Zephyr and RASS

That's... just... wow... laughed Zephyr, watching as the Fodder Force transformed into something that would be an ultimately more effective weapon. Hey, F.F.! You need a much better name than that! called out Zephyr to the trio, looking quite happy with himself. Fodder Force is a little demeaning, don't you think?

They can do whatever they want; that was just awesome, shrugged Kure, before tapping a few buttons and skipping through a few screens on his PET. That strategy I mentioned...? It just got a WHOLE lot better with that triple-Cross, he said happily, before saving the diagram several times and preparing it to show to the rest of the 'troops'.

Well, you're supposed to be good at strategy-type things, so let's see, eh? Zephyr replied, frowning slightly. Kure transferred the diagram and a short written explanation straight to Zephyr, which made his frown intensify more than it should have. This is our strategy?

What? cried Kure, feelings slightly hurt.

It's not exactly an elaborate move...

For that, I'd need not only more people, but also more time to think, more damned chips, and more experience with conflicts on this scale, Kure protested, crossing his arms irritably.

Fine... I think it'll work, but the question isn't just that; it's how effective it will be. That'll do what, leave a scratch on that Incredible Bulk?

I don't see you coming up with anything better...

Fine, fine. We should probably send it to the rest, Zepyhr suggested, to which Kure gave no spoken reply, but simply tapped a button, sending the diagram and strategy details instantaneously to Diamond, Remus, the Fodder Force, and Hacker.

=-=-=

Kure's Strategy:



This is a simple, hasty diagram of my strategy. To start, we have the Fodder Force and Zephyr heading straight up the middle to attack 326J's three remaining virii and the big baddie himself. Those four will attempt to not only distract 326J, but also do as much damage as possible before he 'summons' yet another group of virii to protect himself with. Most likely as not, it'll be just as strong as the last, and neither the FF, Hacker, NetPolice or Zephyr can stand to use up chips on virii. Continuing on, I want Diamond to stay out of harm's way for the most part, and heal the harmed or help Remus to snipe out 326J from the side. From the other side will be Hacker, also sniping at 326J; this way, he'll have three groups from three directions hitting him at once, and if one gets hit, the others can cover that group and Diamond can heal whatever injuries are left. Simple-sounding, but I think it'll work for now. The best advice I can give is to give it your all; Zephyr may be able to blind the big 'un before anything hits him, which would indeed help my plan. So, please follow this as best you can, unless you have any objections -- but as of now, we don't have much time for arguing, so hold your strategies back until we've used this one, or if you see a glaring error in mine.

It may be wise to attack 326J from behind, Remus/Hacker/Diamond; if we can have sniping from three directions, that's four groups of attackers, which would be ultimately good. As for Zephyr/F.F., you may want to consider coming in from slightly different directions -- for instance, south-west, less south-west, less south-east, and south-east. Fodder Force, please try to eliminate the remaining three virii as fast as you are able so that Zephyr can quickly move in to blind 326J; then you should probably hit him with everything you have. Snipers, hold your positions as soon as you get there; if you see virii or the boss himself attacking another sniper, do your best to hit it from afar.

=-=-=

Well, assuming this all works out how it's supposed to, I'm going to get ready to do my part, suggested Zephyr, smiling slightly. Here's a hint: I need a chip. Really, it's up to you what I get, Kure...

I assume a Cannon will suffice? grumbled Kure, sounding not at all pleased with his paltry selection of chips left to choose from.

Better than nothing, Zephyr sighed, feeling he was a tiny bit disadvantaged in this particular skirmish. I think that I'm just going to be blinding the bugger, not doing most of the damage anyways. I think we'll need to save the RageClaw for the next "wave" of whatever he summons regardless...

Such uplifting thoughts, muttered Kure, looking sadly upon the small bit of plastic and silicon that he now held firmly between two fingers. The small image of a Cannon seemed to cry out in anger at being chosen before the other remaining chip, but Kure shook his head, blinked, and shoved the chip in grumpily. After this, I gotta buy more chips for you, man...

You're telling me... Zephyr replied wistfully, watching as the Cannon formed readily on his arm, somehow lacking the great anguish it'd shown in Kure's hand, or whatever Kure was seeing in it; now it was just a small weapon against a big baddie. Right... let's see what I can do...

=-=-=

Suddenly moving the Cannon down to his side, Zephyr lived up to his namesake by closing his eyes. A small breeze began to nip around cyberspace and Zephyr's heels like a playful puppy; one painful puppy to receive in the eyes. The breeze grew and grew to the point where it was picking up bits of debris and rubble from the ground like a windy autumn day; cyclones in miniature whirled fiercely on the ground, not reaching more than knee level, but it wasn't stopping there. Several of the whirlwinds began to combine, nearly doubling both the size and velocity instantly. As the separate tornadoes began to merge, the wind grew ever stronger, causing Kure to wonder for once, where does he get wind on the NET? Wherever the wind was coming from, it certainly wasn't stopping, and now Kure had a veritable twister in front of him, moving and charging at will. Shooting his hand forward dramatically, the twister split into several miniature versions of itself again, circling around 326J, slowly coming around into convergence in the boss's eyes. As the winds dissipated, Zephyr roared in anticipation, sprinting forward nearly as fast as his winds, which were still at his heels characteristically. YAAHHHH! THIS IS WHERE YOU HELP, FODDER FORCE!

Well, er, yes. Remus, Diamond, Hacker-- please take your positions, if you haven't already, and F.F., go help Zephyr. He'll get massacred if he does that alone... good luck, everyone!

=-=-=

Zephyr.EXE
HP: 100
1: Dirt Storm > 326J [Blind, 2TCD]
2: Cannon-- CHARGE! > 326J LAWL, K [40 DMG]
3: Wind-Assisted Dodge [Dodge]

= I think that was good... meh. Should do something for the 'war effort', at very least. =

= Like a 6-day bump... =

= This is a reminder, PA, because you've not been on today and I'm not gonna be on for much longer.
You said Thursday. D: =

As the last of the viruses fall to Remus' blade and Hacker's cannon, the Fodder Force and Zephyr finally break through the defenses to charge at the massive bulk at the head of the virus forces. The blinded e... hey, wait. Why isn't he blinded?
...
The answer comes quickly in the form of one of 326J's arm-masses in front of his face, making a barrier against the wind. But the good of this shines through as he fails to see the incoming cannon blast, taking the hit in the gut. Not like it did much, though. But here comes the Fodder Force! Cursor takes the opportunity to grab Wind once more, raising him high into the air in preparation for another crushing strike. And as he let go, Wind falling to the ground, he let out another cry of CRUSHING CLAW!
Had they not learned?
Hearing the cry, 326J turned, and saw the rapidly descending enemy. The same rapidly descending enemy that he then stopped by grabbing him, and smashed into the ground. Cursor then met another fate similar, when an arm extended much past what should have been physically possible to crush one of his wings. But Claw managed to fire two quick shots underneath 326J's waving arms, taking a nice chunk out of his HP. But... why didn't two of the arms do anything?
CAPSULES!
...Aw, crap.
Sure enough, virus capsules fly from his hands, landing and spawning another wave of enemies.
A barely concealed round of curses soon flew from Remus' direction, and Hacker joined in as his hacked barrier flickered and failed.

326J: 500 HP <Behind the Viruses>
VirusCapsuleGroup1: DELETED
VirusCapsuleGroup2: DELETED

SpikeyEX: 140 HP
Cirkill: 110 HP
MagtectEX: 120 HP
SpidyEX: 110 HP
AKAICUBE: 700 HP
Skuttzer: 300 <Aura 100>
Spikey2: 190 HP
Canodumb: 50 HP
Kabutank: 80 HP
Cacty: 70 HP
Honeybomber: 110 HP
Bagworm: 80 HP
Walla: 100 HP
Hardhead: 60 HP
Dharma: 90 HP
Powie: 60 HP
Tuby: 100 HP
BombBoyEX: 130 HP
FirephoenixEX: 140 HP
Mimic: 250 HP (Looks like a Green Mystery Data with tentacles)

Diamond.exe: 590 HP
RockcubeA: 130 HP
RockcubeB: DELETED
RockcubeC: 170 HP
RockcubeD: 50 HP
RockcubeE: KERSPLODE
RockcubeF: 200 HP

Remus: 180 HP
Hacker: 80 HP
Fodder Force "Wind": 70 HP <Lv.2 ClawCross>
Fodder Force "Cursor": 90 HP <Lv.2 WindCross>
Fodder Force "Claw": 110 HP <Lv.2 CursorCross>

Zephyr: 100 HP
Rass: 100 HP

Terrain: A scarred battlefield now marks this encounter. The normal terrain has all but faded from view beneath the debris from battles. A small sea area, the result of a chip, lies off to one side, while three craters of cracked panels with holes to the depths of the net dead-center are where three viruses used to be. (45% Normal, 20% Sea, 30% Cracked, 5% Hole)

((Not to intrude, but how about you both shut up before this escalates.

PA: If you can't post because you are busy, then fine. However, it isn't cool to leave Hiko waiting for a week especially since he's already lost Sky to the buttcrack of infinity. As such, I think you have to understand his point of view and don't go off on him so much. If you really can't mod, then maybe you should think about seeing if someone else will mod for you.

Hiko: Shut the hell up with the bumping. Please refer to the Bumping Rules to see how you have been breaking them. You will get warned for breaking the rules and multiple warns form bans. A temporary ban will make you wait even longer than PA's slow ass modding.

Edit by PA: The matter has been solved, we're buddy-buddy again.))

= Post voided. I'm saying 'screw it' for now. See you back IC in a few weeks, PA. =

(As a note, Hiko and Sky, the rewards for battles 1 and 2 have been changed. Please note this and change accordingly. Thank you.)

= PA, I've slightly changed the post-- I felt it didn't need to be totally scrapped. =

Kure's face could only be described as a mess. Watching his plan work, but then be countered sevenfold could not have been good for his conscience. As his eyes grew wide in horror and his face fell, he began panicking inside.

That's... the third... but... what? Another of THAT? N-no! Without warning, he began flailing widely, screaming every curse he knew and slamming his fist into the wall of his house-- just remembering now that he was STILL locked outside. This only led to another stream of curses, joining in on some words with Remus and Hacker. MOTHERFU--

=-=-=

Zephyr, however, was a completely different story-- he was genuinely happy! That's more than a quarter of his health! We can do it! he cried to the heavens, fist-pumping for good measure. Wait... but that's... ANOTHER AKAICUBE?! Well, at least he was happy until he saw the virii aligned in front of himself. And what the HELL is that thing?! he screamed, still loudly, pointing at the Mimic with a face that genuinely resembled 'D:'.

I, um, have another idea... Kure muttered to Zephyr sheepishly.

Go for it, Mein Fuhrer, Zephyr grumbled sarcastically, crossing his arms.

Well... all you have left is a RageClaw, sadly. So, heh, we're relying on the Fodder Force, Hacker, Diamond, and Remus to get the job done. Obviously, we can ignore 326J until the virii are gone, at which point I'll probably have you get the RageClaw and go berserk with it. Until then, our 'big baddie' is the Akaicube. Right?

Right... Zephyr affirmed slowly, beginning to realize what Kure was getting at.

So, why don't you--

You want me to sit back while they do all the work?

No, in fact, that's exactly the opposite of what I want you to do. Your job is to use your 'wind'-- and no, not that kind. We're going to have to push that thing back if we want to kill it quickly; that cracked and holey ground is our best chance...

OK... so is that all I'm doing?

That's about it, really. I don't think that eight damage will exactly aide the cause, Kure laughed, smiling slightly, but not on the inside. Eurgh... I really don't know what to do any more, he thought, beginning to become more frustrated than he already was. Suddenly looking towards RASS, he sighed-- the navi was still stuck inside some horrible lag, and there was no way that the navi or Suien could contact him. It really did seem like it was just Zephyr and the rest now; RASS was really the main fighting force of the team. I suppose that sort of thinking doesn't really help me... he murmured, and held up the RageClaw wistfully. Slowly turning it 'round and 'round, he sighed, and gave it one last look before shoving it back in his pocket. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, with a bright light in them--

Remus! I... this sounds far-fetched, but... is there any way you can get reinforcements...? Kure gasped, amazed that he hadn't thought of this before.

If he can, and he hasn't, I swear I'm going to kill him-- but, until then... Zephyr grumbled, and began to walk towards his allies. Remus, or Diamond, if you can get reinforcements, that's great. But, in the meantime, there's an Akaicube to be taken care of. I may have a way to take it out quickly; if any of you have really strong chips, we can take out the thing before it does anything much, he suggested. If NONE of you have strong ones, well, then, just attack it with whatever you've got, but be careful; we can't afford to die out. As of now, all we can do is eliminate the virus capsule groups and then whittle down at 326J before he summons more...

That is, unless he gives us an opportunity, THEN you hit him, otherwise he keeps summoning more of those things, Kure offered.

Riiiiiiight... well... Fodder Force... just attack whatever you can. And don't yell as you're about to attack, okay? It's a confidence-booster and all that, I know, but if you haven't noticed, it's foiled two of your attacks so far. The rest of you... you know what to do...

=-=-=

Zephyr, not without a good deep breath and nervous side glance, simply plunged into the fray-- that is, before stopping himself three steps in. Wind. Right, he said suddenly, obviously just remembering. He didn't wait for the tell-tale twisters to gather around himself; he just let some dust gather around his heels for the initial burst of speed that he'd need for this. Taking another huge gulp of air for good measure, Zephyr began to sprint towards the Akaicube silently, intently focused upon his small plan. As he raced towards the enemy, a trail of dust raised up behind him, almost like the Road Runner in old cartoons. When he became close enough (or as close as he wanted to get), Zephyr took a wild leap. Not a controlled lunge-- but a full-out, arms-flailing type of jump. Mid-flight, he managed to control his arms enough to gather some wind energy in-between his palms, sort of like Naruto's Rasengan move, or just like a wind energy ball. Within seconds it had grown to a pulsing climactic orb, literally throbbing with the sheer energy needed to contain itself.

Panicking, and realizing that he was going to touch down too far away, Zephyr let some wind propel him forward so that he was on a direct path with the Akaicube. Now plummeting downwards, Zephyr barely stopped himself from closing his eyes.

Kure suddenly gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. I am such an IDIOT! ZEPHYR! OMNISHOES! he screamed.

Squinting at the rush of air, Zephyr barely saw the Akaicube in front of himself before he thrust the writhing ball of energy in front of himself like some sort of unwanted pet-- but heard Kure at the last minute. Eyes opening in a mad fury, he struggled to reposition himself until he was on a direct path with a random virus and let go. The release of energy was astounding-- not the 'O_O' type, but the kind that just makes you blink and wonder what happened. Zephyr, realizing that he was somehow still in the air, began to panic-- he'd sailed right away from the Akaicube because of the explosion. Landing in a crumpled heap quite far away from the viruses, Zephyr sighed, and looked to his allies, hoping that they'd done something to help. Zephyr laughed at the irony-- he'd landed right inside of the RockCube wall! Awesome!

THAT was close... Kure said in awe, still a bit shocked from the explosion Zephyr had managed to create. Suddenly, he came upon another brilliant realization-- couldn't he walk somewhere and ask for help? He didn't need to stand right by the door, did he...?

=-=-=

Zepyhr.EXE
HP: 100
0: Wind Subtype Activate/Launch/Pushback > Spikey2 [hopefully pushes to cracked tiles]
1-3: Wind-Assisted Dodges [Dodges, lands behind RockCube wall]
Dirt Storm: One turn until ready!

Raging cries sounded from both sides of the battlefield, one of victory from the viruses, one of a final stand from the Netpolice, as the final charge began. Diamond followed behind the navis, releasing blasts of healing energy every few moments as the horribly outnumbered team took hits innumerable. A canodumb blast managed to nearly take out Claw's shoulder, only to be replaced by a glowing ball of green recovery energy moments later.

Remus was among the most valiant, charging recklessly into the viruses with his sword at the ready. Several fell, but as he reached the Scuttzer virus his sword shattered upon the green aura. Blanching, he summoned a Widesword and continued to hack away at the aura, but to no avail. Suddenly, the sword passed through the aura, and through the virus. Letting out a cry of victory, Remus stopped abruptly as he realized that the enemy had not been damaged, but had instead disappeared altogether. But as a wood tower erupted behind him, it became clear that the virus hadn't even suffered a scratch. Remus was left, battered and bruised, to remain on the ground while the enemy began to charge up another Wood Tower.
CURSOR CANNON!

The Scuttzer leaped out of the way with surprising agility as the attack erupted past, tearing apart a Honeybomber in the background that Remus had weakened. The enemy turned rapidly, just in time to see Wind and Cursor charging him with their weapons at the ready. Diamond saw what was coming, shouting out Encasing Jewel! and Crystalline Wall! just as the attacks of all the viruses flew out from every direction. But even then, it wasn't enough. The crystalline barriers which had covered Wind and Cursor fell under the assault, and although the crystalline wall managed to reflect much of the damage, it was what came afterwards that really mattered. A wood tower, once again, flew out of the virus mass, making contact with all three members of the valiant Fodder Force. 326J let out a roar of triumph, and charged, only to be met with a Rook that placed itself firmly in front of the FF. He looked around for the source, and saw Diamond muttering something under her breath, concentrating all of her energy into the crystals that floated around her. Suddenly, blue rays shot out of all the crystals, striking all of the allies and restoring 100 HP to each. Rising, all charged once more.

326J was struck once, twice, before the viruses advanced and guarded him. More and more viruses began to fall under the combined assault of the navis... but the largest threat of all went unnoticed by every combatant. The lag wall which had earlier encompassed RASS was expanding, quickly covering the remaining area between its original position and the navis. Every navi, every virus, suddenly felt its debilitating effects. PET screens fizzled and died as the connections with their navis were severed. And then... it stopped. It was if a giant rubber band had been stretched, building pressure on the navis, when it broke. And what broke it became clear in but a moment. RASS was the first to fall, a massive minotaur horn blowing him clear into the side of the battle routine where he began to fall, EJO'ing mid-flight. The viruses broke from whatever allegiance they may have felt towards 326J, fleeing in every direction. All fell to the forces created by the two beasts' clash. 326J was almost crushed by the Sphinx's massive paw, landing mere feet away from him. The shockwave quickly eliminated what was left of his HP. The Fodder Force attempted to flee, but a massive sweeping strike of some strange energy from the minotaur caught all three of them in their escape, EJO'ing them all at once. Diamond tried to put up another crystalline wall as a piece of rubble fell, but her energy wasn't replenished enough, and the large chunk of data all but deleted her, the Emergency Jack Out program barely saving her.

And then there was Zephyr.

Zephyr, behind the Rockcube wall, had been almost unharmed to this point, miraculously. He saw all that happened, saw his allies fall. Almost unconsciously grabbing some battlechip and zenny data that had landed near him, he put it on standby, to send to Kure when the communication resumed. A sudden change of ground seemed to affect the cybeasts, and the minotaur briefly gained ground, or so it seemed. But at the last moment, both Cybeasts leapt for another section of the battlefield, leaving behind... something... in their wake. The shockwave created by the creatures began to speed through the air, heading for Zephyr. A piece of rubble shook loose, falling to the ground. And the very net itself began to unravel, tearing apart into its source code as the ground disappeared. The unraveling hit first, throwing Zephyr downwards, tearing at his data. It seemed that he would survive... until the rubble hit. Reducing his HP to 1, saved only by his undershirt, Zephyr was going to need a severe data recovery when he was jacked out. It was almost over. He had survived, by the skin of his teeth... when the shockwave finally hit. It was too much. Zephyr's data, which had until then stood all that had been thrown at it, tore apart. His limbs disappeared into fragments of data, his emblem threatening to fall apart. His torso and head soon followed his limbs, fragmenting into nothingness.

All that was left of the battle, the allies, the police, the mafia... was an emblem, slowly spinning into the void.


326J: EMERGENCY JACK OUT
VirusCapsuleGroup1: DELETED
VirusCapsuleGroup2: DELETED

SpikeyEX: DELETED
Cirkill: DELETED
MagtectEX: DELETED
SpidyEX: DELETED
AKAICUBE: DELETED
Skuttzer: DELETED
Spikey2: DELETED
Canodumb: DELETED
Kabutank: DELETED
Cacty: DELETED
Honeybomber: DELETED
Bagworm: DELETED
Walla: DELETED
Hardhead: DELETED
Dharma: DELETED
Powie: DELETED
Tuby: DELETED
BombBoyEX: DELETED
FirephoenixEX: DELETED
Mimic: DELETED

Diamond.exe: EMERGENCY JACK OUT
RockcubeA: DELETED
RockcubeB: DELETED
RockcubeC: DELETED
RockcubeD: DELETED
RockcubeE: KERSPLODE
RockcubeF: DELETED
Rook: DELETED

Remus: EMERGENCY JACK OUT
Hacker: EMERGENCY JACK OUT
Fodder Force "Wind": EMERGENCY JACK OUT
Fodder Force "Cursor": EMERGENCY JACK OUT
Fodder Force "Claw": EMERGENCY JACK OUT

Zephyr: DELETED
Rass: EMERGENCY JACK OUT (Lose 700z)

Terrain: The battlefield... is no more. (100% Hole)






-END BATTLE ROUTINE-

Rewards:
Kure: 1000z, BigHammer1

Kure, who'd been watching on in awe, and occasionally cheering for his allies, was in shock. Nothing came from his mouth, no whisper, no curse, no nothing. His lips were slightly parted, as if about to say something, about to protest-- it wasn't true, it couldn't happen! The Undershirt, the EJO program... Something should have kicked in, right?

Wrong. When the Cybeasts had clashed, Kure's PET completely whited out, emitting a brilliantly bright beam of pure white light that was actually painful to look at. As the beam dissipated, Kure hurriedly pushed as many buttons as he could to re-boot the personal terminal, but when he did, all that he saw was black-- until a small message window opened up in the lower-left corner of his screen.

File transfer: Complete! 1000z, BigHammer1 obtained.

But, there was simply no navi. No trace of Zephyr's smiling face, saying he was OK, or a grimace of pain to mark the grievous wounds he would've obtained, had he survived the blast. However, he hadn't-- and there was no trace of him left. His data had been completely wiped from the PET in the white-out; every back-up program in the bit of circuitry and plastic was gone. Thankfully, all of Kure's money and battlechips were salvaged by the thing's core processing systems.

Kure's mouth began mouthing soundless words, or gibberish if his voicebox was actually activated. Finally arriving at the mouth position he needed, Kure was able to gasp a strangled Wh... what? He suddenly began fumbling wildly with the PET, searching frantically for the back-up programs containing all of Zephyr's memories, data, and everything else that had created the navi. How... how can it all be gone? All of it? he gasped, still staring blankly at the PET which stolidly refused to give him what he wanted. Where... where did he go...?

Kure slowly, infectiously came to a realization-- and not the good kind. I... I took the back-up data off of my PC because... because I needed more space for music... he thought. Don't... don't panic... there has to be some way... n-no... Kure wasn't the type for screaming or crying; he didn't whine for what he wanted, he thought things through and bargained. However, it was a little bit late to negotiate with the Cybeasts; and much too late to have Zephyr back. He's... he's gone? Just... gone?

Kure slowly put his head in his hands, tears just brimming on the edge of his eyes, barely being prevented from spilling out en masse. Kure was suddenly enveloped by a mass of flashbacks-- getting his PET, helping create Zephyr, all those years spent together... He... he can't be! LET ME IN THIS DAMN HOUSE! he screamed, jumping up from his knees, which he'd subconsciously sunk to in his frantic attempt to remember how he could revive his navi. He began slamming his fists on the door crazily, again and again he thumped, to the point where he'd exhausted himself from a solid ten minutes of attempts to open 'that damn door'. Sinking to the pavement, back against the door, Kure buried his head in his arms and assumed the fetal position until someone finally saw him, locked outside and near-delirious with remorse.

=-=-=

REST IN PEACE: ZEPHYR.EXE

=-=-=

= Zephyr.EXE is absolutely, completely deleted. Now switching navis to Engima.EXE and his Op, Ceres Notara... IC transitions will follow. Good job, PA, it was great doing the event with you... and Sky, I wish you could have been there to help us pull through to the end. I suppose this counts as a final 'jackout' for Zephyr. I'll add the final rewards to my inventory and switch everything to Ceres and Enigma... =