidden by the towering plumes of acrid smoke. "Then we burn the rest of this pathetic village..."
__________________________________________________________________
IC: Illusive - Village Outskirts.
It was more difficult than I'd first anticipated to control so many Matoran at once. Standing completely still and putting all my focus into them, I could only steadily manipulate about a dozen of them. How the karz do the Makuta manage it?
But a dozen was more than enough. There was something immensely amusing about watching the Matoran retreat from the burning village, only to be gunned down by their own allies.
IC--Beat--Phantom-on-the-Water
"Yeah, I dunno exactly what it is either, but it looks vicious." She managed a grin. "I like it." A sudden rumble cut her train of thought short. "Let's take this shindig outside, huh?" she muttered, glancing nervously at what was left of the ceiling.
IC (As Ipartsa): "Maybe it's a garrote or weights of some kind." Replied as the rahkshi of lightning gripped her dagger tightly. "Let's take the back door, leaving from the front or above would bring attention to us."
IC: Gaever / Phantom-On-The-Water
Gaever took a step back and began to raise her arms defensively, alarmed that whatever she'd touched had moved, before she heard a Rahkshi voice ring out. She wasn't entirely sure if this was a good thing - most other Rahkshi here would probably be furious at her for being so weak (Sympathetic? Compassionate? Ethical? Or did they all amount to the same thing?). But then, it had to be better than a Matoran, at least.
"Affirmative," she replied, still blinking vivaciously. She could kind of see a Rahkshi shape, now that she knew that was what it was.
* * *
IC: Shark / Phantom-On-The-Water
Shark touched down, not at the harbor but beside two other Rahkshi of the perimeter team he believed he could tolerate cooperation with - Rain and Holistic. Though he was reluctant to admit it, sinking weapon-laden Ghost vessels was probably a job for more than one Rahkshi, even if that Rahkshi was as capable as himself.
"Pardon the interruption," he interjected casually, "but large quantities of these very Matoran are currently attempting to sail away." His gaze turned purposefully to the not-so-distant harbor. "If either of you care to lend your assistance ensuring they fail most definitively, come with me. Time is vital in this endeavor."
* * *
IC: Jayar / Forest
"I know," Jayar agreed solemnly. "If only terrors like those were confined to the school, but alas, they are far more widespread. That's exactly why we've got to do this: to find - or make - a place without those things."
His voice grew hopeful, resolute. "The journey won't be easy, it won't be fun. We were told that, but maybe we just didn't want to believe it. Now we've seen the first day, and we haven't a choice but to realize that it's hard, and only going to get harder. But we can also believe... we can also believe that in the end, it will be worth it. And this can make us strong."
IC Phogen: Landing next to the mortar, he suddenly stopped. He froze and shut his eyes, listening. He heard something beyond the click of rahkshi voices and the farm me of matoran basic and the crack of battle. Something... Not supposed to be there. He took a step forward staff prepared. Another step, staff sweeping to the left and right. Something was here. It was so silent. There was no way a sniveling Matoran could be that quiet. Only a rahi could be that...
Phogen can cut it just a second late, spinning a quarter turn as the lithe Nynrah Mualto pounced out from the stairway leading into the warehouse. He let out a lined yell as one of the claws caught on the back, throwing him to the ground. Luckily, Phogen wasnt quite defenseless. She sunk one of Exxan's knives into its flank. Still, the beast had taken worse than a throwing barb, it's cousin Muaka delighted in the taste of kraata, and it's matoran captors had fed it very little. It was not about to dislodge itself from the rahkshi that easily.
IC: Hoto - Nynrah
Hoto fell into a subdued silence. The harsh reception of her casual comment wasn't making this journey any better. Still, it was far from the hardest thing she had ever done, but everyone seemed to have forgotten that.
IC: Rain - Phantom-On-The-Water
She whirled and brandished the throwing dagger, only to be disappointed again. Her anger swiftly turned towards the harbor, and her eyes narrowed at the sight of Matoran boarding the ships. They weren't getting away on her watch. "Well," she smirked, "why are we sitting around here chatting?"
Rain jumped into flight and charged towards the docks. The winds changed with her, crashing against the ships and driving them against each other and back onto the beach.
IC: Dormirahk
Location: Following Rail
Dorm had themself obtained a weapon from the armoury, and was following Rail along. "Rail? That's a nice name... what's your element?" They said as they stifled yet another yawn. Their drowsiness was really starting to nibble at them.
IC: Sliver - Phantom-on-the-Water.
I circled above, calmly drawing back on my bow and loosing an arrow at the rahi's head - accelerating the projectile's speed with a burst of cyclonic energy. At this speed, it'd probably punch a hole straight through its skull.