Battle of the Great Barrier (BZPRPG)

Battle of the Great Barrier
Event
RPG	The Academy
Location	Great Barrier
Year	2006
Date	May 4 - May 6
Before	Journey to Paradise (BZPRPG)
Pages	64 - 70

[[Category:Events (The Academy)]]

The Battle Begins

Dwin wastes no time in fighting back, transforming into a Nui-Rama to fly into the flock of Tawkes. However, Thunderbird goes straight after him, injuring the Toa and forcing him to transform further into a Nui-Kopen to attempt to even the odds. Two more Tawkes join the savage attack, pushing Dwin to the defensive.

Cannons mounted on top of the Great Barrier begin firing at the airship, and Raul is hardpressed to avoid them. Lazok loses his balance as the airship swerves, causing him to pitch right out of the door he opened to assist Dwin. Thankfully, a still-bandaged Saeras reaches out and grabs Lazok, saving the Toa of Earth from falling to the Silver Sea below. "You're still blindfolded," Lazok says, noting that Saeras seemed to have just gotten out of his bunk. Saeras surmises that his infection seems to have left him increased senses. They are then joined by Pohaka and Kraal, and the four begin shooting the Tawkes out of the sky where they can.

Meanwhile, Razekiel and Skover are half-running, half-falling through the halls of the airship. Skover is worried that they'll be attacked along with the Rebels, but Razekiel assures him the Tawkes know they're there.

The Aerial Exchange

Mahkaal performs a daring maneuver, leaping out of the side of the ship onto the Great Barrier to take out the Rhotuka cannons. Gera, VMN and Striper join him soon after. Tommi flies around in the sky, taking on the Tawkes in their home field.

The Tawkes respond by splitting off into two groups, one of which to attack the Rebels on the Barrier. Saeras uses his power over Animation to command one of the remaining cannons to shoot at the Tawkes in response, but a few of the more clever birds quickly pinpoint the source of the attack and head for Saeras on the ship. Lazok covers him, however, holding off the Tawkes so Saeras can continue his attack.

The Upper Hand

Mahkaal is eventually defeated by a Tawke, falling to a deep chest wound. Luckily, Pohaka manages to save his mentor; however, the Tawkes have gained the upper hand, a few of them actually flying into the ship itself. Rahkar manages to slay one, but is hard-pressed to stop them.

Skover is itching to join the battle, though Razekiel believes they should just weather it out until they're needed. Even so, Skover jumps into the fray, forcing Raze to follow. They make it up onto the rooftop, where Razekiel sees Tommi land after a battle. Razekiel's eyes turn red, signifying the takeover of his Dark Mind, and the two Air Toa begin their rematch.

Thunderbird

Original Post Even though they have the upper hand, Thunderbird notes with disgust that several of his Tawkes have taken hits. He decides it is time to eliminate all hope from the Rebels' minds and prove that resistance is futile.

With that in mind, he zeroes in on Zezak, who has been shooting at Tawkes from the airship. Shooting toward the Toa of Lasers, he dodges a close-range blast, grabbing Zezak out of the sky and crumpling his weapon. He flies away from the ship with a struggling Zezak and toys with the Toa a bit, dropping him and then catching him again. This cat-and-mouse play doesn't last long, however, and Thunderbird flies over to one of the remaining Rhotuka cannons. <"I see you gunsmen go weary of this child's play. Thusly, I have brought to you a much more entertaining target. On my signal, I will drop this Toa, and you may both take your shots at a falling target.">

The gunsmen laugh, understanding the Tawkes' tongue, and aim at Zezak. Thunderbird drops him, and this time he does not catch him. Now there is nothing between Zezak and the ocean except the Rhotuka or Tawke that seeks to end his life before he hits the water.

Rooftop Rematch

Atop the Great Barrier, Lazok and Saeras have finished taking down another cannon and gunman when they notice Thunderbird drop Zezak. As they watch, the Rhotuka hit him directly, and Zezak's charred body drops out of the subsequent explosion toward the ocean, his armor destroyed and unconscious.

Lazok prepares to leap down after Zezak, but Thunderbird notices and goes after him. Thankfully Saeras fights off the Tawke leader, allowing Lazok to dive down the Barrier and safe his friend. Rescuing Zezak from drowning and raising an earth platform out of the ocean, Lazok dumps his friend's body onto the platform, but he has no rest; a group of Tawkes swarm down on him.

Meanwhile, Tommi and Razekiel continue their standoff. Tommi recognizes that no matter what they do to help Raze, the Dark Mind will continue to exist -- and as long as it does, they will be bitter rivals. He sets his mind to kill the Dark Mind, even if it means killing Razekiel with it.

Tommi charges at Razekiel but is forced to dodge to the side as Raze shoots a flock of arrows at him -- then throws one of his new weapons. Raze has updated his arsenal before coming with Skover to spy on the Rebels. The red-eyed archer confirms Tommi's thoughts, the Dark Mind speaking through Raze's mouth.

"You cannot kill me. Just like you cannot kill the air, or the earth, or the sea around you. I am the universe. Destroy me, and you destroy all of us."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"I don't believe that. And I don't think you do either. "

With a yell, Tommi summons a scimitar of air, managing to scrape off some of Razekiel's flesh; he winces, but the Dark Mind doesn't. Picking out several shuriken from his new arsenal, he throws them at Tommi. Tommi dodges the first wave, but is injured by the second, which embed themselves into his legs.

Taking flight so he doesn't put weight on his legs, Tommi uses his Kanohi Matatu to fling Razekiel off of the airship rooftop and into the ruined pillars poking up out of the Sea near the Barrier. Razekiel smashes through the eroded pillars easily. Winded, Razekiel falls into the Sea below. That last impact has driven the Dark Mind from Razekiel, though even with his senses restored the archer isn't about to stop the fight -- this has become a grudge match, Dark Mind or not.

Forming a sphere of air around himself, Razekiel propels himself up out of the sea and back onto the roof of the ship. Tommi has gone back to fighting the Tawkes, but is having trouble with his wounds.

Raze throws a few shuriken at Tommi's feet to warn him, and Tommi turns to face him. "You," he narrows his eyes. "Did you have a nice swim?"

Raze chuckles. "Oh yes. It's quite cool down there. You should give it a try."

Tommi charges at Raze, but this time the archer is prepared, dodging and shooting an arrow into Tommi's thigh. Tommi collapses, sliding off the rooftop and barely managing to stick his air-blades into the sides, not being able to focus his elemental powers.

"This ends now." Raze notches an arrow and aims at Tommi, but just then the ship lurches from an explosion, sending both Air Toa falling once again into the Silver Sea.

Beasts versus Beasts

Alta has by now come to Lazok's and Zezak's rescue, though they are still hard-pressed to fend off the Tawkes. Saeras notes they are fighting a losing battle, and briefly laments the loss of his mask powers after the Madness. However, he notices his instinctual connection with the Rahi around him and, on a hunch, lets out a bestial cry. Aerial Rahi and aquatic Rahi answer Saeras's call, beginning to fight the Tawkes.

"Rahi Control...that is a fitting replacement for my mask powers until..." Saeras shakes away the thought. He returns his attention to a more-than-irritated Thunderbird, growling in the ancient tongue.

"<We're getting to the surface, enemy. We'll get there tooth and claw, and with ragged breath... By the Great Master, we'll send you back to Kharzanhi with your tail between your legs!>"

VMN notices Raze and Tommi falling into the Sea, and swims toward them along with Striper.

Tommi comes up in the shadow of the Great Barrier, and his outstretched hand is grabbed by VMN, who hauls him up onto Striper -- or at least, tries to. Tommi suddenly feels another hand wrap around his ankle, and is dragged back into the water by Raze.

The two Toa react at the same time, and the mutual blasts of air cancel each other out, blasting everyone out of the water. Both Tommi and Razekiel levitate in the air, facing each other; Raze tries to call on the Dark Mind but it won't come. "You won't get rid of me that easily," he snarls anyway, attempting to give off an air of confidence.

"Oh, really?" Tommi shoots back. "I thought I did before."

The standoff is interrupted as VMN lunges off of Striper's back, but Raze blasts him away with an air wall. Meanwhile, Kongu, Raze's pet bird Rahi, dives down out of the sky to attack Striper. But Tommi takes advantage of the distraction to telekinetically grab Raze and smash him against the Great Barrier. But before they can continue, a cannonball whistles out of the sky, smashing into the wall near the two. A third party has joined the battle.

Pirates

A group of Skakdi pirates have arrived, taking advantage of the chaos to further their own strange agenda. They pull an exhausted Tommi, Raze, and VMN out of the water, but not to rescue them -- to kill them.

The pirates also shoot their own cannons at the Tawkes spiralling above.

Thunderbird decides with his usual shrewdness to eliminate the threat before it gets too big, and the flock swarms down on the pirates. A few of the Tawkes go for the boat, taking out crucial systems and easily crippling the crew, while a few rescue Razekiel, also taking VMN and Tommi as prisoners of war. The Tawkes then retreat, as Thunderbird orders the gunsmen on top of the Barrier to take their aim off the airship and toward the pirates. The Tawke leader has a plan -- he has noticed that the Skakdi are using Proto5 Propellant as their ship's fuel.

After the Skakdi are brutally slaughtered, the Tawkes fly down to the ruined ship, using their combined strength to lift it up above the airship. Once over the roof, they drop it, just as Thunderbird lets out a stream of fire toward the fuel tank.

"The reason pirates use Proto5 is because it's illegal. And it's only illegal because of the hazards it deals onto the environment."

The pirate ship smashed into the airship just as the propellant was lit.

"There's another interesting fact about Proto5 that not many people know...

...it's explosive."