Wheua Mīti [Dark Data]

[Kopaka]

"I create and control ice." Kopaka said to his sorcerous companion, keeping his gaze focused on the frozen archway in the distance. He was aware that Keldor had passively inquired as to the nature of his biological configuration. Kopaka didn't see how that was relevant at the moment. The Toa then gestured over his shoulders, at the tools he kept strapped to his back. 

"I also have a sword and shield. Use your imagination."

It may have been pertinent at this juncture to also explain the Kanohi and their various powers, but Kopaka thought better of it. Each one was completely unique, and there wasn't even a guarantee that he would have need of certain masks for the duration of this undertaking. Skeletor simply made a slightly hesitant sound indicative of comprehension, and the rest of the trip was made in silence.

When, however, the pair of Primes finally reached the gate to the Frozen Fields, Kopaka paused for a moment and ran a white, metallic hand over the smooth surface of the glittering aperture. The Toa shuddered with a slight shiver, not because his body was reacting to the stark chill of the surface, but because it had been so long since he'd been in contact with physical, natural ice.

"Are you...alright?" Keldor asked, peering over Kopaka's shoulder. The Toa glanced over his shoulder with a sharp stare.

"Yes..." Kopaka breathed. Keldor nodded slowly, his dark-rimmed eyes slightly wide with concern. Without further hesitation, Kopaka stepped through the whirling chaos of the portal, and emerged a moment later into the fury of the glaciated Verse.

The power of winter hit him like a sack of bricks. On his first breath of the frozen, snow flecked air he felt his entire body straighten and come alive. He hadn't even realized he had been walking with a slightly hunched posture for so long until this moment. The blue light in his eyes flared and he stretched his arms out, as if to embrace the sub-zero climate. There was a great temptation to lash out with a blast of elemental power, but Kopaka restrained himself, bringing his arms down to his sides with a long breath out. The shrill voice of Keldor brought him back into the moment.

"I don't mean to encroach, but...how do we presume these devices the doctor gave us function?" the sorcerer asked, brandishing his Liberator Aid. Kopaka looked down at the device attached to his own forearm and gave it an experimental tap. It didn't respond in any discernible fashion.

"I am unsure, but perhaps they will respond as we venture deeper into the tundra." Kopaka said, his voice noticeably brighter and clearer. The Toa blinked for a moment, and then realized that Keldor was standing knee deep in snow, while he himself was standing on top of it. He had forgotten that others did not share the benefits towards traversing snowy drifts that he did.

"Do you require me to clear a path?" Kopaka asked, his tone suddenly cold and blunt again.

"Indeed! Show this power over frost and snow you have asserted so deeply!" Keldor said in a sneering tone. Kopaka nodded and gestured towards the direction straight out from the gate. There was a great sound of shuffling and grinding as the snow split and spread in an arrow straight path off over the nearest hill. Kopaka stepped off of the bank he had been standing on and set off, not waiting to see if Keldor was following...

[Skeletor]

Skeletor grimaced as the Toa of Ice began to proceed across the tundra. He seemed to have underestimated the severity of the environment. Even with the sun shining clear and bright the snow clung to his legs, chilling muscle and bone. There would be no way he could travel, let alone fight in conditions like this.

For the moment, Kopaka was showing off his affinity to the surroundings by blazing a path, but Skeletor knew that he could not rely on the Bionicle’s altruism for a long-term solution. Instead of following the Toa of ice, Skeletor focused, concentrating his Omnilium into a concrete form in front of him. Kopaka, true to his nature did not wait, continuing away from the gate in a seemingly random direction. By the time Skeletor had finished his summoning, the white metal of the Toa of Ice was completely invisible in the glare of the sunlight snow.

With a sneer of frustration, Skeletor hopped up onto the back of Panthor, the newly revived cat squinting confusedly in the brightness of its surroundings. Reaching into the saddlebag, Skeletor pulled out the new cloak he had specifically summoned to complement the environment. The new garment was a much thicker wool, an off-white fur trim lining the edges and creating a sort of mantle about his shoulders.

Feeling somewhat better, Skeletor scanned the horizon. His illusory face squinted as it mimicked his scrutinizing gaze. Snow… It was all just endless rolling hills of snow! What a useless place this was, hardly better than the Nexus they had just left behind. Off in the distance he could see snow-covered forests, and the peaks of mountains, but they seemed immensely far away. Just how wild a goose chase are we on with these gates? Skeletor wondered, glancing down at the gauntlet affixed to his forearm. He would worry about it later he decided, and spurred Panthor onward, following the path Kopaka had left when flaunting his elemental powers.

The Toa of Ice had noticed Skeletor’s absence and had ceased his trailblazing by the time Panthor caught up, the massive cat bounding through the snow in a series of easy leaps. It did not make for the most relaxing of travel on Skeletor’s part, but it was much the preferred course of action. Kopaka’s sensors spiraled as he examined the immense purple feline, but he did not stop his travel, nor did he say anything to Skeletor’s delay. For his part, Skeletor was feeling somewhat fatigued by such an intense summoning, and although the resurrection sickness was ebbing away, he still felt he was operating below his normal abilities, even here in the Omniverse. Content to take a respite, Skeletor allowed himself to drop into a sort of trance, as the Toa and the panther swallowed miles and miles of snow.

[Nebula]

The two primes made their trek across the fields of snow and ice. Aside from the occasional errant noise or sight of some creature of the frozen fields scurrying among the drifts and banks of frost, and the ever-present whistling, whining of the wind, it was quiet. Silent as the grave. From the gate behind them, now long-distant and all but lost on the horizon among the swirling snowfall, to the distant, blurred shape of the mountains looming among the sky, everything was serene. It gave the place a pervasive, grasping sense of quiet dread. Or perhaps it was blessed solitude? It was difficult to say.

Several long, quiet minutes into their journey across the fields, the duo of primes would finally find the monotony broken by a sound. A sharp, crackling hiss of static. Errant flakes of snow and a gathering of frost steamed and melted away, leaving the liberator aides of the two clear, showcasing the screen alive and alight. A glare of soft blue light lit up the entire screen, showing a fizzling sheen of snowy static. It slowly dissolved, the image of a simple radar making itself clear. It pinged softly, alerting to an all clear in its vicinity, but showing a simple arrow at the northwestern perimeter, a small, bright red symbol near it. Slowly flickering, waving back and forth across a zone of a few degrees of the circular edge. Nebula forces detected. Beyond the immediate range of the radar, but it had already begun to more or less hone in on it.

There did appear to be...something else, showing on the radar. North by northwest, not quite in a straight line to their destination, another soft bleep sounded, a nondescript dot appearing on the radar. A deep, dark purple in color. It remained stationary, unlike the signal for Nebula's forces.

Side Mission opportunity.

You have the option of deviating from a straight path to investigate the unidentified signature on the radar, or ignoring it and continuing on to investigate the source of the Nebula signal. You have 48 hours to make a post, up to 500 words, detailing your decisions. Happy hunting.

[Kopaka]

Kopaka glanced down at the electronic gauntlet as it buzzed to life, and then glanced back up at the snowy horizon. As it was, they were adjacent to a small, glacial hillock that had been pushed upwards by the shifting tides of this ice flow. The field in front of them was full of mounds and drifts; it would make it easy for their enemies to make a concealed approach.

...or perhaps, it may have, if they hadn't been dealing with the Toa of Ice. He glanced back at Keldor, mounted silently atop his quadrupedal mount, and waited for the master and beast to catch up.

"I noticed it too." Keldor said, holding his own shackled arm up for Kopaka to see. Kopaka nodded and gestured at the nearby hill with the tip of his sword, having drawn it the moment the Liberator Aid started to respond.

"I will scale this precipice and survey the area." the Toa said, abruptly marching off to do as he had said. Keldor sat back on Panthor and tucked his blue arm back inside his cloak. Certainly, there could be no doubt that Kopaka must have had some method of getting on top of the otherwise completely sheer and slick mini-glacier, but the warlock was interested to observe, all the same. As the Toa approached the towering, flow-locked iceberg, he gently tapped the tip of his sword against the upended hulk. After a moment, a perfect set of spiraling stairs carved themselves into the face of the precipice, winding all the way up to the top. Kopaka huffed confidently to himself as he performed the sculpting; in this frozen environment, such a paltry exhibition was hardly a strain.

The biomech summited the entombed outcropping and called upon his Kanohi Akaku to pierce the veil of snow that swirled around on all sides. The lenses of his mask whirred and clicked as he tried to resolve shapes among the drifts based on what the Aid was indicating. There was certainly some movement out to the north, but Kopaka could not resolve any specific shapes or number the enemy forces.

What was very obvious was the large iceberg that was jutting out of the flow ahead and to the left. It was a cryogeological feature similar to the icemount that Kopaka was currently perched on, but this berg seemed to have some sort of inlet from which purple light was pouring...

A few minutes later the Toa had descended from his vantage point and regrouped with Keldor, having relayed his findings to the sorceror. The mage puzzled over the situation before nodding to himself, a pensive hand resting on his chin.

"...well, I believe our choice is obvious." Keldor proclaimed in his nasally drone. Kopaka nodded.

"Agreed. We should proceed-"

"-directly to this purple light source! Who knows what secret power lies in wait?" Keldor said, shaking an adventurous fist in the chilly air. Kopaka's optical lights blinked for a moment.

"...No."

[Skeletor]

Skeletor balked slightly at Kopaka’s refusal of his decision. The ingrate had the gall to challenge his orders? The Warlock forced down his fury to form a response, it would not be wise to divorce himself from an ally so literally in his element.

“I don’t think you understand just what this thing is, Kopaka.” Skeletor intoned with a hint of patronization. The Toa’s face was impassive as always, though his optical sensors twitched slightly.

“I know what it is not, mage. It is not the threat we have come to defeat here.” Kopaka answered coolly, crossing his arms with impatience. “Nebula’s forces are drawing near. We have no time to get side tracked.”

Skeletor shook his head with an easy smile, he would have an easier time with this than he had expected. “It’s not that simple, Bio-mech.” He said with a hint of smugness, “Whatever it is has alerted our sensors, which the esteemed Dr. Regal had designed specifically to seek out for us the forces of Nebula. Yet it also has found this…” Source of power to claim “… strange reading. Do you think the two are disconnected? I had thought you wiser than that, Toa!”

The Bio-mech said nothing, but Skeletor could tell he had at least struck a nerve. “Come Panthor,” Skeletor said, steering his cat towards the strange signal. “Follow or stay here as you wish Kopaka, but there is strength in a unified front. You have a duty to protect the plebeians you chose and that is your prerogative, Toa. But I will be seeking my own destiny.”

Without waiting for Kopaka’s response, Skeletor urged Panthor forward towards the signal.

[Nebula]

The warlock, astride his feline companion in the lead, and the icy bio-mech following begrudgingly behind, the unlikely pair of liberators set off across the frozen landscape toward the source of the strange reading. It was an uneventful journey on the whole, though thankfully not a particularly long one. Nearing the source of the reading, the signal grew more distinct, and the radar on their liberator aides shifted, minimizing down to a corner of the screen. The corner under it was filled with a stream of data and pictures, scrolling by too fast to be seen, while the remaining half was slowly filled with lines of text and coding, results of the analysis forming up.

When they were scarcely a hundred meters off from the source of the signal, the information was compiled and a reading was displayed. The image, in the corner, had settled into what looked like a large chunk of ice, with a vaguely humanoid silhouette frozen within it. The readings displayed it as a denizen of the Dark, composed and powered by a similar energy as to that of Nebula, likely drawn out of slumber by their forces, but not aligned with them. Currently 'sleeping' and not a threat, and its power could likely be harvested, or it could be broken and shattered before awakening. Regardless, the devices did offer a warning: 'Probability of danger: 87%', if it was disturbed and awoken.

Side Event: Denizen of the Dark
Time for a challenge!

You can still choose to ignore it and leave. Alternatively, you can choose to try and harvest the power, destroy it, or awaken it. Of course, you are also free to do any other action you desire. You have three days, and one 600 word post each, to decide your next action.

[Skeletor]

The Warlock grinned as the Liberator aide sprung to life with useful information. This was as good an opportunity as he could possibly have hoped for. According to the scanner, this thing had similar powers to those that they faced. It would be the perfect opportunity to see just what sort of power they were going to be up against. Skeletor leapt from Panthor’s back, landing in thigh-deep snow. He barely noticed the extreme cold of the snow on his bare legs, he was so focused on the silhouette in the iceberg. How could he access its power without causing it to awaken? Behind him, Kopaka neared eyes on his own scanner.

“Tell me you are not intending to free this monster.” The Toa of ice said with weary sarcasm. He was getting flashbacks of Lewa’s impulsiveness from this prime, and though his airborne brother knew how to control himself when required, there would be no guarantee that the same would hold for Keldor. The hooded mage turned back to face Kopaka with a wide grin.

“I don’t think you are quite grasping what a stroke of good fortune this is, Mechanicling!” Skeletor cackled, “We seek knowledge of Nebula’s power, and this thing is similar to them. But!” he raised a finger abruptly to make the point, “We also know that it does not directly communicate with the main forces of Nebula. By analyzing this thing, we can find out Nebula’s strength without alerting them to our presence. It’s the perfect plan!”

The Toa seemed unconvinced, but did not immediately respond to Skeletor’s argument. The sorcerer turned back to face the iceberg, grinning to himself. Skeletor’s Havoc staff floated into his hand, its empty sockets glowing with arcane anticipation. Holding the Havoc staff up against the edge of the iceberg, Skeletor began to carve a hole into the ice with his magic. The hiss of steam reached both of their non-existant ears as a plume of heat started to waft from the whole. Skeletor only applied more power. This was a chance for him to get a taste of Nebula’s power. It was time to see if this little adventure was going to be worth his while.

Skeletor is attempting to Harvest power from the denizen of dark. Kopaka is welcome to challenge this action in his post if he would like

[Kopaka]

Kopaka watched on with a stolid countenance as the blue warlock began to carve away at the entrapped iceberg with power from the head of this staff. The Toa had initially been worried that a diversion such as this would end up costing them valuable strength and energy, but with the recognition of the anomaly as a power source, Kopaka was slightly less concerned. Naturally, he had concerns about the implications that this being's energy matched the dark nature of Nebula's underlings, but that did not necessarily guarantee that it also was contaminated with evil intent.

The biomech crunched closer to Keldor, watching as the sorcerer poured magical power into the thick wall of ice in the hopes of accessing this supposed font of power. Blinding white light seared into the millenia-old ice, sending spits of steam and ice shards flying out of the breach. Woefully inefficient. There was no sense wasting energy, even if it was for a net gain.

"Please..." Kopaka said, nudging the other Prime aside, "...allow me."

The Toa of Ice closed his eyes for a moment before tapping the point of his sword against the channel that Keldor had been carving. There came a squeaking, cracking sound as the depths of the ice unfolded themselves, widening into a large, cylindrical corridor that would allow easy access to the entombed entity. Though Kopaka was glad that Keldor had insisted on investigating the anomaly, the Toa also couldn't risk being inversely effected by potential hidden dangers. Satisfied that he had enabled access to the strange being, Kopaka took a step back and made an ushuring gesture at the mage.

"All yours."

Kopaka helped Skeletor get access to the energy source, but is letting Skeletor harvest all of the energy for himself.

[Nebula]

With the ice melted thanks to the toa of ice's assistance, Skeletor had free access to the entity trapped within. The warlock once more stepped forward, reaching through the newly created opening with his magic and drawing forth the power. Slowly, at first, like an all-too-tight valve being slowly ground open, the power trickled forth. Faint motes and specks of light, glimmering bright violet against the ice, shone in the frigid air. Then the flow grew more rapid and intense, forming into a thin, but solid stream of flickering purple light. Sparks and arcs of flame and electricity lanced out of it, crackling and hissing across the ice, and toward the warlock, crawling up his staff and arm. It was unpleasant, stinging as if he had suddenly stuck his arm into a furnace or been subjected to a grossly exaggerated jolt of static electricity for minutes at a time.

But in the end, the creature entrapped within the ice began to break down, cracking and splintering like the ice around it. It melted, dissolving into a thick, soupy sludge and dripping out of the hole in the ice as the last of its power was drained. It formed into a crystalline sphere of deep purple, pulsing with a pale, pinkish light at its center. Nearly the size of a small melon, but light as air in the skeletal mage's hand. It felt alien, and dark, and just to hold it sent jolts and tingling sparks of agony up the blue-skinned sorcerer's arm, but it positively radiated power.

With the source of the dark energy taken care of, the radar of the two unlikely liberators shifted back to prominence. The wavering signal pointing toward nebula's forces had resolved into a definite direction, pointing solidly to the northwest. It pulsed with an angry, red color, much more intense than when it had been uncertainly wavering. Whatever it had detected, it looked quite potent.

Challenge complete. Skeletor successfully harvested the creature of its power. Details of his prize can be provided via PM, at request.

Aside from that, you are free to progress. You have four days and one post of 600 words each, to head toward the next spot of trouble.

[Kopaka]

Once Keldor had finished absorbing the remaining dregs of enigmatic energy, Kopaka nodded silently and began speaking as he exited the icy tomb. Synthesized words bounced resonantly down the tube he had carved into the iceberg.

"I shall scout ahead and try to assess the opposition. Stay out of sight."

There was a slight edge in his robotic tone, moreso than usual. For some reason, the Toa was feeling a flickering of jealousy towards Keldor; it was an alien feeling. But, like all other emotions that wracked his tranquility, the feeling was struck from his mind.

Having said his piece, Kopaka scaled a nearby snow drift and set the magnification on his Kanohi Akaku to maximum, scanning through the white dunes in the direction of the Nebula signature...

[Nebula]

Departing from their scavenging of the power source of the frozen creature, the primes moved on. Kopaka ascended a drift of snow, scanning out over the frozen, white landscape. His magnified vision, and a clear direction to look, let the Toa zero in on signs of activity, and the source of the signal on their radar. A small camp, from the looks of it, carved into the side of a huge bank of snow and ice. Right out in the middle of nowhere, unobtrusive, and if you didn't know right it was, you'd never find it out in all this white. Hidden without even being hidden.

Coming and going from it were a number of individuals. All dressed to ward off the cold, and of all manner of shapes and sizes, myriad races among their ranks. But they all bore two unifying characteristics: their equipment was all the same shade of purple, and bore the emblem for Nebula, branded across the back. And each and every one of them was ready for battle, armed with some means of weaponry, or things which could be used as weapons.

The true extent of their numbers was hard to tell, as they made many trips in and out of their 'hidden' base-structure, taking cargo and items off of a vehicle outside, and loading on more cargo. The items being loaded had a soft, faint glow to them, almost lost among the swirling snow. Darkchips.

Moving right along. You have six days and no word limit this time. Deal with the outpost as you see fit.

[Kopaka]

The blue warlock was still nowhere to be seen. Kopaka shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. During their travels from Coruscant, the other Prime had seemed at least enthusiastic, if not zealous about their potential mission. There was a possibility that Keldor’s absence had something to do with the fell energy he had absorbed from the entombed oddity at the south end of these drifts. In that case, at least the sorcerer had served one purpose before abandoning their assignment.


Kopaka chose not to dwell on it any longer. He has been prepared to see to this duty by himself, and he would proceed without hesitation. The biomech stood up from his crouched position, allowing his outline to become plain against the lily sky. A warning klaxon went up almost immediately as he did so, and a controlled rush of adrenaline surged through his whirring muscles. With a subconscious flourish, Kopaka shed his heavy brown poncho and drew his sword and shield.


He was literally in his element.


…


“Easy boys, one Prime won’t best us!” the Darkling captain called, waving the rest of his soldiers behind the cover of their uplink station. It wasn’t really standard procedure to take cover behind such critical equipment, but operating within the Frozen Fields usually mandated improvisation. On top of that, most of his soldier’s minds were half consumed by darkness; it wasn’t like they were going to tattle. He himself was a veteran of the Frozen Fields, anyway; a dwarven colonist of the ice fields.


...he didn’t remember much more than that, but his name was Olaf and he had people with guns. Speaking of which, Henson, their ex-imperial snowtrooper marksman, settled his rifle against a cargo crate and screwed his optics into focus.


“Range, two hundred meters, southwest cross breeze at...fifteen…” Henson’s calculations drifted off as his body and mind shuddered. A gurgling growl crawled out of his throat as he suddenly slapped a Darkchip into the modular slot of his beam rifle.


“Fuck it. GET NO-SCOPED, BEEYOTCH!” he cackled, holding his precision energy weapon at his waist and pulling the trigger. He was pushed back a few feet as a thick lance of bruised, black energy exploded from the muzzle. The lance of dark destruction cruised off over the white dunes, missing Kopaka by several hundred feet. The Darkling captain sighed.


“Open fire.” Olaf muttered.


A storm of metal and noise erupted from the open face of the Nebula camp. Bullets of every caliber snapped through the air around the Toa. Many of them plinked harmlessly off of his shining torso, but a few of the larger rounds slammed into him, causing painful dents. Unfortunately, a frontal assault was necessary for his plan, so in a burst of arcing energy, Kopaka donned the Kanohi Hau. The great mask of shielding immediately coated the Prime’s body in a veil of electric blue energy. Now even the larger shells bounced angrily off into the icy sky, and the Toa hastened his advance. Kopaka chanced a look up at the heavy roof of snow and ice hanging heavily over the camp. It looked even more unstable than he had anticipated.


Good.


Meanwhile, Olaf was beginning to panic.


“Uh. Uh. Blow him up!” the demented dwarf barked, pointing at a nearby tundra goblin holding an RPG.


“But baws, youz told me notta shoot dis unless-”


“TAKE HIM OUT!” Olaf roared, picking the small, blue wretch up by the scruff of his stylish Nebula parka and setting him on top of a stack of Darkchip hoppers. The tundra goblin hoisted the huge weapon onto his shoulder and aimed at an area that was vaguely near Kopaka.


Click.


“Uh…”


Click.


“Baws, I fink da missile is all froze in da toob.” the tiny humanoid whined, looking down the barrel of the launcher.


“Well figure it-” Olaf was cut off as he watched the goblin’s head get taken off by the launching rocket. The camp commander watched in dismay that turned to glee as the errant rocket snaked through the air and slammed straight down on Kopaka’s position. Even for the kanohi Hau, this was a bit much, and Kopaka coughed out a breathless scream as the warhead slammed into him. A massive plume if ice crystals and smoke burst high into the air.


Once they were finished laughing at the decapitated tundra goblin, the assorted darklings cheered in unison as the explosion shook the landscape. Bits of snow plopped down from the glacial overhang, but that was fine. It happened all the time. Unfortunately, their mirth was dampened when not one, but three figures emerged from the haze of the explosion. Olaf spat angrily. It was possible that, once, Olaf may have been able to guess that the two new enemies were illusory copies, but that kind of intuitive thought had been replaced by a brooding love of black rage.


“Primes and their dirty tricks! Just go kill him already!” the captain snapped, flinging an angry hand gesture in Kopaka’s general direction. The gathered darklings, from the Kodans to the Talz and even one ice-wraith, grabbed an assortment of icepicks and other wicked tools to go smash the Prime’s head in.
Kopaka’s blue eyes gleamed hungrily as the distance between him and the charging darklings narrowed. Pale light bloomed from the Ice Sword as he dashed forwards, and he sent a pointed streak of raw elemental force towards the darklings. A jagged patch of ice spread itself out in front of the centermost warriors, several of whom toppled instantly. Naturally, the illusory copies simply passed through their blockers. It finally dawned on Olaf that they might be in serious trouble when the robotic Prime leaped clear over his head into the center of the camp.


“Quick, quick! Someone get the truck outta here-by Moradin!” Olaf swore, covering his beady eyes with an arm as a freak blizzard immediately kicked up in the middle of the base. He could scarcely see three feet in front of him, and the idiots in his command predictably started firing haphazardly in all directions.


“Cease fire, stop! Stoppit ya damn smegs!”


Meanwhile, at the epicenter of his conjured blizzard, Kopaka was examining the interior structure of the glacier with the help of the Kanohi Akaku. As he had predicted, the shelter had been carved into the mountainous wall of ice with little regard for the shearing forces at work. There was a potential faultine just overhead; he just needed a way to reach it. Kopaka focused his thoughts on the icy ceiling, and a moment later, a prong of thick ice pierced its way out of the hewn overhang. The Toa swiftly switched his mask to the Miru, and used the mask of levitation to propel him up to the improvised handhold. Kopaka jammed the Oce Sword into the ice next to him and dismissed the swirling cloud of ice below, bracing himself.


“Up there, there he is!” came one voice.


“Kill him! Kill!” echoed a second. Immediately, gunfire and other thrown weapons slammed into the frozen ceiling structure. Kopaka simply had to twist the ice sword to cause a long, thick crack to start spreading in the ice, and the darklings did the rest. By the time poor Olaf realized what was going on, it was too late.


“Stop! Stop shoot-run! Run away, runnn!” he shouted, nearly frothing at the mouth as he shoved lesser darklings out of his path. The deep bangs and rumblings increased in pitch, swelling overtime as the entire world seemed to start turning inside out…


…


Some time later, a single, robotic hand pushed a boulder of ice and snow down the pile that covred the remains of the darkling camp. Kopaka slowly and delicately extracted himself from the mess he had caused. Oncr again, the Kanohi Hau had saved his life, but it hadn’t been able to fully protect him from the chaos of a glacial avalanche. Still, he wasn’t sure he would have sustained any less damage through conventional means. The Fields were eerily silent.


Kopaka retrieved his sword and shield, let out a long, synthesized breath, and glanced down at his scanner...

[Weiss Schnee]

Weiss walked as slowly as she could possibly dare, cursing the soft crunching sound that followed her every footstep. She had no idea what exactly had happened here, but she was noticing fallen weaponry sticking out of the snow and ice - and occasionally, an arm or leg.

She thought she'd left the graveyards behind in the pale moors.

Weiss shook her head. Now wasn't exactly the time for thoughts like that. She needed to find out if there was any survivors in this frozen tomb, whether they were friends or foes. taking a deep breath, she moved quietly, trying not to give away her position as she searched for any signs of life. The idea of being taken by surprise by an assailant hidden in the snow didn't exactly appeal to her, and one hand hovered over the hilt of her rapier. For a while, though, her walk found her meeting only wreckage, discarded weapons or other items, or the occasional unconscious (she hoped) darkling. the symbol of nebula was all too common here, and Weiss didn't exactly like her chances if she'd come here before the avalanche had struck. Perhaps this was caused by one of the other people she was told were also assisting Dr. Regal?

The soft, deliberate footprint Weiss heard crunch into the snow and ice from behind her froze her in place, and as Weiss turned around and saw just who had made the footstep.

It was like someone had taken a block of ice, and carved a statue out of clockwork out of it. Except clockwork didn't glare at her with unrestrained suspicion or shift into a fighting stance even some of beacon's teachers would be envious of. Weiss wasn't sure if what she was looking at was some sort of golem, or a living creature. Still, after looking it in it's cold eyes for a second, while she couldn't see anything resembling a human pupil, she was certain by the way he looked her up and down that there was a glimmer of life in him. Being raised around cybernetic bodyguards all her life, she knew the difference between the fluid swiveling of a simple automaton, and the jerking movements of a human being. Though - maybe "human" would be the wrong term here.


"Identify yourself." The being demanded.

Weiss watched her potential opponent. His stance was solid - whether it was something programmed or trained, she knew that whatever this person was, they knew how to use their weapons. The real question was, could she trust him? Weiss's hand danced around her Rapier's hilt for a split second, the being watching the action with interest.

Finally, Weiss decided that there was no harm in introducing herself. It's not like the Schnee name gave people anything to threaten her with in a completely different world.

"Weiss Schnee. I'm a h-" Weiss started to say, but the words caught in her throat.

I'm a huntress

it was supposed to be easy to say. It was something she'd said many times before. It was the best way to describe who she was, what she was.
Or at least, it was.
Weiss's eyes half-closed as she sighed. "I'm here to assist Dr. Regal."

The being seemed to straighten a little as he heard that, suddenly taking interest in her wrist.

"One of Regal's assistants gave you that device." The mechanical titan stated bluntly. "I am Kopaka, Toa of Ice. It appears we share a common goal."

[Skeletor]

Skeletor sat crouched, watching from one of the remaining cliffs as Kopaka extracted himself from the detritus of his avalanche. The Warlock was unable to deny the impressiveness of the Bionicle’s raw power. Perhaps it was time for him to begin recruiting a team of lackeys to assist him in his plans of conquest. That was a thought for another time though, the Skeletal mage mused, there was still much to be done. The Toa had rushed ahead, using his powers to traverse the ice much more swiftly than Skeletor had been able to keep up with. The Warlock had not been terribly concerned, there was only one target that the Bio-mech could have been heading towards. Besides Skeletor had been more interested in learning just how this new power of his worked. Normally, he would have been perfectly happy with Kopaka’s ruthless destruction, the pathetic darklings had never stood a chance, from start to finish. However, given the circumstances, the Bio-mech had made some impermissible mistakes.

It was time that Skeletor rectified that fact.

Rising from a crouch, Skeletor slid down the loose snow of the slope, Panthor following as lazily as ever. Kopaka whirled to assess the Skeletal being’s arrival, and Skeletor prepared to lecture the Bio-mech but upon his arrival the warlock noticed a newcomer that interrupted his ranting before it even began.

The Young girl had a definite air of propriety, a smug self-assurance that was came hand in hand with pampered living, Skeletor had seen plenty of that from Randor’s brat. Yet her manner was far too hesitant for a simple socialite, and the fact that the girl was clearly learning meant that it would be wise to watch himself around this one. Mentally checking that his illusory face was still intact, Skeletor approached the two other primes.

The Bionicle’s pale blue eyes narrowed as Skeletor approached with his usual hunched stride. “Where have you been, Mage?” the Toa demanded. The Tone was not aggressive, but it did have the slightest hint of irritation that Skeletor was wary to note. The Warlock was careful to answer his icy companion without too much contempt, after watching such a display of force it would be imprudent to challenge the Toa directly.

“I saw quite enough chaos without my involvement, you bucket of bolts! You’ve gone and buried their Dark Chips!” the Warlock complained as he began to excavate the snow with the help of his eldritch magic. Kopaka did not choose to respond to this jab, instead refocusing his attention on the newly arrived ally.

“We have pursued Nebula’s signal into this verse, though they seem ignorant of our efforts.” The Toa gestured to the remains of the outpost on which they stood, “That will likely change soon.” The Bio-mech’s tone was matter of fact as always, though Skeletor though he could detect a twinge of satisfaction in the Toa’s words.

The young girl with the scar glanced around with a look of slight apprehension. “This doesn’t look large enough to have been their stronghold.” She said with the ease of a practiced tracker. The girl had clearly seen some action in the field, "You attacked an outpost this openly without knowing what your up against?" she said in surprise, but Kopaka made no response. 

Skeletor continued to search aimlessly, there had been several of those power-containing chips in the vehicle, he had seen them before that pesky avalanche scattered the whole campsite. There was no chance of finding them in this blasted snow! A plume of loose powder flew into the air as Skeletor slammed his Havoc staff into the ground in frustration “Gone! They are all gone!” The necromancer shouted, startling Wiess and causing Kopaka to turn back to face him. Skeletor whirled to face the two of them, his pretenses of civility falling away as his rage mounted, “That entire truck of Darkchips! Lost to this insufferable powder!”

The Warlock stalked about the remains of the camp, pacing to deal with his frustration. Panthor lounged on a nearby outcropping of rock, watching the three primes disinterestedly. Wiess glanced nervously at Kopaka, “Uhm, if there was a truck, they must have been taking the Darkchips somewhere nearby…” She said, choosing to ignore the strange man’s outburst.

Kopaka nodded “We are agreed in this. We must find the source of the Darklings with haste.” Turning back to the sulking Skeletor, he spoke a little louder, “We are moving on, mage. Follow or stay behind, it is your decision.” With that the Bio-mech began trudging onwards, deeper into the tundra. Wiess waited for a second, watching to see Skeletor’s reaction, then followed.

The Warlock watched them go with chagrin. “These meddlesome fools will prevent me from getting anything out of this Panthor!” he muttered to his  pet as he made to follow, “And they aren’t even trying to stop me!”

[Nebula]

The three Primes journeyed on through the frozen wastes. The arctic wind howled, sending tendrils frozen dust undulating across the tundra, and the skies above them grew darker as they journeyed deeper into the heart of the 'verse, promising to bury the already-frozen world beneath roaring walls of billowing white. Mountains loomed in the distance, jagged teeth scraping against the gray roof of the ice-bound world.

"It appears as though there is going to be a blizzard," said the Toa of Ice, pausing atop a rime-bound ridge, a stony spine protruding from beneath the ice. 

The huntress agreed, the taste of ozone and dry frost sharp on her tongue. 

"Then what are we standing here for?" Demanded the warlock. "We've got to find shelter!"

The wind shifted. Abruptly, all three of their liberator-aides began to buzz as the Nebula-sensitive radars became active once again. A pulsing purple blotch had appeared Northwest of their position, accompanied by the words "STRONGHOLD DETECTED".

All three Primes were silent. Weiss looked up, scanning the Horizon with a practiced eye. After a long moment, she pointed. 

"There." 

In the shadow of a stunted mountain separated from the main range, its top shattered as though by a blow from a colossal hammer, was a fissure in the ice: An enormous rocky causeway lined with standing stones cut a path deep into the base of the mountain, eventually disappearing between the weathered columns of an oversize stone gate, carved from the living rock. Tiny, dark shapes moved hurriedly around it in a frantic rush of activity, barely pinpricks against the blue-white shade of the tundra, shifting equipment and vehicles in preparation for the storm.

There were larger shapes too, on the snow-covered slopes nearby: Manlike shadows, their eyes glowing red and bodies steaming with blackened corruption. They crouched, brooding, upon a rock-face lined with the tumbled, ice-bound ruins of a titanic, ancient keep.

Giants.

Stronghold located. One last challenge to get by before reaching it!

A blizzard is in the midst of brewing. And there are plenty of Nebula's forces frantically securing their goods and moving them into the shelter of their lair within the lone mountain that houses their stronghold. Your objective here is simple: get past the guardians outside and gain entry.

There is a swarm of several dozen lesser underlings and soldiers, working to get their cargo safely secured and out of the impending blizzard. Among them are a handful of actual sergeants and officers, with clarity of mind to give them some order and direction. And the handful of giants lurking around, on the snowy slopes.

The snow will provide some cover, but the paranoia of the denizens of the dark means they won't miss your group forever.

You have five days and up to 1500 words each to get to the stronghold. Best of luck.

[Kopaka]

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.

[Weiss Schnee]

“Stay out of your…” Weiss growled, as hand strayed very close to Myrtenaster’s hilt. If this icy robot, whoever he was, thought he could just walk away from her and -

What the hell am I doing?


Weiss’s hand dropped limply at her side, her eyes wide. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment.

Yes, this Kopaka was frustrating. Yes, whoever this other guy was didn’t seem any better. That was no reason to let herself get clouded by her own anger. Even if this insufferable, arrogant
Jackass felt the need to pose and command, that wasn’t enough reason to attack him. Not even close!

What had Nayamasa said?

As a hollow, you’re a being made of emotional, chaotic energy, even if your appearance remains that of a human. If you fail to control yourself, you’ll rapidly devolve to nothing but a beast.


Weiss turned to Keldor. “If he tries to do this on his own, he’s going to get himself killed.” Weiss stated with a sigh. “...Dealing with things like those giants happened to be my job description, once.”

The… sorcerer? Mage?... she’d just go with “Guy in the weird blue spandex” for now... just gave her a snort of derision.

“Really? You?” he asked with a sneer.

The barb shouldn’t have even registered to Weiss, but it did, and clenched her fists hard. Like he’d shown anything of his own abilities! She doubted someone like this would take her even a second…

Weiss caught herself, in part due to her surprise by what she saw written on Keldor’s face.


“...Whatver! If I die, what’s the actual loss to you! I’m going to go do my job! You can try and stop me, or you can do yours!” Weiss snapped, turning on her heels and dashing towards the giants.

Goddamnit, who the hell are these people? Of all the teams I could’ve found myself in, why this one?

Weiss circled around to the back of the compound as quickly as she could, trying to pull her power back, and trying to ignore the fact that her eyes had once more changed to yellow and black. The huntress did her best to control her breathing, trying to calm the black energy that was swirling around her.
The power Weiss had gained was prone to spilling out if she didn’t keep a tight focus at all times - a fact Nayamasa had no problem repeatedly lecturing her on - and held a chaotic, deathly tint. It gave off an unnatural feeling to others, something that would instantly repel the average person and disturb the magically gifted.

Weiss shook her head. She barely knew who this “Keldor” was, but when she’d gotten angry… when her energy started to spill out… he didn’t look horrified in the slightest.


Instead, Keldor had the pleasantly surprised look of someone who’d just seen a dollar bill lying on the sidewalk.


Weiss shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She could question her teammate’s motivations later - or, hopefully, finish this mission, and end the partnership as soon as possible. Right now, her main goal was to deal with these giants. She wasn’t actually certain how easy it would be for her - these frozen titans were new to her, even if things their size weren’t, and her powers had shrank quite a bit - but she refused to let that stop her. She needed to get back to normal. This was step one of that, and she refused to let anyone stop her. Not her own fears, and certainly not these frost giants.

Weiss’s hands gripped Myrtenaster. As soon as Keldor started his distraction, she’d do her best to capitalize. She took a deep breath, trying to relax. What she wouldn’t have given for any of her team members over these uncooperative thugs right now.

A thought crossed her mind, and she couldn’t help but snort a little as she got into position, thankful for the blizzard winds.

Never thought I'd ever think this, but at this point, I’d even take Jaune 

[Skeletor]

Skeletor was in a good mood.

For all their posturing on morality and proclamations on heroism, his two supposed teammates seemed entirely all too ready to shout insults and orders like the best of villains. They were really all the same deep down. Not only that, but the bio-mechanical had given him the pleasure of testing his newfound powers on the unsuspecting fools. And they hadn’t even mentioned the Darkchips… neither of his travelling companions seemed to have more than a passing interest in the chips, and Skeletor was in no rush to ask their preference. It was simply more power for him.

Now as the other primes snuck off to their parts of Kopaka’s plan, Skeletor stood tall in the gathering blizzard, his purple cloak a stark contrast. The Magician leapt forward, powerful muscles taking him well into the air, landing meters away from his former hiding spot. They had closed what distance they could while still hidden, but the openness of the Tundra meant that Skeletor would be seen well before he could attack. The Warlock did not run however, walking with a cocky swagger as he approached the disassembling crew. As he drew closer, a red flare whistled into the air, coming from the direction of the giants on the slope. They certainly knew he was coming.

While most of the Darklings continued to break down the camp a dozen or so mixed beings broke off from the main group to form a hasty defensive line, the goblins and trolls bullied to the front by the dwarves and Talz. Skeletor noted a particularly nasty looking Yeti with a pair of matching scars on its torso and stomach, hanging near the back of the group. Skeletor did not stop his advance, but made no move to attack yet, there was still several meters between him and the group, and the longer he waited, the more of their attention he occupied. The lime of Darklings held firm leveling crossbows, spears and amateur firearms in his direction.  

The rag-tag line parted as a black-bearded dwarf rode forward on a Tauntaun. He was probably considered a better-looking member of his race, with well-groomed hair tied intricately in braids.  The look was somewhat ruined by the blackened skin that covered half of his face like a burn

“Yer kind is na welcome here, Prime! Go die in the blizzard before my men have to pipe you full of arrows and whatnot.” The dwarf bellowed, straining to make his voice heard above the wind’s rising intensity.

The Corruption of Nebula was truly fascinating to Skeletor. This dwarf had clearly been a leader of some kind before Nebula’s rise, and within the addled recesses of its brain it knew this. However, its attempts at exercising authority and control came out only as murderous threats. All that Nebula’s corruption left it capable of.

The fool.

Skeletor swept his arms out wide, his cloak billowing wildly in the blizzard’s wind. “You would dare to challenge me, you undergrown-barkeeper? When I have taken that which your masters feared to take for themselves? Their powers are mine! Allow me to show you!” Skeletor all but screamed. His words reaching over the blizzard’s howling, and his muscled form ignited in black flames as he ignited the power he had absorbed from the dark carcass the disguise of Keldor melted away, what need had he to hide his face, when he was so in control?

The sudden burst of energy disturbed the nearby snow causing the dwarf to reach for a hip holster with a concerned look. A single bullet? Did the dwarf truly think that would be enough to stop Skeletor? The dwarven fool was entirely too willing to trade blows with a prime for his own good. With a smug look Skeletor raised his havoc staff, its ram-head gleaming with eldritch power. The dwarf raised the large pistol, preparing himself for the inevitable magical blast. The beam that shot forth was not directed at the dwarven officer however, instead tracing a line through his forces waiting behind him. In seconds the entire squadron was thrown into chaos as a wall of flames erupted into their midst.

Skeletor braced himself for the shot, but instead the officer raised his pistol into the air, and a second signal flare arced upwards into the wind-whipped snow. With a snarl Skeletor took aim, loosing a blast from his Havoc-staff into the dwarf’s chest and knocking him clean out of the saddle to go sprawling in the snow.  The Skull-faced warlock began to advance swiftly, energy beams firing into the scattered ranks of the darkling line. A few missiles came back his direction, and though his magic deflected most of the attacks a stray bullet caught him in the left shin. It barely halted his momentum, so fueled was he by adrenaline and his newfound power.

Noting the result of the first attempts to stop their attacker, the remainder of Nebula’s forces were taking up defensive positions, their leaders shouting orders as best they could above the blizzard. It would not be enough. Skeletor leapt into the air, again tracing lines into the enemy camp with his havoc staff. These lines were short and scattered, peppering the bulk of Nebula’s forces. As Skeletor landed thin columns of flame sprung into the midst of Nebula’s assembling forces. Distract the enemy, Skeletor thought with contempt, he would hardly need Kopaka’s assistance with this rabble.

The Warlock’s confident assault met its first real obstacle as a dark shadow crossed over the snow. Skeletor’s non-existent eyes widened slightly as he saw the huge chunk of rock collide solidly with the ground nearby, spraying snow outwards as it slid to a stop. The Giants, so that was what the flare had been for. Skeletor leapt away as another boulder crashed into the snow where he had been standing. Those giants were almost half a mile away, but their aim was impressive and Skeletor was frustrated by how close their attacks were getting. Wasn’t this exactly what that blasted girl was supposed to be stopping? He didn’t have time to look and he likely could not have even made it out through this thrice-blasted blizzard.

Nebula’s remaining darklings were taking this distraction to form a more organized defense, and Skeletor’s momentum was faltering. How much longer of a distraction did that robot even need? With a growl, Skeletor unleashed a large volley of energy globules towards the biggest clump, the white missiles practically invisible in the blinding snow. Nebula’s forces were well encamped, and the majority of the blasts struck only snow or metal, but a few found targets, and the group was delayed from any sort of counter. Another giant chunk of ice and rock smashed into the ground nearby. He needed to get into the camp proper, at this distance and in this open terrain, a concentrated volley might prove dangerous

A bellowing roar in what would have been his ear caused Skeletor to whirl suddenly. That yeti with the chest scars had somehow eluded Skeletor’s sight during the chaos, and before the mage could react it scooped him up, pinning his arms and crushing him in a powerful bearhug, heedless of the black flames that still danced along Skeletor’s form. His havoc staff fell from his grasp into the snow, as Skeletor struggled with the beast. The dark-fueled warlock strained, magically reinforced muscles bulging as he struggled with the yeti’s grip. There was a snap he felt sure was a rib as Skeletor managed to tear one arm free.  The Yeti roared into his face, saliva spraying the bone and the force of the wind knocking back his hood. Red pinpricks gleamed to light in empty sockets and Skeletor thrust his free arm into the yeti’s gaping maw, firing a point-blank energy blast into the creature’s throat.

The mage dropped to the ground gasping as the creature staggered backwards, a low moaning sound reverberating amidst the now howling winds. Skeletor staggered to his feet and pulled his twinsword from it’s sheath, hacking savagely at one of the yeti’s legs bringing it down to one knee. He spun, evading the wounded creatures swipe, and brought the combined blade down into the beast’s neck, cleaving unnervingly deep into its torso.

Skeletor was grinning as always when the beast fell his weapons returning to his grasp with telekinesis, but as quickly as pride had usurped his fear, the confidence of victory was erased by rage and pain as a boulder collided directly with him, shattering against his form and sending him flying several meters in the snow. The Warlock struggled to his knees, still engulfed in flames, and saw that several of Nebula’s darklings had worked up the courage to charge him directly, there were over two dozen of them, and even with the added power he was still starting to feel lacking. Where were his so-called team mates when he needed them? Skeletor grimaced and prepared for combat.

Skeletor has made use of a power-up he acquired from his absorbed power,

The power up in question is Dark Heart. Grants the following effects:
ATK: +2
DEF: +2
SPD: +2
TEC: +0

modified stats are 6/4/4/3

[Weiss Schnee]

The giants seemed to be distracted throwing progressively bigger boulders at Keldor - which made sense from their perspective. The wizard was too occupied in his other foes, and as far as they knew, he was their main adversary.

Myrtenaster’s revolver spun to configuration red,, and the huntress’s rapier gained a soft ruby glow. A tall leap sent her straight for the closest titan’s arm-pit, and the creature howled as it dropped the rock it had been holding above it’s head clutching it’s head.. The experienced swordsman had hoped the rock could split its skull in two, but it seemed to just give her opponent a headache.


The giants changed gears quickly, dropping their their focus on her magical teammate to draw large clubs from their backs and try to squash, kick,, grab, or even bite their gnat-like opponent. Even one hit from behemoths like these would probably prove fatal for Weiss, even if it was a glancing blow.

It didn’t matter. Her breathing was even, her energy was tightly controlledl, and her technique was perfect. Weiss glided above, behind, between, in every direction as a silvery blur, dancing in and around the frost giants like a silver trail of ice dancing in the blizzard. Myrtenaster’s blade sang out through the giant’s body, leaving another red line of stolen blood, flesh, and frustration with every hit.

Weiss smirked. The giants cried out in frustration, quicklly finding their gnat to be a painful one indeed. Every attack was met only with frustration, and an answering slash of silver. They’d need to get creative if they wanted to hit her, and she somehow doubted their combat ability.




The larger one, with a bushy beard of crimson offsetting it’s sky-blueskin,  flashed a rotten-toothed grin as it struck down at the snow with a club the size of an elephant, and Weiss put up an arm to deflect the torrent of white powder that engulfed her. That was all it took for the outnumbered fighter to have to deal with the familiar feeling of a huge hand choking the air out of her lungs!

The smaller giant, a bald, lumpy-headed man, lifted Weiss’s feet off the ground with all the difficulty of plucking a flower, and to Weiss’s shock, it opened it’s mouth wide, slowly pulling Weiss closer..

A pang of fear touched Weiss as she realized the creature’s cannibalistic intentions, and her eyes widened as she realized what was going on. There was no way she was going in there. She refused to lose like this!

Instinctively, her spirit energy sprang up around her as a terror response, and an idea sprang to mind. Even if she wasn’t transformed, it just required the energy of a hollow, and she fit the bill…

Weiss grunted, dropping Myrtenaster so she could pull her hand free from the Malformed creature’s grip, trying her best to ignore the lack of oxygen she was dealing with.

“I’ll give you something to chew on!” Weiss growled. The giant just responded with a grin, by throwing her in the air like a piece of popcorn and opening it’s mouth wide like a fish, waiting for it’s food to just fall in.

It was the first time Weiss had consciously tried to do it, but it came unexpectedly naturally. Chaotic, unnatural energy swirled around her palm, spinning in a whirlwind of energy all around her. Weiss applied her will, and focused that whirlwind into one point, a single dot for the energy to swirl around that knitted itself into a compressed ball of crimson power. The energy flowed from her into the sphere like a waterfall into a bucket, and Weiss knew that no matter how hard she concentrated, she couldn’t keep the energy compressed for long.


So Weiss didn’t. She just expanded her focus from a dot to a line, one that lead right through the Giant’s head. The chaotic mass was only too happy to break its bonds of servitude and rush forward in a solid rippling beam of destruction that coated everything in a few hundred meters in eerie red light.

A ruby torrent of destruction ripped through the air, snow, and gian with equal levels of indifferencet, pulling the skin and flesh from the giant’s face, leaving an oversized skull bringing . The darkling had died for it’s attempt to make a game out of it’s meal, and Weiss’s first thought was smug self-satisfaction in her kill.


“I did it…” Weiss breathed

The other giant howled in anger, and Weiss glanced down at her ribs. Somehow, she didn’t think she was getting away with that one a second time.

She hoped Kopaka was faring better...

[Kopaka]

Kopaka was struggling.


Nigh impervious as he was in this frigid environment, these frost giants seemed to share the same sort of natural affinity. The cold didn’t hurt them, and massive as they were, Kopaka’s sword did only superficial damage. He stood, panting, as Weiss blew out the back of a smaller giant’s head with a blast of crimson energy. Between her newly expressed destructive potential, and the strobing flashes that heralded Keldor’s distant battle, the Toa was beginning to feel slightly overshadowed.


He tried to calm himself, to analyze the situation, but his usual tranquility didn’t come. Anger filled the void, and the Ice Spirit decided to borrow Weiss’s tactics. He switched masks to the Miru, and anticipating a blow from a frost giant, soared high into the air as a heavy stone thudded into the permafrost around him. Kopaka rode the whipping winds of the blizzard straight onto the giant attacking him, clinging to the creature’s beard like an iron burl.


It cursed something dark and incoherent as it clawed at the Toa, but its movements were too ponderous to catch him before Kopaka was clinging to his lips and jamming the Ice Sword down the behemoth’s gullet. The giant gurgled and grunted in surprise and agony as a bolus of ice fired from the weapon sealed his throat shut.


Kopaka clung on briefly before he was shaken free as the titan tumbled to the snow. One of his shadow-soaked comrades trundled over to try and help, smacking the Toa far from the downed giant in the process. Kopaka’s heavy body dug a deep trench in the powder, and it was a moment before he regained his bearings. It didn’t stop him from firing off another ensnaring blast of rime beforehand. The shimmering stream of power caught the ice giant in the knee, causing the brute to stagger to the ground for a moment.


That was all the time Weiss needed to come barreling out of the grey haze of the blizzard, Myrtenaster poised to strike. Despite her mask’s blank face, Kopaka’s mind painted a chilling grin on it as the huntress gouged out the faltering giant’s eyes. Kopaka rose to his feet, and the two Prime’s looked at one another.


Kopaka nodded. One giant dead and two incapacitated; more than enough to make room for a mad dash into the Nebula stronghold. The biomech looked down the hill, where Keldor continued to fight. Kopaka had considered the warlock expendable, but after seeing Weiss’s aptitude for teamwork, the Toa was slightly reluctant to leave the sorcerer behind. Kopaka turned to Weiss and gestured towards the opening to the base’s interior.


“Keep the entrance secured! I will fetch the warlock!” Kopaka bellowed over the frenzy of the blizzard. Without waiting for Weiss to determine if she was capable of such a thing, Kopaka charged off into the white...