Secrets of the Mask (Carbide, Agate, Octy, aaaand Morion)

[~Panzerschurke~]

It was positively serene. The island, the palm trees, the ocean all about, and the white sand beaches that encircled the land mass.  Throughout the Island, there were caves, and and tropical forests and mysterious geological formations, almost geode like on the inside.  The island was not too too big, nor was it too small, perhaps something that a human with a machete and a decent pair of hiking boots could trek across in a day.

Hidden deep within the forests lay a stone dais, weathered and covered in years of undergrowth and dead fall of all sorts.  Why was it here, what purpose could such a small land mass serve for Homeworld gems to have built a planetary warp leading to this location, far out in the south pacific? All very valid and intriguing questions... questions that a certain independent gem.. a somewhat rogue prototype classed as a "Heavy Scout" would get the chance to ask, as soon as 3....2...1... aaaaaaaaaand..

The overgrown warp pad on the forgotten island hummed and sputtered and crackled to life, a crack like thunder and a ringing magical chime split the air, as a vivid cyan beam of light, bright as can be split the air above the island and drove down through the tropical canopy of the forest and touched down on the warp pad with what one who is familiar with warp pads might consider.. significantly more flash and force than is typical for a planetary warp pad.

As the light fades and retreats back up through the path it carved through the leafy canopy, the figure of a traveler can be  seen, now materialized on the pad.. or rather still a few feet above it.. and WHAT are her gravity connectors doing way up there?? 
Carbide blinks away the glare in her eyes that had come from the planetary warp, ready to break out into a yawn and gaze out on the open ocean by beach city, because of course thats were she was.. right?  Then she realized she felt the tug of gravity on her hair going in rather the wrong direction, and in the split second since the beam had retreated and she opened her eyes.. she realized that she was upside down!

"HUH! Oh Fu-"  *SPLAT*  The inverted scout drops like a stone.. hehe... see what we did there?.... a stone... a stone.... and lands right on her noggin on the magical marble slab of an unfamiliar warp pad in an even more unfamiliar jungle!  Now, this prototype heavy scout is known for a body projection that is .. to put it lightly.. tough as all get-out and durable to boot... but that doesn't mean that landing on your noggin when you're not expecting it, doesn't hurt somewhat!

Carbide scrambles up into a sitting position with her legs splayed to the sides at an awkward angle, grasping her forearms about her accosted coconut for a moment then emits a frustrated growl through clenched teeth and an aggravated looking grin, while her shoulders bob in a mock chuckle... "Oh okay! So that's how's its gonna be!  This is not what I need... and more to the point wheeeeeeeeeeeeeerreeee daaaaaaaa fuqqqqqqq is this place?"  She remarks , drawing out her words somewhat in her typical catty gravely tone.

Warp pad malfunctions were rare although they were known to happen time to time, if a pad was poorly crafted or simply damaged, because she was not where she intended to be when she warped out of the derelict Prime Kindergarten a few moments prior.

Lifting her bangs from int front of her visor somewhat she peers about at the forest all about her then climbs to her feet, "Ok, I dont have time for this.." She holds her arms out slightly and concentrates but the warp pad only hums seeming to be somewhat lacking in power, it didn't seem truly damaged but something was slowing it's recharge.. looks like she could be here a few hours until the old relic built up enough of a charge to hop her out of here.

"Well Carbide... youre still a scout right??" she remarked to herself with a 'hrrmfff'.. "may as well do what youre good at and gather some intel on this site while I'm here.. theres got to be a reason the first wave colonization team constructed a warp pad to the jungle.."  And with that she steps off the pad and begins moving through the heavy vegetation, looking for an incline that would lead to a height of land, and perhaps a vantage point!

[Agate]

The island was almost entirely silent, interrupted only by the occasional bird chirp or rustling of the leaves. That and the couple ton metal figure that trudged along, swiping swaths of vines and bushes out of its path. Compared to the silence of the island he was booming, echoes audible from most parts of the island as the mechanical beast moved rocks and toppled trees haphazardly. 'Dolomite' seemed to be traveling at a fairly relaxed speed, despite his scattering destruction. It seemed obvious he was searching for something, settling for looking beneath the rocks and trees scattered around the interior of the lonely island.

He had been here for a good hour now, digging up random bits of terrain in hopes of stumbling across his target. In truth he had no idea what he was exactly searching for, all he had been told by Obsidian was that he'd 'know it when he saw it'. Not a lot to go on, but he was at least thankful she dropped him off here with her ship. As far as they knew no warp pad was functional in this area, and so they resorted to more mundane travel methods. Of course, he dreaded the trip back which would involve hours (if not days) travelling underwater along seafloor. Standard operation for his 'missions' lately. And indeed, he had been rather busy in the last month or two. Much to his annoyance he had yet to find and get revenge on his true targets, but Obsidian said everything he went out to gather would only help his chances at succeeding. So he began doing various tasks for her, generally gathering scrap metal to use or tech that was still intact.

And that was exactly what drew them to this island. According to some sort of history log Obsidian read, there was likely a powerful artifact of some sort that was related to this place. And would, hopefully, still be here. So her upturned every rock, tree, and cave in search of this elusive 'thing' Obsidian wanted. His search was initially quick, not liking being away from the ship for very long, though his pace slowed as time progressed. He hoped he'd randomly come across it soon, as he didn't really have much of a plan otherwise. And the sooner he found it, the sooner he could return back to the ship he reluctantly called home. Ever since the... event he didn't feel like he could interact with other gems like he used to. After all, he was a monster made more out of metal than hardlight. Thinking this to himself, the grim reminder pushed him on to search faster.

Some time after he noticed a bright flash from above, catching the beam of light moments before it whipped back up. He was thankful he was higher up on the island when he was, else he might have missed the warning sign. Clearly he was mistaken, and a warp pad was functional here. Good news was he wouldn't have to swim back home. The bad news being that the flash meant someone had found the island, complicating things greatly.

He came up with a plan quickly, realizing he couldn't continue searching unhindered as long as another gem was present. The noise would clearly draw attention, and that was bad news no matter who it was. So he composed himself, slinking down the hillside hidden by the shade of the tree canopy and overgrown plants. Thankfully his new and improved chassis lent itself more to subtlety, albeit at the expense of some bulk. The mechanoid moved with unusual speed, swinging around trees and stalking through bushes. He was virtually silent, the only thing giving his presence away being the displacement of the foliage and the bright, piercing, red glow of his visor...

[Bloodstone]

Bloodstone hummed to himself, having finally made it out to this odd little island that he had heard rumors about. The berserker had decided to take another trip on the warp pad by his shack and ended up at admittedly a place he hadn't expected to. Either way though, he was stuck now and decided to figure out what was around the area. As Octi stepped off of the warp pad, he could hear a few booms here and there, or at least the sounds of destruction...something or someone was already here.

"Well..might as well be ready just in case" He sighed, slipping four of his chains out while putting on some headphones he picked up and playing some music to himself. For some reason the berserker had grown accustomed to some of the human habits. If nothing else the tunes were somewhat calming to him. Music had a way of doing that sometimes. The songs he was just playing in particular happened to be the type that might hype one up before a big fight or adventure..perhaps that was going to happen soon. "Only one way to find out..." Octi muttered as he walked off into the forest, sand somewhat stuck under his feet

[~Panzerschurke~]

On the opposite side of the island, Carbide was making good time, having found a small babbling creek, barely a foot deep and not much wider to boot, and so she followed it, since water rund down hill, it must be coming from some place up high.

Her trek soon yielded results, she noticed as the higher she climbed, the trees species changed, they became more slender and spaced apart, and the forest floor was not so thick with large leafed plants and vines, likely due to the greater exposure and cooler temperature higher up.

The rock formations were more frequent as well, and the heavy scout made special note of the several overly large, globe like boulders that stuck out from the slopes and sat half sunk into the soft tropical soil. At one perticularly fine specemin she stopped and rested the sole of her boot against it, then leaned in and placed both hands and her cheek up to the smooth surface, she had seen things like this before but.. no.. it couldnt be, these were much too large...

"What are you?? These look like geodes but that cant be the case.. shame to break one of you fine round babies up, but you know.. for science and all that.." Carbide raised her right arm and reached behind to her back, waving the palm past the rather uneven and naturally uncut core of her Silicon Carbide self and pulled forth a spark of energy that took form into a mass of expanding light in her grasp.

As the weapon finished forming itself out of the morphous magical light, it revealed itself as her signature heavy weapon, the balistic cudgel, an odd pairing of the shape of what one might consider an old earth Pirat Ship cannon and the offset handles of a police night stick... essentially an over sized, very heavy blunt trauma tonfa capable of discharging potent explosive hard light munitions.
The weapon's muzzle drops against the soft forest floor with only a soft thud and a few snapping bits of wood.. "Okay Mr. Boulder... One, Two, Better not sue! - Hrrrrgggh!" She heaves the weapon with one arm in a overhead smash with its bulk and barrel, connecting firmly on the top of the boulder with a heavy crack and crunch, the impact sending splinters and bits of rock in all directions , but as the weapon slides off the divit it made in the boulder, a crack appears and the structure splits neatly in half and reveals an inside chamber about four feet around that is completely lines with beautuful pink, purple and blue crystals of magniminious size..

Carbide stood there high on the slope gazing awestruck at the size and perfection of what she had uncovered, the reflected light glimmered off her plum and iridescent visor. Finally composing herself she shakes her head and looks about at the other round boulders, tall as she was.."Wowsa.. are these thing all-" She cut herself off as she heard a bit of a clamoring in the forest further down.

"What could that be? I dont know of any earth creatures that are that noisy in their own environment... gotta get a sense of where I am and whats going on.. come on Carbide, focus!" Bounding up the slope a few more meters she reaches a tall tree and with a series of powerful jumbs, grasps and grapples, soon has ascended the trunk about sixty feet in the air, and leans out on a branch, popping her head out from the tree canopy, taking in the view of what she now realized was an island, perhaps a few miles wide, and beyond the shores, mile after mile of sun drenched open ocean.

Another sound of rustling in the trees below drew her attention, and she saw the leaves and branches shaking.. something big enough to make a tree tremble and sway was down there having square dance with itself, and she needed to find out what it was.. and with that she let go into a nearly graceful swan dive, competing a tuck and roll in the air an landing with 3 points of contact with her legs and free arm, the heavy weapon slung across her shoulder as she rises and gazes through the thick forest in the direction of the distrubance, eyes focused and jaw steely..

[Agate]

Dolomite's progress was rather slow compared to his previous speed, his attempts at stealth severely slowing him down. Still, he felt as if he would be nearing the warp pad shortly. Of course he'd have to track- An explosion? No, more like something snapping, something big. He paused, surely the sound had to come from the newly arrived gem. Or was it something... else. Either way he had to know, for both his safety and just in case it was the unknown gem he was hunting. He turned towards the source of the sound, moving as quickly as he could while still staying relatively hidden.

A short while later he neared the site of the sound, the forest began to thin as it neared the rocky outcropping. However, shortly before actually reaching the source he heard very distinct rustling from up ahead. He stopped dead in his tracks, trying to plan his next move carefully. He ducked down into the nearest overgrown bush he could find, peering out just barely from the other side. Of course, his size wasn't hidden easily, but the thick foliage and darkness from the tree canopy assisted him greatly. Anyone behind could clearly see him, but as far as he was aware only one other gem was on this little island.

He waited there, listening close as the noise drew closer and closer towards him, his glowing visor just visible through the leaves. He didn't exactly know who or what to expect, but suffice to say he hadn't figured a certain plum gem would be the one to come across this place when he did. Just his luck. Or maybe... this could be the victory he's been looking for. It looked as if she was alone, without anyone to back her up for once. Perfect...

He moved forward, splitting apart the bush as he rose, slowly standing at full height. He kept a good distance between the two of them, "Carbide..."

[Bloodstone]

As Octi kept walking, he heard a good sized explosion, or something. "Let's see..." The berserker kept making his way until he came across what appeared to be a clearing of some sorts. Bloodstone could make out Carbide but he saw a gem that didn't seem..familiar to him. It was more of a metal bulk than a gem, something wasn't quite right. Octavian quickly slid down one of the hills and ran over to his old friend. "Carbi! Surprised to find you here!" The Bloodstone instantly whipped out his chains and whirled over at the Dolomite, ready for a fight. "So um..who's the walking tin can? Don't exactly look friendly." Octi still couldn't shake the feeling that something was very, very off about this gem

[~Panzerschurke~]

Carbide had been crouching in place as she heard the rustling and snapping of the figure moving in the foliage nearby. It wasn't too often that something outright surprised by much of anything, but running into what looked like an upgraded version of the construct that she and Opalite had discovered ransacking poor Agate's house, then ran off before she could question it, rose up out of the nearby foliage and was staring right at her.

An expression of shock plastered across her face gradually dissolves to a look of anger and grim determination even as the hulk towered over her a half dozen or so meters off. It seemed to be focusing on her and when it spoke her name in its raspy metallic tone, she knew there was something at least half way intelligent about it.. good!.. Because she had some questions of her own that had been building up since their first encounter months ago.

She had hardly noticed Octy show up out of who knows where, and despite that being its own little mystery, for the time being she was staring down a far larger one, but inside she was really glad to have some back up in such an unexpected situation, now feeling a bit bolder… “You!.. You were the one at Agate’s house, stealing bubbled gems! I want to know why, and I want you to tell me where My Agate Is, or that smashed-in-hubcap look you were sporting on your faceplate when you fled last time will be peanuts compared to round two if you don’t tell me what’s going on this instant!” Her words were spat forth with every ounce of frustration that had been shoved back in the past months, now worn right on her sleeve, and itching to get channeled into her heavy gun if need be..

[Agate]

Dolomite had indeed been upgraded, his new chassis much slimmer and made of some other material than before. Likely some gem-quality metal rather than the human scrap used before. As well the cables were still present, albeit much smaller and lightly armored. On top of it all, the 'fingers' at the end of its hulking gauntlets now more resembled chainsaw blades than actual fingers. Despite the upgrades, the appearance of the new gem was largely worrying. He had no idea what they were capable of, or how well they knew Carbide. Or at least, how well they thought they knew her.

He stared down the newcomer, "You wouldn't be too friendly if this happened to you! Now get lost, this is between me and her..." He slowly circled around the two of them, despite his slimmer design still moving like a gorilla with his hands forward (considering they were much larger than the rest of his body). His visor flared up as he turned towards Carbide, "What?!" he seemed both perplexed and angry at the same time, slamming his fist into the earth. He paused, silent for a few moments before a raspy chuckling could be heard, "Oh I see, you're trying to save face aren't you? He doesn't know the truth, does he?" He stopped circling and stared directly at Octi, "To be honest, I don't even know the real reason behind everything... So why don't you go ahead and fill us both in." He looked up at Carbide at this point, "Why did you help Opalite? Why did you, after EVERYTHING!" he slammed his fist down again, shaking and cracking the ground below, "did you throw it all away and help him make this?" He gestured towards himself, disgust very present in his tone. The visor grew dimmer and his voice became quieter, "After all... you of all people should know what he did to him. How he broke him..."

[Bloodstone]

Octavian looked between the two gems in slight confusion. Obviously he had missed out on some important stuff, but the fact of the matter was that one of his friends was going to be in danger. Considering how much Octi loved bouncing between definitions of good and evil, he decided he'd stick with Carbide for the moment. "Look, while I appreciate that you two seem to need to have a reunion, I'm gonna have to play spoiler role here." Octi glared at Dolomite, whipping out the rest of his chains, all six of them ready to strike at a moment's notice. "She's still my friend, and I don't plan on leaving her alone." The berserker gladly stood in front of the heavy scout, willing to go first and take on the walking tin can before him. Octi looked back at Carbi, saying nothing but his eyes pretty much said "You owe me some explanation later"

[~Panzerschurke~]

Carbide growled, knotting her fists tightly at her sides, what did this machination know about her and Opalite, and what was it referring to about her 'helping'? Before she realized what was going on, Octy's form was positioned between her and the machination, it was an odd feeling to have someone standing in front of her like that, normally... okay.. every time up until now it was Carbide who would step up front to blunt the spear of the enemy, with her stubborn face if need be, this was all so unfamiliar and uncomfortable and yet... familiar?

"What are you talking about you overgrown fridge-magnet?? Helping Opalite look for Agate, whose house you pulverized?? You're darn right, I'll never quit! My friend went missing months ago, and since then I've been all over this planet, from forests to Empire city, even going so far as to enlist the help of some homeworld zealot quartz, who I am convinced has a corner of his personality that wants me dead even more than you do!.. All So I Can Find M-my..b-blueberry.."

Rather uncharacteristically, as carbide spoke... or rather, shouted, her voice began to tremble and finally crack into a saddened murmur by the end, and after a moment of quiet in the lush forest, the sound of a few scant pitter patters, like a sound of falling droplets hitting the forest floor. Rolling from under her enchanted visor, her signature inky black watery tears had formed a pair of little rivers off her cheeks and down to the ground, a harsh sniffle and a wipe under he nose from her gloved hand later, and the heavy scout seemed to be almost bristling like a porcupine.."Oh there's going to be explanation's alright, and I am going to get them now, one way or another!"

A menacing magama toned light and a beastial metallic growl, like a hungry specter emanated from the muzzle of her weapon where it sat snugged against her hip, and the ratcheted gear ring began to protrude and spin, rattling with an infernal clatter.

[Agate]

The red visor stared Octi down, trying to get a read on him. Something about this gem unnerved him, he was... confident. Unlike most others this gem seemed unphased by the size of his form, he seemed very confident in his abilities. Could this gem be more dangerous than he first assessed? To be fair, he had mostly ignored him in favor of his true target, so he hadn't truly bothered to size him up. He pressed forward, "Listen here..." His voice tapered off as Carbide spoke up, stopping where he was.

His visor began to flash brighter as she continued on, his fingers digging into the earth, all until he noticed... was she crying? His fists loosened as the realization dawned on him, something broke through to him. The previously bright red of the visor now dimmed to almost nothing as he just barely reached out towards her and Octi, his voice oddly quite, "C...Carbide...?" It almost sounded... compassionate? His 'eyes' lingered on Carbide for a while, his hand outstretched, before he suddenly reeled backwards with a painful screech. His hand turned back into a fist as he rested his weight on it, clutching his head with the other one. The visor flared back to an intense brightness as he seemed to yell in pain, "No no no no, stop lying! YOU LIAR! YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID, WHAT YOU DID!" Acting more on impulse than anything he swung a backhanded fist out randomly towards the both of them, still shaken over whatever had initially assaulted him.

[Bloodstone]

It hurt to watch Carbide cry in Bloodstone's opinion. He couldn't help but crouch down a little to wipe the tears away. "There there..." Octi said nothing else, he could understand why Carbide was having the emotions that she had. The berserker looked back at Dolomite, noticing something was even more off when the metal hunk seemed to show more compassion than rage. "Hm..." The Bloodstone tried his best to look him over, trying to get a good read himself. "You know..you're an interesting gem. I understand if you may need that suit because you are hurt, but please..just try to think calmly." Bloodstone blocked the fist, chains still in the air, ready to strike "Letting your emotions get the better of you can be your downfall you know.."

[~Panzerschurke~]

Carbide recoiled somewhat, not expecting such an erratic and emotional response from the creature in front of her, then piece by piece things started to click into place in her mind. She didnt know who or what was under that plating, but it was clear that its state of mine was not entirely.. free and clear..
Eyes suddenly wide and focused again, as Octy cleared the tears away then went on to rather expertly block the heavy blow for her, impressing her most thourougly. When people think of a berserker they often think about a fighter that goes mad and trashes all about.. but Octy was very masterful.. and something Carbide had read earlier twigged in her mind, she would talk to him about it later. For now she had something else in mind.

"Octy listen, whoever or whatever that thing is... I .. I think it's more of a suit than a robonoid, and whoever is in there is behaving all wrong. Look at its behavior! Almost kind for a second and now its gone mad.. that's a CONDITIONED response if I've ever seen it. Someone subjected whatever is in there to mental programming. Be careful, theirs bound to be other fail safes and loop holes designed to keep it fighting no matter what, if we talk it down again."

She knew she had to get that thing to hold still and figured it was time to try a new technique that she had been toying with. It was foolhardy and completely barking mad! - .. and thats why it just might work to get her into grappling range of those cables that supported its oversized shoulder sections. Dashing out from behind Octy, she lunges forward than brings the weapon over head, slamming the muzzle into the soft jungle soil, and leaping up onto the butt of the weapon in a crouch like a feline, then rode the weapon up and over the tipping point, until it starts to teeter forward towards her target like a tree falling over in a storm.. then suddenly the weapon goes off with a heavy blank charge and bucks out of the ground, the recoil launching the heavy scout off her impromptu pedestal and forward through the air at tremendous velocity towards Dolomite, her gem core pulsing with all the extra energy into her body's durability that she can spare.. fists forward as she takes flight.

[Agate]

Ignoring the fact his clumsy blow was blocked Dolomite immediately followed with a sort of ground pound with both his fists to disrupt them, "You don't know me! You don't know why I have this suit! She did this!" Much unlike his previous fight, he seemed far more sporadic with his attacks. While incredibly inaccurate, his strikes were rather weighty despite his apparent speed. Somehow the weight of the suit seemed to be almost negligible to the wielder, the massive gauntlets packing quite the punch. Suffice to say, his attacks were much easier to dodge than to block. His tactic changed after a few feeble attempts at swings, his hands opened up from fists to reveal his 'fingers'. The serrated blades began to mode, much in the same manner as a chainsaw blade did. Except in this face, each finger served as a gem-quality chainsaw of its own. He swung again, using each hand's claws to their best advantage.

Midway through his assault he noticed Carbide ready her gun, painfully aware of the damage it could do if unchecked. He jumped backwards to avoid Octi's inevitable follow up in favor of trying to deflect Carbide's attack. In the same move he brought his hands up to cover his face, well aware how destructive that cannon of hers could be to the only protecting his face. He heard the shot go off and braced himself, expecting some sort of impact from a hardlight shell, and yet... nothing? Had it been a bla-

His thoughts were cut off as he let his guard down for a moment too long to see what had happened, the sailing Carbide flying right past his shielding hands. He reeled back as she made contact, just barely keeping himself on his feet and not falling onto his back. He shook his head from a daze, "Grr, you'll pay for this!" stopping just short of shaking his fist angrily, turning his attention to Carbide's follow up move.

[Bloodstone]

Octi stumbled back a little, the ground pound from Dolomite throwing him off-balance just a tiny bit. He looked over at Carbide and nodded "I think you may be right..whoever's in there has some mental programming for sure. Maybe if we're lucky enough, we can snap them out of it." Bloodstone hopped up, taking note of the blades that the bulk seemed to have on his hands. The berserker decided to go for a bit of strategy, using his chains to sweep him off of his feet before delivering a kick to the presumed gems midsection. If nothing else, Octavian always had the height advantage over most gems. "Let's see how good you are, eh?" He smirked and hauled Dolomite up to his feet with the chains again, trying to set him up for whatever Carbides next move may be