Mach & Company's Flight in Sharo

((Boss Music))

The Reaper Virus was just getting back on its feet when Machman launched the blade wave at it. The humanoid virus apparently realized it had little hope of evading the wide projectile attack, and brought up its right arm reflexively. The virus projected a wall-like green defense field before itself a fraction of a second before the Sonic Boom arrived and slammed into it. The energy of the attack rippled outward across the surface of the field from the point of impact, but did nothing to penetrate the field.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. The field itself absorbed some of the energy from the attack, and quickly concentrated it at the point of impact. Machman was just landing on his feet and beginning to assume his counter attack stance when the field suddenly collapsed. The Reflect beam struck his Shield instantaneously, triggering the Counter immediately and teleporting Machman away before he realized he'd been attacked.

Worse, the faster than light beam grazed Aera, who had landed a healthy distance behind Machman, just as she was steadying herself on her feet once more. As is the way with most on the receiving end of FTL weapons, Aera didn't even realize she was in the line of fire until after the beam had already hit her. Luckily, her emergency defense mechanisms responded to what would have otherwise been a fatal hit, and spared her. She was able to slap on the IV pack afterwords.

The virus was already in the process of launching its next attack when Machman suddenly appeared before it. The Navi threw his Counter punch, and wound up with a very unexpected result... Machman's gauntleted fist met the Reaper's flaming fist dead on. Their punches met knuckle to knuckle as Counter met Fire Hit. The gauntlet shattered as the flames blew out, leaving the adversaries in a bare-handed face to face stare-down.

...For all of two seconds before Vector's blade shot into the picture from over Machman's shoulder to strike the intended target. It hit the virus along the upper right hand side it its helmet at an angle, and made a small but noticeable groove shaped dent. The virus's head rocked back and to the left as the projectile glanced off with a metallic clang.

It was a lucky hit, as Vector was beginning to find it rather difficult to maintain control over his scattered parts. Aera attempted to circle a bit to the right, closer to the Poisoned panels, to get a clearer firing angle, but found her efforts thwarted by Machman. Neither Aera, nor Vector had a clear shot at the target as Machman was now hovering face to face with the enemy. An enemy who appeared to be charging its fists up for the next attack....

Machman was staring face to face with the Reaper virus, and he could see the reflection of his own face in the virus's dark helmet-shaped visor. His gutfist was countered by the virus's attack, and it looked very similar to a firehit... did this virus have the capability to use battlechip data like a SP? Mach didn't have time to think about it, his foe was right in front of him, which was the perfect spot for his next attack.

His left arm, positioned behind his body due to being in a mid-punch pose, was still available for use, and his left hand opened into a claw-like gesture as sparks jumped amongst his fingers and thumb. Mach slammed his left hand forward towards the virus and simultaneously swung his right arm back to thrust his hand further towards the virus for a nearly point-blank shot for the large, cone-shaped blast of visible EM pulses that looked like bright yellow rings that inundated the immediate area in front of him with data-rending electricity and magnetic fields.

While Machman engaged the virus, Aera switched to defense and activated her own defensive shielding to prevent herself from being forced to EJO. The pain of the virus's counter blast was intense, but she felt the IV slowly working to restore some of her energy. Vector wasn't damaged, but he was struggling to control the metal plates that make up his body. He tried to bring them back into their default configuration, and tried to keep an eye on Machman and the Virus, though he couldn't do much at the moment.

As the pulses erupted from his hand, several honeycomb-like structures materialized on his chest armor and lower arms. The structures started to hum and twitch as the small bee programs were roused from their storage-induced slumber.

((Boss Music))

Machman hauled off for his next punch as the Reaper quickly recovered from the glancing blow to the side of its head. The virus raised its left arm towards Mach as the Navi thrust his arm forward. Their open hands almost met in an arm-locking grapple. They only stopped short, their fingertips barely brushing one another, as the two fired identical Electric Pulse waves at each other. The EM waves, being the exact same frequency and amplitude, crashed into one another instead of passing each other by. The waves tried to reflect back, but ended up compressing as each combatant poured as much power as they could give into emitting more EM waves.

It became harder and harder for Machman and the Virus to maintain their attacks as the back pressure built. Their arms began shaking with the effort to maintain their EM attack, as neither dared let up for fear of being blasted off the face of the net. Eventually the EM waves reached critical density and the field erupted in the only direction it could find: outward, perpendicular to each attack. The ring-like EM shockwave expanded outward towards the floor, walls, and cieling. As it met each, it blew clean through them, effectively slicing the elevator and the bunker it rested in in half. Only the floor survived, and it became magnetized. The control panel for the elevator was ruined.

The two combatants were forced away from each other about a panel's width when the EM compression sphere went critical. The two landed in the snow, on their feet, facing each other with their feet planted firmly on the metal flooring below the frosty blanket when each acted quickly. Machman raised a honeycombed defense field as the Reaper Virus lunged at him like it meant to drive its left shoulder into the Navi with a flying tackle. However, on the third impossibly quick and blurry step, the Virus shifted its gait to a sudden half-step, and brought its right arm forward in, not a grand slamming swing, but a straight line jab. As it thrust its fist forward, a very short, broad energy blade ignited from a hidden emitter along the back of its hand.

The virus proceeded to strike one--two--three times with blurry rapid-fire stabs that only managed to connect with Machman's shields. The magnetic panels it now stood upon did not faze it in the least. The virus was subjected to the stinging pain of several swarms of bees that leaped from the outermost honeycombed shield for its effort. It didn't seem daunted by this, however, as it prepared to press the attack with a vengeance....

Aera raises a shield and recovers a little HP while Vector successfully pieces himself back together. Unfortunately, neither SP has a clear shot at the Reaper Virus at this time, as Machman is most assuredly in the way.

Machman reeled back from the blast, but was unharmed. Unfortunately it seemed the virus wasn't harmed either, but its data readout was garbled, as if it was scrambled somehow. Machman remained floating in the air even as the virus pressed on and started to assault his shields.

{Definitely using chips. Okay, lets see if it has a counter for this!}

Machman saw a slight green flash and heard a small zap as his energy was replaced by some spare energy given to him by Aera. She was hanging in there, but her body was still aching from the blunt impact from before. However, she knew she needed to provide at least some backup for Machman. She started to float towards the entrance of the damaged bunker, but paused as an increasing number of metal plates swarmed towards her and fastened to her body, while a few stayed behind as an extra layer for her shields. She smiled and stood fast as she thanked her loyal bodyguard.
Thanks, Vector.

Machman's thrusters primed for just a split second before he disappeared in a cyan flash. He then re-appeared nearly instantly with an identical flash, positioned left of the Reaper virus, and crouched towards the ground. Machman was wielding his saber, and its green-tinted cyan blade was already glowing at full power. Without hesitation, he delivered a rising diagonal slash through the virus's position in an attempt to avoid its assault and deliver a decisive blow, while at the same time he presented a short opportunity for his SPs to strike as well. A small section of his back lit up as a small IV pack materialized and started to slowly stream restorative energy into his body.

Aera was more than happy to utilize the opportunity as she took aim at the virus with her raised, armor-plated right arm before she fired a large, pale yellow bolt of electricity directly towards it. The attack had more than enough juice to cause some temporary paralysis, and the magnetic tether could throw the virus out of its rhythm. But it could be a double-edged sword; the virus may be able to throw Aera off balance with a violent tug, and she certainly didn't want that to happen. Her thrusters were at the ready to help keep her put.

((Boss Music))

The Reaper Virus lunged at Machman, left hand once again outstretched as it reached past, or rather through the defense field of Machman's Heavy Shielding. However, the Virus, hand and all, passed through empty space at full tilt as its target disappeared into thin air quite unexpectedly. Machman reappeared next to where the Virus should have been, and delivered a rising slash that connected with the fast-moving target's lower leg. The blade left a centimeter-deep groove across the side of the Virii's lower leg armor that curved up and backwards sharply as the virus moved past almost as quickly as the sword rose. An IV-Pack appeared on the Navi just as he completed his attack.

Vector, meanwhile, broke apart, flew over to Aera, and came together again as a suit of armor for Aera. He then reinforced Aera's shielding while she applied the IV-Pack to Machman. The now-armored Aera, her previous task complete, raised her arm towards the Reaper Virus and triggered her Magbolt as the Virus passed through the space Machman had previously occupied. The electromagnetic field pulled at the target, and accelerated the already fast-moving Virus towards her. A swirling green energy field sprang to life around the virus as it exited the bunker, only to be visibly lost in a white misty haze as the still-accelerating Virii's speed now flirted with the sound barrier.

The inevitable collision of Virus with electrically charged fist occurred as the haze of the compression wave washed over Aera. The Magbolt discharged as it came into contact with something solid... something solid that gave way as the haze, oddly filled with shredded leaves, roared past and dissipated. She saw the Reaper Virus clearly two hundredths of a second before the armored palm of its open and outstretched left hand impacted solidly against Aera's fist. The attack had connected. Electricity now coursed freely across the Reaper's body. The Virus would shortly be at their mercy, stunned out of its mind--

The Reaper Virus, instead of taking a heavy dose of damage, suddenly began to rapidly recover its health right before Vector and Aera's eyes. Its large clawed armored gauntlet suddenly closed around Aera's hand, wrist, and a little bit of her forearm in a steel grip as its HP counter continued to rise. The electricity began to sink into the Virus' body as it raised its helmeted head and stared at Aera's face through the black opaque visor. A glow shined up from the Reaper's right hand as a Navi-sized ball of light came into being against the bunker's outer wall just right of the door....

This was all unfortunately hidden from Machman's view....

Aera's attack was not only nullified, but it seemed to be healing the virus, and it was now a mere handful of feet away, and had grasped onto her hand. She felt the virus's cold grasp around her arm and lower forearm as she saw her own reflection in the dark visor covering the virus's humanoid head. Her thoughts instantly changed from "attack" to "panic" as her mind became filled with options of escape.
[[i]Help me!][/i]

Machman almost immediately peered over towards the virus in response to a very bad feeling, seemingly spawned by Aera's immediate danger. He saw the Virus was grappling with his SP, and knew he was now in a very difficult situation. This foe was more than a match for himself, and would have no trouble with dispatching his injured SPs. He had to think of a solution quickly, because the fate of his comrades were hanging in the balance. His wings had already paired up behind his back and started to spin in 2 pairs.

Vector was cognizant of the current situation, and knew he had to do something to protect his mistress. He was about to act before he noticed Aera raised one of her legs in an attempt to kick the virus. A single sliver of armor emerged from the protective layer of metal that covered Aera and pointed directly towards the virus's arm that clutched Aera's, and stood at the ready. As soon as he saw Aera's foot surge forward for a straight-on kick to the virus's chest, he launched the sharpened blade towards the Virus's arm to hopefully cause the enemy to let go or somehow become separated from her.

Machman's foot and chest thrusters kicked on to full power as he tilted his body towards the combatants; the power of the boosters kicked up a "rooster tail" of snow and sent him sliding towards his endangered SPs. Machman had repositioned himself into a slide to the right as he tried to position himself to the virus's right and a foot or so in front of Aera and Vector before the booster in his right foot was pushed to nearly 120% thrust capability to cause him to slow to an abrupt stop. His wings, which were then paired up and contained a single glowing, pulsating orb of crimson plasma, pointed directly forward towards the virus.

Back off.

The plasma that was contained by the magnetic fields that emanated from the wings was suddenly released in to crimson beams of energy that surged forward like a parallel pair of lasers that surged towards the virus. Machman tried to aim them towards the virus without putting Aera or Vector in danger of being affected by the blast. If Aera and Vector managed to release the enemy's grasp, the situation would be more advantageous to them, but if they failed, the would be in for one wild (and painful) ride.

((Boss Music))

Aera began setting up to straight-heel-kick the Reaper Virus at the same moment the Virus pulled on her arm, stepped forwards, and began to twist it's body. Aera's kicking-foot found no means to impart enough force to damage the virus, since it was now too close to properly kick. Worse, it was twisting itself around, which presented her with no solid target. It brought its shoulder down as it pulled Area and Vector forwards suddenly. Vector, realizing Area wasn't going to get a shot at kicking the Virus, reacted and shot the enemy in the fore-arm with a shrapnel blast. The virus jerked its arm back out of reflex, which only served to pull the two towards it faster. When they collided with it, the Virus turned away, pulled downwards with its arm, and lifted with its shoulder blade. The world flipped as the two SPs were thrown up, over, and straight into the ground Judo-style.

Area and Vector crashed head-first into the ground as Machman flew up next to the Reaper. The Virus let go of the SPs, stepped back, and had just enough time to look up and see Machman before the Navi blasted it with the full power of his engines. The Reaper Virus, hasted or not, was completely unprepared for this attack; it took the twin vernier blast center-of-mass, and was sent hurtling backwards through the air like a rag-doll amid an eruption of rising steam and blasted snow. If all went well, the virus would collide most satisfyingly with one of the ventilation towers directly behind it.

It didn't. The sound of a fan spinning up accompanied the bark of the first spike cannon shot. The spike impacted against the very left edge of Machman's heavy force shielding as the sound of a second gun shot cracked from roughly the same location. Machman tilted his head back without thinking, and a second iron spike passed by right before his eyes... right where his head used to be. The sniper, a Nailer, rose from the snow by the bunker wall, and began hovering to the left as it brought another of its twin guns to bear against the downed SPs....

Meanwhile, the Reaper Virus brought its legs up and under itself, and reached back over one shoulder with its left hand in anticipation of making contact with something solid. It hit the side of the ventilation tower with it's hand and feet first, and managed to brake its flight enough to avoid additional serious injury to its person. Its feet dug into the ice clinging to the side of the tower as it pushed off from the structure. The vestigial fins on the virii's pack swung upwards into the deployed position, and began to glow red... As they did so, the Reaper Virus began to levitate effortlessly through the air. It re-ignited the short energy blade on the back of it's right hand as it took up a mid-air stance Machman recognized as appropriate for someone preparing to engage in high speed aerial maneuvers. Machman knew this because he'd assumed a stance just like it many times before....

Uh oh, waaaaa-oomph!
Aera was quite skillfully thrown into the snow by the Reaper virus, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as they were saved from being blasted by the plasma beams that were fired from Machman's wing pairs. Aera felt the heat over her back even through Vector's hardened metal plating for a moment as the beams passed over her and blasted the threat away. However, a second foe had arrived on the battlefield and attacked Machman with a pair of nail-like projectiles.

Machman watched as the second nail barely missed his head before he focused back on the Reaper virus.
[[i]Yet another enemy... Aera, Vector! Take it down![/i]]
Machman gave his SPs their orders as he saw the Reaper virus assume a quite familiar pose while it floated in the air thanks to a pair of small wings. They didn't seem to provide any visible thrust, but it was floating there with seemingly no effort.
{Hmph. So you can fly too, huh. Alright, we'll see if you can survive up here.}

He floated above the snow in a similar fashion before he swung his saber out to his side, its glowing, green-tinged blade burned brightly. He clenched his left fist as it started to turn a slightly paler blue and started to rapidly develop frost over his knuckles and fingers.

Aera popped her head out of the snow before she looked over towards Machman and saw the hovering Nailer moving behind him. She raised her closest arm out of the snow and pointed it towards the virus as a single sliver of metal slid forward from its position on the back of her hand like a bayonet. The virus already trained its guns on their position, so they had little time to aim, but she did her best to position her attack before a bolt of electricity jumped from her hand in a flash of light and a signature thunder-clap. The bolt surged towards the Nailer, followed closely by a knife-like blade that launched itself from her hand.

The Reaper virus was obviously prepared to bring its blade to bear, and use its flight to effectively deliver the blow. Thanks to this "tell," Machman focused on the virus to detect any movement, he would need everything he could see to possibly determine from where it would strike. If he was wrong, the weapons he had prepared would be wasted. The order of which he would use these weapons also depended on where the virus attacked; an attack from Mach's right or directly ahead would prompt him to counter attack or parry with his saber before following up with a blast of super-cooled air at near point-blank range. An attack from his left would have him attempt to flash-freeze the virus first, then deliver a rising slash to finish it off.

Mach's pupils tightened as he glared at the virus. His sword remained almost perfectly still while his left fist was almost completely coated in a thin layer of ice. His white-hot wings were splayed outwards and held him aloft as they cooled from the previous attack. Every muscle in his body and every motor program in his code was put on a hair-trigger. He could not let this virus best him in his own element.
{Let's see what you've got.}

((Boss Music))

The Nailer slowly hovered past Machman and directly away from Aera and Vector as it tilted its right-side double barreled spike cannon at the spot it had last seen its targets occupying. When Aera propped herself up and began raising her arm towards the hover-craft-like drone, it immediately twitched to adjust its aim and fired before her arm was even halfway up. Unfortunately, Aera's repulsion field was covering her front side, and her attacker was firing at her left... She hadn't had time to readjust her defensive screen's coverage when the twin iron spikes lanced through the air to strike the unguarded Vector, one after the other.

Aera managed to return fire with a thunderbolt even as Vector took one for the team. The bolt of electricity struck the Nailer's blank backside as it again began turning to bring a third set of spike cannons to bear against the SPs. It never managed this feat, however, as Vector's slightly delayed blade-shot hit the underside of the Nailer at a very critical point... The blade stabbed into and through the fan motor in the center of the virus that kept the hovering drone afloat. The drone crashed to the ground trailing smoke as the motor tore free and punched up through the top. Both disintegrated into deletion seconds later.

----Meanwhile...

Machman and the humanoid Virus stared each other down across the great distance that separated them as each armed him/it-self to put an end to the other... Permanently. A few moments later, the Virus ignited a second punch-blade as it suddenly accelerated forward. It suddenly spun shortly after launch; it's blades serving to give it the appearance of a vortex a moment before it dove towards the ground. It shot downwards as little more than a dark blur while leaving a double helix spiral of ribbon-like light trails in its wake. The Virus was veering off to the left, perhaps towards the bunker, when both of the energy blades winked out and the virus appeared to just stall-out in an oddly abrupt, yet still blurredly spinning, hover.

It was a lie...

Machman, who had just barely been able to follow the Virii's movements thanks to the light trails, realized the virus was, in fact, still coming at him. The Navi raised his left arm towards he virus and cut loose with a full on Blizzard blasted forth from the palm of his hand towards the quickly growing image of the Virus. The wintry blast obscured his target, but the question of whether or not the Navi actually hit the Virus was immediately answered as something crashed into Machman's forward defensive shields. This initial crash caused the shielding to glow at the point of impact as a second blow, the beginning of what would be a brutal rain, struck the shield, followed by a third, a fourth, and finally the shield-shattering fifth.

The graphics of the defensive screen failing hadn't even begun to properly dissipate yet when a frost-covered cold metal fist flew out of the winter blast and clocked Machman square in the face. This blow dazed the Navi long enough for his control over the Blizzard attack to fail... The faceless visage of the dark helmeted Virus, now dusted in a layer of blueish white frost and patches of ice, broke through the stormy viel as it drew back its left hand from Machman's head and delivered a mach-speed sucker-punch straight to the Navi's gut. The Virus added a rising knee-blow to the machine-gun-quick combination, and followed up with a final, powerful flip-kick that sent the previously staggered Machman skyward.

The attack had come so suddenly, so rapidly, and with such power that Machman hadn't had time to realize he should be feeling pain in multiple places until after he found himself headed heaven-ward with one HP remaining. Reacting to it would have been asking too much of anyone... Recovering from it, however, was another matter; and one Machman had a vested interest in. The battered Navi cleared his head, and flipped over with the aid of his thrusters. He looked up at the ground below, and saw the deadly Virus was flying towards him with re-ignited punch blades for the kill. Machman allowed his jets to overcompensate as he spun around and used his sword arm to deliver a final, desperate swing at the Virus, who was responding in kind.

Machman won the race by virtue of two feet of deadly, glowing blade as his sword swing connected with the Virus before its far shorter parrying blades could touch him. The sword passed through the Virus cleanly before the former shattered, and the latter collided with Machman. The Navi was pushed backwards (upwards in this case) a few feet as the Reaper virus fell away; it's blades were now silenced.

It never hit the ground.

The Virus emitted a bright light as it fell, and suddenly exploded into a sphere of data-disintegrating plasma mid-fall. When the energy dissipated, Machman was able to look down and see a rain of data fragments cover what looked like the usable remains of chip data. This was what remained of his opponent.

Machman was victorious.

Mach still remained perched in the air, even though bits and pieces of his armor were crumbling away and fell to the ground below. In fact, a significant chunk of his chest armor crumbled away to reveal the emblem in the center of his chest. The devastating blow to his head caused the crack in his mask to open even wider, and a cyan light could be seen emerging from the chasm. His left hand gingerly touched his chin as it slid down to his aching chest, while his right clutched the now disintegrating saber. He looked down at the remains of the virus that nearly knocked him out of the battle in a flash.
And stay down.

His thrusters gently lowered him to the ground as his SPs gathered up the data left behind. Both of them bore the scars of battle, but their morale was still high since they had just defeated the strongest single opponent they have yet faced. Mazer had a hard time speaking, since he was still trying to go through the whole battle that seemed to end in a blink of an eye. His eyes could barely follow the whole confrontation, but he could plainly see his team had emerged victorious.
[Excellent work out there, you three!]

Aera smiled as Vector's eye moved about on the armor covering her chest, and Machman slowly made it to the surface before he slumped to the ground and sat on the snow.
I don't know what that thing was, but damn, it was fast. Not to mention that thing could use battlechips just like a Navi, but it didn't EJO... Was it actually a virus?
It was, sire.

Machman looked over to Aera's armor, and noticed some green surrounding Vector's eye. Are you certain?
Yes, sire. A scanning program somehow merged with my programming when I was inside the base, and I got an accurate readout on the "Reaper Virus" we fought.
And somehow, he shared this programming with me as well when we got thrown.
I have much to tell you, but we must retreat now; they were probably made aware of their virus's destruction, and may send more after us.

Mazer immediately prepped the jackout sequence before he instructed his team.
[Alright, initiating jack-out.]

The trio started to glow cyan before their bodies melted into the light and beamed straight up and out of the network, and into the safety of the restoration tanks housed in the PET.

((Logged Out))