05-19-2017, 12:07 AM
Kopaka took a long look at the enemy fortress, listening as the blizzard whispered secrets only he could hear. It was a blessing tailored to him and him alone; confirmation that these Frozen Fields were his lands. It was his Duty to protect them, and he would not have this geyser of shadow sullying the pristine pureness of the ice and snow. How best, though, to get past these towering abominations? The Toa had to suspect that creatures acclimated to this glacial landscape would not be hindered by the occlusion of a blizzard.
The optics in the Kanohi Akaku whirred and clicked as he shifted his focus. Whatever shipping operations had been underway were now being shut down. The question was how far Nebula would go to protect their corrupted assets. A plan was percolating in the cybernetic folds of the Ice Spirit’s brain, but first he needed to know what his teammates were fully capable of. Snow squeaked and crunched as he wheeled to face Weiss and Keldor.
“Warlock. I’ve seen your power burrow through ice, but can it punch through a truck?” Kopaka asked, his tone low. Keldor let out a short scoff, and flexed his blue arm. An arc of stolen power rolled along his bicep.
“Normally? Of course. Currently? You are a fool to ask.” the mage snickered. Kopaka ignored the sinister veneer that coated his smug demeanor.
“Good. Then I’m sure you can distract the enemy with a frontal assault for a few minutes.” Kopaka snapped back, pointing at the trucks that were quickly getting bogged down with snow. Keldor’s eyes glistened with hunger; the robot was handing all of the chips to him on a silver platter. Kopaka knew this, of course. The sorcerer's hunger for the sordid devices had been made plain in the aftermath of Kopaka’s assault on the forward base. The Toa nodded then turned to Weiss.
“You.”
Weiss scoffed.
“I have a name, you know, it’s-”
“Weiss Schnee, so you said. I saw your fight in the colosseum.” Kopaka said in a chilling tone. He was not impressed with her arrival to this Nebula site. The girl was something called a ‘child’, a larval form of adult humans that had different dimensions and lower overall capability. Weiss’s eyes widened as the memory of the plague marine ran across her mind.
“I hope you’ve improved since then, I don’t…” Kopaka trailed off, casting a long glance at Weiss’s hip. The scrutiny went on for so long that the Schnee girl started to blush.
“Hey, I don’t know if you can feel pain but-” Weiss started before Kopaka cut her off.
“Your mask, what does it do?” he asked cooly. Weiss seemed not to hear him at first.
“Will you quit interrupting me? This is not how a team-”
Kopaka shouted.
“SHUT. UP. What does the mask do?” the Toa seethed, his eyes flickering to a sickly shade of yellow for a moment. The girl seemed sufficiently cowed, and reacted as if she has just noticed the vile face-covering that she had been toting this entire time. The huntress gingerly lifted it from her hip and studied it.
“I...um…don’t.”
“Excellent.” Kopaka spat. Skeletor seemed to share the Toa’s distaste for the confused child.
“Hmph. Seems the good Doctor is desperate for help from anyone.” Keldor hummed, tapping a thoughtful finger on his leg. Weiss was shaking visibly, and a savage expression began to glaze across her face. The hunger was coming on strong, suddenly. She didn’t even realized that she was softly growling until Kopaka told her to stop.
“Quiet. You chose to be here, so make yourself useful-”
“Shut up yourself! Who made you leader!?” Weiss snapped. Keldor nodded.
“I concur! What right have you to direct us, eh chilly one? Hm?”
Every falling snowflake in their hilltop clearing ceased its gentle plummet. This floating snow effect rapidly spread throughout the entire blizzard, as Kopaka’s eyes began to shine brightly. The temperature dropped sharply, and slowly but surely, the entire storm shifted direction northwards, directly into the brooding eyes of the ice giants. The Toa added elemental power to the storm, whipping its ferocity to a keening edge, so much so that normally soft snow was now a gale-driven grit.
Kopaka stood tall in the storm, undaunted by the stream of ice, glowering down at his so-called teammates with a frigid blue stare.
“Call them recommendations. Suggestions. Opinions. Whatever makes them easier to digest.” Kopaka said, his synthesized voice becoming garbled and gritty. Weiss and Keldor could all but squint through the onslaught.
“...when we leave the Frozen Fields, I will gladly refer to the opinions of you, the tardy witch doctor, and you, the earnest child. But while we are here, in a land of my flesh and blood, I would suggest you follow my lead.” Kopaka snarled, drawing his sword and snapping his shield into place. He gestured at the harried trucks with the tip of his weapon.
“Someone draw attention to the transport, and someone needs to support me in breaching their defenses.” Kopaka continued, moving the tip of the ice sword to indicate a pair of ice giants that were on the southernmost side of the base. Before either other Prime could object, Kopaka uttered one final request.
“Above all else…” the Toa rumbled, shifting his mask to the Kanohi of Invisibility, “...stay out of my way.”
With that, there came a slushy, sliding noise as a long trough of snow seemed to open itself up down the sheer edge of the snowy embankment. It was clear to tell that Kopaka was going ahead with his plan, whether or not Weiss and Keldor complied. The Toa was prepared for that possibility. He had to be. One way or another, things always seemed to come down to him. No one else could be relied upon. It didn't matter to him if Keldor survived as a distracting element or not. The tool would serve his purpose or he wouldn't. Schnee was even less of a factor in this.
Him. That's how it always was. He alone could win this.
The optics in the Kanohi Akaku whirred and clicked as he shifted his focus. Whatever shipping operations had been underway were now being shut down. The question was how far Nebula would go to protect their corrupted assets. A plan was percolating in the cybernetic folds of the Ice Spirit’s brain, but first he needed to know what his teammates were fully capable of. Snow squeaked and crunched as he wheeled to face Weiss and Keldor.
“Warlock. I’ve seen your power burrow through ice, but can it punch through a truck?” Kopaka asked, his tone low. Keldor let out a short scoff, and flexed his blue arm. An arc of stolen power rolled along his bicep.
“Normally? Of course. Currently? You are a fool to ask.” the mage snickered. Kopaka ignored the sinister veneer that coated his smug demeanor.
“Good. Then I’m sure you can distract the enemy with a frontal assault for a few minutes.” Kopaka snapped back, pointing at the trucks that were quickly getting bogged down with snow. Keldor’s eyes glistened with hunger; the robot was handing all of the chips to him on a silver platter. Kopaka knew this, of course. The sorcerer's hunger for the sordid devices had been made plain in the aftermath of Kopaka’s assault on the forward base. The Toa nodded then turned to Weiss.
“You.”
Weiss scoffed.
“I have a name, you know, it’s-”
“Weiss Schnee, so you said. I saw your fight in the colosseum.” Kopaka said in a chilling tone. He was not impressed with her arrival to this Nebula site. The girl was something called a ‘child’, a larval form of adult humans that had different dimensions and lower overall capability. Weiss’s eyes widened as the memory of the plague marine ran across her mind.
“I hope you’ve improved since then, I don’t…” Kopaka trailed off, casting a long glance at Weiss’s hip. The scrutiny went on for so long that the Schnee girl started to blush.
“Hey, I don’t know if you can feel pain but-” Weiss started before Kopaka cut her off.
“Your mask, what does it do?” he asked cooly. Weiss seemed not to hear him at first.
“Will you quit interrupting me? This is not how a team-”
Kopaka shouted.
“SHUT. UP. What does the mask do?” the Toa seethed, his eyes flickering to a sickly shade of yellow for a moment. The girl seemed sufficiently cowed, and reacted as if she has just noticed the vile face-covering that she had been toting this entire time. The huntress gingerly lifted it from her hip and studied it.
“I...um…don’t.”
“Excellent.” Kopaka spat. Skeletor seemed to share the Toa’s distaste for the confused child.
“Hmph. Seems the good Doctor is desperate for help from anyone.” Keldor hummed, tapping a thoughtful finger on his leg. Weiss was shaking visibly, and a savage expression began to glaze across her face. The hunger was coming on strong, suddenly. She didn’t even realized that she was softly growling until Kopaka told her to stop.
“Quiet. You chose to be here, so make yourself useful-”
“Shut up yourself! Who made you leader!?” Weiss snapped. Keldor nodded.
“I concur! What right have you to direct us, eh chilly one? Hm?”
Every falling snowflake in their hilltop clearing ceased its gentle plummet. This floating snow effect rapidly spread throughout the entire blizzard, as Kopaka’s eyes began to shine brightly. The temperature dropped sharply, and slowly but surely, the entire storm shifted direction northwards, directly into the brooding eyes of the ice giants. The Toa added elemental power to the storm, whipping its ferocity to a keening edge, so much so that normally soft snow was now a gale-driven grit.
Kopaka stood tall in the storm, undaunted by the stream of ice, glowering down at his so-called teammates with a frigid blue stare.
“Call them recommendations. Suggestions. Opinions. Whatever makes them easier to digest.” Kopaka said, his synthesized voice becoming garbled and gritty. Weiss and Keldor could all but squint through the onslaught.
“...when we leave the Frozen Fields, I will gladly refer to the opinions of you, the tardy witch doctor, and you, the earnest child. But while we are here, in a land of my flesh and blood, I would suggest you follow my lead.” Kopaka snarled, drawing his sword and snapping his shield into place. He gestured at the harried trucks with the tip of his weapon.
“Someone draw attention to the transport, and someone needs to support me in breaching their defenses.” Kopaka continued, moving the tip of the ice sword to indicate a pair of ice giants that were on the southernmost side of the base. Before either other Prime could object, Kopaka uttered one final request.
“Above all else…” the Toa rumbled, shifting his mask to the Kanohi of Invisibility, “...stay out of my way.”
With that, there came a slushy, sliding noise as a long trough of snow seemed to open itself up down the sheer edge of the snowy embankment. It was clear to tell that Kopaka was going ahead with his plan, whether or not Weiss and Keldor complied. The Toa was prepared for that possibility. He had to be. One way or another, things always seemed to come down to him. No one else could be relied upon. It didn't matter to him if Keldor survived as a distracting element or not. The tool would serve his purpose or he wouldn't. Schnee was even less of a factor in this.
Him. That's how it always was. He alone could win this.
C O L D