Mach & Company's Flight in Sharo

((From InternetCity))

The three warped into the Network, and were greeted by a very rapid change in temperature, and the slight crunching sound of snow under their feet. The area was covered in a layer of snow, which brought excited gasps from Aera. It was actively snowing, and big chunks of snowflakes fell all around them. Aera reached her hand out, and watched as the clumps of snow broke apart as they soundlessly broke over her fingers into much smaller clumps that fell slower to the ground. Aera had a grin from ear to ear, and was more than content to go wandering in the snow than anything else. Vector was also amazed by the new surroundings, but his excitement was largely internalized, and he just scanned the horizon as he tried to take it all in.

Machman also took in the sights briefly, before he turned away from the group and spoke to Mazer.
Mazer, we've successfully logged into the network. Shall we start looking for viral activity?
[Sure, take your time, it's not like we're in a rush.]
Understood, we'll get our bearings before we-
Machman was cut off as a snowball hit his back with a soft *piff*. The snowball exploded into little chunks of snow that fell to the ground, but left a small chunk that clung to his metal armor. He turned around and immediately looked towards Aera, who was a good 20 feet away and near a snowbank. Her hands were behind her back and she shrugged innocently before she pointed towards Vector with her left hand. Mach then turned towards Vector, who looked back at him. Another snowball then hit the side of Vector's head in an explosion of white. The force of the impact was minimal, due to the very fine, powdery texture of the snow.

Both of them immediately looked back to Aera, who was caught mid throw of a third snowball. She giggled and threw the snowball at Machman before she started to run off.
Oh, I'm gonna get you!
Machman ducked down and let the snowball fly over him as he scooped up a pile of snow in his hands. He then forged his own snowball and sent it flying towards Aera. She shrieked as the snowball hit her butt and quickly ducked down to prepare another snowball.
Um...
Vector stood there and watched as Mach and Aera threw volleys of snowballs at each other; Aera ducked behind a small embankment between throws, as Machman started to use his body thrusters to dodge between scooping up snow to throw snowballs back. Vector didn't really know what to do and was about to speak to Mazer before he was interrupted by a pair of snowballs that hit him square in the chest. He saw that one was thrown by both of his "masters," who were grinning back at him. Vector then looked down at the ground and scratched at it unsuccessfully before he reconfigured his hand and scooped up a handful of snow. He then glanced back up at Mach and Aera, who were looking back at him, before he started to pack the snow together into a sphere. He then looked at the snowball before he looked over towards Machman and sent it hurling towards him. Machman blocked it with his forearm, and chuckled as he retaliated with his own snowball. In less than 5 minutes, their mission for zenny became a full-out snowball free-for-all.

((Ready for Battle #1?))
The gateway opened, and three small network denizens stepped out into the foreign network for the first time. And what was the first thing the trio notice (besides snow and the biting cold)? A trio of what appear to be Navis hurling spheres of frosty data at each other. Navis were the enemy, of course, and should be avoided for now.... But it just looked fun.

The trio, unnoticed at this point, looked at each other, then down at the snow, then at each other again.

Hmm....

-----

Sometime during the snowball fight between Mach, Aera, and Vector, the number of snowballs in the air at one time started to increase occasionally. Some throws were coming in from odd angles. Others came in as sudden duplicates of snowballs thrown by one of the others. It was very strange. Before anyone could sort it out, Machman found himself suddenly the target of no less than 5 simultaneous snowball throws out of the blue.

He caught sight of a glint of red helmet before he took a snowball to the face. The thing was gone before the snow cleared from Machman's face.

Vector also saw one of them... a red something covered in a cap of snow popped up and hurled a snowball at Aera (which missed). It plopped back under the snow and disappeared... Or not, as a line of disturbed snow began drawing itself across the field as the whatever-it-was tunneled through it.

Area felt something bump into her leg. She looked down, and a red helmeted Metool popped up out of the snow, and looked back up at her. It let out a "Meep!" before dipping back under the snow and scurrying off.

What the...?

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Allies---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP
Vector.SP: 110 HP

---Enemies--- (Armed with snowballs?)
Metool2A: 100 HP [Somewhere under the snow. No clue where, though.]
Metool2B: 100 HP [Tunneling beneath the snow between Machman and Vector.]
Metool2C: 100 HP [Ubnder the snow, near Aera.]

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%

((Battle 1?: Begin...?))
It took only a few minutes for the three to realize something was a bit... odd. There were additional snowballs being thrown, and some were thrown at odd angles and from even stranger directions. Then both Machman and Vector spotted some strange red objects that briefly popped out of the snow, threw a snowball, and burrowed back into the snow. Vector and Mach looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.
I think we have company.

It was then Aera felt a bump against her leg. She looked down to see a little red-helmeted Metool staring back up at her. It let out a "Meep!" before it disappeared into the snow. She bent over as the mMetool scurried away, and she tried to track it's movement as she carefully tried to follow it. Machman noticed Aera's odd behavior, and called out to her.
Aera, you find something?
She looked over to Mach and paused mid-stride.
Yeah, I just saw a little red Metool! It bumped into my leg then scurried off. It looks like they just want to play...

As Aera continued to try and locate the Metool, Machman tried to understand the situation. There were obviously viruses in the area, but other than throwing harmless snowballs and scurrying around, they didn't seem to be a threat. He didn't really know what to do in this situation, since nearly every time he had encountered a virus, it was very obviously an enemy and acted aggressively towards him and his allies.
Mazer, what do you recommend I should do?

Mazer's face opened up in a window in front of Mach.
[I don't know, Mach. I know they're viruses and all, but they aren't showing any sort of aggression other than seemingly playful snowball throwing. I've never seen this kind of behavior before; it may be quite rare to find passive viruses, so lets see what we can learn about these Metools. Just be on your guard, I have no idea how strong these particular ones are.]

Aera paused as she overheard Mazer's suggestion on how to react to these odd-acting viruses. She thought it over, and honestly didn't seem to see any sort of hostility in their actions, and the one met's reaction to meeting Aera made her think the little viruses were more afraid of her than she would be of them. So she tried to make herself as passive as possible in an attempt to possibly make a connection with the playful Metools by clearing out a circle in the snow, around 5 feet in diameter, and sat down. She looked over at Machman, who was giving her some strange looks. She put her hands out to indicate she was okay, but to Mach's relief, she raised her nearly invisible protective shield in front of herself, just in case.

Machman responded by raising his own shields, but he did not make any other movements than looking around and taking the occasional step closer to Aera. He continued to watch for movement as he calmly approached Aera. Vector followed closely behind, and he too was wary of the situation and watching closely for movement. They walked into Aera's circle and crouched next to her, while facing outward and providing 360 degree coverage of the area. While Machman and Vector were prepared for the worst, Aera started to call out to the little viruses.
Hello? We're not here to hurt you. Want to introduce yourselves?

Machman was surprised at Aera's attitude towards the viruses, but he couldn't help but think even a virus was capable of being passive towards other programs and possess the AI to not immediately treat all non-viruses as enemies. Aera herself was born from a virus-like being, so maybe she could make a connection with these red Metools. However, Mach was prepared to quickly sweep Aera up and take to the sky if the viruses decided to attack, and Vector was also prepared to place himself between her and the viruses before he would take evasive action as Aera is evacuated from the area. All they could do now is wait for the Metools to make the first move.


ACTIONS:
Aera: Try to track Metool2C
1. Attempt to understand situation
2. Ask Mazer for advice
Aera: Clear area in snow and sit down
Aera: Repulsion Shield (2-hit Shield + 1TCD) [Facing Forward]
3. Heavy Shielding (6-hit Shield + 3TCD) [Facing Forward]
4. Strategic Movement: Move towards Aera
Vector: Move towards Aera
Vector: Brace
5. Grab Aera if necessary
6. Reserved for Dodging
Vector: Reserved for Dodging

Cooling Sigs:
Repulsion Shield: 1 Turn Remaining
Heavy Shielding: 3 Turns Remaining
Aera's approach seemed to work, as one of the Metools emerged from the deep snow, walked out into the circle, and looked up at her. The other two popped up out of the snow behind it, and looked rather silly covered in snow as they were. They didn't suddenly attack either. The lead Met canted a bit to one side, and uttered a curious "Met?" It appeared to be waiting for some sort of reply.

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Allies---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP
Vector.SP: 110 HP

---Enemies?---
Metool2A: 100 HP
Metool2B: 100 HP
Metool2C: 100 HP

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
Mach, Aera, and Vector were surprised to see the Metools calmly approach. The middle one walked into the little circle Aera made as the other two popped up behind it, looking like a pair of gnomes, complete with cone-shaped hats made of snow on top of their red helmets. Aera smiled as the little Mets appeared, and cooed as the lead met tilted it's helmet to one side and made a questioning "Met?"
Aw... look. It's curious about us.

Mach and Vector remained still, but watched the little met carefully.
I have never seen this kind of behavior from viruses before...
Mazer's voice came in through their ear pylons, and Vector's sensor array.
[This is very interesting indeed. I'm trying to record this, we may be witnessing a very rare phenomenon.]

Aera, who had her hands on her lap, flipped them over and opened her hands slowly to try and show she wasn't carrying any sort of weapon, or show any ill intent. She smiled warmly before she spoke in a quiet, calm tone.
Why hello there, little one. Thank you for being so polite and introducing yourselves.
She calmly extended her left pointer finger towards her chest, before she slowly gestured towards Mach and Vector.
I am Aera, and these are my friends, Machman, and Vector. Can I be your friend too?
She slowly slid her right hand, palm up, on the snowy floor towards the Metool, but stopped about a foot away. She wanted to see how the Metool would react; would it accept her token of friendship, keep it's distance, or possibly attack? Machman and Vector were both prepared for the more violent reaction, and were ready to quickly pull Aera away if the virus turned on her. However, at this close range, their chances of getting her out of there quickly enough would be very difficult.

Though Aera looked calm and friendly, she was still rather apprehensive, especially since she has experienced first-hand the damage and injury that can be inflicted by viruses. But she had to be strong, and she knew any hesitation could possibly spook the viruses and maybe even cause them to attack.
Can I be your friend?


ACTIONS:
Aera: Slowly open her hands and gesture towards herself and then to Mach and Vector
Aera: Extend her right hand towards lead Metool2 in an attempt to befriend said Metool
Aera: Wait for a response
Vector: Reserved for Dodging x3
1. Grab Aera if viruses attack
2-6. Reserved for Dodging

Cooling Sigs:
Repulsion Shield: Ready
Heavy Shielding: 2 Turns Remaining
The lead Metool righted itself and produced a snowball from... somewhere. The red Met held the snowball up, and waved it at Aera. Remarkable, that... as Metools do not have hands to do this with. As it did so, the number '4' appeared above it's head. The Met then threw the snowball straight up (again remarkable, as they do not have hands). The snowball came right back down, hit the met, and the number over its head changed to '3'. The number 3 also appeared above each of the other two Metools. The lead met stuck a foot out, and drew an 'O' in the snow with the tip. It then stuck the other foot out and drew an 'X'. Once it was finished, it looked up at Area, and uttered the same curious sounding "Met?"

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Allies---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP
Vector.SP: 110 HP

---Enemies?---
Metool2A: 100 HP [3]
Metool2B: 100 HP [3]
Metool2C: 100 HP [3]

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
Aera and the others watched as the Metool picked up a snowball with its seemingly invisible hands and waved it at her. Aera tilted her head slightly to one side and raised an eyebrow.
あれ?

Then a number 4 appeared over the Met's head, and they quickly noticed the others materialized the same number over their own. The Metool threw the snowball in the air, only for it to come straight down and hit it's own helmet in a quiet "pang" sound. Then the numbers over each of the Metools changed, this time to the number 3. The Metool then drew two symbols in the snow in front of them, one in the shape of a circle, the other looked like an "X." The Met then seemed to await a response, but the three didn't really know what the virus was trying to convey to them.

Um... I don't understand... but it's not like you can just talk to me...
Hm... so, getting hit by a snowball makes all of their numbers go down... wait...
Aera turned towards Mach
Do you understand what it was trying to say?
I think so...
Mach put his hand on his chin and went over his thoughts, then a few moments later he let go of his chin and raised his index finger.
I got it! I'm pretty sure the Met is wondering if we'd be willing to have a team snowball fight. You start out with a certain number of points, and if one of your team members loses a point; so, I guess the first team to have 0 points loses.

Aera's eyes lit up as the idea clicked, it made pretty good sense to her.
If you think about it, it makes perfect sense! Shall we answer their challenge?
Sure, sounds like fun.
Vector nodded as he spoke up.
I accept their challenge. It shall be good way to practice combat, but without risk of damage or deletion.

She looked back down to the Metool and smiled.
So you want to challenge us to a snowball fight? You're on!
Aera reached forward and used her right index finger to trace over the circle the Metool made in the snow. The trio accepted the Metools' challenge.


ACTIONS
Machman, Aera, and Vector: Accept Metools' challenge to a snowball fight
The trio of Metools nodded at Aera's choice, and proceeded to vanish back into the snow one after the other. Machman's team could make out where the Metools were headed by the ridges of disturbed snow their movement drew on the frosty plain. A moment later and the trails suddenly stopped growing any longer. There was a lot of muffled sounds coming from under the snow for the next few seconds, and then--

A red Metool popped out at the end of one of them, and hauled back to chuck a snowball at Vector. The snow over its helmet obscured the white HP and hit counter indicators.

Something reddish popped out of the snow at the end of one of the closer trails with what looked like two clumps of snow ready at hand. The snow similarly hid the indicators that should have appeared over the virus' head.

There wasn't any sign of the last Metool, but there were more digging sounds coming from somewhere.

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Blue Team---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP [3]
Aera.SP: 70 HP [3]
Vector.SP: 110 HP [3]

---Red Team---
Metool2A: 100 HP [3]
Metool2B: 100 HP [3]
Metool2C: 100 HP [3]

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
The Metools affirmed Aera's choice to accept their challenge and started to make their way back in the snow. Aera looked back and spoke to Mach and Vector behind her.

Looks like they're gonna start.
Then let's set up as well. Move back and spread out!

The trio stood up and ran back through the snow for a good 20 feet before they turned back towards the Mets and spread themselves out. However, the Mets had already begun their assault of snowballs. Vector saw the snowball coming, and tried to leap out of the way in a head-long dive to the right. Vector hit the ground with a puff of snow before he popped his head out of the snow and tried to get back up.

Machman saw the Metools were taking advantage of their small statures to tunnel through the snow, essentially protected from attack from any angle; Mach and his two SPs had no way to hide, let alone protect themselves from incoming snowballs.
{Hm... we have no cover... time to change that!}
Mazer, requesting RockCube chip!
Mazer quickly pulled the chip out of his chip-clip and slid it into the PET.
[Chip uploaded!]

As Aera saw the Metool carrying the twin snowballs and tried to scoop up a handful of snow to prepare her own snowball as she ran to the right, Machman stretched his right hand over the snow in front of him. The ground started to rumble a little and the snow in front of him began to rise before it revealed its source: a large, 7x7' cube of stone rising up from the ground. With the RockCube in place, Mach gestured Vector over. He quickly rose and ran towards him before he dove and slid back behind the cube. Machman was somewhat surprised by his rather athletic... entrance, but didn't think much of it. Vector looked up at Mach and responded.
How can I be of service, sire?
Stay here and start making some more snowballs. Pack 'em well, and watch out for any Metools that might try to get behind you.
Yes, sire!

Aera finished making her snowball and threw it towards the Metool before her wing thrusters kicked on and she quickly skimmed over the snow as she fell back towards the RockCube, and ducked behind the large stone block. Vector immediately started to gather snow and started to form his first snowball as Machman knelt down and did the same. As the pair began forming their snowballs, Mach's decoy drones materialized next to him and quickly activated their holographic projectors. The one to Mach's right adopted Aera's appearance, while the one on his left mimicked Vector. Mach stood up, snowball in hand, and spoke to the pair of SPs.
You two stay here, I'll try to flush them out with your "stunt-doubles."

Aera and Vector nodded just before Mach kicked on his wing thrusters and jumped up and over the cube in a diagonal arc as the Vector decoy dashed out to the left, while the Aera decoy skimmed over the snow to the right. As Mach reached the apex of his jump, he looked over the battlefield and tried to pick out the quite visible red helmets of his opponents. He saw the Metool that engaged Vector, and drew his arm back before he whipped the snowball towards it. Little bits of snow flew off the snowball as it left his hands and flew down to the virus below. He continued to fall to the ground but stopped just a foot or two from the snow below as his wing thrusters went alight and sent him zooming over the snow-covered battlefield at high speed.

He dropped his hand down to the snow and started to scoop up some more snow, which kicked up a line of snow as he zipped across the battlefield. He nearly instantly got enough snow to make a good snowball and started to pack it down as he made several hard turns to the left and the right. He then straightened out for a few seconds as he dropped his left hand to the snow below and grabbed a handful of snow. He tried to pack it down by using the back of his already occupied hand and tried to eventually end up with 2 snowballs, one in each hand.


ACTIONS:
Vector: Dodge
Aera: Prepare Snowball while moving to the right
1. RockCube (Summon 200HP RockCube)
Aera: Throw Snowball at Metool2B
Vector: Strategic Movement: Move behind RockCube
Vector: Prepare Snowball
Aera: Strategic Movement: Move behind RockCube
2. Prepare Snowball
3. Strategic Movement: Fly over RockCube
4. Throw Snowball at Metool2A [+Take Aim]
5. Dodge while preparing snowball
6. Dodge while preparing snowball #2

DecoyA: Move quickly to the left (Mimicking Vector)
DecoyB: Move quickly to the right (Mimicking Aera)

[Stored Snowballs at RockCube "base": 1]
Vector dropped down just in time for the snowball to go flying over his head. The Metool made a frustrated sound as it realized it had just barely missed its target.

Aera took the opportunity to peg the odd looking Metool with a snowball. However, as soon as her throw connected, the ruse was revealed... She had not struck a Metool at all, but a snowman dressed to look like a Metool. The snowman wearing a met helmet toppled over backwards and collapsed into a pile of snow, a buried helmet, and a huge ball of snow.

Machman managed to nail the Metool that had taken a show at Vector. The snowball smacked the Met dead on, and it fell over backwards into the hole it had popped out of with a wildly surprised expression on its face. The Met poked its head up again, another snowball already in hand....

A second Metool popped up and threw one at Machman, but missed. The Navi messed up and crushed the snowball he was making when he dodged out of the way, but made up for it by grabbing another handful of snow and packing it together properly just after.

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Blue Team---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP [3]
Aera.SP: 70 HP [3]
Vector.SP: 110 HP [3]

---Red Team---
Metool2A: 100 HP [2]
Metool2B: 100 HP [3]
Metool2C: 100 HP [3]

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
With Aera and Vector still behind the RockCube, Machman continued to fly through the ranks of the viruses. He had a single snowball in his hand, and he tried to pick out a target as he rolled and vectored up. As he started to gain altitude, he picked out one of the red-helmeted Mets and drew his arm back to throw a snowball at the Met.

As Machman engaged the viruses, Vector and Aera scooped up handfuls of snow and started to pack additional snowballs. Vector started to make a small pile of snowballs, while Aera made two for herself. Machman threw his snowball at the Metool, and as soon as he released the snowball he blurred out of sight. He didn't expect his snowball to hit, but at least cause the Met to take cover temporarily. He nearly instantly appeared a few inches above the snow behind the RockCube. He saw the pile of snowballs in front of him, and spoke as he reached down and grabbed a pair of them.
Good work, Vector. Keep it up, but don't get too distracted. Aera, try to cover Vector as he continues to make more snowballs, and try to lay down some cover to keep them from getting too close.
Aera nodded as she picked up one of her snowballs.
Okay!

Machman quickly blurred out of sight again, now loaded with 2 snowballs. Aera peeked out from behind the RockCube and saw her decoy skim over the snow and attempted to catch the attention of the Metools as the Vector decoy followed a mirrored pattern. The two decoys crossed paths and continued to harass the Metools. Aera picked one of the Metools a few meters out and threw one of her snowballs at it in a shallow arc.

Machman quickly materialized behind the group of Metools, and silently touched down a few dozen feet behind them. He carefully watched the trails the Metools made, and waited for one of them to pop up and try to throw a snowball at the decoys, the RockCube, or himself. He already had two snowballs at the ready, and would have quickly thrown one of them at the first "attacking" Metool. He then lifted off the ground and quickly started to silently skim across the snowy terrain below; he knew he couldn't stay in the same place, but didn't want to exactly announce his presence behind the group. However, if he was discovered, at least one of the Metools would have shifted its focus from the decoys and the RockCube; effectively making the Mets fight a two-front battle.


ACTIONS:
1. Dodge
Aera: Prepare Snowball x2
Vector: Prepare Snowball x3
2. Throw Snowball at Metool2A
3. SCRAM Boost: Teleport behind RockCube (Teleport + 2TCD)
4. Pick up 2 snowballs
5. SCRAM Boost: Teleport behind Metool2 Group (Teleport + 2TCD)
Aera: Throw Snowball at Metool2B
6. Throw Snowball at Metool2C
Afterburner Action: Dodge

DecoyA: Distract MetoolA (Mimicking Vector)
DecoyB: Distract MetoolC (Mimicking Aera)

[Stored Snowballs at "Base": 3 (1 initial + 5 created - 3 taken/thrown)]

Cooling Sigs:
SCRAM Boost x2: 2 Turns Remaining
Machman's aerial attack finds its mark, and the Metool's counter drops to 1. The Met realizes it's about to get tagged out of the game by the depressingly superior Navis, and decides to try something different. The Met hunkers back down into the snow, takes out a mattock, and starts spinning it. Once the Met had the thing going at a decent clip, it moved the pick so the blade would catch the snow... and catch it did, as it began hurling chunks of it into the air. Most of the chunks were reduced to powder before they got anywhere, but not all. Those that weren't pelted the rock cube and the space around it randomly while the two SPs prepared snowballs. Both of the decoys bought it and vanished.

The helmeted decoy that had fallen over trembled a bit as a mattock handle appeared out of the snow in front of it. A second later and a red helmeted Metool jumped out of the snow behind the fallen snowman while shouting an enthused "Metooooooool!" The Met grabbed the handle, rocked the mattock forward, and sent the metool-sized snow-boulder sailing through the air towards the rockcube fort in a high arc. It came back down again just as Machman teleported away, and plastered both SPs huddled behind the rockcube with an audible fwump.

Aera poked her head out from behind the rockcube, and exacted revenge for the giant snow projectile attack by tagging the triumphantly cheering Metool responsible for the attack in the face with a snowball. The Met's cheers became muffled as the snowball struck it, and it lost balance and fell over backwards down the hole it had jumped out of. That'll teach hi-- splat. Aera took a snowball to the face herself before retreating back behind the cube. Cheeky little Mets.

Machman materialized behind the Metools, and pelted the one rapid-launching snow at his comrades with a snowball from behind. The Met's counter hit zero, and the met stopoped what it was doing, climbed out of the hole it had been attacking from, and walked over quietly to sit down on the steps leading up to the server gateway.

One of the other Metools avenged his comrade by plastering Machman with a snowball. Machman responded by splattering the Met with a return snowball, but no sooner had that snowball hit than he unexpectedly took a second snowball hit from below. The Met that had been knocked over by Aera had ambushed him good. And the Met he'd just nailed with a snowball was hauling back to hurl another his way....

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Blue Team---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP [1]
Aera.SP: 70 HP [1]
Vector.SP: 110 HP [2]

---Red Team---
Metool2A: 100 HP [Out]
Metool2B: 100 HP [2]
Metool2C: 100 HP [2]

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
EEP!

Aera shrieked out as the large boulder of snow landed on top of Vector and herself, but other than having her counter knocked down a point and getting some snow down her back, she was fine. She managed to peg one of the Metools, only to be hit again by a different Met. Machman managed to eliminate 1 Met and hit a second, but he also took two hits and was in danger of being eliminated from the game.

[Machman, fall back and meet up with the rest of the group. Here's a DashAttack to get you through.]

Mazer slotted in the battlechip, and Machman confirmed it's successful upload to his thruster programs.
En route.

Mach's wing thrusters kicked on to full power and kicked up a large plume of snow as he rocketed forward and towards the RockCube. He left a long, white trail of snow in his path and very quickly reached his two SPs. His thrusters shut down as the retro-thrusters on his chest and feet slowed him down with short bursts of thrust. As he touched down next to his SPs, Mazer gave additional instructions.

[Alright, 1 Metool is out of the fight, and the other two have 2 hits remaining each. Time to pull out the stops and win this game. Mach, send out your decoys first to draw fire, then all three of you grab some snowballs and start pelting them.]
All three nodded in agreement, and reached down to grab handfuls of snow as two more decoy drones materialized next to Mach. They quickly assumed the appearance of their master, and stood by patiently.
[Mach, I uploaded a phoenixshot chip, use it to melt incoming snowballs if you feel like you cannot dodge them.]
Understood.
[GO!]

The two decoys flew out from behind the RockCube and made a beeline towards the Metools in the hope to draw fire away from the trio as they emerged from their rock "bunker" a second or so later. Aera skimmed across the snow to the left with her prepared snowball in hand, while Vector dashed left as he packed down his own snowball. Machman jumped over the RockCube and advanced towards the Metool with a snowball in his left hand. His right hand started to glow red as the PhoenixShot chip data started to activate. He knew he was going to be flying directly into a barrage of snowballs, but he had a way to keep his entire team protected, at least for a very brief moment. He brought his right arm up towards his left shoulder, then opened his hand as he swept his arm in front of his chest and created a wide swath of flame that hurtled towards the Metools. However, the PhoenixShot was not completely prepared, and aimed slightly higher than the Metools, so hopefully the Mets would have been unharmed by the fire, since the fire may have simply not reached them. However, any incoming snowballs caught in the wall of flame may have been melted or even vaporized in an instant.

As soon as the fiery attack dissipated, the three started their volley of snowballs. Machman passed the snowball to his right hand and picked out his target: the Metool that ambushed him just a few moments ago. He knew the Metools were quite creative in their attacks, and they even used their own decoys to fool Aera, so he made sure he was engaging the right target before he threw his snowball towards it's red helmet. As soon as he threw the snowball, he heard another snowball whiff past him and towards the second Metool. He turned back to see Vector dust the snow off his hands and nod towards Mach. Aera followed up with another snowball, which she threw in a somewhat higher arc to possibly hit the Met as it attempted to retreat into its hole in the snow.

Hopefully their volley of snowballs would have hit or caused the Mets to take cover, and took advantage of the opportunity by grabbing handfuls of snow. It was just a matter of time till the Metools would counter, so the three scattered and tried to avoid the incoming counter-attack. Aera started to fall back with the help of her small wing thrusters as she packed down another snowball with her hands. Vector saw Aera fly back, and noted he was unable to reach that kind of speed, and could be vulnerable due to that fact. He then noted how the Metools, though quite slow, took advantage of the snow itself to protect themselves from snowballs and effectively hide. Vector then decided to mimic their strategy as he dove into the snow in front of him. His armored plates separated from each other as he dove, so instead of one big object hitting the snow, his dagger-like body plates slid into the snow without as much as kicking up a snowflake. However, while he was under the snow, he carefully started to pack together some of the snow around him to form a single snowball.

Machman saw Aera retreat and Vector disappear underneath the snow, so he decided the best way to distance himself from the others and further complicate the Metool's aim was to fly into the air. He crouched down and grabbed a handful of snow before his thrusters ignited and sent him into the air like a blue and orange rocket. He continued to climb before he reached to what he believed to be a safe distance and perched himself in the air.


ACTIONS:
1. DashAttack: Return to RockCube (90dmg + Impact)
Aera: Prepare Snowball while dodging left
Vector: Prepare Snowball while dodging right
2. Prepare Snowball while advancing
3. PhoenixShot: Incoming Snowballs (70dmg Fire + Wide Attack)
4. Throw Snowball at Metool2B [+ Take Aim]
Vector: Throw Snowball at Metool2C
Aera: Throw Snowball at Metool2B
5. Prepare snowball while climbing to High Altitude
Aera: Prepare snowball while dodging backwards
Vector: Prepare snowball while attempting to hide in the snow
6. Afterburner Cooldown

DecoyA: Draw enemy fire (Mimicking Machman)
DecoyB: Draw enemy fire (Mimicking Machman)

Cooling Sigs:
SCRAM Boost x2: 1 Turn Remaining
The Metool hurled the snowball just as Machman accelerated madly out of the way and missed completely. The second Met hurled a snowball only to have a FirePhoenix erupt in its general direction, vaporizing the snowball in the process. Both Metools dove for cover beneath their helmets and vanished into the snow. The ploy worked, not a single snowball found its mark. However... The Navi and SPs suddenly found that they had no targets to throw at, as not a Metool was in sight, save for the one disqualified Met chilling by the gateway.

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Blue Team---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP [1]
Aera.SP: 70 HP [1]
Vector.SP: 110 HP [2]

---Red Team---
Metool2A: 100 HP [Out]
Metool2B: 100 HP [2] (Hidden/Guard)
Metool2C: 100 HP [2] (Hidden/Guard)

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
((Ugh, didn't want to do this, but Turn Splice))

The Metools were apparently spooked by Mach's fiery attack, and were no longer in sight. The three had to wait for the Metools to show themselves before the could launch another volley of snowballs. Mach watched from the sky to try and locate the Metools, and provide a warning to Aera and Vector if they reappeared. Mach had a good view of the battlefield, but the area was completely white-washed with snow, with the exception of his two SPs, the large black shadow of the RockCube behind them, and the eliminated Metool by the teleporter .

Since he felt he was out of range of any snowballs, and had a good view of the battlefield, he gave orders to Aera and Vector via wireless transmission.
[[i]The two Mets are hiding just forward of your positions. Prepare some snowballs and stay low; I'll alert you if they try to move or emerge.[/i]]

Aera quickly responded by crouching down and gathering up snow while she carefully looked over the landscape in front of her to watch out for movement. She then packed down a pair of snowballs, and carefully carried one in each hand as she waited for the Mets to come out. Vector, still hidden in the snow, made a second snowball and waited for Mach's signal to attack. While the two SPs prepared their snowballs, Mach's two decoys changed their appearances to Aera and Vector before they continued forward and skimmed over the snow. They proceeded forward carefully, and tried to place themselves relative to their real counterparts in an attempt to fool the Mets into thinking the two SPs were advancing on them.

Mach continued to watch as his two decoys acted as bait for the Metools, and watched for any sort of movement. He could see the trails left behind by the Metools, and attempted to trace them and find dead ends, which may be where the Mets were hiding.


ACTIONS:
1. Watch for movement from High Altitude [1/6]
Aera: Prepare snowball while trying to stay low x2 [2/3]
Vector: Prepare snowball while staying hidden under the snow [1/3]

DecoyA: Attempt to draw fire from Metool2B (Mimicking Aera)
DecoyB: Attempt to draw fire from Metool2C (Mimicking Vector)
A single Metool popped up out of the snow and pegged the decoy of Vector. It looked at the decoy of Aera, and appeared to be about to throw a second snowball when it stopped, and canted to one side. It seemed to know something wasn't right....

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Blue Team---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP [1]
Aera.SP: 70 HP [1]
Vector.SP: 110 HP [2]

---Red Team---
Metool2A: 100 HP [Out]
Metool2B: 100 HP [2] (Hidden/Guard)
Metool2C: 100 HP [2]

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
Mach continued to gaze down at the battlefield before he saw movement below. A Metool had popped out of the snow and took the bait by attacking one of the decoys. However, it paused without attacking the second decoy. Machman relayed orders to Aera and Vector as he drew his arm back, snowball in hand.

[[i]Target spotted, 1 o'clock from your position, Aera. Vector, stay down for now. Aera, engage the Metool on my mark. Ready... Now![/i]]

Aera stood up and brought her arm back as Machman confirmed the location of the Metool. Aera quite easily spotted the seemingly confused Metool and whipped a snowball directly towards it as Mach chucked his straight down. Mach threw his snowball slightly before Aera did, and as the snowballs flew through the air, it looked as if they could hit the target at the same time. Mach was out of snowballs, so he prepared to dive back to the ground to gather up more snow.

Mach would have had Vector attack the Metool as well, but there was still one hidden Met, and if it got the jump on Mach or Aera, Vector would return the favor. Mach cut off his thrusters and literally dropped out of the sky; the only forward movement he had was caused by the angle of his body and wings as he fell. However, Mach's wing thrusters soon ignited and pulled him out of his nosedive and sent him cruising over the snow. He paused only for a second or so as he dove his hand into the snow and brought up a handful. He cupped the snow with both hands as he boosted hard to the right and started to pack the snowball down. He tried to keep his eyes on the Metool's area and look for any activity.

He knew the Metool would have to at least peek out from under the snow eventually, but he also knew the Met Aera and himself both attacked could still be in the game. He double-checked the situation, and would have thrown his snowball at the Met if it wasn't eliminated, or if he wasn't eliminated himself. Mach quickly scooped up more snow just in case and started to pack it down as he continued to watch the area. As soon as he would have seen the last Met pop out of the snow, he would have quickly ordered Vector to attack.

As soon as he heard Mach's command, Vector started to reconfigure his body as he quickly popped out of the snow and almost created a cloud of snow as he did so. He held a snowball in each hand, and quickly locked his eye on his target before he drew his arms back. He threw the snowball in his right hand towards the Metool before quickly following up with a second snowball from his left. Vector seemed to be able to throw a snowball with his left arm just as well as his right, and had no difficulty swinging both arms at once.


ACTIONS: [/turnsplice]
2. Throw snowball at Metool2C [+Take Aim]
Aera: Throw snowball at Metool2C
3. Strategic Movement: Move out of High Altitude
4. Dodge while preparing snowball
5. Throw Snowball at Metool2C (if it's still in the game)
6. Prepare snowball and alert Vector when Metool2B emerges
Vector: Throw snowball at Metool2B
Vector: Throw snowball at Metool2B

DecoyA: Continue to draw fire

Cooling Sigs:
SCRAM Boost: Ready
Machman nails the Metool2 from above, scoring a solid hit. Unfortunately, the Metool returned the favor, and splattered Mechman with a snowball the Met launched using the inner curve of its mattock as a sling. Aera then knocked the metool out with a second snowball hit just as another snowball arced out of nowhere to delete the remaining decoy. A second snowball from the same source flew in and puffed into snowy powder as it smacked Aera in the face when she turned to look. Vector, however, won the day by plastering the remaining Metool with two consecutive snowball hits, leaving the SP as the last program standing at the end of the snowball fight.

As the Metools were knocked out of the competition, they, like the first Met, stopped whatever they were doing, and walked quietly over to stand on the edge of the gateway's platform. The three of them now stood there in a group, looking at each other at first, then back at the Navi and the two SPs. The lead Met (who was shamefully KO'd first) stepped forward, and looked up at Vector as it said "Met!" The red helmeted Metool promptly produced one of the silver mattocks this version of Metool seemed to favor using, and... Instead of attacking with it, the Met held it up with the blades pointed side to side, instead of front-to-back, and tilted the thing down, as if holding it out for Vector to take. There also appeared to be something hanging from the blade of the pickax.... Chip data perhaps?

The Silver Mattock also appeared to be convertible into SonicWave chip data, if Machman so chose.

-----------
Summary
-----------

Victory!!

---Blue Team---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP [Out]
Aera.SP: 70 HP [Out]
Vector.SP: 110 HP [2]
GET: Guard2, SonicWave* (*or Key Item: Silver Mattock)

* Note: Your choice.

---Red Team---
Metool2A: 100 HP [Out]
Metool2B: 100 HP [Out]
Metool2C: 100 HP [Out]

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform
Gateway

---Terrain---
Normal: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed.)
Snow: 95%
Mach brushed the snow of his armor and was a bit disappointed to have been eliminated from the game, but was relieved to see Aera finish off the Met that eliminated him. However, Aera was quickly eliminated as well. The pair started to move back and kept their eyes on Vector as he erupted from the snow and threw a pair of snowballs at the Met. Aera cheered as the two snowballs hit and eliminated the Met. Mach grinned under his mask, pleased with Vector's victory.

Vector mentally pumped his fist as he saw the Met go down, but then turned as he saw the lead Metool approach. The Met then presented its silver mattock to Vector, its edges faced parallel to the floor. The mattock was slightly dusted in snow, but the silver head shone brilliantly in the light. Vector looked down at the Met with its mattock, then over towards Mach and Aera. Mach slightly nodded in approval, and Vector looked back down to the Met. He lowered his head as he slowly grasped the head of the mattock with both hands. He gently lifted it up to his level, and very easily swung the mattock on to its side and held it flat with both hands, as if he was surveying a rifle or sword. Vector then made a slow bow as he spoke.
Thank you. You were excellent opponents.

Mach and Aera both floated over towards Vector and landed next to him. Mach put his hand on Vector's shoulder as Aera put her hand on his forearm.
Congratulations, Vector. You did an outstanding job out there.

Aera smiled as she looked into Vector's single eye.
You were great, Vector! You really earned this!
Though Vector was incapable of blushing, he was nearly bursting with pride, since he made both Mach and Aera extremely pleased.
Th-thank you. Though I was merely the last one left on the team, I am honored to receive such a fine weapon.

As Mach and Vector looked over the mattock, Aera looked down to see the Met standing a few feet in front of them. This Met was showed impressive bravery for actually approaching the three, and also showed great respect and sportsmanship by presenting Vector with a reward for winning the game. Knowing this, Aera thought the Met should receive a reward as well. She crouched down, facing the Metool and calmly reached towards the red Met with both hands.
Thank you so much for playing with us!

She gently put her hands under the Met's feet and supported its sides before she carefully lifted the Met up and brought it towards her face. She blushed slightly before she planted a kiss on the front of the Met's helmet and gently placed it back down on the snowy ground.


--CHOSE: Silver Mattock--

((Ready for battle #2 or additional interaction))
The Met lets out a surprised "Meep" as Aera picked it up. After she gave the Metool a kiss, the blue stripe on its red helmet disappeared for a moment, and slowly faded back into being after being set back down on the snow. The trio of Mets were looking at each other in confusion for a moment until a sound echoed its way to them. The three red Mets turned as one to glance at something behind Mach, Aera, and Vector.... They then did an about face and took off running away from the Navi and his SPs just as fast as they could.

A quick glance back revealed the approach of a group of strangely colored Shrimpy viruses and a couple of flying busts. The air around the statue heads shimmered for a moment before a blue colored Aura appeared around each of them. They didn't appear to be here for a snowball fight...

The gateway leading to the NetSquare disappeared behind a metallic iris that closed over the portal. A protective barrier then rose around the platform the gateway sat upon, and began flipping through elements as the tterrain of the platform started to look really strange. The NetSquare's Firewall was now operating, and nobody was getting through.

-----------
Summary
-----------

---Allies---
Machman.EXE: 160 HP
Aera.SP: 70 HP
Vector.SP: 110 HP

---Enemies---
--Group1-- (Closer)
Megalian-A2A: 190 HP (Aqua Aura 80, Flying)
Shrimpy2A: 180 HP
Shrimpy2B: 180 HP

--Group2-- (Further Away)
Megalian-A2A: 190 HP (Aqua Aura 80, Flying)
Shrimpy2C: 180 HP
Shrimpy2D: 180 HP

---Objects---
Repulsion Field (Planar Barrier): 50,000,000 HP (Element Shifts Every Action, Other effects likely.)
Closed Iris: 10,000,000 HP (SteelBody, Anchored, Other effects likely.)

---Locations---
Teleporter Platform [Sealed behind a repulsion field.]
Gateway [Closed.]

---Terrain---
Planar FireWall: 5% (Teleporter Platform, Cannot be changed. Terrain's Element changes every action.) [Cannot be stood upon or passed over at this time.]
Snow: 95%