ACDC Start! - The Battle of Fifteen NETs

A trio of pearly light beams descended into the second layer of ACDC NET. Emerging from the light were three heavily armed and armored Navis. Two smaller females and one larger male, all wearing Netopian style Plate. All three of them sprouted leathery wings from their backs, which they spread and took to the air. It was time to hunt.

[Requesting Battle 1.]

[ACDC Battle 1 of 5.]
[Battles Fought 00/75.]

Fresh from the rigours his recent patience-testing shogunate missions, Drago and his team arrived in the darker streets of ACDC looking to vent some aggression and bust some heads. It was a meaner patch of the net and the trio had come dressed for business, and the wrong side of the metaphorical tracks wasn't about to disappoint.

It was still ACDC, and on the surface a lot of the quaint quietude seemed to remain, but the atmosphere was dimmer, a little bit darker and something in the air just felt a touch... off. To one side of the alleyway they'd arrived in, a pair of metool seemed to be hanging out leaning in the shade of the alley wall, though getting a better look would show that they bore a striking pink colouration, with blue highlights, instead of the normal yellow and green. They glanced towards the new arrival and one make a dismissive sound.

Pushing itself off the wall and wandering out into the main thoroughfare opposite Drago, the most alert virus twirled its pickaxe nonchalantly once or twice as it looked Drago and his SPs up and down. Flourish aside, there was no doubt that the virus was quicker and more limber with the weapon that its more amiable counterparts. It was joined by the second, and a third from the other side of the area. They shuffled their feet, adopting what one might guess to be a combat stance, as much as the little guys could do so; they might be acting like they the tough stuff, but in the end they were still mets, and the new colouration was actually kind of adorable. Still, they seemed quite eager to rumble.

-=Meaner Streets Welcome Committee=-

Metool2A: 100Hp
Metool2B: 100Hp
Metool2C: 100Hp [All three are in a line directly ahead of Drago's team]

-=All out of bubblegum=-

DragonierMan: 200HP
Aya.SP: 100Hp
Suzume.SP: 100Hp

-=The Meaner Streets=-

20% Cracked [Terrain is cracked around the two major potholes in the alleyway]
10% Broken [Those are some deep potholes - one in the direct centre between the two teams, and one off to the left back of the area]
70% Normal [The rest]

-=Rogue Battle 1, Start!=-

DragonierMan, Suzume, and Aya smirked as the three were challenged by the Metool gang. Drago turned his head to his right as his girls lined up to his right, to match the Metools person for person. "Wood, Fire, Water," he said, pointing to each of them in turn, before tiny leaves appeared in the air around him. The green swirled around his form as the wind picked up and ruffled his hair as he extended his arm out. Suzume followed next with little ember flames. The red, yellow, and orange ghost-lights danced around her body as she extended her arm out. Last came Aya, ice crystals solidifying in the air around her outstretched arm. Following West Side Story gang-fight protocol, they began snapping their fingers with their other hand. The various elemental energies swirled around them and condensed into their outstretched hands. With a roar of wind and grass-clippings, a mighty WoodDragon1 launched out of Drago's hand and rampaged across the ground toward the trio of Metools. The concrete road quickly became absorbed by grass wherever the dragon shed fast-growing spores.

Next came Suzume. With a roar of crackling flames, a burst of heat signaled the emergence of a great HeatDragon1, which burned through the air like a low-altitude comet. The heat was so great that it trailed boiling lava behind it. Some of the newly laid grass would certainly catch fire from the oppressive heat. Suzume was even sweating from her close contact with the fiery energies.

Thankfully she wouldn't have to suffer long before Aya unleashed the bitter cold of her AquaDragon1. The roar of the freezing ocean sprayed forth in a torrent of water, flooding the street and alleyways with the briny deep. The dragon swam across the ground like some sort of large land shark, crashing as the stormy waves against the shore, into everything in its path. There would be eruptions and explosions where the heat of the lava met the cold of the ocean. Thermodynamics having a field-day. Also, the salty sea-air splashed away the sweat and rejuvenated the mind of Suzume, who was looking a little pale due to the heat. Just in time for Drago's next command.

"Fly!"

Assuming that any of the Metools survived the elemental trinity, they would be set to counterattack, or run and hide at the ferocity. As such, the three dragon Navis spread their wings and took to the air. Suzume streaked into the air like a rocket, trailing a beam of white light behind her. Aya turned dark like the shadowy sky and flew as if a ghostly specter. The trio twisted and serpentined their way up high into the sky, well away from any dangers on the ground, although the Metools could probably throw their mattocks at them. Which they probably did, assuming they weren't hiding. The three winged-humanoids flew around in the air for a while, circling, and trying to dodge anything thrown at them. Drago was still the fastest of the three and would put on a better aerial show for those watching the fight. Weaving, spinning, diving, and climbing like a show-plane.

After a few moments of the aerial show, Drago reached out with both his hands at the viruses below. Pumping his arms in and out like some sort of pump-action gun, he began raining down bolts of pearly energy on the Metools, gatling-gun style. The shots came fast and fierce, screaming down from above like meteors. He was aiming for any of the Metools that were left. Plinking them with shots. It wouldn't be enough to delete any of them, but it would cause some wounds, if it hit. Mostly it was for the psychological factor. Getting them to take cover, and knocking their weapons away.

It was a good thing that few came to the Rogue Networks, as Team Dragon was going to ruin it.


~

A quick shout of orders was all the warning Drago gave his targets, before the trio unleashed with their successive, snaking dragons of destruction. Leading the charge, Drago's wood dragon wound its way forward in a rush, pulverising the left most metool before it could react. Unfortunately, the remaining power of the attack expended itself without managing to connect on either of the other two mets, the other two were swift to strike out in return, sending out shockwaves towards Aya and Drago respectively, but the nimble support program managed to get out of the way while preparing her attack. In its rush to attack, the middle metool failed to account for the hole directly in front of it, and its own attack fell short of the mark.

A moment later, Suzume's dragon coiled in from the other side, destroying the right-most of the viruses hungrily. It met Aya's dragon in the middle, each having curled around the broken hole in the centre, destroying the middle met in a hiss of vicious steam. By the time the steam cleared and Drago and his girls were airborne to survey the destruction ,there was little left alive on the battlefield below. The ACDC rogue had said hi; Drago and his team had said hi back. It had been a very short exchange.

-=Meaner Streets Welcome Committee=-

Metool2A: DELETED
Metool2B: DELETED
Metool2C: DELETED

-=All out of bubblegum=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude]
Suzume.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude]

-=Rogue Battle 1, Victory!=-

Spoils: 1140z, 15 BugFrags

And the explosive conversation would continue in Act 2 of the epic saga of "DragonierMan destroys Rogue Net." Coming this fall.

The trio continued on in search of more viruses to murder.

[Requesting Battle 2.]

[ACDC Battle 2 of 5.]
[Battles Fought 01/75.]

Without much pause for pleasantries, Draco and his girls pressed on in search of targets for their aggression. the slightly dimmer streets and parks of the lower ACDC revealed what looked like a normal corner of the neighbourhood, except the buildings showed slight signs of neglect and dilapidation. They weren't ruined, exactly just old and neglected, and it looked as though no-one sensible had been around for a long time. While there didn't seem to be anyone of sensible, upstanding nature about, there was movement: an amused giggle came from the window of one house just to their right; an eye peeked out before a small spooky virus, robed all in red, appeared on the outside of the glass, watching the trio.

More soft laughter came from the left, a second red ghost peeking out from behind the cracked chimney on the roof of another building. Its tongue hung out as it giggled for a moment. More immediately visible, a miner seemed to be waving one of its volatile landmines above its head, over in a small grassy patch of space not too far ahead of the trio; this one was greenish in colour, but there was little doubt it was going to take its job every bit as seriously as the lesser variants they'd seen before. Directly ahead, a pair of small, light tanks approached on the main thoroughfare between the abandonned old houses. Side by side, they mostly filled the alleyway, blue metal bodies and yellow guard plates gleaming as they bore down on the navi and his SPs. One lowered its turret towards DragonierMan as it came on.

Beyond them, there was a dull, sick-looking glow from a small stretch of terrain between the grass, but a blue crystal glinted just off the edge of the poisonous looking terrain; it was hard to see behind the viruses, but there was little doubt to what it was.

-=Viruses=-

Spooky2-A: 120Hp [Normal][Cover behind chimney][on roof of left building]
Spooky2-B: 120Hp [Normal][Directly to the right]
Miner2: 200Hp [Grass][Back Right of area]
BeeTank2-A: 160Hp [Normal][Directly Ahead]
BeeTank2-B: 160Hp [Normal][Directly Ahead]

-=Allies=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [Normal]
Aya.SP: 100Hp [Normal]
Suzume.SP: 100Hp [Normal]

-=Terrain=-

60% Normal
20% Grass [Two squares, in the back left and back right of the area relative to Drago and co.]
10% Cracked [Spaces around the two buildings]
10% Poison [A couple of icky-looking patches in between the two grass zones]

-=Structures=-

Old House A: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Left of Drago]
Old House B: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Right of Drago]
Old House C: 100Hp [HardBody][Mid Left of Drago]
Old House D: 100Hp [HardBody][Mid Right of Drago]

BMD: 25Hp [Back centre, near the poison]

Buildings are pathable, their roofs count as Normal terrain.

-=Rogue Battle 2, Start!=-

"Mines underground, let's take to the air," DragonierMan stated as he spread his wings and took to the sky. Suzume and Aya followed suit. The hair that stuck out of their helmets flapped around as they sped away from the ground. All three streaked into the air like rockets, trailing gray smoke behind them. The trio twisted and serpentined their way up high into the sky just like before, well away from any dangers on the ground. How did they fight without flight before?

"Spookys will follow, prepare for close-quarters," Aya stated as she readied her blade. Suzume also readied her own blade as a golden light formed around Drago. Like a beacon of light in the dark, Drago floated there in front of everyone, challenging the viruses to attack him. His Counter1 ready to strike at those who took the bait. The trio waited for the Spookys to make their move, watching the ground and dilapidated buildings, and making swift adjustments to their position when attacked. Aya's eyes were keen and on the hunt for when the Spookys emerged from the darkness, and Suzume waited with baited breath as she was trying to read the course of battle.

Assuming the Spookys attacked, teleporting up to lash at the trio with their long tongues, Suzume and Aya also moved to attack. Gripping their WideSwords with both hands, they flew forward and slashed at the ghosts with their blades. Their weapons glowed in white light and expanded, allowing for broad swipes against the two Spookys. The twins then moved away as Drago rushed in with his own glowing sword. He spun on his axis, slashing all around him with a flurry of blows. Carving the air with his mighty MoonBlade1.

Then after he came to a halt, the light on his sword released in a terrible, blinding flare. Suzume and Aya yelped as they tried to cover their eyes, becoming momentarily disoriented. The light covered the entire battlefield, blinding everything. Drago, however, quickly recovered with his Dragon's Resilience. Shaking off the blindness, Drago continued to dodge around in the air, hoping to profit from the disorientation of his last attack. His blade segmented into a sharp chain as he flew, a heavy iron ball forming at the end. He flew back to the Spookys and began to swing the ball and chain around. It was possible that they had not finished off the Spookys from their earlier dance of blades. If that was the case, then Drago could potentially batter them into deletion with his HammerToss1.

Twirling through the air like a out-of-control crane wielding a wrecking ball, Drago tried to batter the remaining Spookys into deletion. He then hurled the chained hammer down at the Miner, who was probably done laying a stack of mines somewhere down below. The weapon fell from the sky like a meteor, streaking downward towards the poor humanoid virus. Who was probably an out-of-work demolitions expert. Trying to feed his family with some off-the-book jobs.


~

As Drago and his team took wing, the turrets from the two tanks tracked with them, arcing to follow different targets. One after the other, in quick succession, they launched explosive shells towards them in skyward arcs. The two tanks put on a sterling show of good aim with their shells, the shots curving to reach a spot right in the midst of the trio before exploding with a sharp crack. The blast radius of first round was easy enough for all three to duck clear of in a timely fashion, but the second burst right at the end of their evasive movements and proved harder to avoid; Aya and Suzume were clear, just barely, but Drago would become aware of the scorch from the blast searing against his just-in-time defence.

In reality, this was rather bad news for the second tank as the navi's vicious retaliation triggered, bringing him up close and personal to the virus in a flash. It was trying to back away on is slow moving treads but Drago was faster, hammering it hard.

When Drago returned to something vaguely close to ground level to deliver his counter, the Miner took this as an opportunity to duck underground and bury one of its mines, though it surely had to realise that this was something of a vain effort, against three opponents who could just as easily go airborne again at a whim.

The two Spooky viruses had been looking up at the explosions in the air above them, so when the smoke cleared, all the two ghosts really saw were Aya and Suzume, up above, they each teleported up to have a taste of the girls, but the twins were ready for them. Between them, the two SPs were able to eliminate the ghosts, with quick slashes, but not before one of them managed to drag its long, slimy tongue all the way up Aya's body, from knee to crown. It died a moment later, of course, but it was still an icky sensation.

Down below, with the spookies gone and living targets in front of him, Drago lashed out with his own blade, carving through the two tanks near him with brutal ease. The damaged on couldn't hold itself together and collapsed under this second blow, though the second one trundled backwards, trying to get a proper bead on the attacker right by its turret. DragonierMan wasn't about to let it be that easy though, setting off his blinder and immediately restoring his own sight from the flash. His girls weren't quite so fortunate, but hopefully they wouldn't resent their master for it...

More importantly, however, the remaining tank tried to take a stun shot at Drago, but missed spectacularly, sending the explosive round to crash through a window instead, and causing plumes of smoke to begin rising from one of the old buildings. Drago's next attack spun around, failing to clip to nearby tank but flying true to crash with great force into the Miner that had just popped back up, sending it reeling and making pained noises before it righted itself, pulled out another mine and buried it somewhere else. When it came up again, the little guy made a very rude gesture at DragonierMan. The navi and his team might need to be a bit more careful and precise finishing off the last tank; it was dangerously close to the mystery data at the edge of the poison patch now, and a misplaced move could easily damage the fragile object.


-=Viruses=-

Spooky2-A: DELETED
Spooky2-B: DELETED
Miner2: 120Hp [Grass][Blind!][Back Right of area]
BeeTank2-A: 70Hp [Normal][Blind!][Edge of the Poison]
BeeTank2-B: DELETED

-=Allies=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [Normal][Near Poison]
Aya.SP: 60Hp [High Altitude][Blind!]
Suzume.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude][Blind!]

-=Terrain=-

60% Normal
20% Grass [Two squares, in the back left and back right of the area relative to Drago and co.]
10% Cracked [Spaces around the two buildings]
10% Poison [A couple of icky-looking patches in between the two grass zones]

-=Structures=-

Old House A: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Left]
Old House B: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Right]
Old House C: 78Hp [HardBody][Mid Left]
Old House D: 100Hp [HardBody][Mid Right]

BMD: 25Hp [Back centre, near the poison]

Buildings are pathable, their roofs count as Normal terrain.

Suzume and Aya began to go into evasive maneuvers, as they couldn't accurately attack just then, and they were taking fire. Twisting and rolling through the air. Aya formed a towel out of the very shadows and took the chance to dry her body, and then absorb the shadowy towel into her body, healing her wounds. DragonierMan spread his wings and flew back into the air, away from the minefield and the poisonous terrain. "Withdraw," he commanded to the twins. "We need to get that tank to chase us, and lead it away from the Mystery Data." The twins nodded their ascent and followed Drago as he sped away from the cluster of houses. "Come and get us!" he shouted to the Beetank below, taunting it. "Unless you're too slow."

The trio tried to lead the Beetank away from the BMD before they struck. If it managed to follow them, they waited until tank was well away from the BMD that a stray shot wouldn't harm it, then spun around and shot at the tank. There were two great crackles and booms as the twins shot energy blasts as big as tank shells at the tank. The twin blasts screamed down at the Beetank from above, each one strong enough to obliterate the virus in a single hit. Drago, however, peppered the area with his own buster shots. His hands pumped out smaller energy blasts, each with the ability to intercept enemy attacks and disarm them in flight. His shots, gatling down like raindrops, trailed towards the Beetank's cannon. He was attempting to jam or damage the gun of the tank with his barrage. Hopefully this would end the last real threat to the Team Dragon. The Miner would be easy pickings afterward.


~

While the tank wasn't exactly taunted by the trio winging it a bit, it nevertheless trundled along after them as it continued firing. Somehow, through its blinded sensors, and it's admittedly poor aim, it actually managed to keep its first shot on target as it launched into the air after. Or it would have been, if all three of its aerial foes hadn't neatly duck out of the way, though in the midst of cleaning up and restoring herself, Aya only just managed to avoid the exploding shell.

The twins retaliated once the tank had moved after them as far as it was going to for now, and though their vision was still a little bit on the spotty side, by the time the dust settled from their double cannon shots, there was nothing left of the irksome beetank.

While this had been going on, the Miner had busily gone about burying more mines all over the area. One had to ponder why it was doing this; maybe he was hoping that they'd decide to touch down at some point. Either way, a sizable chunk of the battlefield was now riddled with mines, though this wasn't going to mean much to Drago and his girls for now.

Presumably, with no tank left to shred, Drago himself let his precision bust shots rain down upon the only remaining virus on the field instead, peppering the beleaguered miner with more energy bolts. one shot missed while the Miner ducked away to spread more mines, but the rest hit squarely. The final bolt neatly tore the miner's fresh landmine from its hands before it could do anything with it, and left the virus furtively searching around for the dropped payload.


-=Viruses=-

Spooky2-A: DELETED
Spooky2-B: DELETED
Miner2: 40Hp [Grass][Back Right of area][Disarmed!]
BeeTank2-A: DELETED
BeeTank2-B: DELETED

-=Allies=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 90Hp [High Altitude][WideSword (2/3)]
Suzume.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude][WideSword (2/3)]

-=Terrain=-

60% Normal
20% Grass [Two squares, in the back left and back right of the area relative to Drago and co.]
10% Cracked [Spaces around the two buildings]
10% Poison [A couple of icky-looking patches in between the two grass zones]

40% Mines!

-=Structures=-

Old House A: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Left]
Old House B: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Right]
Old House C: 78Hp [HardBody][Mid Left]
Old House D: 100Hp [HardBody][Mid Right]

BMD: 25Hp [Back centre, near the poison]

Buildings are pathable, their roofs count as Normal terrain.

((Just nothing, regarding the status effects: in lieu of splicing, remember that status effects don't actually take hold until the beginning of the fresh turn after they are applied, and thus don't expire until the beginning of the turn after. Mechanically speaking, the twins suffered the blind until the end of this turn, but when I rolled it through at least one of them still connected despite that, so I went ahead with the mod anyway.))

The group flew back to the dilapidated housing and the poor, unfortunate Miner. The trio took up geosynchronous orbit above the virus. Suzume took a moment to sing a soothing melody. The song healed up the last bits of bruising that Aya had and calmed her mind. Before all three of them turned towards the land-locked Miner and began bombarding the virus with a barrage of energy bolts. Their hands steaming from the rapid release of all those high-energy blasts into the dreary day (which should be a little cold with all the cloud-cover). The saturation of explosions would delight every action-movie watcher. DragonierMan felt at piece, finally able to vent his frustrations on the world for its lack of visceral thrills.


~
((I was debating whether you applied them at the time of use or the next turn at the time of use. Thank you for clarifying it.))

There wasn't much time for anything beyond a painted squeak as the miner, still searching frantically for afresh mine, was thoroughly bombarded by enough raw energy to tear it to shreds. It was a few extra moments before the incessant beeping of a great many mines finally went silent, rendering the battle field safe to stand on again. This left Drago and his team on their own again, though with a new proposition ahead of them; the mystery data had survived the explosive battle admirably, so, did they want to crack it open and have a look?

-=Viruses=-

Spooky2-A: DELETED
Spooky2-B: DELETED
Miner2: SO MUCH PAIN
BeeTank2-A: DELETED
BeeTank2-B: DELETED

-=Allies=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude][WideSword (2/3)]
Suzume.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude][WideSword (2/3)]

-=Terrain=-

60% Normal
20% Grass [Two squares, in the back left and back right of the area relative to Drago and co.]
10% Cracked [Spaces around the two buildings]
10% Poison [A couple of icky-looking patches in between the two grass zones]

-=Structures=-

Old House A: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Left]
Old House B: 100Hp [HardBody][Near Right]
Old House C: 78Hp [HardBody][Mid Left]
Old House D: 100Hp [HardBody][Mid Right]

BMD: 25Hp [Back centre, near the poison]

-=Battle 2, Victory!=-

Spoils: 1440z, 38 BugFrags, Recover80

Open BMD?

DragonierMan floats down to the BMD, hovering close to the poison terrain. Unknowing of what horrors might lie within a blue mystery data (as green was the only ones he dealt with before), and wanting to try out an Untrap subchip, Drago takes the data key from his pocket and presses it upon the BMD.

[Use Untrap on BMD, then open BMD.]

Meanwhile, Suzume and Aya were collecting the spoils of war.

While Aya and Suzume collected up their other spoils, Drago opted for the more cautious route and applied an untrap to the crystal's surface before attempting to open it. The crystal reacted... violently, at first, vibrating and letting out a sharp, crystalline shriek before a plume of blue vapour escaped from the edges and darted away. For a moment, the crystal flickered ethereally then spun on its tip once and began to open in the normal fashion. The data Drago received came in the form of a substantial wealth of zenny.

Loot: 3600z!

Well that was new.

Anyways, after the trio rested up they took to the air again and began flying over the houses of ACDC Rogue Net, looking for their next thrill.

[Requesting Battle 3.]

[ACDC Battle 3 of 5.]
[Battles Fought 02/75.]

As they coasted easily over the dim and neglected rogues of ACDC, the dilapidated housing gave way to signs of old industrial. It didn't change much in terms of the scenery, but one building in particular stood a chance of catching the eye. It wasn't so much the house itself; old and run down, it looked much like many of the other forgotten residential structures in the area. What made this one stand out, however, was that fact that a pair of alert viruses patrolled in rough loops out the front of the building, flames dripping from canine mouths. Added to that the fact that there seemed to be a pair of cannon turrets on the roof, painted to look like chimneys, and a single, somewhat battle-scarred Swordy resting at ease in front of the main front door. There was certainly some kind of deliberate organisation here, but if it didn't particularly tackle anyone's fancy the trio could always fly on. For now though, it seemed as though they had the opportunity for a surprise assault, if they felt so inclined. Though the terrain on the ground was liable to be of little interest to Drago and his team, a goodly portion of the ground in this area was cracked badly, missing entirely, or else sunk in a creeping sickly purple ooze.

-=Conspicuous Guards=-

CannonDumb2-A: 130Hp [Normal][On Roof]
CannonDumb2-B: 130Hp [Normal][On Roof]
Spikey2-A: 190hp [Normal][Out Front]
Spikey2-A: 190hp [Normal][Out Front]
Swordy-N2-Ex: 150Hp [Normal][Out Front]

-=Eyes in the Skies=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude]
Suzume.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude]

-=Terrain=-

30% Normal [Part of the roadway, and the area in front of the main building]
40% Cracked [Most of the rest of the area]
20% Poison [Two large patches to either side of the main building]
10% Missing [Occasional holes, mostly along the roadway parallel to the main building]

-=Structures=-

Main House: 150Hp [HardBody][Anchored][Takes up about 50% of the area]
Small Shed: 40Hp [Anchored][Behind the main building]

-=Battle 3, Start!=-

"Suzume, bring down that house," DragonierMan commanded his two SPs as they approached from the air. "Aya, you and I will take out the dogs." Suzume built up energy inside her and cupped her fists together, raising them above her. Bits and pieces of the cracked and broken terrain flew up into the air and formed into a huge fist of stone, wood, and concrete. She took a moment to position the giant fist over the house, foreseeing the best location for it. A shadow fell over the house, blocking what little sunlight there was. "Aaahhh!!!" she yelled as she brought her bound fists down in a weighty and sweeping gesture. The giant hand of stone falling down like a meteor upon the rickety house.

While Suzume built her stone fist. Drago and Aya targeted the dogs. They extended their hands and built up the power for some high-energy bursts. "Blast mode," Drago stated as the energy welled up in their hands. Aya switched her energy to high-explosive alongside Drago. Her eyes locked onto the best spot to place her shot, right between the three viruses out-front. Both released their dangerous energies toward their foes just as the stone fist began falling on the house. The cannon shots screamed down from the heavens and collided with the ground, exploding in twin fireballs of white flame. The amount of property destruction that would follow the explosions and the giant stone fist crashing down from on high would be catastrophic. Hopefully, they had insurance.

"Take evasive action!" Drago shouted as the three Navis broke hard to the right and sped away. They began weaving and dodging and rolling and zig-zagging all over the place. The Swordy could teleport and the rest could launch painful blasts at them. As Aya and Suzume slithered their way through the air on leathery wings, Drago took a nose dive toward the more solid part of the roadway, and the area in front of the most likely collapsed building. He reached into his belt pouch and produced a small urn. Quickly it grew in his hands until he was barely holding onto the man-sized urn. He dropped it to the ground as he skimmed over it. The urn landed with a thump just before the top popped off of it. An angry sea dragon launched out of it and swam back up the roadway towards the ruined house. Spouting water wherever it went. It would be drawn towards the fiery viruses, trying to snuff out their flames with the beauty of the ocean. And would try to sweep through everything that was still on the ground. Even the shed would know the wrath of an aquadragon that wanted to turn every Net into an ocean.

Draco rolled and serpentined a few times after he dropped off his package before taking off into the air once again. His wings flapping quickly as he climbed. Once back in the sky, he swooped around and breathed a shower of water from his mouth. As the arc of water fell, it spread out wide to fall on multiple targets at once, dousing them. He had breathed in the direction of the Spikeys as he passed, hoping to extinguish them.


~

As far as surprise strikes went, this one didn't pull and punches... quite the opposite in fact. the guards outside barely had enough time to notice the strange drawing of energy and glance skyward before their subtle little staging house was obliterated wholesale by the fist of an angry Suzume. the fist of doom crashed down through the building leaving little beyond dust, debris and rubble, and thoroughly destroying anything and everything that might have been within. Apparently the house had been used for storing something unpleasant, as a large portion of the ground it had occupied was increasingly covered in the poisonous purple goo, which seeped amongst the uneven ground and looked now to be running into the cracks and breaks in the terrain.

A small geyser of water shot up from a corner of the ruin that might have been the plumbing, amenities and other wetworks, creating a small pool in one corner, while in another corner there looked to be some kind of hatched stairwell, clearly exposed now that the building above it was gone. The team could explore it after the conflict was over though, for now there were more viruses to surprise.

While Suzume had prepared her rather devastating entrance, Drago and Aya had set up an offensive of their own to accompany it. their twin blasts crashed down amongst the front of the building even as Suzume destroyed it, though the wide blast area of damage proved less effectively accurate at dealing destruction. Even so, one of the Spikeys copped the worst of both blasts, and the other managed to avoid one, only to get caught up in the ferocity of the other. The Swordy, more on alert than the guard dogs, had glanced up as the energy from the attack began to build, and in a moment of decisive action braced itself, then blinked out of sight. It reappeared directly in the midst of the trio, high in the air, and took a broad sweep with its sword, cutting out at both support programs. While Aya got clear with a quick duck, Suzume was less lucky; it wasn't nearly enough to throw off her vicious attack, but the cut still stung as it scored across her midsection, armour or not.

Gravity had something to say about the Swordy's daring trick shortly after, and it fell back to the ground, turning over in the air once before landing the right way up and swinging its sword with a flourish. It had landed a bit heavily, even so, but by the movement both of the main blasts had missed it. Drago wasn't done yet, however. While the remaining Spikey took a retaliatory pot shot at the Dragonier, the navi deftly avoided it and unleashed his water dragon along the battered terrain. The Spikey was still glaring at the navi and barking furiously, and the Swordy was just turning about to plan its next attack when the water courser crashed over them both. The guard dog was extinguished with a yelp, and the sword virus was bowled over before it could strike. By the time it righted itself, it decided to go for the largest target instead of the smaller ones, and blinked up to appear level with Drago this time the thrust of its sword was quick and precise, but Drago was comfortable in the air, and managed to neatly avoid the blade before countering with a final, decisive strike of his own, even before the last virus could begin falling back to the ground.


-=Conspicuous Guards=-

CannonDumb2-A: DELETED
CannonDumb2-B: DELETED
Spikey2-A: DELETED
Spikey2-A: DELETED
Swordy-N2-Ex: DELETED

-=Eyes in the Skies=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [High Altitude]
Aya.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude]
Suzume.SP: 40Hp [High Altitude]

-=Terrain=-

30% Water [The course of the dragon, plus a small patch in the corner of the ruined building]
10% Broken [several patches of overly-punished terrain]
20% Cracked [Most of the rest of the area]
30% Poison [A large swathe that now includes much of what used to be the main building]
10% Missing [Occasional holes, mostly along the roadway parallel to the main building]

-=Structures=-

Main House: DEMOLISHED
Small Shed: FLOODED

-=Battle 3, Victory!=-

Spoils: 1800z, 42 BugFrags

---

In the aftermath, while collecting their rewards, the trio might want to step cautiously, while the flow of water began to mix hazardously with the seeping poison. In the ruins of the building, which had apparently been storing more of the toxic goop, there was now uncovered a large hatch that might be worth examining; it wasn't locked and would reveal a downward flight of stairs lit by blue torchlights, if they opened it up to take a peek. If they weren't interested in this avenue of exploration, of course, they could always stick to the open skies and move right along.

[Use MiniEnergyPack on Suzume. Heals 50 HP, to bring her from 40/100 HP to 90/100 HP.]

Suzume paused in mid air to bind her wounds. Using one of their many MiniEnergyPack's on herself to get her up to almost full. They swept down to gather the reward data and returned to the sky. Then they all flew away together, ignoring the interesting plot hook below them. They didn't want to get anywhere near all that poison. Besides, they would end up underground, where they couldn't fly. Giving up one of their biggest advantages was suicide in such a difficult network.

[Requesting Battle 4.]

[ACDC Battle 4 of 5.]
[Battles Fought 03/75.]

Moving right along, Drago and the girls swiftly left the suspicious staging point behind. In truth, it was probably only one of many slightly nefarious activities going on in the deeper nets, even of somewhere as normally safe and friendly as ACDC. This was borne out by the fact that, even as they were leaving the sickly-looking mess behind them, the general condition of the neighbourhood didn't improve very much. Several of the buildings had even fallen in of their own, from neglect, and others looked to have been damaged by forgotten conflicts or scuffles long past.

It was as they were coasting over these partially ruined town-scapes that a swift series of crackling electrical rings shot up towards them from between some of the buildings, surging past them with rather worrisome accuracy, missing only by virtue of nimble reactions from each of the airborne trio. The narrow alleys and ruined walls made getting clear sight difficult at first, but a small amount of swift manoeuvring would reveal three mean-looking bunnies darting back and forth in pattern amongst the rubble, seeking more clear shots at the navi and his support programs. One of them, looking a touch larger and a bit more grizzled than the other two, began uttering a series of loud squeaks and cries, and swiftly more viruses began to show themselves amongst the buildings below.

The first to show up were two hovering fishy viruses, poking their way out from under piles of soft-looking paper refuse in the upper stories of tow separate structures. apparently they'd been napping, but now the looked up towards Drago and his girls and began readying themselves to make a rush up towards them. The fish were an orangy-red colour, and left glowing trails behind them as they moved, but they didn't appear to actually contain any true fire element, if the paper they'd been resting in was any guide.

Last to join the scene were a pair of pulsebats that seemed to fly up from what looked like an open sewer grate, spiralling around each other as they gained height, Though for now they remained at the level of the buuildings, rather than climbing all the way to be level with Drago and the twins. These bats were a bluish colour, compared to versions they might have seen previously, but the seemed every bit as hostile. The duo hissed at the navi, then peeled away to either side, taking up opposite position roughly at Drago's two and ten. The older bunny squeaked something new and its ears crackled. Apparently team dragon wasn't welcome here.


-=Ground Forces=-

TuffbunnyA: 100Hp [Normal][Alley between Damaged House B and Ruined House B]
TuffbunnyB: 100Hp [Normal][Alley between Damaged House A and Ruined House A]
Tuffbunny-Ex: 120Hp [Normal][Crossroads between the Damaged and Neglected houses]
Fishy2-A: 150Hp [Normal][Upper Floor of Neglected House A]
Fishy2-B: 150Hp [Normal][Upper Floor of Neglected House B]
Pulsebat2-A: 160Hp [Normal][Flying just above the far side of Damaged House A]
Pulsebat2-B: 160Hp [Normal][Flying just above the far side of Damaged House B]

-=Eyes in the Skies=-

DragonierMan: 200HP [High Altitude][Roughly above the crossroads before the Ruined houses]
Aya.SP: 100Hp [High Altitude][Roughly above the crossroads before the Ruined houses]
Suzume.SP: 90Hp [High Altitude][Roughly above the crossroads before the Ruined houses]

-=Terrain=-

10% Missing [several small gaps, scattered at random, usually surrounded by cracked.]
30% Cracked [Points immediately surrounding missing sections]
60% Nomral [The Rest]

-=Structures=-

A rough grid of dilapidated buildings, six in total, but more exist if the battle spreads or moves. Narrow alleyways run between them at ground level,s room enough for a single target, and the buildings themselves were originally two stories tall. The ruins directly below Drago and the girls are virtually destroyed, offering only low walls on three sides, and unstable rubble inside.

the next two are in better condition, and have most of their walls still standing, though the interior floor has collapse,d leaving tall walls on each side, and a lot of debris in the middle. the back two structures are almost intact: their roofs have still fallen in, but the upper floors are solid, for now. Targets could potentially hide completely in the lower story of these structures.

Ruined House A: 200Hp [Anchored][Stonebody][A series of four person-heigh walls, and little else]
Ruined House B: 200Hp [Anchored][Stonebody][A series of four person-heigh walls, and little else]

Damaged House A: 200Hp [Anchored][Stonebody][Four tall, two-story walls, which make LoS from above difficult, but not impossible]
Damaged House B: 200Hp [Anchored][Stonebody][Four tall, two-story walls, which make LoS from above difficult, but not impossible]

Neglected House A: 200Hp [Anchored][StoneBody][Mostly intact, the upper floor is visible and counts as normal terrain, the lower floor is completely obscured.]
Neglected House B: 200Hp [Anchored][StoneBody][Mostly intact, the upper floor is visible and counts as normal terrain, the lower floor is completely obscured.]


-=Battle 4, Start!=-