Flow [Open]

[Kopaka]

Somewhere on the northern icecap of Opealon, a curious creature known as a pengling breached the frigid water of its domain. The amphibious, alien creature's head split open, revealing a tooth-filled maw of jagged teeth. A bolus of fetid, steaming offal slid out onto the ice flow, much to the delight of its chirping offspring. Its bulbous, yellow eyes scanned the horizon for potential predators, but for the moment, the frozen wastes were calm. It was late in the season, and the icebergs had welded together in a crumpled landscape of powdered rime and howling winds. The sun of the Crossroads sagged low on the horizon, perpetually fixed in a glorious sunrise.

Whirling, opalescent clouds carried pastel colors from one horizon to the other, and temporary mountains moaned and cackled angrily. Crags of mountainous ice ground and crunched against one another, building up destructive grudges that would be explosively realized when the thaw came. For now, however the mountains were at the mercy of the driving winds above and the churning currents beneath. Loops of blue and white wove together in strands, evoking skeletons of long-dead behemoths. In some places, the frozen boulders had crashed and mingled to dizzying heights. The icecaps of Opealon had almost unlimited water and weather at their disposal, and the surplus of artistic material did not go to waste.

At the pinnacle of one of these spires was a lone observer to the majesty. A bio mechanical warrior who had long craved the furtive embrace of being in his element. A desert of ice surrounded Kopaka to wash away the sins of his fury and anguish. The water and wind, much like the floating glaciers around him, scrubbed the rough tendencies from his surface.

He had, to put it a certain way, let himself get carried away.

The Syntech competition of death and spectacle had gotten to him. He had allowed himself to get caught up in the drama of personal affairs and the tantalizing promise of empty victories. The Toa could not be entirely upset with himself. It was a wise lesson, and one that had ultimately cost him very little. The literacy of this world's common writing language was also a valuable prize.

Could the companionship of Arthur Morgan also be considered a prize?

Kopaka had thought often about the human, and the conversations they had shared. He had promised the man that he could be found on Opealon, where there was ice. In the time since he had reassembled on Opealon, Kopaka had done his best to keep track of the news of Arthur's success in the blood sport. It seems as though he had found victory in working with another partner altogether. In hindsight, however, he had seen that his dedicated desire to slay the Suwako-entity that had injured Arthur had benefitted the outlaw in the long run. The Toa could live with that outcome, even if the human never bothered to make the effort to rendevouz with the biomech.

Then again, Kopaka was in no hurry. This was evident by the thick coating of glittering ice and snow that had welded him in place atop the mountainous berg. Icicles drooped from his mask, and a glazed skin of rime coated his visors. Kopaka sat silent, and unmoving. But watching. Waiting.

Waiting for another omen. A path had not yet made itself clear, and he would not be so hasty in choosing a direction this time...

 

[Mickey Mouse]

Honor.

High respect, or great esteem; this was how a simple-minded person might define the word. To get respect seemed a simple task: defend those you cared about, avenge those you’d lost, impress those that looked to you for inspiration.

She had tried all of these avenues and somehow still come up short.

And now… well, now she’d been lost.

The waves of Opealon’s great, planet-stretching sea carried the forgotten form of Fa Mulan farther and farther from her home. She drifted, nearly lifeless, across that vast ocean. Her steel armor plates pressed against her icy raft, sending chill after chill up her spine and shooting a cold snap directly into her veins. These freezing sensations were now the only things keeping her awake as she faded further and further away from consciousness on her slow, steady, seemingly never-ending journey to the north.

She’d long since removed the green ribbon from her hair. The black strands fell freely to her shoulder, pooling around her head as she laid face-down on this chunk of glacier. Why should she hide from the world anymore? The battles she’d originally tied that bun for, deepened her voice for, and traded out her gorgeous dresses for were behind her, she supposed.

She felt like she’d been floating north on this chunk of ice for so long that she barely even remembered what she’d been fighting for. Had it been honorable? Had it been noble? Had it been good? Or had she just gotten caught up, once again, in the scaffoldings of society that had been trying to choke the Fa family dead for… well, for generations?

It hadn’t been so long ago that her father, mother, and grandmother had left behind the backwards ideas of Erde Nona for the class of Opealon’s higher islands. They thought that perhaps a new locale might be good, but it seemed fate had other plans for them.

What did fate have in mind for her?

Her glacial boat bumped against a similarly icy shore, motivating Mulan to look up for the first time in what felt like days. Hunger panged at the edges of her stomach, and thirst clawed at her throat, despite the abundance of salty sea water she’d lapped up as she floated along the past few days. Now, she found herself washed up on the edge of an honest-to-Arbiter glacier. The icy sheet creaked and cragged upwards, forming something like cliffs and mesas and spires rising up before her. She blinked for a few moments to make sure her eyes weren’t fooling her, but she could’ve sworn she saw someone else up at the top. Were they… frozen in place there?

She wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her sword, lying prone next to her on the icy raft, and pushed herself up, her boots crunching on the snowy shore as she approached the figure atop the spire.

“Hey,” she called as she got within earshot, “are you alright?”

 

[Kopaka]

Dark portents were afoot on the waves. Kopaka had attuned himself with the gentle ripples beneath the pliant ice and somber wind, in at least so far that he could feel the touch of something new, yet old. Emergent. It felt familiar, in a cloying, sickly way that refused direct examination. Words came to mind...his own words that he did not remember speaking. It was a memory that had come unbidden, as many other had during his hermitage among the ice flows.

The darkness cannot stand before me.

He meditated on this for a time, with his optical receptors deactivated. He had always known who he was; a warrior of all things that were pure and good. His position as a Toa, an arbiter of justice and peace, did not necessitate kindness per se, but it did engender compassion. His willingness to help those in need was his greatest weapon. If those in need of his help did not care for his methods or demeanor, that was their choice to assert. But neither the presence of evil, nor the aversion of his allies, would keep him from that Destiny.

More words came to him.

Are you alright?

It was a cryptic question. Multi-layered. Here, now, in his element he was alright. But he had come here under the auspices of emotional duress; could it truly be said that he was alright?

Well he certainly wasn't in danger.

"Are you alright?"

Or was he?

The entombed android activated his eyes, and the piercing blue lights began to filter through the thick coating of frost entombing him. The intruder reflexively took a step back, but her legs were weak and he surprise was dire. Mulan stumbled over a small hunk of ice and fell onto her bottom with a crunch. The figure encased in glittering ice and snow rose abruptly from its seated position with fluid movements. The crackling frost seemed to willing slip off of its body as blue eyes blinked and fizzled for a moment.

The dynasty warrior had seen constructs and robots on the flying cities her family had dragged her to, but the sheer swiftness with which the frozen machine moved was startling, given the fact it had been completely immobile a moment before. The fact that he was armed with an oversized sword was not lost on her either.

"I am Kopaka, Toa of Ice." he said softly. The lenses and telescopes on the Kanohi Akaku whirred and clicked as he briefly scanned her. She appeared to be a human-type spec; a configuration he was beginning to identify as highly endemic to the Crossroads. It did, however, make her presence here highly perplexing. The Toa looked at the horizon of the surrounding ice field, and saw that the human had no supplies, transport, or allies. He looked back at the human, with her purple fingertips and frost-bitten nose. Flecks of ice filled her hair and the surfaces of her heavy armor.

"Uh..." she said softly. "My n-name is..."

"You do not belong here." Kopaka interrupted, staring at her expectantly. "Why have you come?"

Mulan swallowed a cold, hard lump in her throat, and felt a flush of warm panic fill her. It was the first warmth she had felt in days.

"I d...d-don't...knnow." she shivered.

Kopaka nodded. No logic was required. He was in no position to be hostile or paranoid towards a stray warrior with dim memories. Perhaps a more salient question would provide insight.

"How did you come to be here?" he asked softly, offering his hand towards the human. Mulan rose to her feet with a stiff, sore grunt. She shiverred some more and gestured towards the bobbing berg that had delivered her here. The Toa tilted his head.

"This is a polar iceflow. Icebergs do not return here, they only depart."

The poor human simply shrugged and blew a puff of warming steam into her hands. A sharp breeze tore through the clearing, playing with strands of her long, matted hair. Mulan grimaced and hugged herself. For all of the sense of pathetic vulnerability she was feeling, she could tell that this strange...Toa...was not taking pity on her, nor did he find her repulsive. She simply...was.

None of this made any sense to Kopaka, but it had been the first thing to rouse him from the torpor of the ice in...quite some time. An unexplained arrival of a confused warrior was an omen, and therefore precluded sensible explanation.

Currently, it was very clear to Kopaka that this omen of his was dying of exposure and thirst. There was precious little he could do to relieve a human body's damage from freezing cold, and there was no means of making a fire at hand for her.

With a gesture, Kopaka commanded the rough hillock of salt ice to form a dome, with a low door in it. It was similar to the structure he had conjured for Arthur Morgan, and he made a note to meditate on the fact that he seemed to be in the habit of adopting damaged humans in need of shelter from his own icy essence.

"Wait here. I shall retrieve sustenance for you." he said softly before marching off deeper into the drifts...

 

[King Kong]

Warning… Gravity Diffusion Capacity is 3%

Critical Damage Detected

Systems Unable to Recover

Recommend Abandoned Ship or Emergency Landin

"No! Dammit!"

Warning… Gravity Diffusion Capacity is 2%

Engines System Failing Reported

"Aw c'mon."

Warning… Gravity Diffusion Capacity is 1%

Weapons System Failing Reported

"Don't you give up on me now!"

Warning… Gravity Diffusion Capacity is 0%

Main Control Computer System Shutting down

ABANDONED SHIP… ABANDONED SHIP… ABANDONED SHIP…

"Son of a bitch!"

The pilot grasps on his Centre stick tightly, pulling it towards him, believing he still controls the ship. This space fighter ship is known as a wolfen back in the Lylat System. Wolf's spacecraft had so much character to paint the physical image of a criminal mercenary squadron, Star Wolf. It spins out of control, being pulled in by the planet's gravity that surrounds its orbit. He places his sharpened clawed metallic boot against the center monitor's screen, still pulling the Centre stick close to him.

The emergency red alarm keeps flashing on and off to notify the crisis that's happening to his ship. It keeps spinning at a faster rate now, drawing closer to the planet's surface. Wolf angrily punches his computer to get it back working but is wasting energy. There is no chance to get this bird flying again for the time being. Just how the ride is turning out to be is becoming sickening and dizzy.

Entering the atmosphere, his ship heats immensely by the speed it produces. Wolf can feel his ride getting hot but still attempting to get it flying again. He tried everything, including manually rebooting his computer system, pressing the emergency back up support system button repeatedly, and swiveling the Centre stick like a madman. Nothing can't get this bird to steer straight and fly properly. The only thing he can do is sit, waiting for the planet's surface to stop this tumbling ship.

He is now well into the atmosphere, his ship cutting straight through the clouds like a knife. A vast blue ocean remains below him, and Wolf gets a glimpse to see where he will crash land. The fiery wolfen collides into the sea, putting out the immense heat that developed entering the atmosphere at incredible speeds. An enormous splash erupts, sending white salty water into the air. Chemical emergency floaters detecting H2O inflates immediately all around the wolfen to make her stay afloat.

The ship bobbed up and down to stay buoyant after the impact. An alarm still blares into Wolf's ears inside the cockpit, but he shuts them off after a landing. Relief washes over him, knowing that luck hasn't run out yet. Landing into the solid ground would've been death. Another day to be alive after another crash landing.

While floating, the wolfen remained upright with the cockpit window not submerged underwater. Wolf opens the glass window that entraps him and breathes in the salty fresh air that the ocean offers. A sunny day is a forecast where Wolf landed. He stands up out of the cockpit to survey the sea around him. Onboard, an emergency survival kit remained in a storage box in case of landing in uncharted areas.

The crashed pilot opens the metal box and fumbles to grab binoculars. After obtaining them, he takes a view of what remains around him. Nothing but the sea is all that encompasses him. Wolf grumbles and growls at the sight being stranded in the ocean. No ships or land is near his crashed aircraft as far he can see. In the meantime, he waits in case bound to run across help or an island.

Four days later…

Wolf remains lying on top of the nose that belongs to the wolfen, exhausted by the heat and tropical weather that this strange planet offers. His mouth is parched, barely filtered water is left, only the salty sea that remains. MREs are dwindling, making him have to take smaller bites during mealtimes. The stranded outlaw's body is tired of how much sweat pours out onto his fur. All that he can do is rest and hope maybe energy hasn't ultimately left his body yet.

Drifting further into the massive ocean covering the entirety of the planet, something odd happens to him. Suddenly, it becomes chillier then the typical tropical weather he has experienced for days. The air freezes all around him, making his body sweat less now. Laying against the steel that made his ship starts to freeze by how cold the water has become. The cold wraps around him like a blanket, not being hot anymore.

It had to be now below freezing where Wolf is now. He shivers just how intense the cold has become. At least the pilot has sleeves, but his fingerless gloves expose his sharp-clawed fingers. Trying to gain enough energy, he attempts to stand up. This process happened slowly, regaining enough will to make it happened.

His only eyeball examines the area that surrounds the stranded wolfen. He can now see his breath moisturizing the cold air. Wolf stumbles without paying attention, falling onto the freezing hard steel ship's nose because of an impact that just happened. Could it be? Did he finally hit land?

Only one way to find out, the space outlaw attempts to stand up again with his legs wobbling and barely holding onto energy. His ship beaches itself halfway onto the ice-covered shore. Wolf walks to the edge of the wing closest to the glacial coast and hops down, landing his metallic boots onto the white snowy ice. The metallic boots crush the icy layer underneath them, causing a crunching noise.

He begins to embark on this floating ice glacier, maybe increasing the chance of survival. Not too far away from his crashed ship, he finds a structural icy-made dome. The appearance of it gives away that the glacier didn't form this thing, it had to someone that built this structure. A hopeful sight to gaze upon gives a chance that an intelligent life form is present on this planet, uncharted to any Lylat locals. His boots stomp upon the frozen snowy surface, heading toward the sign of civilization.

The lost pilot walks around the ice dome, examining the built shelter placed on this glacier. He comes up to the frozen doorway and calls out if someone is inside, not wanting to frighten any potential help for a crashed outlaw to get back on his feet.

"Anyone home?"

 

[Mickey Mouse]

Mulan didn’t hesitate to put her sword to the wolf’s neck.

Kopaka, Toa of Ice, hadn’t been gone long to ‘retrieve sustenance’ for her before this unwelcome intruder stumbled upon the igloo he’d… made… for her.

She’d tried not to dwell too much on the Toa’s use of what appeared to be some sort of magic to create this dwelling for her. Back on the islands, the use of magic wasn’t just highly looked down upon -- in some places, it was outright outlawed. Mulan wasn’t one to bite the hand that fed her; she’d accept the mysterious being’s help as long as that was what he was offering. Besides, being from Erde Nona, she didn’t exactly share the Skylanders’ deep-seated hatred of magic-users. But her time on Opealon had been significant, and some of her neighbors’ paranoia may have been absorbed by osmosis, so it certainly hadn’t helped in her attempts to trust her would-be savior or feel any more comfortable about the situation she’d unfortunately found herself in.

And now there was a talking wolf.

“Who are you?” she spat, blade shimmering in the sunlight that peeked in through the door.

She’d heard the wolf’s approach. He hadn’t exactly been subtle as he’d trudged up the icy glacier, so the warrior had been able to prep. She’d discarded her armor when this Kopaka figure had allowed her into this shelter, so she stood pressed against the igloo’s inside wall with just her tunic, pants, and boots on. They offered little protection against the chilly surface, and she felt her skin grow cold as the freezing temperature seeped in. She steeled herself, trying not to dishonor herself by showing weakness before this beast.

“I… could ask you the same question,” the lost pilot said nervously, his one eye glancing down at the glimmering sword pressed against his neck.

Mulan couldn’t stand how clean the sword looked in the face of her comrades’ brutal deaths.

She spun one hundred and eighty degrees, planting herself in front of the intruder and then pressing a boot into his chest and knocking him back and out of the igloo’s doorway. He smashed into the snow, causing a tiny blizzard as he slid down the hill and slammed into an icy boulder jutting out of the ground a few meters away. She stalked forward, the tip of her blade aimed squarely at his chest as she stood over him.

“I’m asking the questions,” she scowled.

“Then be polite and introduce yourself, miss,” the wolf sneered.

Mulan’s face remained stoic. She blinked a bit as she glanced around the glacier, trying to find some hint of Kopaka in the distance, hopefully returning to help her deal with this new intruder. Instead, she spotted the remains of… whatever it was the wolf had traveled here in beached on the side of the glacier, not too far off, almost where she herself had shored up. Her face scrunched a bit, and she wondered if it would be possible for her and her cybernetic savior to use whatever that thing was to get off this glacial rock.

Although, she didn’t really trust the Toa either -- though he’d helped her find shelter and offered to find her food, she still found herself stranded on this glacier with two people who she had no reason whatsoever to put her faith in. A stark difference from just days before, when she’d been traveling with the crew of men she’d been training with for weeks.

Kopaka and the wolf weren’t her fellow soldiers.

Why should she have anything to do with them?

Her eyes fixed on the wolf lying before her. She knew in this moment, she probably had enough of an upper hand to run him through and leave his corpse here for Kopaka to find later, while she used his vehicle, derelict though it may seem, to get off of this icy monstrosity and find some way back to civilization. She knew the lower ports weren’t often in contact with the floating islands, but maybe, just maybe, she could find a transport somewhere that could get her home -- or close to it, at the very least.

Below her, the wolf chuckled.

“I don’t find this situation very humorous,” she glared.

The wolf’s singular eye rolled up to meet her gaze. “Me neither.”

She grunted in frustration and sheathed her sword, sprinting back up towards the igloo. She ducked inside, grabbing her armor and moving to put it back on when she heard, just a little bit in the distance, the familiar mechanized whirring of Kopaka’s joints.

She peeked her head out to find the wolf had stood, and the Toa returned.

Three lost, wandering souls, paths crossed for reasons none of them could yet surmise.