“I'm fine. It's the bleeds that get through, and I can't do anything about them without... I'm fine, Jazz. Last two going up in a moment. Long as he's loose, this fight will wreck the displacement space. Just do what you can.” Her tone was clipped and serious, but though it sounded breathy from the running, she didn't sound like she was in terrible pain. Just as she answered, the beast pulled back from where his horns had punctured the outer wall and turned about, many legs stamping hard as his head twitched and tilted, beady eyes looking at each new prose in turn. With a sudden roll of its shoulders, a shake passed through its form that sent a sudden volley of large, shape spines spraying around the chamber and digging into the walls, leaving deep gashes. The various prose figures dodged and darted, but two of them seemed ultimately less nimble and burst into motes or spectral red filament while the third phased to appear directly by the next chain anchor and begin working. Where the spines and horns had torn the spherical chamber, the rends in the metal showed only blackness beyond, but sparks and smoke began to gather int eh chamber from the damaged structures.
On his end, Jazz had a room full of his own viruses to take care of, but he was quick to think their numbers with the aid of his summoned ice dragon. Despite their rapid, jerking motions, the seeking bolts of ice energy managed to find marks on two of the skittering Maru before they could reach Jazz himself, while the third flitted aside the attack meant for it, leaving the frigid attack to swirl about curving back as it sought to home in again. The two destroyed viruses broke apart, seemingly consumed by the red field of energy, before a portion of their strength channelled from the field into Jazz, providing another burst of rapid, sudden healing and bringing him more or less back to full strength.
It didn't last too long, however, as the last Maru darted along the wall and down, then in close as it sparked its way across the top of the console and connected with a tazer-like jolt of energy against Jazz. A crackle of residual energy lanced through him, seeming to make some of his senses and reactions speed up at erratic, random intervals. On the screen, another chain lit up as charging; only one remained broken now, but the earliest chains repaired were getting close to their launch point, while others were along way fro ready. Getting a chain or two onto the beast might hold it back from damaging the chamber itself, but one or two chains alone wouldn't last long.
As Jazz shook of the lingering static from the Maru, the Monsoon pressed forward, filling the middle of the chamber with another storm that threw dirt and soil around. Jazz managed to shield himself from some of the storm – only a portion of it whipped him with debris badly enough to cause harm. The nearby Maru seemed to float with the tempest of winds, largely unaffected, but the sun and moon viruses were buffeted by the scattered junk in the room as the storm harried them. Before they could recover and attack in turn, Jazz had a surprise of his own prepared for the viruses, as his own arcing storm bolt struck forward and finished both of them off, before attempting to jump a second time, back towards the Monsoon. In the heart of its own storm, however, the windy virus tipped the broad brim of its metal hat while the arcing bolt of lightning deflected and scattered up away from it without connecting.
Down below, Cresheth charged across the chamber at the one remaining Prose, horns jutting to gore again. Still working on the chain, the bunny girl looked up, them moved in reaction, twisting to one side and striking back with a broad pulse of red energy that resounded like a thunderclap. Cresheth's head was thrown aside and the horns rammed hard into the chamber walls again, though the smaller figure was briefly pinned against the wall as one of the great horns still managed to graze her and the beast as a whole wasn't repelled by the obvious force. With a violent sweep it countered in turn, dragging his horns back again and rending a longer gash in the metal as he continued trying to crush the only other entity in the room with him. Prose slipped free, ducking low as she finished what she was doing, and Jazz saw the last chain dragged back into place and light up as charging on his screen.
The various levels of charge were too close to leave be, and Jazz turned his focus to working the console while Stephine protected him with a shadowy, intangible form. Just as the first was about to reach full charge he diffused it, then the next, and the next, carefully lining their charge rates up one at a time. Around him, the Maru lashed out again, though it didn't manage to get close enough to even risk imparting any more glitches. The monsoon burst out into a fresh storm, infuriated by everything's resilience, but again, the winds cut through Jazz without dealing him any harm.
As he worked the chains, however, Jazz could see the encounter continuing below, as successive thrashes and bouts shook the chamber and cleft more damage around the walls. As big as the sphere was, it wasn't big enough for Cresheth; He stepped back, feet clattering in scraping rhythm, the lurched forward again, attempting to fling Prose skyward. The small white figure phased, appearing behind the beast now, with a counter strike that shattered more of his spiny plates – to little effect, it seemed, as each damaged section continued to regrow and reform with worrisome speed. She backed off towards the centre of the chamber as Cresheth jumped and spun about, throwing his head up and hissing his rage to the room. He lurched again, sending another shower of spines lancing throughout the chamber, and Pros skipped and dodged between them. Most she avoided, but a single spine managed to wing her again, leaving another bleeding trail in her fur. All her focus now seemed to be on watching Creseth's movements, as the beast began to buck and thrash, the stalemate driving it ever wilder and more erratic; for such a massive monster, his movements were often sharp and twitchy, and he was faster than he looked.
On Jazz's screen, the chains were all showing fair charge now, but it would still be a short while before they were ready. More worrisome now was the damage to the displacement bubble; each violent action that Cresheth took seemed to damage it more, and it didn't seem like it would hold much longer; the timing would be close. As if mirroring the realisation, a return message came back from Prose.
“Don't wait too long, the bubble can't take much more of this! He's moving around too much, make it count!” On the screen that showed her face, Jazz caught sight of her pressing a hand over one shoulder, leaving the fur clean and white again behind it, though she still seemed to be bleeding in other places.
Behind him, Jazz heard more viruses arriving. A humming, high-pitched buzz of sound heralded a pair of silver-domed Pulsebulbs careening into the room from the open doorway, just as the broken hole was temporarily filled by the rising for of a floating cube, its panels flashing between blue and red as it joined the scene.
-=Driven By Wrath-=
ElecMechElecMech (DarkMech)
DarkMechs move and dodge at an average rate, usually. The exception is that they move at a very high rate of speed when they are rushing in to attack a stunned target with their twin swords. They fire low damage thunderball projectiles until someone becomes stunned, at which time one of the DarkMechs present will attack that target.
Area: Sharo, NAXA, NetVegas
HP: 200
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Elec + Homing + Stun1
Primary Attack Accuracy: C
Primary Attack Description: Fires a slow-moving homing thunderball that stuns on contact.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Null + Slashing x 2 Hits, Stun Cure
Secondary Attack Accuracy: A
Secondary Attack Description: When a stunned target is detected, this virus rushes in to attack them with twin sword slashes. If the attack connects, the target will be cured of all instances of Stun, no mater how many.
Element: None.
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElementSword, Zenny
Special: Only slashes stunned targets. If a target is stunned by another virus, it will attack that target. If more than one DarkMech is present, they take turns attacking.: DELETED (Ping!)
Lunaroid2Lunaroid2 (Lunaroid)
A bluish space rock with a diameter of around two feet, that is always giving off a soft glow. Lunaroid NEVER appears without an accompanying Solarite. Multiple Lunaroid may appear, but there will also be multiple Solarite with them. Each pair operates in a set pattern; one dodges by orbiting the other, while the other attacks, then vice versa on their next actions. Which attacks first is random, but they never deviate from the pattern.
Area: Sharo, NAXA
HP: 140
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Null + Beam Attack
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Launches lunar energy at a target with laser intensity.
Element: Aqua
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MoonRay2, Zenny
Special: OmniShoes
Special: Codependent: If its paired Solarite is deleted, it will check for any unpaired Solarite. If there is one, it will pair with it and begin their pattern anew. If there isn't, it will attack every action, and never dodge.: DELETED
Solarite2Solarite2 (Solarite)
A reddish space rock with a diameter of around two feet, that is always giving off a soft glow. Solarite NEVER appears without an accompanying Lunaroid. Multiple Solarite may appear, but there will also be multiple Lunaroid with them. Each pair operates in a set pattern; one dodges by orbiting the other, while the other attacks, then vice versa on their next actions. Which attacks first is random, but they never deviate from the pattern.
Area: Sharo, NAXA
HP: 140
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Null + Recover 20 x 3 Targets
Attack Accuracy: A
Attack Description: Launches solar energy at 3 targets. For every non-object target it successfully hits, it heals 20 HP.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): SunFlare2, Zenny
Special: OmniShoes
Special: Codependent: If its paired Lunaroid is deleted, it will check for any unpaired Lunaroid. If there is one, it will pair with it and begin their pattern anew. If there isn't, it will attack every action, and never dodge.: DELETED
MagTec+MagTec+ (MagTect)
MagTect move and dodge at slightly above average speed. In spite of the fact that they have wings, and hover above the ground, they are still subject to the effects of the terrain below. Regardless, they are very dangerous thanks to their ability to exert control over enemy movements with pincer attacks and magnetic pull effects. They know how to use these effects, too. MagTects avoid liquid terrain types if at all possible, as they do not function well at all if forcibly submerged.
Area: SciLab, Electown, Netfrica, NAXA
HP: 160
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Stun 1 + Magnetic Pull
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: Pulls opponents towards them and hits with a magnet. Stuns.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 20 Elec + Seeking + Pincer Attack x 2 Missiles
Secondary Attack Accuracy: C
Secondary Attack Description: Shoots two MagnetMissiles at a target: one from each side. The missiles move as if to pass the target, then suddenly turn towards each other in a pincer attack with the target between them.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MagBolt2, MagnetMissile2 (Rare), Zenny: DELETED
Maru-10Maru-10 (Maru)
Maru are rather small floating spheres of electricity, with two beady black eyes. They never appear solo, and will always have at least one other Maru at their side. While they're exactly as sturdy as one would expect from a ball of electrical energy, they can inflict bugs with their electric shocks. Maru are highly intelligent for being what they are, and love to combine tactics with others of their kind to make sure they each get to shock the enemy at maximum efficiency. Their small size and ability to move in any direction makes them extremely hard to hit.
Area: Netopia, NAXA
HP: 90
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Glitch
Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Attack Description: Fires a small bolt of electricity that corrupts the data of whatever it hits.
Type: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MaruBlaster2, Zenny
Special: OmniShoes
Special: Taser: If this virus is within Melee range of an enemy, its attack's accuracy is A. If an enemy uses a close range chip, they may counterattack immediately following that attack as a free action. Multi-hit close range chips only trigger one counterattack.
Special: All attacks that target this virus are treated as being two accuracy ranks lower (i.e. A is treated as C) against that virus.
Special: Can use Barrier once.: DELETED
Maru-10Maru-10 (Maru)
Maru are rather small floating spheres of electricity, with two beady black eyes. They never appear solo, and will always have at least one other Maru at their side. While they're exactly as sturdy as one would expect from a ball of electrical energy, they can inflict bugs with their electric shocks. Maru are highly intelligent for being what they are, and love to combine tactics with others of their kind to make sure they each get to shock the enemy at maximum efficiency. Their small size and ability to move in any direction makes them extremely hard to hit.
Area: Netopia, NAXA
HP: 90
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Glitch
Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Attack Description: Fires a small bolt of electricity that corrupts the data of whatever it hits.
Type: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MaruBlaster2, Zenny
Special: OmniShoes
Special: Taser: If this virus is within Melee range of an enemy, its attack's accuracy is A. If an enemy uses a close range chip, they may counterattack immediately following that attack as a free action. Multi-hit close range chips only trigger one counterattack.
Special: All attacks that target this virus are treated as being two accuracy ranks lower (i.e. A is treated as C) against that virus.
Special: Can use Barrier once.: DELETED
Maru-10Maru-10 (Maru)
Maru are rather small floating spheres of electricity, with two beady black eyes. They never appear solo, and will always have at least one other Maru at their side. While they're exactly as sturdy as one would expect from a ball of electrical energy, they can inflict bugs with their electric shocks. Maru are highly intelligent for being what they are, and love to combine tactics with others of their kind to make sure they each get to shock the enemy at maximum efficiency. Their small size and ability to move in any direction makes them extremely hard to hit.
Area: Netopia, NAXA
HP: 90
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Elec + Glitch
Attack Accuracy: B (special)
Attack Description: Fires a small bolt of electricity that corrupts the data of whatever it hits.
Type: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): MaruBlaster2, Zenny
Special: OmniShoes
Special: Taser: If this virus is within Melee range of an enemy, its attack's accuracy is A. If an enemy uses a close range chip, they may counterattack immediately following that attack as a free action. Multi-hit close range chips only trigger one counterattack.
Special: All attacks that target this virus are treated as being two accuracy ranks lower (i.e. A is treated as C) against that virus.
Special: Can use Barrier once.: 90Hp [Soil] [On the Console, harassing Jazz][Ice Dragon Homing!]
MonsoonMonsoon (Storm)
Storm loosely resemble the Weather line, and may in fact be a distant off-shoot of them. They wear metal hats that loosely resemble straw hats. Their faces are mostly nondescript, aside from their always closed eyes, and beak-like nose. They have no visible mouth, though from somewhere beneath their nose, they appear to be chewing on a bamboo shoot. Their bodies appear to be simple gowns, decorated with swirls. This virus is normally no more or less aggressive than most viruses, but if the enemy is using exclusively/near exclusively Shot or Thrown type attacks, it will attack more frequently, knowing that its attack will help protect it from them.
Area: Dentech, Yumland, NAXA
HP: 150
Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Nova 3 + Knockback + Wind Attack x 3 hits
Attack Accuracy: C
Attack Description: Creates a wind storm around itself, knocking enemies backward.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Squall1, Zenny
Special: High Turbulence: The accuracy of Shot and Thrown-type attacks is reduced by 3 ranks against this virus while it is attacking.
Special: FloatShoes, ShadowShoes: 150Hp [Soil] [Middle of the chamber, storms for all]
PulseBulb2PulseBulb2 (PulseBulb)
PulseBulbs move and dodge at an average rate. They get one free movement every turn, and they must drop their MetalBody defense in order to attack. These viruses are able to see through Invis.
Area: NAXA
HP: 180
Attack Damage/Effect: 45 Elec + Stun + Seeking + Cone Attack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Dashes up to an enemy, opens, and attacks using a sonar device.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecPulse2, EchoLocation (Rare), Zenny
Special: Omnishoes.
Special: MetalBody: An effect identical to IronBody, but does not hamper movement. Non-Break attacks deal 0 damage, and Break attacks deal double.
Special: This virus must drop its MetalBody defense in order to attack. MetalBody is restored afterwards. A: 180Hp [Grass] [Left of doorway]
PulseBulb2PulseBulb2 (PulseBulb)
PulseBulbs move and dodge at an average rate. They get one free movement every turn, and they must drop their MetalBody defense in order to attack. These viruses are able to see through Invis.
Area: NAXA
HP: 180
Attack Damage/Effect: 45 Elec + Stun + Seeking + Cone Attack
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Dashes up to an enemy, opens, and attacks using a sonar device.
Element: Elec
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): ElecPulse2, EchoLocation (Rare), Zenny
Special: Omnishoes.
Special: MetalBody: An effect identical to IronBody, but does not hamper movement. Non-Break attacks deal 0 damage, and Break attacks deal double.
Special: This virus must drop its MetalBody defense in order to attack. MetalBody is restored afterwards. B: 180Hp [Grass] [Right of doorway]
TRICUBETRICUBE (DBLCUBE)
This virus is essentially a flying, color changing RockCube. It flips between Red (attack mode) and blue (recovery mode) every time it takes a hit.
Area: SciLab, NAXA
HP: 220
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 60 Null x 3 Targets
Primary Attack Accuracy: A
Primary Attack Description: The virus turns red, and fires red colored energy beams at three enemies that inflict damage.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 45 Healing x 3 Targets
Secondary Attack Accuracy: S
Secondary Attack Description: The virus turns blue, and fires blue colored energy beams at three allies that recover HP.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): DBLBeam2, Zenny
Special: Getting hit changes it's color.
Special: Omnishoes: 220Hp [Broken] [Hovering above the hole]
-=Holding the Fort=-
Jazz.Exe: 186Hp [Soil][Shadow (1 turn remaining)][Middle right of the room, near the central console][Glitch: Erratic Haste (Attacks against Jazz have a 50% chance of being rolled as though he were under the effects of Haste. Accounting for the erratic speed-ups can cause problems, and Jazz's attacks have a 20% chance of being reduced by accuracy one rank)]
Snare (Deals 50Wood and Snare (C) if triggered): Mid Left side of room, on Soil
-=An Unsafe Study Environment=-
70% Soil
- Wood Elementals get +10% Evasion.
- Wood attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Grass.
- 100 Damage Aqua attacks: Change terrain hit to Mud.
- 100 Damage Fire attacks: change terrain hit to Coal.
- PanelShot: Imbue Wood.
20% Grass
- Wood Elementals get +5 HP/action.
- Fire attacks: +100% Source Damage, change terrain hit to Soil.
- PanelShot: Imbue Wood.
10% 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.
-=Battle Mode=-
Survival:
- Endure for as long as you need to; you may be able to find a chance to escape after a few rounds.
- Three new viruses will join the battle each round, though no more than seven can fit in the room at once.
- All deleted viruses will give full rewards at battles' end.
-=Chain Status=-
(Directions are mapped from Jazz's perspective, looking inward; thus 'forward left' would be to the near left of Cresheth's head, from the Jazz's perspective, the head of the beast facing the observation window.)
Forward Left: (Charging: 40%)
Mid Left: (Charging: 40%)
Back Left: (Charging: 40%)
Forward Right: (Charging: 40%)
Mid Right: (Charging: 50%)
Back Right: (Charging: 60%)
Managing The Chains:
- Chains will be either Active, and displaying their tension, Broken, or Charging, showing their charge percentage.
- Active chains rise in tension towards breaking as Cresheth tries to escape. The fewer intact chains there are, the faster individual chains will break.
- Broken chains must be reset by Prosopopoeia before they can begin charging; Jazz may communicate with her, but has little ability to control this beyond that.
- Charging chains will grapple onto Cresheth when they reach 100%, however, unless all six are attached at the same time, they may break again quickly.
- Jazz can interact with the console in order to “Diffuse Charge” on any one chain, decreasing its charge value by any percentage. This takes one Action, however, if Jazz uses a movement or feint to get to the console from somewhere else in the room, the same action can be used to interact in that circumstance.
- Giving a second diffuse command to a different chain will require a second action; one chain one action.
- Chains seem to charge fairly rapidly – about 10% per action from Jazz.
- Tension rises on all active chains evenly, however, Cresheth can attack a chain deliberately with a directed thrash; this will cause that chain's tension to spike and drag up the tension of surrounding chains a little as well.
!!Warning!!
Central Containment Displacement Field Damage: 60%