Spider & Dragon

Sylk let out a sigh of relief, as the smoke cleared and the battle came to an end. A hand brushed back some of her hair that had shifted out of place, which honestly was the most that Sylk has suffered during the fight, She was honestly surprised.

"Geez, that was easier than we expected, eh Druid?" The spider chimed happily with a toothy grin. As she turned to look at her partner, her cheerful mood dropped to worry. " Holy hell, what happened?! I heard you having a bit of a struggle, but i didn't expect... this." She really didn't have the words for the situation. Sylk just frowned, realizing her attention had been too focused on her enemies.

She looked around for a moment, before an idea popped into her head. " Oh, i have an idea! We can get you fixed up pretty quick, and gives us a breather. Adrian, can you grab the subchip we bought earlier?"

" Sure, we can use the bookmark I guess. Gives us a chance to bulk you up a bit."

" So what do you say? Care for a bit of a break?"

"Oh, this? This is no big deal, dudette." Druidman said, wincing slightly as he waved his hand through the air. He knew he had to be more careful in the future, losing control like that with other Navis nearby was, at best, dangerous. Thankfully Sylk had been too focused on what she was doing to notice his lapse.

"Don't be a fool, Druidman. We should take that time to bulk up ourselves. It's not a very common opportunity." Steve scolded his Navi.

"Uh, yeah, on second thought, that might be a good idea." Druidman amended sheepishly.

" Alright Adrian, hit it!" The spider eagerly called to her operator, only moments before a light engulfed the navi causing her to vanish from the net.

((Used: Bookmark, sylk and druid battle 5 saved))

Druidman's body burst into thousands of leaves that were scattered onto the wind...

((Bookmark))

((Resume bookmark: Battle 5))

With a flash of light the spider made her entrance once more, slowly hovering to the ground suspended by invisible threads in a spectacular fashion. Very little time had past since Sylk and Druid had chosen to take a break, but Sylk couldn't help but feel energetic and fantastic after her upgrades. Her output and specs had been more than doubled and she was ready to take on anything that got in her way. Luckily for her, it had felt like they were closing in on something big ever since they started hunting in this god-forsaken underground. Pale and blind enemies aside it was pretty obvious something was up down here, with the freaky lights and even more questionable vegetation. Judging by the previous enemies, whatever caused all this wouldn't be a pushover.

As Sylk looked around a bit more, a somewhat depressing thought had dawned on her. " Ah. Adrian, we forgot to set a meeting time to return."

" Yeah, that probably would have Helped." Sylk could practically feel the face palm caused by the blunder, through the PET. " Alright, i guess we'll wait here for a bit and if Druid doesnt return in the next hour or so we can call it a day, or keep exploring. We'll decide then."

" Can't be helped I guess. "

Suddenly, a great gust of wind blew across the snowy darkness, kicking up leaves that seemed to spring up from nowhere that swirled about and coalesced into DruidMan.

Stretching his arms behind his head and giving a bit of a yawn, he stepped forward. "Huh? Sylk, you're already here? I figured I would be waiting here for you, ha ha." he said good-naturedly. "You ready to blow this popsicle stand, then, dudette?"

As druid man showed up, Sylk had been caught mid stretch herself, feeling a little stiff during her wait. She had been so anxious to get started that she needed to do something to keep her self occupied either way. As she finished up, the spider turned to face her companion. " No point wasting any time here, who knows what could be lurking around the next bend after all." While most would be cautious under those circumstances, there was a hint of excitement in Sylk's voice. She was more than ready to go toe to toe with whatever nasty things were down here.

her eye's scanned for where they had left off last time, making sure to mentally note where they had come from and what hadn't been explored yet. Of course with the eerie light getting stronger the more they had progressed it wouldn't be too hard to tell regardless, she figured. " Let's go, shall we?"

((ready for battle 5))

Druidman rubbed his hands together, "Well, with all the dragons we've been dealing with in this dungeon, there's bound to be some gnarly baddie and big ole treasure ahead, man!" he said somewhat giddily.

"Pretty sure we were heading this way, SylkLady." he said, pointing ahead and starting to explore the dark path.

((Battle 5))

((+2 Mutual FXP))

The pair of unexpected spelunkers returned to the same dark underground cavern in Sharo a short while later, both refreshed and upgraded to take on whatever it was that was causing the creeping corruption they'd been seeing signs of since they descended into a gloom. As before, all around them, broken remnants of forgotten a forgotten fortress outpost remained, choked and strangled by gnarled black roots and strangling vines that all gave off an eerie, faint glow, pulsing in slow, protracted ripples across the ground. The harsh chill of the frozen network was only slightly mitigated down here; the air was still frigid and biting, and though there was no wind or snow, the cold edge to the air was palpable.

Ahead, not far away now, they could see a larger heart to the pulsing glow, obscured by crumbled stone-work, but giving sight, just barely to distended, clasping branches that reached skyward. There were no more immediate signs of viruses, but as they picked their way forward sounds broke the darkness. Creaks and hisses, wooden groans and the scrape of branches on stone. The pulse of light made it clear that they were moving towards the source of the corrupting vines, with the patches of poisonous or dangerously cursed ground growing more prevalent. Soon it became hard to find clear pathways through the rubble; individual broken sections were more torn up now, reduced to unidentifiable chunks rather than proper wall or arch segments, and the ground itself bore scare few remnants of what might have once been the original flagstones.

Something twitched slightly to Sylk's right, but peering through the dark it looked to be, not a virus, but the root-riddled, emaciated husk of one — it might have been an Octor at one point, maybe, but now it was held fast to an overgrown section of wall, pin-cushioned by roots and the twitch that Sylk had seen had come not from the drained creature, but from the vines themselves, gripping and squeezing it as they tried to gain more than it now had to give up.

Pressing on, they began to spot more; the more organic viruses seemed to be held and drained into husks by the grasping roots, while they caught sight or one or two more of the mechanical ball viruses thoroughly torn apart by roots in their desperate quest for... whatever it was they were taking from viruses.

More movement, and DruidMan had to mind his feet as a root writhed on the ground near by, one end of it lifting up towards his ankle. More movement, from all sides; only small twitches, but increasingly around the pair. The groaning of wood and the scraping of branches grew more persistent and as the pair moved through a mostly intact archway, they came upon what must certainly be the source of this corruption. A courtyard opened, its ground up-heaved and uneven, but sinking down towards the back, where a massive black-wooded tree swayed and twisted slowly. The boughs spread up and out, black, bony fingers that clawed and scraped at the sky above while around the base, the roots began to take on that familiar sickly glow. The walls of the courtyard were covered completely in the viney growths, and much of the ground was riddled with them as well. Desiccated and decayed husks of lesser viruses were pinned to the ground and the walls, crushed and mangled as well as drained of whatever essence they possessed.

As they took this sight in, a creak and a crash from behind forced the two to move forward just that little bit quicker as more roots, more active than before, reached for them, cracking and crushing the archway and pulling it down behind them in their efforts to grasp new prey. The rumble of earth shattered the uneasy quiet far more loudly than the persistent groaning of wood and the great tree, many, many times either of their size, seemed to stretch upwards, while its foremost boughs bent forward towards them, seeking.

Black and purple wisps rose from the ground around it; what wasn't obviously poisonous looked sickly all the same, and there were few places to stand that didn't seem to be on pieces of gnarled root. As they looked at the tree, the reading came up as a foreign collection of letters. At first, anyone reading along on a screen saw it register as "ВитаяСердце.КореньКрови", but after a few seconds the individual characters stuttered and shifted, to show "VitayaSerdtse.KorenKrovi", and then, after another moment or two resolved further, translating properly into "Twisted-Heart, the Blood Root". The corrupt ground spread further from the base of its roots, almost in anticipation of a fresh meal.


-=Dark Tree=-
ВитаяСердце.КореньКрови (Twisted-Heart, the Blood Root): 600Hp [Cursed][???]

-=Determined Gardeners=-
Sylk.Exe: 500Hp [Cracked]
DruidMan.Exe: 470Hp [Cursed]

-=Court of the Fountain=-
45% Cursed

• Doubles Final Damage.
• Cannot be in Sigs.
• PanelShot: Converts attack to Self-Damage.

[Area in the north, focused around the tree]]
20% Poison

• -10 HP/action standing, -20 HP/action submerged.
• Zombie nullifies damage, heals 10 HP/action on contact.
• Cannot be in Sigs.
• PanelShot: Poison(20).

[Scattered patches on the east and west sides]
25% Cracked

• Changes to Broken when stepped on, chance to fall in when triggered.
• Burrow: Change terrain to Broken, Null 50 to burrower.
• Panel Crack attacks, >100 Damage Break/Impact/Drop attacks: Change terrain hit to Broken.
• PanelShot: Splash1.

[Scattered patches near the southern side]
10% Missing

• Permanent bottomless hole.
• Doubles dodge penalties for bad RP.
• EJO if you fall in.

[destroyed gap in the north-eastern corner]

-=Observations=-

[???] This entity is mysterious; you don't know its full details or behaviours, nor what might be affecting it. Players will automatically learn more as the fight progresses, but can also take deliberate efforts to learn more about its strengths and weaknesses.

- The tree does not appear to be negatively affected by cursed or poison terrain. It has been observed that viruses fully corrupted by the roots also enjoy this benefit.

-=Battle 5, Start!=-

"Hrm. I don't like this gnarly thing, man." Druidman remarked sideways to his arachnid companion. "It's no sort of tree that I recognize, and frankly, I'm not even sure it's a tree." he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"How about we play it safe this time around?" he said, both to Sylk and Steve.

Steve nodded to himself slightly. He thumbed through some of his support chips and pulled out a few promising candidates. "Okay Druidman, I think we should go about this two ways. First, we'll beef up your defenses, and then try to soften theirs. I don't particularly like all this negative terrain around you guys, so you should try summoning Sim to carry you above it. Her power has been growing, just as yours has." he concluded.

Druidman nodded with a slight smirk. "Got it, dude." he breathed in a deep breath to clear his mind, then, feeling a flush of warmth spread through him, called out, "Simurgh!" he held out his arms as a shower of embers burst around him and, with a single, graceful note of song, Sim's magnificent avian form came into being from the dying lights.

Sim began to flap away from Druidman, but spiraled and banked into a quick u-turn, gliding over his head, she gracefully reached down with her talons and gently sunk them into the leather armor on Druidman's shoulders, and, with a great flap and a great gust of wind, lifted Druidman off of the ground and began to carry him away. "Go crazy, Sylk-lady, I'll try to figure out exactly what we're dealing with, here." he said as he was pulled upwards and towards the sickly tree.

As Sylk carried Druidman to make a pass by the strange foliage, Steve sent Druidman some chip data. "Try to clear out the underbrush, Druidman." he said. Druidman reached into his pouch and pulled out a glass orb, with a strange red liquid sloshing around in it. His eyes widened slightly as he realized what it was, then narrowed as he understood the plan. He wheeled his arm back, and hurled it down towards the base of the tree, the orb shattering and splashing it's contents everywhere, spreading a new terrain outwards.

Druidman held his left forearm outwards, and tendrills of wood grew outwards and wove themselves together into a medium sized sheild, which Druidman tried to keep angled towards this dark heart of the forest in front of him.



*.)Resolute Steel Force: Passive Hardbody
1.)Summon Support Program: Simurgh.SP
2.)Equip SP
---
S1.)Arial movement towards Blood Root.
---
3.) LavaSeedDamage: 10 + Small Lava Terrain Change / Medium Lava Terrain Change
Accuracy: A
Description: Lob a seed that create a medium Lava area. Only a small area if it hits an opponent.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: E: 10 + Small Lava Terrain Change / Medium Lava Terrain Change (Acc: A) to Blood Root.
---
S*.)Gust LavaSeed to base of Blood Root.
---
4.) Guard2Effect: (1 Hit Shield) + (Reflect(up to 120 + Piercing + Line Attack): On Hit)
Accuracy: S
Description: Generates a 1-Hit Shield upon activation. When this shield blocks one hit from a non-Break attack, it responds with a hyper-fast damage ray.
Duration: Until broken or overridden.
Element: Null
Special: Negated by Break. Ignores Impact.
Special: Reflect: Damage returned is equal to the damage of the attack blocked or the damage cap listed, whichever comes first. Reflect is not subject to negation by Impact.
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: C: (1 Hit Shield) + (Reflect(up to 120 + Piercing + Line Attack): On Hit) (Acc: S) to self.
5.)Prepped Dodge.
6.)Prepped Dodge.

Sylk's eyes traced across the desecrated landscape, the place where all this corruption had seemingly started, displeased with the situation they were now in.

"I don't play things safe, you know?" She replied, before a thought crossed her mind and she changed her choice of words immediately. "Well, not counting my usual defenses. I'm already prepared for anything." She added, smugly.

The spider rolled her shoulders as she thought about their situation. Sylk caught the gruesome sight of a corrupted husk of virus out of the corner of her eye she couldn't help but want to get her defenses up immediately. Her already tough body began to heat up, shades of read slowly starting to creep across it, as draconic scales began to sprout from her exoskeleton.

Feeling a little safer, Sylk turned her attention back towards the grotesque tree. While the thought of setting the whole area ablaze was a fun thought, she couldn't help but feel some sympathy for poor Druidman who would get drowned in the flames. While he seemed to be tough she wasn't exactly a slouch when it came to destroying everything around her. Collateral damage was a possibility. There was one idea however that came to mind. One that could be fine to try.

"Adrian my dear, have you ever seen a tree get split by lightning? Forget about never striking twice, i'm going to make it strike 12 times tonight."

Sylk had been preparing the battlefield with her threads discretely since they had arrived and now was the perfect time to strike. Electricity arced in the air as it crackled between threads. A mass of threads had slowly encroached on the trees location, and with a sly grin, sylk snapped her fingers calling down a rain of lightning bolts.

While it had taken a bit of time to prepare, Sylk was more than pleased with her attack. Briefly she wondered if it was over kill, but it quickly perished as she decided there was no such thing in a situation like this. Which left her asking what to do next. It seemed that while she had been busy Druid had not only found a chance to get out of her line of fire, but set up the perfect chance for her next assault. There was only one thing left to do.

Burn. It. Down.

With the lava seed that Druidman created, Sylk knew exactly how to proceed. Adrian seemed to be on the same page as she slotted in the chip and Sylk began to work her magic. Pools of lava began to bubble up from the ground before rising up violently and consuming the field in a torrent of flames, washing over everything. She was more than thankful that druid had taken to the skies, to save Sylk from the guilt that might ensue later.

Sylk was certain this had dealt a strong blow to this monstrosity, but decided perhaps one more plan couldn't hurt. A faint green glow surround her body as she waited to see what happened next, staying aware of her surroundings as she looked on.

As the black-wooded entity twisted and swayed in front of them, DruidMan and Sylk both realised that there was a potentially dangerous fight to be had. The spider woman reinforced her already resilient exoskeleton with and even harder, and heavier set of red scales. The cracked ground under her feet creaked in protest, but it held for now. DruidMan, meanwhile, called upon his winged ally and took to the air, moving to get a better look at the tree from the air, though as he approached, he would swiftly realise that staying out of the way of this ancient tree's gnarled, whipping branches was going to be harder than it seemed.

From a little higher up, he could see the tree pulse with the heart-beat glow that suffused its reaching root systems, and as it seemed to draw itself up to a moor looming and impressive stance, a series of knotted bark-like growths spiralled across its already warped trunk, covering the black wood completely in something that looked more rotten and grey. As it stretched, however, he also felt an extremely unpleasant emanation rolling off the tree; he could almost taste it in the air, so befouled and cloying was the sense. If not for Simurgh holding him aloft, he might have reeled drunkenly as a nauseating wave of weakness assailed his mind and body. The tree seemed to grow stronger, despite the way DruidMan's support program buffeted and scoured at the newly formed bark as she flew.

Down below, Sylk was planning to decimate the corrupted plant with an all out assault, now that she was well defended. With everything lined up and all of her offence capabilities as buffed up as she could manage, she triggered her intricate weave of webbing and struck. As the ground around the tree attempted to metalicise itself, and augment her strike, the ripple of metal panels was immediately chased by another pulse of dark purple wisps; the panels were upturned by more corrupted roots and by the time her lighting strikes were falling, the roots around the tree were as cursed and darkened as ever, with only a slim ring of metal remaining, at the outer edges of her transformed area.

The first bolts struck inwards anyway, jolting through branches and against the trunk of the tree, and the greyish bark was immediately rent away. As it was burst apart by Sylk's electricity, however, something unsettling revealed itself underneath. The dark black wood practically shone with a sickly glow and Sylk's remaining storm of attacks skittered off and around it, cascading to the ground in so many sparks that didn't seem to phase the corrupted tree at all. As the remainder of her lighting spent itself, Sylk felt her mind assaulted by a cloying psychic reverberation, similar to the one DruidMan had just experienced, and she felt her own strength sapped away as the trees presence seemed to swell even further. It was growing stronger; so much stronger.

Druidman had managed to shake off the mental assault enough to continue his own stratagem, now moving to burn the tree instead. He launched his small seed of lava down at the base of the entity below him, and was rewarded with the bright glow of magma splashing out and around the base of the plan for a few moments. The lava itself seemed to have slid of the glowing trunk of the tree without effect, but at least the ground beneath it was changing. The moment of victory was short-lived, however. The lava barely had time to settle or spread before more blackened tendrils began to rise up from it, and the red glow drained away to leave scorched, cursed earth, overrun by more of the writhing roots.

Sylk was following the same plan with the wave of lava she sent after it, attempting to draw as much of the remaining strength from the small pool as she could to further fuel the chip, and though the flood of magma crashed against the tree and circled around it, the attack seemed to lack any impact; not so much as a scorch remained on the warped bole of their target. Their struggles to make impact tangibly seemed to draw the hope from the air and the darkness crept in, growing deeper around the dull, slow pulse of the tree's heart-beat. Its branches moved with sudden vicious mtions int hat moment, lashing out in all directions. Sylk had to dart to one side to avoid a heavy branch that slammed out at her; the panel beneath her feet crumbled and she barely managed to scramble to safety, weighed down by her heavy defence. Her decoy drew the ire of another heavy branch, and was too busy taunting the dark entity to avoid being smashed into data particles; better it than anyone else, though.

Up above, DruidMan and Simurgh weren't exempt either, as a barrage of reaching, clawing branches whipped up and raked at them both, attempting to bat them out of the sky. Aided by his support program, DruidMan was able to twist away from the slashing branches, but Simurgh herself caught a nasty gash in the process, causing them both to wobble in the air for a moment.

DruidMan pulled out his shield to protect them both a little better, while Sylk prepared another trap for future attacks in the hope of catching the thing out while it was attacking, but even as the tree itself settled back again into its writhing, swaying rhythm, something moved in the north. Vines and roots on the wall above the missing patch shifted and pulsed, and then Sylk saw what was really happening. One of the thick, twisted roots wasn't a root at all. It was the emaciated, withered length of a Bluegon, restrained, drained and shrunken yet unmistakable now that she looked at it. The body was so wrung out it could be missed for a particularly thick branch, but the head was obvious now. Especially since it was moving. The eyes were blind and roots pierces many places through its skull, but as the vines holding it flexed, the head lifted up and a pained hiss escaped. A moment later, a blast of frost launched upwards, aimed directly at DruidMan and his SP.

DruidMan had enough time to turn himself to the sudden attack, though not enough to dodge clear of it. The best he could do was put his shield between the withered up creature and himself, absorbing the frigid blast as it washed over him and curled around. the shield responded, sending an arcing bolt back down to strike the creature in return. It roared weakly and slumped for a moment, but DruidMan had a bigger problem. Carrying him, Simurgh shuddered and the frost led to a swift lock-up. It was too much for the SP to endure and a moment later, DruidMan felt himself free-falling towards the upraised branches of the tree below.

He crashed through the thinned branches and managed to land safely, more or less, right by the base of the shifting wood. He was unharmed for now, but the ground was dark and sapping, and the roots covering it began to grope and twitch at him, attempting to ensnare his feet. This close, he could get an impression of just how large this tree had grown, for however long it had fed down here in the depths.

The withered up Bluegon was forced up again, still alive after the returned blast it had received, though barely. It focused on Sylk instead and tried to breath a wall of frost in her direction instead. Fortunately for the spider-lady, this second attack was far less accurate, and the head of the trapped virus slumped down again after it failed. The smooth, almost impervious-seeming shine faded from the tree as the duo gathered themselves and it began to sway with a more fluid vigour instead. What next? There had to be something that would work...


-=Dark Tree=-
ВитаяСердце.КореньКрови (Twisted-Heart, the Blood Root): 600Hp [Cursed][Strengthen: 450][SteelBody: Expired][Folder-Lock][Self-Slow1][???]

Withered Bluegon2Bluegon2 (Bluegon)

Bluegons do not appear before Battle 6. They are extremely territorial among their own kind, so only one HoleDragon can appear per battle. Because they live among holes, they cannot appear without at least 5% Missing terrain.

Area: Sharo

HP: 290
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Aqua + Wide Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Exhales a wide stream of ice breath.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 70 Aqua + Knockback + Ground Attack
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Creates a wave of ice water that crashes into an enemy.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): WaterStream (Rare), IceDragon2 (Rare), Zenny
Special: As this virus is always in a hole, it is immune to all Ground attacks.
Special: While this virus will never leave holes, it may still swerve to avoid attacks.
Special: This virus can use an action to duck inside its hole. This counts as a dodge. It may reemerge from that same hole, or a different hole on the battlefield, as a free action afterward.: 40Hp [Bound to the wall above Missing]

-=Determined Gardeners=-
Sylk.Exe: 500Hp [Cracked][HardBody][10Hp Fire StoneBody Casing][Slow][Anti-Wood Trap]
DruidMan.Exe: 470Hp [Cursed][Directly behind Twisted-Heart][HardBody]
Simurgh: EJO

-=Court of the Fountain=-
35% Cursed

• Doubles Final Damage.
• Cannot be in Sigs.
• PanelShot: Converts attack to Self-Damage.

[Area in the north, focused around the tree]]
15% Poison

• -10 HP/action standing, -20 HP/action submerged.
• Zombie nullifies damage, heals 10 HP/action on contact.
• Cannot be in Sigs.
• PanelShot: Poison(20).

[Scattered patches on the east and west sides]
15% Cracked

• Changes to Broken when stepped on, chance to fall in when triggered.
• Burrow: Change terrain to Broken, Null 50 to burrower.
• Panel Crack attacks, >100 Damage Break/Impact/Drop attacks: Change terrain hit to Broken.
• PanelShot: Splash1.

[Scattered patches near the southern side]
20% Metal

• Cannot be Broken or Cracked except with Geddon/PanelShot, cannot be Burrowed into.
• Elec attacks: +100% Source Damage.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Cracked.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Furnace.
• PanelShot: Imbue Elec + Break.

[Thin ring around the tree, the centre of which has been replaced]
10% Missing

• Permanent bottomless hole.
• Doubles dodge penalties for bad RP.
• EJO if you fall in.

[destroyed gap in the north-eastern corner]
5% Broken

• Not bottomless.
• Reverts to Normal after a time, if no one is inside.
• Doubles dodge penalties for bad RP.
• 1-4 Movements actions to climb back out depending on method.

[Patch just beside Sylk]

-=Observations=-

[???] This entity is mysterious; you don't know its full details or behaviours, nor what might be affecting it. Players will automatically learn more as the fight progresses, but can also take deliberate efforts to learn more about its strengths and weaknesses.

The tree does not appear to be negatively affected by cursed or poison terrain. It has been observed that viruses fully corrupted by the roots also enjoy this benefit.

Appears immobile, but its roots and branches reach surprisingly far.

Can't really dodge, but appears capable of raising strong defences

Thus far, attacks have not had any elemental alignment.

Strengthens itself and weakens foes.

Spreads its cursed ground and seems to respond swiftly to attempts to change it.

Druidman came crashing towards the ground, as Sim burst into embers raining down around him. Tucking and rolling into the fall, he managed to luckily remain mostly unhurt, but he was in dangerous proximity of the dark tree. Anger flushed through him, the loss of Simurgh, though reparable, was no less painful; she was innocent, after all.

"Okay, dude, give me some firepower." Druidman asked Steve tersely.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Druidman, I'd feel more comfortable if you backed off and regrouped with Sylk." Steve replied, trying to come up with a new tactic. This tree was proving to be a tough nut to crack.

"No way, man! I'm here, no fear, let it deal with it!" Druidman insisted. "I'll get clear after."

Though he had his doubts, Steve couldn't deny the tactical advantage of being right next to the target, so he slotted in some powerful melee range chips. "Okay Druidman, but don't linger. Remember; if you're in range, Sylk most likely can't unleash her full arsenal."

Druidman nodded and began to channel the earthen energy of the first chip into his fist. It began to glow, and debris and dust began to swirl around it, amplifying it's size by several degrees. With a slight hop forward, snapping his forearm into the direction of the tree, slightly bummed that the stone covering would mean he wouldn't have the satisfaction of feeling his fist sink into the wood.

As the pieces of broken stone fell away, Druidman held his arms down, elbows in towards his hips, puffed out his chest, and focused his anger outwards. His torso began to shudder slightly as the ground around him began to heat up, even the very air swirling around him began to shimmer, as if it were a summer horizon. With one last moment of focus, everything around him exploded into a fireball of rage.

But that was enough for Druidman. Now that he had blown some steam, he was ready to get outta dodge. As he began to run around the tree and towards his spider siren partner, he had to quickly alter his path, Sylk looked like she was firing something big at the tree, and Druidman did a quick twirl and spiral on his route to get out of her way.

Now closer to Sylk, Druidman squatted down and studied his opponent for a moment. If this next assault didn't work, they would need to seriously rethink their strategy.

Not wanting to remain idle for too long, however, Druidman pulled up his gauntlet and saw the familiar twist of leaves that could only mean that another salvo of fiery projectiles weren't far behind. He gave his arm an almost casual sweep, hoping that the extra rockets might take out anything that he had missed emerge from nearby.

"Okay, I'm not too sure about this last chip, Druidman." Steve began to explain. "It seems powerful, but I think it can whiff big time, too. Be careful."

"Got it, duder." Druidman said, channeling this new chip. He paused. "Far out, man, it DOES feel weird!" he said, holding up the palm of his hand, he looked as the space around his fingers began to fade, light itself seemed to be collapsing inward onto itself, forming a blob of, not so much darkness, but more of the lack of light. Shrugging, he threw it with all his might back at the tree he had just ran from.

Chucking slightly, Steve added. "This is the second time you've come falling out of the sky with Sylk nearby. She might think you have a problem, Druidman."

Druidman simply shrugged. The first time hadn't been all that bad, after all.



1.) GolemHit2Damage: 190 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: A fist of stone falls from the sky to smash an enemy, and create a shock wave that hits two nearby enemies. The area affected by the fist becomes Cracked terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C: 190 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide Attack (Acc: C) to Blood Root.
2.) Burner2Damage: 130 + Nova 2
Accuracy: B
Description: The area around the user spontaneously combusts, causing anything nearby to be scorched with fire.
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: 130 + Nova 2 (Acc: B) to Blood Root.
3.)Dodge away/move towards Sylk.
4.)Learn/Study? Blood Root.
5.) Magnum1Damage: 120 + Break + Panel Break x 3 Targets
Accuracy: A
Description: A triple barreled gun that blasts through defenses and terrain alike. Rare
Duration: Once
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C: 120 + Break + Panel Break x 3 Targets (Acc: A) to Blood Root/whatever else/whatever else.
6.) VortexDamage: 10 + Blast 1 + Gravity Crush 200 + Object Erasure
Accuracy: C
Description: Throws a gravity bomb that crushes weak enemies, and deals a small amount of damage to stronger enemies. Rare
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua
Special: Gravity Crush: Instantly defeats any target with HP at or below the numeric value. Undershirt will not prevent this effect from working. If the target would survive Gravity Crush damage, they instead only take the base 10 Aqua damage.
Special: Object Erasure: Instantly destroys Objects on contact.
Trader Rank: B: 10 + Blast 1 + Gravity Crush 200 + Object Erasure (Acc: C) to Blood Root.

"Are you freaking kidding me?!"

Sylk was furious as this monstrosity of a tree just shrugged off her barrage of attacks like it was nothing, completely wasting her time and effort in the process. This would not stand. Sylk's usually confidence wavered and was replaced with a strong desire to see this creature burnt down to ashes in any way possible, all to satisfy her anger.

"Adrian! We're gonna crush this affront to nature! Give me some fire power and something to keep it from protecting itself again!"

Adrian let out a soft sigh, unsurprised by her navi's reactions. It was true that not many enemies could withstand Sylk's attacks but Adrian felt like this was taking it a bit too far. Reluctantly she complied, but added a few extra chips into the request f her own accord.

"Use these first. A little extra protection couldn't hurt, and maybe you can take something interesting from an enemy this tough."

"Fine, whatever. Just hurry it up, ok?"

As the two conversed Sylk had begun to set up a clone for more distractions and reconnaissance purposes. Stepping out from her shadow the decoy moved swiftly towards the tree as it kept a close eye on it's movements and actions, trying to analyze it for the real navi.

The spider's impatience was evident as she quickly summoned a beehive into one of her open hands, ready to shield her from any incoming surprises. It wasn't as durable as her temporary scales, but it had it's own charms to its benefit. Shortly after, her adorable pet bandcoon popped out from the ground. With a squeak and a nod it assured it's master that it was ready to work, and Sylk directed her hand over to the massive tree. The bandcoon hesitated for a moment as it took in the trees figure, before resolving itself and taking off towards the target to steal something good for its master.

Sylk reserved the use of one of the following chips, keeping the MoonRay as a trump card if it looked like the tree was going to pull another trick like it had the previous turn. Between her and the clone she kept a close watch, ready to remove any protection it decided to grant itself this time around the moment it happened.

With her plan swinging into motion, all she had to do now was strike down her foe. Sylk snapped her fingers, and from among the various destroyed panels around the field, two of her newest pets were called to aide her. Making it's appearance first was her trusty new blugon, letting out a roar of intimidation as it entered the battlefield. With a deep breath it , it proceeded to launch multiple volleys of it's frozen blast attacks toward both the tree and the sickly looking excuse of a blugon that still remained. Following up this attack was the Blackmare virus, quickly teleporting towards the tree and slashing away at it's core and accompanying vines.

The combined assault of her two virus pets gave Sylk more than enough time to prepare one last strike as she gathered up a swirling torrent of water from the surrounding area, only to have it suddenly surge forth and crash into the tree full force.

Deep in the frigid gloom, lit only by the oppressive pulse of the tree's sickly purple glow, both DuridMan and Sylk had some frustrations to vent at being stymied by the ominous entity before them. Piece by piece its dark, rough bark crept back over the tree's trunk, while waves of nauseating energy rolled off it, sapping away at each of their strength every moment they remained in the fight with it. Sylk added a shield to her defences and called on her most favoured ally to try to nab something useful, while DruidMan pushed through the dizzying weakness to strike with a heavy-duty crushing fist against their enemy.

The blow landed, though with less force and strength than he would have hoped; his own weakened state aside, far from being hindered by the corrupted, cursed ground beneath it, the dark tree seemed more resilient for it; his fist shredded through its bark layer with ease, but the impact only sent a shudder and a handful of cracks and splinters through its core wood. As the ground cracked beneath the tree, its roots writhed and twisted, before a wash of pale purple spread outwards from beneath the entity, refortifying the ground around it for a broad distance with more of its curse. Sylk's bandcoon, meanwhile, sought an opening to swipe some kind of data, but without wanting to get too close to the vampiric monstrosity, it leapt up and snagged one of the broken branches that came free under DruidMan's first assault, before racing back to Sylk and presenting her with a sizeable black, twisted twig. She could analyse exactly what it was later.

The wave of sickening weakness washed over Sylk as well, just as she receive this small prize, and a moment of staggering threw off her attempts to dodge as the withered Bluegon lurched its head in her direction and launched another pained blast of ice towards her, while more black roots held and guided its body. Some of them were out through its eyes now and what remained of the virus roared weakly after the blase. For Sylk, though she couldn't avoid it, her shield met the attack before it could do her scales a mischief, and a swarm of irate bees emerged in protest, crossing the space to sting and harass what they could of the tortured virus. With a last protesting sigh it fell still, and the roots restraining it squeezed harder, draining and crumpling its body into a mangled husk. Across the courtyard, something else twitched, as a mass of roots revealed the movement of something that might have once been a Shrimpy of some sort, and not too far from it, a walrus virus, equally pierced and covered in roots, and both looking variously crushed and emaciated. The roots covering and penetrating them started to manipulate their bodies roughly.

DruidMan was prepared to show his target some real cleansing fire up close, but just as he burst into flames, Twised-Heart pulsed with a deeper, darker shadow and its form seemed to waver, blending with the gloom more thoroughly. DuidMan found his attack connecting with nothing at all, as his assault blew right through the shadow of the tree, but Sylk had been trying to wait for just such a trick; when it phased out, she struck. Her moonray caused a pale, yet still brilliant beam of light, compared to the surrounding shadows, and though it, too lanced through the dark image of the tree, its glow seared away the wispy trails of darkness, and when it passed, the simple black wood of the tree's original form was left behind, unprotected. It writhed and swayed, branches lashing angrily, before beginning to flail and thrash all about itself, hammering the ground around DruidMan in particular with vicious smashes, any one of which might surely have dealt him severe harm, if the now-calmer navi hadn't dodged and moved, crossing back towards Sylk with a quick duck and weave that kept him away from the crushing strikes.

The sense of presence pulsed again, and the pair of navis felt further threads of cloying weakness assault each of their bodies and minds, while the two freshly awakened viruses tried to pin them down. The walrus virus released a pair of tusk attacks, heralded by a wracked bellow; it seemed to be mostly aiming for Sylk's clone, however, with one tusk striking the decoy, while the other pierced into the ground a short way from DruidMan as he took position by his ally. The shrimp virus seemed to get squeezed roughly, before a bubble blast fired out at them; DruidMan caught the brunt of this one, though as it scattered and spread, Sylk also had to weather the splashing fall-off, and her heavy scales hissed, their heat quenched. The corrupted ground beneath them seemed to pulsed as they took damage, amplifying it in a draining way, but fortunately for both of them, their natural defences reduced the damage from the new additions substantially, negating the effect, more or less.

While Sylk began to summon more of her allies to tear into the exposed wood of their foe, DruidMan remained still, carefully taking some time to observe their opponent and hopefully gain some more insight into its behaviour. One thing was for certain, now that he looked closely; as much as it could alternate two very different forms of defence, it couldn't do so instantly or indefinitely; it looked like they had successfully created a window to attack it with impunity now, and with luck it might last a little while, after Sylk stripped off its shadow early. The other thing he was able to learn was that the cursed ground wasn't just failing to affect it badly; it was indeed helping the tree's resilience. It seemed to act for it almost in the way that holy terrain would for a normal, healthy creature. It might be possible that such radiant terrain, in turn, would be hazardous for such a dark and twisted entity. The difficulty was that it seemed very determined to spread its curse, and to keep itself supported by it. Thus far, most attempts they'd made to alter the terrain had been met with a swift, almost reactive change back again, though there had to be a limit on how rapidly it could re-establish its preferred ground.

DruidMan's musing were cut short by a sudden forward explosion of reaching branches. In the middle of the smaller flails, however, a more sinister attack struck. DruidMan felt himself driven harshly back to the ground on his back, as a thick, sharp spike of black wood drove itself into his shoulder; he felt corruption flowing from it, locking up his body badly while it pinned him to the ground.

Sylk seized on the opportunity while the tree was focused on her ally; each of her summons came on in turn, the first blasting the tree, as well as the two recently activated viruses with blasts that froze the lesser, withered creatures solid and scored a substantial blow against their main target. It was followed by her darker summon, which sliced into the thick trunk of the tree and left a deep, torn-open rent across it. The jagged edges leaked a dark, reddish-purple sap, with scatterings of data trails breaking away at the edges. The tree itself reared back and more upright, in a manner of speaking, while many of its spindly, black branches raked at the air above in something that might have been a gesture of pain.

At that moment, DruidMan felt a dark pulse, and suddenly the feeling of corruption spreading through him reversed and became an excruciating sensation of draining and suction. The wooden spike pinning him down didn't move, but he could feel his essence being drained by the tree, and the images of some of the other captured viruses he'd seen would probably be forefront in his mind, at least for a moment. A sickly purple toxin began to leech into the ground from the point where the wooden spike had dug in, and in moment both DruidMan and Sylk were surrounded by a broad expanse of thick, sticky poisonous fluid that wafted corrosive, cloying vapours into the air around them. They both fought back, aiming to end the fight before it went any further; DruidMan managed to raise his arm and release a round of fiery projectiles, but weakened as he was the only rocket that reached the tree itself seemed to sputter out and bump harmlessly off its wood without detonating; he'd hit the tree alright, ut his efforts had just had no strength behind them by the time it got there.

Sylk fared better; not quite as badly wakened as DruidMan, her final attack struck home against the bole of the tree and blasted it with another wood-splintering strike. It swayed, twisting and writhing more slowly now; they had done it some serious damage this time, and it couldn't be too far from beaten. A last attack that didn't require any real strength on his part, saw DruidMan hurl an unusual blob of void-like energy. It reached the distance and lodged into the gaping tear across its trunk, where a sucking sound announced its detonation. The tree shuddered and convulsed briefly, parts of it seeming to draw in as something that might have been a wood shriek ripped free of it, but after a few moments the vortex faded again and the tree sagged, enduring the attempt. It seemed they were close, but not quite close enough.

-=Dark Tree=-
ВитаяСердце.КореньКрови (Twisted-Heart, the Blood Root): 295Hp [Cursed][Strengthen: 210][Folder-Lock][Self-Slow2][???]

Withered Bluegon2Bluegon2 (Bluegon)

Bluegons do not appear before Battle 6. They are extremely territorial among their own kind, so only one HoleDragon can appear per battle. Because they live among holes, they cannot appear without at least 5% Missing terrain.

Area: Sharo

HP: 290
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Aqua + Wide Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Exhales a wide stream of ice breath.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 70 Aqua + Knockback + Ground Attack
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Creates a wave of ice water that crashes into an enemy.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): WaterStream (Rare), IceDragon2 (Rare), Zenny
Special: As this virus is always in a hole, it is immune to all Ground attacks.
Special: While this virus will never leave holes, it may still swerve to avoid attacks.
Special: This virus can use an action to duck inside its hole. This counts as a dodge. It may reemerge from that same hole, or a different hole on the battlefield, as a free action afterward.: DELETED
Withered Shrimpy2Shrimpy2 (Shrimpy)

Shrimpy viruses are able to move between attacks as a free action, however dodging still costs them an action. They must pause movement to attack. Shrimpy viruses may move over fragile panel types without damaging them, such as moving over Cracked panels without breaking them. Shrimpy viruses cannot be forcibly submerged or smashed through fragile panels, even if thrown. They can submerge of their own free will, however.

Area: Yoka, Beach, Sharo

HP: 180
Attack Damage/Effect: 45 Aqua + Spread 2
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Bub-V
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Bubble-V, Zenny
Special: ShadowShoes: DELETED
Withered WallandWalland (Walla)

TwinFangs can actually block attacks. This is very useful to the Walla, as they do not move or dodge once battle begins.

Area: Yoka, Beach, Sharo

HP: 160
Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Null x 2 Targets
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Opens mouth to launch a pair of steel spikes at the enemy. The spikes can block or deflect incoming attacks, and they cannot strike the same target twice.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): TwinFang2, Zenny: DELETED

-=Determined Gardeners=-
Sylk.Exe: 445Hp [Poison][HardBody][Fire Casing Quenched!][Anti-Wood Trap][In Front of Twisted-Heart]
DruidMan.Exe: 375Hp [Poiosn][HardBody][In Front of Twisted-Heart][Hold!][Freeze!]
Simurgh: EJO

-=Court of the Fountain=-
30% Cursed

• Doubles Final Damage.
• Cannot be in Sigs.
• PanelShot: Converts attack to Self-Damage.

[Area in the north, focused around the tree]
35% Poison

• -10 HP/action standing, -20 HP/action submerged.
• Zombie nullifies damage, heals 10 HP/action on contact.
• Cannot be in Sigs.
• PanelShot: Poison(20).

[Majority of the mid-section]
10% Cracked

• Changes to Broken when stepped on, chance to fall in when triggered.
• Burrow: Change terrain to Broken, Null 50 to burrower.
• Panel Crack attacks, >100 Damage Break/Impact/Drop attacks: Change terrain hit to Broken.
• PanelShot: Splash1.

[Scattered patches near the southern side]
15% Metal

• Cannot be Broken or Cracked except with Geddon/PanelShot, cannot be Burrowed into.
• Elec attacks: +100% Source Damage.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Cracked.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Furnace.
• PanelShot: Imbue Elec + Break.

[Thin crescent around the back of the tree]
10% Missing

• Permanent bottomless hole.
• Doubles dodge penalties for bad RP.
• EJO if you fall in.

[destroyed gap in the north-eastern corner]

-=Observations=-

[???] This entity is mysterious; you don't know its full details or behaviours, nor what might be affecting it. Players will automatically learn more as the fight progresses, but can also take deliberate efforts to learn more about its strengths and weaknesses.

The tree does not appear to be negatively affected by cursed or poison terrain. It has been observed that viruses fully corrupted by the roots also enjoy this benefit.

Cannot move, but can reach the full courtyard and a decent distance above itself.

Utilises both SteelBody and Shadow defences alternately, and consistently refreshes its casing-like bark

Does not utilise any element itself, but seems to have a variety of restrained and infested viruses that it can call to a semblance of life, around the courtyard.

Strengthens itself and weakens foes.

Utilises draining attacks to restore its own health.

Upon dealing damage, it appears that Cursed Ground seems to act like Holy terrain for it, reducing its damage taken. It regularly spreads this curse around, and tries to keep the ground beneath it cursed as much as possible.

Can also spread poisoned ground under its enemies.

"Nnurrghhh..." Druidman lay prone on the ground, reeling and wincing from the latest bout of sickly miasma. His eyes drifted over to his shoulder, still with the branch protruding from it. Strangely, a smile broke across his face and a low chuckle began to escape him.

"Uh, Druidman, are you alright?" Steve said worriedly "Have you been knocked even sillier than usual?"

"No way, dude. I've got this, man." Druidman said "Watch!" and, with a strained groan, reached up and wrapped his hand around the branch and began to chant serenely, his body began to loosen and relax as a wave of calm warmth washed over him, and his eyes started to glow in a pale pink hue. "Time for a switchback, dude." Druidman said as small roots began to flow outwards from his hand and around the branch, "SANCTIFIED RECOVERY FORCE!!" and began to reverse the draining forces in the branch, pulling strength back into Druidman.

Breathing heavily, Druidman prepared himself, and, with a grit of teeth and a mighty heave, wrenched the branch free "DUDE." he sputtered as he got himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He began to chant again, and as he did so, he stomped on the end of the branch, breaking off a portion of it, and, eyes cooling to a shade of palest blue, charged the newfound 'club' with chilling, icy mist. "SHIVERING FROST FORCE!!!" he screamed as he hurled the icy branch back at corrupt central mass, blasting an arctic coating all over.

"I've think I've got it, Sylk-lady" Druidman panted. "Let's keep changing the ground, keep it preoccupied with corrupting the terrain, rather than corrupting US. Watch!" he said as he began to chant once more, allowing his eyes to shift back to their original green as the graceful words escaped his lips, "RAMPANT GROWTH FORCE!" he barked, and a new wave of fresh greenery swept outwards from him, determined to replace the rapidly decaying surrounding no matter the cost.

Druidman now began to run clear of the battle, knowing full well by now how destructive his partner was, and not wanting to be caught in the cross fire again, he positioned himself behind and to the side of Sylk, so that she could fire on the gnarled black mass with impunity.

"Don't let it react! PULSING FLOOD FORCE!!!" he shouted, chanting only the absolute bare minimum as he stomped his foot onto the ground, causing a wellspring to form, sweeping a new torrential tide of water forwards, clearing away the loose debris and branches of the battle with it, and carving a new stream into the ground behind it. "Suck on that, blood-dude." he defiantly bellowed.



*.)Resolute Steel Force: Passive HardBody
1.)Sanctified Recovery Force: 60WoodDrain to Twisted-Heart, Status Cure to DruidMan.(Freeze)
2.)Break branch thingy. (Break Hold)
3.)Shivering Frost Force: 45Wood + 45Aqua + Freeze to Twisted-Heart. Small Ice Terrain Change
4.)Rampant Growth Force: Medium Grass Terrain Change
5.)Move away from Twisted-Heart.
6.)Pulsing Flood Force: (10Aqua + 5Wood)x6, Medium Sea Terrain Change (Line configuration, intersecting Twisted-Heart)

As Sylk noticed that once more the tree managed to survive a brutal beating, she couldn't help but wonder if it was the disgusting terrain at fault. It seemed to be creating so much of it there had to be some kind of benefit right? As she tried to figure out the best course of action the spider saw DruidMan trapped among the branches of the tree and instinctively moved to distract it. If it was always so caught up in controlling the battlefield, maybe she could overwhelm it in order to confused or slow it down.

As Sylk had another Decoy run distraction an interference, the spider quickly spread her webs influence out all around the tree again. The threads weaved their way into the trees domain, aiming to trip up it's branches and wipe out the disgusting corrupted growth it was causing. Of course she couldn't stop there. Sylk continued to prepare and keep control the field. If the tree tried to fight back for mastery of the terrain she was going to keep attacking with her webs for as long as she could hold out.

Sylk knew she wouldn't get anywhere just trying to fight a battle of territory, however. She had to hit it hard while it's attention was diverted. In one of her free hands, the spider had called forth a Littleboiler and with a heave Sylk chucked it near the tree to get it within blast radius for when she set it off.

it was around this point when Sylk realized that DruidMan may have had a similar idea as her, hearing his voice call out with a plan. " Alright, you keep distracting it and I'm going to hit it with everything I have then!" A devilish grin formed on her lips as her actions switched to a full offensive.

As DruidMan activated his Rampant Growth, Sylk opted to capitalize on the terrain by equipping herself with the trusty Magnum2. She took aim at the tree and fired the fired the first volley straight into it's main body. Shortly after a second shot rang out veering just off to the side. Her target this time was the LittleBoiler. The wooden kettle was sure to heat up quickly from the attack and the resulting explosion was sure to be impressive, Sylk mused.

It would still take a bit of time for the ticking time bomb of an attack to go off, so Sylk could only keep hammering the Tree with as much force as possible. She had no chance of dragging the tree to her with her AirStorm but it's powerful tornados were all she needed as they merged together into one big storm converging on the tree itself.

As the storm grew and raged, the sky itself seemed to grow dark as the spider raised a clawed hand into the air. A rumbling could be heard, followed by a few flashes of light. A crackle. A boom! From within the storm a bolt of electricity crashed down upon the tree, followed by 4 more tiny consecutive bolts all directed towards the tree itself by sylks metallic webs. Even if it was assisted, Sylk was going to prove that lightning could strike more than once.

Now all that was left was to wait for the LittleBoiler to finish the tree off, if it survived.

The gloom, darkness and freezing cold of a ruined cavern still pressed relentlessly inward no the pair of navis fighting in its heart, but as the icy breeze curled through and the twisted tree before them pulsed with malignant energy, the sapping drain on their strength didn't seem to be getting worse; if anything, their foe had peaked and the pair were beginning to get used to its crushing presence, at least enough to see its weaknesses and put together a more considered plan of attack.

Even as the next wave of mental assault rolled over both of them, washing out from the tree in beats, Sylk spread her webbing and changed the ground beneath their cursed foe to something else. As they both suspected, the tree twisted and arched its trunk, responding immediately with a fresh wave of cursed roots, taking over a large amount of the freshly turned panels until they glowed again with its sickly roots. While DruidMan freed himself from its pinning hold, he was able to push back some of the corruption, though without the strength he might normally be accustomed to. It was enough to break him loose, however, and his counter-offensive caused large chunks of the tree's protective black bark to flake and fall away.

Sylk followed up her first shift with another, this time spreading unyielding metal panels under their target; again, it responded swiftly, though this time the amount of ground it covered with its darkening curse only crept out a small way from its trunk. Perhaps they had found its limit, finally?

As the pair of navis called back and forth, focused on the writhing branches before them, a wet chuckle filtered through the edges of the ruins just to one side. Without warning, two swirling vortices, like they'd seen numerous of already, appeared, spinning within two of the panels nearby; one a short way in front of DruidMan, and the other closer to the tree itself. A Void lurked behind one corner of the ruined courtyard, looking in at them, as though seeking to exploit their distracted, fraught position.

Despite this newcomer threatening to mess with their plans, DruidMan acted next, assaulting the base of the tree with his brandished and now iced-over branch; his power sunk into the ground around, freezing the base of the tree and cracking off more of its bark as frost began to creep upwards, slowly covering the black wood of its trunk. The ice remained, for now, and the tree lurched, emitting low groans and higher pitched howls that could be mistaken for the wind tearing through its spindly branches. This approach seemed to be keeping their target on the back foot, so to speak, although there was a chance that the lack of its other defences had left it acting more defensively for the time being as well; it was hard to be certain. Either way, they had to push the attack, now that they had an opening.

Sylk set up her next attack, leaving the terrain juggling to her ally; It took far more effort than the spider-lady would have liked, to hurl the boiler into place, and her ability to actualise the chip itself seemed severely hampered as she pushed through the layers of built up weakness that it had assailed her with, but it landed nestled neatly within the torn and jagged scar across the tree's trunk. The broken edges of wood make it look almost like a gruesome mouth, which it gnashed and twisted around the little boiler, but it couldn't dislodge the object. Eventually, another patch of cursed ground spread out from beneath the tree, covering the majority of its root base, without spreading much further. There had definitely been along delay that time, however, and DruidMan was already ready to set up the next blow.

This time when DruidMan spread his power to bring fresh life and growth to the decayed courtyard, it met what felt like surprisingly little resistance, rapidly converging around and beneath the tree in a sudden bloom of green grass that displaced the sickening purple glow. It probably wouldn't last to long in the frigid Sharo chill regardless, but it did a surprising amount to lift the feeling of gloomy oppression. With a wrench and a sound like tearing roots the twisted tree seemed to lurch upwards, branches whipping wildly as it flailed; it definitely didn't seem to like that, but for the time being the grass held strong. Long enough at least, for Sylk to light it up with a burning magnum round. Oh well. Her shot blasted into the tree, on round hitting high near its crown and bending the trunk backwards, while the second buried itself directly into the cursed creature's torn 'mouth', igniting the kettle within and setting it whistling. With her third round, Sylk had just enough time and wherewithal to make a shot at the sneaking Void, splattering it against its ruined wall section.

In the moment of distraction, the tree's flailing branches struck with sudden vindictive precision, swatting at the one that had struck it; she tried to duck out of the way, but a thick branch slammed into her, and threw the navi all the way across the courtyard, to the western wall, where she slammed painfully into the broken masonry, dazed and momentarily disoriented. Their main foe seemed to be trying to cover itself with its branches now, a silvery sheen forming over several of them as it crossed them over its trunk; it wasn't the same protective steely coating they'd seen before, but appeared to be something different. Neither navi had much chance to notice it, however, as Druidman sought to move back from the tree, the void appeared just to one side of him, warping in. It looked scorched badly, barely holding itself together, but a bubbling fury accompanied the vindictive sound in its throat as it extended a hand at him. The sudden pulse of force threw DruidMan back, into the nearby vortex. He felt it tugging at his essence briefly, but the navi was still far too strong for it to enact its more dangerous function on. The vortex faded, leaving him only slightly more injured on the ground.

Sylk had managed to pick herself up while her clones ran interference for her, countering back to harass the tree in a more up-front manner while Sylk herself got her bearings. Her focus was still sketchy and the creepings of disorientation and confusion were setting in, but instincts were enough to keep her safe this time; the tree lashed out wildly, the clawed, sharp ends of its branches whipping the courtyard as it fended and sought a foe, each of her clones took a hit for her, giving Sylk enough time to dodge the raking blow that came her way.

She attacked back with a violent wind storm this time, the tornado engulfing the entire trunk of the tree to the sound of shredding wood and cracking boughs. For a moment or two the ancient wood was obscured by the rushing winds, made dense with snow and earth, but amidst the storm, a sudden lance of sharply pointed wood burst out from the centre of the hurricane, aimed directly for Sylk herself. It came at an impossible speed, and heart-stopping accurate, but Sylk managed to twist away at the last second, close enough to feel the thick branch graze across her chest instead of puncturing it.

In the gaps in the stormy winds, the tree looked badly brutalised; its swaying motions were slow and weak, twitchy as its myriad of broken and shattered branches lurched and scrambled, reaching for something to devour. DruidMan had picked himself up, facing down their enemy and ignoring the badly injured Void not far from him. He continued the ground-shifting assault, this time filling the northern end of the courtyard with a broad, deep pool of clear, clean water, with a channel connecting the pool to where he stood in the courtyard's centre. His assault was still weakened, but not by as much as previous; it seemed their foe had truly run out of energy now. Within the storm of winds that Sylk was pressing on it, its bole cracked further and its crown split. Parts of the cavern around them, far away, began to rumble and crack. The tree's strength was failing, and with the amount of its roots that laced the cavern structure they had been travelling through, that might be problematic in a different way, soon.

Desperately flailing branches reached for Druidman, part of the tree had mostly fallen over but it clawed at him with the branches and roots that cold reach. Several of them raked his body and tried to cling, but he found them easy enough to shove away again; a mild drain from each swipe barely affected the druid, and couldn't have given very much back to the tree as a result.

Whatever sustenance it had manged to drain from DruidMan was for nothing in the end as Sylk had one last attack lined up for it, hammering the dark entity's shattered form with a final barrage of electrical energy, striking down from the last remnants of her storm and sundering its remains once and for all.

Just as it seemed like the fight might be over, a shrill shriek from somewhere within the broken wood gave way to ear-splitting explosion of vapour and steam. It wasn't strictly necessary, as the tree itself seemed still, but a small wet squeak told Sylk and DruidMan that it had, at the least, finished off the Void before it could escape.

When the stem cleared, the last of the storm had died away as well, leaving the ruined courtyard surprisingly clear. Where it had originally been a dark and sickly glowing centre, dominated by the black wood of Twisted-Heart, the pair of navis had now left it mostly cleared of debris and damaged ground, as much as they could, and the norther end of the courtyard now held a broad pool of clear water, bordered by a sturdy metal ring, wide enough to walk along. A channel ran to the centre of the courtyard, and though there wasn't any proper light, it certainly gave the setting a more pleasant atmosphere.

Beyond the immediate ruins, however, the sound of rocks falling cold be heard in the distant, and dull rumbles preceded the cracks of shifting stone. The pair had some time to gather their due plunder from the remains of their foe, but it sounded like the cavern probably wouldn't last for too much longer, now that the roots that had crawled theri way through it were dying.

-=Dark Tree=-
ВитаяСердце.КореньКрови (Twisted-Heart, the Blood Root): DELETED

Withered Bluegon2Bluegon2 (Bluegon)

Bluegons do not appear before Battle 6. They are extremely territorial among their own kind, so only one HoleDragon can appear per battle. Because they live among holes, they cannot appear without at least 5% Missing terrain.

Area: Sharo

HP: 290
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Aqua + Wide Attack
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: Exhales a wide stream of ice breath.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 70 Aqua + Knockback + Ground Attack
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Creates a wave of ice water that crashes into an enemy.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): WaterStream (Rare), IceDragon2 (Rare), Zenny
Special: As this virus is always in a hole, it is immune to all Ground attacks.
Special: While this virus will never leave holes, it may still swerve to avoid attacks.
Special: This virus can use an action to duck inside its hole. This counts as a dodge. It may reemerge from that same hole, or a different hole on the battlefield, as a free action afterward.: DELETED
Withered Shrimpy2Shrimpy2 (Shrimpy)

Shrimpy viruses are able to move between attacks as a free action, however dodging still costs them an action. They must pause movement to attack. Shrimpy viruses may move over fragile panel types without damaging them, such as moving over Cracked panels without breaking them. Shrimpy viruses cannot be forcibly submerged or smashed through fragile panels, even if thrown. They can submerge of their own free will, however.

Area: Yoka, Beach, Sharo

HP: 180
Attack Damage/Effect: 45 Aqua + Spread 2
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Bub-V
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Bubble-V, Zenny
Special: ShadowShoes: DELETED
Withered WallandWalland (Walla)

TwinFangs can actually block attacks. This is very useful to the Walla, as they do not move or dodge once battle begins.

Area: Yoka, Beach, Sharo

HP: 160
Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Null x 2 Targets
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Opens mouth to launch a pair of steel spikes at the enemy. The spikes can block or deflect incoming attacks, and they cannot strike the same target twice.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): TwinFang2, Zenny: DELETED
Void: DELETED

-=Determined Gardeners=-
Sylk.Exe: 435Hp [Metal][HardBody][Confusion (fading)]
DruidMan.Exe: 345Hp [Sea][HardBody]
Simurgh: EJO

-=Court of the Fountain=-
35% Metal

• Cannot be Broken or Cracked except with Geddon/PanelShot, cannot be Burrowed into.
• Elec attacks: +100% Source Damage.
• 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Cracked.
• 100 Damage Fire attacks: Change terrain hit to Furnace.
• PanelShot: Imbue Elec + Break.

[Broad strip around the pool]
35% Sea

• Fire Elementals lose 10 HP/action standing, 20 HP/action submerged. Other Non-Aqua Elementals lose 5 HP/action submerged. Nullified for Aqua Elementals.
• Ice attacks: 50% Freeze1 chance, Changes terrain hit to Ice.
• Terrain changes between Sea and Onsen do not inflict damage upon submerged entities, nor do they eject submerged entities to the surface.
• Elec attacks: +100% Source Damage.
• PanelShot: Imbue Aqua.

[Pool in the northern courtyard]
10% Normal

• No effects.

[Scattered patches central and southern]
10% Cracked

• Changes to Broken when stepped on, chance to fall in when triggered.
• Burrow: Change terrain to Broken, Null 50 to burrower.
• Panel Crack attacks, >100 Damage Break/Impact/Drop attacks: Change terrain hit to Broken.
• PanelShot: Splash1.

[Scattered patches near the southern side]
10% Missing

• Permanent bottomless hole.
• Doubles dodge penalties for bad RP.
• EJO if you fall in.

[destroyed gap in the north-eastern corner]

-=Battle 5, Victory!=-
DruidMan: 6500z, Shadow2Effect: Shadow
Accuracy: S
Description: Grants the user Shadow. This reduces all incoming non-Slashing attacks to 0 damage, and reduces accuracy on ranged attacks by 20%.
Duration: 2 turns
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C, 10 BugFrags, Void Bounty +1
Sylk: 6500z (+720z from Pickpocket), PoisonMaskEffect: (2-Hit Shield) + (50 Poison + Miasma(Nova2))
Accuracy: S
Description: Summons a PoisonMask which acts as a 2-Hit Shield. While equipped, the PoisonMask will generate a cloud of poisonous Miasma in a Nova2 area around the user that damages all who draw near, but it will cease producing the Miasma if dropped. Break attacks will instantly destroy the PoisonMask.
Duration: Until destroyed or overwritten.
Element: Null
Special: Poison: Damage is considered Poison, and cannot be Imbued with an Element. Poison damage is dealt on a per-turn basis, and takes effect the turn after the target is struck with it. Poison can be cured with Status Cure.
Special: Miasma(mod): A method of delivering poison damage. This effect generates a damage zone, and bypasses all known forms of defense without exception. The coverage varies, and is denoted by the modifier listed in parenthesis after this effect.
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: D, 10 BugFrags, Bluegon Bounty +1
Both: 18 Mutual FXP (12 Base + 6 For interactions and teamwork)

After a hard fought battle, a deathly shriek echoed into the net as the tree seemingly lost all signs of life remaining in it's sickly branches, causing a sigh of relief to escape Sylk's lips. This fight had given her a lot to think about both in tactics and to the future. An odd feeling had come over her as the battle wound down, as she looked on at the data remnants of the viruses that had fallen victims to the tree; It was disgusting how it controlled them and drained them of their life. It wasn't something the spider normally would have concerned herself with, but she actually kind of felt bad for them.

Maybe it was the act itself, or maybe it was the ragtag band of viruses that she had come to rely on lately in her battles ever since entering this area. Maybe viruses could be more than just fodder? Sylk shook her head at the thought, knowing this wasn't the time to think about something that complicated. it was slowly becoming evident that the cave itself no longer had the tree to keep it stable as the sounds of fallen debris could be heard echoing around the cave.

"Shit, we can't stay here! Druid, let's go!" Sylk called frantically, collecting the remaining data around the field as quickly as she could, before looking for a safe route of passage.

"Whew." Druidman panted as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "What a weird tree, man." he started to casually gather up his goodies before he quickly realized something was rumbling in the distance.

"Oh. No way, dude!" he yelled as he shoveled the loot into his bag.

"Yes way, Druidman." Steve replied gravely. "Flee, dipshit, flee!"

"BOGUS." Druidman bluntly responded. "Sylk, back the way we came in, you think?" he asked as he started to jog that way. At least that way had no viruses and would theoretically be more structurally safe without the roots, as there were less and less of them the further from the main cavern. The climb back up the chasm wall might suck, though....