Casual busting and Catching up

As each virus in turn shattered into broken data around her, and leaving her nothing to focus on, Lyntael dragged another step back towards the centre of the enclosed space holding back the prepared charge. The current in her body swelled and pulsed, drawn to the point of release and then stymied as she turned about, searching hurriedly for something else, anything else to release the charge upon before it burned her alive. A growl in her throat echoed the frustrated tension as another wave of of overflowing sparks washed off her body and scattered into the air around her.

“Rraghh.... Stop.. Stop breaking before I can... I can...” As she turned, she came face to flaming beak with the newly arrived phoenix and lifted both arms above her head. The charge surged then flowed as, palms together, she sliced her hands down to draw a broad line white lightning that leapt forward like a curved blade of crackling light towards the virus. As her hands came apart, excess flares from her fingertips continued to vent wild streams of less controlled power, thundering west and south in the rough direction of the other viruses.

It wasn't enough. The rending blast she'd been holding only put a dent in the rebuilding charge as it cycled every more rapidly low – the emptiness didn't even come after the short relief of release, and it was instead answered by the roar of the pulse from her chest. The pain and the strain made her teeth grit and she could feel it searing in her muscle sand up and down her spine – how was she even thinking clearly at this point? Aurora had to be helping, like she said. The bracers were warm against her wrists, but something in her flinched as she looked down at them and felt the coursing of her own current running through them. She shoved it down; there were only the enemies, and her charge, and she hadn't burned herself out yet. It had to be close; the searing pain in her limbs and the stinging in her eyes were so bad; almost worse than she recalled feeling, but the static filling her mind wasn't everywhere yet.

“Hey. Aurora... Whatever... Whatever you're doing... I'm okay... I'm good... I just... I can't stop.” The flow of small electric sparks from the stinging corners of her eyes made crackling motes in the air and the lace of electricity completely covered her eyes now, but she did her best to ignore it; each pulse only made the next come faster. Each release was temporary relief, and a worse return. She was past the point of slowing it down now; past the point of stopping. It strained to bursting again, filling every inch of her body with searing light. Thought itself would have been gone by this point. Should have been, but seeing what was happening to her didn't help to stop it. She moved a few more paces toot he very centre of the space, holding her combat stance as best she could.

“I can't... I can't slow it down, like this. I can't... can't control it like this!” With another shriek of effort, Lyntael let the charge flow again, already well beyond her ability to hold it back. This time there was no target, no direction, no thought towards who or what might be around – all that mattered was the need to release the force and spare herself the destructive burn of holding it all inside, even if only for a moment. A thunder-crack of sound accompanied the burst of arcing lightning lines that lanced out from her body in every direction as the release arched her body up on her toes and made her eyes roll upwards for the sudden relief of the power flowing freely through her; it was too much, too overwhelming, but it was relief all the same. Bolts of lighting cracked outward, striking the ground and dissipating into the air wildly, while others attempted to ground themselves on viruses, rocks, and anything else they could find.

Where the storm of bolts couldn't find targets to ground on, they cracked through the air, dancing back and forth as they intersected with each other and parted again, handing in the air and continuing to seek some other outlet, but after another second or two of holding her arched, flung-back pose, Lyntael felt her body sag and collapse, stumbling down to one knee as she clenched her fists and tried to force herself back up. The emptiness came, and the aching void, but it flashed by her without even giving the cold time to touch her – the beat of her heart, or her pulse, of her charge; it answered like a storm, lightning and rage incarnate in the heart of her being, swelling to fill her again and demanding needing more.

She couldn't focus, couldn't think; even with Aurora's help, her thoughts were overborne by the weight of static that was burning at her now. It was hurting her – a fragmented thought as she kept her eyes squeezed shut to block out the needle-like pain stabbing at them. It felt like she was about to burn out, but hadn't yet, and she was more aware of it than normal, now. She couldn't stop the build – couldn't hold it back enough to slow it down; it was going to happen again, she was sure of it, but maybe this time, she could handle it better. That was the goal, wasn't it? The thoughts chased one another as Lyntael fought to stand, her awareness of the battlefield around her reduced to a distant sense of light and sound.

Summary
L*) ((Failed to Expend and charge retained from previous turn) (Overcharge +1))
L*) Subtype: All attacks containing Knockback or Pull gain Wind-Type.
L1) Action Precluded: Buster Charge
L*) Manifest Spirit: (15Elec, Nova2, A) (Overcharge -1)
L2) My Thoughts Collected: (45Elec, Knockback, Impact, Spread2, Shot-Type, A) (Charge Burner1)) (Overcharge +3) @ BluePhoenix, Spread to Blazer, Swordy
L*) Fast Armour: 20Hp Casing Refresh
L3) Buster Charge
L4) Feint (to centre)
L5) As I look to the Sky: (45Elec, Knockback, Nova4, Homing, Shot-type, Charge-Burner 2)(Overcharge +6)
L6) Action Precluded: Buster Charge

Cooldowns and Overcharge

My Pain is Real, (1TCD)
And Lingers After. (2TCD)
My Heart Falters, (2TCD)
And Beat Anew. (Cooling)

My Fear Rejected, (1TCD)
My Thoughts Collected, (2TCD)

My Anger Directed, (5TCD)
As I Look to the Sky, (6TCD)

A Manifest Spirit. (2TCD)

Overcharge: Begin: +12(8) , A Manifest Spirit (-1), My Thoughts Collected (+3), As I look to the Sky (+6) End: +20(16)

Despite her now non-humanoid form, Aurora felt as if her chest was tightening. The viruses around them were disappearing, sure, but Lyntael wasn't going to hold up. There was something about this time that was different from their previous excursions now, she felt it in her heart of hearts. If the buildup she was sensing from Lyntael's body was going to go any higher, she felt it would not go well. "Lyntael, we've got to leave!" she shouted out.

Lyntael was saying something now--an improvement from before, but her condition still wasn't improving. It didn't look like she would be able to do much about the retained charge by expending it for her, but perhaps it would be better to store some of the wayward electrical potential inside of her instead. But to do so would simply be a stopgap measure. Aurora felt the only recourse now would be to pull out before the load inside of her would erupt, and recuperate somewhere where her internal core would stop its activity.

As she held in some of the charge that Lyntael was suffering from, Aurora felt her thoughts fill with indistinct pins and needles, evidence of the erratic energy that was running amok inside Lyntael. Then, from her mental link, a tick of concern. Amidst the mental static, she made out that the viruses that were coming in weren't letting up. She managed to return the thought, that they could clear out the remaining viruses, and he could swoop down to make a break for it, to let Sparky take their friend to safety--but they needed to wait for her signal. A short moment, in which they could come in without risking too much friendly fire from Lyntael's discharges.

"Gonna need some crowd control, Harke," said Eternalis. "These viruses keep on coming in with those boulders. We'll try to make a break for it. Some offense to thin them out, too."

"Got it, I'll send in the Timpani, and some AoE," replied Harke.

With the communication relayed, the empty space in the four corners of the field below glowed briefly, before a blob of blue rose from the ground, swirling into the shape of a Timpani virus. Its trumpet mouth sucked in the hot air before a deep, bassy tone that echoed throughout the artificial gorge that they were in. Aurora flinched slightly, but for the moment, she had to deal with the situation at hand. Lyntael was already directing some of her offense towards the newly-arrived blue bird, and in time with Harke's battlechip assistance. There was nowhere near enough output, she sensed through the crackling voltage racking her senses. A snap decision made, she let loose the DollThunder chip unto the BluePhoenix as well, but she only felt the energy inside Lyntael grow ever wilder.

"I'm trying to hold some part of it in myself, but we've got to leave!" she called out. Somewhere nearby, she saw a jet of water burst from underneath a nearby virus... or whatever it was, across the field from them. It looked vaguely greyish, but that's all she was able to make out. From the pulsing lights that went down her gauntlet form, current began leaking out indiscriminately, though she managed to direct them towards another part of the battlefield that seemed to have something on it. Whatever it was, it couldn't be friendly, as the only allies they had now were still up in the air.

There was something she had to do--what was it? In between the lightning storm that Lyntael was producing, and the Timpani's cacophony, and the uncontrollable static she was holding in, unawares, her mental process began to slip.

-- (Eternalis: 3 actions @ Aurora)

[E1] TimpaniHP: 50
Properties: Heavy
Object Damage: 50 + Impact
Damage Method: Throw, Telekinesis
Status Effect: Hold + To-All-Clause(Enemies)
Accuracy: S
Description: Stops all enemies from moving with a powerful sonic wave.
Duration: 1 turn or until destroyed.
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C: 50HP Heavy Object, 1-Turn: Hold + To-All-Enemy (Acc: S) @ Northern Quadrant
[A1] Take Aim
[S1] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[E2] Take Aim
[A2] (All for One) DollThunder1Damage: 80 + Line-Attack5
Accuracy: B
Description: Fires a powerful bolt of lightning that pierces through objects and enemies alike.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Trader Rank: D: 80 + Line-Attack5 (Acc: B) @ BluePhoenix (+15 Element, +100% Metal, Take Aim: Acc+)
[S2] Dodge (High Gear: Evasion+10%)

[E3] WaterLine2Damage: 130 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: A wall of water gushes from the ground, drowning up to 3 targets.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua
Trader Rank: C: 130 + Ground Attack + Wide Attack (Acc: B) @ Swordy-N2 (+15 Element, Take Aim: Acc+)
[A3] Attack @ Blazer2: 50 Elec

[A4] Attack @ Blazer2: 50 Elec
[A5] Attack @ Blazer2: 50 Elec

As Lyntael's spirit manifested, the nearby Phoenix would flap itself away out of the pulse, barely escaping the pulse as she struggled to hold the charge within her body. All the same, Eternalis would summon a helper in the form of a gooey Timpani, the viral helper quickly blasting out a deep, bass filled tone that quickly locked the viruses down, the air vibrating heavily from it's sounds. The Blazer and Phoenix trying their best to stay airborne whist the Swordy could barely keep it's arms up at the opressive noises.

As the two navis prepared themselves for attacks, the Phoenix would make an attempt at Lyntael's life by shooting forth a blast of azure flames, attempting to roast the electrical navi...and managing to strip away most of her barrier away in the blast as well as tearing apart Aurora's in the same breath (50). But was swiftly clocked by Aurora and Lyntael in return, ripping apart the Phoenix in a one-two punch of attacks, leading to it's demise, as well as hitting the Blazer and Swordy in the process, through the latter managed to avoid getting hit by the DollThunder as it passed through the Phoenix's body, falling to ashes atop the lava. (90!)(45)(45)(190!)

As the Timpani raged, the two living viruses tried their damnedist to try and destroy it, the Blazer raging fruitlessly around and around, flames exploding out of it's back as it was pinned down, whist the Swordy was in much the same perdicament, unable to teleport and fight where it needed to. Unfortunately for both, they were beset upon by navis and SPs, Eternalis quickly washing away the Swordy with a well placed waterline, deleting it outright (145) as Lyntael and Aurora made their way to the middle, with the latter firing off a shot towards the neutered Blazer, but her shot going wide as she took another shot and barely managing to hit (50) whilst the former sent out a massive blast of electicity around her atop the boulder, managing to send enough energy outwards to hit the Blazer as Aurora attacked it a third time, deleting it outright (45, perfect kill!) as the Phoenix's ashes were blown away in the explosion.

With the threat seemingly neutered, the quartet had a chance to breathe...before, once more, another Trio fell from the skies, slamming down onto the ground one after the other. Another Swordy-F2, Shooter and NeoMetool landing on the field in various ways, all primed to kill the quartet. And once more on cue, a boulder fell from on high, crashing into the East wall of the gorge, a seemingly recently dug tunnel being unearthed from the force as the boulder crumbled away from the impact and scattered junk electronics and parts across the soil. If the four wished to escape, now was the time. It seemed like they could get away before the viruses recovered from their fall from on high if they went now.

-- Viruses -- (Kill Count: Spikey2, Nailer, Swordy-F2, CannonGuard2, Pulsebat2, Shooter, NeoMetool2, Swordy-N2, Blazer2(ping!), BluePhoenix)
Swordy-F2Swordy-F2 (Swordy-F)

Area: Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle

HP: 160
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 45 Fire + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Fire Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Fire + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Fire Sword.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireSword, Zenny
Special: Swordy-F's are immune to Blind Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.: 160 HP (Northern Quadrant) (Normal)
NeoMetool2NeoMetool2 (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Null + Spread 2
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit up to two other enemies behind and to the side of it, as if forming a V shape.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): V-Gun, HiGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding, it will counter with a Microburst effect as a free action. This does not lower its defenses.
Special: Can use Recover50 on itself once.: 100 HP (Western Quadrant) (Soil)
ShooterShooter (Gunner)

Gunners attack every action, if able. They don't bother attacking enemies they can't hit or enemies they can't damage, but they can select Objects as targets. Their accuracy with the machinegun attack is bad because it scatters everywhere. They are aware of this. They are also aware of the fact that their Vulcan attack pierces objects.

Area: SciLab, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Spay Fire x 9 Shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: E
Primary Attack Description: Targets an enemy and sprays the area with twin machineguns.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Spread1 x 3 Shots
Secondary Attack Accuracy: A
Secondary Attack Description: Targets and enemy and attacks with Vulcan.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Vulcan2, MachineGun2, Zenny
Special: Immobile.: 120 HP (Eastern Quadrant) (Normal)

-- Navis --
Lyntael.EXE: 350 HP (On BoulderA with Aurora) (metal) (Casing20)(ElecBarrier30)(A Manifest Spirit: 15 Elec in Nova 2 for 2 turns)(Half-charge)
Eternalis.EXE: 600 HP (On the Northern Quadrant with Sparky) (Normal) (HA)
Aurora.SP: 100 HP (On BoulderA with Lyntael) (Metal)(Equipped to Lyantael)(Casing20)(1-hit shield)
Sparky.SP: 80 HP (On the Northern quadrant with Eternalis) (Normal) (Equipped to Eternalis)(HA)

-- Terrain -- (Terrain is divided into rough quarter-ish chunks. You and your enemies are always within melee distance of attacks, if on the same chunk of land due to tight fighting conditions. May attempt to move quadrants by way of narrow ledges connecting all four, but being hit while traveling may send you into the lava and stop your movement action, jumping is not guaranteed either with a higher chance of being sent into the lava's surface)

30% 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.

(Grass that has been burned away from the Lava's heat, Northern and Western sections of the field)
30% Normal

• No effects.

(Eastern and Southern quadrants of the field, lightly scorched, connects the outermost sections of the field)
40% Lava

• Non-Fire Elementals lose 5 HP/action standing, 10 HP/action submerged. Doubled for Wood Elementals, nullified for Fire Elementals.
• Aqua attacks: Panel explodes, +100% Source Aqua Damage, change terrain hit to Normal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Fire.

(A rough X-shape across the field, dividing the field into rough quarters with the outermost edges being untouched, about two panels worth of distance separating each quadrant diagonally and about three in the middle)

-- Objects -- (More boulders will fall at each turn, each is about the size of the two navis put together, with enough space on top to support a single entity, the tops are considered Metal terrain)

Trash "Boulder" A: 40 HP (Submerged in lava about half-way, can be used as a stepping stone to the other quarters of the field to avoid the Lava as a "safe" alternative to jumping over the lava or using the narrow ledges to get into a different quadrant) (Heatbody) (Lava)
Trash "Boulder" B: TRASH'D
Trash "Boulder" C: 40 HP (Between the South and East quadrants, can use as a stepping stone to get between the two) (Heatbody) (Lava)
Trash "Boulder" D: 40 HP (Between North and East quadrants, can be used as a stepping stone to get between the two) (Heatbody) (Lava)

Escape from battle avalible!

FXP from the fight so far from virus kills: 24
Bug Frags from the fight so far: 52

From Aurora's perspective, the shift to trying to syphon power from her friend came far more easily than her other efforts – too easily almost. The first beat of energy came rapidly and like the bridge of a willing conductor it flowed to her, and flowed, and didn't stop, beginning to override the rapid pulsing with this continuous connection; only when she couldn't hold any more would the flow relent. Somewhere close, Lyntael shrieked – a cry somewhere between pain and fury – and the pulse surged again.

For her part, Lyntael staggered, keeping her feet through grim determination more than anything else. There wasn't much thought or awareness left in a mind full of raw current and static – she should have burned out by now, a thread of thought struggled to reach through the fog; it was going to burn her alive. She couldn't stop; this one was more an impulse than a clear thought – there was still danger, so she had to keep going. She could feel the power flowing through her as a constant stream now; her wrists felt like they were on fire, and as she wheeled about, blinking through static-blind eyes, sympathetic flares and crackles of lightning spider-webbed madly from her ankle strikers.

Something moved, close by, and she rounded on it, letting her body move as the charge demanded. One step, a half turn and then both hands coming around together towards the blurry shape she could barely make out. Wild streaks of electricity trailed from her extremities as she lashed out and as the power surged through her she distantly heard it tear a shriek of pain and rage from her lungs. The release didn't feel good any more – it burned through her, lighting up the field again in a tempest that seared her sense of self to ash. There was no girl in the middle – just the source and the destination, and the conduit that the power flowed through. She screamed as the blast continued for a second, two, that took an age to pass, then, suddenly, like the crack of a circuit-breaker, emptiness.

Her cry cut off into the tapering end of a silent breath exhaling and Lyntael felt like she was falling, dragged into blackness by the leaden void in her chest. She didn't feel her body waver, or her knees hit the ground, nor even the harder impact that must have followed as she fell the rest of the way. The void of sensation consumed and enveloped her – a soothing cold that still felt like dying.

She felt herself blink; light and noise. Voices. The cold emptiness in her yawned where the comforting beat of her charge should be, but she'd been here before. A thought pushed its way through the black; they were still in danger. She had to move.

Lyntael struggled to push herself up; details were still elusive and the dead, emptiness dulled all of her senses down to the smallest of points – for now, get up. Focus on that. Her wrists hurt – small spikes of pain, like the skin was clinging to something and tugging any time she moved. She felt her body react, with a sudden viscerality she didn't quite understand; she shifted to begin reaching for the feeling of something metal against her strikers, sticking to her skin.

“Get it off... get it off get it off...” her fingers clawed, trying to get the metal away from her skin as the words came out in a barely legible slur. Somewhere in the motion, she had gotten to her feet – not her though, someone was helping. It was hard to focus, but her eyes slid across a figure that her mind suggested was almost certainly Aurora. They were moving, and she tried to help, but moving her limbs felt like lifting mountains – like the signals weren't even getting through. She had to focus; there was danger. A feeling like rough fur against her cheek; her eyes drifted to take in a very large sparky. She'd seen that before, hadn't she? Something like it. Yes. She'd seen Sparky get big before. Everyone had a special awesome 'get big' transformation but her. That was right. She gripped at the fur as other hands tried to help her on.

“Have to... keep going. 's danger. need to... need to fight.” It came out better that time; not quite a slur and more a weak mumble. That was improvement, right? She was improving. As she paused to be momentarily proud of this, another more urgent thought tried to battle its way to the front of her awareness, but it was still fuzzy, and it was hard to really feel like thinking of anything at all, when everything was so cold and empty and dead.


Summary
L1) Action Lost to Overcharge
L*) Manifest Spirit: (15Elec, Nova2, A) (Overcharge -1)
L2) Action Precluded: Buster Charge
L3) Full-charge Buster Strike (480Elec, Disarm, A) @ (Nearest Target; Lyntael can't tell) (Overcharge +6)
L4) Burn-Out Triggered
L5) Action Lost
L6) Trying to assist her friends in getting away for now. (Escape)

Cooldowns and Overcharge

My Pain is Real, (Cooling)
And Lingers After. (1TCD)
My Heart Falters, (1TCD)

My Fear Rejected, (Cooling)
My Thoughts Collected, (1TCD)

My Anger Directed, (4TCD)
As I Look to the Sky, (5TCD)

A Manifest Spirit. (1TCD)

Overcharge: Begin: +20 , A Manifest Spirit (-1), Full-Charge Strike (+6) End: +25; Burn-out triggered

"Aurora? Hey, Aurora!" yelled Eternalis. Whatever was coming through their mental link was devolving into a slurry of thoughts, and an intensifying haze of static. "Let's go, Sparky! Paws on the ground, size up!" he called out, tapping his heel onto the board. The pup's head barked in excitement immediately, and the board's thrusters whined in readiness. In the blink of an eye, the two vanished in a trail of light, leaving a brief afterimage of them as they moved too fast for the eye to catch. The trail zoomed down to the ground like a meteorite, but swerved right as it hit the ground, with Eternalis appearing from it in a rapid dismount.

At that moment, the viruses were landing all about, along with even more debris. Lyntael's instinctual discharge surged through her extremities. "Whoa, shit!" exclaimed Eternalis, taking all of his reflexes to try to move out of its way. An empty cry from his friend's lips, and he threw himself out to catch her before she hit the ground. Wayward static coursed through his hands as he made contact, but he held fast through the jolt. There were more pressing matters.

"Lyntael! Aurora!" he called out again.

Debris raining all about, one splashed into the lava, the splashback threatening to engulf the two. Suddenly, a sudden gust burst out in front of them, blasting the lava away in a show of force. Sparky's larger form shaded them, standing proud between the Navis and the newly-arrived viruses. "C'mon, let's get you two outta here," he said, hefting Lyntael as she struggled to remove Aurora's gauntlet form from her hands. Eternalis tried to restrain her from doing so, but it seems like there was no need; Lyntael was so weak she could barely muster any actual resistance.

This made it easier to help her onto Sparky's back. Right on cue, a boulder raining from above crashed down onto a nearby hill, revealing what seemed like an exit. "We'll go through that way, Sparky," he instructed. There was no affirmative bark from Sparky this time around, only the hound lowering his body to spring into action the moment they were ready, which wasn't too long after. Eternalis hopped on, holding tightly onto Lyntael's limply reacting figure, and gave the signal. "Go!" he called out, and Sparky's legs bounded forward as fast as he could carry them.

-- Eternalis: 1 action @ Sparky
[S1] Movement: Next to Lyntael (Overclock+High Gear: Evasion=60%)
[S*] GMO Change: Bloodhound
[E1] Help Lyntael to her feet

[S2] Equip: Lyntael
[E2] Mount onto Sparky

[E3-5] Escape!

Flying in as Lyntael and Aurora began to be completely consumed by the former's exertions, her inability to keep ip with everything as electric haze filled the area as the viruses looked on, unmoved...but smelling blood in the water so to speak, as the Swordy quickly capitalized on Lyntael's weakness, teleporting in towards her and sending a blast of fire down her body, cutting through her barrier with a longblade just missing Aurora as it was in turn blasted by her aura, sending shocks down it's spine towards the edge of the blast (15).

Shooter and Met looking on as the met would hide within it's helmet, the Shooter would rev up it's main turrets and begin shooting out towards Lyntael and the others, but it's inaccurate firing would only strike twice, once being blocked by Aurora's shield, the other by Lyntael's casing. Lyntael, on the other hand, would wind up striking the Swordy with little trouble, sending her attacks straight into it's chest and right through it, sending the Swordy to fall into the lava as it began to disentigrate. Sparky and Eternalis getting Aurora and Lyntael ready to escape, the quartet were able to make their move towards the makeshift exit, even if the Shooter tried to send a trio of more accurate bullets through Eternalis' form, but thankfully the quartet were out of there long before the shots could connect, ending the fight as they hurried through the passage into a wider plateau they could take a breath at, overseeing smaller trash mountains and some thin footpaths they could take towards...once Lyntael could properly move again.

-- Viruses -- (Kill Count: Spikey2, Nailer, Swordy-F2, CannonGuard2, Pulsebat2, Shooter, NeoMetool2, Swordy-N2, Blazer2(ping!), BluePhoenix)
Swordy-F2Swordy-F2 (Swordy-F)

Area: Kotobuki Town, Netfrica, Hades Isle

HP: 160
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 45 Fire + Long Range Attack + Slashing
Primary Attack Accuracy: B
Primary Attack Description: When this virus is 2 panels away from the target, or its enemies are 2-deep, it will attack with Fire Blade.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 30 Fire + Wide Range Attack + Slashing
Secondary Attack Accuracy: B
Secondary Attack Description: When this virus is standing directly adjacent to its target, or diagonally from it, it will attack with Fire Sword.
Element: Fire
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): FireSword, Zenny
Special: Swordy-F's are immune to Blind Status.
Special: Uses Area Grab to get into attack range.: OVERKILL
NeoMetool2NeoMetool2 (NeoMetool)

NeoMetool not currently attacking will guard. Entering guard mode requires an action. Exiting guard mode does not require an action.

Area: ACDC, Electown, Okuden Valley, Kotobuki Town, Dentech, Beach

HP: 100
Attack Damage/Effect: 40 Null + Spread 2
Attack Accuracy: B
Attack Description: Spits out a bullet that penetrates an enemy to hit up to two other enemies behind and to the side of it, as if forming a V shape.
Element: Null
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): V-Gun, HiGuard, Zenny
Special: Can hide in its helmet to negate damage.
Special: If hit while hiding, it will counter with a Microburst effect as a free action. This does not lower its defenses.
Special: Can use Recover50 on itself once.: 100 HP (Western Quadrant) (Soil) (Hiding)
ShooterShooter (Gunner)

Gunners attack every action, if able. They don't bother attacking enemies they can't hit or enemies they can't damage, but they can select Objects as targets. Their accuracy with the machinegun attack is bad because it scatters everywhere. They are aware of this. They are also aware of the fact that their Vulcan attack pierces objects.

Area: SciLab, Kotobuki Town, Dentech

HP: 120
Primary Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Spay Fire x 9 Shots
Primary Attack Accuracy: E
Primary Attack Description: Targets an enemy and sprays the area with twin machineguns.
Secondary Attack Damage/Effect: 15 Null + Spread1 x 3 Shots
Secondary Attack Accuracy: A
Secondary Attack Description: Targets and enemy and attacks with Vulcan.
Element: None
Possible Rewards (Per Virus): Vulcan2, MachineGun2, Zenny
Special: Immobile.: 120 HP (Eastern Quadrant) (Normal)

-- Navis --
Lyntael.EXE: 350 HP (On BoulderA with Aurora) (metal) (Casing20)(ElecBarrier30)(A Manifest Spirit: 15 Elec in Nova 2 for 2 turns)(Half-charge)
Eternalis.EXE: 600 HP (On the Northern Quadrant with Sparky) (Normal) (HA)
Aurora.SP: 100 HP (On BoulderA with Lyntael) (Metal)(Equipped to Lyantael)(Casing20)(1-hit shield)
Sparky.SP: 80 HP (On the Northern quadrant with Eternalis) (Normal) (Equipped to Eternalis)(HA)

-- Terrain -- (Terrain is divided into rough quarter-ish chunks. You and your enemies are always within melee distance of attacks, if on the same chunk of land due to tight fighting conditions. May attempt to move quadrants by way of narrow ledges connecting all four, but being hit while traveling may send you into the lava and stop your movement action, jumping is not guaranteed either with a higher chance of being sent into the lava's surface)

30% 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.

(Grass that has been burned away from the Lava's heat, Northern and Western sections of the field)
30% Normal

• No effects.

(Eastern and Southern quadrants of the field, lightly scorched, connects the outermost sections of the field)
40% Lava

• Non-Fire Elementals lose 5 HP/action standing, 10 HP/action submerged. Doubled for Wood Elementals, nullified for Fire Elementals.
• Aqua attacks: Panel explodes, +100% Source Aqua Damage, change terrain hit to Normal.
• PanelShot: Imbue Fire.

(A rough X-shape across the field, dividing the field into rough quarters with the outermost edges being untouched, about two panels worth of distance separating each quadrant diagonally and about three in the middle)

-- Objects -- (More boulders will fall at each turn, each is about the size of the two navis put together, with enough space on top to support a single entity, the tops are considered Metal terrain)

Trash "Boulder" A: 40 HP (Submerged in lava about half-way, can be used as a stepping stone to the other quarters of the field to avoid the Lava as a "safe" alternative to jumping over the lava or using the narrow ledges to get into a different quadrant) (Heatbody) (Lava)
Trash "Boulder" B: TRASH'D
Trash "Boulder" C: 40 HP (Between the South and East quadrants, can use as a stepping stone to get between the two) (Heatbody) (Lava)
Trash "Boulder" D: 40 HP (Between North and East quadrants, can be used as a stepping stone to get between the two) (Heatbody) (Lava)

Battle 3, Escaped!

Rewards
3750z, 57 Bugfrags, 34 FXP (Between Lyntael and Aurora's teamwork and Eternalis and Sparky helping get Lyntael out)
Lyntael get: EchoLocationEffect: Nullifies Invis on all Enemies and Objects, and dispels illusion effects.
Accuracy: S
Description: Sends out a sonic wave to bounce off of objects, revealing hidden things and illusory targets as what they truly are.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C
Eternalis get: FireSwordDamage: 80 + Slashing + Wide Attack
Accuracy: B
Description: Creates a sword imbued with flame energy, and capable of effective wide slashes. Can hit up to 3 targets per slash with good RP.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 3 swings.
Element: Fire
Trader Rank: C

[LynFXP > 414] (Recalculated from scratch.)
[Z: 60595 > 64345]
[BF: 895 > 952]

Even though Sparky's speed was almost second to none, time felt slowed down as Eternalis spurred him onwards to safety. The shots fired at them from the back didn't even register to him, as fast as they were going, until light came at the end of the passageway, opening up to another clearing, this time looking like it would be clear of uninvited guests. "Up ahead there, boy," said Eternalis, and his ride smoothly came to an end, circling around the plateau a couple of times to slow down before fully stopping.

"Alright... seems safe here, at least," he said, looking around. "Rest up, Sparky."

On command, their enlarged canine companion knelt down, allowing Eternalis to dismount with Lyntael and Aurora in tow, the latter still attached as the former's equipment. After allowing Lyntael to lie on the ground, Eternalis hesitated to inspect her, and eventually settled with simply sitting next to her. The girl looked quite worn out, but there was no more static running across her skin as there was before. The latter's condition was more opaque, as there was no external indicator of any damage. The undercurrent from their mental link was silent, but there was a lingering bit of activity, little murmurs of thoughts as if he was simply watching her sleep.

"I hope they're gonna be okay... I'll check on Aurora," said Harke.

"Alright, I'll try to heal them up," he said. Holding his hands over Lyntael's body, a cool blue glow wrapped around her, working his restorative functions as best as he could. But there were no clear wounds or anything that he could patch up, so it was simply to settle his running mind. The silence was palpable as he could hear Harke's keyboard typing from their communication link.

"Seems like Aurora's signals are nominal, just that her core electrical-handling routine got seriously overworked. She'll probably wake up soon."

Then, a response from the recesses of his mind. It was weak, but it was there, saying that it hurt, and that it hurt a lot more than she thought it would. His side came through with feelings of relief, and a little bit of worried anger. Some bit of quiet followed, before a sense of amusement came back to him, and a feeling of warmth. Let her rest for a bit, she replied, and tend to their friend. Eternalis's healing had not stopped, of course. Unbeknownst to him, and everyone else, the Navi emblem in his back began to glow...

Lyntael's awareness of the travel was distant at best; a sense of swift movement as she clung weakly to Sparky's back with hands she could barely feel. The void of feeling and the dull ache of emptiness narrowed her senses down to bare fractions of experience, but at some point the motion slowed and then someone was helping her slide down to solid ground. Her limbs still wouldn't hold her and she settled into a prone recovery position. Had they dealt with the danger? The thought was distant while some detached part of herself still struggled to find the motivation to fight.

She heard her voice mumble something, half in response to the nearby voice; she was fine, or she would be, at least... she just needed a moment... the words didn't really make it to anything approaching clear language, and she couldn't make herself care enough to try harder. Pain in her wrists lingered and she shifted, fumbling with slow, heavy motions at the metal encircling her strikers; opening her eyes properly was too much effort to bother with right now, but some unconscious need insisted that the metal against her wrists had to go. She didn't know why, but the instinct lingered, and so she fumbled at them.

Long seconds passed amidst the deadened feeling, her senses barely connected to the world around her, before a spark flared in the heart of the void. With a pulse that carried life and feeling with it, the comforting beat of her charge resumed and filtered through her body like a sunrise. Her body relaxed – where before she had lain limp, she shifted now into something more approaching comfortable rest and drew a long, slow breath.

As she let the breath out again, Lyntael opened her eyes, then sat up, looking around. Her eyes fixed on Eternalis in between scanning their new surroundings, and she managed a small, slightly self-conscious grin for her rescuer.

“Whew... That's better. I'm okay now... Sorry about that... what happened to that spooky creature?” She resettled her position to pull one knee up and rest her hands on it, then double-checked that her skirt was still behaving. “Wait, where's...” She glanced at her own hands, the hurriedly back to Eternalis.

“Is Aurora alright? I went... a bit too far, and she was helping, but then I... ah, lost it...” She looked at her hands again and winced unconsciously; it felt uncomfortably tender. Beneath the metal, as she carefully extricated her hands, the skin at and around her strikers looked red, with the smooth shine of burns covering where the metal had been in direct contact with the discharge points. She frowned at the marks. That hadn't happened before, had it? She rolled her wrists and flexed her fingers experimentally; it still felt tender, but nothing seemed to actually be hurt. The lingering, soothing energy from Eternalis had been working on the spots, but the other navi would note that the girl wasn't registering any actual damage, statistically, and his healing was working only very slowly at these spots – though it was working.

Lyntael cradled the gauntlets in one arm carefully as she got to her feet, dusting herself off with her other hand and rolling her shoulders.

“Ah... Thank you, for getting me out of there. I thought I could push a little harder, but...” She shook her head and stretched with her free arm, beginning to walk a slow circle around the area they'd settled in at the end of the corridor. “Sorry for scaring you... I hate burning out like that. It feels like dying... no, like... like being dead. Like nothing exists and nothing matters. Like it's more trouble than it's worth to even breath... Last time was...” her words trailed away as her thoughts drifted back to a dark, indistinct memory and skipped around the edges of it before she shook it off. “It happens when the charge gets to be too much... I think it's that, or... or else it would actually destroy me... Ah, anyway...” She tried to shake the disconcerting picture off and grinned for Eternalis.

“You saved me again. I really do need to get better at this... we should track down whatever that dark, sword creature was, while we're here, don't you think?” Her eyes darted to the side and she bit her lip, letting the bravado slip for a moment. “But, um... I'm sure he'll still be around after we take a rest for a little bit, maybe? Where has this tunnel led us to...?” Her cautious wandering brought her back around to Sparky in his large form and she reached up to ruffled at his fur and nuzzle him. “And you saved me too, Sparky! Yeah... you did! You're awesome, hehe, yeah you are!” Amidst brief distracted giggles, she glanced back at Eternalis with a small wink, and another concerned glance down at the gauntlets in her hands. Hopefully Aurora would bounce back quickly too. She really hoped the other woman hadn't been hurt by everything that happened.

When Lyntael started to show signs of movement, Eternalis drew backwards slightly, stopping the flow of healing, and the glow from the emblem on his back grew dim again. He noticed Lyntael fiddling with her gauntlets idly again. The pulsing glow that normally ran down its length in lines was very dim, he saw, but they began to move once more. Sparky started to sniff at Lyntael, but was interrupted by Lyntael sitting up, and the beastly-sized pup gave her a small lick to greet her.

"Come on, boy, give her some room," said Eternalis, to which Sparky obediently stepped backwards as well, resting his head on his paws, waiting while Lyntael got her bearings.

"Well, glad you're okay, at least." Eternalis looked around, down the tunnel through which they had escaped. Nothing was following them, but he hadn't quite judged how far they had gone. He recalled the path that the strange creature had taken, at a different angle from their escape tunnel, and tried to hazard a guess at the general direction.

"The thing that made that crater should've gone about that way, I suppose." Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Lyntael's hands, which had been carefully pulled out of the gauntlets. As soon as they were removed, the glowing lines going down them dimmed once more. Trying not to let the worry show on his expression, he turned back properly to face Lyntael. "Well, she says she's fine, she just needs some time to catch her breath."

Lyntael's explanation of her "burnout" seemed to sail over his head, his eyes kept wandering to the gauntlets that were now cradled in Lyntael's hands. There was an acute awareness of how much he had gotten used to sharing his mental space, and now there was a sense of something missing. Before he realized it, Lyntael was reaching towards Sparky, who was all too happy to receive snuggles from the recovered girl, tail wagging hard with licks generously offered.

At that moment, Lyntael would feel the weight in her hands vanish, and a mote of light would appear next to her, landing firmly on Sparky's fluffy underside. Aurora's form solidified shortly after, and Sparky wasted no time in giving the girl a happy lick. She tiredly laughed, wriggling away slightly from the pup's affections to little use.

"Aurora! Are you okay?" said Eternalis, getting up to his feet quickly.

"Ahaha, hey, don't look so worried, you two" said Aurora with a smile, waving her hand about. However, she didn't seem to do much more than that, choosing to continue to lie in Sparky's bed of fur. "I... think I bit off a bit more than I could handle, though. Let me just sit here for now, okay?"

As Aurora returned to her normal self, Lyntael felt a small knot of worry between her shoulders loosen again and she cast the other woman a relieved glance in between diverting Sparky's attention towards her. After another moment or two, though, the agreement to break for a rest made the temporarily massive dog's midsection seem ever more tempting She circled around and then dropped down on the other side, settling in next to Aurora with a gentle sigh and snuggled against the fur. With a grin she rested her head on the other woman's shoulder for a few extra moments.

“I'm glad you're okay. I felt... whatever it was you were doing, and I thought I could push a bit harder, but... Oh well. The flow from my wrists felt like...” her body tried to flinch as she thought about it, but she pushed the reaction away, looking for something to compare it to. “Oh... like I was telling you, when I was doing tests with DragonierMan and his allies? It was a bit like that. They had me test with a lightning rod at one point... I put my hands on it, and then when I started to channel the charge, it just raced, and I couldn't stop. It was hard to even pull my hands away, once it started – I think I only managed it because I melted the lightning rod.” She shook her head, looking out at the rubble and ruin around them, then resettled herself. “I still don't really understand why it happens. I have this... feeling... like it would really bad, if I did that with all four points. I don't know...”

She flexed her fingers, looking at them while her eyes passed over and away from the red burn marks at her wrists, then reached up above herself and back, scritching at Spark's side as she flexed the small of her back and pointed the toes of her shoes in a progressing full-body stretch. As she relaxed again, Lyntael grinned, summoning a smile back to her features for her companions.

“Oh, but hey, I had some better news than that!” Her eyes flicked briefly to Aurora then focused more on Eternalis, since he hadn't herd the news at all yet. “Rogan's finally given up on trying to tell himself that I'm not a person, and that I'm not real! That's good, right? That's like, the best thing I could have ever hoped for!” Already, as she shared the news, the thoughts running underneath it turned it more into a question, seeking reassurance. Without realising it, her gaze dropped and a pensive furrow creased her brow. It really was great, and she was so happy about it. Wasn't she? She was, but at the same time, it wasn't... right. It wasn't how it should be. She's had the circle of thoughts often since they got back from Eric's home. Rogan was still struggling with everything that had happened there, so that was probably the reason, but she didn't feel sure. Absently, one of her hands crept up to begin rubbing a small, slow circle around her emblem.

“Ever since we got back from our last visit to Eric's place... He's been treating my like I'm actually here. Worrying about me, even. I think.” She should be overjoyed by that. And she was; she was. It wouldn't do to complain. She glanced at her companions and grinned again, unconsciously seeking a better affirmation than her own thoughts were providing, from the ones she knew she could trust.

As Aurora made her condition known, Eternalis went from completely wound up in worry to nearly falling down in relief. While the girls were taking their places on Sparky's fur, however, he made do with simply sitting where he was while listening to Lyntael expand on what Aurora had tried to do from her end. "Guess trying to help pick up some of the charge is a bad idea, then..." he murmured, looking over to Aurora. There didn't seem to be any lasting external effects, at least, but that might be due to the different form she had taken.

"Yeah, it's a good thing I didn't conduct any more than I did. I don't think I'm physically melting, but my legs sure feel real tingly right about now," joked Aurora, running her hands down her thighs. Small sparks of static crackled between her fingers as she did so, though the little jolt now couldn't compare to what she had just gone through not a minute ago. Her eyes went over to Lyntael, who had taken to resting her head on her shoulder. Aurora then pulled her hand away, waving it about to dispel any errant charge, before giving her a rough tousle on her hair. "You've been handling all that current yourself, dummy! I can't even do nearly that much! Way too strong for your own good!"

Meanwhile, Eternalis watched the two girls rest and recuperate. He shifted his sitting about, resting his arm on his knee, just as Lyntael informed them about something else. It was good news, for once! Yet somehow, it felt like the kind that was given before the bad variety came after. Lyntael still smiled before them, but there was a hint of worry still in her expression. If the news was so good, why had it taken her this long to tell them? He read the mental currents between him and Aurora--nothing from her end. She was still recovering from her ordeal, most likely. Still, he prayed that there was nothing more to it and it was overthinking.

"Oh, that's great news! Did anything happen that made him change his mind?"

At the light tousling of her hair, Lyntael grinned and pushed her head back into the gesture for a moment, but shook her head as her smile turned slightly rueful. Aurora might have her limits, in the situation she was in with Eternalis now, but the other woman still had far more experience and competence than her, and Lyntael knew she'd give one for the other in a heartbeat.

“Maybe, but power's no good if I can't control it, or if it kills me first.” She shrugged. “I think it helped, but I don't really know. I'm going on instinct for most of this still, you know...”

Once the conversation moved onto her other news, though, Lyntael didn't quite break out of the pensive body language she'd fallen into as Eternalis questioned her about the latest development. She reached back to rub and pat at Sparky's mid-section one more time, then pushed herself to her feat in a single smooth motion, beginning to move slowly around their impromptu camp.

“Yeah... I guess there was. It's weird though...” How much should she really tell them, one set of thoughts pondered. The last thing she wanted was for them to... She pushed the worry away; these were her friends. She frowned again and looked across to Eternalis, then down to Aurora, rubbing a the back of her neck with one hand. Her steps carried her out to the edge of the wreckage and back again while her eyes played absently over the tortured metal and stone that surrounded them. Her hands fidgeted, plucking at her vest and skirt, linking behind her back, stretching above her head and lacing fingers behind it in turn, before she continued.

“So... After... after the fight we had, about what he did... it took a while, but we made up again, and he told me all about...” She paused, then shrugged to herself and went on. “The work he really does, for who, and against who... and why. It's pretty heavy. It took me some time to... you know...” Without thinking, her hands made a gesture in front of herself while she walked; there was no obvious meaning to it, other than something difficult. “Just, process it, I guess. I remember thinking that I've been in a lot more danger than he ever let on.” She paused and shook her head. “But that's not true, no. I remember feeling that, but that's silly. Not like there's something 'worse' than getting killed, and I knew that was possible. I don't know why I felt like that.” She tried to wave the thought away, brushing it aside with a hand in the air as she ordered her thoughts and resumed her pacing.

“Rogan's investigating a group, and under all the legal and normal covers they're doing some really messed up stuff. They want navigators, as one part of it. It's not the only thing, but it's part of it... and the more advanced, the more custom, the more unusual, the better. They're doing things that they can't legally do to sentient navis. It's bad...” Her steps turned and she paced back in the other direction, turning her head to look up at the sky instead.

“But the people he's working for... The ones he's being paid by, to investigate this... that's... that's Sharo. Sharo Family, and that's what I meant when I told you that his work could get him killed on more than one side. He's trying to walk this tightrope down the middle, and keep his freedom from them, and the only thing between him and falling off that rope is how well he can smile and make them believe he's worth it! That mask that he wears, that I hate... it's the only thing keeping him alive sometimes! And now... now...!” Her hair snapped quietly as her voice rose in frustration at the situation. Her fists clenched by her sides and after a moment she realised she needed to take the conscious thought to unclench her jaw. Now he was having trouble functioning at all, and she didn't really even understand why. Why couldn't she read him like she always could? What was different? She kept the angry questions to herself. Instead, she shook her head and ran fingers through her hair with a sigh, scattering sparks to the ground with a flick of her wrists.

“Doesn't matter. Anyway... after we made up, he took a job, a real important one. Dangerous. Off in Yumland, where they have some off-charter research facilities. It went...” Her thoughts skittered at the fuzzy edges of the things she couldn't remember and she shook her head again. “Badly...” She didn't want to think about it; it didn't really matter anyway. What mattered came after. After the fight with Eric. That was when the looks started, and the stares, and the change. Her agitated pacing stopped again in the middle of the area and she took a long breath.

“Hey, Aurora, how're you doing? You must be feeling better by now, right? Want to go find that dark knight virus and punch it up?” Without realising it she'd paused with her hands on what passed for her slender hips, leaning forward slightly to check on how her friend was doing, unaware of the drastically avoidant shift in her tone.

Eternalis's fears were confirmed as he saw the drawn out response to his outwardly cheerful question, and Lyntael began to expand on what had happened since they last met. From what they had already gotten out of meeting the operator in question, there was no doubt that he was investigating some people that would have no qualms taking drastic steps to keep things under wraps. Knowledge on NetNavi weaponry research was something the Ezarith facility was well-equipped in, and there had been no shortage of incidents in the past where she had been entrusted with prototypes to test out. Still, she knew Reverus, and he had kept live tests out of the equation--until they were to be "field-tested".

Eventually, as Lyntael went on, at the mention of Sharo itself, Aurora shifted in her posture slightly. From the angle she was at, Lyntael wasn't in her line of sight, but she turned her face away from the sound of her voice nonetheless. It was true that she was no longer a part of those kinds of operations, but the more frustrated and angry Lyntael's tone got, the more her inner voice reminded her of memories she had, of those that crossed Sharo's path.

Eternalis's gaze switched between the two girls. Lyntael relaying her fears and thoughts externally, and Aurora to him, unconsciously. It was a maelstrom of emotion that he was caught in the middle of. Before he knew it, Lyntael had stopped talking, and the sound of crackling sparks resulting from her agitated motions had paused. She was stopped in the middle of the area, taking stock of Aurora's condition. By all accounts, Aurora's physical condition had recovered mostly, but as she saw Lyntael bearing down on her, she felt a lump in her throat.

"I-- Well..." her voice cracked. She made eye contact, and her fists unconsciously clenched. "That is-- I'm-- I'm fine to, but..."

Her stretched out stutters were interrupted by someone walking up to Lyntael from behind, and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lyntael, I'm sorry, but... let's sit back down for a bit. Okay?" said Eternalis, a complicated expression over his simple-looking monster-like face. "I know you think you can handle yourself, but... if you go out looking for blood like you are now, I don't want to see you hurting yourself--or us--being too reckless."

He paused for a moment, looking over at Aurora. The latter nodded, and he turned back to Lyntael, offering a hand to her, which he would take to pull her back down to sit if she accepted.

As he may have anticipated, reaching out to Lyntael had once again become a static-filled experience for Eternalis, but as much as it was a clear sign that the girl had bounced right back from her earlier crash Lyntael herself wasn't focused on monitoring her state. She started, briefly, at the gentle touch from behind, but relaxed again and relented, rolling her head to one side as Eternalis suggested waiting longer. Aurora did seem to be upset by something at least – it was a level of hesitation and uncertainty that she had never seen where fighting and combat were concerned; was there something more going on there? The thought played through her mind and found its way into a small frown and a furrowed brow as the other woman seemed to have some initial trouble making proper eye contact.

The real reason for their hesitation showed itself a moment later, however and as Eternalis continued speaking, Lyntael felt a spike of more immediate agitation cut through everything else. It didn't matter how much they talked her up, they still didn't really think she could handle things on their level. With a tug, she pulled her shoulder away from him and took a couple of steps to clear the space. Unconsciously her arms folded across her chest as she turned away.

“I'm fine. I know I'm still learning, and I need help sometimes, but I can keep up, okay? I'm fine! I'm not a child!” The words were clipped and terse, but a thought whispered underneath, in her mind, that that wasn't really what he'd said. It was hard not to hear it though. Aurora was the one who needed time, so why was he turning it back on her? This wasn't how it was meant to be! Why was she fighting with her friends?

After another second she unfolded her arms, bringing them up to her head briefly and running them through her hair with a harsh, frustrated sigh. She put one hand up, palm out and fingers spread just to ask the pair to wait for a moment and hopefully give her a chance to breath.

“Sorry. That's not... Not what I meant. Not what I wanted to say. I just...” the words weren't there to properly shape the problem. She didn't even understand what it was, just that it was there, and it made everything else that much more annoying. She took a few more breaths, then turned back and moved to sit down again, crossing her legs opposite Aurora. She didn't know what was bothering the other woman, but at least asking about it might give her time to work out how to talk about everything else without shouting.

“Okay... I'm sorry. What's up, Aurora? I... I didn't mean to shout. Everything's just... wrong... and I don't know why... and I... I've felt like shouting, a lot, recently. I didn't mean it, but... I said something that upset you. What's wrong?” Even now, in the back of her mind, a thought murmured that she shouldn't have to ask... It was happening here too; she just didn't understand what was upsetting the other woman, and she should have, and she couldn't tell why. Hopefully words would work.

Despite being pushed away, Eternalis stood between Aurora and Lyntael. Of course, any attempt at pulling her down when she was determined like this was going to result in this reaction. Was there any reason why he had pointed out Lyntael's state to her? Surely, the more prudent way was to appeal Aurora's current state, which was more evidently in need of attention. It wouldn't be any good to switch directions now, and now he'd just deal with the fallout and kick himself for it later. Unexpectedly, however, Lyntael sat back down, and asked Aurora herself about what was bothering her.

At this point, Aurora had her eyes closed, trying to block out the world around her, encased in flashbacks of times long past. Her limbs began to shake, the sweltering Kotobuki network's temperatures replaced with the biting frost of the Sharo network in her mind. A female support program, pointing her buster arm at her, whose identity she had long forgotten. Only the vitriol, the rage, and the words cursing her, a chained dog of Sharo. The gunmetal-colored barrel of the anti-Navi weapon in her hand was pointed squarely at the support program's forehead. And in the midst of her memory, the long-forgotten face in her sights slowly melted into a familiar face, of that of a young blonde girl of sixteen.

Aurora pressed her fingers into the bridge of her nose forcefully. It felt slick, from beaded sweat. She sharply inhaled before opening her eyes. The same face was before her, sitting cross-legged across from her, asking if she was alright. "Sorry, I... it's nothing, I'm fine," she replied. Next to Lyntael, Eternalis knelt down; a concerned query reached her mental border. She looked back up at him for a moment, shook her head, and turned back to Lyntael. "No, alright, I probably shouldn't keep it from you."

She inhaled slowly again. The air felt humid. There was no frost against her face. "Truthfully, I... used to work for that part of the Sharo family. Assassinations, against Navis that crossed their interests," she said. She tried to make eye contact with Lyntael, but her eyes darted away just as quickly. "A few things happened, and my operator and I retired, I swear, but... you telling me that just now, and... I just thought, I could have been sent against you, and I... it hadn't occurred to me. You've told us about Rogan before, and we even met him here."

"If we're--I'm here with you, I don't know if I should be here. I'm sorry, it shouldn't be your problem. It's mine." Words were failing her now, and she half-hugged herself with one of her arms.

Despite the background frustration that she was keeping at bay, Lyntael did her best to focus on Aurora instead of letting herself bridle further at Eternalis' earlier comment. Opposite her, her friend was struggling with something, and once she actually looked, it struck her how similar the reaction was to ones she knew she'd had herself. She knew they'd both been through a lot, but Aurora had always seemed so self-sure... She waited, and listened; time to breathe and order her thoughts was what she'd always needed when the situation had been the other way, so she gave Aurora the same now.

Something tense gathered between her shoulders and in the back of her mind as she listened to Aurora explain her distress. Aurora and Eternalis – They'd fought in wars to defend the net... they were the good guys, weren't they? Something cold and uncertain reached into her chest as the other woman spoke.

“You... You've killed...” She swallowed, her thoughts crashing into each other. “I- I mean... like, really killed other navigators? For them?” Wars were one thing, but that was fighting to defend something, it wasn't... personal. Killing someone, someone specific, because a criminal told you to... that was... different. She felt sensation like stone in her middle, dragging at her as she stared. The idea that she herself was in exactly the kind of position that Aurora might have been sent after was something that her mind barely knew how to process when it was presented; Aurora wouldn't do that, she knew she wouldn't do that... Didn't she? But... in the end, how much did she really know about the other woman, or her past? It felt like she knew her... Aurora was the closest friend she had, outside of family, and Eternalis too... but what did she really know? Was she just wrong about things, again? She blinked, trying to school the expression of shock and disbelief off her face. No; she'd been right about Rogan, and she was right here, too, she had to be. The Aurora she knew wouldn't do something like that. She attempted a smile instead.

“You... You weren't the same person, then, right? That wasn't you... not the you you are now, yeah? You got out, and you're not like that any more. You don't do that any more, so, it's okay, right? It's okay. It doesn't matter who you were then; who you are now, that's who I care about. It's okay.”

In her mind, as she smiled for Aurora, Lyntael reaffirmed the words to herself; whatever Aurora had had to do before they met, she'd chosen to get away from it, and was choosing who she wanted to be now, and who she was now; that was what mattered. Her mind drifted to Rogan, and the scars he still wore – on his body and on his heart, both; where did you draw the line between what someone did, and what they were like underneath, when you had to work out who they really were, and if it was good? It was her fault for bringing it up, anyway. She rubbed at her neck.

“Look... it's fine, Aurora, really... I'm sure it was ages ago, long before I was born. I'm sorry for bringing it up. You don't have to talk about it, if it's not who you are any more... I was... I was telling you about Rogan, and everything!” She tried to jump back to where this had gone off the rails; Aurora needed time, and she didn't want to talk about her own troubles, so she had to fill the gap. Her mind skipped away from the fuzzy sections he couldn't recall, but she pushed it back towards them again, looking for some way to get their conversation back on track without fighting.

“It was in Yumland, deep in the jungle, and we did recon for, like, three days, just gathering on-site details from afar, and I got to be out in the open air, and feel real, live storms on my skin, you know, out there, with Rogan... It was really nice!” She grinned for her friend; her mind was still hedging around what came next, jumping past it to the places that were clear again, but there were still other things around and about that she could talk about.

As Aurora had thought, Lyntael's reaction to her confession of past misdeeds was fairly expected. There was the look in her eyes, that same look that she saw in so much of her "previous life", when someone perceived her as a threat. A knot formed in her chest, expecting a hard rebuke. The proper reaction to someone of her vocation, and the correct one, she thought. Unlike how Eternalis was obviously her partner and would be on her side, Lyntael was just a friend--and one in exactly the kind of position to want to revoke trust in her, and to demand her be chained up, and locked off to the world once more.

The rebuke never came, and Aurora was instead presented with her friend sympathizing with her. Relief washed over her. At the very least, Lyntael seemed to trust her. At least externally, she was putting on a smile, and she wasn't running away. The relief drained away just as quickly, however, sifting away through her like sand between one's fingers. The myriad possibilities of how it could have gone wrong still swirled about in her head, showing no sign of calming down. What if continuing to talk was a diversionary tactic and she was merely stalling for time before she was going to leave? What if, now that she was definitely getting stronger, she was going to turn that strength back on her? Despondency began its hold once more, and she began to shiver despite her surroundings.

However, she then felt a weight around her shoulder, and looked up--it was Eternalis, who had came up to her, and held her close to him. The lack of warmth of his body as she felt a grip on her arm seemed to steady her, and she took some breaths. Eternalis took a moment to transmit a thought to her, and she returned it with a shaky affirmative, before he started talking. "Do Yumland's networks simulate real-life storms? That sounds like it'd be fun to trek through, though I can't imagine a deep jungle having servers out there," he commented, mostly unawares. "Did you really stay out for three whole days straight, or was it split up into visits or something?"

One part of her was desperate for the reassurance that she hadn't just misjudged someone again, but the rest of her didn't want to risk the wait, and Lyntael only watched Aurora for that reassurance for a moment or two before she diverted the conversation. Aurora hadn't answered; hadn't agreed with her or even nodded along, but she was still upset by the whole confession, so, that was pretty normal, wasn't ti? Her eyes flicked too Eternalis as he moved in alongside his partner to lend the comfort that Lyntael realised she hadn't. She hesitated a moment, the shook her head softly, glancing down. Eternalis was encouraging her to continue her story, though, so that was probably for the best.

“Oh... I um, I don't really know. Maybe? I've never actually been to Yumland's public networks.” After a moment she realised her mistake. “I meant... Well, Roan was the one doing all the travelling and trekking. Pushing himself too hard, like usual. It was a...” she glanced to Aurora again, her brow furrowing for a moment. “What was the term you used? Air-gapped? It was isolated, a hidden facility, deep in the jungle.” She shifted her position, pulling one knee up to wrap her arms around it and rest her head down. “So, for me, it was mostly just being at home, but, like I had this whole fascinating jungle just outside my window... and in the evenings, I could come out and climb a tree, and look out over the canopy, and feel the storms in the air, and the rain on my skin...” She shrugged softly, glancing aside. “I mean, Rogan was usually all business mode, all the time... we were on a mission after all... but it was nice.” Her eyes dropped unconsciously and her voice quieted to a murmur as she looked down at the ground in front of her shoes. “It was nice... we were... working together, getting along. I watched the perimeter of the camp, monitored for scans or external signals, and made sure nothing had found or detected us, while Rogan gathered intel on the physical facility itself, and we planned... I was... scared... but I was happy too, I think. I don't... I don't really remember, very well. It gets fuzzy.” The frustration of not being clear on the details gnawed at her again and she sight, rolling to one side and climbing to her feet again with a shake of her head.

“Once we'd planned everything, though, and we made our move... I'm just... not sure. I remember the planning, and the storms over the jungle, and those nice evenings of quiet and peace, even if it was tense before the danger... but after that...” A small frustrated sound rose in her throat and escaped as a sigh while her fingers clutched at the air in front of her, unable to grasp the finer details. Unconsciously she began to pace back and forth again, still staring at the ground ahead of her without really seeing.

“I don't know what happened, not exactly... but I know something went wrong. I think it was my fault, I must have made some mistake, but I don't know what. Rogan got hurt. I don't know how or why, just that he was shot, a bunch of times. I...” Her mind rebelled at the edges of the fog, diverting around the places it couldn't go, and her frustration mounted as her pace quickened. “I think... I think I got hurt too. Really badly.” She reached for details that just weren't there, fists clenching and flexing every few moments.

“There was a sleeper room, in the airport. He was hurt, but he was focused on me.” It was just a fragment, less than a fragment; an impression with nothing tangible she could picture, and she shook her head again. The frustration in her voice grew more clear.

“Next thing I know, we're back at Eric's place. I remember, I didn't understand what was going on. Rogan and Eric had a big fight, realy big ,and I don't even know what it was about, but it was bad. I remember... Eric was crying, and Rogan was hurting, and I didn't understand.” Her hair had started to crackle again as sparks rippled across her body and her breath grew shorter and more laboured. “He kicked him out, told him never too come back, but there wasn't anything wrong, and they wouldn't tell me. Rogan cried too. I've never seen him cry... And in the morning...” As she went on, the breathless litany of frustration took over and ran away with her, climbing in volume as it went. “In the morning, they were putting on brave faces, and speaking sad words, and Eric didn't want me to go with Rogan, and Rogan said Eric was right, and they were both looking at me... Just looking at me... Sad, and trying to smile... Looking at me with those expressions, like... like they were seeing a stranger! Like they were seeing someone else! Like they were looking at me but not seeing me, and I didn't understand! And Rogan is... He's still... He's broken, inside, and I don't know how to help! Because he keeps looking at me, like I'm someone I'm not! And he's treating me like a person, and he cares about how I feel, and he wants me to be safe, and... and... and it's All Wrong! It's not meant to be like this!!” Panting for air, Lyntael realised she'd been shouting and her pacing stopped. She looked towards her friends, catching her breath while her chest heaved. Her eyes prickled. What was wrong with her?

Lyntael's explanation of how she had never been to Yumland's networks further confused Eternalis, with how she went on about her operator's physical circumstances instead. It was almost as if they shared being in the same physical space? That couldn't be right, but it certainly sounded like the case. Every time they met, something new about their friend continued to surprise him. The little detail made him nearly miss the rest of the story that Lyntael was putting out. For the moment, it seemed like the operator-Navi stakeout duo's mission went somewhat sour, but her memory of it was also quite foggy.

He stole a glance at Aurora next to him. The woman appeared to be recovering more and more, she seemed to be focusing on Lyntael. However, he could see her tightening her balled-up fists periodically, and there was little to no shared mental activity between them; she was walling herself off from him. He shook his head, one issue at a time. Was it a similar situation to her voluntary memory erasure? It was hard to tell, since their memories were stored in a much more tangible form than humans, but Lyntael's little quirks here and there made him think it could simply be another thing that made her more "human-like". The other alternative was... simply that she really had no recollection to begin with?

Once the possibility surfaced, it was hard to deny that it was the most likely one. A backup copy would retain memories, up to the point after the backup was made. The spotty memories could simply have been fabricated from listening to her operator speak, or from trying to piece together what had happened by way of circumstantial evidence, or from pieced-together data from... a previous copy. He shuddered; he had not thought of backups much in general, at least not with emergency jackout procedures long been mandated in PETs. Lyntael's distress grew more and more, until it reached a crescendo, peaking at her screaming out her woes, and Aurora was still silent beside him, unwilling to share their usual discreet mental channel. Alone, what was he to do?

...

The cacophony of thoughts inside of Aurora's mind was letting up slowly. However, it wasn't quite like she could simply banish them away, at least not by simply having her thoughts to herself. She looked back at Lyntael, telling her tale of some air-gapped facility in Yumland, and how she felt the rain and wind on her. That's right, she thought, she needed to reaffirm that Lyntael was, through it all, still their, her friend. She focused her efforts on listening to Lyntael's story, and only that; there was to be no interruptions on the side.

Here was a girl who was just as distressed as her, before she had been interrupted by her own selfish experiences. Yelling out at her friends, at the ones she could trust to listen. Aurora gripped her fists, as if to dig her fingers into her own palm. What kind of silly situations had been conjured up in her mind before? Of course they, she was Lyntael's friend, and what else? She wrested herself from Eternalis's arm, who seemed a little surprised, but allowed her free quickly, while she marched up to Lyntael.

Taking hold of Lyntael's shoulders tightly, Aurora realized how shaky her own hands were. Nevertheless, she pressed onwards. "Of course you're Lyntael! There's no one else that could be. You're my friend. Our friend!" she declared as best as she could. "If there's something broken then we'll just find out how to fix it. If you don't know how to help then we can put our heads together to see how we can! If Rogan has something about you that he thinks isn't you then we'll go up and ask him what it is, and we'll be there with you!"

Behind Aurora, Eternalis came up at a walk, giving a nod to his partner's own fevered pitch. A furred nose brushed up against Lyntael's back as well, as Sparky's large head came up from around her.

Once her outburst stuttered to a breathless halt, Lyntael's eyes flicked between here friends before dropping, unfocused, to the ground in front her while she panted for breath. The hot prickling in her eyes remained ass the rest of her thoughts caught up with the runaway train of her previous shouting. Why was everything wrong? Why was she being like this? Little irritations, everywhere. Little things wrong, all building up. She was picking fights and shouting at people. She never did that...but why shouldn't she, if things were wrong? But why were they wrong, when they'd been just perfect before?

Aurora's hands on her shoulder snapped the girl out of her thoughts and she looked up into an expression that seemed a hair's breadth away from being as overwhelmed as she felt. Uncertainly at first, then with more conviction, she nodded to Aurora's words, swallowing once or twice and trying to take longer breaths.

“Yeah. Yeah. It'll be okay. I'm okay.” She paused, lifting hands to press them against her face and draw one more deep slow breath. She pushed the storm of frustrated and agitated thoughts away and did her best to block them out. When she opened her eyes and lowered her hands, Lyntael was smiling again. She leaned forward and hugged Aurora while the other woman was close, squeezing her tight for an extra moment before stepping back.

“Sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's not just Rogan. Ever since the mission, things have been different. I'm still just me, the same as I always am... but there's so many little things that were just right, and perfect but I'm feeling like... I don't know... they're just not quite right, or not quite as perfect as I thought, and it's all frustrating and annoying.” She shook her head, trying a small grin, then turned to grab Eternalis in a quick hug as well when he came closer, then drew back so she could look at both of them. “Whatever 's wrong... I don't know... but I'll deal with it.”

The small grin became an exasperated huff as she rolled her eyes. “Someone's got to be put together well enough of function, after all... And it's sure not Rogan right now.” She paused to ruffle at Sparky's fur again, idly returning his attention with one hand as she turned to really look at their surroundings properly and begin working out how to proceed. “I love that man, truly, and I'm worried for him... but I can't exactly help if he's going to keep things from me.” An undercurrent of thought surged – that she'd never had trouble understanding what he was thinking and feeling before, but lately she just couldn't, and she didn't even understand what she was missing... but she shoved the thought down and didn't let it reach her smile. “Thanks... I'm okay. I... didn't mean to vent at you like that. How are you doing?” She looked mostly to Aurora again, tilting her head to one side to see if the other woman was feeling any better. “Want to go chase down whatever that thing was? We can fry a few more viruses and then I can show you my new training room at home. Sound fun?” Maybe having the others around when she spoke to Rogan next would be a good idea. Maybe he'd tell them the things he wouldn't tell her? Probably not, she reasoned, but there was a chance.