Corpus Rahkshi

IC: Toxin

"Hmm..."

Toxin mused over the things Burst had said. He didn't notice the the two Rahkshi come in and one to go out.

"Might as well make a group of my own. But then I'd have to ask Bullseye."

He smiled to himself. He liked where he was going with this.

"Our group would be like mercenaries. Paid to do stuff. This is awesome."

He looks at Abyssium. "Gotta go. If I know Bullseye, he'll probably train somewhere. Better head to the gym."

IC: Bullseye

"Interesting."

Bullseye considered the QH Rahkshi's attempt at pushing the mace at him was an invitation to battle. With a lot of difficulty, he promptly mounted the mace on his bow and shot it to the far end of the room. Satisfied, he pulled out 2 random arrows and shot them at the Slowness Rahkshi.

OOC: BTW, Short is getting attacked by Bullseye. Bullseye currently has three arrow types. Regular arrows, barbed arrows (that really hurt and are very hard to take out), and arrows coated with Toxin's poison, but it only causes nausea. Take your pick.

Toxin is headed to the gym and is open to interaction on the way there.

OOC: Concession. Form of concede. Unless I've got that completely wrong.

Short / Gymnasium, Fighting Jayar IC:

It seemed that Jayar had chosen to not attempt to fight the inevitable and instead decided to make the outcome much less painful for himself. It was a good choice all things considered. Still, Jayar's lack of resistance let Short succeed in its wrestling maneuver. Jayar was flipped into the air and flung toward the ground, and Short planned upon flipping after him and landing full-force with a kick to the back of the head. The momentary release of Short's grip, however, would restore Jayar's speed. He would have full ability to react, if the force of the slam to the ground wasn't too much for him.

IC: Glass

Glass happily added the figurine to the loot.

IC: Floor

The Plasma Rahkshi arrived in the square, right behind Green, with several rolls of decorative lights slung on his back. Chameleon was affixed to his waist.

IC: Whakatio

Whakatio fired a volley of darts towards the dummy, all of them sticking perfectly.

IC: Revenge

"A power scream Rahkshi was making a ruckus in the library," Revenge said to Burst.  "I quieted him down, but he came back later for more.  Rider got a door kicked down on him than he was knocked unconscious by that Rahkshi's screeching.  I hope he is ok."

IC: Rider

Rider stirred a little. "Urghh.... my head."

IC: Burst

"So that was where all the noise was coming from. When I heard it, I thought that the book assassin might have been up to his old tricks."

IC: Rider

"Wut Book assesin?" Rider said, sleepily. His head still burned.

IC: Revenge

"Calm down Rider," Revenge said softly, "everything will be all right."  Revenge was secretly intrigued by this 'book assassin', but he knew not was not the time to ask.

IC: Burst

"During the assassination assignment, one student thwarted his would-be killer by knocking half a ton of books onto him. Just then, the student dispatched to kill the assassin from before passed by, and used her mind controlled insects to finish him off. The guy under the books, I mean. Not the book assassin. Anyway, I think the guy's real name was Exxan or something, but I like my nickname better."

IC: Zealot

The rahkshi's head perks up, briefly.

"Did you hear something? I thought I heard Great Tridax's voice..."

He sees a Turahk of some notability leaving the infirmary and heading toward the causeway.

"Ah, the Desecration of Naming Day... Makuta smite me justly, I forgot all about it!"

Zealot gets up from the table and starts to the exit. "Well, sibling Hoto? Do you not wish to at least witness the conclusion?"

IC:
"Ouch. Sounds painful. Although, if I had to die, books might not be a bad way to go," Abyssium said. "Hm. . . If we are allowed to form our own groups or factions, I think I shall try to form one myself. Wish to join in, Burst?" Abyssium asked.

OOC:
I really can't think of a good draw for Abyssium/Anubissium's faction. If someone has an idea, feel free to let me know!

OOC: No, it's correct. Just concession is one letter away from concussion, which also made sense, so I wanted to clarify that it wasn't a typo.

IC: Jayar / The Gym

Jayar braced himself once again as he flew through the air, but that didn't stop the impact with the ground from hurting. A lot. Nonetheless, he remained conscious enough to set his quick healing powers on it right away, and the pain began (slowly) to subside. But there was no time to relax, for at that moment he felt Short's slowness power abate. Realizing that Short was going to land on his head, Jayar summoned the strength, grunting with pain, to roll quickly to his right, leaving the smaller Rahkshi to land not on his head but on the Gym floor. He proceeded to drag his recuperating body up and found himself standing next to the Rahkshi of Accuracy with the cowboy hat. Seems I just happen to meet Rahks who wear hats, he thought. Noticing that the newcomer was preparing to shoot Short, Jayar commanded him through clenched teeth, though not unkindly, "Thanks. But it's my fight."

OOC: Late night post... hope there's no tired mistakes...

IC: Raptor

Raptor looked over at the proceedings, his mind spinning. This was illogical- why deface such beauty? What could the reasons possibly be?

OOC: Hey avmatoran, I think a catchy name would be "The Abyss". Just think about it- once you go in... there's no coming back... muhahaha...

OOC: He had already fired the arrows.

IC: Bullseye

His arrows missed and hit the wall. "Darn it," he thought. He saw that the QH Rahkshi was looking at him funny and he realized that he misunderstood. He tipped his hat to the both of them.

"Sorry. I suppose I misunderstood your 'invitation'," said he. He proceeded to go take his arrows and went to practice shooting at targets.

IC: Toxin

Toxin had just gotten to the gym to see his brother pick up some arrows off the wall and got to practice.

IC: Both Toxin and Bullseye

The two brothers greeted each other and quickly relayed information about what they'd done. Toxin was eager to tell his brother something, so Bullseye let him speak. Toxin stated his idea for a mercenary gang and Bullseye pondered that for a while.

"Perhaps we could take advantage of their rivalries for ourselves. Let's do it."

"Great. I already have the perfect name for it too. We will be the Brotherhood."

"Why do we have a contest to see who can kill the most dummies for the time being?"

"Sure."

As the gym started to bring out the dummies, Bullseye prepped his bow and Toxin drew his sickles and put himself in a stance.

IC: Burst

Burst considered Abyssium's offer.

"Perhaps... I don't know if it would be wise to join a group this early on... At the moment, I want to stay on my own. But if your group needs assistance with something, be it combat related or otherwise, I would be happy... Well, I'ts impossible for a Kurahk to be happy, so... I'll be not-angry to help you and your future followers, Abyssium."

OOC: The abyss... That is a pretty cool name.

OOC: Completely my bad on missing Bullseye there. Sorry 'bout that.

Short / Gymnasium, Fighting Jayar IC:

In the blur of the fight, Short had felt an arrow come very close to its skull, thankfully only grazing one of its stubby spines instead due to its constant motion. If Kraata could sweat, it would have. Still, there was no time to waste, as the little Rahkshi needed to keep up the pressure to avoid being at a severe disadvantage due to the loss of its weapon. Seeing that Jayar was very shaky but also quickly recovering, Short launched into a kick aimed straight at the knees. In the meantime, it yelled at Bullseye, "That ain't fair y'all! Don' shoot them arrows ayt others while thay're faightin' someun' else!"

IC: Hoto

Hoto looked up from her food in surprise. "Sure, I guess. I probably should get back to my team." She dumped her bowl and headed out to Nynrah with Zealot.

Metal / Courtyard, Playing Heavy Metal Rahk IC:

Once Metal reached the courtyard, he found a comfortable-looking rock, sat down, and started to play some instrumental H.M.R. Maybe another Rahkshi would come who actually enjoyed his perfect creation, one who would not dash his hopes with hatred toward him. No matter what, though, he would keep playing his music to channel his feelings of anger, hatred, and despair.

OOC: Metal open for interaction.

IC: Rider

"Wha.... what happened?" Rider said, massaging his right side of his ribs.

Ic:

After wandering around aimlessly gathering more decorations than he could carry, Hashan finally decided to go to the place he hoped he never would have to - the library.

He walked in the door, only to find his teammates in there... Reading.

He dropped all 129 decorations he was carrying.

"Oh, gee, thanks for telling me where you were guys!" He shouted at them.

I

"I've been wandering this godforsaken island gathering decorations, and for what? To find you on your asses reading! Is my last in this group pointeless?!" He continued to shout, and then turned to a bookcase and punched a hole through it.

IC: Tridax was about to respond to Wraith when Kat herself showed up to explain.

"I will give exception to your absence, as your motives were sound and you made sure to maintain the chain of command. However since your chosen replacement has seen fit to tell a tale of simple abandonment to discredit you, you may want to consider your trust..." His gaze turned from the fear Rahkshi to Wraith, "...misplaced."

He began eying up the piles of gathered loot. He felt he had to give Caoutchouc and Chekquars some credit for thinking slightly outside the box, but the task had been designed to test team-work and leadership skills in carrying out instructions and their ingenuity seemed to be born more out of a need to make up for failings elsewhere. In a similar vein the throne constructed by Phogen's team showed a considerable talent for forethought and organisation, but wasn't made up of many Naming Day components. A desire to show off had been put before actually completing the set assignment, which was not good practice to reward. 

And then there was Exann's team. Despite that over-exuberance with the temple, they had generally remembered to keep hold of their spoils and bring them to the square not outright destroy them. And the efforts of Squid to apparently deforest the entire village of its decorative trees had secured them a lot of ornaments. 

"This team wins," he said, waving a hand towards Exxan, Mar'jik, Squid and the Twins, "Congratulations to the five of you. Now, you are all deserving of rest and recuperation. Return to the school and enjoy some downtime."

* * * * * * *

While making the crossing back to Corpus Rahkshi, there seemed to be something wrong with how some of the students were flying. Exxan, Phogen and Squid seemed to be having trouble staying straight, veering to rights or lefts, or making strange turns. With all three of them it felt as though their heads were shrinking, the armour around them squeezing and compressing. When they touched ground, glad to feel solid earth beneath their feet, its steadiness and immobility comforting, none of the three managed to take many steps before being overcome by fits of furious retching. Great gobbets of slime and mucus poured from the mouths of their armour, threatening to choke them if they didn't cough it up.

Then, as suddenly as the fits started, they stopped. No more phlegm. No more headaches. No more pressure. They didn't even feel any after effects, it was like they'd been totally rejuvenated. None of them had felt this full of verve and energy since...

...well, since they'd been born.

Comprehension dawned on the trio. Corpus Rahkshi had just gained its first level three students.

IC: Exxan

Tridax's words caught Exxan completely by surprise. After his mistake with the temple, he'd expected to be punished. He thought he'd failed his team; failed the assignment. But apparently, he'd been wrong about that too. "Thank you," he bowed before Tridax, then turned to his team. "Well done, everyone. Let's go home." 

With that, he flew off towards Corpus Rahkshi... 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

IC: The Twins.

Silencer and Illusive shared a glance, then followed Exxan's lead. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

IC: Xara.

Xara watched Exxan fly off with mixed feelings of jealousy and newfound respect. She'd underestimated the nerd; everyone had. 

She was just glad that they were both on the same side. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

IC: Exxan

...Exxan stumbled as he landed, coughing and gagging. He fell to his knees, overwhelmed by the sudden nausea and weakness. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He rose unsteadily to his feet, dazed and confused. What had happened? He felt... different. 

He raised his hands, feeling unfamiliar power coursing through his body. Reaching out experimentally, he pushed forth with his hands, and the air responded with an explosive burst that sent a Naming Day decoration that someone had accidentally carried over bouncing down into the Causeway to vanish with a gurgling splash. 

Realisation dawned on him: he'd reached level three. 

IC: Glass

"Woah, Phogen you okay?" Glass dropped out of flight and reached the scheming Rahk. He helped him up.

IC: Xara.

Xara landed beside Glass, but it wasn't Phogen she was focused on. It was Exxan, who was clearly using a power he didn't have earlier on.

The revelation hit her like a sword to the head (she knew what that felt like). The nerd had leveled up before you did, her inner voice taunted. She crushed it, swiftly and brutally, then stood there, breathing hard, limbs trembling. She couldn't believe it. 

"I... need to... lie down..." she mumbled to Glass, then began walking away. 

IC: Squid

Squid was amazed. His team had won! And he had leveled up... or he though so, at least! Squid needed to do some research on his new powers, so he went to his favorite place- the library.

OOC: Open for interaction!

IC: Jayar / The Gym

Jayar held his staff vertically now, preferring to avoid a repeat of last time, and thrust it forward at Short's foot, grunting at the diminishing but nonetheless present pain. If the action went as planned, the miniscule Rahkshi would lose his balance and fall over, and Jayar could pin him to the ground with his trusty staff.

IC: The Twins.

Impressed by Exxan's progress, The Twins left him to his musings and headed off on their own. The assignment was over; they were no longer part of a team. They only had each other now, as it always was in the end. 

IC: Exxan. 

Exxan hadn't just gained new powers, he'd gained a sense of empowerment. He knew he'd developed a bit of a reputation around the school, since he'd killed both his assassin and his target during the previous assignment, and in a rather unconventional way, too. Now that his team had won this assignment, he knew that reputation was only going to grow. But now that he'd raised to a new level, he had the power to back up that reputation. No longer was he the humble book nerd cowering in the library. Now he was a force to be reckoned with.

It was time to stop hiding; it was time to make a real difference in this school. 

IC: Raptor

Raptor watched, shaking, as the three Rahkshi levelled up. Why was the process like that? Was Tridax responsible for their upgrade? Was it just a scary coincidence? 

OOC: Open for interaction.

IC: Hoto

Hoto and Zealot arrived just in time to hear the winners. Not that Hoto cared. She hadn't expected to win, considering most of her team went off to help Dodge. It was just a stupid assignment anyway.

As the group headed back, she noticed the three that were drifting in their flight. Must be exhausted, she thought. Then, all three were sick on the coast. Hoto pushed up through the crowd to see what was going on, the murmur of conversation nearly deafening to her as it blocked out her echolocation. She feared this was another attempt on a student's life using a poison of some sort. But as she was breaking through the front of the crowd, it all stopped, and the three stood.

By the Makuta, it couldn't be

But she reached out to the nearest one, she could feel the dissipating hum of sonic energy, slightly stronger than a level two. They were the first level three Kraata at the school.

Hoto suddenly became conscious of the Rahkshi she was certain must be staring at her. "Sorry," she said. "I... I had to see for myself."

OOC: That's your cue, Funky.

IC: Tube

Tube sank to the ground and curled up. They weren't just tired. "You... you didn't win, master. I'm sorry," they said, their broken voice echoing through their armor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. If only I could gather more decorations for you, maybe we... I mean, you could have won."

Tube just sat on the ground, apologizing in a whispered voice.

IC: Raptor

Raptor contemplated for a few more moments before transforming to flight mode and heading back to the main building.

OOC: Open for interaction.

IC Phogen

The sensation of nausea passed. Straightening, breathing returning to a normal state, Phogen took a thumb, and idly flicked a stray of bile from the edge of her armor. The rahk smiled, feeling the power coursing through the kraata, armor feeling as if it crackled and sparked with this newfound power. It was as if breathing, speaking, even the subtle internal clicks of her armor were immediately perceptible. The symphony of sound was not overwhelming. Oh, to the contrary. Being able to pick out and observe every subtle sound without the petty filters of elemental focus was intoxicating. Such listening was as simple as listening for a different melody line amidst an orchestra.

The mastermind cooed out, voice a layered symphony of sound, filled with rolling overtones and a ghoulish, almost hypnotic effect. "Oh yes. I am very much okay."

Looking over, Phogen saw Exxan blast a stray bit of scrap with a wave of the hand. Squid, too, appeared to be overcoming the same waves of nausea. Exxan had power now. Not just the idle strength of a rahi, but actual influence among the students. And with such physical power coupling it. She permitted herself to find it a bit attractive.

Phogen summoned a small sonic burst from his hand. To his delight, and just as expected, it no longer radiated away into the air. No, it was contained in a small, fluid bolt. Moving his hand, as if fretting the chords on a string instrument, the Rahkshi shaped the shimmering, humming container of sound into a long spine, and then into a round disk, sine waves rippling across the disturbed air. Forming another, she shaped a twin.

In a swish, he shaped the sound into a squealing teardrop shape. There was an idle flick of the wrist, and the crack of a gunshot.

The fetters around his ankles dropped away, and Phogen grinned like a predator. Oh, she was going to have fun with this. She said to nobody in particular. "An intriguing development. I shall research this further."

He glanced over to Hoto, just a hidden bit of smugness in his tone that faded to jovial equity as he spoke. "Oh, I don't mind at all. I am just as fascinated as you are. Probably moreso." He gave a laugh, confident and mildly euphoric.

IC: Glass

"Err..."

With Phogen being okay, Glass caught up to Xara.

"You don't seem well. What help do you need? You look nauseous," he asked, worried.

Arriving at the village square, Zealot bowed low to the presiding Makuta, then listened to the results. Upon hearing the winners declared, Zealot lifted his staff slightly in salute to Exxan and his team.

As the small horde of rahkshi zoomed over the causeway, Zealot brooded calmly. 

I shall have to pay more attention to the announcements, to find ways of proving myself worthy to our dark fathers. Nevertheless, I shall not neglect my work on the chapel.

He couldn't help but notice a few of the participants were starting to fly erratically. Something seemed... not quite right. Then, as everyone arrived back at the academy, the convulsions and retching began.

What was going on? Had Mata Nui's masked vermin slipped some manner of light into the armors of those rahkshi as revenge for the desecration? No, they couldn't have organized a counterstrike so quickly. But still, something was wrong.

Zealot approached one of the afflicted, a chain-lightning rahkshi. Just as he was about to call for the infirmary, all three ceased their fits, and slowly rose. Zealot could somehow sense a change in them, as though they had become... more powerful.

They had achieved the third stage.

Zealot stepped back and lowered his head, raising his staff higher this time. Then he turned to his fellow rahkshi:

"Hail our brothers, the first of our intelligent kind to achieve the Third Stage of Power! Hail!"

IC Phogen]

She noticed a darkness rahk bowing before her. Phogen managed to reserve her grin to a regal smile. Walking over, she clapped a hand on the reverent individual's shoulder. Now this one could be useful. Religion was always useful to those who could manipulate it's operation. Phogen would like to think his intelligence was at such a level. Still, as he approached, he chose his words carefully. "Do not think us greater in anything but piety, my brother."

IC: Hoto

Hoto let her hand drop. She didn't know the Rahkshi of Sonics, but something told her she should. Every motion carried with it a sort of quiet self-assurance and brilliance; every word sounded as if it had been carefully weighed and checked for double meaning, then spoken to the precise, intended effect. But even behind his joy, there was a hard edge, always seeking for the next method of furthering her plans.

Hoto wasn't sure whether to stare or keep her eyes adverted. She tried to slip back calmly into the crowd, but they all pushed forward as Zealot made his announcement. They only shoved her closer to the one they were calling "Phogen," until she nearly lost her balance at his feet.

IC: Fang

Fang looked up from his studying to see one of Phogen's lackeys enter the Library. Something looked off about the Rahkshi of Chain Lightning, though it could have just been the mucus caked around their headplate's seams. Still slightly curious as to what was going on, he diverted his attention to his blade.

The kneading had resulted in a long, thin base stretching up to a thicker section near the top where his fingers had forced the excess metal. The tip was beginning to curve around, probably because of his constant adjustments. It was beginning to look like...

"A fang," he whispered, smugly. Now, with a goal in mind, he put his heated fingers back to the blade, focusing more on its shape than his reading.

OOC: Fang open to interaction.

IC: Squid

Squid noticed another Rahkshi begin to admire his blade. It was a beautiful blade, curved like a Rahi's tooth, in a way. 

"That's a nice sword you got there. I've got a cool one, too, but I'm not very good with weapons. Do you think you could teach me?" 

IC: Fang

Fang looked up coldly, then back down to the blade. His fingers never stopped moving along it. Ignoring the question, he asked, "You're one of 'Phogen's Cabal," aren't you? Don't play dumb with me, I've seen you around her. Looks like Exxan hasn't told you who I am. Perhaps he has more heart than I give him credit for, or you just haven't heard his boasting."

IC Kat: once again, Tridax's words rang true, though I will admit, I had chosen the most capable Rahkshi. I nodded, "yes, sir."

Upon returning, I was so tired that I didn't stick around to see the others reach level three, but I'd later hear about it to no end from other students. As it was, I went straight to my room and all but collapsed on the bed, asleep before my armor finished falling. I slept a deep, dreamless sleep.

Short / Gymnasium, Fighting Jayar IC:

Short jumped over the staff and grabbed at Jayar's staff, intending to swing around the disoriented Rahkshi with a swift kick to the jaw. It would then wrap around its opponent's neck and proceed to continually punch the larger Rahkshi.

Metal / Courtyard, Playing Heavy Metal Rahk IC:

As the Rahkshi returned to the school, Metal smiled. This was his opportunity. The Rahkshi jumped on the rock he had been sitting on, strummed a few chords, and screamed (not violently, but lyrically), "Hello Corpus Rahkshi! My name is Metal, and I'm here to greet you with the power of Heavy Metal Rahk!" With that, he launched into a song, full vocals and axe-guitar playing and all.

OOC: Metal open for interaction. Come one and all to join or hate the band!